This video examines two interconnected civil rights issues: the systematic underfunding of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) like Kentucky State University, which has been owed $172 million in federal land-grant money since 1987, and the ongoing suppression of Black voting rights through Supreme Court rulings that have weakened protections like the Voting Rights Act. The discussion highlights how states are attempting to convert HBCUs to polytechnic institutions while simultaneously implementing voting restrictions, demonstrating a coordinated effort to diminish Black political and educational power.
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Trump Mail-In-Voting Order. KSU Students Sue Over Takeover Threat. SCOTUS Tosses Death SentenceAdded:
[ __ ] Hey hey.
Hey folks, today's Thursday, May 28th, 2026. Coming up in Roller Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. Uh lots to break down today. First and foremost, um a federal judge is allowing Donald Trump's strange and ridiculous uh limitation on mail ballots to stand. We'll see what happens next to talk to a voting right expert on the laws committee for civil rights under law on that very issue. Also, uh we all know Clarence Thomas is trash.
So, it's no shock that he uh refused uh to a black man uh who uh is being granted um um for a black man who was convicted after the DA Mississippi got rid of all the black jurors. Uh but the Supreme Court um overruled that case and they're sending it back to lower court.
We're going to walk y'all through and explain the particular case uh and how Clarence Thomas is absolutely one of the most antilack federal judges uh we have ever had in America.
They're suing the state uh where they want to change H.B.CU to a polytenic school. Uh we'll talk to them about that on the show. uh as well. Uh and so Black Star Shop, Blackar Network Marketplace, uh we have named that doom. Going to tell you what this all about. Folks, it's time to bring the funk on rolling unfiltered on the Blackar Network. Let's go.
the fact the fine and when it breaks he's right on time and it's rolling.
Best believe he's putting it down from sports to news to politics with entertainment just for rolling my rolling with now.
He's funky. He's fresh. He's the best.
You know he's >> folks. In April, Republican lawmakers in Kentucky uh voted to make Kentucky State University a polytenic institution. that did not sit well with students and alumni. They filed a lawsuit. Joining us right now is James Morris, who's representing the plaintiffs in this case. James, glad to have you on the show. Walk us through uh what is it that you're y'all trying to achieve uh with this lawsuit.
>> Yes, sir. Thank you for having me. Um so, what we're trying to do is to protect the H.B.CU.
We are trying to make sure that we don't have a situation where we switch a liberal arts college or university that has the H.B.CU from an original 1890 land grant institution into a polytenic institution, which would be basically nothing more than an extension on a 2-year um associate degree program. So, we've stepped in in two different venues. We filed a federal lawsuit under the uh title six of the discrimination laws 1964 and we've also filed a statebased constitutional action for declaratory judgment because the the statute was actually adopted illegally by the legislature. So we've got two different actions pending at the same time.
>> Okay. So explain to us what this so-called polytechnic school would be.
So essentially, is that turning it into a community college?
>> It would still be a four-year, but what they would do is they get rid of the liberal arts uh programs. We don't know which ones yet because they have to announce that by Monday, June 1st, which programs they plan on dissolving, but they are um basically switching from being a liberal arts, which the the Commonwealth of Kentucky guaranteed the federal government that it would maintain Kentucky State University as an H.B.CU small liberal arts university. And then it's turning around now. And because it owes over $172 million in underfunding to Kentucky State University over a 23-year period, instead of fixing it, as the federal government told them to do through the United States Department of Education, United States Department of Agriculture, instead of fixing it, what they've done is they passed this statute to basically cause the demise of the program as a whole. Because what's going to happen is if you start shutting down programs, students aren't going to enroll, teachers aren't going to come back. The this statute also gave unfettered control to the president to terminate uh any faculty, any staff, does not matter whether they're tenured. It also allows him unilateral control over uh student enrollment, student reenrollment. And the problem that we've run into is some of the students that we had in the original lawsuit are facing retaliation now. So what we've done is the second lawsuit in the state courts we had to go with uh uh John Doe or student do one through seven because we didn't want to have their names disclosed.
>> Now that now that is the critical issue here. Okay. Now, first of all, what you're talking about in terms of what Kentucky State is owed, uh, that analysis was done that showed that H.B.CU were owed billions of dollars where they were basically the money that came from the federal government in land grant money, uh, was owed to these schools. Tennessee State was one of those schools. Um, Fort Valley State, uh, and others. Uh, and we're talking billions of dollars that went to the states and then they sent that to, frankly, PWIS, predominately white institutions, and screwed over the H.B.CU. So, you're saying that Kentucky State uh, they're they're owed $172 million.
>> They're owed a lot more than that. That was So, just a little history with it.
In 1981, the um Commonwealth of Kentucky was found to be engaging in intentional discrimination with regard to Kentucky State University. They entered into a series of agreements with the federal government to rectify that problem. That went on through 2009. In 2009, they identified that they were still in violation of the dour discrimination segregation by keeping it separate for the PWI versus the H.B.CU.
In 1987 was when they started this program to try to fix what they had done wrong. They came up with a a plan with the federal government. Because of that, they stopped going back in time. In 1987 forward was the only time that the federal government looked at with 172 uh million. The other thing that the federal government didn't do is it stopped in 2020. So the time period we're looking at is only 1987 to 2020. So from 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and now 26, you are looking at around 10 to 15 million a year that has been withheld. We had today, just so you know, we had to file a reply today on our request for a temporary injunction.
And the the government's position is, well, we loaned them $23 million two years ago, and now they need more money.
They don't have enough money. So, we we think that this should just be shut down and go to a polytech school. And our principal argument in this is you caused this because you withheld 10 to 15 million a year and all you did was loan them $23 million in 2023 with interest demanding it be paid back.
>> So, one second. One second. For one sec.
So, one second. I I want >> one second. I want to be clear. So when you said you said was that the federal government response or was that the state's response when it came to loaning the money? Was that the federal government or the state?
>> Got it.
>> Got it. Go ahead.
>> So the state responded. They get this letter on September 18th, 2023. All the governors got them that they owed $172 million and all they did was loan Kentucky State University $23 million with the demand that they pay it back.
If you're not familiar with the governor's letters, the letters to the governor from the department of education, you're required to or the state was responsible for either doubling up on the per student so that they start to make it equal or paying it all up front. But the what they did here was when they were faced with this, they did nothing in 23. They did nothing in 24. They did nothing in 25 other than in 23 they gave the $23 million loan. In 26 they came into the legislature with the idea of let's eliminate shut down Kentucky State University until they realized the PWI would be drastically impacted being the University of Kentucky. Because of that they had to come up with a new plan. And what they've done is they have destroyed the integrity of the school itself to the point where the enrollment coming in in the fall is less than 200 students because nobody knows what programs are going to exist. On June 1st, they will announce which programs they intend to shut down.
>> Yep. And then on July 1st, they will be presenting to the accrediting body >> the uh programs that they have shut down. And the problem is with the accrediting body, if you don't have these programs, you will not be accredited. So they're basically guaranteeing that the program itself will not survive.
>> Then they can just say, "Oh, well, we can now match student for student because there's only 50 or 100 in the H.B.CU and they don't have to worry about paying it back." and then they can take it over and go with a uh poly tech institute similar to what happened in West Virginia if you're familiar with that. West Virginia declared well you know we just switched it into a different kind of program and then that HBCU literally became a PWI.
>> Which school was that?
Uh, I think it was it name escapes me. I'm sorry.
>> There was a there was a program either in West Virginia or Virginia.
>> I don't think it was Virginia or West Virginia that they switched.
>> Uh, so >> Gotcha. So, so the thing here, so essentially what what they have done is they essentially suffocated uh Kentucky State. And so by by depriving them of money, oxygen, >> you caused the problem and then you say, "Well, you got a problem, so therefore, might as well shut you down." When they're the ones who cause the problem.
It's the same thing in Tennessee. Uh these these Republican lawmakers complaining about Tennessee State. Oh, you're having to put students in dorms.
Well, guess what? If Tennessee State wasn't deprived of the $500 million, they could have been able to build new facilities to be able to to have the students uh in the capacity. Now, you said that University of Kentucky would have been impacted. Explain how.
>> Well, because the federal government has the ability to give the funding to both land grants, and if you start screwing around with the federal government, they can start pulling on some of the grant monies that they give to the states. So, if you're supposed to be taking this money from the federal government, making sure to give money both to UK and to KSU in our situation because they are the land grant universities. Y if you're not doing it in accordance with the federal government's requirements, they can step in and start to impact the PWI, University of Kentucky. They couldn't risk that because that is the flagship university for the state. So, that was the decision made. And this is, you know, this doesn't just impact future students or current.
>> This impacts the alumni. This impacts the community. This impacts the African-American community itself, but it also impacts the state at large because KSU provides quite a bit of education to a lot of diverse groups, but the way that they're handling this is basically just shoving it down everyone's throat. One thing that I don't know came out in in the filings that I think is critical, there was a bill introduced in the Senate, the Kentucky Senate, um as a budget a branch budget recommendation bill.
That branch budget recommendation bill went from January through February through March into April with nothing done. It was just a branch budget and went to the committee. It got read twice in the Senate, which is a requirement we have. Then when they decided to adopt it, they substituted this Kentucky State University language, which didn't exist at all. They adopted it with the old title, no reference to Kentucky State University in the title, no reference to an emergency, adopted this new statute that's all Kentucky State University specific, which is illegal under Kentucky law, too. You can't have individualized statutes. You have to be general with your statute. Then they changed the law after the Senate passed the bill. They or changed the title of the law to be Kentucky State University declaring an emergency. So nobody had an opportunity to truly address this because it got adopted with a fake name.
I called it a Trojan horse bill.
Literally everything was a different bill until the day it got adopted by the Senate and they shoved in they took a one paragraph four sentence budget recommendation bill to be then a sevenpage Kentucky State University specific change of everything related to the the liberal arts university.
>> So that's the basis for the state action. Look, we've been covering these we've been covering these issues um in so many different states. Um the reality is I covered what took place uh in Maryland. It was a 13-year lawsuit uh where uh the H.B.CU came up with creative majors uh and then the PE the white institutions then duplicated the state allowed them to do so. Uh then affected the H.B.CU. And so they eventually, of course, uh they should have gotten $2 billion or more. Uh and then the state finally settled after like multiple multiple governors. Uh and and this is what we've seen. And when these states in these again in these red states, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, they look Mississippi was a lawsuit. Uh Alvin Chamblas was a lawyer, Alabama. And what I've said to black lawmakers and others in North Carolina, uh, is that what has to happen, especially to these billions owed, what really should, and I've said this to very high netw worth African-Americans. I said what really needs to happen is there needs to be uh a major fund uh in hiring of multiple law firms and literally suing every single one of these states that owe all these institutions because you can't complain about their facilities and their graduation rates and things along those lines when you've literally depriving them of upwards of $20 billion.
>> Yep. Yeah. I mean, you take away their finances and then you say, "Why can't you make things work? Why don't you have the finances?" Well, because you took it away. And my comment to a local uh press here when I was asked was if you took $15 million away from University of Kentucky every single year for 20 years straight, guaranteed it would impact them. They're a lot bigger than Kentucky State University and most H.B.CU.
But yes, you know, Maryland, it took a long time. Florida&M with the issues there, it's taken a lot of time fighting that and there were some missteps there as well. We're seeing that the states are trying to maneuver around this in ways that I believe are improper. Um, you know, my son was a a graduate of Kentucky State University, so I take this personally and uh the impact of what the funding, the lack of funding, the lack of um academic credentials, the lack of having proper advisory oversight. Um, it impacts every student there and every alumni there. and to find out how much this was and that no activity was taken other than let's just shut down the university. Oh, we can't. So, let's figure out a way to shut it down. We'll just choke it to death like you said.
We'll just deprive it of oxygen until the point it can't survive and then nobody can blame us for shutting down the H.B.CU.
>> Absolutely. So, this is and unfortunately uh there's an administration now in Washington DC uh that is extremely antilack. Uh they don't care about H.B.CU even though Donald Trump runs around talking about how he's done so much for H.B.CU. And so that's the other problem that you're having to face. Whereas before with Biden Harris, I mean, you had a strong Department of Education that stood by H.B.CU in fights like this.
>> Yeah. The one the one saving grace that we have here is, you know, Governor Basher uh signed this into law.
>> Uh >> yeah, >> he is he's trying to run or exploring, let's call it, uh presidential run. Uh we were shocked that he signed this into law given the fact that he was going to be vetoed or override his veto. He could have vetoed this. It would have been overridden and he could have just said, you know, I did everything I could. but instead he actually signed it into law as it was being shoved through the House and the Senate and the General Assembly passing it. He just signed it and I think that's going to be a uh black eye for him. I think he needs to come forward and address it. And we're hoping that um it creates some issues where he has to actually address this and not ignore it.
Well, I can guarantee you this. Uh if Governor Basher uh plans on running for president, uh he's going to have to do a lot of media interviews. Uh considering this is the only uh blackowned and the largest blackowned digital news uh network. Uh this is one of the places he's going to have to talk to. And I can guarantee you he is going to be questioned about signing this very thing if he ever appears on this show.
I hope so. I'd love to debate him on there. Have me on there with him.
>> Oh, trust me. Uh he's going to have to answer those questions. Um uh James, please keep us a breast uh of what happens uh with this lawsuit. Uh because again, this is not just Kentucky State.
