he was a yale man, madison was princeton, john adams was a harvard man. washington wasn't a college guy, very impressed and said that's a very interesting idea, and he's a great delegator, said he says i will give it to mr. madison as soon as possible. he gives it to madison and webster's template becomes instrumental in the drafting of the constitution and then in 1787, webster is at the constitutional convention and these are now revolting and to the mover and shaker moments. in 1787 he set the constitutional convention as soon as washington arrives the first thing he does is not on the door and he's washington policy want. he's there is a journalist and in the so-called convention man realizes his talent and right after the convention they ask him to draft a pamphlet in support of the constitution. he does that and historians have

compared that pamphlet to the federalist papers and it may have been more influential because webster's template was circulated through the country into was ready. it was published right after the convention as opposed to the federalist papers which were circulated mostly in new york. up next from the 2011 harlme book fair a panel on african-american economic history. this is about an hour and 20 minutes. >> good afternoon everyone.it i- it is indeed a pleasure and an honor to present these dynamic i was going to say young lady but dynamic young ladies and i mean that in that sense these are to traffic systems. coey are authors and hard workers, and advocates for the community and activists so

again, i applaud you all fornj coming out in what might be 100 degrees weather to enjoy nas i at we are about to enjoy the right now. literature boy african johnson and the founder most frequently visited web site by and about books written by and about people of african-american -- african decent. the web site was started in 1998 and is one of the oldest websites of its kind on line. i would like to introduce you to carol jenkins, author of black titans and making of a black american millionaire. a writer and producer and an emmy award winning former w. nbc-tv television anchor and correspondent and founding president of the women's media center. she is executive producer of the pbs documentary what i want my

words to do to you which won the freedom of expression award at the sundance film festival in 2003. carol jenkins enjoys an award winning tenure in several new york city news department including 23 years that w. nbc tv where she coanchored the 6:30 p.m. newscast. she was most identified with reporting of national political stories including from the floor of the democratic and republican national convention that yielded president carter, reagan, bush and clinton. give a round of applause to carol jenkins. [applause] >> next up we have dr. julianne malveaux, author of surviving and thriving 365 black economic history. she is the fifteenth president

of college for women leaders' unrecognized for progressive observation. she is an economist, author and commentator and described by dr. cornell west as the most iconoclastic public intellectual in the company. doctor malveaux's contributions to the public dialogue on race, culture, gender and economic impact our shaping public opinion in the twenty-first century america. a round of applause for doctor malveaux. [applause] >> i bring you the conversation, black wealth past and presence, the politics of black wealth. >> thank you for your great work. i love what you produced. hi am a friend on facebook. >> thank you for the opportunity to be with you. i love you all. thank you so much.

>> i would say if ever we needed an economist today is the day we need an economist. i felt in the last few weeks we needed to go back to school to take courses in economics to try to understand what is happening. do we need to raise the debt ceiling? what is going on in washington? since you have a keen eye and understanding of what they're doing what is happening exactly at what is your prediction of the outcome? >> we have to raise the debt ceiling. we can't default internationally on our obligations. it is fascinating that the debt ceiling has been raised probably 70 times in the last 30 years. why does it sadly become an issue when the president is barack obama? the answer is because people have issues.

they are angry. we are attempting to set perimeters around what is happening with the economy. here is what we know for sure. everyone in this audience. is there anyone here who has not experienced economic hardship or know someone who has? the unemployment rate is 9.2% overall. it is 16% for african-americans. real unemployment rate for us is 28%. one in three americans has been looking for work for a year. if anyone stands up here and says i have not had economic hardship, someone has to key in their life. this is a brother or sister who says can you help me pay my rent that is not going to turn out right. help me if i am hurting. this is what is going on.

we know because you have a phenomenal -- >> she is holding up my book too. >> a phenomenal ancestor who basically made it happen. even in the middle of hardship we make it happen but we make it happen because we decide we are going to make it happen. so i think what we know is john boehner and president barack obama -- >> she said that deliberately. john boehner. >> whatever. i tried. my mama does this thing with holy water. i don't have any holy water. anyway whatever his name is, the man is attempting to circumvent

the president. the bottom line is on 70 occasions this has been called housekeeping. now that president obama has to deal with that it is called something else. here is what we have to do. anyone in the sound of my voice, we have to stand up, stepped up, man and woman up to the side we will not allow people to marginalize the president. some of you who know me well, do not allow us to marginalize this president. we understand that in the middle of a recession we cannot talk about cutting social programs. [talking over each other] >> my young people come to me,

$5,500 is all we are offering. 35. thirty-eight. round here somewhere, probably hiding. reggie bailey -- i have friends here in the house. stand up, reggie. i love you, a dorr you, philanthropist. these are people who lived up our young people. how could they do what they do when we can't do what we are supposed to do? how do you cut a poll grant? forgive me and allow me an indulgence. 75,000 americans got engineering degrees.

