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Eight Dead, Dozens Hurt As Crowd Rushes Stage At Music Festival; Congress Passes $1.2 Trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill; Manchin Objects To Paid Family Leave Added Back To Social Spending Bill; Manchin Objects To Paid Family Leave Added Back To Social Spending Bill; Black Man Killed 123 Years Ago In NC Massacre Laid To Rest Today; NJ Senate Newcomer Apologizes For Some Past Social Media Posts. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired November 06, 2021 - 12:00   ET

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

[11:59:54]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST (voice-over): At least eight people were killed and many more injured when a crowd surge a stage at the Astroworld Festival. One of the victims injured in the chaos is just 10 years old. As many as 50,000 people were attending the festival when a crowd rushed the stage as rapper Travis Scott was performing.

And then, earlier in the day Friday, a stampede of people running through the VIP entrance entering the event. You see it right there on video. Several metal detectors and even people were knocked to the ground. At least one person was injured during that moment.

CNN's Rosa Flores is in Houston for us. So, what more are we learning about the sequence of events led up to tragedy?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, Fred, here is what authorities tell us that there's about 50,000 people in this crowded area, and at about 9:15 p.m., they say that, that is when the crowd started compressing towards the front of the stage. That's when panic ensued.

By 09:38, they say that this turned into a mass casualty event. One of the officers that described what was going on at the time when they asked the concert to stop, he says that there were multiple people on the ground that were in cardiac arrest, and with other medical issues, and there were medical personnel doing CPR on these individuals. That medics and police were completely overwhelmed.

Here is how one concert-goer described it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MADELINE ESKINS, ATTENDED ASTROWORLD FESTIVAL: All of the sudden, people just compressed up against each other and we're pushing forward and backward. And as the timer got closer to coming down to zero, it just -- it got worse and worse, and I looked at my boyfriend, Sam, and I, I tell him was like, we have to get out of here because I just felt -- you know, I was having constant pressure on my chest, constant pressure on my back. I looked at my boyfriend, I said we have to get out of here. He said I can't. We can't. We couldn't. And then I, I just remember looking up and passing out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: You know that a lot of very intense moments. I talked to one man who described it as a mob that his survival instincts just kicked in. He wanted to get out of there. He wanted to go get water and air, he was saying.

Now, according to authorities, 300 people were treated on site last night, 23 were transported to the hospital, the youngest 10 years old. We know that at least eight people have died.

We don't have the I.D.s. Authorities say that those have not been released yet. But authorities are worried because they say that the people were transported to the hospital were transported in critical condition. And so, they're afraid that those numbers could go up.

Now, Astroworld Festival did release a statement saying that their hearts are with the people who are injured and with their families. They say that they're cooperating with authorities and that the concert scheduled for today has been canceled.

And Fred, what police are doing today is they are reviewing video from that concert to try to figure out exactly what happened. And also try to figure out why people were not able to get out? Why so many people had to be treated on-site. And of course, why eight people died. Fred.

WHITFIELD: Very sad. All right, Rosa Flores, thank you so much

For talk more about all this with the mayor of Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner. Mr. Mayor, so good to see you. Sadly, under these kinds of circumstances, I mean, this is so heartbreaking. What are you learning about what happened and how this happened?

SYLVESTER TURNER (D), MAYOR OF HOUSTON, TEXAS: Well, it was about -- it was a sold-out crowd last night, Fredricka. There were at least 50,000 people that were there. We certainly looking at all of the video footage. We are talking to witnesses, we are talking with the event organizers. This happened at one of the county facilities last night.

So, we're looking at everything. We even want to visit with some of the people who were taken to the hospital. And now, the numbers indicated could be anywhere between 17 to 23 that were taken to the hospitals. And unfortunately, eight people have done.

WHITFIELD: And this taking place at the NRG -- you know, arena, which was the last place that I remember seeing you at a very festive event.

TURNER: Yes.

WHITFIELD: But now, we're talking about family members who are worried about the many who were taken to hospitals in critical care, as Rosa just reported. Are you hearing anything more about the status of those who arrived at the hospital in critical condition?

