#RolandMartinUnfiltered - VA Redistricting Win for Democrats. MAGA Cries Rigged. Earth Day Justice & ICE Fight
Episode Date: April 23, 20264.22.2026 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: VA Redistricting Win for Democrats. MAGA Cries Rigged. Earth Day Justice & ICE Fight Virginia voters have approved a new congressional district map that may enha...nce Democrats' electoral prospects in November. MAGA supporters are claiming the election was "rigged." We'll discuss why this represents a victory for democracy. A Virginia activist will explain why ICE's plan to convert a vacant 9,000-square-foot building in Suffolk into office space is not the best idea. Today is Earth Day, and we'll speak with the Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice about alternative approaches to environmental justice, especially in light of the Trump administration's rollbacks of critical initiatives. And we will continue addressing the epidemic of fatal domestic violence by exploring the underlying issues that contribute to such tragedies. Tonight, we will focus on how to escape violent situations and what healing looks like for survivors. We will also discuss the legal aspects, including temporary restraining orders and the potential charges and sentences for offenders. Democratic Florida Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned just hours before the House Ethics Committee was set to discuss potential sanctions against her following her conviction for multiple violations of campaign finance laws. The Justice Department is investigating the Southern Poverty Law Center in connection with a now-defunct program that used paid confidential informants to infiltrate white supremacist and other extremist groups. Virginians have less than an hour left to vote in the redistricting referendum. A Texas police officer has been relieved of her duties after a video of her racist rant went viral. The former self-described "Super Mayor" of Illinois, Tiffany Henyard, will be allowed to continue her campaign for a Georgia County Commission seat as a Republican. We will continue addressing the epidemic of fatal domestic violence by focusing on the "Anatomy of an Abusive Relationship." In tonight's "Shop Black Star Network" segment, we'll showcase a little magic with Afro Unicorn. Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.Democratic Florida Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned just hours before the House Ethics Committee was set to discuss potential sanctions against her following her conviction for multiple violations of campaign finance laws. The Justice Department is investigating the Southern Poverty Law Center in connection with a now-defunct program that used paid confidential informants to infiltrate white supremacist and other extremist groups. Virginians have less than an hour left to vote in the redistricting referendum. A Texas police officer has been relieved of her duties after a video of her racist rant went viral. The former self-described "Super Mayor" of Illinois, Tiffany Henyard, will be allowed to continue her campaign for a Georgia County Commission seat as a Republican. We will continue addressing the epidemic of fatal domestic violence by focusing on the "Anatomy of an Abusive Relationship." In tonight's "Shop Black Star Network" segment, we'll showcase a little magic with Afro Unicorn. Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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This is an I-Heart podcast.
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Hey, Jonas is available now, and their first guest is a big one.
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You know, Steve Carell is a great singer.
Can you tell you not to audition at the office or something?
I told him.
Whoa.
We were filming Anchorman.
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Thank God he didn't listen to him, right?
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On Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends, we help make you funnier on this episode.
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If a baby is giggling in the back seat, they're probably happy.
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It's Kelly City in for Roland.
Here, Martin unfil.
Virginia voters have been proof of a new congressional district map that may enhance Democrats' electoral prospects in November.
MAGA supporters are claiming the election was rigged.
We'll discuss why this represents a victory for democracy.
And a Virginia activist will explain why ISIS plan to convert a vacant 9,000.
square foot building in Suffolk into office space is a major problem.
Meanwhile, today is Earth Day.
We're going to speak with the Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
about alternative approaches to environmental justice, especially in light of the Trump
administration's rollbacks of critical initiatives.
And we will continue addressing the epidemic of fatal domestic violence by exploring the
underlying issues that contribute to these tragedies.
Tonight we're focusing on how to escape violent situations and what healing looks like for survivors.
We'll also discuss domestic violence and the law, including temporary restraining orders and the potential charges and sentences for offenders.
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A Virginia voters approved a map that gives Democrats the chance to net as many as four U.S. house seats.
The approval means that the lawmakers were temporarily adopted a new map, which is poised to benefit Democrats' national ambitions during the midterm election year.
The measure passed with a 51.5% of the vote.
Here's what Virginia House Speaker Don Scott and Virginia Senate President pro tempore Louis Lucas had to say about what they are calling a victory.
Yesterday was a victory, but for me, this was personal because I remember exactly where they started.
I watched what was happening in Texas Republican legislators, blocked by Donald Trump and madame extremists,
trying to read the system before voters ever had a chance to speak.
And I watched those Texas legislators take a stand, even leaving their state to stop that power grab.
I stood with it.
Because what was happening in Texas wasn't just about Texas, it was about the rest of the country.
And I said right then and right there, clearly, if they start this fight, Virginia is going to finish it.
We took this question to the people, not behind closed doors, not politicians, to the people.
and in a special election, one question, no candidates, millions spent trying to confuse voters,
Virginia still showed up.
And strong members were clear purpose, and they voted yes.
Now, let's be honest, this was not an easy fight.
This was a marathon to get to this point.
There was a lot of misinformation, a lot of noise.
a lot of efforts to confuse communities, especially the black voters and working families to which I was
took strong offense because being a civil rights advocate, I've seen this before. But those same
communities showed up anyway. They showed up informed, they showed up focused, and they showed up
ready. Now, this 10-1 map? Yes, 10, I won't say it, one. It's about leaving, it's about leveling the
plan for the country. We were not going to let anyone tilt the system without a response.
We were going to meet this moment, and we were going to act. And yesterday, we did. And let's be clear,
This goes beyond Virginia
And what started in Texas
Didn't stay in Texas
And what started here
Will not stay here either
Virginia sent a message
If it tried to rig the system
We fight back
If you try to take power from voters
We will take it right back
I meant it when I said
Virginia will finish the fight
And yesterday we did
The model of Virginia is six
And for tyrants
Thus always, the tyrants.
I think we changed it last night.
I think it's all we do is win, win, win, no matter what.
Because we won again.
We won in 2025, and we won by large margin.
And then we kicked ass again last night.
I think Donald Trump and MAGA is watching us right now.
If they didn't know us, they know us now.
And, you know, I had the pleasure of his former campaign manager.
I think his name is Chris Lasavita or something like that.
He retweeted me and said, oh, something about Dunn, Scott.
And I said, I know you're mad because we just winning.
And so I'll be mad too.
But you don't send a junior varsity out when you've got the varsity on the field.
You sit out to big players and he should have came out and played with us.
So last night, Virginia lived up to its building of, thus always the tyrants.
We stand up.
We had enough of Trump's chaos, enough of its power grabs, enough of him sending our girls, our men and women in the military to aid.
stupid war. He said no more stupid wars? Well, he's low IQ. This is a stupid war. We have no idea why he went. We have no idea why when he's leaving. He doesn't know. Every day he tweets out a different reason on what's happening. And every person who's ever been in the military has war gained the Persian Gulf. And every single time the Iranians shut down the straight of her muse. And now he said, I didn't know they were going to do this. Well, what the hell not? Because every person in the military who's ever
study that area knows this. And so Virginia said, enough, we are a state that has a huge
military presence. And we came out yesterday. Now, we know there are going to be folks who said,
hey, this was a close election. But I think Virginia chose fairness over fear. They chose truth
over the misinformation and democracy over political games. And they spent a lot of energy
trying to trick black boys. But who showed up? Who made it happen last night?
Black voter showed up, Hispanic voters showed up, communities that Republicans tried to mislead,
that they targeted to mislead and suppress, showed up and made their voices heard.
And guess what?
They not only voted yes, but they voted hell yes.
Republicans poured tens of millions of dollars, almost $40 million.
Canadian women are looking for more.
more out of themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world around them.
And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.
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Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers.
And guess what? We have some big news.
What's the news,
huge news?
We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas.
We invented a podcast?
Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to it.
We're the first people to do podcasts.
Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.
But this one's extra special.
So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?
I honestly don't remember.
I think it was on a call about what we should call it.
Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early,
names of our band before Jonas Brothers
was...
This is how you guys remember it going down?
Yes.
I have a very different memory of this.
We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast,
where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.
And then I wrote down on my little notepad,
Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.
But thanks for remembering that, guys.
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On Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends, we help make you funnier.
On this episode, my guest's Bob, Odin Kirk, and Kids in the Hall's Bruce McCullough,
try and help the Kazoo Kid and Tazan Day be famous again.
What if there's an alternate universe show where you guys are incredibly popular?
Well, and they could travel.
I'm doing meet and greets.
They're constantly needed at malls.
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Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.
It's the enhanced games.
Some call it grotesque.
Others say it's unleashing human potential.
Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,
embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.
Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.
I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.
Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app,
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to this race, much of it in the final weeks, flooding the airways with misinformation,
targeting our communities and trying to confuse voters, and they still lost.
If you spend that kind of money and lose, that's not a close call. It's a rejection.
Everybody's talking about, this was never about the maps or anything like that.
This is about standing up to America and Donald Trump. That's what the referendum was on.
It was a referendum on, do you want to continue to see your gas prices go,
up to $4 and $5 a gallon.
Do you want to see houses
unaffordable? Do you only get grocery prices
over the top? Or do you want
to bring some stability back to America?
That's what the election was about last night.
And it was a rejection of its message.
A rejection of America's tactics
and as a rejection of
all of the things they stand for.
And by the way, release the damn Epstein
Files. They campaign
on fairness, but the moments
voters rejected them.
Moments after they lost last night, the first
they say it is, oh, we don't want to fare
anymore, we want to go court.
First thing they do, when they can't win an election,
now they're trying to undo it, and they're running to the
courthouse for a frivolous, politically
motivated attempt to overturn
the will of the voters.
The last thing Republicans want to see
in Virginia is a voter.
But let me say this clear.
In Virginia, we respect
the will of the voters. In Virginia,
we don't do kings.
In Virginia, the power
belongs to the people.
six simple tyrants.
Last night, Virginia stood up,
Virginia fought back, and once again,
Virginia led the way for our democracy.
And he even threw in the Epstein files.
How about that?
Well, listen, right now, we are joined by Nadine Smith.
She is president and CEO of color of Chang.
She's here to explain how black voters
played a decisive role in defeating a coordinated
billionaire-backed disinformation campaign in Virginia
and in approving a redistricting,
redistricting referendum aimed at protecting fair representation.
Thank you so much for being with us today.
Thank you for having me.
This is a phenomenal day.
I know Virginians are celebrating,
but people all over the country are celebrating
because it absolutely was a repudiation of Trump,
of the Epstein-Trump War,
of the entire cadre of billionaires
that surround Trump,
profit from him and thought they could steamroll this this, you know, disinformation campaign
through Virginia. And it has been a beautiful thing to watch Virginians see right through it
and show up and shut it down. Yeah, obviously a victory for Democrats, but how do you
translate the immediate, tangible power that we will see from this election? What does that
look like? Well, I think one of the really important things that everybody's got to tune into right now
is the role of disinformation fueled by billionaires who have access to, you know, the ability
to pour money in. And they believe that that's all it takes. But people were savvy enough to see
through those mailers that came to their home, trying to use clan imagery to trick them into a no-vote.
And so I think what it, you know, it's not an accident that Donald Trump was telling everybody,
telling his closest donors, telling his closest political allies,
that if this didn't go his way in Virginia,
that they should be shaking in their boots.
And they should be.
Because what it says is our voters are getting much more sophisticated.
I don't think of this as a win for Democrats.
I think of this as a win for democracy,
because we've got to push back against the idea
that whoever has the most money,
whoever can invest most deeply in misinformation and disinformation, who can pull the kind of dirty tricks we saw when Joe Biden's voice was used for robocalls in 2024, these kind of mailers, they have a flood the zone and shave off a few points here and their mentality that tells them they'll win because they've got the financial muscle to win.
But what Virginia showed, and what we're seeing all over the country in these elections that are a harbinger of what's to come is that voters are seeing through it.
They're not falling for it.
Now, we should not, you know, be under any illusion because the kind of disinformation, the kind of deepfag AIs, the kind of dirty tricks that we can expect to suppress the vote, to confuse voters is only going to escalate.
