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First of All with Victor Blackwell

One-On-One With Billy Porter Live; Voting Rights Fights Take Shape With Weeks To Tight Election; GOP Member Of Controversial GA Election Board Speaks Out; First "Global Black Pride" In U.S. Kicks Off; USDA "Deeply Apologetic" About Tribal Food Shortages; "Move-In Day Mafia" Helps HBCU Students From Foster Care. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired August 31, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Projects.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Looking forward to that. Have a great show, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Thank you very much. Let's start it right now.

Well, first of all, I've never really subscribed to the philosophy that we should not get into the so-called weeds on television. They say people turn it off. It's too complicated to follow. Don't get bogged down. But sometimes it's necessary. And in the national election rules, what someone may do versus what they shall do can swing the election. Just see, January 6 and Pence is roll after the 2020 election for that.

Now, with 66 days left until votes are counted this cycle, there are debates happening over new election rules. In a moment, we'll talk about Nebraska and a voting rights fight that you may not know is going on. We're going to zero in on a group fighting for their right to even register to vote. But first, I'm starting with the tension over election rules here in Georgia. At the center is Georgia State Board -- election board, I should say. They passed new rules recently.

One would allow election officials to conduct quote, reasonable inquiry before certifying election results. Another would permit members of county election boards to investigate ballot counts. They sound benign, but Democrats are suing. They argue the rules would cause chaos in Georgia weeks out from the election, and they want Governor Brian Kemp to do something.

Now this is not just a clean-cut fight between Democrats and Republicans. Let me read you this quote. "These misguided last-minute changes from unelected bureaucrats who have never run an election and seem to reject the advice of anyone who ever has could cause serious problems in an election that otherwise will be secure and accurate." That's from Georgia's Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, and just this week, he added this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you feel like what's happened in the state

election board is a direct result of the aftermath of the 2020 election, and some of the election lines that were brought on?

BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, (R) GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: You'd have to ask in each of them all really upset is that the state election board is a mess.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Here in studio to respond, one of Georgia's election board's Republican members, Janelle King. First, thank you for coming in.

JANELLE KING, (R) GEORGIA STATE ELECTION BOARD MEMBER: Yes. Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

BLACKWELL: What's your response to what you heard there from the Secretary of State?

KING: You know, I have given a response before when he said that, and I'm going to change it up a little bit, because last time I said, Well, he's a mess. Because I think to end it there is just --it's doing a disservice to the people. None of these concerns has been communicated to us, which I think is quite interesting. He's gone straight to the public. And that's part of the problem, is that we're saying one thing in the public, and then behind closed doors, there's a different conversation that's happening.

The fact of the matter is, these rules are not going to create any type of chaos. We are simply lining up with the law, and that's what we continue to do.

BLACKWELL: So let's talk about the rules. I said we're going to get into the weeds a bit, because this is where things can live and die. One of the rules, as I mentioned, allows election officials to conduct a reasonable inquiry before certifying election results. Reasonable is not defined by any specific time frame, so why support it without saying it must be done in time for the state to certify by November 12.

KING: Well, actually it does state that. In the petition, it says that this has to be done within the allotted certification period. So whereas the certification period ends on the Monday, right after the election, that's how long they have. They don't have any additional time. So there's no indication that they're going to break the law, or that they can break the law. What we're saying is that the information that the election offices have, that information should be readily available to the election board, so that when they're signing this document that says that the results are perfect, that they're accurate, and that there isn't any fraud, that's the documentation that they have to sign. It's a legal affidavit, and if they inaccurate, they could be punishable by getting a felony.

So we're just saying that, you know what? Some counties allow these board members to see this information, and some counties don't. We're making a uniform process so that we don't have to worry about that.

BLACKWELL: Democrats in their lawsuit, they want clarity, they want certainty, that no concern from a local, let's say county official who doesn't like the results there can prevent the state from certifying by November 12. Can you guarantee that that will not happen?

KING: I can guarantee that. Actually I can, because if in the petition, like I said, it states that this has to be done during the certification process, and also states that only the election board members can see the information that's provided during that election. There's not a lot of information. I mean, it's mostly just counts, right?

