#RolandMartinUnfiltered - What happened to Jelani Day?; Few follow-ups for Black COVID patients; Jon Gruden's racist email

Episode Date: October 12, 2021

10.11.21 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: What happened to Jelani Day?; Black COVID patients get few medical follow-ups; Black female firefighter sues over a mural depicting her with a white face; Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana is suing Old National Bank for race-based discrimination; Desmond Meade gets his civil rights restored; After being handcuffed during a home viewing in Michigan, a Black father, his son, and their Black realtor file a federal lawsuit; Cities across the nation are restoring police budgets just one year after temporarily defunding; Jon Gruden is in hot water over a racially charged email; A North Carolina teacher resigns after reports she was treating her Black and white students differently; NC Lt. Gov. under fire for comments against LGBTQ+; Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations around the nation.#RolandMartinUnfiltered partners:Nissan | Check out the ALL NEW 2022 Nissan Frontier! As Efficient As It Is Powerful! 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3FqR7bPAmazon | Get 2-hour grocery delivery, set up you Amazon Day deliveries, watch Amazon Originals with Prime Video and save up to 80% on meds with Amazon Prime 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3ArwxEh+ Don’t miss Epic Daily Deals that rival Black Friday blockbuster sales 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3iP9zkvBuick | Its ALL about you! The 2022 Envision has more than enough style, power and technology to make every day an occasion. 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3iJ6ouPSupport #RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfilteredDownload the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com#RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man.

We met them at their homes. We met them at the recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to it. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

I always had to be so good, no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes, rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers

at taylorpapersilling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. Today is Monday, October 1st, excuse me, October 11th, 2021. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered live on the Black Star Network what exactly happened to Jelani Day as his family said their final goodbye over the weekend. Reports about Jelani's missing body parts have flooded social media.

His mother Cameron says those reports are false. Will give you the latest black COVID patients receive fewer medical followups. Doctor Georges Benjamin will be tell us he'll tell us why what's going on in Florida. A lawsuit over murals someone thought it was a good idea to paint a city's first black female firefighter white.

He's a former drug dealer who has been leading the charge to restore voting rights for formerly incarcerated folks. Desmond Meade is here to talk about getting his own civil rights restored who has been leading the charge to restore voting rights for formerly incarcerated folks. Desmond Meade is here to talk about getting his own civil rights restored by the Florida Board of Executive Clemency. Out of 2,250 loans, Old National Bank gave 60 to black applicants. Now they are being sued for discrimination.

And one of our black and missing features has been found safe. We'll share the update with you. Folks, it is time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered, the Black Star Network. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the biz, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine.

And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's Roland. Best believe he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling It's Uncle Roro, y'all It's Rolling Martin Rolling with rolling now He's funky, he's fresh, he's real Yeah, yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now

Yeah, yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best You know he's Rollin' Martel Now Martel What exactly happened to Jelani Day? That is the young African-American man, Illinois State University student. Of course, with mystery comes speculation.

Now, the Chicago Sun-Times reported a second autopsy conducted by the family's private forensic pathologist found Jelani was missing his brain, liver, or spleen. However, Jelani's mother, Cameron Bolden Day, posted this to her Facebook page. Some things need and have to be clarified. No organs were missing. I do not want to stray off from the facts. There were or are contradicting facts from the first preliminary autopsy

compared to the second independent autopsy. This is not a case of organ harvesting that I'm aware of. However, my son did not put himself in a river. My son was murdered, and my goal and purpose is to find out what happened and hold those responsible accountable. I need the help of the Illinois State Police and the FBI to find this information

because Bloomington PD, Peru PD, and LaSalle County has failed my son and myself. Now, the hashtag What Happened to Jelani Day continues to trend on social media as the Day family continues to search for answers. Now, we reached out to Ms. Bolden Day to confirm this was, in in fact her statement as other pages are claiming to speak for the family. Now Jelani's funeral

was on Saturday and they are not doing any interviews at this time. So folks, if you want to know what's going on, tune in to Black on Media where we will give you the latest. We're going to be following up with Jelani's mom and family just to be able to give you a sense of exactly, again, what is taking place. This is critically important, folks,

because you got to have the right information. And speaking of the right information, you might recall last week, we spent a lot of time focused on what's actually happening with HBCUs. A lot of people have been responding to the reports that came out from Newsweek, from the Associated Press as well, talking about HBCUs. Now, the Biden White House, they've responded to that because, again, a lot of people were getting this stuff wrong. They put this out on Saturday, late Saturday. Fact sheet, the Biden-Harris administration's historic investments and support for historically black colleges and universities. And then you see it lays out the history and things along those lines.

OK, now this is what they this is what they they wrote here. The American, let me just pull it right here. The American Rescue Plan provided over $4 billion in relief funding for HBCUs, including approximately $1.6 billion in debt relief to 45 HBCUs, 13 public institutions, and 32 private institutions. Fiscal year 21 grant funding from the Department of Education. $1 billion to build the capacity of institutions that serve large numbers of students of color and low-income students. $500 million of this funding went directly to HBCUs. Fiscal year 22 budget request. A request of a total of $887 million for HBCU-specific funding in the Higher Education Act Title III funds,

an increase of $247 million over last year's level. That would triple the mandatory Title III funding at the Department of Education to $252 million. Now, again, what it says, the president's right here, it says, Title III mandatory funds provide formula grants to all HBCUs to invest in capacity building initiatives and student success programs. Okay. Lays out what that is. Teacher quality funding. It says through the fiscal year 22 budget request and the Build Back Better plan, President Biden has proposed $60 million for the Augustus Hawkins Centers of Excellence program to support teacher preparation programs at HBCUs and minority-serving institutions. And then it goes on to talk about the executive order

and a number of issues that they have done. And also, federal agencies must submit plans by February 1st of each year to describe how they are increasing HBCU access to federal programs and improving federal recruitment activities at HBCUs to build pathways to federal employment. And so it lays out all these things right here, okay? And so it talks about the Build Back Better plan includes a $5 billion increase in funding for HEA Title III and Title V, which can be used by HBCUs, tribal colleges, universities, and MSIs, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

And then it says recognizing the historic underfunding of HBCUs and other institutions that serve large numbers of students of color, the president's plan also would invest $40 billion in upgrading research infrastructure, half of which would be reserved for HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs. Now, let's go to my panel to talk about this here again because, folks, this is all about information that's fact-based, not the crap that you hear all over social media. Dr. Omokongo Dabinga, professorial lecturer,

School of International Service, American University. Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Dean, College of Ethnic Studies, California State University, LA. Kelly Bethea, communications strategist. Glad to have all three of you here. Julianne, I want to start with you. You're president emerita of Bennett College. This is the thing that folks are still sending this thing.

They're still sending that Newsweek article around. You know, I spent the weekend responding to people saying, y'all might want to pay attention to black-owned media where you actually have the facts on what's going on. The Associated Press screwed the story up. Newsweek had an intern write their story and all these folks have been sitting here sharing the Newsweek story. And I had, like, even today, some guy, I can't remember his name, because somebody sent the story to me and I saw it, jumped on it and responded to him saying, dude, this is a lie. Stop spreading lies.

Now, this is also not about, ooh, are you trying to protect Biden? No, I'm trying to protect the truth. And the reality is this, Julian, the HBCUs in the last 18 months have received $7.3 billion. I talked to members of Congress. Some HBCUs have gotten more in federal funding in the last 18 months than their own states have given total. That is kind of important if we're going to talk real and talk factual. You know, Roland, the regard that the mainstream press has for HBCUs is reflected in the fact that they would have some intern, let me roll my neck, some intern,

write a story that's inaccurate and not rush to correct it. We just not that important to them. But you're absolutely right, with Kamala there at Howard University grad, with brother Biden, I always call a brother when I want something, but when Brother Biden, who has said he has HBCU's back and has the head of the former president of Delaware State

leading the HBCU initiative from the White House, I don't think that we have much to complain about. There's a lot of work that needs to be done, certainly. Infrastructure is a huge issue. But at the same time, again, the ignorance that the mainstream media has about HBCUs is reflected in the way that they cover us. There should be stories about where this money is going. There should be stories about the young people who are getting scholarships. There should be stories about the expansion. When I was at Ben, I increased the number of young people traveling abroad by a factor of eight. That's a story. Never got covered. Wouldn't get covered. This is why Roland Martin, black media, so important, because these people would denigrate us, reduce us to pitiful folks when we know that we have an administration that is taking some care of us.

Now, they could do better. I'm not going to say that they're perfect. They could do better. But the fact is that, as you say, some states, especially southern states, where the PWIs in those states get goo gobs, Ole Miss gets more money, the University of Mississippi, more money from the state of Mississippi than any of those small Alcorn, other HBCUs in the state of Mississippi. Ditto. North Carolina A&T University has to fight for every penny they get. You know good and well what happens in Texas because that's your state. And so those are the stories how we're attempting to close the funding gap. And those are the stories that would not be told unless we tell them. And Elma Congo, I've actually jumped on some folks' page and saying y'all look like damn fools for repeating stories white media's dropping, but y'all won't bother to retweet anything from this show.

Y'all won't bother to actually retweet real information or post real information. We did three segments last week. And again, to everybody who's watching, again, some of y'all love running y'all miles. Let me explain to y'all. There are three, and Julian, you know this, there are three main lobbying groups for HBCUs.

Yes. NAFEO, Thurgood Marshall Fund, UNCF. Those are the three main. We had NAFEO and Thurgood Marshall on last week to lay out the facts. Then we followed

up with Dr. Walter Kimbrough, who's been the president of multiple HBCUs, who's the president of Dillard University, who also laid the facts out. And all these folks here, they don't want to sit here and repost none of that. But they would rather repost a Lying Newsweek article

or an Associated Press article and not what is fact-based, where we actually heard from them on Macongo on right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered and the Black Star Network. You know, it's really ridiculous. It's like they say a lie can travel around the world while the truth is still good. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

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This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

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

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

We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things.

Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

I always had to be so good no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. She's not black enough. She's not doing all of the work. And they're clearly showing that this administration is doing the work. And I particularly want to commend them for differentiating where Congresswoman Frederica Wilson talk about this, making sure that HBCUs are getting that targeted money because people always want to intertwine them with what MSIs, minority serving institutions and HBCUs have to be specifically targeted. And the administration is doing that.

And why would people want to be part of a negative story? Because these were the same people who, when Trump had these presidents of these universities at the White House for a photo op, people were saying, oh, Trump's done more for Black America, HBCUs than anybody in history. We know it wasn't true. It was a lie. They allocated money that never got there. And people were so

quick to try to lift that up, and they didn't care that the fact that that was a lie. But right now, we got facts. We got receipts. We got documentation. And people still want to be caught up in this narrative. And so I commend what they're doing. Like Dr. Malvo said, they need to be doing more. But look, at the end of the day, we need to be working,

like you said, with Black-owned media who are out there putting out the truth. Roland, it's not that hard to get the facts. It's not that hard to find the truth. Turn on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Look at your social media posts. People are actually actively trying to tear people down who are doing the right thing and using lies to do it. And the fact of the matter is there's enough about the administration that we can critique. We've been doing it here, talking about Haiti, talking about other things. But like you say, when you do bad, we'll talk about you. When we do good, we'll talk about you. We got to talk about the good and get rid of all of this nonsense of people who just want to put

out these lies on a story that should be positive. You got 50 percent, 80 percent of judges coming from HBCUs, 50 percent of America's teachers coming from HBCUs. These are the stories that have to be told, and I'm glad that this funding is going in the direction that it needs to be going. And Kelly, you know, Reese always talks about this here. You know, I'm not sitting here

begging people to send anything out. But it's amazing to me how I see a whole bunch of Negroes reposting something they see on CNN, MSNBC. And hell, we may have discussed it two, three, four weeks earlier. Okay? Won't repost it.

And then folk go, why the media getting it wrong? In fact, apparently, and again, I don't watch Bill Maher's show because he's full of shit. But I saw over the weekend, apparently, Killer Mike was on HBO Real Time with Bill Maher. And apparently he repeated that HBCU story that we now know is a lie. And I sent Killer Mike a text. When I heard about it, I sent Killer Mike a text message. And I said, Mike, here are the actual, here are the facts.

Okay? Here are the facts. And he said, I'll check it out. And somebody sent him a tweet, I'm trying to find it, and they took exception to what he had to say, and he said, what you should be doing is calling out the mainstream media folks who did the story. I'm not going to find the actual tweet,

but that's the real deal here. And what I keep saying to these black folks who keep falling for the okey-doke, and I'm going, I mean, like, I've actually talked to members of Congress, been on the phone with them, folks who've walked me through

funding, who talked about what HBCUs are getting and how much. And we're only talking, see, here's the other deal, Kelly. We only talk in the Department of Education. We're not talking about what they're getting from Defense, Commerce, HHS, all the other federal agencies. And we are working on collecting that data. And so if we're going to sit here and have a conversation, let's just not sit here and lie.

And this is a perfect example of black folks, why you need to be trying to watch, listen, and read black-owned media and not sitting here repeating some BS you heard from white mainstream media. I mean, I couldn't agree with you more. My issue is that the number one rule of journalism that any journalist knows, anyone who has studied any modicum of journalism knows, is to trust but verify your source. Nowadays, it's almost as if you kind of have to skip the trust part. You just got to verify the source, because the sources out now aren't necessarily as trustworthy as they claim to be or as we are used to them being. And Perfect Example is a story like this here. It is unfortunate that a lot of Black people, I don't want to say most because I don't have

those stats, but a lot of Black people don't trust Black people. And that's a large reason as to why Black people don't trust Black media. We have been conditioned not't trust black people. And that's a large reason as to why black people don't trust black media. We have been conditioned not to trust each other. And therefore, when we have black media, it's hard to come out of that conditioning and actually trust ourselves with the information that we curate and distribute, even though it is trustworthy, even though it has been verified. As you know, you go twice as hard to only get less than half of the credit, and yet your information is some of the most trustworthy out there. And that is an issue that we come across as journalists, as people who are just truth seekers in general. So this is not the only time that this will happen. It is unfortunate that it surrounds a story as important as HBCUs. We all know how important those institutions are to our country, to our workforce. Every aspect of American life can be attributed to at least one graduate of every HBCU in the country. So, again, you just need to trust but verify your source.

And if you can't trust it, just verify it. And you use sources like Roland Martin and Filter. You use sources like BNC, Black With No Chaser, Blavity. All of these are sources from Black people, Black-owned media that go above and beyond. No, no, no, hold up. Hold up. Hold up.

Hold up. Hold up. I got to put a little pause there, no, no, hold up. Hold up. Hold up. Hold up. I gotta put a little pause there, Kelly. Because here's why. And I want black people to be very careful. Because a lot of these black sources, all they're doing is rewriting somebody else's

story. Sometimes, yes. Absolutely. No, no, no, a whole lot. A whole lot. Because, yes, absolutely. No, no, no, a whole lot. A whole lot. Because, trust me, this is what I do. What happens is, just because there's a byline on the article,

when you read the article, and when they say, according to the New York Times, according to the New York Post, according to the Washington Post, what they've done is, here's what they've done, I'm just being according to the Washington Post, what they've done is, here's what they've done. I'm just being honest with you, Kelly. What they've done is they've rewritten,

it's called aggregating. They rewrite somebody else's story, and it gives you the illusion or the veneer that they wrote it. Here's the deal. If you want to know what's real if it says so-and-so told the

griot, so-and-so told blavity, so-and-so told Black Enterprise. That means they actually talked to him as opposed to grabbing somebody else's quote. When I was at TV One, I told News One, I said, hey man, y'all stop rewriting other people's shit.

I'm like, because my deal is, this personal to me, if somebody that prominent who's black picked the phone up. So, that's just the thing. And I'll see these articles that are being blasted out. And folks are like, oh, I

read it and so and so. And I'm like, no, you just read the same thing the white folks wrote. They just slapped the black name on it. That's all I'm saying is be real careful when folk are looking at some of this stuff. But you're right. But this is, and Kelly, this is why to all the yahoos out there, man, why are you sitting here

going hard over advertising? Because this is why we can't hire more black writers. This is like it right here. Why are we fighting for the HBCU money? So they can have better buildings, new classrooms. They can pay the professors more money. They can create more programming.

It is amazing to me, Julian, when I deal with some black people, who, man, why are you sitting here begging a white man? Can you please tell me why in the hell if $322 billion is being spent every year in advertising, we shouldn't get our fair share? If the federal government is sitting here sending billions of dollars to universities, HBCUs shouldn't get their fair share? And I'm like, and the same fool who go, you big and a white man uh for this is the same fool who say to support reparations well who the hell you go who the hell you gonna get that from we are not begging when we stand up for ourselves Harvard Yale Princeton get about 60 percent of the

federal dollars for research uh Morgan State may come closest in HBCU land to getting research money. Even colleges who've jumped through every hoop to become research ones, and research ones means that you qualify for more federal dollars. Even those colleges who spent millions of dollars to qualify as research ones don't get

the dollars this is forgive my language some of y'all some of your watchers have said that I'm a potty mouth I do this is bullshit bullshit I mean I'm not gonna say it again the fact is that HBCUs historically have been sidelined from federal dollars, have been sidelined from opportunities. It is absurd. And this, again, Newsweek, somebody needs to just take them off the newsstand because they should call them non-Newsweek. When I saw that piece, I was like, who wrote this? And now you're telling me it's an intern? They would not have an intern write a piece about research at Harvard.

They wouldn't do that. Or they'd have somebody fact-check it. And so Kelly is right about the sources. But we also have the fact-checking. I mean, back in the day when I was a baby girl and just started in writing, they fact-checked everything I wrote, including the and and the the. I mean, fact-checked everything that I wrote because I do have a tendency to be hyperbolic. That ain't the point.

But the point is that you can write anything about black people and nobody cares. Roland, I cannot tell you how incensed I am about the ways that HBCUs have been attacked by these white people who are crazy. And let me just call that crazy. They do not want to see black people thrive. And they will do anything to stop it. And telling lies on us, all kind of lies on us, is part of that. All I lies on us, all kind of lies on us, is part of that. All I'm saying is, folks,

y'all get the real deal here. And when something, and y'all need to understand, when something jumps off, I'm not chasing behind the New York Times and the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

I pick up the damn phone. Yes. I text folks directly. Do y'all understand? If I see an entertainment story and it's about somebody who I know,

text. Say, bro, is this real? is it false? That's how I roll. When the UK did a story last week saying the EP for the Tamron Hall show quit, guess what I did? I text the EP. See, y'all need to stop falling for the okey-doke

and understand when we fight for dollars for black-owned media, we are fighting to hire more black journalists, black reporters, black producers, black editors. That's why we're trying to do this or we're trying to build this because I'm sick and tired of somebody else controlling our narrative. What if Freedom's Journal, the nation's first black newspaper, write on March 16, 1827, we wish to plead our own cause

because two others have spoken for us. That's the point, okay? Gotta go to a break. When we come back, we'll talk to Dr. George S. Benjamin about why are black people not getting the follow-up care after they battle COVID. That's next right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered, broadcasting on the Black Star Network.

Download the app today. ТРЕВОЖНАЯ МУЗЫКА Betty is saving big holiday shopping at Amazon. So now she's free to become Bear Hug Betty. Settle in, kids. You'll be there a while. Ooh, where you going? Hi, I'm Kim Burrell. Hi, I'm Carl Painting. Hey, everybody.

