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First of All with Victor Blackwell

Friend Of U.S. Activist Shot By IDF In West Bank Speaks Out; Alicia Keys And Swizz Beatz Share Art Collection; Later This Hour: A Tribute To Frankie Beverly; Friends, Family Of American Activist Killed By IDF Call For Justice; Alicia Keys And Swizz Beatz Share Art Collection Of "Giants"; Frankie Beverly, Lead Singer And Founder Of Maze, Dead At 77. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired September 14, 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: To rest in Turkey today, but loved ones and members of Congress are now demanding. And later, Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz. They're prolific musicians, art collectors. I was there as they walked through a new exhibit featuring work from their collection for the first time on display, what they told me about how anyone, how you can get started and collecting right now, and I'll bring that to you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll be watching.

BLACKWELL: Thank you very much. Let's start the show.

First of all, okay, first of all, we lost an icon this week, Frankie Beverly died, and his passing has just not yet gotten the coverage it deserves. It just has not been covered the way it should be. That song you hear there before I let go is an anthem for so many people. It recalls good memories and family reunions and happy feelings, if you will, right? So stay with me. Call your people. We're going to do it right for Frankie later this morning.

All right. We have to start this morning, though, with this trash about eating cats and dogs. By now you've heard about the racist claim about Haitian migrants eating pets. And now there are the memes, of course, and the TikTok videos of the cats and the dogs looking sad or scared. It's viral.

But maybe what you have not seen are the ways that anti-immigrant lives are impacting real people's lives. The Haitian Times spoke to a community activist in Springfield, Ohio. They were told that, "People are very afraid for their lives." "Many families are starting to think of leaving Springfield, and some kids are not even going to school because of fear of being attacked."

On Friday, schools in Springfield were evacuated for the second day in a row. There was a bomb threat against schools and City Hall on Thursday. Here's the mayor of Springfield, he says they need help, not hate. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAYOR ROB RUE, SPRINGFIELD, OHIO: We have to focus on making sure this rhetoric is dispelled, that these rumors are just -- they're just not true. We have a beautiful city, and we need, we need the national stage to pay attention to what their words are doing to cities like ours. Legacy cities in Ohio, Legacy cities in the Midwest, they are working hard to be significant, and we are doing well at that. We don't need this pushback that is hurting our citizens and hurting our community.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: And it's not just Ohio. In Sylacauga, Alabama, a city council meeting was shut down after questions started coming in about Haitian immigrants. The mayor there is trying to debunk rumors.

President Biden at White House brunch honoring black excellence Friday. He asked for the former president to stop it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, USA PRESIDENT: I want to say, take a moment to say something like so many Americans, like Karine, as he pointed out, a proud Haitian-American, community that's under attack in our country right now, simply wrong. There's no place in America. This has to stop what he's doing. It has to stop.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: And yet, former President Trump is not stopping.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In Springfield, Ohio, 20,000 illegal Haitian migrants have descended upon a town of 58,000 people, destroying their way of life. I can say this, we will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio, large deportations. We're going to get these people out. We're bringing them back to Venezuela. It's like an invasion from within.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Okay. That was just yesterday. Few problems with the former president said there. One, the immigrants in Springfield are Haitians. Haitians are from Haiti, not Venezuela. And those Haitian immigrants are here legally, with temporary protected status.

There is one Haitian-American currently serving in Congress, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, is also the first Haitian American Democrat in Congress, and she's with me now. Congresswoman, thank you for being with me. I first want your reaction to what you heard there from the former president yesterday, also his suggestion that he's going to Springfield to hold a big rally.

SHEILA CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, (D) CO-CHAIR, HAITI CAUCUS: Well, I mean, my first reaction was just pure disgust and disdain, because for the President and JD Vance, who are fully aware that the Haitians who are in Ohio have entered in legally, and that they applied while they were in Haiti for a legal pathway into the United States, and were granted. For him to say that they're illegal is a huge lie. For him to say that they're actually doing committing crimes and stealing pets is a big lie.

