Return to Transcripts main page

First of All with Victor Blackwell

Are Boycotts Against Companies Dropping DEI Works?; Organizer Of Target "Fast" Speaks OUt On Boycott's Impact; Target, Retailers Grapple With Fallout From DEI Changes; Father-To-Be Who Care For Man With Autism Faces Deportation; Effort To Stop Sewage Harming Black Residents Branded "DEI." Aired 8-9p ET

Aired April 19, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:00:51]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: First of all, money talks, and supporters of DEI who want companies like Target to keep their promise of supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion say that they're seeing the first fruits of their boycott. Here's one reason for that. Look at this.

This is from Placer AI. It's a platform that tracks foot traffic. Now they track the first few weeks of 2025 versus 2024, places like Walmart and Costco. You see them on this chart. Now let's add the data for Target. That's the red line.

Target announced a pullback on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives on January 24th. Now March 5th, Pastor Jamal Bryant called on both his congregation at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and his significant social media following people really across the country to fast from Target over Lent. And that period wraps up with Easter.

Placer AI notes that declines could be related to a lot of things. A drop in post-holiday spending, maybe uncertainty over the economy, even cold weather. But how much of it is the result of black customers speaking through their spending? The CEO of Target seems to be taking note. He met with some of the organizers of the boycott movement.

Pastor Jamal Bryant is with us. He started this fast, and he came here to talk with us about it. And he's back now to talk about the results.

Thank you for being here. Let's start here with a meeting that happened this week. This is with Target executives who reached out to you. When did this meeting come about and how.

DR. JAMAL BRYANT, LED TARGET "FAST" OVER RETAILER DROPPING DEI: They're on the hump for Red October. The deadline is Sunday. And so just within the last week have we finally been able to make some headway to begin communication.

BLACKWELL: And so what did you talk about? BRYANT: How did we find some common ground? Outside of what Target is

saying in public fodder, you can't ignore or dismiss that while the economy is tight, while the tariffs are looming, that Costco's doing well, and a lot of people were redirected to Costco when this fast began.

BLACKWELL: Okay, so let's talk about some of the economics. Let's put up Target stock price. On the day that Target announced their rollback, share of Target Stock closed at $138.

BRYANT: Yes.

BLACKWELL: We should also mention that soon after the We Are Somebody boycott led by Nina Turner and Tamika Mallory started. But the day your boycott began, it closed at $116, and then Thursday, it closed at $93 per share. Again, we mentioned the other factors. How much do you think the boycott influenced that?

BRYANT: Oh, greatly. Everywhere you go, you're seeing a great pullback of people nationally who are saying, I'm not doing it. And I want to note, it is not just black people who are participating, but people who are sympathizers saying the country's moving in the wrong direction. Two different protests are happening in America at the same time. Tesla and Target, and the majority of people not driving Teslas, but Target is in their zip code. And so, you're seeing the same impact, but this time we're protesting through our pocketbooks.

BLACKWELL: Last time, was the goal 100,000 registered? How many registered?

BRYANT: 200,000.

BLACKWELL: 200,000.

BRYANT: Yeah. So we've doubled what our expectation was.

BLACKWELL: So I went onto your website and let's put up. There's a ticker across the top that shows buy alert and a boycott alert. If you can look, it's really small at the top, but it's the red dots and it says Amazon, American Airlines, Bank of America, Starbucks. Will there be organized boycotts of all of those because of their DEI rollbacks? Are you focusing exclusively on Target?

BRYANT: The African proverb says, how do you eat an elephant one bite at a time? And so, what I'm trying to do is narrow the prism. We'll see. Today is our last day of negotiations with Target. Will we continue it, or will we find a happy medium? If we find that happy medium, then we'll go on to another corporation.

But I didn't want to throw 20 different balls in the air, but so that we could have singular focus as we move on to what the next 40 days looks like.

