#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Trump Fallout From NABJ Q&A, Sheila Jackson Lee Laid To Rest, Combating Anti-DEI

Episode Date: August 2, 2024

8.1.2024 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Trump Fallout From NABJ Q&A, Sheila Jackson Lee Laid To Rest, Combating Anti-DEI The fallout after Donald Trump's deplorable interview at the NABJ conference in Chicago continues; as Trump doubles down on his comments about Vice President Kamala Harris, we'll break that down for you. DEI has become a buzzword for Conservatives. We'll chat with two women working to dismantle that flawed narrative regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. In Georgia, a legal battle over a senate bill that threatens to disenfranchise thousands of Georgia voters is ensuing. We'll talk to the Deputy Executive Director of The Advancement Project about the case. The service for Texas congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee took place today; we'll show you what happened, including Vice President Kamala Harris's remarks. Arthur "Silky Slim" Reed will join us to discuss his new documentary, "Life or Death: the Silky Slim Story." Lastly, we'll discuss a new initiative to empower black-owned early-stage businesses. #BlackStarNetwork partners:Fanbase 👉🏾 https://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbaseCurl Prep 👉🏾 Visit https://www.curlprep.com/ for natural hair solutions! Us the discount code "ROLAND" at checkout 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.

This is an iHeart Podcast. to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast.

Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This 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 them. It makes it real. It really does. 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. Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early.

Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispreetirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. We'll be right now. Black power. Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that 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? Thank you. It's Thursday, August 1st. I'm Dr. Omekongo Dbinga sitting in for Roland. Here's what's coming up on Roland Martin,

unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. The fallout after Donald Trump's deplorable interview at the NABJ conference in Chicago continues as Trump doubles down on his comments about Vice President Kamala Harris. We'll break that down for you. DEI has become a buzzword for conservatives. We'll chat of two women working to dismantle

that flawed narrative regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. In Georgia, a legal battle over a Senate bill that threatens to disenfranchise thousands of Georgia voters is ensuing. We'll talk to the Deputy Executive Director of the Advancement Project about the case. The service for Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee

took place today. We'll show you what happened, including Vice President Kamala Harris' remarks. Author Silky Slim Reed will join us to discuss his new documentary, Life or Death, The Silky Slim Story. Lastly, we'll discuss a new initiative to empower Black-owned early-stage businesses.

It's time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. Let's go. He's right on time and he's rolling Best believe he's knowing Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling It's Uncle Roro, y'all It's Rolling Martin Rolling with rolling now He's funky, he's yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real

The best you know, he's Rollin' Martel Now Martel The fallout from the National Association of Black Journalists Convention interview with former President Donald Trump continues following his dishonest and disrespectful display. I want to start by addressing the elephant in the room, sir. A lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today. You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals, from Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama, saying that they were not born in the United States, which is not true.

You have told four congresswomen of color who were American citizens to go back to where they came from. You have used words like animal and rabbit to describe black district attorneys. Why should black voters trust you after you have used language like that? Well, first of all, I don't think I've ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, the first question.

You don't even say, hello, how are you? I think it's disgraceful that I came here in good spirit You don't even say hello, how are you? I think it's disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the black population of this country. I've done so much for the black population of this country. Some of your own supporters, including Republicans on Capitol Hill, have labeled Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the first black and Asian American

woman to serve as vice president and be on a major party ticket, as a DEI hire. Is that acceptable language to you? How do you define DEI? Go ahead. How do you define it? Diversity, equity, inclusion. Okay, yeah. Go ahead.

Is that what your definition? That is literally the words. Give me a definition then. Would you give me a definition of that? I just defined it, sir. Do you believe that Vice President Kamala Harris is only on the ticket because Give me a definition then. Would you give me a definition of that? I just defined it, sir. Do you believe that Vice President Kamala Harris is only on the ticket because she is a black woman? I've known her a long time indirectly, not directly very much. And she was always of Indian heritage.

And she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black. And now she wants to be known as black. So I don't know. Is she Indian or is of years ago when she happened to turn black and now she wants to be known as black so i don't know is she indian or is she black she has always identified as a black i respect either one college i respect either one but she obviously doesn't because she was indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went she became a black person just to be clear sir do you believe i think somebody should look into that, too, when you ask, continue in a very hostile, nasty town. Vice President Kamala Harris responded to Trump during a campaign speech at the 60th Biennial Boulay for Sigma Gamma Rol Sorority.

Here's what the vice president said. We all here remember what those four years were like. And today, we were given yet another reminder. This afternoon... Donald Trump spoke at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists. And it was the same old show. The divisiveness and the disrespect.

And let me just say, the American people deserve better. The American people deserve better. The American people deserve better. The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us. They are an essential source of our strength. So I say to Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Incorporated, ours is a fight for the future. And it is a fight for the future.

And it is a fight for freedom. Following the interview, Trump and his team took to social media to pivot the narrative. Trump's campaign senior advisor, Lynn Patton, put out this statement. President Trump has continually said that unlike Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, he's running to be president for all Americans. If you're running to unite the country, you have to back it up with action like President Trump did today at the National Association of Black Journalist Conference in Chicago. Members of the media need to decide whether their goal is to unite the country or further divide it. Based on the unhinged and unprofessional commentary directed toward President Trump today by certain members of the media, many media elites want to see us remain divided. This is unacceptable. Later, Trump doubled down on his comments about Kamala's race, even posting a photo

of her with her family to Truth Social. The NABJ is still receiving backlash from journalists who attended and questioned why Trump was allowed to speak, given his history of disrespecting black female journalists. Attendees also questioned the lack of fact checking. The NABJ held a session on misinformation in which they addressed some of the concerns from the interview. As the fallout from the NABJ convention interview continues, the aftermath serves as a reminder of the importance of giving someone the stage and a platform. And we are going to discuss this with our panel right after this break. You're listening to Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network.

Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. You will not. White people are losing their damn lives. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to 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 every university calls white rage as a backlash. This is the wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. 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 people.

Bye bye, Papa. Hi, my name is Brady Ricks. I'm from Houston, Texas. My name is Sharon Williams. I'm from Dallas, Texas. Right now, I'm rolling with Roland Martin. Unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamned believable. You hear me? We're back, and I'm here with my panel.

I have Recy Colbert, the host of The Recy Colbert Show out of Washington, D.C. And I have Lauren Victoria Burke with Black Press USA out of Arlington, VA. Lauren, I got to start with you. Just because of your vast experience in media and your background and everything, affiliation with NABJ and just, I couldn't wait to get on tonight to talk to you both. So I want to start with you.

What are you hearing and feeling? More importantly, what are you feeling? And then secondly, what are you hearing a day later? A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action.

And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing.

So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your 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 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. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. 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. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corps vet. 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.

Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position pregame to greater things.

Start building your retirement plan at this is pre-tirement.org brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. After what happened at NABJ. People are not happy with what happened. People are angry about what happened. And they suspect that something is up in the background that hasn't been fully revealed. It's unclear to me as to why the leadership at NABJ would think that a group of journalists would not check and find out what the truth is. That's what everybody's trying to do now. And, you know, obviously, there's more to the story.

As I like to say, I mean, Harris Faulkner did not fall out of the sky. Some reporter from Semaphore, you know, who makes that decision, right? Why Semaphore, that's only two years old, has a reporter up on the stage when you have a room of thousands of journalists? Many of them have been in the game for so long. And nobody can tell me that if the three people were April Ryan and Michael Harriot and Roland Martin, that this would have, you know, been approved by the Trump campaign. So, clearly, one of the things is, something clearly got approved by the Trump campaign.

I mean, I don't understand why it's hard to say these things. We know how politics works on a high level. For this to come out on the night of the 29th and nobody know about it, including the mayor of Chicago, is problematic. You know, why did that—why was that the case? And there might be some very logical explanations for that. There was an assassination attempt on the 13th of July on former President Trump. So maybe they wanted to not tell anybody because of some security. I mean, I don't know. But I'm saying to get no answers from the executive director of NABJ or the president of NABJ is problematic. It's hugely problematic. And I have to tell you, honestly, the first thing I

thought of when I saw Harris Faulkner's name in this was to check the registration in North Carolina of the president of NABJ. I mean, because I just felt like that feels Republican to me. Like, why? Why are we putting on stage somebody that you know is from a company that lost a huge defamation suit to the tune of almost a billion dollars for lying for Donald Trump? I will say, I will admit, I have no problem admitting it, I didn't expect much out of Harris Faulkner. She actually asked one of the better questions in general, which was, why did you choose J.D. Vance as your vice president? Her follow-up was even better.

Oh, you're comfortable with him being a heartbeat away? I thought that was actually not a bad question. And, of course, the star of the show, in my view, ABC's Rachel Scott, no surprise. I'm proud to say I know her. I knew she was going to be great, and she was. But that question that she asked was seen by the president and his followers as somehow rude, because it has never been asked, because white journalists generally don't ask those types of questions. She recounted his history of racism, and she asked him that question. And

that question should have been asked years ago. Every day when he gets on that stage at a rally, he calls Mexican folks coming across that border criminals, rapists, murderers. He does that every day and nobody asks him about it because we've normalized racism in the media somehow. So I want to hear from Recy. I know you want to hear from me, but actually I'm going to stop there because I want to hear from Recy. Oh, you wanted to hear from me, but actually, I'm going to stop there because I want to hear from Recy.

Oh, it's all good. We got time. We got time, no doubt. And Recy, like when I saw the vice president speaking at the conference just now, I kind of felt like she needed a Luther or Lutherina, you know, kind of to say what she was really feeling. And we all know that you're going to say what you're really feeling. But one of the things I appreciate in what you've been doing, Recy, is that you have really established yourself online as a real expert on

Vice President Harris' record with the Black community. And everybody has been sharing it. And so with that in mind, and with all of the nonsense you have already been seeing before yesterday, what is your take on what transpired and the whole conversation about trying to shift towards questioning Kamala's blackness? Well, it's not just online, OK? I mean, check out the recent coverage on Sirius XM.

