Roland Martin: Are we ready? So you're rolling right now, right? All right, let me know when we get the 10. Tiffy looking around, figure out what she can take. All right, switch to the shot of Michael.

Michael Harriot: Next year will mark the 200th anniversary of one of the greatest clapbacks of all time. It started when this guy, Mordecai Noah, who was the Sheriff of New York, he was the editor of New York's biggest newspaper, and he was in charge of Tammany Hall, which was the political apparatus that essentially ran New York. He was in charge of essentially everything in New York. And he was kind of crazy too. he had this crazy idea by the way, that he wanted to build a Jewish homeland in New York. And in eighteen twenty five that fell. So he was like, Well, maybe we should do it in Palestine. But you know, everybody thought that was a crazy idea. But anyway, when he was put in charge of Tammany Hall, the people he served, they really had one agenda for him, like to keep the blacks out of the city. So even though he was anti slavery, he suddenly switched in eighteen twenty five, he just started publishing these editorials that said black people were criminals, black people were dumb, they were gonna rape your wife, hide your kids, hide your wife. Mordecai's goal, was to keep free blacks from coming to the city. after Mordecai Noah helped change New York state constitution that to make it harder for black people to vote, just black people a bunch of black guys got together and said, Man, we gotta do something about this Noah dude. By the way, one of them was William Hamilton, who was allegedly, allegedly, the black son of Alexander Hamilton. Anyway. So those black dudes said, Man, we gotta have somebody really to clap back at this dude. so they went and asked these two dudes, John Westworm, and Samuel Cornish, right? two black free black dudes said, Man, like y'all gotta just start clapping back at this dude. And it was like, how the fuck we gonna clap back at like the most powerful man in the biggest city in the country. And it was like, yeah, you gotta you got a good point, yeah. so on march sixteenth, eighteen twenty seven, they published the first edition of Freedom's Journal. And the first sentence was We wish to plead our own cause. And just like that, the black press was born. welcome to Black Explained. Every week we sit down with one scholar, expert, or person who just knows what they're talking about to answer one question. Now, the conversation might go a million different places. today we're joined by journalist, founder of the Black Star Network, and host of Roland Martin Unfiltered, Roland Martin, or as y'all know him, Uncle Roe, today he'll black explain the answer to the question. What happened to black media?

Michael: Welcome to Contraband Camp. I feel like I'm saying that, but like we filmed here before, right? you've so graciously hosted us. Well, I mean, I wanna say graciously, but this is probably the highest tech studio. One of the nice Yeah. N DC. so thank you for hosting us. Appreciate it. thank you for you know the journalism in general. Now I wanted to talk to you because like we're in this moment where everybody got a podcast microphone. Yeah right. And I wanted to talk to you about two things. One of the things is the difference, because we're kind of conflating them now, the difference between journalism. Yep. and like content creators. And people is like, if they on the internet saying stuff, right, what's the difference between somebody who went to J school and somebody who got a iPhone camera and flipped it backwards? Right. So what do you think the difference is?

Roland Martin: Well this is not a new conversation. and I I really think this really the first time it really blew up when you had radio talk show hosts. I remember it was a r Rush Limbaugh debate. They were like, well he's not a journalist. And then Rush was like, I'm a media personality. So the problem with the public is that if you are a media personality but you're interviewing newsmakers, politicians, and others, folks say, well you're a journalist. so same thing. Tom Jordan wasn't a journalist. Tom Jordan was a DJ. But he got it. He was a morning show host. On the show right, but but he he had he had News segments, but he himself wasn't a journalist. And I think now it's just got now it's just completely been obliterated with the proliferation of podcasts and the roles people play. And I remember when and I forgot who was the coach, it was something went down, and Matt Matt Barnes had made some comments and and I I responded. And and and and he know he fired back, I was like, bruh, when you say when you say, man, when y'all find the real deal, like I know, y'all you you're y'all gonna have a different take, I said, hold up, hold up. See, see now and see now you trying to, I said, now it's a line you're crossing. Because the job as a j as a journalist, and first of all, journalists is an umbrella term. And even people who is trying to slam journals, like, you're giving your opinion out of journalists, no fool. You can be an opinion, you can have a you can be a columnist, editorial page editor, you could but still be a journalist. Yeah. and so it really is operating from the position position of who are we and how and why, truth-based. And it's really how that medium is set up. so whether it's a newspaper, magazine, radio station, television station, in terms of really what your job is. but what I tell people though. Is that when you decide to step into this arena and you get a show and you have folks on, the public is going to determine really how they perceive you. And and if you're not operating from a position of truth, then you got a problem. and then you can't try to see him vacillate. See, I think see the problem that I had with Bill Marr, see, when Marr gets his ass in trouble, I'm a comedian, y'all calm down. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. See, see, the

