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@THISHOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA

Police Say Austin Gunman is Dead; Christmas Tree Arrives at White House; Interview with Myrlie Evers-Williams

Aired November 28, 2014 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm John Berman.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: He had a lot of turkey yesterday, people. I'm Michaela Pereira. @THIS HOUR, there are three big stories that we are following.

BERMAN: Take a look at this, here it comes to that door any minute right now, an 18 and a half foot Douglas fir. That is a Christmas tree and it's being delivered to the White House at this moment. It will kick off the official holiday season at the White House and we are live there for the full report.

PEREIRA: And if you are braving the crowds at the mall, we're going to bring you the inside scoop on where to find the very best deals on Black Friday.

BERMAN: And then justice over bargains. @THIS HOUR, protesters are calling for a Black Friday boycott. They're calling it "Brown Friday" in memory of Michael Brown, African-Americans being encouraged to speak out by keeping their wallets shut.

But first @THIS HOUR, we do have some breaking news. We're learning more this morning about gunfire much earlier in Austin, Texas.

PEREIRA: Yeah, a man opened fire on several buildings, including that city's police headquarters, before he was fatally shot.

Our Victor Blackwell is following this story and he joins us now. Victor, good to have you. You have some new information from police about this?

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Michaela, John, good morning. They've not released the name but we are learning more about this man. He's described as a 50-year-old white man who lives in Austin, Texas, and it was a really dramatic scene just after 2:20 local time there in Texas.

Here's how they described this happening. They say the first calls came in at about 2:22 this morning of a man shooting at the new federal courthouse in downtown Austin. They say there were also shots fired at the Mexican consulate building. Also at the Austin police department headquarters which we're told has suffered extensive damage. We're expecting to see pictures of that.

Also the shooting went on for 10 minutes until, we're told, there was an Austin police sergeant who was securing the horses from the mounted unit who, with one hand was holding on to the reins of the horses and with the other hand fired a single shot in the direction of this suspect.

Now, the police chief says that it will take the work of the medical examiner to determine if that single shot took this man down or if it was a self-inflicted gun wound, but we know that that man, the 50- year-old white man who began shooting hundreds of rounds there described at these three buildings is dead @THIS HOUR.

BERMAN: Victor, this was all developing this morning. I was here covering it live when it was breaking or becoming known to us.

It's developed even more since then. Not just a shooting, authorities say there may have been some kinds of explosive devices in and around this man?

BLACKWELL: Yes. They say when the officers approached this man they noticed two things, this is what we're hearing from the chief.

First, they noticed he was wearing some type of vest. They don't know if this was a bulletproof vest or if this was a vest that's used as a suicide device or an IED, so they immediately backed away but before backing away they also recognized several cylinders inside the man's van.

They did not know if those were explosive devices. Both the vest and the cylinders inside the van have been cleared by the bomb squad there in Austin as not being bombs.

But they do say that in this environment as they continue this investigation they are approaching the different sites they're searching with the potential there could be booby traps and the FBI is now involved, John and Michaela.

PEREIRA: So obviously they'll be looking into motive, what caused this to happen, who this man is. Any details at all about the shooter?

BLACKWELL: Well, the police chief says that although they have not yet confirmed or they're not -- they've not been able to confirm that there is any connection to any radicalism, but they say with the targets that that's not a far stretch.

They do say that this is a man with a criminal history, although they would not go into details of what those crimes are.

PEREIRA: Victor Blackwell, quite a situation unfolding there. Thank you for bringing us up to date in that story.

And, of course, CNN will stay with the story throughout the day so make sure to keep it here.

BERMAN: It does seem like there's more we need to learn, a bunch of really interesting details there.

It's about three minutes after the hour, and any minute now the first lady will welcome the White House Christmas tree right there at the north portico of the White House. These are live pictures of an inanimate building but we are awaiting for that tree to arrive shortly.

PEREIRA: It's a very special tree. This Douglas fir, 18 and a half feet, grown in Pennsylvania by the Botek family. They are a Christmas tree farming family.

BERMAN: So they know what they're doing. This is good.

PEREIRA: They know what they're doing.

Our Athena Jones is there right now. We put away the turkey and pumpkin pie. It's now officially Christmas season, Athena. Are you seeing the change there?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly it's feeling a lot like Christmas. We've seen snow flurries earlier and soon it will look a lot more like Christmas inside the White House.

You can't see the tree. It's right behind me, I should tell you, on a horse-drawn carriage, and any minute as you mentioned it should be pulling up closer to the north portico and we'll see the first lady come out.

She's not out batting the Black Friday shoppers like so many other people, instead she's got this much cooler gig, if you ask me. Last year we saw the girls, Sasha and Malia, also come out for this event. So we're keeping our eye out.

