Return to Transcripts main page

First of All with Victor Blackwell

Iran Reimposes On Vital Strait, Ships Again In Limbo; Reporter: Iranian Gunboats Fired On Tanker In Strait of Hormuz; Families Of Detailed Iranian Americans Push For Release In Any Deal. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired April 18, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:00:24]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, first of all, this morning it appears that we are right back to where were roughly 24 hours ago when it comes to Iran and the U.S. in the Strait of Hormuz. The breaking news is that Iran says it is resuming restrictions on the strait and that this critical waterway for global energy shipping is being closed again. A UK Shipping group says Iranian gunboats fired on a tanker this morning. The crew, they're said to be safe.

Now Friday, President Trump spent the day boasting about Iran's original announcement that they were going to, he says, completely open the strait. Iran, however, is upset the U.S. is still keeping its blockade in place. And Tehran is also pushing back hard on Trump, saying that the Iranians had agreed to hand over their stockpile of highly enriched uranium. So where do we stand?

Well, the Strait of Hormuz appears to be closed again. Iran appears not to be willing to hand over their uranium. And it's remained to be seen if Iran and the US Will still meet again in Pakistan next week as has been floated.

President Trump last night also said that he may not extend the cease fire if there is not a deal reached by next week's deadline. Then there is whatever this was.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, what was the good news that you 20 minutes ago?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Having to do with Iran.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you tell us anything about.

TRUMP: No, but you'll hear about it. But I just think it's something that should happen. It's something that only makes sense to happen. And I think it will. We'll see what happens, but I think it will.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, listen. Have you -- (END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Yes. Still no idea about what that was. Maybe we'll learn more today. Meantime, the status of everything appears to be as clear as mud. Just this morning, Iran's deputy foreign minister told CNN that Trump's messaging right now is, quote, "kind of confusing."

Now what we certainly have not heard enough about is what to do about Americans being held in Iran right now. Will they be included in any deal? One of them is Reza Valizadeh. He is an Iranian American journalist. He went back to Iran in March of 2024 to visit his elderly parents and he was arrested in September of that year.

Now in 20, U.S. state Department officially designated him as wrongfully detained. In February, the Trump administration cited his case when formally designating Iran as a state sponsor of wrongful detention.

Ryan Fayhee is an attorney working on Reza's case and he is with us now. Ryan, good to have you with me. First, let me ask about just his well-being. The U.S. and Israel have hit thousands of targets over this war. Now, seven weeks in, Reza was being held at the Evan prison in Tehran. What do you know about his well-being and his whereabouts?

RYAN FAYHEE, ATTORNEY WORKING ON REZA VALIZADEH'S CASE: Well, I'm very hopeful that Reza is alive and well. Unfortunately, we don't have any indication of that. Ever since the protests and then the military strikes, there's been a blackout on communications. It's difficult for me to communicate with his family, his elderly parents and his brother in Tehran. I'm hopeful they're still communicating, but it's just not clear.

The military strikes have been very close to the vicinity of in prison. We understand the windows may be blown. So, it's deeply concerning.

BLACKWELL: Last week there was reporting that there was some discussion about the release of Americans who are being detained, wrongfully detained in Iran. What do you know about the negotiations? Have you had any confirmation that they're part of the discussions as we go into round two of the U.S. and Iran go into round two about trying to end this war?

FAYHEE: Yes. Well, I've been in close touch with the White House, the State Department and even stakeholders up on Capitol Hill. And I have high confidence that Reza and other Americans being held are very much on the agenda.

The administration hasn't publicly shared the contents of any of the negotiations, but I know even before the war, in the first round his name was mentioned and I have high confidence that he's on the agenda.

And really what I see here is that Reza and his release could be a gesture to show on the Iranian side and the American side they can engage on the resolution of something that's quite easy to resolve before they get on to these more complex issues. BLACKWELL: You said that you're having difficulty communicating or

getting messages out of Iran. Of course, there is the Internet blackout that's been going on for four months now. But you shared with one of my producers a voice memo that you received from your client. This was September of last year. Let me play it.

[08:05:14]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VOICE NOTE FROM REZA VALIZADEH: As you know, we have two different intelligence services. One of them belongs to IRGC. Yes, they summoned me and unlike their promise that before coming to Iran they promised that they are not going to arrest me, finally on 09/23/2024, they arrested me. And during this time, from the day when I came to Iran until the day when I was arrested, I was amended every 15 or 20 days for integration for it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: And so as I said at the top, he's an Iranian American journalist. And just talk to me about the additional scrutiny that he faces as a journalist specifically in Iran and how that may play into what happens over the next few days or weeks or months.

