Return to Transcripts main page

First of All with Victor Blackwell

U.S. Army Veteran Deported To Jamaica & His Family Speak Out; NFL Hires Zero New Black Head Coaches As Season Wraps; Trump Deletes Racist Post, Blames Staffer, Won't Apologize; Aprendiendo Espanol Para El "Benito Bowl"; Today: National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day; Erin Fong Brings Colorful Art To Super Bowl. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired February 07, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:00:25]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: First of all, what more would they need to see? I'm sitting with that question after President Trump reposted something racist again. The president shared a video depicting the Obamas as apes. Senator Tim Scott posted that he was praying it was fake before acknowledging it was the most racist thing he'd seen out of this White House.

We knew it wasn't fake from jump. The White House defended the post. In a statement, they said, please stop the fake outrage. Well, apparently the outrage was real. Real enough for them to delete the post and then blame it on an unnamed White House staffer before the president then undercut that claim and said he watched the meme but not the Obama part.

Republican Congressman John James condemned the video. But after seeing it and all that the president has said and done and posted, James said the president is not racist. Well, what more would he need to see?

Over the years, the president's excuses have said that he doesn't have a racist bone in his body and that no one knows what's in his heart. What more would you need to see? President Trump to this day emphasizes President Obama's middle name, Hussein. He famously pushed the baseless theory that he wasn't really born in the U.S. Why? What more would they need to see?

He told four American congresswomen of color to go back to their countries. He posted a meme of Hakeem Jeffries wearing a sombrero. He consistently refers to Black female politicians as low IQ individuals. Why? What more would they need to see?

The president asked, why can't we get more people from Norway, more Swedes, more Danes? None of those garbage Somalis, none of those shithole country Haitians with their eating of cats and dogs. Afghans out. Venezuelans out. We'll take some South Africans but the white ones. What more would they need to see? President Trump says the cities of Baltimore and Chicago are hellholes. He specifically cites Atlanta, Detroit and Philadelphia when he says he wants to crack down on alleged election fraud. Why? What more would they need to see?

How many times can the president say or do something racist and elected Republicans continue to insist that he is not racist. What more would they need to see? Actually, set that aside, what they would need to see? You take full inventory, write it all down and then write down the definition of racist and see what you come up with.

Thank you for your service only goes so far. In December, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Congress no military veterans had been deported. Well, on this show we've shared the stories of Marlon Parris, Sae Joon Park. Army veteran Parris was detained for months and ultimately agreed to self deport. Purple Heart recipient Park left the country before even being detained in the hopes that he could come back.

Well, now I'm going to introduce you to Godfrey Wade. Wade is a U.S. army veteran. His family says that he's lived in the U.S. for 50 years. 50 years. And just days ago he was deported to Jamaica after being detained since September. Godfrey, like Park and Harris (ph), has a criminal record.

They've been open about that. But Wade's family says they want Godfrey to have his day in court. And joining us now in studio, Godfrey's daughter, Christian Wade, his fiance April Watkins. Also with us live from Jamaica is Godfrey Wade himself.

Good morning to all of you. And Godfrey, I want to start with you. After 50 years in the U.S. you came here lawfully in 1975, what's going through your mind this morning now that you've been removed?

GODFREY WADE, U.S. ARMY VETERAN DEPORTED TO JAMAICA THIS WEEK: Well, good morning, sir, and good morning to your audience. At this time what's going on in my mind is just the assurity that I will have my day in court. My legal team is working very hard for that to happen. So we are trusting in the justice system of my beloved country, the United States of America, that I loved very much and served. And we want one hearing, one opportunity, one chance to be heard.

[08:05:16]

BLACKWELL: Let me read --

G. WADE: It doesn't even have to be my day. It could be -- it could be one hour.

BLACKWELL: Let me -- let me read for you. You were pulled over in September for failing the signal, then arrested for driving without a license. I want your response to the DHS statement when they say "ICE arrested Godfrey Oliver Wade, a criminal illegal alien from Jamaica. His criminal history includes domestic assault, criminal trespass, reckless conduct, deposit account fraud, violation of probation, multiple arrests for driving on a suspended license. In 2014, an immigration judge ordered him removed after he failed to show up for his immigration hearing.

