background than in previous administrations. 66% are women, and 67% are people of color. according to the white house. joe biden has put more black women on the federal bench than any other president in history. so with all of these appointments, biden is actually on track to be balance the federal courts. it's going to have a major long term impact. whether or not, he has another term as president in 2024. thank so much for watching folks. simone on this saturday, i'm symone sanders-townsend. tomorrow i will be joined by minnesota attorney general, keith ellison, to discuss that scathing justice department report on the minneapolis police department. three years after the death of george floyd. politicsnation though, with the great reverend, al sharpton, is next. rev, i cannot wait for your show. i know you have senator raphael warnock. there's so much to talk about with him. voting rights, the georgia investigation to donald trump, that's just a start. i can't wait to see it.

>> we had a great conversation. i've known him since 1999. he was a seminary student here in new york. came to a demonstration i had. he ended up getting arrested for peaceful demonstration with me. we've known each other since then. we had a great conversation, coming right up after the fabulous simone. >> we will be watching, rev, you have just mentored us all. take away. >> thank you very much. >> thank you verlet me say, welcoo politicsnation. right now, republicans in both chambers of congress are doing what they can to sabotage the people's business. in protest of the 37 federal counts, donald trump is facing over his handling of classified

materials. and five days after his arraignment, that sabotage is ranging from a media campaign, to publicly exonerating trump before he even stand trial. to pledge from substantial republicans to intentionally obstruct the biden administration, by blocking vital appointments, even if it puts our nation in jeopardy. georgia senator, i raphael warnock, joint politicsnation with his reaction to republicans war on reality this week. meanwhile, today in pennsylvania, president biden surveyed the damage from the i-95 bridge collapse. after this week's tanker truck explosion. pledging billions of dollars from his bipartisan infrastructure plan, to help with rebuilding. ahead of his first major reelection rally, this afternoon, in philadelphia. the president was joined by members of the nation's largest

unions, as his 2024 campaign starts lining up donors, and rolling out endorsements. my panel joins me as biden readies for battle. and later, the famed apollo theater, the launchpad of countless entertainment careers. forays for a new era, as well as new leadership and a multi million dollar upgrade, nearly a century after open its famous doors. i will talk to its board chairman about the next century, and what it holds for the theater dubbed the soul of american music. earlier, i spoke with senator, raphael warnock. democrat of georgia. >> reverend warnock, we are glad to finally have you with us on politicsnation. you and i have done other shows on this station, but as first-time as a senator on this show, you and i go way back

though. i've got a lot i want to cover. in our conversation, let me start with your home state. with donald trump's federal indictment, his arraignment earlier this week, which he pled not guilty to 37 felony counts, most of them falling under the espionage act, related to his handling of classified materials retrieved from his mar-a-lago estate. as you watch both the arraignment and the continuing efforts by trump supporters, including senate republicans, to minimize the charges he is facing, what is your general reaction to this? >> well, we are watching our system of justice play out. look, what's at stake is the basic principle of our system. that no one is a above the law. while that process plays out, i'm going to remain focused on doing the work that the people of georgia sent me here to do.

including creating new jobs and opportunity, strengthening access to voting rights, and my work on the farm bill. >> i'm gonna get into voting rights, but let me ask you one more related. fulton county judge and district attorney, fani willis, has signaled that she may be close to filing charges against donald trump, as early as next month. for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results in georgia. now i know that you have no insight into this investigation, but we do know that part of donald trump's defeat in 2020 was his attempt to subvert the will of its voters. many of them, black. so now three years removed, what are your thoughts on the logic context of voting rights, and voter suppression? >> listen, voting rights are preservative of all other rights. and a vote, as i often say, is a kind of prayer for the world

we desire for ourselves and our children. our prayers are stronger when we pray together. we must ensure that every eligible american has access to the right to vote. it is something that my late commissioner, john lewis, of, course was focused on. he inspires me even by his memory and the conversations we had. it's why i'm looking forward to introducing, very shortly, the john lewis voting rights advancement. we are reintroducing that. and also introducing the freedom to vote act. >> that is a very important fact, many of us in the civil rights community rallied around the john lewis bill. i'm glad you are reintroducing that. talking about the senator, senate republicans are holding up key federal appointments. claiming that it's ideologically motivated. you have republican alabama senator, tommy tucker ville, holding up some 250 senior military appointments. according to politico.