Michael: You you on that talking the joke. Now you can meet

Roland Martin: And then he wants to do interviews on CNN, with Wolf Blitzer, on MSNBC, on on these other networks. And so you want to be taken seriously as a talk show host when you get your ass in trouble. no, I'm a comedian. And people have to understand. See, you can't try to do this little this little hot back and forth. No, no, no.

Michael: But that that's one of the things that I cr I talk about all the time when you criticize people like, you know, like someone like Killer Mike, for instance, right? Like Killer Mike will say something and then when peop people criticize him, why y'all attacking me? Bruh, if you go onto these platforms and say something to the public as an expert and you book you they call you up and they say we're looking for you to talk about this. You like it's not like they invite you on to talk about hip hop and then you got caught up in a j politic conversation. They invited you on, you know what you were going to talk about. You went on there as an expert. So you got to is you have to expect people to criticize and examine what you say. Yes. Right. Now there is a whole kind of news genre of this, right? Because one of the things I say is the difference between a journalist and a and a content creator is a journalist has an editorial standard. Yes. Right? you are kind of the pioneer in like this black owned j new medium of black owned media and platforms that like everybody's s seemingly going into now, even though like a quiet is kept, a lot of these people are on white owned platforms. they're this the show has their name, but they're white owned platforms. Right. how do you see this like this whole new Lane for black creators. how do you see that impacting how we receive and disseminate information?

Roland Martin: The first thing is, even when I look at creators, what what I look at is, okay, what are you actually doing? What are you covering? For me, I don't care what it is, you still have to be operating in a fact-based environment because you're going to be judged accordingly. And so I don't care if you, if you say I'm a journalist, I'm a media personality, I'm a content creator, moment you lie, we're on your ass. And see, and and and that's where folk folk get in trouble to the point that you made when you're talking about killer mic. I think I look at Karim Dujabar. here is a one of the greatest of all time, Hall of Famer. But when Kareem on Du Jabbar is writing essays, when he is giving interviews, talk, he is now He's not being judged as a Hall of Fame basketball player. He is now being judged as some some call them culture critic, whatever phrase you want to use, but you now are going to be judged differently. and so you can't try to throw on some other hat. No, no, no, no. When you step into this lane, this is this this is what's going to happen. I said the same thing to Stephen A. you're in sports. The the conversation you have in sports are different. Cause over here, this is life and death. This is public policy. These are lives that we're talking about. And that's where people struggle because, and then it's like, well, why am I getting pushback? Because again, you're operating now in a completely different lane, and you're now being judged differently. And so what I tell people is no different than when if you take journalists who are objective, who are reporters, where you are reporting on all sides, you're doing various interviews. And I'll never forget the two black journalists. We all know who they are, very prominent. They were young and working in major institutions. And I'm looking at social media and both they were making some comments and they were editorial comments. And I didn't have their phone numbers, but I I DMed both. I said, let me tell you something. I need you to be careful. Because when you cross the line from reporting to opinion, I said, you can't jump back. I said, now both of you are young. Both of you are working at major institutions and you're doing very well. But I need you to be think very carefully about what you're doing. I said, because you may not even realize how you're crossing a certain line. I said, I made a conscientious decision to go from being a reporter to a syndicated column. And both of them were like, man, you're right. And they deleted their post. So what do we now see? We now see young people, college students, studying to be journalists who want to weigh in on things. And they say, well, wait a minute, but but I'm a person. Yes, you are. But the responsibility that you have is going to be different. Because now I need you to understand that when you go apply for a job, your potential bosses are looking at your position. And I think

Michael: And the other thing I think is is that

Roland Martin: Yeah. Right.

