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Crowds to March in Support of Iranian "Green" Opposition; Suicide Bombings in Afghanistan Display Increasing Sophistication; Obama Tries to Solve Issue of Gates' Arrest

Aired July 25, 2009 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A black Harvard professor says he's willing to talk with the white policeman who arrested him in his home. Can a get-together with President Obama cool this heated racial controversy? And it's no weekend off for the battle over health care. Are chances for swift action slipping away?

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM where the news unfolds live this Saturday, July 25th. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. One of the rallies is taking place in New York's Times Square. In fact those participating are getting ready to march to the United Nations. What am I talking about? I'm talking about people who are in support of the Iranian opposition party.

Reza Sayah is in the crowd. Reza, What's happening?

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred. A river of Green about to wind its way through the streets of New York City. Take a look at this scene here, the green the official color of the opposition movement in Iran, and this rally, this march in support of that opposition movement.

This particular rally is part of what is called a global day for action. Hundreds of rallies across the country in cities like Berlin, Amsterdam, San Francisco, Los Angeles, all these people condemning what they call gross human rights violations in Iran.

They're also calling for the detainees, the hundreds of people arrested after the disputed election on June 12, to be released by Iranian leadership.

Joining us right now, Dr. Klazam A La Dori (ph), sociologist, an expert on Iran. Why should Americans care about what is happening in Iran?

DR. KLAZAM ALA DORI, SOCIOLOGIST: There are two impacts, one internally, one externally or globally. Inside Iran, the impact is to boost the morale of Iranian people, people who participate in demonstration. And globally, it educates people that Iran is ready for democracy and change.

SAYAH: Why does Iran matter, though? Why should people care about what is happening in Iran? How important is it to foreign policy in the United States? DORI: Well. First, Iran is located in a very strategic part of the world. And also, the western societies are concerned about the nuclear bomb that the Iranian government is moving towards that, that stage. If there is an elected government and a democratic society, they will not produce a nuclear bomb.

SAYAH: Very quickly -- yesterday, the resignation of Vice President Masha'i. How significant is that when there is apparently a break, a division between the supreme leader and the president?

DORI: It shows another crack within the conservative and radicals, which brings good room for the green movement. And I think we have to expect further cracks within the conservative because the -- the entire society, the entire system is big crisis.

SAYAH: Doctor Dori (ph), thank you very much.

The march started a few minutes ago. They're going to the U.N. They want to apply pressure on the U.N. and the Obama administration to help free those detainees back in Iran -- Fredricka?

SAYAH: Reza Sayah, thanks so much from New York. Appreciate that.

WHITFIELD: In the meantime, rallies are also scheduled from the nation's capital to California.

In Washington, D.C., activists plan to march from the U.N. office there to the national mall. And then in San Francisco, hundreds of people are expected to show their support for the democracy movement in Iran.

A highly organized series of suicide bombings on three government buildings taking place in Afghanistan today. The Taliban attacks took place in the eastern afghan city of Khost that borders Pakistan.

CNN's Ivan Watson is in Afghanistan with the latest on this story -- Ivan?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, this was an attack according to the Afghan defense ministry officials and NATO officers as well, of at least seven insurgents wearing suicide vests carrying machine guns attacking a number of different buildings in this eastern town called Khost. They attacked a bank, a military hospital, a police station as well.

In one case, NATO officers say that they went with a car filled with explosives and tried to blow open the gates with that, basically a car with the suicide bomber inside it, and then carry out this attack.

Now, Afghan government officials say 14 civilians were wounded in this attack as well at least three Afghan security forces and then a policeman as well.

What is very important here, Fredricka, is last Tuesday, there were a similar series of attacks on two other eastern towns, on the town of Jamalabad (ph) and Cardaz (ph), using similar tactics, a group of insurgents strapped with suicide bombs, carrying guns as well, trying to force their way into the government building.

This is a pattern from the insurgency over the course of the past several years -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: OK, the insurgency getting rather sophisticated and pretty high-tech on their continued strengthening of force. Ivan Watson, thank you so much.

