#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Trump/China tariff war, Rep. Joe Neguse rips GOP budget chair, IRS chief out, St. Louis election

Episode Date: April 10, 2025

4.9.2025 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Trump/China tariff war, Rep. Joe Neguse rips GOP budget chair, IRS chief out, St. Louis election The twice impeached, criminally convicted felon-in-chief Donald "The Con" Trump's tariffs are causing global concerns.  He the world's second-largest economy, China, the hardest while announcing a 90-day pause on tariffs for all trading partners except for China.  We have economist Morgan Harper here to break all of this down.  We'll show you how Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse ripped GOP Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington for implying the economy is "running well" despite a week of stock market turmoil. The IRS must find another chief after the third resignation this year.  The North Carolina Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a lower court's ruling that would have required over 60,000 voters to prove their eligibility within 15 days or risk having their votes thrown out. St. Louis' first black female mayor suffers a crushing defeat in her re-election effort.  #BlackStarNetwork partner: Fanbasehttps://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbase This Reg A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.  This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. You should read the Offering Circular (https://bit.ly/3VDPKjD) and Risks (https://bit.ly/3ZQzHl0) related to this offering before investing. 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 platform 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. Hello, I'm Isaac Hayes III, founder and CEO of Fanbase. And right now we're accepting investors in our $17 million round to revolutionize the future of social media. Today, for just $399, you can own 60 shares of stock in Fanbase at $6.65 a share. Go to startengine.com slash fanbase and invest today. While the big platforms have grown too massive and disconnected from their users, Fanbase is building a platform where creators and users truly come first.

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You can't be Black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? Well, today is April 9th, 2025, coming up on Rolling Uncensored, streaming live on the Black Star Network. The twice-impeached, criminally convicted felon-in-chief, Donald O'Connor Trump, claims to be a great business mind, but he is showing how stupid he is with his dumb tears. He's announced today that, well, he's going to pause then for 90 days. That's probably because the economy was tanking.

We're going to show you the reaction and how MAGA is trying to spin it, how this was a brilliant move when, in fact, it wasn't. Plus, we'll be joined by economist Morgan Harper to break it down as well. Y'all, it is really crazy what happened. We'll show you how Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse ripped the GOP's budget committee chair today and just exposed him for how utterly idiotic he is for implying that the economy is running well today, but it was awful under President Joe Biden. It's much of the hypocrites that they are.

IRS looking for a new chief. Republicans want to desperately gut the IRS because they don't want their rich donors paying taxes. North Carolina Supreme Court, what they've done is they've temporarily halted the lower court ruling in validating some 65,000 votes. Alison Rigg, of course, who won the contested race, she spoke out and she continues her battle to ensure that she remains on the North Carolina State Supreme Court. Also, 127 years ago today, the great actor, entertainer, activist, true renaissance man, my alpha brother, Paul Robeson, was born.

We'll chat about him. Last night, the low outlaw, Portashara Jones, in the St. Louis mayoral race. Folks, lots to cover. It's time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin. I'm Phil Chitt. On the Black Sun black sun let's go Now down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rollin'

It's on go-go-royal Yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Martin Yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now Yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best You know he's fresh, he's real The best you know, he's rolling

Martel Martel Folks, I want to put this as simply as I can. Donald Trump is an idiot. Flat out, he's an idiot. All of these folks, all these MAGA folks, 77 million who voted for him, that the people who were going to benefit and make lots of money from tariffs were the American taxpayer.

Everybody who understands tariffs knows that's a flat-out lie. So what happened? Donald Trump comes in and announces we're going to have massive tariffs, and we're just going to up him against everybody. Well, first of all, the idiots are so dumb. They used the wrong formula in calculating what it should be. They were actually slapping tariffs on countries where no people were inhabited. They were penguins. Again, these are not the most brilliant people in the world. He always talked about, and he demeaned, President Joe Biden, but he's showing how he is not that smart. So what happened? He announced the other day all these tariffs. Stock market crashed, tumbled four days. Some companies announcing they're not opening new plants. They're cutting

travel. The uncertainty, massive increases. Small businesses are freaking out, saying, how am I going to stay in business? And so what does he do? Today, this morning he posted a tweet saying, buy stock! Then announces the tariffs. And then guess what? 90 days. Oh, but I'm going to increase it by 125% on China. China was like, bring it on, big boy. We're going to increase ours as well. Here's what's crazy. He sends out a tweet today explaining this schizophrenic, crazy, demented strategy. So this is what he said, based on the fact

that more than 75 countries, okay, I don't even believe him for a second, 75 countries have called representatives of the United States, including the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and USTR, that's a trade representative, to negotiate a solution to the subjects being discussed related to trade, trade barriers, tariffs, currency manipulation, and non-monetary tariffs, and that these countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States, I've authorized a 90-day pause and a substantially lowered reciprocal tariff during this period of 10%, also effective immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Okay. So then they held this as, oh my God. So on Fox news, on Fox news, an anchor was talking to Charlie Gasparino, financial analyst. And she tried to say that, hey, couldn't this be that Trump is just smart and brilliant? Listen. Well, I mean, because of the mixed messaging, how can you doubt them? I mean, let's be clear what happened. You know, who capitulated here and why? And,

you know, I don't want to say this because I'm a patriot. I'm an American. But it is the White House who capitulated based on everything I hear and all my sources. And the reason why is because of the bond market and what happened last night. You know, Besson knows this better than anybody. When you have yields on the 10-year rising to 5%, stuff starts shutting down when you have the lending markets screwed up. By the way, who was dumping the bonds? Somebody asked him if it was China, right? It wasn't. It was Japan. While he was negotiating with Japan, Japan, according to

my sources, were running major money management firms that are involved in the bond market without giving up names. Japan was dumping bonds because they believed this was not a great place to do business. That forced their hands. Now, what you can say, I think, legitimately here is Trump decided to take the win. And here's why. There was overwhelmingly, you know, deal potential here among the entire world, except for maybe China. Right. Everybody really wanted something. So he did take the win. But make sure make make no mistake about it. Peter Navarro was talking as of yesterday about not taking the win. And now they did. And it's all because of the bond market. I want to point out. OK, I'm confused. He opens up by saying the White House capitulated. They bowed down. They backed off.

Then he goes, oh no, Trump took the win. Which one is it? Capitulated means you lost. Now he's saying he took the win. Now I've already read for you the tweet that Trump sent out, but this is this idiot talking to reporters explaining

why he pulled back on the tariffs. Watch this stupidity. Why you decided to put a 90-day pause? Well, I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy, you know, they were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid, unlike these champions, because we have a big job to do. No other president would have done what I did. No other president. I know the presidents. They wouldn't have done it. And it had to be done. What was happening to us on trade, not only with, you know, if you look at it, not only with China, but China was by far the biggest abuser in history.

Markets that persuaded you to reverse. I was watching the bond market. The bond market is very tricky. I was watching it. But if you look at it now, it's it's beautiful. The bond market right now is beautiful. But, yeah, I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy. I think everything had. Well, the big move wasn't what I did today. The big move was what I did on Liberation Day. We had Liberation Day in America. We were liberated from all of the horrible deals that were made,

all of the horrible trade deals that were made. And I was helped by people just like this, senator, congressman, and friends, right? 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. 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. And we had great help in the Senate. Of course, Republican senators have been amazing. They stood tall. And help in the Senate. Our Republican senators have been amazing. They stood tall.

And likewise in the House. Interesting. Okay. Now, let me help you all out here. Okay. Let me help you all out with this one. So his tweet, he said, oh, they're negotiating. Then people got queasy, which is really the United States.

Then last night at a Republican dinner, he was like, oh, the world is kissing my ass. Listen. And the history of our country. And don't let some of these politicians go around saying, you know, because I'm telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my ass. They are they are dying to make a deal. Please, please make a deal. I'll do anything. I'll do anything, sir. And then I'll see some rebel Republican, you know, some guy that wants to grandstand. So I think the Congress should take over negotiations. Let me tell you, you don't negotiate like I negotiate. OK, Morgan Harper joins us right now from Columbus, Ohio. American Economic Liberties Project. Morgan, glad to have you here.

So, Morgan, I'm now confused. If I had instituted tariffs and I was causing nations to be on bended knee, and if they were kissing my ass, then I don't lift the tariffs. I keep kicking their ass. I keep beating them, berating them. I break them down. That's the so-called art of the deal. But he's trying to spin it as, oh, yeah,

so which is it? Were folks, was Wall Street, were his donors, were they queasy, or was it the foreign countries? We know what the answer is. He was getting his ass kicked, and Gasparino said it, and Gasparino didn't want to own it. Oh, I don't want to say it. I'm a patriot.

That's Gasparino trying to kiss MAGA ass. The reality is they don't want to admit that Donald Trump is an idiot. He was destroying trillions of dollars in value. And folks said, you're rushing us headlong into a recession. That is why he backed off. Yeah, I mean, there's definitely a capitulation here. And I think another really important point to make is that none of us really know exactly what is going on, which is a very, very risky position for the United States government to be in. And that's why you're

seeing things like you were talking about the reaction in the bond market. People don't trust the United States government right now. So that isn't an environment that they want to invest in. And we don't know what deals he's talking about. We don't know the proposed terms of any of them, if they do exist. It really is the White House freestyling with the U.S. economy that is very intertwined with the global economy. And so, you know, I think it's interesting that they've said they're going to do this 90-day pause. I agree with you. I think it was to try to calm the market down and where we go from here. But the reality is, it's just a 90-day pause. So it's not bringing any more certainty to the market. I don't think this is going to put investors completely at ease. I don't

think this is going to make, and I'm really glad you mentioned the risk for small businesses. I don't think this is going to make small businesses feel any more comfortable that they're going to be able to build or invest or make any sort of growth moves with their companies. How could they? We have no idea what's coming. And the reality remains that though he paused a lot of the tariffs, the increase on the tariffs on China will continue to impact a lot of different types of U.S. businesses that rely on imports. There isn't really, I mean, I would be hard pressed and I'd be curious if anybody else has an example of a company right now that is making something in the United States that

is entirely using products and tools that are also completely made in the United States that is entirely using products and tools that are also completely made in the United States. I don't know that that product exists. This is a very intertwined global economy. A lot of different types of businesses rely on imports, and a lot of those imports do come from China. And so even with the remaining tariffs, reciprocal terrorists that he's put in place, that's creating a lot of risk and uncertainty for businesses of all sizes. And when we're talking about the types of businesses that can absorb that type of uncertainty

and potentially eat into their own profit margin and those that can't, it's very clear that only the biggest of businesses will be able to take in this type of uncertainty that Trump is creating and not raise prices. Anything less than those very, very large companies are likely going to have to pass these this uncertainty and price increases on to consumers. So is a mortgage do this here for folks who don't understand when when gasparino and even trump mentioned the bond market explain to people what the bond market means and what it means when japan is uh getting rid of american bonds explain that that. Yeah, I mean, the bond market for U.S. Treasury is foreign countries, whoever is investing and buying bonds, investing in the United States, that they are considering the United States to be a safe investment, something that they want

to buy into. As the returns for making those investments increase, it's a suggestion that people do not think that it's a very safe investment. They're going to want a lot of money in return for making the decision to invest in the United States. And so when you have countries or investors from Japan that are removing their investments in U.S. bonds, it's saying, hey, we don't trust what's going on here. We don't think this is a safe environment that's going to be a guaranteed moneymaker for us. We're out. And that is a show of a loss of confidence for—a loss of confidence in, I should say, the U.S makes sense because we have policymaking that is really happening in secret. And again, like I was saying before, we don't have insight.