allegedly, in protest of the defense departments stance on abortion. despite complaints from the pentagon that the move is harming americans security, then this week, you had ohio republican senator, j.d. vance, vowing to put a procedural hold on president biden's picks for the justice department. impeding their confirmation, in protest of donald trump's indictment. what is your take on your colleagues on the other side of the aisle? >> i think we have a lot of work that we need to be doing here in the congress, as americans are still pushing their way through the ongoing challenges of a pandemic. as we are trying to create jobs and opportunity for every american it seems we would remain focused on our work. i want you to think about this. here we have the united states senator, holding up the promotions of key military personnel. when i think about our sisters

and brothers in uniform, they are the best among us. they are the ones who have committed their lives to keeping all of us safe. and here you have a united states senator, holding up their promotions. while at the same time, weakening our military readiness. it's unconscionable. it's beyond the pale of ordinary political engagement, and my view. and it has to stop. while at the same time, we have to remain focused on a woman's right to choose. that is something that i support. the question is, whose choice is it? i believe it belongs to a woman. it's a conversation with her and her doctor. and it's unfortunate that we have, my colleagues were playing games with this, while at the same time, holding up the promotions of military personnel. and waging war in the other case, against the department of

justice. we can do better than this. >> now staying with alabama, senator, let me ask you, i, like many, celebrated the supreme court's rulings on the alabama voting map. drawn by its republican dominated legislature three years ago. it needed to be redrawn. it was a decision because it diluted the impact of black voters in the state. but the court is expected to issue a decision on the future of affirmative action any day now. i'm concerned that this court surprising decision on behalf of black voters in alabama is not a precursor to a forthcoming decision, preserving affirmative action. but rather an exchange with the court's conservative majority, in order to not appear racist or biased, has preserved the decades of voting rights law at the expense of future generations of black and other students.

they are in affirmative action. how do you respond to my feeling? i >> well, we have to remain vigilant. and it is in the interest of our country that we have a workforce that actually looks like the country. whatever field you're talking about. if you are talking about people in the medical field, if we're talking about aviation, which is something i'm very focused on. which is saying there is a lack of representation there. we benefit, all of us, from the perspective that comes from diversity. our country is strong, not in spite of diversity, but because of it. i am certainly want to be doing everything, as a united states senator, to strengthen and support our historically black colleges and universities. and to make sure that every kid, regardless of their zip code, has access to a good quality higher education.

and at the same time, we still have more work to do on the voting rights front. havei applaud the decision thate supreme court made a few days ago, on the alabama case. they got it right this time. but remember, we are still dealing with the lingering effects. the long haul consequences of what happened in shelby versus holder. the voting rights law is still gutted in many respects. which is why we've got to get this voting rights legislation passed. voting rights should not be a part as -- a partisan issue. our democracy is the very house that we live in. i can tell you from personal experience, that it makes a difference. i am standing here is a united states senator, but i don't want to people to forget that in my last runoff, i had to sue the secretary of state. i had to sue the state of georgia. >> right. >> so that voters could vote at the beginning of the runoff. we had to remain vigilant on this front.

we will be watching to see what the supreme court does. >> senator, my understanding is that your children were put on lockdown in their school, due to last month's mass shooting at a downtown atlanta medical facility. that killed one person, and injured several others. you said after that shooting, that the repeated refrain from republican politicians, calling for thoughts and prayers, in quotes. but otherwise refusing more gun control measures, makes a mockery of prayer. i'm quoting you. because it is followed by inaction. yet, it doesn't look like we will be getting much more than that from this congress. at least until democrats retake the majority in the house. what do you say to that sentiment? >> i say that protecting our children is the most basic thing we can do, not only as legislators, but as parents. as grandparents. it was not a good feeling to know that i was standing on the

floor of the united states supreme court, urging my colleagues to pass common sense gun safety laws, while my own children, four and six years old, were on lockdown at a school because of an active shooting situation in atlanta. listen, we've had as many mass shootings this year as we've had days. but you and i know, because of the work that we've done for decades, that in a real sense, when you look at what happens in black and brown and poor communities, we've been dealing with mass shootings every day for years. in fact. the good news is that according to a fox news poll, 87% of americans believe that we ought to pass common sense, universal background checks. i say to those who say, it's not guns that kill people. people do. then shouldn't you want to know who the people are? shouldn't you want to at least pass background checks?

