captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for saturday, september 26: a presidential nomination to the united states supreme court. our "roads to election 2020:" in the state of louisiana. and, in our signature segment: a struggle for the black lives matter movement in progressive rural massachusetts. next, on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. the anderson family fund. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. baara hope zuckerberg. the leonard annorma klorfine foundation.

charles rosenblum. we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of today. mutual of america financial group, retirement services and investments. additional support has been provided by: consumer cellular. and by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening, and thank you for joining us. with 38 days to go until election day, president donald trump is set to officially announce his nominee to be the next associate justice on the u.s. supreme court. 24 hours before a planned 5:00 p.m. eastern time event in the white house rose garden, newshour confirmed the chce is judge amy coney barrett, who is currently serving on the 7th u.s. circuit court of appeals in chicago.

last night, at a rally in newport news, virginia, the president said his decision to name a successor to the late justice ruth bader ginsburg so close to the election is his right. >> and i'm watching the deocrats saying how terrible it is that we're appointg. we have the right. we won the election. right? then we have the right. we won the election. ( cheering ) >> sreenivasan: the senate confirmation hearings on barrett's nomination are likely to be contentious. in 2017, during senate hearings her nomination to the federal court of appeals, democrats focus on her conservative religious views. >> senator, i see no conflict between having a sincerely-held faith and duties as a judge. >> sreenivasan: barrett is catholic, and belongs to a small, charismatic christian group called "people of praise"" born and raised in new orleans, barrett graduated from notre dame law school, then clerked for the late conservative supreme court justice antonin scalia. she practiced law, then taught for 15 years at notre dame, before being named to the federal court of appeals in

2017. if she is confirmed, barrett, who is 48, would be the youngest justice on the current supreme court. she is married to jesse barrett, a former prosecutor now in private practice. the couple has seven children, one with down syndrome and two adopted from haiti. protests over a kentucky grand jury not charging officers in the killing of breonna taylor continue in cities across the country this weekend. in louisville, where taylor was shot and killed six months ago by white police officers, protesters demand prosecutors release all evidence in the case. the protests last night were peaceful, but police detained two people and fired flash bangs to control the crowd. in new york city, protesters marched across the brooklyn bridge, holding a moment of silence for taylor. and in albuquerque, new mexico, a driver sped through a protest gathered at an intersection. no serious injuries were reported. the incident comes one day after a pick-up truck driver hit a protester in los angeles.

the number of confirmed coronavirus infections passes seven million in the u.s., several midwestern states are experiencing surges. in wisconsin, daily infections and hospitalizations are at record highs, while north and soh dakota have the highest per capita rates of infection over the last week. across the u.s., data collected by the "new york times" shows daily infections increasing by 22% on average, compared to two weeks ago. globally, the death toll from the pandemic is approaching one million, according to researchers at johns hopkins. it's a toll that could double to two million before a successful vaccine is widelyvailable, according to the world health organization. in london, thousands protested the country's lockdown and social distancing rules. the protest, which itself violates public health rules, comes as parliament is considering imposing new restrictions contain the virus. and in spain, parts of madrid are locked down, as the capital city and its surrounding region experience an uptick in cases. spain was the epicenter of the global pandemic this past

spring, and now has more than 700,000 confirmed infections and 31,000 deaths. in ukraine, officials are investigating the cause of a military plane crash that killed 26 people last night. the plane was on a training flight carrying seven crew and 20 air force cadets from a nearby air force university. only one of the cadets survived. the ukrainian air force plane crashed and exploded as it was preparing to land at an airport 250 miles east of the capital of kyiv. today, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskiy called for a day of mourning for the victims. he said all planes of the same model that crashed will be grounded until an investigation is concluded. >> sreenivasan: for the latest on the nominee for the supreme court, visit pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: we continue our "roads to election 2020" in the deep red state of louisiana. e state democratic party has elected a new leader in hopes of energizing its base, electing

more democrats and bringing back voters who left as the party struggled with its identity. louisiana public broadcasting's natasha williams talked to the new party chair and the louisiana senate minority leader, about their plans to redefine who they are and what they stand for. >> reporter: the election that >> reporter: katie bernhardt, the newly-elected chairwoman of the louisiana democratic party, isn't wasting any time implementing her agenda, just a few weeks away from the pridential election. >> one of the biggest issues that we have is, we let other people brand us and wlet national news media brand us. and educate our voters on who the democrats are. >> reporter: democratic candidates will need massive fundraising and exposure to beat back decades of losses to the state's dominant republican party. governor john bel edwards is the only statewide elected democrat, and the deep south's only democratic governor. right now, republicans hold a near-super majority in the state use and senate. bernhardt, a lafayette native is a lawyer, wife, and mother of

