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Episodes from First Of All with Victor Blackwell
Senator Cory Booker and Ts Madison Speak Out Ahead of “No Kings” Protests
TSA employees are waiting to see if they're finally going to get paid after missing two checks due to the DHS funding fight on Capitol Hill. TSA officer and union steward at Atlanta’s airport, Yolanda Keaton, joins Victor to share what she's been experiencing, and her reaction to ICE agents called in to help ease long lines at airports nationwide. Republican Senate candidate and retired Brigadier General Jonathan McColumn and cybersecurity and counter-terrorism expert, veteran and Mableton Mayor Michael Owens join Victor to debate President Trump’s handling of the war with Iran. <...
War with Iran and the “Small Price" of $200 Billion
What could the federal government do with $200 billion? Right now, the Trump Administration says they need that amount for the war with Iran. But as debate over that request starts in congress, Victor walks through the programs that money could go toward instead. From statues taken down to tribute events canceled, the backlash to Cesar Chavez after revelations of alleged sexual abuse decades ago was swift and significant. Victor walks through the seismic change in how people are viewing his legacy with New York Times reporter Sarah Hurtes and Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Maria Hinojosa, both...
Pastor Jamal Bryant Explains Ending Target “Fast" Despite No Change to DEI Rollback
Pastor Jamal Bryant joins Victor one-on-one to explain his decision to end his Target “fast” and responds to the backlash over his announcement as leaders of a national boycott over the retailer’s rollback of DEI initiatives vow to persist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
War With Iran and Terror Attacks in the U.S. How Does This End?
The U.S. is reeling from terror attacks at a synagogue in Michigan and the campus of Old Dominion University. Carlos Ortiz was friends with the victim of the ODU attack, ROTC Instructor Lt. Col. Brandon Shah. Carlos joins Victor to share his memories of training with Shah when they were cadets and maintaining that friendship years later. Spring Break travel rush: this weekend, TSA employees are missing their full first paycheck due to the funding fight over the Department of Homeland Security. Aaron Barker, president of the union at the world’s busiest airport in Atlanta, exp...
Uncle Luke Announces Run for Congress; The State of “Black MAGA”
Ahead of the State of the Union, Victor checks-in on the state of "Black MAGA". Washington Post Columnist Theodore R. Johnson says the President's support among the Black voters who backed Trump in 2024 is starting to "crater". Is that true? He joins Victor to discuss. There is a frustrating lack of answers in the search for Nancy Guthrie, and Arizona's Native American community has unique perspective on what that is like. Victor speaks with April Ignacio, a member of Arizona's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Task Force, about the disparity in the number of people missing and...
U.S. Army Reserve Pilot Fights to Get Wife Released from ICE Custody
Right now, the Department of Homeland Security is shut down after lawmakers left town without a funding deal. It's not just immigration agencies being impacted. I'll speak to a former TSA officer about the toll of yet another shutdown with employee pay in limbo. You'll hear from U.S. Army Reserve Pilot Chris Busby, who is fighting to get his wife, Stephanie Kenny-Velasquez, out of ICE detention.Former campaign manager, including for Julián Castro’s 2020 Presidential Campaign, Maya Rupert joins Victor to discuss her new book "The Real Ones: How to Disrupt the Hidden Ways Racism Mak...
One Big Question After Trump Shares Racist Video of Barack & Michelle Obama
Victor opens the show with a question for Republican lawmakers, specifically those wavering on condemning President Trump for a racist video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes that stayed up on his social media feed for hours. Victor also discusses the political pressure for an apology with Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Eugene Robinson, who is out with a new book “Freedom Lost, Freedom Won: A Personal History of America”. A U.S. Army veteran who was just deported this week joins Victor live from Jamaica to talk about his months in ICE detention, and what he plans to do now. Go...
Anti-ICE Protests Grow; Mother of Keith Porter Jr Speaks Out
There's an immigration case that hasn't gotten a lot of attention compared to others yet, but it's emblematic of why a growing number of Americans think President Trump's immigration crackdown is going too far. Victor speaks with Delaware Governor Matt Meyer and Kaley Miller-Schaeffer, the attorney of a Delaware resident named Victor Acurio Suárez who was detained by ICE and is now facing deportation despite being developmentally disabled. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A Winter Storm, ICE and Two Revealing Visuals
As millions of people deal with the impacts of a massive winter storm, Victor takes a closer look at how disadvantaged or under-served communities will feel more of an impact. Professor Scott Ganz shares the findings of his study into the disparity in who deals with power outages for longer than others. Plus, Minneapolis civil rights attorney, activist and anti-ICE protest leader Nekima Levy Armstrong is out of jail and sharing a new video that shows what agents were telling her as she was arrested this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.co...
Minneapolis ICE Observer Speaks Out After Deadly Shooting:"It Could Have Been Any of Us"
Protests in Minneapolis against ICE are spreading nationwide after the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent. Victor speaks with a Minneapolis mom and ICE observer Flannery Clark who says what happened to Good could have happened to her, but is still vowing to keep up her work to alert neighbors when agents are nearby.Plus, as state officials in Minnesota fight to get a role investigating the shooting alongside the feds, Victor gets perspective from Kristen Clarke, who recently served in the Biden Administration as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice.Also...
Somali-American Trump Supporter Reacts to “Garbage” Comments; Citizen Chased by Feds Speaks Out
President Trump says he wants all people from Somalia out of the country and calls Somali people “garbage”. How does a Republican Somali-American who supported Trump in 2024 feel about that? Victor asks Salman Fiqy, a business owner in Minnesota who says the President’s rhetoric has “crossed a line”. Immigration enforcement is surging in the New Orleans area, and a U.S. citizen got caught up in it this week. Home security camera video shows the moment a woman is chased into her home by federal agents, before her stepfather came out to confront them. Both Jacelynn and Juan Carlos Angl...
"We Ain't Buying It!": Protest Movement Targets Major Stores on Holiday Weekend
On a special holiday edition of the show, there is a new movement calling out Target, Home Depot and Amazon during the busiest shopping time of the year. Victor speaks with LaTosha Brown, an organizer of “We Ain’t Buying It”. She explains why we shouldn’t call the movement a “boycott”. Plus, “Beyond the Gates” actor Brandon Claybon talks to Victor about his personal connection to Alzheimer's and his mission to raise awareness of the disproportionate impacts of the disease on Black Americans. Later, Chef Shawn Osbey reacts to Victor’s very controversial opinion of certain classic holiday recipes and shares so...