When Steve Bannon tells people, tells his billionaire backers, if Democrats win, we're going to prison,
the people in this room are going to prison, starting with me.
It's an indication of how much power we have to reset this country, but also an indicator
of how desperate they are.
And they are desperate and well-financed and willing to do anything to avoid the consequences
of their actions come the midterms.
So let's take a look at how Trump responded.
Here's his reaction.
He posted, a rigged election took place last night in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia.
All day long, Republicans were winning.
The spirit was unbelievable.
And to the very end, when, of course, there was a massive mail-in ballot drop.
Where have I heard that before?
And the Democrats eeked out another crooked victory.
Six to five goes 10 to 1.
And yet the presidential election in November was very close to a 50-50 split.
In addition to everything else, the language on the referendum was purposefully unintelligible and deceptive.
As everyone knows, I am an extraordinarily brilliant person, and even I had no idea what the hell they were talking about in the referendum, and neither do they.
Let's see if the counts will fix this travesty of, quote, unquote, justice, President Donald J. Trump.
Well, let me just pass the baton to you.
What is your response to this?
You go.
Besides the last night.
I think I think everybody saw the footage of that marathon where the guy was celebrating too early just as he gets to the, you know, he's about to cross the tape.
And he doesn't realize that another runner, the crowd is behind and they're cheering him.
And moments before he gets through the tape, the other runner breaks through the tape.
And what's fascinating to me is that when people were covering it, when the early stories were that he had been robbed of that victory because he'd celebrated too early, it wasn't his victory.
So, yes, Donald Trump thought that his billionaire buddies, whose pockets he's been lining, would, we're going to pull a rabbit out of the hat for him.
And instead, voters threw those mailers in the trash, got together.
You know, we've got to have that same energy, you know, all the way through right now,
because we know what happens when people think their vote doesn't matter.
They wouldn't be trying so hard to suppress, to lie, to flood us with disinformation,
and that is only going to intensify.
They wouldn't invest that deeply if our votes didn't matter.
And so, you know, hats off to the folks in Virginia for, you know, really showing the rest of the country
how important it is. In fact, I think we ought to have an ethic in this country that if Peter
Teal or any of these billionaires that surround themselves and line their pockets because of
their proximity and get these government contracts because of their proximity to Trump,
if they give to a campaign, vote no. I mean, if they give to a campaign, vote against whatever
side they're on. Because right now, the level of business.
desperation is very, very clear. So, you know, at color of change, we talk a lot about digital
defense and that people have to be media savvy. They have to understand the ways that this kind,
this level of manipulation. I don't know, there's a test called the Will Smith Spaghetti Test,
and if you haven't Googled it, please do. But it's over the years, they would do virtual, you know,
reality or artificial intelligence versions of Will Smith.
And the first one, he looks like a character from Minecraft,
but the last one, he's having a one-on-one conversation, eating spaghetti.
So there's a level of that that's happening,
but we're also seeing digital blackface.
We're seeing them create synthetic profiles that look like they're the black community
and appear to be people in the black community voicing opinions.
It used to be you could just click on and go, oh, that's not a real person.
They are backfilling so that it's harder and harder to tell.
This is why organizing in community is so important.
And we've really got to build up the muscle because what they have done so far,
even the dirty tricks they played in Virginia, are nothing compared to what's coming.
Yeah, the AI is moving faster than we could ever imagine.
Next week, it will be different.
I want to bring in my panel here.
We've got Michael Brown.
He's the former chair of the DNC Finance Committee.
and I'm also joined by Robert Patillo, Civil Rights Attorney, with the Patillo Law Group LLC.
I want to start with you, Robert, a question.
Yes, I want to know what's going to be the response to clearly the judicial review of this situation.
I think just today, a circuit court just struck down this, of course, will be the AG has already said they're going to appeal.
What is the strategy with regards to fighting this through the court system?
Is that to me?
Oh, yes, that's for you, Nadia.
Yes. Okay. Yeah. Well, I mean, listen, the capture of the Supreme Court right now has been, you know, for Trump, the ultimate backstop. And we're all, you know, awaiting what's going to happen in the Louisiana-Calais Supreme Court decision that threatens to, you know, gut voting rights at a more deeply than we've seen in modern history. It isn't hyperbole to talk about, you know, the worst blow to voting.
rights since reconstruction. But there are places, even with the capture of the Supreme Court,
where the cracks in his coalition are beginning to show. So, you know, yes, every time he does not
prevail, he has the usual playbook. You read it out loud and couldn't keep a straight face because
it's absurd, going to the courts, hoping to push it to a Supreme Court that will do his bidding.
But we're also beginning to see a lot of people who, whether it's Tucker Carlson or, you know,
having help us, Candace Owen, there's a fracture in this coalition.
His poll numbers are tanking.
And the same people who helped get him where he is are beginning to ask themselves, how close to him do I want to be as he collapses?
So, yes, there will be the same playbook of trying to discredit the election.
and then, you know, shopping it in the court to try to get to the Supreme Court.
But, you know, right now his base is wondering more about what happened at Butler
and whether it was staged than they are buying any idea that he's selling that this was rigged.
Michael, a question for Nadine.
Absolutely, Nadine, great work. Congratulations.
Obviously, this was just a warm-up because obviously in November is going to,
to be a much larger fight where people clearly have a better idea of understanding what the stakes are.
So keep up the good work.
And I think when you mention the savviness of black and brown voters yesterday,
is also about how we have been through this so many times,
and now we're so used to these dirty tricks, which also, I mean, started well before in 1998,
I mean, 1988, when Governor Dukakis,
fell victim to some of George Bush's dirty tricks.
But nonetheless, we are now here today.
And in November, what is kind of,
are you going to continue to do the same thing strategically
or are you going to up it a little bit
because whatever money came into Virginia yesterday
from the right is going to be tenfold around the country
to keep a house?
So what's your, what do you, don't, obviously,
you don't telegraph, all your strategies, but what do you think?
Well, no, I mean, part of it is waking people up to just how pervasive.
You know, we have watched the media absolutely consolidate into the hands of a few people
who are allies of Trump and not just, you know, Facebook and TikTok and social media apps,
but legacy media.
Again, we're seeing this consolidation.
Even the local news on cable is all coming from a handful of players.
And even though it feels like it's your loss, that script is being driven by, again, Trump-backed billionaires.
And so outlets like this, the voices online, we want to make sure that we continue as an organization that was born online is native to the terrain that is social media,
that we do everything to lift up the values align creators out there.
We've got some incredibly talented people all across the country who are breaking this down and showing people what's happening, why it's happening, and how they can defend themselves against it.
So we're going to keep amplifying those voices.
But, like, for example, I think there are a lot of people that don't realize that right now you can, what we're seeing is a flood of phony profiles across social media.
There's one, for example, of a black woman selling cowboy hats and belts.
And she's got a tear running down her face, talking about how racism is stopping people from buying her wares.
This woman does not exist.
These are belt buckles from China, but they are using digital blackface to create a narrative.
Now, she's just selling belts and hats.
what happens when she's selling candidates.
Or what we see more often is these synthetic profiles, these fake profiles, telling people,
it doesn't matter.
They're two wings of the same plane.
Don't bother voting.
They're trying to manufacture a consensus by mimicking the most provocative positions that anyone
can hold, but they're not the consensus of our community.
So when I say we've got to make sure that people are literate about.
about what is happening just because you see somebody in your feed, just because you, if you
don't know that person, there are ways to verify where that information is coming from.
In the Co-Intel Pro days, agent provocateurs who kind of push people to not vote or to turn
to violence, these kinds of things, that same thing is happening, but it's happening in
digital form.
So it's not just about planning drugs or putting a gun on a
a corpse, it is through surveillance.
You know, we had a school in Maryland where AI called the police to say there was a gun on
campus.
This is a school that's 80% black and Hispanic.
When police arrived, there was no gun on campus.
AI had misidentified a bag of Dorito.
The prevalence of these things in our lives, to suppress votes, to foment violence, to pull
people into the criminal justice system is something we've got to wake up.
to, and as you say, whatever we saw so far, whatever we saw in Virginia, is nothing compared
to what they plan to unleash. And we've got to be ready for it. The bad news is it's coming.
The good news is we can beat it. Nadine, as we wrap, let me end with this question. This is a
temporary emergency measure. What actually is going to happen when 2030 rolls around?
Well, you know, I mean, I think that's why it's important for us to count victories. I mean, it's
easy to feel very, you know, what they want us to feel, which is helpless, which is overwhelmed,
which is to feel like we're being attacked on all sides. But we're actually posting victories,
too. We're building muscle as well. And that's why the expectation of what's going to happen
in the midterms has shifted in the way it has. But we can't be content. This is not just about
elections. It's about building the infrastructure for the democracy we have always deserved.
We are defending imperfect institutions against the plundering of this administration,
but we've got to have a bigger vision about building the institutions that we deserve,
that our kids deserve, that our grandkids deserve.
And I think what you're beginning...
Canadian women are looking for more.
More to themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world are out of them.
And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.
I'm Jennifer Stewart.
And I'm Catherine Clark.
And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspired.
women. Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers, all at different stages of their journey.
So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us. Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on IHartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news? Huge news.
We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it.
We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts.
writing a trend. But this one's extra special.
So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys?
I honestly don't remember.
I think it was on a call about what we should call it.
Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers.
This is how you guys remember it going down?
Yes.
I have a very different memory of this.
We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey Jonas.
And then I wrote down on my little notes.
Notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.
But thanks for remembering that, guys.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Just listen.
We don't care where you hear it.
On Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends, we help make you funnier on this episode.
My guest's Bob Oden Kirk and Kids in the Hall's Bruce McCullough try and help the Kazoo Kid and Tayson Day be famous again.
What if there's an alternate universe show where you guys are incredibly popular?
Well, and they could travel up the land, doing meet and greets.
They're constantly needed at malls.
Listen to humor me with Robert Smygel and friends on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.
It's the enhanced games.
Some call it grotesque.
Others say it's unleashing human potential.
Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes,
for a full year.
Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.
I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.
Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
What I'm going to see and feel in this country
is that people are beginning not just to fight Trump,
but to imagine what they want to build.
All right, Nadine Smith, color of change.
Thank you for filling in the blanks here,
sharing with us what this victory actually means for the long term. Good to see you.
You too. All right, you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Stay with us. We're going to be back after the break.
I'm Brittany Noble, Midwest-born HBCU educated with experience in newsrooms across the country.
Well, I've teamed up with Roland Martin to bring to you the breakdown. This isn't just news.
It's our stories, our voice, our community. Join me for the breakdown.
down Monday through Friday at midday, only on the Black Star Network.
My name is Bill Duke, and you're watching.
Roland Hart unfiltered.
On Thursday, community members, civic leaders, clergy, and civil rights organizations in Suffolk, Virginia
will publicly oppose the potential establishment of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security
and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office
in a vacant 9,000 square foot building
in the city of Suffolk.
Opponents say that the facility is not welcome
and civil rights and community activists,
Brandon Randleman, joins us now to talk about this.
Brandon, thank you so much for being with us tonight.
Thank you so much for having me.
So the word is that this is supposed to be in office,
but you do not trust the word.
Explain to me what you think is going on and what they are telling you about this 9,000 square foot facility.
Well, let me start here.
In the Hampton Roads area, we are an area where we have a lot of federal facilities.
We have military bases.
We have a lot of federal buildings.
To give you a perfect example, in downtown Norfolk, there is a office building, two office buildings for federal government agencies.
So far, they're presently right now is a U.S.
attorney's office, United States senators offices, and the FBI has space, office, administrative
space there. So if ICE was looking for a legitimate office administrative building, why wouldn't
you go to where other federal offices already housed that in our region? So they claim they are
proposing coming to the suburbs tucked away in an industrial area. Let's keep in mind, this was
an industrial building is in an industrial complex to have office administrative space,
as they say, 9,000 square feet of office administrative space in Suffolk, Virginia and the suburbs,
far away from the other federal buildings that they already have.
