#RolandMartinUnfiltered - U.S. hits 11M COVID cases; Trump admits Biden won; What happened to 15-year-old Quawan Charles?

Episode Date: November 17, 2020

11.16.20 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: U.S. surpasses 11M COVID cases 246k deaths; Trump admits Biden won; Republicans laugh an all-out assault on Democrat Raphael Warnock ahead of the January Senate runoff in Georgia; Million MAGA March turns violent; What happened to 15-year-old Quawan Charles? Virginia judge dismissed felony charges against Sen. Louise Lucas; Dr. Marc Lamont Hill talks 'We Still Here: Pandemic, Policing, Protest, and Possibility'; Comedian Sinbad recovers from a stroke; Fitness Trainer, Averi Woodley helps you figure out what fitness program may work for you.Support #RolandMartinUnfiltered via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered #RolandMartinUnfiltered Partner: Ceek Whether you’re a music enthusiast or an ultra-base lover. CEEK’s newly released headphones hear sound above, below and from multiple directions unlike traditional headphones where users only hear sound from left and right speakers. Be the first to own the world's first 4D, 360 Audio Headphones and mobile VR Headset. Check it out on www.ceek.com and use the promo code RMVIP2020 #RolandMartinUnfiltered 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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend.

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Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you. Today is Monday, November 16, 2020. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, the United States passes 11 million cases of COVID-19 over the weekend. We'll give you the latest and talk about the need for increased restrictions in states across the country. Donald Trump tweeted the quiet part out loud this weekend. He knows he lost.

We'll update you on the latest in the never-ending election, the upcoming Georgia runoffs. And, man, they keep losing in court because they sound like idiots the family of 15 year old kawan charles in louisiana is demanding an investigation into the death of their son we'll get the details from a family attorney and the case against state senator luis lucas of virginia stemming from damage to a confederate statue has been dismissed she will join us to tell you about the drama of race in portsmouth virginia martin lamont hill will join us to tell you about the drama of race in Portsmouth, Virginia. Mark Lamont Hill will join us as well to talk about his new book, We Still Here. And this week's Fit Live Win segment focuses on finding the health and fitness program that works best for you,

as well as avoiding all of the social media fitness nutrition gurus. We'll unpack all of that. It's time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Let's go. believe he's knowing putting it down from sports to news to politics with entertainment just for kicks he's rolling he's funky fresh he's real the best you know he's rolling Folks, Thanksgiving is next week and we are entering a significant problem phase here in this winter dealing with coronavirus. As of today, 11.1 million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. And the numbers continue to climb at an alarming rate.

246,000 people have died from the virus. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is putting new guidelines in place to deal with the spread. But it's not just her. Numerous states are doing the exact same thing. Here is the Michigan governor talking about this. Now we have reached that point we were warning about. We are in the worst moment of this pandemic to date. The situation has never been more dire.

We are at the precipice and we need to take some action. A leading model shows that if we don't take aggressive action right now, we could soon see 1,000 deaths per week here in Michigan. Today, the Department of Health and Human Services is issuing an epidemic order to help us slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives. The order takes effect on Wednesday at 12.01 a.m. and will be in effect for three weeks. And we will continuously monitor the data throughout to determine next steps. We cannot forget how this administration has done a horrible job

when it comes to addressing this issue today. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the president-elect and the vice president-elect, held a briefing where they got an update on COVID-19 as well as talked about its impact on the economy. Joe Biden won the election decisively, with more votes than have ever been cast in American history. It amounts to 75 million voices and counting calling on the Supreme Court to see this case for what it is,

a blatant attempt to overturn the will of the people. And the President-elect and I cannot let that happen. And we all know that if the Affordable Care Act is struck down, communities of color would be hit particularly hard, black, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American, because they are at a greater risk of preexisting conditions from asthma to diabetes to lupus. And they are also three times as likely to contract COVID-19 and twice as likely to die as others.

Now, in the middle of a deadly pandemic that has infected more than 10 million Americans, nearly one in every 32 Americans, often with devastating consequences to their health, these ideologues are once again trying to strip health coverage away from the American people. The goal of the outgoing administration is clear from the brief they filed in the Supreme Court. It asserts, and I quote, the entire ACA thus must fall, end of quote. Now, I'm not naive about the fact that health care is an issue that has divided Americans in the past. This doesn't need to be a partisan issue. It's a human issue. It affects every single American family.

We can't subvert the growing consensus the American people based on an argument put forward in the briefs seeking to invalidate the law that even many conservative legal scholars, including in the National Review, considered to be, quote, ridiculous. Let's be absolutely clear about what's at stake. The consequences of the Trump administration's argument are not academic or an abstraction. For many Americans, they're a matter of life and death in a literal sense. Now, folks, keep in mind, while all of this is going on, White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Scott Atlas has criticized Michigan's new COVID-19 restrictions in a tweet shortly after they were announced Sunday evening, urging people to, quote, rise up against the new public health measures. Donald Trump, playing to his base as always, says there will be no lockdown.

While healthy Americans have gone back to work and to school, we continue to spare no expense to protect the elderly and the vulnerable. According to some estimates, a national lockdown costs $50 billion a day and hundreds of thousands of jobs every single day. Ideally, we won't go to a lockdown. I will not go. This administration will not be going to a lockdown. Hopefully, the — whatever happens in the future — who knows which administration it will be.

I guess time will tell. But I can tell you, this administration will not go to a lockdown. There won't be necessity. Lockdowns cost lives, and they cost a lot of problems. The cure cannot be, you've got to remember, cannot be worse than the problem itself. And I've said it many times. So this administration will not go under any circumstances, will not go to a lockdown, we'll be very vigilant, very careful. We understand. All right, folks, join me right now to discuss the latest surge of the need for a new plan of attack is Dr. Ebony Hilton, associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the University of Virginia and Dr. Georgia C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. Ebony, Dr. Hilton, I'll start with you first. The exploding numbers, Dr. Fauci and

others said this was going to happen and it is indeed happening. We are seeing the numbers go up and up and up and up. And to see a White House actually say rise up against the governor of Michigan, she is trying to save lives. And these fools are still operating as if everything is all good. Fight, fight, fight. And this is the same governor who they arrested folks trying who wanted to kidnap her because of previous restrictions. It actually should be criminal at this point because we already know what is anticipated to happen. The CDC, with their modeling, way back in March and April, I was tweeting every day of how they said their models show between 240 to 1.7 million Americans will die before the end of December. And what do we see? We are right at that 240, 250,000 people that have died. So we know these numbers to be true. Now, the question

is, where do we go from here? And what we're seeing is that we're now estimating between now and Inauguration Day, another 100,000 to 150,000 people will die. That's what we have to deal with. And so we don't have time for games. At this point, over 100,000 people are being diagnosed with COVID-19 every day. By inauguration day, we're estimating that would be 400,000 people diagnosed every day with upwards of 20,000 people dying a week. That's what we're looking at. So this game that Donald Trump is playing with people's lives, we have to realize that he is a man who thinks only of himself. And right now his ego is bruised and he will do everything to take us down with him. We have to be vigilant. Wear your mask. Don't touch your face. Wash your hands and stay in your house. Dr. Benjamin, again, when you see on one hand how this administration is responding,

they're responding as if numbers are not increasing. And Donald Trump still continues to assert, well, the numbers are only increasing because we're testing. Well, he's wrong. You know, they just checked out. And that's the problem. Dr. Hilton's numbers are right on target. And that's the problem, is that unless we continue to emphasize

those preventive measures that we have of wearing a mask, washing your hands, keeping your distance, and we're now going to have to look at selective closures. That's the only way we're going to save ourselves. And remind ourselves that those deaths are tragic and terrible, but we have 11 million people with the disease and that number is also going to grow dramatically. This is, I mean, it's unbelievable to see, and then we start looking at the charts, where the explosions, it's coming from red states, Ebony, that's where it's coming from. And you already have these governors who have already come out and say, Joe Biden, if you

try to put in a mask mandate, we're going to fight this. And you're sitting there going, idiots, can you not see what's going on? And that's what I say, America, we see that ego and arrogance and ignorance will be literally a thing that breaks us not only in terms of health, but also in terms of economic crisis. If we followed simple rules, we wouldn't have to talk about a shutdown. All these rallies, when you're saying these outbreaks in these red states, what you're seeing is that Trump has gone to visit each of those states, holding massive rallies of where people are spreading COVID. And then within five

or 10 days, when they finally start to see symptoms, they've already infected that many more persons. And so the question is, when do we put our ego aside? Because this disease is not care. Again, I say that every time I'm on the show. And now we have Ben Carson sitting up there looking infected because you're refusing to follow just simple science. And you know what simple science is. So it's now a choice for you to go and do this. And this virus will make you humble. It's humbling a lot of people right now. The video we're showing right now, Georgia's is of El Paso, where inmates actually were brought in to help move bodies. They had to bring in trucks. The morgue has been absolutely devastated and overrun in El Paso, Texas. Numbers are blowing up. And again, the local television station obtained this video.

I mean, this this is where we are. You would have thought after March, after April, after April, after May, people would have figured that out. But no, we're seeing this same picture, tragically, in the other Midwest states, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana. And it's not just the COVID. COVID is terrible. But the problem is when the hospital gets overwhelmed, then they can't take care of heart attacks or strokes or people with chest pain or abdominal pain, people that have to have their appendix taken out, kids with fevers and earaches. in diseases. And so the morgue will get filled with not just COVID cases, but cases from other preventable medical conditions that they just don't have the ability to take care of. Ebony, obviously a new administration will be coming in in about 65 days. But surely as a

doctor, you're concerned if they're not even getting the proper transition. I mean, you don't want there to be pretty much a situation where they walk in. It's kind of like, y'all figure it out for yourselves. You need to know exactly where we are, where do we stand, things along those lines. And the Trump administration is giving no assistance whatsoever to the Biden folks. It's America. Be damned. We don't care. We lost. So y'all the reason why. So the hell with the new people. Right. And fortunately for us, science is pretty easy to follow. So, Trump, if you want to play your tantrum tantrum, go ahead and do it, because we already know what we have to do. We need to strategize. We now have two vaccines that are in the run.