TURNER: We are still assessing their conditions. What I have been told, as recently as a few minutes ago, other than the eight who have died, the others are still being treated. I have not received any additional information as it relates to their status.

Some of them, I think there were 17 -- let's say 17 to 23 who were sent to the hospital, some of them have been reunited with their families already. We set up a reunification area, so that has taken them place.

[12:05:01]

TURNER: But this is something that we are thoroughly looking at. We are looking at to their footage. And the 30 years that major -- for example, events have taken place in this city, whether they will in city facilities or county facilities, we've never had anything like this occur.

I'm not aware of a single person, having died from one of the events in this city is known for putting on big events. But we, we want to do a thorough debriefing here, and look at every single thing. We don't rule out anything. That was hundreds of police officers who were outside as well as some was in. There were hundreds of non-police security that was also available.

But we do think that there -- there's no question there was some issues with what was occurring inside. And so, we want to look at the footage. It does have some indication it was occurring in one area. And things happen very quickly.

So, I don't want to rule out anything, everything will be considered viewed because we do want to get to the bottom line.

In the meantime, I certainly want to extend my condolences to the family members. Because you don't -- you don't want one person to be injured, and you certainly don't want any person to lose their lives.

WHITFIELD: Yes. No, nobody goes to a concert, and then family members to end up getting notification that their family member attending has died.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott just released a statement and it says, in part, "The State of Texas is ready to assist in the response, and I have directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to make state resources available to support the investigation."

What does your city need from the state in terms of resources to help advance your investigation?

TURNER: Well, in -- as relates to what happened last night, the Houston Police Department and all of the other law enforcement in the area were taking a look at everything.

Number one, this was put on by Live Nation. So, we will certainly want to talk with the producers of this event, the organizers of it. So, we want -- we want to talk with them at length, we want to look at all of the available footage. We want to talk to witnesses who were there, certainly those that were in the area where this crowd surge started to take place. And we want to visit with some of the persons who are in the hospital.

So there is -- at this point, it's about gathering all of the available information to see exactly what had took place. We want to take a look at how the internal design occurred to see whether or not -- whether or not it led to what took place. We want to take a look at the number of people who were there, the ages is my indication that we are talking in terms of those the eight who died. That the age range anywhere from 16 to 23.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

TURNER: So, we are looking -- we're looking at all of that. So, we're certainly now in the investigative phase. Again, this is something that has not taken place in this city in the last, you know, 30 years. And this is a city that's known for putting on big events and doing those events very, very well.

But we are not going to leave any stone unturned that's why I want to be very careful about drawing any conclusions at this point, because I don't want to rule anything out or anything, and we want to look at every single detail to determine what led up to it. And what additional steps that need to take place to keep it from happening again, especially, especially in this city.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Mayor Turner, I also want to shift gears and talk about the legislative win for the White House. And you, you've been very vocal about the issue of infrastructure.

Last night, the U.S. House passed the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. You know, after a months of back and forth. You joined the U.S. Conference of Mayors, you know, endorsing this bill. So, in your view, how will this help the people of Houston?

TURNER: Well, for example, we have the number one port in the country, especially as it relates to foreign tonnage, it will help with the supply chains. Yes, yes. There are dollars in this bill for port, port expansion. And we certainly need to widen and deepen the port in the city of Houston.

When it comes to transit, we are looking at building a much more walkable and livable city. So, there are dollars in there for transit. When it comes to our roads and bridges. That's important. We have one of the largest wastewater treatment facilities in the country. And so, when it comes to sanitary sewer discharges, especially in communities of color, this bill will be critically important.

There is no question that there's a huge need for infrastructure, dollars, and improvement, job creation, not only in the city of Houston but across the board.

[12:10:03]

TURNER: And as president of the African American Mayors Association, we strongly support it.

As head of the U.S. Climate Mayors, and there are dollars in keeping in this bill for climate -- to fight climate change, that's huge. And now, we -- I would strongly encourage Congress to pass the Bill Back Better bill because, in that bill, you have transformation of the largest investment for environmental justice, the largest investment in pushing back on climate change, climate change mitigation, and enough money in there for 1 million single-family homes in the United States, and the largest investment in the last decade, in providing assistance for people with their health care -- making affordable, accessible health care.