You know what I'm saying? However, I do agree with you. I am absolutely the expert on Kamala Harris. Well, my take is that, I mean, we saw the kind of contempt that we've come to know from Donald Trump. We see exactly why he's absolutely shitting his pants at the idea of having to debate Vice President Kamala Harris. He does not like to be challenged by women. He especially is not accustomed to being challenged by black women, aside from aside from obviously the brilliant journalists like April Ryan, Yamiche Alcindor, who really took it to him while they were reporting from him as part of the White House correspondence. And so we just saw a person who was unhinged and who was a big racist, sexist bully. And it really didn't move the needle forward in terms of our understanding of who Donald Trump is. That's exactly who he's always been. It didn't move the needle forward in terms of our understanding of who Donald Trump is. That's exactly who he's always been. It didn't move the needle forward in terms of getting him to actually answer questions that are relevant to our community specifically. I always think

it's funny how people have no problem asking every Black politician, do you support reparations? What are you going to do for the Black people specifically? Where is our Black X, Y, and Z bill? And they don't ask the same questions of politicians like Trump. So I don't feel like it moved the needle forward in any kind of way. It actually did more damage to the credibility of NABJ. And it just, to me, looked like another opportunity to humiliate and punch down on black women. I think that Rachel Scott handled herself exceptionally well. But at the same time, they left her hanging. She was up there getting knocked her head around, was getting knocked around all freaking all the whole time on stage.

And I just want to see us get to a point where respectability and professionalism isn't just getting knocked around and keeping a stiff upper lip. Because I would have liked that somebody might have been, I don't know, we're not doing that today, bro. You are in our house. You're going to conduct yourself accordingly. And if you can't, you're going to get the hell up out of here. Maybe not in those words, but I don't really like to see a black woman just get drug up and down the stage. I mean, every chance he got, he got a little dig in on Rachel Scott,

whether she was even asking him a question or not. So I know that there's a lot of kudos, and I give her kudos for holding her composure, but sometimes composure ain't really what the situation calls for. Sometimes clapping back, a little punch right back, a little uppercut, a little defensive punch, sometimes that back a little punch right back a little uppercut a little defensive punch sometimes that goes a long way and so he got to walk away feeling like he put these negroes in their place he got to walk away looking like a tough guy to his base and looking like he's a victim of this hostile audience so it was a net positive for him and hopefully it was all that the black folks need to see that he has not changed his stripes whatsoever.

He is just as hostile and disrespectful to black people. I know a lot of people don't consider black women, black people when there's something that's against black women. They don't think that that counts as being against black people. But he's just as disrespectful to black people as he's always been. And so, Lauren, following up on that, we called it true social, but it's lie social. We can't call it something that he tries to always put out something as if he's telling the truth, but it's lie social. One of the things he put on his social media posts

was basically that he crushed it, right? So it was clear who he went to actually speak to. He went to speak to a group of black people. He was really talking to white people. But the question I have for you is, we knew what Trump was gonna do. Is there any way that this could be a net positive for the Harris campaign, maybe even indirectly for NABJ,

the fact that all of these sound clips were brought up, that people can still be talking about a day later, two days later, a week later, a month later? Is there any net positive that can come from this for the Harris campaign and those who are in these media spaces who invited him to be there? Well, you know, the Harris campaign put out, I thought, an excellent statement. I've got to remember the name of their press person. I don't know her and I haven't met her yet, but I'm guessing that she's in Gen Y or Gen Z, because her game is really strong. And she actually recounted all of the problems with

Donald Trump and everything that happened, which was pretty easy to do, of course. I mean, the thing that we have to remember is that, you know, I'm not one of the folks out there that thinks that we shouldn't, quote, platform Donald Trump, even knowing what he is likely to do and say. I'm in the court of bring him in and question him tough. Do what Rachel Scott did, which is why I find it so strange that, you know, you didn't have Rachel Scott and two other people that knew what they were doing. So, you know, Michael Harriot, obviously, Roland, April Ryan. There's so many people that could have been on stage. Maybe.

But I think that you're talking about a more hot interview that probably would have ended with him, you know, running off the stage. I think Rachel Scott really is really good having the mix of toughness and professionalism at the same time, although Recy's points are very well taken with this idea that you just—you're a punching bag. I'm not for that either. But Jonathan Swan, who's now at The New York Times—he was at Axios—Jonathan Swan conducted what was probably the best Donald Trump interview we've seen, period, which was he fact-checked in real time. Now, of course, it was just Jonathan Swan and Donald Trump talking. So you have the ability to follow up. You have the ability to stay on somebody in the conversation. One of the mysteries of this moment for NABJ is, why do you have three people on stage? When you could have had one, could have had two?

You saw that Harris Faulkner at one point was interrupting the answers of another person's questions. And it felt like to me there was a feel there of, I want to save Trump and interrupt, you know, and get in there before, you know, he gets another tough question. Couldn't really tell. But Faulkner, again, I will admit, did have a pretty good question with regard to the what are you going to do for black communities question, which, of course, Donald Trump had zero answer for, started to talk about energy policy, which was very strange. I mean, so this could

have worked. It could be a benefit if it's done correctly. We heard the president of NABJ say on a video, I believe the 28th the 28th or the 20—no, the morning of the 29th, well, we've been talking to these campaigns for a month. Well, dude, if you've been talking to these campaigns for a month and this is what you came up with, that's highly problematic. I mean, this was not done well. So there's a lot to say. I think it could have been done a lot better and been a huge plus for NABJ.

But they look like they got played. To quote Rowland, they look like they got played because they did get played. Because this guy, Donald Trump, he knows what he's doing when it comes to communications. He knows how to change narratives. He knows how to interrupt and filibuster. He knows how to step on what you're saying so the audience can't hear you. He knows what he's doing. He might be crazy, but he's not stupid and he's very good at communication strategy. I like to say crazy like a fox, no doubt. And so, Recy, how do you feel we should be responding going forward? Because we know that once Trump unleashes something, the whole media ecosystem that

follows him is going to repeat it as well. So there are going to be more stories questioning her blackness and her background. How should we be galvanizing to respond in this environment? Well, here's the thing. The number one attack against Vice President Kamala Harris, dating back to her time in 2019 when she ran for president the first time, was about her race. About 60 percent of the attacks against her were race-based, trying to question her Blackness, because what they think they can do is if they can create distance between her and the Black community, the most powerful voting bloc and demographic in terms of being the tastemakers of this country,

in terms of moving this country forward, the conscious of the country, then they feel like they can win. They can knock off those numbers they need to in Philadelphia and in Milwaukee and in Atlanta. So that's really what they want to do is they want to make this not about the issues, but about how Black Vice President Kamala Harris is. I think one thing I would like to see Kamala Harris do, and I think having studied her record for so long, one of the things that she doesn't tend to like to do, she doesn't usually like to humor a lot of the attacks against her. I've seen her lean in on a lot of things, but she hasn't necessarily leaned in explicitly as, I know who I am. I'm a Black woman this cycle. Now, we've had

interviews with her where she's done it and she says, I'm Black and I'm not going to explain that to anybody. And I think part of her kind of, you know, is a little indignant at that being part of the conversation. But I think it would help in the same way that we saw President Barack Obama many times throughout the course of his 2008 campaign talk about his Blackness, talk about even how he had a white mother and all that other kind of stuff, too. But he definitely at least talked about his Blackness. And I think that that's something that would actually serve Vice President Kamala Harris really well.

And that's something she didn't do as strongly her first time out. And I think that was something that really hurt her a little bit that time because she didn't have a real contrast to these narratives that were being pushed. Now she has everybody galvanized around her, but I would still like to see her personally just put it to bed once and for all. She could have just as easily said, I know who I am. Donald Trump doesn't define me. My mom knew who, you know, blah, blah, blah. I can write 15 different ways that she could address it very easily and put it to bed. So I'm hoping, even though some people might argue she shouldn't have to do that, I think that it would be a powerful soundbite. Sometimes you just got to give them a soundbite that we can clip and we can replay over and over

again, like they replay all the bad shit over and over again. Just give us that one soundbite to work with and then put it to bed. But the reality is this. Don't worry about Kamala Harris's blackness. Worry about your own damn blackness. Worry about what your black ass is going to be subjected to if Donald Trump gets back in office. He's already said, and he said on that stage, the one with the water, when he was referring to Sonia Massey, who was shot in her face, that he is not going to back off of granting immunity to police officers, that he would pardon J6 protesters. Meanwhile, when he was in office, he wanted to shoot BLM protesters. This is a person that's going, who could be elected with immunity from the Supreme

Court. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms,

the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your 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 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. 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, 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 Corps vet. 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. We ask parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives.

Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Who would give immunity to police officers, who would strip the Department of Education, who would strip all civil rights, strip our citizenship. So if you are worried about anybody's blackness, be worried about your own blackness and what's in store under Donald Trump versus Kamala Harris. Irrespective of how you want to view her race, look at the policy. Let's just take the race shit off the table and look at the policy. All right. No doubt. Well, you know, we're going to be following it here. We're going to be speaking on this daily. So and we'll come back with more of these comments and some of the other things tonight. We'll be right back to the Roland Martin Unfiltered Show live on the Black Star Network. We talk about blackness and what happens in black culture.

We're about covering these things that matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people-powered movement. A lot of stuff that we're not getting, you get it, and you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it. This is about covering us. Invest in Black-owned media. Your dollars matter. We don't have to

keep asking them to cover our stuff. So please support us in what we do, folks. We want to hit 2,000 people. $50 this month. Waits $100,000. We're behind $100,000, so we want to hit that. Y'all money makes this possible. Checks and money orders go to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C.

20037-0196. The Cash App is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Coming soon to the Black Star Network. I still have my NFL contract in my house. Having a case.

It's four of them. My four-year contract. I got a $600,000 signing bonus. My base salary for that first year was $150,000. Matter of fact. $150,000. $150,000. That's what I made, $150,000.

Now, think about it. My signing bonus was a forgivable loan, supposedly. When I got traded to the Colts, they made me pay back my signing bonus was a forgivable loan, supposedly. When I got traded to the Colts, they made me pay back my signing bonus to them. I had to give them their $600,000 back. Wow. I was so pissed. Cause, man, I try to be a man of my word.

