state, and once was a prisoner of rape, and shame, but are no longer those things, prisoners of hope. and examples to me and the rest of us, to move forward. i have -- did 16 years. i just got out a month ago. [applause]. >> and i didn't, i didn't come to this thing to really get anything, i didn't think i was going to be able to get anything. what other ex-cons got to say to me, right? what can they tell me and add to me, i don't mean to be disrespectedful to the rest of you, i have learned better since i have been here. but, what your story, man, and

ma'am, your courage, i'm impressed by that and i want to -- what does it feel like to be a contradiction of terms? because people, you know, i'm sure people told you to -- that you have nothing to be ashamed of. but i admire you, because went through this shame of rape, and now you get before us, and you face shame in the face now, of a false accusation, and you stare it down, and you share something with us that really communicates and i am impressed by that. and i'm really impressed by you, man. because you know, saying that is one thing, and i'm curious, is it something that you do every day in or is it something that you faced once in your life, because saying that is one thing and sitting next to her, and hugging her, and showing her love, i'm just curious from both of you, that position of living

every day in the. [applause]. >> you know, i think in life that we're all faced with choices, every, single day and we get up and we decide if we'll eat cereal or eggs or go to bed on time or stay up late, and i also think that in life we have choices as to do the righted thing or the wrong thing. and i think what ronald and i have tried to do, which has been for he and i, because we talk about it a lot, a natural progression in our friendship, is try to do this right thing and at night, when you at least try to do the right thing, even if you mess it up, you can at least lay your head on the pillow and know that you tried to do the right thing.

and so for ron and his friendship for me, and for me, my friendship with him, has just been trying to do the right thing. it has not been contrived. not been faked, not been any of those things, a step every day. we didn't go from 1995, when he was exonerated to friends, i mean, it was a step, and each day we woke up and we knew, each one of us individually, you've got choices in front of you. choose the right thing. it is a heck of a lot easier to go to bed at night and sleep. so... [applause]. >> i tell you what i'll do one more question only because we are running out of time, and that is great senate very, very brief on at a lighter note when you get to open prashgs can i

come? i had another question -- >> we'll do another question then, all right? thanks. sure, go ahead. >> my question is, to jennifer. >> lean forward a little bit. >> my question is to jennifer and basically two crimes were committed, it was said before innocence under the duress and pain, will accuse itself. ronald was convicted of a crime he didn't do and so were you. your innocence accused you. the state of north carolina exonerated ronald. ronald in turn exonerated you. and i just wonder, you know, how do you feel about your freedom and your liberation and your exoneration. [applause].

>> that was a great question. i appreciate that. i really do. when ron forgave me that night i think what he showed me and taught me was that i had been locked in -- and held in a place of anger, and pain, and fear, and ronald that day when he forgave me actually began a process for me that physically -- and i say that, physically, i started healing that very moment. it was like something was like melting in my heart, and i tell people all the time ronald was my teacher that day. he truly was my teacher, in how grace and mercy actually works. and how it was supposed to work. and without ronald, i could never have gotten to the place where i actually forgave my rapist and i had to forgive him, because, if i didn't, i would stay a prisoner of anger and

hate and when you stay a prisoner of anger and hate you cannot receive love and joy. the two don't live in the same heart, they can't, they can't co-exist together. and, bobby poole never asked for my forgiveness. never cared if i gave to it him but i gave to it him anyway, because no one deserves that kind of power and control over anybody's life. ever. and, so by releasing that, i released the control that he had on my life, and i began to be not a rape victim, i became a survivor. and that was very intentional. [applause]. >> mr. cotton -- >> one more, and i will owe you, i know. >> i heard you say that your family really helped you get you through this. mine did, also. and i think as a testament to

your courage, your spirit, and your personality, and i commend you on that, and i think everybody here needs to give the families a hand, to stand by the wrongly convicted because they are often, often taken for granted. [applause]. >> i'm glad i don't know you, anthony... >> i have a brief statement to make, first of all, thank you for coming down and sharing your struggles with us, and allowing us to share in that, to share in that passage from being confined to being proven innocent to truly being free. when you arrive at home, from your long journey, you know you are free. you are free from the struggles of the outside world, free from the pressures, you are free. welcome. welcome home. [applause].

>> the general idea was to get you all a little inspired. about what we're about and about the work we're all doing. i mean, i think we accomplished that, is that right? [applause]. >> aaron is a freelance writer based in los angeles and is the 2007 new york foundation nor the arts nonfiction fellow, to find out more go to pickingcottonbook.com.

>> ellen johnson sirleaf, president of liberia is interviewed about her memoir, "this grandchild will be great" hosted at the ronald reagan building in washington, d.c. is 50 minutes.

>> ladies and gentlemen, without any further ado, the iron lady of liberia, madam ellen johnson sirleaf, president of the republic of liberia. [applause] [applause].