So we're not talking about the outcome. We're talking about the total numbers. So instead of them just getting an email that says, here's the totals and go certify, we're now that they should now get an email that says, hey, here's the recap sheet. Here's whatever you need based on information. We have you feel free to certify.

[08:05:02]

BLACKWELL: Let's talk mail in voting. Former President Trump said this about mail-in voting. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It shouldn't be allowed. It's a whole different mindset. What we have to do is get control, and then we have to change it. And it's a very simple change, same-day voting. Everybody votes. You know, remember the old days.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Republicans now have the majority on the state election board. The control here. Should there be changes to mail-in voting? What do you think about what we heard?

KING: I mean, I think each board member probably has their own personal feelings as it relates to that. However, that's stepping outside of our purview. When it comes to mail-in voting and whether we have it or not have it, that's the legislators that have to decide that. We are not creating laws. We're setting rules. So the laws are already in place, and then we just set rules around it.

So depending on people's personal perspective, that's fine. They can have that. But that's not something that we can do.

BLACKWELL: As I said at the top 66 days left until the election, and the president of a nonpartisan Georgia Association of Voter Registration election officials said this. Any last-minute changes to the rules risk undermining the public's trust in the electoral process and place undue pressure on the individuals responsible for managing the polls and administering the election. This could ultimately lead to errors or delays in voting, which is the last thing anyone wants. Are you potentially causing more problems with the confusion than you're solving? KING: No, we're not. So if you look at all the rules, the rules that

we are pass are not rules is going to impact anyone's experience when it's time to vote. They're all rules that take place after the voting process after --

BLACKWELL: Yes, but that's what he's talking about. These officials, that it could be too confusing for them at the last minute.

KING: Well, it's not because they will have enough time. I mean, they're -- we're not changing anything that has not already been done. We're not creating new laws. So it's already on the books. We're just lining everything up. So asking you to ensure that the number of ballots matches the number of voters is what you should be doing anyway. Asking you to ensure that precincts are counting these ballots is what you should be doing anyway.

So we're just cleaning it up making sure it's uniform. But ultimately, we're taking a ground-up approach. So what we saw in the past that has caught chaos is that from the top level, they have found that there were issues within the 159 counties, and then they have to go and try to kind of figure go through the weeds to find out where the problem is. Well, here these rules will allow precincts to have a lot more control over making sure the numbers are accurate.

BLACKWELL: Let me play here what the former president said when he was here in Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: They're on fire. They're doing a great job. Three

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Is that how you would describe yourself? Are you also here fixing a problem that doesn't exist? The Secretary of State says the election is secure. These changes are not helping anything.

KING: So, no, I'm not fixing a problem that does not exist. Actually, we're preventing problems from happening in the future. If you go back prior to 2020 if you look in 2018 there were issues that Saramikos had with her race against Jeff Duncan. Stacey Abrams had several issues that she complained about as well. And then Trump had issues that he complained about. So this is something that we've seen, and I don't think it's something that's major. I think it's a matter of process, right?

Let's just look at the process. Let's fix the broken chains, and everything will be fine.

BLACKWELL: In 2020, you said Democrats cheated in that election. Is that informing why these changes are being made?

KING: I said Democrats cheated the election?

BLACKWELL: Yes. Yes.

KING: When did I say that?

BLACKWELL: Let's play it. This is January 4, 2021, on WIND in Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING: I would hope the Democratic Party wouldn't cheat this go round. If they did cheat in the same way that we believe they did beforehand, it would take almost twice the effort to do so, and I'm pretty sure that we're in place to be able to catch that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Right before the runoff in Georgia. And you were talking in that conversation, I could tweet it out for people want to listen the whole thing.

KING: No, thank you for sure, yes.

BLACKWELL: This is after the general. So you said that they cheated. Is that informing why you are supporting these rules now?

KING: Well, I said if they cheated, but this is the thing. We had a lot of concerns about what happened during that time frame, and we didn't know what was going on. I will say that after joining the board, I have access to more information, so I do understand things a little bit differently. And what we did find is that there were about 3,000 ballots that were double-counted in Fulton County. There's 17,000 ballot images that are currently still missing, and we're we just want to find out not what was on those ballots, but what happened during that process, because I just think it's basic human error.