300,000 indians. six hundred thousand chinese people. they are doing what they are supposed to do. reggie bailey, were you mit? what are we supposed to do? what are we supposed to do? i am going to be quiet. >> let me follow up because it is the collective wisdom that it is president obama has offered what the new york times has called an overly generous package of cuts in social programs. what do we say about that? of course the republicans walked away once again. >> holy water. holy water. you know what? let's take our time and talk about the energy we have. i can fix these people. they are not fixable but here is

what i want black people to understand. you know it from your ancestors story. no matter who we are or how we are we have triumphed even in the middle of nonsense. let's continue the energy of triumph. the reason i wrote surviving and thriving is because i wanted people to understand even when the game is not fair it is not going to be fair. please don't kill me. my best friend forever, a phenomenal woman who has raised up the young people at the southeastern learning center of washington d.c.. we got to say -- somebody put the camera on her.

reggie, help us. here is the point. no matter what we're doing we can't do it -- the game is not fair. we win it when we play. this sister brought $6 million to the worst part of d.c. because she played the game. this brother helped her because he played the game. we have to play the game. we can't play we don't win. that is the story. >> i am going to get to that. we have a distinguished audience. by the time dr. malveaux is finished everyone will be standing including my oldest boy. >> oldest boys, stand up. we don't want to leave you out. let's give the oldest boy alone. >> he made his contribution. one more question. as an economist i need a

prediction. what is your prediction about how we get out of the mess? what options--president clinton has settled president obama would have to do is to write the check and declare that he has the right to do it on his if it turns out that congress can't get itself together in any agreement. do you think that ultimately is what he might do? how do you think the country would react? >> i hope president obama will take the leadership he has earned. he is our elected president. he can raise the debt ceiling on his own. to dance around the mulberry bush with people who denigrated my favorite beverage -- [applause] -- it is not useful.

he has to step up and i believe he will. even more importantly we have to have a different kind of education. what has happened here is you have people -- how can i put this nicely? hy won't. >> just getting -- >> people who are intellectually deficient decided to make a decision and say the same thing over and over again and that makes it true. here is what is true. we have in the united states of america fourteen million people who don't have work. we have another fourteen million people who don't have work unofficially. we have people who are struggling. people in southeast washington

d.c. with children who can't do what they need to do because they're hurting. what do we do about that? here's what we do. we talk about the images and the possibilities we have. president obama could do more. i think he feels constrained but i tell people all the time he would not get fed in your mama's house if you don't bring your plate to the table. black america has to ask this president to do what we need him and to do. ask him. tell him. exhort him. i am so e enamored of this president. i am concerned about economic policy and we need to be able to communicate that. what can we do in a year? in a year we have to create jobs. that is what america is clamoring for. one third of the unemployed people in our nation have been unemployed for more than a year.

how do you live your life unemployed for year? what do you do? these of the questions we must ask. my brothers and sisters here we must raise questions, ask questions, push, probe around the ways we think our economy should work. >> i agree with that way forward. the book is fascinating and thank you for including my uncle arthur in this. >> he is a phenomenal human being and we know that. alabama businessman who lived for a century and what my daughter and i did in the book was try to assess america in the century he lived, 1892-1996. incredible amount of things that took place for black americans. we said we were going to talk

about the history of america and black america and everybody talked about slavery -- that is how we got here. i don't hear many people talking about the g i bill and the devastation that brought and the discrepancy you are seeing in black american wealth and white american wealth was the government engendered right after world war ii. housing, training, all of that which was given to veterans returning to this country, and black americans forced into what we now know as the skyscraper, apartment buildings. and the fact that they use government money to build those thousands of houses that only white veterans were able to buy.

