congratulations as mayor elect of cincinnati, and thank you for joining us on this sunday. that wraps up for me everybody. i'm yasmin vossoughian. i will be back next saturday and sunday at 3:00 p.m. eastern. going to turn it now over to reverend al sharpton and "politicsnation." good evening, and welcome to "politicsnation." tonight's lead. a reason to believe. right now, i have to ask the obvious. what does it mean for black americans -- and by it, i mean the biden infrastructure framework which must now be implemented after the president signs it into law, of course. expected to happen early-this week. meanwhile, the second bill to upgrade our social infrastructure for coming challenges remains without a

concrete vote date. but suggested to come by mid-month. we'll get back to that, later, with our panel, of course. because that fault line between progressive and moderate democrats has not closed. and if you are the head of the congressional black caucus, you've watched a number of priorities sub -- subsumed by the infrastructure negotiations. to preside, ultimately, over black democrats that voted for the bif and, after all, for the ones who did not. you also have the inevitable questions of if, when, and how the benefits the bif will reach the communities your caucus serves. and while most of congress, generally, able to bask in this victory lap, black lawmakers and, of course, their voters inch closer to midterm elections

under a growing maze of voter restrictions. while the window to remove them through federal action may have already closed. joining me now, congresswoman joyce beatty of ohio who is the chair of the congressional black caucus. congresswoman beattie, thank you for joining us tonight. and congratulations on the passage of the physical infrastructure bill. but before we get to that and the fate of the social spending bill, we've seen no less than four voting rights bills blocked or defeated this year. at the same time, that infrastructure negotiations proceeded into the friday's vote. do democrats still have time to do anything substantive on voting rights ahead of november? >> oh, absolutely. we have not stopped fighting to make progress on the voting rights. it's at the top of our agenda. we wanted to get through the

transportation, the bipartisan infrastructure bill because we knew the time was running out on that. we are still fighting. we can multitask. we have a parallel track. the john r. lewis voting advancement act is very important to us. so, we're on track to keep pushing for it. we are working with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle. but we really have to remember, the house passed this bill. so, we need to make sure that america is calling on the senate to do their job because we've already passed it. but we're going to continue to negotiate. the congressional black caucus is certainly at the table. we have individuals in our -- our caucus who have taken, certainly, a leadership role. >> now, two dr two weeks ago, you and the black caucus leadership met with president biden to discuss your caucus' expectations of the framework.

you also, with us last monday in carnegie hall, when vice president kamala harris addressed national action network's outgroup's 30th anniversary and she talked very fervently about the voting rights bills and -- and the need for voting rights. can that happen? you talked about the senate. can that happen without, either, reforming totally or having a carve-out around the filibuster? >> i -- i think we've discussed having a carve out around the filibuster. but i am hoping that we can get there within the next 30 to 40 days to make it happen. as we know, it has been reauthorized by four majority-republican presidents. this has never been an issue that was partisan. so, we are continuing to work and fight with it. and certainly, we both mentioned it.

vice president harris and myself. thank you for having us with you, celebrating 30 years of the fight with national action network and for your birthday. we, also, said that night that we would get a bipartisan infrastructure bill. we know it provides jobs and it helps our communities, clean water. but also, we have to now get the build back better bill passed because we have too much in it, too much at stake for our black communities. and that's why we've been at the table insisting that the president meet with us. he did. his senior staff met with us. speaker pelosi met with us. and you see a change coming. the congressional black caucus is definitely at the table. >> all right. now, let me -- let me -- let me push you on that point, because you certainly have been at the table. in the bill that has already passed, that he will sign this week, the black community -- broadband is in that bill, which

is certainly -- certainly helps us. clean water. when we look at when's going on in michigan helps us. what is in the bill for blacks? and what is in the bill for build back better? >> well, let me start with the bipartisan infrastructure. when you think about almost a trillion dollars, let's think about jobs. but also, let's think about contractors and what we have to do is insist that those contracts go to minorities, specifically black contractors and women. so, we have to take a strong stand of not just letting the president sign it. we have to be on the back end in all of our districts making sure that those dollars go for jobs and for contracts because there will be a lot of contracts when you think about broadband. when you think about our children and education and what happened during the pandemic, they couldn't get on the internet. many kids sitting in parking lots, trying to get on

