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.

2/20/17- Roland Martin talks to Monique Pressley about the lawsuit against Marilyn Mosby by the Baltimore officers that were linked to the death of the Freddie Gray. “What they are saying in this civil lawsuit is that her filing…they were defamed, it was malicious. This is a chilling effect for the one Prosecutor out of how […]

2/15/17- Roland Martin talks to Congressman Benny Thompson about the resignation of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. “Why in the world woud we play footsie with an enemy? But when you have a President that says he has more sense than anyone in Intelligence, you’ll know why. We need an independent investigation to get to […]

2/13/17- Roland Martin talks to Jeffrey Osborne about the life and legacy of  7-time Grammy award winning Jazz artists, Al Jarreau. “I was shocked. We worked together a lot. I loved Al. He has to be one of the most unique voices. He was a vocal percussionist. He was a great person and a great […]

2/8/17- Roland Martin talks to Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan about rebuilding the Democratic party now that Donald Trump is President. “We’ve become a coastal party. Our base, comes from the Coast. We need to start talking about working class people and provide an opportunity for them. We need to have a robust economic message and […]

02/06/17 – Roland Martin and Rev. Dr. William Barber talk about the Moral March which is happening on February 11, 2017 at 8:30am – 12:00pm in Raleigh, North Carolina. Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

2/1/17-Roland Martin talks to Sherrilyn Ifill, President & Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund about Donald Trump appointing Neil Gorsuch to Supreme Court. “He’s in the mold of Justice socilia 2,0. we all know who he was and where he stood. He was against affirmative action and said AA needed to be on a lower […]

1/30/17- Roland Martin talks to Erica Gordon, of the Mamie Till Mobley Foundation and Wheeler Parker Jr. about the stunning new details that reveal a lie told by the key witness in Emmett Till’s case. “We weren’t surprised because we always known the truth. My cousin was there…they told us the truth. We’ve always known that the […]

1/25/17- Roland Martin talks to Michael Eric Dyson about his new book, Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon To White America. “We are enduring the first toddler Presidency. But what I’m trying to do is ask white brothers and sisters to engage their own whiteness. I’m asking them to talk about innocence but also talk […]

Roland Martin talks to the Women’s March organizer Janaye Ingram and Attorney Monique Pressley, about the massive turnout of women across the globe during the weekend of Donald Trump’s inauguration. “This was the second usage of Metro here. We are super excited. This is the beginning of a huge movement that will hold not only this […]

1/18/17- Roland Martin talks to the leader of the President’s largest committee of civil rights, Christian Clark about POTUS’ power of commutation and why there’s still plenty of time left to overturn hundreds of more sentences. “Yesterday’s announcement was welcomed and truly historic. I want to give the President power but this is definitely a moment […]

1/11/17- Roland Martin talks to Author Malcom Nance about the dossier that the Russians say involve inappropriate behavior by President-elect Donald Trump. “There are two documents we’re talking about, not one. We don’t go out and present unsubstantiated evidence. When Donald Trump was in the Miss Universe pageant in 2013…anything that he would’ve done that […]

1/9/17- Roland Martin talks to the President of Talladega College, Dr. Billy Hawkins, about the Alabama HBCU that has decided to participate in Donald Trump’s Inauguration parade. “My band Director came to me…he applies for parades all over the country. The application was sent in prior to the election. I didn’t view this as a […]