they have video of shiny a kitchen appliances. this was the beginning of the current discrepancy of wealth in our country. you have thoughts on -- >> there is introduction 22 page essay in which our talk about the wealth gap and many ways the wealth gap was imposed by public policy. erik nilsson wrote when affirmative action was white. in his book he talked about the very ways that white americans, especially post world war ii were able to get benefits that african-americans were not able to get. in mississippi 300 black men -- they were able to get benefits. back at the ranch almost every white man who served was able to get a loan for a home, loan for

college, loans for other things. if you look at wealth, look at someone investing in you no one has invested in black america. let me say something i don't want you to get too upset about but it upsets me every day. we invested in ourselves. the most phenomenal lacked of economic courage was self emancipation. whenever i talk about this i actually get sick. i talk about patrick oliver around here, project manager on surviving and thriving. [applause] >> how is it that we by ourselves? how do you cut a deal? you have black folks who

purchase themselves. the first fact of the boat -- thank you for the southeast center, phenomenal occasion. thank you for your support of that. i just love my people who have them. how do you purchase your self? what goes on in your mind is aiken by myself in the land of the free and the home of the brave or the slave. how do you by yourself? here is what happened in cincinnati. john parker taking two measures. louis farrakhan -- this was bad and crazy. he walked onto other people's plantation. harriet tubman was credited with

freeing 300. john parker freed more than 900 people. what about the plantations? what he said was we will free ourselves. the thing i want us to think about was the audacity which is not a word -- i just made it up. the many ways our people have been phenomenal and the reason i raise it is for my young people, my younger sisters and brothers, if they could do that what could we do next? if they could do that, enslave people to free themselves by purchasing themselves, 25% of enslaved people were self emancipated in cincinnati. you bought yourself. i always think that this is a

sixth thought, who ran away and who saved? if i could be a sociologist and go back in time, who bought themselves and who ran away i know i was a runaway slave. i wasn't paying nobody for nothing. but the woman who was -- a seamstress. there were many women. men's stories are more told the history belongs to shiva holds the pen. she not only paid for herself but supporter white family. she supported 17 people with her needle. let's talk about this. we found that -- working my daughter and 9 on this book about young people. he started out as the grandchild of slaves living in a cabin and

managed to create ten major businesses in birmingham, alabama and became one of the first of modern times. they were quite accomplished very wealthy people before my uncle but managed to create a bank radio station, construction, all kinds of things and was influential in helping martin luther king desegregate the department stores. in 1963 when he came to birmingham i don't know if you remember the gaps in motels where he stayed that was an economic fight. it was to desegregate department stores because blacks could buy back about fraud on anything in these stores in birmingham and they couldn't use the restroom so it created an extremely difficult situation for blacks. that is what it was. so many of our flights were economic fight.

he was able to do it with a couple things. he was phenomenally focused but also operating in segregated birmingham, alabama. after segregation was over there were problems. you talk about that and how you see the evolution of that. we have to think that is where the solution lies for people to create businesses like the ones you included in surviving and thriving. >> your ancestor was a phenomenal human being and we understand the courage but also what the courage--not another choice. so many people refused to accept what was there. i would make a black economic history parallel with this. i wrote 15 publishers to say can

we get this book published? we are not interested in black economic history so my company did it. that is what i am seeing a lot of times. oliver deserves a lot of credit. just walk and talk. we can raise money and do things so we did it. that is the challenge. we have more choices in the twenty-first century that we had in the 20th and 19th. your antecedent -- there was no one lined up to do that. we have to be really clear about the many ways that we own ourselves and that we own our history and make decisions that our history is phenomenal, vital and special. when i look at so many people, especially some of the women.

i look at maria stuart, the first woman who made her living as a speaker i resonate with her. what i look at t. j. walker and maggie clean the worker -- walker. she did not -- any malone. let's be clear, madame c.j. walker was phenomenal but she took someone else's model and wrapped it up a bit. but maggie lena walker from virginia was a second grade education who started penny savings bank. debate that existed until 2009. let's lift her up. when it comes to black history month we have our black people i love them all, frederick

douglass and martin luther king, put your head down. she just did. the point is this. we have black people who people don't know who are so important. par la harris in new york. a phenomenal woman. this brother who is a philanthropist, a leader who is phenomenal. st. john, television and radio personality in the 1950s. we should resonate with her. she decided to be a broker. the first black woman to pass the new york stock exchange exam. come john now! give the sister some love. [applause] naomi sims. she was just a model. she was also a phenomenal --

mary ann dragons, black woman on wall street. i list these people because it is important. we don't want to just say we have static figures. we have dynamic human beings we might walk across at the starbucks. that for you, the work you have done around your antecedent is important. it is very important for us to be clear that economic history is the history must love and lift it up. >> i want to close that because i have a disconnect. a believe in celebrating with my uncle who was quite the exception. whenever i read statistics about the net wealth of black women in this country being $5 or $100 that they are the bottom of the

barrel, how do we get the bulk of black women, single women who have virtually nothing and mostly because they don't own homes because household ownership is still the basis of most of the wealth we know. how do we deal with that? $5? $100? >> the data on that are daunting data, speak to the challenges we face. black women take care of everybody else before we take care of ourselves. his wife had $5 because she was related to pooky who said i will pay my phone bill and see you in a month. i don't believe in lending money. just give it to them. if you lend to them you will be mad at them. if you give it to them is okay.