This is every single one of these uh H.B.CU land grant institutions that were that were deprived. It was by pure racism, discrimination, but they took that money that was supposed to go to the H.B.CU from the federal government and they purposely gave it uh to white land grant institutions and they deprived these H.B.CU of the resources and as we discussed then complained about uh uh why aren't you doing so well? Why your finances disarray? Why are your facilities in disarray? Well, when you deprive me of money, what the hell you think is going to happen?
>> Exactly. I fully agree.
>> All right.
>> I appreciate it, sir. Thank you so very much, folks. We're going to take >> You're You're welcome.
>> Yep. Absolutely.
>> Good luck with the soup, folks. Going to take a break. We'll be right back.
Rolling unfiltered right here on the Black Star Net.
>> They've been trying to erase black political power since reconstruction.
Now, the Supreme Court is helping them finish the job. First came Shelby County versus Holder in 2013. The ruling that gutted the Voting Rights Act. Then came Bernovich in 2021. Another ruling, another piece torn away. Now comes Ka, the case civil rights leaders warned could [ __ ] the last major federal protection against racial vote delusion.
And within days, Tennessee eliminated its only majority black congressional district. Louisiana, South Carolina, Alabama. The same strategy is spreading across the South. The old Jim Crow used pole taxes and literacy tests. The new Jim Crow uses gerrymandered maps, voter role purges, polling place closures, and court rulings that make black communities politically invisible. 1965 was Freedom Summer. This is Freedom Summer 2.0 because they are still trying to erase black political power. And we will not bow.
With medicine and science under attack, I want to keep you and your family informed and healthy. I'm Dr. Ebony Hilton, and I knew at the age of eight that I wanted to be a doctor. So, I studied hard and became the first African-American female anesthesiologist hired at the Medical University of South Carolina since his opening in 1824.
And I always say I was made into a doctor, but I was born to be a mom. And as a new mom, wife, sister, daughter, and friend, I understand how frightening a medical crisis can be. I care for individuals on some of the worst days of their lives. It is my mission to provide you with a safe space to gain clarity on issues affecting your mind, body, and soul. I recognize that there are health disparities, particularly as it pertains to race. And I want to help bridge the gap between you and your healthcare providers. Join me every Thursday for second opinion on the Black Star Network, where each week I'll invite experts from various medical fields to share the latest health news. We'll discuss topics such as the vaccine debate, mental and sexual health, medical bias, infertility, menopause, andropause, nutrition, and aging.
Together with my medical colleagues, we aim to provide you with a second opinion. Don't miss it. Thursdays only on the Black Star Network.
>> Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene.
White nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence.
You will not.
>> White people are losing their damn minds.
>> As an angry proTrump mob storms the US capital, >> we're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting.
>> I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial.
>> This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash.
>> This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Bugaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this.
>> There's all the Proud Boys, guys.
>> This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people.
>> The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white beard.
I'm Mark Moral, president, CEO of the National Urban League, and I'm watching the Blackar Network.
folks my panel on this Thursday. Glad to have them here. Dr. Greg Carr, Department of Afroamerican Studies, Howard University, joining us out of Washington DC. Rei Cobber, host of the Reesei Cobbert Show, Sirius XM radio.
You can catch it every single Saturday.
Uh, it's also known as the cussing show.
Uh, Joy Cheney, founder of Joy, founder of Joy Strategies out of DC.
Glad to have all three of y'all here.
Greg, I want to start with you. What we just talked about here. Um, I mean, this is the history of our H.B.CU. Uh, the history of black people promised 40 acres in a mule don't get it. Black people formerly in enslaved people African descent put their money together. white philanthropists and others uh abolitionists create these institutions. They starve them. They become state institutions. They freeze us out of white schools uh separate but equal create these other schools. Don't give the money the privac of the money in the ' 50s and the 60s and the 70s and the 80s and the '9s and 2000 and then want to demand uh why aren't you graduating these students? Well, guess what? When black people aren't getting the resources when it comes to the jobs, then they can't uh send their kids to school the way white folks do. Students are coming out of H.B.CU with more debt uh than white students. Black kids also are going to H.B.CU, dropping out. And so when you hear these people criticizing uh well, why can't they graduate? This is Obama got criticized and ripped for people by this. Well, why can't they keep graduate these black kids in four or five years? Well, guess what? when you don't have four or fiveyear money, all this go goes with it. Thank God you have uh a white philanthropist like Mackenzie Scott who is handing out billions of dollars and it's not saying name buildings after me, put me on the boards and making it allow allowing them to do it where there are no restrictions.
But these institutions again deprived of billions of dollars. people have and I I just still fundamentally believe uh Greg that what what should be funded is a massive uh HBCU uh legal fund to sue every single one of these states in order to try to get this money. Otherwise, we're having the exact same conversation over and over and over again. Sure, I was down there with uh Investfest uh the thing that Robert Smith put together in Atlanta. That was great and wonderful. Hey, let's create this black fund. I get trying to raise a billion dollars for H.B.CU, but it's 20 billion dollars they're owed. My deal is let's go after the money they're owed.
Absolutely. Um, and I think that that um that fund that fund should be uh at least partially directed and anchored in a strategy that requires the historically black colleges and universities with law schools to put together teams of faculty, students, and alumni to be a collective H.B.CU law think tank. Well, first of all, remember the law school, unfortunately, the schools can't be a part of the lawsuit because they're states. Remember that's what happened in Maryland. So, explain explain what you're talking about there because remember Maryland was like, we like we support it, but because we're a state, we can't really be a part of it. So, explain that.
>> No, no, no, no, no. I I was I was speaking very specifically to your call for uh combined effort. Got it.
>> Uh it's not joining the lawsuits. It's uh you know Texas Southern and FAM and Southern University, Miles College in Alabama, Howard of course, North Carolina Central uh should contribute faculty and students and alumni to a think tank uh akin to something like Alec or something to be able to think through these issues. Whoever's going to be up, whoever's going to be, you have all that brain power. This is long overdue. Uh so I was just talking very specifically. Um that conversation you had there with attorney Morris I think was very important for a couple of major reasons and and thank you as always for evoking the warrior Alvin Chamblas because it's the heirs versus Ford Ice case and I read the complaint with great interest because uh I was in school at Tennessee State when the guy settlement was reached the stipulation of settlement. These hillbillies wanted Tennessee state to lose its racial identity. All of this of course goes back to the civil rights act of 1964. We talked about title six over and over again. It's talked about in the complaint. It comes down to this. I don't go too long. Uh but but that conversation y'all were having is very important. They, as he said, are still trying to attack black institutions, but they can't do it federally because these 1890 land grant institutions have in their missions this this very clear purpose. Title six requires that there not be a dual system of higher education, and that includes program duplication, as you reminded him in the Maryland case. They go out and just say you can't. Well, Morgan now has an executive uh MBA program and then here come Maryland put oh you can't do that and so that was part of that settlement there but it comes down to this and let's just tie it to the real issue we have there's a political lane in this Kentucky has clearly violated the law they changed the mission statement moving as he said from liberal arts to four-year residential polytech that's a violation on its face they can't survive a legal challenge but the while they're fighting in the courts the political issue is this and Andy Basher, I understand why he signed it. You're also signing your damn political death warrant, uh, Mr. Hillbilly adjacent white nationalist, governor of Kentucky.
But he signed it cuz he couldn't stop it. Understood that. He can't explain it to us. But here's the thing. Here's the thing. politically. If we do what we need to do and handle our business, and I'm I'm confident that momentum is building, if we then can get that House of Representatives flipped, the Senate flipped, and then in two years take the presidency, the pressure that Kristen Clark and them were putting on them resumes. Because when you read the complaint, they already had them there, and they said, "You can't diminish resources to Kentucky State or any of these H.B.CU. We are in here now to look for these matches that we can support you as you enhance the budgets at the state level. The feds will come in." All of that, as you said to him, goes away with Trump. But that's temporary if we kn if we do what we need to do. So the key here finally in the courts is to is to tie them up in the courts so we can at least get past the last I mean the next election cycle. This is where the politics intersects with the law. I think they can win on the front of the law in terms of them trying to change the mission statement and then make some other claims about budget necessities and all that. But politically, we won't even need to fight that fight if you can win the electoral battle to then resume the pressure that was on these hillbillies in Kentucky and the adjacent states to do the kind of thing they're doing, which is trying to evade the law and close down the H.B.CU.
>> Indeed, Reesei, uh, go to my iPad. These are the letters that were sent by, uh, and by the Biden administration. And and for all these Simple Simon Yahoos out there, uh, y'all know who y'all are. All you people who bump your gums uh on YouTube and all you fake ass keyboard warriors uh who love to sit here and trash Democrats, trash Biden, trash Harris, they ain't done this, they ain't done that. The reality is we know what Trump has not done. These are the actual letters you see dated September 18th, 2023 that was sent to K. Ivy, governor of Alabama. This is the letter that was sent to Sarah Huckabe Sanders, governor of Arkansas. This was sent here uh the uh governor of Florida, Ronda Santis.
Again, all three Republicans. This was sent to Brian Kemp, governor of Georgia, Republican. This is what's what was sent to Andy Basher, Democrat, governor of Kentucky. Uh let's see here. Uh this was uh uh to a then Louisiana governor John Bell Edwards, Democrat in uh Louisiana.
This was sent uh to Wesmore, governor of Maryland. Uh this was sent to uh Democrat in Maryland, Tate Reeves, Miss Republican in Mississippi. Uh let's go.
I'mma keep going here. Uh M Mike Parson, governor of Missouri, Republican. Uh let's see here. Uh Kevin Stit, governor of Oklahoma, Republican. Um, Henry McMaster, governor of South Carolina, Republican.
Bill Lee, governor of Tennessee, Republican.
Greg Abbott, governor of Texas, Republican.
>> Right here, Glenn Yncan, then governor of Virginia, Republican.
Jim Justice, uh, then the governor of West Virginia, now United States senator for West Virginia, Republican.
Roy Cooper then Gutter North Carolina Democrat.
Okay, those were all the letters. And when you read these letters, they walk through and where they they name what took place, the moral act, they mentioned North Carolina ENT. Uh here's a perfect example. Uh you'll see us right here. Uh these H.B.CU Partners act. Uh it talked about uh what the generation what the what the universities what they generate what they're owed. So here's a perfect example. Uh they say here North Carolina and and again I need you to listen the people who are watching and listening.
They calculated that due to the un unequitable funding of the 1890 institution in your state has caused a severe financial gap in the last 30 years alone. It says that North Carolina ENT alone is owed 2 billion7934,848.
And when you go through here, they they lay out in here uh Reissi uh the numbers. That was North Carolina uh ENT.
Uh you see right here, this is the letter that was sent uh to West Virginia. Uh it says that uh right there, look at this right here. This is West uh West Virginia State University uh 8 owed $852 million.
And then when you go in here and you see uh the next state, you see Virginia State. Uh Virginia State owed $277 million.
uh preview&M uh in here uh I'm looking for the number what PV is owed uh $1.1 billion and see Reesi this the game that they play they say oh we're getting money from the state no no no no no that's new money no what they're saying is these HBUs are owed money from 1987 to 2020 not new money so What I've been saying is no, no, no, no, no. Give them the money that they're owed on top of the new money you should be giving them.
>> Right. And that's what this is. Is Isn't that reparations? Like, isn't that what part of the thing is that you It's not just slavery. You had Jim Crow, you've had underinvestment, you've had all of these things that are documented and it's in HD. This isn't something where you have to prove through uh lineage and all that stuff. This is right here in front of our faces of things that these governments, these state governments owe our institutions. But I think the problem is that people feel like, well, I ain't getting a check or well, I didn't go to that H.B.CU, so it's not my problem. But when our HB.CU are underinvested, then that means that our our our professionals, our doctors, our lawyers are underinvested or they don't get to finish their education. that graduate with a massive amount of debt and all of these things. And this is particularly important when you have this administration, the federal administration, uh the Trump administration that's trying to kill DEI, that's trying to search for anything that has the word black or hell, even woman in it, and cut funding.
And so if we had robust, strong, fully funded institutions from H.B.CU, DCU from civil rights organizations and so on and so forth. Then we could beat that back and then we wouldn't be relying upon a Democratic administration. We wouldn't have to be on defense when there's a Republican ind administration because we would already be steady in the fight and we would be self-sufficient enough so that nobody can come for us. But unfortunately, that's not where our attention lies, especially when it's not something that people feel like directly impacts their education and their prospects.
>> Uh, and uh, Joy, that's part of the problem that I have is me, myself, and our strategy. I need to get mine. I mean, you see right here, Prairie View&M owed 2.1 billion. Sorry, this is Tennessee State. Tennessee State, it says it right here, ow, $2.1 billion dollar. Uh, and so what are we talking about here? So folk have got to stop making this all about me and realize that this impacts Tennessee State, the university. It impacts Nashville. It impacts all black people in Tennessee. A significant number of people who go to Tennessee State are coming from Chicago and other places. So what happens if a Tennessee state gets that two.1 billion dollars? And in fact, let me help people out. Um, I'm just going to pull this up.
Don't go to my iPad yet. Endowment of Tennessee State. Just so y'all understand, they're saying Tennessee State's owed $2.1 billion.