Some facts for the tree itself. I think you have a graphic you can throw up on the screen. It's 18.5 feet tall, it's a Douglas fir and it arrives any minute now. It comes from a farm in Pennsylvania.

Chris Botek who is a second-generation Christmas tree farmer from northeast Pennsylvania near Allentown will be presenting this tree to the first lady.

And I should tell you that the U.S. sold 33 million farm-grown Christmas trees last year. The first tree was presented to the White House back in 1856 during the presidency of Franklin Pierce. This is a long-standing tradition, guys.

BERMAN: The state of New Hampshire thanks you for the Franklin Pierce reference. This tree is a Douglas fir. Frasier fir is another popular type of Christmas tree.

PEREIRA: Are you going to wax poetic?

BERMAN: Those are the only trees that I know.

Athena, where is this going up in the White House? This is part of all the White House Christmas parries because, really, we're entering that White House Christmas party season.

JONES: Exactly we are. People can come in and tour the White House, see all the Christmas decorations. This tree will be in the Blue Room. And, of course, this is a room with a very high ceiling because 18.5 feet tall is pretty tall.

So it will be put up in the Blue Room, and I can tell you next week, next Wednesday, military families will be the first to get to come in and see the decoration this is year in the White House. They will be coming in for a tour next Wednesday.

And just like in years past, many of the decorations on the first floor of the White House here will be honoring military families so it's the beginning of the exciting holiday season here and this is the launch we'll be witnessing in a few minutes.

Guys?

PEREIRA: I think we were just seeing -- do we believe that was the president peeking out the window?

BERMAN: Who could blame him if it was him?

PEREIRA: We saw somebody. We saw somebody upstairs looking out the window wondering about the arrival.

There's a whole team of people that put this decoration together. I mean, it takes a team of people to set up the White House for, as you say, Christmas season, all of the holiday parties that will be there.

Any idea of what their theme will be this year, Athena?

JONES: Well, apart from honoring military families, I expect we'll see the decorations we've seen here over the years. There's often a big, white-chocolate version of the White House, like a miniature version of the White House made out of chocolate.

And I think there's -- at some point in one of these recent years Bo the dog made out of marzipan I think it was. So you get to see a few fun flourishes to go with the normal decorations, giant trees and sometimes photos of military families and people in the military. So I expect we'll see that.

BERMAN: I for one want to know if the president's daughters Sasha and Malia will be here for the arrival of the Christmas tree, if they've recovered from the turkey thing the other day, the pardoning of the turkeys where they were there near those giant, giant turkeys. They just looked shocked the whole time.

PEREIRA: It is shocking and it's not their first time with the turkeys.

Athena, thank you so much. This is a really nice part of the holiday season and a nice time there at the White House, a bit of a change from what the other stories that you have to report.

Maybe when you see it arrive we can pop back and look at that with you if time allows.

JONES: Sure. Great, thanks.

PEREIRA: Athena, thanks.

All right, ahead here, "tragedy," that's what the United Nations committee on torture is calling the events surrounding Michael Brown's death.

Today we have a very, very special guest coming up on our show, civil rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams.

BERMAN: It's just past 11:00 p.m. on the East Coast, 8:00 a.m. on the West Coast, which means basically stores have been open for Black Friday since Wednesday at this point.

We'll tell you about the sales, where the best deals are, if everyone's survived this rush. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: All right, there it is, John. We've been so excited about seeing the tree arrive. The White House is receiving its Douglas fir.

BERMAN: That is an eighteen-and-a-half foot Douglas fir from a farm in Pennsylvania run by the Botek family, and the Obamas -- we should see them shortly -- is set to greet this tree as it arrives.

PEREIRA: It's a wonderful tradition to see it arrive on a horse-drawn wagon complete with Clydesdales and, yes, the girls brought the dog.

BERMAN: The dogs made it.

PEREIRA: That's so wonderful.

BERMAN: That is fantastic. And, again, they do look much happier to be part of the tree arrival than the turkey arrival on Wednesday.

PEREIRA: We can understand that.

BERMAN: Absolutely.

PEREIRA: It's probably a bit more of the kind of thing we're used to. Getting the family tree is a different situation than having to pardon the turkey.

Our Athena Jones is there. It's really wonderful to see this happening, Athena, on a beautiful day. It's a little cool there in D.C. But I think I can see somebody there just in the suit jacket, so it's not that cold.

Is it quite a process to get it inside? Will we see them do it, or do they just sort of inspect it first?

JONES: Well, I believe they're going to stand there for a few minutes. Last year, at least, the first lady gave a few remarks. But it's nice to see those girls looking a lot happier. You remember a couple days ago all of the eye rolling and sighing and clear embarrassment at that earlier turkey-pardoning event. But this looks like a lot more fun event.

