>> on america tonight. our one of the most feared organizations became a financial powerhouse. >> isil took over factories. they needed civilians not connected to them. i help them sell the product. >> nick schifrin with how isil fuels the money and how the west aims to stop them. also tonight swimming against the tide. what the life or death struggle of these rodents tell us about the depth of depression in some of the highest communities in

the nation. >> for some people the altitude makes them happy. for others it leads to depression. >> america tonight's adam may in salt lake city the buckle of the suicide belt. and on target, the fury over a florida department's shooting practice. >> i'm not a mug shot. >> and the faithful urging officers to use me instead. >> good evening and thanks for joining us. i'm joie chen. it's grown into one of the world's most feared organizations increasing it's pow as it tries to create what is called an islamic state and isil has become a very wealthy one with assets over

2 trillion-dollar and steady income in the billions each year. it is a formidable force that the west is struggling to combat and contain and to do so try to understand what has proven to be a sophisticated economy. tonight a look inside isil incorporated from al jazeera's nick schifrin. er. >> down a bumpy turkish road a few feet from the syrian border we search for isil's source of income. our guide a 22-year-old female smugglering. her tools jerry cans earmarked for gas. in a discrete hold room we see how isil recruits. our recruiter is a 27-year-old syrian it expert. his tools keyboard and mouse to post to facebook and twitter. on the river in istanbul over cups of tea we learn how isil is organized. our expert, a syrian once employed as an isil salesman.

>> isil took over factories. they needed civilians not connected to them. i helped them sell the products. >> three people all of whom demanded an in this matterty showed how isil's management, organization and wealth all dependent on foot soldiers whose motivation was income. they mime calculate to fly the flag--they might claim to fly the flag of islam but their heart is corporate. we begin on the road with 22-year-old seth. >> was it easy to smuggle through this area. every night for 18 months she would take this turkish road to the syrian border. her destination the turkish town of hajibasha. on this day our car had the road to itself. it's so close to the border, refugees with be rowed across.

it's best known as home to smugglers. tractors used to transport and those jerry cans store isil's main source of income, oil and gas. the town smells of it. >> where did the oil come from? >> it comes from syria. they bring it across the river. they take it to their village store it in their homes. >> inside syria and iraq isil sells 30,000 barrels a day for $1 million to $2 million, and then it's smuggled into turkey. turkish soldiers discovered how. it's pumped through underground pipes or smugglers move it across the refer in river in jerry cans. then it's transported in buss. >> we'll construct a gas tank and make it big for hold 35, 40,

45 50 gallons. if there is no army then you can make good money. >> for these people it's not ideology. it's business. >> we weren't buying. the town didn't like that. after we filmed the jerry cans smugglers stopped our car. we tried to get away. >> okay, okay, we're stopped. >> they only released us after she convinced them. anyone interrupting their business and profits isn't welcome. >> how much money did you make? >> your income depends on how much grass you bring. if you bring a continue, you make $400 to $1,300.

it depends on how good you are. >> the only thing that separates syria from turkey is a thin river. this river has long been a smugglers haven. that means not only goods like gas is crossing the border, but fighters. >> we have brothers from bangladesh cambodia, australia u.k. >> foreign fighters fuel isil. an unprecedented social media campaign. hundreds of propaganda videos, highly produced, well then, many featuring photogenic protagonists. a few dozen are american. >> we're going for you, barack obama. [ cheering ] >> and this is the man who

helped convince them to join. >> how easy was it to recruit all these people online? >> they will follow anything you tell them. they've been brainwashed. we talk to them about religion, paradise and virgins. the hotel room near the syrian border over a half a pack of cigarettes, a 27-year-old who wants to be known as salam reveals isil's social media strategy. for a relatively large salary, he and three others would spend days online. they painted isil as a pious popular army. they exposed those against them as infidels. >> was it sometimes true or sometimes false. >> almost all of it was lies. we claimed that other groups raped women. that wasn't true. >> the americans are always trying to hack into these accounts. how did you avoid other people gaining access to your accounts. >> we change the accounts

