Massey verdict, Baltimore mayor, Stacey Abrams talks AI at Afrotech 2025

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Black Star Network is here.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
A real revolutionary right now works man black media to
make sure that our stories are hold.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
I thank you for being the voice of Black America.

Speaker 3 (00:13):
Roling, I love you.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
A moment we have.

Speaker 4 (00:16):
Now we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal.

Speaker 5 (00:20):
This is between Black Star Network and Black owned media
and something like seeing in.

Speaker 6 (00:25):
You can't be black owned media and be scape.

Speaker 7 (00:28):
It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
Your dig.

Speaker 6 (01:08):
Hey for today's Wednesday, October twenty ninety, twenty twenty five,
coming up on rolling but until this three mean live
with the Black Star Network. We're live here at AFRO
Tech twenty twenty five in Houston, but Georgia Brown Conventions
in are loves to talk about. You will hear from
Stacy Abras talking about the good and the bad.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
Of ai Je tak A.

Speaker 6 (01:26):
Edie talks about while we need to be involved in
tech companies and Silicon Valley. Ron Busby, who leads to
you as Black Chamber, talks about black business in this
day and age being able to own black businesses in
technology as well.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
Plus, we'll here from the Tennessee.

Speaker 6 (01:41):
State students who are involved Tennesse State University. Those students
are involved in some startup companies as well. Plus the
Mayor of Baltimore, Brandon Scott, he's actually here at Afrotech
in Houston trying to take some business from Houston. What
is wrong with him to go back to Baltimore and
we'll talk to him. We'll also talk with the co
founder of Lavity about this conference. Plus, Uh, there's a

(02:03):
jury verdict the Sonia Massy trial, the white cop who
shot and here Sonya Massy will tell you what that
jury has decided. Folk, It's time to bring the funk.
I'm rolling button, I filtered on the Blackstart Network.

Speaker 1 (02:14):
Let's go.

Speaker 8 (02:17):
Whatever the best, He's it, whatever it is, he's got
the fine wen it believes he's rot on top. It
is rolling best believe he's goings lost and.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
News to politics with entertainment.

Speaker 4 (02:34):
Just bookcase he's stolen.

Speaker 9 (02:42):
It's rolling montag. Yeah, rolling, he's bronk stress, she's real
the question.

Speaker 4 (02:54):
No, he's rolling Montage.

Speaker 6 (03:17):
Folks, We're here live at afro Tech in Houston to
the Afro Tech twenty twenty five. It's been a real
busy day. It's a lot we got to talk about us.
Get right to it. Joining us right now is the
Mayor of Baltimore, Brandon Scott Mayor.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
How you doing. I'm good, Uncle Rollan, how are you?
I'm doing great? Talk about what you're doing here.

Speaker 6 (03:36):
Your development folks are here talking to various folks here
selling your city as a destination for technology on the
Eastern Seaboard.

Speaker 10 (03:44):
Yeah, listen, Baltimore has a very vibrant tech community when
you think about the universities that we have there, with
the startups that are starting there are with us really
being focused on trying to grow those black startups and
make sure that they stay in Baltimore, a black city.
We're here but also here to talk about all the
renaissance that is happening in Baltimore City in many different ways,

(04:05):
whether it's upsurgs, or tech stars. We have so much
going on in the world of tech, and we want
to remind people that Baltimore is a city that yes
we're known for a's and AA's, Yes we're known for
our great port, we also are a tech hub and
want people to know that we're going to continue to
invest in and grow that in our sept.

Speaker 6 (04:22):
There are some core things that businesses looking they look
at crime, they look at education, they look at access,
and so you've really been emphasizing does dramatic dropping crime and.

Speaker 1 (04:32):
Really the resurgence of Baltimore.

Speaker 10 (04:34):
Yeah, when you're talking as you and I talking today,
a Roland, Baltimore has the fewest amount of homicide on
this day in any year on record, and that's still
too much for me.

Speaker 1 (04:45):
I want us to continue to drive that down.

Speaker 10 (04:46):
We're talking about a forty percent reduction over the last
four years, a thirty one percent reduction from last year,
which is a historic glow.

Speaker 1 (04:53):
We're going to do that, but we're.

Speaker 10 (04:55):
Also making the investments into our education system. No city
in the country has built or renovated more new schools
over this last past few years than Baltimore, right twelve
in my time in office, soon to be thirteen and
fourteen in the months to come. That's what we're talking about,
those historical mounts and investments that we're making into our communities,
in particular of black communities that were disinvested in on purpose.

(05:19):
There has been no better time for people to get
in on the black renaissance in Baltimore, all right.

Speaker 6 (05:24):
And the point here is that if you invest in people,
then you're gonna see what happens. John O'Brien always says,
you don't see riots in neighborhoods with a credit score
seven hundred a higher.

Speaker 1 (05:33):
So when you invest in housing, when.

Speaker 6 (05:35):
You invest in education, when you invest in resources, then
you're gonna see that decline in crime.

Speaker 1 (05:40):
Listen, yes, we know that.

Speaker 10 (05:42):
When you look at any city where you see where
there's crime, you see disinvestment. And we would have to
be very important its portantly raised this. It was intentional disinvestment.
Folks didn't just wake up and say they don't want
stuff in their neighborhood.

Speaker 1 (05:55):
Their neighborhoods were red lined.

Speaker 10 (05:56):
My city is the birthplace of housing red lining, and
that's why we're going through legislative and policy efforts to
undo that as well, while investing hundreds of millions of
dollars into housing projects that will stall. And we even
have a three billion dollar fifteen year plan to eliminate
vacant housing in Baltimore City, all while continuing to implement
my comperhension and violence prevention plan to drive violence down

(06:18):
in Baltimore.

Speaker 6 (06:19):
It's got to be driving your haters real bad, because
if they were talking trad trying to term limit all
that sort of stuff. They were predicting you were going
to get blown out, blown out. You got some right
wing media folks always attacking you, and so clearly you
must sit here saying God said I would prepare a
table in the presence of my enemies.

Speaker 10 (06:40):
Well, listen, there's nothing that I like better than pressure.
And one thing a hater is going to do that
is hate. But when you're working for the people, when
you're working for the folks that have have not when
you're working for the folks that have been ignored and
put down the pont and everything else, those who have
historically had the power, those who sat in room rolling
and deciding who the mayor of Baltimore was and put

(07:02):
that thumb on what that person can and can do,
they're not just going to give that up. So for
them to be attacking me every day, it's not about me.
It's about attacking someone who does not owe them anything,
someone who will not just say yes to them because
of who they are, and someone who's always going to
do what's right by the people.

Speaker 1 (07:20):
And that's what people fear.

Speaker 10 (07:22):
They fear people who do not fear them and will
not carry out they will and will represent the masses
of people in my city.

Speaker 1 (07:30):
So I wait it as a badge of honor.

Speaker 6 (07:32):
And how does it feel to have a mayor from Baltimore?
Excuse me, have a governor who's from Baltimore, who cares
for the city, who's a Democrat, is supposed to having
a Republican governor who's always attacking Baltimore.

Speaker 1 (07:43):
It's like night and day.

Speaker 10 (07:45):
It took about eight months for the former governor to
actually meet with me. I talk to my governor every
day on the phone. At least, right, I don't have
to worry about whether he's going to be a partner
in the work or he's going to be attacking the city.
He's going to be a partner at that table every
day of how we can make Baltimore the most successful
we can be. Because, as he would say if he

(08:05):
was talking to you, in order it for it to
be a Maryland's decade, it has to be Baltimore's time,
all right.

Speaker 6 (08:11):
Then with Mayor, it's always good to see you keep
doing doing your handling your business. And I hate the
fact I could I was not in town with my
Texans played the Ravens.

Speaker 10 (08:21):
That's okay, you listen they don't happen once in a
blue moon. Just remind Texans don't get out of hand.
But Lamar's back, so hollered us in January WEATHERBK.

Speaker 1 (08:30):
We'll do that.

Speaker 6 (08:31):
We'll do that, Mayor Brandon Scott. I appreciate it, my
brother much. I appreciate it. All right, folks, we're gonna
slide the mayor out. We're gonna slide in a couple
of folks who I know very well. Uh Native land Pod.
You've got Tiffany Cross, you got Angela ride. They over
there giving hugs to the may and everything. So go ahead,
that's right, go ahead and uh see them.

Speaker 1 (08:54):
Hi, ro, Hey, what's happening?

Speaker 11 (08:56):
You look great?

Speaker 1 (08:56):
I'm just chilling.

Speaker 3 (08:58):
I love the.

Speaker 1 (08:58):
Outfit, you know, I'm just here. Looks.

Speaker 6 (09:00):
I checked the weather, so the templeture dropped by twenty
degrees from yesterday. So I see, let's go bring up
break out the kin tech.

Speaker 11 (09:06):
Why don't you were welcome us to your hometown of Houston.

Speaker 1 (09:09):
Born and raise here baby.

Speaker 3 (09:09):
One thing we're gonna have is a day shiki outfit.

Speaker 6 (09:12):
On yes and this was this of course was custom
made in Donnah, so this ain't no regular dashiki.

Speaker 1 (09:18):
I love. Oh lord, oh lord, all right, what y'all
doing here?

Speaker 3 (09:24):
We had a panel.

Speaker 12 (09:25):
We just we partners with Google and so we just
had a great roundtable with them, and we also were
on the main stage earlier talking about Native Land Pod
and how we're meeting the moments and just enjoying afro Tech.
Really got to connect with some amazing young Black folks
doing amazing things.

Speaker 11 (09:41):
So it's been great.

Speaker 6 (09:42):
First time here, first time, first time after tech, your.

Speaker 13 (09:45):
First this is not my first time at afro Tech,
but it just feels good right now, like this is
energy that we're not feeling in the country. For them
to descend on Houston in this way, something you care
very deeply.

Speaker 3 (10:00):
Of course, with all of this black melanin magic, I'm happy.

Speaker 6 (10:04):
Well yeah, I mean, first of all, listen, is a
whole lot going on. Of course, we know uppards of
four hundred thousand black women who've lost their jobs. Black unemployment,
especially for black men, is much higher under Trump than
it was under Biden.

Speaker 1 (10:17):
Harris, you see that.

Speaker 6 (10:18):
The constant efforts to defund Black America in every way,
and we've always talked about this seeing our group chats
and personally that this is a moment where black folks
must be unified, must be working together, and must understand
how he must organize immobilized. And conferences like this allow
for the collaboration and the conversation back and forth to

(10:39):
know who's doing what and how we can and how
we can partner.

Speaker 3 (10:42):
Well.

Speaker 12 (10:42):
I want to say to you, Roland on that note,
because something that we can celebrate you for is any
place black folks gather, Roland Martin unfiltered. There he is
pulling up with his rolemobile, but it really does. We
had an NABJ member pass away roll live stream the funeral,
so it was just a moment. I don't think there's

(11:04):
ever been a place where there's a large enough black
gathering and you have not met the moment. And I
know it's exhausting. I know it's a lot of work
this set up.

Speaker 11 (11:11):
I don't know if the.

Speaker 12 (11:12):
Home audience can tell, but this is an expansive setup.

Speaker 11 (11:15):
It costs money to do this.

Speaker 6 (11:16):
Let's get one of the let's get one of the
remote cameras. They shoot it from this side over here, Anthony, Anthony,
get the remote camera. Shoot that way people can see
the whole set up. Don't give my back or are
we gonna add so when we add the new this
is an eighteen fort the crane we added, so let's.

Speaker 1 (11:32):
Go to that shot.

Speaker 6 (11:33):
Let's get a shot out, little whole setup.

Speaker 1 (11:34):
But go ahead.

Speaker 3 (11:35):
This is expensive, y'all.

Speaker 1 (11:37):
Yeah, it costs. It costs a few coins.

Speaker 11 (11:41):
But you do it because you meet the moment.

Speaker 12 (11:43):
And I think that's why black folks are so in
debt to you bearing witness at this time. It's a
very important time for journalism, an important time for black folks.
And I just in our group chat, I just feel
fortunate to have access to you anytime I want, I
get to text and call Uncle Roe.

Speaker 3 (11:58):
The difference between you and Tip it's you respond.

Speaker 6 (12:01):
Yes, let'll tell you. Hey, let me let me tell
you how black. The group chat.

Speaker 3 (12:07):
Is' telling oh, don't have them looking for this.

Speaker 6 (12:10):
Chad Angula had an Ethernet issue. She was like, Rowland,
I need you to give me a call. Uh, And
then she was on the phone with somebody. She's like, hey, uh,
the genius bar just call. So I got to call
you back.

Speaker 3 (12:24):
You know what's crazy.

Speaker 13 (12:25):
I made two calls to Comcast and to row and
Roe had a better solution in Comcast. Then when I
tell you that man came out and said you might
need a backup provider.

Speaker 3 (12:35):
They were so mad because you know it was a
little VIP line. They were like, they told you to
get a backup where, like.

Speaker 12 (12:40):
Can I ask you a question roll, because I think
this is a question that we've been asked so many
times at this moment where we are under attack and
on every level it feels like there's no breathing room.
I'm so happy that you made a point to point
out the unemployment for black men being even higher than
that of black women. What's your advice one journalists, because

(13:00):
you are an officer with the National Association of Black Journalists,
but also what is your charging order to black folks
who are feeling destitute and looking to people like you
to say what do we do to meet this moment?

Speaker 6 (13:12):
So vice president of the race, she lost on Tuesday,
and on Thursday I was already onto the next thing,
and folks were like, dude, what are you doing? I said,
she lost, he won. Now attack mode. See what happens

(13:32):
is And again, when you're a student of history, I
think about Frederick Douglas outa W. Willis Barnett. I think
about all the black newspapers. I think about Robert, I
think about Ai Scott, Alanda Daily World, Charlotta Bass, Louis Martin.

Speaker 1 (13:55):
I think about the work that they did.

Speaker 6 (13:57):
These were people who in their lifetime, we're just not
the right to vote. I'd be Wales Barnett. The reason
there is not a copy of her newspaper. Her paper
was firebombed. They blew up her office and there was
a bounty on her head and she was still writing

(14:20):
about lynching. So when I see folk today with all
that we have, and even though these are tough times,
I go, wait, wait a minute, this is absolutely not
the moment to quit. Because if some folk before us.

Speaker 1 (14:35):
Quit, we couldn't even be sitting right here.

Speaker 6 (14:39):
And so I've got two of my nieces who are
running around here working with my show. And then my
other little niece, she's sitting over there. She just graduated.
She just graduated from law school. She just passed the
bar glow, had just passed the bar. A hair, come on,
your hairs, have combs. I'm gonna come show you.

Speaker 1 (14:57):
So I showed her.

Speaker 6 (14:58):
So the point is so for me, the get over here,
get over here, shut up, get over here, shut up,
Let let me tell what happened. Chloe was in law school,
was begging me to buy her bag. I was like,
I ain't buying you nothing, nothing else. So I put
on my social media and my followers send her some
money to buy her a law bag. So so to gain.
So when I'm sitting explaining to people, Okay, we know

(15:18):
you're a delta.

Speaker 14 (15:19):
We know.

Speaker 6 (15:21):
So here's why explaining to people. The fighter is for
my nine nieces and for nephews. So that's how we
have to be thinking and operating. And so if we're
sitting here just so frustrated and so sad.

Speaker 1 (15:33):
Then you can't focus on work, and that's what it
boils down here.

Speaker 13 (15:36):
But I do believe too that people are motivated by
different things.

Speaker 3 (15:40):
Yes, some people can get to optimism.

Speaker 13 (15:43):
Some folks are motivated by rage, by anger, by frustration,
by wrath.

Speaker 3 (15:49):
You know, in this moment, I'm trying to.

Speaker 6 (15:51):
Doctor King said. King said, you're the channel. He said,
channel your rage. But go ahead, go ahead.

Speaker 3 (15:59):
Look I'm it's not flowing right now.

Speaker 13 (16:02):
All I was gonna say was for some people that
rage is so destructive that they can't get to anything productive.
I'm one of those people. I had to like repurpose
the energy into something more positive and spend more time
around our community members who are solving these problems every day,
and some of them in the South, like where you're
from here in Texas are like child, We've been in fascism,

(16:24):
y'all just now joining not even the party, but joining
you know where we've been. The problem is, and I
think that this is the one urging that I would
have for people in the South, is to say you
had someplace where you could appeal though for cover that's
gone right there. It was fascism in the South, but
you could appeal to the federal government, even in some

(16:44):
degrees of some Republican administrations. Right it is now being
handed down from the very top.

Speaker 3 (16:50):
That's different.

Speaker 6 (16:50):
But this is where also, this is where we have
to remind people, this is what happens when you check out.
This is what happens when you are so frustrated you say, well,
I don't like what you did in dealing.

Speaker 1 (17:06):
With Goza, and that's a huge issue.

Speaker 6 (17:10):
But the reality is that were black people who saw
what America did in partnering with the races of part
to oiur regime in South Africa, and black folks said,
oh no, no, no, we're gonna shut this down. That's where
that's where the boycotts came from, the economic boycotts. So
to me, our folk have to understand is there's a

(17:31):
way to shut them down.