>> [no audio]. >> can afternoon hear me okay? all right. no? i'll have to speak a little louder then. is that all right? okay. all right, you are welcome, welcome to washington, d.c. [applause]. >> thank you. >> all right. all right. you look beautiful. >> thank you. >> all right. so, you know, we were chatting a little bit in back and i asked if it was all right with you if we could just girl chat. i mean, we have seen a lot of your -- [laughter] when i say girl chats i mean, get to know a little bit more about the president

herself. after all, this is her memoir, right? so, it does give us just -- we want to get a little bit more in sight about you, the person. is that okay with you? >> fine, but you know, don't carry that too far. >> okay. [laughter]. >> i will not. i promise. i promise. so, i know people are laughing at me now. if you want to... start me straight. from the beginning, you were a baby, lying -- >> obviously! >> lying on a bed in your mother's home, and someone came in, and said to your mother, what? >> the title of the book. someone came in, and saw the baby on the bed... saw the baby on the bed -- can't hear? >> i think you have to maybe come down a little bit.

>> is that better? [applause]. >> we learn how to fix it in liberia. [applause]. >> someone came, an old man, came and saw the baby on the bed and just said, for some reason, i don't know why he was so moved, but, a prophesy, says, martha, my mother's name, "this child will be great." greatness hasn't reached yet. >> so, you talk a lot about, in the book about how your mom was sometimes -- would sometimes laugh, sometimes cry, at the -- this particular prophesy because she saw you go through so much i

mean, i thought, no, it can't be this, has to be a better life, and... [inaudible] getting out of prison. [applause]. >> in reading the book i have to tell you, there were so many times, you spoke of when you were in jail and there were so many times that i read, okay. he was in jail, all right. and you came outs of jail, and, first, you came out of jail, and you... you came out of jail and you looked so teeny-tiny. and, in the i would think that the first thing you would do is maybe just maybe go home, and lay low for a minute. and i saw the pictures of you with your hand in the air and, in the jeep and going through the streets, and almost seemed

like, you had no fear. >> no, it was at that point, there was nothing to fear. i came out of jail, there were crowds. the crowds were jubilating, very pleased that we were out. and so, the natural thing to do, was to go and you know, and have a rally and that is what we did. we headed to one of the political headquarters, and had a chance to show expressions to the crowd, expressions of gratitude, expressions of good will, expressions of solidarity and all of that, so that came naturally. >>. [laughter]. >> okay, so, in the beginning of the book you dedicate the first

part of the book to the people of your country, but the other part of the book you dedicate to your mom, martha. tell me about martha johnson. >> i think that was the real force that shaped my life and the life of my siblings, our mother was one who taught us the basic things about endurance and commitment and honesty and hard work. she demonstrated her courage, when our father, her husband, had a strong, very early and she had to make ends meet, to give us an education, she was a pastor, so she was deeply rooted in faith and so, we grew up in a family whom, based on prayers and faith and hard work, and i

think everything that represents the character in me, really had come from her and the up bringing that she did in our family. [applause]. >> you also go through, i know you make a great point in the beginning of the book as will, to really discuss your roots, and to sit the record straight about your roots. why was that so important to you? sn>> you know, the book is not only about my life story, but i hope in certain small ways identify captured our nation in its history, its beginnings. its triumphs and its tragedy. and for me in the family, our roots were, like i say, we perhaps bridged two worlds in

that my father was 100% indigenous, the son of a chief, and his mother, my maternal grandmother was illiterate until she died, never even came to the capital city. my mother was 50% indigenous, and happened to have been where -- to a -- wed to a german trader who left the country when she was at an early age, because liberia declared war on germany and they had to leech and in a way we represented both worlds, i mean, we never forgot our rural background and never forgot their roots and always went back to the village for village life but at the same time they were given to settler families and were able to get an education, and in a way you might say over time, through education, and profession, they also became part of the elite class and so, you know, that

very complex background in a way represents the complexities and the conditions of our own nation and its beginnings and its evolution over time and experiences that we had, i hope that i try to capture a little bit of that in the book. >> you most certainly did. you most certainly did and what i appreciated about the book was that it taught me a lot of -- i didn't know, i thought i knew a lot but it also, the beauty of the book is it is also a great history lesson, and if that was what you set out to accomplish you certainly did do that, you certainly did do that. >> thank you. >> all right. [applause]. >> so, let's move on to your going into womanhood, you were 17, and married at 17, and really, did not -- it didn't look like the at 17 you were going to pick -- to anyone looking at you at 17 years old, they probably would not have

expected you to be here. where you are. at 17, what do you think your outlook on life was, around that time? >> well, like most of my classmates, i was looking forward to finally the means to go -- finding the means to go to college, that all was interrupted, by a dashing young man to whom i got married. but i, you know, was going ton be a english teacher, follow my mother's footsteps. but, you know, things changed. >> things changed and go that the pretty rough for you as you discuss in the book, it was an abusive marriage that was -- i can imagine took its toll on you personally. as you discussed in the book. >> yes. but i always tried to always say, yes, it was an abusive marriage and you know, domestic violence is quite common in out