passwords every 12 hours. and we hand wrote all our contacts so if our accounts were hacked we can reach everybody again. >> it worked. he was freed to paint isil as family friendly. the u.s. said that every month more than a thousand americans join isil, and some bring their entire families. >> i wake up and i'm here. >> the foreign fighters who already joined isil gave us their friends contacts. media is the most important thing for isil to attract foreign fighters and create popularity in syria and iraq. [ cheering ] >> in trying to create popularity that spans generations. isil calls them it's cubs. their hands not large enough to properly hold a gun. their minds not hold you have to

enough to resist propaganda. he used to work for isil in isil's headquarters. >> recruiting children. the children are brainwashed at a young age. they become strong willed and believe they will find redemption when they're martyred. >> omar used to sell goods that isil stole. he said in raqqa, many civilians worked for isil. in this city men pray on the street. women stay covered. and local commanders called them emirs or princes kept the piece. they changed dramatically since isil first met them. >> at first they brought in a thug, an alcoholic, a criminal, and appointed him emir. now they push them out. now they appoint educated people who can have a strong presence and lead people. >> the group is organized like a spider web. at its center, the leader and his deputies. each group of emirs and fighters

are isolated. they receive orders, but they have no communication with the leader. >> the source is not known. even the emirs in isil would not know the original source of the information. >> a complex and effective structure connecting every aspect to the group's ruthlessness. >> they value spilling blood. they have no mercy. islam is merciful, but for them people's lives are cheap. >> through fear, through promises of profits isil fills its state with people who might otherwise fight it. and today isil controls an area the sides size of belgium. it's population is equivalent to new york city. and u.s. officials warn that a war to remove isil could take years. >> nick schifrin along the lebanon border, there have been developments that might have cut into isil's profits, it's

economy, as it were. >> yes i think whether we're talking about here, northern israel and syria is just over my left shoulder, or we're talking about inside of an iraq or u.s. officials to focus absolutely is on trying to cut isil's finances. trying to remove it's ability to pay its foot soldiers and to effectively act like a government inside syria and iraq as we detail in the piece they are having some set backs. the oil prices have lowered that means fewer smugglers are moving this oil across the border into turkey and the u.s. has worked hard not only to try to destroy isil's refineries but to stop any spare parts from getting into syria. on the flip side isil is still very rich, very successful mainly through as we said, an increase in sales taxes and fines. you're not allowed to smoke a

cigarette, and anyone caught doing that has a fine of $300 to $400. and so much money still coming from ransoms being paid by european governments as well as private donations from gulf funders. >> nick, we read that the latest studies say that isil controls 2 trillion-dollar in assets bringing in another $2.9 billion in annual income. i mean, this is a size of at least a small government. is it starting to act more like one? >> well, it actually has to. this is the ironic thing about isil's success. the more land it has seized, the more people who live under its rule the more expensive it is to rule in those areas. the fact is that the more success it has had the more it has had to spend on fighters, those emirs those princes those leaders who keep the piece in some of these cities in syria and iraq. the more land isil seizes, it

has to pay more people and its finances diminish a little bit according to u.s. officials. they do admit yes this is a massive war chest that isil has but they do feel like the momentum is on the u.s. side. >> al jazeera heirs correspondent nick schifrin joining us from northern israel along the lebanon border. a heartbreaking correspondent feeling hoarse and under the weather himself. thank you for being with us this hour. nick. >> when we return some of the nation's grandest vistas, and why they might be behind its greatest levels of depression. >> it was cut by the center of disease control over many years of consistently shown that the rocky mountains have the highest suicide rates in the country. >> they call it the suicide belt. >> they do. >> america tonight's adam may on the rocky mountain highs and their connection to america's deepest lows. later this hour they swung at

segregation and walked away winners. ball players of another time securing their records for history before the final inning. talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america

>> you might call it a silent killer because so few of us want to talk about suicide. and what leads people to take their own lives. but every 12 minutes in this country someone does. more than 40,000 americans commit suicide each year. as researchers work feverishly to understand why there comes new evidence, stunning evidence that where you live might elevate your risk. it is most evidence in what is called america's suicide belt, and at its center is america's tonight adam may found a surprising explanation. >> you like this picture of him?