Speaker 1 (17:32):
You can vote them out. What frustrates me.

Speaker 6 (17:36):
Because y'all were talking to Gary Chambers, is Louisiana one
third black Texas more registered, more eligible black voters in
this state than any state in America when you look
at what's some of these other states, Georgia, a million
black folks who didn't vote in November, six hundred and
sixteen thousand who didn't vote in North Carolina. And so

(17:57):
we got to get folks understand that if you check out,
don't vote, you are guarantee they're going to be in power.
I want to make it hard as hell for them
to win now here.

Speaker 13 (18:08):
It's not easy, and I'm not defending folks who have
sat out at all, but we have to find a
different approach.

Speaker 3 (18:15):
That approach is not working.

Speaker 13 (18:17):
We've been trying to shame people in the vote, not you,
but I'm saying that hasn't been attackted.

Speaker 6 (18:23):
But what I want us to do, though, is to say,
if you don't like so and so, like, there's a
there's a black woman named Karen Wit said in Detroit,
she's a missed seventy six percent of her votes.

Speaker 1 (18:36):
Cat's running against her. What I keep saying is if.

Speaker 6 (18:39):
We don't like somebody, oh primary them, run against them.

Speaker 1 (18:44):
But see that's the other piece.

Speaker 6 (18:45):
Theyre say, Wait, we don't have to accept that they're
always going to be there. And I think a lot
of times folks say, well, ain't nothing we can really do.

Speaker 3 (18:53):
I think that's the part.

Speaker 13 (18:54):
There has to be a conversation around telling people not
to get comfortable when they're very elected official has gotten
comfortable to the point of miss Karen right, Like, if
they're so comfortable and complacent, how are we gonna tell
the voter to move in a different way. I'm just
saying the way that we have the conversation, I believe
has to shift because all I'm watching is our results.
It has not been affected and I'm like, I didn't

(19:17):
need anything else. But my point of privilege is I
went to vote with my parents ever re election.

Speaker 3 (19:21):
Right, there are a lot of folks that didn't have
that experience.

Speaker 13 (19:23):
Oahama was a ball worker and I'm not talking about
a stripper.

Speaker 3 (19:27):
I'm talking about at the actual balance judge.

Speaker 15 (19:29):
I'm trying to make sure that comes she was the judge,
she was the judge or a judge, I'm.

Speaker 1 (19:34):
Somebody on her. So I did an interview a little
bit earlier, and.

Speaker 6 (19:37):
Somebody asked me about this, and I keep saying, and again,
where technology conference and this. I think there's a mistake
that we made. We assumed that this and this can
replace door to door. So the problem with this if

(19:58):
somebody says, I don't know what none of this stuff means,
I can't explain it to them.

Speaker 1 (20:06):
With the rope, with with the text blast. I got
to talk to him.

Speaker 6 (20:10):
I said, so we literally have to go back to
where we are studying our precinct turnout to see who voted,
who didn't, and it's public data, and go do to door.
What I've said to a office, to Ak's, to Deltas.
Then stop having these large get out to vote campaigns.
I said, No, have targeted focus where we're gonna hit
these five precincts. And these five precincts, I've said to

(20:33):
Prince Hall Mason, there was an event in DC where
folk get they get dressed up wearing black and white and.

Speaker 1 (20:39):
The aprons march. I said, where are we marching?

Speaker 6 (20:43):
I said, I'm not getting dressed up to walk in
the sun just to walk outside.

Speaker 1 (20:49):
There has to be a game plan here.

Speaker 6 (20:51):
And the national PANELMINIC having the conference here in Houston Friday,
I'm give them the keynote and I'm letting them know
it's a whole bunch of y'all real comfortable well, and
so we've got to challenge folks and make them uncomfortable
to say, our people are waiting on us.

Speaker 1 (21:06):
Black people are saying we are who can we follow?
And we got to be able to point them to
somebody to follow.

Speaker 12 (21:13):
It's a lot of black people saying who can we follow?
But there are also a lot of black people who
have checked out to your point, And the problem is,
just like you say, we can't depend on these phones
to reach people, I think so many people are distracted
by these phones as well. And there's been so many
people with misinformation, disinformation, malinformation flooding our timelines and our communities,

(21:34):
trying to keep people on the sideline. So people say,
you can never blame the voter, or you can never
blame the constituent, but I do think we have to
start challenging our community to take responsibility and go and
get information, because it is challenging. If you're running vice president,
Harris could not come to every single door and door
knock on every single household and explain to them policy.

Speaker 11 (21:55):
On some level, it is up to you to make
sure that.

Speaker 12 (21:58):
You are disrupting disinformation that you are sharing responsibly.

Speaker 11 (22:01):
I would also add ro I love how you put
on and.

Speaker 12 (22:04):
Represent for Alpha Bay Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, and yes, shout
out to the Panhellenic, but there are so many people
who feel disconnected from that. They're not in a Greek
organization and that says something about black elitism to them,
which they feel triggered by. So we have to figure
out how we can bridge that divide as well as
challenge them the people.

Speaker 6 (22:24):
What I've said to Alpha and the other eight is
if they never see you, they don't know you.

Speaker 13 (22:32):
But also, why are we talking at people and not listening? Yes,
I spent more time over the last several months just listening.
It was hard sometimes I just wanted to hear where
the breakdown was. We literally come to our folks who
were like, why are you only talking to black people
about their buying power.

Speaker 1 (22:50):
They're being consumer.

Speaker 3 (22:51):
We do the same thing around elections.

Speaker 13 (22:53):
We're gonna talk to the voter, not the person that
has the issue, not the person that should be engaged
in advocating at every level of government.

Speaker 3 (22:59):
Think that's another really, but.

Speaker 6 (23:02):
If you can't listen to people, if you don't create
the avenues where they can talk. And so that's why
I've been a huge advocate. We got to get back
to citizenship.

Speaker 1 (23:13):
Classes called city.

Speaker 6 (23:15):
Hall one o one, county government one o one school
district one oh one and walk folk through the whole deal.

Speaker 3 (23:23):
And so that gonna be on Black starting network WALDO.
Look I like it.

Speaker 6 (23:26):
Gary's doing that in Louisiana. I said, Gary, make sure
y'all record it, y'all live streaming.

Speaker 14 (23:31):
Uh.

Speaker 6 (23:31):
And absolutely, But that's but that's the stuff that I
think we have to get back to.

Speaker 14 (23:34):
Uh.

Speaker 6 (23:34):
I say, you could take new school, but old school
stuff still work too. It still works. Y'all gotta record
your show. Y'all didn't need a ride because the room
right out there. Walk on out there and tap on
the door. Deshaun will take you.

Speaker 12 (23:52):
I want to ask you about your studio space in DC.
It's as expensive and expensive as this sad looks, you
also have a wonderful studio space and it is large
and enough to be able to host a town hall.

Speaker 11 (24:02):
When is it Roland Martin town hall going to happen?

Speaker 6 (24:04):
So we're working on that. I wasn't gonna do an
election night show next week. I am next Thursday. I
am doing especially with Bishop Barber on white Christian nationalism,
and so we're working on that. But then, yeah, we
can fit about seventy five to eighty people in there,
So that's the next thing that we're working on.

Speaker 11 (24:23):
We're working on agulations.

Speaker 12 (24:27):
Yes, and he was one of the first people to
put Angela and I both on television. And you have
always poured back into the community. You don't ever want
to be the only You make avenues.

Speaker 11 (24:37):
For all of us. So we just want to say
we love you and thank you for all your essay.

Speaker 3 (24:40):
Road bye.

Speaker 6 (24:42):
Yeah, okay, there you go again. All right, all right,
we're gonna take a quick break. When we come back
on ROLLINGD Morton Unfiltered. We'll talk when one of the
co finals of Blavity talking about this conference and what
it means. You're watching Roland Moton unfiltered right here from
Afro Tech twenty twenty five in my hometown of Houston,
We'll be right back.

Speaker 11 (25:07):
In the military.

Speaker 16 (25:08):
I gave orders and they went a lot further than
they do around here. If there's one thing I've learned
as a mom and foster pan of more kids than
I can count, investing in their future isn't a choice.
In Richmond, I'll fight for Stafford's fair share for our schools,
smaller class sizes, better teacher pay, and more vocational training.

(25:30):
I'm Stacey Carrol, and I'll fight to get our kids'.

Speaker 17 (25:32):
Future in order.

Speaker 18 (25:36):
Nicole Cole knows the cornerstone of a successful life starts here.
Virginia Public Schools gave Nicole an excellent education. They helped
her become a small business owner, family financial planner, mother,
and community leader. Now, after four years on the Spotsylvania
School Board, Nicole is running.

Speaker 19 (25:53):
For delegate to meet the needs of all students.

Speaker 18 (25:56):
As our delegate, Nicole will fully fund our schools, raised
teacher salaries, and help graduating students stay in our communities.

Speaker 19 (26:03):
Nicole Cole for Delegate, for us for our future.

Speaker 20 (26:07):
As a pastor, I hear a lot about trips to
the doctor, bills piling up, jobs being lost. So, as
your delegate, I went to work writing laws that protect families,
helping parents care for their disabled children, capping insulin costs,
lowering prescription prices, and investing in our police and schools.

(26:31):
I'm Josh Cole, and as your delegate, I'm working to
keep us strong and safe.

Speaker 21 (26:36):
Oh, I'm Bishop TV Jakes, and you're watching.

Speaker 1 (26:38):
Roland Martin Unfiltered.

Speaker 6 (27:21):
Folks, Welcome back to Roland Martin on filter of the
Black Starting Network. We're live here at afro Tech twenty
twenty five, here the George R. Brown Committion Center in Houston.
Joining us right now Jeff Nelson, co founder COO of Blavity,
of course, the forks folks behind afro Tech.

Speaker 22 (27:38):
What's happening, Roland. Thank you so much for having me.
I'm happy to be here, happy to have you here.
This is amazing, glad to be here. It's a whole
lot of blackness around here. How many people have registered
so this year we're expecting between thirty and forty thousand
people here in Houston all.

Speaker 1 (27:53):
Week, thirty to forty thousand in Houston.

Speaker 22 (27:56):
In Houston, across the city here at afro Tech, We've
got about fifteenth at the convention center right that are
in sessions, getting certifications, learning.

Speaker 21 (28:04):
Labs, all that.

Speaker 22 (28:05):
So across the city we're going to have even more.
So she really asked that question.

Speaker 6 (28:09):
That's like when they say, oh, yeah, it's about forty
thousand at the FRAT convention, only eight thousand registered seriously here,
So you know.

Speaker 21 (28:16):
I'm glad you asked that question because let me.

Speaker 22 (28:17):
Say this, So what ends up happening is a lot
of people say I'm coming to afro Tech and then
they get their flight in their hotel to Houston.

Speaker 21 (28:24):
They don't buy a ticket to the conference.

Speaker 22 (28:26):
But then the fifteen thousand here they say, oh, we're
having a great time. Then the other fifteen thousand come
at the last minut and say, hey, can we get
a ticket? So we got fifteen thousand hour, we're expecting
the other fifteen thousand that are in the city to
come here to the convention center.

Speaker 6 (28:39):
Yeah, but you mean the other fifteen thousand the register
on time and actually come to the buy your tickets early.
It's your tickets early for folks down. We livestream a
couple of sessions earlier. We've been doing other interviews. But
but give folks a sense first of all, how many
years as it been for this conference.

Speaker 21 (28:56):
So this is the ninth year of afro Tech.

Speaker 1 (28:58):
Got it. And originally we're in Oakland.

Speaker 22 (29:00):
We were originally at San Francisco, San Francisco, Francisco, then
we went to Oakland, went to Oakland, Austin, Austin.

Speaker 21 (29:06):
Now we're here.

Speaker 1 (29:06):
How many years you've been in Houston?

Speaker 22 (29:08):
So this is our second year in Houston, gotcha? And
so you mentioned what are we doing this year? The theme
that this year's conference is building What's next?

Speaker 21 (29:16):
So we're talking about AI.

Speaker 22 (29:17):
Of course, AI is the great disruptor that is doing
a lot of good, but it's also giving people a
lot of pause, a lot of job loss because of AI.
So a big focus of this year's conferences not only
how do we not only how do we educate people
on about what AI is, but how do we prepare
them to use it to level up and prepare themselves
for the future.

Speaker 6 (29:38):
Now, just get folks who don't understand the breadth and
depth of the conversations that are taking place here main
stage and also a breakout sessions.

Speaker 22 (29:47):
Yeah, so we were very excited earlier today to have
Stacey Abrams help kick us off. I know you have
Mayor Brandon Scott on earlier. He is going to be
on stage. Well, we're gonna have the CEO of Microsoft
Ai Mousatha Selimon is going to be here. Ashow teller
from alphabet Ex their Moonshot factory is going to be here.

(30:09):
We had John Wallach's put on a great session with
the NBA and their partners as well, So we have
a range of great dynamic speakers and all the conversations
are very, very substantive.

Speaker 6 (30:19):
One of the things that is happening obviously, we're seeing
dramatic cutbacks all across the country. We see the attacks
on anti the attacks on diversity, equity inclusion. How has
that impacted this conference this year compared to last year.

Speaker 22 (30:36):
So that's a good point, and I will admit, I'll
be very very candid at the beginning of the year
when all these rollbacks started to happen, we were nervous
and we have to have some conversations with our partners
and our sponsors about one, would they show up, and
then two could they show up and could they do
so in a way that felt authentic and We're excited

(30:58):
that we've got over one hundred and fifty sponsors that
did show up.

Speaker 21 (31:02):
Many of them are here hiring.

Speaker 22 (31:04):
We've got thirty companies that are interviewing on site, and
the feedback that we got from a lot of them
is that whether we call it D E and I,
whether we call it something else, the fact still remains
that the data suggests that we need a workforce that
is representative, that has people from all different kinds of backgrounds.

Speaker 21 (31:19):
So they're here.

Speaker 22 (31:20):
But the second point I want to make is that
we understand that afro Tech that this conference, while recruiting
and hiring, is a big part of it and.

Speaker 21 (31:29):
Even bigger part of it.

Speaker 22 (31:30):
And what we're focused on this year is innovation because
people come to afro Tech to be inspired, to understand
what's coming next, and so that's why the thing with
this year's conference is building what's next. So while we've
got the expo floor and their companies recruiting, we have
so many conversations that are focused on innovation and what's
coming next.

Speaker 6 (31:50):
Obviously, you want people to here here to connect. Yes,
do you have space where you're having the conversations of
indivation Jose that have actually made connections here and have
been able to merge, been able to partner, be able
to grow business where they are able to tell that story,
so folk understand how they should be properly utilizing this conference.

Speaker 22 (32:13):
Yeah, those spaces are littered throughout the conference. So one
of the cool things that we have afro Afrotach has
a membership program, so you can come to conference, but
we also have a year round membership program, and part
of that is something we call Founder Circle and Founder
Circuit is made up of entrepreneurs in our network that
have come to afrotech and they've met their co founder,

(32:35):
they've gotten venture capital funding, they built connections at mentors,
and they are engaged all year round and they.

Speaker 21 (32:41):
Are here as part of the programming.

Speaker 22 (32:43):
So that's one example of how we build those spaces
where people can say, hey, here's how Afrotech helps to
catapult me in. This is why I want to come
back and why I want to continue to be a
part of it.

Speaker 6 (32:54):
When you talked about the sponsors, this is what I've
said is that these are tacks that we've seen.

Speaker 1 (33:03):
Also shows us who's real and who wasn't.

Speaker 21 (33:05):
Absolutely, absolutely, folks who are.

Speaker 6 (33:08):
Really committed are the ones who said no, no, we
see value exactly. And the ones who are playing games
are the ones who cut and ran.

Speaker 22 (33:16):
Absolutely, I mean rolid, you said it, this expo for it,
I said, there one hundred and fifty companies. There should
be more, right, there should be three hundred, there should
be four hundred. There should be this expo hall should
be filled with companies who should see the value. But
we see the ones who do, and we see the
ones who don't. And that speaks for usself.

Speaker 1 (33:34):
And we listen.

Speaker 6 (33:34):
We are our Black Journalists convention. Normally we have more
than one hundred that were thirty seven this year. Wow,
thirty seven.

Speaker 21 (33:41):
That's insane.

Speaker 1 (33:42):
That's how crazy it was.

Speaker 6 (33:44):
And what what I keep talking about I need, I
need our people to understand.

Speaker 1 (33:50):
And I frame it this way.

Speaker 6 (33:52):
I said, what we are seeing is a massive effort
to defund Black America, where every facet of Black America
is being attacked. And what a lot of people don't
realize is because of these attacks, nearly every black nonprofit
has faced a massive drop in resources. That so it
goes beyond just for profit entities. It's also impacting black

(34:14):
nonprofit absolutely.

Speaker 14 (34:16):
Well.