there is a divide between what the american people want, republicans and democrats, and what they are able to get, increasingly out of the government. so we have to remain vigilant on the gun safety issue. but at root, it's really a democracy problem. the people's voices have been squeezed out of their own democracy. because of partisan and racial gerrymandering. because of the outsize impact of dark money in our politics. and we've got to get the people their voices back. if the people's voices are heard, i think democrats, republicans, and independents. if we get the gun issue out of the culture wars, and focused squarely on public safety, we can get common sense gun safety laws passed. >> finally senator, maternal mortality rates have spiked since the pandemic. georgia has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the country. according to the centers for disease control. which estimated, 34 deaths for

every 100,000 live births in georgia, between 2018 and 2021. but for black women, georgia said -- georgia state university, found that they faced over 66 deaths for every 100,000 births in 2021. the highest rates in the state. georgia currently bans abortion after about six weeks, a result of roe being overturned last week. but it also has statistics like these, showing the dangers many of its women residents face in giving birth's. where did those women turn, facing these kinds of challenges, senator? kinds o>> reverend i lost it -- a very different many years ago to maternal mortality. she was a young vibrant woman. a mother. she lost, she died from complications related to childbirth. we are seeing this entirely too

much. and for those who say that theory reverence life, that they are pro-life, it seems to me that you ought to be focused on this issue of maternal mortality. we have this a disagreements about reproductive choice. but here's a place where the government can actually make a difference. which is why i was glad to join marco rubio, whom i disagree with in principle, on the issue of reproductive choice. that we could do something on maternal mortality. so we introduced a bill to address that. it's something that i will keep working on. i've been working on this after all, for years. but black women are particularly in peril. their rates of death are 3 to 4 times the rate of their white sisters. we live in a world where even someone as well known as serena williams, with all of her relative privilege, if you will, found herself in danger.

and struggling to get doctors to listen. this is something that black women are dealing with every single day. and it seems to me that our energies would be better focused on strengthening women's voices, on behalf of all of the health care issues. >> yeah, thank you for being with us. i'm reminded, when you talked about losing a friend, you lost recently your pastor mentor, doctor calvin butts, in the last couple years we work together on covid. i remember talking about how proud we were to see you elected to the senate. he teased me saying, al, i helped a mentor raphael warnock into ebenezer church. and to the u.s. senate. he hung out with you, in the late 90s, you brought him to jail. i said, well, it was in the spirit of dr. king, he went to jail for a human rights issue. thank you senator, raphael warnock, for being with us. >> always good to be with you.

>> thanks again to senator, raphael warnock, of georgia. joining me now, in new york, here is new york congressman, adriano espaillat phil. the thank you for joining me today. >> thank you. >> let me start with this, congressman. on wednesday, new york city grand juries indicted daniel penny in the chokehold death of subway rider jordan neely. that took place in may. he was indicted on a second degree manslaughter charge, i will be sharing my thoughts on this later in the show. you know i did the eulogy at his funeral. but first, i want to get your reaction to the indictment. >> he was indicted, he was charged and indicted. now he has to face a jury of his peers. this is the way the criminal justice system works. no one should really be strangled to death for acting up on a subway. or performing on a subway.

>> or having a mental health -- i >> or having a mental health crisis on a subway. we will see what the process brings forward. but an indictment is an indictment. i think that dea bragg's was deliberate and professional about this. he didn't jump right away. he went through the evidence. he presented it to the panel, the grand jury, presented it. he has been charged with manslaughter. which is a serious felony. we will see what the jury has to say. >> this week, a federal investigation into the minneapolis police department launched in the wake of the 2020 killing of george floyd. they found the police department and the city itself engaged in a quote, pattern or practice of excessive force. and racial discrimination. violating both the united states constitution, and federal law. how do you think the justice department should move forward, to hold the minneapolis police

department, and for that matter, other departments who have had similar systemic issues, how should they be held accountable? >> first, it was an extensive investigation. an 89-page report, that yields some results. they've said they discriminated and used excessive force against african americans, and native americans. they hold them accountable. they saw how many people have been shot, during a specific period of time. and whether they felt the police department had used excessive force. they found that that was the case. i believe the justice department now, should pressure for a major reform of the minneapolis police department to include changes that will account for their behavior, and will ensure that the people of minneapolis are safe, at the end of the police. >> and then also, we can bring up the congress passed the house, but not the senate, the george floyd justice for policing act.