the other piece of that is please give them the rent money. otherwise they will move in with . .ou really want that? all the kids come to your house? of here is the deal. we take care of other people before we take care of us. when you look at the numbers we don't have the wealth and we have to deal with that. we have to learn how to take care of ourselves and it is a challenging thing to do. the data was daunting last year. the average single black woman with children had $125. 1 25 -- that is no money. not a very good one if you are in new york city. we have to deal with that. but what we have to do with that

is about surviving and thriving. let me tell you the story of elizabeth keck and --keckley. she wrote her own autobiography after she was done by some virginia white folks. she described them as dissipated. you work with that. they were run out of virginia and taken to st. louis. she wrote i supported 17 people with my needle. she supported the people who owned her with her needle. she with the go to women in st. louis. >> the address it >> who had 155 pairs of

gloves. had you have 365 days a year with 135 pairs of gloves?ther do have a shopping problem. she was of shop of solid. but the story is useful because i want my a sisters to think about the most important in comes stream she had. so when abraham lincoln died elizabeth todd was a person who was closest to mary lincoln. they were sistersli the she was not buying gloves because she had no money. so she fired our sister a former slave who then wrote the autobiography.

she told all the storiesac which nobody wanted her to tell the issue was clear about the fact she needed to make of living. sisters need to be cleared of multiple income streams had you make a living and what do you do? surviving and thriving is about that and i want the same about this book from the perspective that the that i had lunch with a youngte sister who told me that nobody wants to hear about black people. we had day lovelyal conversation. >> it reminds me of a story talking with a television w executive -- executive of the life story of the nod horn and said she is not

interesting enough. >> go my lowered. >> they did not know the whole story. [laughter] >> long story short, i give them credit i called the book above note to our people. i want people of african descent to understand how important this with our history. a. >> that is great and has lasted as 365 facts and mixed up with local stories iteo is great to see things

that people don't knowba about. i recommend it.se but to go about as i am present game this hour it is important to use our book as encouragement, apparently between 2004 and 2009 the median black worth fell by 83%, and you say would be 2018 for us to get back to the jobs we had been 27-- 2007. in the effort to recover that does not include jobs.ur the centrality of work is being lost. it is a wonderful thing webs f could have a recovery but have no jobs.

>> it is probably one of the most perplexing aspects of the current economic situation. there are economize to say we are in recovery and no longer in recession. on i say stand on the corner. there is a lot of places you can stand the economic recovery has come but not their. we have seen gdp growth in the past two years pick up. largely as a function of thei investment that the federalpl government has made in banks. 1

last month only 18,000 jobs were created the unemployment rate was at 9.2 percent african-american if you look at real rates 20%. these are trying times.? what do we do about that? >> i believe the that's that's -- but i also believe they can create wealth as others have done and talk about entreprenuership in a very different way. the way we develop the thinkers you will be an odd

nervous some point* in your life because of your a science or art major is some time you have to figure out o how to make it on your own.need that is important. i think we need to begin to talk about ways to replicate to to engender the wealth creation. will so must talk more about how we a gauge a in what we do. i am frustrated with ourveou people around conversations in our president and thisre y congress and city hall. what do you doing about that?o? how to operate and how are you engaged?hen >> i remember so distinctly

see new-line cnn all the time and your voice is extremely important as the pundit. what about all sharpton 6:00 on a msnbc? [laughter] >> it is exciting we don't have african-americans on priced at -- prime time if brother sharpton could bring knowledge of the game giveam e him a round of applause. [applause] i am waiting for a sister but i am happy for him. >> what has made black women so invisible? i hope to create the women's media center where we work to get women's voices and the stories told but it is an uphill battle 70 or 80 orom

90 percent ofen everything is still passed by men and women still only hold 3% of clout positions this day and a age. >> i have two perspectivesha we also need to be more vocal.e. i don't know how manyne w sisters are here in the house and how many have said i want to see black women on the air? come on. we could own this. i think we have some ownership we could do as well. i am excited about the many .ays michelle obama is a phenomenal leader teacher and role models.. she is a great and wonderful but we have to stand up.

with these people who have denigrated my favorites to make then norway's and every time she has a bite out of a hamburger they will take that somewhere and make it into something. that is nonsense. what happens when the left talks about the bush world? they were beaten up. we need to set standards. hogan it is of big boy. but it agreed don't do the work that we can do to stand up to put a line in the sand that is all i am asking.

