Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And Feinstein announced that she was not going to seek
a new term, as caused several Democrats to not fire
running for her position in the United States Senate, among
them Congresswoman Barbarlee of Oakland. She joined us right now
in rolling Martin Unfiltered cons I'm always glad to have
you here. Thanks for being with you, roll and hello.
All right, so let's talk about this run. California is
(00:22):
a huge state, gonna take a lot of money you
gotta raise. Why do you believe you are the best
person to be the next US Senator from California? Thank you?
First of all, I have a history of champion causes
relating to the daily lives of every Californian. Really, you know,
(00:44):
when you look at what I have done in the
past in terms of my experience on racial justice issues,
economic inequality, all the issues around reproductive justice, on housing.
We need in the Senate a lens of a person
and such as myself, an African American woman, to really
be able to bring the voices of marginalized people, people
(01:07):
of color, the poor, working families, low income families to
the body politic. And they're huge gaps in the Senate.
And I intend to step into those gaps. You don't
hear many senators talking about what we're gonna do for
unsheltered people. For example, we need to bring the voices
and of people to the Senate. And people know me
(01:28):
in California, it's going to cost a lot of money.
I waited to file until Senator Feinstein indicated that she
was not going to run. I indicated the next day
that I found my canvas and nine tend to win this.
I just saw a pole that was dropped showing a
Representative Adams shift at twenty two percent, Representative Katie Poor
(01:51):
at twenty percent, you had six percent. That's a that's
a very early pole. You know, when it comes to
really reaching those voters, how are you going to separate
yourself to show how you are more distinctive than the
other candidates. Thanks rolling, and remember I just launched my
(02:13):
campaign video a couple of days ago, and what I'm
doing is traveling the state making sure the voters know
that I see them, making sure they know that I
have been a progressive champion for everyone over the years,
and making sure that they know that I connect with
their daily lives and what the challenge challenges are, such
as childcare, such as the climate crisis, such as police reform,
(02:36):
all the issues that really speak to the dreams and
aspirations of the California voter. I'm going to take my
message directly to them, because it's it's the voters who count.
We're going to register voters, We're going to have a
media campaign. We may not be able to raise as
much money as the other two opponents, but when you
look at Karen Bass mayor Bass to nine million to
(02:59):
one hundred million, there are ways that women, women of colored,
black women run campaigns and can win. And that's what
we're doing. We're going directly to the voters, speaking to
them using what I have done as an experienced legislator,
bringing life experiences that they can relate to into the Senate. Obviously,
(03:21):
California is such a diverse state. It is a small
black population, total significant Latino population, and so when you're
a clock talk connecting with different constituencies, really, what do
you see as the right formula in order to win
(03:44):
the nomination. To be able to connect with the voters, Ron,
we have to find common ground on so many issues.
And being born in El Passo, Texas, in an immigrant community,
come into Los Angeles County, breaking barriers as the first
black cheerleader at San Fernando High and working with coalitions.
You know, I've worked for Concas and Rondelams for many years.
(04:06):
I beloved Rondellums, who really was the father of coalition politics.
And when you look at my record, just very recently,
for example, delivering for the API community, for the Latino community,
and for the Black community, targeted funding to address the
COVID pandemic. That was in large part of my work.
And so I think people know that I've always been
(04:28):
a champion for everyone, breaking barriers for myself as a
black woman, for black women, for black people in general,
but also for black and brown people, and for people
who just have been living on the edges, poor people,
you name it. And putting together that coalition is really important.
I mean, I have chaired the Asia Pacific American Caucus
(04:50):
is Health task Force for over eight years and have
introduced health equity bills with the Tri Caucus in Congress.
And so it's the coalition bills and building alliances with
people who have common interests. In my record, I'm not
new to this. My record speaks for my ability to
cross party lines as well as ethnic lines, as well
(05:13):
as gender lines. I was the first, one of the
first vice chairs of the LGBTQ Plus Caucus when Bernie
Frank asked me to do that to help with addressing
many issues in the LGBTQ plus community. And so I
have a long history of working with people from different backgrounds,
and that's what it's going to take to win in California.
I'm going to demonstrate my history, my experience, and what
(05:36):
I've done and what I intend to do when I
get into the Senate. Looks like you've got former Speaker
Nancy Pelosi talking to a lot of people and trying
to clear the deck for Representative Adam Shift. Again, it's
going to be a whole lot of that going on.
(05:56):
And so people put a lot of stock in indoor spithing,
a lot of stock in obviously a fundraising but at
the end of the day of votes are the only
thing that really counts. Well. Listen, I respect the Speaker's
decision to support whomever she supports, and it is connecting
with voters. It's about going to voters, going to voters
(06:18):
to let them know who I am in terms of
what I have done in the past, but how I
have developed policies that really speak to their needs and
aspirations as a voter and as people who are just
struggling to make ends meet, and as a candidate presented
who sees them and understands what their daily needs are
(06:39):
in terms of the cost of living, bringing down the
costs of inflation, addressing police misconduct, all of the issues
that we care about. So it's about the voters. It's
about communicating with the voters. It's being authentic with the voters,
and it's about letting them know who I am and
what I have done yet what I intend to do
for the future. And so that's what I'm doing with
my campaign, going directly to voters. And yes, it's gonna
(07:01):
cost a lot of money, but believe you me, we're
gonna raise the money that it takes for me to
run my campaign the way I'm going to run it
and win. Last question for you, Congresswoman, when we're talking
about black candions running statewide, you get a lot of
people complaining or the Democratic Party did not do for
(07:23):
Mandela Bonds in Wisconsin running for the downa state Senate
Sherry Beasley in North Carolina, Congressman in Valdimis in Florida.
Speak to that in terms of what the party has
to do to ensure that they are supporting black candidates
when it is black people, black women, and black men
who the number one and number two highest participates for Democrats. Well, Roulling,
(07:49):
you've you've laid out what the barriers and challenges are
for black people in general running for public office. We've
got to get to public financing of campaigns. But until then,
we have to make sure that we speak directly to
the voters and make sure voters understand five dollars a month,
ten dollars a month. They can go to my website
it's it's Barbara Ly for California dot com or forca
(08:11):
dot com. Either one to know that they're five dollars
a month really matters, and build an army of donors
who can afford to support candidates like myself. Their barriers,
they're real challenges, their systemic and our campaign financing system.
And so people who you candidates who you just listed
(08:34):
were unbelievably progressive Democrats who had a record of service,
who would be wonderful in the United States Senate to lead.
And what happened the money with regard to what should
have done from our major institutions just didn't get there.
And so we know what those challenges are. But I
(08:55):
tell you one thing, we can't sit back and let
the system that has real systems of racism embedded in
the finance system and donor kind of system in terms
of finance, you know, campaigns. We can't let that stop
us from running. We've got to go to our own base.
We've got to go to people who we believe and
what we believe. And yes, we need large donors, Yes
(09:18):
we need everyone to contribute, but we also need load donors.
I'd love to have a one hundred thousand load donors
to submit or excuse me, to contribute five dollars a month.
I mean that would that would really be an unbelievable
effort to involve people in the decision making but also
in the whole campaign structure of financing. And we have
(09:41):
to do that and we're gonna do that when Barbara League,
we appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Okay, thanks Liroll,
nice seen you all right, take care of he soon.
(10:02):
All right, folks, I gotta go to a break with
the back roller market on the filter right here on
the Black star dat work. Next on the Black Table
with me Greg car we feature the brand new work
a Professor Angie Porter, which simply put is a revolutionary
(10:22):
reframing of the African experience in this country. It's the
one legal article everyone I mean everyone should read. Professor
Porter and doctor FELIPA. Watkins, our Legal Roundtable team, join
us to explore the paper that I guarantee is going
to prompt a major aha mood in our culture. You
(10:44):
crystallize it by saying, who are we to other people?
Who are African people to others? Governance is oward thing?
Who are we to each other? The structures we create
for ourselves, how we order the universes and for the people.
That's next on the black tape. Here on the Black start.
(11:09):
Most people think that these television shows that tell stories
about who we are as black men, and then they
paint these monolithic portraits of us. They think that they're
being painted by white people. And I got to tell
you there are a whole bunch of black folk right
that that are the creators, right, the head writers, right,
(11:32):
the directors of all of these shows, and that are
still painting us as monoliths. The people don't really want
to have this conversation. Hi, I'm Eric nolan Is, and
(11:57):
you're watching Roland Martin un filtered. All right, fast, Welcome
back to Roland Martin unfilter on the Black Start Network.
Don't forget Downald the Black Start Network app Apple Phone,
Android Phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV,
(12:19):
Xbox one, Samsung Smart Tv. You could also now watch
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you could also tell your Alexa, hey played the Black
Start Network. To actually hear the audio as well, My
pound today killed the theater. Communication strategist Michael Mhotep, host
the African History Network show, Matt Manning, civil rights attorney Leat.
They have all three of you here on the show.