Thank God we have Pfizer and we have Moderna that just released some of their early results. Now we have some more studies that have to be peer reviewed and we have some work that we have to do, but they are being promising in the fact that they are showing some effectiveness. So we know what we have to do. When we are getting this committee together, I'm sure they're right now thinking, how do we distribute this? Who do we say? Because it's not like they're going to have these billions of vaccines doses ready to go on market. We know that it's only going to be about 20 million people that can possibly be vaccinated in December. So how do we make sure the most vulnerable of those persons get vaccinated first? So that's going to be our elderly people, those who have pre-existing conditions, those healthcare workers, and those essential workers too, I feel like need to be in

the very front of the line, those grocery store workers, those persons who literally kept our nation afloat and that have been dying at massive rates in comparison to everyone else. Let's help to protect their lives first as we're getting these doses in with the hopefully everyone in the nation being able to have a vaccine by midsummer. And again, if you want to know whether or not Trump gives a damn, The Washington Post reported he hasn't attended a coronavirus task force meeting in months. Here is one of the admirals on ABC This Week actually confirming that. Admiral, we know who is not shouting that message to the American public, and that is Donald Trump. The Washington Post is reporting this morning that the president has not attended a coronavirus task force meeting in at least five months. Is that accurate?

That's true. But the vice president does chair the coronavirus task force. The vice president, we often have several cabinet members there, and the vice president briefs the president every day or nearly every day on coronavirus. So I'm not concerned that the president doesn't attend. The vice president is there, Secretary Azar, the leadership that's there, the scientific community, Dr. Birx, Dr. Fauci. Fauci myself dr. Hahn dr. Redfield you know we're all working and and the Doc's work literally every single day together we put out over 50 million of the card based test another eight and a half

million this week Admiral I want to only antibody Admiral we know who is not shouting that message to the American public. Again, George, is the fact that the president of the United States, this is the greatest threat affecting the country right now, right now. And he hasn't attended a task force in months. He's getting briefings. That is an abomination. It's an absolute failure of leadership. Leadership matters. And while I'm pleased that my colleagues,

those physicians are working very hard and doing the work that they need to do, leadership matters. And the fact is that many people listen to President Trump. And if he told people to wear masks and stay at home and wash their hands and do those good prevention things instead of bragging about a therapeutic that I'm glad vaccines are coming. But this is about prevention. We cannot treat our way out of this, this mess. We need leadership. We need leadership now. And I got to tell you, I am so glad that help is on the way with the president-elect and the vice president-elect. But they're going to need help. People are going to need to give them the information. And I hope that by tomorrow morning, this administration will finally decide to share the very, very important transition information with the incoming administration, because they're absolutely right. They need administration will finally decide to share the very, very important transition information

with the incoming administration because they're absolutely right. They need that information today. Well, I absolutely hold, not holding my breath in terms of what they're going to do, what they should be doing, because we're talking about people who really don't care, who don't exactly care what's going on. But, again, we'll see. But thank goodness we've got new leaders who are coming in. George's Benjamin, I appreciate it. Dr. Ebony Hilton, we appreciate it.

Thanks a lot. Thank you. Folks, if you want to understand, again, the kind of misinformation going on out there, the disinformation, all you've got to do is look to conservative media, One America News, Newsmax. Listen to this nonsense right here from Greg Gutfeld, who is just a true idiot on Fox News. Listen to this. The cost benefit risk, the adult risk decisions, you can trash them. And then when they do the right thing, you could say, well, no, that's not good enough. Even though I didn't share the risk at all. I had no skin in that game. And I can still say that. Here's the bottom line, OK? The mortality rate is 0.65. It has been declining consistently.

That's 65 die out of 10,000 cases, all right? We are entering a stage of manageability, and it's only the increase in hospitalizations are really due, let's face it, to as the weather gets colder, people are going inside. That's going to cause a spread. However, the number of hospitalizations is not affecting non-COVID patients. What does that tell you? That we did the right thing with capacity? That the worst state right now is Wisconsin, has 10 percent COVID patients in the hospital. That's nothing compared to what was going on in the spring or in the first of the first wave of the pandemic.

So we are not at a crisis moment. We have to pat ourselves on the back for what America did. Let's talk about this this vaccine, because it's pretty freaking amazing. It doesn't have any of the virus in it. The new one. That's pretty amazing. I don't even know if that's been done before, but we often talk about the space. My Pam, Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeaver, political analyst, joins us right now. We also have Teresa Lundy, principal founder of TML Communications.

We'll be joined in a moment by Mustafa Santago Ali. Avis, what the hell is this dude talking about? I mean, that's the nonsense that's being pushed out here and fed to people. Oh, oh, oh, you know what? The mortality rate is just this number here. Tell that to the person who's dead.

Tell that to the people who have coronavirus, who've gotten over it, but still having major health complications. This idea that, look, the mortality rate is not that big of a deal. Everybody should just go ahead and, he said, pat ourselves on the back. Really? These people have zero ethics. These are soulless, evil people

that are putting what they believe to be economic gain over human life. And what's really disturbing about this, just think about it, this is the same party who, remember back in the spring, you had the Lieutenant Governor of Texas who came out and said that basically older people should just volunteer to die in order to save the economy for younger people. This is how they think. And so I think we need to realize that what we face right now is a group of people, a political party that has decided that they don't give a damn about whether or not people live or die. They don't give a damn about that.

And you can see that not only with statements like that, you can see that with Donald's actions in terms of not even showing up at coronavirus meetings. And I'm sure he's not paying attention to any of these briefs that he's supposed to be getting, which he's probably not getting either. So, you know, really at this point, there needs to be a removal of this man. I know that Pence doesn't have the balls to do it, but somebody needs to invoke the 25th Amendment

to get this fool out of office. Because the only thing he is concerning himself with right now is tweeting about the election that he lost and golfing. He is willing to let another 200,000 plus people die between now and inauguration day because he wants to have his little temper tantrums. He needs to be removed from office so that somebody, anybody with half a brain can be in charge if for no other reason than to just say, move forward with the transition so that the Biden-Harris team can start to put their deaths in order such that when they do take office in January, they can take office with the ability to hit the ground running with regards to attacking this dreadful disease, because it's clear that the Republicans have just thrown up their hands and decided they're not going to do a thing about it.

Teresa, when you again look at the just this this callous disregard for life, all to protect the fragile ego of a 74-year-old grown-ass child. That's really what this is all about. I mean, I keep making the point, it was a week ago on this show where we said Bishop Harry Jackson Jr., a Trump spiritual advisor, somebody oftentimes you would see him standing behind Trump, hand on his back, praying with Trump. The man died a week ago, had tested positive for COVID two days earlier. Trump still ain't said a word about that man dying. Now, I even emailed somebody in the White House saying, are y'all going to release a statement of condolence?

No response. He was one of the black preachers standing behind Trump. The man don't give a damn who dies due to covid. You got to remember, this is a president who doesn't recognize fault. If anybody has read any of their books, I think, you know, I've read it in the past. And because I like to get to know the mindset of these type of people. And the type of man that I've come to find in Donald Trump is he is someone who does not accept accountability. He doesn't accept failure, nor does he accept, obviously, the results here today, right? So I'm so waiting for January 20th that I, you know, I'm literally doing backflips because

this, the country is really starving for real leadership. We're starving for, you know, more opportunities. Well, we're starving for a president that actually cares about people and not about self-interest. So when we have a pastor who did pass away, you know, literally in proximity due to COVID-19 and we can, I mean, it's unfortunate that we're at to the point, like, can I at least get a tweet? You know, but there's no compassion, but yet people are worried about this man who is like almost like a martyr to their movement. And then you start to ask yourself the question and your neighbors, those who support him, what does that movement

actually look like? So as much as we are anticipating his exit, I'm also now wondering what his exit looks like and what he plans on doing with the movement that he does have post January 20th. Now Mustafa,

this also I think is important. This is also for all of these people who have this attitude that government is irrelevant, serves no purpose. No. This is all of you people who keep saying small government, get them out of our lives. Yeah, you want government doing its job right now. Yeah, you most definitely do. You know, we got 46 million people who are going to food job right now? Yeah, you most definitely do. You know, we got 46 million

people who are going to food banks right now. So if you don't have an FDA and a number of other federal agencies doing what they need to do, then you're in trouble. You got 100,000 small businesses that have closed in this COVID-19 moment. So you're going to need SBA and you're going to need the Department of Labor. You're going to need all these other parts of the federal family that are supposed to be there, that are supposed to be supporting you. Of course, you're going to need a president who actually cares about your life. It is. This is one of the videos put out by the folks at Really American just to just keep reminding people exactly how we got here and whose fault it is. Watch this. Think of the number 2.2, potentially 2.2 million people.

There is the threat of outbreak virtually everywhere and anywhere within our country. Social distancing is absolutely critical. If you can't social distance, you must wear a mask. To the extent possible, you physically distance yourself and you wear a mask literally at all times that you're on the outside. This only works if we all follow the guidelines and protect one another. And this is their new hoax. And the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero. It's going to disappear.

One day it's like a miracle. It will disappear. I think wearing a face mask, I won't be doing it personally. Can you take it off because I cannot hear you? I'll just speak louder, sir. Okay, because you want to be politically correct. Go ahead. No, sir, I just want to wear the mask. And we are totally prepared.

The system is not really here to what we need right now. What you are asking for, that is a failure. Let's admit it. No, I don't take responsibility at all. So I said to my people, slow the testing down, please. And on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your response to this crisis? I'd rate it a 10. And that about sums it up. Now, of course, President-elect Joe Biden still is not getting the daily intelligence briefings that president elects traditionally received. After tweeting that Joe Biden won because the election was rigged, he backtracked and tweeted that he won and he concedes nothing. Now, folks, what's also happening is that we see that the Trump folks are pretty much calling this thing quits in Pennsylvania.

Look, they have no path whatsoever. Y'all can ignore all the nonsense coming from all these little people, especially the people at Newsmax and One American. Oh, no, we haven't called this race for anybody. You know, Trump could still win. Y'all are delusional. And then, of course, it's even more delusional when you had the Million Maggot March, the Million Maggot March that took place this weekend. Watch, y'all can roll the video of these fools running around. They were touting supposed to be a million folks.