Michael: about like you were a porter and then you went to become a columnist. I think they now see I could just be a columnist. They think that they can be a columnist and not knowing that okay if I speak about schools it's because I covered school board meetings. Right. Introdu interviewed in the whole career

speaker-2: Yeah, some expertise.

Roland Martin: But but even if you are because so early in my career, my first job, Austin American Statesman, I so I was the South Neighbor's reporter. And and a lot of people forget for a very brief time, your frat brother, Governor Doug Wilder, announced he was running for president. And your other frat brother, Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr., was critical of Doug Wilder. Wilder was seen as a DLC Democrat. So I remember writing a column about that. And the Austin American Statesman, they wanted to run it. The editor came to me, they wanted to run it. But then the editor, well, I think you need some more seasoning. The reason I thought that was interesting is because one, she completely negated what I had done up until then. First I went to communications high school. So I started at 14. I go through four years of that. I go through four years of college. And the things that I covered in working at the Houston Defender. Now I my response was, did you read the article? Did you read the column? Yes. Did you look at the arguments that I made? Yes. Were they substantive arguments? Yes. Well the historically accurate arguments. Yes. So what's the problem? The problem I have when people who now want to start giving their comment and know what they're talking about. Right. So it's not rooted in any

Michael: It's not informed by getting in the

Roland Martin: It's You're just saying stuff, and so you're not basing it on history or anything. And so, and I've caused I've I've counseled many people. I'm like, hey, I think you need to get more education, more knowledge, more experience. And and and the problem that people have to don't e when you talk about even with experience, I I I I don't base experience on you need to be here three, four, five years. No. What are your experiences? Who have you talked to? Who have you interviewed? Again, I I I I work at the Houston Defender. I leave college. I had more than 150 articles I'd already written. when I was there, I was writing opinion pieces at the Bryant College Station Eagle that they were printing. The editor was like, these are good because I w they were rooted in something. The problem that I see are folks just spouting. Right. And it's like, you know what the hell you're talking about. It was b so b that was a di

Michael: Because people don't know, right? An opinion column has more facts than like a reporting col like a opinion column has to be based in fact.

Roland Martin: Because I because I'm I'm I'm of I'm offering an opinion column is I'm offering a subjective position. I am taking this position, but it has to be based on somebody. Now, it's people who write columns that ain't based on no facts. Right. It's just a bunch of BS. Well

Michael: Which gets to the point you made earlier. You know w where that is most common? Sports. Yes. Right. And so now we have all these sports people becoming cultural critics or thinking they're funded because they don't have to have facts behind them. We just go on T V and argue. But Tom Brady is better than

Roland Martin: Because because the pr the because the issue when you start talking about sports, that's that's feeling and emotion. so so I can look at I can look at I can look at two players. In fact, when I was before we sat down, Rich Paul and Max Kellan were having a debate on their podcast, and Kellerman was breaking down you know which player objectively was the best player. In the league, well, this person for one year, for two years, or three years, and you're sitting there going, like, okay, but get, but that's totally subjective.

Michael: Right and it is also based on you're also talking to people who have arbitrarily chosen a team anyway.

Roland Martin: Well, or in this case it was very interesting because he was commenting about Moses Malone and then Rich Paul goes, Hold up, bruh, I was born nineteen ninety. And I'm like, Okay, but just because your ass was born nineteen ninety, don't mean that you had that you can't actually learn about the NBA before then. So if you're gonna have a conversation about the NBA, then you might want to go back before your ass was born. Yeah. And so and and so and that thing drives and but it's the same thing with music. When people start talking about music, I go, okay, I was born November 14, 1968, but got an understanding of the early 1960s, the 1950s, the 1940s, and 1930s, because I've actually read and I've studied, and I want to have an understanding of music. So if we're gonna have a debate, I'm not gonna sit here and say, my God, I I I think so-and-so is the best band leader ever. You like, so Cam Basie just didn't exist. Do Ellington didn't exist. And so this is what this is sort of where we are. The same thing happens in politics. I I'll I'll never I'll never forget and I really wish I had access to the to all the years I was on CNN. I wish I had access to those videos. I know. Well, I mean because I ain't there, but I wish I had. But I'm talking about all the segments because I mean a friend of mine, she was like, she's like, dude, you going viral before it was viral? Because some of the the stuff that was happening in the crazy debates, and I'll never forget, and this is a perfect example when we talk about How you perceive history. And when you say something, if someone is not there to counter what you say, that theme may just sit there. So Obama wins the South Carolina primary in 2008. Bill Bennett says on the air, so he's he's not in studio. He goes, you know, Reverend Jackson winning South Carolina was black history. Obama winning South Carolina's American history.

speaker-2: Mm-mm.