So, all right, what is it that you have done in terms of speaking with the contractor,
the people who are putting, who actually selling the building,
and also what has public sentiment been?
and how has that worked or not worked so far?
So I want to start off by saying the Virginia Pollitt is the news agency newspaper that dropped this story.
They dropped this story, I believe it was last Tuesday,
and immediately as soon as I heard about it, I went before our city council.
And I asked them what was going on about it because in the first article,
it stated that the city has stated that, well, it's a land use issue.
And they also, and then Mr. Garcia stated in the article,
who owns the building, he stated that the city stated it was okay because it's a possibility
of an administrative building. I went before city council and I told them that if this is a zoning
and a land use issue, meaning that if he has a by right to move forward with this because of the
current zoning of this, then you have a moral obligation as our elected officials to say,
we don't want this. We want to push back against this. It should not be what is just business as
usual. Let me be clear. Mr. Garcia owns the building. Mr. Johnny Garcia is of Hispanic descent,
and he is the president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in this region. And now he is possibly
going to allow ICE to lease this building. Do you think he can make any headway with him?
I mean, in that, he is a Latino. Do you think that that opens the door for more headway?
Well, many people have tried to reach out to him.
He is hard to find contact information for him.
The media has attempted to reach out to him.
I have done several local interviews on TV stations.
They have always reached out to him before we did the interviews and after we've done the interviews.
And he has not said anything.
And every interview I've done, I looked at the camera and I stated that I know he's speaking with an official that I know that's locally.
He has had conversations with them.
I have instructed that local official
that they can pass my information along to him
and I have asked them to tell him
feel free to reach out to me
so we can get the community together.
I've stated this in interviews.
He has not reached out at all.
You have to remember, he sat down and did an interview
and he says, it's just business.
That's what he said.
It's just business as usual for him.
All right, I wanted to bring in our panel.
I'll first want to go to Michael.
Michael, you have a question for Brandon.
Brandon, keep up the good work.
Thank you.
I'm wondering, clearly the council has, or the city itself, has several pieces of ammunition
in their utility belt.
But the courts can also, Robert can speak better than I can.
I'm sure he had better grades in law school than I did.
But I'm guarantee that the courts could also get involved with some kind of TRO,
the council and or the, I don't know where the city leadership is on this particular issue.
But they can, they certainly have the ability to do something.
So I'm glad, Brandon, that you have started to figure out how to fight this.
Right. And I will say this. I've spoken with city leadership.
And I know many of them personally, because I work to help get them elected to the positions
that they're in. And I've made it, and they have made it clear to me that they have pushed
back against this. We did.
One of the city council members assisted me with making sure there was no conditional use permit attached to this building, meaning that if there was a CUP that had been attached to this building 20 or 30 years ago, he therefore would not have had to go to city council.
Remember, this is what he's telling, and this is what he's doing, he is telling the city council that this is going to be an administrative office for ICE, 9,000 square feet of administrative office space.
Presently, his building is zoned as M2.
It's like a mixed use of industrial and office space.
It seems to use what his building is currently zoned as to categorize his proposal to lease the building out to ICE for administrative office space.
Also, the city has asked him to submit an application under the new proposed individuals that will lease it so that they can determine whether it falls underneath the zoning.
but the city stated to me that technically he doesn't have to submit the application.
So we do have city council members that are publicly coming out against this.
Some of them will be joining us tomorrow.
Some of them will be speaking.
One of the particular council members in which it sits in his district,
or we call it boroughs out here.
He stated that he will be speaking up against this because the district is largely suburban.
You have an upper middle class white, upper middle class African Americans.
There's a school not too far from it.
There's a church, the church that we're having the protests and rally and the press conference at tomorrow.
That is at the not too far from the proposed facility as well.
All right.
Question from Robert.
Well, great work in everything that you're doing.
This is the right fight to be in at this time.
People always ask, well, what would you have done during World War II when they were sitting up the concentration camps or the interming camps?
You're showing that if you were there at that time, you will have been fighting back then just as you are.
fighting back now. I think that's important for people to understand that we are living at a moment
in history that will judge us for generations to come. And they're going to want to know where
were you when this fight was taking place. But my question is that I'm genetically,
economic black nationalist. And I understand fighting through the court system, understand
fighting it through social pressure. I understand fighting in every methodology possible. And I support
that 100%. But is there any effort?
to bring together business owners, philanthropists, concerned communities members, and just lease the building before ICE can lease it.
The man said that this is just a business-to-business, the business transaction.
Okay, fine, we're here's our money.
We'll like to lease the business from you so you don't turn into a concentration camp, and we can use it as an administrative office, community center, food bank, whatever it is.
But is there any effort being put into putting the money together and just buying or leased in the building from him?
Well, you know, they say God is always right on time.
Before I jumped on this interview, I was talking to a former school board member,
and I'm glad you mentioned that.
The school board member stated to me that the previous owners and the current owner
has tried to lease this building several times.
I asked the school board member, I said,
you all have been looking for an administrative office building.
Why didn't you take this building?
Well, originally the building had some type of chemicals,
was a chemical plant or chemicals, something dealing with science or chemicals, and it polluted the water
really, really bad with the building. They have struggled to lease the building to anyone because
of the pollution of the water near the building or around it connected to the pipelines. And so I
believe from what I was just told by a former school board member that the school administration
wouldn't take the building. The former owners so received the building, in my understanding,
standing in a foreclosure.
They didn't held onto it for two years, from 2019 to
2024.
The current owner, Mr. Garcia, had the building in
2024, and it's been pretty much empty since then.
So let that sink in.
We want to bring an ICE office to a building
that the school administration,
who desperately needs a school administration office building,
wouldn't even take themselves.
And I found out from the former school board chairwoman today
that the reason why they wouldn't take it
is because the pipes and the water was
polluted around the building.
And Brandon, here's what we know. We know that
other communities are certainly fighting
these facilities, and a lot of them are
winning on basis of
the strain of the resources, including
water, including land. Some of these places
they have concrete on the
bottom, and they weren't built in order to have
some type of piping systems. So, I wonder
what you've learned from other communities.
I know even in Virginia, there was another
community that did stop an
ICE facility. What are your next steps? What would you like to do? Is there a lawsuit in the making
that you think could help because so many other communities are using the legal route?
Right. So I think tomorrow is our, tomorrow is going to be one of our major steps where we're having
African Americans, whites, Black, Hispanic community. We're coming together as a whole, along with
our community. And we're going to put a lot of public pressure on him. And we're going to see if we can
get him to somewhat fold from it. We are looking at our various steps, whether that's a lawsuit,
whether that's public pressure. We have to keep in mind that there's some elections coming up
for our city council members. I've made that clear as well. But here's the thing. This man has
been in contact with ICE for weeks, if not months, because the reason why we had to act so quickly
with public pressure, he stated in his article that ICE was trying to make the decision on whether
or not they were on lease the building by the first or second week of May. So it's
is coming upon us very quickly.
We just try to act as quickly as we could
with the little time that we've had in reference to it.
And you mentioned something about the economic standpoint.
I had someone reached out to me another day about,
well, he could be bringing jobs with ICE.
I made it clear to them that this business in this building
has had government contracts since 2024,
and none of us, none of our skin color,
has had any work in that building.
But above all, he's not providing,
he's not providing a government service.
He's leasing the building out to
ice in the current state that
we see ice in and down.
All right, Michael, I want to close out with you. I think that
I'd cut you off. He had a follow-up question?
No, no, I'm good.
I'm just one brand and good luck
and use all the
powers that you have, whether political,
legal, economic, as Robert
mentioned, and do the best
you can to stop it. All right, it was
Robert. Thank you. Sorry about that.
Robert. You had a follow-in-law. I'll close with you.
Well, I did have a follow-up on the issue of the kind of usage of it.
If the building is such a condition, they can't sell it, can't rent it, there may be an
environmental claim that you can put in just to have the state condemned the location as being
inhabitable.
If you're going to be bringing in thousands of ICE employees for an administrative office to a
building that has been condemned for multiple years because of the leakers of toxic chemicals,
you may be able to get an injunction to prevent being used for human habitation in general.
So it might be another illegal route to explore whether or not the state or the city wants you come in and just simply condemn the property altogether.
And then I also have to start over to find a new location.
Yes. Thank you very much.
And again, I can't say what I was told was what the previous maintenance of the building was.
I am going to look into that.
I just received this word.
I'm going to see was that maintenance fixed?
But I know for years that when they've tried to get rid of the building, that's been the stopping point.
That's why the school administration went taking on.
Now, whether or not he's fixed that since then, that remains to be said or not.
But that is something we can look into because if you use the legal court systems,
you can find out from there whether or not those issues have been fixed.
All right, Brandon, thank you so much.
I know a lot more to come, and we will be following up with you to see what happens.
Thank you for all of your hard work.
Thank you.
All right, still to come on Roland Martin,
we're going to continue to address the epidemic of fatal domestic violence.
The most dangerous time for a person is when they try to.
leave a violent situation. We're going to walk you how to leave safely and walk you through that
and what you need to heal. We're going to talk about that. We'll also talk to a former prosecutor
and a current judge about the legalities of domestic violence. You do not want to miss these
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You are watching Roland Martin unfiltered only on the Black Star Network.
With medicine and science under attack, I want to keep you and your family informed and healthy.
I'm Dr. Ebony Hilton, and I knew at the age of eight that I wanted to be a doctor.
So I studied hard and became the first African-American female anesthesiologist,
hired at the Medical University of South Carolina since this opening in 1824.
And I always say I was made into a doctor, but I was born to be a mom.
And as a new mom, wife, sister, daughter, and friend, I understand how frightening and medical
crisis can be. I care for individuals on some of the worst days of their lives, and it's my mission
to provide you with a safe space to gain clarity on issues affecting your mind, body, and soul.
I recognize that there are health disparities, particularly as it contains your race. And I want to
bridge the gap between you and your health care providers. Join me every Thursday for Second
Opinion on the Black Star Network, where each week I'll invite experts from various medical
fields to share the latest health groups.
discuss topics such as a vaccine debate, mental and central health, medical bias, infertility,
menopause, andendropause, nutrition and aging. Together with my medical colleagues, we aim to provide
you with a second opinion. Don't miss it Thursdays only on the Black Star Network. Hi, I'm Swain Cash,
basketball hall of famer, and you're watching Black Star Network. It's time for the headlines with
to Brittany Noble.
Georgia Democratic U.S. representative, David Scott, who was the first black man to chair
the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, has passed away after nearly 50 years in elected office.
Scott was first elected to the Georgia State Assembly in 1974 and went on to serve for more
than 20 years in Congress representing the Atlanta area.
Throughout his tenure, he advocated for expanded health care, education, and support for veterans,
including legislation to ease student debt for those serving in mental health.
health roles. Congressman David Scott is survived by his wife, two daughters, and two grandchildren.
He was 80 years old. In Louisiana, a former incarcerated man has been sworn in as new clerk of
criminal court in New Orleans. Calvin Duncan spent 28 years in prison before being exonerated in
2021 for a murder he did not commit. In November, he was elected to oversee the same criminal court
that convicted him. Duncan's victory faced strong operations.
from Louisiana's Republican-controlled state legislator, which even considered eliminating
the clerk position rather than allowing him to serve.
The Detroit City Council has agreed to pay $4 million to settle a lawsuit involving a black
man who was wrongfully convicted using false evidence by a former police officer.
LeBon Hill spent more than 22 years in prison after being convicted of fatally shooting two
men during a dice game in 2002.
He received two life sentences.
However, the University of Michigan Innocence Clinic later uncovered new evidence and identified two eyewitnesses who cleared his name.
The review of Hill's case revealed that former police sergeant Walter Bates had pressured a witness to falsely identify Hill as the shooter.
Hill was formally exonerated in October of 2024.