[08:05:06]

BLACKWELL: So let's start with these negotiations. And there were four demands. Honor the $2 billion pledge to black business community through products, services, and black Media buys. Deposit 250 million amongst any of 23 black banks. Completely restore the franchise commitment to DEI and Pipeline Community Centers attend HBCUs to teach retail business at every level. You say that there are negotiations. Can you tell us where there is progress in these four?

BRYANT: Yeah, I think where there's progress is meeting the covenant that they made to the George Floyd family and larger community as soon as George Floyd was murdered. And side note, for the viewers, Target is headquartered in Minneapolis. The CEO Brian came out and said, this could have been one of my employees. And immediately, under no duress, pledged $1 million. Came back behind it in good faith and as a good neighbor, and pledged this 2 billion. This predated the Trump-Musk administration.

So, for them to walk backwards was the immediate affront that we wanted to give some redress. And that's where we're finding the greatest amount of immediate traction.

BLACKWELL: And so phase two, how much of phase two will be influenced by whatever happens at the end of today? At the end of the fast?

BRYANT: Yes. Well, that's in their hands. We've had 40 days, as you said, all of our demands on targetfast.org we're still waiting to see what will we do about HBCUs. If you can imagine, if Harvard is under danger, what would that mean for FAMU and for Hampton and for Spelman?

BLACKWELL: They don't have endowments nearly the size of (inaudible).

BRYANT: No, nowhere in the orbit of it. And so, we want to make sure that our HBCUs are safeguarded. I admire and applaud the Big Ten who have come together to solidify unified force. And I want to make sure that HBCUs have that same covering.

BLACKWELL: Yeah, the Big Ten, they have now a collective defense that they've started. Tell me about this Bullseye Black Market that you have created with megachurches across the country.

BRYANT: Yeah. So, it's important. I'm an 80s baby. Nancy Reagan, when she was first lady, had a just say no to drugs campaign. Drugs went up by over 60 percent because you can't tell people what not to do without telling them what to do. And so, when people signed up for Target fast, we sent them a digital directory of 300,000 black businesses because we partnered with the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce.

This weekend, which is a heavy spending weekend, we've adopted five black megachurches across the country who have been transformed into malls. In Chicago, you have Salem Baptist Church, Dr. Charlie Dates. In Dallas, Texas, Friendship West Baptist Church, Freddie Hanes in Houston, Texas, Wheeler Avenue, Marcus Cosby. In New York, Stephen Green at Greater Allen Cathedral. And right here in metro Atlanta is a new birth.

100 vendors are in these churches for the entire weekend.

BLACKWELL: All right, Pastor Jamal Bryant, thank you very much.

BRYANT: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: And keep us updated on these talks.

BRYANT: I'm excited. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right. Head Start it's a federal program that helps millions of low-income kids get an early education. But a budget draft by the Trump administration proposes cutting off funding for it entirely. The director of Head Start during Trump's first term has a warning about that. She is with us next.

Plus, the personal impact of America's immigration crackdown. He helps care for a man with autism and has a baby on the way. But Alfredo Orellano has been detained for months now, and he faces deportation. His wife, his attorney, and the father of the man he cares for are with us after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:13:41]

BLACKWELL: CNN has reviewed a draft of a Trump administration plan to cut the budget of a program that provides early childhood education for low income families. Nearly 60 years after it was founded, Head Start is facing the end of support from the federal government. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Head Start Act into law. It was May 18, 1965.

Since then, the program has served nearly 40 million children. And according to the National Head Start association, back then, the idea of providing comprehensive health and nutrition, and education services to children in poverty was revolutionary. Radical. It was an integrated anti-poverty program from the beginning, headed by several civil rights leaders.

The program's history is closely tied to the movement. A Head Start studies effective child development and learning in order to provide programs that meet the children's needs. But it is not just an education program, it provides health services. It involves parents and planning, and decision making, and provides social services. All of that is in jeopardy if the White House plans become policy.