So, let me give a great deal of credit to President Biden and his team. A great deal of credit to Speaker Pelosi, to the members of Congress, both Democrats, and Republicans. And my simple ask would be let's not stop here. Now, let's pass the Bill Back Better bill, and then we can move forward in building a much more productive and positive society.

WHITFIELD: All right, I know you're looking forward to what's next. But perhaps even more immediately after the infrastructure bill that the president you know, hopes to sign. When you look back at this year. I mean, Texas saw massive power outages after severe winter weather storms swept across, you know, the state.

And I'm wondering, in this infrastructure measure how -- what kind of resources you're looking forward to, to help you handle severe weather again, or rebuild from damaged pipes and the power grid as a result of this last winter storm?

TURNER: And thank you, Fredricka, I'm glad you brought that up. Because as you know, in February of this year, we faced Winter Storm Uri in the State of Texas. When not -- it wasn't just the city of Houston, but the State of Texas shut down in terms of this power grid, and it has a tremendous adverse impact on our entire water supply.

And the bipartisan infrastructure bill, for example, there are at least $50 billion for the grid, we need to weather wise our grid system. For example, in this state, these storms are coming with greater frequency and intensity.

In the past, we protected the grid from the summer heat. We did not spend or invest nearly what we needed to, to protect it from winter storms. And over 200 Texans lost their lives in February of this year.

So, the bill -- the bipartisan bill will go a long way in building resilience because you can't even talk about climate change mitigation without talking about resilience. And you can't have both of those without having equity at the equation. The impact on communities that have been underserved and under-resourced for decades. Because those are the persons who are disproportionately impacted the most.

There is a lot of energy poverty in many of these communities, even in the city of Houston, but across the country. So, these two bills together, not just one, but both of them together will improve the lives of vulnerable communities, create more equity, build in resiliency, in terms of the grid, because these storms just don't stop coming.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, thank you so much, and all the best on the more immediate investigation involving AstroWorld Festival. Thank you so much for your time.

TURNER: Thank you. Thanks, Fredricka. Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, revealing he tested positive for COVID and is unvaccinated. But he also is spreading some misinformation about the COVID vaccines. We'll bring you the facts next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:18:11]

WHITFIELD: All right, tomorrow, Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers won't be throwing, but instead, will be watching his team play after he tested positive for COVID-19. The Packers quarterback now admitting that he is not vaccinated after misleading reporters in August when he said he had been immunized against the virus. Well, now, he's expressing frustration over the public backlash.

CNN's Nick Watt, joining me now. So, Nick, walk us through all of this.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, listen, Joe Rogan -- sorry, not Joe Rogan, that's who he's taking his advice from. Aaron Rodgers is pretty much-blaming everybody but himself for this. He is saying that he is pretty sure he caught COVID off somebody who was already vaccinated. He's attacking the woke mob saying this -- all these blatant lies out there about him and went on this radio show, he says to set the record straight.

Now, on this claim he made back in August that he was immunized, he said that was not a lie. That was the truth, but he didn't get one of the main vaccines. He says that he's allergic to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that would be very rare if true.

We also talked about the issues with the J&J vaccine, which put them off. Those also very rare and really more in women than in men. He says he had a homeopathic treatment to give himself a -- to create a defense against COVID.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON RODGERS: QUARTERBACK, GREEN BAY PACKERS: I didn't lie in the initial press conference. During that time, it was a very, you know, witch hunt that was going on across the league where everybody in the media was so concerned about who was vaccinated and who wasn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: That Rodgers also attacks the NFL COVID protocol, saying that they're not based at all in science. And then, goes on to make a bunch of claims that are also totally not based in science.

[12:20:05]

WATT: That homeopathic treatment, he says, I mean, he wouldn't get into the details. But experts say there is no proof that, that would work. He also says that -- you know, his infection now gives him the best protection possible. That's also not backed by the science.

He also says he's taking ivermectin and some other drugs that also have not been proven to treat COVID-19. Bottom line is he is now OK. He was at a few symptoms for a couple of days, now he says he's OK.

