xfinity x1 just got even better, with peacock premium included at no additional cost. no strings attached. welcome, everyone, to weekends with alex witt. we begin in lake charles, louisiana, where any moment now the president will arrive in that town before still reeling in the aftermath of hurricane

laura, as thousands of senior viefrs are running around, or rather are without power and running water. the president is expected to survey the damage there before heading to orange, texas, very hard hit by the storm. he will receive an update on recovery efforts in both locations. nbc's priscilla thompson is on the ground for us, awaiting the president's arrival. >> reporter: air force one will be touching down in lake charles, louisiana, any minute now. the president trying to show during his afternoon on the ground in louisiana and in texas that he's taking a hands-on approach to actively working on the response to this hurricane. last night, the president signed a major disaster declaration for louisiana. that frees up federal money to be used in partnership with local governments to respond to this hurricane where you still

have hundreds of thousands of people without power, hundreds of thousands without water. history tells us, alex, the way a president is seen responding to something like this can have a real effect on their political fortunes as well, be it president bush's response to hurricane katrina, 2005, widely panned, or president obama's response to hurricane sandy, seen as giving him a big political boost heading into his re-election in 2012. but, of course, any time the president takes a trip like this, there's some risk involved as well, alex, because the role of comforter in chief is not one that has come particularly naturally to the president over the years. we've seen him struggle, as he has been called upon to soothe the nation, as hundreds -- more than 180,000 americans have died from coronavirus, similarly as tensions have been simmering with regard to race and police. sometimes the president will

start with a comforting message and quickly devolve into talking about himself or attacks on his perceived political opponents. we'll see if he's able to keep the message focused on all of those folks in louisiana and texas who are still reeling from the damage from this hurricane. >> we will see and we will do so with our next guest, nbc's pr priscilla thompson. thank you, josh lederman from the white house. pr priscilla, last year you showed us a devastated home that had a tree fallen in on it, not only on the front side but also on the back side where it really got some damage. >> well, lots of devastation, alex, as a result of those fallen trees. there's also a lot of other things going on, recovery efforts beginning. i want you to take a look at the scene behind me. the streets of lake charles are filled with these trucks. if you take a look up there, you'll see those are utility workers, working to restore

power to the roughly 500,000 people in the city who don't have it. and so that is a pretty beautiful sight for many folks he here, particularly as we hear about the death toll continuing to tick up as a result of that's carbon monoxide poisonings because of folks using those generators improperly. we've learned an entire family died as a result of that. we hear officials learning about that. but it's becoming increasingly important to get that power restored. officials are also saying that it will be a while and people need to be prepared for that as well. but part of the good news is that there have been volunteer teams that have actually come in to try to help with these efforts. i actually spent time with team rubicon here, clearing the roadways of those trees so that these utility trucks can get in and get right to work on those power outages. i want you to take a listen to one of those team rubicon

members described to me in terms of the scenes he has been seeing out here. >> it's pretty devastating. as you can see, there's trees, power lines down all over the place. electricity, water is out. most of the stores are closed for folks. lots of damage to structures, houses collapsed, roofs stripped off. it's pretty devastating. >> one of the other things he mentioned to me is that he doesn't feel like he has seen as many volunteer teams out and wonders if that's because of concerns around covid, but, you know, you saw him there with the mask. they're working to make sure they're taking those precautions. that is also something that the governor has mentioned, saying he understands folks who want to help their neighbors and are totally okay to do that. maek sure you're doing it from six feet away and with a mask on because they do not want to see those covid numbers tick up as a result of this, alex. >> understandably so. turning now to a stunning loss

after chadwick boseman has died of cancer at 43 years old. he played jackie robinson, james brown and thorogood marshall before becoming a household name as "the black panther." >> i've learned. beat them at their own game. >> you have become them. you will destroy the world, with kona included. >> the world took everything away from me. >> he passed away friday following a four-year battle with colon cancer that was never publicly exposed. he filmed a number of memorable films during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy. according to his publicist, boseman died at his los angeles home with his wife and family by his side. the couple had no children. a native of south carolina, he graduated from howard university. he would return in 2018 to give an inspiring commencement speech.