restaurants and libraries' wi-fi. so, it's going to make a big difference. now, as we know with build back better, when we look at 17 -- $1.75 trillion. we would be happy if we were talking just $4 billion for childcare or $150 billion for housing, including dollars for vouchers. or for climate change. $555 billion. it keeps black-americans healthy. we know when we look at the numbers with disparities, we're always in the bottom. so this provides a social network. it is transformational for us to pass the build back better. and we're going to, again, insist to have a spot at the table. we support president biden with this plan. and we are very hopeful that build back better will happen. >> now, congresswoman, despite the unprecedented police reform push after george floyd's

murders -- murder -- voters in buffalo, seattle, and minneapolis rejected either mayoral candidates who embrace a defund platform or they voted on public referendums to do so. so, it would at least appear that reforming policing is more popular -- the more popular route with voters. yet, we've been told that the best chance for federal legislation died over the summer when negotiations around the floyd acts collapsed. and i know you have stood up. i have been with you in your districts, at funerals of police victims. what is the next step for cbc on this issue? and what do you make of black voters rejecting the defund title but wanting reform? >> thank you for that question. we were just talking about that this week. we have been on a parallel track. just because we have been dealing with the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the build back better, we have also been talking about the george

floyd justice in policing. we know many states have adopted the no-knock warrant. the no choke hold and the registry. we have several bills that you are going to see in the next few weeks that were going to come and make progress on it. we will have to have a parallel track. we will still have to be working on qualified immunity and some of the other things but we need to make sure that, at the federal level, we get some of these things done. keep in mind, again, the house passed the george floyd justice in policing act. so, we have to figure out how to continue with that. but to also make grounds and land the plane on some of the things that states are doing. some states do have the no knock. or they have the no choke hold. so we have to get that at the federal level. but we also have to continue to fight in our districts and at the state level against all of these individuals who are giving us pushback on reforming the

police departments. i think it's just a matter of semantics. all of us want to make sure that our communities are protected from those police officers, like in the case of george floyd, who are not doing right by our citizens. who are doing the no-knock warrant, doing the no -- doing the choke holds and doing the no-knock warrants. and so many other things. we, again, look at the disparities. look at far too many of our black men and women being arrested when it's not happening the same to our counterparts. i can tell you, we're all against those bad police officers. but what we really need to do is reshape our police departments. we need to reallocate dollars. if you have a mental-health issue, you don't need to send a police officer. >> right. >> and that's what's in the language. >> i think that's where the language got caught up. it's about appropriating the funds differently. thank you so much for being with us, the chair of the

congressional black caucus, congresswoman joyce beatty. joining me now, msnbc political analyst and republican strategist rick tyler. and democratic strategist shondra jefferson. lots to cover, so i will start with you, rick. we have talked for weeks about democratic infighting over the infrastructure bill. but now that it's passed, it's republicans who are at war with themselves. the 13 republicans voted in favor of the plan are now facing backlash from conservative members of their party. with florida congressman matt gaetz tweeting, quote, i can't believe republicans just gave the democrats their socialism bill. now, three of the 13 republicans -- kinzinger, gonzales, and reid -- have announced they are not seeking re-election, anyway. but the rest will likely move to vote yes, at least in part, by the fact infrastructure spending

is broadly popular with their voters. does it make sense for other republicans to try and punish them for that decision, rick? >> of course it doesn't. thank force having me, rev. look. the bar -- that voted for the bill, in this case, i would argue actually the conservatives. because the infrastructure bill that passed -- while it wasn't probably exactly what -- what the republicans even the ones who voted for it wanted -- i don't think it would be substantively different than the bill the republicans were supposed to have passed under donald trump's -- donald trump administration when they talked for four years about passing infrastructure bill which they did not. it has $550 billion of new spending. the other -- the rest the half a trillion was ongoing existing spending that was approved. and it goes toward things like building -- repairing bridges, replacing bridge, building roads, doing broadband infrastructure. it's a classic infrastructure bill that everybody knows we

