#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Trump liable for battery, Roland Takes on Project 21 about Gun Reform, & Honoring Harry Belafonte

Episode Date: May 10, 2023

5.9.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Trump liable for battery, Roland Takes on Project 21 about Gun Reform, & Honoring Harry Belafonte A New York jury finds former President Donald Trump liable for battery and defamation in the E. Jean Carroll case and orders him to pay $5 million in damages.  We'll discuss what this means for his presidential candidacy. On Saturday, I had the pleasure of speaking on MSNBC about gun reform, and I guess my comments about Republicans riled some feathers.  So, today I will talk with a member of a black conservative group about what should be done about guns. Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is blaming diversity and critical race theory for declining US History scores in grades K-12.  We will speak with the Director of Education Justice Research at NYU about test scores and why we have seen a change. To honor the late actor, singer, and civil rights icon Harry Belafonte I will share my last interview with Harry Belafonte. 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. the 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. 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. around their schedule. Never lick your thumb to clean their face. And you'd never let them leave the house looking like, uh, less than their best. You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it.

Never let them stay up too late. And never let them run wild through the grocery store. We have one aisle six. And aisle three. So when you say you'd never let them get into through the grocery store. We have one aisle six. And aisle three. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out.

Never happens. Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. Folks, today is Tuesday, May 9th, 2023. Coming up, a roller martin unfiltered. Streaming live on the Black Star Network. Donald Trump found liable by a New York jury in the civil case. E. Jean Carroll accused him of rape. He is found liable for battery, defamation, lying.

We'll break it down for you on today's show. Also, folks, on today's show, we're going to talk about all of these conservatives. They're all up in arms and pissed off because I said we've got to wipe out the Republican Party because they're refusing to confront gun control in America. So Black Conservative Group, Project 21, they're like, oh, we want to come on and talk about it. Let's go. I'm ready.

Also, folks, Betsy DeVos, Hawaiian Complaint, oh, critical race theory and diversity, equity, inclusion. That's the reason why test scores have gone down. You a damn lie. And our expert will join us to talk about it on today's show. Plus, we'll have for you the second interview I did with Harry Belafonte. We talked about Colin Kaepernick.

We talked about the importance of art. And he also discussed his legacy. Man, it was a great interview that I did with him on TV One. We're going to show it to you as well. It is time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin, Unfiltered, 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, yo

It's Rolling Martin, yeah Rolling with rolling now He's funky, he's fresh, he's real Yeah, yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now Yeah, yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real The best you know, he's Rollin' Martel Now Martel Oh, you can now add civil sexual assaulter

to the resume of Donald Trump today. A jury there took three hours to find him liable for sexual assault of E. Jean Carroll. She accused him of raping her in a department store in 1996. They also found him liable for defamation when he denied that he sexually assaulted her in 2022. She sued Trump under New York's Adult Survivors Act, which was passed last year to provide survivors of sexual abuse

a one-time opportunity to file civil suits regardless of any relevant statute of limitations. The verdict, of course, is a significant blow. Trump whined and complained, saying that, oh, he didn't have an opportunity to testify. That's a lie. No shock that they found him guilty of lying because all he does is lie. He was ordered to pay $5 million in damages. My panel, Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali, former senior advisor for environmental justice at the EPA,

joins us out of D.C., Dr. Larry J. Walker, assistant professor, University of Central Florida, out of the Sunshine State, Dr. Pamela Safesha Hill, assistant professor of social work, University of Texas at Arlington, she's there in Dallas. All right, Pam, I'll start with you. Here's the whole deal here.

Look, Duke, he's playing around. All Trump doing, he I'll start with you. Here's the whole deal here. Look, Duke keeps playing around. All Trump doing, he just keep taking L's. Well, you know, you do this crime, you got to pay the time. You know, so he's... It's interesting because, you know, people are going to still vote for him. That's a sad thing. And it tells you the type of people who live in this

world who, despite what he does, they're still supporting him. And that's sick. It's sick. But I'm so glad that he was found guilty as charged. Well, again, it was a, Larry, it's a civil case, so he's not

found guilty, but he is found liable for sexual assault, for defamation, and for lying. It reminds me of that saying, what goes around comes around. We can use any of the old sage words we used to hear in the black church to describe what's going on with Donald Trump

after many years of corruption and getting away with all kinds of madness. So like you said, Roland, we're just going to add this to the list of all the other, you know, multiple certainly charges, but certainly been recently in terms of found guilty. And we're also going to add on the fact that his nonprofit in terms of the New York State, in terms of getting a death penalty for his nonprofit and all the corruption that goes on there. And this is on top of what's going to happen possibly in Georgia and certainly with the special counsel. So it's about time that in terms of everything he's done

and obviously certainly a feel for this sexual assault victim, but this is one of many recent instances where the president's been held liable for his actions of the past. And like I said, I certainly hope that the special counsel, among some of the other investigations underway, continue to add on. The next question is, Roland, all these religious conservatives, what are they going to do? I want to see what the argument is. I mean, you support someone who is responsible for intimate partner violence. So let's see what some of these conservatives have to say who are religious in nature. Oh, yeah.

And Mustafa, the Republican Party is going to have to defend allowing somebody found liable for sexual assault to be their frontrunner. Yeah, exactly. But let's be clear. Donald Trump showed us exactly who he was before he ever became elected to the presidential office. He you know, he was caught on tape saying that he had the ability because of his celebrity to be able to violate women. So, yes, the Republican Party is going to have to make some tough decisions. But we saw how they reacted in the past by moving him forward as their candidate. We've got about 450,000 women, and that's the conservative number, that are sexually

assaulted every year in our country. One in six women will be raped during their lifetime. So it is also an opportunity for us to have a deeper conversation about the violence that continues to happen to women. So the party, and when I say the party, the Republican Party is going to have to decide if they are a party that supports sexual assault or if they are a party that they often label themselves as a party of family values. The two have not come together in a long time. Well, they have not. And I just think that

what you're seeing right here is, again, more L's. And I can't wait for Alvin Bragg to drop that L on him. I can't wait for Fannie Willis. I can't wait for Jack Smith. And he's getting his comeuppance. And so all these Republicans who whine and complain, they're going to have to keep defending a liar, a sexual assaulter, a cheat, a tax cheat, you name it. And so I can't wait to see how they just twist themselves into a principle to defend this fool. Going to break. We come back. We're going to talk about some other issues as well.

Of course, the shooting in Allen, Texas, continues to just rankle so many people. And oh, my goodness, all these little conservatives are caught up in their feelings because I had the audacity to call out the Republican Party for their absolute failure to do anything about guns. And so, Project 21 got their feelings like, well, you know, even if Roland Martin's wrong for this, how dare he?

All right, y'all want to come on and discuss? Bring it. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. right now. Thank you for being the voice of black America. All the 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 to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home, You dig? Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. 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

white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the 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 resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear.

Black TV does matter, dang it. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your boy, Jacob Lattimore, and you're now watching Roland Martin right now. Yee! All right, folks. That was on MSNBC on Sunday with former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, also Republican Michael Steele was guest was on MSNBC on Sunday with former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. Also, Republican Michael Steele was guest hosting on MSNBC. And we're talking about the shooting that took place in Allen, Texas, that left seven people dead, eight people wounded.

And this is what I had to say. All right, let's play the video. You would think after a mass shooting like this, lawmakers in the state where it happened would take stock and work on policy changes to the secretary's point to prevent it from happening again. But that's not what happens in Texas. No. What do we do here? How do we break this cycle? I mean, it's not like every two weeks, my friend. It's like every other day we're having these stories now about mass shootings. The only way to change any of this is to completely wipe out the Republican Party. Somebody has to say it. Greg Abbott, the governor, is sick and demented. He has literally done nothing. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, the leadership, Republican leadership in the state,

they literally have done nothing. They have ignored the Uvalde parents. I was at the Texas Capitol a few months ago where they were rallying there. They are not going to do anything. But here's also what has to happen. People of conscience are going to have to stop sitting at home and saying, oh, we want something done. In the last election, 75 percent of all Texans under the age of 30 did not vote. And so the only way to change this is to move these people out of office. There is no other way. And so, yes, we've seen what they've done when it comes to voter suppression. They want to remove voting locations from college campuses. But the way to counter this, you have to take these

people out of office and put in people who are going to pass the laws. That is the only way because it is clear they are not going to change the laws because they are so in love with guns and so in love with the Second Amendment crowd that they do not care to see bodies piled up on the sidewalk.

Alright, folks. So the folks at Project 21, group of minority conservatives, ooh, they were a little upset, y'all. They were caught in their feelings. And so Craig DeLuz, this is what he writes. The problem is not guns. It's the zero bail, sanctuary city,

and defund the police liberal policies that have progressively made our streets less and less safe. As social justice warriors like Roland Martin continue to advocate for criminals of color, they ignore the fact that overwhelmingly their victims also happen to be people of color. He clearly cares more about violent criminals than he does their victims. Has he been drug tested? Because the segment, we were discussing the shooting in Allen, Texas. I don't recall one time where I was advocating for the shooter.

A white Hispanic who also is a white supremacist neo-Nazi. Let's read the next one. Melanie Collette, she goes, Roland Martin's incendiary comments are air-fueled to an already divisive rift between the left and the right. The left is quick to call out its version of hateful rhetoric when a pundit on the right dares to disagree with progressive viewpoints. Meanwhile, media outlets like MSNBC overlook potentially violent language coming from liberal pundits like Roland Martin, proving just how intolerant the party of tolerance can often be. Really? That's interesting. Melanie, where are your statements against some of the

most ridiculous stuff we've heard on Fox News? Oh, you haven't done any of those because you're trying to get booked on Fox News. All right, here's David Lowry Jr. He goes, after decades of leftist leadership, black communities continue to suffer from uncontrolled crime and economic woes while progressives clamor for more devastation to black communities coming through unfettered abortion. Instead of calling for violence in their mission to destroy conservative thought, Roland Martin and his ilk should be looking for ways to improve the quality of life in black and brown communities. Martin is an embarrassment and nothing more than a puppet for the left. So David Lowry Jr. joins me right now from Chicago.

David, question for you. A discussion I had on MSNBC on Sunday. Was the topic abortion? Yes or no? The topic was about mass shootings. No, no, no. The topic was a specific mass shooting in Allen, Texas. Roland, we both from Chicago.

No, actually, I'm not from Chicago. I'm from Houston. No, no, hold up. Let me help you. David, hold on. David, hold on. David, I'll let you talk. David, hold on. No, actually, I'm not from Chicago. I'm from Houston. No, no, hold up. Let me help you. David, hold on. David, David, hold on. David, I'll let you talk. David, hold on.

David, David, David. David, hold on a second. I'm not from Chicago. I am born and raised in Houston, Texas. I lived in Chicago for six years. Now you can continue. Okay, so you and I know that the real problem here with the shooting, it is not the guns. It's the people that get the guns that cause these crimes.

How did you get them? It's the left. It's the left that bring these guns in the community. Let me just say, these guns get into the community whether it's left or right. How did the shooter... Hold up. The discussion was regarding Allen, Texas.

Here's the first question. Have you ever been to Allen, Texas? No, I have discussion was regarding Allen, Texas. Here's the first question. Have you ever been to Allen, Texas? No, I have never been to Allen, Texas. I have. I've been to that. One second. Hold up. No, David, David, David.

I'm going to let you talk, but I got to establish a foundation of things first. One. Hold up, David. David, one second. I'm going to let you talk. Have you been to Allen, Texas, yes or no? I said no. Okay. I'm going to let you talk. Have you been to Allen, Texas, yes or no? I said no. Okay. I've been to Allen, Texas.

I've actually been to that particular mall. Do you know what the racial makeup of Allen, Texas is? Roland, that doesn't matter to me. No, no, no. David, I'm asking a question. Do you know yes or no? You don't want to get to the point. David, David. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from

Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real.

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season 2 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 are wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time,

have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-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. You say you'd never give it into a meltdown, never let kids toys take over the house and never fill your feed with kid

photos. You'd never plan your life around their schedule. Never lick your thumb to clean their face. And you'd never let them leave the house looking like less than their best. You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it. Never let them stay up too late.

And never let them run wild through the grocery store. We have one aisle today. And aisle three. So when you say you'd never let them run wild through the grocery store. We have one aisle today. And aisle three. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out. Never happens.

Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the the ad council i'm getting to the point i'm asking you a specific question because the discussion on msnbc was about the shooting in allen texas david do you know the racial makeup of allen texas i told you i haven't been there the makeup no no no you don't have to be there to know the racial makeup. Allen, Texas is 61 and a half percent white. Two, we now know that the shooter, the actual shooter, was

a white supremacist and a neo-Nazi. How was he a leftist or a liberal? Let me say this, Roland. First of all, the problem that we have in here is that the American people really do not understand the difference between these two,

the conservatives and the liberals. David, I asked you a specific question regarding the shooter. David, David, can you answer about the shooter? I'm gonna answer the question about the shooter, but let me lay the foundation. Just like you did. This whole thing is about gun control.

This whole thing is about the Second Amendment. The left always want to try to control everybody in the... David, can you answer the question about the shooter? Let me... No, no, no, no. You're now trying to go somewhere else. David, was the shooter a Latino male who also was a white supremacist and a neo-Nazi?

Yes or no? Let me finish. Let me finish. I'm laying the groundation. David, it's either yes or no. It's not laying a foundation. Either he was or he wasn't. Listen, listen.

So anytime a shooting like this come up and you want to say, well, there was a shooting with a transgender... No, David. No, listen. So anytime a shooting like this come up and you want to say, well, there was a shooting with a transgender... No, David, no, David. I'm specifically talking about a shooting in Allen, Texas. Can you answer my question? You want to go somewhere else. Can you answer my question

about the shooting in Allen, Texas? But I'm trying to get the American people to see this. The politicians, the left and the right is one bird. And they all is one bird, the left wing and the right wing. So it doesn't matter. David, are you going to answer the question, was the shooter in Allen, Texas, was he a white supremacist and a neo-Nazi Latino? Yes or no?

There's nothing to prove. Answer the question, David. Yes or no? We don't know. Yes, we do know. I'm sorry. David, they literally have uncovered evidence. This man has tattoos on his body,

white supremacist, neo-Nazi tattoos. You haven't seen that? Just because he's a white supremacist, he still was a shooter, just like all the other shooters who used a weapon, who now the left is trying to shut down the Second Amendment. Let me ask you a question, David. After Uvalde in Texas...

David, I'm gonna ask you a question, David. After the shooting of you in... David? David, there was a shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The parents... David? David? David, there was a shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The parents, David, David, David, David, here's the deal. You can sit here and run off and do everything else. I am asking extremely specific questions. What I would like is an answer to the question, not you trying to filibuster something else.

That was a shoot. David, David, I'm asking a question. David, David, David, that was a shooting in Uvalde, Texas. After the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the parents in Uvalde demanded Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, do something about gun control. They all, Greg Abbott then said the problem isn't the guns. The problem

is mental illness. David. Hold up. David. Fact, yes or no. Did Texas Governor Greg Abbott cut $211 million out of the mental health budget in Texas, yes or no? No, I don't know if he did or not.

He did. So, you just agreed, David. You just agreed, David I'm going to let you talk, you just agreed with Greg Abbott that mental illness is the problem. So, if mental illness is the problem, why did the Republican governor cut the funding and did you criticize his cutting of the funding? Now you can talk. Okay.

This thing in Texas and Greg Abbott cutting the funding for the mental illness, it's definitely a mental illness because these guns are not killing. It's the people that get the guns. Greg, David, do you disagree with Republican Greg Abbott cutting the funding? I disagree with the fact that you're not allowing me to explain myself. That's what I disagree with. David, you just said cutting the funding of mental illness is a problem.

Do you disagree with Republican Greg Abbott cutting the funding. This is what I disagree with. If he cut that funding, that funding is needed to help the mental aspects of people that are purchasing the weapon. So if you believe it's needed, where is your statement? Hold up. Hold up. Hold up. Where's your statement criticizing Greg Abbott for cutting the funding? Where is it? I'm not criticizing you

because you're a race baiter who always continues... Oh! So you're not criticizing the person who cut the funding. You're just criticizing the concept of cutting the funding. I'm just criticizing you right now, brother. David? David, I'm going to ask you again.

David, why won't you criticize the Republican governor who cut $211 million for mental illness? Opposed to us looking for issues to help the black community, all you do is get on this show. You're a liar. You're a liar. Again, here's what I don't understand. See, if you say they fly from the same bird, you would have the guts.

You would have the courage. You would be a black man with conviction and say Texas Governor Greg Abbott is wrong for blaming mental illness and then turning around and cutting the money. But you won't do that because that's going to cut your Republican money. Let me say this. If he cut the money because... you won't do that because that's going to cut your Republican money. Let me say this.

If he cut the money because... Not if, he did. Wait a minute. Just like the liberals do. They say one thing and do something else. This bird has two wings. The left and the right... David! David! ...governors is this. David, why won't you

criticize the Republican governor for cutting the money? Criticize him. I called to talk about you. No, no, no, no, no. See, David, here's the deal. Here's the deal, David. See, you thought, you thought,

you thought I was going to go by your agenda. This is my show, player. And we're discussing, we're discussing the shooting in Texas. See, you wanted to bring some other stuff. Let me go back to it, David. This is my show player, and we're discussing the shooting in Texas. See, you wanted to bring us other stuff. Let me go back to it, David.

Do you believe it was wrong? Do you believe it was wrong, David, for Texas and other states to pass laws allowing for concealed handguns and people don't have to get a permit? I don't believe in that because I got a permit here in Illinois. You don't believe in what? So if you're going to get a gun, you need to go through the proper process. So that means that you believe it. So you, David of Project 21, you believe that Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, you believe that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and you believe that Texas Governor Greg Abbott, all Republicans, were wrong

for supporting bills allowing people to carry concealed weapons without having to get a permit, correct? What I believe is this. I believe that those governors are doing what the best they can. No, no, no, David. You just said, wait a minute,

David. You just said, wait a minute. I have a concealed permit in Illinois. I believe you must go through a process. So when I then turn around and tell you that Republican governors have supported bills allowing concealed handguns without a permit, now you, oh, they're doing the best thing they could. David, is it the best thing? David,

is it the, David, David, it's real simple. Is it the best thing for people to carry concealed handguns without a permit? Yes or no? That was required for me, okay? That's what I'm saying. So whatever these states do for their

states, that's what they do. David, are you aware that homicides in Texas are up 90% since they... Are you aware, David? We're discussing Texas. Are you aware that homicides in Texas are up 90% since they changed the gun laws?

The statement that you made was racist. David, you're not answering my question, David. David, you're not answering my question, David. David, you're not answering my question. Are you aware, David, that Texas has had more mass shootings in the last few years than any other state?

Are you aware of that? I am aware of that. Are you aware of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in El Paso, Texas, in Santa Fe? And after every one of those shootings, they did nothing. You want to sit here and you want to, as a leftist, you want to sit here. No, no, no, no, David.

David, I am a registered voter in Texas. Are you? David, are you a registered voter in Texas? Are you a registered voter in Texas, yes or no? David, are you a registered voter in Texas, yes or no? Can you? David, are you a registered voter in Texas, yes or no? What's your problem about the black community? David, are you a registered voter in Texas, yes or no? Are you a registered voter in Illinois?

David, no, I'm not. And guess what? And guess what, David? Guess what? I am a registered voter in Texas, Dallas County. Hold up, David. Which means that I, as a native Texan and a registered voter and a homeowner, have the absolute right to call out Texas Republicans who have done nothing to keep Texans safe.

To destroy this country, the left has implemented things and laws that we're seeing now. Really? Black people are not prospering. David, David, David, we're discussing the mass shooting in Texas and now you want to go on this tangent. And David, here's what I don't understand, David. Why is

it? Why, David, why are you so scared? David, why are you so impotent? Why are you so frail to criticize Republicans for passing gun laws and making it easier for people to get guns? The real deal is this. The left has already evolved. You still don't answer the question, David. David, David, David.

Either we're going to discuss mass shootings in Texas or David, David, we're not having a conversation about economics in black communities. And it is not the guns that are killing. It's the sad people that get the guns that do the killing. Oh, I'm glad you said that. So since it's the sad people who get the guns and the Republican governor is cutting the mental health funding. David, this is real mental health funding. David, this is real simple, David. David, this is real simple. David, you can sit there. David.

David. David. Are you going to stay on the topic, or are you going to try to come up with some other stuff? But you laid a foundation. David, you're not on the topic, David. So the thing of it is this. As long as the American people do not come up with a system to weed out those that have mental issues.

Wait a minute, David. You can't weed it out if you cut the money. To weed out those who have mental issues, it is not the guns. The Second Amendment should not be infringed upon. And the American people and patriots across this country need to stand strong together because people like Roland Martin are divisive. Here's what I find to be funny. See, divisive is when you're so weak that you are unwilling. When you're so weak, you're unwilling to criticize a Republican who doing what's wrong. David, David, David, admit it. You're impotent.

All of the money that you get from Project 21 comes from the right. David, you won't even answer the question. And the thing of it is, is this right? David, let me ask you a question. David, David, after black people were killed, since you, okay, how about this, David? Since you want to talk about black people, okay? No, no, no, no.

Since you want to talk about black people, let's go ahead and talk about black people, okay? We about to roll up on the first anniversary of 10 black folks killed. Now, hold up, David. David, David, David. We gonna discuss black people right now, hold up, David. David, David, David. We gonna discuss black people right now. Hold up, David.

David, you just bumping your gums. We gonna discuss black people right now. Black people continue. No, no, here's what we gonna do. I'm gonna go to a break. I'm gonna go to a break. And I'm gonna come back in two minutes. So, David, we gonna come back,

and we gonna discuss black people being shot. And I'm gonna walk through something and I can't wait to get your response to it. Hey, y'all, you watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. David can keep yapping during the commercial break, but trust me, we gonna come back and he gonna have to answer about Buffalo. You watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history.

Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. 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 fear. 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 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 does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-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.

You say you'd never give in to a meltdown. Never let kids' toys take over the house. And never fill your feed with kid photos. You'd never plan your life around their schedule. Never lick your thumb to clean their face. And you'd never let them leave the house looking like less than their best. You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it. Never let them stay up too late.

And never let them run wild through the grocery store. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out. Never happens.

Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. Hi, I'm Anthony Brown from Anthony Brown & Group Therapy. Hi, I'm B.B. Winans. Hey, I'm Donnie Simpson. What's up? I'm Lance Gross,

and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. We are five days away from commemorating the one-year anniversary of 10 black people who were gunned down at a supermarket in Buffalo. And so we are having, well, I won't call it a conversation because David Lowry refuses to answer any questions. He's with Project 21. So David, let me ask you this question. Since you want to talk about black people, 10 black people were gunned down at a supermarket in Buffalo by a white supremacist. Shortly after that happened, the House

passed a bill to fight domestic terrorism and it was laid out. The vote was 222 to 203. Go to my iPad, Henry. 222 to 203. The only Republican who voted for the bill

was a guy from your state, now former Congressman Adam Kinzinger. All other Republicans voted against this bill. David, I'm curious, can you show me where you criticize and condemn Republicans for voting against a bill to fight white domestic terrorism after 10 black people were killed by a white supremacist in a Buffalo supermarket? Well, Roland, it's kind of like the same situation.

Can you answer the question? Did you criticize the Republicans for voting against it? It's a yes or no, David. Listen, let me say this. It's kind of like the same way that all the left... Did you condemn Republicans for

not standing up for black people, yes or no? One Democrat had voted... Okay, let me do this here. Henry, go to my iPad. David Lowry and... Let me just do this here. Henry, go to my iPad. David Lowry and, let me just do this here. David Lowry and Buffalo shooting.

So let's see. Let's see exactly what David Lowry had to say about the shooting in Buffalo. Huh. I'm looking. I'm looking. I'm looking. I didn't say nothing about the shooting in Buffalo. So hold up. Ten black people, ten black people are gunned down by white supremacists,

and you said nothing? I wasn't asked to. Oh, wait, wait, wait. Hold up. I'm sorry. You have to be. Oh, wait, wait, wait. Hold on. I'm sorry. You have to be. Wait a minute, David. You have to be asked by white people to comment on the death of black people?

David. So wait a minute. When all Republicans except one voted against a bill against white domestic terrorism, you said nothing. What kind of black man are you that says nothing when your party votes against the killing of black people? Now let me say this. No, no, no, no. Did you say anything when your party

would not vote for black people? Let me say this. At the time this shooting occurred. A year ago. A year ago. I wasn't even with Project 21. It don't matter. Hold up.

Who were you with? Who were you with? Let me finish. Let me finish. I'm with my own foundation. Okay. So you couldn't say anything about it? Let me say it.