Y'all, it wasn't even half a million, quarter of a million, 100,000, 50,000, 25,000. It was barely maybe 13, 14, 19, 15,000 folks there. It was a joke. To see all of them gather, yeah, they put me to sleep. I'm yawning. Yeah. And all of their nonsense. It was, I'm telling you, it was laughable. And then, of course, how they would just they ran after. I think we're going to share the video in a bit when Trump went to go play golf and drove his car, his motorcade through the crowd just to bask in the adulation. Teresa, I mean, here's the issue you have. I saw a recent poll. Seventy percent of Republicans say the election was rigged for joe biden to win that's how crazy these people are

it's bad you know as i sit here and i look at this video i am seeing just ignorance and ignorance in the sense of it's like you know what you're supposed to be doing you know how you can save lives it's countless countless times that we done had our health professionals we done had too many uh professionals really just say mask up social distance and yet during a pandemic, it's like the crowds are getting wider and wider. I'm not surprised that Republicans are, you know, 70% of Republicans, according to that poll, is saying, you know, Donald Trump is, is, won the election. And so I think that's, that's part of the problem, right? So because they're not identifying that there is an issue at hand and that issue is that Donald Trump is still in this world of just making up situations for the betterment of himself and his family and his

love, it's really critical that we really start to understand the type of person that this man is and the type of character that he's bringing to the Oval. And hopefully that they are in the midst, the DNC and the party is in the midst of trying to correct this type of character analysis that has gotten into the White House. And because I know we're talking about unity and we're talking about bringing people together, but there ultimately is going to be a reckoning, unfortunately, during this pandemic. And I think it's time that you know, that, you know, we start putting these plans not only in the back room, but also bringing it to the front. It was hilarious, Mustafa, to watch again

how they just went crazy when Trump rolled through. And you would think these fools would have figured out that here y'all are out there marching and he's going to play golf. The president, as has been shared, does not care about you. If you look at his lack of effective policies, if you look at his lack of addressing the wealth gap in our country, all these various indicators have shown that he cares nothing about you. When I go back home to Appalachia, people are mad. Even though they still voted for him, which blows my mind that you have the

right to vote for whomever you want to, you know, the economic situation has gotten worse. Coal has not came back. We have high rates of underinsured and uninsured folks. All these different dynamics that are going on. So when I see these types of videos, it reminds me of individuals who say that the South won the Civil War, that the South will rise again. And I'm just like, when you have, you know, you can't even get people to come out and actually really support what you're doing, because there are more folks who show up for the Battle of the Bands between Southern and Tuskegee or one of the other schools than actually showing up for this. But on the other hand, we do have to actually take

this moment seriously, because there are those folks in this country who still believe in the mantras that the president puts forward. You know, we often talk about ripple effects, you know, when a president says certain things and how it plays out. But now we're talking about life and death issues.

When the president refuses to wear a mask, you see how serious this is. Bottom line is this here, Avis. These nuts aren't going anywhere, and this all this idea of turning the cheek, ain't gonna work. Hell, no. Not at all. I mean, these people... Here's the thing.

The reason why they aren't seeing any appreciable improvement in their lives, but they still vote for him, is because they're not voting for him for those types of outcomes. They have made Donald Trump a deity to white nationalism, a deity to white supposed quote-unquote supremacy, a deity to racism.

And if they don't have anything, if they don't have a pot to piss in, they have their whiteness, right? And that's what they love about him. They love that he, the thought, that he is creating a nation that is becoming, that is fighting back, quite frankly, against the rising demography of people of color, right? And so really, when you put all of this together,

I hate to create my own conspiracy theory, but I'm just thinking about how people act and why logically they might act that way, right? They don't believe all the stuff that's going on with the coronavirus because they listen to places like Fox, places like OANN, all these other right-wing media ecosystem that they're all downplaying it. So they believe that. That's their propaganda arm. But at the same time, then why would they attempt to kill their own people? Bottom line is their collateral damage. The message that's going to those people are collateral damage.

They don't care if those people live or die. You could see how he had these not only super spreader events, they literally left these people out in the freezing cold in a couple of rallies and out in the heat in Florida. They don't care about these people. But the problem is this here. The fact of the matter is we're dying. Black people, Latinos, we're dying at a higher rate.

And again, the Greg Gutfeld clip was important because, folks, the issue is not what the mortality rate is. 11.1 million cases. It's still the lingering health effects. I know people who have had it it and here they are seven months later, still having lung issues, still having breathing issues. That is also something that simply cannot be overlooked. And they really don't care that they don't, they don't care about it because in their mind, Oh, this is, this is hurting my freedom. And I can't, it's just, it's killing me that I have to put a mask on.

It's the easiest thing in the world, and they would rather, they would rather, and I'm telling you, this is why it's going to be difficult even when Biden inherits from the White House, because these folks are going to be even more emboldened, more crazy, more loud, and they're going to reject it. Hell, they won't take the vaccine. You can make it free. They won't take it. And so I just keep telling everybody, y'all better buckle up for all of 2021 and maybe 2022, we're dealing with this problem. I keep telling everybody this thing is not going to end because we have people

with a brain like in New Zealand. These crazy people are going to keep acting a fool. Absolutely they will. But I think you hit the nail on the head there. Part of the reason why they're acting a fool, I believe they're getting the propaganda around it that's dissuading them of the seriousness of

this. Yes, yes. The conservative media is driving the narrative. Exactly. And they're driving that narrative precisely because of what you just said. They understand that black people and brown people are twice as likely to die of this. And they see that. I truly believe that they see this as another way in which they can slow down the browning of America. The more of... They understand that in the process, some of their followers will die, too, and they're okay to sacrifice that collateral damage.

But they understand that if more of us die, proportionally speaking, more of us die, then they will have a whiter nation longer. that if more of us die, proportionally speaking, more of us die, then they will have a whiter nation longer. This is a white nationalist tactic, I believe, because that's the only thing that makes sense

in terms of why they will continue to feed these ridiculous lies to millions of their followers around habits and behaviors that literally kill them. Again, bottom line is here. I'm telling you, Mustafa, their followers around habits and behaviors. They don't care. Again, bottom line is here. I'm telling you, Mustafa, I keep warning everybody around me.

Y'all need to stop talking like we're going to be back to normal in June. I keep saying I keep saying the earliest for me, I think, is October. Frankly, I believe these people are going to be crazier with Biden and Harris in the White House. And I'm just looking at already 2022. I'm just I mean, just and I'm saying this because people should be mentally preparing themselves for all of 2021 being like most of 2020? Mustafa? Yeah, we definitely have to be prepared for that. You know, the question is, what is our communities going to do to better protect ourselves

if everybody in totality is not willing to, you know, do that? So that means, you know, if there is a vaccine that is proven to be effective, then we need to make sure that the education is there so that folks take that. And let's be clear, it's a lot of black people acting like them. It's a lot of black people in South Carolina, North Carolina, in Georgia, other places walking around like it's no big deal, having get-togethers and gatherings.

And I'm sitting there going, uh, not good. But you got to remember, at the beginning of the virus, we had that false narrative that was going around that black people could not get the virus. And there was not enough education that was done quickly enough to actually make sure that folks were informed that, yes, you can.

Of course, at that time, folks didn't understand the disproportionate amounts of infections and deaths that would happen inside of our community. So we have a responsibility, those of us who have information, to make sure that we are continuing to educate folks. And once again, I say, if the vaccine is effective and that we have all the trials that are necessary,

then we have to push our folks. We got to work through our religious institutions. We have to work through our various organizations and others to hold ourselves accountable so that our folks are protected. I want to see everybody protected. But if folks make the decision that they don't want to, that they're not interested in the communities that they come from being protected, then, you know, that's on them. We can circle back around. All right, man. All right, folks, we certainly appreciate it. Hey, I go to a break. We come back. We'll talk about this case out of Louisiana. Young black man killed. Family wants an investigation. We'll talk with the family attorney. Also, also, folks, we'll talk about drama in Portsmouth, Virginia. If you don't think racism is alive there, we got something to tell you about that.

So all of that next on Roland Martin Unfiltered. This generation, which gets so much inspiration from entertainment, you know, this generation is influenced. I mean, every generation has their influence. But I would argue by and large, when you talk about Harry Belafonte or you talk about, you know, how it was, you know, in the 60s, 70s and even 80s, there was, you know, you had the entertainers. You had the church. You had the activists. In our day and time, you know, the church is somewhat losing its influence.

Entertainment influence is growing. The activists are losing their influence. So where do most, you know, this younger generation go? They go to entertainment, you know, and so the influencers entertainment can actually move the needle. And when you see people become active, I love how this younger group of people are saying, wait a minute, we don't like what just happened with Kavanaugh. We're going to do something about it. We don't like the fact that there's no gun control. We're going to do something about it. And I do think that as tragic as these events are,

they are becoming more galvanizing to get this younger group of voters, which is so influential, to get out and do what we know they can do, which is to help move the needle in a massive way. 1982. A 12-year-old is accused of stealing and dragged out of store, told he looks suspicious because his hands are in his pockets. I'm Raphael Warnock, and that boy was me. Back then, I didn't understand how much the system works against those without power and money,

that the rules were different for some of us. Too often, that's still true today, especially in Washington. I approve this message because it's time for that to change. I'm John Ossoff, and the path to recovery is clear. First, we listen to medical experts to control this virus. Then we shore up our economy with stronger support for small businesses and tax relief for working families. And it's time for a historic infrastructure plan to get people back to work and invest in our

future. We need leaders who bring us together to get this done. And that's why I approve this message. Senator in particular irks me. A Senator Kelly Loeffler, not elected, but appointed just a couple months ago. Records show Loeffler and her husband, whose company owns the U.S. Stock Exchange, sold stock valued between $1.3 and $3.1 million. Kelly Loeffler bought and sold stock shortly after a classified briefing on the virus. They knew the market was going to tank and they sold based on that inside information. Some of the holdings she shed were in energy, automotive, retail and airlines. Look it's not just what she sold but it's actually what she bought. She bought things like Amazon,

Citrix, Systems, a company that obviously was going to do well during a shutdown while still reassuring citizens that the U.S. was prepared. We have Americans across the country who have seen their 401ks plummet. Were you trading on inside information about what was coming? Folks, this woman is knee-deep in the swamp, and she just got there. I think you got to understand who's on the school board.

Who voted for the judge that's going to lock your ass up? How about all these people that's running around in your community that be up at 830 in the morning and you never see them because you roaming around at three in the afternoon. They got voted in. They go to the government office buildings that you don't know until you get in trouble. The Georgia runoff election day is January 5th. Voters have until December 7th to register in person. Voting starts on December 14th. That's critical, important for you to understand.

That race, of course, is going to be already a wild one. You're seeing millions of dollars being poured on television ads where Kelly Loeffler, she's attacking her opponent, Pastor Raphael Warnock. Of course, also you have David Perdue, the sitting incumbent, who refuses to even debate John Ossoff. And so what's happening is Republicans are targeting Warnock by calling him a Marxist and a socialist, and he called police thugs. Y'all, really? Why is it important?