And rapper Torrey Lange is suing the California Department of Corrections for $100 million following an incident last year in which an inmate
stabbed him multiple times. His lawsuit names a prison warden of the California Department of Corrections
and approximately 50 correctional officers. On May 12th, 2025, he was attacked by a fellow inmate
who used a homemade shake to stab him 16 times. The lawsuit questions why no correctional
staff was present during the attack and why the response was delayed, leaving him vulnerable to a
full assault. As a result of the attack, he suffered two collapse.
lungs and had to be airlifted to a hospital for treatment. After his recovery, he was transferred
to California's men colony prison and is currently serving a 10-year sentence for the shooting
of rapper Megan the Stallion in the feat, which occurred in December of 2022.
Eric Duncan, a former New York City police officer convicted in a deadly use of force case
has been released from prison while he appeals his sentence. The 38-year-old
Dern had been serving a three to nine year sentence for manslaughter after he threw a cooler
at a fleeing suspect, which led to the suspect's death. He was released from the Elmira
correctional facility on Monday after a judge granted him a $300,000 bond. His attorney argues that
the conviction represents a miscarriage of justice. As a condition of his release, he has to
surrender his passport. And a man associated with white supremacist organizations has pleaded
guilty to setting a fire that destroyed an office at a historic social justice center for black
communities in Tennessee. Reagan Prater was arrested in April of 2025 in connection with the
arson at the Highlander Research and Education Center located in New Market. The center has hosted
notable figures such as Rosa Parks, John Lewis, and even Martin Luther King Jr. In addition to the
arson charges, he's also pleaded guilty to attempting to assist the militant group has
A Ebola, a foreign terrorist organization, by providing a list of individuals who may be affiliated with the government of Israel.
The arrests occurred more than six years after the March 2019 fire, which caused the damage exceeding $1.2 million.
His sentencing is set for September 9th. That's in Knoxville.
President Donald Trump has extended the fragile ceasefire with Iran for more days as the planned peace talks have collapsed.
The White House states that the truth will last three to five days, but only if Iran submits a proposal to restart negotiations.
Despite the pause and fighting, tensions still remain high.
The U.S. continues to maintain its naval presence in the Strait of Hermuz, a critical global oil route.
At the same time, Iran is indicating...
Canadian women are looking for more.
More to themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world are of them.
And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the honest.
Talk podcast. I'm Jennifer Stewart. And I'm Catherine Clark. And in this podcast, we interview Canada's
most inspiring women. Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers, all at different
stages of their journey. So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us. Listen to the
Honest Talk podcast on I Heart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Number one hits, millions of records sold, awards, sold out tours. You think that Jonas Brothers
are satisfied? Nope. It's podcast time.
Ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions.
Hey Jonas is available now and their first guest is a big one.
Paul Rudd.
You know, Steve Carell is a great singer.
Can you tell you not to audition at the office or something?
I told him.
Whoa.
We were filming Anchorman.
Clearly, I was the idiot.
Thank God he didn't listen to me, right?
Listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
On Humor Me with Robert Smygo and Friends, we help make you funnier on this episode.
My guest's Bob Oden Kirk and Kids in the Park.
Bruce McCoha try and help the Kazoo Kid and Tazan Day be famous again.
What if there's an alternate universe show where you guys are incredibly popular?
Well, and they could travel up the land doing meet and greets.
They're constantly needed at malls.
Listen to humor me with Robert Smygling Friends on the IHard Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.
It's the enhanced games.
Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.
Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.
Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.
Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Potential Escalation with reports that its Revolutionary Guard has seized two vessels.
I just want to talk about the passing of Congressman David Scott out of Georgia.
I mean, certainly this was significant.
I want to bring on my panelists, Michael Brown and Robert Patillo.
You know, what I remember about him specifically was a lot of his work with farming, with agriculture,
and the fact that he represented his community in people so well.
And when we lose someone like this, we always want to make sure that we acknowledge.
I'll start with you, Robert, just in terms of what your thoughts are about his death.
what that means in terms of his community and who he served.
Well, I think myself as of both Georgia boy who grew up on an actual farm in Harris County, Georgia,
has been a pleasure of my life working with Congressman Scott over the course of the last
couple of decades.
And one of my previous roles, Executive Director of the Rainbow Push Coalition Pete Street Street
Project, I headed up the Black Farmer Initiative for Reverend Dessie Jets and who also passed
recently.
And one of the things that we worked on, particularly with then Chairman Scott as well as Secretary of Vilsack,
was to secure funding for African-American farmers.
This was then held up, of course, by Stephen Miller and conservative groups, et cetera,
that ensured that that money never actually got to those farmers.
But people need to understand that our black farmers, our ranchers, our agricultural producers,
are the lifeblood of our community.
You cannot be a community if you cannot feed yourself.
There's no group on earth that depends on another group for their sustenance that can truly call themselves independent.
The example that he actually spoke to me about at one point in time was if you look at the Palestinians and Gaza who have to depend on the Israelis for their food,
you see that keeps them in a constant point of subjugation in those communities.
So it's crucial for us to understand not just the work that he did because the work on the Agricultural Committee is not the glamorous work that you'll see on ways and means.
It's not the television hearings that you'll see when it comes to foreign affairs or intelligence.
But it is perhaps the most crucial part for any community, ensuring that we are able to take care of and to feed ourselves and to grow our communities.
And we really have to, I implore all of you, find a local black farmer, find a local black co-op, find a local farmer's market, and go spend your money directly with your own people.
Not only will the food be better, they'll be healthier, but you're also helping to keep black.
farms and business who are currently in a crisis stage.
They've been in a crisis stage for the better part of a generation.
But those federal funds that go to large agricultural corporations are not making it down to those
mom-and-pop farmers who even have to lease the seeds that go into the ground.
They have to lease the fertilizer.
They have to lease the manufacturing, the tractors, the equipment, et cetera.
And we need tireless advocates like David Scott on that agricultural community like Jonathan Jackson
and many of the others who were standing up for our people and our communities and sure do we have what we need.
But at the same time, we have to come to have a sobering conversation.
I worked on Capitol Hill for two years, just left earlier this year.
In that period of time, I saw Cleo Field, Senator Congressman Turner, the day that he passed away.
We've seen multiple Democrats pass away over the course of the last several years,
and it's really time to have the conversation about not just passing the baton,
but mentoring, bringing up the people behind you.
Don't just leave when somebody beats you.
If you know that you're getting up there in gears and you need to pass this knowledge on,
find somebody and train them so you can simply hand them the seat to ensure continuity.
And there's not this mad dash and scramble like we saw,
like we often see when many of our leaders pass away.
So it's time for that generation conversation, not just to take place, but to accelerate.
And even in your own personal life, if you have older members of your family, make sure you are getting the family information from them.
Those are the griots of our community.
Get those recipes.
Get those family stories.
Get those traditions.
Write them down and prepare them to be passed on going forward.
So I cannot commend Congressman Scott enough on the work that he has done.
We are walking in the footsteps with giants and he was indeed a giant, seeing him on the house floor in a wheelchair.
showing you the strength that he has, showing you the passion that he had to fight to his last days,
is crucial for our community and understand, but also it's crucial for us to pick up,
to understand father time is undefeated, and we have to start making preparation to pass the baton
on to the millennials and to Gen Z and even the Gen Alpha, because those will be the foot soldiers going forward.
That's right. Thank you for that. Michael, I want to pass it to you because certainly 50 years.
That is a long time, and it is a long time to say, let me bring somebody up.
Your thoughts about the meaning of his serving and what he did for the community.
Okay, Michael, I think you're muted.
Is he becoming unmuted?
Michael, you are muted.
Listen, stay with us.
We'll be back after the break.
See you on the other side.
Welcome to the other side of change, only on the Black Star Network and hosted by myself, Brea Baker, and my good sister.
Jamira Burley. We are just two millennial women tackling everything at the intersection of politics,
gender, and pop culture. And we don't just settle for commentary. This is about solution-driven dialogue
to get us to the world as it could be and not just as it is. Watch us on the Black Star Network,
so tune in to the other side of change. With medicine and science under attack, I want to keep you and
your family informed and healthy. I'm Dr. Ebony Hilton, and I knew at the age of eight that I wanted
to be a doctor. So I studied hard and became the first.
African-American female anesthesiologist hired at the Medical University of
South Carolina since its opening in 1824 and I always say I was made into a doctorate
but I was born to be a mom and as a new mom wife sister daughter and friend I
understand how frightening and medical crisis can be I care for individuals on some of
the worst days of their lives and it's my mission to provide you with a safe space
to gain clarity on issues affecting your mind body and soul I recognize that there
our health disparities, particularly as it contains your race.
And I want to help bridge the gap between you and your health care providers.
Join me every Thursday for Second Opinion on the Black Star Network,
where each week I'll invite experts from various medical fields to share the latest health groups.
We'll discuss topics such as the vaccine debate, mental and central health,
medical bias, infertility, menopause, andropause, nutrition and aging.
Together with my medical colleagues, we aim to provide you with,
with a second opinion.
Don't miss it, Thursdays only on the Black Star Network.
Hey everybody, I'm T.D. Jakes,
and I want to encourage you to watch Roland Martin unfiltered.
It'll blow your mind.
All right, so what you've just been looking at
are the faces and names of some of the women
who have died in the last few weeks at the hands of a loved one.
And all week, we have taken the time
to confront the epidemic of fatal domestic violence.
And tonight, we're going
going to be talking about how to remove yourself from a violent situation and then how to heal
yourself once you are out. Joining me now are Robin May, a licensed professional counselor, and Alma
Davis. She is the founder and CEO of the Amma Domestic Violence Foundation. Thank you both of us,
both of you for being with us today. I first want to start with you, Alma, and I know that
the process of actually removing yourself from a situation
we know it's a case-by-case basis
because it all looks so different.
But based upon your experience,
are there some same through lines
with the cases that you've dealt with
and what you know about the best way to get out?
Yes, so we first have to set the stage
that when someone is leaving,
that's the most dangerous part of being in a domestic violence relationship
is actual the leaving part.
And so what we want to do is try
provide clients or people in those situations with steps to actually prepare to leave.
So some of the things that we first talk about is having a safety plan, meaning it's thought
out.
There are some things that you put in place like one having a copy of your driver's license,
maybe hidden somewhere, a copy of Social Security cards, birth certificates, things of that
nature, even down to having things about your children, right, hidden.
Some things else we would tell someone is to have a cold word, meaning you've talked to your safe space if you have that, whether that's an organization that's helped you put a safety plan together, whether that's a close relative and even down to your children.
Hey, if I give you this cold word, that means it is time to go.
One, either that means I'm in danger or two, that means it's time to go.
So either way, that is an immediate action.
we would tell people to also do things like change your route, right?
Don't be so predictable so that that abuser can't, you know, can't find you.
So really think through those things and plan that out.
Another great tip that we like to share with people is if you are able to call an organization like ours that a case manager can actually.
walk you through those things, that would be the most beneficial because, number one, as the case
manager, we are trained to give you things to think about that you haven't thought about,
like understanding that, listen, when you get ready to leave, things may escalate. So we want to
help you sort of navigate through when there's the right time to leave, right? Number one, if the person
is not home, right? If that's an optimal time to leave, if that person is going to work or
or something like that.
So if you have an agency that does this,
we can walk you through those things.
But if that's not the case,
even like going to our website
or the National Domestic Violence Hotline,
you can see an actually safety plan
and we'll ask you those types of questions
to help you sort of get prepared to go.
It's never an easy thing to leave,
but it's one of the most powerful things
that you can do once you've made a decision
that, hey, it's time to go.
What do you tell your children who might be of age, they actually understand what's going on?
What does that conversation look like in terms of the secrecy of all of this and the planning?
There's a lot of trust and you have children that are scared and still might love, they probably do love their father, right?
We know that there's that.
Right.
How do you have those conversations and what do good ones look like?
So I would say, so we just don't exclude women.
Sometimes that abuser can be a woman as well.
And so whether it's male or female, what you want to relate to those children is, listen, hey, Mommy loves you. Mommy or Daddy loves you. I need you to trust me. You know, it has not been a good situation, right? And mom or dad, we want to keep you safe. So when Mommy gives you a word, I don't want you to ask me questions. I want you to trust Mommy that that means it's time to go. And when it's time to go, that means let's be quiet.
definitely can't tell other people that we are planning this.