(12:42):
I'll start with you, Kelly. Look, it's gonna be a
it's gonna be a tough battle for Kongswoman Barbara Lee
running in that California is a huge state, expensive television markets.
We talked about Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento as well,
and also so she's running at a difference it already.
(13:02):
You look at Adam Ship, he has twenty million dollars
in his ward chest. Katie Porter has several million dollars
cars going, Barbara Lee not even closer. That she may
be at a very economic disadvantage. So she's gonna have
to run a different type of race because it's gonna
be it's gonna be hard as hell to keep up
(13:24):
financially with those two. Absolutely, but her point to having
small donors, like a lot of small donors contributing to
her campaign, that really does work. People really think that
you need all this money to donate to campaigns so
that their candidate can win. But I have seen campaigns
(13:44):
that have run on five dollars a week, five dollars
a month, ten dollars here, fifteen dollars there, And when
you see the numbers, it is there are so many
more people with those type of contributions than the ones
who are giving a thousand dollars plus each and every
month or however many times they are allowed to Purporter.
So for those who are in California who think that
(14:07):
they can't, you actually can that one dollar a week
a month, however often you can give it, It really
really does make a difference. Do not let big money
fool you or discourage you from cant from contributing to
the candidate of your choice, because every single penny matters,
every single dollar matters. But also with her campaign, people
(14:31):
think that just getting LA and getting these progressive districts
are going to win those things. No, it's the whole state.
California has a very hybrid type of political layout and
that is something that she's going to have to consider
as well. I wish you're all the best. I've no
doubt that she's capable of winning, but those small dollar
(14:52):
contributions are gonna have to kick in, and people who
are teetering the line as moderates are also going to
have to as well. Well. The thing here, Matt, when
you talk about again in California, it is not as
automatic where everybody is far left Democrats. No, you do
(15:12):
have some moderates. You have read portions of the state
as well, so, and it's different issues in different parts
of the state that the Canada are going to have
to tap into. It is not simply one or two
issues that will dominate. I think that's right. But the
ones that I heard her talking about tonight and when
I was preparing for the show, I think she's already
(15:33):
striking the right tone. First in terms of affordable housing,
and in terms of climate issues. You know, California has
pretty great income inequality, right, so you've got a lot
of walks of people, but you've got a pretty wide
divergence between the rich and the have nots, if you will.
So I think she's striking the right tone in terms
of affordable housing, in terms of talking about unsheltered people,
(15:53):
and in terms of talking about the climate crisis. Because
you might have reported on the on the show, but
I know California is one of the states that's having
issues with water and water contributions and how much it's
able to pull out of certain water tables. So with
that being the case, I think she's looking at it correctly.
The question is just whether that carries the day in
terms of a platform, particularly when you have as wide
(16:14):
a swath of voters as California presents. I mean, I
think that's going to be a formidable task. But it
sounds like she's at least done some good research on
the front end in terms of what people care about
and trotting out her bona fides to that end. Michael, Yeah, Well,
and you know, she's a fantastic woman. And I saw
(16:36):
the interview that was done on MSNBC with Barbara Lee.
And she's someone who's been homeless at one point, she
was a teenage mother. She talks about having an abortion
as well, So she's had real people problems, Okay, and
she's somebody who identifies with the problems that real people have.
It's an uphill battle. You know. Thirty nine percent of
(16:58):
California's population Latino, fifteen percent Asian American, only about five
or six percent African American. So she's going to have
to craft out a strategy to target each one of
those different ethnic groups and appeal to their issues as well.
But hopefully she's successful. All right, then folks gotta go
(17:20):
to Brkley come back. Republicans continue to target Kim Gardner
in Saint Louis. They're now trying to blame her in
her office for a for a guy who killed someone
while driving. Her office is fighting back, saying, don't put
your fingers at us, look at the judge in the case.
We'll talk to her next. Right. Here is an exclusive
(17:42):
interview on Roland Martin, unfiltered on the Black Start Network.
Hatred on the Streets, a horrific scene white nationalist rally
that descended into deadly violent White people are losing their minds.
As a man were approach Trump mob storm to the
(18:03):
US capital, who show we're about to see the lives
of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen
white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black
folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable
result of violent denials. This is part of American history.
Every time that people of color and media progress, whether
(18:25):
real or symbolic, there has been the Carol Anderson at
every university calls white rage as the backlashes is the
right of the proud boys and the boogaloo boys America.
There's going to be more of this poy of guy.
This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and
its attitudes because of the fear of white people, the
(18:46):
fear that you're taking our job, they're taking our resources,
they're taking our women. This is white field. We're all
(19:10):
impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not,
from politics to music and entertainment. It's a huge part
of our lives. And we're going to talk about it
every day right here on the Culture with me. For
Raji Muhammad only on the Black Star Network. Hi, I'm
(19:33):
Vidio A Green. Hi. This is Essence Acting. Everybody, just
your man, Fred Hemmond, and you're watching Roland Martin my
man unfiltered. All right, folks, if you're watching our YouTube chat,
(19:53):
I'll be sure to hit the like buttons. Share, hit
the share button on Facebook. Also, love your comm We're
seeing them on the Black Star Network app as well.
You might remember we've spent some time in Saint Louis
talking to Kim Gardner, who is the Saint Louis Circuit Attorney.
Republicans have been attacking her viciously since she was elected,
(20:17):
even while she got re elected. Now the Attorney General
of Missouri is giving her an ultimatum, saying resign or
I'm going to fire you. It's all because of a
tragic accident involving a teenage volleyball volleyball player and a
man who they say should have been behind bars. They're
blaming Kim Gardner in her office for that man being
(20:40):
out and driving around her. Here's the backstory. Tennessee volleyball
player of Jeanee Edmonship was in Saint Louis participating in
the volleyball tournament when she was hit by a card
and an accident caused by twenty one year old Daniel Riley.
He's had dozens of bond violations. He faces multiple charges
lads with the crash, including taking the real assault, two
counts of fourth grade assault, armed criminal action, and operating
(21:02):
a vehicle without a license. Now what has happened is
folks have been complaining saying that it's the fault of
Gardner's office, that this guy was not actually behind bars.
Her office is fighting back, even have the mayor of
Saint Louis to Charlot Jones saying that the people have
(21:23):
lost confidence in Kim Gartner's ability to leave the office.
And so here you have the black, black female mayor,
Democrat Republicans hitting her. She's catching it from different sides.
Now for this exclusive, Kim Gardner, joneses right now, Kim,
glad to have you back on the show. So your
(21:43):
officers put out several satans of social media laying out
facts behind the case. And so how have your critics
arrived in blaming your office for this guy being out? Um,
You're what y'all put out is like, we don't control
what the judge does. So what's going on here. That's
(22:04):
a good question. This was a surprise to my office
to actually be blamed for something that is a criminal
process that the prosecutors do not control. So this is
something that's to me is shocking. But at the same
time we know what it is. This is a politically
(22:26):
motivated attack by the unelected attorney general and the actual
governor who from day one, since he's been in office,
has tried to take my duties as the elected prosecutor
in the city of Saint Louis. So first of all,
(22:46):
what authority does he have to quote fire you you're elected. Well,
well that's the problem, you know. Right now in Missouri
we're participating what it's called voter suppression. We want to
push voter suppression laws in the state legislature. Originally, they
have a house build three oh one that has made
it out the House that basically gives the governor the
(23:09):
ability to appoint a special prosecutor in all cases as
murder first, robbery first, an armed criminal action, assault first,
and other violent criminal acts, and this special prosecutor will
be appointed to have exclusive jurisdiction in the city of
Saint Louis. And there's many individuals who are champion this
(23:31):
because of course, we want to blame the violent crime
of the city of Saint Louis on the first African
American elected prosecutor, which is, as we know, a problem. Now,
this sounds familiar, sounds familiar to Baltimore where Maryland Mosby
(23:52):
was being attacked constantly by the governor there when it
came to do an exact same thing appointing a prosecutor
to take over cases in her off Yes, it's a
tactic of actually around the country where you have individuals
who like myself, who consider themselves innovative, mighted prosecutors. People
like to say, we'll progressive prosecutors in terms of we
(24:14):
like to pursue justice, not really convictions, but at the
same time we like to have what's called evidence. And
we have individuals like the unelected AGM Missouri who like
to speak about the rule of law. You know, it's
it's unfortunate that last week, you know, this office, first
time in history, helped exonerate a man who was wrongfully
convicted by the Saint Louis Metro pun Police Department in
(24:36):
this jurisdiction through a prosecutor that in my office that
the judge found was totally innocent. But now we want
to talk about the rut of law and how I
cannot handle this office. This is nothing more than a
political ploy of the unelected Attorney general, who by the way,
(24:56):
follows a Trump rhetoric that has been based in Missouri
for a very long time. So it's interesting. So now
they want to change the law to control your office.
