Return to Transcripts main page

First of All with Victor Blackwell

Too Little, Too Late; Today: Millions Of Americans Lose Access To SNAP Benefits; Families Fear Loss Of Aid, Paychecks As Shutdown Drags On; 65K Plus Children, Families Could Lose Access To Head Start Program. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired November 01, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:00:]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: First of all, it's already too late. It's the first of the month, and the rent is due. If you're a federal employee not getting paid because of the government shutdown, you probably had this date circled for weeks. Or maybe it's just kind of weighing on you as October wound down.

Today is the day that tens of millions of Americans will also lose access to SNAP to help buy food. So about 12 percent of the people in this country have been anxious about today, too.

Now, I can't speak for 42 million people, but I think it's safe to say that they also really don't care what a clean CR means or who this helps politically in 2026 or 2028. Food banks are swamped, bills are going unpaid, so these American taxpayers want to know where they can go for help to buy food, where they can go for help to get childcare, where they can go for help to heat their homes.

When you add that the holidays and winter are coming, you realize that so many families, and need answers. They need them. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says it has $5.3 billion in a contingency fund right now, 5.3 billion. But the administration claims that they're not allowed to use it.

Now Friday, two federal judges disagreed. They ruled that the Trump administration must use that money in the emergency fund to fund the benefits at least partially. And yet it's still not clear on deadline day today when or how that will happen.

Now, on social media, President Trump said that he instructed the administration's lawyers to ask the court how we can fund legally SNAP as soon as possible. But he did acknowledge it will, unfortunately, be delayed while states get the money out.

Now, I want to make an important point here. Now, you know, on this show, we focus on communities of color. But despite what you might see on TV or TikTok, whether it's real or AI, it's not just black people or even minorities impacted by this mess, a whole range of Americans as diverse as the country itself. But this is what the president says. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Largely, when you talk about SNAP, you're talking about largely Democrats. But I'm president. I want to help everybody. I want to help Democrats and Republicans. But when you're talking about SNAP if you look, it's largely Democrats. They're hurting their own people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: SNAP recipients do not have to reveal their party affiliation, so there's no way to prove or disprove that statement. But these are the facts. About 1 in 8 Americans received food stamps in May. According to the USDA, 39 percent were children, 20 percent were elderly, 10 percent were non elderly people with a disability. They're not all members of one political party, but they are all members of one country, which is what really matters.

Now, I don't want to start today by hearing from more politicians. You're going to hear from politicians all day. And as this continues, we've done that leading up to this hour, and it will continue. So to start, we brought in a group of guests who are directly impacted by this, either because they're losing benefits or they're trying to help the people who are.

Laterese Johnson is a grandmother and SNAP recipient. Elizabeth Banks is the chief operating officer of Hope Atlanta, helping feed and house people. And LaToya Logan is the director of a child care center here in Georgia with a Head Start program that's also being impacted by what's going on.

Ladies, thank you all for coming in. Laterese, let me start with you. You received SNAP benefits, as I said. How long will what you have now last your family?

LATERESE JOHNSON, GRANDMOTHER, SNAP RECIPIENT: Approximately about a week and a half to two weeks of what we have now because, of course, you know that the grocery prices has gone up. So with the amount of SNAP benefits that I receive, it's just enough to feed, you know, one person, but I have to share that with my grandchildren. So it's times when, you know, it's already a sacrifice. So if you take the SNAP benefits from me, you're taking the SNAP benefits from kids that's enter into my home as well.

[08:05:18]

BLACKWELL: Do you tell your grandchildren about what's happening now, about the insecurity and the unsurety?

JOHNSON: I try not to. I don't. Because they don't understand that we're not going to have anything to eat. They don't understand that. A child would never understand that.

I was a child that grew up, you know, in government housing and due to my parents being addicted to drugs, I didn't have food to eat half of the time growing up. So when my little sister was, you know, coming to me saying that she was hungry, I had to do the next best thing. So that led me to go to the store, the corner store, to have to steal a pack of Wieners just for her to stop crying saying that she was hungry.