Right now, the endowment of Tennessee State is only 100 million.
If Tennessee State got the 2.1 billion and Tennessee State invests that money and if Tennessee State, let's say, earn 10% every single year, Tennessee State can say, "We're going to create $200 million in financial aid to get us scholarships for our students solely off of the $2.1 billion uh that they're earning every single year."
THIS IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
TENNESSEE STATE CAN also create jobs.
Tennessee State can also have investments in their local community.
There are lots of things you can do with money that you are owed. I mean, I think also what we're saying to our civil rights organizations. I'm going to build on what my fellow Howardite um Professor Carr is saying. We also have to get our civil rights groups to be focused as well or to create new civil rights groups who can be focused on these things. We've got to get almost like a Charles Hamilton Houston level focus and ecosystem of people who are focusing on defending our H.B.CU through the legal court system to give us a chance. And this is the same strategy that we're thinking in other places, right? Like, you know, Democracy Forward and other places. You have to beat them to the courthouse and flood them with lawsuits. Just like they're flooding you with violations in an effort to keep you in upheaval, we have to flood them with lawsuits which would can which can lead to um injunctive relief which can lead to us just stretching it out a little bit longer.
And when we fight, what that sends a signal is if I try to do this in my state or with my H.B.CU, they're not going to go quietly. They have a game plan. They will be able to fight me. It sends a signal to other governors, Democrats or Republicans. We have to make an example of Governor Basher, so that other governors won't do it again.
And we'll know that there will be consequences. I'd like to think that this would be political suicide for him.
But I don't know because we have incredibly short memories and we get focused on other things. But the fact of the matter is he has to pay a political price in some way, shape, or form. Maybe by even just having us talk about him so that he doesn't do it again, but more importantly so that others say, "I don't want to go that way." So that other states are like, "It's more trouble than it's worth." And then ultimately when we get back, we have to make sure these these institutions are made whole.
>> Uh listen, uh I I I I totally get it with the civil rights groups. For instance, large committ civil rights under law. They were involved in that Maryland suit. Uh but you had other law firms involved. I just think I just think what has to happen is there has to be a massive fund that is funding all of these law these law firms in each one of these states and suing every single one of them to recoup that $13 billion. All right, folks. Let's talk about voting. A federal judge has just cleared the way for potentially sweeping changes in how elections are run shortly before this year's midterm elections. US District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, will not do anything about the twice impeached crimally convicted felon and chief Donald Kon Trump's executive order, creating a federal voter list and limiting male voting. Judge Nichols rejected the request by Democrats and civil rights groups who argued that Trump's order would likely be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the person occupying the Oval Office, can have have the power to set the election rules. Nicholls agreed with the Republican Trump administration's contention that it was too early to block the order because it had not yet been implemented. Robert Winer, the director of voting rights project with the law for civil rights under law joins us right now. Robert, that's about the dumbest thing in the world. Oh my god. You got primaries taking place as we speak. You got people going to the polls uh in Alabama, multiple states. Florida goes to the polls in August. State officials got to get ready for the elections. one of the reasons why the uh the the judge in Florida said he wasn't blocking Ronda Sanders's new map because oh, we're three months away from our primaries and the me the um the me the election mechanism is already being put in place.
What the hell is this federal judge thinking?
>> You know, if we waited, they would say it's too late. So, in a sense, you can't win, but we will win. The thing about this is a decision on timing and the thing about time is it marches on. So as time marches on, we're not we're not going to wait for the final or the last minute. We can't do that. But the issues will get more concrete over time and we will sue again. We will refile our motion. We will not wait till the last minute and we will prevail.
We're not giving up. We're not going away. We will continue this effort to make sure that every person who wants to vote by mail can vote by mail.
you know, the the thing that for me that is is crazy and and and uh as I was driving in today and I'm I'm I'm I'm moving around driving all around DC and you got the reflecting pool and you've got uh of course uh you got um uh Trump just destroying the East Wing in the White House. Uh I I I dropped some things off at Langston Golf Course for their uh for their uh junior golf program. uh and he just decided I'm going to just take over the, you know, the golf courses, you know, uh in Washington DC as well. It's like, I'm just going to do these things and I don't give a damn. And the problem here, and this is what the real problem right now, uh, and I know you guys are not partisan, but it's just factual. You've got these Trump, these Trump appointed judges. You've got a Republican party in the House and the Senate, uh, who is letting this guy do whatever he wants to do, knowing full well that an executive order has absolutely no authority when states are given the rights, the right to run elections. And I thought Republicans really love states rights.
>> Yeah.
Um, people only love states rights when the states do what they want them to do, I'm afraid. Um, but in this case, um, the, uh, Trump administration is gaming the system. They are issuing they issued an order. The president issued an order that he knows will have impact that people can't wait till the last minute to respond to. And then they come in and say, "Well, nothing has happened yet."
Well, it has happened. We um our clients, the NAACP, Common Cause, and Black Voters Matter, they are doing what they need to do to get ready to respond to this assault on mail-in voting. And we will renew our request that the court stop this order from going into effect.
Um, it just goes to show the battle that we are in. And and I keep saying this, the only way you stop these people, you must stop them at the ballot box. So therefore, folks can't check out of elections.
>> Absolutely. The most important thing is to vote, but this administration is trying to make these votes not count, to make this election not count. and all the states that vote against Trump.
The question is what's going to happen there? Is the president going to say that those aren't legitimate elections, that those aren't legitimate results? Is he going to create chaos so that he can use the chaos he created as an excuse for not counting legitimate votes of people? when we get to election day. Well, we're not going to let that happen. And citizens can't let that happen. They need to vote and they need to make sure that they're registered and they take the steps that need to be taken well in advance of the election.
>> Um indeed, uh indeed. Keep up the fight, Robert. We sure appreciate it. Thanks a lot.
>> Sure thing. Uh going back to my panel here, Reissi, uh I I I it is it is incredulous to me um to listen to people who say, "Man, this stuff don't mean nothing. It don't matter." And I just keep saying there is nothing in our society, nothing. Nothing. Nothing.
Nothing. N O T H I N G Boldface underline it atalicized all caps that politics does not impact. I don't care what it is. Tell me something that you say, "Oh, politics has no place." And I can show you your absolute line.
>> It does. But I think people want to absolve themselves of the responsibility that they have to make the damn difference. We have the capacity. We have the numbers. We don't have to. We don't have to give them all the votes they need. We just have to give them the margin that they need. These are close elections. often the top the the mo many of the the the the seats that flipped and gave Republicans the majority in the House were decided by a couple hundred maybe even a couple thousand votes in 2024.
>> 7,000 7,000.
>> It was seven was 7,000 votes that determined who controlled the US House.
>> That's it. That's it. And now we got more gerrymanderers. So it's going to be an even higher hill to climb. But this is the time to do it. We're in election.
It's not like we're in 2025 and we are one day into the Donald Trump administration and we talking about voting a year and a half from now. This is the time to do it. Pick your pick your horse in the in the primaries and then move on. Whether they win or lose, move on and go towards the general election because they are playing for keeps. But it is crazy because Donald Trump put in an an executive order in March and he hasn't done really jack [ __ ] with it. his administration has not compiled the list of of of citizens. His administration or the you the the postal service hasn't compiled the list of people who are eligible. So no action has actually happened which means that they're going to wait till the last minute halfass sloppily do it and hope that a Republican judge says well it's too late to do anything to stop the sloppy incorrect um eligibility list.
But this is what they do. They do [ __ ] wrong and hope for the best. And what they're going to do is what they did in 2020 when Donald Trump lost is they are going to go after specific precincts, the black ones, and they're going to try to sue. They're going to try to confiscate votes in Fulton County.
They're going to try every single trick under the sun. But the one thing that can beat all those tricks is show up with overwhelming force at the polls.
They have laid their cards out on the table. They're going to lie, cheat, steal, and suppress. And what we have to do is be that variable in the equation, which is turning out, turning out, turning out.
>> Uh the the thing here, here's a perfect example, Joy. Um, the primary season is the time of the year where you want the type of Democrat or Republican that you desire. Now, for people who don't understand, California, I think Washington State, California is a jungle primary. So, top two vote getters. And the reality is you could be independent, you could be Republican or Democrat, but most of the states you're running either Republican or Democrat. So, let me just take Georgia.
I saw a whole lot of back and forth, Joy, uh, before the primary. Um, people who were against former Atlanta mayor Kesha Lance Bottoms. There are people who were for her, who were for some of the other candidates who ran. Okay, they had the primary. She won. She crushed the opposition.
Okay, if you're still bitching and moaning, you do know she's now the nominee. So, it's now going to be Kesha Lance Bottoms running against Brad Raffensburgger, Secretary of State, Republican, MAGA, Republican.
Those are the picks. So, if you're still complaining about her tenure as Atlanta mayor, okay, who is she running against?
So what you now should be doing is sizing up these two people. What what drives me crazy is when I listen to people who are watching these things going on. So what the Republicans are doing is like, "All right, so they sitting there going, "Okay, let's see here. Um, all right. Supreme Court, yeah, we going to let uh Alabama uh and leave Louisiana. Yeah, I know y'all sent battles out uh change election.
All right, we gonna let Trump's little male ballot thing move move through.
Okay, cool. We good with that. Um Okay.
Uh we gonna let y'all keep purging people. Uh yeah, we cool with that. Uh so they are putting in place the infrastructure that will restrict access to the ballot.
whole bunch of negroes over here still yelling and screaming about how somebody is an awful candidate and I'm like the primary is over. It's same in Texas.
Support Jasmine Crockett. She didn't win. So what are you now left with? is Ter Rico and the corrupt, absolutely corrupt evil Ken Paxton. You know what Republicans are doing right now? They're saying, "Damn, I hate Ken Paxton, but I will pick him over Telerico any day." But you got folks over here still bitching about a primary that happened in March.
We in May. So, I'm like, y'all better get in the game cuz you know what Republicans are doing? They're coalescing behind that corrupt, evil, cheating, maniacal, deranged MAGA Ken Paxton.
>> Joy, and here's the thing. For those who are listening to what Roland's saying and that leaves you unsatisfied, we're not saying you have to like those people.
We're not saying that once they get in office, you can't hold them accountable.
We're not saying that you can't go and ask them questions. We're not saying you can't primary them in the next election.
But don't miss the opportunity to elect someone who will have the vast majority of your best interests in heart and you all will share an alignment and you have the possibility of keeping a to of of it winning back a Democratic Senate that can be a counterweight to this evil Trump administration. Don't miss an opportunity to do that. Fighting old battles or taking back the house because you're fighting old battles. And you know, yes, absolutely. It doesn't have to be everybody. It only has to be enough. But because we don't know what that'll be, we have to flood the zone.
We have to flood the zone. We have to vote so much that when they try to disenfranchise us, we still have enough votes. We have to make it clear. We also have to put down what is in a sense an a continued insurrection by this MAGA party against the democracy and the Constitution of the United States. So we have to do all of those things and the only way that happens is if we vote. I get it. I'm frustrated with various parties including the Democratic party many days of the week. But at the end of the day that is what advances us forward. So that's what we have to do and that's what they're doing. They hate Ken Paxton. They liked John Cornin, but when their leader said go and Paxton, that's what they did. And we don't have to like that, but that's about political power. Forget whose name is on the ballot. Black power is on the ballot.
And so you need to vote accordingly.
>> So, um, in Georgia, Bert Jones, Lieutenant Governor, one, Greg, uh, and he's the crazy, deranged one who is now leaning into how the 2020 election was rigged. So again, everybody in Georgia, all y'all BLACK FOLKS IN GEORGIA WHO WAS still yelling, hollering, screaming about Kea Lance Bottoms, guess what? You had an opportunity. You had an opportunity to pick who you wanted. And guess what? Your candidate did not win.
She's a nominee.
That's just one example. And all I'm saying is I don't care races all across the country. Your person may not win the nomination. Now, what you going to do?
Are you going to say, "Well, my person didn't win, so therefore I ain't voting." Okay, that means in Georgia, if you sit out, that means that fool, Lieutenant Governor Bert Jones, who should have been who should have been indicted, is going to be the governor. What policies you think he going to implement? It's as simple as that.
It is as simple as that. And Bert Jones, you will be going to jail if we do what we need to do at some point, my little friend. all y'all going to jail if we step up and do what we need to do. And thank you, Joy, for for for reiterating that. We just need, you know, check our registrations, get out there and get people who haven't registered to register. And for the folks who want to argue about this and say that, you know, all the foolishness that we've heard, you know, we spend some time trying to convince them and if they decide to go ahead and set themselves on fire, we move to the next door and get the person who is persuadable or who hasn't been engaged. I don't believe that we should be spending a whole lot of time. This is the disinformation campaign that we're seeing ramp up now in an election season. We're seeing the xenophobia uh stuff being ramped up in South Africa and as their elections are coming up in November. We see what's going on in Brazil right now with Trump trying to get his little racist fascist buddy who's in locked up. His son is going to challenge Lula Silva and you see the disinformation already starting and of course it's here. So, you know, I don't believe in spending too much time trying to convince somebody who has just been so diseducated. we'll fight for you too, but if we stay here a little too long with you, we will have worked for them.