>> it's one of my favorite. >> shona talks about her worst nightmare. >> my son shot himself in front of me. >> jordan suffered from mental illness and severe depression. >> we just came back from a business trip. he was laying down, then he lifted his head up and said mom please leave me alone. and then shot himself. >> jordan's suicide is one of hundreds every year in utah. this beautiful state with sweeping landscapes will has the dubious distinction of being ground zero of america's suicide belt. >> that's the real term and real phenomenon. the rocky mountain states have the highest suicide rates in the country. >> what do people think is behind this? >> the first theory was that we in the west love our guns and gun ownership has been associated with elevated suicide

rates in other parts of the country. >> but perry renshaw was not convinced. >> what are we looking at here. >> they analyzed four types of mental health data and came up with an index and utah ranked number one. now, at the university of utah dr. renshaw's quest for answers reveal a surprising discovery. altitude can affect the chemistry of the brain. >> we think it does several things. one, we know that there are changes in energy compounds one is serotonin which regulates mood and angle guy anxiety. and dopamine signals that this is all right and you're liking this. >> what are the take aways in

the research? >> dr. renshaw found that high altitudes can alter the amount of these neurotransmitters leaving enjoyment for some and depression to others. >> it's the utah paradox. >> for some people the altitude makes them happy but for others it leads to depression. >> that's right. >> to test this theory, rats were placed in that these chambers for one week. one represents sea level. the other altitude. >> the findings are almost too good to be true. it looks like they're drawn with craw i don't i don'twith crayons . the mier you go into altitude, the more depression you have. >> it's called the swim test developed 30 years ago by a french psychologist. it's pretty simple. depressed rats immersed in water eventually give up swimming.

happy rats keep treading water. these rats, whose spent extended time in higher altitude showed much higher rates of depression. >> how real is this suicide belt? epidemic? >> it's real. if you look at the total number of suicides we'll lose 500 to 560 a year. sometimes we feel like we're the only person struggling with it. >> greg hudnall is trying to help but offering hope. >> how do you reach out to your fellow classmates? what are some of the things you can do? >> this is a hope squad. >> try to get to know somebody so you can see the signs of depression. >> these junior high students elected by their peers are being trained to help identify their fellow students who might be suicidible showing sit shifting in social behavior or making direct threats. >> how do we help? >> hudnall gets called into

schools in the middle of a suicide crisis. that has not been easy. >> what do you recall the day that you responded to the fourth grader that took his life? >> not being able to prevent it. we found the body. the officer turned to me and said the mother's pulling up right now and you need to do everything that you can because it's now a crime scene. it was tough. >> for years hudnall had been trying to get state officials to do more about the suicide problem. >> i found out we didn't have one person on the state payroll that was full-time dedicated to suicide prevention. >> not one? >> not one. >> last year state representative stephen ellison led the charge in funding hope

squads with tax dollars. the program which began in just a few dozen schools is now available to any utah school that wants it. 125 schools across the state so far. >> i'm happy with the progress we've made, but i'm not satisfied because we still have 500 people dying needlessly a year. when you look at traffic accidents, cancer, heart disease, we've attacked those things as a society and we're making progress. yet suicide is a silent epidemic that no one wanted to address. >> remember when you see that friend have the courage to walk up and say, are you doing okay? >> hope squads are showing promise. 2500 students are now in training. >> is it making a difference? >> it's making a communist state difference. we have over 100 kids hospitalized that have been identified through the school, through the program and it's amazing when you talk to those kids afterwards. when you're so depressed you

just want the pain to go away most of our adolescents who are suicidal or depressed they don't want to die. they just want the pain to go away. >> what do you hope most being on the hope squad. >> i love helping people because it's just fun to do. and i think it helps me. too. >> how does it help you? >> i think helping other people just makes you more happy inside. >> jordan burton was randomly elected by students to the hope squad. her classmates had no idea her father committed suicide. shawn burton is her grandmother. jordan was her father. she's named after him. >> my grandma actually explained to me that anybody asks me where my dad is, i can just say that he moved to a better place.