This repeat offender is now off our streets and no longer able to terrorize Americans." Tell me, what is your response to what DHS says.

G. WADE: That is -- that's not correct. The three -- the three charges that's standing is, one, a 911 call from my ex-wife. When I was given a divorce decree, I objected to it. So in the effort to remove me from the home, which is our marriage home, a 911 call was called.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

G. WADE: There was no assault. Secondly, the fraudulent check was a bounce check that upon given notice that the check was bounced I made full restitution to the tag office.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

G. WADE: And thirdly, the disruption of anything else was not correct. And I've never driven on a suspended license. I never had my license on person because they took the license physically away from me and I was unable to renew.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

G. WADE: And that is -- and that is the story as it stands today. Those are the only three charges. And I'm not a criminal. I've worked and paid taxes all my life.

BLACKWELL: April, let me come to you. After trying to avoid this for months, he's now 1,200 miles away. What's that mean? And what's that feel like for your family?

APRIL WATKINS, FIANCEE OF GODFREY WADE: A lot of sadness. We are -- it's a very challenging time right now. You know, were building a life together. It has affected me emotionally, spiritually, physically, financially because he's now no longer able to contribute in the ways that he was able to contribute. So just having the ability to see him, touch him, all of those things has been extremely, extremely challenging.

BLACKWELL: I will say that the legal records that your attorney provided shows that a notice to appear was sent to the wrong address and then returned. So he was never, in 2014, notified that he was supposed to show up at an immigration court.

Christian, let me come to you. I mean, the fact that he served his country for 50 years, does that color your view of the country of his service and now that he's been deported.

CHRISTIAN WADE, DAUGHTER OF GODFREY WADE: It's hard. We are teachers, we serve like my father --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

C. WADE: -- in our community. We're still hopeful and trust that our government will deliver this due diligence. He deserves to be heard in court. That is all that we are asking. I don't think it's a big ask.

And so with what he's done for this country, I think the government can provide this opportunity for my dad.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And I think I misspoke there. He was here for 50 years, served overseas in the U.S. Army. Honorably discharged.

Godfrey, you left Jamaica when you were a teenager, and now you're a grandfather. What do you return to?

G. WADE: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Who do you return to? What is there for you that you're familiar with?

G. WADE: Well, I'm unfamiliar with the current renovated, the new Jamaica. However, this is my place of birth, and over time, I've kept myself informed of current happenings.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

G. WADE: Yes, I haven't physically been here in 30 years, but I have boots on the ground. My family is here. My uncle. I have utmost respect.

[08:10:03]

I want to give a shout out to my aunt, Dr. Joan Chung (ph) of Old Harbor, who --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

G. WADE: up on my first day of return did a full battery of tests and blood work because she could physically see, just see I wasn't physically on country --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

G. WADE: -- that I was not well.

BLACKWELL: One more question for you before we go. Do you look at your service differently after you serve this country and it has removed you?

G. WADE: Absolutely not. I love this country and the ultimate Jamerican, as we would say. My children are American, my grandchildren are American, and I mentor hundreds, if not thousands of American young people. And for me to respond differently would be an atrocity. I love this country and everything it stands for.

We believe in the justice system and we know they're going to do the right thing.

BLACKWELL: Godfrey, Christian, April, thank you all for the conversation. And we'll of course be following this case and this story. All right, no Black head coaches are leading a team at the Super Bowl this weekend. And not many are set to be on the sidelines next season either. Bomani Jones is here to react to the diversity in the NFL's coaching ranks going in the wrong direction. Plus, award winning journalist Eugene Robinson just wrote a new book about the history of racism in America and its impact on his own family. We'll hear his perspective on the racist video reposted by President Trump coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:16:24]

BLACKWELL: Over 10, that is a losing record and it belongs to the NFL coaching carousel. Nearly a third of NFL teams were hiring head coaches by the end of the season. Not one of those positions went to a Black coach. Only one went to a person of color at all, Robert Saleh, who is Lebanese American.

