he's beating hollywood at its own game. >> he who has the gold makes the rules. >> they're all pioneers creating innovative solutions. "black in america" continues tomorrow at 8:00 and 11:00 p.m. tonight -- careful what you say, the vice president's explosive and critical comments about russia's past, present and future. he's grabbing headlines. tonight the russians respond and the white house. tough week. the president losing ground on health care and reform and trying to save face over a racially charged issue that is dividing the nation. what's his next move? let's talk. what should the president, professor and police officer discuss if they meet over a beer? white privilege, black anger? they might not but our experts will and so will you. so let's talk right now. good evening, everyone. i'm don lemon. we're used to vice president joe

biden speaking his mind. after all, that is one reason president obama picked him. but as biden wraps up a trip overseas to ukraine, his candor is making headlines. the vice president abandoned the typical niceties and says things about the russian government no one else in the obama administration is saying, at least not publicly. they have a shrinking population base, he says. they have a withering economy. they have a banking sector and structure that is not likely to be able to withstand the next 15 years. they're in a situation where the world is ranging before them and they're clinging to something in the past that is not sustainable. well, the russian government tonight is a little perplexed by those comments. interfax and "the new york times" reports the chief foreign policy adviser to russia's president as saying, quote, if some members of obama's team and government do not like this atmosphere, why don't they say so? if they disagree with the course of their president, we just need to know this. and just moments ago, white house spokesman robert gibbs

issued a statement saying, working together to advance security and prosperity for the american and russian people is the focus of our effort to reset relations. the vice president and the president believe russia will work with us, not out of weakness, but out of national interest. candid talk like this is a rarity in diplomatic circles. what does it all mean? for that we turn to david gergen, veteran and white house adviser and senior political analyst. what does it all mean, david? >> well, it means -- what should joe biden say? i should have calibrated my remarks somewhat differently. >> we have heard those words this week. >> somehow we heard those words somewhere else. >> j.b. isoe biden is a valued inside the administration. the president relies on him for foreign council especially, because that is his area of great strength. but once again i think he's gotten off message and spoken out in ways that were very awkward, if not diplomatically difficult for the president.

and in contrast to what he said earlier about we misread the early signals on the economy, i don't think that hurt much to tell the truth. it was an insight that was important to get out there. this one, while true, is very difficult. it is damaging to international relations because the united states wants -- needs russia to help us with iran, to help us with north korea, on energy issues, on nuclear proliferation. there's a whole series of things. while it's true russia is a weakened country, it's been important for the obama administration to reset that relationship. and what's central to the russians is to be treated with respect. they're looking for other nations, especially the united states, to treat them with enormous respect. and joe biden himself said, i don't want to embarrass him but that's exactly -- i'm afraid --

what has happened here. think of it as if a major russian leader said something similar about the united states, how angry people would be here. >> and, david, there was some talk during the election that joe biden might be picked as a secretary of state because of his foreign policy experience. >> right. >> and that foreign policy experience is one reason that the president picked him. you know, you're not behind those closed doors there but you have worked for a number of presidents on both sides, republican and democrat. might the white house and the people in the administration, including the president, be grimacing right now saying, you know, why did you say that? >> well, i think they're wincing. you know, the truth is, don, this is a kind of conversation that people in government and foreign policy often have with a reporter but off the record. >> right. >> so that it can't be used. it's a way to express or paint a picture. i'm sure there are some in the administration who share his view. what was damaging here, and i think what the importance of the white house response tonight was in effect, it said they're so

weak, they're going to work with us out of weakness. it suggested that this is a country that has no choice but to work with this out of weakness. and the administration tonight through robert gibbs, press secretary at the white house, issued a statement saying we believed they would -- the president and vice president believe they will not work with us out of weakness but out of national security interest. they clearly had to clarify and they had to aback pedal. this is another one of those moments. joe biden remains a valued member of this administration. i'm sure there are people inside who wish, how do we retain the value and stop these somewhat errant comments. >> i'm running out of time here. >> sure. >> is this a speed bump or fixable? >> coming out of the gate, this is not what the obama administration needs now and in foreign policy. >> david gergen, thank you. it's important. david gergen joining us on a saturday night, not often.