FAYHEE: Yes, you know, racist case is really the justification for the administration making the finding that Iran is a state sponsored wrongful detention. Of course, there's been several hostage cases all the way back to the Islamic revolution in the late 70s. But race's case is special.

He spoke up and reported on the protests back in 2009 when the election in Iran was called into question, was ultimately exiled. He continued reporting in the Farsi language as an employee of Radio Free Europe in their broadcast arm called Farda. And that's exactly why racialists ultimately targeted this is Iran has a long history of targeting journalists who would report the truth to the citizens of Iran in their own language.

And unfortunately, despite the false assurances, he went back because he wanted to see his elderly parents before they passed on. And so, you know, there's a strong message the U.S. can send by focusing on race's case and making sure that it's resolved as part of these broader negotiations.

BLACKWELL: Do you think this can be resolved successfully? Can the U.S. claim a win without bringing Reza and the other wrongfully detained Americans home?

It would be unthinkable to leave Race and the other Americans there. And I have very high confidence in the administration that they're focused on Reza's case. They brought a lot of Americans home since the turn of the administration and I just have high confidence that he's going to be included in these conversations. BLACKWELL: Ryan Fayhee, attorney working with Reza and I thank you for

your time and we'll stay close to. As soon as you get updates, we'd like to bring you on and talk about them. Thank you.

Nearly two years after the police involved shooting of a teen in St. Louis only now are we seeing the body cam video of what happened and it contradicts what police said happened at the time. So coming up, you'll see that video and you hear from the attorney who obtained it.

Two pro-Palestinian voices were targeted for deportation until separate rulings from two judges blocked their removal. Now both judges have lost their jobs. They'll join us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:13:23]

BLACKWELL: It's been almost two years since a St. Louis police officer shot and killed 17-year-old Amishean Wilkins. Now, a newly released body cam video is Contradicting what the St. Louis Police Department said about the black teenager's death.

Now, Wilkins was one of three people in an SUV that was reported stolen. When officers attempted to pull it over, there was a brief pursuit. When the car stopped, two of the people in the SUV ran. On the day of the shooting, St. Louis police released a statement and here's part of it.

"During a foot pursuit, an armed suspect turned and pointed a gun at officers when the detective shot the armed suspect. But the body cam video, now public for the first time, tells a different story. It was recorded June 18, 2024, and only just released by the family's attorney. They obtained it as part of a discovery process in a federal lawsuit against the police department.

Now before we play it, I want to warn you that the video is disturbing. That video does not appear to show him turning toward the officer before the officer fired. And this next part of the video also does not show any weapon near Wilkins, nor does it show any officer picking up a weapon.

[08:15:04]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me your hand. In the rear. We have both in custody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me the address, address. Drivers in custody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is everyone okay?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All officers are accounted for. Unharmed. Subjects down in the rear 4219.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLACKWELL: Now, after the video was released, St. Louis police issued

a statement. And here's part of that.

"We recognize that the use of deadly force is difficult for everyone involved and for the community. We're committed to being as transparent as possible, even in dynamic and rapidly evolving situations. In the early stages of this investigation, detectives with the Forest Investigations Unit determined that information provided by a third party to investigators in the immediate aftermath of the incident was not consistent with the actual events or what was initially shared with the community.

Now, the involved officer statements were consistent with the findings of the investigation. The St. Louis Circuit Attorney's office says that. I said in a statement to CNN affiliate KSDK that it received the police investigative report in October and that the office conducts a thorough review of the evidence and law to determine whether there is a basis for criminal liability. The statement goes on to say that the CAO is committed to reviewing matter as expeditiously as possible while ensuring that all available evidence and legal considerations are carefully and thoroughly evaluated.

Now, again, it has been nearly two years since that shooting happened. Neither one of those statements explains why the city did not immediately release the video to the public. It was just released on Monday by the family's attorney, not by St. Louis officials. And that attorney, Al Watkins, is with us now.

Attorney Watkins, I thank you for being with me. I want to talk about the video and the fight to get it and what it shows in a moment. But first, Shana Wilkins, Amician's mother, when she first saw it. And now that there is some level of vindication in knowing the truth, but she still doesn't have her son with her, what was her reaction?