And he also strangely invokes who he calls the great MLK, in terms of, you know, moral obligation to defy unjust rules. Yes, slightly different context.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. All right. So, he says he may be OK. But the questions are kind of continue to come his way. He still has to respond to a lot of that.

WATT: Yes, yes.

WHITFIELD: And Nick Watt.

WATT: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much. Appreciate that.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): All right, coming up, Biden's massive infrastructure bill has finally made its way through Congress. But the other piece of Biden's legislative agenda is still stuck. We'll bring you the latest on the negotiations on Biden's Build Back Better bill, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:25:42]

WHITFIELD (on camera): Happy infrastructure week. Well, it's no longer the punch line of the nation's capital after late last night. The House passed the president's $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan, the single largest investment in public works in the nation's history. Handing President Biden a win he desperately needed.

Well, this morning, the president predicting another milestone, legislative win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But I feel confident -- I feel confident that we will have enough votes to pass the Build Back Better plan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Eva McKend is live for us on Capitol Hill. Eva, good to see you again.

So, the focus now shifts to the second part of the president's economic agenda, the massive Build Back Better Act. Does this win help get the Bill Back Better across the finish line?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: You know, Fred, that is the big question. Because for this administration, and for Democrats on the Hill, this has always been a two-pronged approach.

Now, in terms of that larger spending bill, moderate Democrats, they say that they first want to wait for the Congressional Budget Office scoring of the bill. And for folks at home, that essentially means how much this bill is going to cost taxpayers.

But this is all not to take away from the tremendous feat that it was to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill in the House last night. Let me give you a sense of what is in that bill for our viewers.

It includes expand -- expanded high speed Internet, funding for new climate initiatives addresses water quality, new charging stations for electric powered vehicles, and money for upgrades for airports, and public transit, among other provisions.

Now, most progressives in the House are relented on that key demand that they've had for so long to both pass this bill and the larger spending bill together. They are confident that their moderate colleagues will make good on their promise and pass that other bill alongside with them in the next few days.

Now, in terms of that larger spending bill, it is a moving target it has been for months. But here is my sense of what is still left in that bill and up for negotiation. Billions for clean energy and climate change provisions, investments in child care, and a short extension of the Child Tax Credit. That, of course, is the policy that was so popular in the American Rescue Plan passed earlier this year.

So, all of that is what they are trying to pull off in just the next few days. We'll see if they can do it. Fred.

WHITFIELD: We'll see indeed. All right, Eva McKend, thank you so much on Capitol Hill.

So, it is a tug of war with parents and kids left in the middle. The issue of paid parental leave. Speaker -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says four weeks of it is back in the Build Back Better Act, but it's still unclear whether it will survive Senator Joe Manchin's opposition.

Joining me right now is Melissa Boteach, Vice President of Income Security and Child Care/Early Learning at the National Women's Law Center. So good to see you.

MELISSA BOTEACH, VICE PRESIDENT, INCOME SECURITY AND CHILD CARE/EARLY LEARNING, NATIONAL WOMEN'S LAW CENTER: Thanks so much for having me.

WHITFIELD: So, why are you fighting so hard to make sure this paid parental leave remains in this bill?

BOTEACH: Paid parental leave, it's -- and its paid family and medical leave too. So, it's a comprehensive leave policy. And it's to make sure that at those very human moments, when you're welcoming a new baby, when you're caring for an ill parent, when you yourself are sick, that you don't have to choose between your economic security and your livelihood, and your family and your health on the other hand.

And so, it's a really important provision to make it in there, not just to help women today in terms of getting back into the labor force, but in terms of the kind of economic, political, and moral imperative we have for the long term.

WHITFIELD: The Build Back Better plan still has free universal pre-K child care support -- child tax credits. You said paid family leave must be included with everything else. At the same time, in your view, is it all or nothing?

I think that we are going to get this over the finish line. I think that we have to remind parents and caregivers and working families is that the things that are causing them enormous pain and stress right now are about to improve.

[12:29:57]

BOTEACH: We are going to have, as you said, free pre-K for your kids. We're going to make sure you don't pay more than seven percent of your income for childcare. And that the women who do that essential work are finally going to have living wages.