If we as Americans, individuals, we don't have insight into what's going on. It appears that also the head of our United States trade representative, he was on the Hill today in a hearing about the tariff policy right before this announcement came out. And it was clear that he, too, didn't seem to have a clear sense that this was coming. So if the people who are in charge of making economic policy aren't in the loop, if the American people aren't in the loop, if Congress isn't in the loop, and it's just the White House and Donald Trump that is setting policy based on how they're feeling day to day, then any foreign investor government, those of us living here in the United States as business owners, as consumers, certainly have no reason to feel comfortable either. And there continues to be a tremendous amount of risk that's being created for all of us as long as, you know, he continues to approach policymaking like this.

To your point, in a control room, let me know if y'all have that clip ready. The U.S. Trade Representative was on Capitol Hill testifying, and Congressman Stephen Horsford was giving him the business. And the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessette, was supposed to be there, but he canceled because of what was happening. I mean, the markets were just absolutely going crazy. And what you're finding is, I saw some reporting a couple of days ago that Bessette was initially on the outside. It was Trump and Peter Navarro and others. And it's utterly illogical that you could be an occupant of the Oval Office. And you're talking about instituting a massive global trading war. And your U.S. trade representative is not dialed in. Your Treasury Secretary is not dialed in. And you're talking to Elon Musk and Peter Navarro, and then those two idiots are fighting at each other on Twitter and on Fox News.

I mean, it looks like the Keystone Cops. Here's Congressman Stephen Horsford on Capitol Hill just giving the business to the U.S. trade rep. Is this market manipulation? No. Why not? If it was a plan, if it was always the plan, how is this not market manipulation? It's not market manipulation, sir. Then what is it?

Because it sure is not a strategy. We're trying to reset the global trade system. It's offshored all of our factories. What has that done? How have you done, how have you achieved any of that? But to enact enormous harm on the American people, which was our concern from the very beginning. Tariffs are a tool.

It can be used in the appropriate way to protect U.S. jobs and small businesses. But that's not what this does. So if it's not market manipulation, what is it? Who's benefiting? What billionaire just got richer? And all the while, there are not even any Republicans left in this hearing. They all left because they don't even want to defend this. But meanwhile, the Speaker is rushing to the floor to pass a budget reconciliation to screw America by passing the biggest tax cut in history on the backs of the American people.

WTF? Who's in charge? Because it sure doesn't look like it's the trade representative. You just got the rug pulled out from under you. You know, Morgan, I've had a lot of people hit me today saying that what he said, market manipulation. You've got rich folks who are who poop in, been able to buy stocks at cheap prices. And this is hurting every worker, things along those lines. You've got companies announcing that they're not moving forward with projects. You've got companies, a bank CEO said a number of people were not moving forward with mergers and acquisitions, and that there is just this massive amount of lack of clarity about what's going on.

And Trump is walking around like, oh, my God, it's great. It's beautiful. He was caught on an open mic just saying, look at how beautifully is the market went up twenty five hundred three thousand points. That's got to be a record. I mean, this idiot is talking about it's got to be a record. Do you cause the crash? You cause the drop. Yeah, and it really does seem like there were certain players that were prepared to take advantage of this moment. So I think market manipulation is an accurate issue for Red Horse to be bringing up like we saw in that clip, because yeah, I mean, if certain large, cause let's be real. And I think this is another important point, Roland, is who is spending

their days trading on the stock market? If you have a nine to five job, like I have, like most of the people in this country, if they're lucky, have that or else you're running around to two different jobs throughout the day. You don't have time to be sitting there monitoring what's happening in the stock market and making individual trades. So most of us, if we are involved in the half of the country that's involved in the stock market, we are passive players in that market. We have our 401k, we're invested in these index funds, and then we see how it all rolls out. The people that are in the position to trade with this type of speed are large institutional investors in the stock market.

And these are the types of entities that are run by people that are likely to be friends with Donald Trump. So if there was market manipulation to be had, those are the types of people that are going to be positioned to take advantage of it. Unlikely that it's going to be your friend down the street that likes to trade occasionally in an individual stock. Let's be real about that. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. People who are day traders, folks who are doing that,

you're absolutely right. And, you know, these things are happening before our very eyes. The net result to the average, regular, ordinary working day person is that even though with this 90-day extension, what it still is doing, Morgan, is causing massive just unsteadiness. And so even though you wait 90 days, it's still so, ah, we don't know what's going to happen. And so that's the problem. What business likes is certainty. What the average worker likes is certainty. You want to be certain you have a job. You're getting a paycheck. You want to be certain that price is going to be stable. But when you have up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down. It's schizophrenic. And when it's schizophrenic, what do people do? They sit back and say, I ain't spending nothing. I'm not doing nothing.

I'm not hiring people. I'm not making acquisitions. I'm not building a new building. I'm not building a new plant. I'm going to acquire a new company. I need to sit back and wait to see what the hell is going on. Exactly right. And then that's the real risk here. And, you know, another thing I would point out is it didn't have to be like this. Like we heard from Rep Forsberg, he's acknowledging there's a role for tariffs to play that in a version of this that could support workers, that would be more protective of small business interests, that would support workers, that would be more protective of small business interests, that would be targeted, that would be strategic, that would be methodical, that would be easy for all of us to understand, for the market to understand, that would create more certainty about what's going on.

This administration has decided to do the opposite. They are risking an economic recession. And the level of chaos is only going, and I will say this, I said it before, I'm going to say it again, it will only serve to benefit the richest of the rich and the largest companies. I mean, we actually saw now that Albertsons, for example, has come out and said, oh, we won't be paying any higher prices. So that's a large grocery train. They are able to tell their suppliers, oh, no, we're not absorbing any of this. You guys just have to give us whatever price we want because they're called what's

known as a power buyer. And they can kind of set those terms. Walmart, kind of similar. You know who can't do that? The independent grocer in your neighborhood that is just trying to get by with, as we've talked about, very, very thin profit margins and has no ability to flex beyond what they're currently paying for the goods that they're trying to sell in their store. They will not be able to stay in business. That is a big, big risk of this kind of uncertainty that's going to hit independent businesses and us as consumers more than anybody. Indeed, indeed. Morgan Harper, American Economic Liberties Project. We so appreciate it. Thank you indeed indeed morgan harper american economic liberties project was appreciated thank you so very much good to see you thanks for having me

all right folks gotta go to break we come back we'll bring in our panel have further conversation about the sheer stupidity as emanating from the idiots who occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, just two blocks from our Black Star Network studios. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach,

I'm sure you've heard that saying that the only thing guaranteed is death and taxes. The truth is that the wealthy get wealthier by understanding tax strategy. And that's exactly the conversation that we're going to have on the next Get Wealthy, where you're going to learn wealth hacks that help you turn your wages into wealth. Taxes is one of the largest expenses you ever have. You really got to know how to manage that thing and get that under control so that you can do well. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Blackstar Network. This week on A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie here on Black Star Network, we are talking about all things, you got it, stress related.

Yes, the big S, whether it's spiritual, physical, emotional, or sometimes it could be just in your head. Stress has a way of manifesting itself in our lives in such a way that it disrupts who we are and who we're in the process of becoming. Stress is just as bad as a lot of the physical ailments that we think of. That's all next on A Balanced Life on the Blackstar Network. This week on the other side of change. The attacks on education, book bans, and what it means for us. Our guest, Aaliyah Logan, who will join us talking about what are the implications for the lack of investment in education, both locally and internationally, and what this will

mean for future generations. Fighting back against any of the administration's attempt to essentially make sure that people are uneducated and destroy history and make sure you forget history and historical things that have happened. Check us out on the other side of change, only on the Black Star Network. genuine people powered movement. A lot of stuff that we're not getting, you get it and you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it.

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Hatred on the streets. A horrific scene. A white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. You will not be exiled. White people are moving their dicks. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes.

But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1.

Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast.

Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-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 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 podcast. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Come on. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history.

Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at 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 Russell L. Honore, Lieutenant General, United States Army, retired, and you're watching Roland Martin on Philpnick. I'm going to go get some food. Thank you. You can always count on the idiots at Fox News to try to explain the way anything Donald Trump does. Listen to this stupid conversation this morning on Fox and Friends. There's an item in the New York Post that we all have in front of us. It's an exclusive story. And it talks about how with these 104 percent tariffs that went into effect, you know, we think that China is going to have to pay for it. But it tells a story of a special needs toy importer. And when the tariffs went into effect at midnight, his tariff,

he's been paying a tariff because he gets stuff from China, $26,000 a year. His tariff bill went from $26,000 at midnight to $346,000. And that's money he's got, he's going to have to come

out of his pocket. It sounds like he's going to have to go ahead and close down part of his business. He tried to make toys in the United States, but the tariff on that, his most popular item went from zero to $17 at midnight. And what he told the New York Post is people don't understand the tariff situation. They think just foreign countries are paying for the tariffs. That's not true. Half of the tariffs are being paid for by U.S.-based companies. So when you look at the big numbers and they look good, just remember that, according to this guy,

half of the small businesses and half of the tariffs are being paid by Americans. I'm sorry, did they actually say that this guy said that tariffs are being paid by Americans? But I thought dumbass Donald Trump told us nobody here was going to pay for it. These people are nuts. Lawrence B. Jones is sitting there saying, well, you know, my, you know, I think the elites, the elites have had it so well, you know, but Trump, we just have to just allow, just let things just happen and calm down and it's going to work out for the American worker. The hell are you talking about? It's insane. It's absolutely insane. My panel, Andrew Clark, managing partner, district legal group, joining us from D.C.,

Joy Cheney, founder of Joy Strategies out of D.C. Michael Imhotep hosts African History Network show out of Detroit. Glad to have all three of you here. I sit here, Andrew, and these people, they talk. And stupid stuff comes out. They lie. They're not being honest.

Every now and then, they occasionally will actually speak the truth. You have Steve Doocy who's sitting there. I mean, again, truly one of the dumbest people. I mean, you know, it's something when you're Steve Doocy and you're one of the dumbest people on TV and you end up looking like a Rhodes Scholar when when when Sean Hannity's fiance, Ainsley Earnhardt and that idiot Brian Kilmeade are sitting right next to you. I mean, that is an incredible feat by itself. But they sit here and they go through this stuff and they lie.

And literally, the people who are watching are like, well, you know, they said things are going to be okay, so they're going to be okay. They are all liars. Yeah, I mean, you know, the crazy thing about these tariffs and something that I can't understand is they keep trying to talk about they're bringing back these manufacturing jobs. What manufacturing jobs are they bringing back? Over in China, they're making $5.31 an hour in these factories. How can we compete with that? Even with 100 percent tariff, 125 percent tariff,

how can we compete with $5.31 on a tariff per hour? So I just don't understand what the logic is behind it, because the only people that are clearly going to suffer are the American people. When we go into the grocery stores, when we have our small business closing, and the only thing that we can do is go to these big box retailers who are going to be able to set whatever price they want for things, right? Because they're not going to absorb the prices. They're not going to take food out of their children's mouth. They're going to take food out of our children's mouth, out of our hands, and close down all of these small businesses that are competing with them, Roland.

