- all right, everyone, i'd like to be the first to welcome you to the gates of hell. unfortunately, hell is a tow-in gate. all: aw! captioning by captionmax www.captionmax.com comedy central >> from comedy central's world news headquarters in new york, this is "the daily show" with trevor noah. ♪ ♪ ( cheers and applause ) >> trevor: welcome to "daily show." thank you so much for tuning in. i'm trevor noah. my guest tonight is a poet and activist from chicago. kevin coval is joiferg us, a really interesting guy. he's going to be on the show. first, let's get into the show. breck breaking news from day 97 of the trump administration. >> being in the oval office definitely has its perks. the a.p. says in the midst of

all the history that adornz the president's office, there's a new red button on the desk. when president trump pushes it, a white house butler quickly arrives and delivers a coke. ( laughter ) >> trevor: so second red button on the president's desk. what could possibly go wrong? ( laughter ) you know, it would be pretty bad if he were trying to order a coke and he accidentally ordered a nuclear strike. but it would also be bad if he had to launch an attack and he accidentally ordered a soda. "we have to send kim jong-un a message! aaah!" ( laughter ) ( applause ) ( cheers ) this whole thing is so perfectly trump right. i wouldn't be surprised if he presses the button even when he's not thirsty. like, it's just because he likes seeing the butler come in with the coke on a tray. and, also, because the butler is

probably mitt romney. thos why-- ( laughter ) "i know you wanted to be secretary of state, but this is so much better. now, pour it into my mouth. pour it into my mouth. using your mouth. pour it in. like a bird. pour it in." no, but, seriously, though this button is going to mistake america into a war. definitely get into a war. speaking of war, this week in american history, marks the final surrender of the confederacy to the united states. and you know, normally with wars, once one side surrenders, that settles the dispute. "that's my wifer!" "no, that's my river." "all right, all right, it's your river." but in american history, the civil war wasn't about owning the river. it was about owning black people. so that's why in 2017, it's a little strange seeing this still going on: >> today a controversial holiday

in alabama and mis. it's "confederate memorial day." >> nearly 100 people attended the confederate memorial day ceremony. alabama and mississippi are the only states that formally recognize confederate memorial day as a state holiday. ( laughter ). >> trevor: can i just say, that is (bleep) on so many levels. no, first of all, first of all, the confederacy fought the civil war to defend slavery. why would you honor that? secondly, what are black people supposed to do on this holiday? ( laughter ) if you're a black person in one of these states, what are you supposed to do? you're just sitting around like, "man, this is some (bleep). this is some (bleep)!" ( applause ) "so i either don't get the day off, or i support slavery? man, i'll take the day off, but i'm watching b.e.t. the whole time, the whole time y'all."

( applause ) now, now the reason that this has become a big story across the south is because it's not just about a holiday, right. the south is littered with remienderses of its racist part. confederate flags, jeff sessions, and, of course,, of course, jackson, mississippi's infamous "n" word arena. yeah, home of the masses. and confederate supporters often acknowledge that many people see this holiday and the flying of confederate flag on state property as offensive. they acknowledge, that but on the other hand, a lot of the confederate supporters they just don't give a (bleep). >> it's so wrong for those folks with contemporary agendas to try to tell us who we're supposed to remember and how we're supposed to remember them. these are our families, our people, our ancestors. and they lived in their own times, just like we live in ours. >> trevor: whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. "like we live in ours?" no, no, no. we are living in our own time.

you're the one dressed like you need to deliver some letters for the pony express. ( laughter ) ( applause ) very different. very different. i never understand this argument. when people go, "hey, back then, they didn't know what they were doing. they didn't know what they were doing was racist." well, first of all, yes, they did. ( laughter ) but even if they didn't, you know that now. ( laughter ) so what's your excuse? why are you putting on uniform? it's like saying, "you can't judge a baby for (bleep) his pants. he didn't know better. and that's why today in honor of that baby, i (bleep) my pants." why would you do that. ( applause ) here's something else. here's something else. for people who claim this is all about being devoted students of history, it sure seems like they missed a couple of key classes. >> one of these guys is jessie riggs. riggs says his great-great