BLACKWELL: And the fear is that when people come to food banks Elizabeth's, that you're already stretched to capacity. Talk to me about the resources that you have and who's coming in the door.

ELIZABETH BANKS, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, HOPE ATLANTA: Yes. So on average, each year we serve about 6,500 people through our housing programs and our food programs. And for our Women's Community Kitchen, we serve about 60 ladies and children three times a week. And we're expecting to go to max capacity, which is 120 women and children per day, as well as trying to fill about 1,500 clients that we serve each year who rely on SNAP to supplement their food and rely on us to also provide them nonperishable items to now us having to provide 100 percent of the food that they are going to need to supplement for their families.

And so we have a lot of hungry people, a lot of need. And we are calling on our community to -- we're asking our staff members, we're asking our donors, our board, our community, our friends to donate canned goods to us so that we have enough to be able to support these families.

BLACKWELL: LaToya, how many children at your center are either part of Early Head Start or one of the affiliated federal programs?

LATOYA LOGAN, DIRECTOR OF GEORGIA CHILD CARE CENTER WITH HEAD START PROGRAM: Okay, we have 117 children. I just want to piggyback off what you got, ladies had just addressed. With -- I'm sorry, say your name again.

JOHNSON: Laterese.

LOGAN: Ms. Laterese. So we try to make sure that the food that we have in our program that the children can at least get two meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and a p.m. snack. Lately we've been due to what's going on -- I asked the children, do you guys want any more? You know, we offer them cereal just so they can have enough to last for the next day. And then when it comes to your department resources, we send the parents, hey, let's go to the pantry. I even packed up and you know, took some parents to the pantry so they can get some food or anything that they may need. We also giving out diapers, milk. I had two parents who came across last week and stated that their wick was cut off and that they needed milk formula.

So we're helping the parents as much as we can do. But if this continues, we won't even be able to help the parents because we are in need as well.

BLACKWELL: You've got funding for how long? How much? In November.

LOGAN: To the 28th.

BLACKWELL: To the 28th. LOGAN: Yes.

BLACKWELL: And then if this is not resolved by the 28th, what happens then? Those children will have to go home. The center will have to close temporarily.

LOGAN: If we can't find that particular funding, the center may have to close, and we may be without a job as well.

BLACKWELL: And so beyond the logistics of that, and you know, when you're working with young children, there's a connection that's built. What does that feel like? Knowing that I talked about the first being circled, that the 28th is circled for you, that at some point these children will have to go home until the funding comes back.

LOGAN: It's hard. A lot of hope, prayer because we just don't know what's going to happen. And knowing that these children are not having any food, and eventually the food banks are going to run out because we're feeding all staff, other families, other centers, what are we going to do? It's like we had a win-lose situation. I don't want families to have to go into, you know, over here on TikTok, they're going to go on Walmart, and steal, you know, we don't -- we're being pushed to do that. And I think it's very unfair to them, unfair to all of us.

[08:10:19]

BLACKWELL: Elizabeth, you said your max capacity is 120. When it's 125, that come to the door, when it's 145, that comes to the door, what happens to those other. Those other people?

BANKS: Yes. At that point, really caring people have to make really hard decisions. And we do everything within our power to make sure that nobody leaves with nothing. Bare minimum referrals to other shelters, to other food pantries, to other kitchens that we know are available. Our team has put together, big long lists of food pantries that are still serving, but also with the caveat that at the top of every list that we give out is capacity may be an issue.

And so that's -- it's one of the most devastating parts about being in this work, about connecting with families that are going through this is having to say no because you literally have zero left to give.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And Laterese, this comes at a time of the holiday season, starting now with Halloween behind us, Thanksgiving is coming and most people look forward to a good meal, turkey, and all the trimmings. As you look three weeks down the line, what do you think about being able to provide that for your family?