And of course we'll talk more about what is taking place in Afghanistan. At 4:00 eastern today we are taking an in depth look at the U.S.-led offensive in the country, the faces of the conflict, the drug trade fueling it, and U.S. strategy in what's being dubbed "Obama's war."

As you watch this war evolve, what are your observations, your concerns, your questions. Post your comments on our blog at CNN.com/Fredricka, or on Facebook. You can call us. We may use your comments today in the 4:00 eastern hour.

Backing democracy in Iran -- human rights supporters in some 100 cities worldwide are taking to the streets today to show the Iranian people that they're not alone. They're calling for the release of hundreds of Iranians arrested during last month's demonstrations against the country's disputed election.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is set to be sworn into office in less than two weeks.

Finding the lessons in the arrest of a Harvard professor amid charges of racial profiling.

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WHITFIELD: All right, finding the lessons in the arrest of a Harvard professor amid charges of racial profiling.

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WHITFIELD: President Obama trying to quell the controversy surrounding the arrest of an African-American professor by a white police officer.

The president admitting that he may have added to the firestorm by saying the Cambridge police, quote, "acted stupidly." Well, yesterday the president clarified his position.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to make clear that in my choice of words, I think I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge police department or Sergeant Crowley specifically. And I could have calibrated those words differently.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So in an e-mail to our Don Lemon, here is Professor Gates' reaction after the president spoke. He said, quote, "I was very pleased that the president called me today, and I was pleased that he proposed that I meet with Sergeant Crowley at the White House since I had offered to meet with him since last Monday.

I'm eager for this to be used as a teaching moment to improve racial relations in America. This is certainly not about me," unquote. That from Professor Gates.

CNN's Elaine Quijano is live from Cambridge, gauging the mood there today. The day after the president has spoken, we have heard again from Professor Gates and even the sergeant as well.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. It wasn't exactly a presidential apology, but all indications are here in Cambridge that it certainly appears to be good enough. We heard the remarks yesterday.

Well, CNN today tried reaching out to the Cambridge police department to see if there may be any further comment. We were told not to expect any interviews or any kind of news conference.

But yesterday, of course, police officers were making their feelings very clear. They were watching President Obama's remarks very closely.

And one of those officers here in Cambridge was Sergeant Leon Lashley. He actually responded to the call at Professor Gates' house along with sergeant Crowley.

In fact, I believe we have a photo where you can actually see the Sergeant Lashley in the foreground there, a photo that was taken the day of the arrest on scene.

Well Sergeant Lashley talked to our Don Lemon, and said as the president spoke yesterday there were high fives and cheers among his fellow officers. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEON LASHLEY, CAMBRIDGE POLICE: That's what he need to do and I'm glad he did it.

And I, like I said before, I will always support him, because that's the president that I chose, I voted for. And there were other people who said, I'm not going to vote for him now.

Everybody says things, or people do things, nobody's perfect. That's what -- we live in a world where nobody's actually perfect. We all make mistakes, and if you confront them and honestly, you can overcome them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: I have some additional perspectives here. Sergeant Lashley also said that he supports sergeant Crowley's actions 100 percent. He said that what Sergeant Crowley did was not the action of a rogue police officer.

It is clear, officers here in Cambridge, Massachusetts, really want to move on. In fact after the phone call that President Obama made to Sergeant Crowley, a coalition of police unions actually released a written statement, in which they said that Sergeant Crowley is profoundly grateful that the president took the time to try to resolve the situation.

And the statement went on to say it is clear the president respects police officers -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Elaine Quijano, thanks so much from Cambridge. Appreciate that.

So four days now, you haven't been able to turn on the television without hearing about the arrest of this Harvard professor and what took place involving the sergeant as well. So, here now is a sampling of the week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY LOUIS GATES, PROFESSOR, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: I would be prepared as a human being to forgive him. That would not deter me from using this as an educational opportunity for America, because if this can happen to me in Harvard square this can happen to anybody in the United States. And I am determined it never happen to anybody again.