In 2003, the NFL passed a rule requiring every team trying to hire a head coach, a coordinator, a general manager to interview at least two minority candidates, called the Rooney Rule. Maybe you've heard of it. Now in 2024, the NFL hit a record, nine minority head coaches in place for the 2024 season. Six of them were Black, Raheem Morris, Jerod Mayo, Antonio Pierce, Mike Tomlin, Todd Bowles and DeMeco Ryans. This year, Bowles and Ryan are still coaching, plus Aaron Glenn of the Jets. So there are only three Black head coaches in the NFL right now.

Bomani Jones, host of the "Right Time with Bomani Jones" is with us.

Bomani, good morning to you. Is the answer to what we saw this season that the owners are racist? Or is that too simple of an answer? Or is it just what it is?

BOMANI JONES, HOST, "THE RIGHT TIME WITH BOMANI JONES": You know, it's a little bit dangerous to say that about people I don't know necessarily. I will say though that it's indisputable that we have decades and I guess the NFL is 100 years old now, so we can say a century long of what is hard to dispute would be racist hiring practices. I don't think it's that important about what the particulars are about the owners themselves. We know that we got the Rooney Rule around 2003 strictly because the NFL, when Johnnie Cochran was the scariest Black man in the world were afraid he was going to sue them into the ground, and so they did this. We moved almost 25 years beyond that and I guess the impetus or the concern about this is not nearly as clear, as important as to why it is important to create a level playing field on this level of playing football.

So I think that there are some systemic issues that come into play that explain how some of these things happen. But the truth is, it's indisputable that the owners do not believe that this is a problem. Now, why they don't think this is a problem may go to answer your questions about racism, but the biggest issue is that the issue is not deemed to be an issue by the people in charge.

BLACKWELL: And this is also a league in which about 70 percent of the players are Black. I want you to listen to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell this week, and then we'll talk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: I believe diversity is good for us. I think we have become a more diverse league across every platform, including coaching. But we still have more work to do. There's got to be more steps. So we're reevaluating everything we're doing, including our accelerator program, including every aspect of our policies and our programs to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow rather than yesterday.

So we need to be looking at that and sort of say, OK, why did we have the results this year?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And so what do you think he needs to reevaluate? Will the NFL need to reevaluate? I mean, Goodell's not hiring the coaches.

JONES: I think the clearest issue that translates itself to hiring of head coaches is about the team's willingness to hire Black and Brown men to be offensive coaches on, like an executive assistant, sort of. So where you see that head coaches now are primarily taken from is from the ranks offensive coordinators. That's where you don't see a lot of Black people getting jobs. I feel like we've seen an uptick in Black defensive coordinators over the last few years, but offensive coordinators is still not the place. That's the realm of the boy genius.

[08:20:04]

And the boy geniuses are just about always white guys, often tied into some pipeline also. Also quite often the sons of former coaches themselves. So they get a bit of a leg up in terms of networking and access in that way. But the question becomes, why are there so few Black offensive coordinators? And then why do they not get to take that step?

BLACKWELL: All right, Bomani Jones, I thank you for being part of the conversation. Enjoy the Saturday.

President Trump is trying to explain how a racist video got reposted on his social media feed. Award-winning author Eugene Robinson is here to share his perspective on that and his new book "Freedom Lost, Freedom won."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:25:06]

BLACKWELL: Well, no apology from President Trump for reposting a racist video depicting the Obamas as apes. And it sounds like there won't be one based on what he said last night on Air Force One.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I looked at the first part and it was really about voter fraud and the machines, how crooked it is, how disgusting it is. Then I gave it to the people. Generally, they look at the whole thing, but I guess somebody didn't and they post it and we took it down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A number of Republicans are calling on you to apologize for that post. Is that something you're going to do?

TRUMP: No, I didn't make a mistake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's get perspective now from Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Eugene Robinson. He's the author of just released book "Freedom Lost, Freedom won, A Personal History of America."

Eugene, thank you for being with me. I've got the book here. I've been reading it. We'll talk about it in just a moment. But first, that meme and what we've seen that's different from the other times the president has posted racist, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, sexist memes or videos is that there was some backlash from his party.

Is this a different --

EUGENE ROBINSON, AUTHOR, "FREEDOM LOST, FREEDOM WON, A PERSONAL HISTORY OF AMERICA: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- moment or is this just an election year?