This is Sherri Shepherd. You're watching Roland Martin unfiltered. A new study says black folks get fewer medical follow-ups after contracting coronavirus. The study conducted by a group researcher at the University of Michigan surveyed the health outcomes of more than 2,000 COVID patients in Michigan 60 days after hospitalization. Well, the results found more than 50% of patients of color were readmitted to the hospital within 60 days

after being released. Black people were more than 65% more likely to experience moderate to severe financial impact because of COVID-19. The study also revealed it took black patients 35.5 days to return to work, the longest delay of any racial group. Right now, the U.S. is reporting more than 45 million COVID cases. 733,000 people have died. Joining us now from Washington, D.C., Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association. Doc, glad to have you back on Roland Martin Unfiltered.

I mean, this is an important story because, first of all, if we return to work later, that's resources that we're losing. It's folks who also don't have proper health care. And so put this study in perspective. Roland, you know, this tells you that the conditions in which existed, which resulted in people being sicker and dying sooner and getting more exposed to COVID, didn't change. These folks, of course, as you know, didn't have paid sick leave. They were also out in the workplace, and that's why they got exposed to the disease, and that's why we had

disproportionately impacted in communities of color. And then when you take that person, you put them in the hospital, their underlying medical diseases don't go away. The disproportionate number of high blood pressure or diabetes or kidney disease. So when they go home, they're going back into the same dysfunction without adequate health insurance, without adequate social supports that they had when they went into the hospital. And so it is not a surprise that they then went back into the hospital in a disproportionate number. And that just tells you how challenging our health system is for people of color. And if we're going to fix this, we have to fix the fundamental systems that people live in and the support systems that they have if we're going to make sure that people don't die sooner

and don't get sick more often. And the thing that also, again, that COVID exposed, and we always knew it, you knew it, the reality of these two Americas, one black and one non-black. And so this, to me, is the outgrowth of that. So the question is, what is being done to fix it, to repair it, to end it? Well, we know the things that cause disparities in health care. Number one, access to health care. So I got to tell you, right now the Congress is debating,

making sure that they expand health insurance coverage, particularly in those states that didn't expand the Medicaid program. And by the way, those were disproportionately states with communities of color. So that means that we need to make sure that in this new infrastructure bill, they fix expansion of health care and don't put it by the wayside, which is one of the debates that they're having right now. The second thing is the differences in the quality of care received within the healthcare system. And that means we have to demand

equitable quality of care in these systems. And quite frankly, that means making sure that we have physicians that are culturally competent, more physicians that look like me and that were trained in places like historical black universities and getting those folks that are in the community more access to their patients so that we can make sure they get the same quality of care throughout the system.

That also means the systems have to provide better oversight to make sure that these patients are getting that care. And then a lot of those patients in that study were in the long-term care system. And we really need to have much better long-term care reform. Because at the end of the day, it makes no sense for someone to leave the hospital supposedly much better and then return within 30 days. You know, that means that fundamentally probably should not have left the hospital in the first place. Right. And, you know, it is just, look, it's one of those stories that we have seen that, again, we should be constantly pushing folks

for answers because of the impact of COVID. Let's go to Omokongo, your question for Dr. Benjamin. You got one? Oh, most definitely. First of all, thank you so much for your efforts and the work that you're doing here. I wanted to know, do you feel like, because I'm thinking about the story of a Black professor who went to the hospital and died. I can't forget her. I can't remember her name.

But she said, you know, her son was saying they didn't listen to her. They didn't pay attention to her. So what can be done as it relates to making sure, and you kind of hinted at it just now, but making sure that in real time, these doctors now, these medical staff now are paying attention to what we're saying, because I'm wondering if that's part of the reason that we're not going back is the treatment that we're getting when we go in the first time.

Well, we absolutely know that when African-American physicians, Latinx physicians go into the hospital, they're not heard in the same way as white patients. We know that already occurs. We also know that different assumptions are made about those patients when they come in. There are assumptions made about their basic lifestyle, what they're doing, what they're thinking. And quite frankly, that's because physicians aren't listening to their patients as well as they need to. There's no doubt about that. By the way, it's not just physicians. It's the whole system. It's nurses. People get discharged when they shouldn't. You know, if we discharge you, it's really your problem about what your housing situation is. When no, no, no, the health system has a role

in making sure that when they discharge you, that you have the adequate supports. So that says a lot about poor discharge planning for some of these patients. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1.

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

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

a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus

King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette.

MMA fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple

Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts are wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but

never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Kelly. Hi. Something that I was kind of taught by family and the like, especially when it comes to hospital care, is how to advocate for yourself. In that, you know, making sure that when a doctor denies you a certain test or a certain procedure that you say on spot, you know, please put on the record that you denied me an MRI.

Please put on the record that you said that I shouldn't have this kind of prescription because of X, Y, and Z. And that way it's kind of like a cover your ass type of maneuvers just in case something happens on with your health after you leave. Is there some kind of key word or phrase in that same type of vein for COVID patients that people need to be aware of? So if they get denied a certain test, if they get denied a certain type of prescription or something like that. And I also understand that a lot of these patients can be incapacitated in their own right. So what can their advocates do? Like say the wife or, you know, some type of power of attorney equivalent is in the hospital with them. What can they do on behalf of the patient to make sure they're getting all the care they could possibly receive in their

predicament. Well, so first of all, you need to know is that you're absolutely right. You have to advocate for yourself. And look, the health system has gotten so complicated. You absolutely need an advocate. Even if you're going in for a routine scheduled procedure, you need to have an advocate there for you because, quite frankly, you're often given medications that don't allow you to make those decisions as clearly as you would like to. So you need to have an advocate. Second thing is know that hospitals have a patient advocate in the hospital. And you need to ask for that advocate any time you're unclear or unsure about what you're asking. And look, always say why.

Why am I getting this? And they should not be uncomfortable explaining to you why you're getting a piece of medication. They should be able to share that with your loved ones. The most common thing that often happens in hospitals is they say, we can't share this information about your loved one because a HIPAA, which is, of course, that's the protections, privacy protections that certainly patients should have. But you need to be real clear that when you go in, that you give the right to have

your patient advocate to answer questions for you, to ask doctors what's going on with you, ask the nurse what's going on, and you should insist that you get your questions answered. And that means including asking for the senior nurse on duty, the hospital administrator. And you don't have to be polite about it, but you have to be firm and insistent. Julianne.

And don't sign anything that you don't want you to sign. There's no reason for them to put a piece of paper in front of you and have you sign it. Sometimes there's emergency conditions where you need to sign something very quickly, but most of the time that's not the case. Doc, I appreciate you

so very much. I appreciate what you've done with public health because public health really speaks to what we need in our community. One of the things that you said is talked about the advocacy piece, but the advocacy piece frankly is not often there. The patient advocate works for the hospital. You know, they don't work for us, they work for the hospital. And that means that they're covering the hospital's

high parts, not our patients' high parts. What do we need to do to make our system more responsive, given the fact that we have a disproportionate number of us, Black folks and others, who have not been vaccinated, which means that they're at a disadvantage if they contract COVID and then go to the hospital. I have an ignorant brother, for want of a better word, a sibling, who refused to get the vaccine, then got COVID, they wouldn't take him at the hospital. I kind of halfway don't blame them, but that's another story. But how do we advocate for folks?

Well, let me step back. Let me take that apart. First of all, we need to make sure that we push harder to get our loved ones to get vaccinated. There is no reason not to get vaccinated. There are very, very few contraindications to getting vaccinated. I can't tell you how many reasons for what's happening. I know. I've heard every single excuse not to get vaccinated. And I've seen all the incentives to get, you know, for encouraging people to get vaccinated, from money to lotteries, other things.

And my argument is, if death isn't an incentive, I'm not quite sure what is. And we know that the vaccine is safe and effective. And so we need to continue to insist that our community takes apart these crazy rumors and come to their senses. And I'm not trying to upset anybody. I'm not trying to speak down to anybody,

but the truth of the matter is they need to get the shot right now. If they have questions about it, that's okay, but they need to get those questions answered. And then at the end of the day, if they're still uncomfortable getting the vaccine vaccine because they've talked to a trusted messenger and they're still uncomfortable and decided they wanted to take a risk, I understand that. But they're really putting themselves and their loved ones at risk. Now, the second part about someone who hasn't

been vaccinated and then the health care system doesn't want to take care of them, I don't accept that. I think that's inappropriate. You know, we have people that don't take their insulin. We have people that use substance abuse. We have people who, you know, don't take care of themselves in a variety of ways, you know, and we still take care of them. And we should still do that, even though somebody foolishly, in my mind, has not yet been vaccinated. Again, assuming that they're not someone with a medical contraindication, again, very, very rare. I do think, though, we have to

you know, plan to be an advocate. That means getting a medical power of attorney, getting your spouse, your cousin, your significant other, someone who's probably going to be around you most of the time to have that power of attorney for you. Make sure that you have a relationship with a physician, your primary care doctor, and make sure your doctor has a copy of your medical power of attorney. And, you know, with our system today, quite often your doctor isn't the one. The doctor you see in the outpatient is usually not the doctor that takes care of you

in the inpatient. So when you go into the hospital, your loved ones and your friends need to make sure your doctor knows that you're in the hospital. Because far too often, we go into the hospital and the only time your doctor knows you were there is when you come back to see them several weeks later after having been discharged. Because that communication hasn't occurred.

And that's one of the first things you need to do is make sure your doctor in the outpatient setting talks to the doctor taking care of you on the inpatient setting. And that's something you and your families can advocate for. All right. Dr. Georges Benjamin, always great to have you on the show, giving us the information. We certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thanks, Roland. All right, folks, got to go to a break. When we come back, more on Roland Martin Unfiltered, right here on the Black Star Network. Don't forget to support

the show by downloading the app. It's on all available platforms, of course, Apple Phone, Android Phone, Android TV, Apple TV, Samsung, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, as well as Xbox and as I said, Samsung Smart TVs. You can $4.19 a month, 13 cents a day. All you got to do, you can give to Cash App, PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, Cash App, dollar sign, RM Unfiltered. PayPal is rmartinunfiltered. Venmo is at rmunfiltered. Zelle is roland at rolandsmartin.com, roland at rolandmartinunfiltered.com. And remember, you give to YouTube. Appreciate that. We only get 55% or 55 cents of every dollar you give.

