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CNN NEWSROOM

Should Obama Lead Conversation on Race?; Black Friday Spreads to Europe; Inside Macy's Holiday Window Display

Aired November 28, 2014 - 10:30   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A 6'3", 273 pound Ohio State University college football player is missing this morning. Police in Columbus are now searching for the missing man. He hasn't been seen since early Wednesday morning. CNN's Andy Scholes has more on this. Good morning.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. His name is Kosta Karageorge. His roommates say he left their apartment at 2:00 a.m. Wednesday morning and he hasn't been seen since. Now, according to the Columbus Dispatch, Karageorge's sister said she believes he left the apartment upset after something happened that night. He left on foot without his I.D. or a wallet.

Karageorge's sister also said that he has a history of sports-related concussions and the family is worried he might be suffering from the effects from a concussion that he suffered about a month ago.

Karageorge's mother has filed a missing person's report with the police and the family has taken to Karageorge's Twitter account, asked for help. They tweeted this message, "Asking for anyone with information to please call 6144-747-1729."

And the Buckeyes, they play Michigan in their big robbery game on Saturday and Karageorge is one of 24 seniors that will be honored before kickoff.

Ohio State is aware of the matter, Carol, but they have not commented yet.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Such a curious case because he walked out without any money, right?

SCHOLES: Without any --

COSTELLO: And doesn't have his credit card?

SCHOLES: He drives a motorcycle around town and he left without that as well, so he has no transportation, no I.D., no money. It's very mysterious situation.

COSTELLO: All right. Well, I hope they find him.

Andy Scholes, thanks so much.

I'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Protest over what happened in Ferguson may eventually stopped but what lies underneath will continue to simmer until we have a real conversation about race in this country.

The question is, who will lead that conversation? Some say it ought to be President Obama, the man who has a black father and a white mother. After all the president has talked about race before.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is not a black America and a white America, there's the United States of America.

There has been a running thread throughout this campaign, first was I black enough, then am I too black. I don't know what exactly the margin of black vote is that is the optimal, not too black but black enough.

The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static.

I don't come out of central casting when it comes to presidential races. I am African-American, I was born in Hawaii, I spent time in Indonesia, I do not have the typical biography of a presidential candidate.

The Cambridge Police acted stupidly.

Be mindful of the fact that because of our history, because of the difficulties of the past, African-Americans are sensitive to these issues.

We should all make more of an effort to discuss with one another in a truthful and mature and responsible way the divides that still exist.

We've got no time for excuses, not because the bitter legacy of slavery and segregation have vanished entirely, they have not. Not because racism and discrimination no longer exist, we know those are still out there.

When Trayvon Martin was first shot, I said that this could have been my son. There are very few African-American men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me.

The arc of the moral universe may bend towards justice but it doesn't bend on its own. To secure the gains this country has made requires constant vigilance, not complacency.

There are some Americans who in the aggregate are consistently doing worse in our society. And by almost every measure, the group that is facing some of the most severe challenges in the 21st century, in this country, are boys and young men of color. If America stands for anything, it stands for the idea of opportunity

for everybody.

We need to recognize that the situation in Ferguson speaks to broader challenges that we still face as a nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: See, the president can speak powerfully about race in this country so let's talk about that.

Marc Lamont Hill is a CNN commentator and host of "Huff Post Live," Amy Holmes is the anchor of the "Hot List" on theblaze.com.

Welcome to both of you.

AMY HOLMES, ANCHOR, THE HOT LIST, THEBLAZE.COM: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Amy, I'll start with you. In light of demonstrations across the country, should the president deliver lengthy remarks on Ferguson?

HOLMES: Actually, you know what, I don't think he should. And watching all those clips, it might surprise you to know that that is the President Obama that I was attracted to, when he was a senator and a candidate for the Democratic Party in 2008. But I think at this point in his presidency he needs to focus on larger issues that are uniting Americans.

In terms of the racial issue, I think that's a conversation you and I should be having that we're going to have with Marc and other leaders of basically all races and all stripes to talk about what happened in Ferguson and how we can move forward.

COSTELLO: But, Marc, we have these demonstrations across the country. In some cities, some people are targeting police. I mean, we have a problem that's simmering all across the country now. So why shouldn't the president step in? Isn't that a big issue, too?

MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think -- I think it is a big issue. And some would say he should be talking about immigration or health care or housing or education or the economy, but the truth is, you can't talk about of those issues without talking about race because of the racial component to all of them. And black people in particular are disproportionately affected.

If you look at any social measure of prosperity, black people are at the bottom. If you look at any social measure of social misery, black people are at the top. And so to that extent the president needs to talk about it.