I'm like, you. I'll give you your money back. You know, even though I know I earned that money, I gave them that money back. I gave them that $600,000 back. But yet I was this malcontent. I was a bad guy. I'm about I earned that money, I gave him that money back. I gave him that $600,000 back. But yet, I was this malcontent. I was a bad guy. I wasn't about the money.

It was about doing right. Because you look at contracts. Look at John Edwards. John Edwards was making a million dollars. I was making $150,000. I mean, I was doing everything. And I'm like, but yet I was... Man, I got so many letters.

You know, you. You. Oh,. So I just play for free and all that kind of stuff. I mean, you don't forget that kind of stuff. Right. That stuff is hurtful. curl prep natural hair solutions at curl prep.com for curls locks braids twists and even those wigs and extensions. Women, men, and children are loving this line. Look at this video and you be the judge. People line up to see this product in action at hair

shows, and when they take a seat and try it, they don't believe it's their hair. Buy the products at CurlPrep.com. It works on all hair types. Use code ROLAND, that's R-O-L-A-N-D, lowercase letters, to get a 15% discount. Parents, remove the ouch. You will love this system because you can comb the product through your child's hair with your fingers. It's all at Curlprep.com. Use code ROLAND, lowercase letters, to get a 15% discount. Hi, I'm Jo Marie Payton, voice of Sugar Mama on Disney's Louder and Prouder Disney+. And I'm with Roland Martin on Unfiltered. The terms diversity, equity and inclusion have been twisted and misused in recent years.

But now it's time for change. Since 2023, 81 anti-DEI bills have been introduced in 28 states and Congress. This harmful movement claims that DEI programs cause discrimination and are just another form of racial bias. But two incredible women are standing up to this destructive narrative, and they are talking about this in every single step that they are doing in their work every single day, 365 days a year. They've rallied over 300 people in the DEI space to fight against these damaging messages on a call that took place on Monday night, and I was very happy to be on that call. I first want to introduce Mary Frances Winters,

Dr. Mary Frances Winters, the visionary founder and CEO of the Winters Group, Inc., and author of We Can't Talk About That at Work. Dr. Winters, it is such a pleasure and honor to talk to you tonight. How are you doing? I'm doing well. It's great to be here. Thank you so much for having me. Oh, absolutely.

And we're working on getting Dr. Shirley up here as well. Now, look, I got the call last minute and I learned about everything that was taking place. I heard that it's going down on Monday night, that anybody who's working in the DEI space, we're going to talk about how we're going to galvanize. Everybody else has their call and a lot of us were on those calls too. But we said for what we do in this space, we have to organize. Talk about how this call came together and your overall feeling of what took place. Well, thank you so much. I've been doing this work now for 40 years and I just cannot believe where we are.

And so Dr. Shirley Davis and I have worked together. She used to work for the Society of Human Resource Management. Now she has her own organization. And we were just talking and just said, you know, we need to have our own call to really galvanize because the term DEI is being demonized, is being weaponized, and we need to take back that narrative because there is nothing wrong with DEI. DEI, absolutely, organizations engage in diversity, equity, and inclusion because it makes good business sense. And so for us to allow them to take the narrative, we just said we cannot do that. So we brought together over 300 diversity, equity, and inclusion professionals to say this is our work. And we know that our work is about uniting people. Our work is about making sure that everybody has the opportunity to be their best.

And that's what DEI is really all about. Diversity just means the ways we are different and similar. That's all it means. Everybody has some unique thing that brings them to the table. So we needed to have that discussion so that we could be all on the same page and work towards an action plan for how we are going to stop the misinformation and the disinformation about what DEI actually is. And so, Dr. Wendt, there's so many of us who do this work. People talk about how there's diversity fatigue and we're beaten and we're tired and we want to give up. But I got a different kind of energy on that call. Could you talk a little bit about the spirit of the call, the guests you brought on, what was going on in the chat? How did you perceive that? Oh, I mean, I perceive that as it was for me.

It was like, you know, old home week. It was like bringing together people that I hadn't seen because we are a community. Some of us compete with each other because we have our own consulting firms. However, you know, most of us collaborate with each other. And so we've been in the vineyard, toiling in the vineyard for, you know, most of us collaborate with each other. And so we've been in the vineyard, toiling in the vineyard for, you know, for a long time, many, many of us. And so it wasn't that the spirit was hopeful. The spirit was joyful. The spirit was, we know that the work that we do helps people. We know that the work that we do breaks down barriers.

We know that the work that we do educates people. And we know that DEI is for everybody, even white men. DEI is for everybody because you know what they're trying to do? They're trying to make it that it's about race and gender. So they're saying, you know, Kamala Harris is a DEI hire. And you know what I say? Let's flip the script. You wanted to be a DEI hire? Proud DEI hire, because organizations said we didn't have, because we were excluded. Not until 1964 was there a law that said you can't discriminate. And so we have been, I've been doing this work, like I said, for 40 years, that we've been saying we bring people to the table who are, we're bringing people to the table who are qualified, who bring something extra, like Kamala Harris brings something extra. So yeah, she's black, she's a woman, and, right? And so all those things. So if you want to characterize it that way, so the spirit

of this group was to just take back the narrative. The spirit of this group was to acknowledge the trailblazers. We had Dr. Janetta Besh-Cole, as you well know, president of Spelman College and Bennett College and Illuminary. We had Ted Childs, who was the first chief diversity officer ever, and he was with IBM Company. We had Dr. Ed Hubbard, who is a guru in helping organizations see the return on investment. So we had people. We had Jennifer Brown, who works with the LGBTQ community. So it wasn't just about black folk. It wasn't about black folk, but it was about looking at, let's all come together. We had someone who represented the Asian Pacific Islander

community. So we had individuals on that call who represented all of the various marginalized groups so that we could come together to talk about why DEI is and needs to be amplified in a very positive way. So I want to lean on your expertise. I love the fact how people were, you know, kept calling you the OG on the call. You know, I just thought it was awesome because you are such an expert in this. So I want to tie this to what happened at NABJ with Trump, right? Because the first question was about DEI. And one of the things I always talk about is we need to dial things back to the very beginning and just going to basic definitions. And he tried to get the crowd confused on that.

So my question to you is, for those who want to be involved in the DEI space but are not experts like you, how do you get them involved at a base level and getting them on the same page? So we're in at least even if we have different opinions, we're at least in agreement about the actual words that we're using. Absolutely. You know, absolutely. And I think, you know, the way that we have to do that is to help people understand that diversity simply means the ways that we are different and similar. Diversity could be someone who is dyslexic. It could be someone on the autism spectrum. And so when we just did some work with a client and when we were able to break it down like that and ask in that session, you know, these folks, do you have someone that you know that has perhaps this kind of, you know, disability? Do you have someone that you know who has a personality that's an introvert or an extrovert, right? And so we could say that all of this, all of this is diversity, the ways that we, and we are all, however, there are certain groups that have not been able to participate. So all diversity means, I think about it like an orchestra, right? You have all different kinds of instruments in that orchestra, but if you didn't have them all put

together, they make a better sound than anyone could make. But you're not asking the violin to assimilate and be something other than a violin. You're not asking the bass to be something other than a bass, but when you put them all together, what you have is something that is better. So we need to be able to explain this to people in basic terms that all diversity means is the way that we are similar and different. And we needed to have laws in order to mitigate the discrimination that was legal until 1964. So the whole idea of this is to break it down. People don't like the word equity. Equity is now being, again, all equity means is that you look at what people's needs are

and you give them what they need. What we're saying is everybody doesn't need the same thing. But in order to have an organization that is going to work well, in order to have an organization where you're going to have innovation, you have to understand how to motivate and to give people the tools and the resources that they need, and everybody doesn't need the same thing. We have somebody on our team who is dyslexic, and that person needs to have Grammarly, that person needs to have Otter AI, and everybody doesn't necessarily need that. And so that's what we're talking about, otter AI. And everybody doesn't necessarily need that. And so that's what we're talking about, breaking it down.

And what we have to get around people is everybody's really a diversity hire because everybody is hired for something unique that they bring to the table. You have three candidates for a job, right? And they all bring the basic qualifications. Now, what organization do you know that's going to interview somebody for a job that doesn't come with the basic qualifications? You're not even going to get interviewed if you don't have the basic qualifications, right? But those three people that you have, one of those people is going to get the job because you only got one job. There's going to be something unique about that person. There's going to be something unique about that person that the other people didn't have. That's what diversity is. And maybe, maybe there's a physical difference as well.

Maybe, just maybe that person is black. Just maybe that person is a woman. Just maybe that person is, you know, LGBTQ. But the basic qualification, and maybe you wanted that person because they had that, because you're trying to reach that particular market. So diversity just means those skills that you bring to the table. And we do not want our work to continue to be demonized. So let's bring in Dr. Shirley Davis, CSP, a global workforce expert and president of SDS Global Enterprises. Dr. Davis, I'm so glad you were able to make it tonight. And one of the things I want to talk to you about is when you started the call,

you were talking about all of the people you pulled in that you were calling and that more people started to jump on. And towards the end of the call, people were talking about some hardcore things that we need to do, everything from hashtags, things that we should be writing in response to. Can you talk about the energy, about what people were taking in terms of proactive steps in this climate of people trying to get rid of DEI?

A lot about the movement that we need to have. We got to mobilize, organize, continue to unify and build a strategy in place. They've got a Project 2025, but we're going to put in a strategy as well to help leaders understand, organizations understand, and help our politicians understand that DE&I is about all of us. It's about a business strategy, a business imperative to help us to be able to better compete. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana

pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on everybody's business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain.

I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your 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, But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. 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. 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 Corps vet. 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. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before.

I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. We need to have something in place that will show DEI as something that is a workforce strategy, but it is also one that will help us build a competitive advantage. So we're

going to be mobilizing. And guess what else we're going to be doing? We're going to be meeting again and again and again. We're going to go after legislation. We're going to be lobbying. We're going to be helping our leaders understand what the equity is, what the D is, what the inclusion is. So it's important to educate, re-educate. And it's important to help to build up some of the importance. We talk about the business case, but it's also important to tear down some of the importance of the business case. But it's also important to tear down some of the misunderstanding, the disinformation and the all out wrong assaults. And so, Dr. Davis, in reality, you do this like both of you do. You do this work, Dr. Davis, on so many levels with governments and the communities and the corporate spaces.

