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Documentary on Van Jones and his fight for prison reform to screen at AFI Docs

22 June 2021
 Dan Ackermann

A documentary following CNN commentator Van Jones' journey to see prison reform passed under President Trump (and the backlash he faced) is set to screen at the American Film Institute Docs Film Festival.

The big picture: "The First Step" chronicles the advocacy of progressive-leaning Jones as he seeks to work with the Trump administration under intense criticism from allies.

Details: Directed by Brandon Kramer, the film is scheduled to be screened Wednesday at the AFI DOCS Festival in Washington, D.C., and can be watched online until June 27.

  • The film shows Jones bringing Black activists from South Central Los Angeles together with white people in West Virginia as they discuss ways to battle the opioid crisis.
  • It also highlights the commentator's attempts to get a compromise bill on prison reform through a divided Congress and to Trump's desk.
  • During his fight, Jones endured harsh criticism from some Black advocates for agreeing to work with Trump officials on a bill while conservative activists called Jones a Communist at public events.

Following the film, Axios' Russell Contreras will host a panel discussion with Jones and activists about their roles in battling the opioid crisis and fighting for prison reform.

The intrigue: Jones, a former Obama official who supports progressive causes, has publicly chided the orthodoxy of "wokeness" that he believes prevents coalition-building and runs from debates and engagement.

  • It's similar to the critique from some Latino intellectuals who call young, well-meaning activists misguided "wokosos" (combining the term "woke" with the Spanish word "mocosos" — snot-nosed brats).

Don't forget: The First Step Act reduced some sentences and gave judges more sentencing flexibility.

  • The bill led to the release of at least 3,000 inmates by the end of 2019, according to NBC News.
  • Trump later told people he regretted following some of son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner's political advice on criminal justice reform, three people with direct knowledge of the president's thinking told Axios' Jonathan Swan.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.