Roland Martin: I so I was like turn my microphone on. turn my microphone on. Bob the floor director goes, hey guys, Roland wants you to turn his microphone on, so they come to me. I said, Hold up, Bill. I I can't let you sit here and say that. I said, because in eighty-four and eighty-eight, and so then I start walking down Reverend Jackson again. I start walking down all the black people who raised.

Michael: Well first of all, Obama won because both

Roland Martin: Right, well, what won the nomination. But he was we're talking about just specifically South Carolina. Obama. And so and I'm going, Bill. I'm like, let's be real clear. I said the black people who ran for city council, county commissioner, sheriff, all those j all those people, first time what Reverend running 84. I said the two million people he put on the ropes, I'm going to whole thing. So they go back to Bill. He doubles down. And I'm like, I'm and they come back to me. I hold up. I said, Bill, let me help you out. I said, Dunno Brazil does not become the first black campaign manager of Al Gore in 2000 if she's not riding her bicycle in Homer, Louisiana, for Revan Jackson in 84 and 88. I said, I said William Sh I said Shelby, Richard Shelby does not become a US Senator in Alabama. Not Revan Jackson putting people on p on the rolls. I said he was a Democrat. He he rewarded the Democrats by flipping to Republicans.

Michael: Well South Carolina is doesn't even have its place in the primary calendar without eighty four.

Roland Martin: Third one, I said, and Bill, I said, there's a little white dude in Minnesota we'd have never heard of. We now know him and later died. I said, Senator Paul Wellstone, who was a state director of Revan Jackson's campaign. I said, I'm not gonna let you sit on national television and dismiss Revan Jackson's campaign in 84 and 88. Now he didn't come back for a third time. That was a an opinion debate that was rooted in fact. And my counter to his statements were fact, fact, fact, fact, fact, fact. Now, in the face of fact, you now gotta go, shit, don't wanna keep getting my ass kicked, or do I wanna bow out because I ain't got no facts to back it up? And that's the problem that what we're now facing with people is that they're engaging in these fake.

Michael: Basically.

Roland Martin: non-substantive political debates that are loud, that are aggressive, that are nonsensical, and they're not rooted in fact. And so people hear it and they go, man, he's dropping that knowledge. No, no, he's not. He's just loud. Right. Or they're just repeating the same thing over and over and over again. And that that to me is is the scary part. And I and I said this to somebody in Matter of Fake was a friend of mine. He was having a conversation with radio show host, and he said, He said, Let me tell you what's gonna happen. He said, Roland and I very good friends. He said, but one day Roland's, I'm gonna say something. Roland's gonna kick my ass. And the person said, No, no, no. He said, Man, but but y'all are friends. He's like, no, no, let me be real clear. It's gonna happen one day. He's because he said, because I'm gonna say something that Roland believes is not beneficial to our community, and he is gonna fire back at me. From a stated position, he said, I don't have to take the ass whipping. He said, because it's not personal. Right. And he told his person, he said, listen, when he went after you, he said it wasn't personal. He said, you need to understand. He said, you understand why he did it. He said it wasn't personal. He wasn't taking shots at you. It was because you said something that was factually incorrect that he thought was detrimental to our people.

speaker-2: Well, is because you have an obligation to the audience. You know, like you're I think what you're describing, Ro is people are aiming to go viral. They're in these precisely, precisely. Which brings me to my question for you. Mike and I talk about this all the time. You show up for black people. I mean everywhere. Anywhere black people are gathering, r the Roland Martin network is there, the Rome Bill is there.

Roland Martin: Versus being mission driven.