It's -- I think the bill overall is a statement that we don't have to feel so vulnerable and so precarious all of the time. So I don't think it's a conversation about all or nothing. I think it's a conversation about what are we going to win that is going to get working families to a more stable place of economic security and dignity.

WHITFIELD: So right now, I'm used to the United States currently doesn't have, you know, federal paid family or sick leave benefit, making it an outlier among developed countries. And why do you think it is so hard to make a convincing argument and get everyone on board to agree to these terms in this new proposal?

BOTEACH: Oh, I don't think it's hard to make the argument, it is overwhelmingly one of the most popular provisions and build back better among Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. So this is -- the policies that are in the build back better plan, whether it's paid family medical leave, whether it's universal pre K, or childcare or the child tax credit, the American public overwhelmingly wants these provisions. And so I think it's less of a case of selling it to the public and more a case of making lawmakers feel the political and economic urgency of getting this done.

WHITFIELD: So while you underscore there's overwhelming support, not for everybody. I mean, here is Senator Joe Manchin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Paid family leave.

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): OK.

BERMAN: The Democrats in the House are putting it back in the bill.

MANCHIN: Yes.

BERMAN: Is that changed your view on it at all?

MANCHIN: John, I don't think it belongs in the bill. And I'll tell you why. That's a piece of legislation that really is needed from the standpoint if we do it and do it right. We can do that in a bipartisan way we can make sure it's lasting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So what's your message to him when he says, we can do it and do it right?

BOTEACH: I think that this, that the research is there, the policy work has been done. The imperatives is has never been more urgent. And the families and West Virginia and across the country are counting on are counting on you and are counting on all of our lawmakers to get a comprehensive care infrastructure across the finish line, because that's what this is, you know, we just passed a physical infrastructure bill.

But these provisions whether it's childcare, pre-K, or paid family medical leave, or home and community based services for seniors and people with disabilities. This is the infrastructure of our lives that allows women to -- and families to work and that ensures that our loved ones are cared for. And so I think it's important that we prioritize all the pillars.

WHITFIELD: All right, Melissa Boteach, thank you so much for being with us today. Stay well.

BOTEACH: Thank you so much for having me.

WHITFIELD: Coming up next, the city of Wilmington, North Carolina is holding a funeral today for one of many black people killed in a race riot more than 120 years ago, the city remembering a painful history and honoring the victims who were never given a proper burial. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:37:51]

WHITFIELD: A short time from now a moment of healing more than 120 years in the making. The city of Wilmington North Carolina is laying to arrest Joshua Halsey. He is the first of an untold number of African Americans killed during the Wilmington massacre of 1898. A group of white supremacist attacked Wilmington on November 10th, an insurrection overthrowing the city's biracial government and forever changing its legacy. But the victim's graves like their stories were lost to history until now.

A new movement by the third person project is reconciling the city's horrific past starting two years ago, the group began the painstaking process of locating the victims. And now Joshua Halsey is getting the proper burial he was never afforded.

Joining us right now co-chair of the Poor Peoples Campaign and author of the book "We Are Called to Be a Movement," Bishop William Barber II, thank you so much for joining us on this very important day. I mean, what does this moment mean to you?

BISHOP WILLIAM BARBER II, CO-CHAIR, POOR PEOPLES CAMPAIGN: Well, Fredricka, I'm from eastern North Carolina. And this I think is even more than appealing and really a big reflection because 1898 was an insurrection. It was an insurrection caused by the fear of black and white fusion politics, progressive politics that was really growing in the South had grown since the end of the Civil War, and was trying to provide education for all labor rights for all and equal protection under law for all and races said no.

And this is one of the few breaks, this was the government. This was the person ended up becoming Governor Charles Brantley Aycock red shirt, it was the racist progressive Democratic Party of that day against Lincoln Republicans, and they were claiming, Fredricka, that using politics and reconstruction pocket were undermining America.

They were lying about deficit. They refused to accept the election results of 1896. And for two years it went all over the state to say we must have a violent insurrection and then send that message out all over the country to say this is how we take our country back and live with that.

