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Race And The Zimmerman Trial; Asiana To Sue Over Offensive Names; Autopsy Today On Cory Monteith; American Diplomat Visits Cairo

Aired July 15, 2013 - 14:30   ET

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

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BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: When the George Zimmerman verdict came late Saturday night, an entire courtroom of people held their collective breath. Whoa. We the jury find George Zimmerman not guilty. A very calm Zimmerman shook the hands of his attorneys and that was it. It was over. But outside the courthouse, the reaction was just beginning. Social media absolutely lit up. Protests erupted nationwide as we mentioned for the most part peaceful.

This was one of more than 1,000 fatal shootings in the state of Florida in 2012. It happened last February. So what made this a national news story instead of a local tragedy? Many people argue it's merely the latest example of deep seed racism in the justice system.

Joining me now for this discussion, former president of Morehouse College, Dr. Robert Franklin and also cnn.com columnist Ruben Navarette, and author of "Dear White America," Tim Weis. So I want to welcome all of you to this and all of your voices, and Dr. Franklin sitting in here with me in studio. It's nice to see you again, sir.

ROBERT FRANKLIN, FORMER PRESIDENT, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE: Thank you.

BALDWIN: I want to begin with you because you have guided many Morehouse men in your years. I know because of this and in talking to colleagues of mine, African-American colleagues, who have sons and nephews, this case has sort of reignited talks, call it the talk.

FRANKLIN: Yes.

BALDWIN: Right?

FRANKLIN: Yes.

BALDWIN: With very young, young men about whether it's how fast you should be walking in public, what you should be wearing. I don't know if it's Morehouse specific about the five wells. What is that?

FRANKLIN: At Morehouse and at all of America's black colleges our schools, churches and community organizations have promoted what I've conceptualized as the five wells. Our young people should be well read, well spoken, well traveled, well-dressed and well balanced. It is very important that they comport themselves in a way that doesn't threaten. But it is a pity that they have to do that, that they can't be taken for who they are and seen as average, ordinary kids. But we do emphasize the importance of presenting themselves as young leaders, as cultivated and dignified and responsible. That certainly has been core to the Morehouse tradition.

BALDWIN: I have to say, obviously I can't relate to that, but I've talked to a lot of people who obviously can. And my question to sort of push you gently then would be, would that not imply that if a young black man is walking along the street and they see a white man, that that is inherently the stereotyping, perhaps, the white man to be profiling the black man? Is that fair?

FRANKLIN: It's not fair and it's a tragedy when we profile one way or the other. I think we all have to grow beyond seeing stereotypes, profiles, and caricatures and really back to Dr. King's important moral rhetoric, examine the character, look at the person, and respect every person as a child of god.

BALDWIN: Tim Wise, I want to hear your voice because I know you say, you know, on the flip side, we have to take -- I'm quoting you. Take an honest look at how rust about all of us have racialized perceptions of people of color. What do you mean by that?

TIM WISE, AUTHOR, "DEAR WHITE AMERICA": You know, it would be easy to make this case and this issue of race all about George Zimmerman. But what the research tells us, sadly, is that the vast majority of us in this country have been socialized to have negative perceptions, stereotypical perceptions of people of color, especially black folks, especially black men. We've got to deal with that.

There was a study a few years back, for instance, which took white subjects. Hooked us up to brain scan imaging machines and then flashed images on a computer screen so quickly, subliminally, like 30 millisecond, too fast for the conscious mind to react. They were gauging the actual brain reaction to the image.

Most of the images were neutral, you know, like a tree, a blade of grass, a puppy dog, but when they showed a black male face for just 30 milliseconds that part of the brain that lights up and responds to fear, anxiety, stress, lit up like a Christmas tree. What does that tell us? It tells us that even people who are not overtly racist have learned these subconscious biases unless we deal with that --

BALDWIN: How do we deal with it?

WISE: We have to be honest about it. Part of the problem of racism in this country is a problem of denial. When you're in denial that a problem exists, you can't solve it. The good news is that when we're open and honest about our racialized fears and suspicions, we actually do a pretty good job of keeping them in check. It's when we deny them that we fall prey to them.