ROBINSON: Well, it's those two things plus the fact that it's just incredibly racist. I mean, look at Senator Tim Scott immediately said this is the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House. And you know, that did not have the tone of being entirely political calculation. I just think he was shocked and outraged that the president would post this meme depicting the former president and first lady as monkeys, just, you know, kind of the oldest racist trope you could think of. And the fact that he basically owns it now and says I didn't make a mistake, you know, it'll be fascinating to see if those Republicans who criticized him back up their criticism and reiterate it or if they just sort of go meekly away.

We'll see.

BLACKWELL: Yes. If they're inclined to stand on this demand that some of them have that he apologizes.

Let me talk about the book now, "Freedom Lost. Freedom Won." You are in D.C. but you are of Orangeburg, South Carolina, and you write about --

ROBINSON: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- your great, great grandfather Henry Fordham and your lineage in South Carolina. The story came to you over years learning about your story. Why this story now? ROBINSON: Why this story now? The book does start with my great, great grandfather who was in Charleston, who was sold to a plantation owner in 1829. And sold again in 1848 and managed to buy his own freedom in 1851, before the Civil War. And, you know, the more I thought about my family history that Henry Fordham, my great, great grandfather, his son, my great grandfather, built the house I grew up in. So I grew up surrounded by all this history.

And the more I thought about it, the more I saw this repeated cycle where African Americans won a greater measure of freedom and opportunity, and then all of a sudden, it was taken away. That happened most prominently with Reconstruction, followed by Jim Crow. But it happened other times as well, during the long history of my family, which I had all documented. And I realized that, frankly, we're in that cycle now. It never seemed to be a coincidence that the election of Barack Obama, the first Black president of the United States, and his reelection, were followed immediately by the election of Donald Trump and a sharp turn in a -- in a different direction and a whole movement whose slogan is, let's go back to the past, make America Great Again. And so that's why I wrote it now.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And so if this is a repeating cycle and we're in that cycle now, what does history -- well, let me change the question. How does history inform where this cycle goes next?

[08:29:55]

ROBINSON: Well, one thing -- you know, I saw that progress in this country, and by progress I mean progress toward making the words of the Declaration of Independence, all men are created equal, making those stirring words really apply to everyone. It moves forward two steps, and then it moves backward two steps sometimes. Sometimes it goes forward three or four steps and comes back only two, and sometimes it moves forward two steps and comes back four.

But you look over time, you look at where we started and where we are now, and as difficult as the struggle is, it's undeniable that we have made progress. The fact that you and I are having this conversation on a national network, I mean, would that have happened 50 years ago? Would that have happened, you know, 100 years ago? It would have been, you know, it just doesn't, this wouldn't have happened.

So we have made progress. And so that gives me hope even at a moment when clearly the challenge is there. I mean, there is an attempt to essentially push us backwards, and there's a resistance to that, but it's a tough fight.

BLACKWELL: Yes, yes. It is a story about your family's history. It's about the country's history, and it's beautifully written. I told you during the break that you write about how your great-great-grandfather built your house. My great-grandfather built his house in Aiden, North Carolina, and that siding, as you write, is like granite. It's -- you can't hardly get a drill bit through it. Eugene Robinson, thank you for the book. Thank you for the conversation. The new book, "Freedom Lost, Freedom Won: A Personal History of America," is out now. Coming up, oh boy, it's hora de aprender espanol. Don't kill me for this. I'll let you be the judge of whether I'm ready for Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance. I even got anxiety reading that little part. We'll get into it after the break.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Am I cutting it here? Am I cutting it here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just follow the music. You have a beautiful voice.

BLACKWELL: No, no, no. Please.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:37:11]

BLACKWELL: Back in October, Bad Bunny told us we had four months to learn Spanish to prepare for a Super Bowl halftime show. I don't have months. So I've invited Isabel Rosales to come here and help me prepare. So what do I need to know?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, we should start with his name because Bad Bunny is not his government name it turns out.

BLACKWELL: Got that.

ROSALES: Here it is. Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio. You ready?

BLACKWELL: Yes.

ROSALES: Say it with me. Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio. So when people say I'm hosting a Benito Bowl party, now you know what that's about.

BLACKWELL: We have his name. Now what?