need -- we need. but more importantly than that, what it does is it kills the build back better bill. those republicans that voted for it severed the leverage had over the build back better bill. in other words, we weren't going to vote for the infrastructure bill unless we get build back better. now, those two are completely severed because president biden's going to sign the infrastructure bill and there is no chance, in my -- my humble view -- that build back better is ever going to pass. >> all right. deshon da, you are based in virginia and know local politics very well. we have heard a lot of speculation about where terry mcauliffe lost in the governor's race. some say it was about education. others say race played a role. while another group says he was an establishment figure when a fresh face was needed. what's your take? >> i think he could have run a much stronger campaign. i think he took too much from hillary clinton's fail, 2016,

general election against donald trump. the question a lot of local activists were asking is where terry at? we didn't see him on the campaign trail until september. you know, the day before the actual election, i received a huge box of lit we weren't able to use because it was outdated. i think he could have run a much stronger race and i -- i don't think it's fair to the democrats in washington. i don't think it's fair to biden for him to blame democrat -- you know, what's going on in wash with what happened in virginia. >> all right, rick, in virginia, republican glenn youngkin was able to win by keeping his distance from trump. but the former president may not see it that way, as "snl" hilariously pointed out last night. watch this. >> i am so grateful to parents like helen who helped me win in virginia without the help of donald trump. >> well, funny you should mention him because he's been watching and he just asked to join us.

former and basically current president of the united states, donald trump. >> thank you. thank you so much. thank. yep. thank you so much. i just wanted to congratulate glenn youngkin, and mostly myself, on a tremendous victory in virginia. you know what? glenn, we did it together. >> you don't have to say that. >> it's great to be here. judge justdy. and it's great to be frankly winning again. we love to win and you know what? you are going to see a lot more winning where that came from. let me tell you. you are going to see it a lot. >> you can take me off the split screen. >> no, we did this together, glenn. we did it so good, i really want you to stay. >> we all need some humor but do you think the results of this off-year election changed anything about the relationship between trump and the gop, rick? >> yeah. i think glenn youngkin, who ran a white, black, latino ticket to victory had a 12-point swing from donald trump's defeat here.

donald trump lost by ten points. glenn youngkin won by two points. glenn youngkin won the suburbs. donald trump lost the suburbs and while donald trump won the rural virginians as you would expect by about 64%, glenn youngkin won it by about 7 6%. so what youngkin proved is a trumpless gop is the model for how to win in a blue state. virginia's been a blue state for about ten years. so, look -- look for a lot of people to try to model off of glenn young kin's campaign. it was quite well done. >> now, deshonda, as important as the off-year elections were, this story might be a bigger deal for the midterms and beyond. the department of justice took aim at texas restrictive voting laws this week. the doj argues the law discriminates against many different types of voters, including older americans, the disabled, and those who don't speak english. the suit opens up a new front in the fight against voter

suppression. the same week democrats in the senate fail today pass the john lewis voting rights act. and that as a procedure. they failed to even vote to debate it. but the question i am raising is can the justice department succeed where congress has stumbled? >> well, i sure hope they can because s.b. 1 is a new poll tax and as you rightly claimed, it is going to disenfranchise people of color, people with limited english proficiency. people who are disabled. it is -- this is going to be the new playbook for voter suppression. so, i truly hope that the doj is able to fight against this because listen. the republicans have a new playbook, again. it -- it's -- let's make it harder for people who don't vote for us. but i want to raise another quick question. this shows why we need more diversity in our elected officials. this shows why we need more people of color to represent us,