Michael: I you beat so

speaker-2: Like literally, and you know, anytime I'm on a platform or I'm in the presence of an elected official, I always make that point. Like you all are leapfrogging over people like Roland Martin, who gets more of an audience than Meet the Press or Joe Scarborough, but it's still this embedded idea that white is right and they're not coming on your show. but because you show up and you don't just show up for us at large, you show up for us individually. you showed up for me, our friend, our friend group, you showed up for people, and you're very gracious you know you are very gracious in terms because people you know may not show up for you in the same way and so I I want to change that dynamic and give you a chance how can we show up for you we as in us sitting here in the audience viewing so

Roland Martin: The the thing is So I was at John Hope Bryan's Global Hope Forum. And that was a conversation that was on stage by Black Own Media. And it was Byron Allen, Charlamagne, it was Sarita Jakes Roberts who was moderating. It was one was one other person. I forgot who was. And they were all in the green room afterwards. And I was talking to John's father in law, how a successful businessman. And we were just talking. And there was big this big group photo was Bishop Jakes. It was Yeah. Yeah. But but I'm not going to say but it was a big it was this big was this big was this big group photo. And it was Bishop Jakes, it was John, it was Charlemagne, it was Sarita, it was Ture, and it was Stephen A was in it. Stephen A was on that panel too. And it was and so on the Black Own Media panel. So it was four of them. And so it was this huge group photo. And he said, Ron, go get that photo. I said, no, I'm good. He said, no, no. He said, I know you're good. He said, but you deserve to be in the photo.

speaker-2: About black owned media?

Roland Martin: As a matter of fact, I was later telling John this story. John was like, you should come in photo. I said, no, I'm good. And I said, and John's father-in-law said, he said, no, you deserve to be in the photo. I said, I'm not worried about that photo. I said, because the people who I focus on are the people. And that, and again, this this this is not it's not a criticism of anybody who's in the photo. But my whole deal is I didn't need to be in the photo. My ego doesn't need to be in the photo. I know who I'm serving. And that was the people who couldn't be in that room. It's the hallway. For me, I serve the people who stop me everywhere I go. I so and and and that's what that's what drives us. I probably got seven or ten NAACP Image Award nominations when I was at TV One. One TV one's first two, one Tola four. First two years they had best hosts, I've won the first two years. In the seven and half years that I've owned this show and this network, I've only been nominated one time. Not one once. But we went every day when I when when we in Birmingham, I was at a book signing and a little black girl came up to me and she she brought me a blanket and was like, I would show logo, a whole bunch of stuff. And she said, my mom has homeschooled me for the last five years and she made me watch your show every day. You were my history teacher. It's the brother who stopped me who said, say bro, in the airport, Houston, he said, I want you to know I went to college watching you. I was in Philadelphia at an expo, and I'm walking by this brother. No, but I got talk to you. He stopped me. He said, A month ago I got out of prison. I was there 20 years. He said, I got through prison watching your TV one show. That I took the train back to MC, the Friendship Public Charter School Teacher of the Year event. I've done it for like the last eight or 10 years. At the s at the reception, the brother said, I just finished doing eight years. My cellmate turned me on to your show. That's what I got through the last four years. That's who I serve. I d and so, but but no but follow me here. We've had thirty eight thousand donors.

speaker-2: But we

Roland Martin: That's who's given. It's a lot of prominent people, people who I know very well. I have all the names. I have every name, people who've written us checks, given us money orders, PayPal, Cash App, Zale, Venmo. I have all the names. We have it all in the database. I can pull up who's actually giving. From the entertainment space, three celebrities.

speaker-2: So money. That's one way we can show

Roland Martin: Because here's a drive. And here's why. No, no, no. I'm getting there. I'm laying a plane. Because here's what people have to understand. We are great at we need this. Man, we need this. We need that. Okay, but how are we gonna get that? Yeah. It has to be funded. You don't the Chicago defender was not.

speaker-2: I want you to give people specific

Roland Martin: The preeminent black newspaper

Michael: Because they gave it away free.

