what really happened. and the conclusion that i've come to and it's been many years since it has happened now, and it really hasn't been on my mind but the conclusion i came to at the time was that no matter what happened that night, and no matter what drove those women to be dancers, why would college athletes hiring black women to strip for them as entertainment? i just thought it was disgusting. i thought it smacked of white privilege, and of the southern history, and, you know, american history really. so that's what i thought. i thought that no matter what happens something was really wrong, went down. ..

>> reyes has always been used as a weapon of terror. it continues to be used as a weapon of terror. it is surprising, you know, it's apprises me even more that we have not really written or talked about it in terms of the kind of racial terrorism that was happening in the united states. i was thinking that we need a true reconciliation committee, committees to really cleanse ourselves of the path and be honest about it so that we can move on to a brighter future. if south africa can do it, we

can do it. >> at that it was really interesting to hear you talk about rosa parks as this militant figure. i was wondering if, you know, being part of a non-violent civil rights movement, was there any tension with her and the? it being non-violent and her having different ideas. >> that is a really good question. at think there is this myth that everyone in the civil rights union was non-violent. but the reality, i think, is if you talked to black southerners and if you read a lot of the civil rights history books defined that most people have guns. southerners in general. americans broadly speaking like their guns. black people are not alien. they are american. so i think that, you know, their is a long history of people having guns and using them to defend themselves, particularly african-americans to live in rural areas. not only did they use guns to hunt, but to protect themselves when they needed to.

so i think that if you could not betray yourself as a gun-toting madman to the media. you would be sent to mccarthy's committee and blacklisted and may be deported somewhere. tail. but i think that what happened, african americans, the campaign in birmingham. they decided to adhere to nonviolence when they were active, when they were marching. but their guns away for those moments. maybe they'll lock them in the car. they were there. oftentimes the people who we associate most with nonviolence like dr. king, you know, he often had armed bodyguards surrounded gasol. glen smiley from the of reconciliation went to visit martin luther king. before king decided on being

done the end. rip back and said this place is an arsenal. you know, he had so many guns around the house. they convinced him not to use guns and more. it's a myth i think. >> stake you all.to back >> thank you for coming. [applauding] >> daniel maguire is an assistant history professor at wayne state university. to find out more visits "at the dark end of the street" dot com. up next john prendergast profiles people who have decided to become engaged in helping africans fight against genocide, rape, and the use of children

soldiers. present his book at barnes and noble booksellers in new york city. >> the cute. if any of us are tireless in the human-rights community or in this room, it's because. let's not pretend. let's not ascribe some level of sanctimony. to we are here tonight, though, to confront what i believe are arguably the three greatest scourges of our time. rape as a war weapon, a child's over recruitment and genocide. these tools of war that are so deadly. our message, though, the book donna and i wrote is that it is most fundamental, really a simple one. a message that is positive at

its core. we take a hard look at the last century. our own country's history, politicians and ideas come. but it has been essentially people's movements which have helped change the course of history. the when movement, the civil rights movement, the labor movement. all of these movements, the anti-apartheid movement where people come together around because, usually starting very small and gross and changes the course of human history. now as we gather here tonight across this united states, a people's movement is being born on college campuses, i schools, synagogues and churches. community centers around the country in support of the women

and rolls of the condo, in support of the the invisible children of northern uganda. in support of the genocide survivors in par-4. we call this point in time the enough momentum when enough people have finally had enough of the deadly status quo and they demand the status quo change. the very peculiar thing is, and i don't think there will be a clear movement when we know whether not we have fully succeeded. one day a woman in eastern kondo will get up in the morning. she will send her daughter to school. she will go out and tender regard and. she will not live in fear of rape. she will not be abandoned by her community. she will not be driven from her home by a militia attack.