[12:40:09]

WHITFIELD: You're delivering the eulogy today. What will your message be?

BARBER: Well, in this sense, the eulogy has to be why, where the deaths -- did the deaths happened? Almost some say that the number of people that were killing massacre, Wilmington government in 1890. And by the way, they went up like people as well, was more people killed per capita than were killed on that event.

And what I also can talk about is how the blood of those people still speak to us today. And we got to remember this history because look at the trends today, the lies about voting, or racist insurrection, or the insurrection that they're rooted in cheating and lies and extortion. Look at how today their attempts to block a living wages, block child tax credit, block earned income tax credit, block family leave based lie.

I mean they have a charismatic leader going all around the country today, they had a charismatic leader, yesterday, going all around, spreading the lie, they took over the media back then. They take the media, some parts of the media like "Fox News," and others are pushing out these lies today. So part of it is there's a scripture in the Bible that says the blood of Abel cries from the ground.

And so I want to talk about what the blood of those who died in violent event is still crying to us now, and trying to say to us, don't go down this road again, America, don't do this again, stand up against the lives, stand up against the distortion, be progressive society and try to care about everybody. Do not follow this, because the end of it is terrible forms of violence. It ultimately destroy democracy and destroy us all.

WHITFIELD: Pay attention to the frightening parallels. I mean, some of Joshua's descendants, I spoke with CNN affiliate WECT, on what they are feeling leading up to today's ceremony, and this is what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATE BROWN, DESCENDANT OF JOSHUA HALSEY: We're calling it a funeral. But there'll be no one there who knew Josh, actually know him. But what happened to him cannot be forgotten.

GWENDOLYN ALEXIS, GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER OF JOSHUA HALSEY: We're honoring the people who hid in the swamps were I honoring the people who never came back to their homes. We're honoring so many ancestors, along with our family, our blood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: If a ceremony like today is really just the beginning, what are you hoping is next?

BARBER: Well, I love that word honoring because to honor people is not just to remember them and have the funeral. It is to remember what they stood for. You know that day in Wilmington was the largest city in North Carolina, it was on its way to become Atlanta, it had the largest African American population we have a stronger American paper, and black and white people were working together for fundamental change.

And then there was this other element in North Carolina and all over the South, there's 1819 was the beginning of a lot of riots. In fact, there was a telegram sent after November 10th, '89 he said, this is how you put the Negro behind that place and block Negro domination. This is how you stop using politics black and white and working together. So we're going to honor them and be much challenged the vestiges of those things today.

We must hear their voices in the now. But I don't know if I'm going so much to bury Josh has to resurrect his memory, in hopes that we heal the lessons of the past. And we face the lives today, we face the policy racism today, we face the forces that are trying to divide us today we face the insurrections of date because the best form of honor and flattery is to do what others did while they were living.

WHITFIELD: And Bishop, is this something that there are people who are hearing about this page in history for the first time, similar to how in recent years, many admitted to just learning of the Oklahoma Black Wall Street massacre for the first time, why is America still learning about its history?

BARBER: Well, that again, is political. Why are we still learning about history? And then why do we get so mad when -- some people get so mad when these things come up? There's been so much attempt to hide the admit history of systemic racism and violence. There was for years nobody really knew about reported on it wasn't in our textbook about this.

So much of this violence is hidden and that's why we continue to repeat because we've not had an honest reckoning with the history and not just what happened to individual. But I want your listeners to understand this was a two year strategic plan that was laid out from 1896 by those who lost the election, and refused to accept it, and they saw unity, black and white people coming together as a problem as being anti-America.

[12:45:19]

WHITFIELD: As a threat.

BARBER: As a threat. And it ended up getting all the way into the White House when Woodrow Wilson was there and he played Birth of a Nation in the White House, which was the glorification of the clan, and the diminishing of reconstruction, politics, black and white, important government.

We need to recover this history but not just for history sake, so that we can see it coming out of. We can know what's happening in the presence of reality, particularly when we see it activated and policy, the policy and the live always first, and then come the violence and the destruction.