and when we do it and make a phone call tivo think there is 1,000 people but who calls? [laughter] but i was so mad. don't get mad.ng gets even. danny glover had a commercial good these people talk aboutut us as if we are in human and nobody stands up to them. >> that is the story ofen

surviving. but we have got to play the m game. >> i have the moment the shock and it was the first time i realized again there are black girls living in the white house. isn't that amazing? in terrific girls. g started to read the book is today the end of anger talking about the fact this next generation of navtech -- african-americans is not as mad as my generation was. that? believe been granted he is interfering the harvard mba who has a slightly different perspective on the world and have a slightly different income but you do believe perhaps mostly because ofis

barack obama have entered the optimistic phase where we are not angry or should we be? are very hopeful? what the figure say that african-americans are more hopeful despite the employment figures than anybody else in the country. >> have they been to the southeast to happen a surveys of those in the hood? >> i think there is so is been an interesting space of our piece and is a brilliant writer and is raising questions but what that the numbers. 30% of us do not have jobs. what out of three. you don't have a job. you don't have a job. you don't have a job.jobl has anybody called do?

our people asking how you feel? >> the harvard mba and i know them. a i am related to some of them [laughter] it is good in thes neighborhood but the clear we have challenges. let me tell you. used to live a life that was very fascinating.er i to of the piece of data a could write a book about it now it comes to my office to say i lost my job. that is my new life as a college president but i am hearing challenge by the fact that the in blackme america dozier sells. some of us do phenomenally well and i applaud them withther the recreation and wish list committee but i also know about the people who have no

money and it seriously cannot eat. so the theoretical discussions are not discussions to make a difference. you have people, it strikes the me when i look at the numbers sometimes almost makes me want to cry to think about the number of people who went to work but cannot find the work or are being foreclosed when billions of dollars are at the bank'sba so i am not quite sure how we begin to have a conversation about the a a hidden danger. or the anger is that i hope

those people understand p essentially pay their taxes.. and batna at them. [applause] >> yet we don't hear those voices are see that action. west we are reminded of the unemployed we don't see them or know>> that they are there. what is the solution for that? we're talking about the debt and other issues we're not talking about the people that you are talking about now. but that has to happen. >> we spend our time telling stories and we know this 2/8 day stories that need to be told in we need to be clear. one reason i am excited about how certain it because

i know he has a feeling for the people and i am hoping he will raise up some of the issues and talk to the people who have issues arear problems who deserve to be heard that we need to be clear about the way we deserve to be heard and we began to create our own strategy. again, probably not the place to be vulnerable to say that it hurts me to see people of african descent at the periphery of ourst economy understandings the many ways i think of so many ways thetand work that we have to do in that nobody will do this for us. a

this is a series of demographics and we're not the biggest minority our fastest growing any more. and we're second to the latino population.an we need to figure out how to work with them and figure out how to get our fair share of this economy that we created the foundation. that is part of the challenge. i look at the next five or 25 years in the nation and understand that last year recreatedee 75,000 engineers and the united states of america. china did 600,000. why? because they invest in higher education while the divest.

help me with that. is that okay with us? obama's says he wants us to be the leaders in terms of is education but china is investing.o this is the money that goesou to theng poor young people if we cut the pell grant. we have challenges we refuseri to do with. oures people are dying and nobody cares. the answers that you find in the economic history of blacks in america, what do point to? >> i love that question. [laughter] >> we look at it sarahas spencer washington as a woman who was listed up the new york world's fair as the most distinguished businesswoman and dorothy

brown said you had opportunities in radio and sarah big third and so many people. we had a sister once ran the securities and exchangean commission and a sister the first black woman to make her living as this baker. carl harris. >> who by the way is a financial genius but has a fabulous voice. >> yes. the first black woman who passed the new york stock exchange exam. we have done a. wereo can do you cannot win the game unless you play the game. the book was written as a love note to my people because i'm of black folks

talk about those the being of african m descent if the lowered made may's of the notes it would not have turned out right. we can do whatever we do. i look at my friends here who stepped out on a limb because they love us. if you love us you will help us to be to we need to me. >> there are people who would like to ask questions if rehab the microphones set up on the auditorium if you would like to step there. please join us in that conversationwe. go ahead. >> first of all, it is great to see you.