Speaker 22 (34:16):
You know, one of the interesting conversations we had earlier
was about AI and all the data that is training AI.
A lot of that is data that we are producing
content that our community is putting on social media. Then
you have companies that release new AI models where you
can generate on demand videos of MLK and all these
kinds of things that are not only using our likeness,

(34:37):
but are using what's friendly in our community. And to
your point, we are not participating in the benefits of it.
And furthermore, there is this concerted effort to erase what
we benefit from, and that's concerning it.

Speaker 21 (34:50):
That's why these spaces are so important.

Speaker 6 (34:52):
But also I think the ownership piece, yeah, because there
are so many of us with massive talents that have
been doing it for somebody else. Realizing, wait a minute,
I could take my own ideas now, greenlight my own
ideas and not ask for permission.

Speaker 22 (35:08):
Well that's what That's what I learn about AI. AI
is the great equalizer, right AI. It gives us the
opportunity where we're only limited by our imagination. And some
of the most imaginative people I know are people in
our community, are black people, are diverse people, are underrepresented people.
And so if afrotech can be a platform and continue
to be a platform that educates, but not only does

(35:30):
that gives the connections in the capital the community the
funding that our community needs to take their imagination and
make a reality. Then that's how we can take back
economic empowerment that we so desperately need.

Speaker 6 (35:42):
Well, and on that particular point, Stacey talked about it
as well. When we speak about AI with spetificab speak
about chat beat, GPT and frankly, it's it's bias, if
you will, that where we're devoid of it when we
are also utilizing these twols and infusing them with our information,
so we're also altering Yes AI.

Speaker 22 (36:05):
Yes, that's very, very true, and that's why it's so
important to understand.

Speaker 21 (36:09):
How it works.

Speaker 22 (36:11):
Right, people can use it and they think they get
some benefit from it, but when you use it, you
are altering it. Right, You are impacting those models in
ways that you may understand or you may not understand,
and it's important to understand those implications. And so that's
why you know, my background is in AI research and development,
and I think that AI.

Speaker 21 (36:30):
Has a lot of benefits.

Speaker 22 (36:31):
But if we don't have some serious conversations about ethics
and AI about regulation, about governance, but also about public
policy because one of the things I'm passionate about is
if AI is going to be displacing all these jobs.
If we're talking about AI agents, which you know I'm
passionate about. I think the idea that AI can help
to automate a lot more of the work that we do,

(36:53):
especially white collar work, especially work that happens in an
office setting.

Speaker 21 (36:57):
If we can reap that benefit.

Speaker 22 (37:00):
We also have to have a conversation from a policy
standpoint about what is the responsibility of government and public
policy to ensure that people are made whole. And so
that's why I'm excited. Why we you know sa Cy
Abrams obviously she's known for her efforts with voting rights
and many other things, but also having Mayor Brandon Scott
among other elected officials who are here to talk about

(37:22):
some of these things, alongside business leaders like CEOs Bustafa,
Microsoft AI. So it's important that we have these conversations
because we have to have a three six year.

Speaker 21 (37:32):
Approach to this.

Speaker 6 (37:33):
Absolutely well, Jeff is getting been fantastic thus far. Of course,
we'll be broadcasting tomorrow as well. Where are you out
next year?

Speaker 21 (37:43):
So we'll be back here in Houston next year.

Speaker 1 (37:45):
So next year is they ain't crazy.

Speaker 22 (37:47):
Next year is the ten year anniversary of afro Tech,
So we'll be back here again. I think we'll make
an official announcement on stage. I don't know if I'm
I mean the cats out of the back, but we
will be back here.

Speaker 6 (37:59):
Ayston, there's more people watching. Who's gonna be in that room?
Go ahead and make it right back. Look you go.

Speaker 21 (38:04):
We'll be back in Houston next year.

Speaker 22 (38:05):
And to those like we talked about earlier, we got
the ones who are here at the convention Center and
the ones who come to the city and then they
get that ticket late. Buy your early birth ticket, buy
it as soon as they drop on Friday. Make sure
you buy your ticket, reserve your spot. We'll be in Houston.
Afrotech twenty twenty six, ten years will be celebrating and
we're looking forward to it.

Speaker 6 (38:25):
And Jeff is not gonna do this. I will to
all of the sponsors this year. We appreciate y'all being sponsors.
And I'll be looking at the list next year to
see who's here and who is not, and I'll be
calling names. Jeff, don't worry, but I got this here.
You ain't gonna worry about this here. If you step
out of here, I can hand that. But I believe
in doing a roll call because there are people who

(38:47):
want our black dollars, but then who don't want to
do have an ROI and invest in our black organizations,
in our black businesses.

Speaker 21 (38:54):
You appreciate now.

Speaker 6 (38:55):
So just so letting all y'all know, I'm gonna have
a booklet. I'm gonna be checking to see because you know,
I'm already go back and checking to see who was
here last year, was here this year? Oh tomorrow, tomorrow,
all y'all who were here last year and you're not
an AFRO tech this year, I'm calling your name tomorrow.

Speaker 1 (39:18):
I'm just letting y'all know it.

Speaker 6 (39:20):
So Carol, anybody the control room look for my email
to pull logos. I'm just letting y'all know. See that's
how I roll. I appreciate it. Thank you so much.
I appreciate it.

Speaker 21 (39:30):
Thanks much.

Speaker 1 (39:32):
Folks.

Speaker 6 (39:32):
We're gonna go to break. We come back lots to
hear from. I'm gonna hear from Stacy Abrams. We're from
Tennessee State University students who are here UH get some
advice for their projects. We'll be here from Ron buzzby UH,
the US Black Chamber, Inc. UH and so many others.
Some great conversations right here, rollingd Mar unfilched the Black
Start Network live of Afro Tech here the Georgia Brown
Convention Center in my hometown in Houston.

Speaker 1 (39:54):
Back at the moment.

Speaker 23 (40:15):
If in this country right now, you have people get
up in the morning and the only thing they can
think about is how many people they can hurt, and
they've got the power. That's the time for morning.

Speaker 1 (40:26):
For better or worse.

Speaker 24 (40:27):
What makes America special, It's that legal system that's supposed
to protect.

Speaker 25 (40:32):
Minorities from the tyranny of the majority.

Speaker 26 (40:36):
We are at a point of a moral emergency. We
must raise a voice of outrage, we must raise a
voice of compassion, and we.

Speaker 1 (40:47):
Must raise a voice of unity.

Speaker 23 (40:51):
We are not in a crisis of party versus party.
We are in a crisis of civilization, a humans rights crisis,
and a crisis of democracy itself. And guess what, You've
been chosen to make sure that those that would destroy,
those that would hate, don't have the final say, and

(41:12):
they don't ultimately win. This is Eric Dickerson and you're
watching Roland Martin unfiltered.

Speaker 14 (41:22):
Mhm h.

Speaker 4 (41:46):
The shot.

Speaker 6 (41:52):
M all right, folks, welcome back to Afrotech here in Houston.
Let's talk about a news story that we've been covering
for some time. The white former deputy sheriff who shot

(42:14):
and killed Sonya Massey was convicted today of second degree
murdering the primarily white jewelry found Sean Grayson guilty of
second degree murdered.

Speaker 1 (42:27):
Now keep in mind.

Speaker 6 (42:28):
Uh the happy option of first degree murder and second
degree murder that was given in jury instructions he was
found he was He was acquitted on first degree murder
but found guilty on second degree murder. Massey died on
the same night she called the police for help. She
reported the possible prowler outside of her home. A body
camera footage from Grace's partner captured the incident, but Grayson's

(42:52):
own camera was not activated from most of the encounter,
had only turned on.

Speaker 1 (42:57):
After he drew his weapon.

Speaker 6 (42:58):
Gracy testified that he feared for his life, and Massy
began acting erratically when she said, I rebuke you in
the name of Jesus as she walked toward a pot
of water on her stove. His partner that night, Dawson Fawlly,
testified that he was never afraid of Massy, but was
instead fearful of Grayson's actions. A conviction for first degree

(43:19):
murder could have resulted in a life sentence for Grayson.
With the second degree conviction, he could face anywhere from
four to twenty years in prison, as also a possibility
he could receive probation with no prison time or sentencing
date has not been set. An attorney for the Massi family,
including Van Crump, released this statement. While we believe Grayson's

(43:39):
actions deserved a first degree conviction, today's verdict is still
a measure of justice for Sonya Massy. Accountability has begune
and we now hope the court will impose a meaningful
sentence that reflects the severity of these crimes and the
life that was lost.

Speaker 1 (43:54):
We will continue to fight.

Speaker 6 (43:55):
For Sonya's family and for reforms that protect everyone from
unlawful use of flace. The family extends deep gratitude to
Singamon County State's Attorney John ce Milheiser and his entire office.
They handled the case with professionalism, transparency, and compassion. Prosecuting
a police officer is never easy, but this team did
it with courage and integrity.

Speaker 1 (44:16):
My panel right now, Doctor deanbe.

Speaker 6 (44:18):
Carter, a social professor of School of Public Policy the
University of Maryland. She's the author of American While Black
African Americans, Immigration and the.

Speaker 1 (44:26):
Limits of Limits of Citizenship. Joining us from d C.

Speaker 6 (44:29):
Andrew clark Esquire, managing partner with a district legal group
there in d C.

Speaker 1 (44:34):
Andrew, I'll start with you.

Speaker 6 (44:36):
It's it's a shame that this jury of eleven whites
did not convict on first degree murder. The prosecutors made
clear that Grayson threatened to shoot Massy before he pulled
his weapon, and they said that constituted the proper action
to say he was premeditated for what he did to

(44:57):
Sonya Massi.

Speaker 1 (44:57):
Unfortunately this jury saw otherwise.

Speaker 27 (45:01):
Yeah, and in Illinois, you don't actually need the intent
for premeditation like you think about in other states. In Illinois,
all you have to do is intend to kill someone.
And the difference between the first degree and the second degree,
aside from first degree carrying up to sixty years, we're
talking about second degree being that they believed that there

(45:25):
was some kind of provocation. They believed the jury believed
that the boiling water and the I rebuke you statement
was enough to carry the day to change it from
first degree to second degree. And this just shows how
the prosecution of officers, and we're talking about a town

(45:47):
in Illinois, the prosecution of officers is treated differently because
you're right, they had all of the facts that they
need to send a message for first degree murder and
they did not do it.

Speaker 1 (46:01):
Nimbi. It really is a shame.

Speaker 6 (46:04):
We saw what took place here, and again the prosecutors
did a very good job.

Speaker 1 (46:10):
And not only that Gracon lied.

Speaker 6 (46:13):
He literally said on the stand that Sonya Massey threw
the pot at him.

Speaker 1 (46:18):
We have video that never happened.

Speaker 28 (46:23):
And not only did she not throw the pot at them, Roland,
he told her to cut the pot of water off.
And I think that's the thing that really is so
upsetting to so many of us. One that didn't have
to happen. But you hear him threatening to threaten to
shoot her in the face. You know that he doesn't
have his body camera on. Thankfully his partner did, because

(46:46):
that's partly why we know what we do know, because
had no one had any video evidence, his story with
a likely care of today, and we would have never
gotten here and her family would have never been able
to have anyone to answer for her untimely and unnecessary death.
I mean it's shocking. I mean, she says I'm rebuking

(47:06):
and he shoots her, and it's like for what.

Speaker 6 (47:14):
Absolutely And unfortunately, when you see second degree murder, forty
years to twenty years could get probation. And I got
trying to remember the Kate, Well, remember the cop that
killed Ekwan McDonald.

Speaker 1 (47:24):
Look how little time he served Andrew, and I think.

Speaker 29 (47:30):
It's yeah, and that's something that is very concerning here
because you're right, Roland, we're dealing with a crime that
if he was convicted of first degree the judge would
have no discretion on twenty years.

Speaker 7 (47:44):
We'd be looking at two decades.

Speaker 27 (47:46):
But now we have the fear that now this judge
in this town in Illinois could give him four years,
he could be back on the street in less than
five years. And that is disturbing, especially because higher country
has seen this video. And when I first watched the
video was brought to tears because I just could not

(48:07):
believe that this woman was killed in her home while
holding a pot in her kitchen.

Speaker 1 (48:21):
Yeah, I'm gonna go in, and I was just gonna say.

Speaker 4 (48:24):
You know, this is what happens far too often.

Speaker 28 (48:26):
An officer gets to say I'm afraid, and then we
become the collateral damage, as if their fear should trump
our safety. Sonya Masseew was obviously very afraid, which is
why she reached out.

Speaker 4 (48:37):
To the police. There was, to Andrew's point, she's in
her kitchen.

Speaker 28 (48:42):
There's a good deal of distance between them and her,
and instead of maybe retreating out of the home, if
you were so fearful, you say you pulled your weapon
because you knew that she had on layers and so
you couldn't taze her and it would have done nothing.
So you could have done other things before shooting this woman.

(49:02):
Maybe if you were so fearful, you should have asked
her to stay on the couch, as opposed to sending
her into the kitchen to turn off the pot of water.
If it was such a great threat, you go and
turn off the pot of water. I think the part
that is so infuriating and so saddening is there are
always all of these things that could be done short

(49:22):
of lethal force, but those things that never seemed like
viable alternatives for the police officers. And I know people say, well,
it's easy in that moment to say this, But it's
easy in that moment because you see how much space
there was between Sonya Massey and this officer.

Speaker 4 (49:39):
There was clearly enough time to make an assessment, and as.

Speaker 28 (49:43):
Quickly as he pulled that trigger, he could have done
something differently.

Speaker 1 (49:49):
Indeed, indeed, all right, gotta go to break. We've come back.
We'll talk.

Speaker 6 (49:52):
We hear from Stacy Abrams, who spoke here in Afro
Tech talking about AI how could be used for good
or evil? In the rolling African Americans should be playing
in that Folks, you're watching Rolling Martin Unfiltered here, the
Black Shid Network at Afrotech here in the Huston.

Speaker 1 (50:07):
Don't forget support the work that we do.

Speaker 6 (50:08):
If you want to join our Brina Funk Fan Club,
your contributions make it possible. Was a travel around this country,
covering the stores others ignored. So we want to give
to us via cashhat who's a stripe cure coach. You
see it right here the bottom left hand corner of
paypals are Martin Unfiltered, benmos RM Unfiltered Zoe rolling at
Rolling Spartan dot Com rolling at Rolling Martin unfilter dot
Com checks in money order and make it payable to

(50:30):
Rolling markin Unfiltered pter Box five seven one ninety six,
Washington d C two zero zero three seven to A
zero one nine six Back in the moment.

Speaker 30 (50:44):
This week on a Balanced Lide for Doctor Jackie, we're
continuing our series of putting in the Works a chef's Journey.
Are you an aspiring chef someone who already has a
business trying to figure out what your next steps will be,
who to talk to and.

Speaker 4 (50:57):
How to get there? Well?

Speaker 30 (50:58):
On this week's show, are great, Yes and wonderful Chef
will talk to you about what needs to discover your purpose,
your why of being in the kitchen and then knowing
how to put a business together.

Speaker 31 (51:09):
The menu controls everything, It determines The menu determines everything,
but the business plan is where you have to.

Speaker 32 (51:17):
Go back to when you get into the business. At
the end of the day, you know, social media and TV,
all of that stuff is cool, but you still have
to run a business, so you still have to be
in relationship with people.

Speaker 30 (51:27):
That's all next on a Bounce Life with doctor Jackie
here on Black Star Network.

Speaker 4 (51:35):
This week on the Other Side of Change.

Speaker 16 (51:37):
Book bands, anti intellectualism, and Trump's continued war on wisdom.

Speaker 33 (51:42):
This is a coordinated backlash to progress. At the end
of the day, conservatives realized that they couldn't win a
debate on facts. They started using our language against us. Right,
Remember when we were all woke and the woke movement
and all that kind of stuff. Now everything is anti woke.
Right when we were talking about including diversity, equity and
clues jun higher education, Now it's anti d all this

(52:03):
our efforts to suppress the truth, because truth empowers people.

Speaker 19 (52:07):
You're watching the Other Side of Change only on the Blackstart.

Speaker 34 (52:09):
Network, Melanie Campbell National Position on Black Civic Participation, the
Black Women's round Table, and we are watching Rowland Rock.
I'm filtered all day, every day, twenty four to seven.

Speaker 25 (52:23):
Spread the word, all right, folks.

Speaker 6 (52:39):
One of the major speakers today here at Afrotech was
Stacy Abrams, of course, who ran twice for governor of Georgia.

Speaker 1 (52:45):
She's been involved in a.

Speaker 6 (52:46):
Number of voting rights groups as well. She and I
sat down for a conversation. Check it out, Stacey. Somebody's
probably asking what the hell are you doing here in
afro ten Well, I am with my people.

Speaker 15 (53:00):
I recently wrote a novel called Coded Justice that focuses
on the intersection of AI, DEI and veterans' healthcare, and
I really wanted to explore the conversation about what does
DEI mean for our communities, but what does it mean
as part of the larger evolution of our society and
what does it mean for democracy?