ROSALES: OK, this word. Very important. Say it with me. Boricua. That means a person from Puerto Rico like Bad Bunny. And you have to know El Sapo Concho. This is a toad that's native to Puerto Rico and the main character, the mascot to Bad Bunny's music and his merch. El Sapo Concho.

BLACKWELL: And it's endangered?

ROSALES: Right. That's part of the messaging that Bad Bunny's putting out. The Sapo Concho is going missing and he's saying we can't go missing too. I just have one question for you.

BLACKWELL: Yes. ROSALES: Can you roll your Rs?

BLACKWELL: Yes.

ROSALES: OK, look at this. Perreo. Ready? Say it with me. Perreo. So this literally means grinding or torquing. And you're going to see this word a lot in Bad Bunny's music. But it's very important. It's self-liberating, self-empowering. It means a lot to Latinos. OK, this one's a little more challenging. Are you ready for this, Victor?

BLACKWELL: I think so.

ROSALES: OK, this is three, two, one. "Debi Tirar Mas Fotos."

BLACKWELL: OK, what does it mean?

ROSALES: It means I should have taken more pictures. It's the name of his latest album and really a love letter to Puerto Rico.

BLACKWELL: That's beautiful. All right, that's day one, lesson one.

ROSALES: All right, it's day two.

BLACKWELL: I'm ready.

ROSALES: Are you sure? Because we're going to incorporate some music. You see this behind you?

BLACKWELL: I do. I think I'm ready.

ROSALES: OK, this is "Titi Me Pregunto."

BLACKWELL: Wait, what's the song?

ROSALES: "Titi Me Pregunto."

BLACKWELL: OK, OK, OK.

ROSALES: Which means auntie ask me, OK?

BLACKWELL: All right.

ROSALES: It's actually not from "Debi Tirar Mas Fotos." It's from "Un Verano Sin Ti" from 2022. But this song is so loved by fans. It's definitely going to be on the halftime show. "Debi Tirar Mas Fotos." OK, you know this one.

BLACKWELL: I'm looking forward to this one.

ROSALES: Yes.

BLACKWELL: There's some parts I don't know.

ROSALES: Don't worry. We're going to learn. Here we go.

BLACKWELL: Excellent. OK. ROSALES: Here we go. Here we go. DTMF "Debi Tirar Mas Fotos. I should have taken more pictures.

BLACKWELL: We learned that in episode one.

ROSALES: That's right.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

ROSALES: Good memory. And by the way, this is meaningful. I hope my own never move, never leave Puerto Rico. Ojala, I hope, Ojala que lo mio nunca se mude.

BLACKWELL: So we drop this S.

ROSALES: Puerto Rican Spanish does this a lot, by the way. Caribbean Spanish, but Puerto Rican in particular. Drops the S's at the end a lot.

BLACKWELL: OK.

ROSALES: It's kind of like one word. Y si hoy, and this is, me emborracho, it's almost like together, me emborracho.

[08:40:03]

BLACKWELL: Y si hoy me emborracho, pues que me ayuden. OK, I feel like I have those two. I'm ready. I'm ready.

ROSALES: You did a really good job.

BLACKWELL: Thank you.

ROSALES: But there's more songs to be had. You're not ready yet.

BLACKWELL: OK. All right, let's do it. That's day two.

ROSALES: Day two. And now I want you to like bring some hip and shoulder action.

BLACKWELL: Bring some what?

ROSALES: Yes, yes.

BLACKWELL: OK. All right.

ROSALES: Just feel it.

BLACKWELL: OK. OK. All right.

ROSALES: Feel the music. (SINGING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: I think I did all right. Hey, there's actually a lot more. We had to leave out for time, but I'm putting all of my socials parts. One and two are up now. Just look for me at VictorBlackwell. And for more Bad Bunny prep, you should also check out CNN's flashdoc Bad Bunny and the halftime show Rhythms of Resistance. It traces his rise from supermarket bagger to streaming superstar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bad Bunny took home album of the year, which became the first entirely Spanish project to do so. He and other stars use the stage to speak out as well against the President's immigration enforcement program.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: What a moment for Bad Bunny is about to headline the Super Bowl and now this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a huge moment for Bad Bunny. And we know a moment that has gotten a lot of attention, both in Hollywood and D.C. and certainly around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bad Bunny is the most steamed artist in the world.