I didn't get the media attention to say what I needed to say about it. Oh, my God! Oh, hold up! There's a thing called Twitter. There's a thing called Instagram. There's a thing called Facebook. There's a thing called Fanbase and Tumblr and TikTok and YouTube and Snapchat. Oh, I'm not getting the media attention.

Let me finish. Let me finish. I posted what I posted on Facebook with my show, Let the Truth Be Told on TZN. About what? About the shooting. The shooting was wrong. Any shooting is wrong.

David, I asked you a question. 203 Republicans voted against the bill. No, David. Okay, you had a show. David, on your show, on your show, did you ever blast Republicans for voting against this bill?

Yes. I blast Republicans. No, no, no. On this bill. On this bill, David. We're rolling. David, answer my question, David. On this bill, did you criticize Republicans on this bill?

I criticized. Huh? I criticized that bill. Where is it? Hold on, hold on. Where's the proof? Blacks are being killed in Chicago. Stop, stop.

Where's the proof? The hell no. Where's the proof? We have the blacks being killed. David, where did you criticize them? Nobody gets the bill. David, where did you criticize them, David? I criticized anybody.

David, where did you criticize the Republicans who voted days after the Buffalo shooting? Where? Hey, hold on. Y'all do me a favor. Go to control room. Now, David, hold on. Control room. Control room.

Go to David's Facebook page and I want y'all to go back I want y'all to go back to May 14th, 15th 16th, 17th and 18th and I want y'all to find me the video where David condemned Republicans. Hold up David Hey David, David, David

David, David 10 black folks are gunned down and they vote against it. I criticize you. I criticize you. Oh, hey, David, David, I supported the bill. Did you? Did you?

Hey, David, did you support this bill? David, did you support this bill? Let me tell you, I support this bill. David, did you support this bill, yes or no? That's the bill I support Which one? This is the thing, Roland David, did you support this bill?

We gotta talk about you being a race fan No, see, here's the deal, David See, here's the deal, David See, the fact of the matter is You are absolutely One of those I went with Project 21 last year, so I really

couldn't say nothing. Bro, you weak. You're weak. You're a weak black man. You will not condemn the Republican Party. Hey, David. Hey, David.

David, I can't give you a spine. Hey, David, hey, David. Hey, David, get up there, brother. David, I can't give you a spine. They created welfare. Hey, David, I can't give you a spine. I can't give you any of that. So here's the whole deal, David. I'm going to ask you one more time, David. David, how about this here? I'm just going to ask you one more time, David.

David, it's real simple. David, David. Black people do not wake up to understand. This is really a waste of my time because you can't even answer the question. So, David Lowery, I appreciate you coming on from Chicago. I appreciate you. But I still want to know, please, by all means, send my producer the proof of you condemning Republicans at Buffalo. You have a great day, and I hope you keep talking to yourself.

All right, y'all. I'm going to go to a break. We're going to come back, talk to my panel. Here's the whole deal. It's real simple. If you can't even answer the question, I can't keep talking to you. If you can't answer the question, I can't keep talking to you.

Y'all just sat there and saw it. He would not even answer the question. So you can't come over here and act like you John Shaft and you talking about how you stand up for black people when 203 Republicans voted against a bill in the aftermath of 10 black people being gunned down? If you can't stand up against domestic terrorism against black people, you can't stand up for a damn thing. And that, David, is why I ended our conversation. Because you are a black man with no spine.

You are a black man with no integrity. You are a so-called black man who can't even defend black people in your own party. So, no, I won't waste any more of my airtime talking to a damn fool i'll be back we talk about blackness and what i'm clayton english i'm greg glad 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 uh ricky williams nfl player hasman 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. 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. 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.

You say you'd never give in to a meltdown. Never let kids' toys take over the house. And never fill your feed with kid photos. You'd never plan your life around their schedule. Never lick your thumb to clean their face. And you'd never let them leave the house looking like, uh, less than their best.

You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it. Never let them stay up too late. And never let them run wild

through the grocery store. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out. Never happens.

Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. 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. 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. Wage $100,000. We're behind $100,000. So we want to hit that.

Your 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. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, what does it mean to actually have balance in your life? Why is it important and how do you get there?

A masterclass on the art of balance. It could change your life. Find the harmony of your life. And so what beat can you maintain at a good pace? What cadence can keep you running that marathon? Because we know we're going to have, you know, high levels. We're going to have low levels. But where can you find that flow, that harmonious pace?

That's all next on A Balanced Life on Blackstar Network. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, yeah. Hey, I'm Antonique Smith. What up? Lana Well, and you are watching Rolling Martin Unfiltered. Martin! Oh, yeah. Welcome back, y'all. So, see, here's the deal. I must say.

I must say, I must say, I must say. See, when you decide to come on the show, see, I'm explaining to y'all what just happened right there, okay? So Mustafa Larry, let me walk y'all through what just happened. See, game recognized game. So I'm discussing the shooting in Texas. He want to come on, talk about everything else but the shooting in Texas He want to come on talk about everything else but the shooting in Texas Then the pole little boy don't do no research on

Texas and So he'll he started all wrong by saying I'm from Chicago That fool didn't do that basic as research. Yeah, that's in Wikipedia So then he wants to start going all around That fool didn't even do that basic-ass research. Hell, that's in Wikipedia. So then he wants to start going all around. So then he wants to start talking about black people who get killed. All right, so I bring up 10 black people killed in Buffalo. So my staff has pulled it up. What were the dates of his show?

May 4th, May 11th, and May 18th. Y'all, the shooting took place May 14th. Tell me again, what did he discuss on his Facebook on May 18th? He discussed, y'all, this fool

was talking about the May oral election in Chicago on May 18th. Mustafa, on May, the same day the bill gets passed in the House, 203 Republicans voted against it. Here's what David is so damn weak. He could have went on his show and praised Adam Kinzinger for being the only Republican and he from Illinois for voting for it. He didn't even talk about it. So David sat on this show and lied about what he did at the shooting at the Buffalo. And that's what these cats do.

They come on these shows, Mustafa, and they think this is Fox News or Newsmax or OAN where they can spew talking points and lie until I hit their ass with a two-by-four called fax. Yeah, maybe that's a reason that they're so afraid of background checks, because when people do background checks, they actually, you know, know the history of an individual or an entity, if it is. You know, it's unfortunate that we have folks from our own communities who will not stand up to stop this gun violence. We know the steps that

are necessary to actually make it happen. You go back to the 1994 assault weapons ban, and there's research that shows that it decreased the deaths that we now see even to this day. They had a 10-year time period to actually look at those numbers. We know we got 48,000 people who died last year from gun violence. 300 people are shot every day. 111 people die every day from guns. So if you care about our communities, then you should be doing everything that you can to, one, highlight the facts, to, two, to move forward on trying to encourage people who are inside of your party to do the right thing and to protect lives. And if you're not willing to do that, then I have a difficult time in believing

that you care about Black people or even that you even care about people who are inside of this country because we know how many people are dying from gun violence. So it's time for people to stop with the rhetoric and to actually, you know, get together and begin to address this because our children are dying, our elders are dying like they're in Buffalo,

and everyday people can't even leave their homes because they continue to lose their lives. All right, do me a favor. Henry, put the chart in my monitor right here. See, here's the thing, Larry, that fools like David don't understand and they stuck on stupid. We're talking about assault weapons.

AR-15 and corresponding assault weapons. This is from the Oregon newspaper. All right. So let me show you. Let me show you right here. I'm about to break this thing down for you. This right here, y'all. Right here. Assault weapons allowed. Okay, then you see right here, okay, where you had, where the ban expired. The assault ban expired in 2004. This is the aftermath of the assault ban. Now, help me out here. Is this lower than this? Larry, it looks to me like when we had the ban on assault weapons

which passed in, and mind you, passed in 1994. This is no ban. Looks to me like assault ban worked. They did work, Roland. I mean, there are plenty of research studies that highlight

that the research ban during those 10 years, and remember, it expired during the George Bush Jr. administration. We know that it worked. We know there are common sense policy decisions to deal with this public health crisis. The other thing is, well, I want to go back to the guest you just saw on the show. Listen, it reminds me of a student who didn't read the syllabus. If he's going to come on your show, you can't come on with superficial talking points. You have to make sure you have good facts to back up. Statistically, he needed to have some data,

some numbers, and a common sense approach to have a conversation on the show. He just didn't read the syllabus and wasn't prepared. But the bottom line is we need comprehensive gun reform at the federal level to address the onslaught of violence this country has experienced over the last several years, particularly, as I said, you talked about these mass shootings, mostly in one in Texas. Not doing anything is not an option. The other thing is, Roland, when people come on the show or I see them on other platforms and they start talking about Chicago,

or we're talking about shooting in Texas, I see you. You don't have anything to talk about. And certainly that is what we would describe as a dog whistle. So let's not just focus on what's going on in Chicago. Let's talk about the national problem of gun violence in this country. Let's find some comprehensive gun reform.

Let's pass it so we can make sure we say the lies to men, women, and children in this country. And, Pam, this is real. Again, this is how stupid David L. Lowry Jr. is. You've got to be, I mean, beyond ignorant to release a statement to say, I don't care about the well-being of black communities. on Ignet to release a statement to say, I don't care about the well-being of black communities when literally that's what we do every single day.

We feature, we're not doing it today because we got our hair better fonted. We feature black-owned businesses every Tuesday. We feature black people in tech every Wednesday. We do Fit Live Win every Tuesday. We feature black people in tech every Wednesday. We do Fit Live Win every Monday. Education Matters every Friday.

This dumbass ain't never seen the show, it's obvious. But Pamela, for this fool to bring up abortion when I'm talking about the mass shooting in Allen, Texas. This is what happens when ignorant folk use talking points and want to be way the hell off the subject. The bottom line is this here. A white supremacist neo-Nazi gunned people down there in Texas. One of those injured is

our frat brother, Larry and Mustafa. I'm going to show you in a second, folks, there's a GoFundMe. So eight people are injured. This man killed a whole Asian family. There's a six-year-old who does not have a mama and a daddy and a sister

because of this racist. And this fool is defending them because he wants them to still be able to have these guns. Roland, there's an African proverb that says, it is best to allow others to think you are a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Your guest just opened his mouth and removed all doubt and opened his mouth. He could not answer yes or no. So mine truly is a terrible thing to waste. And, you know, I live in Dallas area and, you know, just to think that you can't even go to the mall.

And he apparently does not watch the news because they talked about how this guy had all these tattoos, how they found all this white supremacy information in his house, and how he was yelling racist things. And this dumbass goes, we don't know if he was a white supremacist neo-Nazi. I'm like, your ass can't read? Exactly.

And all y'all do is turn on the evening news. It's still on the news. So, you know, and what they did in Texas, they raised the age limit to 21. However, if you're 22, you can still go out and get a gun and not be checked. So that is, you know,

I don't think that's the solution. It needs to be higher. It needs to be background checks. Any fool can go out here and get a weapon and do whatever they do. And that's the sad reality. And the other sad reality is that we know it's going to happen again.

Children are afraid to go to school. People are afraid to go shopping. You can't go to church. You can't go anywhere. Look. But you know... Look, I keep telling all these black conservatives,

I ain't got a problem with black conservatives come on my show. Hell, I was on MSNBC Sunday with a black conservative, Michael Steele. I've had Chris Metzler, Eugene, Craig, I've had others, but here's what you're not gonna do.

You're not gonna come in this space and lie. What you're not gonna do is come in this space and make shit up. What you're not gonna do is you're not gonna come in this space and actually think I'm going to allow you to spew BS talking points and then if you think, David, because see y'all, here's the deal.

David asked for this ass whooping. I need y'all to understand something. I didn't call his ass. They sent my producer, Carol, an email. And the email basically said, hi, could you please book David Lowry so he can get his ass whooped by Roland Martin?

That's essentially what just happened. I don't know who that fool is. Because first of all, if I knew David Lowry, I would have told his dumb ass, don't sit in a dark ass studio in a black suit and a cobalt blue tie and a black shirt because we can't see your monkey ass. I would have told them to at least put on a white shirt and a different color suit. But see, they like to invite themselves. Because see, here's the whole deal, y'all.

And I just want to explain to y'all what they're doing. The Right Funds Project 21. Most of these folk in Project 21, other black Republicans ain't never heard of them. I can call y'all, y'all, I can pick the phone up right now and call 10 of the most prominent black Republicans and I can guarantee you they ain't never ever heard of David. This little Colette girl, they ain't never, ever heard of David. This little Colette girl, they ain't never heard of her ass. That first dude, Deluge, Deluxe, whatever his name is, they ain't never heard of his ass. I could walk into a black conservative gathering and get more applause than all three of them combined.

