Maggie: Hey everyone. It is Tuesday, April 14. I am Maggie Rulli and Channel One
News starts right now.
Let's take a look at headlines, and first up, the growing violence in the country of Nigeria
is affecting nearly one million Nigerian kids as they run for their lives, fleeing for safety
to bordering countries.
It was one year ago this week that 200 school girls were abducted by the terror group
Boko Haram, inspiring the #bringbackourgirls. But the horrors for Nigerian kids are more
widespread, and continuing to grow.
A new report by UNICEF says that 800,000 children have been forced to flee their
homes as a result of the conflict in Northeast Nigeria between Boko Haram, military
forces and civilian self-defense groups.
The violence is so bad that children running for their lives have more than doubled,
leaving Nigeria and crossing over the border to Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
To raise attention to this problem UNICEF has also launched a social media campaign
using the #bringbackourchildhood.
And the list keeps growing for those running for president. The latest to throw his name
in the pot is Republican senator Marco Rubio of Florida.
Yesterday, Senator Rubio became the third Republican to officially enter the
presidential contest. At 43-years-old, Marco Rubio is the youngest candidate in the field
of presidential candidates, and if elected, would be the first Hispanic president in the
White House.
Coming up, we continue our look at the Civil War and how its end 150 years ago was
just the beginning of a struggle for equality.
Slavery was officially outlawed with the end of the Civil War, yet our country still feels its
lasting legacy of racism and discrimination. Keith Kocinski sat down with students at
Jackson State University in Mississippi, the last state to outlaw slavery, to hear their
thoughts on what life is like today for black Americans.
Keith: How would you describe the current state of being a black American?
Kyiad Burt: Hopeful.
Charkiyah Powell: You should be able to feel like you can go anywhere around here.
But you can't.
Kyiad: To be pro-black does not mean to be anti-white.
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Theron Wilkerson: Complicated.
Keith: Complicated, because while slavery ended 150 years ago, it wasn't the end of
oppression for African-Americans.
It is the 150th anniversary of the ending of the Civil War. What does that mean to you?
What does that mean to you?
Kiyahd: Since the Civil War has ended of course, years ago, many positives have come.
We’ve had the first African-Americans to be in the state legislative to the Congress,
speaker of the House and even the president of the United States.
But the negatives that continues to persist flows from this heritage.
Keith: Blacks were freed in 1865, and five years later got the right to vote. But it took
another 100 years before discrimination at the polls was outlawed with the Voting Rights
Act.
Jim Crow laws that supported segregation of blacks weren't outlawed until 1964.
Before the civil rights movement Africans-Americans were treated as second class
citizens, not only facing discrimination, but hangings and beatings.
Kyhiad: It’s within two generations that we can say that the civil rights movement
happened. So I’m living with people who participated in the civil rights movement. You
can’t tell me that we live in a post-racial society.
Our great grandparents lived through Jim Crow, [public lynching], discriminatory
housing situations and slavery. They passed those traumatizing experiences to their
children, and to their children and eventually down to us.
Keith: You were telling me, you said, that some of your white friends said just get over it.
Do you believe just the history makes you more sensitive?
Theron: The reason it’s a sensitive topic, you brought up your grandfather or
grandparents went through this. My grandfather was actually lynched by the Ku Klux
Klan. So every family reunion, I’m without a grandfather. I never got to meet him.
I am the first and only in my family to actually go to university. And my folks have to
send me money like all the time. It’s five of us. Sometimes I think about that and I’m like,
if all five of us were here, right now, they wouldn’t have money to pay bills.
Kiyadh: When everything was desegregated, blacks started going to white businesses.
Whites didn't come to black businesses.
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If you raise the consciousness, you raise the awareness of self, you give us economic
autonomy, give us the finances to build our own institutions, we can begin to see a more
holistic healthy black culture.
You will see a drop in crime rates, you will see a drop in drug use because people will
begin to love themselves because they know themselves.
Charkiyah: It’s almost scary because you should be able to feel like you can go
anywhere around here. But you can’t.
Keith: So you feel like there’s an element of profiling that goes on in the community?
Theron: Oh yeah.
Keith: Just to kind of further the conversation, not even in a joking manner.
Charkiyah: We’re not laughing because it is a joke; we’re laughing because this is our
life and sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying.
I’m not going to say ever since Mike Brown, but I know their parents have probably
been talking to them a little bit more and been on them a little bit more about well don’t
get smart, don’t resist police, do whatever they say do so you can come home and that
kind of stuff. It happens because we want to live.
Kiyadh: It’s bigger than just education, right. African-Americans are disproportionately
affected by the zero tolerance policy.
There are policies and practices that actually push black students out of the school
system. And sometimes it comes from the family, the family is too broken and some
students just can't overcome.
And I understand it takes a lot for students to overcome those family issues. Everybody
can't be a superstar.
Keith: Looking at the future. Will things get better, or do you think things will get worse
for black Americans?
Theron: I’m hopeful of America. This is the land that I love and this is the land with
people with some of the biggest hearts.
Kiyadh: It's going to take more white Americans to get on board. We need white
Americans to see that you shouldn't be afraid of us.
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So embrace the difference, acknowledge the difference, and move forward together.
Keith: As American citizens we should all embrace our differences.
Kiyadh: Yes.
Keith: But also find unity in those differences.
Kiyadh: I think that we can have these discussions about different cultural identities and
we can become a progressive America. But we have to be at the table, we have to be
respectful of our differences, and we have to be willing to operate in confidence and not
fear.
Keith: Now you can see more of our conversation by checking out my blog post at
Channelone.com.
Maggie: Thanks Keith, really powerful stuff.
Alright, coming up, we are going to hear how you are making an impact.
Now it's time to hear from you, all across the country you guys have been making an
impact in your schools and communities. And here are some of the videos that you sent
us to prove it.
In honor of April's Autism Awareness Month, the Interact Club and CFA Leadership
Academy at Hernando High School in Mississippi went viral with their efforts to spread
awareness for autism. Their video on YouTube has already had more than 30,000
views.
In Lewisville, Texas the Circle of Friends club at LHS Killough encouraged their fellow
students to take a pledge to ban the negative use of the r- word.
It doesn't stop there. Students at Abilene Middle School in Abilene, Kansas broke down
negative stereotypes, and spread positivity by shaking it off. It was the culmination of
their kindness promotion week.
And in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, students at Black Hawk High School had a good
time putting together their first ever lip dub. The reason for this big production? To grow
school pride and unity by getting everyone involved from the football team to the school
choir.
We are super impressed with the impact you all are making. And since this week is
Volunteer Week, we want you to send us videos and pictures of how you are helping
your community. Just email us at BeOnCh1@Channelone.com
Alright, that's it for us. I am Maggie Rulli. Have a great day, and go make an impact.
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