AL WATKINS, ATTORNEY: That minor amount of vindication did nothing except open a gaping wound and pouring salt in it. It was. It was hard for a great deal of emotional. Emotional upheaval for her.

BLACKWELL: And so again, this happened in June of 2024. What is the explanation for why it took two years to get this video?

WATKINS: Yes. So the explanation has not been made clear at all. What we do know is that for a year and a half, our office fought diligently to acquire a copy of that video through Freedom of Information act requests, through follow up with city and police officials. I don't want to file a lawsuit unless I have the evidence.

We had to file a federal lawsuit to get a federal judge to finally order and mandate the city to release that video once we thought we knew why. Absolutely. Why the city fought so hard not to share it.

BLACKWELL: And so let me ask the obvious question here. I just want to hear you expound. You believe that the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department was hiding the details, hiding this truth, this video from you. WATKINS: Well, what we know for sure is that the police department

issued a statement that was misleading. It was not truthful. It was not integrity written. Indeed, it was false, and they knew it was false. We know the department failed and refused to release that video. We know that video, as you said, and as we all know, is very disturbing.

But what we know now is that more disturbing is the absence of transparency and integrity by a citizen attorney's office, by a police department, by leadership among the board of police commissioners, and that we have a scenario now where the trust level with law enforcement and city officials is at an all-time long. And remember St. Louis 12 years ago was home to the Ferguson Myers.

[08:20:31]

BLACKWELL: Yes, I was in Ferguson right outside of St. Louis in 2014. And the police in the community, they promised transparency and they promised change. What, how does this moment align with those promises?

WATKINS: Well, the only alignment is that indeed there has been change. Unfortunately, the change is now for the worse. When you have a young man who just turned 17 doing what 17-year-olds who are stupid do, which is to be operating a motor vehicle that is not theirs. That motor vehicle wasn't stolen that day. Indeed, it wasn't stolen by him. He worked at McDonald's.

He bought it. He thought he was getting a deal. But whether he knew it was hot or not hot, it was a low-speed chase, 10, 15 miles an hour. This young man ran. He had no weapon on him. He had no footed movement that would alert any cop. There were literally scores of police in the immediate area. And this one officer decided I'm pulling my gun.

None of the protocols and procedures mandated by the police department were followed by that officer. And what's horrible and really disturbing, there's been no internal affairs report. There's been no discipline, there's been no prosecution. There are no answers. And that officer is on desk duty for two years on pay, getting paid the entire time.

BLACKWELL: Well, what we've been told, CNN has been told that he is still employed by the department. We don't have those additional deals about his assignment. But attorney Al Watkins, I thank you so much for being with me and we will certainly follow this story to see what happens next. I appreciate your time this morning.

Two immigration judges, five fired by the Trump administration say it is retaliation for their recent rulings to block the deportations of pro-Palestinian students. Both judges join us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:27:19]

BLACKWELL: President Trump is not shy about taking on judges who rule against him or immigrants that do the same. We also know that he won't hesitate to fire people who get in the way of his administration. What they want done. Well, this story checks all three of those boxes. It's about two immigration judges now fired after ruling in cases involving pro-Palestinian students targeted for deportation.

Now, one of the cases involved is Rumeysa Ozturk. She was the doctoral student at Tufts University. You remember this video? She was scooped up by immigration agents outside her House in 2025. One year earlier, she had coauthored an opinion piece for her campus newspaper that called out her university for its response to Israel's war in Gaza. Judge Roopal Patel blocked her deportation.

The argument that Ozturk was arrested in retaliation for pro- Palestinian activism was similar to the one presented by attorneys for motion Madawi. He's the Columbia University student arrested at a naturalization appointment.

Judge Nina Froes ruled that he should not be deported. Well, both Oz Turk and Madawi are free, and those two judges in their respective cases are fired. And Roopal Patel and Nina Froes are both here live now.

Thank you both for being with me and Judge Froes, let me start with you. When, when Moshe Madawi's case came before you, did you know that it was high profile? Did you know that this would be something that the administration would be paying attention to?

NINA FROES, IMMIGRATION JUDGE FIRED AFTER RULING IN CASE OF MOSHEN MAHDAWI: No, honestly, I had no idea.

BLACKWELL: And if you had known, how would that have impacted your decision?