and the white house releasing a statement as well. president barack obama is doctoring his health care performance pitch. in his weekly address, the president says he can save small businesses in your neighborhood by lowering health care costs. but republicans, they simply aren't buying it. i want you to listen to both sides right now. >> these are the mom and pop stores and restaurants, beauty shops and construction companies that support families and sustain communities. they are the tiny start-ups with big ideas, hoping to become the next google or apple or hp, and is shown in a new report released today by the white house counsel of economic advisers. right now they are getting crushed by skyrocketing health care costs. >> the democrats' health care plan crafted largely behind doors, isn't the right thing. it's a prescription for disaster. one that will put washington bureaucrats in charge of your family's personal medical decisions. >> lawmakers stayed on topic about health care today but all

week mr. obama has been fighting to hold focus after landing in the center of a snowballing racially charged debate. our discussion on the president, the professor and the politics, it starts in about ten minutes -- on the police officer, i should say -- it starts in about ten minutes and you will be a part of it it as well. sarah palin leaves office tomorrow but not before saying good-bye to the people who elected her. palin is holding several picnics across the state of alaska and the lieutenant governor takes over that state tomorrow. no word on palin's future plans except for a book deal and a speech at the ronald reagan library. a quick reminder, sarah palin will deliver a farewell speech tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. eastern. join me here in the cnn newsroom to watch it live here on cnn. a shootout in afghanistan between the taliban and security forces ended with at least seven suicide attackers dead. it happened today in the city of coast on the afghan/pakistani border. they brandished machine guns when they struck a bank and a

military hospital. more than a dozen people were wounded. most of them civilians. it is election day for iraq's largely self-ruling kurds. they streamed in casting ballots for president and parliament. mainstream groups are widely expected to hold onto power but many of the voters are looking for a shake-up. the big issue -- rising tensions with baghdad over oil and land and allegations of government corruption. all over the world today, people are demanding the release of hundreds of iranians arrested after the june elections. we begin in chicago where protesters gathered in support of the prisoner recently freed. sa barry was a keynote speaker. saberi lived in iran for year but had dual citizenship. she was arrested in iran for spying. >> i'm very touched all of you have turned out here on a very important day and you're

speaking out for voices who cannot be heard as well. >> in washington, demonstrators watched from the u.n. to the white house. nobel peace prize jody williams called for human rights in iran and an end to the violence following the june 12th presidential election. in new york city, crowds gathered outside the united nations building demanding u.n. secretary-general moon release all journalists. in london, protesters waved green flags and wore green wrist bands. they tied themselves together, symbolic of the protesters silenced in iran after the election. when the president said police acted stupidly in cambridge, massachusetts, it was time for officers to call for backup. >> not only sergeant crowley but the men and the women, the officers of the cambridge police department who are good,

upstanding officers did not deserve this. did not deserve this negative attention. did not deserve it at all. >> the police, professor and the president. the story you have been talking about. what next? a frank and honest conversation live right here. and you're a part of it. we want you to log in. twitter, facebook, myspace or ireport.com. we will get your questions on the air. ps my airways open... to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways.

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president bush says he is looking forward to hosting professor henney louis gates and cambridge police officer crawley at the white house. he talked to both men yesterday by phone. he spoke first to officer crowley, whom he called a good man. later he called professor gates, who said he was glad to hear from the president. in an e-mail he said -- and last night i spoke with gates' attorney, charles ogletree, and i asked him if he

was amazed that the president would call both men directly. >> well, if you know president barack obama like i do, it's not amazing at all. he wrote in his book "destiny and hope" the very same thing, indignities he experienced, things he couldn't quite understand. he worried about his children might be affected by that. it's a conversation we all tip around but now we have an opportunity, and indeed an obligation to have a conversation about race in america in a way that might move us all forward. the election of president obama was the spark that generated this conversation but trying to govern, all of us taking personal responsibility, all of us, understanding our brothers' keeper, all of this will make an enormous amount of difference. >> is professor gates going to sue? >> don't know. >> why not? >> because that decision hasn't been made. right now he's not thinking about suing. he's thinking about resting and meeting with the president and sergeant crowley and thinking about some other dialogues.

