I first saw TV One political editor and 'Tom Joyner Morning Show' analyst Roland Martin as I was watching the historic 2008 presidential election on CNN. Then, Martin offered a number of insights that jibed with many of my convictions about race, Obama's capabilities and all of the foolishness going on with the GOP (honorable mention goes to Sarah Palin). Continuing to comment on political and social news, Martin debuted last Sunday with 'Washington Watch With Roland Martin.' His show brings to the forefront black policy makers and issues that are of particular importance to the African American community. Martin spoke with Black Voices exclusively about his new endeavor, which airs at 11 p.m. and 5 p.m. ET on Sundays.
Watch Roland Martin behind the scenes of his new show:



Black Voices: How does it feel to have your show?
Roland Martin: It feels good. It's something we've been working toward for a quite some time, and I'm just glad to get it off the ground, and we had a good start in terms of the first show, and I'm looking to really basketball it every week until next year.

BV: How long have you been working on this?
RM: I've been with TV One now for about four years. And so we had been talking about having my own show for quite some time. It wasn't really until the election, after the inauguration, where we began to pick up steam and we felt it was the right time to actually do the show. We've done several specials since I've been with the network, and now it was simply the right path and [time] to have something more consistent for our viewers.

BV: What inspired you to have your own show?
RM: Well, if you look right now at the landscape, you look at prime time, cable television, you don't see any African Americans who are the main anchors on broadcast networks. You only have 'Good Morning America' with Robin Roberts as the co-anchor. And so the presence of African Americans in the key positions in hosting shows is virtually nonexistent. Also, when you look at the issues that are affecting African Americans, you just don't have national shows really dealing with them on a consistent basis.

You turn on Sunday-morning news shows and black folks, Latinos and Asians simply do not exist. There are black members of Congress that are in critical positions, but very few of them have appeared on national television. In fact, there was a recent study that showed that only four African Americans accounted for the majority of appearances, news makers, on these shows. And I believe Colin Powell was the most dominant figure of the shows. All these [shows], and he's one person.

So when you have a Congressman Bennie Thompson, who heads Homeland Security, he can talk about national security issues. When you have Charlie Rangel, a congressman from New York, you can talk about financial issues, tax issues and the budget. When you have House Majority Whip James Clyburn, the number-three most powerful person in the House, he holds a critical position.

And all too often, again, these folks are not called upon for these shows. And I'll say this here, when you do see a load of African Americans on any Sunday-morning news show, I can guarantee the topic more than likely deals with race.

BV: How would you say race is being dealt with in light of the presidency of Barack Obama and all of the related issues?
RM: I don't think when it comes to race, these shows understand the nuances, in particular, and how [race] plays. If you saw our show last week, you would have seen a healthy conversation of our folks talking about how more than the majority of African Americans are against the war in Afghanistan, as in Iraq.

Turn on 'Meet the Press,' 'Face the Nation,' and FOX's show, and I guarantee you will not hear anybody bring up how the president's most ardent supporters are absolutely against sending any more troops into Afghanistan.

And that is an important point, because if your most important and most loyal constituency is not for this, well, you are going to have some issues. And again it is our way of being able to bring those stories to light and talk about them in a much different way.

BV: Will your show just focus on politics?
RM: No. Obviously politics is a huge part, because we are talking about Washington, but there's also a way to deal with politics as it relates to social and cultural issues as well. One of the things that we will also do is have the ability to reach out to individuals in the entertainment sector, because many of them are involved in public policy issues.

So if you had to ask the question, who are athletes and celebrities who are really involved in public policy issues, I guarantee you people are going to say George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Bono, without realizing [they should] look at Gabrielle Union. Here's a woman who was raped a number of years ago, yet she has testified on Capitol Hill about the need to increase funding to rape crisis centers. Look at what Don Cheadle is doing in Sudan. Look at what Jeffrey Wright is doing in Sierra Leone. You look at what Alicia Keys is doing in three African countries.

The point is, those individuals also need a platform to discuss their public policy issues. They are likely not going to talk about them on music shows, and so we have the ability to share those issues as well.

BV: What would you want our community to take away from your weekly show?
RM: That first and foremost, we can speak authoritatively on the very same issues. At the same time, I'd hope this would move people to action. This is not about simply watching a show, nodding your head, saying, "That's right, I agree, I disagree." It's also getting people to realize that they have to do something about it. And that's one of the points we made.

But we also realize that we have to be accountable in turn for making our voices heard. So, in the first show, in reference to the first editorial in the first black newspaper, The Freedman's Journal, when they say this is "to prove our own cause, too long have others spoken for us"-- that really is the same mantra the black press has had for years. And that's the same thing we have as well.

BV: In light of the Derrion Albert murder, will your program focus at all on the increasing violence in the black community?
RM: Well, yes, we are going to deal with any number of issues. So whether it is gang violence, whether it's African American entrepreneurs, whether it is our education state, there are different things we are going to focus on.

What we're not going to be is a repository of all the things gone wrong in the black community. Our whole goal is to shine light on the issues that need to be shined on, but to also uplift as well, speaking to some of the incredible things that are happening.

I think what happens is we can get mired in focusing on what is negative as opposed to saying, "Here's the great things that are happening with the grassroots-level people who are community activists." People who are doing some good every day.

BV: What can viewers expect?
RM: Last week, we had Vice President Joe Biden. We had House Majority Whip James Clyburn. This week, we are going to have Melody Barnes, who is the senior domestic policy adviser for President Obama. Going forward, you can expect the same level of news makers that you are going to see on other Sunday-morning news shows. This is not going to be a show that is just going to play a secondary role to any show.