Because, again, if Democrats win both of those seats, they will have a deadlock in the Senate, and, of course, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be the one who breaks the tie. And so we're going to be focusing a lot on what's happening there in Georgia, being even on the ground. Let's talk about folks in Louisiana. The family of 15-year-old Kawan Bobby Charles, local activists and other community members,

took to the streets of Baldwin, Louisiana over the weekend to demand transparency into his disappearance and death. He was taken without his parents' permission on October 30th from his Baldwin home. His mother reported him missing about 8 p.m. that night, but was told by the Baldwin Police Department that he was probably at a football game. Bobby was found dead on November 3rd,

about 20 miles away in a sugar cane field in La Roeville, a small village in Iberia Parish. Joining me now is the family attorney for the Charles family, Ronald Haley. Glad to have you here, Mr. Haley. First and foremost, who took him from the home and why? Ronald, can you hear me? Ronald, can you hear me?

All right, folks, if y'all can get this audio fixed with Ronald Haley, I would certainly appreciate that. Again, we're trying to understand really what happened here in this case. Folks like Gary Chambers, we have Gary Chambers, of course, on our panel last week. They've been sounding the alarm in this case because there's so many things that really have to be answered. This is a video that was taken two days ago of that community march. Go to my iPad, please. Justice today, folks. That's right. We're here for justice today. A 15 year old child was taken from us. And perhaps the same forces

that do this across the country miscalculated because here in Louisiana, we stand up. For this family, we're going to stand up. Folks, now let's go to Attorney Ronald Haley. Ronald, can you hear me? Yes, sir. Good evening, Mr. Martin. Glad to have you. First of all, who took her from the home? From what we understand now, a friend, I'm using that in air quotes, mother, Janet Irvin, took Bobby Charles from his residence or somewhere near his residence without his parents' permission. Okay, so how? Was Bobby at home by himself?

They just drove by and said, come with us? How did that happen? All that is still very much a mystery as to how he ended up in the car with Jaina and her son. Okay. Has that woman and her son, have they been questioned by authorities? I've been told they have, but the fruits of that investigation or those conversations have not been shared with us. Did the woman say why she took Bobby from the home without notifying the parents? They were friends, just that they were friends.

Well, I get that, but they were friends I had growing up, but ain't no way in hell they were just going to pick me up at the house and not tell my parents. Listen, brother, we're preaching to the choir. That's one of the maddening things about this case as to how he gets picked up from his home and driven 28 miles away and then wind up being dead four days later. This case is troubling.

It's mysterious. I just don't have the words. The police said he was probably at a football game. How did they ascertain that? Even though he doesn't like football. He's not a sports guy. But that's what was just pushed off on the parents to try to ease their nerves and calm them down. So is there any evidence where they actually were investigating? Right now what I'm doing is showing video from this week is March. And so

were the police actually investigating? Roland, that's, listen, that has been some of the most maddening things that we're dealing with right now. We assume that they're investigating. They've issued press statements that this is an

act of homicide investigation into the death of Kwan Charles. However, what did they do prior to then? We don't know. What we do know is this. On October 30th, he was reported missing. An Amber Alert was requested by local law enforcement to Louisiana State Police. The Louisiana State Police refused to issue out an Amber Alert because it did not meet their quote unquote criteria. However, there are other criteria that it could have met. If it doesn't arise to the Amber Alert,

you can issue a level two, basically a media flashpoint to all the statewide media outlets to be on alert for this child. That wasn't done. We know that you do not need a warrant to ping someone's cell phone. That was not done for three days later, but miraculously, after they pinged the cell phone, you're able to find him. These things, these tools could have been used day one. Roland, we know in any missing child case, every second, every minute, every hour that goes by is critical.

In particular, the first seconds, minutes and hours after that child has been reported missing. However, it appears that not enough boots began to be on the ground until it was too late. So this is right now. So who's leading this investigation? The Baldwin Police Department or state officials? The Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office. Say it again? The Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office. Can the family trust that they're going to actually do a real investigation?

Well, I mean, they do not. They do not trust that the investigation is going to be done correctly. His body was found 20 miles away in the sugar cane field. What was the condition of his body? Bobby's face was completely mangled. For your viewers and listeners who have not seen the picture, tread carefully. It's something that you cannot unsee. It is something that will change you

if you view it. It appears to be that the entire, if you're looking at it face on, right side of his mouth, is completely disfigured. So this is, first of all, an actual photo of Bobby Charles here.

If we can, so folks, this is, so again, to your point, I am going to warn people. This is a photo of Bobby Charles. What I'm about to show you, and so if you want to turn away right now, you can. I'm about to show you what it looked like when he was found you this photo is and and let me be real clear uh to our folks why i am showing you this because there's all there was a reason why Mamie Till Mobley wanted the casket of Emmett Till also open as well. And in fact, I'm going to show you this here.

In fact, someone actually posted this on social media, just so you understand the comparisons to 1955 in 2020. On the left was the photo of Emmett Till. On the right is the photo of Bobby Charles. Ronald, go ahead. Listen, it is saddening that in 2020, there seems to be, through the system itself, devaluing of black children's lives. I know we hear the term black lives matter a lot, and they do, and they need to. especially when we're dealing with our children. Roland, we can look at the FBI statistics that show that

although black children make up 14% of the population of kids, they make up over 37% of the missing children's population. And the fact that Amber Alerts are only issued at 7%, you look at only 7% of our kids that are gone missing. That's a problem. Regardless of how Bobby died and the mystery surrounding his death, it certainly needs to be solved. There is a broader conversation that must be had in regards to black kids. It is certainly horrifying.

We are going to stay focused on this case. Ronald Haley, if y'all could keep us updated at every step of the way so we can continue to cover this at every possible angle. We certainly would appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Listen, I appreciate it, Roland. Thank you so much for elevating the issue. Thank you very much, sir. It is Mustafa to see that image, to see the condition of that young man dead. It does hearken back to Emmett Till.

And I can't imagine Mustafa. I can't imagine someone explain to me how in the world that even happened. It breaks my heart, and it also angers me. And it angers me, not only the violence that this young man went through, whether it's a hate crime or... It's a hate crime, you know, whether it is racially motivated

or the hate that may have come from someone from their own race. The problem is, along with that, is these biases that exist. These biases that exist inside of policing. There are studies that came out from the Pew Research Center, folks Google it, from Vanderbilt University, that shows that the darker your skin is

and the communities that you come from, the longer the response time and what that response looks like for those communities. So when we don't address these biases, when we have these violent actions that happen from police and folks are less likely to trust police and get engaged with police, and then you have the other side of the coin where these biases exist, where they're like,

well, you know, as they dehumanize folks, well, we don't have to respond as quickly, and we don't have to respond with the same level of capacity that we would in a wealthier community or a whiter community that it compounds these factors and goes back to what the attorney was sharing with us, that all of these children of color, you know, African-American children continue to disappear without the same level

of attention and resources going to finding them in a quick manner. For those of us who have worked around or with folks who work in law enforcement, we know that you need to have quick responses when there are these types of actions that happen if you actually expect to be able to find a child. It is just shocking and stunning, Teresa. I think you're on mute. There we go. Now we got you. I'm sorry about that. I said I'm just distraught right now. There we go. Now we got you.

I'm sorry about that. I said I'm just distraught right now. I mean, that photo just, yes, it reminded me of Emmett Till, but it also reminded me of why we protest, why we rally, why we advocate and why we support one another. It's very difficult. Kids are, you know, is one soft spot for me. But regardless of that, I think the justice that needs to be had, that should be had, just common communication practices that should be dealt with in the police department was not given. Why? Because he was Black. I think, you know, the attorneys on the case, Ronald Haley and the many others are going to uncover the same inconsistencies that we've been saying the entire time with police reform. And it just hurts my heart because this is, you know, another life that's not, you know... During COVID, during whatever, you know, political propaganda or whatever conspiracy theory,

this young man's life was taken, burnt, drowned, and left for dead. And then the people that are supposed to be serving and protecting us did not do all they are supposed to do. So what do we tell the mother? What do we tell the family? And what most importantly, do we tell the community that is broken right now?

We can't tell them anything. We can't give them hope because then we gotta put all our hope into the DA. And then we have to put our hope in the justice system. Then we have to keep calling out for these things. So, I mean, Ro, you shouldn't have put that photo up. It's a lot going on, but justice obviously gotta be served, period.

I understand the reaction to it. But the reason we have to put it up is because I think what happens is we have to see the depravity. I think what happens is I go back to why Mamie Teal did it. And I think in this country, I think what we do is we run away from it. And I think we have to, and the next generation has to understand why we don't play games with these stories. The next generation has to also understand why some things change and

some things stay the same. And there's a whole generation of black people who have been impacted by the Emmett Till photo, and it still is a searing image. And when I ran the Chicago Defender, when they exhumed his body, I put that image back on the cover because I realized there were a whole there was a whole generation of people who actually never saw it, who did not understand the viciousness of that. And so we will continue to cover this story to see exactly where it goes and try to bring justice for Bobby Charles. Folks, speaking of bringing justice, let's talk about Portsmouth, Virginia. Strange. Black people who were elected and in power in Portsmouth, Virginia,

now all of a sudden, you got this sort of this back and forth and this drama because they're in power. And even if you have a black person who is the police chief, is a part of it. Now, a Portsmouth, Virginia judge dismissed felony charges against Senator Louise Lucas and other African-American leaders stemming from their roles in the June 10th toppling of a Confederate

monument. Well, today, Lucas, a state senator since 1992, and president pro tem of the Senate. What happened was the case was, charges were vacated. Now, she was charged with conspiring to commit a felony and felony injury to a public monument in excess of $1,000. Joining us right now is Senator Lucas and Don Scott Jr., a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. This is the most unbelievably crazy, stupid, strange case here. What did the judge say today about this so-called case? Well, the first thing I'm going to say, we're grateful to be here. Thank you for having us. It's been a great honor to be able to represent Senator Lucas, who has fought all of her life for this city and for the state, for the Commonwealth of Virginia. What the judge said, and I want to point this out for folks who are of all goodwill, of all races, the judge who is a white female judge who came in as a special judge because the local judges opted out. So they brought in a judge from Richmond, Virginia.

And the judge, after hearing Stephanie Morales, to her credit, who made a motion to dismiss this matter based on all of the information that she had gathered, and the judge said she was very concerned by a few things. One, she was concerned because the police in this matter had purposefully tried to circumvent the process by not including the Commonwealth attorney, Stephanie Morales, and then had named her as a subpoenaed her as a witness when they knew that she was not there. That concerned the judge. She said the words that the judge used in court was they tried to make an end run around the Commonwealth attorney who was the chief law enforcement officer in the city. Second of all, and what we thought was even more striking, the judge said on the record that it's obvious to her that these charges were brought for a purpose other than law enforcement, other than public safety. And that's what we had been saying all along. And so what happened was the judge validated what we have been saying from day one and what the senator has been fighting for her entire life. And so I'm proud to be here and bring these issues up.