our contribution in effect will be -- did not happen to her. so there is this enough moment at the international and national level in which movements, people's movements are combined with enlightened policy makers who have a history of involvement in these issues, people like the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. right here in new york, the president and vice president and secretary of state. these were the three senators who were the leading advocates of action on door for, the leading act advocates of war. now they are in executive-branch positions. they weathered the first 20 months of their administration. unprecedented problems. president is getting his sea legs, reasserting his fundamental priorities. i saw a man across the table friday when i met with him at

the united nations, a president who had fire in his ice for the issue of sudan in particular it takes some time at the beginning of the administration. this is truly a possible moment where we can make some real changes. there is also an enough moment at the individual level. anyone of us in this room who has been in washington and helped stepup to become an advocate for others to have become less fortunate whatever the circumstances might have brought that's a person. they have had their own and of moment. mine came when i was 21 years old. i injured my ankle playing basketball. could not give up in a la-z-boy chair watching whatever came. one of those new channel changers back in the day. basically have to watch whatever

is on. whenever game i was watching ended. suddenly there was this program that was focusing on this issue, this story that had not yet broken, the story of the ethiopian famine in the early 1980's. there were pictures that had been brought back by the famous one armed videographer named muhammed amine, this peerless guy who finally perished in the middle of a war zone. he had gotten the first footage of what was happening in ethiopia back in 1983. as far as the picture that by the black-and-white tv could see, people were huddled over. no shelter, no food, dying by the thousands in that particular camp. ultimately a million people died. i had my enough moment staring into that screen. i had never read a book about africa.

i just said this is unacceptable. we can't allow in this world of ours this level of suffering. treating the kool-aid. we have to go do something about a. so i did. i went. that was my enough moment. my enough moment is when you hear the bell tolled for a particular issue. the manchurian candidate when that's which goes on, but this is a switch for good. you decide to do something, to no longer be a bystander, to be as karen was saying, and of standard. this is a term coined by samantha power in her book about genocide. in our book what we try to do is infused this movement with storing. people react to those kind of things and not inspired. we decided to go out and collect as many stories as we could then break them into three categories

the first category is citizen of standards. we have stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things all over the united states. for people on behalf of people have a world away. these kids in northern uganda, the genocide survivors indoor for, and the women and girls of the condo, stories of people standing up and doing something when they had their enough moment. they all described them in different and fascinating ways to see why people do what they do regardless of if it's about africa. anybody who has a hard for some kind of cause, where they come from. why are they actually doing it? what does it grow back into? so people talk about that and tell their stories. we have students as young as 12 years old talking about the things they have done. talking about their activities. here not too young, too old. never too late or too early to get involved in something that you believe in.

these people are all talking about the kind of work that they're doing to fight human-rights crimes on behalf of people there will never meet, on behalf of places they will never visit. it's remarkable. we also have a category in our books called famous of standards we do interviews borghese's from a number of musicians and athletes and actors and writers and television personalities. all kinds of people that recognize. they talk about their enough moment. this lady of all of the different parts of the book. for me the most interesting and for the general public. we are always so cynical about these celebrities and their work in these causes. when you hear sheryl crow talk about her spirituality and been affleck talks about the trips he took to africa before anybody knew he was going because he

wanted to get into the deep roots of why this stuff is happening and cheese an issue not influenced by anyone but his own heart. they talk about these stories and why they're doing this stuff. it's really remarkable. it gives -- it humanizes these people that we see every day on the screen is in no way that i didn't certainly anticipate before we started getting their stories. some of them write their own essays. some of them in interviews were rico back and forth and tried to elicit. we talk about why he gets involved. and then there are people who to strike their own essays and tell their stories. they're just utterly fascinating. that is the second category of standards that we talk about. the third category i think not to diminish the first two, but of the most important. the third category are the front line of standards, the people who have survived the horrors of