What's amazing to me, Joy, is that he was lying when he was running. He was straight lying. And these idiots actually fell for it. Donald Trump had to go home and go. Because you know he wouldn't talk to Melania because she don't talk to him. So he was probably talking to one of his aides who said, couldn't you actually believe these dumbasses believe the lies that I sold them on? They fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

They have continuously fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. Donald Trump has been talking about tariffs and getting it wrong for decades. For decades. The only people who didn't understand what were going to happen with tariffs were the people who voted for decades. The only people who didn't understand what were gonna happen with tariffs were the people who voted for him. Everyone else understood, including economists, understood that this was going to be a disaster, not only for the world economy,

but for the American economy. There are no surprises here. What I find amazing is that he tends to spin the fact that companies have been at his doors, not China, by the way, but others. And look, everyone, of course, wants to make a deal. But for someone who is an economic terrorist, right, which is almost what he is, wreaking havoc on the entire world, of course, people are willing to come to you and wanting to negotiate, but he is in a desperate position. He needs them to negotiate because it's his people who are knocking on his door and saying, this is not what we thought we voted for. You are messing up. And

by the way, when I say his people, I don't mean the rank and file people who voted for him. I mean the corporate oligarchs that funded his campaign and then ultimately capitulated to him. Even they are saying, no, this is unacceptable. The stock market is saying this is unacceptable and telling him in real time. So this, he is panicked. He is afraid. He sounded panicked and afraid. He did not sound strong. He sounded what he is, understanding that he's bit off more than he can chew, that people are not, that the countries that he wants to have coming to him are not, that they are engaging in a war with him. They have the backing of their own people to do so, he doesn't have the backing of his people to do so. So Donald Trump is the major loser here. But the biggest loss is going to be felt by small

business owners and about American workers. And last thing before I give it back to you, the people who are thinking that this is going to result in jobs for the American worker that they would want to have. It's so sad. Those jobs are gone. And if they were to somehow show back up here, they're going to be done by AI machines, right? They're going to be automated. This is the one that cracks me up, Michael. This is what cracks me up the most.

They're all calling and kissing my ass. No, they're not. And if they were, you would not have bent over. Well, why would a 78-year-old man brag about people kissing his ass? There's something wrong with this guy. I'm serious. There's something wrong with this guy. This is the same guy who paid $130,000 for Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about him having sex with her. This is the same guy.

But, you know, number one, it's a number of things on this, you know, and I read the article today from the New York Times, sell-off in U.S. bonds and dollar raises questions about safe haven status because overnight, the overnight markets, China and Japan were dumping U.S. Treasury bonds, and dollar raises questions about safe haven status, because overnight, the overnight markets, China and Japan, were dumping U.S. Treasury bonds, which are looked at as a safe haven. Today at the press conference, when you had Treasury Secretary Bess, and also you had Caroline Levitt. One thing that did not come up was factory jobs coming back and companies building factories here in the U.S. Because nothing that they said today would make companies want to invest in building new factories

because it takes about two and a half years to four years to really build a factory, OK? And then the other thing is, is what happens after the 90 days? What happens after the 90-day pause on the tariffs? Now, if he's such a good negotiator, why didn't he announce any deals that have been struck so far within these 75 countries? OK, the whole thing is ridiculous. What really set it off today, Roland, is that Goldman Sachs, around 1 p.m.

today, upgraded the probability of a recession to 65 percent. OK, and Reuters has an article on this as well as Business Insider. And then about an hour or so later after that, Donald Trump comes out with this 90 day pause. But yesterday when they were asked about it after economic adviser Kevin Hesit, after he after it was kind of presented that he said something like that, we saw an uptick in the market. The White House said, no, it's not going to be a 90-day pause. But then the next day, here you have a 90-day pause. So Donald Trump is scared. He saw the stock market continue in the tank. He's getting pressure, increased pressure from Republican senators, from some Republicans

in the House, because they're getting massive pressure from Republican voters. Right. And also Elon Musk yesterday called trade adviser Peter Navarro a moron and dumber than a sack of bricks. And it was Navarro who was the one who came up with this funny math for the tariffs. OK, so all this is closing in on him. But this this is a catastrophe. But it didn't have to be this way because 400 economists back in September 2024 signed on to a letter stating that VP Kamala Harris's economic policy would be much better than Trump's and Trump's would tank the economy. Well, and that's why I keep saying that these folk are getting exactly what they wanted, and it's playing out. And so we all said, we tried to tell you, but y'all didn't want to listen. So that's where we are. All right, y'all, I've got to go to break.

We come back. Congressman Joe DeGaese of Colorado, man, he put his foot in one of his fellow Republicans' butt. That dude is still twitching from getting his butt kicked. I'm going to show you that right here. Roland Martin unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. Support the work that we do, folks. That is join our Bring the Funk fan club. Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing on average 50 bucks each a year.

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On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, I'm sure you've heard that saying that the only thing guaranteed is death and taxes. The truth is that the wealthy get wealthier by understanding tax strategy. And that's exactly the conversation that we're going to have on the next Get Wealthy, where you're going to learn wealth hacks that help you turn your wages into wealth. Taxes is one of the largest expenses you ever have. You really got to know how to manage that thing and get that under control so that you can do well. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Blackstar Network. This week on A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie here on Blackstar Network, we are talking about all things. You got it. Stress related. Yes. The big S, whether it's spiritual, physical, emotional, or sometimes it could be just in your head.

Stress has a way of manifesting itself in our lives in such a way that it disrupts who we are and who we're in the process of becoming. Stress is just as bad as a lot of the physical ailments that we think of. That's all next on A Balanced Life on the Blackstar Network. This week on the other side of change. The attacks on education, book fans, and what it means for us. Our guest, Aaliyah Logan, who will join us talking about what are the implications for the lack of investment in education, both locally and internationally, and what this will mean for future generations. Fighting back against any of the administration's attempt to essentially make sure that people

are uneducated and destroy history and make sure you forget history and historical things that have happened. Check us out on the other side of change, only on the Black Star Network. Hello, I'm Isaac Hayes III, founder and CEO of Fanbase. And right now we're accepting investors in our $17 million round to revolutionize the future of social media.

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to serve their users, and Fanbase is stepping up to fill the gap. Don't wait until it's too late. Invest now. Invest for yourself and your future. Go to startengine.com slash fanbase and own the future of social media. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. On that soil, you will not be free. White people are losing their damn lives. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol.

We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at 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. 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. Hey, this is Motown recording artist Kim. You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Boy, he always unfiltered, though. I ain't never known him to be filtered. Is there another way to experience Roland Martin than to be unfiltered? Of course he's unfiltered. Boy, he always unfiltered, though. I ain't never known him to be filtered. Is there another way to experience Roland Martin than to be unfiltered? Of course he's unfiltered. Would you expect anything less?

Watch what happens next. Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! You know, you try best to sit here and deal with these folk, but they lie. When I say they lie, they just lie. They make up stuff repeatedly.

We see this all the time. And it's the constant defense of the lies that's also crazy to me. And we're going to keep seeing this because what we have to recognize, and I know this is hard for some people, we have to recognize that we're dealing with a group of people who literally don't have any integrity whatsoever. We're dealing with people who have no honor, no decency, no morals, or no values. What these people have done is they have just whatever this man says, whatever he wants to do, they tolerate it. They just go, hey, we're good. And we're going to keep allowing Donald Trump to do what he wants to do. In fact, Speaker Mike Johnson was asked about these tariffs.

Reporters were asking him. And what did he do? He literally was like, you know what? Hey, say, dawg, this ain't on me. Mr. Speaker. Not sure yet. Mr. Speaker, there's a push by some of your members to give Congress a say. If y'all make it as a bill to give Congress a say and review the tariffs,

why not give Congress the opportunity to have it be a check on the president's decision? The Congress will weigh in on it, but with the president, with the administration in tandem. And I think you've got to give the president the latitude, the runway to do what it is he was elected to do, and that is get this economy going again and get our trade properly balanced with other countries. So I think most of the American people understand the necessity of that. Listen, we had a $1.2 trillion trade deficit in 2024. I don't think that's fair to our country. I think the American people understand that,

and I think they see a president who's engaging and trying to fix that. So we're going to give him the space necessary to do it, and we'll see how it all goes. Folks, what that is really called is a massive amount of pass the buck, pass the buck, pass the buck, and I'm going to pass the buck a little bit more. That's really what you've got going on here. And as far as these Republicans, you know, they will continue to make things up. I came across this video of Congressman Joe Negase of Colorado. And

he was jamming up this Republican. And I was sitting here, was questioning him, and he was sort of like, I can't believe I'm literally hearing what these crazy fools are saying because it makes no sense whatsoever. Here's some of what he had to say. How about this? How would you describe a 1,000-point drop in the stock market? How would you describe it? I would say the stock market rises and falls.

It's more sensitive to changes. Rises and falls. Okay, so here's a statement. Can I just complete my thought? You answered it. You said rises and falls. It's a— Changes in policies.

Sure. And a tremendous shift, I think you agree, with the policy. 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.

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

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote.

Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. 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 think it's going to be a much bigger deal when the stock market over the long run improves along with this economy. And along with the worker wages. That's not what you were saying last year. That's not what you were. Tell me what I said last year. Last year, here's a statement. Yeah, please. From the House Budget Committee.

Chairman Arrington, on the drop in financial markets and the fiscal decline of the Biden-Harris administration's economy. When the stock market dropped 1,000 points several years ago, you rushed to bemoan President Biden's actions and the economy that he was presiding over. You condemned it. Now the stock market drops 1,000 points every day for the last week, and you claim it's the economy running well. Do you understand why that would be a tough argument for the American people to understand? Yeah, but I can explain it to you. Yeah, I can explain it to you.

Because you had consistently bad fiscal and economic policies that resulted in persistently bad economic environment for the American people, mainly 40-year high inflation. So this is year after year, quarter after quarter. Got it. And we're talking about the first two or three months of Trump's administration where we're transitioning from that failed agenda. I get it. To one that's going to put us in a place of a stronger position. So you want to give him some time. I get it. So 1,000-point drop in the stock market, bond markets collapsing, recession on the horizon. At what point—let's say there's a depression.

Yeah. At that point, would I be able to get your commitment that you'd say, I don't agree with the president's policies? How far are you willing to go? It's honestly—it's an honest question because we're—we are likely to have a recession here recession here again if we're not experiencing one already what he just did joy was expose them for being hypocrites he's like oh you said this here but now i ain't that really big a deal it's okay you got it idiots like Gene Piro on Fox News saying, I don't care about 401K. Okay. Excuse me, you're making so much money, it's good like that.

You got that other fool, what's her name, Harris Faulkner. This is sort of like we were in war. Like when we were in war, we have to band together and work together. Ain't no damn war. These folks will, I mean, the level of ass kissing is unbelievable. Let me tell you, the only war happening right now is the trade war that Donald Trump has created and now is trying to solve, right? Always creating crises, creating fires that then he attempts to put out but instead fans the flames.

But, you know, earlier you called one of his sycophants an aide, and I thought aide is the wrong word. He doesn't have any aides. They don't provide him aide. They provide him, you know, they're sycophants. They provide him a yes-man status. Anything he says, and they know they better say it, because if they don't say yes, he cuts them off at the pass. He has been very quick.

He is—there is no tolerance for people who are whispering in his ear and saying, hey, you're doing it wrong, this isn't quite right. Even J.D. Vance had to talk about it behind his back on that Signal Channel, signaling that the president didn't understand fully what he was doing. These folks are not at all in control. Who is in control is a man in Donald Trump who has failed many businesses because he believes and subscribes to a chaos theory that many business owners do believe in. And they lose some, they win some. But when we're talking about a nation, that is not how you govern.