Speaker 1 (53:18):
And Afrotech is the place to be. Where'd the idea
come from?

Speaker 15 (53:23):
So it really started for me when I was watching
the attacks on DEI and at the same time we
were hearing about how AI was evolving and how much
it would mean to the future society, And I wanted
to think of a way to connect the dots for
people who see them as separate conversations. But we know
that if DEI is not embedded in how we think

(53:44):
about how we build the world, then too many of
us are going to get left out and left behind.
And AI as a technology has the ability to really
revolutionize who we are and how we are served, but
not if it can't see us, and worse, not if
it is weaponized against us and there's no community that
more reflects the importance of both DEI but also of

(54:05):
a government and a society that takes care of its
own than thinking about our veterans and what happens with
their healthcare.

Speaker 6 (54:10):
During the session we live stream that you talked about,
there was an initiative that h that dealt that utilizes
AI in DEI UH and and that that frames it differently.

Speaker 1 (54:24):
Explain that so I was referencing.

Speaker 15 (54:27):
On Labor Day, this administration announced that they are doing
a pilot in nine states where they are going to
let AI help make decisions about our healthcare for Medicare patients,
meaning the elderly and the disabled. The issue is that
a few weeks later, the same administration said that it
is unlawful to use AI to to use DEI to

(54:50):
train AI models, meaning you have the responsibility to serve
a population.

Speaker 1 (54:54):
You can't understand.

Speaker 6 (54:56):
Because what we know is the folks who are creating
this are largely white, and so therefore it's being defined
through a white prism.

Speaker 15 (55:03):
Well most of our research, I mean, we know that
in healthcare in particular, Wait a.

Speaker 6 (55:08):
Minute, how the cameras on these devices are set and
it's not built for our skinton It.

Speaker 1 (55:14):
Isn't and so we know.

Speaker 15 (55:15):
So Joy blul and Weeni is this amazing doctor who
wrote a book called Unmasking AI and she really explored
the issue of what they referred to as algorithmic justice.
That might sound esoteric until you realize your grandmother may
not get healthcare because the Medicare decision about whether she
gets a certain treatment is being determined by someone who

(55:35):
doesn't understand that black women have a higher likelihood of
some type of medical issue, that Latina men, that Latino
men face certain issues. If we can't understand the population
you're serving, how is that service going to be valuable,
especially when it comes to healthcare. And so the work
that I've been doing, especially using coded justice as a
point of entry, is about how do we make sure

(55:55):
we understand this isn't just sci fi, this is our.

Speaker 1 (55:58):
Every day right. Well, it's sort of like when the NFL.

Speaker 6 (56:03):
Had racism embedded in how it provided coverage to former
athletes who had injuries. They was literally, oh, well the
black athletes, they're not they're not as smart. I mean
that it was literally in the medical decision as to
grant who gets coverage.

Speaker 15 (56:19):
The American Psychological Association recently, I think, apologized for its
refusal for many years to understand that it's pronouncements about
mental health had a racial bias.

Speaker 1 (56:32):
And we've got to remember DEI is not just race.

Speaker 15 (56:35):
It is race, it is ethnicity, but it's also ability.
It is whether or not you have mental illnesses. It's
about whether you have physical disabilities. And if we aren't
allowed to understand the majority of our population, if we
can't navigate and research and learn, if information is denied,
then the services provided are wrong.

Speaker 6 (56:56):
And and one of the things you kept emphasizing, we
have to take it upon ourselves to educate our own
community about really how broad this is now being used.
We did a story of a young man they were
utilizing AI and the software thought that his bag of

(57:18):
doritos was a weapon. Yeah, I mean we're now talking about,
my goodness, cops could have been dispatched, guns drawn.

Speaker 1 (57:27):
And now we've got.

Speaker 6 (57:29):
Another situation of a young brother shot and kiel because
he has some doritos.

Speaker 15 (57:34):
Exactly part of what we have to understand about the
intersection of AI and DEI.

Speaker 1 (57:39):
AI is a technology.

Speaker 15 (57:40):
It is a tool, but the people who use the
tools are what we have to be concerned about.

Speaker 1 (57:45):
You could use it for good or you could use
it for either.

Speaker 15 (57:47):
Exactly tools can be used to build or destroy, and
the information those tools possessed determine the quality of the
services they can provide. And when you live in a
nation that right now is erasing information, is cutting research,
is outlawing knowledge. I mean, just here in Texas, they
just forced the ouster of the head of the Alamo,

(58:09):
the National the association that was doing the alimal Trust,
the Alamo Trust. They forced her out because she said,
we've got to consider the indigenous people, the enslaved who
were part of what led to the Alamo. When she
was forced out not because she said anything wrong, but
because she told.

Speaker 1 (58:23):
The truth right.

Speaker 6 (58:24):
She was forced out because Texas Lieutenant Governed Dan Patrick
is a.

Speaker 1 (58:31):
Maga idiot. He wants to deny the issue of race.

Speaker 6 (58:34):
Listen, Dan Patrick used to be a sportscaster and at
kho U TV here grip watching him. I used to debate,
used to debate him on debate show here, and he's
even crazier today than he was twenty years ago. He's
down the Lieutenant governor and how our system works in
this state. Lieutenant governor's actually more powerful than the governor.
And so that's what we're now dealing with.

Speaker 15 (58:56):
Yeah, And the reason I want us to think about
these examples is that when you your AI sometimes feels
so remote or so much smarter than us, sound like
wil I robot exactly. And the thing of it is
it is every day. But it's also part of a system.
I've been talking about the ten steps to autocracy and authoritarianism.
There are ten things that autocrats do that authoritarians do

(59:17):
to seize power from a democracy. And among those powers.
Among those steps is they gut government so it doesn't work.
They fire people who aren't loyalists. They expand powers they
don't possess. They use powers they possess to do things
that are wrong. And if AI is one of the
technologies they can use to leverage this power, we lose

(59:37):
democracy even faster. But one of the core pillars is
that they go after communities that they consider vulnerable. DEI
is the central pillar of a pluralistic democracy. It is
no mistake that when this administration took power, and for
the two years preceding it, DEI was under attack. They
attacked it because DEI is the centerpiece that holds up

(59:59):
all of our democracy. Because if you can remove access
to the thirteen, fourteenth and fifteenth men right, if you
can get rid of the Americans with Disabilities Act right,
if you can gut Title one education, if you can
deny SNAP benefits and medicaid to the vulnerable, what you
can do is collapse people's belief in democracy and replace
it with authoritarianism. That means that we never have freedom again.
But we've got to fight back, and part of the

(01:00:21):
way we can fight back includes the tools of AI.

Speaker 6 (01:00:23):
Well the points you just made there. Many times there's
speeches that I give. I talk about how all of
these groups should be thinking black people. That if you're
disabled and youre talking about Disambiric with Disabilities Act, should
think black people.

Speaker 1 (01:00:35):
That's sixty four Civil Rights Act.

Speaker 6 (01:00:37):
If you're a woman and you an engineer, a doctor,
and you went to one of these grad schools, Title
nine nine, that's a privision of civil rights acts. Yeah,
and what unfortunately when we talk about civil rights in
this country is so many people who want to define
it as black and the reality is, we know what
we fought for.

Speaker 1 (01:00:57):
But also, if you gay and you have.

Speaker 6 (01:00:59):
It about same six You better think black folks are
that Fourteenth Amendment equal production clause. And so what we're
up against is in what I framed it specifically for us,
I said, this is a massive effort to completely defund
Black America. They are attacking business, academic, nonprofits, social groups,
the entire black infrastructure. That's what they want to take

(01:01:22):
out or massively weaken.

Speaker 1 (01:01:24):
So I think you're absolutely right.

Speaker 15 (01:01:26):
And the reason I use DEI as well as civil
rights civil rights is the way we describe it. But
you also have to use the language, and you have
to understand those who are attacking you. The reason they
say DEI is that they were able to demonize the
language to make us run away from it.

Speaker 1 (01:01:40):
But they know what they're talking about. Christopher rus Ruffo
was very clear.

Speaker 6 (01:01:44):
They said, first with CRT, we want to put anything
dealing with diversity under.

Speaker 1 (01:01:48):
That bank exactly, and the reality and.

Speaker 15 (01:01:50):
It was walked the next year. Then it was DEI exactly.
But DEI has always been expansive. DEI has always contained
all of the laws and the rules and the regulations
that have met this country accessible. And you're right, almost
every one of those rules had to be created in
order to cure America's original sin towards black people. But
the reality for everyone else is to know that they

(01:02:10):
start with us, they never stop with us. Right, they
practiced their harm on us. See I practiced ston Here's
the mistake.

Speaker 6 (01:02:17):
I think what happened with the DEI when the tax
started and I was trying to combat as much as
I could, the problem was there are even many of us.
We were framing it within well, seventy five percent of
the DEI jobs are white folks, and I'm like, okay,
those are DEI jobs. I'm like, first of all, guys,
chief diversity officer was before that one.

Speaker 1 (01:02:38):
Before that, it was a community effairs.

Speaker 6 (01:02:40):
I said, there's a long line coming from from the
nineteen sixties.

Speaker 1 (01:02:44):
I said.

Speaker 6 (01:02:44):
The problem that y'all understand is all of the programming,
all of the investment falls under that banner that's separate
than that individual with a job tip.

Speaker 15 (01:02:54):
Exactly, if you go to aprnetwork dot org, we have
an entire timeline of what is DEI.

Speaker 1 (01:03:00):
So if you read APR network APR.

Speaker 15 (01:03:03):
Network dot org, so it stands for American Pride rises
because you're not going to take my pride from me,
and you're not going to tell me that I'm not
American simply because I don't look like what you expect.
So American Pride Rises Network so aprnetwork dot org. We've
got two things there. One, we have a timeline that
lays out, just as you did, the history of how
DEI came to be. And we know that this is
the history they're using, because if you read Project twenty

(01:03:25):
twenty five, everything they attack is everything DEI built, right.
But the second part is that we have and this
is one of the reasons I'm excited about afro Tech.
We have a chatbot called a Diva ed I v
A and you can ask them any questions about DEI,
because the reality is, as much as they may be
railing against it, it's not illegal. You can't change the
law with an executive order. You can't repeal a constitutional

(01:03:46):
amendment with.

Speaker 6 (01:03:46):
A tantrum, which is why is shameful with all these
corporations going well, since he signed it, we can't do this.

Speaker 1 (01:03:52):
It's not it. He doesn't.

Speaker 6 (01:03:53):
That's the that's applies to the federal government, not state,
not county, not city, not school board, not corporate.

Speaker 15 (01:04:00):
And even his federal edicts don't work because he's covered
by federal law.

Speaker 1 (01:04:03):
You can't repeal the fourteenth Amendment by saying I don't
like it.

Speaker 15 (01:04:07):
And so what we've got to recognize, and that's why
we created APR network dot org for people to understand
what's under attack. You pointed it out when Chris Rufo
started with CRT, and we apologize when you went after
WOKE and we tried to defend or didn't defend it.

Speaker 1 (01:04:20):
We tried to pretend we didn't use.

Speaker 15 (01:04:22):
We have to stop letting them demonize our language because
and when they can change your language, they can change
your mind. And so that's our first job, and our
second job is that if there are ten steps to
destroying democracy, there are ten steps to freedom and power.
And so the other website I'm going to give people
is ten Steps campaign dot org. That's the place where
we are helping people understand what is our power and
what can we do. And I want to thank you

(01:04:43):
because you've been railing about this but also educating folks
about the fact that they may be on the attack,
but we don't have to be on the defense. We
can be on the off right and we can start
pushing back and defending our democracy right now.

Speaker 1 (01:04:55):
We are here in Houston. I'm born and raised here.

Speaker 6 (01:04:59):
This state has the most eligible black voters of any
state in the country. Next door's Louisiana. A third of
that state's African American. Yet we look at turnout numbers,
they're not what they should be.

Speaker 1 (01:05:11):
I have been about railing.

Speaker 6 (01:05:12):
I've been saying our goal has to be a minimum
seventy percent threshold, because if we're voting at seventy percent,
we're talking about tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of
votes could make the difference. Turnout numbers of Black votes
were not what they should have been in Georgia in
twenty twenty four, in North Caroline twenty twenty four. So

(01:05:33):
when I keep arguing to our people, we actually can
win if we're maximizing that power at the ballot box.

Speaker 15 (01:05:39):
But people have to believe there's something that it's worth it.
And you and I both know it's not voter apathy,
it's voter despair.

Speaker 1 (01:05:45):
Yep.

Speaker 15 (01:05:45):
When you've seen generational poverty, you're from Texas, I grew
up in Mississippi, came of age in Georgia. When things
don't change, you've stopped believing that you can be a
part of change. But we're in the moment of a
crisis where now is the time where we remind people
not just their power has worked before, but that they're
afraid of our power in a way they never have
been in seventeen years. This nation is majority minority. That

(01:06:06):
means if we start working now, not trying to change
the mind of the seventy seven million, or trying to
remind the seventy five million why they voted the right way,
but the ninety million who didn't think their voices mattered.
But you do that by proving that democracy can work.
So in the midst of destroying democracy, when they gut snap,
when they steal from our children to pay for wealthy
people to get their tax cuts, now is the time

(01:06:28):
for us to step in and use this moment to
explain to people you may not be into politics, but
politics is into you, and it is a stalker, and
we are all of the things about you. Here are
all the things that you need that I'm not asking
you to vote for this person you don't know, or
to believe that this person's going to be different.

Speaker 1 (01:06:43):
I'm asking you to vote for you.

Speaker 15 (01:06:44):
I'm asking you to say that I deserve better, and
I'm going to take this time out of my life
to try to make things better for me and for mine.
That's why democracy is so important.

Speaker 6 (01:06:54):
We're dealing with the reality of groups also under attack
regionally New Georgia Project shut down group you were very
much involved with, and what I have been in funding
as being impacted as well. Black voters matter of funding
down forty percent as well. A lot of people are
running away from this fight. What I keep yelling as

(01:07:18):
well is that one, we can't be locked into election cycles.
It has to be three sixty five, seven days a week.
But we also have to keep these voter groups intact
when the election is over, because whether you win or lose,
you still need those folks coming to the city council meeting,
the school board meeting, the county commissions of a state

(01:07:39):
board meeting.

Speaker 1 (01:07:39):
And that's the thing that.

Speaker 6 (01:07:40):
Drives me crazy there is that we act like, oh,
that's the end of the process. I can go back
to and I was doing like no, no, no, no,
we need.

Speaker 1 (01:07:46):
To You've got to stay in this thing exactly.

Speaker 15 (01:07:48):
So one of the steps in the ten Steps to
Freedom and Power, so step one is commit, Step two
is share, We got to share the knowledge that you have.
We got to tell people what we're learning. They've broken
our ecosystem of media and knowledge. We got to tell
people what we know.

Speaker 1 (01:07:59):
Yep.

Speaker 15 (01:08:00):
Number three, we've got to organize. Number four, we've got
to mobilize. It's not enough to say I'm mad, but
you talk about the divine nine all the time. How
are we using our organizations to mobilize to solve problems
right now? Because asking someone to vote in two years
doesn't matter if they can't if they're hungry today.

Speaker 1 (01:08:15):
And then the next step we got to litigate. We
got to keep fighting.

Speaker 15 (01:08:17):
It is okay if we lose lawsuits as long as
we are fighting them, because you and I both know
Thirgod Marshall lost the lot before you want. Then we
have to disrupt. We've got to do these protests. But
protests aren't enough. We've got to know our rights. We've
got to be out there. We've got to be filming everything.
Then we've got to do the work of denying them
the ability to change our language. That's why U DEI
everywhere I go. But then to your point, we've got

(01:08:38):
to engage. If somebody has asked for your vote. They
need to hear your voice the day after they get elected.
That's when they should be really, really afraid, because you
should be showing up everywhere.

Speaker 1 (01:08:48):
And it's not enough to go to your congress person.

Speaker 15 (01:08:50):
Go to your city council member, because one day they
want another job too, and they have just as much
of a stake in you getting your access to your
services as anybody else does. So to your school board men,
there's your city council or county commission. We can't let
anyone off the hook when they are trying to take
our rights. Yep, everyone is responsible. And then if they
won't do the job, then you will elect someone new.
That's step nine. Because ultimately, and I think this is

(01:09:10):
where you and I spend so much of our time,
We've got to demand the nation we deserve. It's not
about fixing and going back to getting what we had.
Clearly what we had wasn't strong enough. We now have
to demand what we deserve for the next round. And
with this Calaid decision coming out on voting rights in
the next six months, it is more important than ever
that we start understanding it's not just power in DC,

(01:09:31):
it's power in Houston. In Atlanta and Montezuma, Georgia. In Gulfport, Mississippi.
It is power at the local level that will determine
our future.

