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First of All with Victor Blackwell

No, People From Somalia Are Not "Garbage"; Somali-American Who Backed Trump Reacts To "Garbage" Comments; Tension In New Orleans Latino Community AMD Crackdown; Federal Agents Chase U.S.-Born Woman Back Into Her Louisiana Home. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired December 06, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:00:43]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: First of all, people from Somalia are not garbage. That's not a biased statement. That's not partisan. That's not anti-Trump statement. It's not a political statement. It is simple, factual, a human statement.

But let's sit with this for just a moment. That word garbage and think about what it means. Garbage is something you don't want around. Garbage is something disposable. Garbage is something you throw away, you discard. Garbage is worthless.

Garbage is how the president of the United States characterizes Somali people, all Somalis, presumably that includes Somali Americans. The president says the entire nation of Somalia is garbage. And this is not overstating it. It's actually worth hearing again, exactly how the president put it on two occasions this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I wouldn't be proud to have the largest Somalia. Look at their nation. Look how bad their nation. It's not even a nation. It's just people walking around killing each other. The Somalians should be out of here. They've destroyed our country and all they do is complain, complain.

I don't want them in our country. I'll be honest with you. Somebody will say, oh, that's not politically correct. I don't care. I don't want them in our country. Their country is no good for a reason. Their country stinks and we don't want them in our country.

We're going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country. They complain and do nothing but bitch. We don't want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it. Thank you very much, everyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: That's applause at the end there. Well, now this. A new ICE operation launched this week is targeting undocumented Somali immigrants in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The Twin Cities are home to the nation's largest population of people from the East African country. The president's rhetoric and actions are being called xenophobic, racist. It's also a complete contrast from how the president felt about Somalis when he needed their votes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Minnesota is home to a large Somali population which has historically voted Democrat. But we're hearing more and more. There are many reports about them supporting your candidacy this time around. But why should they?

TRUMP: Because they want safety. They want security in many ways. They have the worst crime numbers in terms of crimes against, and they want to be safe. They want security just like everybody else. And I've heard that. I've heard I'm doing very well in that community and in the black community also. I mean, generally, it's an honor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, my next guest is a Somali American, specifically one of those Somali American Republicans you see there on the right side of the screen who gave their support to the president. He was at this July 2024 rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota. You can see him at this event with Minnesota Somali leaders giving their endorsement in November of last year, right before the election.

Salman Fiqy is with us now. He's a business owner and a former GOP candidate for the Minnesota State House.

Salman, thank you for being with me. Quote, "We're going to go the wrong way if we keep telling taking in garbage." The president was talking about Somali immigrants. You are Somali-American. What's your reaction to what you heard from the president this week?

SALMAN FIQY, SOMALI-AMERICAN BUSINESS OWNER: Well, it was very dehumanizing and is very unpresidential coming from the commander in chief of the United States to dehumanize and to dehumanize a whole entire community by calling them garbage. And this is not acceptable by any means.

BLACKWELL: You posted on social media, "I Salman Fiqy, I'm formally announcing that I'm ending all collaboration with the Republican Party." Have you ended your support for the president? Tell me more about what led you to your decision.

FIQY: Well, the reason why this decision came about is because tt was a long simmering as it was dragging from ever since the president got elected. And I was monitoring his performance in many fronts and he seems not delivering on the process promises that he promised the country or the people that actually voted for him. And the last that broke the camel back was when he called Somali community as a garbage.

[08:05:50]

BLACKWELL: Do you regret your vote for President Trump?

FIQY: No, I don't regret my vote that I voted for Trump because where I see. Politics, I see politics through conservative prism and I still have conservative values and I see politics through that lens. But I withdraw all connections from the Minnesota GOP, from the Republican Party for not standing up for the Somali community.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Let me actually play something from Minnesota Republican Congressman Tom Emmer. This is after the president's remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM EMMER (R) MAJORITY WHIP: Do you realize that, you know, it's not that all Somalis are committing crimes, but 80 percent of the crimes being committed in the Twin Cities in Minnesota are being committed by Somalis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: His office reference reporting on pandemic relief fraud. But what's your response to the congressman there saying that 80 percent of the crimes being committed in the Twin Cities in Minnesota are from Somali Americans?

FIQY: That's false and unsubstantiated, substantiated claim. Somalis in the twin cities are 80,000 to 100,000 people live in the Twin Cities. And the Twin cities combined are 2 million people roughly. So 100,000 people cannot commit 80 percent of the crimes in the Twin Cities. So that's very -- that's a false statement.

