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New Day Sunday

Calls For Racial Justice Rising After Weeks Of Protests; Deadly Police Shooting Sparks Protests In Atlanta; Surgeon General: COVID-19 "Has High Degree Of Asymptomatic Spread"; Dr. Fauci Calls NBA Restart Plan At Disney "Quite Creative"; Trade Adviser Says White House Wants $2 Trillion Manufacturing Stimulus; Pentagon Says, Black Service Members Underrepresented In Officer Ranks. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired June 14, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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


[06:00:18]

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY weekend with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Sun is coming up over Atlanta after a really difficult evening.

Another night of outrage over racism and police brutality after another police shooting. Hundreds of protesters were in the streets of Atlanta. Local highways were blocked. This restaurant you see set on fire. And police using tear gas on demonstrators over the killing of Rayshard Brooks, 27-year-old African American man was shot and killed by an Atlanta police officer.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Brooks was shot in that fast food parking lot, the restaurant there Friday night after a struggle with police. Now, in the 24 hours since then, the officer who shot him has been fired. His partner is now on administrative duty, and the Atlanta police chief has resigned.

PAUL: All of this is unfolding, of course, as we see nationwide anti- racist protests continuing across the country. We're covering all angles of this developing story right now.

BLACKWELL: Let's start with CNN's Dianne Gallagher. She's in Atlanta with the latest on this shooting investigation now.

Dianne, good morning to you. What have you learned overnight?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor. Look, the protests went on until about 3:30 this morning in Atlanta before finally sort of spreading out and everybody going home. But, look, we have seen the pain, the exhaustion, the anger boiling over on the streets of Atlanta since the death of George Floyd. And when the video that we are about to show you was posted on social media on Friday night, that anger exploded. And I do want to warn you, this video is very disturbing and you will likely find it difficult to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GALLAGHER (voice-over): Protests grew in Atlanta last night over a deadly police shooting. A new name being chanted, Rayshard Brooks. Fatally shot by police at a fast food drive-thru in Atlanta. Protesters shut down an entire interstate and set fires at and near the Wendy's restaurant where Brooks was killed Friday night.

Earlier police used tear gas and a flash-bang to try to clear the area. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says police were called around 10:30 p.m. Friday night about a man sleeping in a car in a Wendy's drive-thru. Police say that man, Brooks, failed a field sobriety test and then resisted arrest.

In video taken by a bystander you can see a struggle. According to the GBI, the yellow object in the officer's hand is a taser. Eventually, Brooks appears to swing at an officer before taking off with the taser.

Wendy's surveillance video released by the GBI picks up where the video ends. What you see is Brooks running from the police, at one point he appears to turn back towards the officer and discharge the taser before turning back around and continuing to run. You then see him fall to the ground.

Here's the moment Brooks appears to discharge the taser and the officer fires. Here it is once more in slow motion. Brooks was shot, taken to the hospital where he died, the GBI said. Attorneys representing Brooks' family spoke out last night.

L. CHRIS STEWART, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF RAYSHARD BROOKS: Why not talk to him as a human being and say, hey, buddy, maybe you had too much to drink, leave your car here, take Uber?

I've seen it happen before. But that didn't happen. Instead, they got physical, he ran. He did have the taser. But according to law, a taser is not a lethal weapon. So he didn't have a lethal weapon in his hand. He was running with the taser and then they shot him. It didn't need to happen.

GALLAGHER: Garrett Rolfe, the police officer who shot and killed Brooks has been terminated, Atlanta Police spokesman Carlos Campos tells CNN. The second police officer, Devin Brosnan, has been placed on administrative duty. And the police chief is stepping down.

DERRICK JOHNSON, PRESIDENT NAACP: We need to change the culture of policing. We need to evaluate how we train police. We need to make sure police not only support the communities that they are -- they have a duty to protect and serve, but in many cases they need to be in the community that they have a duty to protect and serve.