and that helps me a lot knowing that he's in a better place and that he's happy, and he's not sick any more. >> when you hug her, do you feel your son's energy. >> oh, yes she's just got this light about her that is just--she's filled with energy, and just--i just adore her. i adore her. she actually is one thing that helped me get through my rough days, just heavy this baby to love and hug and kiss on and knowing that she's part of my son, that was beautiful. >> a young man who happened to live in a place where the elevation may have affected his brain in ways we're just beginning to understand. >> america's tonight adam may is with us. you know, adam, this is striking to me. i have a lot of other people who regard utah as a clean air great outdoors place to live. >> yes, it's a beautiful place to live. in fact, joie what you're saying

is completely true. there are surveys when you look at populations and utah residents usually rank among the highest populations in the u.s. but you also have them ranking highest in the depression index. these book ends that doctors are calling the utah paradox. the altitude can make some happy and cause others depression. >> you talk about the efforts that utah is making and you talk about the community. you've heard a lot of hurt and personal stories that are just devastating to think about. >> it really is, i mean, joie, when you hear about the individual stories of people who have lost their lives committed suicide, and i mean people as young as fourth grade these people just don't have the control in order to do this. which raises questions to what else can be done about this? there is a state law maker out there that is trying to increase access to psychiatric care, that is another problem in utah because there is such a large rural population, providing

incentives for urban doctors to provide medicine services to people in rural areas. they're attacking this on multiple ends, and hoping that they see a plateau in the suicide rate, and in a couple of years they would like to see a drop. >> what else have you seen, stories that you heard that personally struck you as an indicater of how deep the depression was out there. >> everywhere you turn and spoke to someone, they were effected by someone who had committed suicide. that was quite striking. the one won woman we spoke to, shawn, she runs a support group and that has had a thousand people joie, a thousand people have come through the doors. this is not in downtown salt lake. this is an hour outside of the city. >> very striking, "america tonight" adam may.

>> how many times do you think he hit you with a wooden baseball bat? >> i think it's two times. blood was on my head and shoulders. >> a new generation of immigrants driven from their homes in russia to america. "america tonight" investigates moscows anti-gay policies, and why that has led to a sudden and skyrocketing number of new arrivals. that's on "america tonight." after the break tonight, a stunning sex crime on campus, and even bigger shocker the defense's argument, blame it on the booze.

humanity... only on al jazeera america

>> now making headlines on america tonight. a sign of worry for america's

kids. food insecurity among our children is on the rise. more children depend on food aid than did at the start of the recession. roughly 16 million minors received food stamps up from 9 million at the start of the recession. in new york city shutting down the transit system cost the city 2 million in economic activity. those hurt the most, hourly employees, those who rely on tips but mayor bill de blasio helped the city get back on track faster. on the heels of a controversial and deadly shooting in denver. officials will take a closer look at the department's shooting policies, especially when it comes to shooting at moving vehicles. a 17-year-old girl driver was shot and killed monday. officers said that she drove a

stolen car into one of them. although a passenger in the car disputes that. and in new yorkville two former football players at vanderbilt university face the possibility of decades in prison convicted of the horrifying gang rape of a fellow student. after the jury didn't buy their defense. they were just too drunk to know what they were doing? >> count one we find mr. vanderburg guilty of aggravated rape. on count two we find mr. vanderburg guilty of aggravated rape. >> everything about this case was shocking. star athletes at a prestigious school hauling an unconscious young woman into a dorm room raping her repeatedly and brutally. >> within two minutes. >> shooting videos and posting them on social media even as they were committing the attack.

>> this is cory beattie with his shirt removed. his pants removed. >> lying to the victim the next day denying that a rape had even taken place. >> what did he tell you had happened? >> he told me that i had gotten sick in his room, and that he had to spend all night taking care of me. >> and when finally confronted, posing a novel defense. they were too drunk themselves to even remember doing it. >> what if anyone recollection today do you have of that event? >> none at all. >> defendant cory beattie said that he didn't know until he saw the pictures on his phone the next day as he was going to church. >> i was horrified. i didn't know--i didn't know how they got there. he immediately deleted them. >> there are a lot of things that you don't recall, blame it on the alcohol correct? >> but the they were convicted

on every count of rape, sexual assault, battery, and attempting to destroy the video evidence. >> we're no longer allowing excuses. there is no excuse for violence against women i think that it really was a lot of people called it a hail mary defense. it was not going to go well for them. >> the defense in this case not only blamed it on alcohol one defendant admitted he made have had as many as 22 difference that night. but what was described as a culture of excess. >> culture encouraged underage drinking drinking in the room, going to a party then going to another party. you stay up late, get drunk have sex. it's not important if you remember it. >> it's not about whether you are too drunk or not to commit a crime. if you harm someone, you are held responsible.