And you know, it's really rooted in racist stereotypes that we've heard, I want to say decades before, and he's reviving that kind of negative rhetoric. But what seems even more upsetting is that the Haitian people who left. Haiti to come into the United States, they left because of the gang violence. They left because of the political instability. And now when they came into the United States, they came because they knew that there was a mutual, beneficial relationship they were entering into where they would come into the United States work very hard at -- in factories, in health care, whatever was provided to them, so they can give back to the country who's been there for them. And I have to constantly say that, you know, words have actual real meanings and they have actual real results. And this is exactly it.

[08:05:29]

What Donald Trump is doing right now is really trying to be divisive. This is his one tool he loves to use, especially when he's down in the polls, as being divisive. So he goes to this dark place in American history and tries to stoke fear with the reminisce of the xenophobia, this racism, you know, the others. So if you see this language he's using illegal aliens, you would think people are coming from like a flying saucer or coming down on a UFO. These people aren't coming out of UFOs. They're actually human beings, just like our mothers and our fathers who once came to the United States seeking a better life, especially if you look at the town of Springfield.

The town of Springfield was actually drowning. It didn't have people there. It wasn't a vibrant community. And so now it feels like, wait a minute, is this the things that they get? We would have loved to have the migrants in Florida working in communities where you have large Haitian populations, but they agreed to go to Ohio because they did want to contribute and help Springfield.

BLACKWELL: The mayor says they need help as well with the influx of the number of people. He doesn't isolate it specifically to where they're coming from, but the number of people who are coming in. And we have to reiterate the point that while the President has as a centerpiece of his campaign, migrants who are undocumented in the country, these people that he is criticizing are very much documented in Springfield, Ohio. I wonder what is the impact on Haitian American communities, because we talked a little bit about Alabama outside of Ohio, outside of Springfield, and your concern for what is we're seeing popping up across the country?

CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK: Well, my biggest concern is that when people now see Haitian people, they're assuming that everyone's illegal. They're assuming that, you know, we have people voting illegally and you are illegal just because we are Haitian, not knowing that we actually have papers. And so we're feeling the combativeness, we're feeling the death threats. We're feeling people calling them. I'm hearing that from people all across the country is that now they're under attack.

And this is not the first time that the Haitian community was under attack, as I mentioned, but we feel like we've dispelled all of these rumors about, you know, eating animals or even committing crimes. The truth is, Haitian people do not commit crimes or have not been committing crimes when they came to the United States, legally, especially. And so it's extremely detrimental what he's doing. He's actually bringing us back, and he's, you know, bringing those people who already had racist sentiments.

He's restoring those stereotypes and it really does hurt everyone involved, because our children now at risk going to school.

BLACKWELL: And so you, I've read, are considering going to Springfield. What would be your message? What do you hope to accomplish if you go?

CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK: We need to go to Springfield, I believe, to make sure that the Haitian migrants who are there contributing to the actual economy and to Springfield, that they feel safe and protected and seen, but also that we're hearing from the people in Springfield. Because it seems this narrative, this fictitious narrative that the former president is putting out and JD Vance is putting out, it doesn't seem to have anyone agreeing with it. We've seen business people who actually employ the Haitian migrants who are happy that they're there helping the economy. We've even heard a father step out to say, please stop using my son's name to perpetuate this lie about Haitian people committing crimes.

And so we need to be present, to be there to make sure we're hearing from the right people. It's so unfortunate that a former president will make up these lies and disrupt a community that is trying to get on its feet. This is not the America we know and love. We're all here to pitch in and help every community and sprinkles the community that we do want to help. And so we want to make sure that the people know that we're there to work, we're there to help, and that also that the Haitian migrants know that they're safe and we do not condone any kind of violence, especially being perpetuated by falsities.

BLACKWELL: You're considering going, should the President go? Should the Vice President go? Should they make a more punctuated effort to speak out against this trash from former President Trump?

CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK: Well, the President has been speaking out about it extensively, as you saw him yesterday, speaking out while we were at the White House. He spoke about it. The Vice President also, I'm pretty sure I know speak was spoken to her several times, not about this topic, but I know she's committed to making sure that we're moving forward and we're not going backwards.

And so I think they have been addressing the issue, but we just need right now for all Republicans and members of Congress to step up and say that we won't tolerate that. As of right now, we have so many elections going on, and some of these elections have huge Haitian populations, such as in New York, and they've been silent of our Republican counterparts, who actually represent Haitian people.

[08:10:05]

Some of our senators have been silent, and they represent large communities of Haitian people. So everyone should get up and say something in disgust. And I do believe that former President Trump needs to issue an apology to the Haitian people because what he's saying is false. And we also need JD Vance to issue an apology to the Haitian people, because he knows it's false, and we can't allow them to get away with this. We can't allow them to continue spreading lies.

BLACKWELL: Are you worried about actual violence here? Because, as we reported, there were the bomb threats. The schools were closed for several days. City Hall was closed. Are you concerned that somebody is going to get hurt here?

CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK: Absolutely, because what Trump is doing is blowing that dog whistle, and now we know what he's capable of. You know, we can't forget and we can't take him seriously. We saw what happened on January 6 with him doubling down on it. We see more death threats. Him actually speaking about this more and more, we see that it's actually manifesting into violence.

And so as right and now we're looking at the situation, how he keeps doubling down. I do believe this is what he's going to try to do going into the election. This is a scare tactic that he's going to keep on amplifying so he can try to scare people into voting for him. And so as the scaring amplifies, I do believe more people will be violent, and that's why we have to stop this now, and that's why we have to take a stand for our country and say we're not going to tolerate someone to be fearmongering and trying to get people to attack cities that actually need the help.

BLACKWELL: All right. Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, the only Haitian-American serving now in the Congress. Thank you so much for being with me.

A man in Missouri is scheduled to be executed in 10 days. Marcellus Williams says he's innocent. The local prosecutor says that he should be released, or at least the execution should be called off. Well, now a judge says there's no reason to change course. We'll explain why.

Plus, I met up with Alicia Keys in Swizz Beatz last night, a look at their world-class art collection and where you can see it now in person.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:16:52]

BLACKWELL: A lawyer for a man on death row in Missouri says he'll keep working to stop the execution that's scheduled for 10 days from now. Marcellus Williams was convicted in the 1998 murder of Felicia Gail. The office of the prosecutor that handled the case asked the court to throw the conviction out because overwhelming evidence showed Williams's trial was unfair. Well, this week, a judge rejected that. He wrote, "There is no basis

for a court to find that Williams is innocent, and no court has made such a finding. Williams is guilty of first degree murder and has been sentenced to death."

Judge Glenda Hatchett is with us. She's the host of The Verdict with Judge Hatchett. Tthank you for being with me.

So the issue here, and we've talked about this several times now, is that the prosecutor's office. I want people to remember, this is the prosecutor's office. They say that the weapon here was mishandled. They had DNA tests and found other DNA turned out to be some from the detective, some from the prosecutor. At the time of the case, they submitted that or they were going to submit it. And unfortunately for Mr. Williams, the judge said, that's not enough. We're moving forward. Is he right here?

JUDGE GLENDA HATCHETT, HOST, "THE VERDICT WITH JUDGE HATCHETT: I don't think he's right. I think there's enough here Victor that the judge could have basically said that it was not appropriate to go forward with the execution. We're talking about execution, as you know, in 10 days. I do not think that's going to happen, but let's go back to what the judge said.

He said that there was not enough evidence to overturn and that the conviction for murder should stand. When you have a prosecutor, let's stress this. A prosecutor comes in. This motion was filed back in January. They have been trying to get this resolved for all of these months to say this man should not be executed. There was enough evidence from the DNA on the scene to perhaps exclude him. And if that is the case, why would you then go forward with the execution?

We also know now that the Alford plea is off the table. Remember, we talked about this before there was a possibility he could plead guilty and then spend the rest of his life in prison.