grandfather and other family members fought in the civil war. >> i don't think about what they fought for because i really don't know. but they went off and they fought because the state asked them to. >> trevor: so let me get this straight-- you're so proud that you have to honor your civil war ancestors, but not proud enough to google why they were fighting. ( laughter ) yeah. this day honors my beloved great-grandfather. i want to say william? is that the name, william, maybe? look at this crazy dude running around looking like santa in the off season. look at him. look, look, don't get me wrong. i know that some of today's southerners genuinely believe honoring this past doesn't necessarily honor white supremacy. but it's a hard case to make when there are statues that literally celebrate white supremacy. and you know they were serious because they chiseled it into the monument, people. nobody chisels on a whim. it's not a drunk tweet. ( laughter ) like "oh, man last night i got

so wasted and i chiseled 'white supremaci' into a monument." you have to take your time. whenever the local news does a story on confederate monuments, or holidays they always find people who are against it. and those people always have something very specific in common. >> but not everyone is for this tradition. >> people who object have a very different point of view on the matter. >> where some see history that's worth saving, others see icons of white supremacy. >> trevor: "some people support the monuments while other people are black." ( laughte( laughter ) "back to you in the studio." ( cheers and applause ) the whole story-- oh, oh, okay. by the way, local governments are tearing down some of the monchiewmentz is really good news. but how the monuments are coming down might be the best clue about exactly what ceend of environment all this discussion

is happening in. because city officials are so afraid of the reaction, that they have to do it like this: >> the entimidations and threats from people who don't want these monuments down has been intense. you may remember the first contractor alleged to have his car burned. >> as n.o.p.d. officers stood guard, a crew of workers wearing what looked like tactical gear dismantled the liberty place monument. >> trevor: that's right. city officials are wearing body armor, full body armor, because they're afraid some radicals with extreme beliefs might kill them. i wish there was a word to describe those kinds of people... ( laughter ) i mean, if they were brown, we'd call them terrorists, but they're white, so i mean, "misguided patriots? i don't know. all right, but, where were we? where were we? yes, yes, of course, confederate flag, confederate memorial day. remind me again why this isn't a bad thing? >> at the end of the day these

people who are attending to-- get all decked out in the hoop dresses and-- look, it's a beautiful thing. they're not trying to offend anybody. they're simply trying to honor their heritage and their history. it's all part of our history. >> trevor: oh, it's all part of our history. i get it. actually, i've got it. i've got it. this is it. if it's all part of your history, then maybe you should include all of the history, right? so if you want to have the monument, then you should have to have a slave next to it. year, for context, right? it would be like, "he was a confederate general." "he was also a racist (bleep)." history. ( applause ) and, and, and if that idea doesn't work for you, here's another idea to help solve this issue. just take all your civil war memorabilia and do what americans always do with the losing side's merchandise-- send it to africa. yeah. african kids will wear atlanta

falcon super bowl champion t-shirts. they'll have no problem with confederate state american merchandise. don't stress. you don't lose. americans can still observe confederate memorial day. you'll just have to go to africa to do it. i know what you're thinking. it may be unfair to travel to a foreign continent across the atlantic against your will. now you're getting it. now you're getting it. so ammara, you're a verizon engineer, tell me, what's one really good reason why the samsung galaxy s8 is better on verizon? well we have the largest 4g lte network in america. yeah that's a pretty good reason. and the most reliable. uh-huh. and, with unlimited, you get full hd video. oh wow, yeah, that's, uh, two, maybe even three reasons right there. it's exactly three. okay. sure, whatever you say. (vo) if you really, really want the best, switch to verizon unlimited and get the galaxy s8 for just $15 a month.