What are you seeing right now, August 2024, on the ground? Are people still shying away or are they motivated? I can't see how people can't talk to both of you and not get motivated. So what are you seeing in the spaces you occupy every day? Well, you know what? As a consultant, I used to be a practitioner, full-time chief diversity officer for three major corporations that are global around the world. What I am seeing is that those who were really committed in the first place

and in it with the right intentions and the right motives and see it as a business strategy, they are doubling down and saying, oh, no, this is still important. We're going to continue to build our leaders. We're going to continue to make sure we transform our workplace cultures. There are some that are buckling under the pressure, but that might have been some of those who really weren't as committed in the first place. So I think it's been a great telltale sign for some of those who got into it for the wrong readers, the wrong motor. Maybe it was just because of George Floyd, but many of these I've been working with have been on this path and on this journey for years, and they want to continue to take it to the next level. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And I'm hoping that everybody's catching that energy.

Dr. Winters, as we get ready to close, I want to ask you, have we been here before? And if we have been here before, what steps should we be learning from the past going forward because something tells me this is not all entirely new the language is new but we've been here in some way shape or form but could you explain that to us what should we be doing going forward based on the past yeah we have definitely we have definitely been here before i think what's different this time uh what's different this time is technology, social media, artificial intelligence. And there's so many easy ways to spread disinformation and misinformation that we did not have before. But the attacks on our work are definitely not new.

We know that there have been many attacks on affirmative action throughout the years. And this latest attack on affirmative action in higher education was in 2023. But what we need to do is stand firm and not back down and not, what I'm seeing, as Dr. Shirley said, is that those organizations that were doing this work are continuing to do this work, but then there are organizations that are shying away and are saying, oh, we can't say diverse anymore, we can't say this anymore, We can't say unconscious bias anymore. We need to stand firm with our work because we know that this work changes organizations for the better. There's ROI data that shows that. When somebody calls Kamala Harris a DEI hire, we say, okay, all right, maybe she's a DEI hire because that's a great thing because organizations did say we didn't have diversity.

We didn't have to do it. And so maybe Kamala Harris was looked at as somebody who was qualified. First of all, we got to say we got to stop that. We got to stop this narrative that DEI means unqualified because that's exactly and make them say what they mean. What do you mean when you say a DEI hire? What are you talking about? Are you talking about she was a woman? Are you talking about?

And when you say that somebody was unqualified, we have to make them be specific and not hide under this DEI. So every time that they say DEI hire, we need to call them out on that and say, what's wrong with being a DEI hire? Because that's what we wanted to do. That's what this country promised us. And so, yes, we do have people who are hired so that we can increase our diversity so that we can be a better organization and we can be a better society. Well, I really want to thank you both, Dr. Winters and Dr. Davis, for really coming on and setting the tone about where we should be going as a country. And one of the hashtags that came out of that was we should be out there using that hashtag DEI proud. And so I've been definitely putting that in my statement.

And win with DEI. We also got that one, too. I love win with DEI. Hashtag win with DEI as well. Thank you both. And we'll be watching for your future moves. Thanks for coming on. All right.

Thank you. Thank you for having us. No doubt. And we will be right back with Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Next on the Black Table with me, Greg Kopp. Democracy in the United States is under siege. On this list of bad actors, it's easy to point out the Donald Trumps, the Marjorie Taylor Greens, or even the United States Supreme Court as the primary villains.

But as David Pepper, author, scholar, and former politician himself says, there's another factor that trumps them all and resides much closer to many of our homes. His book is Laboratories of Autocracy, a wake-up call from behind the lines. So these state houses get hijacked by the far right. Then they gerrymander, they suppress the opposition,

and that allows them to legislate in a way that doesn't reflect the people of that state. David Pepper joins us on the next Black Table, here on the Black Star Network. Good job, good pay, good life. Would you be willing to walk away from it to achieve real wealth? Well, that's exactly what this woman did.

And boy, did it pay off. Once you make the decision that this is the direction that you're gonna go in, I do believe that there's power in having a decided heart. Hear her story on the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach on Blackstar Network. This is Reggie Rock. You're watching Roland Martin, unfiltered, uncut Unplugged, and Undamn Believable. You hear me? We are back on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network.

I want to come to the panel and get your thoughts before we move on to our next segment. Recy, you're seeing it all with your show, with what you're doing here and all of the spaces that you occupy. What are your thoughts to this DEI backlash? I completely agree with your prior guests. We need to lean in like you're damn right. I'm DEI, I earned it. And so what? You know, I've been saying that we need to stop trying to justify our qualifications. We need to stop trying to prove ourselves to people who are committed to denying our legitimacy and our qualifications so fuck those people like yes if there is a situation where my only requirement is being a black woman and i can get paid well i can get benefits and i can sit up there and be in an

environment where i'm going to thrive sign me up for that two times every day and three times on Sunday, I ain't got a problem with it. So I will continue to say to Black people, stop trying to justify yourself. Stop trying to justify your existence. If you want to put the DEI label on me, good, thank you. And next what? Now what? My checks still cash the same way, DEI or not. But Lauren, people now even got new terms. DEI stands for and earn it. I mean, they're coming up with so many different things. They're flipping it up to DEI must die. What should we be doing in terms of mobilization as it relates to this? I think we're doing what we can. Obviously, you do have to be aware of what your elected officials believe when it comes to anything with regard to equity and inclusion.

But it's really just Southern strategy. Nothing is new here. It's just renamed. And what white supremacists tend to always be doing is trying to figure out ways to always cleverly say that black people are never qualified for anything. That's really what it is at the end of the day. But on the same day that Simone Biles once again meddled out, there's really nothing to talk about. We should not be insecure about our achievements. We've

come further than any other group of people in this country. We have had to put up with the worst type of treatment than any other people in this country. And still, we produce the best in every category. And anything that is a equal playing field type situation, which sports is, for example, we are going to win out. But there's a lot of insecurity out there. The country was based on an idea that a certain group was superior somehow. And when they tell themselves that and it doesn't happen, they have to create fantasy land. And that's what they've done. I mean, remember that it was Donald Trump who ran for president after Barack Obama serves in office because, of course, he was insecure to know that a black man had something that he couldn't have and didn't have at that time and then finally got

because he ran. And, you know, that should tell you something, that that level of insecurity is so deep that it drove somebody to run for president, only in America. Absolutely. This actually ties into what we're going to talk about next as it relates to the way we're being treated and mistreated. And one of these areas that affects it as relates to DEI is conversations about voting and other legal battles that we're facing. There's actually a major legal battle that's unfolding in Atlanta, Georgia, right now. We see that the Advancement Project, Arnold and Porter, and the law office of Brian L. Sells have filed a lawsuit for the New Georgia Project and A. Philip Randolph Institute. The lawsuit targets Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia State Elections Board, and various county officials over Senate Bill 189.

Senate Bill 189, which was enacted earlier this year, has raised concerns because it makes it easier to remove voters from the rolls, mass residency-based challenges, potentially disenfranchising thousands of Georgians. Additionally, the bill imposes strict requirements for homeless voters. Carmen Daughterly, Deputy Executive Director of Advancement, a project and a civil rights lawyer, joins me for more insight on this issue and its broader impact on voting. How are you doing tonight? I'm doing well. Thank you for having me. Thank you so much for joining us, Carmen. And I tie this to the conversations about DEI is because they are attacking us at every level.

Earlier, we were talking about corporate indiscrimination, but now there's also legal battles and how they target us. Can you break down a little bit more about this lawsuit and why it came about and the challenges we face if we don't win? Absolutely. Last night, we sued Georgia over SB 189, like you said, another massive Georgia voter suppression bill. And what this one does, it allows unfettered, baseless challenges to voters, residents of Georgia, where anyone could go up to an election official and say, hey, I don't think this person lives here. Let's get them off the rolls. So we know this is, you know, tied to white supremacy. It's a fear of black power, black and brown communities. We always show up to vote. And this is just another effort to prevent free, fair, and accessible elections. But we know when we exercise our power, we win.

We believe in our partners, New Georgia Project and A. Philip Randolph Institute in Georgia. They knew this was happening. They could see it from a mile away, right? Since the 2020 elections, they've been hit left and right with voter suppression bills with one goal in mind, and that's to suppress brown and black votes. And so what has this looked like in Georgia? Because people talked about, well, Brad Rassenberger, he's a hero. You know, he called out Donald Trump in an insurrection and he made sure that he certified the election. And so he's not the problem. And many of us were saying, no, it's just different levels of this. Can you talk about how he has been responding to

the accusations that have been made in this lawsuit? And where do you feel like they're going? Are they doubling down with how they're responding to you? Or are they taking more of a silence approach and letting it play out? Well, we know this is a lie that turned into legislation, right? This idea that there's mass fraud happening in the South, across the country. And really, he is doubling down on this to say we have to investigate these potential frauds when we know this is a lie. It's been a lie since 2020.

There is no mass fraud happening in American elections. And this is just another opportunity to feed into conspiracy theorists, to feed into white supremacists. And it's also an opportunity to target unhoused citizens. What is the point of a bill that's targeting unhoused citizens and their ability to vote? It is already such a burden on unhoused citizens to vote. The fact that they want to exercise their rights to vote, and this bill makes it so impossible for them, forcing them to walk or try to find transportation to election

official offices to request what they're entitled to, which is an absentee ballot, information about their polling places. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin.

And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing.

So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your 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.

Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 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, subscribe to

Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers. But we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else. But never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad.

That's Dadication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. When historically this has gone to their homeless shelters, to P.O. boxes, and now we have this idea that we're signing up homeless people to vote for Democrats. And that's really what this is based on. Carmen, I...

How should I say this? When Vice President Harris took over the nomination for president and everybody was in their euphoria stage, and many of us still are, the first thing I immediately thought of was these states are going to double down, triple down on their efforts to suppress the vote. And so given your expertise and what you're seeing and dealing with, what should we be doing to make sure? Because we feel sometimes we act like we've seen everything. What's your sense of what's actually happened now with this new spirit that Vice President Harris has brought to the campaign? She was just in Georgia. Do we need to double down on our efforts as well?