if you drink too much to know better that's on. >> you the defense hung firm, insisting even after the conviction that their clients were misunderstood. >> you asked me what happened and he said, you don't understand. >> two factors helped win convictions in this case. the videos, which witnesses said the defendant van den bergh tried repeatedly to destroy and the university, which became aware of the assault even before the victim did. and came to her with the evidence. >> i'm glad that they stepped up and obviously they waited until there was a conviction to say that this was despicable and horrifying but it's refreshing in a world where too often survivors come to me and the colleges know, and yet aren't willing to help. >> and the victim herself who not only testified but appeared in court every day of the trial and released a statement through the prosecution urging other victims of sexual violence to stand strong.

>> i want to remind other victims of sexual violence, you are not alone, you are not to blame. >> legal analysts and al jazeera contributor robin sachs join us. she has prosecuteed sex crimes herself and she has represented victims. those videos were shot and shared by the rapists but this is important because they went viral. >> the interesting thing hire is you have the suspect's videos which are not only being able to use for destruction of evidence, but more importantly you have the surveillance camera from the university, and you have the university on their own in a completely separate investigation finding thighs videos realizing something happened, and connecting the dots between the two. only in this day and age of technology would you be able to do that. >> one of the witnesses in this case was actually charged with tampering with electronic

evidence that is to say erasing to try to get rid of the videos that he received. he was not a party to the action in the room. he was in another state. necessary california but he took a plea deal to testify here. this is groundbreaking in and of itself. >> it is groundbreaking. first of all, he had some consciousness of guilt. when you attempt to destroy evidence, the prosecutor can make the argument to the jury, if you're trying to destroy it, it must mean that you know that something is wrong. so the question that i would have as a prosecutor was was there some sort of communication with this other person? was there jeering or egging on that you can charge someone who wasn't even there as a coconspirator of the crime? once you start deleting those videos that becomes the question. then you grant them immunity, that solidifies the deal. >> we live in such a different world now including for a younger generation than you or i, robin the world of just recording events and immediately

putting them out sharing them by social media or whatever you choose to do, this is very different. yet, played such a key role in making making this prosecution. >> well, it's so interesting because normally when you make a statement or have a video that is done outside of court that would normally be considered hearsay. you normally wouldn't be able to say that i said this at some other time. but what happens to a video that makes it so damaging. in it case in particular they were posting them in realtime. the prosecution was able to make the argument, that they didn't have time to lie or make up a story. they were posting it, showing it and you're your most honest when you're doing it in the heat of the moment. that's what allowed the video to come in, they convicted themselves. >> and this points to the role of bystanders. people who knew about it. there was actually another person in the room at the time of the attacks. a roommate who said he wasn't involved. no one said that he was

involved but he heard it, and he knew what was going on, and just tried to go back to sleep. i mean, this really goes to the a shocking level of involvement by who is responsible if you are a bystander. >> right, well right now there is huge psa campaigns even in the white house has urged bystanders to come forward because they do play such a critical point. there are studies that show particularly if a male who sees a female being attacked or assaulted, if they stand up and do something the likelihood of the assault goes down greatly. but in this case a lot of people would say could you charge that person who was in that room, who heard something and did nothing? the answer is in tennessee there is no good samaritan law. there is no requirement for someone to actually stop it, but what we do know from an ethical point of view, from a social conscience point of view, from the person who stands up, gets involved and directs the perpetrator to a different

direction, they could stop this type of assault. >> robin sax thanks so much. >> when we return, the target practice that led to fury and the faithful who stood to say use me instead. before the end of the hour a winning record on and off the field. >> that's why i have all of these pictures in here. because of the history. >> preserving the history of some of the game's great and those who brought true greatness to the game.