And yes, and he's known for accusing Somali community for some false accusations, such as claiming that Somalis sending money to Al-Shabaab and things like that. That is very false statements.

BLACKWELL: Salman, let me play something for you that you said about the Republican Party. This is during the 2024 campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FIQY: People would accuse Republican Party as like, or paint the

Republican Party as a kind of really racist or something, but is contrary to that claim and is very welcoming to paint the picture that a Republican Party is a racist state is absolutely untrue and far from the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Do you still believe that today?

FIQY: Well, I still believe that majority of the people that vote Republican are not racist, but the president and his comments about Somalis and other races are racist and it ignites the racist aspects of the party. So we cannot do a generalization to the whole entire Republican Party, but some of them are racist. Yes.

BLACKWELL: You said at that event at the Minnesota State Capitol that you were backing President Trump for. One of the reasons was safety for the Somali American community in Minnesota. We've reported on the new ICE mission in the Twin Cities. Do you feel safe today?

[08:10:00]

FIQY: I mean, I feel safe, sort of. I feel safe, but I don't know what, what I'm encountering, what I'm going to encounter later on. Yes. There's ICE raids going around the cities. They were in my town, like today. They were in my town, Burnsville.

Yes. But I haven't encountered anything as of right now. But I've seen many people that actually got raided and got taken away by ICE. Yes. And I fear for them.

There's a lot of Somali community; there's a lot of Somali families that actually, Somali community. There's a lot of Somali communities that actually fearful of those. And I get those, and I sympathize with them. And I -- the reason why I'm speaking against those remarks by the president is stoking hate and fear into the community.

BLACKWELL: Salman Fiqy, I thank you for your time this morning.

All right. As federal agents are now picking up in New Orleans videos like this, they don't help ease fears. Federal agents chase a U.S. citizen to her home and then her stepfather steps out to confront them. We'll show you what happened and speak with them both next.

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[08:16:18]

BLACKWELL: There's a lot of tension in the New Orleans Latino community right now. And consider this. After Hurricane Katrina, the city's Hispanic population grew as workers arrived to help rebuild the city.

Well, now a lot of residents there feel like they're a target. This week, the Trump administration announced a surge of immigration enforcement agents to New Orleans as the feds boost their presence in cities. We've seen an increase incidents involving masked agents trying to grab people off the streets.

And in a new video from a New Orleans suburb, it falls in line with that. In it, you see the federal agents chasing a young woman back to her home there. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN FEMALE SPEAKER: Leave me alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, that woman is Jacelyn. She's 22 years old. She's a mother. She's also a U.S. born citizen. She says agents surrounded her as she was walking home from the grocery store. And as they started to close in, she ran. And as soon as she got inside, her stepdad came out and he confronted the agents head on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, you're the one looking for you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) So who are you looking for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a public area.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Both Jacelynn and Juan Carlos Anglin join me now. Good morning. And Jacelynn, let me start with you. We see kind of the beginnings of it. What is going through your mind when those SUVs stop and those agents get out?

JACELYNN, 22-YEAR-OLD CITIIZEN CHASED BY FEDS NEAR HOME: A lot of people keep asking me that and I honestly don't have a set though. I think that I was just in the moment panicking and my first thought might have been my daughter and that I needed to get home.

BLACKWELL: What did they say to you?

JACELYNN: Well, when the first ICE agent popped out, he said to Come here. He said, come here, ma'am, please. And I told him that I was legal and a U.S. born citizen. And he said something of the source, like, yes, I know. Come here still. And then another car pulled up and that's when I ran away.

BLACKWELL: And so you ran home. We see here, Juan Carlos, you were in the house. What went through your mind when she came through that door?

JUAN CARLOS ANGLIN, STEPFATHER WHO CONFRONTED FEDS OUTSIDE HOME: I mean, did somebody want to hurt her? Because I heard when she screamed, I was in the room, you know, I heard her through the window saying, like, leave me alone. Leave me alone. So when I watched through my window, I saw a few cars, you know, in front of her house. So I thought she was going to get kidnapped or I don't know, something want to hurt her. So I just went outside.

But as soon as I opened the door, she was telling me, ICE police don't want to leave me alone. And it's going to -- I control them, you know.