Dr. Deborah Bergeron is concerned. She's a deputy director of the National Head Start Association. That's an advocacy group that supports Head Start programs. And she was the director of the Office of Head Start during President Trump's first term.

[08:15:05]

Dr. Bergeron, thank you for being with me. Let me start with the administration's position. This is from the draft budget proposal. Quote, the federal government should not be in the business of mandating curriculum locations and performance standards for any form of education. That's part of the justification that the White House uses for zeroing out funding for Head Start. To that, you say what?

DR. DEBORAH BERGERON, FORMER DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF HEAD START: Well, first of all, Victor, thank you so much for having me on. I am here representing 800,000 young children, about 250,000 staff, and about a million-plus parents out there who are desperately hoping that President Trump hears this message today. It's really important, and I'm so glad you stood started with the actual language in the proposed budget because it's really important to highlight a couple of things in that language.

First of all, saying returning education to the states and tying that to Head Start is a little misguided. Head Start certainly includes education, but it is not an education program. As you pointed out so beautifully, it is anti-poverty program.

I mean, at its core, Head Start's purpose is to lift children and families up and out of poverty so that children can have a better experience when they do enter public school or private school or whatever schooling they choose in their K12 experience. But I also want to bring out a couple other things in that language where it says they shouldn't be in the business of mandating curriculum. Head Start has no curriculum. Head Start doesn't mandate a curriculum. It doesn't mandate locations. We don't.

The federal office, I worked at the federal office. We didn't tell programs where they needed to operate. They told us where the operation should happen because they do local community assessments to determine that, and they have to move if the population changes.

And finally, the performance standards are really about keeping kids safe, spending money responsibly, and making sure parents have agency in those programs. So, the actual standards that are within the operation of Head Start fall right in line with this administration's priorities.

And in fact, when I was with the Trump administration, Victor, I felt such support. And so, this is catching me a little bit off guard. Ivanka Trump and I toured a Head Start program in Kansas City together, and she embraced the opportunity that it was providing people in that community.

And so, I think that what we have here is maybe a crossroads of misunderstanding. There's a lot on the administration's plate. Head Start is often misunderstood.

So, I hope that they'll be able to dig in a little bit and see how this aligns pretty well with what they're trying to do and would preserve millions and millions of people in this country in terms of their opportunity to achieve the American dream.

BLACKWELL: I will say that you're shocked based on your experience and what you experienced in the first Trump administration. But on page 482 of Project 2025, big, bold headline, eliminate Head Start. So, this has been part of a plan before inauguration.

The image, maybe the narrative of Head Start. And this is a show that focuses on people of color and the stories that impact those communities. But $200 million funded Head Start in Oklahoma, 115 in Utah, 86 million in West Virginia, 100 million across North and South Dakota. So, it suggests that people put this just into an inner city, you know, Chicago, Bronx, urban context. That's incomplete.

BERGERON: Victor, you did your homework. I'm so glad. When I came on this show, I was thinking, I hope I won't offend by saying your show is focused on people of color.

Head Start's focused on all people who are living below the poverty line. That happens to fall into some urban. In cities, it certainly serves a large swath of children of color, but it is in about 42 percent are in rural communities and in those communities. And this is really important. It's often the only hub for services for people in those communities. Unlike our urban cities that have a variety of resources available, our rural towns rely on Head Start in so many ways.

BLACKWELL: Dr. Deborah Bergeron, thank you so much for being with us. And of course, we'll follow this budget process and see if that zeroing out makes it back to the president's desk.

We're committed to keeping up to date on the story of Victor Perez. He's that teenager in Idaho whose story we first shared with you last week. He was shot by police from outside the fence in his own backyard two weeks ago. And a week ago today, he was taken off life support and died.

[08:20:02]

His family held a funeral service for Victor Tuesday. That same day, Idaho's attorney general announced that he'd be reviewing the findings of the law enforcement investigation into Victor's death. The officers responded to a call from neighbors who reported seeing someone with a knife who appeared to be drunk and struggling with two other people in a backyard. The caller and the police did not know that Victor had autism and cerebral palsy or that the people the Victor was struggling with were family members.