I don't know how much of the sort of nitty-gritty we're going to see in terms of them trying to wrestle that through the door.

This is the moment they're highlighting. I don't know if you heard just now they were playing "O, Christmas Tree, O, Christmas Tree," so an apt song selection for this event right here.

BERMAN: The eighteen-and-a-half foot version of "O, Christmas Tree, O, Christmas Tree." Let's listen in. There's the first lady.

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: We're taking the tree.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're welcome. We're honored to (inaudible).

OBAMA: Nice. Our work here is (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED: This is beautiful.

UNIDENTIFIED: She looks like you.

OBAMA: Yeah, you guys have changed a little bit.

All right, you guys, happy holiday, thanks so much.

PEREIRA: And you can hear the first lady there, it was really kind of a --

BERMAN: "We're taking the tree, it's official."

PEREIRA: And I was a little worried. What if they had said, "We're not taking the tree?" Was there a backup tree from Pennsylvania that they might have brought in, John? Or this was just merely a formality?

BERMAN: It's a lovely sight to see, and it does kick off the holiday season right now. And it's nice to see the Obamas' daughters right there with the dogs for this festive occasion.

PEREIRA: And they said, "Our work here is done." They can go back inside and the team of people will make sure they can get inside.

BERMAN: And the troops -- and we're joined here by Athena Jones, again, at the White House.

And what's really wonderful about this is that it is our troops that will get the first chance to appreciate and enjoy this tree once it's all set up inside the White House.

JONES: That's right. And of course the first lady has made military families a really priority. You know about her program Joining Forces so on Wednesday, next Wednesday military families will get to come in, see the decorations first and, of course, as in many recent years, we see a lot of these decorations that will be honoring military families. And so that's a nice part of all of this.

But you guys were just talking about how short -- the first lady only spoke for a few minutes. And I think that maybe that's one more reason that the first daughters didn't really have much to get embarrassed about. This was all a fun event today. Not something they look like they had to be dragged to.

And as you mentioned, it launches a whole month of events, tours and parties, not just recognizing military families but of course celebrating the season -- guys.

PEREIRA: And likely going to be this White House Christmas tree, one of the most-photographed Christmas trees around the United States. Maybe up against Rockefeller Center Christmas tree but there you go. A momentous occasion we got to witness today.

Athena, thanks for joining us. We appreciate it.

JONES: Thanks.

PEREIRA: All right, ahead @THIS HOUR, we turn to what the United Nations -- United Nations committee on torture is calling a tragedy, the events surrounding Michael Brown's death.

We're speaking with civil rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams. She'll joins us after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: The United Nations Committee against Torture has just weighed in on the events in Ferguson. A member called the events that unfolded a, quote, "tragedy," but said the U.N., quote, "has to respect the decision of U.S. authorities not to prosecute Officer Darren Wilson for fatally shooting Michael Brown."

BERMAN: The committee report criticizes racial profiling and excessive use of force by police here in the United States.

I want to talk about this. Really want to talk about everything that's happened in the last week and get some perspective from someone who spent more than half a century on the front lines in the fight for racial equality.

Myrlie Evers-Williams is the widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, and she's the former chairwoman of the NAACP.

Thank you so much for being with us. It's such an honor to get a chance to talk to you.

MYRLIE EVERS-WILLIAMS, WIDOW OF CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER MEDGAR EVERS: Thank you.

BERMAN: And as we look back on this week, it's been such an emotional week and so much has happened. I just want to ask you to begin with it. As you look at it, you know, what are your general impressions of everything that's gone on? EVERS-WILLIAMS: My general impression of what is going on today is

that we are filled with sadness but also with hope. For the future. That we will learn from what has happened. Of course my history goes back years and years ago, 50 years ago when my husband Medgar Evers was shot down at his home with my children and I there watching and rushing out to him.

And what has happened over this period of time? There have been many changes that have been positive but if we go back to what has happened with the young Brown man, how much does that say to us about the spirit, the hope, the belief in America and where we are today.

We are all saddened, most of us are terribly saddened by that, but it's a challenge. It's a challenge of who we are today and what we do. Particularly when it comes to the health and the welfare of young black African-American men.

It is a tragedy that we are still dealing with this hatred, actually, that we have been dealing with over the years. I have found in my life that I had to have a purpose. I had many purposes, but one was to see that Medgar's killer was tried and convicted. It took 30 years for that to happen. But you don't give up on these things.

You don't give up on the American dream. You don't give up on the benefit that we as African-Americans have and should have freely in this country, and to see our young people taken down as they are says something to not only the African-American community but the community as a whole.