BLACKWELL: So you say that they were double counted. Do you also believe the election was stolen?

KING: I do not believe the election was stolen. That's not my position at all. My position is that there were some issues that did take place, so much so that the current or the current attorney general, I'm sorry, Secretary of State's Attorney at the time, Ryan Germany, said that he also found some mistakes, and he's actually trying to join a monitoring team right now to monitor Fulton County.

[08:10:19]

BLACKWELL: Well, the Secretary of State and his office maintain that the 2020 election was fair and accurate, and so I want to express that as well as you make your position clear. Janelle King, thank you.

KING: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right. So there's another decision looming that could have a huge impact on the outcome of the election. Let's go to Nebraska now, a state law passed in 2005 restored voting rights for formerly incarcerated felons. One condition, they have to wait two years after their sentences end to register. Now in April, the state legislature removed that requirement, but two days before that new law was going into effect, Nebraska's Attorney General said the new law and the 2005 law are both unconstitutional.

He argues the state's pardon board does not legislators, rather, have the power to restore voting rights. And as a result, the Secretary of State of Nebraska told county election officials to stop registering people with felonies on their record who have not been pardoned. The ACLU sued on behalf of three people impacted, and one wants to register as a Democrat, another as a Republican, a third as a nonpartisan. Supreme Court had a hearing this week. A ruling is now pending.

Now Nebraska is a red state, but Nebraska is also unique. It allocates electoral votes by district, and in Omaha's second congressional district, former President Donald Trump won by just a little more than 6500 votes in 2016. 2020, President Biden won the district by 22,000 votes. This one district could swing the race in a close Electoral College count.

According to the Voting Rights Restoration coalition, 7,000 formerly incarcerated Nebraskans could be eligible to vote. This context matters too. People who are incarcerated in Nebraska are disproportionately Black, Hispanic or Indigenous. Analysis from the Prison Policy Initiative found the rate of black people in prison in Nebraska in 2021 was more than nine times higher than white Nebraskans.

Aaron Pettes is impacted by this. He has a felony on his record after spending 16 and a half years in prison. Aaron now works with a nonprofit in Nebraska called RISE, which helps with reentry. Aaron, thank you so much for being with me. First, just the ramifications of not just removing the tooth the two-year waiting period, but now saying anyone with a felony on their record, reverting to a 19th century law would not be able to register to vote.

AARON PETTES, RENTRY MANAGER, RISE NEBRASKA: Right. Yes, they literally jumped in their AMZ DeLorean and went back to the future on us, right, and canceled out a law that's been in place for 20 years allowing people with past felony convictions to vote. My wife, who had voted three in the last three elections, was also formerly incarcerated, now can no longer vote. So you're you said 7,000 that's just 7,000 new voters. That's not including, that's not including the tens of thousands of votes that are affected by the old law. The impact of this law going to her being banned is just, it's astronomical.

BLACKWELL: I think I also want to be clear here, just as in the first conversation, it was not neat along Republican and Democrat lines. Here as well the legislature in Nebraska, which is unicameral, mostly Republican, they voted to support to remove this two-year waiting period. So we should not understand this as a political fight. Why do you think this is happening?

PETTES: Why do I mean you quoted the numbers in the beginning, nine times more likely to be incarcerated than our fellow Nebraskans, and I think that there's maybe some fear about how those that nine times as many people will vote. And so there's been a blanket law revoked, basically nullifying our voice. You know, being formally incarcerated and coming out and getting my right to vote back, inviting me back into the fold, and with one swoop of the pin, the Secretary of State and the Attorney General ushered me back out of society and silenced me.

It doesn't sit well with me. I feel like they're doing this because they feel like they're doing it in a vacuum. But I'm here this morning to bring light to this issue because I deserve the vote. I've done my time, and I want to be able to go into the voter booth and make my voice heard.

BLACKWELL: And what's the impact here? Even if the law that's been passed is upheld. We cover stories like Crystal nations out of Texas, where someone who has a felony on their record, they accidentally go and try to vote when potentially they are not allowed to, and then they're sentenced. I mean, what do you think the confusion impact will be there in Nebraska?