Last week we showed you video taken by neighbors. This week we can show you officer's body cam video. The Pocatello Police Department blurred it before releasing it, and we made the choice to pause the video at the moment the shots are fired. A warning though, that this is disturbing to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey. Drop the nine. Drop the knife. Drop the knife. Hey. Drop the knife. Hey. Drop the knife. Drop the knife. Drop the knife. Drop the knife. Drop the knife. Drop the knife.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Now, the mayor of Pocatello says there are criminal, internal, and external investigations going on. The four officers involved are on administrative leave. An attorney for the family says that they plan to sue.

Coming up, two families impacted by the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. The story of Alfredo Orellana, who has a child on the way, detained and facing deportation as a young man with autism that Alfredo helps care for is left to wonder where he is.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:26:23]

BLACKWELL: When you care for someone, you form a bond. And the parents of Luke Ferris say that their son has that bond with his caregiver, Alfredo Orellana. Luke has severe autism and Alfredo has been there to help for the past four years. But Alfredo and Luke have now been apart for nearly three months, since January 21.

One day after President Trump's inauguration. One day. Alfredo, a green card holder, is married to a U.S. Citizen. While returning to the U.S. from a vacation in El Salvador, Alfredo was detained and now faces deportation. He's been locked up in Texas, not only away from Luke, but away from his wife, who is pregnant.

Anita Orellana is with us, along with John Ferris, Luke's father, and Alfredo's attorney, Benjamin Osorio. Welcome to all of you. And Ben, let me start with you.

The president and his allies have said from the very beginning of the mass deportation that they would start with what they called the low- hanging fruit, with the violent criminals, with those with convictions, those with deportation orders. Is it clear why Alfredo has been chosen and was chosen soon after the start of the administration?

BENJAMIN OSORIO, ATTORNEY FOR ALFREDO ORELLANA: Well, I think when we're talking about low-hanging fruit, it's also ease of access to individuals. Right. And so, if you have green card holders like we've seen numerous times now coming through customs and borders patrol or ports of entry, you know, that's easy access because they're right in front of them rather than having to send out a team to pick up somebody. So, I think that's potentially the reason that you're seeing more and more green card holders picked up, because we're seeing sort of a maximum enforcement level that we hadn't seen previously.

I mean, this is an individual who traveled before without issue under the Biden administration that would have been subject to the same immigration rules allowing him back into the country. So, you know, it's hard to say why exactly they're targeting green card holders, but I think it goes to the ease of access.

BLACKWELL: There was a conviction, correct me if I'm wrong, several years ago for $200 at a store. Give me the quick details of that.

OSORIO: Yeah, so he, you know, he's been very open about his sort of substance abuse problems in the past, and he tackled that. So, during that sort of period in his life, he has a conviction for obtaining money under false pre for less than $200. So he has rehabilitated himself. He's been clean for several years.

You know, as you were saying at the intro of the show, he is working with severely autistic children. So he's really turned his life around. Anita has been a great spouse for him. He's been a great spouse for her. So, yes, he has a conviction. It is, you know, from 2017, you know, but he's fully rehabilitated and reformed himself, and that doesn't mean that we should be sending him, you know, permanently banishing him, permanently exiling him away from his family.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Anita, you, as I mentioned, are pregnant. Six months pregnant. How have these last couple of months without your husband been for you?

ANITA ORELLANA, WIFE OF ALFREDO ORELLANA: Well, I'm currently seven months pregnant now, but it's been really hard. It's been hard doing this whole process. It's our first child together, and our due date is coming up in 11 weeks, first week of July.

BLACKWELL: And so, when you came back through Dulles Airport, he was detained for 12 hours and then told to come back with documents. At any point, did they tell you why he was being detained, why you needed to come back?