BLACKWELL: Yes, we couldn't decipher everything. That was because, again, this is a home surveillance camera. This is part of your home security. What were the exchanges? What did you say to them? What did they say to you, Juan Carlos?

ANGLIN: I mean, when I got out, I was like, what are you guys doing? I was like, because she's coming to. She's a U.S. citizen. I was like, what are you guys doing? And they don't even answer anything. I was like. When I realized they were ask police, I got so mad because she was telling me they want to get me. They want to get me into the car. And I feel like I was going to get kidnapped is what she was saying.

And I was like, you know what? Just get out of my property. I repeatedly, like a few times. And they were saying, oh, you, we can stay here. This public area. And you -- we can stay here. We want.

I mean, they said there for like, more than like five, six, more than between five and 10 minutes still, I mean.

[08:20:06]

BLACKWELL: And Jacelynn, let me read the statement here from the Department of Homeland Security. They said, "As the agents exited their vehicle, they encountered a female matching the description of a target. Agents identified themselves and the individual ran toward a residence. Agents immediately stopped upon reaching the property, determined the individual in question was not the target and all agents departed the area. No arrests were made."

Apparently, they say you look like somebody they were looking for. What's your reaction to the statement from DHS?

JACELYNN: Honestly, I think it's all baloney because they did not identify themselves to me. And if they were looking for someone, why didn't they tell me that and why didn't they show me a photo? Why did he just say oh kept saying come here ma'am, come here. That's not how you conduct anything properly if you're looking for someone and you don't need double two cars to pull up one woman to look for someone.

BLACKWELL: Yes, Juan Carlos, I heard in that video, and you correct me if I'm wrong, that you took issue that one of the agents was Hispanic, that he was speaking in Spanish.

ANGLIN: Yes, I heard when they were talking to each other, like two guys actually the guys who was right in front of was Hispanic guy and the other one like that, when they tell him like let's go, he was Hispanic guy, you know.

I'm concerned about these people is approaching to people, to the American people, citizen, resident or to anybody because I read a lot of comments in the media. They say like, oh, she should have stopped, she should do this, should do that. How you, I mean how you going to cooperate with them when they actually, they chasing you? They stop in the moment and then jump on you and wearing masks, gear, glasses and everything. They don't have identification. I mean --

JACELYNN: They're rude.

ANGLIN: They're rude. I mean they use like I don't know for, I mean it's crazy. I mean we don't know how to deal in that situation at the moment. I mean how we're supposed to react.

Let's say like, oh yes, how you doing guys? But they just jumping you. Like I said, you don't even know who's stopping you, where they're taking you. Because I'm pretty sure if she didn't run they were going to take her man. But what they're taking all these people, I mean they don't make any report. They just grab you and take you some, I guess a place and you know, especially she's a woman. I mean, how she's supposed to react to all that? I mean, and she's 22 years old.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Juan Carlos and Jacelynn, thank you for sharing your story and sharing the video. And again, that's a statement from DHS. We shared their perspective as it came in just yesterday. Again, thank you for your time.

ANGLIN: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Two magazines are getting shut down at the University of Alabama. One caters to black students, the other to female students. And the editors say their student run outlets have been labeled DEI. A current and past editor here to react. Next.

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[08:27:25]

BLACKWELL: The administration's crackdown on programs and initiatives seen as DEI appears to have made its way to the university of Alabama, the school is now shutting down two university funded student magazines citing legal obligations.

AICE magazine was founded in November 2015 and is a fashion and wellness magazine that primarily covers women. Nineteen Fifty Six magazine launched in 2020 and covers black student life and culture.

Joining us now is the current editor in chief of AICE and a graduate student at Alabama, Gabrielle Gunter. Also with us is Obama alum and the founding editor of Nineteen Fifty Six, Tionna Taite. Welcome to you both. And Gabrielle, let me read part of a statement from a university spokesperson.

"I told CNN that the university will continue to provide funding for student media, including funding for a new student magazine that has a broader scope and will never restrict our student's freedom of expression. The first Amendment rights of our students remain fully intact." How does that explanation align with your view of the suspensions?

GABRIELLE GUNTER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, AICE MAGAZINE AT UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA: So on Monday when they told us were being suspended, they told us that the new magazine would be for everyone. And it was really offensive to imply that our magazines aren't for everyone. Everyone can pick up our magazines and read them.