JOHNSON: Thanksgiving would not be so thankful if they continued with this shenanigans of not helping the American people. That really needs to help. You know, this program have been in place for a long time to help people. Well, if you mandating that the women get out here to go to work with hungry kids, that's going to leave these kids very ungrateful. They're gonna be very disappointed and they're not going to understand why they can't eat because mom going to choose to pay the bills and then leave them without food.

So how do you do that? How do you say, oh, this day of Thanksgiving will be, we got to sacrifice.

BLACKWELL: Yes. I mean, 42 million people, as I said. And we got a segment a little later in the show talking about dispelling some of the narratives and myths about what hunger looks like in this country and how close so many people are to food insecurity that while you may be watching this as someone who, you don't believe that this might be you or, you know, anybody who is close to food insecurity. One in eight. There's a good chance that you do.

Laterese, Elizabeth, Latoya, I thank you for your stories, and I thank you for the work you do. And I'll be keeping you in my thoughts.

JOHNSON: Thank you, Vic. I just have one more last thing to say, Victor. I want to say this is going back biblical for me. I want to say, Pharaoh has to set God's people free. You have to provide for the people because if you don't, then this will affect so much more.

BLACKWELL: We are certainly seeing the ramifications beyond the specific recipients of the program. Ladies, thank you.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

BANKS: Thank you.

LOGAN: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right. Coming up, we're going to talk more about this with actress Karen Pittman. She'll be here to share a very personal perspective and at this really scary moment for millions of families dealing with food insecurity, like she once did.

First, though, the story of a 16-year-old in Houston who says he was tackled and assaulted by immigration enforcement, his father detained and deported. That teen is speaking out in a live interview. And you'll see the video next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:18:49]

BLACKWELL: A teenager in Houston says that he was roughed up by immigration agents even though he's an American citizen. Arnoldo Bazan is 16 years old, and the aftermath of a confrontation that ended with his -- he and his dad, Arnulfo Bazan, being detained. It was caught on camera. Watch.

All right, so we'll get that video for you in a moment. Arnoldo Bazan is with us now, along with his sister Maria. Welcome to you both. I've seen the video. Hopefully, we get it. This is of two ICE agents kind of pinning you down. Let's play it and then we'll talk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ARNOLDO BAZAN: We're not that illegal. But we're working for a reason.

They came to the U.S. to help out my family. They're doing this the way behind, man. We're not doing. I was going to school. I was going to school. I was going to school.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:20:06]

BLACKWELL: You were going to school again. You're 16, U.S. citizen. When they pulled your dad over, Arnoldo, was it clear that these were ICE agents?

ARNOLDO BAZAN, U.S. CITIZEN TEEN DETAINED BY ICE: No, sir. The cars were unmarked, and it didn't say nothing about anything.

BLACKWELL: And so what did they say? What did they do when they approached the car?

BAZAN: They didn't say nothing. They just went straight forward, attacked the windows, and try to open our doors.

BLACKWELL: They were -- they were tapping the windows to try to get into the car.

BAZAN: They were smacking the windows, trying to force their way in.

BLACKWELL: Your father drove off, they chased you, and then when they caught up with you, what happened? We see the end of it here. But tell us what we didn't see before this video.

BAZAN: Well, you didn't see is how they hit our car three times trying to flip us. They try to flip our car while I was in there, me and my dad. They try to flip our car three times from each side.

BLACKWELL: I've read in a report that there were. You say that there were racial slurs that were made as well. What were they saying to you?

BAZAN: They were calling us border hoppers. They call my dad a criminal. They called his beaners before, like before like letting me go, you know.

BLACKWELL: And did they have any reaction to you repeatedly saying, as we heard on the video, that you are a U.S. Citizen?

BAZAN: No, I was still in the chokehold and I -- and he like put more force into the chokehold. Why? Like, I couldn't really talk that much. I was just saying what I could out there.