The governor appoints a board that controls the police department
(25:17):
only in Kansas City. I thought Republicans believed in local
control and hated big government and big brother. Well, I agree,
local control is only for certain jurisdictions, and that's not
in urban areas that I represent. You know, the will
of the people who elected me two times should not
(25:38):
have a voice per the AG as well as the governor.
And the rhetoric they're using is they have a more
obligation to follow the rule of law. This same age
and this and his office that he's taken basically wanted
to prosecute to the fullest and uphold the finality of
a rowful conviction for twenty eight plus years. So one
(25:59):
has to say, what is going on in Saint Louis,
What is going on in the state of Missouri. What
is going on is voter suppression. It's about the people
and the city of Saint Louis having the right to
vote their elected officials, like the prosecutor by election. The
election is coming up in twenty twenty four. Why is
it that the attorney general as well as the governor
wants to use this tactic. Well, I know why because
(26:21):
I've been elected twice and the possibility of the people
having a voice that causes them some great fear. So
what the mayor says, you lost the confidence of the people,
but you're being reelected. You know when. I'm not going
(26:41):
to talk about the mayor. What I'm going to talk
about is for some individuals who chose on this case
to have willful ignorance of the criminal justice system and
to actually say that I control every part of the
criminal justice system, even the bond of a judge and
a GPS modern situation of this individual that caused the
unfortunate tragedy of this young lady, missus jam Jane Edmondson.
(27:06):
That is simply false information. And it's the continual attacks
of the status quo tell phone crime rhetoric that has
won been the actual issue in this state and across
other states. So, um, in the statement that your office
(27:28):
put out, you'all talked about UM, the y'all asked for
a bond revocation, the judge denied that, a continuance. The
judge denied that. And so it's so I'm curious for
all the people out here who are complaining, why are
they not complaining about this judge? Is this judge elected?
(27:49):
What what's going on here? Why the targeting of your
office and again not the judge who's ruled against the
quest from your office is interesting you say that, Roland,
I'm the only elected official in the criminal justice system.
The judges are appointed in this jurisdiction. The police chief
is appointed by the mayor in this jurisdiction. The public
(28:12):
safety director is appointed by the mayor in this jurisdiction.
So it's funny how me, the prosecutor, the only elected official,
the only voice of the people, is being targeted in
this situation. What is next? First of all, what is
this individual here? Where is he is he in jail? Um?
(28:36):
What's what's what's what's next when it comes to the case,
But also what is next when it comes to this
battle between you, Missouri Attorney General. Well, well, first of all,
the man is held right now with no bond because
he has other charges that we charge in this case,
in this unfortunate incident with mister na Edmondson. But what's
(28:59):
next X is the Attorney General used a quo warranto,
which in the history of this office has never been used.
The last time this has been attempted has been in
the nineteen seventies. This is this is a very unclear
process that the Attorney General, who is unelected himself, will
try to remove me from my position and have the
(29:21):
governor appoint another prosecutor. This is setting a dangerous precedent
that wins another elected official has questions about another elected
official's job, they are able to use tactics to remove
them from office. Last of my check, we have a
process called elections. And why is Missouri so afraid of
(29:42):
having the people of the city of Saint Louis elect
their prosecutor? But we know why? Wow, a whole lot
going on there in Saint Louis. And as I said,
you know you have been under a concert assault from
forces since you were elected. Surely keepers abreast to what
(30:04):
happens next there in Saint Louis, and is not just
you also can say one thing, yes, go ahead, yeah,
go ahead. Can I say one thing? I just want
to also say. You know, it's interesting that the biggest
critic has been the police union and this is also
started by the Police Union of Saint Louis that from
day one has has has even stated that I should
(30:26):
be removed from office by force or someone taking me
out in a violent way. So the Police Union, along
with the Ethical Society of Police, which are made up
of a group of black police officers, have decided that
they will support one appointment of a special prosecutor as
well as taking them out of local control under stake control.
(30:51):
This is a very serious situation that's going on in Missouri.
But it's about the people of the city of Saint
Louis having an individual in this office that they elect.
It's also about the money that they will spend creating
this kind of against shadow Prosecutor's office because they're gonna
take serious violin cases. And they're also you know, when
(31:12):
you think about the cases they're trying to take, we
have we're like number one, an officer involved shooting. So
those cases are also murders. So that's what this is
really about. This is about an individual get into this
office who was controlled by the Governor de wil Rubber
stamp these investigations and justify most of the officer involved
(31:33):
shooting cases, which you know that they need to be
investigated and reviewed by my office. So this is an
attempt for the police union at others who want to
continue the status quo to you serve the people's voice.
All right, all right, Kim Gardner, We'll appreciate you joining
us next a lot. Thank you, I appreciate you. All right,
(31:57):
Folks will talk about the drama in Saint Louis without
panel when we come back. Also on the show, we're
gonna talk about all the drama issues that Carlos Watson
is facing, founder and CEO of OZ. Folks, the forty
two pages and charge dropped by the US Attorney is
stunning at the level of deceit and fraud that they
were involved in. We will break that down as well.
(32:19):
You're watching Roland Martin unfulture right here on the Black
Sun Network. Next on Get Wealthy with Me, Deborah Ohms,
America's wealth coach. Listen to this. Women of color are
starting ninety percent of the businesses in this country. That's
the good news. The bad news, as a rule, we're
(32:42):
not making nearly as much as everyone else. But joining
us on the next Get Wealthy episode is Betty High.
She's a business strategist and she's showing women how to
elevate other women. I don't like to say this openly,
but we're getting better at it. Let me struggle with
collaborating with each other, and for that reason, one of
(33:04):
the things that I demonstrate in the sessions that I
have is that you can go further together if you collaborate.
That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on black Star Network.
On a next A Balanced Life with Me, Doctor Jackie,
(33:25):
a relationship that we have to have. We're often afraid
of it and don't like to talk about it. That's right.
We're talking about our relationship with money. And here's the thing.
Our relationship with money oftentimes determines whether we have it
or not. The truth is, you cannot change what you
will not acknowledge balancing your relationship with your pocketbook. That's
(33:47):
next on A Balanced Life with Me, Doctor Jackie. Here
at black Star Network, put up a chair, take your seat.
The black Tea with me, doctor great car Here on
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Latway Luckett. Joe's your man, Dianco from Blackest and you
watch Roland Martin Unfiltered, Stay awoke, um um um um
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body and asking me domic in fact body and asking
me run in fact body and asking me in body,
(35:28):
muskingum in fact body and in body and asking me
in body and asking me do it in fact body
and asking me nic in fact body and asking me
(35:54):
domic in basking. All right, folks, let's go back to
our panel. Matt. It's crazy looking at this, the constant
(36:21):
attacking of Kim Gardner. It is clearly personal. The police
uniont she said, hates her, and they've been trying to
take her out from the beginning. They thought they were
going to beat her in re election. She won that,
and it's just a constant assault on her in her office,
and it's a constant assault on our system. How it
(36:42):
works in autonomy. I had the great pleasure of meeting
Kim six years ago when I worked for the current
DA here in this county, and unironically, that DA is
actually facing a lawsuit for exactly the same thing. Republicans
here found a lawsuit saying he's incompetent and needs to
be removed from office, and they're essentially, via the legal system,
(37:02):
trying to undo a second time that he was duly
elected just like him. This is happening across the country,
and this is how we descend into despotism and tyranny.
I mean, and I'm not saying that from like a
histrionic standpoint, it's the truth. Ron DeSantis is doing the
same thing in Florida. They're doing this in Missouri, they're
doing it here in Texas. And what they're trying to
(37:23):
do is they're trying to combine dog whistle rhetoric with
the idea that these black and brown people who have
been duly elected are not competent, they're grossly unable to
manage their offices or whatever whatever, despite the fact that
the people elected them twice and their exercising discretion. And
what I think Kim did really well in this situation
(37:44):
is she released a statement that you noted talking about
where the judge's responsibility is. What infuriates me about this
is that the prosecutor, if he or she is embattled,
is always the first person that people go to to
show that the criminal justice system is failing. But her
office asked for a bond revocation, which means a prosecutor
(38:05):
stood up and said, judge, we want mister Riley to
be put in jail because he's not abiding by the
conditions of the bond, and a judge decided not to
put him in jail. So how she becomes the person
who's having to answer to the failings of this criminal
justice system when her office did exactly what it's supposed
to do, shows you that it's not about actually checking power.
(38:25):
It's about saying who you believe should not have power
and trying to divest them of having power despite them
having elections. So this is something we're seeing across the country,
and this is something that we as people have to
push back against because otherwise our democratic institutions have absolutely
no value if they can be run over by a
person based on their whim and what they think is
(38:46):
politically expedient. Michael. I keep trying to explain to people
what is going on here. Republicans are going to use
their power in the state House to control black folks
in these states. We've seen it this week with what's
(39:06):
going in at Tennessee State University pre University. We're seeing
what's going on in Florida. We're seeing what's happening here,
and so folks had better understand what's happening. It is,
it's clear, it's I mean, it's it's it's loud and
clear what's going on here. Yeah, the battle has always
been uh in the state legislature, especially in southern states.