FROES: I mean, it wouldn't have impacted my decision whatsoever because we are trained to just do the cases that come before us. We don't look at the special circumstances of a specific respondent. We look at the facts. We look at the law. And so whether the person is high profile or not, it shouldn't make a difference. And it certainly didn't in the case that I presided over.

BLACKWELL: And Judge Patel, what did you know about Rumeysa Ozturk's case when it came before you, did you know that this was something that was being followed so closely?

ROOPAL PATEL, IMMIGRATION JUDGE FIRED AFTER RULING IN CASE OF RUMEYSA OZTURK: I mean, I had seen her in the news. But similar to what Judge Froes is saying, you know, you treat every case that comes before you individually. You decide every case on the facts and the law. There's no one respondent or one case that is more important than any other. And so even though I had seen Ms. Ozturk in the news, that didn't impact how I ruled in her case.

BLACKWELL: Let me stay with you, Judge Patel. And these numbers are from a recent report. Under Mr. Trump, Ms. Patel granted asylum in 41.5 percent of cases, while Ms. Froes granted asylum in 33 percent of cases, compared with 18 percent for judges overall, according to the New York Times analysis of immigration court data. That's from a recent report.

[08:30:05]

Did the administration communicate to you that they wanted more asylum denials?

PATEL: Not overtly. I think they created kind of covert pressures through policy memos that encouraged judges to sort of be more favorable to the government and to be less favorable to respondents overall to narrow pathways of relief available to asylum seekers, to be stricter in terms of granting continuances and adjournments.

So I think there weren't overt pressures to rule certain ways in certain cases, but there was a kind of overarching pressure to begin ruling more strongly against respondents.

BLACKWELL: Judge Froes, I think some people are learning probably for the first time in this administration, the difference as it relates to independence between the immigration courts and their district courts, or at least what has been displayed or exhibited by this administration.

What is the difference of independence under this administration and what should it be for these immigration courts and judges?

FROES: Well, I mean, the Executive Office for Immigration Review is an agency under the Department of Justice. And so although it's different than the Department of Homeland Security, they certainly are closely aligned. And so that in and of itself is a problem.

I mean, there's a lot of talk about us having independence in training, and there are policy memos that talk about the immigration judges' independence. However, that independence, as Judge Patel just mentioned, is very constrained by the Board of Immigration Appeals precedents. They say we're independent, but then the prevailing law or the guiding law really doesn't give us a lot of leeway. And although most of our decisions are discretionary the way that we --

BLACKWELL: I have a bit of a digital problem there. Last question for you, Judge Patel. Do you believe that your dismissal is a direct connection to your granting asylum for Rumeysa Ozturk?

PATEL: No, I don't. I think no matter how I ruled in the Ozturk case, I probably would have been fired. The administration has this larger pattern of firing immigration judges towards the end of their probationary period, if they were hired in the Biden administration and if they have prior experience representing immigrants, both of which are true for me.

So I think that you know this, however I ruled in any specific case, this firing is part of a larger pattern of the administration's efforts to reshape the immigration bench to be more responsive to their mass deportation agenda.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And 113 immigration judges have been fired in this second term. That according to the national association of Immigration Judges Roopal Patel and Nina Froes. Thank you.

I also want to read this. Dr. Rumeysa Ozturk has released a statement through the ACLU in which she says, after 13 years of dedicated study, I'm very proud to have completed my PhD and to return home on my own timeline. The time stolen from me by the U.S. government belongs not just to me, but to the children and youth I've dedicated my life to advocating for. With them in mind, I am choosing to return home as planned, to continue my career as a woman scholar without losing more time to the state imposed violence and hostility I have experienced in the United States. All for nothing more than the co-signing an op-ed advocating for Palestinian rights. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:39:11]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Have you heard about these controversial mailers from a conservative political action committee? They're in Virginia ahead of their vote on a new congressional map to add four Democrat friendly districts to counter the Republican friendly redrawn maps in Texas and soon Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Republicans in Virginia have literally started sending materials with the Klan on them. Our ancestors fought to represent us, literally the clan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These mails come from a Magalon political action committee opposing Virginia's efforts to redistrict. And they are doing this by using imagery from the civil rights movement on purpose that compares a referendum to Jim Crow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So who's behind all this?

BLACKWELL: Well, these mailers are funded by the Democracy and Justice PAC, which is funded by the Justice for Democracy PAC.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of the individuals behind these two PACs was a former delegate from the Hampton area, A.C. Cordoza.