BLACKWELL: When you say that they were beating you up, roughing you up, you're in a chokehold. What else was happening there physically?

BAZAN: I mean, I couldn't breathe, to be honest. Like the apple hat right here. It was getting pushed in. I couldn't really do anything, and they were on my back and yes. BLACKWELL: Let me read here. This is a statement from ICE, and I want to read it in full and then get your response and reaction.

Allegations ICE officers assaulted Alnufo Bazan Carrillo, a 49-year- old criminal illegal alien from Mexico who illegally entered the U.S. six times and had been convicted of DWI and illegal entry, and his 16- year-old son are false. On October 23rd, law enforcement officers and special agents attempted to pull Carrillo over in Houston. Rather than obey their lawful commands, he recklessly rammed his car into a federal law enforcement vehicle and fled, violating numerous traffic laws and endangering the lives of everyone in the local community, including his sons. They both fled into a local business where they continued to act belligerently and disregard the law command -- lawful commands of federal authorities.

Officers attempted to take Carrillo into custody for immigration violations and to temporarily detain his son to confirm his identity and make sure he didn't have any weapons in his possession that he -- that could endanger the safety of the employees, customers, or law enforcement in the store. Carrillo and his 16-year-old son immediately began to resist. His son elbowed a law enforcement officer in the face. The officer successfully arrested Carrillo, and the Houston Police Department was called to respond to the assault of the law enforcement officer. The federal law enforcement officer graciously chose not to press charges.

Your response to that, Arnoldo?

BAZAN: Well, that's not what happened. That's not what happened. I feel very like, it feels very weird that they're trying to say stuff out there. That's not what happened.

BLACKWELL: Maria, several times in this video, Arnoldo said, you're going to get sued. You all are about to get sued. Will you sue? Have you started that process?

MARIA BAZANL: Yes, we started that process because we think protocols were broken. Even though ICE says that they follow protocol according to what my brother has said, I believe that they didn't identify themselves. They didn't tell them the reason why they were getting stopped. You know, like the reason why they fled was because they thought they were getting kidnapped.

So in someone's sane mind, if that will happen to anyone, if they chase you in with cars, unmarked cars, people come out of the car's mask. I mean, who in their same mind is going to be like, oh yeah, open my door, come on in, take me. Nobody who's going to feel safe, you know, going through that?

[08:25:12]

So my father did try to get away, but he got away at a normal speed. And he basically, you know, they were trying to flip his car. And thankfully, my dad, he's a pretty good driver because he managed to keep balance of the car, managed to take my brother to safety. And even though when they got to Restaurant Depot, which is where this happened, my brother says that he was willing to collaborate at that point. He was willing to collaborate at that point. Sorry. And that's when all of a sudden, you know, he says that they started getting aggressive with him, which wasn't something that was necessary at that point.

And the reason why I'm saying this is because we have proof on video. Once my brother, you know, said that he was a citizen, they should have listened. My brother said that he didn't hit no agent. And we just find it weird how everything else happened afterwards.

You know, like my brother, he was told that if he even decided to, you know, do anything about it, that our dad was going to pay the consequences. So to do that to a 16-year-old, obviously, they're going to be scared, you know. So you can also see on the video because we, you know, we have it on video. Thank God to whoever recorded that, because to them is why we have this fight going on.

You can see that my brother says, I have it on video. Our initial interaction is on video. I have proof of what I'm doing. And you can see these agents flip my brother, take his phone, and then we had to go get a phone. Can I say that? Well, we had to go get our phone --

BLACKWELL: Maria, let me just say this because we've got to go. If you would be willing to share that video with us, we'd love to see it. And I appreciate you sharing the story. Maria and Arnoldo, I thank you for your story and your time this morning and we'd love to follow up on your story again. The producer you spoke with, we'd love to see that video if you could share it. Thank you for your time this morning.

BAZAN: Sure.