i remember you from channel four. you ourat best. great to see you. i do have a question. i am solutions oriented as a retired physician i didn'tsis want to just make the diagnosis but give the prescription about what you have been talking fell last half-hour, is voting now irrelevant? the active voting because a drop six evicted to the percentage of young people whoe voted in 20082010 renounce the boater disenfranchise efforts going on across the country andet

write-downs sense of what p can we do to let young people know how of court-appointed is that theyy don't let it go now that they are 18.o how do we communicate thatgo we have to do the economics but keep them going to the polls. not just every four years but you mentioned city council, how to redo this? i think it is critical. >> and juliette has written about voter suppression which it is an issue to keep uppermost in our minds with the election. >> first of all, voting is not the most you can do with the least you can do so we need to be clear with our people that voter registration and deprivation is literally the least you can do but second what we have seen in the last year

is there are efforts toward voter suppression which meansome in some parts of the south doing area boating you may have 20 or 30 miles to a voting plays that discriminates against zero for your money how you get there if it is 20 orsue. 30 miles but now in seven states you have to show you are a citizen. sure evade of mayor of atlanta is mother was turned away because she did not have the proper identification. we have to be more active around the voting issue. there are two ways the people who suppress populist economic issues have approached the voting

process. one has been the challenges to president obama that have come directly in terms of the debt ceiling and other things and again as i said, we have had more than 70 raises of the debt ceiling nobody thought it was a problem for years ago it was called housekeeping mess now suddenly it is acr hugee issue. but the other way is to do with the integrity of the voting process. , ask people to think of ways they could be involved whether another run for things like secretary ofo. state, voting in their own areas.have your question is very important. here is our challenge. we have not consistentlywo

been, but to lift up for aan number of reasons come with those to make that economic difference do it through the polls. l while the book talks a lot about entrepreneurs three also talk about people who the national domestic workers union in the 1930's, the women who did the research for the sit-ins' and those who did this sit-in this is the energy we wants had in that we still have. thank you again for your question. >> and talking about the fact women are still missing in leadership roles including civil rights organizationinssh and politics and not only should you vote, you should run. >> i agree voting has a

function. but political educationif precedes the votes. if you just take theetu franchise and handed over without demanding it is turned back then it is useless if it seems that is what is happening in belonging to a party that has been mistreating you for the longest, it is time to think outside the box and not look to the box to be adorned with the right to revenue or the. >> are you talking about third-party candidates? >> how are people at some point* having a political conventiontiwo to keep everybody out and work out. but this is now working. to have black faces in highc

places is not a of spirit you feel the democratic party has not opposed. >> it is not that i feel it is the reality of it. >> but yet you would not find yourself wanting to vote for the republicans. >> i am independent but theole real. >> here is reality my brother. you have a bunch of barbie doll looking, but these women who are republicans who don't know chick is salad from chickens bit are not leaders. politics it is imperfect and extraordinarily imperfect if those of us to spend time ins politics now that the third party possibilities do it.ha

we have seen it before. ross perot made a difference. he made a difference in 2000le or 92. r i think african-american people have the right to raise questions and issuesou and platforms but i alsoh think at the end of the day if you tell me my choice is an aide democrat or sarah palin. [laughter] i will go with then a democrat. that would be me. maybe not you. i am not sure i could see rash of from alaska. [laughter] >> but yet to there are many progressives and people of color who are in this

quandary. >>nd what is the quandary?r >> the quandary is how to get action for your needs the same thing you are urging. >> we cannot assume again let me be really clear. those who are steeped in presidential politics understand the limitations and a president has. >> i think he was talking more about the president but the whole party. >> so make it happen. here in new york there is a working family party that is doing exciting work. support that.k tha in minnesota you have the former party. that is exciting. but at the end of the day

politics is the art of compromise. how do get more of what you want and what you don't? i know that to i don't mind day palin's and zero were bachman to make stuff up. mayor romney? john mccain? flawed obama is better than and the best of those people. [applause] the. >> mine game bid is carly peterson. i just want to start by saying this conversation reminds me of things said w. e. b. du bois said in 1903 emphasis on politics education and work. it seems like we're revisiting that conversation 10 years later.nd as a sideline now also wrotely g

a book and i am talkingrshi later this afternoon so i'm glad to hear about your book on a entreprenuership. but along with that they were invested in issues of education. that is a question i wanted to ask about the tests as a college president we work really hard with our students, black and white to address a comment that was made by michael lomax, what to redo to get our kids to college? it seems like that is an issue just through high school and into college. work for a foundation in washington d.c. and we just tired our executive director. but they work to get disadvantaged kids into

college. how do we address the failing public-school system when it comes to black kids? [laughter] >> thank you for your march and of course, terra is theshe new d.c. coordinator of the posse foundation i am so prougd of hershey is my baby girl so we are excited about our per leadership. >> she was hired and a nanosecond. >> and excited about the image of the posse foundation has which is about changing the metriccou around college attendance.in here is what we have to do going two college is not boring or nerdy or is not