>> my conversation in boston last night. tonight, make sure you stay with us at the bottom of the hour. we'll have a live panel discussion about this. you heard mr. ogletree say we need to have a conversation in the country. we're going to have it tonight. open, honest, frank. make sure you don't miss it, coming up at the bottom of the hour. powerful storms and wind slam into east florida this weekend. along for a ride, a devastating tornado. our jacqui jeras tells us all about it. hi, jacqui. >> hey, don. a rough weekend all across the state of florida and thunderstorms are moving into the northeast. if you have travel plans, you will not want to miss our forecast tonight.

a tornado tears through a

community on florida's east coast, leaving dozens of neighbors with a monstrous cleanup project. it lifted slam chunks into mobile homes and sent debris flying across yards. one person was hospitalized with minor injuries from flying glass. more than 160 homes are damaged. jackqui jeras, that's not the only other bad weather we have going on across the country. >> no. florida has really been a big focus of showers and thunderstorms, heavy downpowers. yeah, that tornado we saw but also a lot of waterspouts. take a look at some of these pictures sent in. this is a progression from one the thing started. this is from a viewer, rebecca, who sent these in. you can see the water being kicked off by the start of what is a funnel. let's go through the series. you can see it starting to develop a little bit more, just a little bit of a connection taking place here. then, oh, yeah, there you see it, you really cannot miss that funnel right there in the middle of the screen there.

this turns into a much stronger waterspout. look at that picture. very impressive offshore. when a waterspout goes onto land, it becomes a tornado. that happened in ormand beach and did cause damage to that area. we have seen showers and thunderstorms across south florida today. no reports of severe weather other than heavy downpours associated with this. we also had strong storms around jacksonville, heading towards the beach. so it wasn't the best sunny day in florida. unfortunately, the northeast starting to get socked in with showers and thunderstorms. we had wind damage, ef-1 tornado across parts of upstate new york. there you can see the watches have expired as of this time. if you live in new york city, philadelphia, down towards d.c., i hope you sleep well in thunderstorms because it's going to be a little bit of a bumpy night. hopefully, most of this will come out of there by midday that you might get a bit of an afternoon in for outdoor activities. slight risk of severe thunderstorms right there in the

megalopolis. for tomorrow afternoon, one of the big issues we will be dealing with is travel problems. here we are, 10:30 at night almost, don, we have delays from denver to atlanta. this is pretty late in the night to still have delays. we expect to see some, especially in the northeast tomorrow. >> all right. jacqui, thank you very much. brace for it, eh? >> yes. something is brewing in massachusetts, and one woman is spilling beans how she hopes to cash in on it. forget about who do you think is right or wrong? experts on race next.

there's an old saying, you heard it. do something you love, and you will cnn's stephanie elam found a woman whose passion for coffee gave her a new shot on life. >> i had my first shot of esproio at 14 and it was pretty amazing for me.

>> reporter: with the dream of opening a coffee house, valena went to seattle to learn from the aprons of the best. >> irista pour it and i said i'm doing that. >> reporter: so she launched a volten coffee company. >> this is where all of the action happens. >> reporter: she knew she needed a jolt. so with the help of aides -- >> i wrote my business plan with all of these, business plan for dummies. >> reporter: she then took her plan to the small business administration and was directed to axion usa, a company specializing in microloans. they help companies get funding and free advice. >> i love lucy's dedication to the quality of her product and i'm a big believer that a great product and the patience that an entrepreneur brings to that can carry a long way if you have a

helping hand. >> reporter: velana started volten with $2,000 and $4,000 loan that she got through the sam adams brewing the american dream program. >> so it covered the espresso manage, grinders, licensing, and my cost a few months for the commercial kitchen facility i use. >> reporter: now she's focusing on a storefront. but she has to incorporate, find a space and get a loan. >> i need to convince someone to give me $180,000. that's a good chunk of change. >> reporter: despite the economy, she remains undaunted. >> i'm just going to keep working on it. i'm not letting up. i'm not letting up, boston. i don't care. >> reporter: stephanie elam, cnn, jamaica plain, massachusetts. get ready. if you did not see our 7:00 show, you missed a really great conversation. and we're about to have another one life. open, honest, no holding back. issues of raise rose to the forefront this week in a stunning way.

our guests are ready to weigh in. we're going to take your questions and we're going to be open and honest, guys. we're just going to talk about it, right? shake your heads. >> absolutely. >> good. >> just a few minutes away. we're back in a moment. steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways.