these wars on the front line. women and girls who have themselves survived terrible atrocities. genocide's survivors who have decided after they have seen some of the most terrific things, more of their families killed. they decide to wait a minute. instead of being overcome by what i have experienced an going to stand up and do something for my community. not just that they made it through and lived, but they are actually recapturing with their humanity and their compassion and their commitment to others in their community to do something about that. i was just in congo three weeks ago. i was able to reconnect with someone who had ridden -- we write about in this book. i want to tell you her story

here tonight just so you have a sense of what kind of people we are talking about when we talk about front line of standards. a lady that i've known for quite some time. a congolese moment. some of you may have read about her. she is an extraordinary woman. she is now in her mid-50s, and she is -- was living in a community in eastern congo in the little village. she was the teacher. she supplemented her income as a teacher because the congolese educational system has collapsed lesley. most teachers do other jobs to try to supplement their income. she went off every weekend and she would sell salts. that was our side job. she would go into the mine where much of this economic activity occurs, and she would sell the salt, get a little money and supplementary family's income so that they could diversify their

diet and other kinds of things, food for the house. so as fate would have it one day she went on a saturday to sell the little bags of salt that she had put together throughout the week. a militia came swooping in. basically the war in the cargo is fueled by this militia who fights over the mines for control over the territory and the wealth that is generated by these minerals that it exported out and end up in our cell phones and laptops. the connection is very direct. that's another story. and she was in the middle of this attack. they rounded up the women in the girls during the attack. they chain them up and brought them out to the army barracks. she remembers when they were

walking into the barracks, the outskirts you heard a couple of the men at the gate say, we are happy now that the food has arrived. the other women and girls that were captured that they were held as sex slaves for two years by that particular militia. taking endgame raped in every new location that they would be brought to to demonstrate to the local communities that this is your fate if the resistance as we try to take control of the mineral trade in your area. she was used in that way. women all over the congo and girls all over the congo are used in that way. and she told me how ashamed and angry she felt. she said i was a wife and a teacher, but now i was being called food. one day there was heavy fighting. she and the number of friends saw an opportunity to escape.

they ran for it. she ran right into one of the most thickly forested places in the world. they went into the forest and escapes from the militia. they walked for days and days and days. there were all these good samaritans and congolese did samaritans who were helping them find their way. they have codes and passwords. an extraordinary story in and of itself, just her journey to get to the main city on the border of eastern, go bordering this country of rwanda. she made it to this town. when she got there they were basically penniless and homeless. could not go back home. no way. so they left. they had nothing. there were destitute. as a security system or welfare system. there are out in the street begging. a congolese sailor saw them and walked up to talk to them. he realized, okay. these people need help. he gave them literally.

it's not that high him. but he was mostly on the waves. so he let them stay, about eight of them, in his house while he was gone. they had a place and roof over their head. so one day a group of rwandan soldiers who at the time were occupying that town got wind that some women were living in this house. they went to the door, broke the door down, stormed into the house and ended up taking turns raping the women and girls so badly that this time she ended up in the hospital for a severe traumatic injuries to her sexual organs. she took a long time to heal. physically slowly she healed but mentally she was in a very and spiritually and emotionally she was in a big hole of lack of

self-worth and this inner feeling that her life was over. she began to remember what recalling was, what her vocation was. in one long night she stayed up and fought a lot about what her role in this world could be. she had her version, what she thinks was her enough moment basically. she decided that she was going to rededicate yourself to teaching other women and girls. going to help other women and girls. she then got a job with this wonderful international organization called women for women that many of you have probably heard of. she became a counselor and teacher. when i go there the women who are newly entered, entering the program, she is their role model, mentor. she has become a real adviser to so many of the women there, real inspiration to the countless

women and girls. i asked how she decided to help others after all that she had endured. she said well, these women experienced the same trauma that i did. i want to use my life and my experience and what happens to me and the way that i was able to change my life to help them change their lives. and so then i * finally what her dream was for her country. she said potbound rape, mass rape is a disease that is devastating the condo. it can stop only when the war ends. i dream of peace and condo. that's why i think we wrote this book. that's why i'm sure you're here and where we all comment. all of us in some way shape or form probably have had our enough moment. we need to make, i think we need to make this moment in time

matter for the women of the cargo, for the survivors of genocide, this unique crime against humanity where individual communities are targeted on the basis of their identity. the survivors of sudan and the kids, we have to make this moment matter to them. this is a moment when if we say enough is enough badly enough we can help stop some of the deadliest human-rights crimes. thank you so much for coming. [applauding] [applauding] >> we have time to take some questions from the audience. if you have a question just raise your hand and wait for me to come with a microphone. >> yes.