white folks but how you build yourself. so many young black people have been told you don't need to or 12 or have to go two college.wa if you want to be a banker that is where you will do. do with the help disparities that is what you will do. we need to make this just as exciting as any other game in town. its brings young people and a group to deal with what they do. you have a group the people reinforcing each other. here is what is more important. weer need to have conversations what we want black america to look like. ha when we have those conversations, it is aboutabo excellence then we talk

about the waves we want our young at day's show people to be in what they aspire to. the game is not fair but we can play the game. let me say this again. if the enslaved person can purchase him or herself herself, then how come we can do what we need to do to lift ourselves up? when we talk about college attendance and participation, it is about us for our right to to be there. my a angelou said anything that is within the humano consciousness is attainable

four any of us.ng i that means learning is attainable for all of us. thinking is attainable and achievement is attainable for all of us. a this is a message to have to give to our young people. we cannot allow somebody toe n tell our people that they can.w can when they come home with that message who told you that then get a can of you know, what. [laughter] you cannot bring that into our space because we know that we can compete and we must compete and we will compete as long as we have the opportunity. i hope you continue your us continue of the work of lifting up our. people. yes there is a horrible achievement gap and it makes me cry frankly.

people ask me why i don'tt sleep at night worryingwhen about the achievement gapo but i know when i see you in this room, you wanted to have a conversation. >> on a more practical the we have to kick out the bad teachers. [applause] and make a decision between our children and the adults and i think we have been way to consider it to. because. >> the college question starts right before. >> who are badch teachers?>> m >> we have to analyze who

is productive. >> but a former chancellore in washington d.c. blamed teachers for lowut achievement >> but some show that schools have eliminated some of the teachers that are not performing in that they manipulated results. >> this may be a sideline conversation because i m a member of one of the black women's organizations that basically have a lot of teachers. >> maybe that is the problem. i am a k a. [laughter] >> who has the holy water? [laughter] >> we can say per.

>> hello. talked about the young people then you talk about the gap. i guess my age group doesn't get a voice the test is rear educated and not employed as well and not considered but as somebody who grew up in the city who moved to other states and u.s. very persevering, one of the thing specifically this book fair is about books. my industry is publishing and i was outsource like i was two years ago planned reader's digest wentoi bankrupt. i am anav entrepreneur but who will employ me? gr i just traveled an hour and a half or a technology job than after doing a great job was turned away because i t

live too far away.a i am the most loyalm person i a m highly over educated but not employable.meo they say what do we do with you?in what is the direction foran someone who is committed to the community i try to make the community better bike gets f turned away. >> technology? you are looking for a technology job? >> but it is more about the stock creative side. >> i am turned away from those positions because of who we look like or what ever. education and jobs have been downsized. >> i was just that borders

yesterday at the everything must go sale.uld in an even know everything was discounted the books were still more expensive than i could buy online or download -- download onto my amazon a candle i take full responsibility because i was the yearly candle adopter. so certainly to me and its experience with publishing, this is the future. >> all of the books that are flying off the shelves part of her company and the entrepreneur aspect of of that f, which is why you neede to read the example of blackus tightene this because because

of what julianne was saying earlier we are beyond looking for jobs. we have to create our word companies.15 i just wrote a piece about catherine cook she and herit brother 15 and 16 star did my yearbook.com and sold ath 100 million and still ati student at georgetown university. that is the creative piece that we really have to engage. we are beyond looking for employment. we really have to focus on the creation. >> should we be building hour own businesses? >> when we look at the employment numbers enve it is clear we have to create their own opportunities reduce the one-third of all black people don't have employment and most of the deople who are unemploye

now have been looking for more than a year. i would ask you to engage your sphere in the ways that you can create added value to the world. that is what entreprenuership is. creating added value. stand-up. you have a snack in here. we are glad that you are here. sister, you need to figure out where it is your passion and how during gauge that? carol has raised some things but more important, if you a prefer to work for others others, you are still be the person who knew you need to

figure out what value your bring to others procure the entrepreneur go for it toa other wise create your space.oatel there are a bunch of websites.. i think our nation but i unfortunately is devolving. i think more muscle be entrepreneurs in our young people who are standing up and speaking the truth but a lot of young people will have many challenges. you will take a class to introduction to entrepreneurship where there are to or science or journalism major. the high believe you'll be an entrepreneur as some point* in your life and isow unavoidable so now it is a requirement for our students. of you have not taken such a class find a community class t

and take one and do yourame saying -- thing.h >>e i'd like to dovetail off thieves political parties -- the themes of the political parties and ofup failing people in general.th good people in the community year across the nation that so many have said that the democrats and republicans are being playedi like monkey in the middle.t i right now we have an argument about the deficitwho ceiling and did the tails are kept away from us. who would be heard in the

process? and to give a generoushe invitation to the republicans say and what does that entail? by the time we find out if it is too late then there is protest in theap street in this city apparatus buildup the police force. >> do you really think there will be protest in the street? >> because they cut about cutting medicaid and social security. >> the question? >> the argument is that the people need to be more politically,tidoe aware and more actively involved in whatr goes on in our governing. >> i for one would be happy to see protest in the streets.en