GALLAGHER: A cousin of Brooks spoke yesterday.

DECATUR REDD, COUSIN OF RAYSHARD BROOKS: I thought this city was better than that. They've got to answer. Somebody needs to say something. At least let the family know something. We need at least to know that the city is with us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GALLAGHER: Now Atlanta Police say that at least 36 people were arrested during those protests.

[06:05:01]

Also during those protests on Saturday night, our team, Natasha Chen, Taka Yokoyama, Jonathan Schaer and Maria Cartaya ran into difficulties where protesters took Taka's camera, smashed it on the ground and trying to prevent Natasha to continuing filming around that Wendy's area just before the fire began with skateboards and roughing them up a little bit in that area. The team is OK.

And one more thing, Victor and Christi, that I wanted to draw attention to, when Police Chief Erika Shields, now former police chief, announced her resignation, she finished off by saying that it is time for the city to move forward and build trust between law enforcement and the communities that they serve.

We have been in the streets with these protesters for weeks now. And, Victor and Christi, I can tell you that there is a lot of trust to repair and that there are still protests that are scheduled for today that were scheduled before this happened. There are even more now.

PAUL: Dianne Gallagher, thank you so much. Great reporting so we can really get a sense of what was happening overnight. We appreciate you.

Listen, we want to bring in CNN Legal Analyst, Joey Jackson and Cedric Alexander, former president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. Good morning to both of you gentlemen and thank you for being here.

Cedric, I want to start with you. The fact that the police chief has stepped down, that this officer has been fired, this all happening very quickly. What is your assessment of what has happened thus far and is it enough right now?

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I think in light of what has happened across the country, and unfortunate you had this incident the other night in Atlanta, the country itself is still trying to overcome the vivid images that it saw back on May 25th and we're just in a very tough place in this country at this very moment. So the idea of the chief stepping down in Atlanta and the mayor, I'm quite sure, they came to some respectable resolve as to what they thought was best for that city at this particular time.

So it's a larger systemic problem that exists across this country around American policing that needs to be addressed. And we have to address these issues because, at the end of the day, we certainly have to be careful not to marginalize every police officer that's out there. Because there are many out there at this very moment that's keeping our safe -- communities and streets very safe.

But we have to do something in form of reform. There must be some reform and it has to begin now in terms of talking as to what it's going to be and what it looks like. BLACKWELL: Joey, let me come to you. We know that the district attorney in Fulton County, Paul Howard, is looking investigating, looking into this case. What's the potential based on what we know right now for criminal charges against this officer who fired the shots?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning to you, Christi, Victor, my friend, Dr. Cedric.

Listen, the reality is this. There may or may not be criminal charges and let me talk about why. I think what they're going to do, Victor, is they're going to evaluate what specifically led to this.

There's a human side and, of course, a legal side. You asked me for the legal. When they evaluate what they're going to look at are the legal factors.

How did it escalate though is going to be examined? Did it need to escalate? I think, that's what society is looking at. That's what leading to protests across the country. The interactions with police and community.

Does it need to lead to this? Should there even been a scuffle at the outset? What about a little courtesy, professionalism and respect? Where was that? Perhaps it was there. We don't yet know. But did it mushroom into something so much so quickly?

The legal assessment though is going to be three things, Victor. Number one, was the officer at the time that he shot the fatal shot, was he in immediate fear of death of serious bodily injury? When you look at the videotape, it appears the taser is discharged. And then the suspect continues to run.

At that time did the officer need to shoot? That is a major legal question.

Number two, was the force the officer used proportionate to any threat that was posed at that particular time? And, finally, Victor, number three did the officer act reasonably under the circumstances? That's what's going to be evaluated.

Last point, and that's this. Notwithstanding any charges or no charges, there's a feeling and sentiment that it did not have to come to this. That there were reasonable alternatives that could have been, should have been employed such that he would still be alive. And that's the critical inquiry right now, charges or not.