And again, it goes to you got to figure out what's age appropriate, right?
Someone that's in high school or middle school will understand more.
Hey, when I give you this word, let's go.
I made a safety plan, a safety key.
If I call you and use this word, let's go, versus a little one, right?
Who, trust me, understands to a point that they know that has not been an,
an easy environment to live in
because one of the things that happens with children,
they deal with secondary trauma, right?
And so if they've been in that environment,
they know how that makes them feel.
And it's having that age-appropriate conversation
to say, hey, you know how you don't like to see mommy cry
or daddy doesn't like to see you cry, you know,
because sometimes you feel we're getting hurt.
Well, I want to change that situation.
And you have to sort of have that age appropriate
to help them understand that this is,
a happy place that we're going to, we're going to, that we're going to, it may even be,
hey, we're going to take a little vacation, but it's going to be a surprise for, for daddy.
So, shh, we can't tell anybody, you know, so you, those types of things.
And that's what case managers can sort of help you think through based on the age appropriations.
Yeah, obviously, this sounds very familiar.
I mean, I'm sorry, Robin, this sounds very familiar.
I'm wondering, what are your thoughts about your,
your advice, what you would give some. We are going to eventually talk about the
healing process, but I'm certain that you would echo what has already been spoken and more.
Absolutely. And I think one of the consistent messaging that I would say to a woman is what
Alma said, this is not going to be easy, that there is a price that she will be paying for her safety.
but the other side of that is her life.
And so I would keep stressing, normalizing,
this is the key, this is the key,
normalizing that the distress she's feeling,
the angst that she's feeling,
the fear that she's feeling,
that that's absolutely normal
and that that's a part of the process.
The other dynamic, I would say,
in the middle of a woman choosing safety
is what Alma said, of course,
having a safety word or a safety plan,
but also having at least
one person, one additional person who is aware of the plan, one person that you, even if it has to be somebody out of town, at least one other person who is, at least who is aware so that you're not navigating it alone. And then the third thing I would add as a therapist to make sure you're staying in contact with your therapist. And I would even advise to make sure that the children have a therapist because a therapist can also partner with you in it. Here's one of the things,
about intimate partner violence or domestic violence,
it feels so lonely.
It feels so lonely.
The truth is there are so many people who are just waiting in my world.
I call it waiting on ready.
They're waiting to support you.
So if there's someone, I even, if there's someone watching this right now,
it feels so lonely.
But I promise there are a team of people who want to rally around you.
I heard you can chime in.
Yeah, I think she is spot on.
And when she talks about that team of people,
it's important to help people understand that when we're getting you prepared, right?
There are also some other things that you probably have not even thought about,
like your animal.
You know, a lot of times people don't want to leave a domestic violence situation because of that pet.
Because what goes hand in hand with domestic violence is a,
a lot of times the pets are abused.
But if you reach out to an organization like ours or PADV,
I'm sorry, I mean partnership against domestic violence,
we can help you because we have contacts with shelters
that will keep your animal for up to three months at no cost
to make sure you are safe.
A lot of times because this will be, again,
this is a fast-moving moment.
So the more planning that you can do would be, you know, optimal.
But we want to remind you of things,
key things like make sure.
sure you're documenting, documenting the bruising, if you have bruising, writing things down,
if you can, put it in a safe place, your medicines. Because a lot of people don't think about
when you're on the run, you're on the go, you don't even think about that medicine that may be needed,
making extra copies of keys. So we want to support you as you make this brave decision to leave.
And the more that we can help you, I totally agree having a therapist that can help sort of walk you.
through the emotions that you're a feeling,
because it is a big step, right?
It's one of the most important and largest steps you may make
in literally saving your life.
And I mean literally saving your life.
So having that support system,
having that community that can not only hold your hand
but give you tangible things is so essential and so important.
And what you do, Amma,
is it that somebody reaches out to you
and then you have almost like a consultation with them
to lead them through a plan?
so that they can carry out that plan of action?
Is that how it works when someone reaches out to your organization?
Yes, they can call us either directly.
We're on our 800 number line,
and the first thing we do is an intake.
So that first step is someone reassuring you that you're safe.
It is okay to talk to us.
You can give as much information as you want
or as much information as you don't want to give.
And then we partner you with a case manager.
And that case manager hears you out,
that case manager is trained to give you all the different tools and essential things that you may need.
You may think you're calling just for a safety plan when that case manager has identified,
well, no, we need to get your emergency shelter, or no, we need to make sure you have a ride,
or no, we need to set up where you have baby food or the things that you need or a care kit when you leave.
So yes, those are the steps that we take.
We will match you with that case manager.
We hold your hand all the way through the process.
We don't just give you a phone number to call.
If there is someone that is not in our area because we service all over the United States,
we will find that close partner that will walk you through.
And then we're going to continue to check in on you.
Whether we've partnered you with someone else, we do a 30-day check-in, we do a 60-day.
And then we continue to identify, you know, we involve you in.
your case planning, right? What do you need to make you successful? If that's housing,
if that's you need a job, you know, what are those things? If that's therapy, we do have
licensed therapists on staff. We even have a legal department, legal advocates that will help you
with filing a TPO. We go to court with you, right? Making sure that you know that you are not
along in this process. And by TPO, you mean temporary protective order?
Temporary protective order, yes.
women are looking for more. More out of themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders,
and the world are out of them. And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.
I'm Jennifer Stewart. And I'm Catherine Clark. And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most
inspiring women. Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers, all at different stages
of their journey. So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us. Listen to the Honest Talk
podcast and IHart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers.
And guess what?
We have some big news.
What's the news, name?
Huge news.
We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.
We invented a podcast?
Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to it.
We're the first people to do podcasts.
Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.
But this one's extra special.
So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?
I honestly don't remember.
I think it was on a call about what we should call it.
And we were thinking I'm originally calling it.
one of the early names of our band
before Jonas Brothers
was...
This is how you guys remember it going down?
Yes.
I have a very different memory of this.
We were talking about a thing,
a bit for the podcast,
people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.
And then I wrote down on my little notepad,
Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.
But thanks for remembering that, guys.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcast.
Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
On Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends, we help make you funnier.
On this episode, my guest's Bob, Odin Kirk, and Kids in the Hall's Bruce McCullough,
try and help the Kazoo Kid and Tazan Day be famous again.
What if there's an alternate universe show where you guys are incredibly popular?
Well, and they could travel up the land doing meet and greets.
They're constantly needed at malls.
Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smygling Friends on the I-Hard Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.
It's the enhanced games.
Some call it grotesque.
Others say it's unleashing human potential.
Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,
embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.
Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.
I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.
Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm sorry.
Yes.
Yeah, you know, I think what's interesting in a lot of women that I speak to,
that they don't know the time that it does take.
It doesn't happen overnight.
You do have to plan quite a bit, Robin, in terms of getting it together so that something
doesn't go awry.
You might have to save money.
You might have to make sure that things are in order.
And you just have to kind of get it all together in order to make a strategic plan.
plan. You might have to do a little bit of acting in the meantime, but time, take the time to get the plan right.
Absolutely. I love that you even said giving women the grace to know that it might take them first time to build up.
I'm so careful to say courage because that can imply that someone who stays isn't being courageous, but that's the best way for us to frame.
And let's say this, an additional level of courage that it might take time to build that up.
And then also, as you just indicated, if you have to play the game to get through, do that as you're making the plan.
Remember, you don't have to or you don't need to announce what your decision is.
And if you have to play nice over that period of time, play nice.
And also another indicator or another aspect of this, I think is it,
important for us to consider is that even if it has not gotten to the level of physical violence,
if you are seeing behavior that is controlling, if you're seeing anger that's getting out of control,
if you are seeing raised voices, if you're feeling isolated, those are warning signs as well.
So we don't want to minimize even the nonviolent abuse that can take place.
Exactly. And often that nonviolent abuse, I mean, it can be done in front of people.
you can't, you don't even recognize it and is still just as impactful when someone's demeaning you out in public or using finances to control you for your kids to, you know, make you look like a bad mother or father. You know, we are going to talk later this evening with someone else about the legal component of it. We know that that's another layer. Another layer of this is on the other side in terms of getting out. Now you are outside of a domestic violent relationship and the healing needs to begin in.
some way. I want to start with you, Robin, by just asking you, what does the beginning of that
healing process look like? Because I find that a lot of women, they certainly don't think that
their instinct skills are sharpened enough. They're normally on hyper, you know, vigilant,
kind of looking at everybody, that everybody might be a threat. And so their whole nervous
system is kind of reacting differently because of what they have just come from.
How does that healing begin?
You know, it's interesting.
I'm so glad that you said the word nervous system because once a woman has navigated the pain
and the trauma, because we need to call it what it is, the pain and the trauma of domestic
abuse, it literally changes how your nervous system functions.
I'm sure most of the viewers have heard of the term Maslow's hierarchy of need.
Often when I'm working with a woman who is rebounding after any type of traumatic romantic relationship,
I often point to that because a lot of people learned about that in psychology one-on-one in high school.
But Maslow's hierarchy of me talks about the stages to self-actualization, feeling good about yourself.
And that's a great place to start post-leaving a violent situation.
When we think about that, it is, first of all, your safety, just their basic physiological needs are those in place.
and then your physical safety, your financial safety,
and then we can start looking at love and belonging and esteem and building yourself up.
And that takes time because often, after you have been in a domestic situation,
any little thing, your trauma response is heightened.
I'm sure many of you have heard a song and it takes you right back to where you were
when you first heard that song.
That's what happens with trauma.
That's what happens with domestic abuse.
the survivor could smell something.
She could smell something and have a physiological reaction
because it's taking her right back to that place.
And so the first thing I'm doing when I'm working with a woman
is helping her rebuild her safety,
rebuild her safety in her body,
rebuild her trust, her trust of her senses
and her trust in knowing what's okay for her and what's not.
And let me tell you something that's often missed.
I'm also helping that woman,
this because when a woman comes to me after being in a traumatic situation, she often second
guesses her own decisions. And what often happens unintentionally, she will latch on to the next
person that feels safe, even if it's her therapist. And so what I am often doing is slowly
helping that woman rebuild her trust in her own decision making. Rebuild her trust to be able
to say, I don't want this. I do want that.
I want to go here.
I don't want to go there.
Giving her practice and owning her choices is a huge part of the process.
And then I want to share this because it has worked really powerful with a lot of the women that I work with.
I encourage women to start envisioning, visualizing exposure therapy to the woman they want to be.
Who is the woman that you want to be?
What does whole look like to you?
What does healing look like to you?
And what would that woman do?
Watch this, that you are not doing.
When I tell you that exercise, it gives me chills every time I watch a woman do it, who is the
woman that you want?
What does whole look like?
What does a healed version of you look like?
And how can we start practicing that version of you until you believe it?
So I want to give you an example.
The woman might tell me, well, I always wanted to go back to school.
he told me I couldn't go back
the topic. Let's just start looking at
YouTube videos on that topic.
When you come back to session, tell me something new
that you discovered on that subject
that you want to learn about. Because I want you to start
embodying the woman that you want to be. Here's the thing.
The only way through is to go through.
And that means going through the difficult portion
of releasing what occurred and becoming who
you want to be.
Right, because these situations, they can change your whole personality to an outsider looking in.
You really shift to another person because you're always in defense.
I do want to talk about the healing process, but then what does that look like when you are co-parenting?
That is exceptionally difficult.
And from the both of you, I wanted to know, how do you co-parent with this person if they don't go behind bars and maybe they go through an anger management course?
but they still are allowed to see the children.
I want to start with you, Alma, and then we'll go to you, Robin.
Yeah, now that is something very difficult
that a lot of our clients have to face and have to deal with
because you're right.
