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America's Racial Reckoning: What Will Change? Frontline Nurses Reflect On Battling Historic Pandemic; Senior Citizen Chorus Keeping Music Alive During Pandemic. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired December 25, 2020 - 07:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think it really brought in people who had never thought about these issues before. And it's hard to explain why exactly that was but that's something that was different.

And I think there's been an awakening, individually, in the hearts of just real people going about their day-to-day lives. That might have a lasting impact. Whether it has a permanent impact on our politics, I think is less likely. I think we can expect to see some fits and starts on that front.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So Van, what gives you the most hope after this year, and what did you learn over the last six months?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR (via Skype): Well, I think what gives me the most hope is that if you had taken a poll, say, in January of this year, among white Americans and asked them is anti- black racism a big deal or a small deal, is fixing the police a big priority for you, that the polling data wouldn't have been very encouraging. And yet, over the course of the summer, if you look at the data, about 20 million white Americans changed their minds.

Dr. Martin Luther King never had a summer where you picked up 20 million allies. And so, the idea that you had that big of a -- of a transformation -- that big of a leap in public awareness and consciousness and concern, as Abby said, that will recede but it's not going to go back to what it was. You'll never go back to what it was before.

And so, you do have these two steps forward, one step back -- that dynamic has been going on. But we had two big steps forward when you talk about people's awareness that COVID was hurting people of color disproportionately because of us having so many essential workers, underlying health issues, et cetera -- lack of access to healthcare. And then, what happened with George Floyd.

So you had two big steps forward and even a big step backwards that puts us massively ahead of where we were just a year ago.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And Van, one more question about that since you've talked about this tipping point. What do you -- what do you credit for that? Is that cell phone video?

I mean, is it the fact that Americans -- white Americans saw something with their own eyes, or is it that -- what Abby just alluded to that it's multigenerational? I know that my teenagers constantly hold up a mirror to me now in terms of white privilege, et cetera. So what do we have to thank for that?

JONES: Well, it's a whole mix of things but the particular video -- unfortunately, there have been killing after killing after killing after killing and there would be a video. I think there was some way that people who wanted to could say well, maybe the person shouldn't have talked back. Maybe the person shouldn't have run. Maybe the person shouldn't have -- should have complied quicker.

In this situation, it was a seven-minute-long, uninterrupted, no-cut lynching in broad daylight with people screaming you're killing him, you're killing him and him pleading for his life and begging for his mother. You just could not escape the fact that if this could happen in broad daylight with other officers not intervening and the community screaming in protest and this man begging for his life, something must be deeply, deeply wrong. And so, I think it was finally the straw that broke the camel's back.

Don't forget, you also had Christian Cooper in the park and a white woman calling the police on him when he was clearly doing nothing wrong.

So I just think that you had a captive audience of people sitting at home watching their cell phones and television, and then you saw these two things back-to-back and it was just too much.

BERMAN: Abby, it was such a historic year, really. It blows your mind to think back on how much happened.

Sometimes we forget when something happened that really was also truly historic, which is that we have the first black woman as vice president-elect. That's a big deal. Kamala Harris, here, is breaking all kinds of barriers all at once. Just reflect on the significance of this.

PHILLIP: Yes. I mean, it's such a good point that with all of the stuff going on it's hard to miss the big thing that I think will go down in the history books as having never been done before. This is such a big moment for women, for black people in this country, and for South Asian people in this country who, in one person, they have someone breaking so many different barriers.

And I think particularly for women the idea that finally this country has elected to one of the top two positions in the entire nation and some might say in the entire world a woman for the very first time, it's I think for some people a little depressing to -- that it has taken so long. But it's a thrilling moment, especially for those who might have wanted Hillary Clinton to break that glass ceiling four years ago.

Look, Kamala Harris is going to be changing that role in a lot of profound ways. And also, it's coming, as we've just been discussing, at the end of a major year in terms of awareness of racial justice issues.

[07:35:11]

She has a background as a prosecutor, as someone who has worked around the criminal justice system. She would say to reform the criminal justice system. So I think there are going to be a lot of eyes on her to see OK, now that you're in this job what will you do to really transform the way in which the government works for people who have been on the outside for so long -- women and people of color, in particular.