PAUL: So, Cedric, I want to talk about protocols here because the reports are that Rayshard Brooks was given a sobriety test and that he failed that test. When you have someone and that is the report, but when you have someone whose mental facilities may be compromised, if they're under the influence of anything at all, what is the protocol for police in terms of handling such a person?

[06:10:09]

Is there a feeling of risk being heightened because of that or no?

ALEXANDER: Well, it's going to vary from person to person. And, certainly, in this case once that individual comes in contact with the police such as was in this and if indeed they did a field sobriety test, he is now in the custody, if you will, under the direction and supervision of those police officers on the scene.

The problem is here, could some other things have been done to even negate an arrest because he had pulled over, he may have been asleep behind the wheel. He may have been intoxicated. These are the things we're yet to determine.

How did it evolve into a fight? We still don't know that part. We haven't seen that part of the video yet. But I'm quite sure all of this is still part of the initial investigation.

But going back to some very good points that Joey made. The elements in which the courts are going to look at this is very different oftentimes when you're out on the street as a police officer. You know what the rules should be and you should follow them in terms of what your training, protocols have been.

But even in a case like this, when it comes to shoot, don't shoot, that becomes the discretion of that officer. And he's going to have to be able to articulate what that threat was. But even though if there hadn't been a threat, I think what people are asking for in this country is that there's just too many of these shootings involving people which maybe some other alternative could have been taken. And maybe we need to go back, we need to assess, we need to do further training, and we need to bring the community in so they can begin to see the challenges that are associated with these types of events.

(INAUDIBLE) people want something different. And I think we have a responsibility across this country because these enormous number of shootings that are of a great question, the enormous number of deaths of black men in this country and brown people in this country. I think we have to attend to this. We can't ignore it. This is not some anomaly. And we got to look at it very holistically and find a way to resolve and we can't just continue to talk about it.

We're looking at reform in this country. And we need to and we need to make sure that we do it now because every day that goes by it just makes it tougher for all of us. And people are holding their breath waiting on the next event. And people are scared, they're fearful, they're frightened. And people shouldn't walk around regardless of who they are feeling that way about their public safety officials.

BLACKWELL: And let me bring that to Joey. Joey, is this -- listen, we just had a conversation, what, two, three weeks ago about how often you and I and Dr. Alexander are together having this conversation. Is this the same conversation from your perspective that we're having Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd in this case? Because you have heard, as I have, that people try to separate this one from the others because there is that exchange, there is that scuffle, there is the inclusion of the taser that he takes from the officer. Is it one conversation, one narrative, or does this stand out in some way? JACKSON: You know, I have to tell you, Victor, that it's a conversation to your point that we're having often. I can sense in your question the frustration in having the conversation. So we have reached the moment that it has to transcend conversations to actions. And I think that's what we're seeing across the country.

I'm very impressed though, Victor, with respect to the protests that are uprising, a multicultural way. If you look at the amount of people who are out there and you look on the ground, there are black, brown, there are yellow, there are orange, there are white, there are people who are banding together to make a difference.

We're having discussions around defunding the police. There are questions as to what that means. Does it mean defunding the police entirely and starting anew? Does it mean perhaps redirecting resources into other programs for housing, for education, for youth, for other things that may be a better look moving forward? Whatever conversation we have, it has to end with something concrete and reform.

I can tell you, Victor, in my state, I spoke to the speaker of the assembly last week. We pass a series of reforms around policing with regard to choke holds, banning them, no good. With respect to allowing the disciplinary records of officers to move forward.

With respect to many other things policing starts at the local level. And I think it's high time that not only New York which has but other states throughout the country move forward to do something about it.

Last point and that's this. Even absent legislation, we need accountability.