>> when you look at the relationship in police and a community could be. when police used a mug shot for target practice it caused an outcry and members of a clergy urged the community to "use me instead." but this sparked it's own controversy. >> murder. >> what has happened here was wrong, and we apologize from the bottom of our hearts. >> reporter: an apology much of the community is not ready to accept especially woody deonte.

he's face was used among the mug shots used for target practice in north miami police. >> i've had to live seeing a bullet in my head and my eye. >> he thought his criminal past was behind him. >> i am enot a mug shot. i'm not the tragic mistakes that i made 14 years ago that caused the life of my friends and my freedom and my record. >> reporter: it was deant's sister when she spotted her brother's picture an old mug shot riddled with bullets. >> i'm in fear of my brother's life and my brother's safety in the streets. >> the north miami police department said that it did not violate any policies, and the department uses an array of pictures. not just black men but that did not sit well with the community of north miami beach. >> where is the chief of police. >> residents poured into the

city council meeting making the police chief the target of criticism. >> how does this feel? >> i know how i would feel if this was my son or a family member in there. i understand very much, and i'm very concerned about it, and i hope that my sincere concern and apology goes to the families involved in this. >> the police department immediately canceled snipe ever training to conduct an investigation and promised to destroy the mug shots that it had been using. that controversy played out however, another started to evolve on social media. clergy members began to use their videos with the hashtag #use me instead. writing if you insist on using photos for target practice, don't use young black men use me instead.

>> it was just kind of a yes moment where i said its great when clergy and people who have some power and privilege in this world will actually step up and say that something is wrong. and try to bring a broader consciousness to the issues that we're facing in this country. >> but the social media phenomenon has drown it's own criticism. because most of the clergy participating are white. some are calling it a white savior situation in which white people appear to be trying to rescue people of color. >> i'm part of an organization that mobilized clergy around criminal justice issues. we believe those movements have to be led by those who represent the community. at this particular moment on twitter there was white clergy who just jumped on board and i think its both a beautiful thing and the critique is important. >> while weary of the white-savior narrative austria wants people to remember what

initially united them saying the safety of young black men must be a priority of that of our counterparts. >> north miami beach police said that the snipe ever training only involved two officers, and in the future practice will utilize targets from commercial vendors instead of real mug shots. coming up, the bottom of the ninth where some of baseball's legendary icons. >> you have players now many of whom have already died, most of whom or all of whom are relatively old who have really important stories to save. if no one saves them they will be gone forever. >> a tribute to one of the all time greats who brought other groundbreakers who are fading into history.

>> it was mr. cubs day. his fans paid tribute to the legendary chicago cub ernie banks. banks pasted away last weekend from a heart attack at age 83, but he won't be soon forgotten. he was hall of fame shortstop and he was remembered for the unbridled joy he brought to a game he loved. but that's only part of his story. before he became a star on the cubs he played for the kansas city monarchs in the negro leagues during a time when the game was still segregated. it is an ugly chapter in american history but researchers in california believe it's one we shouldn't bleach. "america tonight" with a project that in los angeles that is running up against the clock. >> these are two american

treasures. great men with great nicknames. jim mud cat grant. >> i don't appreciate him because in 1956 the son of a [bleep] hit a home run and beat us that ballgame. >> grant was the first african-american pitcher in the american league to win 20 games in a season. sweet lou was the hero of the 1965 world series. his l.a. dodgers beat mud cat's minnesota twins. but it's what they endured off the field as well as on that has researchers at usc interested. the school is putting together an oral history of african-americans who played baseball in the 25 years since jackie robinson debuted in 1947. usc intends to chronicle as many stories of hardship and racism

as well as triumph as they can. >> first of all because it's one of the most important things that we can do. in the end this is going to be to me the most important thing that we'll have accomplished in my academic career. >> now there is this sense of urgency to the project. it's the same circumstances that were confronted by steven spielberg in members of his project team 20 years ago holocaust survivors were dying at an alarming rate before they could be interviewed. >> this is a terminal situation. you have players many of whom have already died. most of whom or all of whom are relatively old who have really important stories to save. if no one saves them they will be gone forever. that makes this an tremendously important project. >> the first player to be interviewed by dr. durbin was mud. the conversation was supposed to last a few hours. instead they went on for days.

including one session seen here in front of a classroom of students in a sports marketing class. >> you have to remember, i was a kid. you very rarely ever talked to whites at that time. >> mud cat keeps an office filled with memorabilia in the crenshaw district of los angeles. >> i have a photo of me of me, larry. >> no, no you don't. >> yes i do. >> it's when we met up with him and his former rival sweet lou. >> but a lot of our history is disappearing. we some how got to maintain a certain type of scenario where these guys are brought forth all the time. that's why i have all of these pictures in here, because of the history disappearing. >> what kind of history exactly?