CAMEROTA: Van, is there any way to quantify how much of a role race played in the 2020 presidential election?

JONES: Well, I think race always plays a big role in our elections, I mean.

But I think the most important thing we can say going in 2021 is that throughout the Western world, not just the United States, we're seeing -- your grandkids are probably going to look different than your grandparents. Kindergartens across the Western world look like the United Nations.

And that can create some excitement but also some anxiety, some confusion, some grief. And how the West begins to deal with the fact that it's going to be a multiracial, multi-faith, multicultural series of democratic republics that's never really been done before at this scale, that's going to be the big challenge for the rest of this century in how we deal with that.

But not just this election, not just the United States, throughout the Western world, how we deal with partnering across differences, how we get the assets and the good of having this much genius in one country -- that's the big challenge.

And we'll see. I think having President Biden, who wants to see this experiment work on these terms -- you know, including everybody -- is the best thing I can say about the new year.

BERMAN: I wonder, Abby, what you think the unique challenges on race that President-elect Biden faces? He is a unique character, historically, in some ways. He was a white vice president to a black president. He's a 78-year-old white guy who was elected, especially during the primaries, in large part because of African-American turnout.

So what challenges do you think he faces?

PHILLIP: Well, Joe Biden is of a completely different generation from where the fire and the passion of this demographic change in the country and in the Democratic Party is being powered by younger people. And so, that's the first thing is that he's coming from a completely different perspective. Now, he's had a real education, I think, over the last year or so where he's really been brought into the kind of present-day conversation about race and about justice and about equity in this country.

But he has a desire, I think in a lot of ways, to always reach across the aisle, always work with the other side. And this younger generation is saying wait a second, I'm not sure that's the best strategy. I'm not sure we want to talk about working with -- as he has in the past -- working with segregationist senators who were in the Senate with him when he was in his younger days. So there are some conflicts there.

But one of the things that you heard Joe Biden say in his acceptance speech -- he very explicitly called out black voters and said black voters have always had my back. I will always have yours. I think that was the very -- that was a really important note to black voters that he's not going to -- it's not going to be politics as usual. That's he's going to explicitly respond to this constituency and act on -- based on their needs and their desires.

The other challenge is going to be balancing all of these other constituencies who want a voice in his administration.

CAMEROTA: Well, Abby and Van, thank you both so much. Having your wisdom with us this year has been a true gift. Thanks for helping us all get through this very tough year.

PHILLIP: Thank you, guys.

JONES: Thank you.

PHILLIP: Have a great Christmas.

CAMEROTA: You, too.

So, nurses have been the caring hands on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this year, we spoke to two critical care nurses. Now, the pandemic is surging across the entire country so we want to check in with them again. That's next.

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[07:38:35]

CAMEROTA: It's been a grueling year for frontline healthcare workers in the fight against coronavirus. This Christmas, we're sending our thanks and gratitude to each and every one of them.

And we want to check in on a few critical care nurses whom we spoke with last April as the virus was raging here in New York. We want to see how they've done since then.

Joining us now are Liz O'Rourke and Mary Halliday. They are the nurses in the surgical intensive care unit at North Shore University Hospital in New York. Ladies, thank you so much for being with us on this Christmas. It's great to see you again.

And, Mary, we were so touched by your experience in April where you had basically come up with this idea to basically be the surrogate family for some of these patients who can't have visitors. It was too dangerous for their loved ones to be around them. And so, you, sometimes in their darkest hours -- I mean, sometimes you were the last person with them and you would hope up an iPhone or an iPad so that they could still hear the voice of their loved ones.

And now after all this time, just tell us about that experience.

MARY HALLIDAY, SURGICAL INTENSIVE CARE NURSE, NORTH SHORE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL (via Cisco Webex): It was -- it was very surreal and I was honored to be -- you know, to be able to be there for the families that were not able to be there for those patients. I think it's a really important part of, for some, the recovery process; for others, just end of life. And I was honored to be able to make time to be able to do that for them.

[07:45:03]

CAMEROTA: Liz, how about you? When you look back on the worst of it, at least up until now, back in April, what are your thoughts?

