by subject matter. make sure that everybody understands the context and everybody understands that. each candid it feels. and not be restricted to particular time to talk about. >> hard work. >> by the time they get to these debates, it all like it's a very much. they've gone through an entire campaign but try to discredit each other on policy and maybe in other areas. so when you ask them to engage, as they did with obama and mccain, you saw that mccain would not talk to him. is that engagement easy? and me, really, at this point, these are people who do not like each other. >> that's right that may have been is a few of the problem was.

mccain just had it. .. >> guest: there are very few accidents that become candidates for president of the united states. these people have been through a meat grinder and mix master, and they've been pummeled, and they've been, you know, called every name in the book, and they've been accused of

everything, and they've had people yelling at them, and they've had all kinds of information and all this -- >> host: right. >> guest: and they have been tested is and tested and tested. and by the time they get on a stage in one of these debates, this is not the first time they've done that. it's just the most important time, but they are, they know from where they came. and most of the candidates, most of the public already knows these people, too, pretty well by then. >> host: so on the one hand they're being overprepped by their consultants and advisers. on the other hand, they're being told just be yourself, just be who you are. have you sensed the nervousness -- >> guest: oh, sure. >> host: really? >> guest: oh, yeah. in every one of these, you can smell it. >> host: really? >> guest: from day one. and it's like, i mean, i have the same feeling with the debate. i'm nervous when i begin. >> host: you are? >> guest: once i get into it, and you can tell when the candidates get into it.

but for them it's never over for them until it's over. the next question could be one that they may not have thought completely about, there may be something there that they -- so they can't ever, there's no cruising allowed for any candidate. and the nervousness, knowing -- like looking at your watch or, well, the best example editorially was gerald ford -- >> host: sure. >> guest: -- you know, in that debate with jimmy carter when he said eastern europe is not dominated by the soviet union. and his head was handed to him because it was -- and i asked him about that. he said, well, here's what i meant. i didn't say it right, but i -- here, again, he wasn't, he understood why everybody jumped him, and they jumped him badly, and it hurt him terribly. and he was already behind in the polls.

so, and this hurt him, made it even worse. but it's the, those examples are the ones that every candidate knows about. and they want to make sure that that thing, that doesn't happen to them. and that makes them very cautious. and it makes their consultants very cautious. >> host: so what do you do, we've got a couple minutes left. what do you do when it's over and suddenly the reviews are in? not only the candidates, but also the moderator. i mean, you've spent so much time preparing for this, and suddenly people are saying, you know, why did he ask that question, or why did he ask this question, or -- >> guest: well, i, it's exhilarating when it's over. >> host: yeah. >> guest: i mean, with all the strain and all of that, it's always -- for me -- i've always felt good about it, that it -- not always. but usually i feel really good about it. but then when the reviews come, somebody hammers me and says, you know, that's happened to me several times.

i wish i could say to you that, oh, i don't mind criticism. [laughter] i'm just like everybody else, you know? >> host: sure. >> guest: you know, i don't handle criticism well. and, but i've also realized, hey, look, if i can't handle criticism, then i shouldn't be moderating presidential debates, or i shouldn't even be on television. that goes with the territory. and public reaction, and it's impossible to please everybody, and if you start thinking about pleasing everybody, then you will please nobody. and if i feel i'm so, i'm so cocky now -- cocky's not the word -- i've been doing this so long -- >> host: right. >> guest: -- that somebody criticizes me for something and i don't think that criticism is justified, i don't worry about it. i'm really -- nobody has to tell me when i screwed up. i know when i screwed up. and that comes with doing this a long time. >> host: so what about the next

debates? >> guest: well, they're going to be great. i'm not going to participate in them. >> host: you're going to be watching them on t? >> guest: you bet. i'll be watching them, and i'll be willing to help anybody i possibly can to make, to do anything i possibly can to help them because they're critical to the election process. but i will be there to help as an observer. >> host: and watching it in front of the tv set will be a little less nerve-wracking, one would assume. >> guest: yes, ma'am. [laughter] >> host: well, thank you so much, jim lehrer. this is a fabulous book not just because i'm a political junkie, but it's very important. tension city by jim lehrer, my view from the middle seat. you should have said middle hot seat. [laughter] thanks a lot, jim. >> guest: thank you, gloria. >> that was "after words," booktv's signature program in which authors of the latest