>> when i dare to challenge the system that would relegate us to victims and stereotypes with no clear historical backgrounds, no hopes or talents, when i questioned that method of portrayal, a different path opened up for me. the path to my destiny, where god has something for you it doesn't matter who stands against it. >> and you may remember seeing chadwick boseman here on msnbc back when the film "marshall" came out in 2019. he sat down with our colleague, joy reid, to talk about how racism compared to present day. >> you see how the north sort of hid its racism and that's similar to what we experience today. it's different words. we live in a race-free society. like we think just because we had a black president that all that's done now. people look at the advancements that african-americans have made

and they think that is all in the past and they're witnessing some cream that came to the top. not, you know, the countless neighborhoods that have basically food situations and schools that are still not up to par. so, all of that is, you know, why this movie rings true right now. >> tributes now pouring in today for the late actor. democratic presidential nominee joe biden tweeting, quote, the true power of chadwick boseman was bigger than anything we saw on screen, from "the black panther" to jackie robinson, he inspired generations and showed them, they can be anything they want, even super heroes. jill and i are praying for his loved ones at this difficult time. former president barack obama tweeting this. chadwick came to the white house to work with kids while he was playing jackie robinson. you could tell right away he was blessed, to be young, gifted and black. to use that power to give them heroes to look up to, to do it

all while in pain, what a use of his years. and boseman's "black panther" co-star forest whittaker posts, let the heavens be blessed as you illuminate the sky. may god continue to hold you in his everlasting embrace. let's bring in the reverend al sharpton, host of politics nation later on here on msnbc and keneisha grant, assistant political science director at howard university. ladies first, keneisha, very few actors are known for carefully choosing the characters they portray. sydney portier, certainly, is one who comes to mind. in hindsight now, will boseman's activism become his legacy? >> i think it will, both in terms of the roles he had chosen to play and the example he has set for the many children who

have been watching, people who have been watching. much of my social media feed has been filled with people who feel like they know him. at howard university also his social work, his activism will be enshrined both through his work that he did while he was a student, and protesting at the university for better conditions for students, and through his establishment of the school of fine arts, which he pledged to do during that speech that we watched earlier. >> i think that speech is something that will certainly be echoing in the minds of many of those howard university students and faculty that were able to hear that speech. rev, one of the characters he played was james brown. that's someone i know you knew very well. why do you think there's been such an outpouring for such a young actor? what is the thing that makes this hit home for so many people who probably didn't even know that much about him? >> i think the gift that he had was unique. you don't see an artist, an

actor that is as multitalented as chadwick was. i spent time talking to him because he wanted to get a feel for what james brown is really like. james brown was like a father to me. he was very intense. and for a person to be able to do jackie robinson, thorogood marshall, james brown and black panther in one career and do it perfectly shows the unique gifts he has. you don't see a chad wick boseman come but every now and then. >> i'm curious of the significance, keneisha, about "the black panther" role. that made him a household name, very, very famous. what's the significance of that, the fact that he was a superhero? >> i think we spend a lot of time in our black lives looking for people who represent what we know we are. we know we are smart. we know we are strong. we know we are extra teenlg he

can thinkers and the black panther role gave him all those things and lets us see a person who represents the best in all of us do that on the world stage and be perceived as a person who was powerful, who was interested in saving the world, who was interested in having it be a better place. it resonates in the hearts of all the parents who are watching so they can show their kids an example. even for those of us who don't have children, an example of what we can be, the best that we can be in our daily lives. >> rev, what about you, how do you think he should be remembered? how will he be remembered? >> i think he should be remembered for his activism but also he was a superb artist. some people are one or the other. he was one that was both. because you never got the idea he was doing activism to compensate for not being an actor or he was such a good actor and so intense that he was not going to make an activist

point. he was the perfect combination of artist, actor as an activist. he did it with grace and he did it with ease. and i think that was so impressive. >> yeah. also impressive was this march on washington that you organized, rev. we'll get to that in a moment. stay right where you are. i'll be back in a couple of minutes with you. right now, let's get to the new round of protests around the country in response to the shooting of jacob blake skirmishes broke out between police and protesters in some locations like -- you're seeing several of them right there. that's san diego. also atlanta. new demonstrations brought out a group of heavily armed african-american protesters. the largest protest was at the lincoln memorial where dr. martin luther king jr. did the original march on washington in 1963. shaquille brewster was joining us from kenosha, wisconsin. the flash point from the latest round of protests. shaq, more protests are expected

there today. bring us up-to-date on what's to be seen. >> reporter: that's right. there will be a protest about 2:00 p.m. local time. we'll expect to see the family of mr. jacob blake. we'll see and hear some of the political leaders here in wisconsin, like the lieutenant governor, mandella barnes. we're now approaching about the seventh day of consistent protests. what we've been seeing all morning, all downtown, are the scenes you see behind me, where people have come out and started painting signs, painting over the wooden panels that have been blocking out and protecting some of the businesses down here. we can expect to hear later more words of unity, words we heard a little bit yesterday from the father of mr. blake while he was in washington, d.c. at that march on washington that you referenced. listen to a little bit of what he said there. >> for the sake of my family's

li life, even if you have all the information that they want, you have to act a certain way or they will kill you, bus my son that made no motions toward that officer, he was walking away from him. he had to pull his shirt and continue to shoot. how would you feel if that was your child? >> reporter: his father also told us that mr. blake is still in the hospital, has a lot of pain and has a long road of recovery ahead of him. jacob blake is paralyzed from his waist down. so there's a lot of work, lot of pain that he's going through right now. separately, alec, we're learning new details about the investigation into the shooting of those two protesters on tuesday night. that 17-year-old kyle whittenhaus was supposed to be