four, and says she will be busy repositioningnd redefining the party. >> my first priority is getting through this election strong, and then jumping into engagement with new groups of democrats to grow our party, and work with our parishes that we have a presence of the democratic party at everparish in the state. and, be of service to our candidates. not only are we recruiting and running strong candidatesbut giving them the resources that they need to succeed. >> the democrats of 2020 have to be far smarter than previous democrats we have, to be more inclusive. >> repter: senator troy carter is the minority leader of the louisiana senate. >> if we truly are going to be the party of the people, then we have to have a party that looks like the people and fights for the people. >> reporter: senator carter says now as his party fights to win the white house, he agrees with the party chairwoman. >> being liberal is not a bad word. those who have chosen to use conservatism as kind of a dog whistle for other -isms,

we have got to stand face to face and reject that, and challenge it. >> reporter: this is a very red state, so how do you get those moderates to come over and become a part of what's necesry to make the democratic party great? >> one thing is broadening our scope and not making it so narrow. we are so far left that moderates don't see an agenda that includes their interests. >> reporter: but when news broke last week of the passing of supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg, both parties quickly took sides-- national democrats demanding a new nominee not be selected until after the election, but republicans in washington saying they would move ahead. senator carter is outraged. >> the notion that a president to think that something as weighty as the naming of a lifetime appointment for a supreme court justice could be done in such a political way-- i am certain it is making the framers of the constitution roll overn their graves. >> reporter: and as the new party chair meets with caidates and begins laying out her game plan to unite the party, a federal court recently overturned a controversial absentee voting plan proposed by the secretary of state to minimize the risk of voting

during the pandemic. bernhardt says she will now go full steam aheato get as many voters to the polls as possible, safely. >> just educating all of our members what the rules are, what the deadlines are, how they can participate-- it's going to be key to our success. so, that is some of the things we are working on as a party. >> sreenivasan: i spoke more with louisiana public broadcasting's natasha williams about the current political climate in louisiana, where rural voters are solidly behind the president. >> the democrats basically have lost a lot of the rural voters because, in their estimation, rural voters feel like the democratic party has gone too big, they've gone the big city politics, and they basically deal with issues that don't pertain to rural voters. so, president trump is seizing on that. he comes here often. he got involved, even interjected himself in the governor's race here. so he's very active here, because he has an active base. >> sreenivasan: tell us a little bit about mail-in voting and what the conversation is in

louisiana abouthat? >> well, a federal judge recently ruled that a summer coronavirus pandemic voting plan had to be used rather than a restrictive one that a secretary of state had tried to implement. basically, she stopped st short of saying that this was a political move, and we're going to not put people in danger while politics kind of rears its ugly head, in mail-in voting as well. >> sreenivasan: and how specific are the rules in louisiana for mail-in voting? are there any thingshat would trip louisiana voters up? >> not that i know of. basically at this point, the pandemic-affected voters are allowed to get their mail-in ballots sent to them, and they basically have to submit them in a timely fashion. it doesn't appear to be anything that's so restrictive, like, you have to put two signatures on, it has to be sealed a certain way. i haven't been running into anything like that at all. >> sreenivasan: and what are the primary drivers of what's

getting people interested and engaged in this election? >> louisiana is very concerned about health care and jobs. education is also a big deal here. a lot of folks are really kind of struggling with the pandemic, you know, how do i pay my bills? how do my kids get in a good education? you know, how will i maintain and get what i need for my family? >> sreenivasan: and in terms of the pandemic, how is the region preparing for what could be another wave in the winter? >> well, in new orlean in fact, even though we're in phase three, a lot of new orleans is still closed down. the governor has been very sensitive to the fact that people want to go back to work. we need to open our economy. but also, gauging those numbers, watching those numbers. and awhere you go, you see evidence that the state is trying to indicate to you, we're not out of the woods yet. we need to do what we can to kind of, you know, keep that curve going in the right direction. >> sreenivasan: natasha williams from louisiana public broadcasting joining us from baton rouge, thanks so much.

>> thank you, hari, for having me. >> sreenivasan: on wednesday, e climate justice organization 350.org will host an online forum called "stronger than storms," where leaders on the frontlines of the climate crisis will share their experiences. one organization participating in the forum is the gulf coast center for law and policy, based out of sidell, louisiana. newshour weekend's ivette feliciano spoke with the center's founder, climate activi colette pichon battle, about civic engagement and climate realities in the gulf coast. >> reporter: in the aftermath of hurricane katrina in 2005, climate activist and lawyer colette pichon battle left her corporate law job in washington d.c. and went back to her hometown of slidell, louisiana. >> i camped in a tent in my grandparents yard for a second, and then in a fema trailer for a