nonfiction books are interviewed by journalists, public policymakers, legislators and others familiar with their material. "after words" airs every weekend on booktv at 10 p.m. on saturday, 12 and 9 p.m. on sunday and 12 a.m. on monday. you can also watch "after words" online. go to booktv.org and click on after words in the booktv series and topics list on the upper right side of the page. >> up next, from the 2011 harlem book fair, a panel on african-american economic history. this is about an hour, 20 minutes. >> good afternoon, everyone. >> good afternoon. >> 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 two terrific sisters, theyng are authors, and they're hard workers, they're advocates

for our communityings, and they're -- community, and they're activists. so, again, i applaud you all for coming out in what might be 100-degree weather to enjoy what we're about to enjoy right now. my name is troy johnson, and i am the ther of the african-american literature book club. aalbc.com is the largest and most frequently visited web sit written by and about people of african-american descent. it's one of the oldest web siteb of its kind online. est 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 you. you really want that? all the kids come to your house? no. 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 was hers. she purchased herself and went

to washington and became the taylor for elizabeth todd lincoln who have 165 pairs of gloves. how do you have that many gloves and 365 days a year? you have a shopper problem. [talking over each other] >> the story about her is useful because i want my sisters to think about multiple in come story she had. when abraham lincoln died elizabeth keckley was hostess to mary lincoln. they were sisters but mary lincoln didn't buy any more gloves because she had no more money. so she fired our sister, the

former slave who then wrote an autobiography and told stories no one wanted her to tell. she was clear about the fact she needed to make a living. sisters need to be clear about these issues. multiple income stream. how do you make a living? how do you put yourself out there? what do you do? surviving and thriving is about that. i want to say a little bit about this book from the perspective that nobody wanted to publish it. nobody wanted -- i had a lovely lunch with a young sister. send me a lobster salad and a glass of white wine and told me nobody wanted to hear about black people in congress. it was a lovely conversation. >> reminds me of a story talking with a television executive

about the life story of lena horne and what was said was it is not interesting enough. there wasn't enough -- not enough -- [talking over each other] >> long story short, i give him credit. do your thing. so we published a book. i called the book a note to my people. i want people of african descent to understand how important it is for us to revel in history. [talking over each other] >> it is crafted as the of 365 facts and mixed up the current

with the historic so it is really great and things people don't know about. i recommend it. i want to go back -- i am the one presenting this note here. because i think it is important for us to use your book and my book as encouragement to get through it. apparently between 2004, and 2009, media network of black households fell by 83% when there was a 24% drop in white households and it was 2018 or seven years for us to get back to the jobs we had in 2007 and what you talk about is an effort to recovers that doesn't include jobs. the centrality of work in our economy is being lost. i found that piece of yours -- >> go to juliannemalveaux.com.

we could have a recovery but no jobs for people to go into. >> it is one of the most perplexing aspects of the current economic situation. there are economists who say we are in recovery and no longer in recession and i always say go to the hood. stand on the corner. martin luther king and malcolm x, a lot of places you can stand. if economic recovery has come it has not come there. we have seen gdp growth in the past two years pick up. much of it is a function of the investment the federal government has made in banks and

in other places. we have not seen people going back to work. last month only 18,000 jobs were created. the unemployment rate went from 9.1% to 9.2%. for african-americans the unemployment rate is 15%. if you look a real rate it is 28%. these are trying times. what do we do about that? i believe we have abrogated our responsibility as citizens. we should all be angry, focused about what has to happen. i also believe we can create wealth on our own. so many others did. we can talk about a entrepreneurship in a different way. the oasis where we educate and celebrate women and develop 20

first century leaders and global thinkers -- [talking over each other] >> we require students to take a class in entrepreneurship because you will be an entrepreneur at some point in your life. with your a science or art majors some time you will have to figure out how to make it on your own. that is critically important. i think we need to begin to talk about ways that we replicate, produce, engender the wealth creation process. we also must talk more about how we engage politically and what we do. i am frustrated with our people around conversations with our president. this congress is a city hall. all these other places. what are you doing about that? how do you operate? how are you engaged? what do you do? we have a lot of work to do.