BLACKWELL: All right. There is, listen, no shame in asking for help. And with so many Americans going without pay or food assistance right now, they need the help to feed their families. Actress Karen Pittman has a personal perspective on that, and she joins us live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:32:13]

BLACKWELL: For a lot of Americans, the past few weeks have been tough. And the next week is not going to look any better because there's no end in sight to the government shutdown. No firm solution to when SNAP will restart. So a lot of families are heading to food banks for the first time. And I wanted to speak with someone you recognize and someone who knows what facing hunger is like.

Actress Karen Pittman is with me now. You know her from shows like Apple T.V.'s "The Morning Show," "Forever" on Netflix. And she also experienced food insecurity years ago and is now an advocate for Feeding America. Karen, thank you for being with me. There are people who wonder, Victor, a Hollywood actress talking about food insecurity. What does she know? How can she relate to my story? What informs your activism around food insecurity? KAREN PITTMAN, ACTRESS: Well, thank you for having me this morning, Victor, because I know a lot of Americans are waking up this morning watching your show and thinking, how am I going to make this work? I need some help because I've been one of those Americans several years ago, probably about 10 or 11.

I was living in Brooklyn with my children, and we were struggling through a moment. It was a transition moment for me and my family. I was having to choose between feeding my kids and -- and feeding myself. I was an American that was nibbling food off of their plates in order for them not to know how hungry I was, right?

And so I certainly have had that experience of going to food pantries, going to churches, and -- and putting food in my grocery cart and going back to my home in Brooklyn. And so I wanted to let people know that they're not alone, that there are a lot of us Americans who are here to help them, and that we are at Feeding America undaunted by the task of reaching out and helping more Americans as we go through this challenging time.

BLACKWELL: Karen, I want you to listen to a woman who was at a food distribution for the first time, and I imagine what she's feeling so many people are feeling. So let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never thought in a million years I would be in line to get some food, so.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is that feeling?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's humiliating, you know. I've been working for 30 years in my career. I've had to apply for unemployment. I haven't done that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And, Karen, this really is why I wanted to have you on, because I've heard you speak so eloquently about the emotional toll that it takes to go to that -- that church pantry that you went to feed your family.

PITTMAN: Yes, yes. I mean, I will -- I am a graduate of two universities. I was certainly one of those women that thought, you know, I can do it on my own. And I realized very quickly that really showing love to my children and taking care of them was reaching out and asking for help. And there's so much shame and stigma, I think, attached to it for us as Americans.

[08:35:11]

The truth of the matter is that there is food insecurity in 100 percent of the counties in America. Feeding America has satellite organizations in every county in -- in America, including Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. It doesn't matter your race, color, or creed. You know, we are all at some point going to need to help our -- our fellow citizens with this. And -- and Feeding America is right here to -- to help them. They are undaunted in -- in the journey of helping Americans figure this out.

BLACKWELL: And I think it's important to -- to eliminate some of that shame, the humiliation, is to challenge the narrative of what hunger looks like in this country, right?

PITTMAN: Yes, yes. For sure. Absolutely. We talk about the statistics. It's very important in the work that I do as an ambassador for Feeding America that one in every five children in America is dealing with food insecurity. So if you think of five children that you know, one of those children, whether they look like it or not, is in a home where they are not always getting the food and nutrition that they need.

And it's staggering, the -- the statistic of what that may look like for us. We may not know that these children are not doing well, these families are not doing well, but it's important for us to keep that in mind. I know a lot of people probably wouldn't look at me and think, oh, she's never had to deal with that. But, in fact, I did for about a year and a half, two years in 2011, 2012. I was really struggling with food insecurity.

I, through Middle Collegiate Church, which is a church that I attended in New York City, would go to the Thanksgiving dinners that they had at restaurants and would be served food by actresses that I know now that I see at award shows serving food to me and my children. So it's a full circle moment for me to be sitting here talking to you about it.