So what these are, these are three nobodies. Matter of fact, they are members of the hashtag never will be's club. Y'all can use that one, hashtag never will be's. Because that's what they are, they are never will be's. They don't know nothing about public policy. They don't know anybody. They can't call nobody. Don't nobody listen to them.

And so you got a little conservative group who goes, well, let's just run some little comments out there or some little black conservative, we ain't never heard. And so then they like, we need some media attention. So what did he say? I came on here to call you Roland Martin a racist. The shooter was the racist. And this fool is sitting there talking like the shooter.

I can't respect, and I'm going to just give y'all this around here. I'm just going to go ahead and end with this here. So a few years ago, you had a white Republican who was running for Congress in Texas against Martin Frost, who was a Democrat. So a man, Michael Williams you had a white Republican who was running for Congress in Texas against Martin Frost, who was Democrat. So a man, Michael Williams, and his wife Donna, they were going to have a fundraiser at their house. Now, Michael worked for the Reagan and the Bush administration. Michael, third generation, fourth generation black Republican. Michael, good brother.

I talked to, hey, Michael is my friend. See, y'all don't understand. Michael was a top pitcher in the Reagan and the Bush administration. Me and Michael went to the Million Man March together. So let me tell y'all understand Michael was a top issue in the Reagan the Bush administration Me and Michael went to the meeting man March together. So let me tell y'all what happened So there was some church burners going on. So Michael calls the canister Hey, man, I think it'd be the good idea if y'all say something about the church burns What a staff got back to him and they said well, you know, we ain't really comfortable with that because we think that's pandering.

Now Mustafa, Larry, and Pamela, here's what's funny. They literally traveled to some black churches with Congressman JC Watts. Well, that shit is pandering. But you couldn't make a statement against some black churches being burned. So Michael went and told his wife Donna. Donna said, ain't no way in hell any person is welcome in my house

who can't call out black church burnings. So Michael and Donna Williams canceled the fundraiser. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.

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

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

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

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes.

But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops 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.

You say you'd never give in to a meltdown, Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. You'd never plan your life around their schedule. Never lick your thumb to clean their face. And you'd never let them leave the house looking like less than their best. You'd say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it. Never let them stay up too late. And never let them run wild through the grocery store. He's on aisle six. And aisle three. And never let them run wild through the grocery store. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car

and can't get out. Never happens. Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. In they house, where they were going to invite a lot of they black Republican friends for this dude who eventually lost to Martin Frost. See, David, that's a black Republican, a black conservative with some integrity. That's a black Republican and a black conservative with some guts. And they said, that's not going to happen in my house.

You're impotent ass. You are in need of some political Viagra, some political sialis, because you sat on this show and you, your weak punk ass could not even call out 203 Republicans who voted against a bill four days after 10 black people were gunned down in Buffalo it was a bill against white domestic terrorism and the one Republican who voted for it was from your state and your simple Simon ass could not even condemn that? And then you made excuses for Greg Abbott cutting $211 million? This is why real black Republicans paid attention to none of you Project 21 fools. Because y'all are utterly irrelevant. Let me be perfectly clear. I ain't no Democrat.

I ain't no Republican. I vote in the interest of black people. And if 203 Democrats voted against something that I felt was beneficial to black people, you bet damn well I would have the guts to call them out. You, David Wright, are a simple Simon. You are an embarrassment to black people. And I hope your whole family and your church members and I hope your neighbors watch this video to see you, a so-called black man, not even defend the honor of 10 black people killed in Buffalo.

In the words of Della Reese from Harlem Nights, you can kiss my entire ass. I'll be back. Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr. We look at one of the most influential and prominent Black Americans of the 20th century. His work literally changed the world. Among other things, he played a major role in creating the United Nations. He was the first African American and first person of color to win the Nobel Peace Prize. And yet today, he is hardly a household name.

We're talking, of course, about Ralph J. Bunch. A new book refers to him as the absolutely indispensable man. His lifelong interest and passion in racial justice, specifically in the United States as just the other side of the coin of his work trying to roll back European empire in Africa. Author Cal Rastiala will join us to share his incredible story. That's on the next Black Table here on the Black Star Network.

Up next on The Frequency with me, Dee Barnes, our special guest, Alicia Garza, one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement. We're going to discuss her new book, The Purpose of Power, How We Come Together When We Fall Apart. We live in a world where we have to navigate, you know, when we say something, people look at us funny. But when a man says the same thing, less skillfully than we did, right? Right. Everybody blocks towards what they said, even though it was your idea.

Right here on The Frequency on the Black Star Network. 007 007 I'm your host, Laura Stevens West from The Carmichael Show. Hi, my name is Latoya Luckett, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. -♪ -♪ -♪ -♪ -♪ -♪

-♪ -♪ -♪ -♪ Ariana Rowe has been missing from Columbia, South Carolina since March 7th. The 14-year-old also goes by Rowe, is 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighs 125 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about Ariana Rowe should call the Richland County, South Carolina Sheriff's Office at 803-576-3000, 803-576-3000. David, I bet you don't do missing black people on your show. Weak ass.

All right, y'all. Speaking of weak, y'all, former Education Secretary Betsy DuVos just proved she got to be as dumb as David and everybody in Project 21. Here's the tweet her simple Simon ass posted. This is why she got booed at, and y'all pull a video up, when she spoke at Bethune-Cookman when they turned their back and booed her trifling ass.

This fool said, students' knowledge of U.S. history is at an all-time low. This is what you do when you teach CRT, DEI, and the 1619 Project instead of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and a Gettysburg Address. Y'all, why did I write my book, White Fear? Because of folk like her ass. Then she goes on Fox News claiming, oh, wokeness is the reason why our kids are not learning. Y'all want to hear a simple Simon?

Hear her ass go. Fine graph, if you will. Eighth grade history scores now hitting an all- time low in this country. To what do you attribute this drop off for our nation's children? Well, Sandra, clearly the extended closures during COVID had something to do with it. But the reality is that those scores were headed that direction well before the pandemic. In fact, in 2017, I made a speech on National Constitution Day talking about these plummeting scores.

This is what happens when you teach DEI, CRT, and the 1619 Project, instead of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address. This is appalling. And when we consider that 87 out of 100 students are not even close to proficient in knowing U.S. history, it's a very concerning trend. And we should all be alarmed and say enough. Our government-run schools are not doing the job, and we need a change. Joining us is Matt Gonzalez, the Director of Education, Justice, Research,

and Organizing Collaborative at NYU Metro Center. Here is what I think is absolutely hilarious, Matt. This fool, Betsy DeVos, actually said CRT, DEI, and the 1619 Project, and she said, I gave a speech on Constitution Day in 2017. Here we go to my iPad. Matt, the 1619 Project wasn't published until August of 2019, two years after her dumb ass gave that speech. Matt, do you hear me? Yeah, I hear you, Roland. Take it away.

Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, I think the point you just made about when she made that speech and when the 1619 Project was released, I think ultimately reinforces the fact that Betsy DeVos has zero credibility to be talking about what good instruction is, what good curriculum looks like, and what a good school looks like, right? I think what we all should understand is that Ms. DeVos has never been a teacher, did not send her children to public schools, and has never worked inside of a public school, right? And so what we also know about these narratives around the anti-woke, anti-CRT kind of talking point that the right wing has established, is that that's not rooted in reality. It's not rooted in fact. What it is rooted in is fear and racism, right? And so what I tend to think about these frameworks and these ideas is really about

the, like, the Southern strategy for education, right? And so this attack on the 1619 project, which is a really profound and deeply accurate historical account that our young people actually need to understand and learn about our country, critical race theory, which to be really clear is what graduate students in law schools are learning, not what kindergarten. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way.

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

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. 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 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. You say you'd never give in to a meltdown. Never let kids' toys take over the house. And never fill your feed with kid photos.

You'd never plan your life around their schedule. Never lick your thumb to clean their face. And you'd never let them leave the house looking like, uh, less than their best. You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it. Never let them stay up too late. And never let them run wild through the grocery store. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there no it can happen one in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car

and can't get out never happens before you leave the car always stop look lock brought to you by nizza and the Ad Council. She's trying to sit here and play these games with, oh, this is the reason. No, it's not the reason. It's the fact that people like her, who was grossly, let me be clear, Betsy DeVos was grossly unqualified to be the secretary of education. And the problem is when dumbasses like her are put in leadership positions that make it harder for our kids to learn. Right. And we understand really from looking at the history and what happened is that Ms. DeVos purchased her seat, right? She made a tremendous number of donations to the former administration.

And again, as you said, had zero qualifications to be in this role that is crucial for our public education. But I think what's really important for folks to know is that while most Americans started to learn about Ms. DeVos when she became the education secretary, her work has actually been influencing state and national education policy for decades, right? She has been behind the scenes pushing anti-union policies across the country, pushing privatization policies to undermine and defund traditional public educational spaces. She's also been, you know, while in office, was doing a pretty terrible job overseeing the student loan issues and has come out to and attacked the student loan forgiveness programs. And so, again, I think what we understand is that anyone who has been trying to traffic in this kind of fear-mongering and racism, these are not new arguments. These are not new fights. There have been culture wars in education for the past 50 years. This is just the

culture war du jour for the right wing. And I think it's really important that we understand who is funding these right wing groups to go out and, you know, act wild at school boards, to attack and dox teachers. And to be really clear that over 25 states in this country have passed legislation that is attacking, you know, critical race theory, attacking the 1619 Project, attacking LGBTQ students, and all of that is designed to undermine and dismantle public education

so that Ms. DeVos and her friends who love to privatize schools can sweep right in and pick up the money, the taxpayer money that we use to... that is needed to defend our traditional public educational spaces. Larry, you're a college professor and the bottom line is here, there literally is nothing of substance that comes out of this woman's mouth.

All it is is gaslighting and just feeding the white fear of the folks at Fox News and those who watched it. So let's remember, soon after being confirmed as Secretary of Education, she made a comment about Howard University as if black folks had a choice to attend PWIs and not attend HBCUs. And remember, she had to walk back that comment. Yeah, because she don't know a damn thing about history. Right.

That's how she started off her role as Secretary of Education, having to walk back a comment when Black folks were suffering from de jure segregation and had no choice but to attend HBCUs. So when she talks about, like you said, Roland, when she talks about history, first of all, she started off by making an error

week one as being Secretary of Education. So she's not one to talk. My colleague did talk talked about the Vols and that family in terms of how they've been undermining public education for decades, and that's true. The other thing I want to add, Roland, is this conversation about CRT and, you know,

1690 Project. These are all dog whistles. Let's just call it what it is. The bottom line is, Lisa, when you talk about your book, people are afraid of a country that is now, over the next couple decades, will predominantly be people from minoritized backgrounds. So let's be clear about what this is all about.

This is about power and control and not about democracy and certainly not about history. Pamela, again, we ain't dealing with... I mean, she ain't the brightest bulb in a dark room. Okay. And so again, it's what can I say that's going to rile up white people? Oh, that's why, that's why my kid not learning and we should be teaching the Declaration of Independence in a Gettysburg address. You so stupid that they barely teach that anyway? Here's the question, and this is why Fox and Doo is so dumb.

This is real simple. Hey, Betsy, when's the last time you been in a classroom? Oops. You've never been in a classroom. In the state of Texas, they are now wanting to put the Ten Commandments in all the classrooms. Well, first of all, if we had teachers who were allowed to teach, we would have a better opportunity for our children to learn.

You have, you know, teachers being told what to teach and what you cannot teach, what you can say, what you cannot say. How is it that in a social studies class in Texas, you can't discuss current issues? Really? Really? So, you know, we have to realize and be always truthful to understand, again, critical race

theory came about in the 70s. I tell folks, if somebody criticizes, if they can't give you the accurate history, they don't know what they're talking about. Nobody's teaching that unless it's at the graduate level, law school, and you got to know what it is. So what they are doing is they are trying to indoctrinate people with their own ideas to give this scary thing, oh my God, these people of color are going to come, they're going to take over. We ain't going nowhere. We ain't going nowhere. And I think that, you know, particularly teachers, parents, learn

all you can and teach your children start at home. Because if we depend on the school system, we might be in some issues here because, again, teachers are not allowed to be teachers. Mustafa, look, again, it's beyond stupid, but

people need to understand what is actually happening by folks like like DeVos and what they're attempting to do. They want white. They want white control. They do not want to see black people and Latinos and Asian-Americans and Native Americans do not want to see Black people and Latinos and Asian Americans and Native Americans do not want to see us included. They want to continue the white fantasy of how America was created and how wonderful and perfect and great everything has been.

