Roland Martin is four weeks into his new job as anchor of TVOne’s morning new show News One Now, the first morning show created by a Black network and the first daily show on TVOne. The show covers news and current affairs from a Black perspective. Martin calls it “one of the most important things” he’s ever done in his career. This week, he welcomed ESPN’s Shannon Cross as co-anchor.
As 2013 comes to a close we reached out to one of our favorite pundits to get his opinion on some of the biggest news stories—highbrow and lowbrow—of the year. Here’s what he had to say:
Nelson Mandela
He absolutely lived a full life in 95 years. And what is so remarkable is that at his core, he never wavered from the true revolutionary that he was. Mandiba was unwilling to allow bigotry, hatred and white domination to continue. He is truly one of the greatest liberators in the history of the world, and every honor he has received is justly deserved.
Obamacare
First, I do not call it Obamacare. I call it the Affordable Care Act. Obamacare is the negative connotation placed on it by critics. That’s why when you look at the polls, more people say that they like Affordable Care Act more than they like Obamacare, so it’s been used as a negative by the critics. That’s why I never use it. I think that is a perfect example of how crazy America is; that you will see a poll where more people say they prefer Affordable Aare Act over Obamacare when it is the exact same thing. I am supportive of the law but there is no doubt that the White House screwed up when it came to the roll out with the website. They did themselves no favors and so now they’re in scramble mode to fix a big mess.
Renisha McBride
I think a sad, sad story, and another example of the dangers of guns in the hands of America.
George Zimmerman
A ticking time bomb who deserves to have his butt sitting in jail for the murder of Trayvon Martin.
Edward Snowden
A complex, individual who made a life-altering decision that he could potentially come to regret by not being able to ever come back to the United States as a free man.
Twerking
Ain’t nothing wrong with a little twerk in your work! [laughs] But I need the no-rhythm White girls to leave it to the people with rhythm.
Scandal
I’m an original gladiator. What is it about Scandal that I love so much? The absolute intensity and fast-pace. To watch the show you’ve got to click on closed captions because they talk so fast and move so fast. It’s like television on steroids.
Kanye West
Shut up!
News One News airs weekdays at 9am ET on TVOne.