BLACKWELL: Now the Alford please is pleading guilty without admitting guilt.

HATCHETT: Without admitting guilt. But that's not even on the table anymore. And so what can happen?

One of three things can happen. He can either be executed in 10 days. The governor could come and step in, and then they could go the federal route so they could start appealing it, which is what I think will happen. I don't think he's going to be executed in 10 days, but I do think that the judge had an opportunity here to do the right thing. If the prosecutors are saying we shouldn't go forward. Why not go that route?

BLACKWELL: Yes. And I think we just need to keep reiterating that this is not the defense, although he's represented by the Innocence Project.

HATCHETT: He is. BLACKWELL: These are the prosecutors who are saying this, and also,

it's an election year. You've got a democratic prosecutor. You've got a state attorney general, a Republican who's running for Congress. And there may be some political elements that are playing in here as well.

Let me note here before we move on to the next case. Since 1973 at least 200 people sentenced to death have been exonerated post sentence, four of them in Missouri. So that's according to the Death Penalty Information Center. So this does happen far more often than we'd like to admit.

[08:20:08]

HATCHETT: Right. It does. And we have the science now.

BLACKWELL: Yes, yes.

HATCHETT: That's different than what it was --

BLACKWELL: And they didn't have at the start of the time of this case.

HATCHETT: At the time of this case and that's a very important distinction.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about Elijah McLean's case. A shock to a lot of people, not just in that community, but around the country, where the paramedic who was convicted in relation to his death was sentenced to five years in prison. Now the judge has knocked that down to probation and been released. Tell us about the justification and what you think about it.

HATCHETT: Well, what happened? Let's go back to put into perspective, what happened, another tragic case. We will remember. He was a guy with a ski mask, and they stopped him. Things got out of control. It went terribly bad. The paramedics were called in. This paramedic overdosed him. He gave him a drug that he should not have given him, triggered a heart attack, and he died, and he was prosecuted.

The grand jury indicted him, sentenced to five years. This judge, now, without a whole lot of explanation, in a very short hearing this week, vacated that sentence, and now he is released.

Paramedics have a different standard. We know that in emergency situations, but this is a man who weighed 144 pounds. He gave him a dose of medicine for a man that should weigh 200 pounds. That's what triggered the heart attack, and that was the basis for the indictment, and that was the basis for the jury finding him guilty. The judge, in a very short hearing, said, I'm going to vacate it, but we don't know very much more than that.

BLACKWELL: Wrong decision from your perspective?

HATCHETT: I think so.

BLACKWELL: Yes. All right.. Judge Glenda hatchet, thanks so much for being with me, helping us all understand these cases. They're so important to us.

HATCHETT: Thank you for having me, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. There's a funeral today for the American activist killed by the IDF in the West Bank. Her loved ones have a demand for response now they want from the U.S. government. I'll speak to a close friend, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:26:28]

BLACKWELL: Today, friends and family held the funeral for Turkish American activists killed by the IDF during a protest in the West Bank. Aysenur Eygi was shot during a weekly protest against an Israel settlement near the Palestinian village of Beta. She was 26 years old. Israel says her killing was a tragic accident, but there are growing calls for an independent investigation, including from lawmakers in Washington State, where she recently graduated from college.

Senator Patty Murray and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal wrote in their letter, "We fear that if this pattern of impunity does not end with Ms. Eygi, it will only continue to escalate. It is imperative that the United States take concrete and decisive action to better protect American citizens."

Joining me now is Juliette Majid. Aysenur was a close friend of hers, and they spoke right before she traveled to the West Bank. Juliet, thank you for being with me, and our condolences for the loss of your friend. I know you're also the designated spokesperson for the family. Let me read for you something that the White House released a statement from the President this week.

"The U.S. government has had full access to Israel's preliminary investigation and expects continued access as the investigation continues, so that we can have confidence in the results. What is the family's confidence in this investigation?