WHITFIELD: Oh, Bishop William Barber, thank you so much for being with us today and helping us to understand and see what it is you're doing today to help honor so many who have not been honored before. Appreciate it.

BARBER: Fred, thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:43]

WHITFIELD: A political underdog story is souring in New Jersey, a number of offensive tweets from years past are resurfacing this weekend after Republican Ed Durer pulled off a surprise win and unseated the second ranking Democratic official in the state. Evan McMorris-Santoro is following this for us from New York. Evan, what's come to light?

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, you said it best there about people are learning about this guy now that they've elected him. Edward Durr was a virtual unknown when he beat New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney on Tuesday night and people tried to set out figuring out who he is. And the way you do that these days is going through people's social media feed.

And what they found under his Twitter feed made them very nervous. In September 2019, he posted a wildly Islamophobic tweet that called the faith a false religion that made Muslims in his district and across the state, nervous and after the tweet was revealed.

Durr offered a kind of apology saying I'm a passionate guy, I sometimes say these things in the heat of the moment. If I said things in the past to hurt anybody's feelings, I sincerely apologize, I support everybody's right to worship in any manner they choose and to worship the God of their choice.

That apology wasn't really enough for the Muslim Advocates in New Jersey, they say that there is a kind of rhetoric these days, that can actually be very harmful to them, especially when it's inside the state legislature. So they asked to meet with Durr and talk to him about this. I spoke to the executive director of CAIR in New Jersey about why he wants to have that meeting, and what he hopes to accomplish.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SELAEDIN MAKSUT, EXEC. DIR. OF THE COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS, NJ: Through conversation and through sincere dialogue. I think that people can change, but it requires effort, it requires sincerity. And ultimately, there is no benefit in cornering him. So with a conversation, maybe two or three, and through experience and coming to see the community coming to learn from his own constituents who are Muslim, we do think that we can change his perspective on the faith and on the people that follow the religion of Islam. It really is the only option we have. It is really our obligation as Muslims to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Now, Fred, Durr has agreed to this meeting. But CAIR told me today there a date has not yet been set for it. They're hoping it happens next week. Obviously, this isn't just a story about a guy who posted something really cruel and mean on Twitter and is now trying to be confronted by those who he hurt with his words. He's a lawmaker now. And these Muslims in his district and in New Jersey are worried what he could do with that power. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Evan McMorris-Santoro, thank you so much for that.

All right, last week, we announced the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2021, one of whom will be named the CNN Hero of the Year by you. David Flink was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia at the age of 11 and struggled throughout school. Well, now he's an adult, and he's working to make sure that children like him don't fall through the cracks of the education system, and he's unleashing confident, successful learners in the process.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DAVID FLINK, CEO AND FOUNDER, EYE TO EYE: Eye to Eye provides a safe space that's constructed around what's right with kids, so they can talk about their experiences.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you get scared during tests or like nervous or no?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have anxiety like I shake a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, that happens to me sometimes.

FLINK: People's hearts sing when they're seen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is nice too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My masterpiece.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really cool, I like how you use a duct tape as a handle.

FLINK: My moment that I am wishing for is when the problem of stigmatizing kids because they learn differently goes away. I want them to know that their brains are beautiful. I want them feeling like they know how to ask for what they need, and that they can do it. And that's what we give them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, Daniel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[12:54:35]

WHITFIELD: And to vote for him for CNN Hero of the Year or any of your favorite top 10 heroes go to CNNHeroes.com. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LISA LING, CNN HOST: Can I ask you guys if you could raise your hand if you've seen someone get killed? Would you share how old you were the first time you saw someone get shot or killed?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was 13. That was the first time me ever seeing somebody shot, somebody died. It was scary.

[13:00:05]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I was nine years old, I knew something was going to happen if it was like three or four guys sitting outside and they shot everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody get shot every day. That's just how I grow up with.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some people chose to be in a gang for survival. Some people chose to be in a gang because that that was peer pressured into doing this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's in our DNA, all of us to want to be a part of something and know that gangs they're not going anywhere. But I think what we have to do is just to change the mindset.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And don't miss a brand new episode of "This is Life with Lisa Ling." That's tomorrow at 10:00 p.m.