at all levels of the government, particularly the federal government. i don't think some of those senators really understand what this is going to do for people of color, and how it's going to hurt our democracy. this isn't an academic exercise. you know? i used to be a reporter but i stopped because i was in mississippi in 2011 when the republicans were looking to pass a photo i.d. law there and i understood how hard it was going to make it for black people to vote. i understood that it was going to disenfranchise thousands of people. this is what the republicans are trying to do. >> yeah. >> this is the playbook. >> well, interesting enough because our next segment, i'm dealing with black -- particularly, black women running for always. but, rick, last question. chair of the house select committee looking into january 6th -- congressman benny thompson of mississippi -- he announced a new round of about 20 subpoenas will be sent out

soon. where do you think they are going with this? >> well, it seems like chairman thompson is pretty serious about making sure the people comply with their subpoenas, and now he has the justice department behind him. it -- it is apparent that on january 6th, certain people, including the president of the united states, tried to thwart the duly elected certification of the duly elected president-elect biden. and we should know everything that happened, minute by minute, on that day and people who were accountable, accountable. and by the way, glenn youngkin won virginia on no -- no-excuse voting so that's for republicans, learn how to get a good leader who can win and open -- everybody should be able to vote. so no excuse voting here in virginia. republicans can win with that. >> all right. deshondra jefferson, rick tyler, thank you for joining me this sunday. coming up. from shirley chism to vice president kamala harris. black women have been the backbone of democracy in this

country for decades. after the break, i'm talking about the next generation of black-female leaders and what we can all do to help them rise up. but first, my colleague richard lui with today's other top news stories. good sunday to you. some of the stories we are watching for you this hour. the u.s. opens its doors to fully-vaccinated international travelers monday. this ends a 20-month-long ban. nonimmigrant international travelers must meet cdc vaccinate guidelines and show proof of a recent-negative covid-19 test. investigators are looking into what caused the deadly crowd surge at the astro world musical festival. eight people died, 25 were hospitalized. 50,000 people attended that sold-out houston concert. the fire chief says the crowd pushed towards the stage as rapper travis scott performed. many attendees got trapped. at least five of the victims were under the age of 18. and the 50th running of the

new york city marathon was held today. it was cancelled last year due to covid-19. both the men's and women's races had first-place winners from kenya. they finished the 26-mile jaunt through new york's five boroughs in less than two and a half hours. more "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton, right after this break. bipolar depression. it made me feel like i was trapped in a fog. this is art inspired by real stories of people living with bipolar depression. i just couldn't find my way out of it. the lows of bipolar depression can take you to a dark place... ...and be hard to manage. latuda could make a real difference in your symptoms. latuda was proven to significantly reduce bipolar depression symptoms and in clinical studies, had no substantial impact on weight. this is where i want to be. latuda is not for everyone. call your doctor about unusual mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts.

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for this week's "rise up," i want to talk about elections. for those of us who believe in democracy and equitable representation, this week had some hard moments. but, there were a few bright spots. for instance, shontelle brown won her special congressional election in ohio. the seat became available when incumbent marcia fudge was appointed to the biden cabinet as secretary of housing and

urban development. and congresswoman brown has pledged to stand up for civil rights and voting rights, as part of a justice agenda. this country needs more black women like brown in public office. and they are standing up now. when their country needs them. a record number of black women are planning to run for senate in next year's midterm elections, along with a surge of black women declaring their candidacies for house seats, governorships, and mayoral races. any success would mean huge strides toward equitable representation. there are only 20 black women, currently, seated in the house of representatives. no state has ever elected a black woman governor. and only two black women ever have been elected to the u.s. senate and it's a real shame since black women tend to excel in elected office. one of those two senators is none other than the current-vice president kamala harris.

who has always recognized the unique contribution of black women to this country. women who fought and sacrificed so much for equality and liberty and justice for all, including the black women who are often -- too often -- overlooked, but so often prove they are the backbone of our democracy. >> if black women are the backbone of our democracy, voting rights are its lifeblood. and as regular watchers of this show already know, those voting rights are under attack. the dozens of voter restriction laws in states across this country will, specifically, make it harder for people of color to vote. throwing another obstacle in the way for these black women candidates. even more specifically, a recent study showed that black women candidates get far fewer donations than any other

demographic group from both large and small donors. so, this is where the rising up comes in. for too long, black women have showed up for american democracy and got nothing in return. it is time to treat them like the serious political powerhouse they've always been by giving our time, our money, and our support to these qualified candidates in local, statewide, and national elections. all, while continuing to fight like hell for national protections for voting rights. if we rise up, together, we can elect an historic slate of candidates in 2022 and they might be our last chance to keep our democracy.

