#RolandMartinUnfiltered - TN 3 Day of Action, Moral Monday 10th Anniversary, Medicated Abortion Ban, Jajuan Henderson Update

Episode Date: April 11, 2023

4.10.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: TN 3 Day of Action, Moral Monday 10th Anniversary, Medicated Abortion Ban, Jajuan Henderson Update Following the expulsion of two Tennessee State Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, Tennessee Democrats, organized a "Day of Action." We will show you today's Rally, march and speak to the National Political Director for People For the American Way. The vote to reinstate Justin Jones is underway, and a Nashville, Tennessee, Councilwoman will join us after the decision.   It's been ten years since the first Moral Monday led by religious progressives to restore "morality to protests against Bills passed by the state GOP-held North Carolina government in 2012. Today we will speak with Rev. William Barber, President/Senior Lecturer and Repairers of the Breach, about where the movement plans in this new GOP-led political environment. A Texas Judge invalidated the abortion pill in the most consequential abortion decision since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June. We will speak to the Director of State Advocacy Communications for Planned Parenthood about what this means for women's rights and how a Washington State federal judge's contradictory ruling will impact women nationwide. A New Jersey detective who shot and paralyzed an unarmed Black man will not face charges. We will speak with Jajuan Henderson's attorney about what they plan on doing now to hold the police accountable. Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox  http://www.blackstarnetwork.com The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Today is Monday, April 10th, 2023. Coming up on Roller Martin on filter streaming live on the Black Star Network. Justin Jones is headed back to the Tennessee legislature. Nashville City Council has appointed him to the position where he was expelled just last week by Republicans in the legislature. Now we wait to see what the Shelby County Commissioners will do when it comes to Justin Pearson there in Memphis. Levi's, they've got a diversity problem. Yeah, seriously, folks. You know what they've got a diversity problem. Yeah, seriously, folks, you know what they've done? They literally are gonna be using AI to diversify their models.

How about us hiring some black models? It really ain't that hard. Also, more on Mondays, we'll be coming to Tennessee. Reverend William Barber will join us, talk about how he's joining with religious leaders on April 17th to deal with what's happening in that particular state. Really, y'all, the governor of Texas says

he wants to pardon a man who was convicted of killing a Black Lives Matter protester because he disagrees with the jury. I told you these Republicans are out of their minds. Folks, that and more right here on Roller Mark's rolling Best belief he's knowing Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling

It's on go-go-royal It's rolling, Martin Rolling with rolling now All right, folks. Focus has been on Nashville today. We have the city council there in a unanimous vote saying Justin Jones is their choice to return to the Tennessee State House. That's right, folks. The Metro Nashville City Council reappointed Jones as their representative.

Of course, that is a result of the legislature expelling him and Justin Pearson out of Memphis. This vote took place just moments ago. We've been live streaming all of this action on the Black Star Network. It was called a day of action in Tennessee as supporters from across the country travel there to stand with Justin Jones, who, of course, is the target of Republican ire as a result of his, you know, focus on the issues that African Americans care about. Now, remember what you see here, Republicans doing all they can to control African Americans in that particular state. And so what they did last week by sitting here and expelling Jones and Pearson, they frankly caused a number of people to focus all of their ire on them. And so this is simply the first step. Now, again, the Nashville City Council made

their move. Now the question is, what is going to happen to Justin Pearson? Now, we told you last week that the legislature has been literally threatening, threatening the Shelby County folks to literally, to threaten them saying, oh, they will not give them additional funding if they actually reinstate them. Here is the Nashville City Council and their decision. Guys, go to my iPad, please. Take the vote. I agree. All right, we can keep moving.

Justin Jones has been elected as the interim secretary. Again, Justin Jones will be returning back there. This is a huge, huge decision. So many people obviously focused on this. This here is a longer video. Watch this. We have only one nomination before us, and that is the nomination of Justin Jones to be elected to be the interim successor for the vacancy of District 52 of the Tennessee House of Representatives. Pursuant to Rule 48,

we are on the board for the vote. Mr. Clerk, tell me when we are ready. Ready? We are ready. All right. So we are going to be on the board. If you are for the election of Justin Jones to be the interim successor for the vacant seat of Tennessee House District 52, If you vote no, you will vote aye. If not, you will vote no. Mr. Clerk, and close the machines. Take the vote. Mr. Clark, close the machines. Take the vote. Ayes 36.

Right now we're going to be going to nashville in just a second to talk about what's going on there. Folks have been on the ground there, of course, all day today, making their position known. My panel is Julianne Malveaux. She's the Dean, College of Ethnic Studies, California State University at L.A., at the Amakongo Dabinga Professorial Lecture School in National Service, American University. And then we'll be joined by Tamika Booker, founding managing director, T. Booker Strategies. This is Amakongo, a very important moment for activists because, again, what we are seeing, not just here in Tennessee, in Oklahoma. They have stripped the committees

of a black woman there, the only non-binary person in the legislature, saying that she impeded an investigation there. And I keep warning people, this is what Republicans are going to be doing across the country. Absolutely. And to be quite honest, I was mostly concerned for young, young, young people who were just getting involved in the process. It felt like their voice was going to be silenced and maybe they felt like they were going to disengage from the process after what happened. And I'm so happy that, you know, the council did this because it gives so much hope for young people who got who got involved in the process and wanted them to make their voices heard. But we have to remember that at the end of the day, this should be a message across the country. It should not just be in Tennessee. Because what if members of the council was majority Republican, right? And they were in set with the legislator. They would

have also voted to keep Justin Jones out. And so this is a reminder, all of those branches of government, all those local and national and state parts of government that we feel are not consequential, from dog catcher all the way up, they are extremely consequential. Because if we didn't vote, you know, those members who are there now, then Justin Jones would not be returning. And hopefully on Wednesday, when they have the next vote, I believe Justin Pearson will be coming back as well. But we have to be mindful that this is what Republicans do at every level across the country.

They will not stop. We pay, not on this show, but in general, people pay so much attention to, you know, the House of Representatives and the Senate and so on and so forth. These individuals are strategic, and they know the law and the government on many levels better than most of us.

But when we get involved and we learn and we change and we fight, these are the results. And so I'm excited just for what the process happened in general, but I'm extremely excited for what the process happened in general, but I'm extremely excited for the young people who marched onto the Capitol, who made their voices heard in person, in social media, who called their representatives. All of the things that we're saying they should be doing, Roland Martin, they did that. And their voices were honored again tonight, but we can't stop here.

And we know that Representative Jones and Pearson are not going to stop here as well. And these Republicans need to realize that they can try to insulate themselves as much as possible. But when the people speak, they are going to listen. Julianne. This is another lynching in Tennessee, and the lynching didn't work this time. I'm reminded that Ida B. Wells started her career by documenting a lynching in the Curve area of Memphis, where her three friends were lynched because they had the nerve to speak up and start a grocery store, the People's Grocery. Now, these two brothers and the white woman that they kept, and that's a whole other story,

they spoke up for young people in terms of guns. These people refused to do anything about these automatic weapons. And so these young brothers took to the well of the legislature. They did not disrupt the proceedings. Nothing was going on. They were making a statement. And therefore, they were basically politically lynched and taken away from their seats. But, again, this is another lynching in Tennessee. And the irony here, Roland, is that there is a member of that legislature who advocated for lynching. He's still there. Lynching is against the law. But there is a legislator, the elected legislator. They didn't censor him. They didn't say anything

to him. He apologized, but nothing has happened. People have been involved in egregious behavior, and nothing has happened. But when two young brothers and an ancillary white woman choose to stand up, choose to speak out, they are being politically lynched. And so we know it's wrong. And Omicron was right. What's beautiful about this is a number of young people who stood behind these young brothers and said, oh, no, I saw a sign that said no Justins, no peace. I like that. That's a great play on words. But these two Justins, you know, are basically the future. They are what we've all been waiting for.

Young people to get involved and to move forward. Folks, hold tight one second. We're going to go live to Nashville. We'll also come back to talk to Reverend William Barber about Memorial Monday taking place next Monday, April 17th, there in Tennessee. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history.

Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. Here's all the Proud Boys, guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. I'm Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach,

and my new show, Get Wealthy, focuses on the things that your financial advisor and bank isn't telling you, but you absolutely need to know. So watch Get Wealthy on the Black Star Network. You want me to do something crazy, but I don't know what to do. I'd rather just sit here. Hi, this is Cheryl Lee Ralph, and you are watching Roland Martin, unfiltered. I mean, could it be any other way?