It was a ridiculous case to begin with. And so the court today and the Commonwealth attorney agreed and we did agree with the motion. We had made several motions to dismiss as well. So everything worked out the way it's supposed to in the end. But at the end of the day, we know that in this community, we have to continue to fight. And so that's how it is. As you said, we're a majority black city. But for a long time, we had a majority white council. And while all this was going on, to the senator's credit, we were campaigning.

And you know what we did back on November 3rd, was that? November 3rd? Correct. We got a majority Black city council. There's an organization here made up of prominent leaders. And that organization endorsed several city council members. All but one. We had a slate for city council and school board.

Seven of our eight endorsed candidates won. That's right. That is because this community had been fed up. We wanted fairness and we wanted justice. And so we wanted to put people in that we thought would reflect that. And that's what we did a few days ago. And then that was validated today by the court and the leadership of the city coming together on this issue. But that doesn't stop the damage that's been done.

Right. Sarah Lucas, and it wasn't just you. There were a number of other people who were actually charged. And this just seemed as if it was very targeted and laser-focused on Black leadership. Absolutely. There's no question about it. And that's

nothing new in our community. It has happened time and time again. As a matter of fact, standing with us today was Dr. Mark Whitaker, who is going back on the city council, who had been they have weaponized the system against him in such a way. And he lost his seat on the city council and he lost his his voting rights. And when he ran for reelection after all that had happened, he was defeated. But he came back this time after our endorsement and support, and he was reinstated, and he will be going back on city council. And I submit to you that they tried to do to me what they did to Dr. Mark Whitaker, and that was to make him lose his job, make him lose his voting rights. And with me,

with two classic felonies, I would have lost my license to run my business. I would have lost my voting rights. I would have lost my seat in the Senate of Virginia. And I would no longer be the Senate president, the president pro tem of the Senate. And that was exactly the intent. They wanted to destroy me because they did not want to see me continue to serve as the pro tem of the Senate of Virginia. Now, I want to tell you, this was a good day in Portsmouth for us because what it did, it gave people a sense that there can be some fairness in this justice system. And in fact, I would say that law and order prevail today because the police department

had made a mockery, made a mockery of the justice system here in the city of Portsmouth and following those charges in the first place. And I guess you know from listening to my attorney, Don Scott, I was not even there at the time that the monument was being destroyed, when it was being painted, when it was coming down. I was there all of 45 minutes the entire day to state what the city manager had said to me, and that was that none of the protesters would be arrested, and that was the extent of my involvement all day long. But the weird thing is that also today, the Portsmouth police chief, Angela Green,

was fired by the city manager. She's black. So what the hell is going on? Because is it race? Is it, what the hell is it race? Is it is it what the hell is it like? You know, you know, like we know back as far as slavery, they've always used one of us to try to keep the others down. You know how that works. And my feeling is that the chief was being used. As a matter of fact, if you look at the video that they had of her press conference today, all you have to do is look at the people around her and none of them look like us.

What's next? Case has been dismissed. What's what's next? Well, we're going to have further legal action. Right now, we have a lot of matters pending. Senator has a defamation lawsuit against some folks, at least one person, maybe others. There are also more than likely there will be continued litigation. We're exploring following the 1983 action for a violation of her civil rights. And, you know, the senator, as she said before, and you know this, they've always tried to use the criminal justice system as a way to quell political dissent, as a way to keep black leadership quiet. And this particular time, it didn't work. We said not this time. Not this time. The entire community rallied behind Senator

Lucas and the other ports of the thing team who were charged. By the way, all of them were exonerated today as well. Exactly. We're glad to know that. But as I've said all along and others know this, the only reason they filed the charges against everybody else, because they wanted to go after the senator and she what she didn't say, because she's very modest. She's not only the first female president pro tem of the Senate, she's the first African-American president pro tem of the Senate. And so we're talking about the most powerful African-American legislator in the state of Virginia in the history, other than the governor, Governor Wilder, who had been appointed. But she is the second most powerful African-American ever elected in the state of Virginia. And then they chose to file these charges against her the very day before she was

introducing legislation for police accountability to improve our criminal justice system, to be able to have the attorney general come in and investigate patterns and practices of law enforcement agencies that discriminate against folks. So we need to understand that they were very targeted about who they wanted to go after and why. And so we know that the next steps will be, you know, we'll continue to seek justice. Those folks who say they want law and order, we hope to give them more of it now

as we move through the civil litigation process. All right, then. Sarah Lucas, Delegate Don Scott, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Well, thank you for having us on. All right, thanks a bunch. This is the thing that, Teresa,

again, you're trying to, I mean, it's crazy what's happening. But this is also indicative when you have cities that are transitioning from white control to black control. Teresa, you on mute. You got to you got if you're going to talk, you got to turn. You got to, you got, if you're going to talk, you got to turn the mute button off, Teresa. I think this is also very indicative to what the culture is looking like. You know, black people have been doubling in numbers. I think our culture has shown that we are strong,

we are powerful. But I also think there has been some worrisome on the other side of the field who are not minorities. And they feel like, you know, this is a problem, right? We can't necessarily brainwash them to doing what we need them to do. And it'll probably take more dollars and cents to convince them, i.e. us, to do what they need us to do. So because we're strong, because we're powerful, because we deliver and we show results when it is time for us to show up

during elections, during difficult times, I think, you know, it just makes the other side nervous. And it also doesn't give them the opportunity to figure out what our track path really is, because people are waking up. We are also making sure that we are in position, right? And if we're not in position, we are opening our mouths and letting them know that this is not fair. So when we start to see, you know, this sort of divide and, you know, this sort of almost manipulation of, you know, what they choose to follow and what that plan looks like, I think it's, you know, really up to us and our great leaders that we just heard from to really kind of

guide us as a whole on what we need to do. Mustafa, go ahead. Well, you know, it's real simple. You know, all of our folks ain't our folks, you know, so it's really simple. You know, we have choices.

We have power. And we make the determination if we're going to allow somebody to use us or not. So, you know, it's okay for us to say, well, you know, white folks tried to get us to do this or that. We make the choice if we want to play that game or not or if we're going to stand up and do the right thing. So for me, it's real simple.

You know, we got choices. And if we choose to have this type of behavior, then we also have to deal with the ramifications that come out of this type of behavior. All right, folks. Hold tight one second. I got to go to a break. When we come back,

Mark LeVon Hill joins us to discuss his new book. Also, we'll talk with a fitness expert who says, y'allall ignore all of these people trying to give you their armchair advice on social media focus on you when it comes to your health and wellness that is next on Roland Martin unfiltered really here a lot of people talking about voting growing up it wasn't a conversation. It was always who in office, but you never

knew how they got there. They just like, see, they done put this man in office. And I'm like, who is they? Put him in office. That's all I used to hear was, they put this man in office. There ain't nobody in office for us. OK, but so how did they get there? It was always they.

They. But they was never defined. It was never defined. And did anybody even own up to, I'm part of they? No, it was just a they in office, they ain't gonna let us. Look what they did. Them folks there. It was never like, who are them, they, and those?

Who are these people? And when you grow... I didn't even find out about voting, which is oddly enough how important voting was. I found out about how important voting was in prison. Dead serious. Dead serious. Raphael Warnack grew up in a house full of brothers and sisters.

His parents taught him the value of hard work, like me. Like me. Raphael Warnock grew up in a house full of brothers and sisters. His parents taught him the value of hard work, like me. Like me, he was first in his family to graduate from college and went on to earn a PhD. He thinks insurance companies should not be allowed to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions, like me. Like me, Reverend Warnock knows that both parties in Washington could use some moral leadership. I'm Raphael Warnock, and I approve this message

because it's time we had a senator who put Georgians first, like me. I'm John Ossoff, and too many are struggling to afford prescriptions. One change in the law would make a huge difference. See, Medicare is America's biggest buyer of prescriptions, but the drug companies bought off Congress, and they made it illegal for Medicare

to negotiate lower prices. It's straight-up corruption. Fighting corruption is my job. I approve this message because I'm not taking donations from corporate PACs, and I won't let the drug companies rip us off anymore. To develop a conscience in which you know that voting and participating is a part of the price you pay

for the gift of life that you have received from the universe. That's part of the gift. I'm John Ossoff, and the path to recovery is clear. First, we listen to medical experts to control this virus. Then we shore up our economy with stronger support for small businesses and tax relief for working families. And it's time for a historic infrastructure plan to get people back to work and invest in our future.

We need leaders who bring us together to get this done. And that's why I approve this message. All right, folks, welcome back. Roland Martin, Unfiltered. We told you about the race in Georgia. Here's what is crazy, Mustafa. I want to bring you up. The secretary of state, the Republican secretary of state, is telling us that Senator Lindsey Graham reached out to him to have him throw out legally cast ballots.

I'm sorry. You're from South Carolina. Why the hell are you weighing in on what's happening in Georgia? Lindsey Graham? Well, we got governors from Florida weighing in. You got Lindsey Graham weighing in. We need to have the Department of Justice weighing in on some of these folks. But I guess we'll take care of that here

in 60-plus days. But, you know, folks are scared. They know that Georgia turned blue, and folks trying to keep it blue, they know that if folks get registered and they come back out and vote, they got something on their hands. So they're going to, you know, rush all these folks in to make comments and try and utilize the little bit of privilege that they have and the sway that they think they got. And, you know, folks gonna check them. Folks gonna check them, because folks gonna vote.

Um, and then we gonna see how it all plays out in the Senate. So Lindsey Graham wants to stay in power. That's pretty much what it's all about. And he knows if you lose those two seats, as you share, that Kamala will break the tie, and that there'll be a Senate that's actually focused on many of the issues that the majority of folks across our country care about. Look at this headline, Teresa, in the Washington Post. Georgia Secretary of State, who's a Republican, says fellow, go to my iPad, says fellow Republicans are pressuring him to find ways to exclude legal ballots.

These people are thugs. Thugs. We can't be surprised. Unfortunately, this is, you know, straight from the playbook from the president. The president makes the call and then the mayans go and do what they need to do. So I think, you know, it's interesting, you know, that they you know, it's like they want to encourage people to vote. They want people to register. But it's only for their party.