[08:15:24]

PETTES: people aren't going to vote. I mean, I don't want to go back to prison. I know I work with hundreds of ex-incarcerated people, and the wide opinion is, even if this thing is overturned, I'm not getting back into this process. We had to convince a lot of people to even reengage in this process to begin with, and now this comes down and just feels, it almost feels like we're back in prison where an arbitrary decision made by one person can change your life and that's essentially what happened here.

One person made the decision to nullify this vote, and another person rubber stamped it, overriding a 386 vote in the legislature, 386, overwhelming support nullified by two people working with one mind.

BLACKWELL: You've described this as an ending punishment and demoralization. I mean beyond the letter of the law and what's being considered there is this maybe it's a misconception that rights are being restored for people with felonies on their record. What has this period taught us?

PETTES: I think in the 20 years since the original laws passed, it's taught us that people who are formerly incarcerated can take part in the process and take part in the process of success. Successfully. It is hard for me to understand how this can happen and walk this would happen, and it's being formerly incarcerated, the cynicism that's built into you from being inside the institution makes me feel a little dubious of the intentions of this law being passed.

BLACKWELL: Aaron Pettis joining us from Omaha. Thank you so much.

On Monday night, CNN will look at the presidential candidates and their records a special edition of the whole story with Anderson Cooper airs Labor Day starting at 8:00 p.m. From Jack Daniels to Tractor Supply and now Ford. You may have seen the growing list of companies saying they're ditching DEI it's apparently all because of a pressure campaign from one right-wing activist. Plus the award winning actor and singer Billy Porter is here in studio. We'll talk about LGBTQ issues and the 2024 race, global black pride and much more. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:22:34]

BLACKWELL: Another company is changing its DEI policies after being targeted by conservative activists. This week, Ford's CEO told employees in an email that "the external and legal environment related to political and social issues continues to evolve". Ford joins a growing list that includes John Deere and Jack Daniels and Harley Davidson Tractor Supply.

Let's bring in Simone Foxman. She's a business reporter covering this for Bloomberg. Good morning, and thank you for covering this. First, I don't want to get into this, you know, post hoc ergo propter hoc after therefore, because of this one activist. But how much influence does this man, Robbie Starbuck, have? And who is he?

SIMONE FOXMAN, BLOOMBERG BUSINESS REPORTER: Well, he's a music video producer turned right-wing media activist. He has a documentary as well. And you know, unlike some of the other

conservative activists that we've seen targeting DEI policies and calling them discriminatory, his MO is find companies with a conservative-leaning consumer base, and then what he calls exposing them, talking to people on, you know, Twitter or X, about how these companies have these DEI policies, and saying this is out of step with your consumer base.

And so he's gotten companies like Tractor Supply was the first one that we saw back in June. He just kept going after them on Twitter, rather X, excuse me, and it really ended up resulting in the company talking about eliminating DEI roles, rolling back, their policies, they're giving to pride parades, and the like. That's really angered, of course, some people, but you know, I think these companies see the benefit of eliminating these policies and not risking a sort of Bud Light situation.

BLACKWELL: Yes. It would be naive to think that these companies are only making a moral decision. The bottom line is the bottom line. But is there a counterpart? Is there influence pressure on the other side for these companies that are walking away from their DEI commitments?

FOXMAN: You know, it's interesting. I cover the pushback in DEI broadly. There have been a lot of legal activists who have targeted these policies, and I've been looking for a long time for a concerted campaign from the other side. What you know, pro DEI, I suppose forces will say, is that eventually, these companies are going to ultimately face litigation over potential discrimination, that they're going to potentially lose staff. But there is no one on the other side, essentially saying, guys, you have to all keep these policies. There are specific groups, Human Rights Campaign for one, they have a very important Corporate Equality Index. That's something a lot of these companies are leaving as part of these measures. But even they are not, seemingly, at least yet quite so influential to actually cause companies to pause. BLACKWELL: Simone, if in some cases and again, we don't want to give

him too much power, although he is having a huge impact. If these Fortune 100 companies are backing away from DEI because this activist sends an email or starts asking questions, not even a lawsuit or a boycott, one has to question how strong or deep was their commitment to diversity equity and inclusion in the first place?