If that person has not been served
or has not been put behind bars,
a lot of times we will see where that abuser
will try to one gain custody of those children
or even paint the survivor out to be the abusive parents.
right? And so some of the things that we have to focus on and work through is even the thought
process and the thinking of the survivor. We've seen so many times where the survivor will say,
oh, well, it's fine for me to meet that person at the school or at the daycare for them to see
the child because they wouldn't do anything to hurt the child. And of course, we've seen incidents
even in the news where that abuser has showed up and not only heard,
hurt, kill or by, you know, kill the survivor, but even hurt that child. So one of the things
that we try to do, and I love what Robin said about giving choices, is making them feel empowered
to clearly understand the circumstances, right? What may or may not happen, but helping them
think through, let's look at, hey, what if this happens? And like I said, we're wanting them to
empower to make the right choice. But if not, we want to help you.
understand, well, what are some of the backup choices that have? Do you have to meet them alone? Do you have to meet them at the
daycare? If you're going to do that, is that daycare aware that this parent is coming, you know, coming up to see them?
If there has been a legal process or a TPO, we try to, which is a temporary protective order, we try to encourage them to allow the law to help sort of navigate that, right?
meeting with, you know, it might be someone that, unfortunately, like, outside agencies have gotten involved and they are that neutral party that's there.
But at the end of the day, we want to make sure that our client or that survivor is safe and their children are safe because if you pay attention to the amber alerts, over 90% of those amber alerts come all from when the children are missing, they're coming from domestic violence or family violence situations, right?
So using the skills, but again, empowering that survivor to sort of think but not be so easy to trust that abuser, right, so that they're making some concrete decisions that will still keep them safe, but keep their children safe.
Robin, same question about co-parenting.
You know, I really want to piggyback off of what Alma said because this process is exhausting for a one.
By the time a woman makes a decision to leave, we have to imagine how long she has been carrying the reality of this situation.
So by the time she leaves, that's just like we just said, the start of her being able to take a deep breath and rediscover herself,
and then to partner with raising a child with someone that harmed her.
So the reason why I really wanted to piggyback off of what Alma said is this.
I often find that women say, I just can't keep this up.
I'm tired of this tension.
I'm tired of having to be on guard.
I'm tired of, let's just be okay.
Because they're often still trying to believe the best.
And it seems insensitive to say, but you cannot let your guard down.
You simply cannot because it's only going to create a pathway for possible harm.
Okay, so that's the first thing I wanted to say.
But as far as co-parenting, one of the aspects,
that I deal with so often with my clients is two things. I definitely deal with so many women
who have navigated being isolated and alienated from their child. It's a very real thing.
But I have a lot of hope for so many women because almost every woman that I have worked with
who went through parent and alienation, the child has come back. The child, they have been able to
restore their relationship with their child. But in the meantime, if it doesn't go to that extreme
or you're being alienated.
I want you to think about the person,
just like I said, who is the woman you want to be?
Then I want you to think about
what are the characteristics
that are critically important to you for your child?
And I want you to focus on those.
When I'm talking about characteristics,
what are the values that you want your child to have?
Because you're partnering in parenting with someone
who often what is happening when they are with them
is totally different than what is happening in your home.
And if you get into the battle of that parent
against me, you're not going to win that battle. And so I want you to focus on when I think about
my own children that I'm raising, I want you to be a woman of integrity. What does that mean? How can I
start pouring that into you? I want you to be a young man that when your yes is yes and your no is
young. No, how do I help you learn those skills? Even if you have to look up of books, if you have to find
book resources, if you have to find mentorship, if you have to find organizations that partner
with helping to develop young people.
And here, I know here I go again,
but I am telling you, put the child in counseling.
Make sure that the child is in counseling as well
because the counselor can also,
number one, help that child navigate their emotions,
but number two is a safety for you.
If the child is reporting any concerns,
that therapist now has an ethical and legal obligation
that's outside of you.
So put the child in therapy,
and then third, be willing to go to therapy with them as well.
I think those several things.
Number one, keeping your guard up, recognizing, I know it's exhausting, I know it is tiring,
but when you let your guard down, you're very likely putting yourself back in a danger zone.
Number two, making sure you are focused on.
I am not in competition with this parent.
This is not co-parenting.
This is parallel parenting.
I want to make sure that I am pouring into my child,
what I want them to know who I want them to be.
and then get support.
Go to therapy, because now you have a support system that can help you in partnering with the child.
So we have a couple of minutes, and so I want to each of you give you one minute on this question
because I see this happen a lot with women too.
They don't know what to do with their social circles.
You know, I've seen women detach from everything.
Their church, his side of the family, everything.
And that worked out.
And I've seen other people try to navigate, try to stay with the same church that, you know,
he might go to or vice versa if it's a man being abused or try to still keep the same circle of
friends and share but it is very difficult and i'm wondering what is your advice i will start with you
first alma and then i will end with you robin about how to navigate because you lose that social
currency what do you do there so i'll say twofold um one we do a lot of times like clients know
when you are escaping, unfortunately, you will have to separate.
It may be temporary, but we got to focus in on you and getting you to safety.
Because a lot of times you have that abuser's parent reaching out,
wanting to get reconnected,
but they're actually reaching out for that abuser wanting to find out where you are.
If you have turned your location off, which we advise you to do on all your devices,
they're trying to find all of those friends or those networks to find where,
that survivor is because they are used to controlling that person, whether it's through church members,
whether it's through your work. We've seen abusers show up at people's friends' house looking
for that client. So it's important to help them in the reality know you may have to separate
yourself for your safety and for your child safety. I would say that we have worked with
several churches that have a safe network that they know that, hey, if they have a parishioner
or someone that is coming to them saying, I'm in this domestic violence relationship,
and they reach out to us.
And that abuser goes to the church as well.
We have worked with some phenomenal churches that have stepped in and told the abuser,
I'm sorry, but you're no longer allowed to worship, it may be worship at the same time
as the client is, things like that, because you don't want to, you know, stop them
because they need healing as well, right?
But it's strategic to make sure that we are not putting that client in harm's way.
And maybe that that client exits out, a back door.
But it's proactive things that we do along as a partnership with the churches.
But again, for helping that client find a safe person, right?
Because it is lonely.
It is alienating.
But just thinking through what does that safety look like for you.
Again, it may be temporary.
and maybe long term, but at the end of the day,
we're trying to keep you and your children safe.
All right, Rob, in the last 60 minutes is yours.
60 seconds, actually.
What I would say is that I want you to take a deep breath
and recognize that this is going to be a grieving process.
There's going to be grief connected to this.
There will be loss connected to this.
but here's a way that I try to frame it.
If you are leaving a violent relationship,
and anybody who continues to be in relationship with someone
who is violently harming you,
that's not anybody you need to be in relationship with anyway.
If you frame it in that way,
if you recognize anybody who is willing,
to keep you connected to somebody that was harming you isn't who you need to be in relationship with anyway.
And so it is a grieving process.
There is no way that we can get around it.
There will be lost.
There will be relationships that are lost.
But the hope is that there will be healthy relationships you will be able to establish.
So while you go through the grieving process, you can see a light at the end of the tunnel.
There will be relationships that are healthy, that are whole, and that are healing for you.
All right.
Alma Davis and Robin May. I want to thank you so much. Amazing advice. I'm over here taking notes
mentally, and I'm sure that other people out there are doing the same thing. Thank you so much
for the information that will, I'm sure, guide someone to a safer reality. Good to have you.
Thank you.
All right, and when we come back, we're going to go into the justice system, looking to the legalities.
is what happens when you as a victim of domestic violence goes and tries to deal with the law?
What is a temporary restraining order?
Does it really work?
All right.
Stay with us.
We're going to have some more excellent advice when we come back.
Canadian women are looking for more.
More to themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world are at them.
And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.
I'm Jennifer Stewart.
And I'm Catherine Clark.
And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women.
entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers, all at different stages of their journey.
So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us.
Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on IHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers. And guess what? We have some big news.
What's the news, new?
Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.
We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts.
Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.
But this one's extra special.
So how do we actually come up with a name,
Hey Jonas, guys?
I honestly don't remember.
I think it was on a call about what we should call it.
Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it
one of the early names of our band.
Before Jonas Brothers was...
This is how you guys remember it going down?
Yes.
I have a very different memory of this.
We were talking about a thing,
a bit for the podcast,
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Hey, Jonas.
And then I wrote down on my little notepad.
Hey Jonas and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.
But thanks for remembering that, guys.
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Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.
It's the enhanced games.
Some call it grotesque.
Others say it's unleashing human potential.
Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all,
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Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.
I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.
Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
To the other side of change, only on the Black Star Network and hosted by myself, Ria Baker, and my good sis, Jamira Burley.
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All right, we just talked to
Alma and Robin about removing
yourself from a violent situation
and the process of healing, beginning
to heal. But what about the legal
aspects? How can the legal
system assist you if
you are facing domestic violence?
How helpful are temperate
restraining orders. I know a lot of people have that question. Well, joining us now are Marilyn Mosby,
the former state's attorney for Baltimore and Vonda Bailey, the presiding judge of the 255th District Court
in Dallas County, Texas. Thank you so much for being with us today, both of you.
Thank you for having us. Yeah, absolutely. Listen, Marilyn, I wanted to begin with you because
I know that you have seen a lot. And I just wanted to give you a situation that perhaps might have,
you know, come into your courtroom. What is it that you would say to someone who might be going
through a situation where there is job loss, where there is divorce, where there are kids that
are in the situation, all of those kind of common elements that I'm seeing in terms of some of these
headlines, when you get that into a courtroom, what happens to all of those facts? How is it
parsed and dealt with when you enter into a courtroom. And what does the justice system actually,
what can it do for you? So I think it's really, really important to understand that domestic
violence is not just limited to the obvious sort of visible physical assaults, right? There are
many sort of incidents that can and often do warrant criminal charges, even when there are no obvious
sort of injuries. This includes threats of violence, stalking, harassment, strangulation attempts,
destruction of property. I mean, there could be any number of coercive actions, repeated unwanted
contact, violations of protective orders. And the violence and intimidation that can and often
does, it extends to children. So when we think about, you know, those things that go beyond the
visible sort of injuries, you can even have technology facilitated sort of abuse, such as tracking
someone, hacking accounts, distributing private images, which often crosses that line into sort of criminal
behavior. But the broader sort of takeaway, and as you've already kind of talked about, from the
several high-profile sort of domestic violence-related cases that we've seen, just in the past
week, whether it's
just in Fairfax,
who shot and killed his
wife during a domestic dispute
amid a contentious sort of divorce
before taking his own life
while his children were present in the home,
or Shamar Elkins in Louisiana
who fatally shot his wife,
her sister, and
eight children, right? Seven of
whom were his own.
Just two days ago, you
had the singer David
who was charged with an alleged murder of a 14-year-old girl, right?
The broader sort of pattern that I saw
and that we see all across the country in the courtrooms
is that these triggering sort of life events, like a divorce,
like a separation, custody disputes, prior threats,
and as we already kind of discussed, coercive control,
and firearms on top of that, right?
That type of access can sharply increase the danger
in domestic violence situations.
And before I go to the judge, I want to just ask you this, Marilyn.
It also is all about the evidence, because when you get to court, you better have those notes.
You have to have the evidence.
And you have to have everything in order to actually prove your case because that's all the judge will have.
That's all both sides, you know, the prosecutor or anybody will have that is dealing with the case.
Absolutely.
I mean, you brought up a great point.
And the possible charges are going to depend on the facts of the case and the evidence available.
They may include assault in varying degrees, reckless endangerment, harassment, as we already talked about stalking, trespassing, malicious destruction of property, kidnapping.
I mean, there are any number of charges, but it is going to depend on the facts of the case and the evidence available.
Every sort of state labels offenses differently, but the core issue is whether someone used violence, threats, fear, or coercion to control another person.
Yeah, and Judge, I think that that's the key here, that there are some things that men and women go through who are victims of domestic violence that they have labeled maybe kind of, you know, choosing a lower hanging fruit.
Oh, they're just mean, they're just stubborn.
They're just mad.