Right. Because Georgia is blue. And I think the culture, the impact that Stacey Abrams has has done has been incredible. There has been a groundswell of people who are woke. There has been people who have been benefiting off the resources and opportunities. But Republicans have noticed that their influence and that their power is slipping. And so, yes, these thugs are doing whatever they need to do

to stay in power. But I love what my brother Mustafa said. He's like, look, the Department of Justice needs to also weigh in on this conversation. And he's absolutely right. But I don't know if we could wait 60 plus days because we got a runoff election in a few weeks. This is what he said, quote, go to my iPad, please. Other than getting you angry, it's also very disillusioning, particularly when it comes from people on my side of the aisle. Everyone that is working on this needs to elevate their speech. We need to be thoughtful and careful about what we say.

Mustafa, him and his wife have gotten death threats from people. This is a Republican secretary of state. But see, that's what happens when Kelly Loeffler, as well as David Perdue and the entire Republican congressional delegation in Georgia goes after the secretary of state for doing his job. Yeah, well, you know, it's still this it's still this dismantling of democracy. Democracy is only important to certain people when it's working for them, when they're winning from that democracy. So, you know, the interesting thing

that we got going on right now is that, you know, these folks don't get it. You've got Republicans who are trying to do their job right. They took an oath to do it correctly, and they're trying to. You know, that's the traditional, you know, Republicans that are out there. And now you got this other set of folks who just done lost their mind.

And they're like, no matter what I have to do to try and win, I am willing to do it. I'm willing to throw democracy out the door. I'm willing to throw ethics out the door to make sure that we win. It's nuts. It's absolutely nuts, but you know what?

They keep telling people they are desperate to win. They're all about power, and they will do whatever it is that's necessary. Alright, folks. Every week, we profile an author with a new book out on the show. This week, my guest is Dr. Mark Lamont Hill, whose new book is We Still Here, Pandemic, Policing, Protest and Possibility.

Mark, glad you're joining us. There are some English professors who are like, what the hell? We still here? Exactly. And they're probably saying to you, how can you be a so-called college professor and you just breaking all the rules? We still here. I broke every single rule, Roland. And I did it on purpose because I said that I needed to.

And it's funny, the publishing house said the same thing. You know, at first they were like, you know, I think you went to say we are still here or we're still here. And I was like, no, I say what I said. And the reason is because I needed, I needed to inspire people with the message of hope and possibility. I mean, we, we struggling out here. It's a dark moment, but we're going to be victorious.

And so my book gives a critical analysis at a moment, but it's a reminder that despite all the evidence to the contrary, all the fights to destroy us, centuries of violence against us, we still here and we ain't going nowhere. Folks, the book examines the conditions that led black people to where we are today. So Mark, let's break that down. We talked about the pandemic. We talk about, again, with protests as well and where folks are. Now you also have folks on the Democratic side who say, oh, that this notion of defund the police cost them the seats of purple district Democrats, if you will. I'm still trying to find the evidence of that. I because I personally think that that probably would also happen here is that Democrats were were banking on polling too much and not listening to the ground and not understanding that there was going to be a groundswell of support for Trump because he is for many, the last bastion or the last hope of white supremacy. I think that's exactly right. I mean, what we saw on November 4th, the day after the election, is that we didn't have a grand referendum on Trump or a grand

repudiation of Trump. We had 73 million people, give or take, say that Trump was their guy. It shows just how much people are holding on to white supremacy, how much they're holding on to Trump-ism writ large. And that's the issue here. It's not that Democrats didn't run from socialism enough, or they talked about defunding police and Medicare for all and Green New Deals too much, despite what the losers of some House seats would suggest. I happen to agree with AOC on this, and that is that when we ran on the values, when people ran on the values that people are demanding and pushing and advancing, people were successful. The people she campaigned for did just fine. The people who wouldn't let her stand near them suddenly had some trouble. And I'm not saying she's the dealmaker or deal breaker. It's that she's a

signpost of a certain kind of progressive vision. I think you're right. They listened to those posters. Those same posters had Trump underperforming by three, four, six points in a lot of these states that he ended up winning or narrowly losing. And so we've got to stop listening to the polls and we have to stop voting our fears and instead vote our hopes. And that's part of what I talk about in the book is we need to not just talk about what we don't want. We need an affirmative vision of what we do want. It's hard as hell to win an office simply by telling people I'm not that guy or I'm not that woman. Also, I think Democrats and I think Joe Biden and Democrats did the exact same thing that Hillary Clinton did, which I thought was a mistake. They tried to separate the Republican Party from Trump and tell folks, no, no, no, no, no.

It's not them. It's him. I kept saying, no, no, no. Hell no. It's him and them. He simply is saying out loud what they've always said privately. 100% true. 100% true. He emboldens them. He's able to allow

Mitch McConnell or Lindsey Graham to be more powerful, but he's also able to allow that random Republican rep in the middle of the country to have a voice and a power. And so, you're isn't Trump isn't flying solo here. They love what he's doing. They love what he's saying because he can do it without filter, without varnish. He can be who he wants to be. And that's why we had to we had such a sober awakening, even though many of us woke up on November 4th frustrated and scared because we didn't know who was going to win yet.

And, you know, and some of that went away by the 7th when we knew there was going to be a clear winner. There's still a sense that we have so much more work to do. There's still a sense of fear and anxiety and stress. And it's because there's a whole lot more Trumps scattered around this country holding not just House and Senate seats, but also they're in the statehouse. They're in the mayor's office. They're in the governor's office. They're in city council seats all around this country. And that's the work we've got to continue to do. Fixing that. You write about the murder of George Floyd. And I contend that right now, I think what we're doing is I believe that we're using wrong language. I keep casting this period that we're in in terms of the third reconstruction.

I look at this thing in terms of that first reconstruction, 12 years, 1865 to 1877. I look at the second reconstruction, 1954, 1970, and then now being the third one. And I think if we only frame this thing in terms of a reckoning, I believe we're missing out on how we must be casting a vision that is much larger. Again, first one, 12 years, second, arguably 16 years. I keep saying the next one has to be 20-plus more years of sustained focus and action in order to achieve or get close to as we can to a level playing field. If we play the game of the reckoning, then to me that's short-term.

That's a few months. That's a year. No, no. I think we have to be saying, no, no, no, no, no, no. We talking about large, major, huge substance. If the first reconstruction, 13, 14, 15th amendments, second reconstruction, civil rights act of 64, voter rights act of 65, fair housing act of 68. I'm talking about it has to it has to be massive in that way. Your thoughts? I think you're absolutely right. Reckonings don't have budgets attached to them.

You know, they don't have court precedents attached to them. We need some substantive change. And across different spaces, I mean, part of what you just talked about in 1865 are these 13, 14, 15 Amendment decisions. So we're looking at legal changes. We're also looking at Supreme Court shifts, and we're looking at shifts in culture and practice. We're fundamentally reshaping how the American economy operates now that the exploited labor of enslaved Africans is no longer available. When you start in 1954, you start with Brown v. Board, right? So you're starting with, again, Supreme Court decision. And then by the time you get to

64, public accommodation, 65, Voting Rights Act, now you're looking at legislation. And again, changes on the ground, shifts in labor. We see a general strike with the Montgomery bus boycott. We have a whole range of tactics and strategies being used right up to 1970. So similarly, if we say this third Reconstruction, to use your language, begins, I would say, around 2014 when the Ferguson uprisings begin. Again, action on the ground. In the same way that Emmett Till's

Action on the Ground begins in August of 1955. There are actions on the ground that spark this, but it's not enough to have actions on the ground. The action on the ground is then combined with some interesting electoral shifts, which is what we're beginning to see right now on November 3rd. But we've got a long way to go. What the question now is, what's going to happen in the court? What's going to happen in terms of the structure of the economy? And because a big part of this reconstruction is a conversation about law enforcement, what kind of reimagining and reconfiguration of policing can we imagine?

Can we finally defund or, from my tradition, abolish policing in prisons? How do we get there? What kind of conversation do we have to have? What are we going to do about student debt? How can we fundamentally reorganize and reimagine? People right now are mad that we want to even take $10,000 off of people's student debt. I mean, these are the conversations we have to have. But I think you're right.

The framing is the point because at the end of this book and at the beginning of the book, I talk about radical imagination. I talk about the freedom dream. You can only change the world as much as you're able to imagine it. And in the same way that they said that we couldn't imagine a world without slavery because the economy was built on it, because it was our culture, because the scientific reasons they made up, because the medical reasons they made up. We had to imagine something different.

And the same way they said the Voting Rights Act could never happen. And the same way they said that the first 14th Amendment decision around separate but equal could never be shifted to what we saw with Brown v. Board 1. The same way they thought all that stuff couldn't happen. The same way they thought none of that stuff could happen. We were able to build something different and better, and now we have to be able to imagine a world different and better. In the same way that in 1906, we imagined that no fraternity could get better than Alpha,

and then in 1911, we were able to create Kappa Alpha Psi and fundamentally reimagine and improve the world. You think what I'm saying, brother? Hell no. Hell no. Hell no. I thought you was with me. Now, you know doggone well that last part is absolutely something that came from Newsmax and OANN. I mean, you know that.

I mean, that's not even, I mean, even your fellow Capitals are saying, yeah, I think he went a little too far with that. They said he tried it, but it didn't work. It didn't work. No, no, no. You know, doggone well, that ain't the case. When you talk about this notion of protest. Yeah, I think. I think let me just put to you this way, we as we saw so many Black Lives Matter protests taking place in the last three or four years of Obama. What do you think about what the hell happened in the first three years of Trump? Where did it go? Where where did it go? Where did they go? It's a great question. I mean, I think they were there. One of the things that I would say is, you know, working with Black Lives Matter in Philly,

I can tell you the resistance never stopped. The protesting never stopped. I think they became far more local. I think they were responsive to more issues. I think you saw the movement for Black Lives become more encompassing of a bunch of other grassroots organizations. And the shift wasn't just to be on the ground talking, because some people were saying, all y'all do is protest.

Where's the legislation? Where's the policy? A lot of folk moved in the policy realm. A lot of folks started taking on projects that were trying to actually change the way police departments function, the way mayor's offices function. So I think you saw that. Now, your point, though, is still a good one, right? Which is that in the first three years of Trump, there was a hell of a lot to be on the ground about. Whether it's Charlottesville, whether it's this, whether it's that, whether it's immigration, all of these questions are questions that we should be in solidarity with or directly affect us. But I do think Black Lives Matter was there. I think we were on the ground in lots of facets. It just didn't look like the national spectacle.