When we're talking about one as important as the United States, which has international implications, that's not how you govern. That is a way to ruin a nation. And if we're not careful, what other countries are going to realize is the United States is no longer a place to do business. It's no longer a place of democratic stability, economic stability, and even security. Yeah, it is. And once they discover that, then we are in a whole world of trouble. Well, bottom line is, it is, it's all crazy. It's crazy land.

And what we have to understand, Michael, here is there is a Republican Party that is completely, absolutely, positively, 100 percent bent over. And they will not say a negative word against Donald Trump. They are scared to death of him. They're scared to death of MAGA. And this is only going to happen if Democrats continue to apply maximum pressure. These people are not going to say or do anything. It doesn't matter. They're not going to do it. Well, you—the Republican Party as a whole has capitulated, caved in to Donald Trump.

That is true. You do see some individuals who speak out. Just in the past couple of days, you've seen some who would speak out because they're getting so much pressure. Elected officials, they're getting so much pressure from their base, okay? But as a whole, the party's not going to stand up to Trump. They're cowards as a whole. And not only are they afraid of MAGA, they're also afraid of the 1,500 domestic terrorists that Donald Trump gave a pardon to, and many of them were imprisoned in the U.S. Capitol, okay? They're afraid of them

as well. So people do need to continue to put pressure on Republicans who are their own elected officials. Like, you have a member of the House of Representatives as a Republican, U.S. Senate. You still need to put pressure on them. And then—but the only functional party that you have are the Democrats, okay? That's it. And this, once again, shows us how elections have consequences. Because now Donald Trump is talking about putting tariffs

on pharmaceuticals as well, okay? After they're trying to claw back the pharmaceuticals where we got the concessions on from the Inflation Reduction Act, now they want to put tariffs on pharmaceuticals. And when you study these tariffs, and there have been a number of articles written about this, they hurt low-income people the most. So these tariffs are going to disproportionately hurt the African-American community. So this is critical right here.

This is another example of how elections have consequences and how politics impacts every aspect of our lives. The bottom line is, these folks don't care. They're going to do whatever the hell they want to do. And what they are doing, they are appealing to their rich donors. That's the people who are in control. Look, I believe 100%,

Andrew, that you got some folk here who are seriously making off like a fat rat. That's who this man appeals to. He don't care. I keep telling these dumb MAGA people, he won't let your ass walk through his hotel lobby. Yeah, and what we're dealing with with this oligarchy,

which is, you know, a minimal amount of people in control with Donald Trump, is we're seeing these Republican politicians scared. And I don't think that they're scared of Donald Trump. I think that they're scared of their own voting base. Because remember, back in November, if any of us could have, if I put money, if there was some kind of MGM bet poll on the over-under on that election race, I don't think that any one of us would have been able to guess the amount of the margin in which Donald Trump won. And I think that a lot of the Republican elected officials right now are scared of their own

base because they don't know what they want. They're saying that you guys elected this man? This is who you're choosing? This is who you want to run our country? So now me, as an elected official, what do I do? Because if I speak up, I'm getting voted out, because my voting base has told me that they like this kind of nonsense, that they like this chaos, right? And so now the Republican elected officials are running around saying, well, what position should I be on?

Should I be on the Mitt Romney style of let's go up against Donald Trump, or should I be in more of the capitulating, let me sit back and see what happens, or let me just, you know, just kind of let Donald Trump do what he does, and I'll back him or support him on it. And that's the confusion in the Republican Party. We talk a lot about how the Democratic Party is imploding, but the Republican Party is imploding, because they have no idea what their base wants. Can I add one thing to that? I think it's even worse than what you're describing. You're right, but it's even worse. I think some of them are afraid for their lives and their livelihood, not just their political futures. I think they're worried

about what happens in their hometowns. Not everybody, but their crazier neighbors, right? The ones that they pretend they don't know are unstable, right? The ones that are super intense. The ones that interact with their families and their children. I think they're worried about if they lose their seats, where would they go work? We're not going to hire them. Who on this call is going to let them come to their firm? Or let them represent them? He's bringing back.

Right, he'd go to the factories, exactly. What Republican firm could bring them in because they would be perceived as a traitor? And that's how they operate. That's how they're operating. And I'm telling you right now to everybody, listen, these folks are going to screw us left and right. I don't care what it is. Be prepared

for what is going to happen. Don't trust them. All they're going to do is just lie, lie, lie, lie, lie. And that's just what it boils down to. So I'm just telling you that's the case. And so, hey, it's all on us. I'm telling you right now, that's what it boils down to. Quick break. We'll be right back.

Roland Martin, Unfiltered, on the Blackstar Network. This week on A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie here on Black Star Network, we are talking about all things, you got it, stress-related. Yes, the big S, whether it's spiritual, physical, emotional, or sometimes it could be just in your head. Stress has a way of manifesting itself in our lives in such a way that it disrupts who we are and who we're in the process of becoming stress is is just as bad as a lot of the physical ailments that we think of that's all

next on a balanced life on the black star network what's up y'all i'm will packer hello i'm bishop tdj what up lana well and you are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. North Carolina State Supreme Court has stopped the ruling that could have invalidated more than 65,000 votes, many of them from people who did everything right to ensure their voices were heard in November. The race in question is for a seat on the state's highest court between Democrat Justice Allison Riggs and Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin. He's an appeals court judge. Riggs won twice after both a machine and a partial hand recount

confirmed her narrow 734-vote lead. But Griffin, he isn't letting up. He claims that thousands of voters had incomplete registrations or ID issues, even though their ballots were already counted and certified. A lower court sided with him last week. The appeals court ordered more than 60,000 voters to verify their identity or risk having their votes tossed out in just that one race. Okay, let me roll that back, y'all.

Let me roll that back. That one race. Was? That one race. Okay, I want y'all to, these same people voted in other races, but the appeals court wants to invalidate their votes in just this race. It's sort of like all the people who said,

when Trump said, oh, it was rigged. Republicans like, it was rigged. Hold up, but you were on the same ballot. So it wasn't rigged in your race, but it was rigged in his race. Okay, that how it is? Okay, gotcha. Alison Riggs, she dropped this video right here.

I'm Justice Allison Riggs. I'm the youngest woman ever to serve on our state Supreme Court and the only justice of childbearing age serving. Before becoming a judge, I worked for 14 years as a civil rights attorney fighting to protect North Carolinians' rights, including the right to vote. I'm no stranger to tough fights or working hard to protect our constitutional freedoms. And that's what I'm doing right now. North Carolina voters elected me to keep my seat in 2024, a win that was confirmed by two independent recounts.

But now that's at risk, with more than 65,000 eligible voters facing their ballots being thrown out. That includes deployed members of the military who are serving our country. I've spent my career fighting for justice and standing up for North Carolinians, and I won't back down now. I won't be intimidated, and I won't give up. Please join me. Learn more at rigsforourcourts.com. Together, we will stand up for the rule of law. So these people voted for governor. They voted in the presidential race. They voted in the attorney general race. They voted in the secretary of state race. They voted in the school superintendent race.

They voted in all these state races, but somehow in this one race, it's a problem. This goes to, Michael, what we keep talking about, how Republicans, they will cheat. They will cheat. They will cheat. They don't care. And what you have here, the appeals court in North Carolina is controlled by Republicans. They control the Supreme Court as well. But if the Supreme Court sides with this guy, I mean, you're talking about throwing things into just legal chaos in North Carolina. Absolutely. And, you know, the amazing thing about this,

Roland, is this election was from November 5th, 2024. This election was from six months ago. OK. And this guy is still trying to contest the election results, get 65,000 votes thrown out. There have been two recounts. And now this is a slim margin, something like 756 votes, something like that. This is a slim margin. And this just goes to show you how, one, every vote counts and how these positions on the courts are so extremely important. And notice how silent all the black people that used to tell us we don't need to vote,

we just need to do economic empowerment and do like the Asians do, things like this. And they told us rich people don't care about voting. Well, you just had Elon Musk invest over $20 million to try to get his candidate on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. So much for that theory. But yeah, this is more nonsense from Republicans. And when you see voter suppression like this, trying to throw out 65,000 votes, that shows you how valuable your vote is and how important it is to vote strategically. Well, Andrew, I keep imploring people to understand why these state races matter.

They are all fundamental, and the courts, they matter. If you have three branches of government, this is sort of like, to me, in sports, where people go, like, I think Hall of Fame voters are stupid, where they vote for offensive players, defensive players, but they act like special teams doesn't exist, even though the game is three phases. It's offense, defense, and special teams.

Well, guess what? We are legislative, judicial, and executive. And if people act like only legislative and executive matters, they are missing the boat. The judicial branch matters a huge, huge federal and state. Yeah. And we see it even on our own Supreme Court and the talk about what's happening on our, the United States Supreme Court on a larger level, right? And that is indicative of why this North Carolina race was so important because the Supreme Court of each jurisdiction has the final say in whatever it is that's going on in that jurisdiction, right?

They might be able to appeal it federally, but that Supreme Court is the highest court of the land. And they're even higher, right? They're even higher than any of the other elected officials. The elected official can say something. And then the Supreme Court of that state can say, no, I see you trying to say this. I see you trying to say X, but it's really Y.

And 65,000 votes specifically for this race, Roland, when there were other races on the ballot that are, oh, that's okay. They were fine for those other races. But for this specific race, it's just such a clear abuse of power. And it goes back to what is true? What is right? And what are we really doing here as Americans when we don't stand up to things like this, when we don't stand up to the powers that be when they're making these decisions? We all need to go to the ballot. All of our votes count. Every last person that's listening to your show, that's seeing this online, should be inspired by the North Carolina

race to say, look, I didn't even really think that, you know, it's an off-election year, special election. I didn't even think that my vote was going to matter so much. But clearly, the amount of money that they're throwing behind these races, that your vote matters. So please, everyone, go out and vote. They all count. And what we often see in these judicial races, people don't really. 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. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes sir, we are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care

for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter

Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. finally gets off their ass in North Carolina and confirms this for Allison Riggs. Listen, it's going to be tough next year.

Anita Earls is a black woman. They're coming after her. Democrats have a 5-2. It's 5-2 on the court. There are five Republicans, two Democrats. But in 2028, three of those Republican seats are up. Democrats go after those. They could get the majority of the Supreme Court.

That matters when you talk about political gerrymandering, when you talk about racial gerrymandering, voter ID, all these different laws. Because, of course, we're going into another census period. So, I mean, it is critically important that we have these seats on the court, that we are paying attention to all

races. We don't have to make it complicated. If it wasn't important, they wouldn't want it. It is important. They want it. We must't have to make it complicated. If it wasn't important, they wouldn't want it. It is important. They want it. We must want it. That is because all decisions are coming down to the court right now. We have an unchecked executive. We have unchecked governors wanting to challenge the bounds of the law, the spirit of the law. And it is our court systems that will hold the line, if anything, because we can't count on the legislatures, we can't count on Congress, as we just described in our last segment. They are feckless.

They are afraid. So we need judges who have a little bit more buffer to be able to make those decisions based on the law. And we cannot have biased judges. They are trying to buy the seats. You absolutely have to go out and vote. And when they can't do it, then they try to reverse the election at the end. So we know the game.

