Closer Look: Summer Indie Music Series — Gordon Vernick Quartet; The Ancestry DNA Industry; And More

Friday on “Closer Look with Rose Scott”:

• 0:00: Rose gives a news brief about how the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has declined to take up the case of Gerald Lynn Bostock, a former Clayton County employee who claims he was fired for being gay. The case questions whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides workplace protections to gay and lesbian people. In a 9-2 ruling on Tuesday, the Appeals Court sided with a lower court in saying it would not hear the case en banc, or with all the judges present. In a dissenting opinion, Judge Robin Rosenbaum wrote, “I continue to firmly believe that Title VII prohibits discrimination against gay and lesbian individuals because they fail to conform to their employers’ views when it comes to whom they should love.” Bostock says he was audited and then fired shortly after his sexual orientation was made public in 2013. His lawyers have filed a petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
• In other news, the city of Brookhaven is adding extra security because of a scheduled appearance by Stormy Daniels this weekend. Some residents have concerns, and we hear from Major Brandon Gurley, Uniform Patrol Division Commander for the Brookhaven Police Department about this weekend’s appearance by Daniels.
• 5:57: Our Summer Indie Music Series continues with the Gordon Vernick Quartet. Dr. Gordon Vernick is an associate professor of music and coordinator of jazz studies at Georgia State University. As a professional trumpet player, he has performed in all musical mediums, from symphony orchestra to jazz quartet, and has freelanced all over the world. We’re joined by Gordon Vernick and his band members  Kevin Bales, Marlon Patton, and Delbert Felix.
• 38:07: As more people hope to trace and learn about their ancestral heritage, there is a lot of business for DNA testing companies. We’ll hear more about the industry from Dr. Gina Paige, co-founder of African Ancestry – which uses the world’s largest database of African DNA to trace origins.

Closer Look is produced by Candace Wheeler, Emilia Brock and Trevor Young.