And part of it, Roland, as you know, is that a lot of these corporate media outlets, you know, they became so obsessed with Trump that when we weren't on the streets, when we weren't on the ground, they didn't want to show that. And they made their money making Trump president, and they made their money selling us Trump, all Trump, all the time. And as a result, we didn't get all the stories

about what was really happening. Well, which is one of the reasons why I keep arguing that you've got to have an independent black-owned media because if you keep... Yes. If your whole... And I'll be honest with you.

I mean, I told some of the Black Lives Matter activists when they broke an exclusive that they gave to the New York Times first. I was like, what the hell is that about? I said, will they be there?

I said, when other media doesn't show up. I'm like, don't ignore black media. I said, because if you ignore your base, I said, when you need somebody there, I said, will they actually be there? On the whole notion of, we talk about the policing, and Teresa and Mustafa, I'm going to go to you next

with questions for Lamont Hill. And I surely expect Mustafa to have something very critical and smart to say, being that he is an alpha. So the thing on policing, we've seen the pushback with defund the police. But do you believe that the critics have been successful in flipping the narrative that no matter if you keep using it, it's not going to be effective. So should they say versus defund the police? Should I mean, should they should they use another phrase? Because the reality is when you start looking at how things are being presented, and this is why I tell people all the time, Republicans understand messaging. They know how to flip the whole message around.

What should then happen? It's a good question. I mean, I happen to believe that we have to have this balance of being practical and pragmatic for sure. And messaging does matter. But I think we also have to hold a line, a principled line at times, and not allow the kind of quickness of the moment to make us think something's not gonna work.

You know, end slavery now, women's rights now, women's suffrage now rather, were slogans that were pushed for that ultimately were successful. But it took time and people certainly said no to all of these. I think defunding police, I understand how it ruffles feathers, but I think part of the ruffling of the feathers is starting that conversation. It's making people say, why will we defund the police? And then we can have the conversation about how so many other elements of public life have been defunded. Education is defunded all the time. Health care is defunded

all the time. Community of school lunches are defunded all the time, and so forth and so on. And so having that conversation saying, we want to take money from this place and place it in other places. Now, I understand you could say we could have a slogan, you know, invest in this. Again, talking about what we want rather than what we don't want. But I think we need to have a critical conversation about the role that police play in our communities and in society. And I think we have to do it. Now, I'm all about strategy. I'm all about being tactical if we have to be. And as an abolitionist, that's what we've been doing for years. Just to give you an example, on the federal level in 2016 ends a cash bail and calls for an end of privatization of prisons at the federal level. Those are abolitionist moves, right?

But President Obama didn't set up and say, I'm abolishing prisons. I'm not saying that's even what he wants. But that was part of an abolitionist policy. We didn't have to name it that to get it done. So I'm OK with using tactics and not naming it as such, but I need the end goal to be this thing. And I think we're way too early in the game. Defunding has just become part of the public conversation in the last six months. I think it's too early to say that it won't work. I think it's too early to say that we need to change the conversation. As somebody who's been part of the abolitionist

movement for two decades now, I'm watching too much growth, too much progress to give up just yet. Questions. I'll start with you, Teresa Lundy from Mark Lamont Hill. Thank you. Hey, Mark. Hey. Hello, Philly. Hello, Philly. So I think one of my questions is, and as you guys were talking, I was like, you know, this is obviously in my realm of business. So I have to get this book and figure out what the possibilities actually look like.

So I think, you know, I'm always coming from the angle of what does the next generation, what the millennial generation could look like? Because I think right now they're in this space of, we're now protesting, we're on the front lines, you know, we're getting little sound clips, we're starting our own businesses, and we're looking great while we're doing it, but are we effective? So what does the possibilities look like in this age of error that you describe in your book?

Yeah, I think there are a few possibilities. One, I think we can't foreclose on anything, right? It's too early to give up on anything. Some of the possibilities are in the voting booth. I mean, we just saw on November 3rd what a difference it makes when you got young people energized to come out and vote. You see what happens when we put all of our time and money into, I mean, and quite frankly, what the Clinton campaign could have done four years ago by being much more targeted and specific and diligent in addressing certain voters on a certain basis.

But when you see it, there's 70 more, 73 million people on the table who went for Trump, many of whom were undecided. Millions were undecided or at least could have gone the other way. We know that we have so much more room to grow. So at the electoral level, there's so much room to do. But at the imaginative level, there's so much more we can do. We can think about how we can reimagine this economy. We can think about how we could properly address small business owners.

One of the things I talk about in this book is how the PPP loans. I mean, you got companies like Shake Shack, which are worth billions. They have 6,000 employees getting small business loans that were designed for people with 50 employees or less, and small businesses up the street couldn't. We have to, and hundreds of them were publicly traded. Dozens, 110 of them, I believe, had donated to Trump or some Trump-related PAC in the last five years. So we see what inside baseball looks like. We have to unpack that

stuff and say, what are the possibilities of an economy that really tries to speak to small business owners? What does an economy look like that tries to give you more than a $1,200 check for over a six, eight-month period? What can this thing look like? And we also have to imagine a new social order. In Philadelphia, our hometown, Walter Wallace was killed. And people had a debate about whether the police should have shot him or not. What would they have done if they had a taser? Could they have talked him down? Could they have done this? Could they have done that? I'm saying let's have a more ambitious freedom dream. Let's

have a more ambitious freedom dream that asks the question, how can we create a world where your mama ain't got to call the police when you're having a mental health episode? How can we create a world where people's needs are met so that the police don't have to be the first line and have to do all these jobs? Tax collector in Ferguson, mental health advocate in Philadelphia, right? Domestic dispute person in Minneapolis. How can we reimagine the world so that people's needs are met differently?

That's where I want to be. Mustafa. Mark, it's good to see you. I'm going to leave that history alone about Alpha and Kappa Alpha Psi. But the question is, you know, as a scholar, and you're an incredible scholar, was there anything in your research

in creating the book that was surprising to you, that you said, you know what, I have to have this in this book because it's gonna be transformational, it's gonna help folks move forward? Yeah, you know what, I have to have this in this book because it's going to be transformational. It's going to help folks move forward. Yeah, you know, I have a chapter in this book called Corona Capitalism. And what I'm looking at is the way the pandemic has viciously affected the most vulnerable among us.

At the same time, looking at how the billionaire class has grown, how much money they've made, how much they've increased their wealth. And when I looked at the numbers, there were times where I had to do a double take.

I had to do a triple take. And I was like, there's no way. There's absolutely no way. I'm looking at the book right now just to give you some context. In April of 2020, that's the same month that 20 Americans filed for unemployment. The wealth of American billionaires grew by 10 percent. It went up to 3.2 trillion. In June, when 42.6 million people had filed for unemployment in the previous 11 weeks, the U.S. billionaires, they got 20 percent richer,

meaning that they added five hundred and sixty five billion dollars to their collective wealth. And when you look at the Jeff Bezos of the world, right, in the first quarter of 2020, his personal net worth went up by twenty four billion dollars. And you've got to add how this happens. Right. And so looking at the companies, looking at the individuals, I was shocked to see the gap. I knew the gap between the billionaire class and everyday people was big, but when I saw how much money was made off of corona by everybody, except the people on the front lines of Tyson Foods who had to make that chicken to keep America fed, even though they were risking their lives getting coronavirus and didn't even get time off, didn't even get PPE, didn't get personal protective equipment. When I looked at the gap, I was stunned by it, man. I got to tell you, man,

and I've been studying this for a long time, but I've never seen anything quite this disturbing. Folks, the book is called We Still Hear, Pandemic, Policing, Protest, and Possibility by Dr. Mark Lamont Hill. And we certainly appreciate him being on the show. We don't like it when people come on with foul phrases they wear on T-shirts, and that simply is that. But we also know this here. Without Alpha, y'all would simply be Kappa Psi. Wow.

I let you have that one. No, no, no, no, no. You can't let me have something. What you're really saying is, damn, I cannot come up with one that fast to respond to that one because, one, he ain't lying. See? Alpha's still topping y'all.

I know. It's all good. It's all good. I appreciate it. Somebody has to join the youth groups. Martin Lamar Hill. I'm getting out of here. I'm feeling, I don't feel safe here.

It's too many people. That's right. You might want to go to a safe space. All right. See, that's how y'all cap us do. All right, Martin Lamar Hill. We appreciate it. Thanks a bunch.

All right, y'all. Teresa and Mustafa, I certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Folks, coming up next, we're going to talk with a fitness expert. We're trying to get you in the right frame of mind and how to ignore everybody named Mama who got advice on what you should be eating, wearing, working out. Trust me, you don't want to miss this sister.

She's next on Roller Martin Unfiltered. You want to support Roller Martin Unfiltered? Be sure to join our Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar that you give to us supports our daily digital show there's only one daily digital show out here that keeps it black and keep it real as roland martin unfiltered support the roland martin unfiltered daily digital show by going to rolandmartinUnfiltered.com Alright, folks.

Boy, man, this was tough news to see. Comedian and actress Sinbad is recovering from a recent stroke. In a statement on Monday, his family said they're optimistic about his recovery. The statement reads, here it is. It is out of sincere love that we share Sinbad, our beloved husband and father, is recovering from a recent stroke. Sinbad is a light source of love and joy for many generations. While he is beginning his road to recovery, we are faithful and optimistic that he will bring laughter into

our hearts soon. Our family thanks you in advance for your love and support and ask for continued prayers for his healing. We also ask that you please respect our privacy during this time. Folks, I put in a call to send Bass in a text as well, wishing him the very best. You might remember the last time he was actually on this show was when we had our chat with Bozeman special. He is a phenomenal comedian. He's a great guy. He's a dear friend. And so we certainly are praying for him as well. Also, folks, I mentioned I should mention this when we were talking about coronavirus. The singer Jeremiah is battling health issues with covid as well, apparently being hospitalized as a result.

The folks with TMZ actually broke that news over the weekend about the condition of Jeremiah. There were a number of entertainers who actually even were tweeting out, get well, Jeremiah, and support for him as well. And so we have been covering that story. So, look, we'll stay on top of those two. Again, folks, health is wealth. Health is wealth, which is one of the reasons why we have this segment here. And we have different segment here and we have different people on the show different fitness experts we have uh trainers nutritionists

you know one of the things that for so many people they're stuck on is where do i start where do i start and then what i do i mean i got commercials and there's Weight Watchers and it's this and it's Nutrisystem and it's that. And I'm counting points. And what do I do? Do I change portion size? I mean, so how do you begin the process and wade through all of this? Well, fitness trainer out of St. Louis, Avery Woodley, joins us right now. Avery, how are you doing? I'm great. How are you? Doing great. Glad to have you here.