ORELLANA: No, they didn't have clear guidelines. They didn't speak to us for hours, so we didn't really know why we were being detained.

BLACKWELL: John, Alfredo cares for your son, Luke. As I said, he has severe autism, calls him Alex. What does Alfredo mean to your family? And what have you told Luke?

JOHN FERRIS, FATHER OF LUKE FERRIS: Well, you know, Luke's 28 years old, and until he met Alex, he never really had a best friend. In fact, he kind of didn't understand the concept of having a best friend. So Alex has been with us for 40 hours a week for, you know, four years, as you're saying. And he's developed this bond, this connection with Luke, so that Luke now understands, not only does he look at Alex as like a best friend, but they have this like older brother, younger brother relationship. So he just looks at Alex as this idolized older brother that he just loves to be with. And we're just worried about that connection.

BLACKWELL: Yes. I mean, for people, John, who are -- are hearing this story and are saying, well, these are the rules, you know, the polls show that there are -- there is consistent support for mass deportation, or even those people who are indifferent, right, what do you tell them about this effort to deport not only Alex, but other people like him who might have had a conviction several years ago, but have turned their lives around and -- and offered support here in this country?

FERRIS: Yes, in one way, I -- I can't talk about everyone else, you know, but just in Alex's case, as you're saying, he did turn his life around. You know, when he first started, you know, yes, my wife and I were very nervous. We worked with the state of Virginia. We worked with his counselor at the community services board here locally. And we, you know, everyone was on board with this. And he has just turned into this phenomenal person who not only helps Luke, but he's helped other people in his community. And he just -- we know him. We've been with him for nearly every day for the last four years. And he is a valuable, valuable member of this community and, you know, obviously very valuable to Luke.

BLACKWELL: And Anita, finally to you, you're due in just a couple of months, your first child.

ORELLANA: Yes.

BLACKWELL: What would you like this administration to know? What would you like those who have to make the decision on whether your husband will be able to stay in this country to know?

ORELLANA: I mean, I just want them to know that he has a family here and he hasn't been to Argentina since he was four years old. So really his whole life is here. And I just really want him to be present when it's time for us to have this baby and hopefully raise her here. We have family and friends here.

BLACKWELL: Ben, quickly before we go, immigration court hearing coming up next week, what do you expect?

BENJAMIN OSORIO, ATTORNEY FOR ALFREDO ORELLANA: We have a great judge, you know, very fair, and we have a very fair DHS trial attorney assigned to the case. So I'm optimistic that hopefully we can resolve this in a positive way for the family on Friday.

BLACKWELL: All right, Ben, John, Anita, we'll continue to follow this story. And thank you for your time this morning.

OSORIO: Thank you.

[08:33:48]

BLACKWELL: There's a majority black Alabama County dealing with harmful sewage, and it's been going on for decades now. The government had reached an agreement with state and local officials to do something about it. But now that effort is being labeled DEI. So you know what that means? We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: You know, there's a lot to disagree over, but can we all agree that raw sewage is bad? That children should not be playing near sewage in the front yard? Families of Lowndes County, Alabama can tell you just how bad raw sewage is. That's where we're talking about wastewater pooling near homes and playgrounds. Lowndes County is between Selma and Montgomery, predominantly black and in poverty. In 2016, the Duke Human Rights Center produced a video with local people living in those conditions. I want you to listen to some of their descriptions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHARLIE MAE, RESIDENT OF LOWNDES COUNTY: It's like the raw sewage that come out of your body. It's the odor. It's the smell. It's the raw sewage that comes out of somebody. That's what it is. There's no other way to explain it. That's what it is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that is all over your yard.

MAE: Yes.

MARY MCDONALD, ACRE VOLUNTEER: This is an area close to the lagoon. And the resident says when the red light goes off at the lagoon, look for her yard to flood with raw sewage the next day. And she said out of all the years that she has lived here, which is like 28 years, her children or her grandchildren has never been able to play in the yard during spring break because it's always wet or flooded out with raw sewage. And this is a pretty nice yard.