We don't have to have it explained to us again. We see it. You have to vote in every election. You have to vote in every election. There really is no other excuse. Folks, speaking of elections, last night in St. Louis, incumbent Mayor Tashara Jones lost. Alderman Kara Spencer was voted in in a landslide Tuesday, winning 64 percent of the vote. According to unofficial totals, again, it was not close at all in the general election. Spencer bested Jones. And so the results, of course, came around 9 p.m., not

long after Spencer took the stage at Union Sutton Grand Hall, thanking a crowd of more than 400 people and Jones for her service and said that the mayor had always been committed to the city. This was Spencer's second time going up against Jones one-on-one. She narrowly lost to her in the city's last contest for mayor in 2021. When you look at, we had Mayor Jones on the show talking about this election. And you, of course, had, you got significant white population in St. Louis, significant black population in St. Louis. And so huge, huge numbers there. And so we'll be able to go in and take a look at the numbers to see how black voters turned out. And so that's one of the things that we'll see. Now, this, of course, now the city also is also based upon what they called approval

voting that also takes place. And so we'll be able to then look at the numbers to see exactly how black turnout was. But there have been three black mayors in St. Louis' history, three black mayors. And not a single one of those black mayors was ever elected to a second term. It's never actually happened there. And it comes down to power. It comes down to power. Andrew, I say all the time, the reason Atlanta is what it it is because you've had black mayors every single year since 1973. If you look at Chicago, this is the first

time ever Chicago's had back-to-back black mayors. When you look at Houston, you had Lee Brown, then you had Sylvester Turner with two terms. But when you look at cities where African-Americans have been able to maintain control is when you're able to control the mayor's office. And, you know, controlling the mayor's office in any locality is important because the mayor is the person who sets the tone for the rest of the city. They're the face of the city, right? Think about that for a second. Let me pause for a second. Let me let you think about that.

The face of the city. So for them to say that Kara Spencer is going to be a better face for the city says a lot about, as a landslide, right? As a landslide, says a lot about what the voters in Missouri who have voted for Donald Trump in 2024, 2020, and 2016, what they're thinking, right, and what kind of change that they're looking for, radical change. And that goes back to my point before about how it seems as though the voting

base for the Republicans and maybe even some of the Democrats now that we've got to be concerned about are looking at radical changes. And this election is just an example of the type of politics that we're seeing out there right now where new is shinier than what was. And we have to be concerned about the status quo, which the status quo, as we know, as black folks, right, the status quo is not always the best thing. But if it's working, why break it to try to put it back together in a different way? Well, one of the things that, again, when you start breaking down numbers, these things are important. And when I look at, so the numbers, first of all, turnout in this race,

this is according to the St. Louis Business Journal. We'll pull the article up in a second here. They show that turnout, 26% this year compared to 29% four years ago when Jones beat Spencer for the mayor's office. Spencer wins nine out of 14 wards. The key here was turnout. What am I always talking about? Turnout, turnout, turnout.

Look at this right here. It shows turnout in the South City, largely white neighborhoods. Look at the gaps here. Okay, Ward 2, 86% to Spencer, 14% for Jones. Ward 4, 82-18. Ward 5, 81-19. Then when you go to North City, Jones won. Look at these margins. Jones 69, Spencer 31.

71-29, 68-32. But here's the other thing. This tells you right here. Jones won her home ward, the 10th, which covers her West End neighborhood, with just 51 percent of the vote. In the wards voting for, and again, we're talking about black wards and white wards. In the wards voting for Jones, turnout was only 17 to 24 percent versus 20 to 33 percent for Spencer wards. Again, if black folks don't turn out, you ain't going to win. Period. I mean, look, if you don't vote, your candidates aren't going to win. There's just no other way. And look, if you like this other person, you want them to win, fine. But if you want someone else, you have to actually show up and vote for them. But I also think it's incumbent upon if you're running. While you're running, you have to do what your voters want.

Even if, you know, even if that's not always, you have to at least give them what they want. Say what you will about Donald Trump. He tricks people. He lies to them. But he does give them a feeling at some point during the election season of what they want. We know it's not of what they want. We know it's not ultimately what they want, but there's a populism there that we can't ignore.

And so if you're running—I don't know what the contours of this race were, but if you're running, you do have to meet your voters where they are, and you have to do everything you can to turn out your own voters. You know, it's hard to blame the customer for not buying the product. So we have to vote, but we also need our politicians to make sure we're doing the thing that we need to do in our communities to get people to the polls, but to also give them a reason to go vote. Well, again, I'm trying to emphasize, Michael, folks understand power, how to have power and power is derived from those who turn out.

If you don't turn out, you're not going to be able to hold power. Yeah, not only that, you have to assess what's been accomplished the past term, the past two years, the past four years. What has been accomplished, which policies have been put in place that you and your community have benefited from, but also policies that are in jeopardy. Because each election cycle, there are policies that our communities benefit from that are on the ballot that are being wiped out. When we look at the results of the presidential election, a lot of people didn't think that Donald Trump would revoke Executive Order 11-246, which was affirmative action going back to 1965. So when you look at this local election here, 26 percent voter turnout, that's ridiculous.

You know, so I don't know what type—I know you had to show Jones here on on the show. I don't know what type of of elections and really understand how who's in office impacts every aspect of your life and your day-to-day life, your circumstances, your conditions, things of this nature, your economic conditions. So I think they're going to regret this result here eventually. All right, folks. hold tight one second. We'll be right back. Roland Martin unfiltered on the Blackstar Network.

Don't forget, y'all, join the Bring the Funk fan club. Want to give me a cash out? Use the Stripe QR code. Here it is right here. If you're listening, go to BlackstarNetwork.com. Senior checking money order, make it out to Roland Martin unfiltered, please. Roland Martin unfiltered. PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C. two zero zero three seven dash zero one nine six.

Pay panels are Martin unfiltered. Venmo is RM unfiltered. Zale rolling at Roland S. Martin dot com. Roland at Roland Martin unfiltered dot com. We'll be right back. This week on the other side of change, the attacks on education, book fans and what it means for us. We'll be right back. generations. Fighting back against any of the administration's attempt to essentially make sure that people are uneducated and destroy history and make sure you forget history and historical things that have happened. Check us out on the other side of change only on the Black Star Network. This week on A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie here on Black Star Network. We are talking about all things, you got it, stress-related. Yes, the big S, whether it's spiritual, physical, emotional,

or sometimes it could be just in your head. Stress has a way of manifesting itself in our lives in such a way that it disrupts who we are and who we're in the process of becoming. Stress is just as bad as a lot of the physical ailments that we think of. That's all next on A Balanced Life on the Blackstar Network. unfiltered. Boy,

Congressman Jasmine Crockett has no issue giving Republicans the business on anything, including immigration. Check this out. Thank you so much. I just want to clarify that usually when we talk about racism in the Republican Party, it has to do with things like deleting the history of Jackie Robinson, deleting the history of Harriet Tubman, or deciding that the Tuskegee Airmen should be deleted, or maybe just defunding the African-American Museum. The list kind of goes on and on and on, but I am not here to talk about why they are racist. I am here to talk about some

other things as it relates to immigration. So let's get to that. You know, it's interesting because we got all these theories. I don't know why we put up with getting data and facts if we just gonna sit here and talk about how we feel. So, you know, maybe we can inject some facts into these feelings. I'm not really sure. But as somebody who has actually practiced criminal defense, I don't know if there's anybody else in here who has, I can tell you that I have handled thousands of cases, not hundreds of cases, thousands on the state level in Texas, Arkansas, and the federal level. And I can tell you that, you know what, if I had to

look at the vast majority of the cases that I was representing criminal defendants on, the vast majority of them just didn't happen to be immigrants. These are just the facts of my experience. And maybe the immigrants went to somebody else. I don't know, but I can tell you in my actual experience in real life, in reality, and not in this fallacy world that y'all are making up where you hate on everybody. So my Republican colleagues are here using today to continue pushing this false narrative of sanctuary cities harboring criminals. Yet right here in DC,C., we have a 34-count felon being harbored in the White House. The hypocrisy coming from your side of the aisle over concerns regarding lawlessness is outrageous.

Right now, House Republicans are conducting town halls with constituents lying about our legal system that, quote, there is no due process if you come here illegally because you violated the law. That immigrants, quote, are not entitled to due process. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that. We all want to live in a country where we respect the law. So I'm a bit surprised that Republicans aren't up in arms with Trump detaining and deporting U.S. citizens

and people who are lawfully present here in the United States. What Trump and ICE are doing is a disgrace, and deporting U.S. citizens and people who are lawfully present here in the United States. What Trump and ICE are doing is a disgrace, and it's all being done without respect for our laws. For example, Mr. Neri Alvarado, a Dallas-based baker, was arrested and deported to El Salvador prison for having an autism awareness tattoo in honor of his 15 year old autistic brother this was done despite having never having been to el salvador despite having no gang affiliation and despite having no organized crime connection he was deported because ice agents have been detaining quote all venezuelans with tattoos and to be clear this type of racial profiling isn't just a one-off in fact the ACLU using DHS's own data mind you found that at least 65 percent of the

states and local agencies voluntarily working with ICE have records of racial profiling and civil rights violations. Mr. Franklin first of all me, and Sheriff, let me thank you for your service too, because I appreciate law enforcement. I just want to put that out there. But Mr. Franklin, Major Franklin, you're a decorated law enforcement officer. Yes or no, in your experience, does racially profiling people make communities safer? No. And yes or no, does ICE forcing state or local law enforcement to detain people make communities safer? No. You know, it's interesting because we've already, and we're going to, you know, do Groundhog's Day a couple of times seemingly here.

Actually, let me give you the facts real quick before i go to that in fact a report for the american immigration council found that cities that didn't enforce ice detainers have 35.5 percent lower crime rates 2.3 percent lower poverty rates and rely less on public assistance including 4.9 percent less for children under 18 and i do want to be clear right now, ICE is trying to work with the IRS because we actually take in billions of dollars because of immigrants in this country. And now they're going to try to get them out. And I'm going to tell you that the biggest issue that we have, I really don't think this should be a partisan issue. So I'm going to agree with my Republican colleagues. I think that we all should want to be safe in our communities. The problem that we have is that we have an incompetent administration. That everything that they touch turns to shit because

what they do is they take a wide sweeping brush and they have decided that the enemy is now going to be immigrants instead of taking a scalpel. That's all we're asking is to be exact in what you're doing instead of taking a sledgehammer to everything. Thank you, and I will yield. What is happening is racial profiling is literally going on. Andrew, it is happening before our very eyes. Lawyers are fighting this, and this thing is even worse. These people are literally talking about, I'm going to show you this here,

and for all the black folks who are like, man, it ain't got nothing to do with us. No, no, no, no. Watch this here. Rubio says El Salvador offers to accept U.S. deportees of any nationality, including violent American criminals. These people, these people literally are going to try to deport American citizens. Yes. That is just so disheartening. First, I want to say Jasmine Crock is one of my favorite politicians of all time. The truth that she speaks unapologetically is something that I think we can all learn from me as a lawyer and being able to speak up and even sometimes open courtrooms and speak for someone's rights and see her do it on a grand scale is just so inspiring.

But, you know, what we're going to see is a lot more people running from the police, a lot more dangerous situations. Someone gets pulled over for going 20 just by the sheer fact that they look Hispanic or they look of a certain national origin, they're automatically going to say, even if I have all my papers, even if I am a U.S. citizen or I'm here legally with some kind of visa status, I am going to run from the police. And you're putting police officers in danger now, right? Because you're telling American citizens that you can be sent, just like the slave trade, you can be sent to another country simply because you look like a certain type of person.

And the other side of this is going to be unreported crimes. How many people are going to be taking advantage of these communities because they know, well, if you report what I did to you, if you report that I didn't pay you or if I did something violent to you, if you report it, then they're going to send you

to a country you've never been to before. Right? So you better keep your mouth shut. And Black people, please, please, please, please stop saying I'm glad that it's not me.