LIZ O'ROURKE, SURGICAL INTENSIVE CARE NURSE, NORTH SHORE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL (via Cisco Webex): Well, it's been a long 10 months. It was definitely something that we had a little bit of a breather over the summer and now that it's surging again it's definitely something that brings back some bad memories.

And as far as the connecting with loved ones -- like, I have somebody in my family in the ICU right now and I'm actually on the receiving end of being able to Facetime with him. So I really see now more than ever how important it was that we did that for families because at home you feel helpless. You don't know what -- you can't be there with them. So I'm just getting, like, a different perspective by being, like, the family member this time around.

CAMEROTA: I bet, and we're sorry that you're going through that. And is it different because you're a healthcare worker? Are you able to communicate with the people who are acting as that surrogate family for you?

O'ROURKE: Yes. So I'm lucky that he's in my ICU. I was actually diagnosed with COVID a few days ago so I'm unable to be in the hospital or else I would be able to see him. So that's kind of a perk I would have if I was working.

But my friends and co-workers, they take care of everybody like they're their own family, so I know that he's in the best hands. But I definitely -- it's -- they have been wonderful keeping us updated through Facetime and different things like that.

CAMEROTA: And how are you feeling?

O'ROURKE: I'm OK. I have very mild symptoms and I think that's an eye-opener because people are asking me all the time, like, can we get together for Christmas, can we do all these things. And you look at me right now and I look fine but I tested positive, which means I could spread it to other people who it could be a death sentence for. So it's very important to still continue to take all the precautions that we have been.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. I mean, I can only imagine for both of you how much of a concern that's been throughout all of this.

Mary, have you worried -- or how much have you worried about your own health while you've been helping other people?

HALLIDAY: Oh, absolutely. I mean, I have been very concerned about my own health and my family's health. And that's why we -- you know, we had a very small Thanksgiving. It was just myself, my husband, and my children, trying to protect my parents because obviously, they're older. And just reminding my family how important it is to keep gatherings small.

We always have next year. I mean, this is a setback, unfortunately. We love the holidays. I have a big family.

But again, you know, we can look forward to next year and we'll have a really great Thanksgiving, Christmas. All the holidays will be wonderful next year. We just have to, unfortunately, sacrifice a little bit this year.

CAMEROTA: That's such a great message.

And Liz, now that the vaccinations are happening, is -- do you see a light at the end of the tunnel? Is there a different feeling in the hospital now?

O'ROURKE: Yes. Everybody asks me when is this over? When, you know, can we get back to normal life -- and herd immunity is it. And the quickest way to get there is the vaccine.

And I know some people are fearful but I really am just -- I think it's important to be so grateful that we live in a time of history where this was possible. You know, we have the knowledge and resources and just the advancements we've made medically and through science are really, really amazing and I'm very excited that it's out and people are getting it.

CAMEROTA: What about you, Mary? Are you seeing a light at the end of the tunnel now?

HALLIDAY: Yes. I think that the vaccine is great and I think that we're making it available to all of those high-risk categories, which is amazing. I think knowledge is power and I think we're being given a lot of information and we're seeing the benefits of the vaccine.

And I intend on getting it myself and I've encouraged my parents to get it. I think that it's just not a risk that I would want to take or I want them to take. You just don't know how the virus is going to affect you. And I think that being vaccinated and having those antibodies is safer than taking the chance of having a mild or a severe or deadly case.

CAMEROTA: For sure.

Well, Liz O'Rourke and Mary Halliday, it's great to check in with you guys. Great to see you again. Thank you so much for all you do. We really appreciate you.

HALLIDAY: Thank you.

O'ROURKE: Thank you. Merry Christmas.

CAMEROTA: Merry Christmas to you as well.

HALLIDAY: Merry Christmas.

BERMAN: Just think of the year -- the stamina it's taken.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERMAN: And the idea that you didn't know where the finish line was. We're not there yet, by the way. It's closer. You can sort of see the finish line or feel that it exists for the first time. But to work this long without knowing whether there would be one.

CAMEROTA: And to get sick.

BERMAN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: I mean, to be doing all of that every day and to be risking your own health and to be getting sick. It's just -- what they've done has been remarkable.

BERMAN: Heroes.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERMAN: So Christmas is, of course, a magical time. But, you know, it also produced one of the most important and heartwarming reality checks of all time.