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i think i'll go with the basic package. good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. now on cnn -- it started innocently enough. one neighbor looking out for another. a woman in the neighborhood saw what was going on be mistook it for a crime in progress, calling police. reporting two african-american men with backpacks trying to force their way in. turns out, one of those african-american men lived in the home, a prominent scholar, and a friend of president obama's. when the cops showed up, the trouble had just begun. >> i was continuously telling him to calm down during this whole exchange because i really didn't want this either. i really didn't want to take

such a drastic action because i knew it was going to be a certain amounts of attention, unwanted attention, on me. nonetheless, that's how far professor gates pushed it and provoked and just wouldn't stop. >> what it made my realize was how vulnerable all black men are. how vulnerable all people of color are and all poor people to capricious forces like a rogue policeman. >> one officer supporting sergeant crowley said he heard gates say this -- >> this is how a black man is treated in america. a white woman calls the police and he gets arrested for breaking into his own home. >> the case was basically dropped until this question to the president -- >> recently professor henry louis gates jr. was arrested at his home in cambridge. what does that incident say to you and what does it say about race relations in america? >> i don't know not having been there and not seeing all of the facts what role race played in that. the cambridge police acted

stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. >> from a simple arrest, to a presidential smackdown, to a defiant police department calling out the commander in chief. >> as far as the president's comments, the governor's comments, and comments that i did not hear that our mayor made, i think when the time is right, they should make an apology to us. i think the president should make an apology to all law enforcement personnel. >> i supported him. i voted for him. i will not again. i agree that i think it's admirable that he would speak on behalf of his friend, but he should have recused himself. he should have stepped back and he should have said, i support my friends but i don't have all of the facts. >> the president felt the pressure and the need to explain. >> the fact that it has garnered so much attention i think is a testimony to the fact that these are issues that are still very sensitive here in america.

and so to the extent that my choice of words didn't illuminate but rather contributed to more media frenzy, i think that was unfortunate. >> he proposes a meeting at the white house. so what happened when the president, the professor and the police officer sit down? let's talk right now. all right, let's talk. why don't we? and we want you to weigh in as well. if you can logon to any of the social media sites, we'll take your comments. first up, emory university profess professor enry gillespie and a blogger and social media experts who has written about many social media issues. he joins us via skype. to have this conversation online to try to get as many people involved as possible. where should we start? since i have you here, andrea, where do they start in this conversation and where do we?

>> for president obama, professor gates and sergeant crowley, they need to start to humanize one another. where they meet, they need to figure out where they have common ground. they may be all married men. they may have children. they may share the love of a same sport. once people get to speed on common ground, they can more delicately delve into a lot of the tough topics they need to discuss about what happened and clear up some misunderstandings that transpired a week and a half ago. >> are they still going to see each other? and i ask you this, tim, when they walk into a room, are they going to see each other, here's the police officer, the white guy. here's the black guy, who is the professor at the university. and here is the president, who is black. are they going to see -- i know people say we don't see race but we all see race. we all see race. >> of course. but i mean, look, the issue is not. and i think we need to be clear about this, whether sergeant crowley is a racist or whether professor gates acted belligerently. my guess is sergeant crowley is

a decent guy and professor gates was angered for being arrested for breaking into his own home. the question is, is it possible the initial caller, the witness, the woman who made the call, thought that this was a burglar because he was black in a way she wouldn't had he been white? is it possible that sergeant crowley, though he is not by all appearances a bigot in any sense of the word, may have perceived professor gates' behavior as more belligerent then he would have had this been a white person? the reason i ask this question, we have about 20, 30 years of social science research if cops will oftentimes view the behavior of black people as more dangerous, more criminal than in the very same behavior engaged in by a white person. they don't do that because they're bigots or racists or bad people but are insterternalized because of implicit bias.