I know we've dealt with it for decades. We've withstood. We're resilient people. But please stop saying that it's not about me. Because it is. Because of the fact that we've been through this, because of the fact that we've endured this, we should have a unique view and empathy for these other races and nationalities that are now going through with this.

We had the same thing when 9-11 happened, right? Everybody that was Muslim and Arabic, they were targeted. Now we're seeing it happen to our Hispanic friends. And you think that these white folks... 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.

Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King,

John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine 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. Can tell a difference between someone from El Salvador, someone from Colombia, and someone from Puerto Rico? No, they're snatching everyone up. And the last thing I'm going to say before I yield the floor back to you, Roland, is, you know, the the people I'm most disappointed

in are my Hispanic friends that voted for Donald Trump and then when they get arrested and deported, they say, oh, I didn't think that he was talking about me.

So just in case anybody is confused and y'all go, oh, I think he's making that up. No, no, no. This is the idiot press secretary, Carolyn Leavitt, literally, literally confirming, yep, we're going to send Americans out the country. Listen.

Go ahead. Over the weekend, President Trump said that he would be willing to have U.S. citizens deported to El Salvador with the cooperation of President Bukele. How would that work legally, and how many people would potentially be available for that operation? So, the president has discussed this idea quite a few times publicly. He's also discussed it privately.

You're referring to the president's idea for American citizens to potentially be deported. These would be heinous, violent criminals who have broken our nation's laws repeatedly. And these are violent, repeat offenders in American streets. The president has said, if it's legal, right, if there is a legal pathway to do that, he's not sure. We are not sure if there is. It's an idea that he has simply floated and has discussed very publicly as in the effort of. That's a whole lot. Trust me, Joy. They're going to do it. They're going to do it. The Supreme Court is already contemplating. So Sonia Sotomayor, in one of her opinions, has already said, you know what, this is coming. They understand that this is where this is going.

And let's be clear, it's a sliding scale on what is a violent offender, what is a repeat offender. And also mistakes can happen, as we are seeing in Maryland. And once a mistake happens, it'll be difficult to get you back. And then, my goodness, if you are a dual citizen, if you have citizenship in another country, it can also be difficult to get you back. The government can feign some kind of confusion as to who you really belong to. This is going to happen. This is happening with legal residents right now. And yes, to my colleague's point, the communities

that are vulnerable, whether they are undocumented, whether they are here legally but are not citizens—and when you are here legally and you are not a citizen, you are typically afforded all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship with the exception of voting, right? You're not able to vote, but you are given the same constitutional protection. And sometimes for undocumented persons, you're given the same constitutional protections. So, you know, ultimately, we may prevail in the courts, but in the meantime, there are going to be people who are lost in the sauce, who are lost in the system, and there are going to be people who are afraid, and they are going to limit their own activity because they are afraid of what might happen to them.

I have friends who are law professors who have spoken out against Israel, and they are legally here, married to United States citizens, have their green card, but they are not citizens. And those people are making choices about what they are saying and not saying in terms of their policy and public policy and their legal work about what conferences they take overseas and which ones they don't because they don't want to leave the country because they're afraid they may not be able to get back in. It's already chilling speech. This is as intended. And it's going to now open people up to criminal derision, people who are exposed to criminal enterprises and activities, because all people have to say is, you know what? You have family members who are undocumented. You have a green card. You know what? You're a citizen, are undocumented. You have a green card.

Right. You know what? You're a citizen, but you're poor and no one's going to listen to you. Hey, Michael, on that particular point right there, lawyers are even shocked. They're just snatching student visas. I mean, students are like, what the hell did I do? Like, nah, you ain't coming back. Yeah. Yeah. This is what dictators do. This is what we were warning people about before the election. But two quick points here. First of all, this is not the first time in history where American

citizens have been deported illegally. It happened in the 1930s during the Great Depression. Up to 1.8 million people of Mexican descent were deported to Mexico, and estimates are 60 percent of them were American citizens who were here legally. And it started under Herbert Hoover, continued under President Roosevelt, and Herbert Hoover

had a campaign called American Jobs for Real Americans. And what they were saying was that these Mexicans were taking jobs away from white people and they were deporting them back to Mexico. And then when you talked about the, when Representative Jasmine Crockett talked about the IRS, ICE wants to get hold of records of undocumented immigrants with the IRS because contrary to popular belief, undocumented immigrants pay federal taxes. And the Yale Budget Lab estimates that in 2023, unauthorized immigrant workers pay $66 billion in federal taxes, with roughly $43 billion of that taken in the form of payroll

taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare. So this is way beyond the pale of what many people thought Donald Trump would do. But this stuff is laid out in Project 2025. But first of all, it was almost 1,000 pages. Folk didn't read it. But here's the other deal. It didn't even matter. They kept saying, I don't think they're going to go that far.

Yeah, they were. They spelled it out. They told you they were going to do it. And people are like, well, no, Trump said that's not his plan, and so it's not going to happen. Okay. All right. Y'all believe the liar who lies about lies.

Yeah, well, he said what he was going to do during the campaign. Like he said he was going to shut down the Department of Education. That's Chapter 11 of Project 2025. Okay? He railed against DEI, diversity, equity, equity and inclusion and said we want to base the primary. He's doing he's doing all of those things. Well, so I tried to tell you again, we tried to tell all the people who keep saying we didn't think it was going to happen. Damn, it's actually happening.

Well, we tried to tell you what's going to happen, but now you didn't believe us. So now what? All right, y'all. Quick break. We'll be right back. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach. I'm sure you've heard that saying that the only thing guaranteed is debt and taxes. The truth is that the wealthy get wealthier by understanding tax strategy. And that's exactly the conversation that we're going to have on the next Get Wealthy, where you're going to learn wealth hacks that help you turn your wages into wealth. Taxes is one of the largest expenses you ever have.

You really got to know how to manage that thing and get that under control so that you can do well. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Blackstar Network. 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. Well, folks, every April 15th is known as Jackie Robinson Day. Of course, Major League Baseball, all of the players wear number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson. Well, April 8th, last year was a big celebration. It was called Hank Aaron Day on April 8th.

And on that particular day, that was the anniversary of when he broke Babe Ruth's record, 715 home runs. Yesterday, of course, was April 8th. And we don't necessarily show Henry Hank Aaron the same kind of love that we do Jackie Robinson in terms of nationally. But I wanted to do that, and so this is just so I interviewed Hank Aaron. This is from our coverage when Henry Aaron passed away, and I did an interview with him when I was at TV One. I was later honored with the Henry Hank Aaron Courage Award. We appreciate that as well, and we're going to be streaming some of that stuff tonight and tomorrow to honor Henry Hank Aaron.

So I just thought it was good to hear from him again, recognizing one of our great history makers. Listen to this. Saturday, seventh anniversary, Jackie Robinson, Major League Baseball, 20th anniversary of him retiring his number in all of Major League Baseball. Just finished reading his book, I Never Had It Made. And I said to anybody, you have to read this book to understand that this was a different kind of brother. Yes, he was.

And now that we're talking about it, you know, they're getting ready to erect a statue of him in Los Angeles Saturday. It just so happened that I've gotten three or four calls now just wishing, trying to figure out a way that I can be there. And Rachel, who doesn't travel that much It's gonna be there with him, you know won't see this that's a statue being erected So I am very proud and you know the thing I think that I think about with with Jackie Robinson and the thing that he went Through it wasn't just baseball Getting the baseball but he had to be such a gentleman off the field. I mean, they expected him, they expected him to walk on eggshells, you know, really. And his intercept, though, was one-all as a fight back.

That's right. To the temper of that. Yes, yes. So he just had it. And the last time I saw Jack, the last time I saw Jack, of course, was at, I believe it was in Cincinnati, when he said, he made a statement and said, I'll be more happier than anybody in the world if I can see a black man at least coaching third base. So those are the things, and those are the things that really made me feel like I was walking in the footstep of a giant.

I've said this repeatedly. Some people got mad at me. I didn't care if they did get mad at me. There was so much made out of the first African-American Major League Baseball. But I've reversed it. I've said, no, the best Major League talent was in the Negro Leagues. That was called Major Leagues because they had better stadiums, better uniforms, travel.

I said, but when it came to the talent, I said, the major leagues was the Negro Leagues. Oh, it's no question about it. You know, absolutely no question. In fact, when anybody talked to me about my upbringing and how I came about

and started playing baseball so rapidly. I said, I got my education through the minor leagues, playing in the Negro League with players that really helped me learn how to play the game the way it was supposed to be played.

And the reason I think that's important is because if we keep perpetuating this notion that we're trying to be accepted into their arena, we are negating the excellence that was in our own place. It's sort of like there's so much made about when an African-American kid gets accepted into an Ivy League school or they they get accepted into an HBCU, you'd be going, okay, whatever. When I go, wait a minute, why do you think that is better than this? Well, you know, actually, you know, baseball was just, was a dull game before we started playing. And when I say we, I'm talking about people like Jackie Robinson,

Campanella, and Newcomb, and all of them. And then along came, of course, our guys like Mario Wills and et cetera who really put some excitement back in the game. Baseball was just a game like hit a baseball, Babe Ruth hit a baseball, stayed for a space, hit another baseball. It was like that. It was really, to be very honest with you, it was a very dull game compared to what it was later on when those players came along and really put some excitement back in the game.

It's kind of like, I guess you would kind of say that it was kind of like boxing until Muhammad Ali came along and really started showing Sean putting a little pep into it. You know, it was it was something. Yes, that's what it was, you know, and that's where baseball was, you know. Jackie Robinson retires, goes into business. You finish playing, go into business. Folks don't talk about the reality of how sports legends also begin to break barriers when it came to the business side. Because up until the early 1970s, African-Americans were not allowed into corporate America. Well, you're absolutely right.

And I was—I'll tell you how I got into it, really. I was traveling on a plane one day, and I happened to be on the same plane as Mr. Frank Bellotti, who owns records, I mean, on Church's Chicken at the time, who was involved in Church's Chicken. And he asked me, did I want to go in business? I said, yes, I'd love to. He said, well, do you want to open up a restaurant? I said, yes, just give me an opportunity. And it's like anything else, you know, do you want to open up a restaurant? I said, yes, just give me an opportunity. And it's like anything else. You know, all we want to do is just give him a chance and make the plane feel a little level so we can have the same opportunity as you had. Just give us a shot.

That's all. That's all we want. And I said, just give me an opportunity. He said, do you know anything? I said, I don't need to know it. Just give me an opportunity to do some things that I wanted to do. And he did. And I went from one to two.

And what do we got now? I think we got something like 25 or 30 restaurants. And then you went to other areas. I went to automobile business. Yeah, I got that. And so it was all we wanted to do, as I said before, and I keep saying this in everything, no matter what it is, we had the president of the United States did such a mob and a hell of a job. And there is absolutely no reason that we can't do anything that we want to do once the playing

field get level and we can have an opportunity to do those things. Obviously today is different when you see baseball players making $100, $200, $300 million. They don't have to create that second career. But what do you say to them when it comes to making that amount of money the kind of impact they could have post-baseball career. And, you know, I think about that. I think about when I first started playing baseball, when I first started playing baseball.

I started with $5,000 a year as a salary. That was my salary. And playing in the Negro League I made $200 a month but you know I didn't let that stop me from doing what I had to do I realized that things were going to get better and I realized if I keep my head above water and do what I'm supposed to do that I was gonna do I was gonna make as much money as I wanted to make and share it with as many people as I wanted to share it with.