They keep 45%. So if you give to us direct, we got all 100% we can put right back into the show. So please do that. Got to go to a break. We come back. Desmond Meade. We'll hear from him. Finally gets all of his rights restored.

You're watching Black On, Unapologetic, Roller Martin Unfiltered, Blackstone Network. Back in a moment. Oh, that spin class was brutal. Well, you can try using the Buick's massaging seat. Oh, yeah, that's nice. Can I use Apple CarPlay to put some music on? Sure.

It's wireless. Pick something we all like. Okay, hold on. What's your Buick's Wi-Fi password? Buick Envision 2021. Oh, you should pick something stronger that's really predictable. That's a really tight spot. Don't worry.

I used to hate parallel parking. Me too. Hey. Really outdid yourself. Yes, we did. The all-new Buick Envision. An SUV built around you. All of you.

Once upon a time, there lived a princess with really long hair who was waiting for a prince to come save her. But really, who has time for that? She ordered herself a ladder with prime one-day delivery. And she was out of there. Now, her hairdressing empire is killing it. And the prince? Well, who cares?

Prime changes everything. Hello, everyone. I'm Godfrey, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. And while he's doing Unfiltered, I'm practicing the wobble. Alright, folks. Desmond Meade, remember earlier this year, he got a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant. He also led the effort for Amendment 4 there in Florida,

restoring the rights of the formerly incarcerated, upwards of 1.4 million people impacted by that. Well, he's been fighting also to get his civil rights restored. And so over the weekend, his wife, Sheena, put this little surprise for him. He had no idea this was happening. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company

dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st,

and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the war on drugs. But sir, we are back in a big way, in a very big way,

real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star studded a little bit, man. We got a Ricky Williams, NFL player, Hasman trophy winner. It's just the compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

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

Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth.

Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Wow. When did this come in? Come in, Nick. Ah. I have to read this? Show everybody what it is.

Bam. Plymouth Sea. State of Florida. What does it say, Ben? It says, State of Florida Office of Executive Clemency, Clemency Certificate, whereas the governor, with the approval of the requisite members of the florida cabinet filed an executive order on 6 23 2021 with the secretary of state in compliance with article 4 section 8a of the florida constitution which grants to desmond meade

known as desmond b., the restoration of civil rights except the specific authority to own, possess, or use firearms for any and all felony convictions in the state of Florida and or restoration of civil rights in the state of Florida for any and all felony convictions in any state other than Florida or in any United States courts or military for which this person has not heretofore been granted clemency.

Now, therefore, I, Michelle Whitworth, as coordinator of the Office of Executive Clemency, pursuant to said executive order and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the governor, with the approval of the requisite members of the Florida cabinet do hereby issue this certificate to Desmond Meade and the same shall be evidence to all persons that this person is restored to all civil rights in this state except the specific authority to own, possess, or use firearms. Loss by reason of any and all felonies this person may have been convicted of in the state of Florida and or any felony conviction in any other state, federal or military court. Wow.

And that's been me joins us right now on Roland Martin martin unfiltered desmond glad to have on the show and just so y'all know um uh y'all might be saying man that's that's really uh a great shout of desmond uh desmond has been in this desperate competition to keep up with me when it comes to his video equipment um he uh he he literally has tried to recreate the Roland Martin Unfiltered Black Star Network studio. I buy something, I put it on Instagram, all of a sudden

he'll get it as well. Y'all can thank me for Desmond's shot looking this great. His wife keeps telling him, stop trying to compete with Roland. Well, hey, listen, you got that right, though. You set a high bar, though, Roland. I got to give you that.

And you encourage me and motivate me to keep getting better and better with this equipment. I'll tell you that. Well, you're looking good. You're looking good. Well, you got a little emotional there. How long had you been waiting and fighting to get that letter? Man, Roland, since I think I applied somewhere around 2007, 2008. So it's been well over 10 years, man.

And, you know, my wife had been trying to get me to look at that clip all weekend. And I just kept refusing to because I know it was been emotional for me. So just just hearing you replay that again is getting me a little bit emotional because there's been a lot of weight and burden I've been carrying. You know, you know, earlier this year and last year with the governor denying, you my my pardon application you know but you know i had to keep a strong face because you know we're fighting for something just bigger than me but you know it did hurt that you know i didn't get a pardon it did hurt that you know that i didn't get my rights restored all the way you know but i'm happy now man because at least that part is out of the way now you know uh one thing that sheena said in there that i don't think you showed was that you know many years ago yeah i could have probably gotten my rights restored but as a special favor but

everybody else would have been left behind and i purposely did not want to just leave everybody behind. And so, listen, I got my voting rights back through Amendment 4. 1.4 million people came along with me. And now I got the rest of my civil rights because even though Amendment 4 gave me my voting rights, I still could not sit for the Florida bar and possibly practice law in the state of Florida. And then, of course, I couldn't even buy or even rent homes in a lot of subdivisions because their homeowners associations have bylaws that would prevent me from doing that until my civil rights had been officially restored.

And so I may have gotten my voting rights back, but there were other collateral consequences that me and so many other returning citizens faced. And so this moment of me actually getting my civil rights restored not only speaks to the perseverance that I had to exhibit to get to this point, but also that I got my rights restored through this process because we were able to convince the the clemency board to revise the policies to restore civil rights to anybody who qualified for amendment four explain you walk through that and that's the thing that a lot of people don't understand just the enormous hurdles people have to go through to get voting rights as well as to get their civil rights.

And so explain the two and the different processes there that are involved. Because you were denied. So you go through this board that the governor sits on where they're asking you all these questions. Some people will ask, were you a Christian? Do you go to church? All kind of crazy stuff. But the civil rights piece is a different piece. Yeah, so prior to Amendment 4, Roland,

the civil rights restoration, you had the right to vote, the right to run for office, the right to sit on the jury. Those are all intertwined into the civil rights restoration process. And prior to Amendment 4, man, we're looking at people that was waiting over 10, 15, sometimes as long as 17 years before even having a hearing in front of the governor and his cabinet. And then when they get there, they have to go through those dehumanizing questions and get persecuted all over again when that was not the intent of the clemency process. And so what Amendment 4 did was extrapolate voting rights out of the civil rights bundle and say,

okay, well, you know what? Once a person finishes their sentence, they might not be able to do the other things, but they're going to also be able to vote. And that was what we felt was the most important thing of those civil rights was being able to vote. And that's what we targeted with our Amendment 4 campaign. And so once we passed that, you know, folks got their voting rights back. But then there's these other collateral consequences that's attached to the remaining civil rights that folks still needed to get in order to move on with their lives,

you know, get employment, housing and education. All of these are important things that returning citizens need to not only successfully reintegrate back into their community. Right. But to really realize, truly realize the American dream? You going through this, I mean, obviously, it's been helpful in that it puts the campaign, the Florida Rights Restoration

Coalition, your campaign, where you're able to explain that, hey, you're just not an advocate. You literally were fighting for yourself. And so has it, what has been the reaction from other individuals who now understand that it wasn't just them, it also was you?

Has that been important in conveying and talking to funders and talking to other elected officials about this issue because you're not just an advocate. You literally were one of the very people who you were fighting for. There's a lot of different conversations to be had here. You know, when I think about the returning citizens that we've had, many of them reach out to me. I mean, it's been overwhelming. And that is really, really moves me, man, because folks are being energized and they're giving hope. You know, my book, Let My People Vote, that I put out there last year, you know, it all serves as a point of motivation and inspiration to returning citizens,

knowing that there are other people that's walking in their shoes. But then on the flip side, though, when I'm talking to even donors or if I'm talking to elected officials, right, from the governor on down or whatever, I'm telling them, wait a minute, if Desmond Meade, who is time 100, who is a MacArthur genius, who led a successful effort and has just totally turned his life around and graduated law school and have a law degree. If I have to go through all of this, right, then what does that say for the other person? And I don't think any person should have to go through as much as I've gone through or have to accomplish as much as I've accomplished to be able to vote in this country, to be able to find a good career,

jobs, to be able to live where they want to live and find their families safe and affordable housing. They should not have to do the things that I've done in order to achieve that. And so the fight is still there and it's still real. And while I appreciate the fact that I now have my civil rights restored to go along with the other things that I've gotten, you know, I still cannot forget about everybody else, right, because of a felony conviction who was fighting day to day, day in and day out, right, to just be like every other normal American citizen. What is the, first of all, we know Republicans came after y'all with Amendment 4, tried to change the rules after the fact. Oh, that's not really what people voted for.

What is the status of Amendment 4? Do you have a handle on how many people are still out trying to pay those fines back to get their voting rights? Even with that, it was all kind of stuff we heard. People talking about, oh, the millions that were owed. But when you and I talked, we were like, no, about 95 percent of the people were not owing major amounts. So how is that going to restore their voting rights and help them pay those fines off? Listen, Roland, I think that's going well. You know, you know, last year we raised over twenty seven million dollars. We had over ninety thousand

people from across the country that actually donated. And we were able to pay off fines and fees of over 44,000 people. But in the court case, the lawsuit that was filed was finally, I would say, settled in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. And no one took it up, decided to take it up to the U.S. Supreme Court. So it's basically done now. And that has been helpful because now it allows the courts in the state of Florida, because written within, there's a provision written within the statute 7066, Senate Bill 7066, that actually allows the courts to actually waive fines and fees of individuals to allow them to vote. And so now that the lawsuit is over, the courts, local courts, are able now to settle in on what they believe the law is

and what they believe are the right procedures to waive. And we've been seeing courts now starting to process these cases. And so in some cases, we're going to be able to waive those fines and fees and have people be able to register to vote. And then, of course, in other cases, we may have to continue to pay some minor cost or fee that's associated with their conviction. But we're still raising money to do so. And we're going to wherever we have to pay, we're going to pay wherever we can get into the courts. We're going to get that person into the courts. We have about over 100 lawyers that have volunteered their time pro bono to help us out.