>> hello. i have two short questions. the first one is -- i'm sorry. in the door for the coalition. my question is related to the acc. i would like to ask your opinion on what happened last week with the meeting at the u.n. about saddam and the fact that the acc was not mentioned. my second question is more. >> i knew it. i knew it. everywhere i go. when emma? anyway, i'd to carry his bags sometimes. i admit that. the second question first. he is doing a movie. this is what happens. when the book comes out he's got to do his thing. he's working. we did an event together at los angeles and he is committed to doing as much as he can. he has been an incredible

advocate for the last five years, ever since we went on our first trip together. he's in the game. second, think you for bringing it up. is an important issue. terribly important issue permits for any of you who studied law or follow law in terms of since world war ii, since the nuremberg trials for those who committed the genocide in europe i think the formation of the international criminal court is probably the most significant legal development in international law since the nuremberg trials. we finally have a standing court that can investigate and indict and try and hopefully convicted and imprisoned those that are guilty of terrible crimes against the manatee dislike those that are being committed in sudan today. so what has happened, of course

which is one of the most dramatic stories. it has only been in existence since 2002. the icc indicted or ec an arrest warrant for the president of sudan do is without question in some ways masterminding some of the terrible crimes that have been committed, not just in darfur, but even before. they killed many more people than what happened. those that perished. so the problem is, of course that the icc does not have a global police force that goes out and then executes the warrant. there is no marshal's office that brings the door down of the presidential palace and false-year off in handcuffs. that's not going to happen unless there is a major change in government. what we have is an international community that has to remain united in support of the court,

in support of the principle of justice. make sure that to the maximum extent possible he can't travel and go places and that he is boxed into a corner and has to wear the scarlet letter of the icc indictment were gregos and isolate him as much as possible. eventually we will see what happens. i am sure -- i know for a fact when charles taylor, the former president of liberia was indicted by a hybrid you in court at the time he left. years later. now today as we all know he is being tried for crimes against amenity. he laughed at the indictment. he was a sitting head of state in the country. he is untouchable. we will see. same thing. indicted. he scoffed and laughed.

you know, within two years he was in jail waiting for trial. we will see what happens. the important thing for the united states and for americans is even though the united states is not a signatory to mail long and complicated story. the important thing is that the united states can be very supportive even though we are not a signatory to it. we can offer to share a permission with the court that they don't have access to the intelligence to help build cases. we can work with other countries to develop coalitions to ensure that we are isolating people who have been indicted. and those are the kind of activities that as if we were a signatory we do, but we can't because of the political reasons of our military be very worried. any u.s. military personnel might be the next one indicted. so that. one minute in the weeds.

it is a communicate of 30 heads of state, 30 governments including the sudanese government. they're not going to set we think our president should be hauled off to the international. when you do these international negotiations you are often going to get not the lowest common denominator, but a denominator that we would not want to see as justice advocate or peace advocates. but rest assured the president is working on it. we have been very critical of president obama on his lack of engagement up until now. we want to be as supportive as we were critical because he has jumped in head first into the freight and is directly involving himself in this issue. i'm very encouraged. why? because he was hearing it all over the country. it's not in the headlines every day. it's not going to be every night on the nightly news. when he goes away it will be. so i think that there is still

remaining. that's when i wrote the book. there is this incredible group of activists all over the country. because they care and organized groups of people in every congressional district who can influence change. wherever he goes he hears about it. you hear that 330,000 times and eventually you react. so i think that is the exciting part of seeing the fruits of a movement, real movement. even though we may not know about it or read about it in popular media. the reality of it is through the underground grouping of people that care, connections between people who care, constituencies who are working in places all over the united states to try to the force our government to do the right thing in the circumstances. i will try to be shorter and manses next time.