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>> trevor: welcome back to "the daily show." as you may know, this is actually alabama week here at "the daily show," where we've been doing our very best to understand why out of all 50 states, alabama is where "the daily show" is least popular. and that was even after i released my country album ""honky tonk noah." ( laughter ) i don't know why that failed. so, we sent four of our correspondents down to alabama to see the place for itself. tonight we hear from jordan klepper, everybody! ( cheers and applause ) >> thanks, trevor! so, yes, this week alabama celebrated slavery flag is awesome day, which showed that the mix of race and history

isn't just an issue in alabama. it's the issue. so i mixed my way straight into it. ♪ ♪ here at "the daily show" we know the south is a hot mess of conflicted identity. take, for example, selma, alabama. , where in 1965, african americans were beaten by police on the edmund pettis bridge, a turning point in the civil rights movement commemorated each year. but alabamians also commemorate a less-inspiring history, preserving their slave-owning confederate heritage with an annual civil war reenactment in that very same city. but this year, a young, progressive african american mayor took a stand against the confederates. >> when we came into office, we told people that they had to pay for police to be at those events. >> so these confederate soldiers. they come here this year?

>> we urged them to pay for those services and they said no. >> so you stopped the confederate soldiers. up top! yeah! the south will rise again! not without this permit. screw you, confederate, soldiers. let's give this week to the selma marchers. >> no, it's across the world. >> you made the selma marchers pay to have police come? that's dicey territory. i feel like the police should probably work for free on the selma anniversary. just spitballing here. the new mayor just didn't get it. surely the march organizers understood which history should be honored and which should be shut down. >> i want not for them trying to close down the-- >> really? >> >> they absolutely have a right to speak. let me tell you why. there's a saying. say, when somebody in the white community get a cold, somebody in the black community get

pneumonia. so if the rights-- if a wiped out for anybody, they would be wiped out even more for black people. >> let me first say i apologize for all of the colds that i've gotten. ( laughter ) if i've inflicted pneumonia on anybody. civil rights matchers and confederate reenactors were natural enemies. my giant yankee brain couldn't understand it it's a weird combo. it's like a taco bell-pizza hut. it's like a taco bell-cracker barrel. a lot like that. >> i guess it's part of that beloved community that dr. king talked about, that when a lion can lay down with a sheep. >> what did martin luther king say. >> he talked about the community, when the lion can lay down with the sheep. >> why? like (bleep). ugh! can't do that. god doesn't want that. i don't think you physically can. >> we're talkin talking about in

regards to the at-- getting destroyed by the lion. >> you're talking about confederate soldiers. >> right. >> selma marchers. >> right. >> not just animals coming together. >> no. >> you're not going to see a dog humping a. i had learned a lesson here. alabama was an upside down place where lions laid with sheep, and civil rights marchers supported confederates. i for one found their tolerance completely intolerable. see you later, alabama. i'm heading back to civilization. ♪ ♪ ( cheers and applause ) you're welcome. >> trevor: jordan, sorry, sorry, hold on. i feel like you totally missed the point of your own report. >> no, i didn't. it was a story about animal sex. >> trevor: no, jordan, it was a story about nuance, how everything in alabama isn't just

black and white. >> alabama is almost totally black and white. i was down this for two days saw, like, onation person. ( laughter ). >> trevor: come on, dude, we sent you to alabama to get outside of your bubble and treat these people with-- >> i did that. >> trevor: name one thing they take pride in? >> voting against their own interest. taking advice from northerners. >> trevor: jordan, jordan, come oman. you learned something in alabama. >> fine, all right, alabama may have these painful conflicting histories, but the people there aren't choosing to sweep them under the rug. they live with them side by side, trying to learn from their past, rather than bury it. in a way, it's the story of america. >> trevor: thank you, jordan. >> and also, lions (bleep) sheep. >> trevor: jordan klepper, everybody. we'll be right back. ♪ he's got the cash. he's got a condo. he's got a car. he's got a career. but that still doesn't mean he get's you. ♪ time to shine. orbit.

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( cheers and applause ) >> trevor: welcome back to "the daily show." my guest tonight is a poet, community builder, and author whose new book is a collection of poems called "a people's history of chicago." please welcome kevin coval. ( cheers and applause ) >> trevor: welcome to the show. >> thank you, man. >> trevor: thank you for coming out and thank you for writing this book. your story is really interesting because if somebody read your resume, i'm not going to lie, i thought you were a black person. ( laughter ). >> i'm not. i just want to-- i'm definitely not. >> trevor: you're not. >> no. >> trevor: very cool. >> very white, very jewish. >> trevor: all right, cool. but, no, but youristic i mean, it's like you are deeply involved in the hip-hop community in chicago. are you helping out with kids, both in the inner cities and on