All folks need to do is just get a hold of FRC if they're living in Florida. And we're going to one way or another, we're going to work it out. Questions from our panelists here. Julian, you're first. Desmond, first of all, congratulations. And thank you for the work that you've done to make sure that people do have their voting rights restored. You've had this, people should have to go through, you've had to go through to get civil rights restored. What should happen to make it possible for people not to have to jump through

all these hoops? What kind of laws need to be passed to make that happen? Well, first of all, thank you so much for that answer. First of all, I believe that no one should ever lose their right to vote, right? You know, voting is like the most telling symbol of citizenship that we have, I believe. And when you strip the right to vote from someone, it's like you're relegating them to second class citizenship status. Now, let me tell you, I have four boys. And, Roland, you've met a few of them. And, you know, when you have boys, sometimes they can do some boneheaded things. But one thing I realize is that no matter what my sons do, they never stop

being a me. They never stop being my sons. And I don't think that an American citizen could ever, should ever stop being an American citizen. We see it in a couple of states in Maine and Vermont, where a person never loses the right to vote. And so that's the first thing. Let's get to that point. But if the country is not ready to get there yet, then at the very bare minimum, once a person is through with their confinement. Right. If they're released back into their community, let them vote. Right. Because if they're paying taxes. Right. Then they should be able to have their voices heard. Right. If they're part of the community, they should be able to have a say in what type of education their kids are getting. They should be having a say in how we're addressing public safety, right? They should be having a say in how their communities are governed, period, because guess what? They are American

citizens, and that's a hero for so many out there. And I really want to commend the work that you've done. It's just really phenomenal. And, I mean, there's so much I want to say and ask. But the one question I will ask tonight is, what do you say to the people who have not gone through anything that you've gone through? They're just walking around, have never had any issues, and have no desire to vote or get engaged in the political system. Basically, they take it for granted, not knowing they can lose it at any moment like you did. All of the stuff you had to

do, what would you say to people who just still don't want to engage in the voting process? Trying to get me riled up with that question. Let me tell you. First of all, let me, before I answer that question, let me just say this, because I heard you mention the word hero. You know, let me tell you, man, one of the things, I don't know if you've seen the list of the MacArthur Genius Fellows, man. One thing that was historic was the fact that there were two people on that list who were formerly incarcerated.

Myself and brother Reginald Dwayne Betts, who is a lawyer, a poet, and all things in between. That's an amazing guy. And so that moment, I think it was special because now the voices of people who've been through something are being elevated at a level such as this. And it's helpful because the folks that don't vote, right, the folks that walk around and take their vote for granted, you know, I say to them, number one, because some of these folks think that there's no value in their vote. And I tell them that if there's no value in their vote, then why are folks trying so hard to stop them from voting? Right. There's obviously some value there because folks are going above and beyond the call to prevent them from voting. That in itself should be telling. But the other thing is, is that, listen, I'm going to tell you straight up, you know, when I voted in my very first presidential election last November and that feeling that I had when I was in that voting booth, I could tell you it brought me to tears

because I realized, man, that me voting was not about whether I was a Democrat or Republican, right? Me voting was a testament to my humanity, but it's also a testament to my place in society and how my voice does matter, that what my opinion counts. And the only way it counts, it don't count on Facebook. It don't count on Twitter. It don't count on Instagram. That don't do too much. But what would make it really powerful is when you go in there and you vote, because that's the one place that's equalized in that voting booth, right? You got just as much

power as Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos when you go and vote. And I would encourage folks that, listen, don't let your power just lay wasted on the ground, right? Because there's so many people that have died for it, so many people that have fought for it, and you need to be a part of this process. We need you to be a part of this process because when we all get engaged, especially in voting, that will create a vibrancy in our democracy like we've never seen before, and it will hold a lot more of these elected officials accountable.

Kelly? Thank you. Hi, Mr. Meade. Thank you for coming on the show and congratulations. I'm incredibly happy for you. My question has to do with the fact that you were granted clemency, but not a pardon. And the governor did give his rationale behind that that kind of didn't make any sense. But my question to you is, if you are restored your civil rights as a result of this measure, why is the word felon even associated with those who go through the steps to make sure that their civil rights are restored? What rights don't you still have, even though these measures have

been taken such that felon still needs to be a part of your record? And further, if it's not an expungement, exactly what is it if you are going through all of these measures to be cleared? And technically speaking, you are cleared by way of your civil rights being restored to you, why the stigma? Why is that still attached to your name? That's a great question, and it has nothing to do with the clemency process. I'm glad you asked, because we fight so hard to help to shift the narrative. One of the things is, number one, we don't even refer to people like myself as felons, all right? There are different identifiers that folks across the country use. In Florida, we use returning citizens. Some folks use justice-impacted individuals. Some use just formerly incarcerated persons. But what we do know, first and foremost,

we're people. But that word, that stigma, felon, right, come from the same practice that we've seen our country use. Matter of fact, we've seen them use it to almost perfection in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, right, where they were a country just do so by creating a narrative that dehumanized the Japanese people and desensitized the American people as to their humanity. And they've done such a great job that when the United States dropped that bomb and obliterated these thousands of individuals, rather than there being outrage, there was celebrations in the streets, right? And that's the same way that they've done, especially with the minority community. When you talk about putting that word felon next to our name, all that does is dehumanizes us and desensitizes you as to the plight that we're facing. And we've seen actions of it. And we talk about George Floyd, Sandra Bland and all these other cases. But these was going on years before, but the people in charge or our supposed allies never

gave us any credibility when we were fussing and we were complaining about police brutality and use of excessive force in jail and prison conditions. No one ever, we weren't the perfect client because we were felons. And people didn't see our humanity as much as they've seen the humanity of a person who has never been in trouble and got a few degrees and got beat down by the police. But the actions were still the same. it serves no use other than to create conditions in which we will ignore or glance over the treatment of people, right, that should not be occurring. And that's the use of the word illegal before immigration. When you put illegal alien, illegal immigration, then it creates a different mindset. And folks are not as empathetic as to the issues that immigrants or people with felony convictions are going through.

All right, then. Well, look, we certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Congratulations on it. More work to be done. And of course, we're standing right there with you along the way. Any help that we can provide, just holler. Hey, thank you so much, Roland. I'm upgrading my mic system, so you better watch out. Desmond, I keep telling you, you can't keep up with me. Just stop. Hey, listen, I got it now.

And I have it all on a remote control. Really? Really. What you got a remote control. That's right lights and everything my brother. You got a little bit of that you got a little bit of teleprompter. Got got a remote control teleprompter. Yep, it's getting there. Oh, yeah.

I have to sneak these things past my wife because you've already turned against me, Roland. No, I didn't. You used her to block me. I understand that. But I'm going to find ways around that. Look, she just tried to, look, she's tired of you spending money on gadgets. She said you can't compete with the ultimate tech geek, the coolest tech geek out here. That's yours truly.

It's all good. All right, brother. All right, Desmond. Be well. Take care. Tell Sheena what's up. Have a good one. All right, y'all.

I got to go to break more. I'm Roland Martin on the field to the Black Star Network when we come back. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated.

I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher.

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

It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content. Subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers.

But we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else. But never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. ТРЕВОЖНАЯ МУЗЫКА Maureen is saving big holiday shopping at Amazon. So now she's free to become Maureen the Marrier. Food is her love language. And she really loves her grandson. Like, really loves. Hi, everybody. This is Jonathan Nelson. Hi, this is Cheryl Lee Ralph, and you are watching Roland Martin, unfiltered. 17-year-old Rae Ann Goney was last seen in Phoenix, Arizona

on June 24, 2021. She has black hair, brown eyes. She stands 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 140 pounds. If you have any information about Rand, you can call the Phoenix Police Department at 602-262-6151. 602-262-6151. Also, folks, there's some good news to report on one of our black and missing we told you about last week. After being missing for a month, 30-year-old Kayshawn Cookie Smith is safe and back with her family. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed Kayshawn was found at a Los Angeles area hospital on Thursday. She is reported in good condition, so thank God that she is safe.

Folks, in Florida, a black female firefighter files a lawsuit over a mural depicting her with a white face. Latasha Clemons, the first black female firefighter in the city of Boynton Beach, says the mural intended to honor her and others for their service to the city reflected her as a white member of the city fire department. She provided a picture for the mural. A mediation session will take place on November 30th. Clemons became the city's first black female firefighter in 1996. That's a strange story.

Folks, after leaked emails reveal a racial tirade against the head of the NFL Players Association, John Gruden remains in hot water. Of course, he's the head coach of the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders. He used racially insensitive language to describe Demore Smith, who was black. Email was sent in 2011. Gruden, who was white, was working as the lead analyst for ESPN's Monday Night Football.

At the time, he sent the email to the president of the Washington football team, in which Gruden wrote, This summer, the email was discovered as part of an NFL review of workplace misconduct at the Washington football team. This led to a lot of conversation. He apologized, said he had no racist bone in his body. A lot of NFL players and announcers over the weekend were commenting on this. A lot of people were not happy with Mike Tirico and Tony

Dungy. They said they gave John Gruden a pass last night. Let's go to my panel here. What should happen here on Macongo? He says, meant no ill harm, no racist bone in my body, addressed the team.