FOXMAN: Yes, I mean, absolutely, and that is something that you know advocates of diversity policies will bring up. You know, on the other hand, you do see even impact investors saying so many companies adopted diversity equity inclusion policies in the wake of the murder of George Floyd back in 2020 and it's good for them to kind of take another look at the policies they have and not only make sure that they comply with an evolving legal landscape, especially after, you know, The affirmative action decision in the Supreme Court, but also that they are truly meaning this.

And, you know, it's interesting. I would like to see which companies, and ultimately, there is going to be a company that says, actually, our diversity, equity and inclusion policies are core to our values, and we are going to protect these things at least, maybe we've dropped some other stuff because it's no longer legally viable. I think ultimately we will see that company come across at the moment. You know, these companies have a very conservative consumer base. We haven't really seen Starbuck at least go after one with a more diverse consumer base.

BLACKWELL: All right. Simone Foxman with Bloomberg, thank you so much. All right. This weekend, a global celebration of Black LGBTQ plus pride is happening here in Atlanta, and award-winning actor and singer Billy Porter is here to talk about that is new music and much more coming up next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:31:59]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Labor Day weekend is here, and so is Global Black Pride. For the first time, it's being held in the U.S., and it's here in Atlanta. The headliner is actor and singer, Billy Porter. He is here in studio. Thank you for coming in.

BILLY PORTER, ACTOR AND SINGER: It is my pleasure.

BLACKWELL: It's so good to have you. We're going to talk about Global Black Pride in a moment. But first, let me get your thoughts on that conversation we just had about this increasing list of corporations backing away from DEI commitments, backing away from the HRC. What do you think when you see it?

PORTER: It's not a surprise. Historically, you know, we, as people of color, me as a black gay man, you know, my rights have been up for legislation since the moment I could comprehend, thought, the fact that that's what we're still doing, to literally just be seen is disgusting. They are cowards, and it's time for us to figure out how to combat that. We won in the courts, and they're flipping those decisions in the courts.

They're flipping the words that gave us the wind back on us. We need lawyers to do the same thing and get it back. We did this already. I don't understand it. They are cowards. And we have to now go back to the tactic of hitting them in their pocketbooks.

BLACKWELL: Yes, that was one of the questions I asked. Who's on the other side that's fighting as hard as the conservative activists who are trying to get rid of DEI to support them? So let me ask you the --

PORTER: We need those people.

BLACKWELL: You were at the DNC?

PORTER: Yes.

BLACKWELL: And we talk in this show about centering voices of people of color and the stories that impact them. But from the perspective of LGBTQ plus Americans, what's on the line in November?

PORTER: Literally everything. And it's intersectional.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PORTER: Everything's on the line for all of us. That's the reason why we all have to come together and fight together. All of these intersections, we must fight together. The DNC was so powerful for me, because for the first time in eight years, or almost nine years, there was joy again, there was hope again. There was there -- there is a plan.

You know, we got caught with our pants down with 45, you know. It's as if that never happened before. This is historic. This is how this country was built. Nothing that's happening right now is new. And I feel as if, you know, there's a lot of people are tired, right? Chaos has been the goal. And as a result of that, people check out.

[08:35:03]

BLACKWELL: You said this the first time in eight years or nine years has been hope or joy. You were just at the White House in June, at the Juneteenth event in the Biden White House. Did you not feel that hope and joy during the Biden years?

PORTER: Yes and, yes, and it's a yes and because, if we're going -- I am cautious -- cautiously joyful, cautiously optimistic. You know, if we -- we have -- we have to have learned something from the Obama administration. You know, these people aren't saviors. These people are humans. And we as the people have to be the wind beneath their wings every day, all day. I do believe that the Harris-Walz campaign will win. With that all of us must stay engaged.

We have to help them. We have to go to these midterm elections and make sure that all three branches of government stay become Democratic and remain Democratic, so that we can get some work done. We now know how it works. We've seen it. You know, it's all legal, and it's all, you know, it's so convoluted if you're not in it, if you're not a legal scholar, if you're not, you know, a political, you know, person that studied it. It's convoluted and it's confusing.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about what brings you to Atlanta, Global Black Pride. You are headlining.