which you were a major advocate of. >> there are provisions there that i think could be implemented in this reform now. and we will see how they work. perhaps we can implement them as other states as well. >> switching gears, on tuesday, former president donald trump surrendered to authorities at the federal courthouse in miami, where he pleaded not guilty after being indicted on 37 counts related to more than 100 classified documents recovered from his mar-a-lago estate. what have been your thoughts on this, as you've been watching this unfold? we are talking about serious classified documents, that even after he was told to give them up, he gave up some and held others. -- >> classified documents that have to do with our weapon system, with nuclear information that could put america in peril. but i'll tell you what reverend, we go to a cvs to get my meg three to shave. they are under lock and key.

these boxes were all over the place in mar-a-lago. a classified information desk that is crucial to the security of the american people the was misplaced illegally placed there, by a former president. he should be held accountable. no one, absolutely no one, not even a former president, is above the law. >> congressman, at a recent among cities have seen an influx of migrants. some of them have been bussed there by republican governors of states like texas, and florida. new york city mayor, eric adams, says the city is running out of options for places to house asylum seekers. he and new york governor kathy hochul, have cold for more federal assistance, efforts to relocate migrants to towns and cities of other parts of the state have been met with resistance. and really, hostility from some members of those communities. what do you think needs to be done to alleviate this issue? >> first, is the fema is a

disaster. they have been very slower getting to new york city. which is burdened the influx of the migrants. they're not giving them the money. recently they did give 100 million dollars, and allotment of over 100 and $4 million. we pressured for that. i wrote a letter with the congressional delegation. they released the money. but new york city needs much more than that. i think one of the things that could happen is that they should be giving a work permit. to do that, perhaps, tps should be extended for some of the false. because tps works for folks that came in a prior date. once they do that, they are able to go to work. they will -- on their own. they won't be a load on city government or state government. they want to work. many of them have a college degree. they are fleeing venezuela, nicaragua, or wherever they're coming from. they want to work. perhaps, i feel, reverent, that they will reinvent this city. maybe that's the shot of --

oxygen that we need in our economy. in our arm. to reinvent new york city and take us where we need to go. >> congressman, adriano espaillat, never a disappointment when we have you on. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> a new study is -- finds that social media companies are failing to protect lgbtq users online. we will talk about it with my political panel ahead, but first, my colleague richard lui, with today's top news stories. richard? >> rev, a very good day to you. what we are watching today in pennsylvania, the governor saying that he was confident the part of interstate 95 in philadelphia that collapsed last weekend will open in the next two weeks. he credited, quote, and all hands on deck approach. this comes after the governor had initially predicted repairs to take months. also today, president biden reaffirmed federal government support for reconstruction after taking an aerial tour of that damage. and a tornado killed three

people, including an 11-year-old boy in northern texas. more than 50 people were injured. texas's governor surveyed the damage. 85 of that 8500 person to i own of erryton today. he directed the texas division of -- more politics nation with you with reverend al sharpton, right after this break. is break built with rotisserie-style chicken and double cheese. i love what i'm seeing here. that's some well-coached chicken. you done, peyton? the subway series just keeps gettin' better. (tap, tap) listen, your deodorant just has to work. i use secret aluminum free. just swipe and it lasts all day. secret helps eliminate odor, instead of just masking it. and hours later i still smell fresh. secret works. ohhh yesss.

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indicted daniel penny in connection to the chokehold death of jordan neely, on a new york subway. he's being charged with second degree manslaughter. the killing sparked an uproar, as nearly, who is homeless, and experiencing a mental health episode, was captured on cell phone video, struggling as penny strangled him on the ground. as the president of the national action network, we stood in support of jordan's family since day one.

this was a clear cut case. of vigilantism. there is no place in our society. which is why i spoke out against it in my eulogy at jordan's funeral last month. it appears to me that mr. penny 's media tour, these last few weeks, was an effective. the manhattan grand jury's already through his false narrative, by voting to move this case forward. while they should be saluted for this righteous step, i, and others wish the charge would've reflected what this really was. murder. i will continue to update you on this show, as we monitor this case. and in my capacity as head of national action network, i will be fighting along with the family and the attorneys, to ensure this killer is held accountable. and there is justice for jordan. we will be right back. ht back. allergies don't have to be scary. (screaming) defeat allergy headaches fast