There are some others who are saying this is problematic in a league where nearly 70% of the players are black. Absolutely. And, you know, the NFL, when it comes to issues relating to race and racism, they like to do things for show, you know, making

sure they have a bunch of black entertainers at the halftime show, playing the black national anthem. And they like to do these things for show, but they need to get down to actual fines, suspensions, all of these types of things. They have policies for people who abuse illegal substances. And so why are they not doing anything as it relates to this? At the end of the day, this is an organization that penalizes people more for abusing substances than abusing their spouses. And I haven't seen any real repercussions for anything racialized that has happened in any way, shape, or form. And then we see people on the opposite side, like a Colin Kaepernick,

who actually fight for racial justice and can't get a job within the league. And so it's another example of the hypocrisy within the NFL when it comes to anything relating to race and racism. Kelly. I just find it funny how white people will disparage African-American features, predominantly African-American features, yet want it on their own bodies, by and large. Now, granted, this is a man who's talking about another man. However, the irony still just isn't lost on me. And for him to say he doesn't have a racist bone in his body,

there are ways to talk about other people without mentioning their physical attributes and the fact that historically in this country, big lips has been disparaged and mocked, especially within the Black community, by white people. He's either really dumb, really dense, or both, to think that there is no undertones of racism here, no racial undertones in his language, in his rhetoric.

Apologize and move on. I doubt he's going to get fired over this. So I guess that's the best solution. Julianne. Kelly is right about many things in her comment, but especially about the way that white people want our features. You know, they will talk about our big lips and meanwhile go get collagen put in theirs to make theirs bigger. But the fact is that if I were a black player, I wouldn't play for this man.

I mean, he can say he doesn't have a racist bone in his body. He does. We know what the depiction of black people throughout history has been that reduced our features and exaggerated our features and all of that. So this is really, quite frankly, disgusting. Now, we can say, OK, this happened 10 years ago, whenever he did it. But that means he's always had a racist bone in his body. He thought it was OK to describe one of his players that way. No, he's not going to be fired because white people don't fire each other for talking ugly about black people. But like I said, if I were a player, which of course,

that's like if I were God, but if I were a player, I would play for his behind. I would even speak to him. That is disgusting. And it is consistent with the way that black people have been depicted and treated in our society? The issue here is that NFL is going to have to have some type of response, even though at the time John Gruden was not coaching in the NFL. He was with a partner of the NFL, that is ESPN. And remember, the investigation was dealing with the Washington football team because of the sexual harassment claims that were leveled against that league. This was uncovered in those emails.

You have those, though, on the Congo. As I said, Mike Tirico, Tony Dungy, there are others who have said certain things and who said, you know what, they pretty much are defending him over this. Yeah, it's really sad. And one of the things we also have to be mindful of, this came out, you know, 10 years ago. We have to understand that there are probably a lot more emails by these guys that are going to surface and so dunji and tariko i wish they would say the nfl needs to do more to combat racism as opposed to giving people a pass and i i didn't hear their comments and maybe they said it was older and so on and so forth but if these guys who make these comments 10 years ago or whatever

don't check themselves when it first happens don't find the people to apologize to when it first happens, they're not serious about these apologies. They're just getting caught up in the moment. I think if we go down the history and find more of this investigation, there while ago they're probably concerned that something that they may have said that might have been sexist or homophobic or islamophobic or whatever are also going to come to light and maybe they're trying to give a little bit of cover for themselves later who knows should it matter kelly that it happened 10 years ago no um i think that the emails are just as relevant now as they were 10 years ago. I would not be surprised if you find emails from yesterday saying something very, very similar. Racism has no expiration date and neither should an apology.

Julianne. You know, locker room conversation denigrates women, denigrates black folks, and it's all okay. And everybody yucks up about it. When you make some comment, this is why women have had such a hard time, you know, covering sports, because so many men have such little respect for them. And this is why so many African-American players, especially a couple decades ago, have had a hard time, you know, breaking into some sports or being accepted or being sportscasters because there's been so little respect for them. No, it doesn't matter that it happened 10 years ago or 20. What matters is that the NFL says this is unacceptable.

And that's what I think there's a reluctance to do when you get these other people making excuses. It's like saying, oh, it's okay. It's just a joke. Well, no, you cannot joke about my lips. You cannot joke about my identity. Those are not jokes. Those are attacks. It's what I would call linguistic genocide. In other words, we're basically killing people, not with guns, but with your words. And it's unacceptable. All right, folks. Again, I got to go to a break. When we come back, we'll talk more about unfiltered, about a variety of topics. And of course, some of them we still want to get into that for you to break down. Also, we want to talk about banking lawsuit. This is really important. This bank is being sued for not providing loans

to African-Americans. Also, folks, do this. You've seen the ads that are running from Amazon and Buick. Folks, you can do this here. First of all, Amazon, Buick, and Nissan. What you can do is you can actually hit the link that's in the description for more information on these advertisers. We appreciate them supporting Roland Martin Unfiltered. And so we'll take the break. Be back in a moment.

Oh, that spin class was brutal. Well, you can try using the Buick's massaging seat. Oh, yeah, that's nice. Can I use Apple CarPlay to put some music on? Sure. It's wireless. Pick something we all like. OK, hold on.

What's your Buick's Wi-Fi password? Buick Envision 2021. Oh, you should pick something stronger. That's really predictable. That's a really tight spot. Don't worry. I used to hate parallel parking. Me too. stronger. That's really predictable. That's a really tight spot. Don't worry. I used to hate parallel parking.

Me too. Hey. Really outdid yourself. Yes, we did. The all-new Buick Envision, an SUV built around you. All of you. Once upon a time, there lived a princess with really long hair who was waiting for a prince

to come save her. But really, who has time for that? Let's go. I'm spilling myself. I'm spilling myself. She ordered herself a ladder with Prime one day delivery. And she was out of there. Now, her hairdressing empire is killing it. And the prince?

Well, who cares? Prime changes everything. Hey, I'm Amber Stephens-West. Yo, what up, y'all? This is Jay Ellison. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. The Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana, they are suing Old National Bank for race-based discrimination in their mortgage lending practices.

The suit claims Old National Bank discriminated against black applicants and removed branches from black neighborhoods. For 2019 to 2020, the bank only issued 60 loans to black residents in the area. There were more than 2,050 loans during that same time.

Other banks in the area loaned at three times the rate to blacks than Old National. Old National says the discrimination claims simply are false. The thing here, Julian, that we have seen numerous times, if we want to talk about systemic racism, this is it right here. Forcing African Americans to go elsewhere for loans, this has been an issue. This is why the Fair Housing Act was put in place in 1968. The fact that we're still seeing this in 2021, it shows you what happens, the power of white supremacy and the freezing out of economic prosperity for African

Americans. You know, Roland, absolutely. We can look at the history of the Fair Housing Act and why we needed a Fair Housing Act, how many people were redlined out of opportunities, how many neighborhoods basically were redlined out of the ability to borrow. When you look at Black home ownership, you're looking at, first of all, about a 20 percent gap between Black homeownership and white homeownership. And that ain't nothing but racism. When you go down and break it down by income, et cetera, we are equally qualified. We're all too often sidelined to subprime loans and other things. And we saw this in the 2008 recession meltdown, when many of us were so

much more vulnerable than others were. But that's just part A. Part B is the extent to which basically discretion has been used to allow white people to jump ahead of the line, even with faulty credit scores, while black people who are eminently qualified did not have the opportunity. The fact that this bank gave out so few loans, so few that you can count them, speaks to not only their racism, but also their intentions. Now they said, oh, gee, we don't know. We don't know what happened. Here's what happened, y'all. Y'all decided that black people were not credit worthy even when we were. And so the lawsuit should go through. Of course, in this judicial climate, we're not sure what's going to happen with it. But we have to do this over and over and over again because access to capital, access to credit, is access to personal and professional success.

And we've just been sidelined from it. It's absurd. You know, it is. You know, it's amazing to me, Kelly, when you hear these idiots go, oh, my God, all you do is talk about race. All you do, you're racist. This is real simple. If you stop doing racist shit, I won't have to talk about racism.

It is. I mean, it's as simple as that. The fact that they're calling you racist, that's a whole other conversation in and of itself. But the fact of the matter is, where there is discrimination, wherever Black Americans or Black people in this country have been underserviced or disserviced in any regard, 9.9 times out of 10, racism is involved. So in order to rectify those situations, you need to address racism. But furthermore, racism is not a Black person issue. It is a white person issue that has been relegated to Black people to fix. And that is unfortunate, but that in and of itself is racist. So you have to take all of that into consideration when people make comments like

that. Clearly, the ignorance is abundant. But this lawsuit is a step in the right direction regarding rectifying it. It does not surprise me that something like this happened in 21, because again, racism. But again, it's a step in the right direction. And hopefully it'll signal to other banks and entities who have the power to lend money for homes and mortgages not to do this BS anymore. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.

It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.

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

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

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

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I always had to be so good no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper.

The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at tetherpapersilling.org, brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. I'm a Congo. You know, one of the things I would be very interested to see is what are the terms of those loans that the few Black people, the 60 people got? Are they the same as the type of rates

that other people of comparable credit and income got, because I'm pretty sure that there's probably a disparity there as relates to interest rates. But this is another example, as Kelly was saying, in 2021 of how racism is still very active and very present. And it's throughout the entire housing industry, whether we're talking about the loans, whether we're talking about the neighborhoods, many of us feel that we're able to move into, but even the appraisal process where stories come out talking about, well, if you're Black and selling a home, take down anything that shows that you're Black, African art, pictures of your family and the like, because your house will get appraised less. There was a story with a Black woman who brought in a white man to pose as the homeowner, and the house got appraised at $100,000

higher. And so this racism is still present in the industry today, and it's terrible because all of us are just fighting to get to that next level in terms of our lives, but organizations like this, like this bank, are preventing that, and I'm glad that this lawsuit has been filed, and I'm very interested to see what the terms of these loans are for the black people who got them compared to the

other people who got loans from that bank as well, because I think there's another there there as well. And as I said, you know, people don't understand when you're when you're denying the mortgages, you're forcing African-Americans to go pay high rates elsewhere. This was a part of the subprime loan lending crisis. There were African-Americans, Julianne, who qualified for prime loans, who were denied, who were forced to get subprime loans, paying higher interest rates and balloon payments. A third of all African-Americans with subprime loans qualified for regular loans.