Speaker 6 (01:09:40):
A last question, So let's do this here. That's your
camera right there. There's somebody who is watching this. Yes,
and they're saying, Stacey, I hear all that I stood
out there in Georgia and you didn't win, and Kamla
didn't win. This person for school district didn't win, and

(01:10:01):
I'm tired. I want to go line dance and I
want to do boots on the ground. I want to say,
I want to rest. What do you say to that person,
brother or sister, senior, citizen, middle age, or somebody who's
eighteen to thirty five?

Speaker 1 (01:10:17):
What do you tell that person.

Speaker 15 (01:10:19):
That we aren't guaranteed success, but as long as we
have democracy, we are guaranteed access. And every time we
let them tell us we're not enough, then we are
giving them permission to take from us. The Ten Steps
campaign dot org is about how we reclaim our freedom
and our power and the reason we have to do that.
I didn't win an election, but not getting the title

(01:10:41):
does not exempt me from the work. Not getting what
we want does not change what we need. And in
a democracy, the only way you get what you need
is by showing up over and over again, outlasting those
who think that if they hurt you enough, you'll just
go away.

Speaker 1 (01:10:57):
I'm never going anywhere. You can't get rid of me
that easily.

Speaker 15 (01:11:00):
And they should not be able to tell any of
us our voices don't matter, our power isn't real, because
if it wasn't real, they wouldn't be fighting so hard
to take it from us.

Speaker 1 (01:11:08):
Absolutely, you gave a whole bunch of websites.

Speaker 15 (01:11:12):
Too, just too, just too the tout or to learn
about DEI and what's under attack, and then ten steps
campaign dot org to learn how to fight back.

Speaker 1 (01:11:21):
There's only two.

Speaker 6 (01:11:22):
Things you need to know, all right, Stacey, appreciate it,
good time, and thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (01:11:26):
Thank you got it. Neil Man, I'm gonna go to
you first.

Speaker 6 (01:11:33):
The point that she made there, the role that we
have to play in terms of educating ourselves and our
people regarding AI. It's one thing that's to just sit back
and say, oh my god, it's gonna take us all out,
but education empowerment and look, Kathis Law always said information
is power, and so it's absolutely important that we are

(01:11:53):
educating as many of our folks as possible about where
we're going with this technology.

Speaker 28 (01:11:59):
Absolutely, and because it's such a wide open field, it
is very easy to feel overwhelmed by it.

Speaker 4 (01:12:04):
But part of I think being able to.

Speaker 28 (01:12:08):
Harness it is by understanding what it does, what its
capabilities are, and what its limits are. And I think
far too often, especially with the tech space, black people
often find themselves behind the eight ball. So we're late adopters,
we're late comers to the field, and by the time
we get in, you know, the technology has moved on.
And I think at least right here, and of course

(01:12:29):
with afrotech, we are in the front of the movement
and not behind it. And I think it's going to
become a part of our regular, everyday lives. And so
the more we know and the more we can do
to advance this technology for our own communities and for
our good, the better off will be. Because technology, despite

(01:12:49):
what many people think, is not neutral, and it's certainly
not race neutral, and so we have to think about
how we can use these tools because that's what it
is at the end day, for our community's betterment and development.

Speaker 6 (01:13:06):
Andrew I got to text you alert Earlier. Navidia is
the first publicly traded company to reach five trillion dollars
in valuation. There's no guarantee that this is actually going
to be frankly, a profitable business, but it shows you
really what's happening between n Vidia, Open Ai, and so
many other companies.

Speaker 1 (01:13:30):
Mute Andrew you I mute.

Speaker 27 (01:13:37):
If you think about if you think about two thousand
and eight, when Apple came out with the first iPhone,
everybody was amazed by it, but then black people were
scared about the whole screen and the capabilities the complications
of it.

Speaker 7 (01:13:53):
And we're seeing the same kind of phenomenon here with AI.

Speaker 27 (01:13:57):
AI is so powerful and means like Navidio, who are
publicly traded and are making trillions of dollars just on
speculation or in the future when you're looking at five
ten years, when you're looking at cars that are using AI,
where you're looking at all these businesses that are using AI,
and you're.

Speaker 7 (01:14:13):
Thinking about the whole the death to.

Speaker 27 (01:14:16):
DEI and how the entrepreneurship ship can be harnessed by AI.
Black people really have to embrace this because this is
a new frontier.

Speaker 7 (01:14:27):
If you are a business owner.

Speaker 27 (01:14:29):
You have an idea and you place it into a
chat GPT and you place it into a pilot. They
can create ideas for you, They create business models for you.
So for us, we don't even need mainstream anymore. AI
has taken that away. We don't even need the mainstream
of jobs anymore because we can create our own jobs,

(01:14:51):
our own ecosystems with AI. So afrotech being around being
able to educate people, because that's a lot of what
it is with AI is educating people on how to
use it.

Speaker 7 (01:15:01):
And something that Stacy Abram said that was so powerful.

Speaker 27 (01:15:03):
Was putting it into the wrong hands and how dangerous
it can be, right, and if we can educate our
people on it, we can counter that dangerousness and that
our entire race is not left behind simply because we're
afraid or told to be afraid, and something that's so
powerful and could be so effective and so positive for

(01:15:23):
our community.

Speaker 6 (01:15:27):
Absolutely, all right, Dan, Andrew and a Nie, i'mby. I'll
appreciate y'all being on today's panel.

Speaker 1 (01:15:32):
Thank you so very much.

Speaker 7 (01:15:34):
Thank you, Roland, Thank you Roland.

Speaker 1 (01:15:36):
As usual, gonna go to break, we come back.

Speaker 6 (01:15:38):
We're gonna hear from Ron Buzzby here the US Black
Chamber of Commerce.

Speaker 1 (01:15:42):
We'll also talk here from the student.

Speaker 6 (01:15:44):
At Tennessee State University who are here at afro Tech Plus.
We'll talk about health and the importance of you technology
when it comes to health as well. We'll have that conversation.
Lots to share with you as we lie and from
afro Tech twenty twenty five the George R. Brown Richer
Center here in Houston, right here on Roland mart un
filtering on the Black stud Network.

Speaker 1 (01:16:05):
Back in a moment.

Speaker 3 (01:16:40):
In the military, I gave orders and they went a
lot further than they.

Speaker 4 (01:16:45):
Do around here.

Speaker 16 (01:16:47):
If there's one thing I've learned as a mom and
foster pan of more kids than I can count, investing
in their future isn't a choice enrichment. I'll fight for
Stafford's fair share for our schools, smaller class sizes, better
teacher pay, and more vocational training. I'm Stacey Carol, and
I'll fight to get our kidsphuro in order.

Speaker 18 (01:17:10):
Nicole Cole knows the cornerstone of a successful life starts here.
Virginia Public Schools gave Nicole an excellent education. They helped
her become a small business owner, family, financial planner.

Speaker 19 (01:17:21):
Mother and community leader.

Speaker 18 (01:17:23):
Now, after four years on the Spotsylvania School Board, Nicole
is running for delegate to meet the needs of all students.
As our delegate, Nicole will fully fund our schools, raise
teacher salaries, and help graduating students stay in our communities.

Speaker 19 (01:17:37):
Nicole Cole for Delegate for US for our future.

Speaker 35 (01:17:41):
Josh Cole became a pastor and delegate to serve his community.
That's why Josh is fighting to lower costs for families
hurting from inflation and make sure we can all afford
quality healthcare. But Sean Steinway has embraced his magabackers who
support Trump's mass firing of federal workers and the MAGA
plan to ban abortion with no exceptions. We deserve better

(01:18:05):
than Sewan Steinway.

Speaker 20 (01:18:07):
I'm Josh Cole, candidate for delegate and I sponsored this ad.

Speaker 21 (01:18:11):
This is Reggie Rock by Philick.

Speaker 24 (01:18:12):
You're watching rolland Martin Unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamned believable him, M.

Speaker 1 (01:18:43):
Marte, M.

Speaker 6 (01:18:54):
Folks, Black Business Matters, and the US Black Chambers, Inc.
That's what their focus is. I talked with on buzzby
the CEO of US Black Chamber, Inc. About this very
issue and of course the expansion of black owned businesses
in tech. All right, Ron, We're here at Afro Tech
in in Houston, and this has been an extremely difficult

(01:19:20):
year economically for African Americans. More than three hundred thousand black,
three thousand black women out of jobs. Black unemployment is
greatly increased for black men as well. And what is
happening is you're seeing folks realize, hey, I have to
do my own thing and so and we're seeing the change.

(01:19:41):
We're seeing how AI is changing things as well. Just
your perspective of being here, recognizing how we can actually
build and expand black owned businesses.

Speaker 1 (01:19:53):
Great question, and it's good to be here.

Speaker 36 (01:19:56):
Sunnyside, Houston is where I was born, where I'm from,
so it's great to be You know, a lot of
people look at this economy and say, oh my god,
this is a terrible economy. I'm always seeing the glasses overflowing.
I say that the biggest transfer that this country has
seen in wealth will happen over the next ten years,
and it's called the graying tsunami. Folk like you and

(01:20:18):
myself that have been in business for ourselves for years,
who don't have necessarily a junior to pass it off
to a sibling, a spouse to pass it off.

Speaker 1 (01:20:29):
To They're now saying, what am I going to do
with this business?

Speaker 36 (01:20:33):
We see Black Enterprise every year has their top one
hundred Black owned firms, and every year ten percent of
those fall off. And we always ask ourselves, well, what
happened to those firms? And if we've surveyed those and
found out that the majority of those firms didn't go
out of business because they were in the wrong business
or didn't have the right acumen, they didn't have a

(01:20:54):
secession plan. And so for many of the businesses and
young entrepreneurs that are here today saying we should be
looking at acquiring firm. When I talk to Corporate America,
the federal government, and just people in general, they say, well,
I want to start a business, what do you think
I should do?

Speaker 1 (01:21:12):
And I'm saying you should do something that is already
being done.

Speaker 36 (01:21:16):
I understand that this is a tech conference, but technology
runs in veens and reference to everything that we do.

Speaker 6 (01:21:22):
Look what you just said, so I can now I
can think back twenty years. I've spoken all around the world,
and I've spoken at numerous Black chambers of Commerce conferences,
summits and you name it. And whenever they asked me

(01:21:44):
to speak, I get the program and I go through
the program and consistently m and A, murders and acquisitions.
Acquisitions is not on the agenda. Remember speaking. This is
when Obama's president Rayla Hood was Secretary of the Transportation
of Problem Transportation, and I gave a keynote speech and

(01:22:04):
a sister came up to me and she said, for
the last three years, my partner and I were preparing
our business to be sold. She said, after your speech,
I called him and said, shut that down. We need
to be buying. They never thought about acquisitions. And I

(01:22:25):
think that's one of the biggest issues that for so
many black businesses.

Speaker 1 (01:22:30):
If you say, hey, yeah.

Speaker 6 (01:22:31):
I want to start something, No, how about I go
buy something that already exist and now elevate it, change it,
do whatever, And it just it just keeps happening over.

Speaker 1 (01:22:41):
And over and over again. A couple of things that
the reason why it's so much easier.

Speaker 36 (01:22:45):
And I talk to folks all the time and they say, well,
we don't have the size of the scale and or
we can't find you. And so the USBC is saying, well, one,
we can create a platform that you can be found
at buy black by Black dot us.

Speaker 1 (01:22:58):
But more importantly, as.

Speaker 36 (01:22:59):
It relates to size and scale, our firms aren't going
to be able to grow quick enough organically enough to
be able to take advantage of the opportunities that exist today.

Speaker 1 (01:23:10):
You can't.

Speaker 6 (01:23:10):
You can't be You can't be at John A's, Johnson
and Ebony and have Negro digests Ebony Jet and you
grow that over sixty five years exactly.

Speaker 1 (01:23:21):
You simply can't do it. And in fact that's also
a perfect example.

Speaker 6 (01:23:26):
Johnny Johnson also passed on a lot of passed on radio,
was an early investor, owner of a cable franchise, sold
it and then we see then what happened when he
passed away, what happened to the business. And so I
have long said I measure a great businessman or businesswoman

(01:23:49):
not based on how they ran the business when they
were alive, but how they left the business when they
passed on.

Speaker 36 (01:23:57):
If we look at the billionaires in our community, the
first one being my fraternity brother, Resident Lewis, he didn't
start a business, he bought a business.

Speaker 1 (01:24:06):
Right, we can even look at every buyout, Yeah, if we.

Speaker 36 (01:24:08):
Could even look at Elon Musk he never started anything,
he acquired things. And so for our community, I think,
especially the audience that we have here today, it is
much a better growth pattern to look at acquiring. And
the second thing is access to capital is the number
one obstacle that we face. Well, if I'm trying to

(01:24:29):
get capital from a bank and I'm trying to start
a business with no revenue, no receivables, no history, It's
going to be very difficult. But if I have a
balance sheet from a previous company, I got history of revenue,
I got employees, I got customers, A bank is going
to look at that totally different than a startupp And

(01:24:50):
those businesses that we are acquiring typically are going to
be financed a lot easier.

Speaker 6 (01:24:56):
And so we also have what we say we have
these access to capital conversations. Also think that has to
be broadened because I'm when I'm talking to different folks,
they say we need access to capital. I go, no, no,
we also need access to contracts. Exactly because so I
talk about where we are in this media business, in

(01:25:17):
the black owned media business, the reality is built this
one sponsor three or fifty thousand dollars of my own
money seven years later, being profitable for the last five years.
But here's the biggest piece. I don't have debt. I
don't owe anybody. And so I've had people say, well,
you should do a raise. I said, Okay, that's great.

(01:25:38):
I can go out and raise money. The problem is
if the advertising contracts don't come, if the agencies don't spend,
and the brands don't spend, you're just going to burn
that cash. And so that's where I also keeps saying
access to contracts to be able to grow a business.
I think about Maynard Jackson when he said that listen
they were providing city contracts, said the banks, you know

(01:26:01):
they got a contract, I need you to give them
a line of credit so they can actually float their
business for six months. And so when we talk about
access to capital, I think we have to add the piece. Yeah,
we get you can get capital, but you also need
contracts to build and grow your business.

Speaker 36 (01:26:15):
But understand this, we're in DC. A lot of folks
here talking about trying to get government contracts or state
and local government contracts. The federal government is notorious for
being a terrible payer. Yeah, they pay six months typical.

Speaker 1 (01:26:32):
Right.

Speaker 36 (01:26:32):
So if you're a small business, then you don't have
access to capital, but you get a contract. Let's assume
you get the contract January first, and you don't get
paid till June fifteenth. You best believe you're going to
need some capital, oh, to be able to carry the
flow of the federal absolutely, right. So it's a combination.
We are going to need the contracts because after we

(01:26:52):
talk about giving us all the access to information and technology,
most people say the number one thing they want is
an our opportunity, right. And once I get that opportunity,
now I got to go funded. And I want to
make sure that we give you kudos for understanding that
the access to capital starts with the individual owner.

Speaker 1 (01:27:12):
And so, you know, it's very interesting.

Speaker 6 (01:27:13):
I've had people come to me and they said, man,
I think you being too aggressive, you know, in calling
folk out who don't spend money on black on media.

Speaker 1 (01:27:23):
I said, the numbers don't lie.

Speaker 6 (01:27:25):
I said that three hundred and fifty billion dollars is
being spent every single year and we're getting point five
to one percent. I said, I'm sorry, I'm not about
to be ecstatic with that. And the reality is you
can do the right thing. You can do the pitch,
you can do all the quiet stuff, but you know
for a fact when companies and agencies are rewarding you

(01:27:47):
in meetings.

Speaker 1 (01:27:48):
Todd Brown a.

Speaker 6 (01:27:50):
Friend of mine frat brother with Urban Age Network. He said,
we were on one call and he said, y'all know
that everybody in this meeting is being paid to be
here except us. He said, all y'all being paid to
be here. He said, this is our fifth meeting and
I did it with one company. I said, We're not
meeting again. I said, this is the seventh meeting. I said,

(01:28:11):
so next meeting we had was either going to be
a contract meeting or we're not meeting. And then the
CMO called me and he said, I appreciate your lack
of a poker face because I saw you on the
zoom call and the look on your face said this
whole meeting is bullshit. And I was like, you're correct.
And so that's just one of those things that we

(01:28:32):
have to also be willing to press. And some folk
got to be called out who are freezing us out
of the business or the deal flow.

Speaker 36 (01:28:40):
What happens in now that the US Black Chamber has
acquired the National Association at Black on Broadcasters, We too
looked at our existing customer base at the US Black Chamber.
These were corporations that were funding us over the last
sixteen years, and we said, there's not a lot of
more money that we can get from them from corporate

(01:29:01):
partnerships and sponsorships, but we can't talk to them about advertising.

Speaker 14 (01:29:06):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (01:29:06):
That has been difficult.

Speaker 36 (01:29:08):
And Roland what they will tell us, Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah,
we're going to advertise in black media, but they'll give
that to a white advertising firm and then say, okay,
go find some black media to advertise.

Speaker 6 (01:29:21):
And then what the white ad firm then does they
only want to deal with the largest Black on media entities.
They don't want to deal with the folks who are smaller.