[06:15:00]

If an officer acts improperly, they need to be terminated, suspended, yes, and also charged, if appropriate. We need more transparency, but we need to act so that we're not here again, Victor and you're asking that very same question to myself and Dr. Alexander as we sit here with Christi having this very important discussion. But, yet, we should discuss but more importantly we should do. And the time to do is now.

PAUL: Cedric Alexander, Joey Jackson, your voices are so important in this. We appreciate the fact that you got up so early to talk to us about it. Take good care.

BLACKWELL: Joey just talked about those protests that we've seen and we heard those from Cedric. Let's go to Polo Sandoval. He's been covering the protest across the country.

Polo, people who have been out on the streets for, what, 19 nights now, when they got the alerts on their phone that there had been another shooting of a black man, this time in Atlanta, I imagine that it just kind of reaffirmed their need to be out there to call for changes.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Reaffirmed, Victor. Refueled, in order words certainly can be used to describe this. And, of course, as you mentioned this was all triggered three weeks ago and now you're beginning to see this latest incident in Atlanta, that certainly going to give people more reason to demonstrate. And what we've seen across the country here especially in the last 24 hours has remained relatively peaceful.

I want to take you across the country, some of the more notable moments here. Let's start in New Orleans, that is where demonstrators are making a very clear statement here when a statue of a former slave owner from mid 19th century ending up from the Mississippi river. Protesters damaging the monument to John McDonogh. They damaged it, dragged it to the street and then eventually loaded it up onto a truck, drove it to the banks of the Mississippi and threw it in. New Orleans police saying they apprehended the driver of the truck, but are making no further comment right now.

I want to take you to the nation's capital also where small but peaceful and very vocal demonstration making its way from Lafayette Park which we recall was quite the tensed moment a couple of weeks ago near the White House. Obviously, last night, there were very different scene, very peaceful as they march through downtown Washington then eventually took a knee there in downtown.

Also very similar scene that played out in New York outside of Barclays Center where a group gathering. They are also taking a knee there showing their solidarity with the family of George Floyd. And finally Washington, that demonstration does continue to the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Authorities even having to close up the local precinct but they do hope of reopening it back up again.

So, again, what do all of these different demonstrations have in common, Victor and Christi? The call for change, the call for reform at police departments across the country.

BLACKWELL: Plan (ph) forward (ph) today. Polo Sandoval for us there in New York. Thank you so much.

Tonight, join Laura Coates. She's hosting a special with four of the nation's top mayors, Washington, D.C.'s Muriel Bowser, Atlanta's Keisha Lance Bottoms, Chicago's Lori Lightfoot, and San Francisco's London Breed. "MAYORS WHO MATTER" a CNN town hall on race and COVID-19 and obviously, the events of the last 48 hours will come up as well. That is tonight at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

PAUL: Still ahead, we have a look at what's happening with the coronavirus pandemic. The White House, too, rolling out its case for a major new stimulus package. The sector it argues is key to kick- starting the economy.

BLACKWELL: Plus, what is in a name? A lot if you ask people, at least a few people in Plantation, Florida. We're going to speak with a man who is working to change that city's name.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:22:44] PAUL: So the U.S. is still reporting by far the most coronavirus cases and deaths worldwide. More than 2 million cases and more than 115,000 people have died.

BLACKWELL: Eighteen states are reporting a rise in new cases in the past week over the previous week according to Johns Hopkins University data. Thirty states reporting a downward or steady trend. New York reported the lowest number of deaths from COVID-19 yet. Just yesterday, Governor Andrew Cuomo said that they've tamed the beast.

PAUL: The U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams says -- quote -- "This disease has a high degree of asymptomatic spread." And that's driving their push for people to wear face coverings.

So, if people follow safety guidelines Dr. Anthony Fauci says, a second wave of infection is -- quote -- "not inevitable."

BLACKWELL: Dr. Fauci also told Stadium that he supports the NBA's plan to restart its season. It's hoping to have 22 teams in a bubble at Disney World in Florida and he even called it pretty creative.