Roland Martin: Black people subscribe to it. Robert Abbott had a Rolls Royce. Robert Abbott was wealthy as hell. Robert, that's that's how the defender. the Atlanta World. I mean, we could go on and on and on. John H. Johnson, Negro Digest, Jet Ebony, we on and on and on. So the reality is we have to understand we can't keep saying, man, we need our own media. We need this here, and then we go, man, it's a damn shame. You know, what happened to BET? We should be saying, wait a minute, hold up. Damn, what happened to BET? How is it we didn't produce 10 more BETs? Right. See, see, we're so caught up in that, and so that's where, that's why I've said to our staff, I'm I'm sitting in the audience at the image awards. even had a brother who said, Why you sitting on row U? I said, it's all good. And I told him the story later when I walked up, Michael B. Jordan was sitting on the end, and I walked up to speak to him, and his mama sitting right next to him. I love you. I watch you. I give to you. And we took a picture. And I came back. She said, hold up, I didn't get your phone number. And Michael B says, dog, can you give my mama your phone number? Now again. Most folk would go, but but that was Michael B. Jordan. Mm-mm. His mama watch, and his mama's gonna tell him what she watched. And then he's gonna watch. I've had the kids of kids say, my grandmother or grandfather made me watch you and made us watch. See, so when you're mission driven, and that's who you serve, and that's why we're transparent with the audience. When we say, hey, this live streaming unit costs $20,000. This is gonna allow us to do this, this is what y'all funded. So when we travel the country, people go, man, we we we made that bus possible. We made that equipment possible. So I need our people to understand we cannot demand freedom if we don't realize that freedom ain't free. So we have to support. And I listen, I ain't got a problem saying it. And our friend group. Michael dropped contraband camp. Yeah, you should have. I I I subscribed, and then, but I posted. Here's my subscription. Mm-hmm. Post y'all's. A lot of folk didn't post theirs. See, so we gotta challenge folks to say,

speaker-2: I didn't post my

Roland Martin: No, but but no, but my my whole point is we have to do those things front-forwarding because people have to realize that when you're trying to build something, that yeah, there are actual costs. Yeah. And then what then happens is, and this is what mistake that black people make, we also then want to compare, well, you ain't like this. I had a brother with the Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Kid Kid Capri sitting there, I'm sitting here, a brother sitting here, he owned this place in Cincinnati. And he goes, Y'all, we gotta support, we gotta support a Rolla Martin show. This is what he says. Now, y'all, now he ain't gonna look as good as CNN. I said, hold the fuck up. He said, No, no, bro. I don't mean no offense. I said, no, no, no. I need you to listen to what you just said. I said, first and foremost, that's not true. Yeah. I said, I got four K cameras. I went to the whole thing and lighting. I said, but you are articulating second class. Mm-hmm. He was like, sh I was like,

speaker-2: Mm.

Michael: Yeah.

Roland Martin: I want to understand what you just said. So when we So when you ask, so when we tell people why you have to give, and this is what your the result is, then when they see it, they go, Man, my money is is yes, this is what your money's going to. Because if we do not pay for it, we can't talk about man, we love our HBCUs. But that happened because black folk put pennies and nickels together. Yeah. And that and and what we keep doing, and I hate when we do this here, well, man, dog.

speaker-2: I'm a

Roland Martin: If if if if if if the black celebrities and and the black billionaires stop again, I'ma say this. Three black celebrities have given to this show one

speaker-2: I just want I but I just want you because I don't want to dismiss opportunity. Just real quick, three things that people can do this for They can give money.

Roland Martin: First, first, we ask, our target goal every year is to have twenty thousand people, new or or old donors, contribute a minimum of fifty bucks each. Then comes that that that that raises a million dollars. That significantly offsets the expenses. Okay. That's one. Two How? And so, they they can give, they the I picked the envelope up today. They give checks, money orders, pay Cash App, PayPal, then

speaker-2: Okay. So that

Michael: Like what's the website?

Roland Martin: no. They they they can go to everything's on blackstarnetwork.com. Okay. Everything is on there. We we we hit it eight times a day during the show. we put it on social as well. so we have every possible way they can actually get. That's one. Now the reason I want people I want them to download the app, but I want them to watch on YouTube. Now, for go why? Well, because we generate more revenue on YouTube. Okay, so we want them to do that. Download the download the app, have it on your phone, and then also watch it on the YouTube channel because that's also

speaker-2: Download the app and watch.