JULIETTE MAJID, FRIEND OF AYSENUR EYGI: Well, so the family has released statements on social media, so I can't necessarily speak exactly for them, but I know that I feel like I don't have confidence in Israel investigating their own military. I want this U.S.-led in independent investigation for Aisha, nor which the family has continuously asked for for over a week.

It's been over a week. It's been over seven days, and we haven't gotten this independent investigation. I think it's shameful that President Biden released this statement and called it an accident without having that investigation.

BLACKWELL: And so you would be -- have greater confidence in a U.S. led investigation. That's the independent investigation, the FBI that you are -- or would like to see.

MAJID: I would like to see an investigation that's independent of the investigation that Israel has conducted of its own military.

BLACKWELL: Do you trust the U.S. to do it?

MAJID: I hope I can trust the U.S. to do it. Aysenur was an American citizen, a very staunch us activist, human rights activist here in the United States and in the Seattle area. I really hope that I can trust the U.S. to be able to conduct this investigation, because that is what she deserves, and it's what her family deserves for justice.

BLACKWELL: The President says preliminary investigation indicates that it was the result of a tragic error resulting from unnecessary escalation, that Aysenur was hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire. How much information, if any, has been shared with the family do you know of?

MAJID: The only information that I know is what is available to everybody else through the public statements at this time, obviously it feels so heart-wrenching and heartbreaking to know that she was killed in the West Bank, upholding a long-standing tradition of being a peaceful, independent, international observer, and it's incredibly hard to even think that we don't have her anymore, and her life was taken by the Israeli military.

BLACKWELL: Aysenur was killed, as I said, in the West Bank, not Gaza, but in the West Bank. Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah reports that close to 700 people have been killed in the West Bank. Let me get your reaction to what we heard from Secretary of State Antony Blinken, about what's happening in the West Bank.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: No one, no one should be shot and killed for attending a protest. No one should have to put their life at risk just for freely expressing their views. And now we have the second American citizen killed at the hands of Israeli security forces. It's not acceptable. It has to change, and we'll be making that clear to the senior most members of the Israeli government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And what's your reaction to what you heard there?

MAJID: If that's what Secretary Blinken has to say, then why hasn't there been an investigation? Why -- why aren't we seeing justice for Aysenur? Her funeral was today. So they want to take these steps, but where -- where are they coming from? What are they -- what are they doing? We just want to be able to have justice for our friend, for our loved one. We want justice for those she loved most, for her family. So I -- I really hope that they -- the U.S. government, does something that they have an investigation, an independent one, and not just rely on the Israeli military to investigate themselves and accept those findings.

BLACKWELL: Her part --

MAJID: She deserves justice, that I want. BLACKWELL: Her partner, Hamid Ali has released a statement that he has not heard yet from the President. He hopes that the President would call at least with condolences. Juliette Majid, thank you so much for your time this morning.

A list actors called out SAG-AFTRA this week and demanded their leaders protect Palestine supporters from getting blacklisted. More than 700 union members, including Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon, Common, Kendrick Sampson, they signed an open letter, according to an exclusive report from the Hollywood Reporter, that letter is demanding that leaders call for a permanent cease fire in Israel and Gaza and condemn violence against journalists as well. And actors say the guild has refused to request, even refused the request to meet with the members. SAG-AFTRA has not commented on the letter.

Coming up, Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz and the moment they saw something very personal to them on display here in Atlanta for the first time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SWIZZ BEATZ, HIP-HOP ARTIST, MUSIC PRODUCER & COLLECTOR: Wow.

ALICIA KEYS, MUSICIAN & COLLECTOR: Wow. So it's like that.

BEATZ: This is -- this is Chariot, baby.

[08:33:06]

KEYS: OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: This weekend, there's a chance to see giants, giants of the visual arts, brought to you by two giants of the music industry. Music Producer Kasseem Dean, also known as Swizz Beatz, and his wife, Alicia Keys, are sharing their phenomenal collection with the world for the first time. For our latest edition of artist life, we were there last night when the couple saw their new exhibit at the High Museum here in Atlanta for the first time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEATZ: Hello. This is Swizz Beatz. I'm from the South Bronx, New York City. And I'm a collector.