(39:31):
Even though Missouri wasn't part of the Confederacy, Uh, it's
state loyal to the Union. You you still have some
of the same politics here. And I'm glad she was
able to get information out about how it was the
judge's fault and not the fault of her office. But
you know, rolland to be honest with you, I'm not
I can't figure out why Mayor to Sharah Jones, who
(39:54):
is an African American female, is is U following some
of the talking points, it seems of some of the Republicans, Uh,
you know, that's that's problematic right there. But hopefully, um,
hopefully this turns out well for Attorney Kim Gardener. And
(40:15):
remember former Attorney General William Barr was that odds with
her as well. She was facing it not just from
she was facing pressure not just from the from the
state level, from Republicans in Saint Louis, but also from
the Department of Justice when William Barr was Attorney General
and he was against those progressive prosecutors like her. So
(40:35):
this is another example of why alexis have consequences, and
so it's so important to vote the right people in
the office and vote the wrong people out of office.
And the thing here, Kelly, it goes to show you
Republicans don't give a damn by local control. They don't
all that crep about old big brother. Uh. They don't care.
(40:57):
When they have the power, they will beside it. We
see it in Alabama in Mississippi where they have passed
laws saying local leaders cannot get rid of Confederate monuments
unless the state approves it. They only like local control
when they are the ones in control. I think it's
a situation in which it's not about whether it's local
(41:20):
control state control or federal control. It's about control, period
and it shows when you see the bar being moved
with each situation in their favor. So it doesn't matter whether,
like you said, it does not matter whether it's state
or local or federal. It's a matter of who is
(41:40):
in control. If we are in control, then it's good.
If we are not in control, it's bad. And that's
just the bottom line of it all. It is disappointing
that Kim Gardner does not have the support what it
seems to be of her party in Saint Louis in
this matter. It seems like she just kind of out
(42:01):
in the wind to buy herself and it's unfortunate because
the work that she's doing in Saint Louis really is
to make jurisprudence there better for the citizens of Saint Louis.
I hope it works out for her, but it's not
looking so good. Matt. Again, we talk about the fact
that she has been elected twice. They thought they were
(42:23):
going to get rid of her after the first term.
The voters said, no, we want her, and so I
find it ironic if these folks have a problem with
the fact that the voters clearly want her prefer her.
And it also goes to show you that she pointed out,
all of these public safety officials are appointed, they are
(42:47):
not accountable to the voters directly, right. And in the
situations where you have appointments, a lot of times you
have retention votes, right where the people get to decide
if they want to keep that judge that was appointed.
But in her instance, she's popularly elected, which means at
the polls people and Saint Louis voted her in twice.
(43:07):
And what's really, I think, intellectually disingenuous about these conversations
is they're very often rooted in the idea, like if
you look at DeSantis in Florida, by analogy, the rooted
in the idea that the prosecutor is doing what they're
statutorially allowed to do. So statutorially, she has discretion to
make the decisions on her cases that she makes. If
(43:29):
the people don't like that, then they vote in the
next person. Clearly, the people like her more than whomever
she ran against. So to try to make it seem
like her exercising authority or any prosecutor exercising authority is
somehow an affront to public safety is intellectually dishonest because
the rules allow them to do that. And that's what
I've seen from the beginning with Kim is that she
(43:50):
hasn't done it the way they've wanted her to do it,
and from day one she's been embattled. And that's what's
really frustrating about this is that they don't even hide
the racism. It's day one of black woman's elected. She
could not be competent right virtue of who she is,
based in their estimation, So from day one they are
attacking her just incessantly, and that to me is intellectually
(44:11):
dishonest and straight up racist. If we're gonna be honest
about it, because if she had a string of things
that were failures in that to be different, you'd be
able to say, here's the evidence showing she's not doing
a good job. But day one she steps put in
office and based on her platform, they're saying she's not competent.
That to me is dishonest. And that's what we're seeing
around the country, and that's why I think it's gonna
be a slide into tyranny if we allow that kind
(44:33):
of thing to happen. You if you're duly elected you
should stay there until the people duly unelected and the
real deal here, Michael, I mean, let's just be honest.
They hate progressive prosecutors, especially if they're black females. Absolutely,
(44:53):
they definitely do. And what you see here is with
the progressive prostitute there's like Maryland Moseby in Baltimore and others.
You see them at odds with the police union oftentimes.
You see them many times prosecuting cricket police officers or
(45:14):
exposing cricket police officers. And I remember, I think if
I remember correctly, it wasn't the Maryland Mosby who had
a list of police officers who she said was untrustworthy
and they can be used when it comes to uh,
prosecuting people things like this, the testimony can't be used. Yeah,
that's Maryland Mosby. And then when it comes to being
smart on crime, you know, backing off of trying to
(45:37):
charge low level, non violent drug offenders with the harshest sentences,
all types of things like this, you see Republicans that
odd odds with this law and order, and you see
the police unions oftentimes at odds with this as well.
So we need more prosecutors like Kim Gardener, Maryland Mosby,
and the prosecutor as well in Chicago as well. So
(46:00):
once again, all this goes to voting, Rowan, Kimpox, All
this goes to voting strategically, but also Kimox, I'm sorry
it does. But and again I'm sorry, sorry, Matt, go
ahead ahead, We're just gonna say. Also, Ken Paxton has
been under indictment for seven years in Texas. The Republican
ag here has been under indictment for seven years. They
can't figure out how to prosecute him. Right, But Kim
(46:23):
Gardner doesn't even make the this and got reelected being
the drum. Yeah, sorry, go ahead, That's how it goes,
all right, close whole type one second will be back
on Roland Martin on Piltrick right here on the Black
Start Network. Next on the Black Table with me Greg
(46:46):
car we featured the brand new work a Professor Angie Porter,
which simply put is a revolutionary reframing of the African
experience in this country. It's the one legal article. Everyone
you know what I mean, everyone should. Professor Porter and
Doctelipia Watkins, our Legal Roundtable team, join us to explore
(47:07):
the paper that I guarantee is going to prompt a
major hid in our culture. You crystallize it by saying,
who are we to other people? Who are African people
to others? Governance is oward thing. Who are we to
each other? The structures we create for ourselves, how we
(47:28):
order the universes and for the people. That's next on
the Black table here on the Black Star name Live
Star Networks. It's a real old revolutionary right now. You
man the voice of Black Americ moment that we have.
(47:49):
Now we have to keep this going. The video look
phenomenal Between Black Star Network and Black owned media and
something like CNN. You can't being black owned media and
be scared. It's time to be smart. Ring your eyeballs,
you dig. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we
(48:15):
know it or not, from politics, from music and entertainment.
It's a huge part of our lives. And we're going
to talk about it every day right here on the
Culture with me for Raji Muhammad, only on the Black
Star Network. Add what's up, y'all, Will Brack, I'm criss up,
(48:35):
Michelle Hi, I'm Chailey Rose, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered,
(49:01):
Can Can Can Can All right? Post welcome back to
(49:37):
Roland Martin un the filter right here on the Black
Start network. We told you about the attacks on d EI,
on diversity, equity and inclusion, anything dealing with race. De
Santus in Florida, aber in Texas. Now you've got this nuthouse.
Superintendent uh in Oklahoma, Ryan Walters, he actually is questioning
(49:57):
if students should attend Oklahoma Cologists because of the ideologies
they might encounter on campus. Listen to this nonsense we
have and I appreciate the boards, the diligence on this.
We didn't make some slight changes. We took out any
kind of vote claimguage here. Our emphasis is to equip
(50:19):
students to be ready for the workforce, not the social
justice worriors. So this is an agency where we will
go to die. We are going to focus on standards.
We're going to make sure that our students are workforce ready,
because there's nothing more you can do for a child
to give them critical thinking skills and give them the
(50:39):
ability to be successful in workforce, not these social justice warriors.
He made his comments, folks after a question in the
county of all money being spent in in Oklahoma a
college is on diversity Initiatives of the Oklahoma Regions for
(51:01):
Higher Education found the state colleges spent had budget at
ten point two million dollars for diversity, equity and inclusion
activities in the current fiscal year. The state contributed three
point seven million of that money. Oklahoma lawmakers will address
at least five bills this session to limit diversity, equity
and inclusion initiatives in education. The measure aims to limit
(51:23):
a political testing, some amend parental rights and reports spending
in education progress. Joining US now OCLOM State Representative Monroe
Nichols representing Nicols, Lad to have you on the show.