We also allow everyone on our like anyone to join both staffs. So it's really offensive to be told that our magazines aren't for everyone.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Tionna, the university says that this new magazine will have a broader scope. When you launched Nineteen Fifty Six five years ago and again you were the founding editor, were there stories and perspective that were subsequently published in Nineteen Fifty Six that would not have been in other university funded media?

TIONNA TAITE, FOUNDER, NINETEEN FIFTY-MAGAZINE: Yes, for sure. The whole purpose of Nineteen Fifty Six was to showcase a broader perspective of students on campus. And one of those stories that I believe wouldn't have been featured in other publications was the adultification of black girls and how that impacts their childhood and how they really don't have a childhood because of that. And so also throughout Nineteen Fifty Six we share student experiences that they wouldn't feel comfortable sharing in other publications on campus. The university agreed with this perspective, otherwise they wouldn't have approved the magazine and in less than 24 hours back in 2020.

So honestly, Nineteen Fifty Six again, as the editor-in-chief of AICE was saying, both of our publications are open to all students. They can all pick up a copy, they can all contribute. And we've had that happen when I was editor in chief and also through our current editor in chief.

[08:30:11]

And so for sure, there are plenty of stories that I believe students will not feel comfortable sharing in this new publication that the university is saying that they're going to launch next year. And that's the whole purpose of Nineteen Fifty-Six and AICE.

BLACKWELL: Yes. The university said that they had a legal obligation to ensure that all members of the community feel welcome to participate in programs that receive university funding from the Office of Student Media.

Quickly to you, Gabrielle, your staff, was it exclusively female? Did you have a rule that banned male staff members or contributors?

GUNTER: No, sir. We have had a wide variety of people join our staff. Everyone is allowed to join, including paid staff. It's not exclusively women at all.

BLACKWELL: And Tionna, to you, was your staff and contributors exclusively black?

TAITE: No, not at all. I hired my staff based on their skills, experience and merit. In fact, when I was editor in chief, our photography editor was a white male and he served as editor for three years. We also had as my assistant editor in chief an Indian woman. So, not at any point was race a factor in hiring my staff.

BLACKWELL: Gabrielle, what do students lose now that AICE and Nineteen Fifty-Six will not be on campus?

GUNTER: They lose the diverse perspectives that marginalized students can present in these magazines. They also lose paid opportunities. We're unsure if the new magazine is going to have the same amount of paid positions as AICE and Nineteen Fifty-Six.

So I feel it's taking away positions from marginalized students. Yes, it's --

BLACKWELL: Yes. GUNTER: And also everyone is very upset about it. We all feel like we've lost something and it's very clear that the university is in the wrong.

BLACKWELL: All right, Gabrielle Gunter, Tionna Taite, thank you very much for your time.

All right. We have an update on the story of a mother who was escorted out of a hospital while in labor while only to give birth minutes later on the side of the road. What we've learned about a meeting the family just had with hospital leadership.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[008:37:10]

BLACKWELL: An update now on a story we recently covered that resonated with a lot of people and we're committed to keep following it. It's about Mercedes Wells. She's the mother who was escorted out of a hospital Indiana while she was in labor. Well, she ended up giving birth on the side of the road minutes later.

We spoke to Mercedes and her husband and their attorney later that week on this show. The hospital apologized and they said that they hoped to meet with the Wells family and their attorney. Well, that meeting happened on Thursday.

In a statement to CNN, Franciscan Health Crown Point President and CEO Raymond Grady said he listened to the family's concerns, reiterated that the physician and nurse involved in Mercedes care, they're no longer employed at the hospital.

The hospital also repeated that they've mandated cultural competency training for all labor and delivery staff. Grady said, quote, after spending time with the Wells family, I'm even more confident that we share the same goals to ensure that every patient is heard and receives compassionate, equitable care.

I spoke to Mercedes husband Leon Wells right after the meeting Thursday to get his take on how it went. Leon tells us that both Mercedes and baby Alena have now had to go back to the hospital, go back to a doctor because of health concerns that they believe are connected to the treatment, or lack thereof, that they received at Franciscan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEON WELLS, HUSBAND OF MERCEDES WELLS: Saying and doing is two different things. We had a conversation, but we're not seeing eye to eye on a lot of different things. And it's simple as having a heart. It's very simple.

This is 2025. It shouldn't even -- this shouldn't even never happen in the first place. And it's all about having a heart and really care for people. If you're in this industry, you need to care. We go to the hospital because we need help, and we didn't have that. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The Wells family attorney, Cannon Lambert, says there is more they still want the hospital to address.