So let's talk about this here. It's so much that frankly, I think a lot of people just say, you know what? I'm sorry. I don't know. Should I be taking vitamins and drinking water, not drinking water? What kind of water do I drink? Do I drink alkaline, distilled? Do I do spring water? Do I tap water? My goodness, do I eat fruit? No, fruit got too much sugar. Now I can't eat fruit. Then I need to be having vegetables. And all I got to have are ripe vegetables. And I mean, it gets to a point where you're like,

damn it, I'm just gonna eat what the hell I want to eat, and then whatever happens, happens. It's crazy. It is absolutely crazy. We are constantly bombarded with so much information via social media, TV, and then just, you know, all of these fitness experts and diet experts and nutritionists and products and everything. It is extremely overwhelming for most people,

even for myself as a trainer and a former gym owner. I owned a gym for years and had a fitness program. When I'm scrolling, I'm like, how do people even filter and sort through this? Like, if you want to get started, you don't even know where to start. By the time you've taken all the information, you're already ready to give up and you haven't even started. So I have a few tips and just like really realistic things that people can do to get started because it does not have to be hard. People make it so complex that it's discouraging. It has to be as easy as possible to fit who you are and fit your lifestyle. What works for me might not work for you, Roland, and what works for you might not work for me.

So the key is for people to find what works for them and to quiet out all of the noise and to really start small. The first thing that people need to realize is that real change does not happen overnight. I don't care what you see on social media, what people are telling you. Take this, drink this, squeeze into this, do that. You can look like me in two days. It's not true. I check my notes. Then you have to also stop. You're like, it's not true, and I check my notes. Then you have to also stop.

You're like, it's not true, check my notes, it's not true. Yeah, like, stop, and then stop comparing yourself. It's really hard to constantly bombard it with so much information and so many images, but you have to really try and train your mind not to compare yourself to these people. You may see people who can meal prep, and they're meal prepping every single meal,

five days a week. For somebody like me, I have three kids. I'm a single mother. I don't meal prep. And do I lead a healthier lifestyle? Yes, but I do what works for myself. You also have to realize that change and healthier choices look different for each person because it should be unique and it should be tailored to who you are and your lifestyle for somebody who's a nurse and maybe working 12 hour shifts or somebody who's on set all the time they might not be able to jump up and eat every two hours so for them it's going to be finding different meals and certain snacks that they can like grab really quick that'll work for them um and then also if it's quick, it won't stick.

So we all know their real change and transformation takes time. It takes time. And the first thing you can do after realizing all of that is to one, identify what changes you want to make. So I know you have made some healthier changes. I see you working out. I've seen you on that elliptical. I saw you worked out today before you started your show. So, like, you know for yourself that you knew what to do,

how to get started, and you may have had some help, like, hey, this is my lifestyle, this is where I'm at, and this is what I want to do. Right, I mean... So, you know, identify that. I mean, I'll give a perfect example. I mean, the thing is, I mean, I've had trainers before and nutritionists, and I'll tell them, I'm like, guys, look, okay? I know what I need. I know what I'll give a perfect example. I mean, the thing is, I mean, I've had trainers before and nutritionists,

and I'll tell them, I'm like, guys, look, okay, I know what I need. I need something sensible. I need something sensible that I can follow. If you got me sitting here eating special foods and I can only get them from certain places, I'm like, I'm trying to tell you that ain't going to work when you're traveling. So the question then is how can you take what your lifestyle is and fit it according to that? Then you have the folks who really get caught up in the whole scale thing as well.

And then people start, people always go, how much have you lost? Well, the scale away. Okay, so explain that. Okay. So all of the clients I've trained and they know they will message me and say, okay, I got on the scale. I know how you feel about that because it's discouraging. And like your body can fluctuate throughout the day. You can wake up and weigh one thing and then go drink some water, brush your teeth, and then you weigh something completely different.

It is very discouraging to constantly look at the number on the scale. And another thing, I swear by inches. So when it comes to like weight loss, if you want to lose weight, it's, it's the inches, you know, once you start working out and eating right, your body will start to change. But the main thing is how you feel, you know, how your body feels, you know, how you feel when you're unhealthy or you're uncomfortable in your skin. And I had a client recently who was like, you know what, I feel so much better. She said, I'm not caught up on the scale

because I know that I feel better. And once you start to feel better, and you know that you're doing the right things that work for you, then of course it will, you know, it will start to show on your body. But throw that scale, I promise you, throw that scale away. I cannot stand it. I haven't been on a scale

in over a year. Really? I do not get on them. So, for you, is it a matter of how your clothes fit, things along those lines? I mean, obviously, that's a damn good barometer. If all of a sudden your clothes are fitting looser, you probably lost weight. If they're tighter, you probably gained.

Right. And that's what people need to judge on. They just need to throw. We already have enough pressure on up, you probably gained. Right. And that's what people need to judge on. They just need to throw. We already have enough pressure on ourselves with everything going on around the world. The last thing you need to do is add more pressure to yourself about numbers and all these gimmicks. People try to sell me stuff all the time. And I tell people, like, I have never, I don't drink a whole bunch of vitamins. All this is like, oh, drink this. And, you and you know to boost your life and you'll lose pounds and your fit like I'm not buying

into that and one thing you can do is when you see information all the information out there think think to yourself okay can I do this in two weeks okay can I still do this in a month can I do this in six months and then look out like a year from now okay can I do this in a month. Can I do this in six months? And then look out like a year from now. Okay. Can I do this in a year? And if you cannot stick with it and then obviously, you know, you tweak it and adjust it as life goes on or just as you know, life happens, you may have like a little disruption. You need to tweak it. But if you can't see yourself doing it, don't even try it because you will constantly find yourself starting over. You'll be one of those people that every Monday is starting a new diet. It's like, oh, next Monday, I'm starting over. Who wants to do that?

Start small, baby steps, baby steps, and then just choose a few things to do. If you want to become more active, but you know that you have watched every show on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, get up off the couch, flip your TV at screen time, and start, you know what I'm saying, and start working out. Or if you don't, you don't have to be vegan, vegetarian, and take all this, like, really start small

and be real. You have to be real. It's funny you say that, because I had to check somebody who, I had to check somebody when I talked about I watched a movie and I was just walking on my treadmill. A very

gingerly walk. I wasn't trying to walk fast. I'd already worked out. Because a part of the deal was to burn an additional 10,000 steps. And this person's like, should we be going faster? I was like, hey, hey was like hey hey i said i wasn't trying to work out again i said i was watching a show i figured what the hell if i'm gonna watch the show let me just go

ahead and just walk slowly on the treadmill to me which i think probably is better than just sitting on the couch totally better than sitting on the couch. And you know what? People have one thing with social media and stuff, and we love it. It's good for connecting people. But all these people with opinions, and everybody's an expert. And then they're an expert on your life. It's like you cannot be an expert on my life.

You cannot take what you think and force it to me. I walk on the treadmill. And when I do, what do I do? I watch a show because it is absolutely boring. I am like horrifying walking on the treadmill, but it's good to, you know, to move your body, get some extra cardio. And I turn it on the show. That's where I've watched most of my shows is from the treadmill, like a slow, steady walk. I'm not on there doing all these crazy sprints. And that's the thing. People just want to always offer their opinion.

And it's like if I wanted your opinion and your help, I would ask for it. That's just how I feel. So I definitely got to get your thoughts on this. And I've got two more questions. And this is one of the two questions. And that is this here. People want to obviously post photos and video.

Let our folks know why they have to ignore the comments, because there are people who are going to jump in there and say, again, you should be eating this, you should be doing this, you should be lifting this, you shouldn't be doing that. And again, when folks come at me, I usually go, I'm sorry, can you please show me your nutrition or your fitness credentials? Otherwise, shut the hell up. Right. You know, even if they do have fitness and nutrition credentials, what they believe,

because a lot of people always try to push their own personal agenda, okay? So what they believe still might not work for you. And the reason you have to literally, you have to shut out. What I'm telling you, shut out all of the noise. It is called drawing a healthy boundary because it can discourage you. It throws people off. It's too much. Whether it's people on social media or people in your family that want you to stay the same. Like, oh, girl, you know, we don't eat like, you know, we don't do that.

We don't eat grass. We don't work out. Look at us. We're fine. No, you're unhealthy. Okay. But you have to shut out all that negative talk because what you'll do is you'll start to obviously internalize it and take it in. And you're already trying to stay focused. You know what I'm saying? And stay the course and block out all this other access information. So you can

kindly say thanks, but no thanks. And just really take it for a grain of salt. Because like for me, I started this, you know, getting healthier years ago after my first sign, I haven't started over since. I've gone through weight gain, excessive weight gain, excessive weight loss, but I know what to do to tweak things that work for me. So if you're still going to travel, or if you have a busy work schedule, or if you have a birthday or the holidays, it should never throw you off because what you do is realistic and it works for you. Last question. Go to my iPad, please. Four days ago, you started the Magnificent Life Challenge. Explain what that is.

Okay. So that was a challenge that was put together by Joseph McClendon, the third. He is an amazing performance coach and Team No Excuses, which is a platform that Ray Lewis created that I recently joined and became a member of. So I'll be on there representing the ladies and just like a healthier, you know, healthier and stronger you. And it was a challenge to kick off people leading a magnificent life. Everybody, like people right now who want to thrive and rise to the top, no matter if it's, you know, they're going against generational curses, unhealthy, you know, unhealthy lifestyle choices. But it was really geared towards that. We had some amazing speakers and coaches.

Les Brown was at the finale last night, and he spoke. And it's really just to give real people solutions and strategies and tools that they can use and apply to their lives so they can thrive in every area, financially, physically, emotionally, so in every area. And that's what Team No Excuses. All right, then. And again, when you talk about not worrying about what people are talking about,

you know, you got some folks that are sitting here running their mouths and everything like that on YouTube. I don't give a damn what y'all got to say. I really don't. I don't give a damn what y'all got to say. And for some of y'all who are saying who should be doing this and working out and eating, put a video of your punk ass up. Right.

Right. It's easy for people to talk. It is easy for people to talk. And the things that when they're so busy talking, they're commenting underneath your stuff, they're not worried about themselves. they're not worried about themselves. They're not worried about a healthier and stronger and better them. Nope, not worried about it at all. Avery, how can folks reach you?

So they can reach me on Instagram at AR Woodley. My email is AveryWoodley6 at gmail.com. And then stay tuned for me and more info to come from Team No Excuses. All right, then. Team No Excuses. See, that's really what it boils down to. No excuses.

Avery Woolley, we certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Thank you. All right, folks. If you want to support Roller Martin Unfiltered, please do so by joining

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