KEYS: This is Alicia Keys. I'm from New York. And I'm a collector.

BLACKWELL: What's the philosophy behind collecting?

BEATZ: Well, for us is by the artist, for the artist, with the people. Well, collecting is spiritual, you know, like when you see something, you -- you feel it.

KEYS: There's a real passion and the love as artists to really support and collect artists. We understand how hard it is to be an artist. We understand how hard it is to have autonomy over your work. It just changes the relationship and the dynamics. So I think it creates something that is very unique and very special. When you see the exhibition, you're going to feel it.

BEATZ: I love photography. My -- my grandfather had the black room in the house. I was always there when he was taking photos. And I just love photography because it's the actual moment, you know, and to see Shabazz and, you know, Gordon Parks like these -- these are moments that they were actually there for, and then brought them back for the world to see and discover and to -- to share with people. I think that it's very poetic, and it's timeless.

KEYS: And then I would say the tightest for sure.

BEATZ: I think that's the best piece. You know, these works slide in and out and change the image.

KEYS: So what you see on the side goes in the middle, and the Muhammad Ali's silhouette is going to be always the centerpiece. But each image that fills it tells a different story.

BEATZ: If we wasn't recording mommy, daddy be playing.

KEYS: Right.

BEATZ: So you have mommy, daddy playing, so when people come and they can relax their shoulders and feel like they in our homes. Most of the people in our collection, we know they're our friends. They're living artists. We would support them. They would support us. And it just feels better knowing all of these artists that's on this wall, that's living are family members to us.

[08:40:20]

And so it's collecting from the heart. Because, you know, we're preserving those works with -- with the artists also. You know, the artists can come and take anything from the Dean collection. They can come and use works to go on their shows. They can -- they're always invited as their work.

BLACKWELL: This is a fraction of the Dean collection. How many pieces are there?

BEATZ: Many.

KEYS: Maybe 15 percent this represents.

BEATZ: Yes.

KEYS: Maybe.

BEATZ: I agree.

BLACKWELL: So more than 1,000 pieces.

BEATZ: Yes, for sure. This is the first major exhibition of our work, but it's also the first collection of color ever in a major museum to tour.

KEYS: I have to say he is not probably able to say this himself. He's brilliant. I mean, he's a really unbelievable.

BEATZ: Thank you. Thank you.

KEYS: There's a very special thing that he can identify in an artist very early, and so many people can't. And so oftentimes we're, I think, seeing artists in their beginnings. And we can tell that there is -- there's so much that's going to come.

BLACKWELL: So what I told people I was coming to interview, they -- several people wanted me to ask this question.

KEYS: OK.

BLACKWELL: OK. What advice do you have for people who are just starting out?

KEYS: OK. That's a good question.

BEATZ: If you see somebody that you like, try to contact them, try to go visit this studio, build a relationship. Also is being ahead of the curve, right? Like to me, I would tell everybody about photography. Like today, so much talent around the world in photography. And this is going to come by storm. Remember, I said this in the interview, I'm telling you. Photography is coming.

BLACKWELL: Why giants?

KEYS: So not only are the works oversized, many of the works are oversized, but also the creators of the works are giants. They're masters. And they're incredible. And this idea of accessing your own giants, being unafraid to be as big as possible, take up space in the room, be present. Be powerful. Be you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Boy, I was like a kid in the candy store last night in the High. Thank you to the Deans for sharing your time, your collection with us, Giants, art from the Dean collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys can be seen at the High Museum in Atlanta now through January 19th, 2025. It will be on tour around the world through 2030. You can check out this exhibition though at high.org for more.

[08:42:49]

Speaking of giants, we lost a larger than life artist this week. We'll remember Frankie Beverly the way he should be remembered with someone who knew him really well, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

BLACKWELL: You know, I listen to that song, and I immediately see my mother and her cousins playing spades, eating crabs. Maybe for you, it's a family reunion or a fish fry. I mean, it's in the background of some of my favorite memories from childhood. And I know, you know, a lot of people have that connection "Before I Let Go." The music is a staple of black culture.