But I also think it's something that's very much needed to pull the stigma away from what it looks like to be food insecure in America.

BLACKWELL: Karen Pittman, I thank you for sharing your story. And it is the sharing of the story from people that you might not expect to have experienced food insecurity that can help in ways that the person who receives that blessing may never articulate, but making it a normal thing that people have had these moments. It may not be long term, but to know that it is not going to be like this always. Karen Pittman, again, thank you so much.

PITTMAN: Yes. Thank you so much, Victor. Thank you for having me this morning.

BLACKWELL: Certainly.

All right. He's already been the leader of the free world. Should former President Obama be the leader of the Democratic Party again? Abby Phillip is here to talk about that and her new book on Jesse Jackson and black political power.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:42:26]

BLACKWELL: Former President Barack Obama is back on the campaign trail today. He'll be rallying in New Jersey for the Democratic candidate for governor, Mikie Sherrill. And he'll also be supporting the Democratic candidate for governor of Virginia, Abigail Spanberger. But popping up to speak on behalf of candidates really is the easy part for the former president's jobs these days. There's new CNN reporting that there's tension with his party over his role when there's not an election happening.

My colleague and friend, Abby Phillip, is here. She is the author of a new book, "A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power." Abby, good morning to you and congratulations. I want to talk about the book in just a moment. But first, this new reporting from Isaac Dovere, one of our colleagues. He writes this. He doesn't want to be the leader of the party. He was the leader of the free world. But it feels like sometimes he's got to speak his mind. No one expected this, this bad, this ugly, literally the rule of law in play every day. He senses the politics of his party may be leaving him behind, but also wonders if the Democratic Party's problems are so deep that it needs to -- it needs his help to steer it back to relevance. How intense is this, this tension, between the former president and the party of today?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSNIGHT AND TABLE FOR FIVE: Well, first of all, hey, Victor, great to see you. And -- and look, I mean, President Obama still is the former president that has the most pull in the Democratic Party. But I think what they're going through right now is not that personal to Obama, but it's really more of a question of, is Obama still the type of figure that -- that should help them move into the future of the party?

And I -- I think you can kind of see it in where he's showing up in this midterm election. He's going to the states where there are competitive races, but where the candidates are more moderate Democrats. It's where you're seeing, you know, in Spanberger and in Mikie Sherrill, these are two kind of center-left candidates that Democrats have put on the table to try to appeal to swing voters, and Obama can be much more effective in those spaces.

But there's a big question mark about beyond that. Can he rally Democrats? Can he energize the base in this new Trump era? And I think that there are some Democrats who probably think that, you know, it's not as helpful as maybe he would like to think that it is, and maybe that's true. But you still see him going out and doing it because there's really no one else who has that kind of cachet among the base still.

[08:45:06]

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about the book now. Chapter 15 is actually from Jesse to Obama, and there really are --

PHILLIP: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- maybe two resonant moments of -- of Jesse Jackson during the Obama campaign. There's that kind of crude off-mic or hot-mic moment, but also the image of Jesse Jackson crying in the crowd at Grant Park on election night. What's the story, the backstory, between these two moments and these two men?

PHILLIP: Yes, I mean, it's a complicated story. It's a complicated relationship between them. And in a way, this is kind of related to what we were just talking about. I mean, Jesse Jackson was sort of a left -- left-progressive figure. He was sort of closer to Bernie Sanders than he was to Barack Obama in terms of ideology.

And when Obama ran, he had to kind of run along the middle, trying not to antagonize white voters in particular. And when Jesse Jackson made those crude comments about him in that off-mic moment, it really put that tension between the two men front and center. And Obama distanced himself from Jackson. And that distancing is the crux of the -- the tensions in that relationship.

I mean, their families were once very close. But after that, I think Obama and his campaign kept Jesse Jackson at arm's length. And there was some resentment there on Jackson's part. But that Grant Park moment, everybody remembers seeing Jesse Jackson with the tears just streaming down his face.