Roland Martin: A revenue generator and subscribe to the YouTube channel as well. And then it's really it's really those two. Because you do those two, that is what is then going to then drive and maintain our future, which maintains our independence. So the reason I am able to do what I do and say what I say is because one, we launched September 4th, 2018. Since March 2020, we've been profitable. And we've been profitable ever since. So we have the leeway. And also, none of this is leased, none of nothing's written, it's all owned. So we have by having no debt, we have the freedom to do what we do. So when we decide to say, yeah, we're gonna go down and do this special on St. Augustine's, we're gonna go down to Bethune Cookman, it's because the folks have given and we have the surplus to be able to do that, and we're not having to live on the margins.

Michael: If I if I pulled up my mom's my my mama's text thread right now, it's literally like, I bet you ten Roller Martin videos in. Like I don't like I told her I know him. Like he be sending me the stuff. Yeah. Like she will send it to me like literally like I hadn't seen it. I don't know how to pull up Roller Martin on YouTube.

speaker-2: Thank you.

Roland Martin: Let me tell you when we launched, this was a trip. Folk, matter of fact, somebody, this happened when we launched, and then somebody at some panel went, now, you know, we're gonna have to show all these old folk. I said, you're wrong. And his woman was like, What do you mean? I pulled my phone out and I said, This is the percentage of the people who watch my show who are 65 plus. My mama's 60. Seven. Now, now, here's why this is this also important.

Michael: She went seventy six

Roland Martin: You worked at MSNBC. MSNBC, and this is this is how cable was stupid, because it happened at TV one too. I guarantee you at every meeting, Tiffany, listen, Tiffany, 2554, 2554, 2554. Okay, I get the advertising graphic. Mm-hmm. But who can afford who actually can afford cable? It's actually older people. I will tell them I said who's I would tell them, y'all act like those people don't exist. Yeah. And the beauty of digital.

speaker-2: Watching. Right.

Roland Martin: A 17-year-old is the same as a 65-year-old in digital. Eyeball is eyeball. What I keep telling people is don't discount those seasoned saints because they're just what you said. They stayed in every time I get my that, but also they gon' text, they gonna email, they gonna they're gonna send stuff out. And so they now become your PR. They doing the work for you. And I think a lot of us, we're so fixated, and I would love to have more folks 1835 watch the show. But I know who send checks. When I say send checks, you were joking me earlier. Like literally, these folks don't trust digital. Yeah. They send checks and money orders. Yeah. Which it's handwritten and they got notes in them and everything. I kept every note, every card of every person is given. And but people have to understand. That's where, from your early conversation, y'all talking about love. That's actually black love. It is. Because what because here's the thing. I came out and I said, y'all, we're gonna create this fan club. Because when I launched this, I was going, I said, do I wanna be a for-profit or a nonprofit? So I actually took the concept of a nonprofit with the PBS and like the give give it. But this is what I said. All right, listen, I ain't sending you no hats, t-shirts, bumper stickers, mugs or nothing. When you give, it's going right into the show. We probably have had 150 people complain and get their money back. And we send it back to them. They go on PayPal. I ain't getting none for this. Okay, here's your $50. We're fine with that. But everybody who's giving, they say, when I give, I know where it's going. Right. So when they see you and you and black generals and black economists and black doctors, they say, I'm supporting that. I'm supporting that. I've had w

Michael: And they come and support I mean I'm I'm not gonna lie, like they come and support if I'm on your show, they're gonna come to Contraband Camp and say I subscribe because

speaker-2: More copies of my book, or you enjoy both both shows in all the press I've done. People say I got my book from Roland Bart.

Roland Martin: Tamika Mallory said, Ro, when I hit my book tour, she said they were all like, Saw you and Rolling, Saw you and Rolling. Yeah. And see, the reason that's important, because I can't tell you, members of Congress. Marsha Fudge came on, she was like, she's like, I know people watch. She's like, but pe I hadn't heard from some people in decades. I said, this is the mistake that and

Michael: That's wealth though. That's

Roland Martin: What angers me, what angers me about our people, because you said earlier, is that white validation. They are CBC members who have never been on this show. I have a standing, this is I have a TV one show in this one. Yeah. Standing invite. I will put a CBC member on this show every day. So if we on five days a week, I'll put on 20 CBC members a month. All I don't care the topic. All they gotta say is, I wanna come on this day, this time, done. A lot of them don't even do it. Now, I know folk that if MSNBC says do the 5 15 a.m. hit, which means you gotta get up at 3 30, they gonna do that hit.

speaker-2: fifty thousand people to watch you.