[08:40:14]

JOHN JACKSON, FORMER MAYOR OF WHITE HALL, ALABAMA: It's been like this for the last 50, 60 years. There's nothing done about sewage.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Decades like that. In 2021, the Justice Department opened an investigation. They looked into whether the Alabama Department of Public Health and the Lowndes County Health Department put black families at a higher risk of disease by not dealing with the sewage issues.

Well, in May of 2023, the Justice Department found that there was, in fact, inaction and neglect. They announced an agreement with the state's Department of Health. It included the creation of a comprehensive plan for the region and a moratorium on fines.

Is any of what I just described DEI? Well, the Trump administration says yes. So they've now scrapped that agreement. A statement from the current leader of the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department refers to what's going on in Lowndes County as an environmental justice matter.

Here's a quote. Today's closure is another step this administration has taken to eradicate illegal DEI preferences and environmental justice across the government and in the private sector. But this sentence, this one jumps out. President Trump made it clear. Americans deserve a government committed to serving every individual with dignity and respect and to expending taxpayer resources in accordance with the national interest, not arbitrary criteria.

Catherine Coleman Flowers has been leading the fight for dignity and respect for the residents of Lowndes County. After revealing conditions there, she went on to start the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice. She was just featured in Time's Annual Earth Awards issue. She now joins us.

Catherine, thank you for your time, for the work you do. And I wonder your reaction when you heard that this was placed exclusively in that DEI lens, that framework.

CATHERINE COLEMAN FLOWERS, FOUNDER, CENTER FOR RURAL ENTERPRISE AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Well, when I heard it, I was shocked. And I'm still trying to understand why, because clearly it -- it is not what they characterize as DEI. And to deal with raw sewage on the ground, no matter where it is in America, is in the best interest of the American people. So I still don't understand their -- their mischaracterization of this issue.

BLACKWELL: And so is this raw sewage, the pooling, is it the result of deteriorated septic systems or sewage lines, or has there never been service to this part of -- of Alabama?

FLOWERS: It's all of the above. Depending on where you are in Lowndes County, you're either on a sewage lagoon, which is -- which borders, it's like a pool of raw sewage that borders the black community. There are sewage lagoons at even the high school that I attended.

There's two sewage lagoons on the campus of the high school, or there are people that are simply straight piping, which means the sewage goes out of their homes onto the ground or into a pit or something. And then the -- the -- the last problem of people that are dealing with septic systems that simply don't work, when it rains a lot, although they don't want to acknowledge that the climate is changing, we're getting more rain. When it rains, they start to have failures. Failures mean that the sewage is pushed back into the home.

BLACKWELL: Baylor University published a study in 2017 that found that more than a third of Lowndes County residents had genetic evidence of hookworm, intestinal parasites. The state refutes that. But you grew up in Lowndes County, I read. This is not an outhouse era, right? Where that was at a certain time in American history, it was common to -- to not have plumbing indoors.

What is that like? Not practically, but psychologically, to know that the rest of the state has this -- this basic service that is not afforded to you and your community.

FLOWERS: You know, when I -- because I grew up with it, I didn't realize there was difference until I left and came back. Then it was a start to see that it still existed. I -- I grew up with an outhouse. You know, I grew up with -- without indoor plumbing and eventually we got indoor plumbing.

But I think to -- to have to -- to be concerned about whether or not sewage is going to be in your home if it rains, whether or not your house is going to flood with raw sewage, whether or not your children can play outside because of the sewage that's on the outside.

[08:44:58]

And we're about to publish another study with another university that shows that they're seeing evidence or markers for raw sewage in places that are not just at people's homes, but where water gathers. So the concern is the disease. And I would think that after seeing that during COVID, Lowndes County had the highest per capita death rate for COVID. I'm sure the sewage was affected because it -- it -- it is a health crisis and we have to address it.