Speaker 7 (01:29:30):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (01:29:30):
And they give you all the excuses.

Speaker 8 (01:29:32):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (01:29:33):
And and and we've you know, we battled that sort
of stuff.

Speaker 23 (01:29:37):
Uh.

Speaker 6 (01:29:38):
And I remember when when when Group Black was created. Uh,
the whole the whole premise of Group Black was literally,
don't come talk to us while all y'all go to them.
And again my man Ta said, he said, can you
show me Group White? Can you show me Group Pink?
He said, he said, why is it that all of
us have to go to one company because the agency

(01:30:00):
you don't want to deal with us. And again it's
the freeze out of how they actually freeze us out
of that economic pot.

Speaker 36 (01:30:09):
But you know, Roland, you have set the stage for
everyone following you on how it to be done. And
this show is being streamed across the country. Folk are
watching it. You know, I had an opportunity to be
on stage a little earlier with a media personality who
used to be on CNN, and there was lady talking
but we really miss you guys on CNN, and I

(01:30:30):
was like, you can still find those same individuals just
on different platforms, but you've got to do.

Speaker 1 (01:30:36):
A little bit of work.

Speaker 36 (01:30:37):
And when we do that work, mainstream America, mainstream media
is starting to lose oh that audience, oh big time.
And so now they are starting to say, okay, well,
this economy is definitely out there. How can we now
make sure that we're not going to lose going forward?
And so understand that we applaud you for what you're doing.

(01:30:59):
Obviously you know about the US Black Chambers now relationship
with black radio, black TV, and black broadcasters, and so
then again, thank you for what you're doing, you're making
our lives a little bit easier to be able to
tell our story well.

Speaker 6 (01:31:12):
And we're just in a situation now where I talk
about the ecosystem, because if you do not have a
place to get your story told, to control your narrative,
then you're hoping and begging somebody else covers you. And
that ain't gonna happen now, especially what we see happening
with linear television, with these broadcast networks, these cable networks.

(01:31:33):
We see the explosion of podcasting and digital media, and
so all these things are happening. But the last thing
I want to talk to you about is and I've
been making this point as well, and I say this
to black on media even in other fields, we've also
got to be say we got to stop operating in silos,
meaning how do partnerships get formed, how do joint vituers
get formed? When I started this, I went to every

(01:31:55):
major black media company, and not one one to partner
what I'm doing. None of them do. So it wasn't
like I was bringing something that you already do. And
I said, you already have relationships, you already have advertisers,
you already have the entire back end, but you're not
doing this, here's the opportunity for you to be able
to sell additional units.

Speaker 1 (01:32:17):
And it was a variety of things. Well no, no, no, no,
no no. I was like, okay, I'm gonna do this.
Let y'all know.

Speaker 6 (01:32:26):
But the whole point was we could get there faster
if we were partnered. And that, to me, is also
an issue that black firms have to recognize. You can
still own your business, but you can create joint ventures
because if you as a singular individual can't compete, you
as a singler can't compete, with the two of you
together or adding two more can actually compete for.

Speaker 1 (01:32:48):
That much larger contract.

Speaker 36 (01:32:50):
The other thing I want to talk about in reference
to contracts is I want your audience to understand this
because a lot of people are concerned now that the
federal government is walking back a lot of this diversity, equity,
and inclusion. And so for the folk that are watching,
understand that the federal government spends nine hundred and sixty
billion dollars a year. Of that nine hundred and sixty

(01:33:12):
billion dollars, six hundred and forty billion is available for
businesses like yours like mine to be able to participate
and compete for. But of that, historically we've been able
to compete for somewhere around eleven percent.

Speaker 1 (01:33:27):
What we have heard though is that is the minority spend.

Speaker 36 (01:33:31):
But when you start to disaggregate that spend, you'll find
that black businesses in general get a very small piece
of even that minority spend.

Speaker 1 (01:33:41):
Less than two percent, one point five percent.

Speaker 36 (01:33:43):
But understand that that one point five percent represents about
ten billion dollars, right, so we've got to start to say, okay,
if we can get from one point five percent to
three percent, that's twenty billion dollars.

Speaker 6 (01:33:54):
And at one point and that ten billion dollars that
happened under Biden Harris Core. So there was there was
an upper trajectory of those contracts.

Speaker 36 (01:34:01):
Actually, when Obama was in office his first term, it
was the goal was five percent for minority spin. He
sur passed that and did seven percent. His second turn
that was minority spin. Minority was the black spin. I'm
gonna get there.

Speaker 1 (01:34:14):
See, I don't care about the M. I cared about
the B but N two in the same way.

Speaker 36 (01:34:19):
And that's why I'm gonna make this real clear to
your audience. His second term. The goal was seven percent.
He served passed that and did nine percent. Now you
got Joe Biden running for office, and he said, hey,
I'm going to increase the spin from eleven percent to
fifteen percent. And I said, exactly what you said. Hey, Joe,
that's great, but that's not what I'm interested in. I

(01:34:40):
want to think he made that. He said that when
we were in Tulsa. In Tulsa, and so I put
a tweet out.

Speaker 6 (01:34:45):
I got a phone call from one of the black
folks in the White House who was mad as hell,
and I said, why are you calling me?

Speaker 14 (01:34:52):
Uh?

Speaker 6 (01:34:52):
And I brought up black on media, federal government. I
brought up several things and oh, well man, But I
said no, no, no, I said, I need you to
understand here. I am not talking about more contracts for
minorities in women, because the w is actually white women.
I said, I'm talking about black people. You were in Tulsa,

(01:35:14):
that was black people, and they backed off. I said,
believes people. I want you to be real clear who
I'm talking about.

Speaker 36 (01:35:23):
You and I both And what we heard is that
under Biden, first year was one point five percent, second
year is.

Speaker 1 (01:35:31):
One point five to one.

Speaker 36 (01:35:32):
Third year one point one point five to five, and
before he left it was at one point six y one.
So there was some movement under the previous administration. But
it takes intentionality, right, it takes transparency, and most importantly,
it takes accountability.

Speaker 6 (01:35:48):
And here's the problem we have right now. They're not
tracking numbers. It won't so you don't even know if
it goes up or if it goes down.

Speaker 36 (01:35:55):
What we have heard is that this current administration wants
to move it back to the five percent total minority
spin across all sectors.

Speaker 1 (01:36:05):
Old minority spend as opposed to eleven to fifteen percent.

Speaker 6 (01:36:10):
So they want to go, for me, eleven to fifteen
percent minorities spend down to five.

Speaker 36 (01:36:14):
That's where it was when Obama was in office at first,
and that's where they said that they'd.

Speaker 1 (01:36:17):
Love to see it stay there.

Speaker 6 (01:36:19):
So for all you, for all you punk ass FBA
B one folks who are running y'all mouth like that
that I ran to this egging ass Omega. On Sunday,
I was at a golf tournament and he came up
to me and he said, man, I'm on, he said,
he said he had all that he's you know, I'm
a brother. I'm an Omega. I'm one of the black
men who voted for Trump. I never saw anything in

(01:36:41):
my life change on the Democrats, I said, when I
give him a shot, and I just start lighting his
ass up.

Speaker 1 (01:36:47):
I started laying out this issue, this issue, this issue.

Speaker 6 (01:36:50):
I went all the anti black stuff, I said, so,
then I hit the DBA stuff. I said, you do know,
I said that first of all, the two white men
out of Indiana find a lawsuit. If the Trump folk
told the judge they want to completely get rid of
the federal DBA program, that'll make it got real quiet.
I said, So, I'm confused, what the hell then were

(01:37:12):
you voting for if they want to wipe out all
of the contracts.

Speaker 36 (01:37:17):
I think many people just are following trends, and if
somebody says something that's slick, or someone that says something
a little bit controversied, like he's like, well, what this stuff?

Speaker 1 (01:37:26):
I need to know?

Speaker 6 (01:37:27):
I said, if yo As watched the show every day,
you would know what the hell I'm talking about exactly.

Speaker 1 (01:37:31):
And I think got I hate to say it.

Speaker 36 (01:37:33):
You got young people talking to young people and that
not experienced many of the challenges, and they say, well,
nothing has changed in my life.

Speaker 1 (01:37:42):
They weren't here when things were.

Speaker 36 (01:37:43):
Difficult, so they never saw things getting any better or
and they've never seen anything worse. Many of them that
are under thirty years old or under forty years old
have lived the majority of their lives under a democratic president.

Speaker 1 (01:37:57):
So yes, things have been good for them.

Speaker 36 (01:37:59):
But now they're saying things disappear that their parents and
grandparents have fought and worked for and now they're gone,
and they're saying what happened.

Speaker 1 (01:38:09):
Yeah, that means that they all have to fight for too.
And then they will say, well where are the leaders
and what are the leaders doing?

Speaker 36 (01:38:15):
And we're saying, well, wait a minute, what were you
doing November the sixth when it was trying to vote.

Speaker 1 (01:38:21):
Either you didn't vote or you voted incorrect.

Speaker 6 (01:38:22):
Everybody has a role to play in this, exactly. All right, Ron,
we appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (01:38:26):
Thank you so much for having us man, thank.

Speaker 6 (01:38:27):
The Scott voting. Look at that, see Scott, I let
a cap on my show. I told y'all it's a
couple of y'all I lit happen. Appreciate your relative appreciated.
All right, all right, folks, next up, how do you
go from the NAACP to involved in the Silicon Valley
Well to take an edy will tell us how she

(01:38:49):
did that. Next right here on Roland Martin unfilched on
the Black Starting Network live from AFRO Tech twenty twenty
five here in Houston at the Georgia Brown Convention.

Speaker 1 (01:38:57):
Considered back in a moment.

Speaker 23 (01:39:11):
If in this country right now, you have people get
up in the morning and the only thing they can
think about is how many people they can hurt, and
they've got the power.

Speaker 7 (01:39:21):
That's the time for morning, for better or worse.

Speaker 25 (01:39:24):
What makes America special, It's that legal system that's supposed
to protect.

Speaker 7 (01:39:29):
Minorities from the tyranny of the majority.

Speaker 26 (01:39:32):
We are at a point of a moral emergency. We
must raise a voice of outrage, We must raise a
voice of compassion.

Speaker 1 (01:39:43):
And we must raise a voice of unity.

Speaker 23 (01:39:47):
We are not in a crisis of party versus party.
We are in a crisis of civilization, a human rights crisis,
and a crisis of democracy itself. And guess what, You've
been chosen to make sure that those that would destroy,
those that would hate, don't have the final say and

(01:40:09):
they don't ultimately win.

Speaker 36 (01:40:11):
Hi, everybody, I'm Kim cosey, I'm bully SIPs Joe Dion
Cole from Blackness and you watch Rowland unfelty.

Speaker 6 (01:40:34):
All right, folks were alive here that for Tech twenty
twenty five to take a Edie worked at the NAACP
and then all of a sudden she went to go
work in Silicon Valley.

Speaker 1 (01:40:43):
How on the heck do you do that? Well, that
was our conversation here.

Speaker 14 (01:40:48):
It is.

Speaker 1 (01:40:49):
All right, y'all.

Speaker 6 (01:40:50):
So I had to go ahead and break my shades
out because my uh next guess she little Hollywood Joe
taker Edie of course. So that's why let me go
ahead break the shades out, you know, because whenever she
comes around, it's glitz and glam and all that good stuff.

Speaker 1 (01:41:03):
What's happening?

Speaker 3 (01:41:04):
How you doing? Cocks?

Speaker 1 (01:41:07):
Girl? Don't start? So y'all need to understand.

Speaker 6 (01:41:10):
So we have a text message thread and since my
texting them, Agres have been in the sec the school
we have owned the most during football season of South
Carolina game Cocks. So Joe Taka Anton Gunn Bacari sellers.
Who else is in that text thread? Christina Ques another

(01:41:32):
brother who's in that thread?

Speaker 1 (01:41:34):
Oh my god? She says he's an Alf Oh my
god was his name.

Speaker 6 (01:41:38):
So they all game cocks, and so they've only beaten
us twice in like.

Speaker 1 (01:41:45):
Thirteen years, like las an l.

Speaker 6 (01:41:49):
But they've taken way more L's and they talk a
whole lot of trash in this thread. They've been real
quiet this season though, when you're three and five, that's
what happens.

Speaker 37 (01:42:00):
We just watch the end of the season see where
things go. The s is gonna be in the sad.

Speaker 6 (01:42:08):
When we know y'all not when they come to Kyle Field.
We're gonna handle that business. So the thread is gonna
be probably a one way thread that we are ready
for it. But you know now, you know, stop it.

Speaker 1 (01:42:23):
Jesus.

Speaker 37 (01:42:24):
Today to day on Rolling Martin Unfiltered, you will wear
a game cock full outfit.

Speaker 1 (01:42:31):
Oh that's fine, will that ain't gonna never happen?

Speaker 11 (01:42:36):
And I must, okay, we're gonna order his out there.

Speaker 6 (01:42:39):
You gonna er and I'm gonna have my big Texas
A and m foam hat for you to have to
put on, and had twelve man jersey. Now, listen, we
don't beat y'all so much, you might as well go
ahead and just have that laid out every year so
I just want y'all let y'all know it's a trash talking,
but it's the and then you know, and Tom be

(01:42:59):
running his mouth, but we just be beating the hell
out of y'all. Y'all, they beat us last year the
first time I think in like eight years.

Speaker 11 (01:43:05):
We beat you.

Speaker 6 (01:43:06):
Hold up, and we will do it again this in
the previous seven years, we won't. You know what people,
y'all stadium. People remember the last game?

Speaker 21 (01:43:17):
What happened?

Speaker 6 (01:43:18):
What happened like sixty or seventy on y'all stadium? It
took l like and y'all have we put like seventy
on y'all took an L last year? They are they
are to anything last year? Let me double check it.
They are too and eleven since we joined the SEC.

Speaker 11 (01:43:36):
But took it.

Speaker 6 (01:43:37):
That's one of the two. But we know what's gonna
happen this year. Are y'all ranked this year?

Speaker 4 (01:43:42):
No?

Speaker 6 (01:43:43):
Uh, are y'all ranked? We will be matter of fact,
Oh we number three in the country. Y'all got three wins.

Speaker 3 (01:43:50):
Let's talk.

Speaker 11 (01:43:51):
Let's talk, Afrotech, you the one who wanted to start.

Speaker 1 (01:43:54):
I mean, all the l's y'all been taken and I
sit in them. The text every week on wompompomp walm.

Speaker 38 (01:44:04):
Rely is bad. He didn't go to the University of
South Carolina, doesn't I.

Speaker 1 (01:44:07):
Did guarantee you I did not want to go to
high school twice.

Speaker 38 (01:44:12):
We have the number one international business school in the country.

Speaker 1 (01:44:16):
Oh, y'all got something that's ranked?

Speaker 38 (01:44:17):
Yeah we do.

Speaker 6 (01:44:18):
Okay, we got more fortune one hundred CEOs than any
other country in America.

Speaker 38 (01:44:25):
I mean, we're I'm just we're home the Antonine gun.

Speaker 1 (01:44:28):
We're home till nobody.

Speaker 11 (01:44:31):
We're home to Steve Benjamin.

Speaker 23 (01:44:32):
Don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:44:33):
Don't know that girl?

Speaker 14 (01:44:36):
Do you do?

Speaker 1 (01:44:37):
You want me to start name? You want me to
start naming.

Speaker 38 (01:44:41):
Let's talk about let's talk about little bit.

Speaker 1 (01:44:43):
In school in South Carolina.

Speaker 6 (01:44:45):
I'm a students, y'all got we have a large number
of students, which ill got about twenty thousand.

Speaker 11 (01:44:50):
Probably more like thirty thirty five thousand.

Speaker 6 (01:44:52):
Oh, that's a satellite campus for us. That's a little
satellite campus. That's that's I love you, that's ween like
you know what we got seventy eight.

Speaker 38 (01:45:04):
Let's just see what happens, Joe taking Let's see what happened.

Speaker 1 (01:45:07):
Take it. We're gonna I.

Speaker 11 (01:45:09):
Promise you we're all coming on your show.

Speaker 1 (01:45:12):
Y'all take We're gonna out of y'all. I'm letting you know,
we're gonna.

Speaker 6 (01:45:16):
We're gonna it's gonna be hashtag team with that ass
to let y'all know, but y'all gonna be in twelve
against us. All right, let's go ahead and start this interview.
Uh before you get cut, let's talk tech and uh activism.

Speaker 1 (01:45:32):
So you work for the NAACP for a long time
and then you made a switch.

Speaker 38 (01:45:38):
Why, Oh, that's a good question. So I was good,
of course, my friend.

Speaker 37 (01:45:46):
So you know what's interesting is that at the time
when the switch, when I left the NAACP, this was
twenty thirteen, twenty fourteen.

Speaker 1 (01:45:55):
Lord, Mike Phone liveit. Lord there you're going.

Speaker 11 (01:45:57):
Twenty thirteen, twenty fourteen. And I was very hesitant.