And I think that's what this particular case echoes as well. We know Steve Bannon, the disho billionaire who would say to throw everything out there and just keep it going. Keep it going. Keep it going. We know the scurrying little nasty piece of work Russell vote who is scurrying around in basements and attics coming up with the latest thing to throw in the road. And we know that they among others prepared this executive order which is contradictory which doesn't make sense. But the point is to continue the distraction and to create this notion that they have more power than they do in this specific case. If you remember a couple of weeks ago when Judge Nichols called Nichols who made this ruling today asked during the oral arguments the Department of Justice why shouldn't I rule on this now? They said well maybe we'll make these lists and maybe we won't. But if we make them, maybe we'll use them for, and here's the phrase, postelection law enforcement.
What does that mean? Remember, this is a nasty mashup of the Department of Homeland Security, the Social Services, uh, Social Security Administration, and the United States Post Office. Go back a few months again, uh, last year. Think about this now, where all all this mashup and it's so much we start to just get aure to it and forget about it.
Remember Grape Nuts or Little Balls or whatever his name was and all his little, uh, teen boy friends running around getting all our information?
Well, you know, if you're allowed to compile a list, let's say you don't use it to ch check voters, but you've cross referenced all this stuff with this data. THEY HAVE SO MUCH going on at the same time finally that it comes down to this. We heard attorney Weiner. All the judge said today was that I'm not going to block it cuz it doesn't exist yet.
Although for people who think the ma that the law is like a mathematical formula, no, the law is whatever you can twist it to say it needs to be. remember that uh 303 versus Atlantis uh case, that creative website case where the person said, "Well, if I ever do, I'm going to build a company. If I ever have a company, I don't want to service uh same-sex marriages." And it went to the Supreme Court and they said that she had standing because she could demonstrate that if this law goes into effect, I will be harmed if uh it goes into effect and I decide not to follow the law on the First Amendment grounds. Well, in this case, you can distinguish it. But at the same time, the judge could have very easily said, if you make this list, it will be unconstitutional. That was the judge's ruling. But again, as Weiner said, the minute they make a list and try to enforce it, EVERYBODY'S GOING BACK TO COURT, AND now you got to rule on the merits. This really wasn't a setback. The point is they want to create the illusion that they have all this power. And so what we have to do is stay focused, stay on the ball, and as Joyce said, overwhelm them with our capacity. So no matter how many illusions they throw out there, we just bust them in the face. And Jones, you going to jail sometime. If we do that, all these cats that look like they're riding high, they going to jail.
>> Absolutely. All right, folks. Uh got to go to a break. We come back, we're going to talk about, of course, Supreme Court decision. Uh where Clarence Thomas on the wrong side of black folks again.
We'll talk about that. Uh we're also going to talk about Apple. What's up with Apple store? uh disenfranchising uh workers, especially black workers who want to unionize. Yeah, we buy a lot of Apple products, but they don't give a damn about workers. We're going to talk to one of those uh next. So, don't forget, we all support the work that we do here at Rollerbart Unfiltered the Blackar Network. Our goal is to get 20,000 people contributing on average 50 bucks each a year. That's $4.19 a month, 13 cents a day. Let me be perfectly clear. Um, you're not going to see the Kentucky State lawyer on uh Abby Phillips show on CNN or any other network shows on CNN or MS Now or Fox or ABC or NBC or CBS. You're not going to see that voting rights story. You're not going to sit here and see them talking to these Apple workers. You're not going to see them talking about a Supreme Court ruling. Why am I saying all of this? I'm just going to be real. You see more black experts, more black guests, more black panelists on this show than you see on those networks in a whole week.
So the question is we or when are we going to support our own media?
When are we going to be sure that black own media exists? I'm going to go ahead and say it. I ain't got a problem. Black Enterprise laid off 15 freelancers.
Blavity made some cuts as well. NNPA is having issues. So, when we say blackowned media covering stories, where are where are they? The Camelo Anthony trial starts next week in uh in Dallas.
How many blackowned media people are going to be covering that trial? I'll wait. We'll be there. The point I'm making is we cannot put our fate in somebody else's hand. So when you support this show, you're supporting the 17 people who work for this network and the six shows and what we're trying to build. So if you want to contribute via cash app, use a stripe QR code. Uh again, uh folks give 50, some people give more, give less. We appreciate all of it. Uh use a stripe QR code. You see it right here. If you're listening, go to blackstaretwork.com. Uh you want to contribute via cash due to checks and money order make it payable to roller Martin unfiltered PO Box 57196 Washington DC 200037-0196 PayPal's R Martin martin unfiltered binmo rm unfiltered z rolling at rolands martin.com rolling at roland martinunfiltered.com All right folks let me tell you about chapter now if you're on Medicare or about to be the system is not set up to work for you. Too much fine print, too many plans, and too many people making money off of your confusion. And look, we're used to this. We're no strangers to systems that don't have our best interest at heart. But we don't have to accept it when it comes to Medicare.
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>> What's up? It's Tylenali. I'm CEO. This is the Blackar Network, >> folks. Uh let's talk about uh Apple. Um if we pull up right now, uh give me one second. I'm just going to show y'all this here so I can put into context uh our next conversation.
Um how much is Apple um worth?
Hm. This is interesting, y'all. I just want y'all to understand. Henry, go to my iPad.
This is the closing stock price of Apple stock today. Up $166.
One share of Apple stock is worth $31,251.
The market cap of Apple is $4.59 trillion.
Let me say it again. $4.59 trillion.
So with that in mind, why is it that Apple wants to shut down a store in Talson, Maryland? This is a piece here from 9to5 Mac. Union workers protest Apple's plan Talson store closure. And it says right here uh that um Apple is going to close three stores. Apple Talson Town Center in Talson, Maryland.
Apple North County in Eskanito, California. Appen Apple Trumble in Trumble, Connecticut. Um they say that that they're located in malls affected by quote the departure of several retailers and declining conditions.
Well, guess what? The Talsson store became the first Apple retail store in the United States to unionize.
H the folks at IM Union uh they actually responded uh to this. They accused Apple of discriminating uh against workers uh at that Talson store saying that many of those workers uh are African-American.
Joining us right now is Eric Brown. He is uh the leader at Apple and he's vice president of local 4538.
Eric, glad to have you here on Roller Martin unfiltered. I purposely showed that uh because when we talk about Apple being worth I mean the market cap is $4.59 trillion.
Um I'm going to show this uh the next one. Give me one second. um Starbucks, which has been of course pushing back uh against uh stores at Unionize. Uh the Starbucks uh their market cap 114.82 billion dollar, we can go down the line, these companies that are worth billions upon billions of dollars and they have been fighting desperately to keep workers from unionizing.
Yeah, that's correct. That's correct.
That's absolutely correct. Exactly what you said.
>> Walk us through that. How many workers in Talison are impacted?
>> So, anywhere between 70 and 90 right now. Um, a lot of us, and to your point, that article that you read, it showed that there are two other stores that are closing as well, and they're stating that it's because of the mall. Um, what they're not showing is that those two other locations, the employees there are being transferred automatically to other locations while myself and all of my co-workers, we all got letters of termination.
>> So, so wait a minute. So, we're so Apple is closing three stores. The employees at the other two stores that are closing are being transferred to other Apple stores. But the one Apple store that is the first in the country to unionize, y'all got termination letters.
>> Correct. That is absolutely correct.
>> Yep.
>> So, no assessment on highquality workers at that Talison store. I mean, let's I don't I don't know what Apple's ratings are in terms of how they rank workers.
Uh, but I would think, let's just say if I had a five-star system and let's say of the 90 people at the Talson store, let's say, oh, 10 of them are fivestar workers. I I probably will want to keep my fivestar workers uh and send them somewhere else. But they Well, they're saying, uh-uh, no. All y'all out of a job.
>> Oh, yeah. Oh, yes. All All of us. And I'd argue that everybody there is a fivestar worker. Everybody there should get the chance to relocate just like any other Apple employee would at any other store, which is evidenced by the two other stores. All of their employees, they don't have to worry about applying for a job. They told us we can stay with the company as long as we go through the portal and apply for a job and and and get hired through that hiring process all over again.
>> What was the process?
>> I would argue that all of us do that.
>> What was the process? How long did it take for y'all to unionize?
I'm glad you asked that too. Um, so we we went public that we wanted to uh to organize that was in late May or June of 2022. Um, we won that campaign um in June of 2022. Um, now normally it usually takes about a year or so um to get your first contract. It took us double that. So we didn't get our first contract until 2024.
There it was it was a long process. A long a long and hard process.
>> And when y'all unionized when y'all unionized, what were y'all asking for in that contract?
>> Oh, we wanted some stability. We wanted to say we wanted a seat at the table. A lot of it just like some of these other locations. You mentioned Starbucks. You talk about Amazon. There's a big wave of organization happening around the co time. That opened a lot of people's eyes to what was going on about not having a say in your workplace. that that sparked a lot of interest in my co-workers and myself on how do we make sure that the good things that we have we love our job, right? That's why we're fighting to keep our jobs. We love our job. Apple offers tremendous benefits. So, what we wanted was to make sure that those benefits don't get taken away from us.
We wanted to try to improve on some of the benefits that we had. We wanted to make sure that our wages were in line with the rising inflation. We wanted to make sure that coming to work every day, we'd be able to support ourselves and our family to have a place to live.
>> You know, one of the things that I've said is that um I look, I I support uh I support uh unionization. I also recognize that there are some companies that very small companies that operating on extremely thin margins uh that don't offer benefits. And I get that. Uh and and look, it's when you're an owner, it's it's a very difficult situation when you're talking about owning a company uh and you're trying to keep it in business and you're trying to pay your employees uh and if you're not uh you know getting uh the resources that you need. So I totally understand that.
What I don't understand is when you have behemoths, I said Starbucks market cap more than 100 plus billion dollars.
Apple uh its market cap uh is $4.9 trillion. If I look at Amazon, uh, look at Amazon market cap. Jeff Bezos, second richest person, uh, in the world. When I look at Amazon, Amazon is a company. Its market cap is $2.95 trillion. Uh, and you're like, seriously? Seriously, you're a company. And And let's just be real clear. Uh, and you know, I look, we did once uh we did something with Apple.
Uh, when it came to uh when they had the show Swagger, uh, we tried to get a meeting with the Apple um um uh chief marketing officer. Uh, I was working with Lisa Jackson, who then was the highest ranking African-American there.
She's retired. Uh, the SEMO, they made it clear they wouldn't even meet with me. And I'm sitting there going, "That's interesting because I'm sitting here with uh one Apple iPad, uh a second uh Apple iPad, uh sitting here wearing uh an eyewatch, uh got two iPhones, and so I'm like, "Oh, wow." So, I'm sitting here with uh five Apple products. So, I've actually spent uh more money on Apple products uh than they've actually spent with us. And uh and so this is what they want. They want folks buying their products, but they don't want to um work with workers to say, "Hey, how can we provide you with better benefits uh to continue to be great workers?"
>> Yeah, absolutely. And one of the things about our store closing as well, we're the only store that supports the Baltimore area. The next closest store is Columbia, Maryland. If you ride the bus or if you're relying on Uber or Lift to get there, that that is an expensive ride to go to to Colombia, you can't take a bus ride to get to Colombia for less than two hours. And that's for the commuter bus that goes there, right? So, we're not we're not just affecting just us as workers, we're affecting the community that we're in as well. So to to take our Apple store from the Baltimore community is is one of the things that we we really find issue with.
>> Um I mean Yeah. So do do you believe that that this decision by Apple is uh clearly a result of you you guys unionizing two years ago? I'm sorry. Uh four years ago.
>> Absolutely. In my opinion, yes.
Absolutely. Absolutely. If we weren't, there would be no issue with us transferring to those other stores, right? They're saying there's an issue with the mall. Apple has the resources to make another store outside of the mall to keep a store in the community.
So, and in the time being, while they decide where they want to go in the community, all of us shouldn't have to worry about our jobs. I shouldn't have to worry about how I'm going to feed my family. You know, I just had a son two weeks ago, two weeks today, actually.
Um, I shouldn't have to worry about how I'm going to continue to provide for my family, how I'm going to provide for my daughter that's going to college, how I'm going to provide for my my three-year-old or about to be three-year-old. I should automatically, if they're deciding to shut the store down while they regroup and recalculate where we're going to stand in the Baltimore area, I should be able to take my job and go somewhere else just as everybody else does. And the fact that I I'm having to apply 100% I believe is because we're a union store. That's why we're being treated differently.
>> Um man, that says uh and so when is the store completely shut down?
>> June 20th. June 20th. Less than less than a month from now.
>> Less than a month. Uh all right, Eric, keep up the fight. We really appreciate it. Thanks a lot.
>> Thank you. I appreciate you for having me. Joy, it says a whole lot when Apple is the third most valuable company in the world. Number three in the world with a market cap of $4.59 trillion.
Uh and unfortunately with so many of these companies and this is what we're dealing with today. These companies focus they are about uh squeezing as much production out of workers as possible. uh making sure that that uh that that money goes to shareholders, goes to uh high-paying uh executives.
>> That's correct. I think this is also a reminder that when we talk about the residual impact of your vote, we don't mean just what government officials do.