I mean, I just keep trying to explain to people
there's a reason. There's a reason I wrote my book
White Fear. How the browning of Americas making white folks
lose their minds. That's all this is. They are trying
(51:45):
to attack d EI everywhere because they don't like the
fact that people of color are gaining power. This is
about trying to control people of color. An I'm thank
you for allowing me to be on your one hundred
percent right. Not only is about the controlling of people
(52:06):
of color. What we know is so many people throughout
our history have built political power by using race in
dog whistle politics. That's exactly what Ryan Watters has done.
You mentioned the amount of money that's being spent on
these di programs in Oklahoma. When he requested this audit
of these programs. Think over the last decade, we found
that we spent one tenth of one percent of the
(52:27):
hired budget on these programs. So to say that these
are the problem in Oklahoma is absolutely ridiculous. But to
your point earlier, we're sitting in Florida, sitting in Texas
obviously seeing it here, it's disgusting, but it also is
you know, it's something that we know we cannot take
any time and rest and those types of things because
(52:47):
it's important to the things that he was talking about.
They got out of the standards. You know, he said
all the wo language, it was diversity, culture, and equity.
Those are the things that he wants to get out
of a state that is home to thirty nine federally
recognized tribes, a state where we saw the largest individual
race massacre in this country's history. That is the state
(53:10):
he wants to remove diversity, culture, and equity out of
the out of the state Seniors for education. I mean,
this is simply a direct assault on black and brown people,
and this is about white domination and not wanting to
teach people the reality of race in America's right, that's right?
(53:31):
You know you looked. I pulled some numbers from Tulsa, Oklahoma,
where I live and in my community. Black folks in
this city are two times less likely to be employed.
Poor students are five times less likely to read on
grade level by third grade. The eviction rate is forty
percent hiring non white neighborhoods, and the spinning Tulsa's are
three times less likely to get a highways job. And
(53:51):
so what we know is true is that this assault
that we know is that there are reasons why. Right,
we know we have a fundamentally flawed system. Instead of
thinking about ways we can fix it, what the direction
we're going in now is to say, oh, we not
only not want to talk about it in schools and
accurately talk about history, but we want to also say
that it's the it's the fault of the folks who
(54:13):
have pushed for advances for people of color that are
the problem. Claire Looper, who did sitting before they have
to Carolina, this is the problem. And lords Supia Fisher
who challenge separate equals the University of Oklahoma before brown
bus support of education is the problem. They're saying that
these folks who continue to fight for justice or the
problem for equity is the problem. And Enrolling, You're you're
(54:35):
exactly right. We have to start calling what it is.
I think for a long time we tried to say, oh,
you know, we shouldn't call folks racist, or we shouldn't
use in mostly charg's language. We are past that point now,
and it's to the detriment of black and brown kids.
It's to the detriment of black and brown families, and
now that it's to the detriment of the policymaking environment
at the state of Oklahoma and states all across the country. Well,
(55:00):
I keep telling folk folks, uh, this is going to
continue and and um, but isn't there another issue where
this guy is this guy round Walters is so such
a nutcase. Uh that that uh he made he made
some changes, uh, and that it's actually going to jeopardize
potential funding uh uh and and accreditation to the school districts,
(55:23):
and so our state lawmakers trying to limit this guy's power.
That's right. I tell you what right. The one good
thing Roland that I'll tell you about Oklahoma is there
is bipartisan agreement that this man is not capable of
leading the state's education system. And so we have we're
a state, like a lot of southern states, with a
super majority on the Republican side. But he's so far
(55:44):
off that I have my Republican colleagues that are right
now working to limit his power state superintendent because he's
I mean in Roland. Just to give you a little context,
he's been state superintendent for about a month and it's
already gotten this bad right. This is the man who
wants to send federal funds back because he didn't want
to you know, he woke ideology and federal funds and
(56:05):
he wants to send state money to private schools and
that type of stuff. This is a person who, at
the end of the day, rolling he's just not that smart,
is what it is. And what we see all the
time's folks who are not smart, who don't have a
plan to move things forward. What do they do? They
do exactly what he's doing. And like I said, there's
bipartisan agreement that he's not the personal lead the state's
(56:26):
education system. And this is what happens when these right
wing maga people elect these dunk cases and power. But
all you gotta do is when a primary, you know,
this is what happens. And so we now have a
state that the entire education system for seven hundred thousand
Oklahoma kids is run by somebody who represents probably about
(56:49):
twenty five thirty percent of the population. And that's a dangerous,
dangerous thing. He ran a campaign talking about this kind
of stuff. Folks didn't listen. We got to stop thinking
that people are going to moderate them sales and they
get elected, because what we've learned over and over again
is that they don't. They do not moderate themselves after
they get elected. So the next time that somebody tells
you that they're going to dismantle public education, that you
(57:12):
might just believe them and make another decision at the
ballot box. But again, rolling what else is happening across
the country, What they're trying to make it harder to
do for people who look like us vote. So I mean, like,
this is not we just not just click this the vacuum.
This is all that's coming together. We want to retell
how history is taught. We want to limit your voting
power at the ballot box, and we want to dismantle
(57:34):
the public system of education where our kids, our families
are overrepresented in that system and they're siting the money
from it. As we speak. Lord, I've been representing Nichols.
We appreciate it. Thanks a lot, absolutely, Kelly. I've been
(57:54):
warning people. I mean, I mean since two thousand and nine,
I've been talking about this notion of white feel and
folks are like, oh, yeah, yeah, and I'm like it's
playing out, We're seeing it. I mean, it's like over
and over and over again, and I love these people going, Oh,
you're just You're just you're you're a race vader. What
the hell all you're seeing? They they despise d EI,
(58:19):
like they despise multiculturalism, likely despise affirmative action, to despise quota.
It doesn't matter. They do not want to confront America's
reality when it comes to race. They don't want to
confront the reality that they are becoming the minority. I
think that is really the core issue here. They don't
(58:41):
want to feel the repercussions of what they've been dishing
out for centuries now that the tides are turning as
far as demographics are concerned in this country. It is unfortunate,
but they're just gonna have to buck up and deal
with it because it is happening. You know, brown and
black people, people of color, indigenous people, bipop, whatever you
(59:05):
want to call. This conglomerate of minorities. We are outnumbering
white people who want to and who want to continuously
invest in white supremacy that is threatening to their livelihoods.
Too bad, but it's happening anyway. And you're, like you said,
you're gonna see stuff like this until if and until
(59:28):
they come to the realization, which seems like never, that
we are I don't want to say taking over because
it gives the wrong context, but we are becoming more
prevalent in this country, and d EI is going to
be a thing in this country so that we can
all succeed. There's room on the mountaintop for everybody, not
just racists. Michael, Yeah, Roland, you know, this is the
(59:56):
fear of the browning of America. And the reason why
you have people like Ryan Walters and others who keep
talking about the attacking wokeness is because they want us
to stay asleep. Okay, they're telling us what it is.
They want us to stay asleep so they can keep
manipulating us. And this is understanding what racism is. Racism
(01:00:20):
is a system of advantage and privilege distributed based upon race.
And it's interesting that this will take place in Oklahoma
or what a Tulsa race massacre happened, the worst race
massacre in the history of this country, pretty much the
Tulsa race massacre. And this is taking place in Oklahoma,
So yeah, you know, we have to watch. This is
once again at the state level, understanding how important the
(01:00:41):
state legislature is. It's not just federal government, it's the
state legislature that's so important in the state legislature and
state government. Matt Matt, Well, yeah, my name is Ryan Walters,
and I'm gonna run for office down the road, so
I'm gonna say stupid things. Now. Look, that's why these
three Republicans came out and said, yeah, we gotta pump
the brakes on that we want people to go to
(01:01:01):
college because a college degree has been shown demonstrably to
help people down the road. He was loud and wrong
and clearly didn't read the room on what even his
fellow Republicans would think it's necessary. And what's especially stupid
about that is that a lot of corporations are adopting
d EI right now for the very purpose of trying
to at least theoretically make their corporations to work. Sorry,
(01:01:25):
can you hear me? Ye? So to say point to
say that there's somehow no nexus between these programs in
college and what would actually happen in the workforce is
obviously not true when we see corporations adopting these very policies.
(01:01:46):
All right, folks, whole type one second, we come back
when God talked about this Carlos Watson, Ozzy Cage. I
don't know if y'all read at the forty two page
indictment from the fans, Oh my god, this dude, but
they were engaged in absolutely nuts when it comes to
fraud and deceit. We'll break it down next. You're watching
(01:02:09):
Roland Martin unfolted right here on the Black Stuff. Now
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Every week, we took a deeper dive into the world
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Star Network. Will I'm Chris Up, Michelle, I'm Chiley Rose,
and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks, Welcome
(01:04:29):
back to Roland Martin un Folks on the Black Starting Network. Uh.
Carlos Watson is in some huge trouble. He, of course,
of the founder of Ozzy Media. Yesterday arrested by federal
authorities UH and hint with significant fraud charters. They named
three individuals as being involved in this conspiracy. Two of
(01:04:54):
them have already played guilty. Folks. Let me tell you something.