And that was the most important thing. We go through so much when you look at just the history of the black athlete. You look at it, whether it's basketball, whether it's baseball, whether it's football. And there's no doubt, I believe, that you can tie in the advancement of African Americans in civil rights in this country to the success of black athletes, making it clear, as you said, as James Brown said, just open the door and I get it myself. Right, right. Well, they forget about Curt Flood.

And if it don't be for Curt Flood, the millions of dollars who these athletes are making now would not have a chance. Basketball forgets about Spencer Haywood. Yes. And, you know, I think about all of these things, you know, and I had a chance to look at some of the athletes, especially some of the athletes that was played way back. Bill Russell and et cetera. You can go on and on and on. Who paved the way for all of us to be where we are. You know, I mean.

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. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette.

MMA fighter Liz 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 realized that just because I was making $200 a month or making $5,000 a year, that I wasn't going to always stay there if given the opportunity, I fought like hell to make doors open for me to show people that if given the opportunity, not only me, but every black can do the same thing. Is that why for you speaking at this conference is important? Because you're talking about creating opportunities and this is about connecting

people. It's about relationships. It's about somebody who has an idea, who's looking for funding, who's looking for somebody who says, I believe in you. It is. It gives me a chance. You know, of course, I've been on Andy for a long time, but it's given me an opportunity to talk to so many young people

and people who have been able to make some money, but also been able to say, well, you know, just because I make money, it doesn't necessarily mean that it belongs to you. You have to learn what we have to do. And I say this, I think the most important thing is that we have to learn how to share. We have to learn how to share whatever our wealth is, you know. I mean, if we make $10, we ought to learn how to split that down and share it with others. And that's what I like to do.

Do you miss the locker room? Do you miss mixing it up, the relationships? And have you ever been able to replicate that? No, I have not missed the locker room and I say that not to be

not bragging or anything. I think that after 23 years of playing baseball I tell this story often and I probably will share it with some people today, is that I remember in Baltimore, I had a friend of mine, and he and I went out to dinner one night. It was a sports writer, and I told him, I said, I can't, I can't. The balls that I hit now that I used to hit over the fence, they don't get no further than the warning tracks. I said, I slide to second base, and I get halfway, and that's it.

I said, the good Lord has shown me that he's given me the opportunity to play this game for 23 years and do everything humanly possible that I could do. Home runs, runs batted in, playing in the All-Star best humanly possible that I could do. Home run, runs better than playing an all-star game, world series, et cetera. And I said, now it's time for me to show my blessing and my appreciation and give it to

other people and let them go with it. You talked before you started rolling cameras, you talked about going on family graduations. Yes. Children.

Yes. Do they really understand your greatness? You know, my daughter, my granddaughter does very much so. She's into sports and she, every time I go up to visit her, she says, Papa, please, I want you to be interviewed by a sports writer, a sports writer. She happens to be a young lady. But I think they do. I think at first they don't. When they're young, four, five, six years old, no. But I think that most of my kids, which I'm blessed to say that most of them are in their teens and understand. I think they understand what I've been through.

And speaking of being through, Jack Robinson went through a lot. You went through hell breaking that Major League baseball record. And I don't think the average person understands what that level of pressure is like. And frankly, for a white baseball player, and I say it all the time,

they can just play ball. I say it all the time. We would love play ball. I say it all the time. We would love just to be able to go to the store and not worry about getting followed around. We would love just to be able to drive down the street and not worry about getting pulled over by the cops because of the kind of car that you drive. It is just a different kind of life.

Well, it was different for me. It was different for me chasing that record, really. You'd think that the only thing I was doing was bringing a little pleasure to people's mind, you know, enjoying a baseball game. And yet I had to have two or three, Maynard Jackson, who was a man at that time, fix me with two detectives that was with me all the time. Half the time I couldn't stay at the ballpark. I had to stay in a hotel room all the time. I had to have Casanova, who was a friend of mine, to bring food to me in the hotel. So yes, things were a lot different for me than they would be for, I say this,

and no pun intended, like Pete Rose was going after the record. He enjoyed it. I didn't have any enjoyment when I was going after Babe Ruth's record because every letter I received, people were threatening me and doing all these things. So I had to worry about staying alive or doing some other things. I look at players today. They want to play football.

They want to play basketball. I grew up playing baseball, but then there was a point where I fell out of love. I just fell out of love with it. When you see the few number of black players today, what crosses your mind? I'm worried about it, really. I am. I'm worried about it. And I have brought this to the commissioner, even Bud Selig, who was commissioner before, and I've brought it to Ron Manford. I've brought it to all of them mind that, you know, that it's a problem. It is a problem.

And how do we solve it? It's a long issue. You know, really, it's something that I think that if you think about, when you think about the economic struggle that we, and I'm talking about we as black folks have in this country, if we have, if it's a struggle, we gonna feel the pinch. Black folks gonna feel it more than anybody. And when we talk about baseball, baseball is a very, very expensive sport because you have to have the right field to play on. You have to have the bat

to play with, the glove to play with. And if your mother and father is not working to do these things, it can't do you any good. So I think that in all, I think that I just like to, I don't know what I can say to say that I hope that in the next few years that we can see more blacks playing this game. There's a kid out there right now, cannot hit home runs, can't steal bases, can't do any of those things, but they can be an entrepreneur. They can be a CEO.

Your advice for them? I think that the thing that I tell most kids, most young people, that's in fact that they don't want to play baseball, there is things that they can do. The most important thing I think I try to tell all kids, that there is no shortcut in life. Make sure that, you know, if you want to play baseball, take it one step at a time. Some people can jump over a double-A ball and get to the major league. You can do things the right way. Now, if you want to go into business, you've got to treat people right. The most important thing, you've got to treat people right and act like it is a business.

The most important thing, when I was in the automobile business, or whatever I did, I didn't care whether a customer came in my store and was going to spend $1.50 on a flag or anything. I treated that customer the same way that I would treat a customer that came in and had his motor overhauled. So I think that you've got to learn how to do that. All right, then. Hammer and hang, Aaron. We appreciate it.

Thank you. Thanks a bunch. Thank you. Thanks a bunch. Thank you. You know, Michael, we, oftentimes, when folks become ancestors, we just sort of just might still mention them, might still reference them, things along those lines. But to hear people have to listen to him, I read his book when I was young.

Talk about the hell. He said Pete Rose enjoyed when he broke the record, but Henry, Louis, Aaron, white folk hated this black man for daring. For daring

to use his skill to break a baseball record. Yeah. Yeah. I remember Hank Aaron when I was a kid growing up in the 1970s. I remember seeing him in a commercial. If I remember correctly, it was for the boys club or something like that. And he talked about hitting 755 home runs. I remember seeing footage of him break Babe Ruth's record. And actually, there's a white guy that ran out on the field and, you know, patted him on the back.

But I do remember hearing him talk about the fear that he had, the death threats he was getting, things like that. And, you know, it was many ways, you know, it was a different time, you know, back then. And Babe Ruth was in baseball. Babe Ruth was looked at as the the the epitome, OK, the the epitome of a superior baseball player. And now here you have this black guy that's going to break his record, decades after the color barrier had been broken down in baseball. So we saw the white supremacists wanting to hold on to that superiority. But what a lot of people have talked about is that, you know, you can't say Babe Ruth was the greatest because he didn't play against black players.

You know, the Negro Leagues had better players than the major leagues had many times. So, um, yeah, but that's that. I've seen that interview that you did before, Roland. That's a fantastic interview with Hammer and Hank Aaron. Well, what was interesting here, Joe, is that he hated the name Hank Aaron. If you read Howard Bryant's book, white folks in the South call him Hank. Yeah. And his father didn't like it as well.

His friends called him Henry. Henry, Hank, Lewis, Aaron. Michael was referencing when this when he hit the home run and this guy ran to the field. He later talked about that. Hell, he didn't know whether he was going to actually get attacked by this guy. And not only that, in a moment, you're going to see when he crosses the field, you're going to see how his mother is hugging him. His mother

was so scared to death she later said that she hugged him the way she did because if they tried to take a shot at her son, they would shoot her instead of him. I mean, it was the racial

tension that they had to endure was utterly incredible. You're going to see it in a second when his mom comes up and she was like, yeah, I ain't going to do something to my baby. That ain't going to happen. But again, I mean, right there.

She was scared. She was scared to death that a sniper was going to shoot her son. And she said, I'm going to stop the bullet. They're going to take me out, not him. You know, I mean, I had not, of course, seen the beginning, but I had not seen the end with his mom. That's so poignant and so right on, you know, brand for what moms are. And you see him holding her, holding his back right now. You know, the fact of the matter is, you know, it's so important that you did that interview and that we actually hear from people.

We so often have stolen the voices of people, even famous people, who we think we know who they are, but we don't actually talk to them. This is the importance of history because it tells more than just the sports story. And our white friends love the sports story, but they never love, you know, what's behind it. They relish the white guy who runs out and celebrates him, which is great. And his colleagues, his teammates who were cheering for him. Well, we don't talk about how many of his teammates prior to may have been disdainful of him, how many people were threatening him. And so he had to be cautious about who was coming on the field, how many people were calling him other things, how much of the fact that he didn't get to choose his own name in terms of how he was

known and addressed to the public. These are the important stories that we don't want to lose to time, right? But to people like Donald Trump, I mean, I hate to break it down, because this is not about him, but we did see an attack on history this week, and we have seen an attack on history in the last couple of months. And part of that is trying to steal our narrative, to not tell the complicated history of America. Many good things, but also some dark sides as well that give us insight into where we are right now. Right now, we are all here. We're well-dressed. We're well-spoken. We're, you know, I'm sure everyone on this call is fine to a degree.

But when you really talk to us and you get our history, you understand how stressed we are for our nation. It is so important that we capture stories, that we capture the fullness of it. So I thank you for capturing Mr. Aaron there. Andrew, before we go, there's one other person. 127 years ago today was the birth of the great Paul Robeson. He was an activist, a singer. He was an athlete. He was an actor.

He was, of course, a member of the coldest, boldest fraternity of them all, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated. And this is a man who stood up to Jim Crow racism. America hated this man so much that they took his passport and he died broke because he could not perform. He could not make money in the arts, who also believes in activism. Here is a clip of Paul Robeson talking about the importance of colonialism and African-American rights. The American Negro, who for so long has been a second-class citizen in the United States. Still is, I'm sorry. Well, how is it that he's contributed so much to American culture?

Music, dance, everything you can think of. Well, I have to be very modest about that. I would say certainly as we look at the African peoples in Nigeria, for example, I just got a wonderful invitation to go to Nigeria to be present at the installation, at the Governor General, Ezekiel, an old friend. And I had to cable him, I'm in Australia. I certainly would like to be with you. But I'm out here with some good folks, but I'll get to Nigeria later. Do you feel that Africa is, to some extent, an affinity for it, a home,

or do you still feel America is essentially your home? How do you feel? Well, let me come here. I'll come to that in just a second. But to come back to it, so I would say the Africans and the American Negroes have turned out to be an extraordinarily gifted people. The great tragedy is that by not making us full-class citizens as yet in America, they may be losing I don't know how much yet. And to come back, I would say that unquestionably, I am an American, born there, my father slaved there. Upon the backs of my people was developed the primary wealth of America, the primary wealth. You have to have accumulated wealth to start, you know, to build. You did it another way here in Australia.