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politicsnation. let's bring in my political panel. msnbc contributors and political strategists, susan del percio for, a republican. and i juanita tolliver, a democrat. juanita, earlier this afternoon, president biden held his first big 2024 campaign event in till philadelphia. with union workers. let's take a listen. >> i truly believe this country is about to take off. i really believe it. not my word, the investment we made, the past three years have the power to transform this country for the next five decades. and guess who's going to be at the center of the transformation? you. you. look at people in this country. >> biden is striking an optimistic tone, as he built his case for reelection. and steered clear of the

references to his republican front runner donald trump's federal indictment this week. what is your take on the presidents messaging today? >> i think president biden wants to be known as mr. fix it. mr. job creator. mr. union friendly man. and mr. climate investor. he's out here really emphasizing all of the gains that he has made. he's got the receipts to back it up. he's got the proof to back it up. that energy is coming through. now rev, i would hope he's on the campaign trail doing this every other week at the least. but we know, realistically, we are probably not going to see this again for another few months, as he finishes out this year before picking days up in 2024. but if this is the model of biden showing up in a critical state, a battleground state that flipped from torn to biden in 2016 and 2020, with him really laying out what he's achieved. that's a pretty good model for the 2024 reelection campaign. >> susan, let's turn to former president donald trump. who we feel has a commanding

lead for the republican nomination, despite his political troubles. political reports, trump leads desantis, his closest competitor, by at least 30 points. in three national polls, conducted mostly or entirely after the news of the federal indictment broke. trump saw a surge of popularity amongst republicans, after the mar-a-lago raid last year. and again, after the new york indictment in march. do you see that happening again? >> most likely, yes, rev. unless one of the people who are seeking the republican nomination start really going toe to toe with donald trump, and calling him out. and not promising these ridiculous pardons. which by the way, makes the assumption that donald trump's guilty. so he will need a pardon. everyone out there seems to be fighting, especially rhonda santas, to be an option to

donald trump. but right now, there is no need to have donald trump and option to donald trump, because trump is in the race. what needs to happen, is some form of break away from another candidate. even if they are the ones who are to come in second, and knocked desantis out, it could show movement that trump's base maybe with trump. but there is a lot of other republicans out there who have had and nif of the former president. >> there juanita, switching gears, now to a report by the lad. that shows all major social media platforms are failing lgbtq plus people. with twitter being the worst attacks on lgbtq users, they have increased substantially since elon musk took over the company. but lgbtq people receiving much of the hate online, how concerning is it that republican candidates for president are contributing to

this demonization of them? >> it's extremely concerning. honestly, they are causing harm to a population of the -- i got this report calls it out. i'm also glad that this report calls out the fact that it has worsened under elon musk, who we know has gutted full teams and policies related to stopping and addressing hate on its platform. and addressinbecause that is st not just lgbtq+ people face. but we know, black and brown communities. people in the disability community, and more. i fear it's only going to get worse. even if elon musk bring zone a ceo. he will still own it, he will still perpetuate that same level of hate to his millions and millions of followers. this report fully tracked. i'm appreciating that they are calling them out on such a large platform. because something needs to be done to protect these marginalized communities. >> susan, as we approach the one year anniversary of the supreme court dobbs decision to overturn roe v. wade, there has been a small victory in iowa,

where were abortion remains legal up to 20 weeks of pregnancy after the supreme court blocked a six-week abortion ban from going into effect yesterday. but according to the new york times, 20 other states have imposed abortion bans, or restrictions. how much of an issue will abortion before republicans in 2024? >> it's going to be a big issue, rev. because what we are going to see in congressional and you artists senate races, are republicans trying to be more conservative on the issue. that means they will go for, not even a six-week ban, some of them, they will go so extreme. it will make them unelectable in any swing district or swing state. it will be a big issue. because they are going to go so extreme. frankly, the courts have been doing somewhat of a favor for republicans, not allowing the six-week ban to go into effect. because it is so extreme.

and that does hurt the republicans. >> juanita tolliver and susan del percio, thank you very much. just ahead, from the king of pop to the queen of soul, the apollo theater has been a catapult to stardom for some of america's greatest talent. my next guest joins me to discuss what is next for the historic venue. historic venue our heritage is ingrained in our skin. and even when we metamorphosize into our new evolved form, we carry that spirit with us. because you can take alfa romeo out of italy. but you best believe, you can't take the italy out of an alfa romeo.