I spend time reading this forty two page indictment and
it is unbelievable. Uh is unbelievable. Look at this indictment here,
uh and and and so when you look at this
here just crazy. And I'm bringing my paril in here
(01:05:14):
what they lay out in this indictment. No, guys, come
to my iPad. Please look at when we kept the
indictment here, Matt, Michael and Kelly. It's unbelievable. It's shows
in here the amount of depth that they had U.
It shows how they were lying about uh, their money.
It says in or about between twenty eight twenty one,
(01:05:36):
the defendants Carlus Watson and Ozzie, together with Rayo Harn
and others, engaging a scheme to the fraud Ozzie's investors,
potential investors, potential acquirers, lenders and potential lenders through materials,
representations and omissions about, among other things, the financial results
they would lie about. They would lie about, um, how
much revenue they were making. Oh we're gonna leving mean
(01:05:57):
and revenue. Oh we're gonna double the twenty two thirty
five to forty five to sixty five. They will claimed
that one company to get one investor to come in.
They claimed that this company was gonna buy them for
six hundred million. What's crazy, Matt, is I mean, I'm
reading this, I'm kind of like, are you serious? Perfect
example right here, gome back to my iPad. They had
(01:06:22):
emails stated the Ozzie raised twelve million in revenue in
twenty seventeen, had already booked fourteen million in revenue in
twenty eighteen against its twenty two million dollar goal. But
Watson knew at that time that Ozzie had earned less
than seven million in revenue in twenty seventeen and had
not booked fourteen million in revenue at that time in
twenty eighteen. All right, so I'm going through this, Matt.
(01:06:45):
They're impersonating a media company. They created faith emails, they
actually forged documents, created faith contracts. I mean, this thing
went on and on and on. And here's the crazy thing.
These major companies, General Motors Group in advertising, we're giving
(01:07:05):
them dollars. Do you know what's even crazier. Two weeks ago,
IPG they had their upfronts, the media upfronts where you
go and picture stuff. They let Carlos Watson pitch. He
was under federal investigation, the SEC is sewing him, and
(01:07:27):
they led him pitch to advertisers and I'm like, are
you serious? Two weeks later, he's arrested. I've seen some
crazy stuff. This is braising the stuff they were doing
or alleged to do, alleged. Thank you, you knew what
(01:07:48):
I was gonna say, because here's the thing. Nothing has
been proven against Carlos Watson or anybody else. And yeah,
this is a scary indatement. I mean, if he hired
me to represent him, I would be very concerned about
these charges because generally, if the Feds are investigating you,
they don't play around, and they have a very small
conviction I mean a low conviction you know, loss rate,
so you know that the Feds are coming with it. However,
(01:08:10):
I will say, in a corporation of this size, sometimes
these cases can be difficult to prove, at least all
of accounts, because you have to prove that he was
actually involved. So even if if Ozzie was alleged to
have done these things, he might have a defense where
he wasn't aware of the actual numbers that he was
putting out refraudulent. Now what is concerning it's two people
(01:08:30):
below him, ay mad mad Man. I read it, Man,
I read it. They got him on emails, they got
him on text messages, They could be said. In fact,
they got they got, they got one. At one point,
to remember, when this whole thing started, the New Yer
Times did a big story where they were where the
(01:08:53):
CEO was impersonating a YouTube executive. Okay, well, Carlos went
on today's show The Breakfast Club and say it all
and say, oh, this guy had a nervous breakdown. That's
what happened. I wasn't aware of. Guess what in this indictment.
The fans say, not only was he involved, he was
(01:09:14):
in the room and he was texting the guy what
to say on the phone. They got to text messages
from Carlos to the guy. All Right, maybe they cook
him on some of the counts, but nothing has been
proven yet. And like Jason said, not guilty. Dog got
to feel me. Until the evidence comes in front of
(01:09:36):
twelve people and they say unanimously that he's guilty. The
man has presumed innocent. We talk about the rule of law.
We have to believe in the rule of law. Until
they he's innocent, it's not guilty. And it does sound
like the fans have a very robust investigation, So I
don't mean to trivialize that. It sounds like there are
some serious problems over there. What I was gonna say,
(01:09:58):
the biggest problem is two people low him played guilty.
That's a huge issue if you're seeing both pleads guilty
and your other no no, no, no, no no. Remember
the fans say that were three involved, two of the
three played guilty. That's what I'm saying. So that's the problem.
So right, because if the holiestake that you are likely
(01:10:19):
taking to l let's be honest, but jokes aside. Unless
they can show he was actually involved in all of
those allegations. He may walk on some of the counts,
but you know, when you're looking at a max of
thirty seven years in prison, it could be a very
serious outcome. Despite my job accounts. So I don't know.
You're right initient to approve, You're right initied to approving guilties.
(01:10:43):
Go back to my iPad here, uh Kelly to induce
Bank Lender one to make the loan and make it sooner.
The defendant, Carlos Watson, directed the then CFO of Azzi,
an individual whose identa is knowned the Grand Jury, to
send Bank Lender one a faith signed contract purporting to
(01:11:04):
be the second season despite the fact that negotiations with
Cable Network One were still ongoing. When the then CFO refused,
Wasson and Rail agreed that Rayo was set a faith
contract to Bakelinder one with false terms that were unrealistically
favorable for Ozzie and a forged signature for the representative
(01:11:25):
of Cable Network One. Damn, that's not funny. That's not funny.
I'm sorry. That was like a nervous giggle when you
don't know what else to say or do. Right, Hold on, Hold,
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Hold up. I gotta
go to the nextman, Kelly, check this out, okay. Later
(01:11:47):
the same day, after receiving the email with the faith contract,
the then CFOH email the defendant Carlos, Watson and Rayo
to say that she was resigning, effective immediately. She explained, quote,
this is illegal, This is fraud. This is forging someone's
(01:12:09):
signature with the intent of getting an advance from a
publicly traded bank. She continued to be crystal clear. What
you see as a measured risk I see as a felony.
Did either of you, Carlos when you asked me to
put together a contract and or Samir when you hit
the email, have any idea or did it even occur
(01:12:32):
to you to care that I could go to jail
for forgery and bank fraud? Clearly not or maybe yes?
And they didn't care because here we are right. And
what's ironic about it all is that if you think
(01:12:53):
about it and correct me if I'm wrong, Matt, this
is almost bar for bar Trump and his people have
been doing for for eons now. And if if the
lawns finally catching up to them, you know, super white
old men racists in New York. What makes you think
(01:13:15):
they're not going to catch this black man doing it?
I get it. I understand. You want me to continually
say allegedly. You want me to continually say allegedly. I
can say that until my face is blue. I get it.
I get it. But still you wouldn't You wouldn't take
this case, Matt. Oh, I would definitely take this case.
(01:13:37):
The question is what would I charge to take this case?
That's that part, yeah, that part, but the one that
got me the moment they all know, man, hey, man
ain't gonna take this case. He might not get paid.
That part. But what got me rolling before you even
(01:13:58):
got to you know. But points forty something in twenty
two just something as simple as him looked trying to
look like he was um having plausible deniability by BCS
getting BC seed on email so that on its face
it would look like, oh, I didn't know anything about it.
But somehow allegedly Matt on Or about March first, twenty nineteen,
(01:14:22):
while blind carbon copying, the defendant, Carlos Watson allegedly emailed
an investor a set of purported closing documents um you know,
wiring two million dollars um and then in preferred stock
in exchange for preferred stock which in fact had not
(01:14:43):
been issued and the issuance of which had not even
been authorized by the board of Ozzie. So again allegedly,
girl listen that Rayo sent. Rayo sent Watson and Han
a draft email for another investor that change the annual
revenue target. Come on, go to my iPad to from
(01:15:04):
for twenty twenty from the sixty five million that was
told to Middle East Investor one to forty five million,
which was still ten million higher than the target. Watson
communicated internally that same day, Rayo sent the email to
the other investor with the forty five million figure copying Watson.
Ozzie ultimately earned approximately eleven million in revert in twenty twenty.
(01:15:29):
They were just straight as lying about everything, Michael allegedly. Yeah,
you know, reading the article from the New York Times,
and I remember the interview from the Breakfast Club. I
remember the initial investigation from the New York Times. And
in business school, you know, we studied, we had case studies,
(01:15:51):
we studied fraud. Okay, and this sounds like some Trump stuff.
I'm serious. When I was reading about this, I said,
this sounds like something Donald Trump has done. M and
then but they got caught sooner than Trump has gotten called. Um,
you know, and you look at the charges. Bye bye bye.
(01:16:13):
Hold hold on, Mike, Mike, mikeel hold on, hold on,
I gotta read this one because this is funny as hell.