country, africa and other places and went mem suffer in silence as i did, you know, and on the other hand, in fairness to my children's father i always said that that always made me strong. that helped to build the character in me. [applause]. >> another thing that would most certainly would make you strong is two children in one year. [laughter]. >> for all the mothers out there, yes, i said, two children in one year. i am sure that must have been pretty overwhelming. >> since it's in the book i can't deny it! [laughter]. >> yeah. i think that was rather exceptional. but you know, my oldest son was

born in january, on january 11, on my mother's birthday, incidentally, and the second son was born december 31st! [laughter]. >> almost. >> couldn't just wait a few hours more! >> oh, boy, i can imagine, can imagine, and being a young person... and being a young person and having that kind of responsibility, you also talk about that you saw your friends going off to college, and you having, beginning to bring forth a family and that was tough for you to see. >> yes, it was, because you know, some of my very good friends had gone off and i was having children and you know, a housewife, a farmer, because we

lived sometimes away from the capital city working at booker washington institute, on a farm nearby there and would come and visit and i would be so, you know, embarrassed sometimes, felt so sorry for myself, there i was. but then again, that perhaps also gave me a great motivation, because, i knew at some point i had to make up and catch up. i couldn't stay in this condition, and that also, you know, strengthened and inspired me to say, well, you know, when this first opportunity comes i'm going to use that opportunity to -- to its maximum and that is -- accelerated, my whole effort to become a professional, to become educated, to be able to rise, and without you know -- despite the fact that i love my children and wanted to be with them, but, still, that drive to be somebody, that drive to be more

than just a housewife or mother at 22, 23 years old. it was a great motivation for me and i'm glad that i also, you know, had a husband who also was going to school and despite all the problems we had, there was encouragement, too, you know, to go and do that and so we both went back to school and i went to college and he went to graduate school. >> and a lot of the theme of the book that i took away, if i could put one word to the book i would say, you made a lot of sacrifice. and you talk about that when you were just talking about, having to leave your children behind and go to america, what was that like for you? >> that was difficult. i mean, my youngest son was one year-old when i left, fortunately, we have the extended family system, and so

we were able to leave two boys with one mother and two boys with the other, and there by, you know, get the opportunity to go back to school but, it is still heart wrenching because you are leavinger young children behind for such a period of time and you don't know what could happen during your absence, what could happen to you or to them, and we didn't have communications like we do today, so it want like you go to madison, wisconsin and pick up the telephone and call morovia in those days and that made it very tough but, you know, thank god we were able to succeed in that and they came out very well. >> yes, they did and you talk about pride, that is one proud thing that liberians, you hope they hold on to or you say africans, but i think we would spread that out, because we saw it a lot in the caribbean, too,

i know my mother made the same sacrifices with extended families, where a lot of parents would go away to try to do better for their children, but you don't want liberia to lose that sense of extend family. >> no, that's part of our cultural values, that we must maintain that reaching out to others and everyone is a part of the same village, the same community. everyone is your mother and everyone has responsibilities to take care of someone else's children and i think that is a good thing, and i hope we don't lose i we should try to maintain it. [applause]. >> sure. [applause]. >> exactly. exactly. so, eventually, your marriage with your husband ended, and you talk about traditionally the children would go off with the father and i know that must have been heart wrenching for you as well but there was one child who was not having it.

one child, his name is rob. tell me about rob. >> well, you know -- >> and rob is over here. [applause]. >> i don't want to embarrass rob, he's sitting right there. but, you know, i mean, he, first of all, the men, the husbands claim the rights to children, in our society anyway, unless there is an understanding and agreement that it would be otherwise and my husband claimed the right to the children once the marriage ran into trouble and was going to take the children and so they all went off with the help of miss -- his mother they were going to take care of them, but finally one day he came back and brought rob

back and put him on the step and said, this child... this child won't stay with me, so you can have him [laughter]. >> that's a great story. hey, rob. all right. let's move on to your decision now to go into government and that started at what age? >> i've got to now count. >> started off in finance, correct. >> yeah. yeah. this was when we went off to madison, wisconsin and i did my undergraduate work at madison business college and came back in 1964. you count now. where am i -- all -- i am 64. i don't know! [laughter]. >> do you really want me to count?

i'm note -- >> you're not the finance person. i should have it on my finger tips, right? >> right. right. >> i don't like to talk age. >> nothing -- >> you might ask me some other question about age... >> i saw you in the movie, in the documentary and you were on that treadmill. how many saw the documentary, "iron ladies of liberia" when i saw you on the treadmill i was like i think need to get myself together... because you're on that treadmill, wok out and do you still keep the regimen up. >> i try, not as disciplined as i should be. i used to like to swim every morning and i can't do a lot of that anymore. but, yeah, i still like the treadmill. my sister jenny who is here is much more religious when it comes to that. hour, hour-and-a-half of exercise, is her thing. most times iav