But this week, we lost the man who brought us that song, Frankie Beverly, the founder of the band Maze. And for -- for a lot of people, and I saw it online, and I felt it myself. It feels like you lost family. You -- you -- you lost a part of that togetherness. Here with us now is Donnie Simpson, longtime DJ, National Association of Broadcasters, Hall of Fame Inductee and former host of video soul on BET, and most importantly, a close friend of Frankie Beverly.

It's so good to have you on the show, Donnie, I -- I explain what he meant to me, what the music meant to me. What is this loss and what did he mean to you?

DONNIE SIMPSON, INDUCTEE, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS HALL OF FAME: Oh, my goodness, man. Well, first of all, I want to thank you, Victor for having me on I watch every weekend, man. So it's just great to be on with you, and you had it, right. I mean, if it was a black event in America, man, family reunion, whatever it was, man, it wasn't official until you heard "Before I Let Go" by Frankie, you know.

But this guy was so special to me. Frankie was like a brother to me. And, yes, I love him so much as everyone does, and that's the thing that I'm so happy about, just the love that he's always gotten. And the reason for that to me, you don't get love like that if you don't give love like that first.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SIMPSON: And Frankie gave love, man, everybody. You felt Frankie, whether you met him or not, through his music. You felt him because he was so real, man, he's just -- he's just a --

BLACKWELL: You listen to anthology --

SIMPSON: A good dude.

BLACKWELL: -- and all the songs are about feeling good and being your best. I mean happy feelings and "Before I Let Go" and --

SIMPSON: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- joy and pain, you can go through that whole album. But not a single Grammy nomination.

SIMPSON: Absolutely.

BLACKWELL: Not an American Music Award nomination, not the role -- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Why not, though? Why not?

[08:50:02]

SIMPSON: Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. He didn't need any of that to justify who he was.

BLACKWELL: Yes. That's true.

SIMPSON: He was ours, and that was good enough for Frankie, you know. He belonged to us, man. And, you know, that's one thing I admired about him, so none -- none of those things really matter. I mean, sure, it'd be nice to have it?

BLACKWELL: He deserved it.

SIMPSON: But I don't need that to validate me, you know. He didn't. He didn't, man. Frankie was special, man. He was just special, you know. And all those songs you listed, you know, I was thinking about like the -- like who would I compare him to?

And the only name I could come up with is Marley. Because of this, you have that infectious groove that you can't get away from.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SIMPSON: And on top of that, all those messages that you were just messages of love and unity, oneness, togetherness, kindness, all those things, man, that enriched our lives, man. Frankie brought all of that, man.

BLACKWELL: Yes, he just had his farewell tour final performance. It was just in July.

SIMPSON: I was there.

BLACKWELL: Yes, tell me about that.

SIMPSON: I will admit that I was there in Philly for his last show.

BLACKWELL: Tell me about that.

SIMPSON: Oh, God. It was so special. It was so -- because never seen Frankie perform in Philly, and I wanted to see that. I wanted to see him -- him at home. You know, you get love all around the world, but ain't nothing like home love, you know?

BLACKWELL: Right.

SIMPSON: So I wanted, and of course, this is last show, so there's no way I would miss it, but that place was just electric, Victor. I -- I -- it was -- it was an unbelievable night, and -- and after the show, I'm so happy. This is last thing I said to Frankie when I left that night was that, man, I'm so proud of you, man, that you touched the world and you made it better, you know. And he received that.

And it's just, you know, he did, man. Frankie just meant something to people, man. He really did. He was just such a positive loving force on this earth, man. And I'm -- I'm going to miss him like we all will.

BLACKWELL: Yes. I mean, there's just something about that music that -- that feels so good. At the -- at the end, I remember going to a concert, and his voice wasn't as strong as it is on the tracks, but we sang for him. We know all the words. We sang for him.