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welcome back to "politicsnation." we heard a lot this week about a few high-profile state-level races in the off-year election.

but there were a number of local results to give us a clearer picture of what's on the mind of black voters. one unmistakable trend after last year's protest against police brutality, many african-american communities want a balanced and inclusive approach to law enforcement. here in new york city, a retired african-american police captain, eric adams, won handily. who has worked with us and one of the founding members of national action network. while, pittsburgh just elected its first black mayor, ed gainey who advocates for police reform, including demilitarizing the police. in minneapolis, who was the epicenter in the protests following the killing of george floyd by officer derek chauvin, voters rejected a measure to replace the police department with a so-called department of public safety. and in cleveland, ohio, the newly-elected mayor has the chance to rethink policing in

his city from the ground up after the department chief resigned just two days after the election. joining me now is the new mayor-elect of cleveland, justin bibb. mayor-elect, congratulations on your win. let's start with what seems to be your first decision as a mayor. the city's chief of police resigned, in part because voters tuesday decisively passed issue 24. a controversial ballot initiative that will establish a civilian review board to oversee misconduct allegations within cleveland police. this is a change from the current system, in which allegations are dealt internally. now, you ran on a police reform and accountability platform. what are you looking for in your next chief of police? >> well, i'm looking forward to having a chief that will work with me to create not just a

department that's mired in the status quo. but a police department that reflects the future. as we lost our brother, george floyd, last year. in cleveland, for far too long, has been a national case study on what not to do in policing. and so, issue 24 in cleveland gives us an opportunity to bring more community voices around the table to, finally, get policing right in cleveland and i believe we can be a model for america on this issue. >> now, mayor-elect, we -- we've seen repeatedly in the polling and election results, post george floyd, that african-americans are weary of slogans like defund the police. they want law and order, but they also want departments that look like the communities they serve. and are held accountable to the communities they serve. how do you accomplish that in cleveland? >> well, um, what we have to do is we have to be real and honest with our residents. at the end of the day, they want the cops to show up when -- when they call. but also, when they call, they

want them to show up on time and respect their constitutional rights. we also need to have a department that's more culturally diverse, as well. we need officers that reflect our community. and in cleveland, throughout this election, i talked about having a more comprehensive approach to public safety. like, adding a fourth option to 9-1-1 around mental health. like, embedding social workers and mental-health professionals in all five of our police districts to ensure we are treating the root cause of violent crime and trauma that have plagued our neighborhoods for far too long. that is essential, reverend sharpton. >> and we need to see police held accountable. i was speaking with eric garner's mother yesterday. it is a disgrace what happened to tamir rice and those that exploited it and not supporting that mother. but, mayor bibb, what does the passage of the president's infrastructure plan mean for your city? what are cleveland's top needs in terms of infrastructure?

>> well, um, it's going to go a long way. as you know, reverend sharpton, we are the poorest-big city in america. one out of two of our children are living in poverty. we are the least connected city in america right now in terms of access to high-speed broadband. so, president biden's build back better agenda and the infrastructure bill would be a fantastic lifeline for cleveland as we do the hard work of getting our city moving again coming out of this pandemic. and the voters this past tuesday gave our campaign a mandate for change to invest in black and brown neighborhoods. they also gave us a mandate for change to do the hard work of re-imagining what policing should look like. and we must do everything we can to make sure all of our residents have access to the economic opportunity they deserve all across our city. and i am grateful for president biden's leadership on this issue. >> now, what do you hope to accomplish in your first-100 days in office? because you know we have a