>> as you said implicit bias, andra was here mouthing the words. and i'm sure there are people at home saying come on, we hear this all the time. i'm sure that's not true. >> let me give an example i think is perfect. in the early '90s, i lived in louisiana. one day i locked myself out of the car. i was trying to break in with a coat hanger and a cop drove up and instead of saying, is this your car? he didn't ask for proof. he said, you're doing that wrong. let me show you the proper way to break into a vehicle and he then pulled out a slim-jim and did it for me. anyone who thinks a 22-year-old or 23-year-old in this country would have had that experience is either insane or high. >> jim, i go to tell you growing up in new orleans, baton rouge, not far from louisiana, would i get stopped as a young man in my parents' nice car and they would say, where did you get this car? and i would have to show all of

the identification. and then they would call my parents. so that's a completely different experience. james, i'm not sure if you had that experience as well. have you written about this online. you request talk to us about your experience of what you have been hearing folks seeing online in the social media. >> sure. in my experience, i grew up a mother was italian, my grandfather was a german-born jew and west indian. but i, too, have been pulled to the ground, pulled over by police for no reason. and we hear people about talking. thinking about an online space, it gives people anonymity, a space to talk about things and not share who they are. for white people, i think we heard a lot of vocal voices. if you look at the "boston globe" and story, you see a lot of angry white people who are upset by fprofessor gates. this is a moment in time, the white house needs to use social media to open up this dialogue. not make it about those three

individuals but open a town hall, discussion forum. >> but i see a lot of angry black people as well, who are angry at sergeant crowley. i met him personally. do i think he's a bigot from meeting him personally? no, i don't. i was not at the house. i'm sure the truth is somewhere in a middle. we are not discussing that. that is a catalyst. we want to talk more about this conversation and how we bring resolution to this, a solution. more from this distinguished panel after a break. plus, standing by their man. take a look. >> there has been a tremendous rush to judgment and i think the thing to be learned first and foremost from this is to look at all of the evidence, to consider all, to weigh all. i think professor gates has done a very good job of throwing up a very effective smoke screen calling race into this. it had nothing to do with it.

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all right. time now for some of your feedback and our experts are listening and they will probably weigh in on some of this. here's a question that says why didn't the black cop step up and really intervene? ps1968 says, as long as people and the news media keep making race an issue, it will continue to be an issue. people are people, get with it. you know, we didn't go on the police call. we're just reporting it. joanne says, teachable molt. gates overreacted and the police officer did his jobment get over it. cop taught classes on racial profiling. rigo sayses this teachable moment. i hope president obama uses the opportunity. miss sunshine says do you think too much testosterone or racism had more influence on the arrest? let's talk about one of those. let's talk about the one who said he taught diversity, so, therefore, get over it, andra,

does that make a difference? >> it certainly works in sergeant crowley's favor to suggest he's not in fact a bigot and perhaps more sensitive. >> people say if he taught about diversity and about how not to racially profile and lives in cambridge, he should have noekn professor gates. >> that's part of it. but you still have to be on your guard for your own self-conscious and implicit attitudes to come to the forefront. i teach african-american politics. i study this for my living. but that doesn't mean i don't have to deal with my own prejudiced attitudes and i have to check them. you're quite capable of having a racist moment if you're on the whole racially progressive. >> five years ago when i wrote my memoir "white like me" i tell a story in there even after 11 or 12 doing anti-racism work, diversity work that could mean anything and nothing, but anti-racism work, even after that experience of doing that for 12 years, i got an airplane to go to a conference that we

were going to be discussing racism at the conference, and i got on the plane and for the first time i had two black men at the pilot controls. it never happened before. i understand why racism is completely based on false thinking but what was the first purely emotional thought that popped into my head? unfortunately it was not, free at last, free at last. thank god almighty, we're free at last. it was, oh, my god, can these guys actually fly the plane? the good news is i caught myself and stifled that belief and realized how absurd it was. the point is, even i had it. if we were going to have an honest conversation about race in this country, those of us who are white will have to step up and admit we have been conditioned to have those reactions just as men have basketball continued to have sexist reactions with regard to women. we can fight those reactions, but not if bewe do not acknowlee them. >> what is -- i don't know if i ever asked this question. why do white people get upset if