Yeah, and it's also a part of the 2024 strategy. And we know it's been going on for a number of years now, but they're ramping it up because they understand if they can create chaos, if they can create fear, then they have a stronger chance of actually winning these elections, both local, county, state, and federal. So we need to understand the game that's being played. You also got to understand the messenger. So when Betsy DeVos was secretary of education, there was a ranking that was done

and she was one of the lowest in the Trump administration. So hold on to that for a second. If you are the lowest in the Trump administration and we saw individuals that were being put in positions who had no track records leading these agencies and departments, how bad are you if you're the lowest of individuals who are not even qualified to hold these positions? So you've got to understand the game that's going on and how these types of folks will try and manipulate the truth so that they can, you know, garner the things that they've been looking for. And, of course, as everybody has shared, it is all about holding on to power. It is about trying to figure out a way like they did in South Africa to know that when you are the minority, which, you know, white brothers and sisters will end up being, how do you still make sure that you can leverage resources? How can you leverage privilege?

How can you make sure that you stay in power? Dean, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Matt, this is very simple. And that is, if we want to deal with what's happening with dropping test scores, then you really address what the issue is. And it has nothing to do with any of this. But this is, again, the game they're playing because they, frankly, they want to present a fictionalized version of what America has always been. And their attitude is there's no blemish. Everything was wonderful and perfect and just and good.

They don't like the fact that people are learning the real, real about America and its founding. Right, Roland. And, you know, I think this is so much about an effort to erase, one, the history of the accurate history of this country, right, the accurate contributions that black and African 6th insurrection, there were bills all across the country to limit voting rights. There was then these efforts to erase what was happening in social and current events and history. Right. And so this is another current effort to erase the history of this country. And we're living in it right now, right? And again, so what we're seeing across the country with book bans, with attacks on LGBTQ students,

with these efforts to suggest that CRT is this boogeyman being taught in our schools, my team just did a national research survey looking at the three biggest curriculum companies in this country, and we scored those on whether or not their curriculum was culturally responsive. What we saw from each of these three companies, who again, most of the kids in traditional public schools are probably receiving some version of curriculum from these companies, was that each of them scored culturally destructive, right? And so this narrative that we have this like woke education rampant across our country, I wish we did, right? I really wish we had teachers and schools that had the capacity to really give students an accurate telling of history. But

unfortunately, the histories that I got as a student was inaccurate, Eurocentric, and whitewashed. And the same is true for students today. And so this idea that it's CRT and 1619 is the reason that kids are struggling in history, I think we need to look at the fact that we have, and are still in a global pandemic, that American public schools are more segregated than they were in the 1960s, that schools that are majority white, because of that segregation, get $23 billion more than schools that are serving black and brown kids. And so if we really want to talk about the problem, if you're hungry, you can't learn how to read, right? And so we have schools across the, or states across the country that are

eliminating free lunch programs while they're banning books, right? And so I think we need to really put this in perspective for the audience to know that this, again, this is all dog whistles, and this is all part of a 2024 election strategy that should not work, but my fear and concern is that white Americans are constantly looking for excuses to vote for the fascist party, right? And whatever they can grab

onto, they'll do it. Oh, absolutely. And I just need people to understand this thing is real, and so if you sit at home and not vote, guess what? It is like people to understand this thing is real. And so if you sit at home and not vote, guess what? It is like that. We'll be in power. Matt Gonzalez, we appreciate it.

Thanks a lot. Thanks. Let me also thank Pamela, Larry, and Mustafa for being on the panel today. Thank you so very much for joining us, folks. Y'all have a great one. When we come back, folks, we will air for you. The second interview, the second one-on-one interview I did with Harry Belafonte was an amazing interview. He talked about a lot of issues.

Colin Kaepernick, black folks and art. But also, really talked about what his legacy is and how people should remember him. It's a great conversation. You're going to learn a lot from. That's next on Rolling by the Unfiltered on the Blackstone Network. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach,

nurses are the backbone of the healthcare industry, and yet only 7% of them are Black. What's the reason for that low number? Well, a lack of opportunities and growth in their profession. Joining us on the next Get Wealthy is Needy Bartanilli. She's going to be sharing exactly what nurses need to do and what approach they need to take to take ownership of their success. So the Black Nurse Collaborative really spawned from a place and a desire to create opportunities to uplift each other, those of us in the profession,

to also look and reach back and create pipelines and opportunities for other nurses like us. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Black Star Headline. Up next on The Frequency with me, Dee Barnes, our special guest, Alicia Garza, one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement. We're going to discuss her new book, The Purpose of Power, How We Come Together When We Fall Apart.

We live in a world where we have to navigate, you know, when we say something, people look at us funny, but when a man says the same thing, less skillfully than we did, right? Everybody boxed towards what they said, even though it was your idea. Right here on The Frequency on the Black Star Network. Hatred 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're about to see the rise of what i call white minority resistance we have seen white

folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. 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. They're taking our resources. 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 Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them.

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

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

You say you'd never give in to a meltdown. Never let kids' toys take over the house. And never fill your feed with kid photos. You'd never plan your life around their schedule. Never lick your thumb to clean their face. And you'd never let them leave the house looking like less than their best. You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it. Never let them stay up too late.

And never let them run wild through the grocery store. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out. Never happens before you leave the car. Always stop.

Look, lock brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. ¶¶ ¶¶ 2016, Harry Belafonte called me. He said he wanted to chat. And I said, well, great, let's chat. And so we and the crew, when I was at TV One, we went to New York and we sat down with him in his offices there in New York.

We had a fantastic conversation. One of the things that happened when it was over, he and I were talking and he said that he almost did not come, he said he was, he had recently had pneumonia, and one of the things he said to me was, he said, hey, this is likely gonna be my last

extensive sit-down interview. And that's one of the reasons why he made it. Carmen Perez, who, of course, works with The Gathering, she was there. We started the interview off with both of them. Then it's just he and myself. And so when we sat down, it was a very interesting conversation as he began to talk about, began to talk about, again, why he wanted to do this. And so this is that interview.

Again, it was 70 years ago. Many of you might remember. Look, if you missed it on TV One, we didn't. We couldn't stream stuff and we could not archive it. And so a lot of people may have not seen it. And so you get an opportunity to hear from Mr. B in his own words in my conversation with him. Again, this took place seven years ago on TV One.

I wish I knew, because I tell you, most of my life I have been myself and having a great sense of where we're going and the obstacles we're going to face and that there are a lot of people I can make alliances with that will make a difference. And here I am now at this time in my life, well into my life, where I have come daily to understand that I don't really know what it's all about. When I look at Dr. King, when I look at Nelson Mandela, when I look at Eleanor Roosevelt, the first person who led me into a deeper understanding of the universal political world. Because when she was a representative

at the United Nations, and she was working on the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, that treaty that much of the world uses as its target for governance of new states coming into the world community. She introduced me to a lot of Africans I would never have met, young men and women who were in rebellious mood, who were challenging the colonial system. They came to the United Nations as observers. She had a wonderful relationship with them, talking about the future. And that insight led me into a world of activism. And then Dr. King and Nelson Mandela and others in the world who just made a difference. And here I now sit at the gate of my 90th year in life,

looking at the map, looking at the journey. And first of all, I can't believe that 90 years has come and gone. It's a blink. But more importantly, when I was 35 and when I was 30, or even when I was 28, when I first met Dr. King, he was 26. We were both quite young, and he had taken on the responsibility of the struggle. Everything seemed fairly doable.

Now, when we are in the kind of chaos we're in, universal chaos, and what we contribute on the domestic scene as well, the absence a voices of authority voices of creativity we're the leaders where are the writers where the spokespeople where the commentators that the political commentators that make a difference. Who are the writers? Who's commenting on the loss of our moral compass? Who speaks to that? And when I look around,

I find that it's a fairly barren field. Do you believe that's the case because the target... the targets are so varied, as opposed to a more simple approach. That there are, so let's say, Carmen and I have discussed this, you talk about this effort with Black Lives Matter movement,

that it's really not a federal fight. It's really state by state, city by city. And that's a different type of battle than sort of having one force to sort of go after. Well, when you make the distinction between what you call a federal fight and what the opposition will refer to as an act of state rights, then I think we have a debate. I think most of it's a federal problem. When you start tampering with the right for black people to vote and when you start tampering with gerrymandering locations and changing demographics, you might say the state has the choice in that matter or the final word in that matter.

But the truth is the nation pays the price. The attempt to redirect the political destiny black cause is severe. I mean, Donald Trump is for real. He's not a spectator sport. He is the choice of millions of Americans in this country who sees his point of view as appropriate and legitimate. And there are millions of us who suffer because of that point of view.

And much of what he does violates the moral code of what America says it is and violates our political tradition. You can't come in and say you're going to just send everybody out of the country, 11 million immigrants, and with their children and their families, and treat it as if it's a fait accompli, as if somehow there isn't some place you have to reason with. questions that are raised, I don't quite understand where the rebuttal is from the Latin American community. They're under severe attack by a major voice, the Republican Party. And I'm going to understand why the streets aren't flooded with people of Latin culture just making that point of view unacceptable.

Why he's permitted to get away with so much, and we say so little. And incidentally, the black community is not exempt from criticism, because we're not smack dab in the middle of this fight. They're individuals who are. But I think the national mood is distracted. Black people are not where they were when we had the cause of the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. King and Malcolm X

and A. Philip Randolph and all the people who stepped to the table, Ella Baker. Well. Fann Leu Hamer. Fann Leu Hamer. House Speaker Motley, Diane Nash. Diane was the one I was looking for. Diane Nash. When I first met her, she was 17 years old with child, and she led the bus boycott.

She led the bus rides that changed the rules of the southern rule. There is no such diversity of choice for us. You mentioned earlier leaders. When you pull together a group of elders, you realize you are hearing the same stuff and you said there has to be something different. So then you went to the young people, and then you went into the prisons,

and then you came across her. That's right. That experience, so first meeting Carmen, and the two of you sit here now, what is most surprised you? And then I'll get her perspective. When I first came across Carmen's path, I was dealing with a young man by the name of Daniel Alejandres.

And Daniel Alejandres leads an organization in Northern California called Barrios Unidos. A great Latin brother, very articulate. And I was introduced to him through a member of the Crips out of Los Angeles by the name of Bo Taylor. So Bo and Nani were working with the problem facing blacks and browns. In the context of meeting the staff, the people who were on that campaign, with Nani, I was introduced to Carmen. And I watched her work with young men who were dealing with the severity of life, who were dealing with the extremes. A lot of them were ex-cons. Many of them were still in prison. She worked with the criminal justice system, and her intelligence on the subject made her a perfect target for what I was aiming to achieve. so at the first opportunity I made her an offer she couldn't refuse. She came to New York and began

organizing within the New York community. I targeted New York because the largeness of the population, especially the black and Latino population, between the Bronx and Brooklyn and Queens and Staten Island, all the boroughs. There's so many gangs and so many groups. And when she came to town, her job was to bring all these groups together in a campaign that has since stuck with us as a name called The Gathering. Because she would say, and we would talk about doing certain things. She would say, well, we have to have a gathering.

We have to bring the folks together, and let's discuss this. Well, The Gathering yielded great rewards. Out of that, she created an organization called the Justice League. And these groups come together to find a common agenda, a common purpose, and support one another in dealing with the issues of the day, particularly criminal justice, which is her expertise.

And since she's been in town, a lot's happened, an awful lot. Out of Justice League and out of the gathering and what she's gathered, we now have a group that I'm working with called Sankofa. And Sankofa is a name that comes from West African mythology. The symbol is a guinea hen retrieving an egg from midair with its beak turned to the rear of its body. I took a couple of young men who were ex-cons to Africa to broaden their understanding of the global situation

when it comes to race, when it comes to economics, when it comes to how black people and the African diaspora is treated in general, rounding out their own sense of history and purpose. And in that context, I came across West Africans who spoke, and they liked the Sankofa image, the bird, a symbol. And we used that symbol to define a movement that's growing every day, and that is a center

in which artists can convene to discuss problematic social issues and find out how art can intervene in behalf of these needs fundraising money doing artwork that speaks to the issues and carmen is very very critical to instructing that group and guiding it and building that base. Carmen, how would you assess the state of the movement? It's been three years really since Black Lives Matter sort of crystallized. You had groups before that as well. Your perspective on where we sit right now? So I certainly feel, I hear a lot of what Mr. Balafonte says in regards to the past and how there was this different type of visibility because it was more federally mandated.