Really, it's Roland Martin, unfiltered. I mean, could it be any other way? Really, it's Roland Martin. All right, folks, welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered. There's going to be a Moral Monday taking place in Tennessee next Monday. Religious leaders will be joined with Reverend Dr. William Barber to focus on what's happening in that state. He joins us right now. Reverend Barber, glad to have you back on the show. Again, this gathering of religious folks,

they're coming from all walks of life. Coming from all walks of life, interfaith, even people who may not be clergy but who believe in the deep moral issues, and they're coming. We've been in touch with Justin. Justin's a friend of mine long-term, Justin Jones and Pearson, both of them. They've been participating touch with Justin. Justin's a friend of mine long term, Justin Jones and

Pearson, both of them. They've been participating in Repairs of Breach, Poor People's Campaign. They talk about reconstruction models of movement all the time. And we're coming because the issue is still the issue. Even with them voting this evening, they go back into a legislature that still refuses to deal with guns, back into a legislature that still has not passed Medicaid expansion, which is another form of policy murder, because people die from lack of health care. A legislature that still has not dealt with voter suppression, which is a form of policy murder, because it allows people to get elected who then won't deal with guns, won't deal with Medicaid expansion. And a legislature that still will not pass a living wage. And we know that poverty—700 people die a day, every day, from poverty, a quarter

million people a year. And so we're coming—and Mormon is not just at one day. It is—religious leaders are saying, listen, we can no longer be the eulogists for these funerals and not be participant in changing policy and shifting policy. We've got to be willing to even put our bodies on the line and surround. These are moral issues, not just Democrat versus Republican. And Roland, I want to say a couple of things about Justin and Pearson that people may not know. First of all, these young men and the white lady, Gloria, these are not nuances. Justin spent 62 days in front of the legislature, leaving Ma Mundy's a few years ago,

fighting for Medicaid expansion. They tried to actually charge him with a felony for accidentally touching the speaker. Pearson Pearson over in Memphis, he took on a major pipeline company that wanted to run a pipeline through the Black community, the only aqua of its time. I always had to be so good, no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive.

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...of its kind in the world, and had to take on Black organizations that were taking money from the corporations. When Pearson was there for 62 days, the majority of the folk that came out and supported it were white and some progressive Blacks. And the lady, Gloria, she's from East Tennessee. Now, for her to be elected as a Democrat in East Tennessee, we need to understand that. And she has been quite

progressive in her thinking. And so, Roland, we've got to tell the whole story. And two weeks ago, I'm going to say it if nobody else will, the Democrat black members of that body berated Jones, Pearson, and Gloria for standing up. So that's another side of this piece. That is why when you look at those crowds out there that are supporting them, they're not just black. They're not just black young people. They're white young people. They're Asian young people. They're black young people. seeing is a modern form of reconstruction politics that happened in the 1860s when black

and white persons came together to form a new political base. And that's what Justin and both of them and Gloria are figuring out. And that's why they're saying it's not just about us. It's about building this people's movement in the South. They know, Roland, lastly, they know, and we're going to talk about this tomorrow, Monday, on April 17th, right there in Tennessee, in Nashville, that over 800,000 voters in Tennessee did not vote in the 2020 election. They also know that 33 percent of the electorate is poor and low wealth. And if you could just organize 25 percent of the poor and low wealth voters in Tennessee across the board around an agenda for life and income and health care and against guns, you could fundamentally shift the electoral politics

because you would pull together black, white, brown, Asian and indigenous people, people of faith together in a political voting right, which was actually the ultimate vision of Dr. King for the South. So I think we need to go deep when we look at this and look at the complete analysis of what's going on here. That's why we're coming on the 17th, and clergy are going to be helping to open up that analysis and say, listen, we're not going to just be Sunday morning preachers, Saturday morning rabbis and Friday morning imams. No, it's time for us to be in the center of shifting public policy in this country. Marcus Batchelor is the national political director for the People for the American Way. He's there in Nashville. Marcus, I don't know if you heard Reverend Barber just say it, but for 800,000 folks not voting, I mean, look, Bob, I keep telling people the way to beat back

these folks is to organize and mobilize on the ground. They can be beaten. It's just not a lot if these are red states. That's right. No, that's absolutely right, Roland. And that's exactly why not just community organizers across Tennessee, but allies on the national level, including in my organization, People for the American Way, are on the ground. One, to show support to the Tennessee Three, make sure that they're returned to their seats, but also to begin the long-term work that's going to change the political culture in Tennessee and restore democracy for people who need it. We have 2,000 members across the state, but every Tennessean deserves a democracy where their vote counts, where their representatives can speak up for their interests, and where their votes won't be overturned by arbitrary rules.

And so we know that there's a lot of work to do. We've got to register people to vote. We've got to mobilize them. But I think the speaker here has awoken a sleeping giant. And I think that national allies will stick with the people of Tennessee to make sure that we roll back. But like we said, these really new reconstruction rules that are happening, not just in Tennessee, but across the South. Well, Barbara, you talk about those. Go ahead. Go ahead. And one of the things we've got to make sure is I want to say yes,

the speaker has. But don't forget, Justin and Justin and Gloria were at this long before this moment, long before there were six people here. They were out here organizing. Now, they were many times berated by traditional leadership. They ran when traditional leadership told them not to run. Gloria got elected in East Tennessee. We have to talk to that woman and understand how do you get elected in East Tennessee, and then you're the one that puts forward a resolution about Dr. King and demands that it includes things like challenging poverty and militarism. Also, when we talk about targeting about voting, yes, it's registering voting, but it's got to be even more strategic than that.

Many of these folks are not in safe, red districts. You know, 75 percent, Roland, of the Republicans didn't even have an opponent. They didn't even have an opponent. Nobody even ran because they bought the lie that because of redistricting, there's no way you can win. Well, you can't win if you just run on a traditional democratic platform, and that's all you talk about. But if you go in and organize poor and low wealth folk, if you show how this legislature is blocking their health care, taking their water rights, cutting their education, causing people to get sick and die, and on top of that, refusing to deal with guns.

Moments come like this that open up how deadly these regressive legislatures are. And if we move in the moment, I would say the giant that has been awakened will get stronger. But we can also put it back to sleep. And I love what Pearson and Justin and Gloria are doing. They are not allowing people to make them the center. You know, Jesus, one time, Roland, they wanted to make him a king. And Jesus said, you're not going to make me a king. Every time you hear those brothers and that sister talk, they're talking about the issues.

They say, listen, you didn't just expel us. You expelled 70,000 people, our constituents. You didn't just put us out. You tried to put out the voices of dead children. This is about all of us. They are using it. And we need for a moment, because a lot of folk want to just hop in and use the same old lines they've been using everywhere. This is Southern politics. This is Reconstruction that's been going on for a while. You know more than what happened in North Carolina. And it took us four years to win in some major ways what's going on around other countries. And we need to learn in this moment and understand.

I'm so tired. You're about the only one doing it, Roland. I was so tired the other day of hearing the national media. Tennessee is a red state. Tennessee is a red state. Tennessee is where Harold Ford came from also. Tennessee is where Al Gore came from. Tennessee is the state Jesse Jackson, when he ran with the Rainbow, was scared the entire Democratic Party when he ran on a platform of pulling people together. Though that same possibility is still there,

but we must see it differently, do it differently, and we must learn from these young people and learn together, bring old and young, all of us together across racial lines, but never undermining the race critique because the race critique and the class critique must be held together. Marcus, to that point, the reality is, look,

there are going to be some people who are scared, traditional people. And look, I'm just going to go ahead and say it. I ain't got no problem saying it. I don't know where in the hell a Tennessee NAACP is. We've been trying to get them on my show for the past week. They can't even – Carol, are they returning phone calls or emails? They're not returning phone calls or emails. And so guess what?

Okay, waiting on traditional folk and some of those black politicians in the legislature who want to play the go-along-the-get-along game, they not be there. We got to organize around them. We can't wait on them, Marcus, to decide to wake the hell up. No, that's absolutely right. And Reverend Barber is absolutely correct that it's not just about electing traditional candidates in traditional places. It's about being brave and electing

and promoting bold leaders, right? The reason that the Justins and Gloria are getting the type of pushback they've gotten is because they've stood up boldly for the issues that people broadly care about. And the fact that it looks like both of them will be swiftly returned to their seats means the voters of Nashville and Memphis believe that too. And Reverend Barber is also right in the sense that we need a Southern strategy

and organizations like mine are investing in it. We know that the seeds are planted here, that there is a progressive bench of candidates of color, working class, LGBTQ+, who are ready to lead, and we just need to invest in them. We saw what was possible in Georgia when a coalition on the ground came together with national investment.

We need to do that now in Tennessee and Louisiana and Alabama because the seeds are planted. We just got to water it. Reverend Barber, Reverend Gard, because the seeds are planted. We just got to water it. Reverend Barber. Reverend Garland, go ahead. We've been doing it, you know, for years with Mall Monday and with the Parents of Breach Poor People's Campaign. And it's got to be from the state up.

It's not just about electing federal level. You know, when we did Mall Monday in 2013, and I want you to know Justin and Justin, both, and Gloria, have been following that movement, learning. They've been in our study groups and different things. But we went for four years, and we won a governorship, the state Supreme Court. We broke the majority of the Republicans in the state, the attorney general. This can be done.

The problem, part of what has to, and it is being done, but we've got to stay with it. And as you said, I can tell you when we did Moral Monday, a whole lot of traditional folk never came up. We had people that couldn't handle black and white and brown. Look at these pictures you're showing on your camera. Notice

you just saw Justin up there. He's not at the podium by himself. That's by design. He learned that in Moral Monday movement. You don't go to the podium by yourself. That's by design. He learned that in the Moral Monday movement. You don't go to the podium by yourself. You make folk have to deal with the diversity. How did this woman, as I say, win in East Tennessee, standing for what she's standing for? These things can happen, but it's going to require us having the modern-day kind of Southern strategy, knowing the numbers. And I want to say it one more time, Roland.