MJ ACOSTA-RUIZ, NFL SIDELINE REPORTER: I think he rivals someone like Beyonce or Taylor Swift in terms of popularity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Bad Bunny and the halftime show Rhythms of Resistance airs tonight at 10:00 Eastern and Pacific on CNN and streaming on the CNN app.

Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. And I was made aware of a statistic recently that impacts black women, which stunned me. Tamar Braxton is here to speak on that and her effort to promote prevention, along with some special guests. We'll have that conversation, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:46:00]

BLACKWELL: So, on this show, I like to not just highlight disparities, but also talk about solutions. So, when a colleague of mine brought this stat to my attention, I had to double check it was right. It almost seems unbelievable. According to the latest data, among all women who get a new diagnosis of HIV, nearly 50 percent of them, half, are black women.

Black women make up just around 14 percent of the U.S. female population. So, we need to talk about this. And today is the right time because it's National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This disparity is concerning. It's also a chance, though, to remember that there is something that can be done about it. That includes raising awareness of HIV prevention like PrEP.

Tamar Braxton did that when she revealed last year that she takes PrEP. And now she has partnered with the pharma company Gilead to raise awareness. Tamar is with us now to talk more about this, along with Masonia Traylor. She's living with HIV and is an activist, speaker, a mom. Also joining us, Rashad Burgess from Gilead. Thank you all for coming in.

Tamar, I'll say that I didn't even know that women were eligible for PrEP. I'm an openly gay man. I take Descovy every day. But why did you make the decision to take it?

TAMAR BRAXTON, PREP ADVOCATE AND PAID PARTNER FOR GILEAD: Well, unfortunately, I found myself single. And I was talking to a group of friends of mine, and they were talking about being on PrEP. They're openly gay as well. And one of my friends mentioned to me that I, too, could take PrEP.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BRAXTON: And I was like, what do you -- I've never even heard of it before.

BLACKWELL: Right.

BRAXTON: And so at the table, they were just educating me about what PrEP is and what it does and how there are different PrEP options. And so I talked to my doctor, and we had a conversation. And I, too, was astonished over the numbers. Once I started doing the research for PrEP and HIV awareness, I couldn't believe the number that us, as African American females, was the most affected and not the specific group that everyone has portrayed it to be.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Masonia, is it clear why there is this great disparity?

MASONIA TRAYLOR, MOM LIVING WITH HIV, ACTIVIST AND OUTREACH FACILITY VOLUNTEER: Absolutely. We're just not prioritized in the information, the marketing, access with education. And we're finding out too late. Everything is being prioritized for men in the LGBTQ community.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

TRAYLOR: So they're not even taking a look at women whatsoever.

BLACKWELL: That's despite, and let me read this. This is according to KFF. Black women who become infected with HIV actually have fewer sexual partners and more likely to use condoms and yet are more likely to be infected with HIV. So for people who are going to rush to a personal responsibility argument, it is not that black women are not taking personal responsibility. There is still seemingly this contradiction.

TRAYLOR: Yes, so you're talking about systems that work against black women in general. These systems and policies, when you look at HIV in the beginning, it only focused on race and sexuality. So that automatically wipes out black women altogether. But does that mean that we're focused on just gay men and men on the deal? So why are white women rates so low? Why are they not contracting HIV as much? Is it because that black women are having sex less than white women? Or is it that we have more gay men than others do? But it's really about the narrative that's being painted.

I've been living with HIV for 14 years and I found out while I was pregnant and I meet many more women who are finding out while they're married, while they're pregnant, and still birthing HIV positive babies.

BLACKWELL: Rashad, I don't want to be a commercial for Descovy or any PrEP, but it is highly effective. I mean, you can almost take that off the table if you're taking these pills.

[08:50:03]

RASHAD BURGESS, VP OF CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY, GILEAD SCIENCES: Absolutely. We have seen -- we have made significant advances in science with our- Almost take that off the table if you're taking these pills. Absolutely. We have seen, we have made significant advances in science with our innovative medications. And really, we've transformed HIV, both prevention and treatment. And we continue to innovate.

You know, now we have long-acting injectables that allow people to not have to take a pill every day, but actually get an injectable every six months. And so it's something that we are not only passionate about our innovation in medicine, but really partnering with organizations and with people to really get the message out, because what good is there to have this innovation, but it's not getting to the people that need it the most.