couple of years. and i think that it's really been in the recovery where i've made my assessments around justice and equity. >> reporter: that year, pichon battle founded the gulf coast center for law and policy, a multi-state climate justice and human rights organization. in 2019, she became an obama foundation fellow, and gave a ted talk about her work in the gulf coast, advocating for the needs of communities of color on the frontlines of thelimate crisis. why is the work that your organization does so important? >> because there's a global climate crisis. and the rest of the planet is engaging in this reality, while our country is still trying to figure out whether they believe it's true. meanwhile, communities like mine are experiencing devastating impacts of a new climate reality that has to be acknowledged. i think the work is mostly important because communities like mine will be erased otherwise. >> reporter: we spoke with

pichon battle a few days after hurricane sally battered the gulf coast this month. what's been going on for you and your community there? >> we've had several storms. hurricane laura, which hit a couple of weeks ago, hit our southwest side. those communities are still reeling. in southwest louisiana, there was a chemical fire. and the chemicalire had chlorine gas clouds. and it's a chemical corridor and an industrial corridor that is subject to a climate reality that's going to put a lot of people in danger, either from toxic air, toxic water, floodwaters, or really strong storms. >> reporter: another concern she has for the gulf coast? voter participation in the november elections. pichon battle says that after katrina, voting became a major challenge, particularly in communities of color, due to extensive damage to voting precincts, the fact that people could not return to their homes, and louisiana's complex absentee

voting rules. >> climate change disperses people, one way or another. either you left before the storm to stay safe, or the storm has ved you, and you're in a traumatic space and another location. and in either of these situations, you're not where you normally are on a nice tuesday morning, to just go cast your vote and then go to the grocer store. and if you didn't follow deadlines, you'll find yourself on election day in another place, not able to have your voice heard. we have to think more innovatively about how we're going to get through this, because this is only going to get worse. >> reporter: in the midst of hurricane season yet again, pichon battle and her team are educating voters about the importance of connecting civic engagement and climate change. >> what does it look like to vote, in the aftermath of a climate disaster? what does it look like to redistrict, after a census where folks can't complete it because of climate disaster?

what does it mean to actually have representation in congress based on numbers that were skewed because of climate disaster, or numbers that are changing very quickly, quicker than ten years, because of climate disaster? these are things we have to really get our minds around because our democracy is at stake. this is about, can we uphold our constitution given this new climate reality? and i'm not sure we have enough folks telling the truth about climate to ensure that the best outcome will occur. >> sreenivasan: the recent grand jury decision in the killing of breonna taylor focuses attention once again on racial justice. it's an issue being debated not just in cities, but also in smaller rural communities, where black people are an isolated minority. . this summer, a thousand people

showed up for a black lives matter demonstration in great barrington, massachusetts, a town of less than 7,000. but despite the big turnout, black people in the politically progressi region say they're still struggling with equitable treatment and representation. newshour weekend's zachary green, who grew up in the area, went back to his small town roots to learn more. >> reporter: 39-year-old regi wingo lives in berkshire count massachusetts. it's quintessential new england: quaint, very beautiful, and very white-- about 92% of the 125,000 residents here, to be precise. wingoorks for the elizabeth freeman center, which offers services to domestic violence survivors. he manages their work in great barrington, the town where he grew up. >> growing up around here was complicated. you sort , like, as a person of color in an area like this that's predominantly white, you have to have, like, a different set of survival skills almost, like, socially.

and i think the first time i really noticed that, like, it mattered at all, was, like, in fourth grade, you know? like, we're at recess and i, like, get in a fight with a kid over, like, kickball or something totallyidiculous. and you know, he called me a ( bleep ). that's when i sat down and had, like, the first talk, like, with my parents about, like, how some people are-- are racist and, like, that is a fact. >> reporter: black people make up only a little more than 3.5% of the population in the berkshires, but the county has been home to some significant figures in black history. wingo's organization is the namesake of elizabeth freeman, the first enslaved person to win her freedom under the massachusetts state constitution. her case in 1780 led to abolition throughout the state. the civil rights activist and n.a.a.c.p. co-founder, w.e.b. dubois was born and raised in the berkshires. and, while the black community here is small, it has had periods of greater visibility. >> between the '60s and '70s, there was a lot more diversity in the schools. city hall was more diverse.

