About Roland Martin

A nationally award-winning and multifaceted journalist, Mr. Martin is the author of Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith, and Speak, Brother! A Black Man\'s View of America, and his newest book, The First: President Barack Obama\'s Road to the White House as originally reported by Roland S. Martin.\" Mr. Martin is a commentator for TV One Cable Network and host of \"Washington Watch with Roland Martin,\" a one-hour Sunday morning news show. He is also a CNN Analyst, appearing on a variety of the network\'s shows. In October 2008, he joined the Tom Joyner Morning Show as senior analyst.

Named by Ebony Magazine in 2008, 2009 and 2010 as one of the 150 Most Influential African Americans in the United States, he is the 2009 winner of the NAACP Image Award for Best Interview for \"In Conversation: The Michelle Obama Interview.\" He is the 2008 winner of the NAACP Image Award for Best Interview for \"In Conversation: The Sen. Barack Obama Interview.\" In 2009, CNN was awarded the Peabody Award for its outstanding 2008 election coverage, of which Martin was a member of the Best Political Team on Television.

Martin, named one of the top 50 political pundits by the Daily Telegraph in the United Kingdom, was also awarded the 2008 President\'s Award by the National Association of Black Journalists for his work in multiple media platforms. In 2008, he was also inducted into the Texas A&M University Journalism Hall of Honor.

An insightful and provocative analyst, Mr. Martin has appeared numerous times on a variety of American networks, as well as media outlets in Canada, Columbia, Italy, Australia and South Africa.

From October 2005 to October 2008, he served as a radio talk show for WVON-AM in Chicago, first as mid-day host and later as morning drive host.

He is the former executive editor/general manager of the Chicago Defender, the nation\'s most historic Black newspaper. He is the former founding news editor for Savoy Magazine under the team of New York-based Vanguarde Media, and the former founding editor of BlackAmericaWeb.com.

He previously served as owner/publisher of Dallas-Fort Worth Heritage, a Christian monthly newspaper. He also has worked as managing editor of the Houston Defender and the Dallas Weekly, which he led to a number of local, state and national journalism awards. Mr. Martin has worked as morning drive reporter for KRLD/1080 AM; news director and morning anchor at KKDA-AM in Dallas; city hall reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram; and county government and neighbors reporter for the Austin American-Statesman. He has also written pieces for Ebony and Essence magazines.

He has won more than 30 professional awards for journalistic excellence, including a regional Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television News Directors; top reporting honors from the National Association of Black Journalists; the National Association of Minorities in Cable. and the National Associated Press-Managing Editors Conference.

Mr. Martin is a life member of the National Association of Black Journalists, and a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc..

He is a 1987 graduate of Jack Yates High School-Magnet School of Communications, and a 1991 graduate of Texas A&M University, where he earned a bachelor\'s of science degree in journalism. In May 2008, Martin received a master\'s degree in Christian Communications from Louisiana Baptist University.

He has been awarded honorary degrees from Florida Memorial University and the University of Maryland-University College.

He is married to the Rev. Jacquie Hood Martin, author of Fulfilled! The Art and Joy of Balanced Living, and vice president of Kennedy-King College in Chicago. They reside in Chicago.

  1/4/17- Roland Martin talks to Michael Steele, former chair of the Republican National Committee, to talk about the parties ruling of the Ethics Committee. “It was not the best way to start. It’s part of the therapy that we’re going through. This was not something that was smart. They realize you cannot go in […]

1/2/17- Roland Martin talks to Chicago Sun Times columnist Mary Mitchell about the violence in Chicago and the newest statistics that labels the city as the deadliest in America. “Part of the problem is the lack of jobs and opportunity. Chicago is a very segregated city. There is also no organized gangs. Drug dealing is the business […]

  12/28/16- Roland Martin talks to Attorney Christian Clark abut the Missouri law that could make fights on school property and school buses felonies. “It’s basially a textbook example of the school to prison pipeline at work. The idea that we would push kids into the criminal justice system at a young age for minor […]

12/21/16- Roland Martin talks to Journalist Terrell Starr about Trump Administration’s foreign policy program. “There is money to be gained and I think Donald Trump gets in the way of that. What’s more important is not so much the technology, the real question is why does Putin think his efforts are going to work?” Starr […]

12/19/16- Roland Martin talks to Rev. Dr. William J. Barber about North Carolina Republican Gov. Pat McCrory signing a bill that will impede his Democratic successor, Roy Cooper’s power. Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.  

  12/14/16- Roland Martin talks to NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown about his meeting with President-Elect Donald Trump this week. “We had about 45 minutes. The main thing was how to make America a better country but specifically how to deal with the African American community. It was a great meeting for me. I […]

12/12/16 – Roland Martin talks to Tamika Mallory about the The Women’s March at Washington which is slated to occur on January 21, 2017 in Washington D.C. Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

  12/7/16- Roland Martin talks to Texas A&M President Michael Young about Richard Spencer, the white nationalist who held a rally on the school’s campus. “The commitment to the first Amendment is also deep and powerful. At the same time, I think this speech doesn’t even dignify a response. We as an intuitions didn’t even want […]

    12/05/16 – Roland Martin and Meg Kinnard, Associated Press political/legal affairs reporter, provide updates on the Slager and Roof trials which are both currently happening in South Carolina. Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. (Photo: Meg Kinnard Twitter Profile)

North Carolina teacher Lee Francis will continue to work in a warehouse, after the Cumberland County School Board upheld his suspension for stepping on the American Flag during a lesson on the First Amendment. According to WNCN: The Cumberland County School Board met Wednesday and decided to uphold the 10-day suspension without pay for Francis. […]

  11/28/16- Roland Martin talks to Rev. William Barber, NAACP North Carolina conference chair, about the newest issues that North Carolina is facing against the Republicans. “What these people are doing is incredibly cynical and wrong. They filed bogus complains claiming voting fraud. The did that to slow down the canvasing process. Now the Governor […]

  11/23/16- Roland Martin talks to journalist Terrell Starr about the language of DNC candidates. “He lost black women. He and his senior staff feels that they didn’t need black voters. He still feels like the progressive is going to take over without the support of black women. Click the link above to hear the […]