BLACKWELL: Catherine Coleman Flowers, we'll follow this of course to find out. Without the urgence of an administration that says something has to be done about this, can the community get the -- the sewage service it deserves? Thank you for your time.

FLOWERS: Thank you for having me.

BLACKWELL: There's a high school performance that after all that we've discussed today and all that's going on in the world, I think you need to see and hear this morning. Wait until you hear the back story of who was performing in this week's Art is Life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:38]

BLACKWELL: Art is life now. And I've been excited to share this with you for like two or three days now, a performance so good, I listened to it again and again. I'm not ashamed to admit, probably dozens of times. It's the song "Bridge Over Troubled Waters." And as you listen to it, please remember that these are high school students.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And the applause went on and on and on. I get chills every time. They sang that song. The soloist you heard there is Gabriela Marquez. She's 15 years old. She's a member of the Bell Harmonia Ensemble at Miami Art Studio, a 6-12 magnet program. I just had to call up Gaby and the choral director, Cindy Ellis, because I wanted to share their story. And I asked Gaby, what was it like that moment on stage? You can still -- they're still applauding. It goes on for minutes. Here's what she told me.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GABY MARQUEZ, STUDENT, MIAMI ARTS STUDIO 6-12 AT ZELDA GLAZER: I think the first thing that was going through my mind was breathe. Don't like -- don't stop breathing, breathe. But I think the main thing was looking at everyone behind me and looking at Ms. Ellis and kind of just seeing the little girl inside of all of us kind of feel accomplished in a lot of ways. I think it felt a little bit like how you would -- when you look at glitter, that's what that moment felt like. It felt like literal stars. It just -- it was so beautiful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And Ms. Ellis revealed something about Gaby and the other young women who performed. All those teenagers, either immigrants or the children of immigrants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CINDY ELLIS, CHORAL DIRECTOR, MIAMI ARTS STUDIO 6-12 AT ZELDA GLAZER: I, for example, was born in Cuba. Gaby was born in Dominican Republic. And we have students from Venezuela and we have students from just everywhere. And our journey, you know, immigrating to the United States and then some of the students were born in Miami, but their parents immigrated to the United States and their journey, how -- how beautiful it is to not be from here or parents not be for here, but from here, but somehow end in the same classroom and somehow, you know, our paths crossing.

And -- and it's so beautiful to all be together from different places in that state, sharing our culture because as I was telling you in the set, we sang in Haitian Creole. We sang, we love singing in Spanish, of course, our culture for Miami. We just love sharing our -- our traditions and cultures with the rest of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now looking at that performance, it's especially emotional for Gaby. Her dad was visiting a nightclub in the Dominican Republic when its roof collapsed earlier this month, more than 200 people died. Her father survived.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: The roof collapses and he tells me, I was literally stuck over the rubble, not even under it. Like I wasn't even under it. I was on top of it. I wake up and all I can see is the stars. And I'm one of the first people to get out. He's now in the ICU. They had to prep him for surgery. He's getting a surgery on Monday. And right now we're in the process of trying to help him fund money for it and just helping him heal, not only physically, but emotionally.

[08:55:11]

Right before that, he had called me to tell me he was so proud. Like literally on that exact same Monday in the morning, he had called me to tell me he was so proud. Literally crying on the phone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: A fundraiser has now been set up to help the family on GoFundMe. I'll post this link if you'd like to help. It's worth watching the entire performance. Features incredible opening solo by Kaitlynn Abbott. She's a junior. Another amazing soloist, Cecilia Diaz. She's a junior. Just look up MAS Vocal. And if you see something or someone I should see, tell me. I'm on Instagram, TikTok, X, and Bluesky. You miss a conversation, check out our show's website. You can listen to the show as a podcast.

Tonight, remember to tune in for Have I Got News For You. Special guest, Alyssa Farah Griffin and comedian George Wallace. That's at 9:00 p.m. here on CNN. Thanks for watching today. I'll see you back here next Saturday at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Smerconish is up next after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)