The White House says a boost to American manufacturing is a key to rebuilding the economy hurt by the pandemic. And President Trump's trade adviser tells CNN that they need a new multitrillion dollar stimulus package to do it.

PAUL: CNN's Sarah Westwood following this in Washington for us. Sarah, good to see you this morning. How much are we talking when we talk about this next stimulus package and where is the money supposed to go?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Good morning, Victor and Christi.

And trade adviser Peter Navarro saying yesterday the White House is eyeing about $2 trillion for this so-called phase four stimulus package, the next wave of stimulus money going out. And they want to focus that on the manufacturing sector.

Navarro said yesterday basically that there are so many economic headwinds across many sectors of the U.S. economy, but especially dining, the restaurant industry, the entertainment industry. Those have taken such a big hit that the manufacturing sector has to be boosted to compensate for that. And he said that some of that money will be used, for example, to incentivize offshore companies to come back to the U.S. and will basically follow the president's often repeated phrase, that people should buy American and hire American.

[06:25:00]

But Navarro did acknowledge that there are some differences here with what even congressional Republicans have wanted and also what congressional Democrats have said they wanted. Democrats they want more for that phase four stimulus package and they have been trying to move on a faster timeline than what Republicans have been willing to entertain. Senator Mitch McConnell wants something that's about half the size of what the White House is eyeing here. And White House advisers have also been reluctant to talk about a timeline for the stimulus package. They've said they want to see how money from the CARES Act, that first -- that phase three stimulus package, the most recent one, how that shakes out before they pursue something that could add to the debt and deficit in such a significant way as a $2 trillion package.

The trade advisers within the White House, also Republicans, have been even more reluctant after the encouraging jobs numbers from May, suggesting that maybe they didn't need as large a package. But Navarro here suggesting that he wants to see this get done perhaps before the August recess. So maybe eyeing a faster timeline than what the White House had allowed prior to this, Victor and Christi.

BLACKWELL: Sarah Westwood, there for us in Washington. Thank you so much.

And at 9:00 Eastern this morning Jake Tapper is going to continue this conversation with Larry Kudlow and he's got Senator Lankford, Representative Clyburn, Representative Omar also on "STATE OF THE UNION." Be sure to watch. That is at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

PAUL: So they signed up to serve this country but the question is, are black members of the military at greater risk of death or injury than white service members? What CNN found using data from the Pentagon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]

BLACKWELL: All right. We're following, of course, the breaking news out of Atlanta, protests over police brutality. We saw those last night into the morning. This time linked to the death of African- American man, 27 years old, Rayshard Brooks, shot and killed by an Atlanta police officer.

PAUL: Overnight, highways were blocked. The restaurant where this happened was set on fire. Police used tear gas to break up demonstrations. We'll following this story, of course, continually through the morning and bring you the latest as we get it.

Police brutality though, just one part of the conversation that's happening around the country, another is the lack of minority service members in leadership positions in the U.S. military. Now, this isn't just a problem of fairness. It's dangerous, they contend. Black service members are more likely to serve in frontline jobs, which makes them more likely to be injured than their white counterparts. This is according to data provided by the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

And it made by the numbers, black service members represent 19 percent of all enlisted personnel, but just 9 percent are officers.

Well, retired Major General Dana Pittard is with us now. He served as Joint Force Land Component Commander in Iraq and Syria in 2014, and he's the author -- the co-author of Hunting the Caliphate.

Major General Dana Pittard, thank you so much being with us, and I want to say, thank you for your service as well.

MAJ. GEN. DANA PITTARD (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Good morning, Christi. Thank you.

PAUL: Good morning to you. Absolutely.

I was reading what you told our producer. And you said that you experienced the most egregious forms of racism while rising through the ranks of the military. This is a world that many of us don't know. Help us understand what happened to you.