>> high. i was also over there a month ago today. i was in kenya. they had a new constitution. it was a wonderful day for everybody there. bashir came. there was a lot of stuff in the paper about it. he was criticized. the government was criticized. i'd like to know your opinion. i have a question. i also read something about south sudan and secession. can you explain that? >> great. this is fun. this is like a class. the second one. i'm getting all. beattie. have to write it down or it doesn't exist. okay. bashir in kenya. so we just finished saying we have to work to isolate these guys. but that scarlet letter. sometimes there is a hole in the line. there are many holes in hours. probably an inappropriate analogy.

anyway, in this case kenya did not fulfil its obligations as a signatory to the international criminal court which would have left them, had he enter their country or airspace or whenever they would have had to rest of. kenya had a reason that they articulated which we don't have to dignify here. it was a very deeply political reason for their geopolitical interest. the repercussions. they did it. so now the question is what cost will there be for doing it? that is where we have worked very hard to try to get some of the staunchest supporters of the court, the signatories, particularly the european countries who are all about the international criminal court to go and maybe suspend some assistance programs. maybe make some statements that are very critical of that kind

of action. so they're not going to -- they're not going to shut down all of their aid programs. a critical moment for kenya. there are things that can be done to demonstrate the severe disapproval of such a flagrant act of -- a callous act of defiance with international law. and so i think that president obama made a fairly strong statement as well. so i think that it was very unfortunate. it's on helpful. we are going to see steps back before we see steps forward. the wheels of international justice grind terribly slowly. the proceedings. you watch these court cases. there are worse than the most arcane court rooms in the u.s.

because it was a compromise a lot of different governments coming up with the law so that the international criminal courts, so many procedures and checks and balances. is a slow process. it's what we have. it is an advance over having nothing. before that there was nobody. there was no international body that dealt with crimes against tnt or genocide. now we have to make this thing work even with. so part of making it work is when there is a faux paw we need to address that quickly so that it doesn't happen again. if it happens again we address that and just keep pushing. eventually i believe at some point president bashir is going to face justice. you have two questions, and they got diverted down. this is incredible. part of the reason why i'm going next week to see them is because

we are about when hundred days away from a referendum in southern sudan that is going to determine whether or not the southern third of the country of saddam basically sissies and creates two new countries. we want to highlight what has happened there because the potential berthing of a new country is leading to great fears that a war, that war will resume in southern sudan. remember, in dark fur at the height of all of the death and destruction and genocide the high range estimates by. and we don't really know how many people died. but 400,000. it was two and 1/4 million. so second deadliest war in the world since world war ii. all hands on deck to try to

prevent this war from happening. we wrote about this metaphor of two trains on the same track rushing at each other. you can see them from far away. we know that it's coming. we actually know that there are side rails that can be taken so that we can divert that train wreck through diplomacy, real pressure, united international action, often through u.s. in diplomatic circles. that's why it was so heartening to see president obama so committed last week during the united nations general assembly and in the meeting that was dedicated the monks of these world leaders. so on the one hand i am very concerned-that this could end very badly. on the other hand this is an opportunity to finally end the terrible sagas that southerners have gone through since independence in before, during

the slave century to the wars of the 20th century. we have a chance to end the cycle with this process if the referendum can be held on time and fairly. the results can be respected. it will occur and the results will be respected only if the international community is united in support of respecting that process and united in creating severe consequence for anyone who would undermine the piece that these people have fought for for so long. do i do not have an opinion. i want them to decide and for us to support whatever this aside. that's what they have agreed to. they're going to have this referendum. we should respect that when undo all the we can to ensure that it is held with integrity and that no one backslides. 1/4 minutes to backsliding and war will happen.