Do you feel like our groundswell has been strong enough to be able to combat this? How do you see this in this new space that we're in right now? Absolutely. If we think the spirit on our side with the vice president announcement, just wait till we see what's happening on the other side for voter suppression, right? So at Advancement Project,

we are focused on voter protection 365 days a year. It's not just an election year for us. So what we are helping our partners in Georgia and other states is to monitor what's happening in the counties at those small election board meetings, what people are saying, what challenges are happening right before an election and beyond. So New Georgia Project has done an excellent job of really tracking those counties across the state to hear the conversations at the county board level, to see what changes they're implementing without our knowledge and documenting that impact. And then we follow up, if necessary, like in this case, with legal action.

I want to bring in my panel to ask them some questions as well. Lauren, your question for Carmen. You know, there's something breaking right now on the voting front, and Carmen probably knows about it more than I do. I just can see it on Twitter. But, you know, Carmen, just what is the—if you could change anything about voting in America, what would it be? What would your number one be if you could wave the magic wand and not have Congress in your way or the Supreme Court, what would that be? Sure. I mean, we need—Congress needs to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. It's been way overdue. It would offer protections that we don't have now. We know the Voting Rights

Act has been eroding for years. Shelby v. Holder and losing Section 2, Section 5. Like, we are in dire straits when it comes to voting rights. But again, it never stops our people from voting. We keep showing up, and they keep trying to find ways to stop us from showing up. And we just show up more, right? So I think, for me, getting that passed is vital. I think it's also ensuring that elections are free and accessible and fair, right, making sure there's ample opportunity for folks to vote. Their polling places are in a place where they can get to easily. Drop boxes are allowed, voting by mail.

So the more ways folks can vote, the better our democracy will be. REESE COUNCILMAKER, Yeah. democracy will be. Recy. Yeah, I was curious if you have any information, there were reports about a way in Georgia that somebody, if they know enough of your personal information, could enter into a system and actually get your voter registration purged. Are you aware of that? I also read that it had been taken down and it was temporarily exposed. But are you aware of any kind of mechanisms that are being put in place in Georgia that allow people to kind of harvest information and cancel voter registration on somebody else's behalf? Yes.

Thank you for bringing that up. Yes. Georgia Secretary of State created a website where if you had a few bits of information on a resident, whether it's the last four digits of their Social Security number, their date of birth and their address, you could just challenge them. You could get them removed immediately just by inputting that into the website. We know that we've got data farms where people can access this information easily nowadays. We get hacked every day. I know my information has been hacked, right?

But to think that you could develop a website where anyone could put this information and to think that you wouldn't be challenged immediately is foolish. And I wouldn't even say foolish. It's white supremacy to think you could do that. We immediately sent a letter to the Secretary of State. They stopped this because this is crazy. And you know what? We still haven't gotten a response, but we're waiting to hear what excuse could possibly be imagined to think that this is okay. Carmen, Dottarly, thank you so much for this. And please keep us informed so we can let our community know how this lawsuit is going. Thank you. Thank you all.

And we'll be right back to Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, think about for a moment some of those icky behaviors that you display every now and then. Are you a petty Betty or crabby Kathy? Where did those less than attractive traits come from? We all have them. And more importantly, how do we get rid of them to make certain that they don't infect other people? Pettiness is something that we all carry. It's just make sure that you carry it well and you don't use it to

intentionally hurt. On the next A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie on Black Star Network. When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture, you're about covering these things that matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people-powered movement. There's a lot of stuff that we're not getting. You get it.

And you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it. This is about covering us. Invest in black-owned media. Your dollars matter. We don't have to keep asking them to cover our stuff. So please support us in what we do, folks. We want to hit 2,000 people. $50 this month. Waits $100,000. We're behind $100,000. So we want to hit that.

Y'all money makes this possible. Check some money orders. Go to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. The Cash App is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle rmartinunfiltered. Venmo is rmunfiltered. Zelle is roland at rolandsmartin.com.

Hey, yo, what's up? It's Mr. Dalvin right here. What's up? This is KC. Sitting here representing the J-O-D-E-C-I. That's Jodeci. Right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Today, the funeral service for the late U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas was held in Houston.

The 74-year-old congresswoman passed away last month, leaving a legacy of service and dedication. The solemn ceremony was attended by prominent figures, including Vice President Kamala Harris, who performed the eulogy for her friend. Let's take a listen. It is an honor, a true honor, true honor to be with you this afternoon to remember and to celebrate the extraordinary life of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. So Sheila Jackson Lee would want that we are focused on her right now. But I thank you. Sheila Jackson Lee, to know her was to know a true champion, a fierce champion for justice. Sheila Jackson Lee was a woman of deep faith and deep compassion.

She was a proud member of our beloved Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. And she was a dear, dear friend to my husband, Doug, and me. Over her career, as we all know, Sheila had many titles, judge, council member, congresswoman, and yet perhaps the titles she cherished the most were wife to Elwyn, mother to Jason and Erica, and BB to Ellison and Roy. And so to the entire Lee family, Doug and my prayers are with you. It is not easy to lose a member of one's family who holds such an extraordinary place. Sheila was just a presence. She was a presence. And it is not easy, and I say to the family, when a loved one lives a life of public service, and so especially someone like Sheila Jackson Lee,

and I want to thank the family on behalf of the people of our nation for your sacrifices and the work that you did to support her over these many, many years that allowed her to give so much to our country. Former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended the ceremony as well. Bill and I met with the family beforehand and traded stories about our friendship and relationship going back so many years. I told Elwin that he and Sheila and Bill and I had something in common. We all met at Yale. Their marriage lasted 51 years. Believe it or not, ours will be 50 years old next year.

You've heard from some of her colleagues and all who are here with us could tell you even more stories about how fearless and tireless she was stepping up for education, for women's rights and civil rights and voting rights. How she stood strong for health care and comprehensive immigration reform, criminal justice reform. She spent years working to make Juneteenth a federal holiday to memorialize the end of slavery. The first list we kept in the White House. Well, they beat us for somebody because president. Congress in 1995. National and global issues. Not every district will do that, but hers did, and God bless you all for doing that.

Known as a fierce advocate for her constituents and a champion of the people, Sheila Jackson Lee represented the 18th Congressional District for over 30 years. As a beloved leader rests, this marks a sad moment, but her impact and contributions will always be remembered and honored. Roland Martin was also in attendance and will do a full breakdown of the service when he returns tomorrow. And you know, Recy, as I'm sitting here

watching the service and learning about it, and I'm seeing Vice President Kamala Harris, and I'm thinking people really wanna challenge her, her blackness, look at what she's doing in this space. And I also get saddened by the fact that Representative Lee just wasn't here for just a few more days to be able to see this transition to where Vice President Kamala Harris will be now as the Democratic nominee for president of the United States. In the work that we do, just share your thoughts about the legacy of Representative Lee and how we should

make sure she is remembered as we move forward. Yeah, I mean, her legacy really was one that championed such a wide array of issues. You know, a lot of times when we talk about Black politicians, we talk about them specifically about Black issues. And obviously, her record there is above reproach. They mentioned Juneteenth. She also was the lead sponsor of the HR40 Commission reparations bill in Congress after Congressman John Congress departed from Congress. And so her record on that front is unimpeachable. But she also led the way on health care and a whole host of issues beyond issues that

we in particular are focused on in our community that only relate to us. And so I thought it was very fitting that she was honored in such a special way by some of the most high-ranking people in the country. And they talked about her in terms of their personal relationship with her, their decades-long friendship with her. And I think that was really important to talk about her family as well. And I especially appreciated Vice President Kamala Harris thanking the family for the sacrifices that they made to allow her to give so much to us in this country, because

that's something that is not often recognized, is that it is a sacrifice to have a congressperson who is traveling back and forth to Washington, D.C., who's away for an extended period of time, and she championed so many things. And I had the pleasure of meeting her. Well, she's been on this show several times, so I've met her in that capacity. But I actually had the chance to sit next beside her and be in a small conversation with her in Texas when Monique Presley hosted a rally and Roland was there filming it. So that was really special. She she was an icon and her legacy will live on forever. And so, Lauren, when we think about legacy, how do you feel when we talk about one of the things that Risi kind of hit on this, the fact that, you know, she was always on this show. She was always around, it seems, everybody,

regardless of their station in life. And that seems to be something that's missing from so many politicians. They get elected and then they kind of say, hey, see me in four years, see me in two years, depending on, you know, their position. What are your thoughts about her legacy and what should we be taking going forward as it relates to not only honoring her, but continuing what she did going forward in the spirit of other politicians and what I would say so-called leaders sometimes? Well, Sheila Jackson Lee was quite something. She was definitely one of the hardest working members of the Congressional Black Caucus, always on the phone, constantly doing some constituent thing. She was a little bit tough on staff, which you would

witness quite frequently if you were covering Congress. But that toughness was related to getting something done. And that came up a lot at the funeral today. Glenn Rushing is a friend of mine. I thought what I had one of the better speeches of a almost, I think, four-hour funeral today, as did Leader Jeffries. But, you know, the legacy of Sheila Jackson Lee is that person who never gives up, even on the things that weren't very popular. She took on the reparations legislation that John Conyers was carrying. She had big shoes to fill, because this is Barbara Jordan's seat, which is a difficult thing right there, but really connected to community. I was shocked during the funeral. I thought I knew a lot about Sheila Jackson Lee.

I covered Congress, and I had a blog on the Congressional Black Caucus and got to know her really well. She never passed me by without saying something or telling me something or, you know, always engaging. But I was shocked today to learn a few things that I had no idea about. There was a connection to international affairs that I had no idea about to the Pakistani community. I was texting my friends, some of who were at the funeral. I said, Pakistani community. That's like some guy gets up and does this whole presentation on Pakistan. So I was like, really?