FRANKLIN: I think it's also important for white Americans to look at young black men and other black kids as if they're their own kids and to humanize them in that way because that empathy and compassion is the key to authentic citizenship. BALDWIN: I think also, Ruben, this is to you because I know you're writing a column for cnn.com. You're saying you agree with the president who is basically saying while this is a tragedy, that's the word he used, listen, the jury has spoken. Let's have this peace. I want to play a quick sound bite. This is from Robert Zimmerman. He was speaking with us here at CNN talking specifically about had his brother's last name been, for lack of a more eloquent phrase, more Hispanic, this could have had a much different story line. Roll the sound.

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ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S BROTHER (through translator): I think that our last name, Zimmerman, is a European last name. People have this association with being white. When we call a person with the last name Zimmerman white, it's an easy accusation to make because the visualization that people have is a white person. If he had the last name Lopez, Hernandez, Sanchez, calling someone like that white, even though that there are people like that who are white, it would not have the same effect and the same impact at the beginning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Ruben, do you agree?

RUBEN NAVARRETTE, CNN.COM COLUMNIST: Yes. It's a very important point he's making. Nobody else has mentioned this in terms of the prejudice around the name Zimmerman. Let's think about how this began. At the very beginning before we had any facts, before George Zimmerman was charged at all, there was this accusation he was a racist.

His father to try to blunt that, did what most fathers would do, tried to defend his son and said, no, my son can't be racist, he's Hispanic. He identifies himself as Hispanic. The problem with that is Hispanics can also be racist. The problem is African-Americans can be racist against Hispanics. That isn't an automatic disqualifier. That's not meant to immune him, but that was the way it began.

And then the media, certain media outlets took it and run with it and created this hybrid term, a white Hispanic, which is absurd, ludicrous, a white Hispanic, a brown Hispanic, so all of a sudden we're having that conversation. The media has been part of the problem because they haven't known what to do with George Zimmerman. They'd like to shove it into a box of white and black.

BALDWIN: Also the public, when we put up this mug shot of George Zimmerman, a lot of people jumped to the conclusion just based upon his appearance, he's white.

WISE: What's interesting about what Ruben's saying, the research on this subconscious bias I was talking about, very frighteningly shows that not only white folks have internalized anti-black biased, but large numbers of Latinos and Asian-Americans, here's an interesting one, about 40 percent of African-Americans have internalized bias against themselves as black folks. That's how deep this runs. NAVARRETTE: Tim's only telling half the story. The other part of the story is that African-Americans likewise have a negative perception of Hispanics. We hear this all the time. Certainly we write about the immigration issue.

WISE: Sure.

NAVARRETTE: Lectures about racial profiling, Tim, if the issue is immigration, we can write the book on that. We understand what it's like to be profiled and accused of not being of this country.

BALDWIN: Gentlemen, forgive me for jumping in. I have to jump in and say I wish we had more time. We are going to have plenty of time next hour to talk about all this. For now I just have to say thank you, Robert Franklin, Ruben Navarette and Tim Wise. Thank you, thank you, and thank you so much for joining me today.

Coming up next, we're going to switch gears and talk about some other news. Asiana Flight 214 crash landed in San Francisco just a little over a week ago. Three people have died as a result of that crash. Now the airline is planning to file a lawsuit over offensive language. You heard about this? We're going to explain after this break.

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BALDWIN: Asiana Airlines is planning to sue a California television station that aired a report claiming to have the names of the pilots of the jet that crashed a little over a week ago. So the airline calls the report demeaning to their word due to the bogus names of these pilots. I'm not going to say them here word for word, but phonetically they spell out phrases like something wrong and we too low.

The station says it confirmed the names through the National Transportation Safety Board, but the NTSB says it actually was a summer intern who confirmed the names and who, quote, "acted outside the scope of his authority." Kyung Lah joins me live from L.A. so just sort this whole thing out and there is news, Kyung and that the NTSB is saying this intern, gone.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Definitely gone. The NTSB confirming to CNN that this summer intern who was a volunteer student is now no longer with the NTSB. As far as this lawsuit, what I can tell you is that an Asiana spokesman is confirming to me this morning that they are still in the midst of preparing it to file it against KTVU, a station in San Francisco, who the airline says was perpetuating racist and offensive remarks against Asians in its broadcast last week.