Thirty-five percent of the electorate in Tennessee is poor and low wealth. Six babies were killed, and it caused this uprising. One of the things we're going to have to do is show how these policies are murdering people. Death as a way of inspiring people. I hate to say it, and it shouldn't be that way. But just like we're exposing on the gun, we need to be talking about how many people are dying because the same legislature is denying health care. How many people are dying because they're denying living wage.

And the more we show people the egregiousness and what I call policy social murder that's going on, that will give us the conscious room to build the moral movement in the South and to really shift this nation. I am extraordinarily hopeful, not just because of what's happening this week, but because I know the roots that Pearson

and Justin and Justin and Gloria come from, what my dear brothers do and people of the way, and those of us that are in organization, y'all, let's put down the damn egos and come together and build this massive movement. Indeed. Marcus, final comment. Yeah, no, I totally agree.

Now's the time to come together. Now's the time to take advantage of moments like this, take advantage of people's outrage, of people's paying attention, to organize, right, to build sustained efforts for change in states across the South. The electorate is there. The issues are there. The people agree. We just need to get out there and organize, come together. We're really excited to be here on the ground organizing with folks on the ground, building their capacity to do that work. And so

the message has to be that folks should stay involved. National organizations should get involved, and folks have to get up off the couch in communities all across the South and organize because it's possible. We just have to do it. And by keeping representatives like this in the House to stand up and speak truth to power, we're encouraging more to come behind them. All right, Roland. That's why we're coming on the 17th. We had this conversation. I said we were going to come after they got reinstated to let people know the reinstatement is just the beginning. Indeed. Reverend William Barber, Marcus Batchelor, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. Folks, we come back. We'll talk with one of the Nashville City Council members about what took place there today in Nashville.

We'll discuss this further. In addition, we'll talk about what's today in Nashville. We'll discuss this further. In addition, we'll talk about what's happening in Texas where the governor of Texas wants to pardon a man who was just convicted of killing a Black Lives Matter protester. I thought this was the party of law and order. Oh, I'm sorry. It's a white man with a gun. I get it. He gets to go free.

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what we're able to do while we're battling the ad agency folks uh so senior checks and money orders I always had to be so good, no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersilling.org.

Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne.

We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouch.

What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated,

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. MarkDunnerFilter.com. Everybody who gives during the show is going to get a personal shout-out. So go ahead and put your donation in right now, folks. Thanks a bunch.

Back in a moment. I lost my daughter. I didn't know where she was. So I had to figure out how to survive, how to eat, how to live. I don't want to go into the details because she's here first of all. She may not want me telling that story. But possession of her, the family broke down, fell apart. I was homeless. I had to figure out I didn't have a manager or an agent or anybody anymore and I'm the talent.

So I gotta figure out how to be the agent. I had to figure out how does business work. Coming up on the next Black Table, a conversation with Professor Howard W. French on his new book, Born in Blackness, covering 600 years of global African history and helping us understand how the world we know today is a gift from Black people. There could have been no West without Africa and Africa.

That's on the next Black Table with me, Greg Carr, only on the Black Star Network. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only Cole from Black-ish. Hey, I'm Arnaz J. Black TV does matter, dang it. Hey, what's up, y'all?

It's your boy Jacob Lattimore, and you're now watching Roland Martin right now. Stay woke. Thank you. Să ne urmăm în următoarea mea rețetă. All right, folks, welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered. This whole point about organizing and mobilizing is critically important. Makongo is there, Julianne is there, and then Tamika Booker is there as well. And Tamika, this is the thing thing that keep trying to explain to people. I, I was debating people, some people upset with my commentary last week, you know, some of the federal judges, I was talking about, um, why we must vote. Some folks are like, yeah, we vote. No,

actually we don't. When you actually look at the numbers, when you look at the number of people who don't go to the polls, the largest group of people who don't vote, who are the folks who simply don't vote, who sit elections out largest group of people who don't vote are the folks who simply don't vote, who sit elections out. But they complain about what's going on. And I keep saying, how do you beat these folks? You have to out-organize them, out-mobilize them, which means you do have to go to people and make your case and not just say, vote blue. No, you actually have to articulate a vision that will get someone's attention. But these red states,

Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, they can be beaten. In Texas, in the last election, 75% of young voters in Texas did not vote. That's the margin of victory. Yes, and it's unfortunate. Voting is important.

You have to vote every single election cycle. We can't only choose to vote in presidentials. What we're seeing right now, what we're living are the ramifications of not voting. We were looking yesterday at this whole situation with the medication being overruled by a judge as something that they couldn't take. How does a judge decide that? A federal judge. A federal judge gets appointed by a Senate, a Senate that is voted by us, right? So, again, it all goes back to the fact that we have to vote in every single election, and it doesn't matter whether it's an exciting presidential.

We have to organize and understand that even though you may not see the effects of your vote today, you have to vote now because sometimes those ramifications don't come down until later. So to prevent these things that are happening to us, we have to vote every single time. Municipal, our mayor races, which are municipal, our state, house, and senate races, which we're dealing with right now in Tennessee, and then we have to vote for our senators,

our governors, our auditors, and our presidents. We have to vote for everybody up and down the ticket, and we have to organize and motivate each other to come out and vote. But this is the thing here, again, on the Congo. Go to my iPad. And this is again, 75 percent of Texas voters under the age of 30 did not vote. That's how you actually win,

which means there has to be a strategy that talks to them not a month before the election, but again, a year out. If you are Biden-Harris, you are doing that today. You're not waiting for next June, July, next September. You are listening to people right now, having the conversations, talking about policy, connecting the dots, because to all the people who go, yeah, man, voting don't solve nothing, guess what? The other people, they're voting. They're showing up.

And that's why they're getting what they want, because they're not sitting elections out. I remember when I had a run for city council in D.C., and I was on the corner campaigning, and I talking to one woman trying to convince her to vote. And one of the things she just said, she didn't even stop as she made her comment. She said, I don't do that political stuff. And in my head, I'm like, this political stuff is your life. There's nothing that you're involved in on a daily basis that doesn't involve somebody making a political decision. And so when it comes to these young people in Texas with 75 percent, I place that blame on

the Democrats. We are obviously talking about how organized the Republicans are. We talk about how they don't fall in love with their candidates. They fall in line and how they have this political machine going. We know all of that. If the Democrats have not come up with a solution to counter that by now, I'm nervous about 2024. Wisconsin does make me hopeful because many young people came out as it relates to the election of that Supreme Court judge. So many young people, they are starting to get the picture. But we need more. I was talking to my students at American University today and I said, by the end of this semester, I want you to come up with a list of how many rights you have lost in this country since you became an adult.

And if they don't directly affect you, they affect somebody else in this country. How many have you lost? Because sometimes we feel like they're not paying attention. They get caught up in these rules, Roe v. Wade and so on and so forth, and they throw their hands up because they're not as used to the whole political process. So like you said, Roland, it starts now. It starts yesterday, getting these young people involved. Jamie Harrison, DNC, local organizations, what are we doing to reach these young people? So many of them see the stories about, oh, they're trying to prevent us from voting, voter IDs, hunting licenses versus college campuses,

whatever. We know what the Republicans are going to do. But at this point, we have to start working on our grassroots, because at this point, it's no longer what about what they're going to do. It's about what we're doing. And I just got to say this, Roland. So many people who are talking about the two Justins were so much caught up on talking about how articulate they are, how inspiring they are. And my thing is, like, for our community, we expect to see our young people like that. Have you met the interns at the Roland Martin show from Howard University? Don't get so caught up in their personalities that you forget the issues that they're fighting for that Reverend Barber brought up in the last segment. And that's also something we have to connect to those young voters in Texas, because there are real legislators there fighting real

issues that affect their real lives, not just now, but in the future as well. Here's the thing here, Julian, and this is where I will disagree. We can't wait on a party. Now, here's why. Once you start waiting on a party, first of all, you get caught up in the white consultants who want to put all the money into television. I keep saying to people,

don't give money to any of these candidates or the party. Send that money to repairs of the breach. Black voters matter until freedom. Georgia, stand up. Send it to groups who are going to be about the ground game. That's how you hit the numbers. If you go back to my iPad here, this is what this, according to the Texas Tribune, only 50% of Texas's 36 public universities had an on-campus

early voting location. Only 20% of Texas's nine historically black colleges and universities, and only two had voting sites before election day. Guess what? If we already know that, that's what you focus on right now for 2024. Roland, you know, you're absolutely right. A mayor lost the election in Greensboro, a black woman. North Carolina A&T State University, only 10% of the students came out to vote. Of course, I must note that Bennett Bells are voting bells, and probably 90 percent of the Bennett students came out and vote. But basically, you can organize to get a polling place, or folks like, as you say, Black Lives Matter, Until Freedom, can organize to get the folks to the polls.