Those were real tears, according to the people that I talked to, including people around Obama who were near Jackson at that moment. They were real tears of joy, of happiness, of perhaps regret about the nature of their relationship. And I think now, the -- the two men have spoken in recent years, and I think they -- they've had a nice moment. They're -- they're not close still. But I think that some of that ice has been broken.

But it's -- it's -- there's such a direct line between Obama and Jesse Jackson in terms of the fact that Obama probably wouldn't be the nominee had Jesse Jackson not run. But their personal relationship was not all that great. And I think it's something that both men have some regret about.

BLACKWELL: Abby Phillip, congratulations on the book. It's "A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power." And thanks for being on this morning. The book is out now. And of course, I want to tell everybody to tune in to your show, Table of Five, coming up later this morning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

All right, today in Art is Life.

PHILLIP: Thank you Victor.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Abby. Art is Life, the Day of the Dead. Commemorations for Dia de los Muertos begin today. Hear from the woman who mainstreamed American awareness of this holiday. And at 93, she's now finally getting recognized with a major honor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:52:25]

BLACKWELL: Ofelia Esparza played a huge role in popularizing Dia de los Muertos, The Day of the Dead in the U.S., which starts today. And for the first time, her work is being featured in a solo show at a museum. It's a retrospective, so a survey of her entire career. And for Artist Life this week, I spoke with Ofelia about the altars or ofrenda. That connect us with the people we've lost.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OFELIA ESPARZA, COMMUNITY ARTIST, ALTAR MAKER, EDUCATOR: My name is Ofelia Esparza. I'm a community artist, altar maker, educator.

JOSEPH VALENCIA, MUSEUM CURATOR, VINCENT PRICE ART MUSEUM, EAST L.A. COLLEGE: My name is Joseph Valencia. I'm a museum curator at the Vincent Price Art Museum at East L.A. College. A day of the dead has become a practice widely celebrated across California, across the United States, and globally.

ESPARZA: And it's not about the cult of the dead or the dark dead. We celebrate the lives of our loved ones who have passed. I'm a first generation here. My mother came from Mexico. This was a practice my mother had at home. She had it all year long. But for special days like Dia de los Muertos, she would dress it up with flowers from her garden with a candle.

The altar is the centerpiece. If people have a photograph, if not, also a token or a memento of that person's life, the marigold flower, it reflects the sun, of course, but also its aroma beckons the -- the soul to -- that here we are, ready, waiting for you with our ofrenda.

When I started doing public altars, it was first at Self Hope Graphics, the art center in East Los Angeles. But it wasn't really widespread, no. And it has grown over the years. I just have continued it for so many years, since I first started around 1979.

VALENCIA: This is the first for Ofelia. And for us, it was important to highlight all aspects of her career. In the gallery, we see, what? Almost seven decades of art making, right, drawings, paintings, printmaking, in addition to seven altars or ofrendas that we've recreated in the exhibition.

ESPARZA: It is such a tremendous honor, especially in my own community.

VALENCIA: We feel very strongly that Ofelia and her work has fundamentally transformed the story of American art and culture through her work as an altar maker, as well as a visual artist and a teacher.

[08:55:05]

ESPARZA: Especially this year, the ofrenda is really a significant endeavor because our community is hurting, but it has come together in a way that is empowering.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Ofelia Esparza, A Retrospective, is open now through April 2026 at the Vincent Price Art Museum in East Los Angeles College. For more, check out vpam.org. And if you see something or someone that I should see, tell me, I'm on Instagram, TikTok, X and Blue Sky, and you can listen to our show as a podcast. Also new this week, first of all, is now streaming live in the CNN app. And you can catch up whenever you want, get exclusive reporting, read unlimited articles, watch our award-winning original series and films, and much more, visit cnn.com/watch.

Thanks for joining us today. I'll see you back here next Saturday at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Smerconish is up after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)