[08:40:04]

BLACKWELL: Yes, Cordoza is the chairman of both of the groups. As first reported by the Virginian Pilot. I asked for an interview, but he declined. But here's what he told our affiliate WDBJ about the relevance of the imagery and Jim Crow to the redistricting vote.

A.C. CORDOZA, CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRACY AND JUSTICE PAC: This is the real Jim Crow 2.0. It's a newer and improved version. A little more shuttles in the last one. They don't need water hoses anymore. They didn't just violate the state and that's what they're trying to do. And they're trying to jam it down our throats. They won't even follow their own rules.

BLACKWELL: Well, the NAACP supports the temporary redistricting. They call the mailers misleading. Now, Cordoza sent my team a text. He said highlighting hypocrisy isn't misleading. And the bottom line is simple. No one can refute the facts of the piece. The proposed maps take away the voting strength of black and brown voters, silencing our voices. It's wrong and turns the clock backwards. And he made this claim on a recent podcast.

CORDOZA: These are Southern Democrats that are breaking up two majority minority districts that disent -- enfranchises black voters to make them majority white districts.

BLACKWELL: That's not true. According to CNN's analysis, the new maps would slightly reduce the percentages of black and brown voters in the two majority minority districts. We're talking the third district in the Hampton Roads area, the fourth district in Richmond, but would still maintain each as majority minor.

Now let's follow the money. The Justice for Democracy PAC has raised more than $9 million. More than 8.9 million of that came from this so called dark money group. Per Aspera Policy Incorporated. It's tax exempt nonprofit based in Massachusetts and the IRS does not require it to release its donor list.

Now we wanted to reach out but couldn't find any public contact information. So when it comes to the use of the images of the Klan and comparing this redistricting vote to Jim Crow, what do you think?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Coming up, the President's new pick to lead the CDC. What we know about Dr. Erica Schwartz, a former top official at the health agency is here to react. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:46:44]

BLACKWELL: A public health veteran to lead America's top public health agency. What a concept Dr. Erica Schwartz is President Trump's pick to lead the CDC. There are a few notable things about the choice. One, she's a black woman, one of very, very few who we've seen in leadership roles in a Trump White House. That's in either his first term or his current term so far. And she's got a strong resume.

Deputy surgeon general in Trump's first administration, 24 years in the U.S. Public Health Service Commission Corps, A rear admiral in the Coast Guard. In his social media announcement, President Trump called her a star in all caps, maybe most notably considering this administration's stance on vaccines.

Until now, Dr. Schwartz has led vaccination programs before. Trump's Surgeon General in his first term, Dr. Jerome Adams is praising her too. He made sure to post on X. If allowed to follow the science without political interference, she'll excel. Let's talk about this now with Dr. Demetre Daskalakis. He resigned as director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases last year over changes to vaccine policy and right after the firing of the former CDC director, Susan Monarez. So welcome back to the show. Let's start here.

What do you think of the pick?

DR. DEMETRE DASKALAKIS, FORMER DIRECTOR, CDC NATIONAL CENTER FOR IMMUNIZATION AND RESPIRATORY DISEASES: I'm thrilled. I mean, I think very off pattern for this administration that they've tapped physician with a track record who hasn't had their license censured or who in fact has a medical license.

So this is a remarkable pick if she's allowed to do her job. I think the -- Dr. Adams view that interference is the thing that we need to worry about, I will add beyond interference, it's a secretary who's actively trying to destroy public health may not allow her to build what needs to be built at CDC.

BLACKWELL: All right, so let's talk more about that. You were one of the CDC officials and there were several senior level officials who resigned after Susan Monarez was fired after about a month on the job, after a confirmation. Here she is, this is testifying on Capitol Hill, September 17, 2025 about why she says she was fired.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SUSAN MONAREZ, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: On the morning of August 25th, Secretary Kennedy demanded two things of me. They were inconsistent with my oath office and the ethics required of a public official. He directed me to commit in advance to approving every ACIP recommendation regardless of the scientific evidence.

He also directed me to dismiss career officials responsible for vaccine policy without cause. He said if I was unwilling to do both, I should resign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And so after the announcement of Erica Schwartz, Secretary Kennedy posted, I look forward to working together to restore trust, accountability and scientific integrity at the CDC. Do you think that Dr. Schwartz will be able to do her job with scientific integrity under this leadership?