You know, Stevie Wonder was there, which didn't surprise me. The Clintons were there, which didn't surprise me. She's a big backer of Hillary Clinton's campaign, which is, by the way, why you see a lot of radio silence coming out of Team Obama. Because I don't even think former President Obama even tweeted anything, because, you know, that was one of the points of contention. And I remember that really well. Sheila Jackson Lee and a lot of other members of CBC backed Hillary Clinton because they knew Hillary Clinton. They just knew—they knew her, and they didn't know him. He sort of just came out of nowhere. But anyway, her work ethic is off the chain. The only other person I can think of that works harder is Bobby Scott from Virginia. It is unbelievable when people show up at every event. They show up to every high school graduation. They show up at

every funeral in the community. There were several stories today where people said that folks from outside of the district were calling her. So you got a neighboring congressional district, which there's sort of a custom in Congress that you don't do work in somebody else's district, right? But people knew that this person, Sheila Jackson Lee, you know, was someone who'd get stuff done, so they're calling her. I mean, that didn't surprise me. This person, Sheila Jackson Lee, you know, was someone who'd get stuff done, so they're calling her. I mean, that didn't surprise me. This person, Sheila Jackson Lee, is going to be greatly missed. She's going to have really hard shoes to fill. She has that old-school ethic of you worked all the time, and you stayed in Congress. She's been in Congress for 30 years. And you stay, and you gain power. You gain seniority. And I know it's fun to have these

newer members, because it is fun having these newer members, but these older members who have seniority have a lot of power. She was one of them and she's going to be greatly missed. People have no idea, no idea. Yeah, I think you both bring up so many incredible points. And I really feel at the end of the day with the spirit and energy that she has just placed

and just left for all of us, whether we're looking at people at the state level, like the Justins, whether we're looking at people at the state level, like the Justins, whether we're looking at people like Representative Crockett, and people across different backgrounds, AOC as well. There's so many people out there who make me feel confident that her spirit and legacy will live on. And so I feel like it's great that we honor her

in this space, particularly with everything going on in the world. And so it's just so important for us to say rest in peace and power. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest

stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing.

So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your 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 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 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.

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-studugs 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 man. 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. 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. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before.

I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit adoptuskids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. To a giant. And so thank you, Representative Lee, for everything. And you will not be forgotten anytime soon or in the very far future as well. And we will be right back to Roland Martin Unfiltered on the streets a horrific scene a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly

violence white people are losing their damn minds there's an angry pro-trump mob storm to the u.s capital we've seen 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 everyory University calls white rage as a backlash.

This is the wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. There'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 people. What's good, y'all? This is Doug E. Freshener watching my brother Roland Martin underpilting as we go a little

something like this. Hit it. It's real. Verlaine Baker disappeared from her Orange County, her Orange, California home on June 21st, 2024. The 15-year-old is 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighs 146 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about Verlaine Baker should call the Orange County California Sheriff's Office at 714-647-7000. Now, y'all, we got to talk a little bit about your boy, man, Elon. I don't even like saying his name sometimes. But we got to talk about Elon Musk, and we got to talk a little bit about Don Lemon, y'all, because there's always so much that's going on in the news. But Don Lemon has filed a suit against Elon Musk.

And I got to get the panel in on this. But, y'all, if y'all haven't heard this, check it out. Former CNN host Don Lemon has filed a lawsuit against tech billionaire Elon Musk over a canceled show agreement. Lemon accused Musk's platform X of using his image and reputation for profit without compensation. The lawsuit filed in California claims X reneged on their partnership agreement, refusing to pay Lemon the promised $15 million annually and a share of ad revenue. Musk allegedly canceled the show

just a week before its launch, leading to Lemon's legal action. Lemon's lawyer criticized ex-executives for damaging his client's reputation, while Musk criticized Lemon about the show format. The significant legal showdown between Lemon and Musk is only getting started. Lauren, break some things down for us. What are your thoughts on this?

Guys like me look at this and say maybe Trump said something to Musk and then it stopped. But as someone who's in this media space, are there some backstories that we're missing? What's your take on this? I have no idea why Don Lemon wanted to involve himself with Elon Musk, who clearly purchased Twitter to try and influence the 2024 election in favor of Donald Trump. So I have no idea why anybody black is getting involved with Elon Musk. We know who Elon Musk is. And so that right there was confusing the minute the news hit that they were working on a show. Maybe this was Don Lemon—I don't know—longing for the same level of platform he had when

he was at CNN. I think he's doing just fine with his individual project that he's doing, much like his former friend Chris Cuomo. They've just got their independent stuff that they're doing. And he didn't need Elon Musk for that. You know, you would think he would have contacted Isaac Hayes on Fanbase and gotten involved in that. So I just don't understand why Don Lemon,

who does seem to be a fairly smart character, got involved with Elon, even entertained Elon Musk at all. This is probably going to end in some sort of settlement that we're not probably going to hear the details about. But I'm just confused. I don't know Don Lemon. I've met him a few times, but I can't say that I know him. Like, we don't hang out or anything like that. I've just met him at a few events. But hopefully he'll untangle himself from Elon Musk. And Risi, how do you see it? I mean, you operate in this independent space. You are on these platforms. You're running. You have your show. Do you see this as something that more people should try to aspire to?

Everybody's always talking about black Twitter or I don't think they call it Black X now. Shouldn't more people be trying to do this? Or are we in the Lauren School of, yo, this makes no sense whatsoever? Well, I think many of us are following the Roland Martin School of Business. You do your own thing, you know. I mean, Roland Martin

Unfiltered is a huge platform that Roland has broken down many times. He makes good money off of streaming this off of um off of youtube and that's what we see don lemon doing i think what happened was uh don lemon had an interview with elon musk and he asked elon musk tough questions much like how what happened with donald trump and rachel scott and elon musk didn't appreciate being challenged and so he pulled the plug on don lemon's show. And so, you know, it's not entirely unpredictable because Elon Musk is a person who, like you already mentioned, he or actually Lauren mentioned his reasoning behind buying X. But he has a pretty poor record in terms of how he treats his employees, in terms of how hands on and micromanaging he gets into things.

And he just expects people to bend to his will. So it was kind of predictable. It was probably going to be a disaster. But for the time that their partnership was active and a prospective show, Elon Musk definitely benefited from his association with Don Lemon precisely because his reputation is that of pushing white supremacy on X. So Don Lemon has some good lawyers. He got paid some good money after being Gleggo from CNN. And so this could be another cash cow from him. I don't have a problem with him being litigious. I always say that black people should be more litigious. If you got the lawyers, go ahead and sue and try to recoup some of your money and then continue to do what you're doing on the side and make your money off of streaming.

No, no doubt. Well, speaking of courts, I'm going to talk a little bit about R. Kelly. Singer R. Kelly is now taking his case to the highest court in the land. The Supreme Court. Kelly, who is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence on sex trafficking charges, is appealing his Chicago conviction for possession of child pornography and enticing minors to engage in sexual activity. Kelly's defense attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, argues that the Chicago conviction should be overturned due to the statute of limitations. Bonjean claims that Kelly was wrongly prosecuted under the Protect Act, which expanded the

statute of limitations for sex crimes of minors. She contends that the alleged crimes occurred in the 1990s before the law was enacted. A federal appeals court in Chicago denied Kelly's initial appeal earlier this year. Now, Lauren, I do have to say, as frivolous as all of this is in terms of how we feel this should not be taken to the court, I'm concerned with this court

and what could happen with this case if it actually gets taken up. I don't trust them. How do you see this? Because this is upsetting so many of us. I think that an individual up against the state, particularly a black individual up against the state, is a heavy lift. There is a reason, though we may not like it in this particular case,

there's a reason why statutes of limitations exist. And that reason is that it's extremely hard to prove things when we wait, you know, 20 and 30 years to prosecute somebody. I think in the case of R. Kelly, certainly we had—I didn't follow his case particularly closely, but just in glancing every now and then at a story, there was videotaped evidence. Obviously, in the documentary, we had so many people testifying to roughly the same things. There was certainly a huge issue with regard to R. Kelly engaging with people who were minors. I mean, these are sort of, you know, obvious violations of the law. And that was proven out in court. But just as a general observation, statutes of limitations, the statute of limitations question does have to get answered at some point by the court,

because there have been several situations and adjudications now that have lengthened statutes of limitations with regard specifically to sexual violence cases. And the court is going to have to answer that question, because due process in this country is important. Even when it's an unpopular situation like this and unpopular cases like this, due process matters. And it particularly matters when we're talking about Black folks that have been treated poorly by the American criminal justice system. And yeah, I hear you, Lauren. And Recy, I definitely agree that it definitely needs to be taken up because of everything that Lauren just mentioned. I'm just concerned with this court about the outcome. And it just seems like R. Kelly is just somebody who's just never going away.

Yeah, I mean, well, at the end of the day, he has two concurrence sentences in two different jurisdictions in Chicago and New York. So he ain't getting out of jail no time soon, regardless of what happens in this case. But I think this case is, to your point, a potential to set a precedent and to try to undo some of the gains that have been made in terms of holding sex crimes accountable for a longer period of time. And so I, with you, don't know where it would go with this particular court. They may not even take it up and it'll be a moot point or they may wait for another sex offender to come along and take up that case. But I'm just a little I don't know how to read this with this particular court. This is the court that has basically made it so that women are forced to have birth depending on where you where you live after six weeks. And some cases, in our case, no exception for rape and incest.

And so this is not a court that has been very concerned about the implications of the actions of sex criminals. And so on on their victims. So this I just don't have a prediction which way it's going to go. But either way, he's going to continue to be in jail for decades to come. Most definitely. And so we can at least take a little bit of comfort as it relates to that. And Laura, just quickly before we go to break,

you mentioned the statute of limitations. And one of my concerns is that we have been so silent in the community about so many issues that could have been taken care in the community about so many issues that could have been taken care of if we actually spoke up, even with Diddy being the most recent example. What are your thoughts as it relates to that? Well, it's funny.

The MeToo lobby, for whatever reason, doesn't have talking points around people speaking up as quickly as possible, which, of course, is difficult on this particular subject matter, particularly when you're dealing with minors or something that happened when somebody was a minor. But, you know, there's sort of a bunch of talking points. If you remember when Time's Up—before Time's Up went defunct, there was a talking point that went something like, you know, women shouldn't have to be forced to come out. They should come out on their own time, as opposed to, you know, contact the authorities

as soon as possible, as soon as emotionally possible. There's no real instigation for that. And I think that was sort of a mistake. It's kind of ironic, too, because in college you hear just the opposite. A lot of the talking points are, speak up as soon as possible. And then, out of college life—of course, we have a Title IX issue in college. But outside of college life, you don't have that same sort of, you know, encouraging people to come forward in the same way.