there's any insinuation of bias, prejudice or racism if you bring it up just to get it out there on the table to get it over with? >> i think we've come to think that racism is a personal, individual level thing so if i say that a comment or an action or a joke or whatever was racist, the person thinks i'm calling them a bigot. this is not so much about bigotry. it's not about individual level biases except insofar as we're all conditioned to have them. what racism is is a social condition, a structural reality, and if you were raised in an environment in which that is everywhere, the odds of you somehow escaping it, not being affected by it, are infinitesimally small. if we can acknowledge it isn't personal, as the old saying goes, this ain't personal, it's business and understand we must be about the business of undoing it both at the individual and institutional level, we wouldn't get so incensed. >> isn't it if we are not aware of it, if you don't live it, you

don't know it. when i talk to some people, you're not aware that it is. sometimes it's culture or the media or the way a certain neighborhood works or a company works but an environment works, but you're not even aware of it? >> we have as white folks the prav lidge of what a called obliviousness. the privilege of obliviousness. don't very to no black and brown truth because it's not going to be on the test, trite. no matter what it is i have to go to get into a school, graduate from a school, civil service exam, to get a job, i don't have to know what people of color know as experience. however, people of color better know what the white person knows or they will never get through school at all. and that is why we were left with a huge blindspot. >> and in post civil rights america, it's a lot more complex it used to be. if we go back 50 years and look at the jim crow area, it was stark, it was black and white. there were lines for blacks and

whites and schools for blacks and whites and people opening said the n word. it is not socially acceptable to do those things anymore. most people think as long as i don't say black people are monkeys or explicit segregation. >> or the n word. and there are certain words that are concrete. i always say, i'm not sure. sometimes i don't have -- it's not concrete tangible but when the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, you know it when you see it or you know it when you feel it. >> and actually the sociological element suggests that blacks -- middle class blacks in particular, will give people the benefit of the doubt and generally they will go to a friend xmrarngs the incident and the friend has to confirm it was a racial incident. >> this happened to me. james, i want to talk to you about this. this story on social immediately in the beginning but since the president, what has happened? >> it's really gone down. interestingly enough, your "black in america" series has become the popular, what we call internet reading.

"bia" on twitter is a popular trending topic right now. we're talking about this right now. we're talking about it on cnn and you're actually opening up a dialogue to allow us to talk about it. and "bia" is becoming part of the trend. we have a lot more work to do. i think this is an open opportunity for the white house, for all of us, cnn involved, to open up the dialogue and the conversation. >> i can imagine being a journalist, you know, and i'm being objective but just by sitting here people white people asking the question, i'm going to get criticized from people. it's kind of tough. but i think we all need to have this conversation. the country needs to have this conversation. it is obvious from what happened in cambridge, we all were not there, but it certainly caused a huge ruckus. tim, you know your work is so amazing. i respected you for a long time. i will give you the last word on this. what is that teachable moment we need to take away? >> i think the moment is very simple. the reailty is when people have different experiences with the

institutions of society, they're going to have different perceptions about reality. if we're going to bridge the perception gap, we're going to have to bridge the experience gap. until people of color are treated equitably in police and housing and education and in the job market, don't be surprised when folks of color think racism is prevalent. if you want to have the perception issue be closer together, you have to get the experiences closer together. >> tim, james, andra, you guys were amazing. i wish we could have voted an entire hour to this. this is the "pre-black in america 2" event. thank you. talk to you soon, james and tim. appreciate it. it was time to round up the troops in cambridge. police officers showing support for their own. >> not only sergeant crowley but the men and the women, the officers of the cambridge police department who are good, upstanding officers, did not deserve this. did not deserve this negative attention. did not deserve it at all. %%%

a story we're keeping our eye on this weekend. a second chicago cemetery is under investigation after human bone was found lying on the ground there. the cook county sheriff's office says it doesn't know if the discovery is a son of a broader problem at the mt. glenwood cemetery. according to "the chicago tribune," three people sued the cemetery alleging, quote, unauthorized tampering with gravesites. earlier this month authorities charged four workers of digging up hundreds of bodies and reselling plots. it's been a couple of days in cambridge, massachusetts, talking to people on both sides of the professor gates/officer crowley issue. following yesterday's news