But I can't stop to think about the other movements, right? So according to who you're speaking to, they will then say, well, I was part of the Chicano movement or the American Indian movement or the civil rights movement or the liberation for black lives. Right. And so I see it like that now. I see there are a lot of movements that are working towards the same goals and maybe not be coordinating together. But we do find the intersectionality of the fact that we need to work together. But I do find currently, you know, the movement for Black Lives Matter is in a place where it was able to reflect back and now put together the demands on a federal level, right? The liberation of black people for trans,

for Latino, for black and brown, all these folks. And so, you know, hearing from Mr. B just his analysis of it is really interesting in the fact that I see it every day and it's a lot easier to access versus I believe the past because we see it in social media right it's so accessible but we are also I know for myself trying to reconcile being a movement leader and being an executive director. And sometimes we have dual roles where, you know, Mr. Belafonte lent his platform as an artist to the movement. And Dr. King was able to lead being well-resourced. And I feel some of us don't have that accessibility.

We're trying to fundraise, meanwhile we're trying to be on the streets. We're trying to also have a presence and then also be criticized by the way in which we do things, right? Because like we've had conversations before, there's a lane for all of us. But then there's also those, just like the past, in the past it was called COINTALPRO, but there's now those that, you know, police activists.

But I certainly feel that the Black Lives Matter movement is headed in the right direction. They're looking at building something on a larger platform, not just statewide. Just like Justice League NYC. We're expanding to California. But I think, you know, just listening to Mr. Belafonte and him talking about meeting Dr. King at the age of 28, when I started working for Mr. Belafonte, I was 28 years old myself. It was 11 years ago. And I've learned so much, even though I was focused on working in prisons in the past or with gang members or criminal justice reform, my understanding of what movement building was, was just broadened by understanding the foundation of Kingian nonviolence and understanding that that's

what we're going to use as an ideology as we navigated across the country in different communities. And so before I got to New York City, I was in California, but I was organizing nationally. And we were digging deep in communities, grounding them in nonviolence, but also providing organizing and strategy and raising their campaign to a larger platform that then became the Gathering for Justice agenda. Do you believe, both of you, that when you talk about how do you make change, that the organizational infrastructure is there? Because you talked about this struggle between being an organizer slash activist versus being executive director. One of the criticisms I've heard from many quarters is that, is the movement properly organized? Is it functioning properly? There are individuals

who are lone wolves, if you will. They're not tied to any particular group They have a tremendous following there are others they have organizations But they're not large because the reality is what makes a movement successful Is that as people come in and out as folks voluntarily leave or choose to stay as some people pass away? And other folks come in the organization is still there to keep the work going. Is that a huge concern? Well, I will just, I think that's what makes us unique, right? Before Justice League got the visibility that it did so quickly, we had been organizing in communities for so long. And

that's what informed our 10 demands. We were able to pull together rather quickly a set of 10 demands policy priorities that we were working on on a local, statewide, and federal level. As well as I think what helps me navigate in multiple worlds is the fact that I have somebody that I could take counsel from, whether that's Mr. Belafonte or Nanet, and that helps me be accountable. And having, I wouldn't be able to do this work without the guidance of Mr. B. We sit for hours and I will say, Mr. Belafonte, there's some things that I don't understand when it comes to divisiveness. And then he'll say something so profound like those that are working towards the liberation of our people are only subject to friendship and support.

Those that are being divisive are playing the enemy's game. He pulls us out of our ego. He provides a historical perspective of what's happened in the past and how it really hasn't changed. Although our targets are different, but some of the players are still the same, right? Not necessarily the individual, but some of the characteristics of the players are still the same. And so for me, I will say that the gathering initially started as a movement. For the first two years, we were organizing in communities in the Onondaga Nation, in Epps, Alabama, in Santa Cruz. We went to different places and it started as a movement, but we needed to have it continue and that's when the organization piece came in. When Carmen and groups began to evidence the willingness to participate in making organizations more alert and more responsible for what was going on nationally, I was forced to take a look at the fact that the topography, the landscape had seriously changed. We don't have a church leading a movement today.

And for the first time, the black church is church leading a movement today. And for the first time, the black church is not leading this movement. There are black leaders in pockets of religion that speak out vigorously and beautifully. But it's not part of a larger, as a matter of fact, part of what we're doing on October 1st and October 2nd down in Atlanta will be to convene among a number of conventions a ecumenical community. Cornel West and all the ministers we could think of, Father Flager out of Chicago, are all coming together to have a debate on where is the church in relationship to social change and social need? Where is that voice of Dr. King from the pulpits of America? What did he leave as a legacy to those who were in

his profession? The clergy is absent. So the constituency, the people in our community loses, they lose the energy of that thought, that think tank coming into our community. Labor. Labor is in a very challenged place. We don't have as many labor locals and unions as we used to have. And those that we do have, very few are as active as labor movements were in the past. We had Walter Ruther and we had great black leaders, A. Philip Randolph and whatnot, who

were right there. So the constituency that I played to or work to were people who came from institutions that flocked to the needs of the social change. So you had people from institutions where what you have today are people, many of whom who don't like institutions, who believe institutions are part of the problem. And so isn't that the conflict that you can't have a sustained movement without institutions and organizations? But then you have people who don't want institutions and organizations, and you have what many say say is great a leaderless movement but in reality you always need leaders because you need somebody who can make the call who can say we need to come together who can say let's meet who can say all right we're going here i'm clayton english i'm greg glad and this is

season two of the war on drugs podcast we. 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 them. It makes it real.

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

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 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 one, two, and three on May 21st and episodes four, five, and six on June 4th. Ad free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. You say you'd never give in to a meltdown. Never let kids' toys take over the house. And never fill your feed with kid photos.

You'd never plan your life around their schedule. Never lick your thumb to clean their face. And you'd never let them leave the house looking like less than their best. You'd say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it. Never let them stay up too late. And never let them run wild through the grocery store. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, know it can happen.

One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out. Never happens. Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. And so looking at that, is that what you're talking about when you say, I can't see the map because all of that is at play? All of that's at play and more.

One of the things that we don't have a problem with are finding young voices and courageous young people willing to step into the fray. When you look at Ferguson, when you look at Baltimore, when you look at all the places that Carmen organizes and where she has been, and I've been to some of those locations as well, like with Young People Down Dream Defenders. In Florida. In Florida. They're doing incredible work.

What we don't have is a willing constituency. Everybody's out celebrating the party of victory from the last time we did anything. And the celebration isn't so joyous because we need to get black people to understand a lot of people died to re-insure that the idea that your right to vote was not lost by some negative opposition. You have to take

advantage of that. Well, the black vote has to turn out. We don't see any major campaign taking place on turning out the black vote. Individuals speak to it on occasion, but there's no resource being thrown fully behind the idea that the most important vote I can remember in my 90 years of life in America, the most important election I can think of. And I was in the Second World War. I was in the civil rights upheaval. Just before that, the organizing of labor and America during the Great Depression, because that's the era I was born into.

All of that that preceded us is not evident today. There are no large movements. There is no commitment from people who come from that tradition. But a lot of people are celebrating the victories that we achieved. Because I say to young people who said the Civil Rights Movement is dead, the Civil Rights Movement isn't dead because oppression isn't dead. And as long as there's oppression, there's not only a civil rights movement in some form or shape, but it's also an idea that's needed.

And when I look at young people who are celebrating a lot of freedom and a lot of that have no regard. I watched television the other night and I watched major major black artists get on the felon show and began to talk about the state of the union and about the glory that this individual brings to the table just by being the personality he was. Not one utterance about struggle, not one utterance about the Trayvon Martins of the world, not one struggle about what issues we face, just about how he was being anointed with all of the success, all this money, all this popularity. And that's all he felt was needed of him,

that there wasn't to be a voice. But when I came along, I could hardly find an artist that didn't feel they had an obligation to be committed. And out of that era came the The Smothers Brothers came, Joan, I'm thinking of Bob Dylan. Marlon Brando, the people you were rolling with? Well just whenever I turned around looking for artists, there was always somebody there. Somebody was singing, what's going on? And we're in the middle of listening to a love song. All of a sudden, Marvin Gaye hits you with a thought that said, wake up, what's going on?

And made you think. That very rarely happens today. You earlier mentioned the festival, October 1st and 2nd. And with many rivers to cross, you're combining music and art dealing with social justice. Carmen, I'll go to you first. Why is this, why this, why now? That's a month out of the election.

You're going to have, for the first time in history, a black president replaced by somebody white? We're serious that we haven't seen before, but why this, why now? I think Mr. B's vision has always been to bring together activists. And a lot of activists are connected to artists. We certainly work with a lot of artists and working with Mr. Belafonte, you know, he constantly talks about

artists are the gatekeepers to truth. They're civilization's radical voice. And we as activists really need to come together to plan what our next move is going to be collectively. We need a black and brown agenda and we need a strategy in order for implementation because we are now going to be moving into a different cycle where there are some very negative implications in our communities because of it and so I think right this right now this has been planned think, since Mr. Belafonte has always talked about this.

And for me, it's exciting to see that it's now happening. But he's been talking about this concert for the past three years, two years since Sankofa was created. And so I think it's an opportunity for us to also share a stage with artists and also build relationship with artists who can use their platform to amplify the work that we're doing on the ground. There's also another dimension to this. Why now? Why at this particular moment? Because here and now we've never had issues as clearly and sharply drawn as they are today. We've never had a black president before that had a backlash. We've never had a president that has had the kind of backlash that Barack Obama has had. I mean, race rushed into the room to declare itself alive and

present and angry at the idea that there's a black man daring to speak for America in the halls of justice and in the hall of solution globally. White people woke up. Most of them were awake, were asleep. Nobody ever dreamed that Barack Obama would become president. And when crackers woke up to see the White House full with a black voice and black issues that could be discussed from a black perspective, it sent them into orbit. But we never had the nation declare itself so openly on the issues of race as it does today and certainly as articulated through Trump. I mean the things that Donald Trump says about Latinos, about blacks, about youth, about criminality, about women, all the things nobody has ever stepped to the forefront with that agenda as openly declared as he has.

And I think that that should have stimulated millions of people to hit the ground running on issues that he has raised, that so many, I mean 13 million people who support him, or at least that's the number that's being bantered around. That's a lot of people. 13 million is as large as the population of some being bantered around. That's a lot of people. Thirteen million is as large as the population of some nations in the world. Well, you've got 13 million people declaring their support for this kind of social philosophy. Why are the rest of us sitting back? What

are we waiting to happen? Why haven't we put, why hasn't the community, I often say when people ask me about Barack Obama, I say, you know, we talk about the great era of John Kennedy. Well, history created more for John Kennedy than John Kennedy created history. If it hadn't been for the Civil Rights Movement and an awakened community that took to the streets of America and made life impossible under these oppressive conditions, if it hadn't been for the war movement and Vietnam and the peace protest, John Kennedy would have had no history. But he had something to work with.

The community pushed him. And I remember a story that was once told by Eleanor Roosevelt. She said that she was very close to a black labor leader named A. Philip Randolph, and she invited him to dinner at the White House to meet Franklin Delano Roosevelt, her husband, who happened to be president.

And in bringing him to the dinner, Roosevelt invited A. Philip Randolph to speak to the state of the nation. And A. Philip Randolph was a beautiful, articulate human being, wasted no time to just lay it out on the table. You have not used the bully pulpit to a full degree. Black people are being lynched every day, on and on and on and on. And Roosevelt listened to this without interruption. And at the end, Roosevelt said to Philip Randolph, I hear you, Mr. Randolph. And everything that you say, I cannot contest.

I think your observations are absolutely on target, and I should use the bully pulpit more fully. But I have one request to ask of you. With all that you've just said here today at this dinner, I'd like you to go out and make me do it. Go out and bring issues to the fore that will force me to deal with change. The voice of the people is the most powerful tool

we have in America. If the community is not heard from, presidents don't feel they have to do anything. Politicians don't feel they have to do anything except raise money to get re-elected on a non-issue campaign. What do you want those in attendance, first artists in the public, when they leave, to do? I would like for them to get involved in their local organizing efforts. And also, I think one of the things that we're hearing a lot in this election cycle is that we don't have any candidates that we are fully supporting.