I want to give you the statement that Asiana is releasing to CNN. What Asiana is saying is, quote, "After a legal review, the company decided to file a lawsuit against the network because it was their report that resulted in damaging the company's image." So what's happening here is that Asiana says that it is having a reaction as an emerging company.

This is a company that's based in Korea. It has global aspirations. These comments by KTVU and I'll actually say it. One of the names they said is sounds like something wrong. It's Sum Ting Wong. It's a juvenile joke. It got out there. They are deeply offended. They say it's hurting their company's reputation.

They plan on filing a defamation lawsuit. A lot of legal experts say it probably won't hold water in court. The other thing that's happening here is that this airline is having a visceral reaction to a joke that a lot of Asians have heard over the years. We have all heard it on the playground, the school bus. They're taking it to an adult form now, Brooke, which is a courtroom.

BALDWIN: Kyung Lah, thank you very much. Intern no longer with the NTSB.

Coming up next, what killed a young star from "Glee"? So young. An autopsy set for today as investigators piece together his final night.

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BALDWIN: An autopsy is scheduled today on the body of Corey Monteith. Corey Monteith, TV star, you might have known him from "Glee." He played this high school jock who lands a spot in the Glee Club. Cory Monteith found dead Saturday morning in a Vancouver hotel. No signs of foul play, 31 years old. Cory Monteith had finished his second trip to rehab just back in April. Here he is in "Glee."

Cory Monteith had actually been dating one of his co-stars. Here she is, Lea Michele. Her representatives say she is devastated. Monteith's abuse of alcohol and drugs apparently dated back to his early teens. Joining me now to talk about this is CNN's Tory Dunnan. Tory, what do you know about his past, his drug use?

TORY DUNNAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, so far Canadian authorities have only said that they don't suspect foul play. At this point, investigators have not linked his death to substance abuse. But in previous interviews, this 31-year-old actor would describe himself as an out of control teen who abused drugs and alcohol, that he would often skip school to drink and smoke pot when he was just 13 years old.

So bottom line, his teen years were a far cry from the character that he often portrayed on screen. But he was really relatively open about his struggle. It was just this past spring that he decided to check himself into rehab. But now the focus is really going to be moving to this investigation. It's unclear why the "Glee" star was in Vancouver. Police say he is Canadian born and he often visits the area.

We were told he was out with friends the night before he died. Surveillance video at that hotel in Vancouver showed him returning alone in the early morning hours. Authorities actually believe that he was by himself when he died. So, Brooke, with this autopsy coming out today, we're definitely hoping to learn more information. But really bottom line, this is just a tragic story for the show, for him, and also for all of the fans.

BALDWIN: Incredibly tragic, so young. Tory Dunnan, thank you so much. Back after this.

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BALDWIN: The temporary leader of Egypt installed by Egypt's military hosted a high level guest from Washington today, the State Department's William Burns, blue tie right there, big smile. For Ali Mansieur, former judge serving as Egypt's interim president, Burns called for an end to political violence. Muslim militants attacked a bus on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula killing three people.

Coming up, letter surfaces, Dear George Zimmerman, now you know what it feel like to be a black man in America, a provocative discussion on race around the case that has America talking. Stay right here.

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BALDWIN: Oscar winner Jeff Bridges is using his talent off screen to try to help the millions of people across the country who don't have enough to eat. Watch this "Impact Your World."

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JEFF BRIDGES, ACTOR: Hi. I'm Jeff Bridges. And we can make an impact on ending childhood hunger here in America. According to the USDA, we currently have over 60 million children who are struggling with hunger, one in five of our kids.

Any of you kids see "surf's up"? I'm big z!

BRIDGES: We think one of the most important things we can do to end childhood hunger is to have universal breakfast in schools. Another thing that is very important is that there are summer meal programs that are available to kids. No kid hungry is all about making people aware of the programs that are in the state.

It affects me in a personal way thinking about what that would feel like if I wasn't able to provide for my -- my kids. But also even on a patriotic way, we can't compete with the rest of the world if our kids aren't in good shape. Join the movement, impact your world. Go to cnn.com/impact.

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