SGT. JAMES CROWLEY, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS POLICE: I really didn't want to have to take a drastic action because I knew that it was going to bring a certain amount, unwanted attention on me. Nonetheless, that's how far Professor Gates pushed it.

CHARLES OGLETREE, GATE'S ATTORNEY: He says "Why are you doing this. Is it because I am a black man and you are a white police officer?"

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Was he saying it as calmly as you are saying it to me?

OGLETREE: The recordings will show. You can imagine that he is feeling this sense of indignity that people feel every day.

OBAMA: The Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when they -- there was already proof that they were in their own home.

I want to make clear that in my choice of words, I think, I, unfortunately, unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge police department or Sergeant Crowley specifically. And I could have calibrated the words differently.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. So despite the president's comments about having to recalibrated things, America's racial debate still rages on.

So are we any closer to the so-called teaching moment? Is this the platform for that teaching moment? Mansfield Frazier is a columnist in Cleveland Ohio. He's joining us. Good to see you.

And Roland Martin is a CNN political analyst who is joining us from Houston today. Good to see you, as well.

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Likewise.

WHITFIELD: OK, Mansfield, let me begin with you, because is this the teaching moment? The president's words yesterday, does that now give America a new platform in which to have this discussion? Did it sort of reroute the discussions that we have been hearing and the debates we have been hearing all week?

MANSFIELD FRAZIER, CONTRIBUTOR, THEDAILYBEAST.COM: Yes, I think it was effective in doing what the president wanted to do, and doing what the country need. We don't need to be distracted by something that's an ongoing problem.

Blacks and police officers have been interacting badly for, I guess since Reconstruction. I don't think we are going to solve that in the short-term. It is a cultural shift that needs to happen.

And we in America just have been dodging this issue of how blacks and police interact with each other. It is something we must address, but it shouldn't supersede things like health care, more important issues I think the president rightly wants to focus on.

WHITFIELD: Which it did. It upstaged almost everything this week.

But Roland, how do you see this moment moving on? How do you see America moving on from what it witnessed, the accounts that were shared all week long?

MARTIN: First of all, I have to take exception to the comment that this should not supersede issues like health care, because here is what we do know, Fredricka. We have health disparities when it comes to race in health care. We have these same issues when it comes to economics, we have these same issues when it comes to education.

Race is a part of all of these various segments of American society.

Now is this a -- a beginning for a new conversation? I don't know, because we have to be honest about it.

For instance, I was reading Jonathan K. Parks piece in the "Washington Post" today as well as Derek Jackson's piece of the "Boston Globe." Derek's suggestion is that Skip Gates' next show actually be a conversation between him and Sergeant Crowley where they can actually dialogue about what happened, because I think whites need to understand what was going through the mind of Skip Gates ...

WHITFIELD: It's interesting you said that, because that was also an idea that Sophia Nelson, who with us, who writes as a blogger for "The Root," which is a publication, an Internet publication where Gates is the editor-in-chief.

And also talking about that discussion, that meeting, if it does indeed happen at the White House between the sergeant, between the professor, that that should be a meeting for all to see.

MARTIN: Well, it's not just them though.

See, the point is individuals also have to be honest. Look, over the past week I have gotten all kinds of e-mails, a lot of vile e- mails from whites saying all kinds of stuff.

But I have also gotten e-mails from African-Americans, whites, Hispanics, Asians, who are saying look, this is what I understand. Part of the problem is people don't understand unless you walk in somebody's shoes.

And so unless you can dialogue, unless you can talk, unless you can say, hmm, I never thought about that.

I had a debate, one guy talking affirmative action. Do you understand that white women are the greatest beneficiary of affirmative action in history? He was like, what? So you are walking around with a preconceived notion that is false.

WHITFIELD: Really, what you hoping to underscore here is black and white America, and even within the black community, saw this incident different.

MARTIN: Hispanic and Asian, as well.

WHITFIELD: Everybody saw it differently.

But, you know, as it really did kind of zero in on the black and white, you know, issues here, what made it that much more incendiary is that some people thought one person immediately provoked it, the police officer, by showing up at the home, by making the arrest, and others say that the professor actually was the incendiary device here, in part because of the way he reacted to the police officer.