Go to my iPad. Watson rayo in hand all knew
that Ozzie was not on track to earn pretty two
million in twenty twenty. One week earlier, finance employee two
had informed Watson rayo in Hall that Ozzie was on
track to earn only approximately eight point three million in
(01:16:35):
revenum in twenty twenty. They took this out Watson. Rayo
in hand also knew that Ozzie was not profitable. On
or about August twelve, twenty twenty, Watson has had sent
a text message to Rayo in which he complained that
a new person had been hired to work on one
of Ozzie's newsletters, stating, in part, why wtf are we profitable?
(01:16:58):
And I do not know it? Ozi ha fact loss
over eight million dollars in twenty twenty. Damn, bro, you're
telling other people you're profitable, but you put in a
text message We're not right. Yeah, so you know this
is this, This is allegedly fraud on top of fraud.
(01:17:18):
But but to be honest with you, Roland, this is
some white people have been doing for decades. Okay, I
mean the Savings alone scandal, Ivan Boski, William made off
and ron uh Donald Trump. So I'm not I'm but
Michael Michael. But Michael Michael hen got the complexion for
(01:17:42):
the protection and the word of Paul money. But but
here's the prison too, and they will wait, most of
them went went to prison. They were too. But here's
what Martha Stewart billionaire, Here's why I need Here's why
I need people watching to understand. The advertising agencies decided
(01:18:05):
Carlos Watson was the safe negro. They gave him millions.
He was lying. Let me tell y'all how I knew
he was lying. I went this YouTube channel and we
lost this show. They would have these videos a million
and a million five views, but twenty comments, right, y'all,
(01:18:31):
that's impossible, that's impossible. And I called keenan, But digital
guy said, Kenan, is that something they're doing that we
don't know about that? How are you getting all these views?
You ain't getting nobody commenting on these views? And so
I said, it's fraudulent. And so what happened was when
(01:18:54):
when New York Times story came out, what they discovered
was that basically they were buying traffic, they were doing
certain things to basically it was under it was being
shown underneath. So just so y'all know, come on, go
to my iPad. So remember I told y'all they were
doing Come on, go to my iPad. I told you
(01:19:15):
they were doing like a million views. After they got busted.
These are they videos? Thirty six hundred views, forty nine hundred,
four thousand, forty two hundred forty five hundred, forty seven hundred,
fifty one hundred fifty one thousand and fifty four thousand,
fifty six thousand, fifty six fifty seven eighty seven, ten
(01:19:35):
thousand and fifteen k Not one of their videos in
the last six months has hit you see that right there?
Only one video exceeded one hundred thousand views in nine months.
It was all lying. And here's my problem. All these
ventric capitalists were just giving them money, shoveling them money
(01:20:00):
like no big deal, feeding them the money. These ad
agencies were giving them a money. Group M did a
seventy five million dollars deal with them and then was
all fraudulent. Yet we out here legitimate, real numbers, and
in two and a half years, all I've gotten from
(01:20:22):
Group one or meeting Group M or meetings no money.
We got real audience, real shows, real accountability, and so
ours of these people to understand these corporations and these
ad agencies. And I'm gonna break this thing down further
on next Wednesday show the graphic when I when I
(01:20:44):
deal with the special show we're doing folks on how
these corporations, these ad agencies are destroying black owned media
by starving us of the dollars. That's what's going on here.
And so I'm just saying, uh, Carlos gonna need a
real good attorney, and Matt if two of your your
(01:21:07):
compatriots flipped and played guilty, if I'm his lawyers, I'm
trying to have a plea conversation right now because this
fort or two page indictment does not look good for Homie.
Maybe man maybe. By the way, when Carlos with Carlo, now,
(01:21:30):
he don't look good. When Carlos Watson got bust about
the New York Times and he got Maggs, I called
him out and he and I had a conversation. His
ass actually said, could he and I work together on advertising?
I told him hell no, Thank thank goodness, I did.
(01:21:53):
Going to a break. We'll be right back. Roland Martin
unfiltered on the Black Bunt. That one. Next on the
Black Table with me, Greg car we featured the brand
new work a Professor Angie Porter, which simply put is
a revolutionary reframing of the African experience in this country.
(01:22:15):
It's the one legal article everyone and I mean everyone
should Professor Porter and doctor FELIPA. Watkins are Legal Roundtable
team join us to explore the paper that I guarantee
is going to prompt a major, a high mood in
our culture. You crystallize it by saying, who are we
(01:22:35):
to other people? Who are African people to others? Governance
is oward thing. Who are we to each other? The
structures we create for ourselves, how we order the universes
African people? That's next on the black table. Here on
the black start name. Most people think that these television
(01:23:03):
shows that tell stories about who we are as black men,
and then they paint these monolithic portraits of us, they
think that they're being painted by white people. And I
gotta tell you, there are a whole bunch of black
folks right that are the creators, right, the head writers, right,
the directors of all of these shows, and that are
(01:23:25):
still painting us as monoliths. So people don't really want
to have this conversation. What's going on? This is Tobia's travilion. Hey,
(01:23:45):
I'm Amber Stevens wet what up y'all? This is jailist
and you're watching Roland Martin unfiltered, all right? Folis Vice
pressure that Kamala Harris as well as Keisha Lanz Bottoms,
who is over the Office of Publican gaining for President
(01:24:07):
Joe Biden yesterday sat down with students in person and
virtual forty two HBCU journalists and asked variety of questions.
I'm glad they did, but it'll be nice when they
sit down with black owned media. That hasn't happened yet,
and so it'd be nice for that to actually happen.
But they got a opportunity to talk about funding for
HBCUs and some other issues as well. Here's some of
(01:24:29):
that conversation. When the Vice President, we have a very
special guest. As you all know, I know you have
been waiting on this special guest, our Vice President. You
all know so many historical firsts for this extraordinary woman.
She's a graduate of Howard University. Who's here from Howard?
(01:24:51):
All right, She's a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. Okay,
I see some pinkies up. She has been the Attorney General,
she's been a district attorney, she has been a senator,
and now we are honored to have her as our
vice president. So will you all please stand as she
(01:25:11):
enters the room. Hello, everybody, you can collaps. You have
seen you have a conversation mayor how it's going to
(01:25:34):
be with you? All right? All right, how's the day? Henry?
See when I look out, don't you great? We know
at the future of our country's right? Right? Yes? It is? Okay,
(01:25:56):
So I am opening up for questions. That's correct. Erica
is here someone I should call on first? Sorry, I'm
all struck up. Okay, So we have Xavian Turk from
Wally College in Marshall, Texas and he is virtual. Oh
(01:26:17):
so we look up to Hello, am I just to speak? Yes, okay,
how are you guys doing? My name is Zavian Turk.
I am a graduating senior here at Wally College majoring
in mass communications focused on journalism. I think my question
would be, what is something that you feel like it's
(01:26:39):
not portrayed in the media enough when it comes to
black education or just being a student at an HDCU
in today's age? What is not to you broadcast enough
as a politician or someone that's in politics. So that's
a wonderful question, and I think that there's a short
(01:27:06):
answer and long answer. There's a whole lot that's not
I think in the mainstream media that fully understands the
depth and breadth of the American experience, everyone's American experience.
When I first took the stage as a nominee to
(01:27:26):
be vice president and vice president, I took the stage
and I talked about my family and how my family
is such a big part of what brought me to
that stage, and that this is now a national it's
not an international audience because we're talking about, right who's
going to be the next president vice president ed States.
And so I went on about whose family family to
(01:27:49):
me is, and then on the list of family to me,
I said my divine nine family. And there were people
looking at each other. What's divine nine? And I thought
to myself, you're about to find out. But there you go,
(01:28:13):
as a very quick, small example of my point. People
who are covering who will be the next president and
vice president of United States unfamiliar with the divine nine.