Congresswoman Alma Adams, who was a Bennett faculty member, made sure that people got to the polls, rides, any other kind of way. I agree with you fully about the Democratic Party. I mean, I think that it is, it's been captured. God bless Jamie Harrison, but they have a list of consultants. We're not on there. It is white consultants who have their own way. If not for white consultants, we might have had a black man, Mandela Barnes, in the Senate, and the sister from North Carolina, Sherry Beasley, had she used her own consultants. There are key places in North Carolina where she did not go. She did not go to the hood because the white folks told her not to go to the hood. Where were the votes for her? In the hood. And so we cannot, you know, we can't rely on other people to do our organizing

nor to put out our strategies. We know our people. Some of us, you, you're back with Reverend Jackson. I ran for office in 1984. I guess that makes me old, which is true. Omicongo has run for office. We know what our people are. We know what the strategy is. So we allow other people to tell us where we're going to get the vote. Now, I don't say think it's either or. I think it's both and. Let the white consultants do what they do, but let the black consultants, the black people, the grassroots organizations, the Melanie Campbells, the Tamika Mallories, let those folks do what they do. And do not think that giving money to the Democratic Party, they are going to ask you to chip until you chip yourself out. I mean, every day I get at least a dozen emails.

Can you chip in $3? Can you chip in $5? Well, MasterCard or whoever is going to take all of that. So you're just trying to build your list. No, I'm not chipping in split. But what I will do is work with the folks who are doing the ground game. Right. Because the ground is what makes the difference.

Absolutely. All right, folks. We've got to go to a break. We come back more on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Shout out to Kerry Morant, Sammy Sawyers, Darnell Williams. Also, Karen, Keith, Yap, Bina, Mel Horta. Let's see here. Let's see who else we have. Barbara Jones. Let's see here. K. Bernard Chase, Zell Mahal, Kenneth Ramsey, Eric Davenport, Terrell Brown, Michelle Wilson, Willie, let's see, who else? Lynn Williams, and Fayetta Sawyers.

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Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. On the next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, re-entry anxiety. A lot of us are having trouble transitioning in this post-pandemic society and don't even realize it. We are literally stuck between two worlds in purgatory. How to get out of purgatory and regain your footing and balance. What emotions they're feeling and being able to label them because as soon as you label an emotion,

it's easier to self-regulate. It's easier to manage that emotion. The next A Balanced Life on Blackstar Network. Hey, what's up, everybody? It's Godfrey, the funniest dude on the planet. Hi, I'm Israel Houghton. Apparently, the other message I did was not fun enough. So this is fun.

You are watching... Roland Martin, my man, unfiltered. Să ne vedem la următoarea mea rețetă! Să ne urmăm în următoarea mea rețetă! The Să ne urmăm. All right, folks, there convicted of murder. His name is Daniel Perry. He was found guilty of killing a Black Lives Matter protester. This is the story here from the Texas Tribune. After 17 hours of deliberations and an eight-day trial, jurors Friday found Perry guilty of murder for killing Garrett Foster, who was armed with an AK-47 as part of a group protesting police brutality. Perry, an Uber driver, had encountered the protest a few blocks from the Capitol in downtown Austin. Now, all of these conservatives were saying Perry should parole him. OK, here's the problem. OK, we found out again.

So this is what Greg Abbott said. I look forward to approving the board's pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk. Okay. This is from a tweet that he actually posted. He said, Texas has one of the strongest stand your ground laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive district attorney. Unlike the president of some other states, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay. Here's the problem here, Omicongo. A jury can reject a stand-your-ground defense.

I always had to be so good no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org.

Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote

drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things.

Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company

dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. A jury can say, sorry, doesn't apply. And these Republicans, again, for all the folk who don't vote, they want to let this white man go who actually said said before I might kill some people on my way to work. Yep.

And this, I mean, this falls in line with what we've been talking about all night as it relates to the Republican power grab. You're looking at overturning a jury. As you said, he talked about killing people on their way, on his way to work. And this is also something that we're seeing take place across the country.

We know in Florida, for example, they have laws in place where you can run over protesters who get in your way. I think these Republicans are so, I'm not even going to say scared about what's coming in terms of a potential blue wave or the like. They just want power. And they want to flaunt their power as much as possible, and they are convinced in showing us, whether we're talking about abortion, whether we're talking about situations like this, that they don't care about science. They don't care about the rule of law. They don't care about the will of the people. They are going to respond to their constituents. They're going to focus on the NRA.

They're going to focus on their donors at every single step. In your last segment, you talk about the need to fund and support local organizations. What more impetus do we need right now to get this governor out of office? Because not only is this problematic as it relates to this case, and I saw the interview with the fiance, and she's just talking about trying to live a personal life, and she has to live this publicly in front of everybody. Not only is this going to be a problem as it relates to overturning this verdict, but this is also going to create a permission structure to make other people feel like

they can go out and commit an act like this and they got a governor who's going to pardon them. Unlike somebody like Trump who told insurrectionists he'll pardon them and the like who can't, doesn't have the power to do that.

Abbott has the power to do something like that. And there are going to be more protests. People are going to be emboldened to attack these protests and commit other crimes because they're going to feel like they'll get a pass even if they won't. That puts more of a target on our backs as well.

Here's what he said. Here's what he said to... This is literally what he said when he was being interviewed. Go to my iPad. Footage of Daniel Perry's police interview after he killed Garrett Foster was played in the courtroom during his murder trial. Former Austin police homicide detective David Fugate was the one to conduct the interview with Perry.

In it, Detective Fugate had Perry demonstrate how Foster carried his rifle. How far did that barrel come up? We know the power of our right now. Okay, was it aimed at you? I believe it was aimed at me. I believe it was going to aim it at me. I didn't want to give him a chance to aim it at me, you know? All right, right there.

I didn't want to give him an opportunity to aim at me. Julianne, Texas is a right to carry state. You can literally carry guns around. Yeah. And Greg Abbott fully supports that. Oh, but he's a Black Lives Matter protester. Damn his life. I want to let this guy go.

I was not going to give him a chance to aim his gun at him. There's no evidence that this brother was planning to aim his gun at anybody. This guy is a criminal. He's a murderer. And that's what needs to happen. But Greg Abbott has done so many things as governor that are indecent, immoral. And this would be among them, to say he will nullify—this is jury nullification at its worst. I will pardon the man. He puts the pardon out there before the man has even been sentenced. This is absurd, but this is what we've come to expect from DeSatan, Abbott, and several other Republican governors who basically are in denial. Your book, White Fear, what Reverend Barber is talking about, what so many others are talking about. These people, it's not that they're

frightened, it's that they're reasserting. They're reasserting their rights. We had President Obama, now we have President Biden with Vice President Harris, and they scurred. They're not scared of anything except for the fact that they no longer have white supremacy. Hold tight one second. Go to break. We come back and we're going to talk more about this. And again, it was Tucker Carlson who implored him on Friday to pardon him. Next day, Abbott

says, I'm pardoning him. I guess we now know who's calling shots in Texas. It's Tucker Carlson. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. Hi, I'm Dr. Jackie Hood-Martin, and I have a question for you. Ever feel as if your life is teetering and the weight and pressure of the world is consistently on your shoulders? Well, let me tell you, living a balanced life isn't easy. Join me each Tuesday on Black Star Network

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The impact we need right now. Pull up a chair, take your seat. The Black Tape with me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on The Black Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation, only on The Black Star Network. Carl Payne pretended to be Roland Martin. Holla! You are watching Roland Martin, and I'm on his show today.

And it's what, huh? You should have some cue cards. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your boy, Jacob Lattimore. And you're now watching Roland Martin right now. Eee. Again, folks, so Tucker Carlson goes on Fox News, and he says that the governor should pardon this guy, Daniel Perry, who shot and killed a Black Lives Matter protester.

Now, the guy admits to cops that the person he shot and killed, Garrett Foster, never pointed a weapon at him. Nope, didn't point a weapon at him at all. That's Garrett Foster right there. He didn't say that. He said, I didn't want to give him a chance to aim it at me. So why in the hell are you shooting? That's dumb. Here's white nationalist Tucker Carlson. Tonight, we extended an invitation to the sitting governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, to come on this show on Monday. And we wanted to ask if he was considering a pardon for Daniel Perry. But for some reason, Governor Greg Abbott's office told us he just can't make it and that we should talk to the attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, instead.

So that is Greg Abbott's position. There is no right of self-defense in Texas. Okay, first of all, First of all, y'all, I'm a native of Texas. Tucker Carlson is a flat-out lying punk ass. There is a right to self-defense in Texas. But what you can't do is just kill folk just because.