We mean what the people who are looking at those officials who are wondering, you know, are they going to inquiries into me? Am I going to have to deal with the NLRB? Am I going to have to just deal with an administration that's proworker or or anti-worker? They're looking at all of that and they know that with all of the things going on, the American people's attention span, black people's attention span, even people who are proworkers attention span is split. They can get away with this.
There won't be a cost. And then they're not going to have to deal with an administration who's looking over their shoulders, who's asking additional questions because this administration not only doesn't care about workers are actually anti-worker.
That is the impact of your vote or nonvote. And so I think the question I'd have for our guest is, you know, what does he want us to do? Me, you, others who use, you know, our Apple products.
>> Yeah. I I I I I I think what they will want us to do is uh utilize Reissi, our social media, let folks know, make put in phone calls and letters as well. And again, to put in context, uh this is the numbers. This is what Apple Apple CEO Tim Cook, he since stepped down. Apple CEO Tim Cook, he earned $74.3 million in total compensation in for fiscal year 2025. Uh he had a salary of $3 million, but uh the rest of that is in stock awards, bonuses, other forms of compensation. $74.3 million.
>> There's no such thing as too much money.
But I want people to understand that the idea of trickle down economics, this is a prime example of why it doesn't work.
Why it doesn't work to make corporations richer. Why it doesn't make work to make billionaires richer. But I will say I'm an Android girl. I ain't got no Apple phone, iPhone, nothing like that. So I don't wake up because I was I've been off Apple a very very long time.
However, what I will say is, you know, this is another test of values. I don't have a problem with anybody continuing to buy Apple products. But if your values are that you don't want to support businesses that rather than allow their workers to have basic labor rights um to to still be rewarded with that, then you might want to choose otherwise. Samsung, I don't let me not vouch for Samsung, but I will say that I've been fine with my Samsung phone. I haven't missed not having the Apple phone for >> well and well and and I'll tell you right here. Let's see here. Uh here.
Give me a wide shot. Uh Samsung TV.
Samsung TV. Samsung TV. Let's see. In my studio. Uh give me the shot with the other side. Let's see here. One, two, three. Uh four. Five. Uh how many in the control room? Four or five?
Come on. Control room. Talk.
Got. It's big ass TVs. Y'all can't count. How many? Three. Okay. So there are eight Samsung TVs uh in this studio.
Uh and I'm going tell you right now, Samsung is spent one penny on advertising as well. So Sam Samsung Kung is right next to Apple. Uh so I I I'll put them all in the same same group. Uh you mentioned who remember Google also owns Android. Uh and so Samsung is the brand. Uh and let me just go ahead and say it right here. Uh cuz I'm pulling this up. Uh hm right here. Uh Samsung, what's their market cap? Their market cap is um 1.9 trillion.
Uh Greg, >> that's why I don't be telling people to boycott everybody cricket, but I'm just saying.
>> No, no, no, no. If you want >> No, I'm sorry. Samsung's market cap is one Samsung's market cap is 1.3 trillion, making them the 11th most valuable company. So, just making it a point. Uh, Greg, when we talk about uh we talk about uh Apple, uh I remember when Reverend Jackson uh God rest his soul, when he was um he was pressing um Apple um when it came to them filing their um uh their um hold on one sec, I'm going to pull it up. Um filing their paperwork. Uh and he was pressing them over the issue of corporate diversity. uh and he was he was challenging them uh when it came to um uh certain things and uh and he said that they were lacking diversity. Uh and matter of fact, this was a piece March 12th, 2025, Reverend Jackson uh said to Apple uh he addressed them at their shareholder meeting and he said uh that Apple can do better. He praised stuff that Tim Cook was doing. Uh but he said that uh they can be uh uh the leader.
They can actually do more. Uh and and that was important. Now, you know, Apple then began uh look at this is what a this is what Reverend Jackson pushed for. Uh the AP report said Apple had no black Latino directors. 12 of the top 15 executives listed on his website uh were white men. Um and it said Jackson has pressed Silicon Valley companies to improve diversity. Uh he praised Cook for releasing workforce demographic stats as several other top tech companies have done but urged Apple to follow Intel's lead in setting more specific goals. I remember they initially we're not uh submitting that paperwork um Greg and um I remember I said something on Twitter and you know me I don't I don't subweet so I tagged uh Apple CEO Tim Cook. Uh I then got a phone call from someone at Apple and said uh that Tim Cook was really upset and he was like who is this? Who is Roland Martin? And then the person said to him uh and he was said I would advise you not to do what you're thinking about doing cuz I don't think you know who he is. Uh and then the person called me uh to say uh you got his attention. I said I'm sure I did. Uh and again he wanted to you know get his communications person and try to sit and they advised him don't do that Tim don't do that cuz him ain't like everybody else cuz I damn sure would have fired back. The point I'm raising here these companies have to be challenged Greg. This is not where we should be satisfied with a scholarship.
This is not where we should be satisfied with um you know you know minor monetary uh donations. No, this is where we should be using our hip and begin to say we buy your products. We buy we buy these this is what we say to McDonald's.
This is what we say to Pepsi. This is what we say to all these corporations.
And I dare say in the moment that we're in right now where we are seeing companies silent with the attack of voting rights.
CBC was right in calling them out. But it can't just be uh CBC. And I'm going to take it further and I'm asking this question. Uh the executive leadership council, where are y'all?
Where are y'all? Now, I know um uh they just announced u that um that they are having a leadership change and their CEO um is stepping down. Uh and that's fine.
Uh and you know, this is their website, the executive leadership council working to build an inclusive global business leadership pip pipeline. But the reality is, uh these black executives getting laid off. A whole bunch of these folk got laid off uh in the past uh uh uh 15 months uh since Trump got got back in there. Uh Michael Haidider uh he is um he is the CEO. Uh he's leading and you see the different officers here and and I'm going I'm going to say it point blank. Um and I said and let me real clear y'all. I'm not saying on my show what I have not said in person. I challenged Michael three years ago at Essence saying, "Say man, the attacks on DEI are coming. Where y'all at?
Where y'all at?" And you know what?
They're losing people. Okay. So, Michael, he's stepping down. I don't know who they're going to replace. I would hope the executive leadership council gets aggressive and hires somebody who is not just going to be a goal along to get along for these corporations. Black business roundt.
Where y'all at?
Where y'all at? So, this is this is a moment that we're in where we've got to have black organizations stepping up.
I'm not interested in your gayla dinners.
I'm not interested in who bought a table.
It's great to put on black tie and feel good and go to the gay lord uh and have 2,000 3,000 people, but the question then becomes how are these companies uh being challenged? Not just for the the black folk at the top, but for the workers also at the bottom. And that's where we have to be. And so this is where black America Greg is looking to black organizational leaders saying, "Where you at? What you doing? who if you are a black organization and I for I forgot her name remember she was at Tavis Smiley's thing when she said when we have uh we don't have blacks leading we have leading blacks >> and that's the issue that's the issue back I'mma find that clip in a second but that's the problem that we're dealing with people who are running organizations who are getting nice checks who go to panel discussions and do meetings saying they are speaking on behalf of black people and you do not see them actually speaking on behalf of black people.
Yeah, that's right, Roland. You put your you put your finger on the third rail of our struggle.
It's not racial, it's not cultural, it's class.
as our friend Gerald Horn often reminds us, what we call the civil rights movement victories of the 1950s and60s is in part, was in part a negotiated settlement between capitalist elites, the politicians they own, and a tiny sliver of the black bgeoisi um and to relieve a little pressure on them so they can move on up in the class ranks. Meanwhile, the vast majority of our people continue to suffer. That's not to say that these people were sellouts or some kind of way race traders, but it is to say that this is how capitalism works.
Why is that important?
Well, you just again you put your finger on it. Organized labor has always been a threat to capitalism.
Set aside the racism of the AFL CIO.
Think about the international workers of the world back in the early 20th century, which is why everybody got had to be painted as a communist and organized labor. even a Philip Randolph and you know but what it comes down to is this the reason that Tim Cook didn't want they didn't want him to tangle with you wasn't because you weren't going to buy all the Apple products it was because you have an outsized influence in the politics of perception and in a moment when organized labor continues to struggle in terms of real world knocking on doors and organized it is the politics of perception that could upset this whole apple cart And this is why we our strongest work now might be in terms of changing perception. That's why again this platform is so very important. Let's just look at it, you know. Um, think about this in in in terms of people organizing to push back. We saw what just happened in Utah with this data center, this massive data center. People are like, "Oh, hell no. We we just saw today in Louisiana, sure, they uh they still passed this redistricting stuff this afternoon, but the people still showed up in protest. And like Mayor McClthun said, if you don't speak out, they will then use that silence and say that is your consent. So when you protest, you are always threatening to overturn perception. And capitalism can implode in a minute, in a second if the perception shifts. for when the NACP says these black athletes shouldn't go to the south until y'all get y'all politics together and they said, "Oh, y'all can't stop them." You don't understand capitalism. College for college sports has been professional for quite some time and now it's nakedly professional. You don't think that a kid who has a scholarship offer or NIL deal on the table with LSU or Alabama or Auburn doesn't have that same money that could come from Michigan and Ohio State.
Do you know what these Big 10 and Pack 10 schools getting ready to do? They getting ready to get in a bidden war and say, "Don't go to Baton Rouge. Come on up here to Nike University in Oregon."
Capitalism can switch the whole thing.
Perception is key. Finally, when we heard Brother Brown today, say what he said. Apple is terrified of organized labor. That's why Tim Cook was on that plane to China. By the way, the CEO of Samsung was in China, too. Not on that plane talking with C separately a month before that. They're all in the same dirty game. But they are terrible because China ain't got deal with organized labor. them iPhones that everybody that we're all using are made by people who would dream of organized labor. Which finally leads me to this point. If you seen this recent movie I Love Boosters, uh Boots Boots Raleigh and uh Kiki uh uh what's her name? The the actress um what's what's the sister's name? You know what I'm talking about. Uh keep Thank you. Key Palmer.
Thank you. Thank you. Jo, the whole idea is they got factory workers in China.
They got these sisters over here on the west coast trying to upset the Alpak car on this cheap fashion that this white girl played by Demi Moore is trying to exploit everybody and use style to make this profit. And at a key moment they become aware of each other. It's all kind of surrealist in this. But the point Boots Rally is making is this. We are all in the capitalist machine. When he was a rapper with the with the coup he was like capitalism is like a spider.
The web is getting tighter. I'm struggling like a fighter. You can't get out of it. However, if we have a change in perception, we can renegotiate the terms with the whole thing and organized labor doesn't have to rely on doortodoor knocking exclusively anymore. They get on a show like Roland Martin unfiltered.
Now people are becoming aware and people realize, you know what, maybe we need to have a union, too. And before you know it, everything can change. That's why Tim Cook didn't want to talk to you, brother. Because as people become aware of each other and their strength, you can flip capitalism immediately cuz it doesn't recognize state boundaries. But it wants you to pretend like those boundaries are in place only for you. We have to have some global solidarity, some local change in our attitudes. And you can see how quickly this whole thing can change. And I think that's rising to the top now.
The thing I need people to understand and see this is the piece that too many people um miss. Too many people miss. Uh in fact, matter of fact, uh give me the other camera. Zoom out cuz I'm tired of sitting down. Um this is the thing that that that people miss Greg Reesi uh and Joy. And that is um what often happens is um and I said this earlier when we were talking about this whole me myself and I and this is a conversation that we had yesterday with Howard Bryant and others talking about the NAACP boycott.
Now I've had so many different negroes saying oh this ain't right. Y'all asking these young brothers to give things up.
And I said the problem that we have is we are operating out of a sense of selfishness in terms of where what this thing is all about is how can I secure the bag?
How can I secure the bag? See, I've said this to a bunch of these other people.
I've said this that when I have been in meetings and when I have been challenging companies on advertising, I'm not in the meetings saying, "Okay, uh can we uh can we negotiate how much Roland Martin unfiltered in the Black Star Network is going to get?"
See, when we had the black own media collective, there were negroes in that collective who went into rooms negotiating for themselves. I kept saying, "If we go in and negotiate as a collective, then we can come out and then we can we can split up who gets what. But if you go in and then you go in and you go in all by yourself, then we actually going to go get less."
And uh I I remember I remember um as a part of this again when you're talking about um how do you move as a collective when I'm arguing for black own media to get more money I say blackowned media I'm I'm using a plural ain't just me I remember when people were calling me during the comm Kla Harris campaign and remember Janu remember It was initially by the people were running it and I was saying I I ain't just arguing for me.
I'm like I want all of us to get paid.
The same thing we talk about these we talk about um when we talk about these companies and see the the the problem that I have today. See this is why y'all ain't gonna never see me get invited to any of the black corporate board of directors conferences. They ain't gonna never invite Roland Martin. I'm just letting y'all know because see the problem is the reason I ain't gonna never get invited is because see when Earl Graves and Reverend Jesse Jackson senior were fighting to get more black people on boards of directors, they were not fighting to get more black people on boards of directors solely for for those black people to get the stock options and the checks and then not open the door and create the opport opportunities for everybody else. See y'all, the fight was not always about can you add blacks to your board of directors and can you add blacks to the seauite. The whole point was no, we want to see expansive.