Where are our values? What do we do? What can we do to help keep this from happening again?

Michael Brown was lost to us. What about all of the other young men that are out there? What do we do to preserve their lives, their future? And that's where I'm focused.

My heart goes out to the family. My heart goes out to all of us in this loss and in the tragedy of destroying the environment around this. But it says to us -- and all I'm saying that we must keep our eyes on the prize. That we cannot recognize that all is well. All is not well.

PEREIRA: No, it's not well.

EVERS-WILLIAMS: The question is, what do we do about that?

PEREIRA: Miss Myrlie, I want to ask you because I think you're the perfect person as we watch the Brown family struggle through their first Thanksgiving without their son. We saw the image and how poignant that was that they have to celebrate that holiday without their son.

You have been in that scenario of having to pick up the pieces after losing a loved one what would be your words of encouragement to that mother? To the mother of Trayvon Martin? To the mothers that have lost their -- you lost your husband but they lost their sons. How do they begin to pick up the pieces?

EVERS-WILLIAMS: Sometimes you pick up the pieces slowly. Other times it comes fast because there's anger. There's also, I believe, a degree of hatred. How do you overcome that? You find something positive.

I had children to take care of. I had to go back to school. I had to work. I had to develop careers. I had to be a community activist of which was a little difficult for me.

So how do you balance the hatred along with the hope for the future? That's a tremendous job in undertaking. I'm sure the parents of these young men are working toward that end. One of the things, though, that I think is critically important is that we involved ourselves in community activities that speak to the needs of those certain people in communities.

We have formed the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute and along with the Donor Foundation, we're working with the community in schools with a program called A-Team which is specifically for young black males, Hispanic, too, I must add that. Where we help them understand the history, where we help them to develop at a very young age things that they can do to better their community.

We find that it also helps the parents. It brings them together and this is a movement that's spreading throughout this country and I'm so pleased to be a part of that. You do not give up. Hatred serves as a motivator but you can't live and grow with hatred.

PEREIRA: We need your voice in there.

BERMAN: The last -- yes, the last time I had the honor of speaking to you was at the inauguration, the second inauguration of President Obama. I'm wondering what advice you would give to him right now on how to handle specifically what's gone on in Ferguson?

EVERS-WILLIAMS: What advice would I give to the president as to how to handle things in Ferguson?

BERMAN: What should he do? Should he go?

EVERS-WILLIAMS: I don't know if he should go but he should speak loudly, strongly his beliefs and to all of the American public that it is not just a black problem, it's a problem of all Americans.

How dare we tell the rest of the world how to live when we don't carry out that message within ourselves?

Be strong, stand, be firm and try to embrace all people in this area of justice and equality. But particularly with our young black males. It's critically important at all ages.

PEREIRA: How do you think we are going to see this new generation of young people who are right now I think they're frustrated, we've heard from the young people that have been on the front lines in Ferguson. We've seen young people in cities across the nation protesting and making their voices heard.

How do we galvanize this group? They seem to be spreading the word on social media that they want change. How can we reach out to them and help them to translate their frustration and anger that you were talking about and moving it into hope and action?

EVERS-WILLIAMS: Well, first of all, it's something that we must do. We must do that. There are various organizations throughout this country that focus on youth, the development of youth. Jobs, pride. It's not a one-stop way of handling this program. It's something that needs to go on day to day in our churches, in our synagogues, and it's not just black.

All of the races need to be able to address this. We go back to racism, we go back to slavery, we think of how far we have come but let's indeed be aware of how far we have to go. It is tragic that we have to have our young people taken away from us in the manner which they are. It is tragic that our law enforcement officers in our communities don't get along better.

It is tragic that the civil rights organizations and other community organizations have not come together and developed a plan of action that we can take beyond just particular cities.

My heart bleeds for those people who have lost their children and who continue to do so but we have to take the bull by the horns and say this will change and I will be a part of the change and I will find within my community ways in which I can be involved and bring others into that involvement, too.

Really, it's left up to us to find those ways and to act on them. And yes, to encourage the president to do whatever we can to bring people of like minds together to address these issues and not in just one seminar. But that will be an ongoing thing.

(CROSSTALK)

EVERS-WILLIAMS: In all of our lives.

PEREIRA: An ongoing conversation. It's something that we've wanted to do here and we are so grateful and honored that Myrlie Evers- Williams that you would join us, make time for us, to share your wisdom, your insight.

EVERS-WILLIAMS: Thank you.

PEREIRA: Your own personal experience. We hope that your message will be heard and felt and maybe it'll all inspires some action as well.

Thank you so much for joining us.

EVERS-WILLIAMS: I trust. Thank you.

BERMAN: We'll be right back.