So, how do we extrapolate all that was taking place this week, all this information, Mansfield, and then use this, as the president, said a teaching moment -- as the professor said, a teaching moment?

FRAZIER: We have this long history of interaction between blacks and police officers. So for Professor Gates to react in the way that he did, that is not all that unusual. When blacks meet a white for the first time, we don't know who we are meeting. And one of the most difficult parts of being a black man in America, when you meet someone for the first time of another race, you don't know if you are meeting a racist. You have to make a judgment. And Professor Gates made a judgment.

Now, I am not saying whether the judgment was right or not, but blacks have to do that every day of our lives. And it is tiring. It's very tiring. We don't know what -- are you seeing my skin, or are you seeing me as a person?

MARTIN: Again, Fredricka, it requires us as individuals to say, what -- what do we bring to the table in terms of our preconceived notions? And How do we do it?

Look, we can say the same thing when it comes to gays, when it comes to women. A man might say something, the woman takes offense. He says, I thought I was just saying something, and she perceives sexism.

So unless you understand that and talk about it, then you don't know. It requires everybody to say, look within myself, and let's talk about it, and then see how we can go to the next step.

WHITFIELD: Do you both conclude at this point, that this, what took place this week, because it was so highly publicized and involved high profile people, that this helped stoke the fire of a problem that exists? Did it exacerbate it, or did it simply bring to fore, educate people who are unaware that this moment can take off the way it did, and that perhaps this is a way in which to help quell it?

FRAZIER: I think it shined the light into a dark corner that's been there that we African-Americans have known about for years, and nobody has really cared about it that much but our race.

So I think, from that standpoint, he kind of backed into. But it is something that we certainly all can learn from.

And I agree with Roland martin. It has to be addressed. If we don't do it now, when? Racial conversations are most difficult for Americans to have.

MARTIN: Fredricka, it's all of the above. And so what the real issue now is, what do whites, blacks, Hispanic and Asian, men, women, and children do beginning now? Sunday, Monday, do we simply push this aside and say, I am so glad this whole thing is over. I don't want to talk about. Or do we run away from it?

Or do we say let's confront it and say the next generation will not have to deal with the same racial trauma that this generation continues to deal with?

WHITFIELD: Roland Martin, Mansfield Frazier, thanks so much, gentlemen, for joining me this weekend, appreciate it.

FRAZIER: Thank you for having me.

MARTIN: Thank you a lot.

WHITFIELD: and, of course, we want to hear from you. We already are receiving lots of thoughts from you on my blog at and also at Facebook at FredrickawhitfieldCNN.com.

You can call also call us. We'll share some of those comments with you.

And just a quick prelude to what is being said on my blog, Steven Marr (ph) saying "Almost everyone can see the media milking the drama out of this story. The president is right. Let's move on. Let's allow the three gentlemen to work it out without hyper-drama."

And then Esther says "The first reaction shown by Obama was one which came from his deepest soul. It is true that nowadays there is still racism, although it is played out, is not true."

And then Jay Jonas (ph) said "I believe Mr. Obama made the right call here. He brought down the situation and humanized the issue," some of the comments that are coming from you.

Want to hear more from you, and we'll share some of the comments that you have been phoning in as well.

And then, an encore presentation is taking place this weekend of "Black in America II." You can see it again in its entirety. That's tonight, tomorrow night, 8:00 p.m. eastern, 5:00 pacific.

All right, the battle over health care reform. How is it affecting the president and his message?

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WHITFIELD: The war in Afghanistan tops our look at stories happening right now.

The Taliban launch multiple suicide attacks today. They hit a bank, an army hospital, and a police center in Helmand province and city of Khost. At least 18 were wounded, including civilians and members of the military and civilians. Seven militants were killed.

A show of support in New York for Iranians who protested the country's disputed presidential election. Rallies already have been held in cities from Australia to Germany, all part of a global day of action organized in part by human rights groups.