I told y'all uh in Martin Deppy's book on Operation Bread Basket, when they were negotiating deals, they were negotiating for them to put money in back black banks, hire senior executives, hire external uh black companies and hire workers. It was multifaceted. But see what has happened is, and this is why I was challenging the executive leadership council. This is why I'm challenging the black business roundt. This is why I am challenging uh these institutions because they are in at the table. They are in the room. They're sitting there with these companies with significant market cap. And the question is how are these companies and how are these black executives and black board members, how is black America benefiting from their presence as opposed to how their families are benefiting? See, if only your children are the beneficiaries of your presence on these boards, then that means that you are reigging on the promise or the work of Earl Graves and Reverend Jackson and others who open the doors. If you are an African-American sitting on a corporate board today and you are still the only African-American on that corporate board and if you sit on two or three other boards and you have not used your presence uh to create opportunities for three, four, five, 10, 15, 20 other black people, then you have failed when it cames to the arrangement.
And see, that's what I'm talking about.
The difference between black leaders and leading black. It was Dr. Julia Hair who was speaking at Tavis's State of Black America. Now, y'all don't mind me the clip I'm about to play cuz when you see the clip sitting behind on the walls of while they were talking with the Exxon Mobile and Wells Fargo logos uh as they were talking, keep in mind how many black people lost their homes during the home foreclosure crisis to Wells Fargo.
And yes, Wells Fargo, they've been spending money at various black events and sponsoring certain things, but that does not make up for the billions black people lost due to those predatory loans that were taking place and the racial discrimination that they are facing. Uh, and so, yes, I'm saying that. So, Wells Fargo, y'all have a whole lot more to do uh when it comes to black America than just sponsoring certain things. Uh, it has to be much deeper and broader. I'm just simply saying, but let me play this for you.
>> Got to take over. The covenant taught us that we do not have to have black leaders anymore.
It told us because everyone in this room is empowered to be a black leader.
The one in this room.
Because see right now, right now these people that you're calling black leaders are not what they used to be when Marcus Garvey's day. They're not what they used to be back in the days of Web Devo and Martin Luther King. Those were the people that got us together and platted a strategy and we're not looking for fame. But today's black leaders, I'm afraid of become leading blacks. And don't ever confuse leading blacks with black leaders.
Let me tell you why you don't do that.
ONE of the reasons you don't confuse them, black leaders are chosen by you.
They're chosen by the people they're going to lead. They're chosen by us. But let me tell you about the leading blacks.
The leading blacks are chosen by the media. Leading blacks leading blacks are chosen by ABC. All broadcasting Caucasians.
Should I should I should Should should I should I stop her or let her go?
>> This is the last.
>> Now this is the last one. This is the last one. It leading blacks are also chosen by NBC.
Nothing broadcasting but Caucasians.
And the rest are chosen by CBS, the Caucasian broadcasting system.
And when you allow when you allow leaders to be chosen by the media that's owned by the corporations, when you get ready to change your lives, when you get ready to demonstrate, when you get ready to march, when you get ready to come to the cabinet, when you get ready to endorse and make Travis one of our next elected officials, but what happens Then you must take the time to carefully watch and see what the leading blacks are doing because that's when the leading blacks sneak into the door to the corporations and they will tell the corporations, "Oh, we know how to go and put them down. We know how to get you some real affirmative action negroes to come in here and work. We know how to do that." But at the end of the day, the leading blacks lead the corporations and the leading blacks have gotten paid while we have gotten played.
>> So, God rest her soul, Dr. Julia Hair.
So, what I'm trying to say y'all is here you got folk who are in the Starbucks of the world, who are in the Amazons of the world, who are in the Apple stores of the world.
And I really want you to ask this question of black organizational leadership.
Did they say anything?
Did they even issue a press release? Did they say anything? Did they did they question anything? Uh are these folks literally standing on their own? See, that to me is the fundamental problem that we are dealing with.
um we are dealing with folk who um don't want to accept where we are and see I've said numerous times and I've quoted Dr. King's book um uh chaos of where do we go from here? Chaos or community and and he said uh that he called for a plea for unity. He said but not a call for uniformity. He said there's always going to be differences of opinion. Go to my iPad. The dilemma that the negro confronts is so complex and monumental that its solution will of necessity involve a diversified approach. But Negroes can differ and still unite around common goals. There are already structured forces in the Negro community that can serve as the basis for building a powerful united front. The Negro Church, the Negro Press, the Negro fraternities and sororities, and Negro professional associations. We must admit that these forces have never given their full resources to the cause of Negro liberation. There are still too many Negro churches that are so absorbed in a future good over yonder that they condition their members to adjust to the present evils over here. Too many negro newspapers have veered away from their traditional role as protest organs agitating for social change and have turned to the sensational and the conservative in place of a substantive in the military. Too many negro social and professional groups have degenerated into snobbishness and a preoccupation with frivolities and trivial activity.
But the failures of the past must not be an excuse for the inaction of the present and the future. These groups must be mobilized and motivated. If I can expound on that, and I'll be doing so in the book that I'm working on as we speak that will drop in February of uh next year, the Congressional Black Caucus held a news conference and called on corporations to speak up as relates to voting rights in these southern states.
Fine.
But where should they start?
They should start with the very corporations who come to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation seeking their black stamp of approval.
See, if we going to go there, let's go there.
See, I I if we going to go there, let's go there.
So, it's May.
Coming up will be the NAACP National Convention. Not sure what city they're going to. Um, coming up will be the National Urban Leagues National Convention.
Coming up will be the National Black MBA.
Coming up will be the National Bar Association. coming up will be the National Medical Association. In September will be Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. What I want to KNOW IS HOW MANY of the corporations that will be sponsoring dinners and lunchons and panels at all of these organizational conferences. How many of them have issued a public word when it comes to voting rights in their states?
See y'all, what I'm talking about here is so when I'm challenging the executive leadership council and the black business roundt to stand up for these workers rights, YOU CANNOT just speak for folk up here and ignore the folk who are down here.
What I'm saying here is that if we're going to see a real change in terms of what's happening, see, I can't come to the room and say, Apple, I I I want a meeting about blackowned media advertising, BUT I AIN'T JUST TALKING ABOUT ROLAND MARTIN UNFILTERED. I'm saying uh NNPA, Black Enterprise, Blavity. I'm naming all the companies uh because it ain't just me. You see, I don't believe just just go ahead and give me uh give me a taste and let them starve. No, I want everybody to eat.
So, we got to be very careful when people go to the table and they're negotiating for themselves and not for the collective.
And so in this moment that we are in, the question becomes, how do we properly use collective black power to move and operate?
We talk about Democratic Party.
Autopsy comes out, millions, billions spent.
How many black political firms?
How many black posters?
How many black ad agencies?
I AIN'T TALKING ABOUT A CRUMB.
What I'm saying is, and this is real simple, and I ain't I ain't got a problem I ain't got a problem saying it. I'll ask Joy, uh, can you name me a black political firm that has more than 10 or 15 employees?
>> Not really.
>> Okay, that's now Now, how long have you been in the in in the political game?
>> Longer than longer than many. I'm I'm almost 50.
>> Give me a number. What? What? 10, 15, 20, 30 years.
>> UH 25 YEARS.
>> OKAY. 25 YEARS. So that that 25 years cover Obama being president covers >> Yes.
>> Obama, Trump, Biden, Trump.
>> By the way, I lied. 30.
>> See, stop lying. See, you already said you're almost 50. Stop fronting. See, y'all be bullshitting about age. My point here, see, you messing this thing up. So, you go back 30 years. The point I'm making here is when we start asking the question about who's eating, what happens is, and y'all, I'm telling y'all right now, >> right now, >> they'll give a black consultant a contract. No, I'm talking about a blackowned firm. Right.
>> Jim Margolus's firm has reaped $800 million in contracts from all these Democratic entities since 2012, y'all. 14 years and we talking $800 million, right? $800 million.
Is that what we talking? $800 million.
But you can't show me. Oh my lord. You cannot show me. You can't show me anybody black who's done 80.
I don't think you can show me somebody black who's done eight.
So y'all, what I'm arguing is that if you're the National Urban League and you're the NAACP, >> you're the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and all the other black organizations where corporations come to them for a black state of approval, then a question needs to be raised is what's your civil rights index? meaning black board members, black CC executives, black junior executives, black contracts. We're talking how much money are you spending on black ex how much money you spending on external law firms? How much are you spending on um on auditing or accounting firms? How much money you see y'all? That's what the money is. It's in professional services. I want to know. John Rogers of Ariel calls it business diversity. No, I call it simply being getting a piece of the pie. So, what I am arguing y'all is I'm talking about the money in corporate America, the money in the political arena, the money in all of the arenas.
We started this thing talking about how our HB.CU got starved. Do y'all understand that 95% of the businesses in blackowned America do 5 million or less in revenue? Do y'all understand what I'm saying? 95% of all blackowned businesses do $5 million or less in revenue.
It is not enough to be happy about David Stewart and about Oprah and about Michael Jordan and about Robert Smith.
No, it's not.
So, we need folk who are in this game.
So, I am union fighting on behalf of those brothers and sisters at the Apple store.
Who else is calling out Apple and saying, "Apple, place those workers at other stores, black leadership, where you at?"
Cuz in this moment, if you are silent and you can't speak up for black workers who are, no pun intended, at the bottom, if you can't speak up for them, you damn sure ain't speaking for the folks up top. So the question then is a asked, well who the hell are you speaking up for or are you not speaking at all?
I'll be right back.
Trying to erase black political power since reconstruction. Now the Supreme Court is helping them finish the job.
First came Shelby County versus Holder in 2013. The ruling that gutted the Voting Rights Act. Then came Bernovich in 2021. Another ruling, another piece torn away. Now comes Ka, the case civil rights leaders warned could [ __ ] the last major federal protection against racial vote delilution. And within days, Tennessee eliminated its only majority black congressional district. Louisiana, South Carolina, Alabama. The same strategy is spreading across the South.
The old Jim Crow used pole taxes and literacy tests. The new Jim Crow uses gerrymandered maps, voter role purges, polling place closures, and court rulings that make black communities politically invisible. 1965 was Freedom Summer. This is Freedom Summer 2.0 because they are still trying to erase black political power. And we will not bow.
Hi, I'm Swain Cash, basketball hall of famer, and you're watching Blackstar Network.
All right, folks. Uh, our goal obviously is to um focus on blackowned businesses.
That's one reason why we created our marketplace at shopblackstaretwork.com.
All these products that you see in our studio, uh, all of these companies are available on our website, shopblackstaretwork.com.
Every single one of them, these are all blackowned companies. And our goal is for us to be able to create increase the capacity uh, for them and for you to also to be able to benefit from that.
So, as a result, we've got a a new business. It's the card game for intellectual music lovers. Can you identify songs with the lyrics were rewritten using formal, wellspoken, or proper speech? What's the hook? Will challenge your musical knowledge?
Quinton Brooks is the creator. He joins us right now. Quinton, glad to have you on the show. Uh, all right. Where did this start? Were y'all sitting around and you had some family members who didn't know a damn thing about music?
What happened? Now, I was actually uh I was out of my son's football practice and uh I just started thinking about some songs. First of all, do you remember the Jamie Fox show?
>> Yeah.
>> One of my favorite shows growing up and there was a character on there uh Braxton, right? Braxton uh Ivy League educated always touted that. Cornell University uh a university that is um akin to you and I and brother Carr. Uh but he had this way of speaking, right?
He had this distinct way of speaking. A lot of us would call that code switching or >> Yeah. Now, now why why you talk? Why you talking? I'm throwing up the alpha uh the alpha ice, but there's an omega who's directing. So clearly that's why he was so slow in switching so we can do this here cuz he probably was being instigated by Sigma who's in there as well. Uh but going right ahead, >> you know, you know it happens. Anyway, so I'm listening to some music and I start thinking, what would this song sound like if Braxton was saying the lyrics? And so I just start flipping the lyrics, making them sound more academic, more formal. And then I thought to myself, this would be a pretty pretty cool idea for a music trivia game where you have to hear the lyrics in a more formal fashion, academic, wellspoken fashion, and have to determine what the real song is based off the translation.
>> Like like what? Give me an example.
Oh, I can give you several examples.
Let's give you rap from the 90s. Here's a rap song from the 90s. Okay. Uh, prepare yourself for a fresh and innovative genre entering your auditory senses. Prepare yourself for a fresh and innovative genre entering your auditory senses. Context is the same. The lyrics have been translated, but the context is exactly the same. All right. Joy, Reesei, Greg, y'all have any idea what the hell he talking about?
>> Reese, Reesei, what Reesei, >> say it again. Walk us through it.
Prepare yourself.
>> Okay. Okay. This is a rap song from the 90s. What's the hook? All right. I'mma give you the formal translation. You got to give me what the real song with the real lyrics are. So, prepare yourself for a fresh and innovative genre entering your auditory senses.
This is mid90s rap.
>> Brand new. Brand new. Brand new flavor in your ear. Craig Mack.
>> There we go. There you go. Here comes the brand new.
>> All right. All right. Dr. Car, I have no idea. I have no idea what the hell Quinton was talking about.
>> I'm glad you got A DOCTOR.
>> I LIKE THAT.
>> Let me Let me try you. Let me try you on.
>> All right. All right. Yeah. G give Yeah.
Give me >> The professor has an advantage.
>> Give me a >> No. No, >> give give me give me something from the 70s. Let's see. Give me what you got.