If you looked at their paperwork, they qualified for regular loans, but banks basically took them in another direction. This has always been the story. If you look at black women, Roland, purchasing automobiles, equal credit to white women still paying at a higher interest rate because what? Banker discretion. This discretion allows people who have financial power to essentially use their bias. And some people call it unconscious bias. I call it conscious bias. But it allows them to use their bias to extract more money from black people.

This is called predatory capitalism on steroids. And it happens over and over and over again. We do everything we're supposed to do. We obey the rules. We check the boxes. We pay our bills on time. And we still are not qualified, according to these bankers, who would prefer to have us pay more, in other words, to make them make more money, than to allow us the same terms and conditions that they give to their cousins. And that, again, that's the piece there that we're going to keep focusing on, folks, the economic impact, how we are impacted by these

decisions. Let me go to a quick break. We come back. Remember that black couple looking for a house in Michigan? They're going to slap the cops with a lawsuit. We'll get the details next on Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Blackstar Network. ДИНАМИЧНАЯ МУЗЫКА AUTODOC rekommenderer. Håll upp hjulet när du skruvar bort bulten. 13. Skruva av hjulbulten. 14. Skruva av hjulbulten. 15. Skruva av hjulbulten. 16. Skruva av hjulbulten. Maureen is saving big holiday shopping at Amazon. So now she's free to become Maureen the Marrier.

Food is her love language. And she really loves her grandson. Like, really loves. Yo, what's up? This your boy Ice Cube. What's up? I'm Lance Gross, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. After being handcuffed during a home viewing in Michigan, a black father, his son, and their black realtor have filed a federal lawsuit. Realtor Eric Brown was showing the home to Rod and Samuel Thorpe.

Well, Wyoming police responded to a 911 call from a neighbor saying a former squatter returned to the home. Police officers surrounded the house with their guns drawn, ordering the men out of the home. Officers handcuffed all three of them, and once Brown proved his identity, police let them go. The men are now suing for unlawful detainment, excessive force, violations of equal protection, assault and battery, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The Wyoming City Police Department denies race played a role in the incident. Really, Kelly? I mean, again, if something like this happens in America, 9.9 times out of 10, racism is involved. I mean, I just have no further comment other than these people just need to get their act together. They need to understand that black people exist. Black people are going to be buying homes. Black people are going to be living in this country pretty much

in perpetuity and they need to get over it and stop acting like something that they do or say is going to hinder that or erase that reality. All of them need to be fired. that in and of itself is a fact. But yeah, this is ridiculous. You know, this is the thing that we hear a lot about on Macongo that happens. Black folks just trying to go out looking for a crib, you know, and all of a sudden cops get caught on you. I remember when I was in Austin, Texas. I remember I was helping a woman move into an apartment. We were moving into the apartment.

It was nighttime. She worked in the daytime, so did I. And a cop car pulls up, a cop pulls up, then another car, then a third car pulls up, and she was like, oh, hell no. She was hot. And they're like, well, we got a call. And she said, I'm sorry.

We were moving shit into the apartment. Into. She's like, we won't take your stuff out. We were literally walking into the apartment with stuff, walking out of the apartment empty-handed, and three cops showed up. It reminds me of a Chris Rock joke, but he's talking about the cops making him think he stole his own car. And, you know, the way they question it, he's like, wow, maybe I did steal my own car.

And, you know, what's so sad about this is we see all these different hashtags that get created, and one of the saddest ones for me was the whole wild black thing, which just speaks about what you're talking about. Every single aspect of normal American life, we have had the cops called on us, moving in, moving out, Airbnb, sleeping in a lounge in a college room, trying to get a house. And when these situations happen, these officers who are not well-trained, they insist on doing the most. And some people are going to say, well, hey, at least they weren't shot. But seriously, that's going to be our bar? When people are trying to do their job and these guys, the man and the son and the realtor have to walk out, turn themselves around, walk backwards at gunpoint?

This is ridiculous. And there's a certain level of low expectations that people have when they think that, oh, as long as they survive, it's okay. I'm glad that they're getting sued. What else is this police department going to say other than they weren't racist? But hey, as Johnny Cochran said, you know, hit them in their pocketbooks and the hearts will follow. And this is what we have to do to make sure that everybody pays. And that's how it's going to make sure it happens again, because I understand people talk about the importance of sensitivity training. And that is important. But that financial piece is also equally as important.

And look, all we're trying to do, Julia, Julia, is buy a house. And see, this is this is the thing that's crazy for me when we're talking about these stories. Black people are just trying to do regular, ordinary, can we go to the mall? Can we go to the store? Can we shop to buy a house? I mean, this is the reality of being black in America.

All we're trying to do is live. All we're trying to do is live. All we're trying to do is live. We try to do the same thing that everybody else does. Get up in the morning, eat our damn cereal. Excuse my language. Eat our cereal. Or go wherever we go. Come home.

Mind our business. Buy a house. Go to the grocery store. All of these things have obstacles. And that's the problem is that just living, just breathing provides us with an obstacle. And that is why we have, you know, today is mental health day or some stuff like that. I mean, the mental health day is about how you live underneath a cloud of anything you do can be challenged. So these brothers are looking at a house. This is a normal activity.

And some boneheaded white people decided, myself there, boneheaded white people, decided to call the Popo because of whatever. It's absurd. But this is the absurdity that black people live with every day. I can tell you stories upon stories. We can all tell stories. I have a colleague who was accused of breaking into some white woman's house. Well, he walked by the woman's house, his feet are size 12. The footprints they saw outside the house was size nine, but they incarcerated him overnight anyway, because he looked like somebody who might've been, that was, might've been a criminal.

And this happens over and over and over again. And it's a wonder all of us just don't go crazy. And some of us have. But it's a wonder that it is an untenable situation to live this way. And it doesn't mean it happens every day, all the time to everybody. But the other piece of this, Richard Wright wrote about this in the 1940s, is that when we hear about this happening to these brothers, we know that it can happen to us. And how does that affect the ways that we interact with the world? So it's absurd. But, again, this is one of the reasons why you, you, Roland Martin, are so important.

Because these are the kind of stories that don't get told. And you got crazy. You know, we didn't have it handy today. Maybe we have some later. No, no, we got one. But you have these people who truly, truly, truly believe that it's OK to do this bullcrap. They really think that it's okay to call the police, to start mess, to really reduce our humanity to something less than. And so all these brothers are doing is trying to live, trying to buy a house. But, you know, I've seen people pulled over for,

we're driving while black. I mean, we have all the stories and all the hashtags. What we need to have on the Congo is right. We need to have lawsuit, lawsuit, lawsuit, lawsuit, lawsuit. And all of those little white po-pos, they need to be fired. They need to be deep fried and then fired. This is just an absurdity. It is.

It is. All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back. Got a couple of crazy as white people segment for you. One, this dude did not like a leaf blower. So he rolled up on a couple of Latino brothers. Let's just say one of them tried to go Tyson Fury versus Wilder on his ass. Second, North Carolina teacher quits, saying the thing that turned out different, she'll be owning some of her students.

Yeah, in North Carolina. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered, the Black Star Network, back in a moment. Oh, that spin class was brutal. Well, you can try using the Buick's massaging seat. Ooh, yeah, that's nice. Can I use Apple CarPlay to put some music on? Sure.

It's wireless. Pick something we all like. Okay, hold on. What's your Buick's Wi-Fi password? Buick Envision 2021. Oh, you should pick something stronger that's really predictable. That's a really tight spot. Don't worry.

I used to hate parallel parking. Me too. Hey. Really outdid yourself. Yes, we did. The all-new Buick Envision. An SUV built around you. All of you.

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No charcoal grills are allowed. I'm white. I got you, girl. all right so this segment actually started, you know, three years ago when we launched this show where you had black people who were just trying to sell lemonade, black people trying to deliver packages, and you had a typical white racist would roll up on them and charge them and, you know, and accost them. Well, there were a couple Latino guys as they were trying to cut grass,

and this one guy was not happy with them at all. Now, let me clear, I don't like the use of the N-word by Latino guys in the video. I don't like black folks using the N-word. But let's just say he said, dude, you done caught me on the wrong day at the wrong time. Bro, you're making my life difficult. Everybody that lives on this block, we can't have our windows open. Just because this house wants some leaves removed doesn't mean that you guys get a break sitting in the order. I don't care.

All right. Who's in charge then? Dude, are you going to get in my face? All right, I'll leave. I'll leave. No, I'll leave. What's up, bro? Hey, I'm going to leave.

I'm going to leave. What's up, bro? What you want to do? I'm leaving, man. I'm getting out of your face. Get the fuck out of my face, bro. I will. Because I'm not the one, bro. leave. What's up, bro? What you wanna do? I'm leaving, man. I'm getting out of your face. Get the fuck out of my face, bro. I will. Because I'm not the one, bro. Alright. I appreciate you, nigga.

We're working hard, bro. I'm getting out of here. I'm getting out of here, man. I'm getting out of here. Wow. What's wrong, Kelly? I'm sorry, Roland. That shit's too funny for me.

Kelly, what's wrong? Why you think so, Donna? We all crack it up because this shit is funny. Wow. What was the truth? My man got butt naked with his stuff. Now, the one that got me was, did you not see his homeboy clearly throwing up? They set.

Watch this. Y'all missed that. See? See? His homeboy... Y'all didn't see that, huh? See, his homeboy knew this was going to go viral. So let me go ahead.

This thing's got 3.1 million views. My man took his shades off, his hat off. man took his shades off His head off He took he took the hoodie off. He went straight at he's like I'm about to get butt naked now Hashtag team whip that ass Was about to be unveiled here's what I don't understand, Omicongo. If you've got a problem, if you've got

a problem, go to the homeowner. Yep. Hello. Yep. That's, that's, and you know, it's like, you know, none of us here, you know, want to see, you know, violence happen or anything like that, but one of the things we say

every time we do this segment is that people are tired. And I can guarantee that that is not the first time that brother has had to deal with something like that before. And he lost his shirt off, flexing.