And the reality is this guy, Tammy, is on record as saying, I might kill some people on my way to work. That's what he said. I had these moments where I'm trying trying to be in reality, like why would a governor

pardon a vigilante? And then it goes back to everything we just talked about. It is white supremacy. It's extremism. There are, you have moments like these where you see a governor who has done some egregious things and they are sending a very clear message. You can stand up and protest and fight for what's right, but we are what you believe is right and what we believe is right. But we're still in power. We're still controlling what's going on. And we're seeing this across the country with many different issues, right? And this here is a clear one. It's obvious. This man was convicted. And you're still, you're going to still pardon him when he's out

here saying he will kill people. What is going on here? And we really have to ask ourselves that. We have to look at the bigger picture. This goes back to the first question you asked me about voting. This is why we don't need any other reason to vote than this. This man should not be the governor. He should not go any further than this. We are seeing this, especially, as you mentioned, in the states like Florida, Texas. We're seeing it in Tennessee, where we have to organize ourselves. We have to get out and vote ourselves because these people are continuing to be in power and get away with these egregious acts. This is ridiculous. And he is not fit to be, he was not fit to be an officer. He's not fit to be on the streets. Can't believe he's actually going to be able to, this is actually going to happen. This is dangerous for us as black people. This is

dangerous for Americans. And we have to see that these extremists are getting into too many places of power. We're seeing it in Congress, and we've got to be able to stand up and vote against it. This here is Whitney Mitchell. She was Garrett Foster's fiancee. She was with him when he was shot and killed. This is an interview she did with KXAN out of Austin. I was disgusted, and I was, it was shocking to see, to see that after everything that me and Garrett's family have been through to get to this point. I was still relieved to see justice for Garrett

and then just for all of that to just be completely taken away is like extremely horrifying and I I don't understand it. You go on social media and you look at all of these conservatives

they're out here, they're on here on the Congo and they're, oh, my God, this governor must do this. This guy was defending himself. I mean, these people are nutcases. That's what they are, pure and simple. They're absolute nutcases. And they despise Black Lives Matter protesters. And they believe they have the right to shoot and kill anybody when they feel like it and the only word i would add is i always

had to be so good no one could ignore me carve my path with data and drive but some people only see who i am on paper the paper, the limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org, brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast.

We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice

to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote.

Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. emboldened nut cases you know and it doesn't matter who it is that they're protesting they can kill black activists they can kill white activists it doesn't matter if you are against

their issues they will mark you for death or some type of hostility in some way shape or form and one of the things i've been thinking about during the break and all of this is once he gets pardoned does he also get his gun back right does he Does he lose his right to own rifles or anything else that he has? I doubt it in a state like Texas with the laws that they have. And so he can be right there out on the streets again doing the exact same thing. And there's basically an infrastructure in place to support him. So he can go to another anti-abortion rally or he can go to another Black Lives Matter rally or rally if there's another shooting. What could prevent him from doing the exact same thing? You want to talk about there was no

premeditation? He talked about it, premeditation. The person wasn't actually aiming at him. He shot beforehand in a stand your ground state. Literally, Roland, there is nothing to stop him from doing the same exact thing again. And so when we look at the structure that's been created, this is what I mean, that we have to understand that if people will see that, there's the ability for more copycats. There's the ability for people to get out there and want to do the same thing. And so as Tammy was saying, if this is not an incentive for us to get out and vote and work to change the structure, those 75 percent of young people and students who didn't show up in Texas, there's no way that this cannot be you or your friends in some way, shape, or form. This is what being emboldened looks like, and it is happening across the country. This man should

not have the conviction overturned, should not have the ability to fire a weapon again. He should not be embraced, like you said, by these nutcases, but he is not the only one and he won't be the last one unless we do something about it. Julian, this is the Texas Tribune again. According to Austin police, Pear was driving for Uber when he stopped his car and honked at protesters as they walked through the street. Seconds later, he drove his car into the crowd. Police said Foster, who was a 28-year-old white man and an Air Force veteran, had been seen openly carrying an AK-47 rifle at the time, which was legal. There are conflicting accounts as to

whether Foster raised the rifle to the driver before Perry, who was also legally armed, shot and killed Foster and fled the area, police said. He called the police and reported what happened, claiming he shot in self-defense after Foster aimed his weapon at him. Perry is also a white man. Perry's defense argued that the shooting was justified under the state's stand-your-ground law, which allows deadly force to be used by those who feel they are in danger. But again, here's the thing that's crazy here, okay? He tells the cops he never aimed it at him.

He lied. And he made a series of social media posts again perry's earlier social media posts about retaliating against protesters raised questions about the shooter's state of mind and his self-defense claim okay let me click let me click that all right okay this the guy actually uh said uh uh that uh here we go, let's see. When Donald Trump tweeted that protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters, or loathlifes protesting in Oklahoma would face a much different scene than protesters in New York

or Minneapolis, Perry responded from a now deleted account saying sending the text will show them why we don't say, why we say don't mess with Texas. Yep. He also, let's see here. Uh, he also made other comments. Um, he said, uh, other comments, uh, in tweets as well. Uh, and again, what was a trip is all of these conservatives are sitting here standing with

this guy because he's an army veteran. the guy he kills is an Air Force veteran? Hello. You know, this guy, first of all, he's a GD liar. He's a big-time liar. And he went out with a gun to kill people, to kill Black Lives Matter protesters. He didn't care whether they were black or white or veterans like himself. He just wanted to kill somebody. That was his choice, was to kill people. And that's why he did it.

When he said, you don't mess with Texas, I mean, he set this thing up for himself. And, you know, what enrages me, Roland, when we look at this, not only Greg, Governor Abbott, whatever, Tucker Carlson, why does Fox keep his behind on the air? Well, I know he's got a fan club, he's got people, but he literally is inciting violence with some of his statements. And he basically shows his basic disregard for human life when he says that the governor should pardon this murderer, should pardon this murderer because he was, quote, standing his ground. Now, you know, we can't stand our ground.

But he was standing his ground. I'm just disgusted. I'm disturbed. And I think we all are. But beyond being disgusted and disturbed, what we have to be is basically vigilant. We have to make sure that we are dealing with some of these issues, as Owekongo has said, and to me as well. We have to be organized. We have to be voting.

Anybody in Texas who is not voting, by the use of 75,000 young people did not vote, that's scary to me. Because what you're saying is you don't care if some fool shoots you when you're protesting. We've told you to protest, but we've also told you to vote. So taking it to the streets doesn't work if you don't take it to the voting booth. And that's the double power of what we, our people, have to do. Too many of our young people are not doing that, and I don't know why, but I do know many young people have been turned off by the political system. Well, turn back on, y'all.

I mean, how do you think our forefathers and forefathers felt when they had to stand in line, count the jelly beans, do all that? They still kept trying to vote. How dare you stay home, especially in the face of what's happening, not to all of us, but to you too. You too. You're the one walking down the street. Us old folks ain't going to be walking down the street. You walk down the street and if somebody shoots you, you're going to say, oh, no, we have to fight. We have to fight. I have said numerous times on this show trying to explain to you about the white nationalist views on Fox News.

I've made it perfectly clear as well what we're seeing out of Texas. Texas Governor Greg Abbott is an absolute embarrassment and a disgrace. So is Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. These people, I told you they don't care about life. They're not pro-life. They will sit here and defend this man because he shot and killed a Black Lives Matter protester. Oh, well, the guy was carrying an AK-47. You're the same idiots who support gun legislation.

You're the same ones. You're the same ones who support folks being able to carry guns wherever they want to go at any time like it's no big deal. That's what, you're the same people. But now all of a sudden, you want to holler, oh, that's a stand your ground law. And then you want to talk about being law and order, but you are interfering with a district attorney. You're interfering with a jury that made the decision. And now you want to say, oh, I'm going to recommend issuing a pardon? And this is why I keep talking about why voting matters. When 75% of young voters under the age of 30 stay at home, guess what?

You empower the Greg Abbots. You empower the Dan Patrick. You empower these idiots in the legislature who have a super majority on the Republican side who keep doing whatever the hell they want to do and they don't actually care about actual Texans. shoot and kill, and you're defending somebody who shot and killed a Black Lives Matter protester. Fine. Show me a progressive who carries a gun, who shoots and kills somebody marching for the Second Amendment. I guarantee you Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton will not be standing with them, will not be supporting them. These people are sick and demented. And the only way you beat them is you have to mobilize and organize to throw them out of office. They do not care.

But again, some of y'all who want to keep saying, oh, no, man, voting don't solve nothing. All you're doing are empowering the people who vote for the great abbots of the world. You're empowering the people who support the Ted Cruz's of the world. You're empowering the people who support Fox News and Tucker Carlson. So if you're perfectly fine with the country going the way it's going with these people in charge, well, then shut up. Complain about nothing because you literally are part of the problem. Absolutely. I'll be right back on Rollerback Unfiltered. All right.

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Hey, yo, peace world. What's going on? It's the love king of R&B, Raheem Devon. Hey, I'm Qubit. The mega, the Qubit shuffle, and the wham. I always had to be so good, no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper.

The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes, rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at TaylorPaperCeiling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott.

And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate

choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher.

Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time,

have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission.