conference, spoke to several of sergeant crowley's colleagues with him there in the room listening, and i have to tell you they were very passionate, and at points, pretty emotional. take a look. >> this happens to be a white officer on a black man and the common call a lot of times is to call it a racist situation. don't get me wrong, it does happen. it has happened here in cambridge. and i can't say it will not ever happen again in cambridge. this situation right here was not a racial motivated situation. >> and you know people obvious lib are going to play closer attention to you because you're an african-american man. you're supporting this white officer that has been put out there by some that he was racially profiling dr. gates. they're going to pay attention to you. >> i hope they would. they called him -- i heard one of the comments a rogue cop. there's nothing rogue about him. he was doing his job. >> not only sergeant crowley, but the men and the women, the

officers of the cambridge police department who are good, upstanding officers, did not deserve this. did not deserve this negative attention. didn't deserve it at all. >> when you heard about what happened with this sergeant, what did you think? >> i was appalled. i know jimmy. i have known him for more than 11 years with the cambridge police. i knew him when he worked for harvard. i know him to be a good police officer and a good man with dhashger. i knew these charges were bogus. there has been a tremendous rush to judgment. and i think the thing to be learned first and foremost from this is to look at all of the evidence, to consider all, to weigh all. i think professor gates has done a very good job of filling up a very effective smoke screen calling race into this. had nothing to do with it. >> and the president? >> it's unfortunate. i supported him. i voted for him. i will not again.

i agree i think it's admirable he would speak on behalf of his friend. but he should have recused himself. he should have said i do not have all of the facts. >> and the governor? >> i apply the same to him. >> what do you want the people around the country to know who have may have already made up their minds about sergeant crowley? >> keep their minds on. and realize we would not support someone that we felt wronged someone else. we took this job to do the right thing. we all took this job to do the right thing. we would not support anyone in blue doing the wrong thing. >> i know you can't respond, you can't talk. you can -- you can nod your head. you have to be touched by this.

that was sergeant james crowley standing there. on the advice of counsel, he could not speak to us. but if that happens, if they allow him to speak, he says he will talk to us. we will bring him on and hear his full side of the story. we hope that happens soon. good-bye to a literary pioneer.

as a nation that wrestles over health care reform, we focus on the uninsured and horrific killer, breast cancer. uninsured women are less likely to get annual mammograms and, therefore, are at greater risk. and black women are 37% more likely than whites to die from the disease. this week's hero is fighting to

better those odds for all women, and she is doing it by hitting the streets. >> in 2004, i was diagnosed with breast cancer. initially, there's shock. but i realized how blessed i was to have health insurance. it made me think about all of the women who didn't have health insurance. i wanted to make a difference in their lives. i'm andrea ivory, and i'm fighting breast cancer in south florida one household at a time. the florida breast health initiative is an outreach organization. we're targeting working class people. we're going to make a difference and we're going to save some livz. we have a take-it-to-the-streets approach. we feel like little pixies spreading breast cancer awareness. we target women who are 35 years or older and make appointments on the spot for a free mammogram. >> i look forward to seeing you.

i will be there. >> bringing the mobile mammography van into the neighborhood is one of the most important facets of the work that we do. we provide a service that is so needed. i know i'm saving lives. >> she said it was free, so come right over here and get it. >> is the lady of the house at home? we're giving free mammograms on the 25th. okay, i'm going. thank you so much. take care. i was saved from breast cancer to serve other women. every time i knock on the door, it's another opportunity to save a life. >> find out more about andrea's work and nominate a hero of your own. next week is your last chance. nominations close august 1st. if you know a hero, go to cnn.com/heroes right now. the literary world has lost a best-selling author who pioneered his own genre of fiction. e. lynn harris died thursday

night on a business trip to los angeles. no word on the cause of his death. harris will be remembered for novels that introduced millions of readers to the life of affluent, black, gay men. his characters were often masculi masculine, perplex and sometimes tormented by living double lives. his books had a huge following for black women. harris became one of the nation's most popular writers with 4 million in print. e. lynn harris, dead at the age of 54. @@open... to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways.

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all right. some of your comments. let's go to the board here. let's see, angelina 247 says, don, there's only one color in the police department, blue. officers better support officers who might have their back one day. sad to say, but i would caution our president as he is under enough pressure right now. sadly, haters are lurking. i can't read that name, bacodebus says, you show your bias when you act as a filter in discussion by permitting some tweets to show and ignoring others. bias matters. no, i'm reading all of them. these are live coming in. motivating factor, he came there to investigate a possible break in. if the professor proved he lived