>> i remember distinctly when i used to see you on cnn and your voice is an extremely important one as a pundit. what do you think about al sharpton getting 6:00 on ms nbc? >> it is exciting. we don't have african-americans in prime time. if he is able to bring some knowledge to the game, let's do that. [applause] >> i am waiting for a sister. but i am excited this has happened. i really am. >> what do you think it is that has made black women's show in visible? i helped create the women's media center where we work to get women's voices and stories

told. it is an uphill battle. 90% of everything is still passed by men and women still only hold 3% of the positions in media in this day and age. >> i have two perspective as. one is the bias and patriarchy but we also need to be more vocal about what we want. i don't know how many sisters are here in the house. how many visited someone who said i want to see some black women on the air? we could own this. we have some ownership we could do as well. i am excited about the many ways we are beginning to unpack things. michele obama is a phenomenal leader and role model. she is great and wonderful.

we have to stand up. these people who have denigrated my favorite beverage make all this noise and every time she goes out for a hamburger they will take that somewhere and make it into something which is nonsense. when the left talk about the bush barrels -- girls there be no. we need to set the same standard. you can talk about president obama that he is a big boy, even talk about michele but leave the daughters out of it. they are little girls. come on. we don't do the work we could do to stand up and put a line in

the sand for our people. can we put a line in the sand for our people? that is all i am asking for. you know and i know when we make the phone calls we do the work. one phone call people think of as 1,000 people but who calls? you say that was just messed up. i was so mad that was messed up. don't be mad. get even. danny glover had a verizon commercial. they got mad at his politics and he lost it. why has rush limbaugh and never lost anything. i am exposing myself. have my back, please. come on. they talk about us as though we are in human. no one stands up for us.

what is wrong with us? that is a story of surviving and thriving. we only win the game when we play the game. we have got to play the game. >> i have a moment of shock when the girls went to africa with their mother. it was the first time i realized there are black girl living in the white house. isn't that amazing? i started reading alice's book the end of danger. talking about the fact the next generation of african-americans are not as bad as my generation was. do you believe that? granted he is interviewing the harvard mbas who have a different perspective on the world and have a slightly

different in come but do you believe we have perhaps mostly because of barack obama entered an optimistic face? we are not angry or should we be angry? are we hopeful? the figures say african-americans are more hopeful despite the employment figures than anybody else in the country. i want to know who they're talking about. >> to the southeast learning center to have any kind of survey of the homes in the hood. phyllis --ellis is a brilliant writer and really good and is raising interesting questions. let's look at the numbers. 3% of us don't have jobs. one in three. you don't have a job. you don't have a dog.

you don't have a job. has anybody called you? jobless people to ask how you are feeling about this? [talking over each other] >> the harvard mbas i am related to some. let's be clear. we have challenges. i used to live this life that was very fascinating. i took a piece of data and i could write a book about it. now for peace of data comes through my office and says i lost my job. how do i pay my tuition? that is my new life as a college president. i revel in it but i am very challenge by the fact that we in black america don't always see ourselves. some of us do phenomenally well.

our applaud them, the recreation committee and lots of other organizations but i also know about the people who have more months than money. they cannot eat. these theoretical discussions are not discussions that make a difference in their lives. it strikes me when i look at the numbers, sometimes almost makes me want to cry to think about the number of people who want to work but can't find work. think about the people being foreclosed on when billions of dollars of banks won't lend. i am not sure how to begin to have a conversation about the

hidden danger. an end of a anger is the beginning i hope of -- i hope those people who understand they essentially pay their taxes for other people to get bonuses are mad enough to do something about it. [applause] >> we don't hear those voices. unless we are reminded of the unemployed we don't see them. we don't know that they are there. what is the solution for that? we are talking about the debt ceiling and other issues. we are not talking about the people you are talking about. that has to happen. >> you and i are both media people. we spend time telling stories and we know the stories that want to be told and that don't want to be told and we need to be clear our story needs to be

told. one reason i am excited about our sharpton getting a show on msn b.c. is i know al sharpton has a feeling for the people. i am hoping he will raise up the issues, talk to some of the people who have issues or problems and deserve to be heard. we all need to be clear about the way we deserve to be heard and we will create our own strategies. again, probably not the place to be as vulnerable -- this hurts me. it hurts me to see people of african descent at the periphery of our economy understanding the many ways we have been central. understanding in so many ways to work that we have to do and