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through black music month, and no musical venue represents that history more than harlem's apollo theater, here in new york. where nine decades of black performers have launched careers, and change to the entertainment world from the stage of the apollo theater. the theater itself has weathered its share of storms. surviving near bankruptcy, just 20 years ago to become the largest african american performing arts organization in the nation under its outgoing ceo. a new ceo takes over this month, as they theater continues its mission of recognizing the black architects of modern part culture. by giving today's performers of all colors, a place to show, and proof. joining me now, chuck phillips, chair of the apollo theater's

board of directors. chuck, thanks for joining us tonight. in the midst of black music month, to a kid like me, growing up in new york in the 60s, the apollo was the mecca. if you are a black performer intending on half truly moving the culture, you had to go through the apollo theater, and you had to bring it. james brown burned that stage down, figuratively, several times. and you know i will get to my mentor in a second. but my mental and friend, michael jackson, also famously got his big break as a kid, along with his brothers, the jackson five, on that stage. jimi hendrix, ray charles, prince, and of course, the queen of soul, aretha franklin. all passed through on the way to becoming legends. when james brown, my mentor and father figure, took the stage one last time, was when his daughter's -- fell decided to let us lay his

body at state there at the apollo theater's, three days after his death, on christmas day. and thousands lined the streets of harlem to say goodbye to the godfather on that stage. for someone who's never stepped foot in the apollo, why does it remain such an iconic place, truck? >> good to see you, again. you missed a good party earlier this week. we had our annual benefit. people still want to be at the apollo. we honored kareem abdul-jabbar, p. diddy, and we had it gladys knight perform. -- like many others. people still want to see them perform on that stage. what the apollo really had though, was the ability to make artists better at their craft. what i mean by that is once you got to the apollo, you didn't just come to perform. you want to see what the other artists were doing. and help each other as well. whether competing, they were also learning from each other. so the good example i will give you is with smoky robinson, he came to the apollo from

detroit. it didn't have an arrangement for a big band. he didn't realize he was gonna have a big band. just going to have a piano and a drummer. he said how can you come, you know we have a big band here? right charles heard him talking, he said, you know what, saying the first first -- he wrote the arrangement for the horn section, guitars, everything else. that's what they did for each other. the second thing the apollo has was just the audience. the audience, as you know, is legendary for putting pressure on you. making you perform. and when you do that, people get better. there's more competition. the audience is tough. -- had to come five times before he could win. the heat they booed elephants gerald and lauren hill. but by the second half of the song, both of them did. well they ended up winning at night. that's a tough audience, it's a new york audience, but it makes you better. so putting up the smart people to get under that kind of pressure in the same industry, just like silicon valley or venetian glass makers, anything, they get better overtime. they learn from each other. -- reinforcing mechanism, they

still do. we had -- this year, we have lil wayne. lots of different people. >> at the same spring benefit gala you mentioned that i couldn't get through because i couldn't get a flight due to weather. didi was honored this week, who calls me pops. he couldn't get to it because of the weather. the apollo also recognizes longtime ceo, janelle palco, who is stepping down this month after bringing the theater back from near bankruptcy, to its place as the largest black performing arts organization in the nation. and it looks like she's leading the -- in the best possible hands, with my friend and sister, michelle eubanks, the former ceo of essence communications. of course, she's taking over. what does the apollo's continuing evolution look like with each banks at the helm, you as the chair, and what i understand is a 70 million dollar renovation coming next year? the first in the theater's history. >> first, we wouldn't be able

to do that if janelle hadn't been such a fantastic job. -- the former chair, as you said, it was in a bad shape a couple years ago. they came in, entrepreneurs going to -- people wanted to see. they supported it. fast forward, now vibrant venue with three stages now. with the victoria theater. raised $70 million in the first renovation, we're gonna do a lot of good things with that renovation. make it more digital, automated cameras, automated rigging. lots of things, streaming. modernize it. the structure is -- that will set it up for future generations for the next, hopefully 90 years as well. so michelle e. banks comes from essence, which she ran one of the largest festivals in the company, called essence festival in new orleans. she knows a lot of artists, a lot of sponsors. that smooth transition between janelle, who did a fantastic job. and michelle, who had a great background to do this. -- they've been working together already. we're looking forward to the next chapter.

>> we are definitely looking forward to being there, three stages, wow. charles phillips, thank you for sharing that with us in black history month. up next, my final thoughts, stay with us. stay with us i have the responsibility to let my children know who they are. and where they came from. and what my ancestry is. and what my hopes and dreams for them are. ancestry is such a great gift for someone who not only loves history but is also a great storyteller. it was the best gift that i ever received in my entire life. because it opened up my life. now on sale for father's day.

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