in court. his attorneys have asked for a continuance. he is facing six charges including murder, reckless endangerment, deadly possession of a weapon. we'll see what happens and his next appearance in court which we can expect september 25th. a lot of action going on. you see the message that people here in kenosha continue to come up and say show the positivity. show how we're trying to come together. that's the message that they'll be trying to send as we go through the course of the day. alex? >> shaquille brewster, thank you very much, my friend. still with us, keneisha grant and reverend al sharpton. give me your takeaway. give me the overview and what stood out most to you. >> what stood out most to me was that people came, it was intergenerational, a lot of young people and people that of different races, not of whites, not of browns but all standing up, saying, yes, 57 years ago, dr. king talked about a dream

and some of that has been achieved. 57 years later, we must unite to really deal with criminal justice reform, specifically police reform in the example of the george floyd policing and justice, house of representatives, but the senate has not taken it up. and the voting rights act, named after john lewis. and tens of thousands of people on a workday, during a pandemic. everyone wearing masks. we made everyone take a mask before they were allowed in. take their temperature. to stand up and do that, i think, energized a lot of people around the country. it was peaceful. there were no incidents. people respected it. the biggest thing for me, though, the biggest takeaway, was to have the families, the victims themselves, stand up there and speak to the nation on television and the tens of thousands that was there,

because they were why we were saying police reform must be done. rather than just having to be names and the members of congress. the victims and we took pains to make sure all of them were there so that they could speak and people could feel what they're going through with their loved one having been slain. >> i think that was something that spoke very powerfully to so many of us. k keneisha, i'm going to pick up on what shaq was reporting with regard to the video and we'll play the suspect with regard to the black lives matter killings, walking past militarized vehicles and he has an ar-15 strapped to his body. we've heard from the lawyers who say he acted in self-defense. here is the question i'm asking today. because this is precisely the point. can a black teenager ever get away with this? >> not only can't a black teenager get away with that, a black teenager can't show up in that space with an ar-15 and

walk anywhere. a black teenager wouldn't have g gotten past his front door with that weapon, much less walking past law enforcement officials with that kind of thing. this idea that this person is acting in self-defense is ludicrous. this idea that he can behave this way, that he can take lives of individuals, these individuals are not black, but take lives of any individuals because he feels a personal need to be the police. he feels a personal need to be a vigilante is problematic. i think black children got a story again last night about what they can't do, how they should not present themselves in public, and white children, some of them, got a story about you can walk the streets with masks and guns and you will be okay. somebody will take care of you. you don't have to show up at your court date on time. somebody will make sure that you're comfortable no matter what's happening and i think that's a problem. when we talk about systemic racism, we have to talk about these things that are happening right now. we have to put this in a very long context. as long as this nation has been

in existence, we've been dealing with these problems. this is not something new. this action by this person is not just about him but about all the things he has learned over the years about what he can do and how he can behave in this nation. >> amen to that. appreciate both of you putting this into perspective for us. keneisha grant and my friend, reverend al sharpton, thank you. who needs a coronavirus test? my next guest is a doctor and a member of congress. she'll weigh in, coming up. congs she'll weigh in, coming up hike!

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customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the services of the post office plus ups only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/try and never go to the post office again. now to the latest on the coronavirus pandemic. a nevada man is the first person to be reinfected with covid. according to researchers the 25-year-old man first tested positive in april, then became sick again in may with much more severe symptoms. department of health and human services says we are on track, if not a little bit ahead on developing a vaccine. more than 30,000 people volunteered for the moderna and pfizer vaccine trials and

several other developers are in phase three testing. in germany, thousands crowding the streets of berlin to protest government's coronavirus restrictions. they say they infringe on their rights and want them lifted. mgm resorts are laying off 18,000 employees furloughed during the pandemic. the company says it will recall additional workers when it reopens properties. president trump held a rally in new hampshire last night that drew pretty big crowds ahead of the event, encouraging attendees to wear a mask. take a listen to the crowd's reaction to that. >> ladies and gentlemen, in accordance with the new orleans order executive 63, please wear a mask. >> joining me now, democrat from washington, welcome back to the

broadcast. what is your reaction to those boos? >> that is so frustrating, alex. as a doctor, i look at this, really the whole handling of this coronavirus response and it never should have been political. we're all in this together. the science is clear on what it takes to slow or stop the spread, and that is distancing from other people, wearing masks and that even that has become a bone of contention, it puts all of us at risk. >> the president's rnc speech, i'm sure you saw it thursday, in which we all saw a large crowd at the white house, several people were tested but also not a lot of people wearing masks. meanwhile we have learned at least four people at the rnc in charlotte have tested posit