You know, they just need a little time when really, when you get into a court, it translates into a criminal offense.
It translates into you getting some type of restraining order.
So again, you have to pay attention to your situation and understand that you're,
even a victim of domestic violence sometimes.
Absolutely, and that's a key point.
I don't believe that sometimes people are really aware
that they are in a domestic violence type situation.
Sometimes it's out of embarrassment.
It could be out of fear.
And as a judge, you know, when I'm sitting on the bench
and I'm looking outward,
I'm able to pick up on some of the things
that the victim is not necessarily saying.
I'm paying attention to body language.
Very important.
I'm looking at those text messages.
You know, are they escalating?
Or has it been a situation where the children have witnessed something?
Because a lot of these situations occur in front of children.
So it can be a variety of different things.
And you have to be able to pay attention as a judge of those little nuances and indicators that are not
necessarily clear all the time. But to your point about the evidence, the evidence is going to be
key in a lot of these situations because the evidence could be the thing that holds someone accountable
for that domestic violence conviction or finding, particularly in family court, or it could be
the very thing that gets them off the hook. Judge, when does someone actually go to jail?
What does that situation look like? Because I hear a lot of women talk about if I could
get them in jail for a number of years, I would feel very safe, but they see situations where
men and women go to jail for just a very short time, then they get out and it starts all over
again. So I wonder what that looks like in terms of like a real actual solution of keeping
the perpetrator away from the victim.
So initially, they are incarcerated for a limited amount of time because, you know, in Texas,
they have the right to have a bond hearing.
They have the rights for bail to be set.
So they're not going to stay incarcerated necessarily for a long time
on a situation involving domestic violence.
Now, if you're talking about someone going to prison for a certain amount of years,
those are usually in your more extreme cases.
And they're not necessarily going to prison on that first time.
Because depending on the offense itself, something like aggravated assaults,
with a deadly weapon. If the perpetrator does not have a criminal history, they may be probation
eligible, which means that they'll be right back in the community, able to offend. That does not
mean that they're not going to reaffend, but they're out there back in the community again. It really
just depends on the circumstances. Usually, from my experiences, as a probation officer previously,
those situations where people were incarcerated for a long length of time
were the more severe situations of domestic violence,
you know, like the attempted murders or actual murder,
an aggravated assault with a daily weapon,
which could be like a vehicle per se,
that seriously injures someone or causes a missing limb of the victim.
You know, it's more of those extreme cases,
but for the most part, when they are arrested,
for a situation of domestic violence, they're usually not incarcerated very long.
Yeah, and that is part of the issue, I think, sometimes, Marilyn, is that many people don't
believe in the system because if they are a first-time offender, well, they just come back out
and they're even madder. So can you walk me through, for example, a temporary restraining order
or a civil restraining order? I know they're criminal restraining orders. That's something that a
prosecutor does. But just the restraining order itself, so many people say, that's just a piece of paper.
what is that going to do for me?
How does that translate for you in terms of, well, maybe it does do something, or would you say otherwise?
It has to be other things in place?
So temporary restraining orders are often called TROs or temporary protective orders.
Again, it's going to depend on the jurisdiction in the state.
They're often civil court tools designed to create immediate sort of safety.
Okay, so they can order an abuser to have no contact.
They stay away from the home or the workplace, surrender firearms, vacate a shared residence
in some circumstances, and stop harassment.
They can be highly effective when enforced promptly and taken seriously by the courts and law enforcement.
But they are not, as you've already indicated, a magic sort of shield, a piece of paper.
alone does not stop an abuser determined to inflict violence, which is why safety planning,
law enforcement response, and community support are extremely critical, right? It is extremely
important to, and I don't want to diminish the importance of these temporary protective orders.
It's extremely important to file one when someone feels unsafe, or there is a pattern of
escalating abuse.
Filing for a temporary restraining order or a protective order
creates a legal record that can then trigger the court protections
that the judge was just referencing, right?
It may become important evidence later if criminal charges are pursued.
It can help with custody, it can help with housing stability,
and even access to sort of services.
So making that and creating that legal record is critical.
So when do you actually call the police?
Now, we know people are often hesitant to call the police to their homes because, well, I mean, one, they're embarrassed.
Number two, they don't want something to happen to their loved one.
If something goes awry once you let a police officer into your home.
But, Judge, can you take me from when a police officer you think should be called?
And then what happens in terms of going from there and then having your day in court?
My recommendation would always be to call the police at the onset, right?
Because you don't want a situation that turns into a simple argument to escalate into something else.
Now, don't anyone out there misquote me and say that Judge Bailey said,
if I'm getting into an argument, call the police, that's not what I'm saying.
However, when there has been a history or a pattern of domestic violence and you have been in this situation
before and you notice those signs and you can tell that the situation is escalating. It may not be
a bad idea at that point to have law enforcement intervention. So they can go ahead and create their
record. If someone needs to leave the home, they can leave the home. If there are children
that are present in the home, someone needs with the children or need to have a plan where
someone picks up the children. You know, it's just, that's literally how it's, you know, it's just, that's literally how it's,
starts, right? Now, when you're talking about arresting someone, there are a number of things
that the victim can do. Automatically, the victim can pursue what's called a magistrate
protective order, which it takes place in our, what are called Justice of the Peace Courts here
in Texas. You can get one of those protective orders, and they are good for 60 days. And, you know,
they have all type of protections in terms of not to go within so many feet of the house,
this person's residence, the child's school, all of those things. So you're creating that
record already. And you can take that same protective order to the family court's in front of
me and get a permanent protective order entered, which is usually two years. Now, there are some
situations where that two-year period can be extended. It just depends on, you know, if this person
was already under an existing protective order or, what was an, I lost my train of thought on
that one, but you can get a protective order for different reasons beyond the two years, right?
So just going from that process is nothing that happens necessarily immediately.
Now, it can happen fast.
And when I say fast, we're talking about a couple of weeks, but just think about what can
happen in a couple of weeks.
We've just recently witnessed it.
You know, people can be, unfortunately, it can be a situation where it's fatal.
Not only for the victim, it could be fatal for the child or the children that are in the
situation.
It can also be fatal for people that are innocent bystanders, you know, let's say you call
a friend over and you say, I need you to help me move my stuff and you just so happen
to be in a wrong place at the wrong time.
So I encourage people to contact law enforcement from the onset,
but also make sure that you're documenting
and make sure that you are doing things to protect yourself
and the children, if any children are involved.
That includes getting the locks change, changing your phone number,
moving, changing up how you move,
not going to the same places that you would normally go to.
A lot of these relationships, they may have been long term,
maybe marriages, so they know where your people live.
They know where your friends live.
Try to figure out a plan not to go that way.
You know, it's just, it's a laundry list of things that can necessarily happen in between time,
but the best thing is to always have a plan.
You have to have a plan.
That's not to say that the plan will necessarily be 100% from start to finish,
but the more you can plan, the better you're able to protect yourself,
create their record and get under some order of protection that will be best beneficial for,
you know, you, yourself and your children, if any, are involved.
Now, once you enter into the court system, Marilyn, is there an advocate or someone to help you
through all of this because it is a lot? You also might be getting a divorce in the middle
of all of this. In addition, you may not have money. What does that look like in terms of
resources that you might get from the courts in order to help you navigate through all of this?
So again, I mean, you bring up a really great point.
I mean, just identifying that you're going through this type of abuse.
It's usually going to be the pattern of escalation and abuse.
But then once you are into the system, and I just got to, we have victim witness advocates.
We have, you know, the folks that were on your segment before, you know, the clinicians and the therapists and the individuals that can assist you through that process.
but it's really identifying that pattern first.
And then the larger sort of takeaway for those survivors of domestic abuse
is that they shouldn't be discouraged, right, from seeking protective orders
simply because they're worried about nothing happening, right?
You have to recognize these threats and these patterns really do matter.
And the timing is really critical.
So I know the judge was referencing what happens in Texas,
but the timing for these, these,
these petitions. They vary by state and by jurisdiction, but the emergency or temporary orders are
often available the same day or within 24 hours, right? Especially when there is an immediate sort of
safety concern where someone believes that their life may be in jeopardy. There's a follow-up hearing,
typically through various states, a follow-up hearing for a longer-term protective order
that may take days and or weeks. And obviously, the crucial.
criminal cases, as we've already discussed, can take longer depending on the evidence,
witnesses, and the court schedules.
But once you are in the system, we have the support, we have the advocates, we have the organizations
to assist you through that process.
And how long does this take?
Because you mentioned a hearing, and there might be a custody hearing.
There might be, you know, different hearings that come up.
It might depend on the calendar.
How long, Judge, does something like this take?
By something I mean, you want to get away from your abuser.
You have filed charges.
Maybe you have children.
Now, how long does that take until you are done?
So it depends.
That's the short answer.
A temporary restraining order, as she mentioned, they can happen the same day.
They can be issued the same day.
We have what's called an ex parte temporary order or temporary restraining order,
which means that you can walk those through the same day,
attach a verified affidavit to it,
explaining out, you know, the issues of what's going on,
and the judge can sign the ex parte order the exact same day, right?
But those temporary restraining orders, they last for up to 14 days.
And you're able to get them extended once for an additional 14 days.
And usually the hearing is set within,
And, well, here lies the problem.
Everyone is not able to get that other party served within that 14-day period.
So what do you do, right?
You do have the option to do a protective order, right?
You can do an ex parte protective order.
You can walk that through the exact same way.
It's still going to be one of those situations where it's going to be in place temporarily
until you're able to get to court and have that hearing.
and to your point about scheduling, that becomes an issue.
And it's not necessarily that the, and the court has to make time for those,
but it just depends on the schedule too of the victim.
It could depend on the schedule if the person, the respondent is served.
They hire an attorney.
We have to move these things around.
And, you know, it is not a situation where it takes an unlimited amount of time, right?
but it's just so many things can happen within that time period.
So you can get a temporary restraining order, you know, ex parte, as I explained,
you can get that issue the same day and the next day something can happen.
So it can move as quickly as possible.
However, it does not put a person in a position where the violence does not necessarily.
occur to them just because this sheet of paper is in place.
You know, and you have to be very careful if you're going to hire an attorney representing you.
Canadian women are looking for more.
More to themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world are at them.
And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.
I'm Jennifer Stewart.
And I'm Catherine Clark.
And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women.
Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politics.
and newsmakers, all at different stages of their journey.
So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us.
Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on IHartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers.
And guess what?
We have some big news.
What's the news, Nick?
Huge news.
We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.
We invented a podcast?
Well, we didn't invent it.
We just contributed to it.
We're the first people to do podcasts.
Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there.
But this one's extra special.
So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys?
I honestly don't remember.
I think it was on a call about what we should call it.
Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band.
Before Jonas Brothers was...
This is how you guys remember it going down?
Yes.
I have a very different memory of this.
We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast,
where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.
And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas,
and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast.
But thanks for remembering that, guys.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
On Humor Me with Robert Smygo and Friends, we help make you funnier on this episode.
My guest's Bob Oden Kirk and Kids in the Hall's Bruce McCullough try and help the Kazoo Kid and Tazan Day be famous again.
What if there's an alternate universe show where you guys are incredibly popular?
Well, and they could travel up the land doing meet and greets.
They're constantly needed at malls.
Listen to humor me with Robert Smygling Friends on the IHard Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.
It's the enhanced games.
Some call it grotesque.
Others say it's unleashing human potential.
Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,
embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full.
year. Within probably
10 days I'd put on 10 pounds,
I was having trouble stopping
the muscle growth. Listen to
Superhuman on the I-Hart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
On those
orders, because if something is missing,
they're not done properly,
citation isn't done properly.
You know, you run into all kind of issues
with that, and then the victim
is left unprotected.
So there are a lot of things
that go, a lot of moving parts.
That's why I said it just really depends.
Right, right.
And you can, an attorney will be appointed to you if you cannot afford one.
Well, in Texas, it doesn't necessarily work like that on the temporary restraining order or the protective order.
A lot of people do them on their own called pro-state litigants.