Roland Martin: And so, and that's what and so this is what we have to deal with with men. With many of our people right now. We gotta deal with this right here. black candidates who I I had a black consultant hit me and said, hey man, we got a bunch of people who are running who wanna come on. I said, I have no problem with having candidates on. I said, but I notice y'all don't want to have a conversation about running commercials and paying for them. I have I've had I've had members, hey Roland, can you cover this? I said, you do know this infrastructure cost. And so and that's the other thing. they changed the franking privileges in Congress. The franking it used to be you had you you could you used to be for for postage. Yeah. No, it cannot be used for any media. So you got 60 plus, you got 60 CBC members who could literally say, I'm going to direct a thousand or twenty five hundred.

Michael: Yeah.

Roland Martin: To this. So imagine if, so imagine if the whole CBC, now I know for a fact the conversation was had. Three members told me my name was mentioned. It hasn't happened. That was last year. Imagine if the whole CBC says, all right, we're gonna take a thousand, just a thousand each by Frankie money, and we're gonna support these five black-owned media institutions on an annual basis. That's 60 grand. going to five black-owned media institutions.

speaker-2: So can I just say this is something also that you can use. For the people who are watching this, if you live in the district of a congressional black caucus member, then you should petition your member of Congress, let them know that you watch Roland Martin, and that is where they get their information from. Let them know that you would like to see that member on your show. And they should the the the money you should the the constituents can encourage them. I watch Roland Martin. We would like to see some of our tax dollars that go into this fund go towards Roland

Roland Martin: we're not here. We all this stuff that we've gotten, we're not here without black-owned media. Yeah. Before Newsweek and Time covered Dr. King, he was covered by everybody in jet. Reverend Jackson became the man because John H. Johnson put him in jet every single week. And I just think a lot of us are now so fixated, we think it's all social media. No, black-owned media is, I mean, the defender would put. Would put the plank, their plank. And every time they put a nail in Jim Crow, they would do a check mark and take it off of what the so that was that was that was that was it was mission driven. and so I and I keep saying this, we're gonna rue the day when we are gonna be asking white people to cover us. And I'm telling you, when I look at this whole black-owned media landscape, and it's a it I w it's a lot of black-owned media black media people who aggregate content, but they'll see it in the New York Post. And then rewrite it and put their name on it and repeat the same lie that was in the post or that was in the Washington Post or the New York Times. Or I say, y'all, I said, you don't want that because you've got to have a direct relationship between black newsmakers, black politicians, and black people, and black on media serves that purpose. And so we just gonna keep doing it and Thank you, right? And I and I've I've said this as well. I said, listen. If because you know one of our one of our friends, like, well, you need you may you need you do a raise. And folks don't understand terms of raise money, give up equity, to go get capital to get bigger. But this is what I tell people. Unless the advertising doors open, you can go raise money. But the problem is you're just gonna be burning your cash because the the revenue's not gonna increase. Yeah. So I would rather. Slowly. Stay where I am and slowly inch up. And we may never get up here, but what this also does, it guarantees that we ain't down here. And so I am very mindful of the expenses, of the revenue, and the whole goal is I don't want to lay people off. We've never had to lay anybody off. During COVID, we didn't lay anybody off. it's being very methodical. but The goal is to stay in business and keep building because every day somebody goes, man, I never heard that story. Yeah. I never I never even realized that existed. Man, if y'all ain't telling that, who's gonna tell it? And that's what we gotta do.

Michael: I know that you won't be in business long if we keep taking time. It's all good. Two minutes until your show starts. So we want to thank you for hosting us. Thank you for sitting down with me and we'll see you in camp.

speaker-2: Thank you for your service to black folks.

Roland Martin: Y'all too.