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

What's going on? This is Tobias Trevillian. And if you're ready, you are listening to and you are watching Roland Martin, Unfiltered. Tanaka Virtue is a councilwoman in Nashville. She joins us right now. Councilwoman, glad to have you on the show. More than an hour ago, the council voted unanimously to return Justin Jones to the Tennessee legislature. Were y'all under the same pressure as the Shelby County commissioners, where Republicans were saying

they would stop funding initiatives in your city if you all voted this way? So not direct pressure like that, Roland, and thank you for having me. We have a big vote coming up as it relates to the Titan Stadium. But, you know, other than the pressure that they was trying to invoke down for the commissioners in Shelton County, we really didn't have that type of pressure. They're doing other tactics here in Nashville, like tampering with our sports authority. So they have other methods to target Nashville. They don't do the same tactics like how they do down in Shelby County. Well, and the thing here is that, I mean, again, these are the same people who love talking about local control, except when they're not in power. Yeah, Rowley, so what happens is, to your point, we got to become more and more strategic in our efforts.

Voting is very critical, especially for a state like Tennessee. We're a non-ballot initiative state. So that means a lot of our issues we can't bring before the people anyway. So, you know, this is a huge moment. Voter suppression, these type of tactics, we've been enduring it for a very long time. The Justins, they just brought this to the surface so that it's a national movement now and everyone is actually watching. So I want to thank you and this platform for just highlighting what's happening here to black folks here in Tennessee. You were actually one of the first to cover the Justins in the state legislature. So I just thank you for that. Well, appreciate it.

And that's why we do what we do. You do it, man. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. But again, give people an understanding of the hell that y'all are having to endure. I mean, these Republicans are trying to not go over your sports authority, the airport. They split Nashville into multiple congressional districts to take away one of the Democrats elected there as well. I mean, there is an outright war on Democrats by Republicans in Tennessee.

Yeah, Roland, I would argue that it's not just Democrats. Davidson County, Nashville and Shelby County, they're the two largest cities that has's not just Democrats. Davidson County, Nashville, and Shelby County, they're the two largest cities that has the most black people. I would argue that this is an attack on black people. So to add to those other things, the sports authority, the airport authority, they also trying to reduce the size

of the Metropolitan Council here, which we know will actually reduce the reduction of minorities here locally serving on the council here in Nashville. So, you know, one side say this is a fight against the Democrats. I say this is a fight against black people. What they did with the Justins, that was just one example of it. But, you know, when we talk about, you know, the disenfranchisement of the voters here, one out of five black Tennesseans can't vote because they're prohibited by law. That's 450,000 black folks that can't vote in this state. And no one is saying nothing.

And a thing here, again, they claim they love democracy. They love talking about the Constitution. But, again, this is a naked power grab. And I keep saying to people, they are going to use power when they have it. And having the supermajority allows them to do whatever the hell they want to do. Absolutely, Roland. And we're seeing it. It's on full display.

It's on full display. They're expelling, trying to expel two black men here, you know, for the state legislature. They're trying to divide up to reduce this council size by half. Well, we got an injunction today. So thank God for the courts as it relates to that, that we're still holding as it relates to our council size. This body locally is the most diverse than it's ever been in the history of metro government. And those people up on the hill, they actually know this. I'll say this again, Roland. This ain't an attack just on democracy.

This is a war on black people in Davidson County and in Shelby County. Absolutely. And again, if I'm wrong, doesn't Tennessee depend upon a lot of the money that comes from Nashville and Memphis? Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. We're the top economic generators for the state. So they love that money that comes from

Nashville and Memphis, but they can't stand the politics in Nashville and Memphis? They can't stand it. I would say they can't stand the black folks in Nashville and Memphis. But they love the money. Oh, absolutely. Just like, just like those white Republicans in Mississippi. They love that money that comes from Jackson, Mississippi, but they hate the fact that black folks run it. They hate it. They hate it, Roland. They hate it. So you said you got the

injunction. What's next? So what's next is, is that, you know, he's going to have to run for his seat in a special called election. We have upcoming elections this August, which will be for the Metro Council races, the mayor and vice mayor races. So I don't know if they're going to put his—will they call for his special election this upcoming August or will they called for it to be at a later date? With these folks, Roland, you know, you just don't know. We have to be strategic and we have to start preparing as if the election is tomorrow anyway. Oh, and these are the same people who also claim to be fiscal conservatives but have no problem costing the taxpayers the cost of a special election because they're idiots. Exactly.

I couldn't have stated it any better. All right, then. Keep up the good fight! We'll be standing with y'all. Roland, keep covering us. We didn't have a voice here before you highlighted this. I mean this with the most sincerity.

Keep covering this. There's a lot of shit going on here. Oh, I'm sorry. Don't worry about it. It's called Unfiltered. You can cuss. Don't worry about it. You can cuss. Okay. There's a lot of stuff going on here, Roland, that's disenfranchising black folks

here in Tennessee. You know, from the Community Oversight Board, you know, to 17-year-olds. They're changing the courts that they're going to be showing up. So they're overhauling the juvenile justice system. It's a lot of stuff that they're doing that's hurting black folks here in Tennessee, Roland. We're worse than Mississippi. And I'm appalled to say that. I'm ashamed to say that.

We're worse than Mississippi now. Oh, I got you. Well, we're going to stay on top of it. More Mondays come there next Monday. Reverend William Barber will be there with the clergy. We look forward to that as well. And so the fight continues. Thanks a lot.

Thank you so much. All right. The thing here, Julianne, that, one, this is why I keep trying to explain to people why they got to support this show. They got to support black-owned media because MSNBC and CNN, they only started showing up when they got expelled. Yep. We were, again, as Reverend Barber said it, we were again as reverend barber said it we were there we had both justins on this show when they were fighting before justin jones was even in the legislature had a moment with their fight and that's the whole deal that's how the rest of these guys work and so you know look what's

happening in tennessee how they're attacking tennessee state how they're trying to get rid of the board of trustees they're not even want to get rid of the president and leadership because they dared ask for that 500 million they were old this is why we must have our own media and not wait for white mainstream media to all of a sudden go hey let's pay attention because i'm telling you right now cnn msnbc abc cbs nbc all of them CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, all of them, they'll be gone in a week. You're absolutely right. I mean, they show up after you show up.

Let's be clear. That sister gave you props that you basically deserve and deserve them. Dr. Cole likes to say, my cup run is over so much, I got to drink out the saucer. That's you and what we're doing with our media. Because the fact of the matter is that people love to come in and swoop and come out.

What's happening to our community, it's deep-seated. It's long-term. We're going to look up. We are going to look up and see some things. I was in... When I grew up, black population was 15%. Now it's maybe 4%.

Went to college with Palmer Page. Alright, alright, Julianne, hold on one second because your audio is going in and out. We're going to try to fix that problem. I'm a Congo. I mean, again, I just keep trying to explain to people, if you're waiting, if you're begging mainstream media to do stuff, you're going to be begging. We've got to have our own where we are focusing and we are highlighting people before they so-called make it.

Absolutely. I mean, I remember one of the nights that we had Justin Pearson on after he got elected and talking to him about his platform. Shoot, let's give you another recent example. Brandon Johnson in Chicago. And you talked about the fact that his opponent refused to come on black media. You know, you had him on. We talked to him last Monday, next day, won that election as well. So if these guys aren't going to get the message now, they may never get it. And going back to an earlier segment, when we were talking about many of these white consultants who are working with these candidates, they are not directing them towards Roland Martin Show and black-owned media, and they're doing it at their own expense and so really at the end of the day next like you said they're going to be back to ukraine they're going to be back to all of these other things next week but if we keep the

focus going if we keep the energy going we are going to lead the change and there shouldn't be a politician in america right now who wants to seek higher office or maintain higher office that's going to underestimate the role of black media. And like you said, we don't have to ask them for nothing. We have to keep doing what we're doing, supporting each other, the names of people that you read off, you know, who contributed during the show. Because really, at the end of the day, when we uplift our community, the community responds. And these major networks better get with the game sooner than later. We told you on Friday, the federal judge's decision out of Amarillo, Texas, dealing with the abortion pill.

The Biden administration, they've made it clear they're going to appeal that. I always had to be so good no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree.

It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Sir, we are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things.

Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution.

But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th.

Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Another federal judge issued an injunction, but people need to understand that this all-out war, this is exactly what it is. Ionfe Metzger, the Director of State Advocacy for Communications for Planned Parenthood, the Federation of America. Ionfe, look, this is very simple. They're not stopping with the federal level. They're going to the state level. I mean, they made it perfectly clear. They are going to the state level. They made it perfectly clear. They are going to go... Look, Clarence Thomas said in his ruling

in Dobbs, they're going to go after contraception. Hell, they may try to outlaw condoms. I can't hear you. You're on mute. Can you hear me now? I can hear you. There you go. Now we got you. Yonthea, you're on mute. Can you hear me now? I can hear you.

There you go. Now we got you. Go ahead. Yeah, no, I was just agreeing with you. I mean, we know that it was never just about abortion. It was about controlling people's bodies, their ability to reproduce and control their own lives and futures. And this was just the beginning. You know, we saw on Friday one judge in one district in one state say by using junk science that a pill that has been approved by the FDA more than 20 years ago,

used by more than 5 million people across America, is null and void, that approval, which is absurd. Like, we shouldn't even be here. But that is the world that the anti-abortion movement has created. And we have to fight back and figure out how we're going to get out of this, because this is the hellscape that the right has created right now. You know, but how do you get people to understand what is at stake? Again, I said earlier on the show,

voters under 30 in Texas, 75% did not vote in the midterms, even with the extreme laws being pushed by Greg Abbott. And so what is it going to require to get folks to wake up and realize what's going on and not protesting after the fact, but understanding what they're doing now. Yeah, I mean, even before Roe v. Wade was overturned, we saw that there was a huge believability gap. People just did not think this would happen. And we have been screaming from the rooftops, yes, Roe was under attack.