It was more like, come forward if you can. And if you can't, well, you can't. And so, that's where the statute of limitations issue sort of comes in. But I think in trying to bend backwards and not, quote, blame victims or blame survivors, there was this sort of push of don't really say anything until you're emotionally ready. But, you know, R. Kelly's situation is a three-decade—I mean, it's almost like a three-decade-long situation. And you remember in the Cosby case, there was a statute of limitations issue with that as well. So—but statute of limitations is important.

I know that when we talk about sex crimes, everyone has this sort of feeling of we throw all the rules out the window. You know, I think that we have to be careful with that. Right. We have to be very careful on the rules out the window. You know, I think that we have to be careful with that. Right. We have to be very careful on the rules out the window. No, thank you. Thank you for that insight. For real. As it relates to these rules, we absolutely have to do that. And R. Kelly, we'll be keeping an eye on you and this case. And we'll be right back to Roland Martin Unfiltered, live on the Blackstar Network. Coming soon to the Blackstar Network. I still have my NFL contract in my house.

I have it in a case. It's four of them for my four-year contract. I got a $600,000 signing bonus. My base salary for that first year was $150,000. Matter of fact... $150,000. $150,000. That's what I made, $150,000. Now, think about it.

My signing bonus was a forgivable loan, supposedly. When I got traded to the Colts, they made me pay back my signing bonus to them. I had to give them their $600,000 back. Wow. I was so pissed. Cause, man, I try to be a man of my word. I'm like, you.

I'll give you your money back. You know, even though I know I earned that money. I gave him that money back. I gave him that $600,000 back. But yet I was this malcontent. I was a bad guy. I'm not about the money. It wasn't about the money.

It was about doing right. Because I was looking at, I looked at, cause you look at contracts. Look at John Edwards. John Edwards making a million dollars. 800,000. I was making 150. I mean, I was doing everything and I'm like, but yet I was, man, I got so many letters, you know,

you, you, so I just play for free and all that kind of stuff. I mean, you don't forget that kind of stuff. Right. That stuff is hurtful. Hi, I'm Jo Marie Payton, voice of Sugar Mama on Disney's Louder and Prouder Disney+. And I'm with Roland Martin on Unfiltered. A powerful documentary premiered last month, shedding light on the remarkable journey of activist and filmmaker, author Silky Slim Reid.

Life or Death, the Silky Slim Story chronicles Reed's transformation from a feared gang leader to an acclaimed film director. Reed premiered his documentary as a testament to personal transformation. He currently runs a non-profit, Stop the Killing, Inc., to help end senseless gun violence. Author Silky Slim Reed joins us to discuss his film life, life or death, The Silky Slim Story. Silky Slim, how are you doing? Doing fine. How are you? Oh, I'm doing great. Congratulations on this film. It's very powerful. And one of the things I wanted to talk about is in hip hop, we always talk about, and this came from motivational speakers, Zig Ziglar, who talked about getting a checkup from the neck up. Can you talk to us about your transition that led you from the life you were leading to the person you are today that is captured in a documentary for those who haven't seen it yet?

Well, it was definitely a transformation that was God sent. I was in a very bad accident where all of my friends was killed and I was the only one that survived. And that's what started to change my life around. It wasn't just the accident. It was the way that God showed me to save me. I heard a voice in my head telling me to look outside of the window and look at a billboard. I looked at that billboard. It had a real car crushed up on the billboard. It said, everyone wore a seatbelt. Everyone lived. I've never worn a seatbelt in my life. I put that seatbelt on. I ended up taking it off. I laid back and covered up, and that same voice

came back and said, put it back on, look outside. I looked outside. It was drizzling. I told my friend, I said, slow down, man. It's drizzling outside. He said, man, I got to go pay my income tax. And he continued to drive at 77 miles an hour, 18-wheeler cross lanes, and knocked us over the side of the mountain. Everyone lost their life except me. So it's a guard story.

A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing.

So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. 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 Corps vet.

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. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers. But we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you've got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else. But never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad.

That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Definitely. We really appreciate that because everybody has an opportunity. Dr. Willie Jolly says it only takes a minute to change your life. And sometimes in these particular situations, they can be tragic situations that lead us to the change. I want to bring the panel in as well and get their thoughts on it.

But we're just so proud of what you're doing and the message that you're sharing with the world through this film. Risa, your question. Yeah, my question is, you know, what is the best message that you think this documentary will show to the youth and people who are so disillusioned and disaffected with kind of the way things are right now? That the streets only have two things for you, a court date or a casket. I lived in the streets for 30 years. I buried many of my friends.

Wall Street Journal did an article on me that was called More T-Shirts Than Friends. And it was because of the memorial death T-shirts that I was wearing at the time. I had more T-shirts than friends. So I tell them that it's a court date or a casket. That's why this documentary is called Life or Death. You have the choice. You have the decisions to make. And it's those decisions that you make that will ultimately lead to if you live or if you die or if you spend the rest of your life in penitentiary. I think that the industry right now has a way of promoting all of the negative things, but anything that's positive, they try to push it.

We can't show these type of bodies. We can't show people that's been killed, but you show them these things and put seeds in their head to go out and kill individuals, as you see with these wars that's going on in the rap game. There's no way that you should have millionaires dying in the streets like animals and not try to address that. So we try to address all of those situations. And I come from the hip-hop era. I come out of the rap game. So I'm familiar with everything that's going on.

However, I see it as self-destruction right now, and I'm trying to reach them to let them know that there is a better way. Lauren, your question. You know, I wanted to know how you got the documentary made. Documentaries are notoriously difficult to put together because of funding, this, that, and the other thing. So, Mr. Reed, how did you get it made? made uh documentaries are notoriously difficult to put together because of funding this that and the other thing so mr reed how did you get it made and were you in uptown saturday night no that's where i got my name from most definitely though

okay so yeah so tell parenting uptown saturday night i was a young kid i seen that and i say that's my name and I carried that name ever since the day when I seen that movie. How did I get the documentary made? I saved my money. And I didn't have to. I kicked too much butt in the street to start kissing it in the suites. So I saved my money.

I put my documentary together. I paid for it and made sure that I got it shot the way that I wanted in 4K, full standard with any screaming network that's out there. So that's what I did. I made sure that I put together enough funds to go into this documentary and put it together myself where I didn't have to beg somebody to do my story. And, of course, you know, I'm an investigator with Ben Crump Law, and he's seen the type of money that I was spending on this film, and he

asked me, he said, man, why are you putting so much money into that film? I said, if I don't spend it on me and believe in me, how in the hell can I ask anybody else to? Right. Now, you were, you brought up something, Silky Sim, that I

want to come back to, which is so important. And you talked about being in the game, being in the rap game, being in hip-hop. What are you seeing in our youth today? You talked about doing the work on the streets. What are you seeing in the youth today that is different from when many of us were coming up? Are the challenges all the same? Are they dealing with more issues? You know, so many of us came up during the crack epidemic when there were so many opportunities that weren't there in terms of jobs and the like. But some of us don't understand the

youth challenges today. We say, oh, y'all got it easy. Y'all didn't have this or that. What are you seeing as it relates to what's happening with our youth today compared to what you came up in? I'm going to tell you like I told Bishop T.D. Jakes. I get tired of people asking me what's wrong with the youth. It's the first three letters of the damn words that's the real problem. What's wrong with you? You're not trying to change the situation and you know that this is your child. What's wrong with you if you see that you've gone astray and you're not out there in the streets trying to help them? I see individuals right now, oh, I want to talk to the youth.

I want to help the youth. My question to them is always, why aren't you doing it? So many people say that they want to go after them, that they want to help them, but they're looking for a check. You got to go out there and do it for free. I did it for free for years. I made sure that I went and I became the change that I wanted to see. And then I went out there and implemented that change in individuals. And I wasn't looking for a check.

I wasn't looking for anything in return. Only thing I wanted to do was save a life through my testimony. I gave my testimony at the National Guards Youth Challenge Program. One o'clock in the morning, my phone rang and it was the sergeant over the program. He said, man, I have a young cadet that really needs to talk to you in the morning, my phone rang, and it was the sergeant over the program. He said, man, I have a young cadet that really needs to talk to you in the morning. I went back and talked to the young man, and I asked him, I was like, what's wrong? He said, man, I want to commit

suicide. I said, why would you want to do that? He said, I go home Friday. He said, I was going to commit suicide because I watched my father blow my mother's brains out and then stick a gun in his mouth and made me look while he blew his own brains out. And he said, I won't give up the gun. I don't made me look while he blew his own brains out. And he said, I won't give up the gun. I don't want to kill myself. I've dealt with suicide. I had tried to commit suicide three times. God left me here for this purpose to make sure that I show

people that regardless to how dark it is, if God has his hands on you, there's nothing that you could do to destroy yourself and God will put you on the right path so that you can change other people's lives. So what do you say to the young person right now who may pull this up later or is watching it right now, who was living in the same type of despair that you talked about, or the same type of despair of some of these young people like the young man you just mentioned, who watched those tragic murder of his mom and then the suicide of his dad, who feel like it's hopeless for them right now and they need something to just kind of get them to go just another day, another two days, another week. What would you say to them right now if they're watching you?

Believe in God, but believe equally in yourself. You have to be the change that you want to see. Pray to God to help strengthen you to make that change, but at the end of the day, don't be afraid to make that change because you want to fit in. So many of us are trying to please man and don't care about how we try to look with God. So I made sure that I made the changes that I wanted to see first, and that way I could tell them, make those changes first. Be who you want to be and don't let the gravitational force of what is make it impossible for you to see what should be. So many of our young

individuals are caught up on social media, caught up with the celebrity hype and all of these things and they look and marvel over everybody else's greatness and don't even look for their own damn greatness which is already inside of them. You have to look for the real in you.