You know, you had to build your accumulated wealth, too. You just came and took it, you know what I mean? And that's what they did in most of the countries. That's what you Europeans did. You just took it. We got to catch up with you a little bit. And so in America. So there's a lot of America that belongs to me yet, you understand? But just like a Scottish American is proud of being from Scotland, I'm proud for being African. Now, in our school books, they tried to tell me that all Africans were savages until I got to London and found most of the Africans I knew were going to Oxford and Cambridge and doing very well and learned their culture.

And even once somebody had the temerity, after one had conquered the Chinese people and imposed upon them the opium trade and everything else to suggest that they were backward people, just the people who had been civilized so long over the rest of you folks didn't make any sense at all. So somewhere it was wonderful to find about the colored peoples of the world that they were very advanced.

So I would say today that I'm an American who is infinitely prouder to be of African descent, no question about it, no question about it. I'm an Afro-American, and I don't use the word American ever loosely again. Now, this was the feeling that when you were in London about 19, say, 37, 38, you really had the world at your feet then. I mean, you were a tremendous success. You were recognized all over the world.

And yet you went back to America. This was the feeling that took you back. I felt I had to go back to my people. That's right. The going was tough. And felt I had to go back to my people. That's right. The going was tough. And today I can go back. I just had my passport renewed.

I could go back to pretty tough times now. But any time I could get a telegram next week that the Negro people had gathered somewhere in one of their conferences, as they could, and say, Paul, in the difficulties that are going on in America, would you come back and help us? I would take the plane as soon as I finished my engagements. PAUL JAY, Former U.S. Secretary of State for the United States of America, Is a strong – that was a strong brother right there, Andrew. And if anybody wants to really understand how powerful – when they had the House Un-American

Committee, and they called him to testify. And they call Jackie Roberts to testify against him, and Jackie Robinson greatly regretted actually doing that later in his life. People need to go pull the transcripts. There's a great audio recording of James Earl Jones, another great voice, reading the exchange with the racist U.S. senators. But if you want to see a black man take on the federal government, go listen or read those transcripts. You know, as an advocate myself, that's so inspiring to see.

Even decades ago, when the climate, I know we, I know we complain about the climate today, but when the climate was so dangerous to speak out about racism and to be an activist, and now it's dangerous, you can lose your freedom, you can even lose your life. But there was almost certain death. I mean, the story going about Hank Aaron and just hearing about the fact that he's hitting a baseball into the stands and people are upset. Their team is winning, right? But people are upset because he's breaking the record of another white man. And for me, I was born in the 80s. I don't mean to date myself. But for me growing up, I grew up differently. And this is something that I have to understand about people that grew up in the, or that were born in the Obama era, right, that were born in the 2000s, that may have been eight when he was elected. This is the first time that they're really seeing their Blackness, right? Because all

throughout their life, they've seen the progression and the strides that we've taken as a people. 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 was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad.

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz 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 iHeart radio app, Apple podcast, 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. All to be erased in less than 100 days, right? And to hear Mr. Roberson speak out so eloquently and so confidently, you know, in a room like that is truly, truly inspiring. And yes, he is part of the second greatest fraternity ever because the first one is Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated. Man, you lost your mind.

You know, you lost... mind. It's a new fight. You know, you're the lost. Let's see right there. I don't even know why you even want to invite that level of embarrassment on national television. You know doggone well if we had to do a roll call, we're going to leave y'all in the dust. Now, you know doggone well. Listen, you got Paul

Robeson Alpha who pledged Alpha. Y'all made Harry Belafonte an honorary. Now, he my man, but he a honorary. Y'all made Bill Clinton honorary, Al Sharpton honorary. Ain't no honoraries at Alpha. But go ahead. I pledged

though. Go by myself, too. Y'all don't. See, this is when you know you ain't got sense because you asked for an ass whooping. So just don't even. Well, look, come out to Prince George's County. You know, we can get it done. Please.

But, you know, the last thing I want to say, Roland, before we conclude, is that we've seen it for decades that, and even for centuries, that white people do not like anyone winning that's not them. And they will do anything in their power to keep that power. And one thing that was going on during the campaign for Kamala Harris is you saw this Black excellence and this Arab Black excellence that she had. And that really turned off the white people in power because they felt that white privilege being attacked, right, and that white privilege going away. So we, as a people, we have to go back and we have to really go back into the tapes and into people like Mr. Roberson, right, and how he was speaking and the type of activism

that he was doing. He wasn't segregating himself. He wasn't saying that I, you know, that I hate, I hate, I hate. He was embracing the, he was embracing white people and embracing their culture, but also making them aware of their biases towards his culture.

And thank you so much, Roland Martin, for allowing me to be on this show and grace the stage with you and share the stage with you. I've been watching you for a number of years and the work that you're doing here is important, especially during times like this where it's dangerous and where there's a lot of opposition. There's a lot of reasons for you to stop doing what you're doing for your own safety and for your own well-being. But I appreciate you doing this every single day of the week. Appreciate it. Thank you so very much. I'm going to close this out with this. The testimony of Paul Robeson took place

on June 12th, 1956. And this is what he opened with. He said, could I say that the reason that I am here today, you know, from the mouth of the State Department itself is I should not be allowed to travel because I have struggled for years for the independence of the colonial peoples of Africa. For many years, I have so labored, and I can say modestly, that my name is very much honored all over Africa in my struggles for their independence. That is the kind of independence like Soekarno got in Indonesia. Unless we are double talking, then these efforts in the interest of Africa would be in the same context. The other reason that I am here today, again, from the State

Department and from the court record of the Court of Appeals, is that when I am abroad, I speak out against the injustices against the Negro people of this land. I sent a message to the Bandung Conference and so forth. That is why I am here. This is the basis and I am not being tried for whether I am a communist. I am being tried for fighting for the rights of my people who are still second class citizens in this United States of America. My mother was born in your state, Mr. Walter, and my mother was a Quaker and my ancestors in the time of Washington baked bread for George Washington's troops when they crossed the Delaware and my own father was a Quaker, and my ancestors in the time of Washington baked bread for George Washington's troops when they crossed the Delaware, and my own father was a slave. I stand here struggling for

the rights of my people to be full citizens in this country, and they are not. They are not in Mississippi, and they are not in Montgomery, Alabama, and they are not in Washington. They are nowhere, and that is why I am here today. You want to shut up every Negro who has the courage to stand up and fight for the rights of his people, for the rights of workers, and I have been on many a picket line for the steel workers, and this is why I am here today. In Russia, I felt for the first time like a full human being. No color prejudice like in Mississippi.

No color prejudice like in Washington. It was the first time I felt like a human being. No color prejudice like in Mississippi. No color prejudice like in Washington. It was the first time I felt like a human being where I did not feel the pressure of color as I feel in this committee today. He was asked by Mr. Sherry, why did you not stay in Russia? He said, because my father was a slave and my people died to build this country, and I'm going to stay here and have a part of it just like you. And no fascist-minded people will drive me from it. Is that clear? I am for peace with the Soviet Union, and I am for peace with China, and I am not for peace or friendship with the fascist Franco,

and I am not for peace with fascist Nazi Germans. I am for peace with decent people. Then, Scherer says, you are here because you are promoting the communist cause. Robinson replies, I am here because I am opposing the neo-fascist cause, which I see arising in these committees. You are like the Alien Sedition Act, the Jefferson that Jefferson could be sitting here, and Frederick Douglass could be sitting here here and Eugene Debs could be here. The chairman of the committee then said, now what prejudice are you talking about? He said, there was no prejudice against you. Why did you not send your son to Rutgers? And Robeson responds, just a minute. This is something that I challenge

very deeply and very sincerely, that the success of a few Negroes, including myself or Jackie Robinson, can make up and here's a study from Columbia University for $700 a year for thousands of Negro families in the South. My father was a slave and I have cousins who are sharecroppers, and I do not see my success in terms of myself. That is the reason my own success has not meant what it should mean. I have sacrificed literally hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars for what I believe in. I say you gentlemen belong with the alien and sedition acts and you are the non patriots and you are the unAmericans and you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. That testimony could be said of Republicans today in Congress.

Let me thank Joy, Andrew and Michael for being on today's show. Thank you so very much, folks. The reason we do this show is not just what's happening present day, but also reminding us of our warriors in historical terms. A Henry Aaron, a Paul Robeson. All these things matter. Next Tuesday will be Jackie Robinson Day. And yes, that'll be the only time you see me not wearing a Houston Astros jersey. I'll be donning that Brooklyn Dodgers jersey, the replica number of a 42. We what we seek to do here with this show is to provide a perspective that others are not talking about. Let me be clear here. We center black people, black people, people of African descent are not a part of the conversation.

They are the central part of the conversation. They are the central part of the conversation. Now, there are those who are not black who watch us. I've encountered and met with and people have emailed me and sent donations of folks who are white, who are Latino, who are Asian, who are Native American, who are gay, who are straight. It doesn't matter. People of all types watch the show. But let me be real clear. Here we center African-Americans. That's not the case on ABC and NBC and CBS.

That's not the case on MSNBC, Fox News or even CNN. Not the New York Times, not the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and any of these daily newspapers. We are about centering African Americans, putting our issues, our perspectives, and our experts at the forefront. That's why we do the work that we do. We've done that for the last six and a half years, and we'll continue to do so with your support. So my goal for you, each of you, is to support us, to join our Bring the Funk fan club, to make it possible. The support that you give goes to support things that we do, such as when we go to Raleigh on Friday. Kill the music, please. We go to Raleigh on Friday. We're going to have our St. Augustine's Town Hall talking about what's happening at that HBCU that's having significant financial issues.

We are about black institution building and keeping those black institutions and not watching them die. We should not allow black institutions to die on our watch, but it also means holding those who run them accountable. So join us on Friday in Raleigh at Martin Street Baptist Church. Doors open at 5 p.m. for our town hall with regards to St. Augustine's University. Look forward to being there. If you want to join our Bring the Funk fan club, again, your dollars pays for our ability to travel to places like that. It costs money for us to be on the road and for travel and gear and for staff and hotel

rooms and per diem, all those things. And so our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing on average 50 bucks each a year. The goal is to raise a million dollars from our fan base. There are money we get from advertising from YouTube, from third-party advertisers, but your donations are hugely critical to the success of this show, not just my show, but also to the other shows on the Black Star Network. So if you want to support the work that we do, here's your option via Cash App. They close our accounts because they changed their rules. So use the Stripe QR code.

It's right here on the screen. You can go to Black Star. If you're listening, go to BlackStarNetwork.com. If you want to send a check, please do so. Now by sending a check to us, make it out to Roland Martin Unfiltered. Not Roland Martin, not Blackstar Network, not Unfiltered, not Uncle Roro. Roland Martin Unfiltered. Send it to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196.

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Don't blame me. I voted for the black woman. And, of course, I saw that Anthony Scaramucci quote the other day, and it said, MAGA chose. First of all, I love the shirt because it really speaks to what's going on. It said, MAGA chose between woke or broke. They chose broke. Y'all can get that shirt as well.

Go to RolandMartin.Creator-Spring.com. The that shirt as well. Go to rolandmartin.creator-spring.com. The QR code is there. Go to blackstunnetwork.com. Also, download the app Fanbase. Let's add a million followers to that. And if you want to invest in Fanbase, go to startengine.com forward slash Fanbase. Folks, that's it. I'll see y'all right here.

Roland Martin unfiltered on the Blackstun Network. Holla! Blackst'all right here. Roller Mark unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Holla! Black Star Network is here. Oh, no punch! I'm real revolutionary right now. Thank you for being the voice of Black America. All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal.

See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home, you dig? This is an iHeart Podcast.