PITTARD: What happened to me is really probably no different than other officers or non-commissioned officers, because the military is really a reflection of the society it serves. There's racism in the military. There's in America. Yes, there were slights, there were obstacles, but you rise above that, you meet those challenges and you move forward. And that's what I was able to do.

PAUL: So I know that changes aren't going to happen, obviously, without people of various diversities, obviously, fighting for this. That, of course, includes white Americans. And I wondered, if you could compare for us what you're seeing now to what you saw as you were rising through the ranks in terms of support from white Americans and from your white colleagues.

PITTARD: Sure, and it's a mixed bag. One thing that we've heard from General C.Q. Brown, who just was about to become the Air Force's new chief of staff, is that you have a mixed bag of peers, of mentors. And I've been very fortunate. I've had -- most my mentors actually have been white officers. I've had some black officers as mentors. The vast majority have been white. Same thing with peers, the most influential people in our career actually are your peers. So I've been fortunate in that way, in many ways.

And things have changed over the last 35 to 40 years. They're not where they ought to be, but they're in fact getting better. If you look at yesterday's graduation from West Point, the superintendent of West Point was General Darryl Williams, the first African-American superintendent in West Point's history, over 200 years. The class president of the class of 2020 was African-American. Things are getting better, but just not fast enough for so many of us.

PAUL: So I want to read to you something that retired U.S. Army General and former CIA Director David Petraeus wrote regarding Army bases being renamed, and I want to get your opinion on this, especially as you mentioned West Point.

He wrote in The Atlantic, the irony of training at bases named for those who took up arms against the United States and for the right to enslave others is inescapable to anyone paying attention.

[06:35:00]

Now, belatedly is a moment for us to pay such attention.

A lot of the West Point graduates, we need to point out, the graduating cadets, they slept in barracks that were named for Confederate General Robert E. Lee, for instance, and, of course, you are a graduate of West Point as well. Do you agree with the argument that these bases need to be renamed?

PITTARD: Christi, I absolutely agree. Ever -- this was the first time I went to airborne school at Ft. Benning, Georgia. I wondered why we have installations named after people who fought against the United States of America. I think it's wrong. They need to be changed. They need to be renamed.

West Point is no different. West Point has Lee Barracks, Lee Road, I think they even had Lee Gate. Again, we shouldn't erase or destroy our history, but we should not glorify those who fought and betrayed our country.

PAUL: So, how much hope do you feel you have right now, General, about the state of where we are militarily, the opportunities for black service members to move up and, in general, the fight that we're seeing for those officers and for the black community?

PITTARD: I think, in some ways, I'm encouraged, because we've heard from the U.S. military leaders from all the services and they are listening. That's always a good start once you're listening. And the military has traditionally been ahead of society in many ways when it's come to integration, when it's come to justice. However, there's still a lot of work to do.

The bigger question, Christi, is our country, because, again, the military is only a microcosm of a greater issue, and that's the racial inequality in America. We as Americans must decide, what is it that we want America to be like. Do we want to be a nation that is segmented and racially divided or, in fact, do we want to strive to be a nation that embraces diversity and sees it as a strength? We, in fact, celebrate immigrant and we don't vilify them. And we can be that nation that is a beacon of hope for the rest of the world.

We, as Americans, need to figure out what we want to be.

PAUL: Major General Dana Pittard, said so well, again, the co-author of Hunting the Caliphate. We appreciate your service, sir, we appreciate your voice. Thank you for taking time for us this morning.

PITTARD: Thank you, Christi.

BLACKWELL: Another NFL star quarterback says that he will kneel during the national anthem. We're going to show you Baker Mayfield's message to fans who think that's a bad idea. Coy Wire has this morning's Bleacher Report coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

BLACKWELL: It appears that, quite possibly, Major League Baseball players and the league, they have reached maybe an impasse here.

PAUL: Coy Wire has more this morning's Bleacher Report. Good morning, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, impasse, impossible, Victor. I think you're up to it there. Good morning to you, and Christi.