PORTER: Yes, I am.

BLACKWELL: What should we expect? You're performing tonight at 6:30.

PORTER: Well, "Black Mona Lisa," she's here.

BLACKWELL: All right.

PORTER: You know, you're going to see "Black Mona Lisa," that's tonight at 6:30. My album came out in November. I am the proudest of this music. It's the fifth album. It's from the depths of my soul. It's deeply personal. I wrote pretty much all of the music, all but one. And the messaging, the intention, it's my ministry, and my art is my ministry.

And I came here with a healing energy. We need to be healed, you know, particularly the gay community, particularly the black community, you know, our trans brothers and sisters, there's a healing that needs to be -- that needs to take place, so that we can be of use. We can't be of use unless we're whole.

BLACKWELL: Cookout sess -- sessions coming out next week?

PORTER: September, 5th -- 6th --

BLACKWELL: So next --

PORTER: -- the cookout session.

BLACKWELL: week. Yes, it is the 31st. Next week, yes. It's moving.

PORTER: It moves.

BLACKWELL: It's moving.

PORTER: It moves.

BLACKWELL: You know, I -- I've read that you said something, and I wrote it down here that after so many years playing characters on T.V., on stage, that it feels good to be on stage and just being yourself.

PORTER: Yes.

BLACKWELL: And really, that's what we're all trying to do.

PORTER: Yes, yes. I -- I, you know, I love being an actor. I love telling stories. I love becoming other characters. And I was reminded being on the road. I did a concert last year, 25 cities and five -- and -- and five weeks, "Black Mona Lisa." And this year I've been at a lot of pride festivals, you know, really trying to connect and reconnect in person with my family. You know.

This is the first time that I've ever, well, the second time that I have ever officially sung at an all-black pride event. I feel at home. I feel my family. I can't wait --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PORTER: -- to get in front of thousands and thousands of people and celebrate. It's a celebration.

BLACKWELL: Tonight at 6:30.

PORTER: 6:30, come out and get your blessing, people.

BLACKWELL: Yes, yes. Ain't Atlanta beautiful?

PORTER: It is.

BLACKWELL: Oh my gosh.

PORTER: I'm just -- I'm so full. I -- I really have no words.

BLACKWELL: Billy Porter, thank you for coming in studio.

PORTER: Thank you for having me.

[08:39:12]

BLACKWELL: All right. Next, tribal nations say the food and aid program that they depend on has been failing for months. And if you're one of many who had no idea this was going on, lawmakers claim they only found out recently themselves. We'll explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Native tribes across the country are dealing with a food shortage crisis. You probably had no idea until now. I didn't until this week, but it's been going on for months. The issue now has the attention of Congress, House and Senate Republicans and Democrats. They sent a letter this week to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, demanding answers and solutions.

In a statement to the U.S. -- to us rather, the USDA says that they are deeply apologetic and are working around the clock to restore reliable, dependable food availability that tribal nations and seniors expect. Carly Griffith Hovet is with us. Hotvedt, I should say, is with us. She's executive director of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative. Carly, thank you for being with us. First, just explain why is this happening?

[08:45:00]

CARLY GRIFFITH HOTVEDT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INDIGENOUS FOOD AND AGRICULTURE INITIATIVE: Sure. (Inaudible) Victor and (inaudible). Good morning from the Cherokee Nation reservation. This food -- the food distribution disruption occurred due to some logistical errors with the vendor that the USDA had contracted to provide food distribution for the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations that we call FDPIR.

There was a decision by USDA to go to a sole source vendor when previously two vendors had served tribes across the country, and that vendor is having difficulty ramping up to meet that increased volume of demand.

BLACKWELL: So we're showing pictures now of virtually empty cooling cases and shelves here. What does this mean on a day to day basis for the nations that rely on this food distribution?

HOTVEDT: Sure, so for nations that are relying on this food distribution, the program is limited to folks who are low income, and that can be a lot of people on many reservations. But it means that when these foods aren't being delivered and able to be distributed to people, that these warehouses and the program operators are having to turn people away. People are going hungry.

These sites are frequently the only place to get healthy and nutritious food within a really wide radius in many of these communities. And so folks are spending their last five bucks on gas to get out to these distribution sites, only to be told there's nothing available for them.