So that's a quick example of a point, which is that, sadly,
there is still a lot that we are counting on
(01:28:37):
you all as leaders and journalists to help us do
to continue to educate the people of our country and
our world about who we are as Americans. Because of course,
the history, the presence and the contribution of going with
(01:28:58):
my example, members of the Divine Nine, of which we
both are, is very much a part of the history
of our country. So I say that also to say
that as a proud graduate of an HBCU, and as
(01:29:21):
we all have that common experience, one of the blessings
that I realize now so many years later, that I
can tell you already have figured out while you're still there,
is that you have a special responsibility because you have
had the good fortune and blessing of being in an
(01:29:44):
academic environment that in every way, from the walls that
were constructed in your classrooms and why they were built,
you have the unique ability to know that we we
are counting on you, that you represent the best of
(01:30:05):
who we are, and that we are requiring you to
lead because we have also learned in those places, if
not in our own families or communities, that we stand
on broad shoulders. Who imagined that we all right now
would be having this conversation at the White House. Somebody
(01:30:29):
gave me, may or somebody gave me a T shirt,
and everyone here should be wearing it, and a T
shirt said, I am my ancestors wildest dream. All of
you should be wearing that T shirt too, right, But
you you have you have the experience of also learning
(01:30:52):
that you will be in an environment that will not
allow you to be anything less than the best, that
you will be required to take full advantage of all
those who want to nurture you and educate you and
lift you up. And then you go out there, and
(01:31:12):
you remember you are never alone, because most of you
will be in rooms and I'll speak for the two
of us if I may. You will find yourselves many
times in a room where you are the only one
like you, who looks like you, who has had your
life experience. And the other thing you learn at an
(01:31:34):
HBCU is to remember, no, I come from people. There
a whole lot of me out there, and so be
in that environment gives you the charge to have the
confidence to then be in those rooms and never feel small,
(01:31:56):
and never feel alone, and never be convinced that you're
the only one like you and therefore alone, because no,
you come from and have a whole bunch of folks
who walk into every one of those rooms with you,
even if you can't see them at the moment, you
must always feel and know that we're all present. Thank
(01:32:19):
you so We're gonna go to someone in the room
if that's okay, Erica, or do you want me to
stay on the screen. All right, well I'm gonna follow
the script. Caleb Foster Russ College. Hi everyone, my name
is KYLEA. Foster, ask Communications Major, Hero Risk College. So
(01:32:42):
my question actually goes coming back to what we were
earlier in discussion. It's about how the Buying Administration plans
to ensure the continuity of our historical Black colleges and
universities well by doing the work that we have been
doing is a station that we are particularly proud of,
(01:33:02):
which includes ensuring that we put the financial resources into
our HBCUs. So I think we may have had a
discussion about the dollar amounts and it's in the billions
of dollars around what we need to do to invest
Back when I was in the Senate, actually, we also
got to build pass that put money into HBCUs around
(01:33:23):
upgrading the infrastructure because as we all know, so many
of our schools are very old and need upgrade to
literally the classrooms, the library and things like that. But
also the work that we have been doing that has
been focused on issues like student loan debt because we
know the disproportionate burden that our HBCUs students carry on
(01:33:45):
that issue, and then you know, there is the whole
thing about the ecosystem around an HBCU student that also
requires support. And so there are many of our policies
that relate to for example, something I did yes today
at Bowie State, which was to announce what we are
doing as an administration to bring down the mortgage insurance
(01:34:09):
premium so for FHA loans, so for loans that low
income families can get to buy a home, and bringing
down the cost of that even further. Because of course,
if we think about the next generation of HBCUs students,
if their parents have the ability to buy a home
and build equity, that would make it just a little
(01:34:29):
easier for maybe them to take a little equity out
the home when they're young. Bright Child says, I want
to go to college to help them pay for tuition.
So there are things that we have done that have
directly been focused on HBCUs, but things like that that
are also about the ecosystem around an HBCUs student. Thinking
(01:34:50):
about the fact that I think it's something like over
sixty maybe seventy of the people diagnosed with diabetes, eat
or of African Americans are diagnosed with diabetes. And for
our seniors, bringing down the cost of insulin so it's
capped at thirty five dollars a month, because otherwise so
(01:35:12):
many of our seniors, I mean, raise your hand, if
you have somebody in your family has diabetes, there you go, right.
And so bringing down the cost of insulin every month
to cap it at thirty five dollars a month for
our seniors so that they don't have to choose between
paying rent or buying food and buying the medication a
doctor prescribes. So there are a lot of initiatives. And
(01:35:34):
the point is to be able to see. And I
would encourage you as journalists to always remind all of
us to see people in their full selves, to see
people in all the facets and nuances in which everyone lives.
None of us is one dimensional. And we should always
(01:35:56):
require of our leaders in particular, that they see people
as as as whatever their profession is, as whatever their
ages is, whatever their race is, is wherever they are geographically.
Are they a parent, Are they a child? Are there
a grandchild? Are they're a foster child? Seeing people in
(01:36:17):
the full relief of who they are. You know, in
many in many Old World cultures, and in particular in
many African cultures, when you meet someone for the first time,
the greeting is not pleased to meet you, it is
I see you, I see you, And you, as journalists,
(01:36:43):
have an incredible gift to require us, as the people
who read your work, who listen to your work, to
see all right, folks whole time. Once again, going to
wret we come back and play more of the sash
Advice President Common Teacher Lance Bottles with HBC journalists. You're
(01:37:06):
watching Roland Martin unpuilt Olivia start network. Next on the
Black Table with me Greg car we feature the brand
new work A Professor and Jie Porter, which simply put
is a revolutionary reframing of the African experience in this country.
It's the one legal article everyone I mean everyone should read.
(01:37:30):
Professor Porter and doctor Felipa. Watkins are legal. Roundtable team
join us to explore the paper that I guarantee is
going to prompt a major a high mood in our culture.
You crystallize it by saying, who are we to other people?
Who are African people? To others? Governance is oward thing.
(01:37:52):
Who are we to each other, the structures we create
for ourselves, how we order the universes African people, that's
next on the black tape. Here on the Black Star Game,
I'm Chris up, Michelle, I'm Chiley Rose, and you're watching
(01:38:13):
Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks, here's more a vice
pressure than Kamala Harris again a yesterday's session, but she
chatted with forty two HBCU student journalist. All the dimensions
(01:38:38):
of the things you cover in the people you cover, right,
Chloe Ryan wolf Fox from Norfolk State University. Where are you, Chloe?
She has on pink? What does that mean? My favorite
color is just pink, beautiful color. Thank you. So, my
(01:39:03):
name is Chloe Ryan Woolfolk. I am a senior mass
communications journalism major at the Norfolk State University and I
must say it's an honor to be here to representing
my university. So my question is what is the administration
doing to address racial inequalities in the impact of climate change.
That's a wonderful question, Chloe. So, I've been doing a
(01:39:25):
lot of work on the climate issue from years back
when I was elected district attorney in San Francisco. I
started one of the first environmental justice units of any
DA's office in the country. And I'll tell you why,
because in San Francisco at the time, and I think
still is the case, there's a community there called Bayview
(01:39:47):
Hunter's Point that has at the time and probably still does,
annual household income of fifteen one five thousand dollars, predominantly black.
And what we were saying is that community was being
treated like a dumping ground, and so we were saying
(01:40:11):
high rates of health outcomes right in that community. And
I decided to take that on and deal with the
polluters and the people who were doing this to make
sure there was consequence and accountability for the harm that
was being caused to that community. I'm describing what is
referred to as an environmental justice issue because it's about equity,
(01:40:37):
it's about fairness and the environment, right, And when I
think about then anything that is about climate, we're talking
about the environment. We're talking about extreme changes to the
climate that manifests itself in a number of ways, including
extreme weather events. Think from my home state of California
(01:40:57):
wildfires to hurricanes Tornado. Think about the climate issue in
the context of what we need to do to deal with,
for example, extreme heat and what that means in urban
communities where there's only asphalt that just actually exasperates the
heat effect and where there are no trees, and what
(01:41:19):
that means in terms of the public health consequences of that.
Think about it as the issue of lead pipes in
places like Flint and other places around our country, and
the babies of that community then drinking toxic water, which
is having an impact on their learning ability. Think about
(01:41:42):
where that in some of the worst air quality zones
in our country are also low income and communities of color,
and what that means in terms of high rates of asthma,
which also means missed school to a dress those health concerns.
(01:42:02):
Think of it then in the text of like, I
like to think about a lot of things in the
context of a vend diagram. I love vend diagrams. Always
ask is there a Vendor diagram for this? I'm telling
you it's fascinating when you do so. Vendor I am
those three circles right. So on this the intersection between
(01:42:23):
climate extreme climate right, which is going to be about
that's going to be also an intersection with human behaviors
about greenhouse gas emissions, what we need to do around
carbon capture, right, intersection between that public health, and then
how we're thinking about in terms of intersection between that
(01:42:43):
and education, and if you want to add some more
circles to the Venn diagram, the solutions also look like
what we need to do to invest in a clean
energy economy, and that's about a whole new economy with
a whole whole new set of jobs that are going
to require engineers, and it's going to require people who
(01:43:05):
are thinking about how to design in a way that
accommodates climate adaptation and resilience. And there in line some
of the opportunities when we think about the solution to
the problems, right, and then if you bring that all
back in a way that we look at that ven
diagram and also think about principles that are about equity.
(01:43:28):
Who is suffering the most? Where then should we be
putting in the resources? How should we be thinking about
equity in terms of what should be equitable standards and
the inequities on an issue like public health, education. Lead pipes.
I'll give you an example of that on this point.
(01:43:49):
So water coming out of lead pipes, the communities that
have been dealing with this have been the grandmothers and
grandfathers have been telling us for years. It's having an
impact on the chill on the seniors. Okay, So one
of the things about lead pipes that's interesting it was
lead was put in pipes all over the country, so
(01:44:10):
it was not only in communities of colored poor communities.
But here's the thing. If you have money, if you
had equity in your home, you say, there's lead in
those pipes. I need to get rid of those leads
those pipes and replace them, and you would buy some
new pipes. If you don't have the money to replace
(01:44:32):
the pipes, if you are a renter, what ends up
happening