strong man chapter there so they are watching. they're going to be grading. >> i know, i know. and they were dear supporters of mine in the campaign, as well. um, you know, reverend sharpton, i ran our campaign on a vision of cultural change. that cleveland can't wait. and the biggest thing i can do in my first 100 days is to change the culture of city hall so that we are modern and responsive to the needs of our residents. and we want to do everything we can to make sure residents all across our city know that this -- that our -- our administration is going to be fighting for them, day in and day out, to get our economy going again coming out of this pandemic. >> mayor-elect justin bibb, thank you for coming on the show tonight. coming up. millions of children now eligible to receive the covid-19 vaccine. but many parents of color remain skeptical. we'll talk about what it will take to reach these families, next. e.

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we're back with some potentially heartening news in the fight against covid-19 in america's children. the center for disease control announcing last week that it now recommends that pfizer company's low-dose covid vaccine for children between 5 and 11 years of age. the news comes as covid rates remain disproportionately high in black and brown men, women,

and, yes, children. joining me now, dr. sharif. president/ceo of university hospital in newark, new jersey. uh, doctor, first of all, thank you for joining us tonight. but according to the latest cdc data, approximately 2 million school-aged children have been infected with covid-19. 172 have died, as a result. more than 8,300, hospitalized. and the racial disparity we have seen with the virus in adult populations persists even at that age. black kids, being three times more likely to be hospitalized than white ones. what does the cdc giving the go-ahead to this children's version of the vaccine mean for our public health and education starting with your state of new

jersey? >> thank you so much for having me, again, reverend. so, i think it's a huge step in our fight against this pandemic. we now have a large chunk of the population that was previously ineligible, who are now eligible to be protected against covid-19 with these vaccines. and so, what does that mean? first of all, 2 million infections is not a small number. they are susceptible to getting covid-19, getting sick, hospitalized, and sent to our emergency rooms and we see that every day at university hospital. we are seeing more and more children with the rise of the delta variant get this disease. so, it is a risk to the children, themselves. which has been debated but i think really shouldn't be up for debate. the second point is that it actually is going to protect all the vulnerable people who interact with the kids every day. so, vulnerable family members, teachers, school staff, all of those folks who will be much better protected in an environment where more and more kids are vaccinated against

covid-19. so, all of this gets us closer to herd immunity. and that's even more important, like the black and brown community that we serve, in communities like ours because again we have been disproportionately hit hard, as you mentioned. and we are still seeing people admitted to our hospital and dying from this infection, reverend, every single week. a lot of people think we're over here. we're far from it. but this is an important step and we should all be celebrating it. >> now, doctor, in addition to your current post, you have served as the new jersey state health commissioner. so, i'd imagine you are no stranger to the messaging challenges in getting state residents to embrace medical recommendations. how should public-health providers and the biden administration tailor their message for parents of color who may still be unvaccinated themselves? or they might be vaccinated but disinclined to have their kids get the shot because i saw the footage you sent us of you with

your young daughter who got, i presume, her first dose of the vaccine with you. how do you break through this, doctor? >> yes, thank you, reverend. that's my 5-year-old daughter, june. the next day after the cdc director authorized use of the vaccine, we came and got her vaccinated at my hospital. and one thing we learned from talking about the vaccine in the community here in newark, many black and brown people receiving that message. it's important to make sure that leaders who are talking about this are living their recommendations. and so, i knew it would be important for my daughter to get the vaccine, partly for that reason. but mostly, because now i have peace of mind that she is protected. the data is very clear, reverend, on how effective these vaccines are. over 90% effectiveness at preventing symptomatic disease and it is safe and i showed the community -- and we are starting these conversations through public schools very soon -- that we're willing to come out there