BLACKWELL: There are the also the secondary and tertiary impacts here. Mean, in this letter to the USDA Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, leading this bipartisan group in the Senate, points out that there's the summer slide for children, their learning loss and regression. It's heightened for Native children because of a loss of resources or lack of resources. I mean, if this is not fit soon, what are the implications?

HOTVEDT: So there's a lot of implications here. Folks will have to, you know, reallocate where they're sourcing their food from. Some people won't be able to do that. This program serves large percentages of our elders and our children. As you mentioned, that summer slide is definitely a big deal. So folks won't be, you know, prepared and ready to go back to school and are having to spend more of their money on food products, rather than being able to more evenly distribute their income, to be able to take care of other necessities in life. It's a really difficult position that these folks are being put into.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And -- and, look, when we -- and to me, it's just so heartbreaking that Native Americans, the people who taught those first arrivals to this country, how to cultivate the land, how to grow gourds and vegetables, and how to hunt are now suffering from a loss of -- of food or a lack of consistent food from their trustees, the United States.

I mean, if this had been happening in a major U.S. city, a low income community of tens of thousands of people with food insecurity, we would have been talking about this long before now.

HOTVEDT: Sure. So, you know, when these disruptions really started, you know, the tribal leaders that were administering these programs, there had been a history of, you know, poor service, and they worked really, really hard over a few decades to get that improved. And so when this started happening, this current vendor previously had a really good record of service. And so the goal was to try and get it resolved at the lowest level possible without having to escalate anything.

Promises were made that things would be corrected by the middle of July, and when that didn't happen, tribal leaders decided they needed to escalate. And so going up the chain and reaching out to their congressional contacts is really what happened. I think it's just representative of, you know, a previously fraught history with the government to government and trust responsibility that tribes have expected but been frequently disappointed in with their federal counterparts.

So it's good to see that there are -- is some progress being made. There is some resolution occurring. And the other thing is, there's been a lot of disparity. Some tribes have been significantly more impacted than others. Others have been able to manage more due to increased higher levels of capacity or resources within their own communities, being able to shuffle things around. But it has been pretty hard for tribes that maybe don't have the same type of opportunities.

BLACKWELL: All right. Carly Griffith Hotvedt, thank you so much for talking with us about this issue. We'll stay on top of it, and as a realist -- resolution comes forward, let us know. Thank you so much.

HOTVEDT: (Inaudible). Thank you.

[08:49:32]

BLACKWELL: Well, for students formerly in foster care, getting settled at college can be really difficult. Meet the Move-In Day Mafia helping to change that, next.

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BLACKWELL: The day I moved into Howard University's Drew Hall, 25 years ago, there were two elevators, one was broken, and it was the hottest day I think God ever created. Moving into your college dorm at any age is tough. You know that if you're in college now or you have a kid who is going in, even more so for students that are coming out of the foster care system, that's where the Move-In Day mafia comes in. Their mission is to help HBCU students move in, get settled and be their support network.

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MINA STARKS, MOVE-IN DAY MAFIA: We always ask them, like, what's your favorite color, you know? How do you like your room to feel, you know? What -- what motivates you or inspire you?

TEEJ MERCER, FOUNDER, MOVE-IN DAY MAFIA: The mafia takes care of its own. And we are walking with these students for four years. We're not just moving them in, they get monthly care packages. They get regular check-ins with my team. And so as a result, we are taking care of them all the way to the finish line of their dream of graduation.

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[08:55:15]

BLACKWELL: Yes, some people who age out of the foster care system, they get their belongings in a trash bag. Think about that transition now, with the support of this organization. If you're interested in learning how to help, check out moveindaymafia.org. To TeeJ Mercer and Move-In Day Mafia, I see you.

Now, if you see something or someone I should see, tell me. I'm at VictorBlackwell on Instagram, X and TikTok. And you can find clips from many of our segments on this new show page, check out cnn.com/victor-blackwell-first-of-all, with hyphens in between each word. You can watch there.

Thanks for joining me today. I'll see you back here next Saturday at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Have a safe Labor Day weekend. Smerconish is up after a break.

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