well stories that show the kind of restraint required of these men. >> it made me better. why attack that ball. you guys would really attack it. simple. it's white. [ chuckling ] that's the southern way. that's the southern way at getting back at 'em beat it at that ball. slide hard into the white base. [ chuckling ] and i'm saying this now because there were times i wouldn't have said it, but it's the truth okay. this is why i laugh. >> laughing all the way to the bank. automatic deposit. >> that's right you may not like me. you may not want me to stay in your hotel but the 1st and

15th i'm drawing a paycheck. >> what is amazing is that during any interview there will be a point of time at which everything seems to stop, and the person being interviewed starts talking about something that they haven't talked about with anybody else. >> like the time when an exhibition baseball game grant and baseball pioneer vick power got a crude backhanded compliment from hall of fame legend ty cobb. >> he said, he said in his puerto rico language. he said i know who you [bleep] boys are. you've done pretty good for yourself, ain't ya. and sometimes when times are hard, or thoughts are hard, i think about the laughter. >> it's the deeper stories of real serious issues in american history and american culture that have resonance that should

be saved. >> the first thing i went through in my career, even though i was kicked by policemen because i didn't say yes, sir and all the other indignities that i suffered back at that time even the klu klux klan, i think the worse time in my career was when those four girls were killed in birmingham, alabama. that was the worst time because to have four little girls and have a klu klux klan guy put dynamite in a church and killed these children, and even though i knew of other atrocities, and even though we were shot at when we were kids by kluxs i think that was something that i could not hardly take. >> mud cat says he was so upset

he got into a fight with a white teammate from texas who made a comment that would have normally just rolled off his back. >> he said, well, if we catch you in texas we will hang you from the nearest tree. i said i'm glad you said that. we're not in texas. we're in cleveland ohio, and i knocked him down. i was suspended but recognizing and hearing about those girls being murdered that way that was the roughest time of my life. i could put up with a lot of stuff in protecting myself, but that was the worst time for me. >> this oral history project is not without controversy. dr. durbin says at least one team has so far not made its alumni available preferring instead to have a team employee do the interview and send the recording to usc. dr. durbin is concerned about censorship.

he hopes the team comes around and grants him access. if you think this project is all about terrible stories of hardship listen to mud cat tell this one. it begins when his cleveland indians were on a road trip in detroit, and he gets a call in his hotel room. >> he said, the president would like to have breakfast with him this morning. i said, ya ya, and i hung up the phone. but ten minutes later the phone rips again rings again no, the president would like to have breakfast can you this morning. the indians are in town, and back in those days we were still getting threatening phone calls as you know. i said, listen, don't call my room any more. and i hung up the phone again. well they came up and they knocked on the door. and you can tell them anywhere.

they dress alike. they looked alike and i said, oh oh, this must be something. so they knocked on the door, and i opened the door slightly. they said, we hate to bother you, but president kennedy would like to have breakfast with you this morning. i said, kuwait until i get dressed? they said yep. i went down there and there was the president and i could hardly speak. he said, mudcat, he says, come in. i would like to have breakfast with you. i hope you don't mind. no i don't mind at all. of course, i was tightening up. i had my coat and tie and stuff like that. >> they talked about baseball. they discussed civil rights. when jfk asked mudcat if there was anything he do for him, he told him about the dilapidateed condition and lack of school supplies in his hometown in

florida. >> he kept in touch with me, and times did change. we got a school. we got books. we got housing, which is still there to this day. the school is still there to this day. and i got this photo of me and president kennedy together shaking hands on some things that he promised was going to happen, and it actually came true. >> michael oku, al jazeera. >> a president's promise and a real winner. that's "america tonight." tell us what you think about the stories we've seen on your program on our website. enjoy the conversation with us on twitter or at our facebook page. good night. we'll have more "america tonight" tomorrow. [music]

>> a controversial prisoner swap could send a woman involved in a major al-qaeda attack over to isil. also identified ptsd, why a disorder that impacts millions is often misunderstood. and one of the highest ranking of the u.n. call for reform. i'm antonio mora. welcome to "consider this"." those stories and much more straight ahead. jordania