SIMPSON: You know, somebody told me once, I won't say who it was. But man, he should retire. It's because his voice, you know, he was struggling, had some voice -- voice issues. And I said I totally disagree for three reasons. One, he's got that groove behind him.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SIMPSON: OK. Two, is that they'll sing it for him. They got him. And third is that they love him, and that's the most important of all of, they love him. Man, we got you, Frank. Let's go, man.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SIMPSON: You know, that's the way it was with Frankie, man. You know, people were so it wasn't just sitting there watching. You know, you can see Michael Jackson. I mean, yes, this dazzling performance. You know, song is pop, pop, pop up, set change, new costumes, new dance and all this.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SIMPSON: Frankie, though --

BLACKWELL: He come out --

SIMPSON: -- everybody's engaged --

BLACKWELL: He come out in that all white.

SIMPSON: -- in that groove, man.

BLACKWELL: Every time you see him come out on that stage and that hat, and you were in -- in that space with all the love that Frankie brought us. Donnie Simpson --

SIMPSON: Absolutely, man.

BLACKWELL: I -- I appreciate you just sitting here and just marking this moment. No one has done this. We haven't done this since he passed and the news came out on Wednesday, and he deserves it. Donnie Simpson, I thank you so much.

SIMPSON: Absolutely.

BLACKWELL: You at home.

SIMPSON: Man, thank you for having me. God bless you.

[08:53:24]

BLACKWELL: Thank you. Play some Frankie Beverly, today. We'll be right back.

(MUSIC)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: CNN has got jokes. Tonight, the comedy quiz series, "Have I Got News For You" is coming to CNN. It's hosted by Roy Wood Jr., with team captains Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black. Here is your first look at the first episode of the new show.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROY WOOD JR., AMERICAN COMEDIAN AND ACTOR: What was the fake name of the head of the Taliban that Donald Trump cited during the debate?

MICHAEL IAN BLACK, AMERICAN ACTOR AND WRITER: He's such a hack.

AMBER RUFFIN, AMERICAN COMEDIAN AND WRITER: Yes.

BLACK: Like he picked the most obvious name to -- to make up for the head of the Taliban, Abdul.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you just gave him the answer.

RUFFIN: Abdul.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Points.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Tune in. "Have I Got News For You" premieres tonight at 9:00 right here on CNN.

Now this story inspired a lot of people on social media this week. An entrepreneur who made it his business to help a business stay in business. All right, here's what happened. The Sistah Shop in Atlanta features more than 100 bland -- brands owned by black women across the country. Its owner and CEO is Aisha Taylor Issah. Now she spoke out about the financial challenges her business was facing, and she feared she would have to close the shop. So Nehemiah Davis and his crew helped organize a flash mob of shoppers. And they filmed Aisha's reaction as they walked in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AISHA TAYLOR ISSAH, FOUNDER AND CEO, "THE SISTAH SHOP" IN ATLANTA: You have no idea. I went in church praying for God to do something. And he already done it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Aisha says they made close to $12,000 in sales just that day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEHEMIAH DAVIS, ENTREPRENEUR: We saw that it didn't just affect you, but 100 other individuals that could be discouraged, like I've been a full time entrepreneur 16, 17, years. And I feel like I motivate people to also go do it. But if her business closed, that might mean --

[09:00:04]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

DAVIS: You know what? This ain't for me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

DAVIS: It's for you, but you got to continue to go through no matter what's happening.

ISSAH: Yes. I could never thank these gentlemen and all of the community members that came together to help us and are still helping us. We still have a ways to go, but the help that they are giving us, even beyond that day, is what's really going to make the difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: To Nehemiah Davis, who helped organize this, and Sistah Shops owner, Aisha Taylor Issah, I see you.

And if you see something or someone I should see, tell me. I'm at VictorBlackwell on socials, Instagram, X, and TikTok. Thank you so much for joining me today. First of all is going on a short hiatus. I'm taking two weeks off to go enjoy the warmth of other suns. I'll see you back here Saturday, October 5th. Smerconish is up next.