One player I spoke to said that negotiations between major league baseball and the players union have become laughable after three MLB proposals will start playing ball. The two sides are still miles apart on one main issue, and that's how much will the players be paid.

And the players have made it very clear, they'll play right now for a full prorated salary. But in the latest offer, MLB proposed 72-game season at 80 percent prorated pay. The executive director of the Players Association, Tony Clark, rejected that proposal in a statement last night, saying in part, quote, it unfortunately appears that further dialog with the league would be futile. It's time to get back to work. Tell us when and where, end quote.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said earlier this week that there is a 100 percent chance games will be played.

All right, in the NBA, there is a growing concern about their return to play plans, and that's because the players are divided on whether the season should resume, with everything going on in this country. Some, like Houston Rockets player Austin Rivers, feel that games could be a great platform to further the Black Lives Matter movement. Others like Lakers star Dwight Howard and the Nets' Kyrie Irving feeling that games and other forms of entertainment would only take the focus off of the protests and the movement.

In a statement to CNN provided by his agent, Howard said, as much as he would like to resume the season, he feels that the opportunity for unity is a bigger priority. Clippers star Lou Williams agreeing with that, tweeting, quote, if we had a game today and you leave a protest to watch it, that's a distraction. Any questions? End quote.

Finally Browns' quarterback, Baker Mayfield, working out in an I Can't Breathe T-shirt under his pad yesterday and a fan asked him on Instagram if he was going to protest during the national anthem this season. Mayfield replied that he will absolutely take a knee.

And then he posted, quote, if I lose fans, that's okay. I've always spoken my mind and that's from the heart, end quote. And skiing sensation Mikaela Shiffrin said this week that she is willing to lose fans too.

Victor, Christi, the support for the black community from prominent white athletes has had different tones than when Kaepernick first took a knee in 2016. Many more athletes making it clear this time they're not going to just stick to sports.

PAUL: No doubt. All right, Coy Wire, we always appreciate it. Thank you, sir.

WIRE: See you.

PAUL: All right

As confederate monuments are pulled down across the country, there's a man in Florida who wants to change the name of his hometown.

[06:45:06]

We're speaking with him about his efforts to rename the City of Plantation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: A man who lives in Plantation, Florida, has launched a petition to get the city to change its name. It's a city in South Florida near Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.

Joining me now to talk about the petition is Dharyl Auguste. Dharyl, good morning to you.

DHARYL AUGUSTE, STARTED PETITION TO RENAME PLANTATION, FLORIDA: Good morning, Victor. It's a pleasure to be on. I'm truly grateful.

BLACKWELL: Thank you for making the time.

You called the name recently, that you called it a constant negative. What's the practical impact of what you call that negative? Is it within you, is it a response from others? I guess the better question is how has that manifested?

[06:50:01]

AUGUSTE: So -- right. So that impact is not just with me, right? It's definitely with a lot of people in our community of really all races, all sorts of walks of life, right? The word automatically takes people to slavery, just something that's kind of like a shameful part of our nation's history, of our nation's past.

And I just think that at the time when this beautiful city was founded, it just wasn't in the books to really have more people of color and diversity.

BLACKWELL: And you believe now is the right time to change the name. Why?

AUGUSTE: Yes. So, I believe now is the right time because we're just kind of living in this, you know, era of like a civil revolution, a kind of social awakening. Me, like so many others, like so many Americans are watching right now, have been watching all of the protests, all of the George Floyd movement.

We saw it start in one city, spread to many. And, eventually, every state in our nation had a protest and then we started seeing the events globally, right? This is just something like nobody saw coming.

And what really struck a chord with me, what really brought me to start the petition is when I started seeing all the monuments and statues taken down, right? And, again, not just here in the U.S. but across the world, people were striking these confederate, negative and racist people who are clearly idolized with a statue of some sort or a name or something, and they're tearing it down.