>> Give me something from the 70s. Uh, how about I jump to the 80s? How about that? I don't have one right here with me. So, this from the 80s. This This is 80s R&B. Late 80s R&B.
>> Everyone has a fondness for sunlit days.
I ask you, my dear, are you equipped to endure wet weather?
What's >> Can you stand the rain?
>> Is it the rain? New edition.
>> There you go, Drew. New edition. Can you stand the rain?
>> Okay.
>> Uh uh, brother Roland, I don't know how much time I got, but can we, you know, have a quick little tournament? See, see who can get the most and declare a winner filter.
>> Give me a five box. Go.
>> There we go. Okay, let's go. Rap. This is recent. This is real recent. Rap.
Mid2020s. What's the hook? There is no resemblance between their party and ours.
They not like us. Kendra Kamar.
>> Boom. There you go. There you go. Let's go. Late 90s rap. What's the hook? You all are on the verge of causing me to abandon my composure presently in this place.
>> Y'all going to make me lose my mind. Up in here.
>> Up in here.
>> Up in here.
>> See, see, my problem is I don't listen to no damn lyrics. I don't. I listen to >> I literally make I >> All right.
>> I would listen to a song. My wife was like, "Uh, you listen to lyrics?" Like, "Hell no, listen to the beat."
>> I I literally paid I straight up I I seriously I It's very few songs I actually listen uh to lyrics. But go ahead. Go ahead.
>> Let me uh try you with this R&B song from the late 90s. Join me at the ceremonial platform adorned in your pristine gown. Our youth is fleeting. We should sol >> boom. See, brother Roland, even if you, you know, even if you don't say listen to lyrics, the context, you just kind of put the the words into a common phrase and you should be able to, you know, get that thing.
>> I'm telling you right now, >> I ain't answering none of these. I I cuz I do not I literally do not listen to song lyrics in that way. I just don't.
For me, I Plus, you know what? I think part of that is because I played cornet elementary school. I played bass baritone in high school. So for me musically, I literally listen to music.
I'll be listening to a song and I'm listening to the guitar, the drums. I'm listening to uh uh I'm listening to uh the Tony. I'm listening to the triangle.
So I just sort of just how I listen to music. I'm actually listening to the music and not nec I'm being straight up.
I'm not I'm tell you need to be the whole thing rolling you. Yeah. I'm just saying that the music.
>> So that's THAT'S WHY I WAS BLACK SHOW.
>> THAT'S WHY GROWING up when it was named that tune. Boom.
>> Cuz I'm listening to the music, but go ahead. Go ahead. Uh I got time for two more.
>> Again, you going to be the car reader at the party. All right. Yeah. So this is a 90s R&B song. 90s R&B. What's the hook?
My joints weaken. My speech becomes limited. I become debilitated and I am obsessed by a force.
>> I was trying to let y'all get a point. I knew it. But I'm trying to He said two more. So this is my last one.
>> Handicapping.
>> All right. Since this is my last one, I'm hoping I'm hoping Roland you can get this because these brothers also >> ain't going to happen.
>> Okay.
>> Looking through the card. Find the card.
Okay.
>> So, this is R&B song from the early 90s.
These brothers also wear black and old gold. Majority of these members. I hope you get that. That's a big clue for you.
All right. So, this is early 90s R&B.
What's the hook? Should I somehow experience love a new shorty will be determined that the woman in question is foremost a genuine companion. What's the hook?
>> If I ever fall in love again, >> is she shy?
>> There you go. Look at you. There we go.
>> Okay. All right. All right.
>> Again, you going to be the one that reads the cards at the time.
>> Wait, you ain't You ain't lying cuz I'm reading this right here and I was like, that's the song. Okay. This This is This is from the early 1970s.
I have exerted considerable effort, my dear, attempting to suppress my feelings for an extended amount of time.
>> If you're if you Okay. See, I ain't even I ain't finished the other I ain't finished the other half. the other half of the lyric before Greg.
>> You already got the you already got the game, Dr. >> Like, hold back this.
>> I didn't even read the other half right here.
>> The other half, baby.
>> Okay. Well, first Okay. First of all, so Okay. So, are the are the decks by deck?
Are they all the same?
>> Uh, you're on a second edition right now. As soon as we sell out of this second edition, uh, rebranding, new edition will be coming out. But right now, I've put out two editions of What's a Hook.
>> So, what So, what are the two editions?
>> Um, they're they're all all in the same.
I mean, I'm a Casey and I, we are old college friends, so we had the same, you know, late 90s, 2000. So, you going to get a lot of that late.
>> Yeah. You ain't lying, cuz I'm looking in here. I see like three 70s and 80 70s and 80s. So I'm I'm just saying I'm just saying frat you g especially for our audience you gonna have to put some se you gonna have to put uh some uh gamble and huff uh some green you going to have to put like I'm still >> Did you stop listening to music after you went you still listen to music?
>> No no no no no. Let me explain to you. I stopped listening to real music.
Oh my.
>> No, no, let's be let's be real clear.
Listen, we got you a gospel edition.
>> Listen, we can have we can have a we can have a whole debate, but the reality is when you start putting together lyrics with arrangements and musicality, it's hard to compete with 70s and 80s.
>> Straight up, it's hard.
>> I agree. That's why everything is sampled off of the 70.
>> There you go. So, so that's right. So, when when I'm in the car, my niece is like, "Oh, that's like this the real song." So, so, uh, so Greg, >> if you want to beat Roman, bring this game to his house and he Yeah, every >> round. No, no, no, no. I ain't even I'm put money on >> I'm telling you right now, I ain't even participating cuz I ain't going to be able to do I know. But if you play the song, I know the music. Uh, Greg asked the question, Quinton. Um, are you going to create different, let's say, a gospel edition?
>> Yes, that is definitely in the works.
There are actually gospel cards in the edition that you're holding right there.
So, there's a couple gospel cards um in there. And remember, since you did say the 70s, you brought up the 70s.
Remember back when television used to have theme songs?
>> I I I already saw it. I saw one. I I saw >> Oh, you already saw it? I've already I've already seen the card. I saw it. I saw it. So, trust me. That's right. I'm ahead of you. Yo, uh the card game is What's the hook? That's the party game.
Uh we've got multiple card games. You know, Reese's game uh is on our Reese.
Is it your game on on uh Shop by Network?
>> I don't think so. Nobody tell me tell me nothing about it.
>> Oh, cuz you ain't call nobody to try to get it on. I see. Okay. Gotcha. All right. I see. You trying You trying to be all you trying to be all bougie. Ry's card game is on. So, Reys, you going have to come on. step on up. All right, y'all. So, u what's the hook car game?
Go to shopblackstaretwork.com.
Two additions uh and ex absolutely smart uh color choice uh for uh the card game.
Uh that's right, black and gold. That's how we do it. Uh so y'all be sure to get what's the hook? Um that's right. Uh go to shopblackstaretwork.com.
shopblackstartnetwork.com.
Uh Quinton, we so appreciate it, my brother. Thank you so very much.
Thank you. I appreciate it.
>> All right, then y'all. I was going to close the show out, but you know what?
Since I don't want to push this story to tomorrow because I really would like uh because Reese Reese I don't think Reesei has said one cuss word the whole show. I mean, this is probably this that's never not happened. So, uh so I so I was literally going to end the show uh with Quinton. I had skipped over this show.
We went longer uh on that previous segment. That was not our plan. Uh but I cannot leave uh this Thursday uh without uh doing uh this particular story here y'all. In a 5 to4 decision of the Supreme Court today, y'all is a ruling today. Uh it favored a black man who has spent 20 years on Mississippi's death row. They cleared the way for his possible release. Terry Pitchford was 18 years old when he participated in a 2004 robbery that led to the death of a grocery store owner. The gunman, Eric Bullan, plead guilty to manslaughter and was ineligible for the death penalty because he was still a minor. Now, Pitchford was convicted and sentenced to death. Pittford's 12 member jury included just one black person. despite being drawn from a county with a 40% black population. On appeal, Pittsburgh's lawyers argued that they were improperly prevented from questioning whether or not there was racial bias in the jury selection, a contention the Supreme Court agreed with in its ruling. Now, y'all, what's amazing about this? Yes, a five to four decision. Brett Kavanaaugh uh was a part of the five. Brett Kavanaaugh, John Roberts, uh Elena Kagan, Sonia Soto Manor, and Justice Katanji Brown, uh Jackson. Those were the five. Uh so y'all saw who I did not say, uh Clarence Thomas was part of the four. And so what's amazing, and Greg, I'm sure you've already looked at it. What's amazing with this ruling, Greg, I'm g start with you first, is to see those four say, "Well, we really don't have the authority because we really don't shouldn't be stepping in to state courts." Uh, so essentially what they're saying is, "Yeah, that was racist. That was discriminatory, but that really ain't our jurisdiction, so the hell he got to keep his ass in prison." Uh, and we know Clarence Thomas is so antilack.
in similar cases like this. He has ruled against black defendants uh in numerous cases. Uh and so I I just wanted y'all to go ahead and just share your thoughts before we go on this story.
>> Well, let me just say quickly, I have not read the uh entire opinion. I glanced at it. It came out uh early afternoon. And by the way, just to put a foot down, one of the reasons that we heard Dr. Hair talking like that, she from Tulsa, Oklahoma, so she know what black self-determination look like. I know that the anniversary is coming up this weekend, but um I haven't read the whole thing, but I did watch and joy, you may have seen this um on Scot's blog, I was looking at some of the reaction and I did not know until this afternoon that Brett Kavanaaugh when he was on Yale Law Journal apparently wrote his note on Batson versus Kentucky, the permpter challenge, racial perimeter challenge case. This may be a case where Kavanaaugh wrote for the majority because when it comes to using permpary challenges to get rid of uh jurors in a pool, he knows more about that than maybe the average uh person on the court because this was about whether or not Pickford had waved his Batson objections by not arguing to the trial court that the prosecutor's proper explanations were pretextual. to and Greg and Greg to that point this is what SC's blog wrote um uh he he said that justice Britt Kavanaaugh wrote for the majority in a nine-page opinion joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and justices Sonia Sodtoori Lena Kenya and Katanji Brown Jackson quoting a 2019 opinion in which the court threw out the conviction of Mississippi inmate Curtis Flowers in a case that involved the same prosecutor Kavanaaugh acknowledged that quote America's trial judges operate at the front lines of American justice and the job of enforcing the Supreme Court's 1986 decision in Batson vers Kentucky holding that the use of preemptary challenges that is challenges for any reason to remove potential jurors based on race violates the constitution quote rest first and foremost with trial judges but in Pitchfor's case wrote quote the Mississippi trial court erroneously omitted a key part of the Batson inquiry go ahead Mhm. No, no, that was it. I I just think, you know, and Jo, I know you got some insights on this probably that that that that outstrip my own. You know, it's tricky when you trying to pick a a a jury. You know, they train prosecutors in how to get rid of black people and get rid of people they don't want on a jury. So, you may it may seem like an innocent question. Well, do you go to church? Yes. Do you believe in God? Yes.
Okay. Do you uh sing in the choir? Yes.
Okay. What kind of songs do y'all sing?
Well, we sing uh gospel. Do you sing James Cleveland? Yes. I would like juror number 12 uh struck from the wait what just happened and they said that was because of race but you have to you know they didn't bring that up at at at the trial court level and Mississippi Supreme Court said well he waved his right cuz he didn't bring it up right I think Kavanaaugh probably you know but Kavanaaugh is like yeah no just because he didn't bring it up you earned in that now Gorsuch and them on the other side said no you're wrong on the law and wrong on the facts and I think this is another case Alito is particularly nasty when it comes to this. He's lost his whole damn mind. Well, they don't give a damn what the law is or what the facts are. If they if they like it, they're going to vote for it. And if they don't like it, they're going to vote against it. And if they disagree with you, they'll just tell you wrong. And in as with with the Louisiana case with Kates Alito didn't even address the disscent.
He just like, "Yeah, y'all wrong. It's gotten out of hand, y'all." But I don't know.
>> Here's here's what's here's what's crazy here. Uh Joy in his descent, Gorsuch emphasized the high bar that an inmate like Pitchfor, who was convicted in state court must clear to obtain federal postconviction relief under AEPA.
Quote, showing legal error, we have said, is it enough to obtain relief?
Instead, he said an inmate must demonstrate that no fair-minded jurist could reach the state court's conclusion under this court's president. And when it comes to factual findings, he continued, the state court's findings, quote, must have so little support in the record that only an unreasonable jurist could make it. In Gorsuch's view, Pitchfor has failed to satisfy either of these standards. This reminds me when um uh when you had um uh Supreme Court Justice um Wise escaping me, uh they loved the one who died uh escaped me when he No, no, not Renquist. Um, Lord have mercy, Scalia. I'm I'm sitting there going like, damn. When Scalia basically said that, yeah, I know that you may not have actually been you may have been innocent, but if you've exhausted all of your appeals, sorry, we can't help you. And it's like, so what Kavanaaugh is saying here is like, damn that, like you just can't act like you don't you you you got don't exist here.
This is the BS, Joy, when you when you have these strict constructionists who say, "Well, no, you had all your shots."
And so, although yes, they were they were wrong for denying black people, sorry, you're out of luck. That's literally what the four actually are saying.