When I was in prison, I was in my cell and I had a vision of many, many, many famous people. And I was stuck to the bed and I couldn't figure it out. And when it stopped, I stood at the bars and said, I'm getting ready to go home. I'm going to be famous. I'm going to be famous. I came home. I never became famous. But I walked in and looked at the wall and I

see all of the famous people that God has showed me in that sale. And I stopped and I became real humble. And I thank God. I say, Oh God, I say, it wasn't that you was going to make me famous. You took me around all the famous people. You took me around all the stars. And his answer to me, the only reason that you're not a star is you never look for yourself in the picture young have to see yourself in the picture you could be anything that you desire to be you just have to desire to be something and right now what they're feeding you have you designed to be nothing at all other than thugs that try to be gangsters and when you get to the penitentiary you will find out that the real gangsters are the one that's turning the key,

locking you up every night. That is just so powerful. And when I look at the name of the documentary where it talk about life or death, I like to say life is spelled L-I-F-E and it stands for live it fully every day. And you are truly doing that. And you are a real inspiration to so many.

And not only with the documentary, but with the work Stop the Killing, Inc. What I appreciate so much, Silky Slim, about what you're doing is that you not only speak it, but you put it out there right into the words. And so we're really hoping that everybody goes out to see this. Where can people go if they want to see this documentary and learn more about your organization? We're working in different cities. You can go to www.stopthekiller8.org or you can go to Silky Slim 100 on Instagram. But we're premiering in different cities.

We're coming to San Francisco. We're coming to New Orleans. We're coming to Miami. We're coming to Alabama. So we're premiering in different cities. And then we're working out a screaming deal as we speak that will have you where you'll be able to see it on a

screaming service. So this documentary is very powerful. It's a life-changing documentary. I think every young man, every young adult should watch this documentary, and the parents too, because it teaches you how to be a parent. At the end of the day, you know, we can't continue to go down this path of self-destruction. We're the only people in the world that get paid and famous for talking about our suffering

in America. So we have to stop that and start raising the bar and become people that people respect. At the end of the day, I always tell individuals we're out in front of the White House, we're protesting. Sonia Massey just got killed. There are protests going on. Everybody's chanting Black Lives

Matter. Black lives have to matter to black people first before it matters to anybody else, because if it don't matter to us, why should it matter to anybody else? So we have to start letting Black Lives Matter be a way of living and not a chant that we do in front of the White House. We got to do it in front of the smack house, the killing house, everywhere where we're losing black lives. We have to make that a way of living and not just a chant. Thank you so much, Silky Slim. Stop the killing, Inc. dot org, the documentary Life for Deaf. Please get out there and support it. Wishing you the best of luck and success with this project. Thank you for having me on. No doubt. And we will be right back. Roland Martin unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene,

a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. You will not. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering

on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your 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-illion-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. 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. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corps vet, 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. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers. But we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away,

you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's that occasion. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. 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 every university calls white rage as a backlash. This is the wrath 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. Bye bye, Copa. on a next a balanced life with me dr jackie think about for a moment some of those icky behaviors

that you display every now and then are you you a petty Betty or a crabby Kathy? Where did those less than attractive traits come from? We all have them. And more importantly, how do we get rid of them to make certain that they don't infect other people? Pettiness is something that we all carry. It's just make sure that you carry it well and you don't use it to intentionally hurt.

On the next A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie on Blackstar Network. Fanbase is pioneering a new era of social media for the creator economy. This next generation social media app with over 600,000 users is raising $17 million and now is your chance to invest for details on how to invest visit startengine.com slash fanbase or scan the qr code another way we're giving you the freedom to be you without limits hi my name is brady riggs i'm from houston texas my name is sharon william I'm from Houston, Texas. My name is Sharon Williams. I'm from Dallas, Texas. Right now, I'm rolling with Roland Martin.

Unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamned believable. You hear me? It's vital to prioritize the empowerment of black-owned businesses in the United States, as statistics show that most of these businesses close within three years of operation. This significant gap in business success not only impacts the economic prosperity of black entrepreneurs, but also contributes to the overall wealth disparity affecting black individuals and families. Famous Amos, fortunately, the 2024 Famous Amos Ingredients for Success Entrepreneurs Initiative has been introduced to address this challenge. This initiative is designed to offer essential support to black-owned early-stage businesses,

providing a substantial $50,000 award, valuable resources, and mentorship opportunities. We have Rachna Patel, VP of Marketing at Famous Amos, to discuss the promising steps towards fostering this growth and sustainability of Black-owned businesses. Rachna, how are you doing today? I'm good. How are you? Awesome. So great to have you on to have this conversation. We talked a little bit about the statistics, but look, these statistics has been here for forever and it hasn't led many organizations to take the type of initiative that you all are taking. Can you talk about what led to the actual, like I said, beyond the statistics, the actual desire to want to make this happen and see it to fruition?

Yeah, absolutely. So in 2021, August of 2021, Famous Samus established Ingredients for Success, which is a program that awards three early stage black entrepreneurs $50,000 in capital award. The reason for this program being established was because the brand itself was started by a very passionate Black entrepreneur, Wally Amos, and we wanted to continue to honor his legacy and also take the learnings from what he was able to accomplish, as well as some of the challenges that he faced, so that we were able to develop a program that helped other Black businesses, but really helped them from a longer-term sustainability standpoint. So the program not only has the Capital Award, but it also has a full suite of resources in the form of mentorship, networking, as well as media support,

especially for the three winners that we have each year. And can you talk a little bit about some of the businesses, maybe a couple of the names of some of your winners over the years? Yeah, absolutely. So one of our earliest winners from the first year was Vontel. And this business is basically an eyewear brand. And when they were awarded, they were at a crossroads where they had a purchase order from Nickelodeon, but they didn't have the capital to build the inventory. Since then, if you fast forward to today, not only have they continued to grow their portfolio in double, more than double their number of views. But they're distributed on America's Best, so nationally today. So tremendous amount of success.

Obviously, there's a lot of work that's gone in from the owners themselves, but it was really just one more element that helps their success because at that point in time, they weren't going to be able to fulfill the purchase order that they had if they didn't have the capital that we were able to support them with. And so you talk about the capital and you talk about the mentorship. And I'm so happy that that is part of the program because so many people may have a great idea, may get popular on social media, may raise a lot of money, but don't really know how to sustain it how important has the mentorship portion of what you're doing been to the people who have won your award it's been critical because it's more than just mentorship in the form of how to spend the you

know the money that you're earning or gaining from this grant. But it's also related to questions like, how do you set up social media? How do you do marketing? How do you understand pricing? So it varies. And not only is it just mentorship that we're providing to the winners. But in September of 2023, we actually held a think tank in DC, which brought together the 30 finalists from our first three cycles. And it gave them a chance to not only hear from speakers and leaders in the community, but also network amongst themselves because they had similar questions and were able to leverage each other to build their network beyond just what we're able to offer to them from our partners like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Thank you for that. Let's take some questions from the panel.

Lauren, your question. What is the average award? I see that it's, I think that it said 150,000 in awards, but what is the average award that is given out, the average grant that's given out? So the award is $50,000 to three businesses every year. So we're currently in our fourth cycle this year and applications close this Sunday on August 4th for anyone that's listening. But the program awards three $50,000 grants every single year. And that's how you get to the one that you're seeing. Thanks. Yeah. I'm curious. is there like a minimum revenue or is there any kind of criteria about the businesses that are in operation that's a critical moment in time when they're either going to succeed and have a sustainable business for a longer term or not. So the criteria essentially is you need to be in business five years or less.

You need to be 90% Black-owned, be based in the U.S., and be 21 years of age or older. And the application itself requires a 120-second or two-minute elevator pitch on why you should be awarded the $50,000. So, Rachana, I want to know, we had a conversation earlier about DEI and attacks on DEI and the like. And my question to you is that with all of these lawsuits, if all of the attacks to schools, to businesses, we saw what happened if organization like the Fearless Fund, why is it so important that Famous Amos continues to push on with this program and continue to help support this community? So, as I mentioned earlier, the main objective of the program

is to honor the legacy of Wally Amos. He was a very passionate black entrepreneur. While he started this business in the 1970s, he ultimately ended up selling his business. Our goal is to continue to follow in the work that he did to build this brand. At the end of the day, the name of the brand is Famous Amos. So, you know, he's embedded in everything that we do. And having this grant as part of the brand is built into the ethos.

So it's part of our brand positioning. You know, this isn't accidental that we're doing it for the fourth year. This is something that we continue to have as part of our initiatives year after year for this brand, because it's all about paying it forward and making sure that other Black-owned businesses that are in similar early stages as Wally Amos was in, that we're able to take the success that we've had with this brand and continue to pay it forward in the Black community, which is disadvantaged many times from a capital standpoint, but it's also more than capital, as I mentioned. There are a lot more resources that are necessary to succeed. It's not always about capital alone.

I thank you so much for everything that you're doing to continue on in this legacy. And it's important that you talked about that thing we call legacy and that idea of paying it forward. And it's really important that people learn more about this. And so where can people go to learn more information? So they can go to Famous Amos Ingredients with the S for success.com. And on that site, not only will they find all of the details on how to apply, they will find information and bios on our previous winners. And additionally, our goal is that everybody walks away with something, even if you don't end up applying. The reason that we partnered with the U.S. Black Chambers is they have a wealth of resources that are available, whether it be how to do a business pitch or how to do an elevator pitch for financing. And so all

of those resources are available for free if you go to that site, which, once again, is famous, famous ingredients for success dot com. Roshanah Patel, thank you so much. And we will definitely make sure that word gets out. Thank you. And ladies and gentlemen, as we get ready to wrap up, Roland Martin, I definitely want to thank our panel tonight. Thank you, Lauren. And thank you, Recy, as well. And y'all, Simone, she got that gold. We got to give her the props. She got that gold representing black excellence in every way, shape, and form.

She is just awesome, and she continues to do it. And every single day, she represents what it means to talk about that thing called black excellence. Congratulations, Simone. That's going to do it for Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Roland Martin will be back tomorrow. Once again, my name is Dr. Ome Kongo Dabinga. It's been a pleasure being with you all.

See you next time. Holla. Folks, Black Star Network is here. Hold no punches. I'm real revolutionary right now. Black power. Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told.

I thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roller. Be black. 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 scared. It's time't be black on media and be scared. It's time to be smart.

Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin.

And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports.

This kind of star-stud that 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 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. Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them.

Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispreetirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. This is an iHeart Podcast.