And I just feel like, look, I know I'm not the first one to come up with this idea, right? I've had so many conversations with so many people from the area. And I just think now is the time to start the petition, really get the word out there, really take this seriously to really make a change in our community.

BLACKWELL: But, Dharyl, you suggest that the name of the city, Plantation, is related to the confederacy. According to the city, the land there wasn't even inhabited until the 20th century, decades after the end of slavery. The name actually came from of Everglades Plantation Company that historians said wanted to establish a rice plantation there. It was just a marsh until the early 20th century.

There were no slaves who worked that land. I don't think there's evidence that there was actually a plantation in Plantation ever that they got the rice plantation going. So this is not a confederate reference.

AUGUSTE: So, no, you're absolutely right. It did come from that Everglades Plantation Company. But that was started by someone named Napoleon B. Broward, right, the founder of our Broward County, Florida. And this man was a very staunch racist and segregationist. He's quoted with saying that he would rather have the government buy land elsewhere, kind of pack up all people of color and ship them away and keep them and not allow them to come back to our U.S., right, and not allow the white people of the time to go to their new land.

It's just the fact that that word Plantation -- he really could have said anything, right? He could have said Everglades Rice Field, right? He could have said anything. But knowing that about him kind of just -- kind of leads you to believe and it would be irresponsible to not assume he kind of chose a very divisive name, right?

So -- and I love that you brought the history up, because that's the constant thing I'm getting, right? Constantly that, hey, not that we have plantations here, not that we're confederate, even though you know Florida was the third state to secede from the union in order to keep segregation and slavery and things like that, keep going. But it's the fact that --

BLACKWELL: This doesn't feel like a leap. I mean, you suggest, and I hear your history on Broward, and I've read it, because I know there are other changes. You'd like to change the name of the county too. But to suggest that the name, Plantation, in your petition cite the removing of confederate monuments and we should change the name of the city, Plantation, which your city is not named after an actual plantation where slaves worked, but you believe that Broward chose the word, Plantation, with no evidence because it could evoke images of slavery? Is that your suggestion?

AUGUSTE: Well, so -- and I'm happy you brought that up again, right? So I want to kind of now pivot to the time when like Plantation was actually founded in like the 1950s, right? So this was a time during a white flight period where the town was founded. And you're right, so we may not have had those like actual slaves, those actual plantations here. But it doesn't mean that the city wasn't founded with a name that was obviously divisive.

I can't imagine that if blacks were allowed to vote in 1955 or even have the opportunity to inhabit this land with the other founders that they would have agreed on the name, Plantation. I referenced the confederate monuments being taken down only because that's the spirit I'm capturing. I'm seeing a real awakening around us. And if people are striking down those monuments, why not strike down names, right, constantly (ph) and --

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BLACKWELL: Dharyl, I've got to wrap it here. We've run out of time. Actually, we've gone longer than expected. But your petition initially was going for 5,000. You've exceeded that. You're now going for 7,500 I believe. There's a counter petition with 2,900 signatures also. They're both on Change.Org.

Dharyl Auguste there, trying to change the name of the city of Plantation there in South Florida, thank you so much for your time this morning.

AUGUSTE: Yes, no problem.

And I wanted to say real quickly that I did start a kind of organization, letsmakechanges.org. It is the website. It's up. We're working with other petitions to change other names, like with Daisy Howard in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Layla Wheeler (ph), even across London, she wants to change --

BLACKWELL: We've got to wrap it, Dharyl. Thanks so much.

AUGUSTE: No problem. Thank you.

PAUL: So as more states reopen following the COVID-19 pandemic scientists are working on a vaccine, there's an investigation into how bats could hold the secret to COVID-19. Be sure to watch a CNN special report, Bats, The Mystery Behind COVID-19. It airs tonight at 10:00 Eastern.

The next hour of New Day starts after a quick break. Stay close.

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