(BEGIN VIDEO LCIP)

CANNON LAMBERT, ATTORNEY: I think we have to get on the same page as far as what actually occurred. There's a little bit of a disconnect there. When you see something bad happening as a professional, a medical professional, you have to say something, you have to do something to stop it. And the two employees that wheeled Mercedes out didn't do that. In spite of hearing her writhing in pain and having the last opportunity to set this right, they didn't do it. They punted and they should be discharged.

As far as what should happen going forward, we want to see Mercedes and Leon incorporated into the cultural training that they talked about they're looking to try and do. We want to see the implicit bias training, see Mercedes and Leon a part of that. In the next 10 to 14 days, we expect to reconvene with hospital administration.

[08:40:00]

That's a conversation that we hope will go further than the one that we had today. At least worth talking. But we still have a long way to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now this incident is sparking a call for national action. Congresswoman Robin Kelly is now -- she says she's pushing for the passage of a bill that she's calling the Wells Act. She says the legislation would urge hospitals to develop a safe discharge labor plan.

Coming up, there are reports that "Rush Hour 4" could soon be a thing. But does bringing back the franchise makes sense now? I'll speak to a writer who says it's not the right time for that kind of comedy.

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[08:45:09]

BLACKWELL: Hey, have you seen the reports that "Rush Hour 4" is in the works? And you wonder who asked for this? Apparently, President Trump. Semaphore was the first to report that President Trump is a big fan of the franchise starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.

And now even the U.S. treasury secretary, for some reason, is being asked about whether it's a good idea. My next guest does not think so. Reflecting on jokes like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS TUCKER, ACTOR: Please tell me you speak English. I'm Detective Carter. Do you speak any English? Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: In a new piece, he argues, quote, a comedy built on stereotypical jokes could be received very differently in today's racially tense, often humorless society. Isaac Rouse is with us. He's a writer at Polygon. Isaac, good morning to you.

You don't think that works? I mean, it worked. $800 million box office for the first three movies when they were out. You don't think it works in this social and political landscape? Tell me why.

ISAAC ROUSE, WRITER, POLYGON: It's just a different time, sir. You know, back in the day. Let me paint a picture for you. I don't know about other places, but in New York, where I'm based, Asian and black people live in close proximity. But for a long time, we just stayed to ourselves, only interacted at a certain capacity.

But black people have been fascinated with Chinese culture since the 70s with great Kung Fu movies with Sonny Chiba and Bruce Lee. So we've always been fascinated with that culture.

And then Rush Hour comes out. People love Jackie. Chris Tucker is super hot in the 90s, and it was the first time anybody had ever seen a buddy cop film without a white guy shoved in it as, like, the lead or as the sidekick. So it was a super big deal at the time.

Today, unity, not quite as novel as an idea.

BLACKWELL: And so you point out that we don't -- you write this. The franchise gave these two very different communities a chance to see themselves side by side on screen together. I wonder, does the -- not just the plot, but does the list of players here make this more attractive to the president?

You've got Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan never really said anything President. You've got Brett Ratner, director, who produced this documentary about Melania Trump. I mean, go behind the scenes here and why this would be something that the president would call for a resurrection of.

ROUSE: Well, if you have watched "Rush Hour 2," I'm sure all of us have seen "Rush Hour 2," there is a brilliant scene that Chris Tucker mentions which is follow the rich white man. And in this case it's a plural situation. You have to look who gains to benefit from all of this.

You have Trump, you have Ratner. They are working together. This is -- we've seen the president hook up his friends in several different occasions. This is just another one of those things you have -- you have Paramount attached, you have the Ellisons attached, you have their agenda.

And whereas the film came out and it was about all of these racial things under the umbrella of these cast of characters, it has a much different angle to it. BLACKWELL: Yes. Isaac, I wonder, though, with the political element,

does that doom a "Rush Hour 4?" Because we just watched what happened to the live action "Snow White" and all of the controversy around that. Does this talk about how much the president likes it? I guess take it before it even gets off the ground or at least taints it.

ROUSE: Well, even if the people involved weren't involved, I would still say a "Rush Hour 4" it is a very dicey, very taking a chance thing. You have to look at it not just about, you know, who's backing it, but you have to look at society and social media.

Although we're closer together than we ever were during the "Rush Hour" movies, which was lending itself to putting communities together, we're far closer now, and it's not the best thing in the world. It seems to be doing more division than anything these days.

