And we’re going to stay with some of these racist policies that the governor has been putting in place Robert Governor Ron DeSantis aided and embedded by his uh super majority in the legislature the NAACP and other groups have already issued travel advisories for the State of Florida for the insensitive discriminatory and racist
Policies being promoted by Governor Ron DeSantis and his allies but this week one of the oldest black fraternities I think is the second oldest black fraternity coming out of Indiana University Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated is holding its annual conference in Tampa Florida brother Brown they near you and that has they’re
Joining the Coalition of organizations in solidarity against those policies joining us from Tampa is Reuben a Shelton III the 34th International Grand poll Mark of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated uh welcome to Roland Martin unfiltered uh Paul Mark Paul Mark Shelton how’s it going down in Florida man y’all staying cool
It’s raining like crazy oh no are you serious right now yeah I’m looking at a window right now and it’s pouring it’s pouring down but we’re good that’s all right the nukes can’t be stopped at least that’s been my experience with y’all man so uh tell us what’s going on
You’ve uh you have uh called for some action and uh I’m sure your fraternity brother and when the Great influences on me and so many others Untold orders others the great lerone Bennett Jr is smiling from The ancestral realm when he knows what the stances you ought to take
Walk us through what’s going on down there and how you all are approaching fighting back well it was just important that we have that we sent a message today that we have a press conference to the public uh you know to our members at large that we
Want to stand in solidarity with uh with our brothers and sisters down here in the Tampa area you know they’re going through something right now uh and they need all the help that we can possibly give you know we’re part of the D9 organization and as part of the D9
We always have this phrase that says we’re better together and and as a as an organization the National panhellenic Council we have gotten together to show our support for what what is going on with our brothers and sisters down here in Tampa but because the capitals are in
Town today uh we wanted to make sure that we as an organization made it very very clear that we don’t like what’s going on and we want to help we want to help the people in Tampa and the people in Florida you know fight this this these horrendous actions by the governor absolutely
Um I want to go to our panel so we can get some folk in the conversation including somebody that’s not too far from where you all are right now Dr Brown um particularly given what’s going on with the advanced placement course uh we’ve seen some of that here in The
District Columbia area some of the teachers are going to teach next fall we’re actually here last week for the college boards uh intensive to really grapple with the the case any questions you have for Paul Marshall as we as we’re thinking about what capital stand the Kappa has taken
Yeah well first I just want to um welcome Kappa alcaside to Tampa I’m a proud member of Omega Sci-Fi fraternity Incorporated I know our grand boss Ricky Lewis was was down here um but I think it’s great how um these organizations are lending their support and making it clear of where
They stand and what expectations they have I think it’s important to do that for a number of reasons one I think it really does tell the local folks that they’re not alone um the the the uh the head of the democratic uh Florida Democratic party or whatnot she said previously that
Um that this is Ground Zero and it certainly feels like it it feels like everything is happening here first and then other states are picking up on that and running with it and taking it to their own States um and so for for folks to come down here and show their displeasure with
What’s what’s going on speaks of volumes um as it pertains to how we you or how we we believe we’re being viewed by the rest of the country oftentimes sometimes a lot of people that I talk to here feel as though they’re being forgotten about that no one really cares what’s going on
In Florida or they just break Florida off but the fact of the matter is that many people are watching and many people are concerned and want to show that concern exactly exactly and we have partnered with the local NAACP uh chapter here we’ve also partnered with the Urban
League the local Urban League office down here uh we’ve got the president the incoming president of the national Bar Association who was also a Kappa he’s here and he was part of the press conference as well as uh brother John Jacob who’s a long time Capital member
And a former president of the National Urban League he was also a part of the conference and so we made our displeasure uh very clear and we have offered our support not only our political support but our financial support to the local organizations down here to help them fight these horrendous
Uh these horrendous Acts Shelton recently you we often joke and hear certainly on the show as we’ve had our conversations about everybody gathering the social Gatherings the uh you know Essence fest and uh you know yeah I wonder if you have any questions for uh for poor Mark Shelton as he
Reminds us that these organizations we’re not started as social organizations but but anyway please and get out of your way in so y’all can have a conversation for being here um my question is you know how have you Incorporated civil Civic engagement into your conference this time around uh
Protesting is obviously great but then people go back home and they need to be engaged you have um educated you have successful brothers who are going back home and could make a difference in their community so has that has that played a role in your conclave this time
Oh absolutely I mean we have very uh strong successful Brothers right here in Florida and right here in the Tampa area uh brother Les Miller was a long time uh chairman of the um of the town of Tampa City Council um and you know we’re not just talking
To talk and then going home uh again we’re also going to support financially and politically but we’ve got a strong we’ve got strong chapters here in Florida uh Orlando Miami uh here in Tampa uh Fort Myers I mean we’re all over uh all over the State of Florida
And we are committed through our local chapters to do whatever it takes to help fight these actions and the local chapters will have the full support of the of the grand chapter uh and and all of our chapters over the world and and we are literally all over the world but
I mean we’re engaged in this no uh and and I told my brothers today that we’re not just uh paying lip service you know we’re not just doing this as a as a photo op or a media hype you know this is something that we are totally committed to because as brother John
Jacob said today is happening in Florida but tomorrow it could be in Missouri where I lived or in Philadelphia where our International or Pennsylvania where our International headquarters is situated um so you know you got to fight it now and we are totally uh into this and we
Are totally dedicated to doing just that absolutely I did in Philly for almost 20 years uh Palmar Shelton and many a day I passed by the national headquarters there in North Philly on Broad Street and then think about that all the money that you have raised and and invested in
Our young people with scholarships and uh for folks who think that organizations aren’t important you know there’s a reason why catanji Brown Jackson was sworn into Delta today we’re far we’re far from irrelevant these days and I say that as a son of alpha but you know uh Alpha and Kappa of
Course on historically white colleges but Calvin Alpha side is is setting an example for all the rest of us in the D9 so uh so thank you for joining us and for taking just a minute out of your time uh this is Reuben a Shelton III of course the 34th international ground
Poll Mark of Kappa Alpha side fraternity currently meeting to his twenty thousand or so of that quarter million that are worldwide in Tampa although it’s raining so thank you for taking a moment to join us uh Paul Mark Paul Mark Shelton thank you for having me I truly appreciate it
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