CAMEROTA: I don't know if I think of heartwarming and reality check in the same sentence.

[07:50:02]

BERMAN: If we don't say so ourselves.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: They're together.

BERMAN: John Avlon --

AVLON: They're together this time.

BERMAN: John Avlon here to tell us.

AVLON: Look, Santa Claus has been working overtime in a year unlike any other while for weeks, the good folks at the post office have been sending Christmas lists for millions of kids to the North Pole. And with NORAD's Santa tracker in full effect, we can now scientifically see where the reindeer-driven sleigh is around the world at any given moment. But, of course, the magic of Christmas can't be captured with a tracker. It exists beyond time and space.

And one of the most enduring expressions of the Christmas spirit came when a young girl named Virginia O'Hanlon wrote her local newspaper, the "New York Sun," asking for a reality check, of sorts, about Santa way back in 1897.

Here's what she wrote.

"Dear Editor, I am eight years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, 'If you see it in the sun it's so.' Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?"

Her letter arrived on the crowded desk of a newsman named Francis Pharcellus Church, who took her question under serious consideration and penned a heartfelt response that spoke to the spirit of the season and became, perhaps, the most famous editorial in American history.

Here's what he wrote, in part.

"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias.

There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see.

No Santa Claus! Thank God he lives and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood."

The journalist told the truth. He did not talk down to his tiny reader, he spoke to her hopes and the hopes of all humanity.

It's a statement of faith that is open to everyone -- faith in love and faith in our fellow human beings. Because beneath the grasping of everyday life, the deeper truth remains that we are all connected, whether we choose to see it or not by an invisible filament (ph). And it's from that light that the best things in life are illuminated.

It's something we don't talk about enough as adults -- the power of kindness and consideration, especially between generations. But the communion between Virginia O'Hanlon and Francis Pharcellus Church more than 120 years ago endures in our hearts because it reminds us that our spirits all grow stronger when we take the risk of listening to the better angels of our nature.

So, Merry Christmas. And that's your reality check.

BERMAN: Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. That is the ultimate reality check --

AVLON: It is.

BERMAN: -- for the ages. Wonderful, John -- lovely. Merry Christmas to you and your entire family.

So, last year, you met my Champions for Change -- the Young@Heart Chorus. An aspiring group of seniors who perform rock hits for audiences across the country. In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic forced the group to halt all in-person rehearsals and performances, but they have not let it stop the music.

Watch this.

YOUNG@HEART CHORUS, SENIOR MUSICAL GROUP (Singing).

STEVE MARTIN, MEMBER, YOUNG@HEART CHORUS: Don't give up when you get older. Don't be afraid of getting old because you have so much to offer. You have so much to give.

BERMAN (voice-over): Now, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the chorus to cancel all in-person rehearsals and performances.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody at home, everybody on the phone, you're going to sing along.

BERMAN: (voice-over): But thanks to technology, they have not let it stop the music -- watch. YOUNG@HEART CHORUS, SENIOR MUSICAL GROUP: Singing "For What It's Worth."

BOB CILMAN, DIRECTOR, YOUNG@HEART CHORUS: It was really quite a task to get 25 people whose average age is 85 to be able to be on Zoom, but we did it.

YOUNG@HEART CHORUS, SENIOR MUSICAL GROUP: Singing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" on Zoom.

ROSIE CAINE, MEMBER, YOUNG@HEART CHORUS: You want time to go slowly at this age than live in the pandemic because the time has just crawled by. But having Young@Heart and the structure of that, and new music, and learning new lyrics has just been incredibly helpful and very stimulating.

YOUNG@HEART CHORUS, SENIOR MUSICAL GROUP: Singing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" on Zoom.

[07:55:10]

CAMEROTA: John, that was beautiful. I mean, music is medicine.

BERMAN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Music is healing. That was really beautiful.

BERMAN: It is such a wonderful thing that they found a way to come together and keep on practicing and keep on performing.

Visit the young@heartchorus.com to watch the group's 2020 virtual Christmas special. I guarantee you it will make you smile.

CAMEROTA: OK. So staying healthy and safe is the most important thing we can all do for each other on this Christmas Day.

Much more of this special Christmas edition of NEW DAY, next.

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