And Professor Henry Louis Gates says in an e-mail to CNN's Don Lemon he is pleased President Obama has invited him and police Sergeant Steve Crowley to the White House.

President Obama says he should have calibrated his words more carefully when he said the police acted stupidly in arresting Gates.

Iraqis in the self ruled Kurdish region are heading to the polls today. They're voting to elect the region's president and parliament. The Kurdish north has had a lot of tension with Baghdad over oil and land disputes that threaten the country's stability.

Meanwhile, U.S. general David Petraeus, who served as a commander in Iraq, is talking about the battle against global terror. He says force alone is not the solution.

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GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, U.S. CENTCOM COMMANDER: This is not the kind of struggle where you kill or capture the bad guys, take the hill, plant the flag, and go home to a victory parade.

At end of the day it is about education. It is about, in a sense, accepting modernity, pragmatic, progressive leadership of countries. And that's the ultimate solution, and that's why, again, I mentioned that this takes a whole of government's approach.

Again, you just can't kill or capture everybody. You have to kill or capture the condition.

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WHITFIELD: Even though the U.S. is reducing its combat role in Iraq, General Petraeus says Iraq is still the center of the fight against international terrorism.

After a month in exile, the deposed president of Honduras goes back home, but only for a few minutes. Manuel Zelaya stayed just long enough to hoist a rusty chain at the border, then he crossed back into Nicaragua, right there, before the Honduran military could carry out its threat to arrest him.

The battle over health care reform at the center of the president and GOP's weekly addresses today. The GOP saying Mr. Obama's plan will cost America jobs. Meanwhile, Democrats are divided over the plan which is stuck in committee.

Kate Bolduan is at the White House with the latest. So what is the president saying today in his address?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Fredericka.

The president using his weekly address today to continue pushing for his top domestic priority, health care reform. Listen here to president Obama.

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OBAMA: This debate is not a political game for these Americans, and they cannot afford to keep waiting for reform. We owe it to them to finally get it done, and to get it done this year.

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BOLDUAN: President Obama had wanted, had set a deadline for having this done by August, by next month. But on Thursday Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate is not going to have the vote by next month by the August recess, so the president facing a setback there in terms of the health care debate.

Congress is really struggling to find common ground on this issue. It's not just a disagreement between Democrats and Republicans, but between Democrats themselves, specifically, more liberal Democrats and more fiscally conservative Democrats.

Some of the big issues really are how to bring down the cost of health care, also disagreement over the proposed government-run insurance option, and, overall, Fredericka, how to pay for it all.

WHITFIELD: Hmm. Now what about the Republican response?

BOLDUAN: Republicans today -- the president in his address really took the time to high light how small businesses would benefit from the health care reform.

Republicans basically say they disagree. They think that the plan that is being batted around in both the House and the Senate right now will hurt small business and the public more than it will help. Listen here to Republican congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

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REP. CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS, (R) WASHINGTON: The Democrats' health care plan, crafted largely behind closed doors, isn't the right thing. It's a prescription for disaster, one that will put Washington bureaucrats in charge of your family's personal medical decisions, medical decisions that are some of the most personal decisions you'll ever make.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Now the president will continue trying to build momentum, trying to gain support around health care reform and the proposals that are coming beginning to take shape in Congress. He is heading to North Carolina and Virginia this week to talk directly to the American people about health care reform -- Fredericka?

WHITFIELD: Kate Bolduan at the White House, appreciate that.

BOLDUAN: Of course.

WHITFIELD: So what does the battle over health care reform mean to President Obama? We turn to our Bill Schneider who is joining us from Washington. So, Bill, is the president taking a hit on this one? He wanted it done by August -- not going to happen.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Not going to happen by August.

But the prospects still look reasonably good for him to get something this year. Let me show you why. Look at the president's job rating as of several polls taken this month. It has taken a bit of a dip, but it's still 56 percent approval. It was up to 61 percent in June. So there has been some slide. But it is still pretty positive.

Now compare that with the way people feel about his handling of health care. Notice that that is almost 10 points lower, 47 percent approval.