COSTELLO: So should the president go to Ferguson and talk about those things?

HOLMES: Good question. Marc, should he? HILL: Well -- the president should talk about it not because he's a

black president. I think any president should talk about Ferguson. But the particular way that President Obama has talked about Ferguson or Jeremiah Wright or other things does not inspire confidence in me. He always plays the middle to me, and he plays the kind of language of equivalency. Black people feel like this, white people feel like this, police feel like this, community feels like that.

And as a result he ignores the role of power, he ignores the role of white supremacy. He ignores the thing that causes people to catch so much misery.

COSTELLO: That -- he has to talk about both sides. After all, he was born with a black father and a white mother. And if you're going to bridge the divide, don't you have to talk about both sides? Amy?

(CROSSTALK)

HILL: But not --

HOLMES: It seems to me that the president has been very successful in being a diplomat, in trying to bridge those differences and to talk to both sides. But I don't think that it would be helpful in a case of Ferguson, particularly right now as that community is trying to basically recover from what's been happening all week. I mean buildings, businesses being burnt to the ground.

For the president to go in there now I think would be inflammatory and wouldn't help the situation at all. But I do think that there is an opportunity for all of us to talk about -- you're seeing it on the screen right now, for all of us to talk about what was going on there, why did it happen, what were the underlying issues. And we don't need a president to tell us. We can just talk to each other and to our neighbors.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Wait. We can just talk to each other but that's not -- I mean, that's not effective, is it? It hasn't been effective --

HOLMES: Of course it is.

COSTELLO: Why did this happen in Ferguson?

(CROSSTALK)

HILL: Here's what's interesting.

COSTELLO: Why are protests happen in Los Angeles if we're all talking about it and it's effective?

HILL: Here's what's fascinating to me. When the president didn't want to talk about Ebola people said, oh my god, he's the president, he must talk about Ebola. Even though he had no cure, even though there was just nothing publicly he could do to address it, people said he's the president, he needs to make America feel that he's connected to this issue.

Race is a far more significant issue on a day to day for the last 400 plus years than Ebola was so the president should be speaking about Ebola. He darn sure should be speaking about race.

But to your other point, Carol, yes, you can talk about both sides. White people have a perspective that needs to be heard. Black people have a perspective that needs to be heard. My problem is that he talks about other people's perspective instead of uses a language of equivalence.

It's just like if I were talking about sexism. Yes, I can say well, men feel like this about sexism and men feel like this about pay inequality. But the fact of the matter is, women are the ones catching hell in terms of workplace inequality. Similarly with race I don't want to pretend that the white southern racist has the same -- same skin in the game as the black person.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: I mean, come on. Do you think that the president should --

HILL: I'm using it as an example.

HOLMES: -- spend the last two years of his presidency talking about Ferguson and having this attention on this issue?

HILL: No.

HOLMES: Or do you think that he should be talking about broader things and you think that you and I, right now, with Carol, can broaden the conversation as fellow citizens?

HILL: Well, as awesome as we are, I'd like the president to do that, too, the same way we talk about war, the same way we talk about economy. I'd like us to talk about that but I'd like the president to talk about it as well. And the reason why I use the southern person as an example is not to demonize southerners.

I was going back to President Obama's Philadelphia speech when he talked about Jeremiah Wright because he mentioned the white -- the white person in the south who couldn't get a job, and so I'm referencing what president was referencing to be clear.

COSTELLO: Well, the president has not ruled out going to Ferguson so we'll see if that happens in the coming days.

Amy Holmes, Marc Lamont Hill, thanks so much.

HOLMES: Thank you.

COSTELLO: I'll be right back.

HILL: Pleasure.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: An elbow here, a hip check there. Just some of the scenes we've come to associate with that annual tradition known as Black Friday here in the United States. But now our friends across the pond in the United Kingdom are getting in on the action.

In London this is what it looked like at one store when it opened its doors and then everything descended into chaos. A little north of London in Manchester there were two arrests as police were on site at multiple stores to help tame the unruly crowds.

But here's the thing, this is -- this Friday isn't even part of a holiday week in England. So what's up with this?

CNN's Jim Boulden joins me now from London to tell us.

Good morning.

JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. I know you're used to those scenes in the U.S. We are not used to those scenes here. And you can blame it on the beginning a few years of Apple and Amazon. But now the British retailers have really, really taken hold of Black Friday.

Look at these videos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOULDEN (voice-over): Long queues, rampaging shoppers. All in the search of Black Friday bargains. Scenes which, until now, had been reserved for the United States. But this American tradition is taking hold in the UK as Black Friday becomes a critical day in the British retail calendar. There is one big difference, though. It's not a holiday week in Britain.