Speaker 37 (01:46:01):
And it was a time when Mitch k por Free
to k Poor and Ben Ben had left the NAACP
and went in Silicon Vassy and Jealous Ben Jealous, and
they called me and they said, look, we think you
should come into tech. We have companies that market to
black and brown communities, have no black employees. They're in
a highly regulated or about to be highly regulated industry,

(01:46:23):
which was financial technology. And I was like, whoao wo,
I'm doing just fine. I'm doing important work. I'm working
on voting rights, I'm doing all this work at the NAACP.
And I remember having conversations with Freedo k por client
and she was like, you could do good and do well,
and that the industry could use someone like yourself with
your skill set. And I still felt like I didn't

(01:46:44):
know how to code. I was much older. I didn't
see a reflection of myself.

Speaker 6 (01:46:48):
And so so when you were thinking of tech, you
were thinking the engineering job stuff. A long us Revern
Jackson always a point to say that, hope they realized
sixty of the job jobs are not in stem.

Speaker 11 (01:47:04):
Acts, absolutely, and that's what I learned.

Speaker 37 (01:47:07):
And so when I got out of my own way
and I went into the industry, what I realized was
that not only was there need for me, there was
a demand for people like myself, people with my skill set,
particularly in financial technology, where the regulatory framework was not
even developed. This is at the very launch of the CFPV,
and so they needed people who had relationship and understanding

(01:47:29):
of how policy was developed to go in and help
guide the policy that was going to dictate the product roll.
You can't have a steady and a reliable product role map.
If you don't have a reliable government or regulatory framework
in which you can build your product, it's always going
to be back and forth, which is not good for business.

Speaker 6 (01:47:49):
But but then you also saw how the sausage was
made and how folks became millionaires and billionaires, and all
of a sudden, how investments here and investment is here,
and learning about there's a new company about to launch
and folk getting in early as well. So you saw
a side of Silicon Valley of tech that most African

(01:48:10):
Americans don't never see.

Speaker 11 (01:48:12):
They never see. And that's what I learned. A very
important word deal.

Speaker 1 (01:48:17):
Flow, right Bob Johnson always said, you have to be
in the deal flow.

Speaker 11 (01:48:22):
You've got to be in a sale flow.

Speaker 1 (01:48:23):
If you're in the.

Speaker 6 (01:48:24):
Room and conversations are happening, that's the deal flow that
you may not be aware of if you're not at
the table in the room.

Speaker 11 (01:48:32):
Absolutely, and that's what I learned.

Speaker 37 (01:48:34):
And so when I went into tech, I remember having
dinner with Tanya Lombard. I remember having dinner with a
Yes and Minyon More and what they said to me,
they said, look because I went to Tanya, because Tanya,
I believe is a real model for how you can
be in corporate America. Because this was new for me
to go into corporate America, and I always talked to

(01:48:54):
Mignon and what they said was first learn how to
do your job, then understand how the industry works. And
then once you learn how the industry works, then you
go back and you make sure that others can understand
and you open as many doors. As Donna Brazil always says,
remove the hinges from the door. And so it was
very important for me when I went into tech to
go back and tell all my friends that were on

(01:49:16):
the hill in the White House, that was in other
civil rights organizations, here, this is an opportunity for us.

Speaker 38 (01:49:24):
They need us.

Speaker 37 (01:49:25):
They need us not just for the regulatory your government
affairs aspect, they need us for going into these markets
understanding the market. Just imagine a company that entirely they
are marketing to black and brown people, and there is
no black of brown people at any decision making table,
whether or not the marketing, the strategy for how they're
going to go to market, the development of the technology,

(01:49:48):
the algorithms, the research so that your products are culturally competent.
All of those things matter for you to do well
in business. But then also I began to under stand
deal flow, and I began to have invitations in the
conversations about deal flow about investments, and so I see

(01:50:08):
the garbage in other companies, and so I started investing.
I learned about how you can become a limited partner
in funds, and how you can take money and you
can give that money to a trust it.

Speaker 6 (01:50:20):
And the problem is for many of us, we're thinking,
oh my god, it's a million, two five million dollars,
not realizing that people who've made millions of dollars in
investment for five twenty five thousands small amounts of money.

Speaker 1 (01:50:32):
Again, you when you don't know, you don't know.

Speaker 38 (01:50:34):
When you don't know, you don't know.

Speaker 37 (01:50:35):
And I think that's what's important that when we get
into these spaces, that is important for us to share
information about investment. There's been many times when I've had
investment opportunities, investment deals that I've been involved in, and
I go to as many people as possible and say hey,
I've gone to you and say hey, this is a
really good deal.

Speaker 11 (01:50:54):
Here's their debt.

Speaker 37 (01:50:55):
I really believe in this company minimum check is ten
thousand dollars. There's a minimum check is twenty five thousand dollars.
And I think we often think that we've got to
have a million dollars. Now, you do have to be
an accredited investor. In order to be an accredited investor
in the United States, by law, you have to have
an income I believe it's at least two hundred and

(01:51:17):
fifty thousand dollars a year as an individual, or you
have to have a net worth. I believe outside of
any homes that you own a five million dollars. But
though there are many black Americans in this country that
meet that threshold, particularly of making two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars or more a year, and that gives you

(01:51:39):
the opportunity. If you think about some of us walk
around and we look at our closet, we might have
twenty thousand dollars in shoes, bags and clothes that we
might involve in one year when we could have taken
that and put it in an investment, and not only
when we invest in companies that otherwise don't get the capital.
We are doing multiples like one is an opportunity for us. Second,

(01:52:02):
what it also does it puts capital in a flow
of capital, particularly the founders who have just as much agency,
just as much talent, but often are you know, overlooked
and underfunded and just need the opportunity in the capital.

Speaker 6 (01:52:16):
Backing last question I want to ask you and by
being in those rooms when you talk about get deal flow,
also understanding there's hiring going on, meaning that marketing agency,
that ad agency, that audio visual firm, that PR firm.
So we're talking millions upon billions of contracts that we're

(01:52:36):
also not being aware of. So when someone like you
was there, you could say, hey, did you consider this firm,
this firm, this firm, And so even if you're not
in the tech company, your company could be a beneficiary
of those tech dollars.

Speaker 37 (01:52:49):
Yes, I have had the opportunity, and I think a
lot of people they mostly see my advocacy work, which
is very important. It is my hard work. It is
it is my volunteer work that I do. The work
that I do that allow me to have the flexibility
to do that is my investing, and it is the
work that I have done to advise tech companies. I'm
gonna I'm on a board of a private tech company,

(01:53:11):
even dot biz. I am an investor in a multitude
of companies. I'm an LP in multiple funds. And what
that allows me is to have a seat at the
table to all of these companies because they will often
ask what do you think, or they will when you're
an investor in a company, you get what's call an
investor update, and often they will tell you these are

(01:53:32):
our next hires that we want to make. And then
what I have the opportunity is to say, hey, here's
a really great person if you're not thinking about them
and know of them, happy to make an introduction, Or
here's a really great media agency for you to think
about to help you accomplish the goal that that that
you have. And so I think we have to think

(01:53:53):
about the holistic nature of being in these tech industries.
And I think that's why conferences like afro Tech is
so important, because I think it's not just important for
us to have a seat at the table as employees,
but we need to be investors in these companies. We
need to be on the board of these companies, we
need to be on the management team of these companies.
When I sat on the executive management team of the

(01:54:15):
financial technology company that I set at, only two people.

Speaker 1 (01:54:19):
In the room knew how to code.

Speaker 37 (01:54:20):
Everybody else was the financial CFO, general counsel, myself, others.

Speaker 11 (01:54:26):
We didn't know how to tech. We knew how to market.

Speaker 37 (01:54:29):
We knew how to build businesses, how to market a business,
how to protect a business. And that's mostly what companies
are doing. And I think the last thing that I'll
say is that in this conversation of around artificial intelligence
and AI, it is absolutely imperative that we as a
community dive deep into this, not only in the protections

(01:54:51):
around the regulatory framework so that it is not weaponized
against us, but it is very important for us to
understand how it works because because the next great divide
in America will happen as a result of AI.

Speaker 11 (01:55:06):
And either we will be on the train or the
train will run over us.

Speaker 6 (01:55:10):
Absolutely to take always good to see you, and next
time we chat, I have a box of tissue for
you with my egg's.

Speaker 37 (01:55:17):
Hand, and I will have a T shirt and a hat.
You know I'm gonna get you know, I'm gonna have
a special order. I'm gonna call Don Staley and ask
her to getst you ape.

Speaker 6 (01:55:25):
That's fine, Yeah, that's what happened, but it ain't gona
happen in football, all right.

Speaker 38 (01:55:29):
I love you, my friend.

Speaker 6 (01:55:35):
All right, y'all before I go to break. Earlier today,
that was a sister. I was going back to the
hotel to pick up something, uh, and she saw me.
She spread across the street. She said, her grandmother watches
me every day, and later she FaceTime my grandmother and
I had a chance to talk with her. And so
check this out, miss Noyd, your granddaughter first brought Linz

(01:55:59):
was thirty, so she's gonna be sending.

Speaker 1 (01:56:01):
You a very fuzzy, foggy video. So try to clean
that thing off, Grinnie.

Speaker 25 (01:56:05):
You see how you doing me?

Speaker 6 (01:56:07):
My nieces right there, they'll tell you that ain't no different.
So I had to sit here and you know, go
ahead and get it straight so you can have a
clean video. So I appreciate you watching the show.

Speaker 3 (01:56:15):
And Camra Knight she said he been telling the real
nuds and she's.

Speaker 7 (01:56:18):
Right right, She aph would be right.

Speaker 6 (01:56:21):
So that' said, yeah, you gotta start watching yeah every night, five.

Speaker 21 (01:56:26):
Days a week for seven years.

Speaker 1 (01:56:29):
Yeah, So just saying, all right, so, and we doing the.

Speaker 6 (01:56:34):
Show live over there, Gritty, so you can watch the
show live.

Speaker 1 (01:56:39):
Yes, since you ain't ever watched the.

Speaker 23 (01:56:40):
Show, she's telling me you gotta watch.

Speaker 21 (01:56:45):
He be doing the real dudes.

Speaker 25 (01:56:46):
Yes, I'm filter.

Speaker 1 (01:56:47):
Listen to your grandmama.

Speaker 3 (01:56:49):
All right, Grinny, it's for you. I ran across the
street because.

Speaker 7 (01:56:53):
I saw him.

Speaker 6 (01:56:53):
When she's trying to say she almost got hit.

Speaker 1 (01:56:56):
Run across the street. You take care of keep watching.

Speaker 6 (01:57:02):
Her name was Jovie, So good to meet you. When
we come back, we'll talk about technology and health. We'll
also hear from some students from Tennessee State University who
are here at AFRO Take twenty twenty five. You're watching
Roland Mark on Filcher of the Blackstar Network.

Speaker 31 (01:58:10):
Hi, I'm Joe Marie Payton, voice of Sugar Mama on
Disney's Louder and Prouder Disney Plus.

Speaker 21 (01:58:16):
And I'm with Royald Martin.

Speaker 1 (01:58:18):
On Unfiltered.

Speaker 6 (01:58:27):
To say that we're here at AFRO Tech twenty twenty five.
Lots of great conversations going on in so many different areas.
And the reality is when we talk about technology impacts
every facet of our life.

Speaker 1 (01:58:40):
We can talk about automotive.

Speaker 6 (01:58:42):
We can talk about finance, we can talk about I
don't care what the subject is.

Speaker 1 (01:58:46):
Health is also a part of that.

Speaker 6 (01:58:49):
And so joining us right now are three folks who
work with NAACP in this particular area, and so glad
to have y'all here. First and foremost, give us a
sense of where you're from, Tony Price, where you're from,
good Old Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia, Tenasha.

Speaker 1 (01:59:05):
Sullivan, Boston, Massachusetts. All right, then, Chrisprenett, not the Chris Brenell,
born and raised easterns New Jersey.

Speaker 6 (01:59:12):
All right then, And so what is this NAACP efor
called Asia Health?

Speaker 2 (01:59:17):
So As Your Health is an opportunity to put partnership
and collaboration directly in the core of health and health equity.
So NAACP is partner with Santa Fee and it's our
opportunity to gather community insights through traditional surveys focused groups,
to understand community assets and how they impact public policy,

(01:59:39):
and to see how emerging technologies, when done through a
gender and racially inclusive lens, can really begin to solve
disparities and center health equity in a just and inclusive way.

Speaker 1 (01:59:51):
All right.

Speaker 6 (01:59:51):
So explain that Joe Madison us to always say you
got to put it with a ghost can get in.
So explain that in a way, what everyday person can
understand what you just said.

Speaker 2 (02:00:02):
What an everyday person can take away from what I say.
But what an everyday person can take away from what
I said is you have an opinion about what influences
and shapes your health in your community. We're gathering and
collecting those opinions. You also can identify and name the

(02:00:24):
things that are working and the things that are not working.

Speaker 1 (02:00:27):
Those are those assets.

Speaker 2 (02:00:29):
And we all interface and interact with technology, whether it's
that phone, whether when you go to the doctor office
and they collect your vitals. We want to make sure
through this partnership that all of those things are done
in a way that black and brown communities are not
continually disproportionately impacted, but are made whole and better.

Speaker 1 (02:00:49):
Today's she's is it called?

Speaker 14 (02:00:51):
All? Right?

Speaker 1 (02:00:51):
First of all, what is that?

Speaker 5 (02:00:52):
Sonofie is a global biopharmaceutical company. We're based in Paris,
obviously have a significant presence here in the US and US.
This partnership means helping to ensure that innovative science actually.

Speaker 1 (02:01:05):
Reaches all people. All too often we know.

Speaker 5 (02:01:09):
That science is helping to transform people's lives, extending life
in many instances, but also all too often there are
communities around the world who don't have access, and so
this partnership is about helping to ensure that all people.

Speaker 6 (02:01:24):
What is the partnership doing is collecting data. And if
it's collecting data, then how many folks are you trying
to reach? Give me a sense of that great question.
So the data piece is just a piece of it. Certainly,
we're collecting insights. We have a report that will be
coming out at the end of this year, probably one
of the largest of its kind, over twenty two thousand

(02:01:45):
respondents here in the US.

Speaker 5 (02:01:46):
We look forward to releasing the insights from that report.
But the other piece of it, one of the reasons
why we're really excited about being here at Afrotech is
around technology and the intersection of technology and health, specific thickly,
how AI and machine learning can help improve health outcomes,
can help close health disparities, and really empower people. That's

(02:02:10):
what doctor Chris was getting to. All too often when
it comes to our health, our healthcare, it's the control
the power is putting someone else's hand. This is really
about helping to ensure that everyday people have access to
the information we need to take control of our own healthcare.

Speaker 1 (02:02:30):
But how does that happen?

Speaker 6 (02:02:32):
Dot's okay, fine, the partner with the NAACP Okay, So
somebody out there, okay, they've So what is happening with?
How many people you're trying to reach?

Speaker 1 (02:02:43):
How long?

Speaker 6 (02:02:44):
What's the total number? And then once that report is
being done, what's next?

Speaker 21 (02:02:50):
Right?

Speaker 1 (02:02:50):
Awesome question.

Speaker 39 (02:02:51):
So we have reached over twenty two thousand people in
this national survey that we've done. Two in two thousand
people in national survey? Yes, sir, do you want to
reach more? Or is that way you're capping it at?
So we are having continuous conversations. We are going coast
to coast having conversations with these different people in the
communities where they live, learn, work, and play to understand

(02:03:13):
what is important to them.

Speaker 1 (02:03:14):
Right right.

Speaker 39 (02:03:15):
When we think about health assets, we think about what
is making people healthier in their communities, We think about
health disparities. What are some things that can be done
in other communities to keep people from being disenfranchised where
they live?

Speaker 14 (02:03:28):
Right?

Speaker 23 (02:03:28):
Right?

Speaker 6 (02:03:29):
So, once you once you gather all the First of all, again,
what number you trying to reach over?

Speaker 1 (02:03:33):
How long the surveys?

Speaker 2 (02:03:35):
The survey's closed, but the conversation is still going, right,
So with the survey you have that.

Speaker 6 (02:03:40):
Okay, Now what then happens with that data? Then what
is the next piece to impact the folks or you
talk to?

Speaker 1 (02:03:49):
So what's next?

Speaker 2 (02:03:50):
So, as Tanisha was sharing, we're going to take that
information and form a comprehensive report. The report will allow
Americans to say, how did people who live in certain
geographic regions answer what is important to their health? Whether
it was a question around access to healthy and affordable food,
whether it was a question around access to green space.

Speaker 1 (02:04:12):
So you could walk, or health care facilities.

Speaker 2 (02:04:14):
They'll be able to read what the findings and the
insights from those findings, and they'll be able to see
that data mapped out.

Speaker 3 (02:04:23):
They'll be able to go to.

Speaker 2 (02:04:24):
A website, put in a different zip code and say
where I live here in Houston. This is how people
are experiencing or understanding the conditions on the ground that
are impacting their health.