What does that show? It shows the president himself is considerably more popular than his policy. How does he sell the policy? By getting out there, by promoting it, by going, as you said, to Virginia and North Carolina, by having a primetime news conference, by talking about it at every opportunity.

The president said last week this is not about me, but the fact is it is about him. And one of the best ways, chances he has to pass this program is to make it about him, because while people have some questions and doubts about the program, they don't want to bring him down.

WHITFIELD: You know what is interesting here too, you can argue whether it is about him or not. But the bottom line is, he is not the one at the controls, so to speak, of crafting it right now, all that taking place in congress.

And there is a lot of infighting within the Democratic Party about what is most suitable, what's best, Republicans saying you know this is what we prefer, et cetera.

And then, one more time, the president is being asked to punctuate, underscore, or accept some of what is being written. So it really does seem like it is a difficult one for the White House to win, doesn't it?

SCHNEIDER: Yes. And the White House is getting some criticism that it is not, it's very involved in the public relations process of promoting this program. but how involved is the White House, the president himself in the legislative process? Not that much.

I must say, I have heard a lot of disappointment in the very highly promoted legislative skills of people like Rahm Emanuel and some of the legislative team at the White House, that they're not very effective so far at least in twisting arms getting agreement. This is not a Lyndon Johnson White House.

And the president himself was only in Congress a few years in the United States Senate. So the mastery of the legislative process at this point doesn't look terribly impressive. And I think that is something where the president is going to have to develop some stronger skills.

And, let me point out, I think he misses Tom Daschle, his first choice for secretary of Health and Human Services.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right, thank you so much, Bill. We're out of time, but one day we will get a chance to talk to you even more about that. SCHNEIDER: OK.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much.

Sarah Palin is saying her good-byes and moving out of the governor's mansion this weekend. She doesn't officially leave office until tomorrow, but the moving truck is loading the governor's belongings.

She is on the road, thanking the people of Alaska in a series of picnics by the way, the first one yesterday in her hometown. There is one in Anchorage today and another in Fairbanks tomorrow.

A month after the passing of Michael Jackson, new developments in the ongoing death investigation now, and the financial health of the late pop star's estate. It is now $5.5 million richer. The administrators of Jackson's estate say they have recovered fund from a former financial adviser to Jackson.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County sheriff says a preliminary investigation is underway to see if employees at the coroner's office may have illegally leaked information on Jackson's death.

President Obama says the pain of discrimination is still felt in America. We'll show you two young black businessmen who won't let it stand in the way of their success.

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WHITFIELD: It takes a lot of grit to make a small business thrive, especially when the economy is bad. And if you are a minority, too many barriers still remain, as the president said in his NAACP speech.

Soledad O'Brien profiled two young businessmen succeeding despite the odds in "Black in America II."

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SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: This is Mr. -- a membership based barber shop, where a man can get high-end cuff links, a massage, and a haircut while having a glass of wine.

SEAN HAYWOOD, BARBERSHOP OWNER: We view our self as a brick and mortar component to a linked inn (ph).

O'BRIEN: Kumi Walker and Sean Haywood created the concept while the two was at Stanford business school.

KUMI WALKER, BARBERSHOP OWNER: Barber shops represented a refuge from the outside world and a place where you can be yourself.

O'BRIEN: But owning a business in San Francisco has its obstacles.

WALKER: Our first major challenge was getting a landlord to be willing to rent space to two young black business people.

HAYWOOD: We currently are running a very nontraditional business that even in the boom times doesn't easily get financing from banks.

O'BRIEN: Poor access to loans to black businesses contributes to a huge wealth gap according to Angela Glover Blackwell.

ANGELA GLOVER BLACKWELL, FOUNDER AND CEO, POLICYLINK: Black people have always sought small businesses as a way to be able to build their wealth. Historically they sought their own businesses because they couldn't get jobs in the corporations.

O'BRIEN: For Kumi, building wealth means taking big risks.

WALKER: After business school, we didn't choose a high paying investment banking job. We chose to boot strap a startup.