it is really, the stakes are just enormous. do. >> really have time for one more question. >> thank you. when sorry. i tend to think that the u.s. government is the most aggressive and latin america is directly with the coups and the middle east with the oil wars. how did you characterize their approach in these countries where there has been a slew of -- i don't know, genocide, rape, etc. to you think it can never transcend the current approach we have? i hear you saying. and i agree with you. i believe people make a difference, not necessarily the government. the people put the pressure on the government. the first question has to do with how you characterize our present approach and have you believe we could ever transcend that approach. >> it's a great question. i think that there are two

ingredients in the transition if there is such a word. on the one hand i must echo what is inherent in your question. unless and until there is a permanent constituency of people who care enough about human rights to act. and that is what it's all about, this developing constituency of people. unless they're organized politically by with this issue be different than health care or social security? political constituencies are with drive our process. you need to have constituencies pushing for changes pushing for progressive policies in these areas. so i think that the development of what we call permanent constituencies for these issues is half of the story. the other half is for the government, our governments to

organize themselves in a way prevents and maximizes the and it rewards prevention rather than just the sort of wait until things explode. when the flames are high enough for everyone to see then the russian with a fire engine. the prevention effort requires a radical sort of restructuring. the rights and the state's and watch that system will respond that the interagency american government system respond only to the fires. instead of working diplomatically for almost nothing. everybody knows that the united states has the biggest military in the world. we less of us know that we also have the biggest diplomatic court. we have some of the most

experienced diplomats in the entire world working in peace process is all over the world. so the playing people, the playing our development assistance in our humanitarian assistance in ways that can prevent the next rwanda is what i think is part and parcel to what we want to see. secretary of right and the former senator : work cochairs of a process of the commission on genocide prevention that created a set of recommendations at the end of last year and the year before last that are now being up rationalized within the obama administration. the demonstration named director in the national security council against war crimes and crimes against humanity. he is helping along with cements the power, catalyzing efforts

within the united states government to organize the system around how we prevent these things from happening. building the constituency of people who hold our government's feet to the fire and pushed for more involvement and having our governments better organized to actually do the work necessary diplomatically to prevent. and it turns out this is not some radical agenda but it saves of american taxpayers billions of dollars. what we normally do when we start trying to put out the fire is send humanitarian assistance by the billions of dollars a year waiting until the thing blows up and we send peacekeeping forces, usually other countries, but we pay for them in the united nations. one-third of all those troops ec billions and billions of dollars a year. it costs nothing to send one of our diplomats and foreign service or to deploy or redeploy some of our existing development assistance which is already obligated into a particular

situation in which our systems or our personnel or creative diplomacy can help find solutions before things erupt or in the early stages of when they are routed. i had the incredible opportunity when i did work for president clinton to be part of a couple of peace process is which were costing american taxpayers billions of dollars. they didn't know it because it was all part of the price in africa. he decided to invest in peacemaking. he got nothing for it. nobody even knew the stories of the nameless bureaucrat, faceless bureaucrat like myself pulling out to these countries and working 18 hours, 20 hours a day shuttling back and forth between countries in capitals to rebel groups. and wars were resolved because the united states got involved, made a commitment to work with countries to develop a constituency for peace or to

support the constituencies for peace. we were able to save hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of dollars. this is the kind of investment we are talking about. with that constituency here in the united states to cares about these problems working and making their little e-mails and doing the facebook stuff and all of the things that 21st century activism is about and plugging into an administration that says it cares. we can help intensify the political reward. we can save money and lives. it is administered very combination that i think this particular administration understands prodigious need to hear more from us that it does make a difference to us. we are our brothers and sisters' keepers, and we do want to see the united states play a positive role of round the world in support of human rights and dignity. thank you very