Speaker 1 (02:04:38):
But it goes further.

Speaker 2 (02:04:39):
Right, We're not only going to have this national report,
but we're going to say how do you tie those
assets to solutions, whether it's policy at the local level,
policy at the state and federal level, whether it's convening
and understanding the assets, the players, the structures, the institutions.

Speaker 3 (02:04:59):
That matter to your health and wellbeing.

Speaker 2 (02:05:01):
People are going to have their literacy improved, increased and
their advocacy, their advocacy strengthened.

Speaker 6 (02:05:08):
So who then, who's doing that very good? So again,
I mean get I get reports. There's a lot of reports.
And with the report after that, then what's that next
piece then being organized? Because at the end of the day,
how does the report impact that first person who's watching
or listing, regular ordinary person who never took the survey?

Speaker 1 (02:05:27):
And so again, what's that next thing?

Speaker 5 (02:05:29):
So I think there are a couple of things. I mean,
one is certainly an individual agency again helping people community
understand what's working, whether what's working in your community or
what might be working in Detroit for someone who's in
Flint and being able to one scale the solutions that

(02:05:51):
are working.

Speaker 11 (02:05:52):
The other piece, and I think this is a.

Speaker 5 (02:05:55):
Key lever in this relationship, is around the systemic change
public policy. All too often our communities are surveyed to
your point, and then report sit on a shelf. One
of the things that we are committed to doing is
working together to identify public policy solutions that can help

(02:06:16):
drive systemic.

Speaker 11 (02:06:18):
And structural change.

Speaker 5 (02:06:19):
What does it look like for an organization, for a
company like Santa Fe to partner with an organization like
the NAACP to drive meaningful, lasting, sustainable change within communities?
From a healthcare system, our healthcare system is one of
the most complex in the world, and we know that

(02:06:42):
here in the US we are among some of the
sickest in the world. I know doctor Chris and doctor
Tonya's public health leaders know this all too well. So
the question for us with these insights is how can
we use them to inform and drive public policy change,
to inform and drive organizational change, and to inform and

(02:07:04):
drive the solutions that are really making it different.

Speaker 21 (02:07:07):
So how are you so so?

Speaker 6 (02:07:08):
From a company standpoint, we know in terms of media
buying and communicating, so as relates to Sonofi when it
comes to black owned media, what does that spind annually?

Speaker 1 (02:07:23):
How are you how are you on the report?

Speaker 6 (02:07:25):
How are you communicating with African American community? What's that spin?
Who the folks you're partnering with on the black on
media side.

Speaker 5 (02:07:34):
So I can't speak to the exact numbers Roland, but
what I can say is one of the insights that
I know I'm particularly interested in seeing is getting a
better understanding of how folks are actually receiving their information
about health and healthcare. Once we have access to that
type of data, then that not only informs kind of

(02:07:55):
where we are sharing information to help empower people as
it relates to their health and healthcare, but it also
informs who we're partnering with. One of the reasons, it's
one of the reasons why I'm really excited about being
able to have this conversation with you today.

Speaker 1 (02:08:13):
See what we know.

Speaker 6 (02:08:14):
What we know is that for African Americans, we get
our information from multiple sources, but there's a greater trust
from black on media sources because of the type of information.

Speaker 1 (02:08:25):
And one of the things that that we've.

Speaker 6 (02:08:27):
Experienced, especially specifically in the pharmaceutical area, that uh, the
speing in that area is almost virtually non existent. And
we're talking about we can we can we can run
the companies down, whether it's Jay and j we could
talk about Gilead, we could talk about I mean numerous
pharmaceutical companies. And so when I'm watching ABC and PCC,

(02:08:48):
but I'm seeing the ads, I'm seeing all these different things.
And so that's also I think a part of this
beyond survey piece also where dollars are being spent so often,
and then of course we know with health health outcome
is a whole bunch of us we're spending on medicine.
But then where is that communication piece coming in? That's

(02:09:10):
the part of that go ahead.

Speaker 2 (02:09:11):
I want to lean into that because I think you're
raising an important uh point that this partnership, and specifically
in the NAACP that we've been advocated around. Right, So
let's let's let's put the citizen, the community member back
in the center of that one. We're sharing information back
with community so that they can have the power to

(02:09:33):
hold the structures accountable in their local neighborhoods.

Speaker 1 (02:09:38):
Right, But who's doing that the individual, the group?

Speaker 21 (02:09:42):
Let me finish that.

Speaker 2 (02:09:43):
That's where NAACP local branches are working with national offices.
That's where we're working with other community partners. That's where
we're sitting at tables with municipalities, sitting at tables with
state legislators, sitting at table with congress persons.

Speaker 1 (02:09:59):
We are de in that mix.

Speaker 2 (02:10:01):
Right, This is not just random information and we see
that right now, there is the public erasure of public
health data. Right, So we have been very integral to
ensure that data relating to black lives, black and brown lives,
historically marginalized groups stays in those communities and communities have
access and can understand it. So we're creating a health

(02:10:23):
literacy toolkit. What does all of this mean, What does
it mean for me? What does it mean for us collectively?
And then we're taking that message to all media, inclusive
of black media, and an ACP has deep relationships across media, right.
I myself have spoken to a host of media about
the apple opportunities that the Center for Health Equity is doing.
That's why we're having this conversation with you today, That's

(02:10:45):
why we're at afrotech. We're going to continue to take
this to where the people are, where community culture is
happening and say this is what you need to know
about health and well being and let's advocate together.

Speaker 6 (02:10:58):
And doctor Price again we were talking about on this
very issue. The reality is you cannot achieve public policy
outcomes unless there is an organized and mobilized effort, and
so having data is one thing, but doing something with
it is another right.

Speaker 39 (02:11:17):
So one thing that I think we can all agree
on is that it's really important to do science with
community and not to community. So when we think about
this Asure Health National Report, one thing that we are doing,
and doctor Chris alluded to this, is we are putting
the information back into the hands of the people. When
you think about what Tanisha said about whether we're in
la we're in Detroit, we're in Atlanta, we're in Houston,

(02:11:39):
wherever it is that we are, we are going to
make sure that the people have access to the information
so they can go to their policy makers, their stakeholders,
their shareholders to get this information to have a voice
to make change in their local communities.

Speaker 1 (02:11:54):
So when is this report, Lena be ready.

Speaker 2 (02:11:56):
The report will be published as of early twenty twenty six.
We will have all of the data and the insights
ready to share with the communities that participate it first
and foremost right, because you never survey people and not
take information back to them and then to critical stakeholders,
whether that's stakeholders in black community, whether that's stakeholders who

(02:12:17):
are in policy and elected spaces, whether that's stakeholders in industry, right.
And so we have a very well thought out plan
and strategy how to ensure that we don't widen gaps.
And there are huge gaps around data and that's why
we're here today. We believe that afrotech in and of
itself is an engine, right, it is a vehicle by

(02:12:39):
which to access doers in this space, the health and
technology space, to help us shuttle out information and think
about how we use this information more effectively. But then
how do we build, how do we share power, how
do we co design, how do we collaborate, and how
do we partner in a way that at the end
of the day is going to save lives.

Speaker 1 (02:12:58):
Look, I'm a public health physician, can both the stats
for you.

Speaker 2 (02:13:01):
Black people live sicker and die sooner than many other
people in this nation. And the only way that we're
ever going to solve that is when black people are
at the center of owning the operations, owning the structures,
owning the process to create the policy. And this is
what this partnership is is exemplifying. You put the NAACP,
a historic cultural civic institution with a powerful global healthcare

(02:13:25):
company that said that people are priority and change happens.

Speaker 1 (02:13:29):
All right, well, we'll look forward to the report.

Speaker 6 (02:13:31):
Thank you very much, folks, be right back roland Mark
Unfiltered right here in the Black STUDT Network live from
Efrotech here in Houston, Back in a moment.

Speaker 30 (02:13:48):
This week on a Balance Life for Doctor Jackie, we're
continuing our series of putting in the works a chef's Journey.
Are you an aspiring chef someone who already has a
business trying to figure out what your next steps will be,
who to talk to and how to get there. Well,
on this week's show, our great guests and wonderful chefs
will talk to you about what means to discover your purpose,

(02:14:09):
your why of being in the kitchen and then knowing
how to put a business together.

Speaker 31 (02:14:13):
The menu controls everything, It determines The menu determines everything,
but the business plan is where you have.

Speaker 32 (02:14:21):
To go back to when you get into the business.
At the end of the day, you know, social media
and TV, all of that stuff is cool, but you
still have to run a business, so you still have
to be in relationship with people.

Speaker 30 (02:14:31):
That's all next on a Balance likee with Doctor Jackie
here on Black Star Network.

Speaker 1 (02:14:41):
Hey, what's up, y'all? Devon Franklin, it is always a
pleasure to be in the house.

Speaker 19 (02:14:45):
You are watching Rolling Martin Unfiltered.

Speaker 1 (02:14:47):
Stay right now, hey, folks.

Speaker 6 (02:15:14):
So earlier today we met some students from Tennessee State
University and they were walking around.

Speaker 1 (02:15:20):
Took a couple of selfies with them.

Speaker 6 (02:15:22):
So I said, hey, why don't y'all come on back
and let's chat about why y'all are here at AFRO Tech.

Speaker 1 (02:15:29):
All right, folks, all sorts of folks here at Afro Tech.

Speaker 6 (02:15:31):
Twenty twenty five here in Houston, including a group from
Tennessee State University. That's the other TSU. Look y'all in Houston.
Y'all in Houston. So in Houston.

Speaker 1 (02:15:42):
TSU is Texas Southern Universities. We'll let you.

Speaker 21 (02:15:45):
Let y'all know.

Speaker 1 (02:15:46):
Let y'all know.

Speaker 6 (02:15:46):
So, first of all, what do y'all do? First of all,
give me your name? What a y'all doing here? What's
your group?

Speaker 11 (02:15:51):
My name is Alonsia Weeks In.

Speaker 37 (02:15:53):
Our group is called Innovator Entrepreneurship boot Camp.

Speaker 11 (02:15:57):
And what we do is we create well I incubates.

Speaker 37 (02:16:00):
Specifically, we helped tech developers validate their business model based
it off of evidence, so when you go out into
the economy, they can say, well, this is what is
gonna do and not.

Speaker 3 (02:16:09):
What it could do.

Speaker 37 (02:16:10):
And it's also giving him a chance to derisk because
you know, it's not a lot of money for product
development and to skip the value of death.

Speaker 6 (02:16:17):
All right, so all of y'all got different products. What
you got, well, what you got talking to the microphone?
Just talk baby, Okay.

Speaker 11 (02:16:26):
I'm Janni Nicholas from Tennessee State.

Speaker 12 (02:16:28):
I'm working on a dental device for preventative care and
rebuilding Enamelo.

Speaker 1 (02:16:32):
Okay, dental device that.

Speaker 11 (02:16:35):
Does what it's for preventative care and it rebuilds.

Speaker 6 (02:16:38):
Enamo, rebuilds Enamo Okay, and so what so what is it?
Like a guard or something?

Speaker 18 (02:16:45):
What is it?

Speaker 30 (02:16:46):
It's a two bresh It's not on the market yet though.

Speaker 1 (02:16:50):
Got it? And how long you been working on that?

Speaker 3 (02:16:52):
Since? August?

Speaker 1 (02:16:53):
Okay? All right? Perfect?

Speaker 17 (02:16:56):
And my name is Joe cars Kilo, current senior at
Tennis Sate University. I'm also joining with my teammates Cameron
and Maria and we're working on basically like helping identify,
you know, wal source panels that need to be rebuilt
and refixed and market on the Marney notch.

Speaker 1 (02:17:11):
How's that been gone going?

Speaker 17 (02:17:12):
Well, honestly, we've been at it for about a month
and to see the results that have come and actually
been pretty amazing.

Speaker 1 (02:17:18):
Okay, And so being here, what is being here help
you with what you're working on?

Speaker 40 (02:17:24):
So being here helps our customer discovery, which is a
huge portion of our program is learning to do essentially
kind of like a user research of who our market is,
what they're looking for, and what they need. And I'm
Maria Wilbert. I'm a senior at Tennessee State University. This
is also my team, so I'm a part of analytics,
but I also have my own personal personal virture, which

(02:17:45):
is combating tobacco and nicotine used by creating holistic smoking
experiences using urban remedies.

Speaker 1 (02:17:51):
All right, now, by you.

Speaker 41 (02:17:53):
My name is Cameron Shaw, senior computer science major at
Tennessee State University, And I just wanted to share some
wise words.

Speaker 1 (02:18:00):
You know, always you ain't working on nothing, You've got
to chance?

Speaker 3 (02:18:05):
Why?

Speaker 21 (02:18:05):
Oh yeah, no, I'm with, I'm with.

Speaker 1 (02:18:08):
I'm gonna some wise words. Ain't working on nothing.

Speaker 41 (02:18:12):
They already heard, you already heard the product I'm with
monitoring system, you know. Yeah, And the wise words was
really just to be obsessed with the problem and not.

Speaker 1 (02:18:22):
The solution, you know.

Speaker 21 (02:18:23):
And that's that's basically what I corps.

Speaker 41 (02:18:24):
About customer discovery, going out there seeing the problem, really
digesting it, you know, and adapting from there and learning
what the customer truly wants.

Speaker 1 (02:18:34):
How long has the boot camp been around?

Speaker 37 (02:18:36):
The boot camp has been around for two years now,
got it? It's been around for two years. And I
go with the program is to create a new revenue
model for HBCU. And I live off of financial aid.

Speaker 27 (02:18:47):
Right.

Speaker 37 (02:18:48):
So you look at schools like Yale, Harvard, Preceidge schools, right,
they don't live off of attendees, right, they live off
of development ips, licensing nature.

Speaker 1 (02:18:57):
You're trying to do what Stanford did.

Speaker 6 (02:18:58):
So Stanfford gets get the cut of all those products
that come out of their technology last exactly.

Speaker 37 (02:19:04):
And there's no reason we shouldn't have that because in
every fortune five hundred company you have a Tennessee State
University alumni in all of them, in all of them checked. Yeah,
the real t issue, it's the other tsue don't get
cut here, all right?

Speaker 1 (02:19:22):
Well, good luck with it. Hope you'll enjoy the conference.
Thank you, Thank you so much.

Speaker 6 (02:19:31):
All right, folks, great conversations here at Afrotech in Houston.
So we're gonna be broadcasting here live tomorrow. We gonna
be live streaming several events from the main stage, so
you don't want to miss that. And then of course
we talk into more folks here as well, and so
uh that's it for us today. Folks, don't forget you
want to support the work that we do. Join our
Brina Funk Fan Club. If you want to give you

(02:19:52):
a cash shat, use a stripe cure coach you shit
right here the bottom left hand corner of paypals are
Martin unfiltered, venmos are unfiltered, Zeo, rolling At, Rollin, s
Martan dot com, rolling at.

Speaker 1 (02:20:02):
Rolling bark On filter dot com down.

Speaker 6 (02:20:05):
We could also of course checks some money order uh
make them out to Rolling Markin unfiltered Pelbox five seven
one nine six Washington d C two zero zero three
seven at zero one nine six down on the Blackstart
network app Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku,
Amazon Fire TV, Xbox one, Samsung Smart TV.

Speaker 1 (02:20:23):
We should have get a copy in my book.

Speaker 6 (02:20:25):
White fear of the browning of Americas, making white folks
lose their minds availble at bookstores nationwide.

Speaker 1 (02:20:29):
Get the audio version on audible.

Speaker 6 (02:20:31):
We should have get our Blackstart Network Rolling Mark non
filter swag by going to shop Blackstart Network dot Com.
T shirts and mugs. Uh, you name it, we got
it all there.

Speaker 1 (02:20:41):
Also.

Speaker 6 (02:20:42):
Uh you see the blacktone products that are on my
news desk in DC. All of those products you can
get at shop Blackstart Network dot Com. A skincare product,
you got a relatives sauces, crossword puzzles, backpacks, all sorts
of things. Go to shop Blackstart Network dot Com. Shop
Blackstart Network dot com. All so download the app. Fan base,

(02:21:02):
get the app.

Speaker 1 (02:21:02):
Fan base.

Speaker 6 (02:21:03):
They've raised now thirteen pointy five million dollars, only three
point five million dollars left to finish off their Series
A fundraise. To get more information to invest in fanbase,
go to start Engine dot com forward slash fan base.

Speaker 1 (02:21:16):
Stark Engine dot Com forward slash fan Base. Folks. That's it.
I'll see all tomorrow right here.

Speaker 6 (02:21:23):
Rolling Mard Unfiltered of a black studd Network Live at
afro Tech twenty twenty five.

Speaker 1 (02:21:28):
The George R. Brown conventional center in Houston.

Speaker 3 (02:21:30):
How

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Host

Roland Martin

Popular Podcasts

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Crime Junkie

Stuff You Should Know

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Massey verdict, Baltimore mayor, Stacey Abrams talks AI at Afrotech 2025