You know, he thought when the shirt was going to come off, it was going to be like a six-pack or something like that. Dude didn't care. He got it flexed on the brother. Like, they met, you know, and it's like, we don't... And I'm glad that the guy backed off, but it's like you said, go to the homeowner, you know

the address, you know where the person lives, handle it that way. Why are you going to come out with the camera and put these guys, like you said, who are just doing their job on blast like that? Did he expect that they were just going to get in the car and just say, oh, sorry, sir, and just drive off? People need to be careful, man, because folks have had enough. Dr. Marvaux talked about it earlier, just trying to live. They didn't sign up for all of that. And we don't want to see the violence happen, but we understand why people are mad.

And I'm glad the guy backed off because I didn't want to see any physical altercation. Go talk to the homeowner. Handle that like real people should. It's getting intense out there, man. But what that was about right there, Kelly, was

man, I'm not tired of you. I guarantee you that was not the there, Kelly, was man, I'm not tired of you. I guarantee you that was not the first time that somebody had gone at him. And he was like, ain't him, ain't him. He was like, you should talk to one of them. He said, I'm not the one, bro.

He's not. And honestly, no one should be the one. Minding your business is the freest thing you can possibly do. And yet people act like it is so expensive they cannot afford it. Like he was doing his job. You know what I'm saying? Like he was doing what he's getting paid to do. And yet someone is is imposing upon his space and his place of work for what? You know what I mean? And yes, I'm laughing because the entire thing is just comical on its face, but in reality, it is disturbing to think

and to see why people feel like they have the authority and the mitigated gall, the caucasity, to just do whatever they want, as if they own everything. I mean, they don't. You know what I'm saying? And regarding him saying the N-word, that is not something that I condone.

But in all fairness, we don't know whether this man is Black in any regard. Again, I don't care. I don't like the word whatsoever. But I'm just saying. Kelly, I don't care. I don't like the word whatsoever, but I'm just saying. Kelly. I'm just saying. Kelly. Yes, sir. You know damn well the person

with the phone wasn't black. Oh, no. I'm talking about the person who was, you know, approaching the guy with the phone. He was the one who said it. We know he ain't black. He was the one who said it. He ain't black't black. I mean, he was the one who said it. He ain't black. You know what?

At the end of the day... You know what? You know what? Bottom line is, look, there are a lot of Latinos out there who use the N-word. Again, I don't like it at all. But here's the piece that it boils down to, Julianne. Black and brown people are tired of being accosted for being

this dude should have complained the homeowner hired them. That's who you talk to. You don't go oh, we can't open our windows and the other neighbors

so I need you to stop. No, you go to your neighbor who's the homeowner. Well, there you have it. The word that Kelly used that I have been using increasingly is caucasity. It's the way that these people simmer themselves in their whiteness, which makes them think they simmer themselves in, which makes them think, they simmer themselves in, which makes them think

that they in charge of everything. They roll up on you to say anything to you about something that has nothing to do with them, and if they minded their own you know what business, then these kind of altercations would not occur. The fact is that we all have to live in this world, we see increasing diversity, we know have to live in this world. We see increasing diversity. We know that the white population is dropping.

Hello, hello, hello. And as it drops, these threatened people feel like they can just roll up on folks and say stuff. And Oma-Congo, I love you dearly, my brother, but I wouldn't mind seeing a little violence. I would not. OK, it wouldn't mind see low bars. I'm OK it wasn't just me OK. I love people who are love or love.

Just a can of with bass and with folks go crazy like this use a can of with bass or make peace or something this. We have and I like OK I'm supposed to be, you know, erudite and all that, and I'm a college dean and all that. So I guess I didn't say all that on air. But, um... You can walk around with a can of whip ass. That's all I have to say. Hey, I'm just trying to tell folk

to let folk alone. Just leave them alone. Alright, y'all. North Carolina, a teacher has resigned after reports she was treating her black and white students differently. The Winterville Charter Academy teacher allegedly told

black students that if it were not for the Constitution, they would be her slaves. In another incident, a black student was called a monkey by a white peer. When the black student asked the teacher to help, she responded, we're all a little bit racist. The principal confirmed the teacher would not be returning on campus and that culturally sensitivity training would be made for the teacher who had resigned returning on campus and that culturally sensitivity training would be made for the teacher who had resigned, along with current and future staff members.

Okay. Okay. Roland? What part of North Carolina, it didn't matter, it's North Carolina, but what part of North Carolina was this? What city was it? Winterville. Where is it? I don't know. You were president there. I ain't live there.

I ain't live in no Winterville, obviously. You were in the state? Well, you know. That's a big state. The South is special. The South is very special. And these white people in the South feel like they still think the Civil War is being fought.

They call it the conflict or some stuff like that. But that's some stupid spit, and a woman should never have been on anybody's campus in any capacity, especially young people. Especially, you know, if this was a K-12. No, she should not have been dismissed. Again, okay, I'm going back to my violence era. Mama and Daddy should have came and got her. The city apparently is south of Greenville. Okay.

Mm-hmm. You asked. Okay. It's all rural. You know, you get in rural, and they still think that the Civil War was like still being fought. I mean, they still act like they can do whatever. And North Carolina has what I call have a nice day racism.

It's not like regular, you know, just inward racism. It's like, hi, how are you? Inward, have a nice day. In North Carolina, not the only one. I'm not picking on North Carolina. You can get in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana. But in any case, if that was my child's mama, you wouldn't be having a segment on crazy-ass white people. You'd be having a segment on crazy-ass black people. It is, again, I just sit here and I'm like, really, Kelly? If it weren't for the Constitution, you'd be my slaves. I mean, not only is that factually inaccurate, but I mean, if there was ever a time to backhand someone in an authoritative position, this would be the time. I would eat that suspension and just put my hands on it real quick.

Not going to lie about that. But it also is interesting to me how something like this is remotely acceptable, yet people are still protesting critical race theory being taught in schools. Not that the actual title critical race theory needs to be there, because again, that's a legal concept for really law students. But the notion that black history is not integrated into American history and history in general of this country, yet behavior like this is acceptable and backed by their history, it's absurd to me and incredibly ass backwards of any educational system to not be a proponent of any type of integrated historical race theory in schools. I feel like something like that would, you know, lessen the chances of events like this happening because people would be more aware of really what the hell they're talking about, frankly. I don't think so, Makongo. I mean, you got, and here's the deal. She was a

teacher. She was, and this is why you got black folks who go hard at folks saying, no, I don't want them in the classroom teaching my child. Yeah. It's real. And going off what Kelly was saying with the whole critical race

theory, we had a black principal who lost his job a couple of weeks ago over a quote unquote critical race theory conversations. And so, look, we have to understand or education and teaching. And we know it was nonsense. We have to understand, however, that first of all, that teacher should have been fired, not just allowed to resign, should have been fired. That's number one. But number two, we also have to realize that with the rise of educators who are not getting vaccinated, relating it to COVID, and teachers who are disappearing from the classroom, more substitutes are being brought in. And many of them are coming in with this type of mentality. And they're looking at an opportunity to be in front of

these kids as an opportunity to throw out some of their racist indoctrination. And they have no real education as it relates to being in front of the classroom at all. And so as tragic as this situation is, I fear that there are going to be more incidents of this where people are going to continue to fight critical race theory, where they really should be fighting white preservation theory, and they're going to be coming into these classrooms saying more of this stuff. And if you have the wrong principal who feels like some of this stuff is just fine, it's just jokes, it's just classroom banter, a lot of

this stuff is not even going to be reported and there will be no consequences for some of these teachers. Which is why we got to stay vocal and stay on them and make sure that there are consequences. Pushback all day, every day. That's what we got to do. It's as simple as that. Folks, we're out of time. I just really appreciate all three of you being with us. Don't forget, folks,

if y'all want to support us at Roland Martin Unfiltered, please join our Bring the Funk fan club. Cash App, Dollar Sign, RM Unfiltered. PayPal is rmartinunfiltered. Venmo is rmunfiltered. Zelle is rolandat. RolandSmartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com.

And don't forget, download the Black Star Network app. We have exceeded 17,000 downloads. We are less than 3,000, maybe from 20,000. The goal by December 31st is to exceeded 17,000 downloads. We are less than 3,000, maybe from 20,000. The goal by December 31st is to hit 50,000 downloads. So again, download it on your Apple phone, Android phone, Android TV, Roku, Fire, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox, Samsung Smart TV as well. Folks, that is it. I'll see y'all tomorrow. Glad to be back here in the studio. I'll see you right here. Ole Martin, Unfiltered, The Blackstar Network.

Holla! Come back. Come back. Before I play the ad, yes, my Texas A&M Aggies did beat Alabama number one in the country. Ricky Smiley is a little hurt. It was a rough weekend, y'all, for Alabama. Not only did Alabama lose to Texas A&M,

Deontay Wilder got his ass whooped by Tyson Furry, got him knocked the hell out. So, Ricky Smiley, remember, who's your daddy? Who's your daddy? See you tomorrow. ТРЕВОЖНАЯ МУЗЫКА It's time to be smart. Roland Martin's doing this every day. Oh, no punches! Thank you, Roland Martin, for always giving voice to the issues.

Look for Roland Martin in the whirlwind, to quote Marcus Garvey again. The video looks phenomenal, so I'm really excited to see it on my big screen. We support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. I got to defer to the brilliance of Dr. Carr and to the brilliance difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN.

I gotta defer to the brilliance of Dr. Carr and to the brilliance of the Black Star Network. I am rolling with Roland all the way. Honored to be on a show that you own. A Black man owns the show. Folks, Black Star Network is here. I'm real revolutionary right now. Roland was amazing on that.

Stay Black, I love y'all. I can't commend you enough about this platform that you've created for us to be able to share who we are, what we're doing in the world, and the impact that we're having. Let's be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You can't be Black on media and be scared. You dig? I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time,

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I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at the recording studios.

Stories matter and it brings a face to it. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to,

you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. Arapahoe, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. This is an iHeart Podcast.