And so that's why we do the work that we do, not only on our medicines, but also partnering with organizations, partnering with institutions to really make sure that we are reaching the communities that need these medications and resources.

BLACKWELL: Tamar, I was reading from the National Institutes of Health. More than 70 percent of black people they surveyed have reported not being offered an HIV test by their provider.

BRAXTON: Yes.

BLACKWELL: So we talk on this show about the implicit biases in the medical industry and people received from medical services. But there has to be some self-advocacy when people go into these offices as well, right?

BRAXTON: Absolutely. You know, I was surprised that my doctor didn't come and talk to me about it, right? Because I fit all the statistics. I'm a single black woman who was dating. And that should have been a conversation that was brought to me. However, this is a conversation that I had to bring to her. And then because I brought that conversation to her, she is now having these conversations with her female black women.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BRAXTON: So, you know, I just think that at the end of the day, this has to be a conversation that is normalized. Masonia, is the infrastructure, social, medical, otherwise, keeping up with the disparity as it relates to black women?

TRAYLOR: Absolutely not. As policies change, we're at the bottom of the totem pole as the focus. So by the time we get the information, we're five, eight, 10 years behind. Even our participation in clinical trials, by the time they even let us know that they're available, it's like we're so far deep in a hole.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

TRAYLOR: How can we come back up from that?

BLACKWELL: Well, I appreciate all of you coming to have this conversation, not just on this day, but it's one we need to continue throughout the year as this disparity is just shocking.

Tamar, Masonia, Rashad, thank you all for being with me. We'll take a break. We'll be right back.

BURGESS: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:57:13]

BLACKWELL: Listen, I have no idea who's going to win the Super Bowl, but I can guarantee that it will feature a lot of color. That's thanks to Erin Fong. She designed the official visuals for the big game, posters, tickets, and for Artist Life this week, I spoke with her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN FONG, ARTIST: Hi, I'm Erin Fong. I'm in Emeryville, California, and I'm an artist. I created the theme art, the official theme art for the Super Bowl this year.

I'm a multidisciplinary artist. My background and sort of first love was letterpress printing. I since have expanded to airbrush painting, large-scale, site-specific installations. But color is really the unifying thread across all of my work. I strongly believe in the power of color to alter our moods, to shift how we feel. I love these, like, bright, vibrant pinks, yellows, oranges, sort of sherbet tones, a little pink and purple.

The things that really just, when I look at them, really make me feel happy. That's sort of based on research around these bright hues being able to stimulate dopamine production in the brain. I kind of got a cold call e-mail about spring of last year, and when I first received it, I kept checking the e-mail signature, and it said, at NFL.com. Like, that seems pretty legit.

They had seen some of my previous work, I think, through my Instagram or TikTok, checked my website. It was definitely a collaboration in figuring out sort of what the final pieces were going to be. It's so exciting to just have worked on this piece for so long, have had to keep it a secret for so long, and to finally be able to talk about it to share it, to really, like, get those benefits of seeing all these bright colors together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: So Erin says she was a cheerleader in high school, so she loves the excitement of sports. And she'll get to be in the middle of all the excitement because she has tickets to the big game tomorrow.

All right, this morning we've got an amazing update to a previous story we first brought you for Art is Life. Aura V and her dad, Fyutch, were up for a Grammy this past Sunday, and they won their album "Harmony," got the award for best children's album. That means Aura V is now the youngest individual Grammy winner ever. And we spoke last month, Aura told us what she wanted to do if they won.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FYUTCH, MUSICAL ARTIST: So you want to go, you want to get some food? You want to celebrate with a nice meal, huh? Steak, seafood, the works.

AURA V, MUSICAL ARTIST: I want to get steak.

FYUTCH: So, yeah, we going all in on a celebratory dinner.

[09:00:02]

AURA V: Can we go to Sky Zone?

FYUTCH: Sky Zone too, trampoline park, we doing it all. Whatever you want.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: And now they shared this with us. Aura V getting that steak. So well deserved. Congratulations, Aura V and Fyutch. I see you. Thank you for joining me today. I'll see you back here next Saturday at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Smerconish is up next.