O'BRIEN: Every day they pull on those bootstraps. To stay afloat, Sean and Kumi must reinforce their vision to investors.

HAYWOOD: These are tough times. People are very concerned.

WALKER: It's probably more important to them that they stay groomed.

HAYWOOD: We are just scratching the surface to what Mr. can really be.

WALKER: We are fighting to thrive not survive.

HAYWOOD: Kumi and I made the decision for ourselves individually and for the corporation that we have decided not to participate in the recession.

O'BRIEN (on camera): You may not be participating in the recession, the recession sometimes is knocking on the door wants to participate with you.

HAYWOOD: Right. It is how we try to innovate around it.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): And that innovation requires a new marketing strategy.

WALKER: The biggest change again is to the about us section.

HAYWOOD: We have been trying to adopt a different philosophy.

WALKER: Mr. Changes you, changes your perspective. Now life is a game to be played, not a grind to be endured.

HAYWOOD: That's cool. I like that a lot.

WALKER: To do more with less, that's what it means to be a black entrepreneur and to be a black business person in America.

O'BRIEN (on camera): Why does it matter if Mr. makes it? HAYWOOD: I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors. I just want to be successful so I can turn around and be mentors and sponsors to other people who come after me.

O'BRIEN: Soledad O'Brien, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Perhaps you missed a minute or two of "Black in America II." You can see it in its entirety. We're running it again tonight and tomorrow night, 8:00 p.m. eastern, 5:00 pacific.

A horrible accident turned this young man into an amputee, but gave the world someone they can call a hero. Here, the amazing story and how he is helping others.

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WHITFIELD: The battle for health care reform, mind-boggling numbers and bitterly partisan politics. But for one teenager, the issue became personal when he suffered a terrible accident.

Jordan Thomas lost both his legs and found a new mission in life. Brooke Baldwin has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jordan Thomas plays a serious golf game. It's par for the course for this talented athlete who spent his childhood excelling at sports. Even on family vacations, Jordan would show off his fishing skills.

But four years ago in the Florida Keys the family's annual boating trip went terribly wrong.

JORDAN THOMAS, DOUBLE AMPUTEE: A wave pushed me behind the boat. And I remember just being underneath the boat and hearing the motor go, and I knew immediately what had happened.

BALDWIN: The boat's propellers slashing Jordan's legs.

Jordan spent the two weeks in a Miami hospital undergoing multiple surgeries. But while recovering, he visited a wing where children who had also lost limbs were being treated. But their families couldn't afford expensive prosthetics.

THOMAS: I find out that a lot of insurance companies put a $5,000 cap on your legs. Mine are $22,000. So $17,000, what do you do?

BALDWIN: At only age 16, with his family's help, he started the Jordan Thomas Foundation, helping disadvantaged kids get the prosthetics they need. The foundation has since raised $350,000, which pays for prosthetics for three children, one of them, six-year- old Noah Pardon. His parents' primary insurance funded his first leg, but it had no knee. And since Noah was a growing boy, he needed more frequent upgrades that insurance just didn't cover. So Jordan's foundation did.

As for Jordan, he is driving home the message that anything is possible.

Brooke Baldwin, CNN, Chattanooga, Tennessee.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And recently Jordan won two prestigious awards, the International Youth and Philanthropy award, and now the National Courage Award. He'll be taking home that one next month. And he had some pretty stiff competition, beating out Michael J. FOX and Mohammed Ali.

So if you want to help the Jordan Thomas, go to CNN.com/impact.

Today, and really this week's talker, the arrest of a Harvard University professor and the ensuing racial tensions. Massachusetts police unions, who yesterday publicly chastised the president for his criticism of the Cambridge police department, are now pleased Mr. Obama has, as he put it, recalibrated those comments.

The president inviting both Sergeant Jim Crowley and Professor Henry Gates to the White House for a beer and conversation, hoping the incident becomes a lesson to improve race relations.

So we have been hearing a lot from you on how the week transpired. Here is some of what you have been saying on my blog. Steve says, "It is amazing that we pat ourselves on our collective backs saying that we elected our country's first black president. However, whenever the president speaks as a black man, he is accused of race-baiting or playing identity politics."