And I really am asking for the community to go out and vote and to register somebody to vote. And the fact that this is happening right before the election is a perfect opportunity to continue on that path and that message is happening right before the election is a perfect opportunity to continue on that path. And that message is go out and vote. People did die and sacrifice. I mean, there's a lot of even, you know, when when I think about even Latinos who are undocumented, who or who have come to this country, our first generations, you know, I talk to them about the importance of voting and they don't. They're like, well, you know, it's not a big, and it is a big deal because people did die for it. And you had asked me one time, we were just recently at Google, and we were talking about Black Lives Matter and me think about black liberation, that's understanding that those struggles and the fight

and the victories that were gained were also for my people. And so I really encourage people to vote, and I want them to get involved in their local organizing and also support in any way that they can. Again, it's people need to find their lane. What do they do really well and contribute back to the movement? When the music stops, when the speeches stop, when the dialogue stops, when the second,

what do you want the artists and the people attending to then do? When all those things stop, what you've just suggested is that life has ended. Man, I didn't mean that weekend. I mean that period. When they got to go home. I mean that period. When they got to go home. I mean that period of our history.

I was reared on the fact that Paul Robeson was my mentor. I was in a play in the American Negro Theater. I went to learn about theater. I fell in love with what I saw. And Paul Robeson came to see us as young players, to see what young black artists were doing. There was Ruby Dee and Ozzie Davis and Sidney Poitier, this young crowd trying to make its way

in the world of the performing arts. And he said that we had chosen a noble profession in the arts because he felt that artists were the gatekeepers of truth. He said artists are the moral compass of civilization, and they're also civilizations' radical voice. When I stepped into the idea of being a performer, it was about spreading the radical thought, about spreading ideas and bringing plays to impact upon audiences about social injustice. So when I discovered Shakespeare and all that Shakespeare wrote about, and when I became a student of Shakespearean literature, and

when I became caught up with the great writers of America, and studying theater that came from the great social thinkers of the period, especially out of Germany, and the Max Reinhardt group with, well, Erwin Piscata was the name of the man who led that movement. Of course, in that place of study for the arts was Marlon Brando and Walter Matthau and Rod Steiger, a lot of young men and women who heard the instruction. Our commitment was to take the arts and make great films about the world in which we live and tell great stories to inform the world about itself. Well, that's what artists do.

The idea that all you do is to entertain and make money is a very recent phenomena. You've always had to be paid, but there's never a distinctive line drawn between entertaining and being a social voice. That's a recent phenomena. Everybody's off being an entertainer. Very little is being said from the social perspective in great art today. So I expect the artists to leave behind an instructed audience, to leave behind an audience that's been led to someplace emotionally where they'll give thought to the State of the Union. 20 years from now, you'll be 59, you'll be 110.

Watch yourself, young man. 109. We're 50 years apart. There you go. What do you expect, or where do you expect her to be and be doing 20 years from now? Well, you've asked a tough question because there's the part of me that can answer that question expect her to be doing 20 years from now? Well, you've asked a tough question because there's the part of me that can answer that question based upon what I

wish and what I hope. But that wish and that hope is not very different than the wish and hope that I had 50 years behind me. When I set out to do certain things, I just knew that by the time I got to be 70, the world would be in perfect shape, that everything would be a great panacea, that humanity would be living up to its greatest self in the room of civilized behavior. Well, we never had as many wars as we do now between Iraq and between Afghanistan

and all the mischief that America does in its adventures in all of these places around the world and what the world does independently of America. Indians fighting Indians in India, tribes set on one another, destructive forces in clash in Latin America. Instead of being in a place of serenity, we were in a place of complete upheaval. Our prisons, the largest prison population in the world, exists today that didn't exist 50 years ago. And 50 years ago, we thought the prison population was too large then. Well, it's even much larger now.

Well, my hope for Carmen 50 years from now would be that she would inherit the world that I've always dreamed of, that people understood the power of the vote, got out and used that vote to give us leaders who will articulate the best interests of civilization, and that we would be able to persuade communities to become more reactive to what's going on than we have been able to witness up to now.

For you, what do you want to see him do with the gathering that he has not done yet? Oh, that is a great question. I should have been thinking about that. To continue to, well, you're saying what he has not done yet. What do you want him to, is there something that you want him to do that he hasn't done? And I'll let you off the hook by saying, is that something that maybe he's done but you want to see more of? I think Mr. Belafonte has lent his service to the gathering and his vision,

and I certainly am working with him so that we could develop these manifestos that could guide new activists and guide the movement. And so I would like for that to come together soon and for us to continue to spend time together. But I personally know that Mr. Belafonte is 89, and I want to see him live out the rest of his life doing what he loves, and that's music, and that's creation. But lending a voice to the work that we do within the gathering and the movement, and also his vision and his guidance. And certainly I would love to bring as many young people to listen to him because everything that he says is so on point and he dropped so many gems and I sometimes feel I wish I could just

pocket everything and like hand it out because mr. Belafonte has a lot of depth and he has a lot of wisdom and so much commitment and allows us to see things in a very different way but I personally would like to dismantle the machine that he's always asked us to dismantle in 20 years. And I'm hoping that, you know, he would be proud of, you know, we talk about the monster he created within me because I also challenge and we navigate different worlds. And obviously you've seen us on the streets. But I would like for him to just continue on his path and to continue to lend his wisdom and his guidance and his support because it's a really beautiful relationship. And 11 years ago, I didn't know what I was walking into. I didn't know the depth of this man who sits next to me and his commitment to social justice.

By the same token, I have to just say that I didn't know what I was getting into. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

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

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

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

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

You say you'd never give in to a meltdown. Never let kids' toys take over the house. And never fill your feed with kid photos. You'd never plan your life around their schedule. Never lick your thumb to clean their face. And you'd never let them leave the house looking like, uh, less than their best. You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it. Never let them stay up too late.

And never let them run wild through the grocery store. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out. Never happens. Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council.

I'm so happy to come into our organization because I just thought like, wow, what a find. I can have this coming weekend off. I can see my grandchildren and I can do all the things that people do normally and take the time off, only to find out that on Thursday, she's already told me what I'll be doing that weekend. And I'm always going to some event or being someplace, and always it's a place that's rewarding because she's on top of the situation. She keeps me informed about what young people in general are saying and what some of them are saying quite specifically because she does get arrested. She does go into the scene.

She is seen in Ferguson. She is seen in Baltimore. She is seen being pulled away by cops for civil disobedience. All the right reasons. And when that sits at your table, it's a little bit different than if you're just invited to dinner. You're in the kitchen cooking the menu. And I think that my time with her has been really quite well spent. I've seen a lot of young people I've never got to meet, and particularly young black women, because a lot of them, what you see in this moment with us is not what it's about.

What it's really about is a lot of black women have gone to Egypt, that have gone to Tunisia, that have met with the Arab Spring, has gotten to know the world at large, has gotten to identify others, and we have this global, the potential global network of people coming together that I would not have seen had it not been for her involvement. So we feed each other. And folks are fat and happy and full. Mr. B, we have professional athletes. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony,

they stand up to the ESPYs and they talk about athletic involvement, social issues. We have Colin Kaepernick, plays for San Francisco 49ers. He decides, I'm not gonna stand for the national anthem. Being attacked all across the country. In fact, Mike Freeman wrote this piece for the Bleacher Report. Came out on August 31st. Where NFL front office executive said, he's a traitor.

F that guy. I will quit if my owner asks me to sign him. There's no way I would want this guy on my team. If their comments are true, San Francisco cuts him, no team ever signs him, does that become a chilling effect for the next athlete who decides to take a stand? And how should the public respond to these kind of anonymous comments from NFL front office executives? To mute the slave has always been to the best interests of the slave owner.

And I think that when a black voice is raised in protest to oppression, Those who are comfortable with our oppression are the first to criticize us for daring to speak out against it. I think that it's a noble thing that he's done. I think that speaking out and making people aware of the fact that you are paying homage to an anthem that also has a constituency that by the millions suffer is a righteous thing to do. The fact that these people are having these, how dare you speak out against lynching and all of the things that racism stands for or the conclusions to racist acts permit, I think is a statement about America. I think he's a noble and a courageous man for having done that. Now, I say this with some history of my own. the height of American success, hit records and movies and being rewarded by millions of people coming in attendance to the audiences that I played around the world. The machinery of oppression was always at work trying to discredit me, make me a communist, make me unpatriotic, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And it takes a lot of courage to stand up in the face of that onslaught, that reactive moment, and not bend to the wind.

What I would love to see is I would love to see a few hundred other black athletes take that as a symbol. It doesn't affect the game. It doesn't affect the game. It doesn't affect the way it's going to be played. It just tells you a lot about what the people on the field are thinking in their every waking moment. So you're saying you would love to see athletes today rally around him, like that group of black athletes, Jim Brown, Bill Russell, and others, when they rallied around Muhammad Ali? Absolutely.

Absolutely. As a matter of fact, the black community, now let me go further than that. The American community, the citizens of this nation, are beautifully enhanced by being exposed to the fact that there's this dissatisfaction and that there's something they can do about fixing it. I think that What he has done

Not only comes out of a tradition of protest, but I think is one of the most important weapons We have but he also says this 44 years after Jackie Robinson wrote it. Jackie Robinson wrote in his own words, his autobiography. He said, he talked about that first world series he performed in. And he said, he stood there and playing the national anthem and they were singing it. And the flag is billowing in the wind. And he said, as I write this 20 years later, I cannot stand and sing the anthem. I cannot salute the flag. I know that I am a black man in a white world in 1972, in 1947, at my birth in 1919. I know that I never had it made. Not only was he right in a righteous way,

as well as in a historic way, but I think that what Jackie Robinson did encouraged an awful lot of other players that came after him to stand with dignity and to stand with strength in the face of that kind of debate. I'm just sorry to see that more black people who have attained the level of success. I once said to a group of young black artists,

I said, never before has America boasted of such a harvest of celebrity as we experience today across the boards. We have more black artists with hit records and in front of show business and on all the charts. We have black athletes of the yin-yang in almost every sport. We have so many where black celebrity is displayed that could make a difference. And yet never has there been such an absence of black celebrity voice in relationship to the problems that black Trayvon Martin and any number of people who have been murdered and who have been shot down and who are the victims of a certain kind of unrepentant racist behavior, that black people haven't flooded the streets in a greater act of protest

to all of this that's going on. A. Philip Randolph once said, if you are comfortable with my oppression, then you are my oppressor. That says a whole lot right there. You have never been one to be shy when it comes to issues. You recently gave an interview with regards to to be shy when it comes to issues. You recently gave an interview with regards to the controversy that's surrounding Nate Parker

and the birth of a nation. And a lot of people are saying, oh, he said the wrong thing, or he shouldn't have said it that way, he should have shown more sympathy. But your position on that, you made it clear that examining a story, what took place 17 years ago is one thing. But this movie and what it represents and the history is another thing.

What has it been like for you having to get that level of pushback and criticism, folks saying, I'm just disappointed in Harry Belafonte for his comments about Nate Parker. Well, let me put things within a certain context. I had gone to see the picture because I'd heard that there was a lot quite provocative about the film itself that was worthy of seeing. So I went and I saw the picture and I was deeply moved, not only by the artistry of the cinema art, because he wrote it, he directed it, and starred in the picture. And he hit a home run in every one

of those departments of creative achievement. And I was quite taken with the fact that this young man demonstrated that kind of gift and that kind of power. And the film itself I thought was an important film from the point of view of understanding more clearly the history of black people. He is, the charge of the crime that he is experiencing revisited again. It took place I think 17 odd years ago. Why in those ensuing years have I never heard this story before or heard this protest. Why until this moment around a film that is worthy of being made, worthy of telling a truth that needs to be

heard, that is as powerful as it...why was this moment picked to single him out as a young man who was unrepentant for an act that he did, which I consider to be most villainous. I don't support the idea that he was once involved in a rape charge. But the fact of the matter is that he did go before the criminal justice system. If the system chose to let him go, then your problem is with the system, not with the victim. And I then say, I listen to him and I say, when I speak to him on the issue, he's the most repentant. You've talked to him? Yes, personally.