In Texas, we're only allowed to court appoint attorneys under special circumstances.
Usually that's when it's involving someone being held in contempt because those motions are quasi-criminal.
So in addition to the civil element, there's a criminal element where they can be incarcerated.
And by law, we have the court appoint at that time.
But absent a finding of them potentially being held in contempt and a CPS case, usually people, if they're not represented by an attorney, they walk those through themselves.
All right.
and that's child protective services, right?
Yes.
I will end with this question,
this is for the both of you.
A lot of women,
they don't believe that they will be believed.
Generally, the abuser or men, too, right?
A lot of men believe that they won't be believed,
but the abuser is normally likable.
The abuser is normally someone who,
I wouldn't believe it.
Oh, my goodness.
And so there's this sense of disbelief.
When you get into a court as a prosecutor as a judge,
based upon your own experiences,
what does someone show so that they will be believed
that makes it good facts for them,
that makes it a good case for them, Marilyn?
What do they need to do and bring in court
to be believed and be a good advocate for themselves?
I mean, I think the authenticity of an individual is important,
I think that the pattern in history is going to come into play.
But I think, you know, not being afraid and shameful about what is taking place and transpiring, right?
Like, I think that's the importance of the victim witness advocates.
I know that in Maryland we have victim witness advocates in our specialty units that deal with survivors of domestic abuse and child abuse.
These are very specialized sort of cases because of everything that you've just said.
They've experienced a great deal of trauma.
And so dealing with those types of individuals to make them be heard and to be seen.
So often the abuse is a result of an individual that has made that survivor believe that
they are not believable, as you've indicated.
And so having to work with individuals that specialize in this work is critical.
It's important.
But I think the biggest sort of takeaway is that there's no sort of perfect timing.
And when it comes to your safety, what we've seen from just this past week, right, is that you have, you cannot just not do anything about it.
And as I stated before, those threats and that pattern, they make a difference.
And so reaching out immediately to law enforcement, you know, and the courts through the protective
orders and domestic violence advocates, as were just on the previous sort of segment, is critical.
And, Judge, have you seen somebody come to your court and do something that did not put them
in a better position because of maybe something they did or how they acted where?
Had they done it another way, it would have given them a better result?
Oh, absolutely. I think definitely getting out there for victims being seen and being heard, those are key. And I think people forget sometimes when they're in a courtroom, the judge is also paying attention to your body lane. The judge is paying attention to how you respond to things that are being said that you allegedly did. And if you are snappy with the judge or if you're snapping,
with your attorney,
the closing counsel,
you know, we're picking up on those
things. So
I will have to remember twofold,
not only for the victim,
but I'll say alleged victim
and the alleged
assailant. And I'm saying
there have been situations where people have come to
court alleging domestic violence
and domestic violence did not occur.
It's just one of those things where they
want to get back at the other parent.
They figured this is a way to one up them in a custody battle.
I've seen it all.
So I just encourage people to be honest.
You know, the more transparent you can be,
the forthcoming you are, even about the bad facts.
The things that you, the things that look terrible for you
to get those facts out.
Don't wait until the other side brings those facts up.
And then you try to, you know, paint it.
with a brush, like, no, it was, you know, it wasn't really like that. It was like this. You know,
you have to own whatever it is. Accountability is a big thing. And in court sometime, I think people
forget about the accountability component. We're looking for that as a judge because usually,
the truth is somewhere in there. It's part of this story. It's part of this story and is lying
somewhere in the middle. So I always encourage people to just be honest and be forthcoming.
All right, Judge Vonda Bailey and Marilyn Mosby.
I want to thank you so much for all this important information
and walking us through the legal system as to how it will really work
if you find yourself in that situation.
Thank you for being with us.
Thank you for having us.
All right, absolutely.
All right, you are watching the Black Star Network.
Stay with us.
We are going to have a little bit more after the break.
So hang in there.
We'll see you on the other side.
Pull up a chair.
Take your seat.
The Black Tape with me.
Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black Star Network.
Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in.
Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network.
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Let's Talib Kuali, I'm CEO.
This is the Black Star Network.
All right, today is Earth Day, a time for us to focus on protecting our planet.
But current policy shifts are threatening these efforts.
A key example is the recent dismissal of the environmental investigation in Loneys County,
Alabama, and this follows Trump's executive order that prohibits federal agencies from
pursuing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
Because of this, the DOJ Civil Rights Division has pivoted away from environmental justice that
has a DEI framework to align with this new directive.
So what actions can we take to protect our communities from environmental injustices?
Joining us to discuss this is Dr. Beverly Wright, the executive director of the D.
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice.
Dr. Wright, thank you so much for being with us today.
Thank you. I'm happy to be here.
Yeah, so listen, how can we ensure in our communities
that this new order does not negatively affect
what's going on in our communities?
Our communities are already struggling when it comes to whether we have a
refinery plant next to us or water issues.
They are suffering, and we need to,
know this. We've seen the maps where the refinery plants are, for example. But what can we do now
in order to fight against this? Well, we have been in this situation before. You know, we're actually,
we're now working to maintain the progress that we've made over the last possibly 30 years.
But we have been in a place for centuries where we have had no protection. So our work
continues without money, and the work is the same. It is education, training, organizing, and voting
to make certain that we stay in this game and we wake this particular terrible situation out.
So one thing that happened for us under the Biden administration was that for the first time,
we actually had money to do the work that we had been doing with no money. So we're in a back in the same
situation with no money. The difference is that we can, and we're better organized, for one thing,
we're more connected, and we are continuing the work with no money. One is really very important,
for example, that we stay engaged politically and encourage our community to vote. Who you put in place
matters. And I think we see that better now than what we've ever seen before, that both
actually matters and it can make a difference.
So one of the things that we've done is just before the Biden administration came into place
in 2018, we literally started what we call the environmental or a just climate platform.
That's where community groups and environmental groups came together to try to pull together
changes that we thought needed to be made in the Clean Water Act, for example, the Clean
Air Act, all put in place, but we still have cancer alley.
What does that mean?
It means that there's an act that in some way was protecting some people, but not others,
but all, the whole game is not protecting the globe or the environment.
So, and as usual, we are the people who suffer.
So coming together to present what we thought should be corrective action
was put in place and presented to the Biden administration.
That resulted in $700 billion coming back to our communities for renewable energy and environmentally sustainable projects.
We were on the move.
The lesson that we've learned with this new administration is that we can never sit an election out.
We have to become involved because who's in place makes a difference.
Now, it's also, to me, it also encourages.
us to do more. I think we were, you know, in any way we're getting really happy and a bit lazy
about organizing and educating. This shows us that we cannot. So we have been re-energized to continue
our work and we know that our chance is coming again. So right now we're trying to get ready
for this change to do what? To build back better. It's not good enough for us to put back in place
what used to be there.
We have to make the changes that are necessary
so that we are no longer
growing more cancer alleys,
that we are protecting
the health of people
who look like me and poor people
and the planet.
And what we're also protecting, believe it or not,
is our property.
So we imagine the number of black communities
that have been completely destroyed.
The work of their homestead is gone.
And for most of us,
that was transformative wealth.
When you can inherit something,
that's building wealth in your family.
Imagine the communities where our parents
and grandfather's grandmother's work so hard
to buy that little paradise, as they called it,
and then we lose it because of pollution,
you know, because of toxins that now devalue that property.
So we're not just working for our health.
We're also working for our pocketbooks.
and for the wealth of our children who come behind us.
Yeah.
And speaking of pocketbooks, though,
in terms of, let's say,
grants that might not be awarded to certain communities
because it's looked at as DEI
and monies that communities are no longer receiving
because of the new disposition of this administration,
what do you do in those situations
in order to fill in the blanks?
Yes.
So you're speaking to someone who lost 18 to 12,
$20 million in funding for communities with all of the work that we do. So what we do is really
press on the philanthropic organizations to focus a lot of their funding in the direction of filling
the gap. We also are working with them with legal organizations because we are in court. We're not
giving up. We're not just relenting, you know, to what Trump has done. What he's done is illegal.
and we are in the fight.
And we're not afraid because what else can he do to us
besides what he has already done.
So we are in the fight and we are working diligently
with the philanthropic world,
trying to get them to put more money in places
where Trump has removed all of our dollars.
Workforce development.
You know, something that really supports our families
and transforms them.
He canceled a grant that was 30 years old
that had an unbelievable track record.
So what do we need?
We need more dollars in workforce development
and more money to help us
have our communities prepared
for this transition to this renewable energy economy.
We want an equitable renewable energy economy
where we are actually involved
in redirecting our resources for renewable energy.
If we don't train our young people
to be a part of this,
then we're left out
once again.
So we're asking the philanthropic
organizations to become involved
in all of these areas where we've lost ground.
We really believe that this is temporary.
I just really believe that
this will not last.
And we are built from
stronger stuff than what Trump can
hand to us. We've been through a lot.
We'll live through him. And we
just keep encouraging one another
to stay in this
game. Work with young people.
Educated and train themselves.
so we can continue this work.
Brighter days are coming.
We have about 30 seconds.
I want to ask you this.
What can people on an individual level do in their communities
in order to deal with this environmental racism and injustices?
The first thing on my list is vote.
You know, I mean, like, I would have young people tell me voting makes no difference.
I said, so all those people who died fighting the vote, my mother going down,
counting jelly beans and all of that, they were just stupid.
So for every person who thought voting did not matter, look at where we are and tell me
that again.
It is very important for us to become a part of this democratic process.
And there's a reason why people are trying to keep us out of this democratic process we intend to be in
and also educate yourself as it relates to environmental issues.
Don't just wait until it's flooding and say, oh, my God, what happened?
You know, become involved with your city council, with your state legislators,
and visit your schools and make certain that our children are also being taught about the environment.
Individually, we all need to do something.
And I say, whatever you believe in it, start praying to that and practicing what we need to do to make this a better world.
all right doctor well i thank you so much for being with us today and and filling us in on this earth day a very important day good to see you
thank you for having me all right well that does it tonight for roland martin unfiltered i want to thank
roland for having me in his seat this week i also wanted to thank my panel michael brown and robert
patillo now your support is critical to what we do and you can support us via cash app using the stripe code at the bottom
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2O.3037. Stay with us. There's going to be more with Roland Martin during the week, of course.
We're going to be continuing to talk about domestic violence.
I will see you on Friday.
Before we leave, I also want to one more reminder, and that is the shop blacknetwork.com,
where you're going to find the official Black Star Network swag and all kinds of black-owned products.
You can buy everything on Shop Blackstar Network.com.
It is the way that we support a network of folks, a network of black businesses,
to make sure that they stay in businesses.
We'll be back tomorrow. I will see you Friday.
Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin.
And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas.
We invented a podcast.
Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it.
We're the first people to do podcasts.
We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions.
Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick.
Tired and sick.
Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.
On Humor Me with Robert Smygling Friends,
we help make you funnier on this episode.
My guest's Bob, Odenkirk, and Kids in the Halls, Bruce McCullough,
try and help the Kazoo Kid and Tazan Day be famous again.
What if there's an alternate universe show
where you guys are incredibly popular?
Well, and they could travel up the land doing meet and greets.
They're constantly needed at malls.
Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smygill and Friends on the I-Hard Radio app,
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
If a baby is giggling in the back seat, they're probably happy.
If a baby is crying in the back seat, they're probably hungry.
But if a baby is sleeping in the back seat, will you remember they're even there?
When you're distracted, stressed, or not usually the one who drives them,
the chances of forgetting them in the back seat are much higher.
It can happen to anyone.
Parked cars get hot fast and can be deadly.
So get in the habit of checking the back seat when you leave.
A message from NHTSA and the ad council.
This is Saigon, the story of my family and of the country that shaped us.
From My Heart Podcasts, Saigon.
You don't think I'm serious about a free Vietnam?
One city, a divided country, and the war that tore America apart.
This is for Vietnam.
They're pouring patriots all over here.
Freedom for Vietnam!
There's a fire coming to this country and it's going to burn out everything.
Listen to Saigon on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.