DASKALAKIS: I think that there's a couple of very important signals.

[08:50:00]

One, this is a seasoned public health professional. Two, the team that they're creating with her is remarkable. I've worked with some of the people that are being added to her team. They're amongst my favorite people in public health. And then the last thing is Dr. Schwartz was trained in the Commission Corps. The Commission Corps is the public health army for this country and their training is rigorous.

A Commissioned Corps trainee, someone who's gone through that knows how to navigate political straits. So unless there is really significant political interference, I do have faith based on her resume that she is the right person to be able to navigate. There's a big caveat there. If she's not allowed to do this, if CDC continues to function the way it has, with the secretary acting autonomously while CDC just is a spectator watching, I can predict that she won't be happy there and that her training is a rigorous public health expert is going to guide her away from staying in that position. And that's what I worry about.

BLACKWELL: And that's an important point because during the campaign, President Trump said that he was going to allow RFK Jr. to go wild on health. And so I had a conversation with Jerome Adams, who said that the president should be reining him in, not, just, as you say, being a spectator here. Could this be a signal that the president is sidelining or stepping in now over RFK? After what we've seen with Noem and what we've seen with Bondi.

DASKALAKIS: I mean, I hope so. I mean, I think that's the right answer. I mean, I think that now it's public health's turn to go wild on RFK Jr. and actually do good work. I mean, the man has literally created catastrophe in public health.

And so given that charge to go wild, he has gone wild. And that wild has been destruction. So hopefully public health is going to be able to rein him in if the West Wing isn't able to.

BLACKWELL: Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, always appreciate the conversation. Enjoy the weekend. Thank you.

Coming up, Art is Life, a look at the new musical bringing good trouble to D.C. in a fresh way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:56:43]

BLACKWELL: There may be no better place and no better time for good trouble right now than in Washington, DC. And that's where you'll find "Young John Lewis: Prodigy of Protest." It's a musical a honoring an icon of the civil rights movement. Just as he became that icon this week, I spoke with the show's director and star for Art is Life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BAHSIL, YOUNG JOHN: What's going on, y'all? It's Michael Bahsil. I play young John in the Mosaic Theater production of "Young John Lewis: Prodigy of Protest." And I am from Atlanta, Georgia.

REGINALD DOUGLAS, DIRECTOR: Hi everyone. Reginald Douglas, artistic director of Mosaic Theatre Company and director of "Young John Lewis: Prodigy of Protest." And I'm here in Washington, DC.

Young John Lewis is the birth child of our amazing clarity in resident Salmani, 24, who is a D.C. based artist who's really interested in taking moments of African American history and putting his own perspective on them in the 2026 contemporary world.

He's joined by Kokayi, a Grammy nominated composer, to bring a hip hop, funk, R and B gospel blended score that takes the music of today to look at a moment of our shared American history. And that is the life of the great John Lewis and the other civil rights pioneers who fought and marched along with him.

BAHSIL: I come from ages 15 to 27. It's that youthful fire energy. It was Martin Luther King's right hand. He was literally the youngest speaker at the March on Washington, you know, Frontline during Bloody Sunday in Selma that actually led to the passing of the Voting Rights Act.

I think it's just more so just highlighting the fact that even just being so young you can't also be so active.

Learning about Emmett Till's lynching at the age of 15. He was only a year older than Emmett Till. I find a lot of connective tissue with where John Lewis was in his youth, with where I was even in my youth from learning about Mike Brown, learning about Trayvon, Sandra Bland. The list goes on and on. Sadly.

DOUGLAS: Four chairs, four stools and two speaker units that move as well as video design which humanizes the history so you can see a sit in happen before your eyes while also having the classic photo of the Greensboro counter behind you. We're able to show you that this is the imagined story in front of you coming out of these 10 actors, but also snapshots of the past that we don't forget that this is real.

BAHSIL: I think it's good to understand that there is a burning fire in the people right now and I think it's very relative to John Lewis life and John Lewis' story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The performances are happening at the Mosaic Theatre Company Atlas Performing Arts Center in D.C. now until May 3rd and no word yet on where they might be headed next, but they are hopeful about a future Broadway run.

You can keep up with me and the show on Instagram, TikTok, X and Bluesky. You can also listen to our show as a podcast and remember to check out an all new episode of "Kara Swisher: Wants to Live Forever" tonight at 9 on CNN and next day on the CNN app.