He's sorry that he got into that as a young man, that he did it mindless. He is doing all he can to make sure that nobody follows in his footsteps. He says he's even taken, he said so again publicly. What is it that we want of him? Or what does his detractors want of him? Do they want him to, would they have been happy if he had the death penalty? Would they have been happy if he had been put in prison for life? What punishment do they think would satisfy their criticism of him that he has not already paid? And I know what it is in the midst of that kind of declaration, especially when you see the

picture itself. When you see the picture itself, there's a moral underpinning to the picture, there's a historic truth to the picture, there's a brilliance to the art itself. Why pick this moment to raise this issue? And what is it that in raising the issue has not been satisfied already. Now, they say it's the way in which he said what he said. I was in the room when he gave the interview or when he said what they said he said. Was that the totality of the interview? Was that the totality of what he said? Because when he tells me the story,

he gave a lot more information other than what was just reported. Now, what does the selective editing process say about how you are defined when somebody writes the story as they say they heard it? And when you speak of this moment, when you think of Nat Turner, when you look at films coming out dealing with Emmett Till,

these are tough issues. And a lot of black folks say, look, I'm not trying to see all of that. How vital is it for those painful moments in our history to be reflective on the big screen for a wider audience today? I told him something when I talked to him. I said, you know, this situation reminds me of a young man who

has murdered his mother and father and then tries to throw himself on the mercy of the court because he's an orphan. That doesn't wash. You have to be much more mindful about what you say and how you say it in relationship to the crime that was committed. I, by no stretch of the imagination, do I approve of what he did? Do I just, do I see any justification for what he did? And because he may have been in a tough place as a young man and may have had a rough experience at a certain time in his life. All those may be facts, but it doesn't blur the truth. The truth is that you are involved in an act of rape and that is unacceptable and inexcusable.

And he was found not guilty, but Gene Celestine was found guilty. And then of course, go through the system. So I didn't say to those who were punishing him, then your issue is really with the criminal justice system. Why do they let him go and not someone else? Were you in the courtroom? Do you know what all the facts are? Do you know on what basis he was not charged and permitted to go free?

I don't. When he speaks of the situation, he speaks of the situation saying, I was involved in something that I should never have done, and I'm sorry that I did it, and I'll spend the rest of my life repenting for it, and doing things and making films, and pursuing causes that are more enlightened and does things to better the human condition. Well, what more do you expect of him? What more do you want from him? What those who found the act itself, because he was defending himself against

a new round of accusations that have come into play when he thought that that had been settled 17 odd years ago. What do they want? What would have the critics have been happy with had they had an opportunity to speak to the cause of justice. And look, often rape has been used as the suggested crime for young black men or black men in period, young or not, where they're not guilty at all. Nowhere near the crime was manufactured. You take the issue with white supremacy, you take the issue with the Ku Klux Klan, it's always about what those beasts, meaning black men, will do to our which is a code that is supported in the racist movement.

As a matter of fact, a part of the American psyche is that on the issue of race, there's always this preoccupation with what black men will do to white women if they are permitted to be free. What an odd equation. If you turn those people loose, if you give them rights, if you let them have the right to vote to be a full-fledged human being, they will heap disaster on our culture and on our women. But with that in the mix and that accusation being nurtured all the time, I can see that

there are those who benefit from going back to that scenario to critic—because they're not criticizing him. They're really going after the movie they're going after what he did with this film called uh uh birth of a nation uh it's an important black film why at this time around this film does this issue get raised is it to blur the power of his art? It is not supportive of the work that he's done. What about who he is today as opposed to who he was 17 years ago? Where's that in the debate? You and I spoke in his office four years ago. We were finishing the first term of President Obama. Now he's, we're at the end of his second term.

Your assessment of the president's performance, commitment to black America after eight years of the first black president? I am guilty of, and I'm sure I speak for a number of black Americans who are guilty of, having brought to the table of expectations things we wanted him to do when he was president. And in failing to do so, we've been somewhat critical of his tenure as president. The truth of the matter is, is that if you measure Barack Obama against every president that has ever been in the White House, he has been as good as most and better than many.

Has he used his office to do things in a way that I thought would have been more beneficial to the needs of black people in America? No, I think he fell short. But I don't think he should be punished for something he should have done, based upon looking at what he did achieve and what he did do. Now, he uses the fact that Medicare and the health care bill, the Obama bill, was a contribution that he made that affected all people, black or white, that it was a gift or at least a promise held forth to all the citizens of this country. In that act alone, he states he has served in the needs of black people, but in so doing he served in the needs of all people.

Well, I don't know that there shouldn't have been some exceptions made. I do believe that with what black people are facing in terms of the racist platform that Donald Trump, for instance, is evidencing, and others who support him are saying in support of him, we need to hear more from Barack Obama on that subject than we have heard. There's still some time left, because he still has a few months left with the presidency. But I think by and large, there is a sense of a lack of fulfillment during the time of his presidency. I've made a point that I believe a lot of African-Americans,

we have remained at the inauguration parade, waving, just mesmerized by visually seeing a black first family when the parade was over. Everybody else left. And that the reality is you can on one hand celebrate and revel in the first black president, but he's also the 44th. Going back to the point that A. Philip Randolph made to FDR, you have to make somebody do something. That's right.

And in the end of any such debate or discourse and discussion, I often say, while we're pointing the finger at Barack Obama, we have to ask ourselves, why did we let him off the hook? Where was the black voice to be raised up in righteous indignation pushing him? Why didn't we make him do more than he did? He's not heard from us. If he hasn't heard from us, his assumption is all is well back in the bar. But it's not.

And we should have let him know that. And we should have let him know it in a bigger voice. And perhaps his conscience or his appetite for change would have been expressed differently than what he has given us. You were on the cover of Ebony magazine with two young artists, Zendaya, Jesse, and Williams.

And when you reflect on Paul Ropes and being your mentor, that was an image that they shot of the three of you handing a baton. Other than those two, who else has grabbed that baton in terms of artists? The response to that would hold the nation responsible for the fact that it anoints those who it wants to anoint with success and it defies those whom it doesn't want to be the victims of the success of speaking out against racial oppression, and especially if you do it as an artist and somebody who gains public favor. I believe that I've met any number of young people who aspire to becoming more visible,

who are really great artists, who are waiting to be heard from, some of whom I've given the platform to. And for instance, on the 2nd of October, I don't know when our dialogue here will air, but if it airs before the 1st and 2nd of October, I think on that issue, you will hear something that is the litmus test for the answer to the question you just asked. When I spoke with Carmen and I spoke with a lot of the young people caught in the vice of struggle, they said one of the things that eluded us are resources, not human resources. We have enough bodies, but we don't have enough voices speaking to the issue, and we don't have enough money to continue to perpetually feed the deeds of the movement. Do the work. And I said, well, although I may not have the solution to the big question,

I do have an aspect of a solution to the question. And if artists will step to the table, they not only bring a voice to the arena that will shine a spotlight on injustice for those who have chosen not to hear that story, and they also bring the capacity to bring resources to the table, where a lot of these artists can fill many times over stadiums across the length and breadth of this planet. So if you can get the artists to become fully engaged, you not only get a voice,

you can articulate a point of view on oppression, but could also bring money. So what I did in putting together with the group of the Senn-Kofa Festival was the idea that we should have an institutional base made up of artists that will monitor what's happening to black people daily and decide as a collective what do we want to shine the spotlight on. Not all causes are easily promoted, some more than others, but the absence of black presence by celebrity is a serious loss to our potential use of power to make a difference. So I invited all the artists I could think of to come for a two-day festival down in Atlanta to celebrate criminal justice as a festival. It's called

Many Rivers to Cross, based upon a great song. And in it, all the artists will sing to songs that, in content, speak about the plight of black people. So, artist after artist after artist, I've looked at all the songs that will be sung. I look at what Jamie Foxx will be saying and what he will sing. I've looked at John Legend and what he will say and what he will sing. I've looked at Alice Smith. I've looked at John Legend and what he will say and what he will sing. I've looked at Alice Smith. I've looked at Carmen. I've talked to Chuck D., whom I love madly, and what he brings to the table. And I think those who come will be more than rewarded with what they see of black presence speaking to these issues. A lot of new artists that most people never

heard of like Molly Music and others were coming for the first time to bat in the big game. I also add this and I'll be through on this subject. It is that what also surprises me is the number of artists that told me no. Really? Oh yeah. As a matter of fact, there are some artists that told me yes in the light of enthusiasm, in the first rush, and where they were pressed to really define what would be asked of them, what kind of songs to sing and what they should be turning their attention to comment on, stepped away. They don't want the blemish.

They don't want the burden of responsibility. And I was really quite surprised. And how did that make you feel? It made me feel sad, because the particular people that I'm talking about that stepped away were the ones that I least suspected that would have done that. And because I have no right to hold anybody hostage to what I think and what I want to do, they're exempt from any act act of coming on board so to speak i don't want to blackmail them into this when these artists said no i said okay i hear you but you do remember who said no i'll

never forget and on occasion i'll make sure they don't forget either. Why do you still do this? You love the French Riviera. You could be hanging out along the water, enjoying yourself, beaches and sun. Why come into this office? Why do this work? Why spend this time on the phone? Why still go to these meetings?

Why still on the battlefield? Because everything that has rewarded me in life, everything that has rewarded me in life comes out of that environment you just described. It comes out of this office, comes out of the song I sang, came out of the movie that I did, came out of the platform that I had. If I'd never been in this movement, I would never have gotten to know Nelson Mandela so intimately. Because what I brought to the table with Nelson, and certainly Vadiva brought to me, was something that could only have

been in the mix if we were both in the place we were in. When Dr. King called me up and said, I'd like to meet with you, you don't know me, but I have a request to make. And I'm coming to New York. I'd like to talk with you. And we met in the basement of the Abyssinian Baptist Church. And what should have taken, according to him, 20 minutes, took four hours. And when that meeting was over, I was in his parade forever. When I talked to A. Philip Randolph, when I talked to Eleanor Roosevelt,

I can go on and on with a list of celebrity and the power of that century that touched my space, that said, you are worthy, that said, you help us. We delight in what you do. We are rewarded by it. Our causes are one because you brought a population to the table. Because when I did, sometimes I'd ask artists and they'd say no, fine, let's make my next concert on behalf of Dr. King. And I would take time out in that concert to let

Dr. King have the platform to speak on the issue. And most of the audiences would write me afterwards and say, we never expected it, but thank you for introducing us to Dr. King. Well, that's worth a million dollars. And I am more rewarded by being in that space than I am being in the south of France, which incidentally, I do do occasionally. Years from now, there's going to be a kid who's going to read a book, who's going to hear Dale. There's going to be a kid who may come across a sculpture, a painting, a movie. And they may ask the question to their parents,

who is this? Who is this man? What do you want that parent to say to their child who Harry Belafonte is? I want to say he was a great patriot. And that does not come by glibly. I am motivated to say I'm an American. Jackie Robinson had a problem with singing the anthem, so do I. As a matter of fact, when I'm asked about being an American, a lot of people say, why do you stay if the country is so cruel?

I don't stay because Abe Lincoln freed us. I don't stay because George Washington chopped down the cherry tree. I don't stay because Roosevelt gave us Social Security. I stay because I love the way Rosen handled the problem and saw that investing in America was the best thing we could do. First of all, there's no place else to go. Because you say, go back to Africa. Sorry.

I got you. I'm trying to pick out a spot. Being an American. Yeah. I find it very difficult to be an American. I find it difficult, like Jackie Robinson did in Singing of the Stars, Pankow. Because the images that come to mind is not Lincoln and Roosevelt and Washington. They helped a little. But what really made me committed to this country was that such noble men and women, Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, who felt the real sting of slavery, who fought against that and changed history, changed the paradigm.

They saw that this country is worth investing in. When I was looking for where to go with my life, and I wanted to just flee from the scene of this mischief, I took a look at what happened to Paul Robeson, what happened to the great leaders of my time, and what they did, and I said, that's where I belong. That's what this is about. So that for me, when I think of being an American, I think about the America that we profess we want to be and have yet to achieve.

And I genuinely believe that the only way America can achieve it is if I help America achieve it. If I don't step into the fray and make myself be heard and make the thoughts be felt, then I've failed my journey. I am satisfied with the men and women that I've served in my life and those who have enlightened me and made me feel whole, made me feel worthy, they gave me, they anointed. They gave me approval. Well, you know that we certainly appreciate all your work. I do as well.

As always, good to chat with you and hear your perspective. It's wonderful talking to you. Appreciate it. We'll be right back. This kind of starts that in 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. 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. You say you'd never give in to a meltdown. Never let kids' toys take over the house. And never fill your feed with kid photos. You'd never plan your life around their schedule. Never lick your thumb to clean their face. And you'd never let them leave the house looking like less than their best. You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it.

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