the outside. you run slam poetry. are you part of programs that help children live their lives in a different way using poetry. how on earth did you get into this? >> well, i come from a tradition of storytellers. i sat in my aunt joyce's seder table and heard her tell the same stories again and again. my dad is a storyitarily. they used to annoy me with those histories, those stories, but eventually i thought this is my family a story. and at the same time i was ingesting those, i was also paying a lot of attention what was in my boom box. was a latchkey kid, growing up with my brother, on my own, hip-hop kids, listening to krs-1, and these narratives began to fuse in some ways in my mind. hip-hop has now given four generations of people permission to tell their stories authentically. and that's part work i have been able to do and privileged to do in chicago. we believe in a very simple idea, that all of us, regardless

of who you are, have an essential story to tell. and if you don't tell your own narrative, inevitably, as we've seen, even today, people will lie on history and people will lie about you. so we try to create space so people could also tell their own stories. >> trevor: looking at the book, it's a collection of 77 poems. why the number 77? >> for the area communities in the city. i mean, really, there are probably 143 neighborhoods in chicago, and they change block to block. but they say there are 77 communities. nate marshal, my homey and colleague and primary editor of the book and i brought him 150 poems. and he said, "these are way too many poems." he's like, "you need to edit it down. let's go with 77." >> trevor: when writing these poems what, is most important to you? is it the information you're trying to get through? is it the feeling? what are you trying to achieve? >> i wanted to do a few things, but in this moment, i wanted us to remember we have a history as working people where we've won. working people have come together across every imaginable

boundary that has kept us intentionally separated and segregated. and we created these interracial solidarity to create radical change. in chicago, comes the eight-hour work day. right now in chicago are, you have a history and a legacy of, you know, black women holding the mayor's feet to the fire and i wanted to honor and uphold this legacy so we could be emboldened by why we've come from in order to make our city, in order to make our country better. i wanted to remind us of that. >> trevor: there's a narrative in chicago, and that is chicago is one giant inner city. kids getting shot, it's undeniable that there is a lot of crime, but you argue that people need to look at another side of chicago that is flourishing. >> indeed. and i also think that that narrative about chicago is problematic. and i think ultimately racist. i think that it serves really the-- the white supremacist criminal imagination about the city that really funds

privatized prison industrial complexes, and i think we need to counter that narrative. ( applause ) and in chicago, the truth is is that in chicago, we are not only in the midst of an incredible cultural renaissance, you know, run by young people, 16-26, the same community that is, you know, highly criminalized on national and local media out fits. but in every neighborhood, there is a spectrum of human experience, you know, and that's been my experience going neighborhood to neighborhood. that's my experience as an educator. that's my experience as a writer and documenter of the city that everywhere there are people who love their grandmadearly, and everywhere there is i think people who struggle. but i think the story that isn't told is not the story of interpersonal or intercommunal violence. we need to tell the story more about systemic violence reared and reaped upon people of color and work class communities. that's why people result to any means necessary because there's a depletion of resources and there's an inequity when it

comes to the distribution of those resources. >> trevor: it's a fascinating book, beautiful poems that really teach you a lot about chicago. thank you so much for being on the show. i appreciate it. >> thank you. >> trevor: "a people's history of chicago" is available now. go out and get it. kevin coval, everybody. we'll be right back. ♪ it's not just a car, it's your daily treat. ♪ go ahead, spoil yourself. the es and es hybrid. experience amazing.

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it has the same great taste a it's always had. even the same sound. [sfx: buschhhhh] [sfx: buschhhhh] access.wgbh.org >> trevor: that's our show for tonight. join us tomorrow night at 11:00. now, here it is, your moment of zen. >> governor lepage of maine--

who, by the way, has lost a lot of weight. i knew him when he was heavy, and now i know him when he's thin. and i like him both ways, okay. done a great job. ral . >> chris: it's 30 mirchs until midnight. stop hitting yourself. so the president trump looks happy today it's not bus putin finally accepted his face book friend request. it's because his two favorite things twitter and live tv are merging. i don't know why the twitter bird always looks like someone put a finger up its ass. tweet, tweet.