>> That's right. But they're not strict constructionists. They are conven They They're convenient artists. Whatever works for them to get the result that they believe is correct or that they believe the majority of Americans may believe is correct. In that case, in their mind, white Americans, because they're the only ones they see, that's what they go for. They look at this and they say, "Okay, in this case," and they also pay attention to what's happening.
They know what we're saying about them.
And in particular, Kavanaaugh, he also is very much aware of what people think.
Roberts is very much aware of the reputation of the court. So, in something like this, this where it only impacts this one individual person, he might be fine to do the right thing. But when it talks about political power, the vast majority of black people in like making sure that they are infranchised, not disenfranchised, he's fine to say, "Oh, I don't see race." Doesn't have anything to do with here. Do not buy it.
Sure, we're really glad that they made this decision in this case, but what I think we have to look at is this court.
We have to like just forget the notion that they are some kind of impartial players. Sometimes it'll work for us, sometimes they won't. They do not have a core legal theory that is based in an expansive view of the constitution that goes beyond just the people who created it at the beginning. Then their view it is perfectly fine >> for the constitution to serve white men, >> white landowning men in particular, that that is completely fine with them.
That's what we have. So in this case, he's doing the right thing. Great. He found some reason to be able to do it.
Same thing with with um with u um um the other justice. That's wonderful.
>> Well well what is >> overall they have never done anything that's going to impact vast majorities of black men. What is so shameful to me, Reesi, again, when you have a when you have the only black man on the Supreme Court uh who has no problem uh with them striking black people and so Clarence Thomas being completely antilack uh agreeing with these four. And what's crazy here is that the absolutely racist fifth circuit, a hardcore right-wing uh and for all y'all people who don't believe in voting, let me remind you, uh whoever wins the White House picks federal judges. whoever controls the United States Senate confirms or denies federal judges. And so when so many of y'all sat on your asses in 2016 and y'all said that Hillary was the same as Donald Trump, but we see that is not the case. Uh and all you idiots who said there was no distinction between Kamla and Donald, you're stupid as well. And y'all know exactly who y'all are. Uh but when you see when you sit here and look at this here, so the Supreme Court Reese, he reversed a fifth circuit decision and they were going to like, "Oh yeah, y'all can go ahead." uh uh and do this. Uh and Kavanaaugh said, quote, "After a prosecutor asserts raceneutral reason for a preemptary strike, the defense council must at least have an opportunity to argue that the asserted race neutral reasons were not the actual reasons. That is, the reasons were pretextual. Then the trial court can determine whether those asserted reasons were the actual reasons or instead were pretextual." But in Pitcher's case, Kavanaaugh continued, "Whether due to confusion, oversight, and overly hurried jury selection process or some other cause, things broke down and the ordinary trial court procedure for resolving Batson claims at step three never occurred. Notwithstanding the repeated efforts of Pitchforce council to pursue and preserve the Batson objection." Again, thank God, even though he is a right-winger, at least he is right on the law when it comes to Batson. Uh, so it's always disappointing anytime there's a Supreme Court case and it involves race, a black man, death penalty, something like that. I ain't even got to look at the uh decision to know where Clarence Thomas is going to side and it ain't with black people.
>> That's right. So, I think the the lawyers handle this. So, I'm just going to say [ __ ] Clarence Thomas and [ __ ] the Supreme Court. They got this right barely this one time. They've been [ __ ] up voting rights, all kind of [ __ ] mail in back all kind of [ __ ] So, I guess if I'm glad that the brother is not going to be sentenced to die and that he's going to get due process, but it's still [ __ ] the Supreme Court.
They're illegitimate. They pick and choose what they what worlds they like.
They love an escape hatch when it comes to the white man. They love a technicality. They love a this that and the other when it comes to the white folks, but when it comes to the black folks, they are bird box. But I guess maybe, you know, um Kavanaaugh did not want to contradict his his expertise for change in favor of executing a black man in favor of upholding white supremacy and in institutions. So I I'm not going to give you a cookie. I'm not going to give you I I I give you this much.
That's all you going to get, Kavanagh.
And then you're going to get this.
>> Okay. So, that was just so just for the record, there were five uh fwords pronounced, one finger, two swords. Uh and so, just want to let y'all know that.
>> Well, it was the Supreme Court. I I I couldn't hold back the Supreme [ __ ] list.
>> I understand. So, now you sound now, you sound like the Democratic Party. What was it? What was that? Was it yesterday, bro?
>> They sound like everybody trying to be like me now.
>> No, no, no. When I say they sound like you, no question. What was that thing that happened with uh with uh uh Steven Miller? Steven Miller yesterday.
>> Oh, I don't know what happened.
>> They dropped the finger.
I'm surprised, man.
>> What happened?
>> You got to look that up, bro.
>> No. What happened? Tell me what happened.
>> You uh you know UF.
>> They he said, "Shut up, you ugly."
>> And the Democrats the Democrats handle said, "Shut up, you ugly fuck." To Steven Miller.
>> Yes.
>> Which is an accurate statement. Who said that to Stephen Miller?
>> The Democrats. You know, like they handled the Democrats.
>> Oh. Oh, hold up. Let me >> surprise you missed that, bro.
More black.
>> It's a whole lot we got to keep up with uh these days. Uh so, okay. So, I didn't see that. I I did see where Steven Miller's wife complained about her husband being called ugly. And yeah, I mean I'm listen I'm I'm trying my best not to cuss, but >> she sees his face, right?
>> I mean, let's be real clear. The motherfucker's ugly, >> right?
>> Very.
>> I mean, let let's I mean, let's just be real clear.
>> Objectively.
>> I mean, objectively attractive. I mean, >> yeah. Yeah. Any standard.
>> His ass is >> light bulbs, praying mantises. Yeah. No question.
>> Yeah. I mean >> I mean I'm just saying I mean I I I like I ain't >> a looker either >> like we can't just sit here and just I mean we got to call it kind of what it is and I mean yeah his soldier they were right his ass ugly >> but but but the fact that they replied to >> no question I mean and and it's just you it's a preview I mean what Ken Paxton who should say nothing >> calling Terico what he saygendered and then Steven Miller says the Democrat made history in Texas by nominating its first transgender Senate candidate. I'm like, really? And then the Democrats was like, "Oh, here's our chance. Let's go full Reesei."
>> Like, you must be [ __ ] I'M LIKE, "WOW."
>> I DON'T THINK THEY BOUGHT THAT LIFE TO GO FULL REESEI. But they trying to dip their toe.
>> But but in trying to dip their toe in, but you know what we really need them to do?
We need them to hire some people of color.
>> No. No. No. No. No. No. Uhuh. See, Joy.
Joy. Come on now. Joy, you do that [ __ ] at MS Now, but on this show, we don't ask them to hire people of color.
We ask them to hire black people and other people.
>> Black people.
>> We don't We don't do that. We don't do that people of color [ __ ] No. Hire black. Hire black people.
>> Black people. Let let me be real clear cuz I remember I remember we would go up to CNN and uh we had a NABJ member uh a National Association of Black Journalists who said, "Well, you know, I don't really think that we should go in there and demand they hire blacks. We should we should say they go hire people of color." I said, "So if they go hire a bunch of Hispanic and Asian folk and we get left out, we supposed to be cool." I said, "Which part of the B in NABJ your ass don't get?" It's black.
So, um, so let's let's be clear.
>> I agree with that. Amen. Stand corrected.
>> Yes. So, Joy, don't come in here with that people of color [ __ ] Exactly. Uh, we put black amendment of our of our delegates.
>> We say black and everybody else.
>> We say hire black people and everybody else. And so, that's right. I like it.
>> And so, I'm going say this here. Uh we talk about uh having to deal look at Stephen Miller as all I can think about was that scene uh when Detroit Red came into the club in Harlem and my man uh said this >> my vision man.
>> Yeah, but he's putting a hurting on my vision, man. Damn.
>> Yeah, but he's putting a hurting on my vision, man. Damn.
>> Yeah, but he's putting a hurting on my vision. That's how we feel about uh ugly ass Stephen Miller. So, I'm just saying I'm just saying. So, I Yeah, I missed >> I missed the context uh of that. But, um yeah. Yeah, that's that's that's where we that's where we stand. All right, y'all. We we we got we got to go. Let me thank uh Greg uh Joy. And remember, Joy, don't come to people of color [ __ ] Black people, >> black star networks. I mean, I I I know that I know I know I know you're used to being in mixed company, but there are black people here. This is a blackowned show that centers and targets black people. Uh, and so that's how we say it.
We say, uh, hire black people, hire black strategist, black posters, hire black ad agencies, hire black uh, yes, blacky black.
Got it. So, let me thank Greg. Let me thank Reesei. Let me thank Joy. Real quick, y'all. Uh, let me let me get Blackstone Network headlines in here before we go. Britney Noble, let's go.
>> Civil rights attorney Ben Crump filed a federal lawsuit accusing the US government of secretly using black infants in deadly vaccine experiments during the 1960s. That experiment involved a highly concentrated experimental RSV vaccine known as lot 100. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the families of Ross Ado Hamri and Victor Marcelus King who both died in 1967.
The two black babies were allegedly enrolled in an NIH sponsored experimental vaccine trial without their family's knowledge or consent. Attorneys also claimed tissue samples from the babies later helped contribute to the RSV vaccines approved by the FDA in 2023 that are now generating billions of dollars in revenue. The lawsuit filed under the Federal TOR Claims Act is seeking accountability and compensation for the families nearly 60 years after the death's infants the infants deaths.
And the Fairfield, California Police Department is under community scrutiny after a disturbing video surfaced showing an officer using excessive force against a black teen. The incident took place on May 20th when officer Bianco Kimacho repeatedly struck the 16-year-old Maurice Williams. And police say officers were responding to a fight at Fairfield High School between multiple students, claiming that Williams was resisting arrest. However, the video shows that the officer forcefully put the teen on the ground and repeatedly hit him as she was arresting him. And community outrage has intensified all because this is not the first allegation of excessive force involving that same officer. Another video in 2025 surfaced showing the officer allegedly pulling 18-year-old Myra Hamilton out of her car by her hair during a traffic stop. The officer has been placed on administrative reassignment pending an outside investigation.
And private interview tapes between Joe Biden and the ghostriter of his memoir are now a part of a major lawsuit. On Tuesday, the former president filed the complaint against the Department of Justice in an attempt to block the release of transcripts and audio recordings from nearly a decade ago. The files include discussions between Biden and Mark Swatzer, who he had hired to write his 2017 memoir, Promise Me Dad.
The lawsuit follows an intervention by Biden in a separate suit accusing him of improperly handling classified documents when he was vice president. The DOJ obtained the recordings as part of a special counsel's probe, which ended in 2024. Biden's attorneys argue they have just two and a half weeks before the DOJ releases the those recordings and transcripts to some members of Congress and the Conservative Heritage Foundation.
Also, the Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into President Donald Trump's accuser, Eene Carol. She accused Trump of sexual assault. Now, this investigation is allegedly centered around whether Carol committed perjury during her civil lawsuit against the president. She was eventually awarded a $5 million judgment. Acting attorney general Todd Blanch has recused himself from the investigation given his past representation of Trump in the matter.
Well, two black artists are backing out of the America 250 celebration in Washington DC after learning that more about the event's political ties. Well, the lineup for the DC Bash was released on Wednesday, but shortly after, both performers took to social media, saying they would not participate. Rapper Young MC said he was not informed about the political connection surrounding the event and made it clear he wanted no part in what he viewed as a politically charged celebration. Singer Morris Day also denied reports that he and the Time would perform the Great American State Fair, posting online, "It's a no for me." The backlash comes as critics accuse organizers of using the America 250 celebration to promote Trump aligned Republican values under the banner of patriotism.
Well, Iran fires at an American air base in response to strikes by the US around the Strait of Hermoose. The US Central Command confirmed the attack where Iran fired the ballistic missile toward Kuwait overnight which was intercepted.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the attack targeted a US air base claiming it was the source of US air strikes. The US responded saying those strikes targeted Iranian drones and a launch site around the Hermoose.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump says he won't be rushed into making a deal with Iran, warning that the country's efforts to outlast him won't work because he doesn't care about the midterms.
>> All right, folks. Be sure to watch the breakdown Britney Noble every day noon Eastern on the Blackstar Network. Again, the breakdown Britney Noble every day noon Eastern on the Blackar Network. All right, folks. Um, that is it for us. Uh, don't forget support the work that we do. Join our Bring the Funk fan club. If you want to contribute via cash app, use the Stripe CUR code. You see it right here. If you're listening, go to blackstar network.com. Uh, checks and money order. Make it payable to roller Martin unfiltered. Uh PO Box 57196 Washington DC 200037-0196 PayPal's R Martin unfiltered Vinmo RM unfiltered. Zale Roland at Rolands martin.com rolling at roland martun unfiltered.com download the buyar network app uh and if you downloaded before you need to redownload again because we switch company providers on a Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung smart TV.
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And walk on over here and put these cards uh on our um uh table over here.
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So, we want you all to support them as well. All right, folks. Don't forget, download the app fan base. Follow me at Roland S. Martin on the app fan base on the app. Don't forget every Thursday, uh, we stream uh, of course, second opinion with Dr. Ebony Hilton. We're going to be having that right after this show is over. That's every Thursday.
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