and do it ourselves and i think that's a very important step. the second thing is to go through trusted voices and trusted local community leaders. and that has a lot to do with going through a school district, superintendents, school boards. we have many forums -- myself and other members of leadership team here -- with parents directly to talk about the data. to talk about the science. we're concerned that only about 30% of parents accept the vaccine now for their children. we want to see that number go way, way up. and we know that people of color aren't in the category being absolutely resistant to the vaccine. we've seen that proven because now vaccination rates are comparable in people of color to the general population. and not every community in this country can say that. so i am optimistic that we can make significant progress here. >> now, doctor, do you think mandates are likely to be more or less successful in minority communities? >> i think mandates are more likely to be successful than otherwise and here is the main reason. our experience with mandating

the vaccine was quite successful. we only had to remove a handful of people from our organization. we now have well over 93% of people in my hospital vaccinated and we are an overwhelmingly diverse workforce serving an overwhelmingly diverse community here in newark. and the main way we were able to do that is by approaching hesitant folks with compassion and understanding. the reasons that many people of color are hesitant against the vaccine is because of the history of medical racism and the lived experience they have with healthcare every single day. and so, i know that folks are moveable and when we contrast what this effort is, which is frankly a effort of equity, in and of itself, to vaccinate more and more people in communities of color. more people will be convinced over time. >> lastly and briefly, who do communities of color need to hear from to drive the point home? i have been part of several panels and public-health events to build trust in the vaccine. certainly, among black adults and other adults of different

communities. and in my layperson's experience, local leaders are more effective than celebrities. do you find the same to be true? >> that's very true, reverend. the first thing i'll say is that it's much easier to tie national figures to these wild-conspiracy theories that are circulating in facebook and social media. and so, what i found is that local leaders who may not be susceptible to these narratives just because they are more local in their presence and their activity. but nonetheless, are very trusted by a lot of people in the community tend to be the right messengers here. and so, hospital officials and doctors, on the one hand, can be very effective messengers. but leaders of faith, community leaders who are respected for other reasons and know people by name, know their lived experience within communities, these are often the most effective messengers in getting folks through their journey of acceptance. and i think that will be especially important when it comes to parents of color when we talk about vaccinating children in communities like

ours. >> doctor, thank you for joining me tonight. up next, my final thoughts. stay with us. (tiger) this is the dimension of imagination. ♪ ♪

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ahmaud arbery was killed by three white men in brunswick, georgia, last year. and when the video went public, it raised again the horrors of seeing someone killed clearly in an incident that all of us felt had racial overtones. jogging while black, in his own town, unarmed. and the defense is, we thought he was robbing a place, and we operated in self-defense.

self-defense when they're armed, he's unarmed, he's running in jogging clothes. to add salt to the wound, there is a jury of 12 that have been selected in a county that is 25% black, and 11 of the 12 jurors are white. do the math. that doesn't work no matter what your background, no matter what your politics. two weeks ago, i was in georgia, and the mother and father and the attorney lee merritt stood with me as we denounced the jury selection, and the parents asked me to come stand with them at the trial. i'll be going to brunswick, georgia, this week to stand with them and local activists that's been with them since day one because i want that city to know that people all over this country support those local activists and support those parents. this is 2021, and we still are seeing almost all-white juries,

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that does it for me. thanks for watching. i'll see you back here next weekend at 5:00 p.m. eastern. alicia menendez picks up our news coverage now. thank you so much, reverend sharpton. hello, everyone.

i'm alicia menendez. we begin this hour with the road ahead for the president and his party's agenda. now that congress has passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill, specifically how the president and his party can harness this momentum on capitol hill to get other items on the agenda passed. for now, the focus is on build back better, the president's signature social safety net and climate change bill has already passed a procedural rule. it's expected to hit the house floor for a vote the week of the 15th in just over a week. and while there are signs of opposition, like from west virginia senator joe manchin, the president's inner circle remains optimistic. >> senator manchin has been a partner. he's a lot more conservative, and everybody sees that, but he's been a willing partner to come to the table with constructive dialogue, and we are confident in where we will go with our bipartisan -- our build back better framework. we need to get it done. we need to