From the instant that Trump was elected, we knew that the writing was on the wall and people didn't believe us. But I think now, as we are going to start to see more and more of these attacks on our basic fundamental freedoms, people will are going to start to see more and more of these attacks on our basic fundamental freedoms, people will be forced to pay attention. I think, also, you know, people are just disenfranchised. They don't feel like they can be a part of the system, that they can make a change.

I want to show them that that's not true, you know. We saw what's happening in Tennessee, where people are showing up and trying to make their voices heard against these attacks on democracy and silencing people. And so we need to just continue moving forward. But at the end of the day, you know, this is not going to be a one election overnight issue that we solve. They have been weaponizing the system for the past 50 years. It's going to take us maybe just as long to get back to where we need to be. But we can't we can't be disheartened by that. Well, I think perfectly honest, I think there were a lot of people who were pro-choice who simply assumed that, frankly, there were people

who got lazy and they were like, oh, and frankly, there were people who got lazy. And they were like, oh, it's decided, not understanding the other side. And here's the deal. I don't know why they were shocked. The other side made it clear what they were trying to do. So it was sort of like playing a game, and they're yelling, we're telling you our play. We're telling you what we're about to do, what we're running.

You might want to stop this. And so hopefully people now realize that they're going after everything. They literally want to go after contraception. They want to go after all of it. Yeah, and they've already started. I mean, we've seen them with like, you know, refund, rescinding Title 10 funding, Medicaid, all those attacks, like basic family planning dollars. Wait a minute, the woman in Iowa, the Iowa attorney general, they're not going to pay for abortion services for people who are raped. Yes. Yeah. Many of the bills that are passing right now do not have exceptions for rape and

incest or even life of the mother. In some instances. They literally do not care. They do not care. Unbelievable. Look, keep us abreast of, again, what y'all are doing. This thing, again, goes beyond the issue of abortion. It's a lot broader than this, and folks had better understand exactly what is at play. This is a massive agenda that they are trying to lock down. You know, I think we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. Tamia, I want to go to you before I go to break. On that whole point, I just, when I talk about, when I wrote my book, White Fear, there are legislators, even on the abortion issue, who are like, we're tired of seeing white babies aborted because we're losing population. That's a part

of this issue. Also, the attack against Black Lives Matter protesters, that's a part of this agenda as well. And people need to get it. They need to understand there is a very clear, broad, massive agenda that is at play. And they are extremely well-funded. These billionaires are pouring millions and millions and billions of dollars into this agenda. And they're going for it all. We had better understand that. Yes. And when she was talking, I was thinking about it when she talked about the contraception and how they were going to go after. And I was thinking back to when I first got into politics in the early 2000s, how this has,

this issue has never gone away and it has been funded more and more because it has fueled the base. Right. And when you feel a right wing base, it has fueled the base, right? And when you fuel a right-wing base, it keeps them in power. So the only thing that they can do is continue to fuel it. And it has been successful. And they were really able to get away with it when we had the, excuse me, the Republicans had the Senate majority for some time, and then we had Trump. And so at that time, when both of those, all three of those houses were led by Republicans, it was a lot easier to move things through. And here we are today dealing with that ramification.

And those consequences now that we're seeing, we can't, it's a little late, right? Like we are really dealing with this now. And it's scary when you think about it. It's scary because this extremism is infiltrating everywhere. It is systemic. And it is impacting our people as well. And when you look at how the abortion pill has been used, and when you think about women who in extreme cases need it, women who need it because it's their choice, women who need it because of economic reasons and health, whatever the case may be. And for this to be, for this extreme view to impact so many lives broadly, it is a very scary situation to be in. And so knowing this and being involved

in organizing a democratic strategy for a long time and people kind of pushing it back and thinking, you know, it's not going to work. They've never, ever kept that drumbeat quiet. That has always been there. And they were going to keep going at it until they saw success with it. And the abortion groups like Planned Parenthood and NARAL have been warning us for years of this. And we have to keep that same level of vigilance on our side to keep pushing back because they're going to keep going as long as they keep winning. So we have to do the same exact thing. It is an unfortunate and scary place to be, but that is what we need to do. Indeed, indeed. All right, y'all. Got to go to break. We come back more on Roland Martin

Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Again, if you want to support us in what we do, please do so. We appreciate those of you who have given. Jacqueline Holloway, Tommy Williams. Let's see here. Brenda Sterling, Jeffrey Oliver, Wendy Blue. Thanks a lot for giving during the show. If you want to do so as well, folks, do so. See your check and money orders. PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C.

20037-0196. Cash app, dollar sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RMartin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. We'll be right back. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach. Have you ever had that million dollar idea and wondered how you could make it a reality? On the next Get Wealthy, you're going to meet Liska Askalise, the inventress. Someone who made her own idea a reality and now is showing others how they can do it too. Positive, focusing in on the thing that you want to do, writing it down and not speaking to naysayers or anybody about your product until you've taken some steps to at least execute. Lease gut, ask a lease.

On the next Get Wealthy, right here, only on Blackstar Network. We feel the hidden impacts of climate change that land harder in Black, Brown, and Native communities. Not many people talk about it because they clearly don't know our lives. But with President Biden's landmark infrastructure and climate plans, our issues are finally seen. Removing lead pipes means we know our water is safe.

Cutting carbon pollution helps our kids breathe easier. 1.5 million new jobs means stable work in communities. The impact we need right now. Hey, I'm Qubit, the maker of the Qubit Shuffle and the Wham dance. What's going on? This is Tobias Trevelyan. And if you ready, you are listening to and you are watching Roland Martin, unfiltered. Thank you. A New Jersey detective who shot and paralyzed an unarmed black man will not face charges.

A Mercer County grand jury concluded that Detective Michael Gettler was justified in firing parked car outside his home when plainclothes officers in unmarked vehicles approached him and bowled him in. Boxed him in, I'm sorry. Henderson said when he reached into his car to grab his phone to call for help, he was shot four times through the window. Henderson is now paralyzed from the chest down. He was charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest, and obstruction of justice. The Mercer County Prosecutor's Office dropped the aggravated assault charges. Juwan is suing the city alleging excessive force negligence

and racial profiling. His attorney Greg Zaff joins us now from Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Greg, I'm trying to understand this here, so I'm real confused here, so help me out. I'm Mark Carr's roll-up. Thanks So help me out. Unmarked cars, roll up. Thanks for having me on.

Can you hear me? I can. Can you hear me? A little bit. Yep, there we go. Okay, so now I'm, here's why I'm confused. Okay. Unmarked cars.

How the hell, I'm supposed to know who's coming up on me and unmarked cars were were lights flashing did he know they were cops eventually he knew where they were cops uh after a period of time when flashlights and guns were pointed at him uh after a period of time when they broke the window in on him. Again, he was in the car getting iced tea at midnight. So you are correct. How is he supposed to know they're police? He was calling his baby mama inside the house to say,

I don't know who these people are, but I'm in trouble. At some point in this incredible journey, he told them, that is the police, to call the police. When they said, we are the police, he said, police don't act this way. He said, please, let me call a lawyer. Police don't act this way. So they fired shots through the back window?

No, sir. He tried to escape. Because he doesn't know who the hell the people are. Right. So he puts the car in reverse. He puts the car forward, runs into the car in front, puts the car in reverse, and he gets shot in the neck.

Nobody around that he could have hit, he couldn't have gotten anywhere. There were poles, there were cars all around him. I mean, the issue, Roland, isn't what happened in that instant. The issue is, why are four police officers with flashlights and guns going to a car that is parked with no apparent criminal activity around and pointing guns in somebody's face? And then when the person doesn't act as quickly as they want them to, why are police officers then breaking the window of the car to get the individual out? They can see in the car. They know he has no weapon. They knew he had no weapon. What are they doing? And then no criminal charges. Nothing for the police officer. Well, this goes to what I always say is that how much leeway folks give cops in this country.

Well, I think it's even more than that, because at this point we have an issue of legitimacy. You are correct. We give police officers the authority over us to make decisions about protecting and serving. And when we do that, we expect them to behave in a certain way. And when they don't, we don't behave. And so it's a lot like a classroom with children. When the substitute teacher comes in, they kind of know that substitute isn't going to be able to withstand or do what the regular teacher does. Here you go. Now you're seeing the video. Knocking on the window. He doesn't have to roll his window down.