And then Jim M. says "If this is a learning moment, as Professor Gates and President Obama say, then let's talk about police procedure when called out to a possible burglary in progress.

When an officer arrives, he says, at a possible burglary, two men were reported, everybody in the house, around the house is a possible suspect and maybe even a threat."

And then Steven says "Watching TV today, I laughed when the comment was made that there was some testosterone in effect. While I agree, I also understand why. I can understand the humiliation and anger that Professor Gates felt because I had the same thing happen to me."

Do we have time for some Facebook comments? OK, looks like we do.

So we have a lot of folks commenting on Facebook as well. Brett says "I like Obama's first reaction. This second Kumbaya moment is a result of politics," he says. "As a black man, I am very familiar with rogue police behavior," he says.

Jeffrey says, "But it wasn't rogue police behavior. The officer was investigated," or "was investigating a reported possible burglary. Gates, instead of cooperating and showing his I.D., he immediately turned belligerent."

John says "Anything, even a misunderstanding such as this that sparks the conversation is beneficial in the long run. That should be everyone's goal. The most important lesson we may have learned is that ignoring it or pretending it doesn't exist will not make it go away."

So, thanks so much for your comments on my blog as well as Facebook as we continue to have the dialogue that this week's incident certainly precipitated.

Living green, buying green, there is a lot of talk lately about going green in this country. But what does it really mean? We'll take a closer look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In this economy you have to stand out in order to get a job, right? well, two recent college grads did just that. They stood out in Philadelphia's rush-hour traffic.

Just take a look at their signs. Can you read them? It says, "Need a job, take resume."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It comes down to what companies are looking for and how you can stand out. So that's why we are out here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is something that is creative, and there are people who pass by every day with businesses. And he might get something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And good luck to them. The two job hunters handed out some 300 resumes.

Well, everybody, it seems, has been talking about them. The Obama administration is pouring billions into creating them. We're talking about green jobs.

So, how can you be part of this new work force?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: There has been a lot of buzz lately about turning America green.

OBAMA: 5 million new green jobs.

Biofuels.

WHITFIELD: But what exactly is a green job?

BILL THOMAS, "ECOPRENEUR," ECO ANSWERS U.S.: It's dealing in the technologies and the advancement of energy reduction, in the construction methods to build more efficiently, to champion renewable energy, to champion new ways of transportation.

WHITFIELD: Green jobs are popping up in fields ranging from packaging to fashion to home goods, often in small businesses. Companies like Our Green Value and Eco Answers Us help employers make the most of green technology and train job-seekers to break into the green work force.

THOMAS: It is a question of training the people to understand the technology and then take it out to market.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this time, being out in the work force looking for a new job, we have to reinvent ourselves.

WHITFIELD: And with $60 billion in federal money now being directed at clean energy sources, weatherizing, and training programs, jobs are out there.

OLIVER-PLATH: You have to go on the web, get in the linked in groups that are green and clean, and start learning where the opportunities might be. And then try to transition your background into that.

WHITFIELD: So how do you snag a green job right out of college?

GAYLE OLIVER-PLATH, FOUNDER, CAREERECO: The smartest thing I think they can do is go, if they have to beg, borrow, and steal for an internship with a green company, that they do that.

The other thing is they need to join the professional associations, because that's a good way. You can get on boards, meet people, and really start to build your network.

WHITFIELD: Altogether, the Obama administration says it plans to spend $150 billion over the next decade on greening America. And with unemployment hovering at 10 percent, it's one industry that seems destined for growth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, hopefully if you are looking for a job, maybe that is the field n which you need to pursue.

Here's a quick look at the rundown for the next hour here in the NEWSROOM.

The growing use of restraints for special education students is getting intense federal scrutiny amid reports of serious injury, even death of some special ed students. CNN's special investigations unit profiles one shocking story. And breaking barriers for African-Americans in the work place, how one management training initiative is proving to be a step up for advancing more minorities up the corporate ladder to success.