NATALIE BERG, GLOBAL RESEARCH DIRECTOR, PLANET RETAIL: Black Friday makes sense in the U.S. because it follows a national holiday, Thanksgiving. It happens on a day when most people are off from work and it's a chance to really kick start the Christmas spending. Whereas here in the UK, Black Friday is just any other Friday. People are still working, they're not necessarily out in the shops but it is becoming more and more popular.

BOULDEN: And it's not just purely American brands. It was started here by the likes of Apple and Amazon. Now retailers like Tesco, John Lewis, Boots, all have Black Friday deals. And online it's not just Amazon. E-tailer Shop Direct is bracing for a 50 percent jump in sales on Friday and says it's invested more than $1.5 million to upgrade its computer systems just to handle this Friday.

(On camera): One of the big UK retailers pushing up the vote this Black Friday is Asda, it's owned by Walmart and using its Walmart connections to try to offer huge discounts.

(Voice-over): Last year, Asda ran short of big screen TVs. Now they're relying on the parent company to fill the shelves as opposed to local suppliers. To sell a lot more 40-inch LEDs for around $200. AYAZ ALAM, SENIOR DIRECTOR, GENERAL MANAGER, ASDA: All the TVs that

we are selling in Black Friday have been sourced from either relationships we've got with Walmart and the branded suppliers or directly from Walmart factories. Today we'll sell well over 20,000 televisions in Black Friday today.

BOULDEN: This trend now flies in the face of the time-honored British tradition of the January sales.

ALAM: We need to ensure that we can save the money before Christmas rather than discounting them after Christmas when people have already spent their money.

BOULDEN: And it all appears to be working.

BERG: The discounts this year are deeper and more widespread and also there's a lot more advertising behind the Black Friday event.

BOULDEN: It doesn't hurt that many people in Britain get paid monthly so this Black Friday also sees the last paycheck before Christmas. An early present for retailers perhaps.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOULDEN: And, yes, that was cheerleaders in black and white, Carol. I have to tell you that Asda said of course they'll sell 20,000 TVs, they sold 8,000 of those in the first hour -- Carol.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Well, again, I just can't believe it's happening now in Britain and I apologize for that as an American.

BOULDEN: Yes. I think we're seeing more of that action today here than you saw in the U.S., frankly.

COSTELLO: I think so, too. It's crazy.

BOULDEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: Jim Boulden, many thanks to you, I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a behind-the-scenes look at the -- at arguably the most iconic holiday decor of all, the Macy's window displays in New York City. This is so cool even Scrooge would be impressed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: For many across the country it's a telltale sign that the holidays are upon us. The iconic Macy's window displays at Herald Square. Since 1870, families have been bundling up to crowd around the unveiling of the detailed concepts and storylines. With each year comes a challenge to create something even more mesmerizing than the last and it ain't cheap.

Our Vanessa Yurkevich goes behind the scenes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Twenty sculptors, 10 painters, five graphic artists and one elaborate story. That's Macy's recipe for their six holiday windows.

ROYA SULLIVAN, WINDOW DIRECTOR, MACY'S: Our windows are a combination of old school artistry, basically sculptures, creating these beautiful scenes. Plus digital and mechanical artistry.

YURKEVICH: It takes a village to create one of Macy's windows. The design team starts working a year in advance. And they've gotten good because they basically invented window dressing back in 1870. They were the first retailer to do it in the New York City and it's been bringing shoppers through the door ever since.

(On camera): What kind of an investment is this?

SULLIVAN: For us it's a gift to the city and we feel that you really don't put a price on a gift.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): But it's a pretty pricey gift. Analysts suggest it can cost up to $150,000 each. And that's not including labor. But once you see what goes into it, that may not seem crazy.

At a warehouse in Brooklyn, dozens of Santa's helpers paint, sculpt, and drill around the clock.

(On camera): So this is where all the magic happens.

SULLIVAN: This is where the magic happens.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Reindeer are made from 3-D printers, the displays from Styrofoam and there are a thousand LED lights. They even let me in on the fun.

(On camera): I have so many dreams of going to the moon so this is such a thrill for me. When the windows are complete, they're taken apart, boxed up and transported to Herald Square where they have to fit through this small door and into this 12.5 x 7.5 foot space. I painted that.

After each piece is loaded in one by one, this is what it's like to be standing in one of these windows. And millions and millions of tourists and New Yorkers will get to see exactly this.

How can you measure whether or not these windows are a success or a hit?

SULLIVAN: We are looking at the way the children react to our windows and many of us have seen the children coming right up to the glass and putting their faces against our glass and then that's how we know that this was a success.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: It's pretty awesome.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "@THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA" after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)