He hasn't done anything. They're asking him for ID. Why do they need his ID in a parked car? They don't. And then if you watch this entire video, and I don't know that we're going to do that, the entire encounter takes less than five minutes, Roland. How do you go from you're parked in a bad spot to shooting somebody in less than five minutes when that person doesn't have a weapon and hasn't threatened anyone and has asked for a lawyer and

has asked for police? Well, it is, look, I've covered so many of these stories and there's just way too many to count. It happens over and over and over again. So they're not pursuing charges. So what's next for you and your client? Next for me and my client are to take them to court to go through every one of the attorney general guidelines in New Jersey, which by the way, are laws that police officers are supposed to obey, to show how many of those laws were broken here, starting with the duty to de-escalate a situation. When someone says to a police officer, call the police, that person obviously either

doesn't understand what's going on or thinks that something is out of hand. So why not call the police? Bring in a supervisor. And that's what the law kind of requires. When someone says, I want my lawyer, they're clearly not understanding the situation. So give them a minute to breathe. If you watch this whole video, my client doesn't have a minute to breathe. He's being yelled at with guns pointed at his face. And what in the world would make a police officer break the window of a car in on someone? Not the back window, not the side window, but the driver's side window.

You know, when you're trying to express authority, when you're trying to show that you're legitimate, you take a breath. Well, we know that's unfortunately what cops do not do all across this country. They shoot first and then they make up stories later. When a black man's involved, that's right. Absolutely. Greg Zeph, we appreciate it. Keep us abreast of what happens. Thank you. I appreciate you. Shout out to the NAACP, especially the New Jersey chapter and President Smith, who's helping us along with this. All right. Thanks so much. Good luck. Thank you. All right. Going to break. We'll be back. Roland Martin unfiltered on the Black Star Network talking about Levi's.

They want to increase diversity. So instead of actually hiring black models, they want to use artificial intelligence. Sounds to me it's a bunch of people at Levi's who aren't. I always had to be so good. No one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling, the limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over

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And we're SWB. What's up, y'all? It's Ryan Destiny, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks, let's talk about, um, a group of people who are not intelligent at all. That would be the folks at Levi's. Now, there's a new thing called artificial intelligence, where essentially you're utilizing computers and things of those sorts to create videos and photos.

Well, Levi Strauss and company, they're going to test AI-generated clothing models to increase diversity. Despite Levi's fraught history with racism, they, yeah, they once sold clothing with the anti-Chinese sentiment of made by white labor in the 19th century. The denim brand plans to increase diversity in response to backlash over its lack of body diversity with AI. Levi claims the tech will supplement human models rather than completely replace them after partnering with digital fashion studio LaLand to test the use of AI-generated clothing models. Levi claims the experiment will allow customers to view an article of clothing on multiple models across ages, sizes, and skin tones. Levi claims using AI-generated models to promote diversity is more sustainable, and Levi will not scale back using accurate models or live photo shoots. Tamia, are you buying this?

I don't really know. I mean, they were lacking diversity in models to begin with, so when you say you're going to have them later, like I used to say, I got my squint face here. I don't really know if I trust it. I think if we felt like there was adequate representation of having diverse models before, I could see, you know, an opportunity where they were also hiring Black people to help with the AI, the creation of black women models or black people as models. But I, you know, it just, it just feels like, yeah, we're going to do it, but we're not really going to do it, but we're going to tell you we're going to do it. So I'm not, I'm not really trusting it. I'm always leery of companies who already have issues with diversity and then try

to put a, like a PR stunt with it and then turn around and we find out later that they didn't do anything with it. And this feels to me like a situation where they can just stick some photos up there, but they can just not actually have to interact with anyone black in real life. And that concerns me. Here's a piece from dailyhive.com. They call it corporate digital blackface. That's how they're slamming it, Omicongo. And it's like, like, okay, how hard is it to actually find models?

It's not. In this day of social media and TikTok and Instagram and everything, it's not hard at all. This comes down to a desire and a willingness. And the fact of the matter is that Levi's is not the only one. They're a story right now, but I'm glad that we're talking about this because other companies are going to be looking at ways to use AI in every way, shape, or form to substitute from doing the real work of working with diverse

populations. And one of the things that Tamia said, which is really important, is even within the utilization of the AI, are they going to be bringing in black talent and other groups to actually do this work as well? Because one of the challenges, you know, I talk about in my book, Lives of All Black People, is that there's a fundamental nature of artificial intelligence in itself because many of the people who are creating it are not testing their products on Black people or people with darker skin. So sometimes when we go into the bathroom and the soap dispenser doesn't work, it's not because it's broken. It's because it hasn't been tested on darker skin. And so there's a racial component at every lens of this conversation about artificial intelligence. But taking it directly back to Levi's right now, in this day and age when we are experiencing so much racism that's right out in front, when we have the Black Lives Matter protests, when we are experiencing so much, you know, racism that's right out in front, we have the Black Lives Matter protests and we have organizations committing more to diversity, even though on some levels they make the commitment and don't do anything about it.

Now is the time to be more direct and more open about how you're embracing and giving real opportunities to real people to not just boost that person who's in front of the screen or on the page, but their whole team that goes along with them as well. So they had an initial announcement, Julian, then they had to put out a second one. This is their website. A recent announcement of a partnership with La La Land AI did not properly represent certain aspects of the program. For that, we take responsibility. We do not see this pilot as a means to advance diversity or as a substitute for the real action that must be taken to deliver on our diversity, equity, and inclusion goals,

and it should not have been portrayed as such. Oh, but it was. And maybe that's the case because you ain't got enough diversity, equity, and inclusion. And because you don't have any diverse folks working in your PR or communications department where they could have put this out differently. It got spun the way they wanted to get spun because they basically have not considered diversity and inclusion in their communications. Not to mention just the content of this.

I'm with Tamia about this whole thing of, you know, are they going to continue to hire black models? Not continue to hire. Do they hire them anyway? What this, for me, this is a wake-up call for us to look at Levi and to say, what is their diversity story? Who are their black senior executives?

Who's in their communications? Where do they advertise? I mean, do they have, Roland, I know you've been to everybody. Has Levi ever come to you and said, you know, maybe we could take out a hack or two? I'm just saying, just saying. So, you know, they're causing us to question them in ways we may not have questioned them a year ago. Because now, you know, our hackles are up.

I'm looking at it and saying,ificial intelligence is like there is no intelligence in artificial intelligence that makes folks think we're going to go with. OK, don't about generate computer generated black folks. That's what they talk about. Computer generated black folks. Not that not happening. And so let me see what the. Let's see one second. Market.

Spend. Device. Let's see what the, let's see one second. Market and spend device. So I'm sitting here looking at this statement here. And it says, go to my iPad. They say, this involves making sure our employees and our consumers can see themselves and how we share our products with the market, which is also manifested in a commitment to support multicultural creatives behind and in front of the camera. It's not just the right thing to do. It's a business imperative.

We know that companies and communities are stronger and more successful when they are diverse and inclusive. Well, and to your point, Julian, here's my question, Levi, that I want to know. You spend, according to 2021, $434 million annually on marketing. How much of that money has actually gone to black-owned media? I'm curious to know, what's your business diversity? Meaning, you do your transportation companies. Any black transportation companies? Black PR companies. How about other black vendors?

How much money do you actually spend, Levi's? Look, I own Levi's. My dad loves to wear jeans. My wife loves to wear jeans. Folks buy Levi's. So what do y'all spend on black people? So you're replacing, you want to create diversity with AI. Okay.

But you don't mind black dollars. See, everybody loves black dollars. But they don't love black people. Well. So, Levi, we're going to be calling you. Yep. My team is going to be reaching out to you.

And I want to know, I want to know, I want answers to these questions and I don't want AI answers. That's right. That's right. I want real answers. I don't want AI dollars. This ain't Bitcoin. I want to know real dollars because this is what needs to be answered. And at the end of the day, you've got to do better. And so we're adding Levi Strauss to our list of companies who we're going to be demanding these answers from. And we're going to be calling them tomorrow. And this is the stuff that needs to

happen. And again, if y'all believe, if y'all believe that, hey, wait a minute, somebody just said they're going to try to send a chap got response, which is also AI. Well, guess what? We don't accept AI answers. That's not what we do. It's going to have to be real answers. And so we'll see. And Levi, understand, y'all talk about the durability of your jeans. Like I got a pair of Levi's.

I got actually four pair of Levi's that you would think I just bought them the other day. And I probably had them 20 years. Guess what? I'm just as durable as your jeans. And I will stay on that ass just like your jeans. I'm just letting y'all know what's about to happen.

Okay? What's up? I mean, it's himself. Just letting you know. Tam tamia i'm a congo julian we appreciate you joining the panel today thank you so very much uh folks don't forget to support us in what we do your dollars make it possible we're doing all we can when it comes to demanding accountability from these advertisers support black owned media but your resources do indeed matter uh please support us sending your check and money order the PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash app, dollar sign, RM Unfiltered, PayPal, or Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com,

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And don't forget to order my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds, available at from Black Star Network. And don't forget to order my book, White Fear, how the browning of America is making white folks lose their minds. Available at bookstores nationwide, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, Chapters, Books a Million, Ben Bella Books, IndieBound, Target. You can also download a copy on Audible. Folks, I'll see you all tomorrow. Peace. Peace.

Peace. tomorrow. Peace! Our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roller. I love y'all. All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scary. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig?

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Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This has kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to it. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.