so, there was more presence. >> reporter: dennis powell is the president of the n.a.a.c.p.'s berkshire county branch. he grew up in pittsfield, berkshire county's largest city. >> even the relationship with the police was completely different. i mean, walking home from the boy's club, i always hoped that i would run into a police officer, because i felt safe. police officers knew our name. they knew our parents' names. >> reporter: but many black people in the berkshires still struggle more than their white neighbors. about 36% of black residents here live in poverty, compared to about 10% of the white population. that economic divide exacerbates the feeling, shared by many, of being unseen. what are some of the biggest issueshat you hear about from black and brown communities here in the berkshires? >> mainly, it's about the invisibility of the african american community in our county in certain spaces, right? >> reporter: gwendolyn vansant is the c.e.o. and founder of multicultural bridge. her organization works with local businesses, financial, and

cultural institutions to help increase minority representation in the berkshires. one of her clients is the mount, home of the author edith wharton. we spoke with h there. >> even if an organization has been able to integrate afrin americans at some level, they're not at leadership levels of any of our, you know, larger organizations that you'd find in any community. >> reporter: dennis powell, who helped to pass an affirmative action ordinance in pittsfield, says achieving prominence as a black person in the berkshires can be an uphill struggle. >> this young lady, who had graduated top of her teaching class, had been substituting. she applied for a teaching position that opened up, but they gave the position to a white male, because he had ten years' experience. and we said, "no, affirmative action is not based on experience. it's based on qualifications. she is of color, so that becomes the role model for so many of our kids. if she could be a substitute, she can be a teacher." and they gave her-- her the job. >> people sort of identify central beshire, pittsfield,

with having people of color. and then-- so programs, if there are any, get concentrated there. and i'm saying, "well, what about the children that are one or two of them in a grade or a classroom, their needs are actually more significant in a lot of ways." and so those 10%, you know, populations need-- need attention and need support and resources, which has been a challenge for my organization, because if you apply for a grant, i can't compete with boston, with numbers. but the actual need in a community might be really greater in some ways because there isn't-- there isn't community around them to support them and create safety that they need. >> reporter: 20-year-old college student dorree ndooki says she's experienced that need for community. she moved to the berkshires from tanzania when she was seven. do you remember what it was like for you, going from an environment where everybody shared the same skin color as you to going to one where almost no one did? >> i think it's the first thing i noticed in every room i walked in or in any community that i was going to be a part of. the only time my blackness was really recognized was when white people really felt like they had no idea about certain subjects.

and so people would come to me as the only black person, as their reference or as eir, you know, source of knowledge. >> reporter: despite experiences like this, the berkshires are still nsidered a very progressive place. but, since the killing of george floyd in may, there have been increased signs of racial polarization here. this summer, a black lives matter sign in one berkshire town was defaced with hate speech. for dorree ndooki, it's been a particularly upsetting time. >> i've just been so angry and frustrated, because it just seems like there's no end. and when you can't really see an end, it's hard to see or figure out how you can be useful in, you know, preventing it, or for helping other people. so that's been the hardest, i think. >> reporter: ndooki decided to take action in her own way. with the help of a local youth organization, the railroad street youth project, she was able to put up a mural commemorating the black lives matter movement in her home town of great barrington. >> i think what was fantastic

about the prest was that so many people showed up. but i think for a lot of people that came, that was like, "okay, that was my one thing of social justi." like, "we're done." and so i wanted to have something that would have a long-lasting effect in great barrington, but is for the movement. and, so, that's where the mural came to be. >> reporter: in another progressive win, this month great barrington's town council decided to rename its middle school after w.e.b. dubois. but regi wingo is skeptical about how much even a liberal place like the berkshires can really change. >> there's a lot of handed-down generational racism or bigotry, that, like, sort of is, like, the underpinning of the berkshires. strangely enough, like, one of the kids i used to have a huge problem with growing up? one of the kids my daughter had a problem with, i came to find out is the son of this dude. no one is born intrinsically racist, right? you can tell exactly what is going on with parents by how their children act.

>> reporter: and dorree ndooki isn't sure the berkshires is a place she would want to live long-term. can you picture yourself ever setting down roots here in the berkshires, coming bacand moving here after you're done with college? >> i would like to that i would. but i just-- it's very frustrating, always being the only black person or, you know, not having a lot of black friends in the area to have a sort of community. so, i would move back if that happened. >> sreenivasan: go to www.pbs.org/newshour to hear from members at the railroad street youth project. >> sreenivasan: that's all for this edition of pbs newshour weekend. for the latest news updates, visit www.pbs.org/newshour. i'hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching. stay healthy, and have a good night. captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by

media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. the anderson family fund. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. barbara hope zuckerberg. the leonard and norma klorfine foundation. charles rosenblum. we try to live in the moment,

to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of today. mutual of america financial group, retirement services and investments. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wirelesservice that helps people communicate and onnect. we offer a variety of no-contract plans, and our u.s.-based customer service team can help find one that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular.tv. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporatn funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. you're watching pbs.

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by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. - my first production that i can remember was the best christmas pageant ever in nashville, tennessee. i had no lines, just a little chorus parts but that gave me a chance to look at every single person inhe audience during the show and seeing them smile and laugh and have feelings and emotions and from that moment on, i said, "i'm going to do this for the rest of my life." (funky music) - hi, everyone. this is "beyond the canvas". from "pbs newshour", i'm amna nawaz. in this episode, we meet storytellers and performers