>> the fact is people have been opiated and we continue to hear about things that will happen but people have not responded.sup talk about voter suppression of the also security and medicaid you cut the voter opportunities in those have nothing to say because they can vote. i would love to see the people rise up but the fact is we all shut up and we are here, a quiet, opiated, sia silent, and i went to do this to yell about the cuts in the pell grant. how dare we cut the program

and to take the poorest students in the nation to say that it should be cutw more than that? weur give a.g. and other people low-interest loans better students pay six and 7%?e t but it is okay. we don't say anything. b so i love your imaging. take it to the streets. >> we have. and there has been protests. but we live in a nation that seems to be manipulated by mass media. >> i knew it would come back to mass media. >> unfortunately we are running at a time but once you layo blameth hour of the ofo mass media say keogh. >> people are activated and protesting that is why i

have joined the freedom party to change the way education is beingou destroyed. >> thank you so much. thank you very much.we i appreciate your efforts. we are told the we're at the end of our time. thank you two leann four a day wonderful surviving and thriving event. thank you so much. we will see you then next time.

>>

>> this is a fabulous book year and doing a book signing afterwards and it is one of the books if you love history in general, this is something you should have on your bookshelf. having said that, i am hoping for a 10% after words. [laughter] but i thought we would start by, opposing some general questions about history then talk about these things our way into it. to start, since we're here the national archives i want to get your thoughts on the following many have lamented the lack of historical knowledge among young people.

>> history is to society. depending where you came from can you imagine how terrified it would be not to know your past? the course society copied that situation but if you don't know where you came from there is the difficulties of to get our barings that is the classic answer. i think we're living in a two dimensional world not experiencing the reality but

it is a mode of understanding is as important as the other senses i don't think history is just an affirmation that once you read enough of the historical sense to see the world differently with the added dimension and reality. says in the the perception is different. >> as we sit here, this set of remarkable events call their spring where people are trying to grab a piece of of a greater say of their destiny. what do you think the

founders would teach them in what about looking at the experience of america as they wrestle with that? >> presumably people are seeking democracy in that is what we're told they want to go to the things that come with democracy they see how the world is living and one taye share of that. democracy is hard work and does not come easy the authoritarian governments are easy to put together world has always had a monarchy we have a lot of the nine monarchy is that is not quite the word with that is how the founders sought it.

but they met authoritarian governments existed since it was time to govern. people have to be willing to sacrifice their selfishness for the good of the whole. that is what they meant by virtue for the private interest for the sake of the public good. it required a lot of self sacrifice and it is not easy to do. montesquieu was a leading french philosopher of 18th century very much read by the founder said democracy can exist only in small states because you cannot build a consensus with a large diverse population that is the important principle they had to confront but when drawing up the constitution because montesquieu would not be surprised what happened gwyn

tivo was removed from yugoslavia. suddenly the serbs and the other ethnic groups that were asked to each other's throat or when the soviet union was removed. suddenly all of those parts began to fight with one another. once you remove the authority in these various differences come and they make democracy very difficult because people have to willingly surrender and that is not easy to do. they became very pessimistic of those who become democratic. they thought the french were following them 10 years later by a french leaders thought so too then you have

lafayette at the outset was the leader of the french revolution who sent to the best deal that was the prison and best deal day is still celebrated as the beginning of the french revolution and it paying sedate yen mount vernon that was his way to say you americans are responsible for our revolution they thought they were responsible for all of the revolutions that took place fed they were err the vanguard to spread democracy throughout the world on the rise a spiral soon to tierney then they became pessimistic about the ability of other people to be like them that gave the notion that they were

exceptional which is very controversial. in a comparison of europe but the hope and the dream that other people would follow us has always been there. my last essay in the book is why america wants to spread in a democracy. if not necessarily through troops good example by showing the world that we could do that. that is what lincoln was all about touse elias the world could we survive? napoleon iii was in the throne and the new empire in france there were none left. lincoln was appealing to the dream to keep the hope