So I feel like even without the people involved today of film making, these jabs at black and Chinese communities only embolden a certain crowd and feeds into those worst pretenses.

[08:50:05]

Those worst thoughts, those worse do it for the lull jokes that we've seen so often on social media.

BLACKWELL: All right, Isaac Rouse with Polygon, thanks so much.

ROUSE: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right, this week's Art is Life is one I got to tell you I've been looking forward to for months. It's about Christmas music, which I love, and my cartoon museum. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:55:00]

BLACKWELL: Yes, Christmas time is here. Or at least it's time for my annual rewatch of A Charlie Brown Christmas. And Tuesday will be the 60th anniversary of the original airing of my favorite holiday special. My only disappointment, though, Franklin is not in it. The character had not been introduced yet.

But because of Franklin, I've had this weekend circled for months after seeing this promo on socials, and it asks, what if Franklin produced the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack and the premiere of Franklin presents My Christmas is Tonight.

So for Art is Life this week, I spoke with the people who dreamt up the idea and a young musician who's lending her talent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY CARLETON, CO-FOUNDER, BLACK NOTES PROJECT: I'm Amy Carleton. I'm in Charlotte, and I'm the co-founder of Black Notes Project. MICHAEL KITCHEN, CO-FOUNDER, BLACK NOTES PROJECT: Hi, my name is

Michael Kitchen. I'm based in Charlotte, North Carolina. I'm the co- founder of Black Notes Project and the founder of the Soul Kitchen.

EMUNAH WANG, MUSICIAN, CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY YOUTH ORCHESTRA: Hi, my name is Amuna Wang. I am based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I'm a musician in the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra.

CARLSON: About a year ago, Michael said to me, wouldn't it be cool if Franklin had produced A Charlie Brown Christmas?

KITCHEN: It seems like we're doing the same thing. You know, you have a Charlie Brown Christmas, you have Nutcracker, you have holiday parties. And I was like, let's do something creative, something fun, something fresh. And I thought, being that Franklin is the only black character in the Peanuts gang, I was like, this will be perfect.

CARLETON: And I said, what do you mean? He said, imagine if it sounded like a little bit of Robert Glasper. A little bit of Parliament Funkadelic, you know, maybe a little bit of Dilla in there. What would that have sounded like?

KITCHEN: Oh, and Stevie Wonder. I'm sorry, can't -- can't leave out Stevie. All that mixed together to just come out with something really, really good.

WANG: I like Hark the Herald angel sing. It is a Christmas classic, but there is a different spin on it. Performing in a project evolving around Franklin's point of view is very meaningful to me, especially knowing the history of why Charles Schulz decided to bring Franklin into his comic strip.

Because, as Michael mentioned, the African American character really revolutionized Peanuts, and it really showed Americans that we can be diverse, but yet we can also be the same as we enjoy music together.

CARLETON: There was a school teacher that was a reader of Schulz's comic strip by the name of Harriet Glickman who sent a letter to him. And it was notably after the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And a time of great discord in the country and not unlike what we are experiencing now.

We hope that this is an opportunity for people to be delighted to get in the holiday spirit, but also reflect and think about, you know, the importance of unity and advocating for their neighbors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Isn't that a great idea? The performance kicks off tonight at Carolina Theatre in Uptown Charlotte. The show will also pay tribute to the 60th anniversary of the Supremes Christmas album. Amy and Michael hope the show could go on tour next year.

If you see something or someone I should see, tell me. I'm on Instagram, TikTok, X and Bluesky and you can listen to our show as a podcast. First of All is also now streaming live and available anytime in the CNN app. For more information, visit CNN.com/watch.

And tune in Sunday night for an all new episode of The Whole Story. Anderson Cooper goes to Nairobi, Kenya, to see how a special legal program is helping inmates facing harsh prison conditions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Just outside the cell, hundreds more men sit in rows. Five times a day, they gather for headcount. The guards tally their numbers.

By now, the men are used to this routine. They know what to expect from prison life on a daily basis. What many here and in prisons throughout Kenya don't know is how long they'll be locked up. Some can't afford to pay a relatively small bail. Others aren't sure of the charges against them. They don't have access to an attorney and don't know their rights.

There are inmates here who have been convicted of crimes and many others who are still waiting to see a judge.

[09:00:02]

Inmates who wear the striped uniform, that means they've had their case heard. They've been convicted by a court, but they're doing it --