understanding no one is going to do it for us. there are a series of demographics that are frightening. we are not the biggest minority any more and we are now the fastest-growing. the latino population -- we are not mad at them but they are where they are and who they are and how they are and we need to figure out how to work with them. we also need to figure out how to get our fair share of this economy that we have created a foundation for. that is what part of the challenge is. i look at the next five years for the next 25 years of our nation. i understand last year we created 75,000 engineers in the united states of america. china is 600,000. they are investing in higher

education. we are divesting from higher education. help me with that. help me with that. is that ok with those? president obama says he wants to be the lost leaders in terms of education but china is investing more money. this is the money that goes to our poor young people. we have challenges that we refuse to deal with. our people are dying and nobody really cares. the answers you would find in the economic history of blacks in america, what would you point to? >> i love that question. when we look at our people we look at ursula burns at xerox and sarah washington who was lifted up at the new york

world's fair in 1945. distinguished businesswoman. dorr the bronze and who has opportunities in radio. carolyn mingo jones, mary ann's dragons --spraggins we had a sister once, ilan appears on the securities and exchange commission. gloria stewart was the sister, first black woman to make a living as a speaker. par la harris, phenomenal young woman who was a financial genius and has a fabulous voice. the first black woman who passed the new york stock exchange -- here is the point. we can do it. the book was written as a love

note to my people because i love us. i think we are so phenomenal. just about being a person of african descent. i worry. if the lord made me something else it wouldn't have turned out right. i think we can do whatever we do. i look at my friends here, reggie and patrick and so many others who step out on a limb because they love us. if you love us you will help us be who we need to be. >> there are people in the audience who would like to ask questions. we have a microphone set up on my left side, your right side of the auditorium. if you would like to step up please join us in this conversation. we want to hear as many of you as possible. and okay.

go right ahead. >> first of all it is great to see you, carol. i remember you from channel 4 and you are best. >> thanks very much. >> great to see you. i have a question. i am very solution oriented. i am a retired physician and i'll always -- i make the diagnosis but here is the prescription. about what you have been talking for the last half hour or so. is voting now irrelevant? i am asking this because a drop in the percentage of young people who voted in 2010.

we're seeing voter disenfranchisement efforts across the country. i am asking both of you, what can we do to let young people know how important it is that they not let go of this life they have now that they are 18 years of age. how do we communicate that we have to go to economic tour must keep them going to the polls not just every four years but you mentioned city council, how do we do this? i think this is critical. >> julianne has written about voter suppression which is something we have to keep uppermost in our minds. >> voting is not the most you can do. it is the least you can do. we need to be clear with all of our people t .. registration and voter information is the least you can

do. we need to be clear that there are efforts towards voter suppression which mean in some parts of the south instead o vo suppression which mean in some parts of the south instead of precinct voting they're doing area going which means 30 miles to a voting place which then discriminate against you by money or how you get there, 20 or 40 miles. in some states you have to show surely franklin, the mayor of atlanta's mother was turned away from a voting poll because she did not have the proper identification. we have to be more active around the voting issue. there are two way that the people who suppress populist

economic issues have approached the voting process. and of course the challenges to president obama that have come directly in terms of the debt ceiling and other things. as i said earlier we have had more than 70 raises of the debt ceiling. nobody thought with a problem four years ago. was called housekeeping matter. now suddenly it is a huge issue. but the other way it has been done is deal with the integrity of the voting process and so i would ask people to think about ways that they might also be involved in the voting process whether or not they are running for things like secretary of state, voting in their own areas. your question is a very important question and again, here is our challenge.

we have not consistently been -- i have the game a bit. surviving and thriving for a number of reasons. many people who made an economic difference did it and so while the book talks about entrepreneurs we also talk about people, the national domestic workers union in the 1930s, women who did the research for the sit in, the people who did the sit in, this was an energy we once had and an energy we still have. thank you again for your questions and you also talked about the fact that women are filling leadership roles including in the civil-rights organization and in politics so i would say not only you should vote but you should run. that is why represented that.

you have a question? >> i agree voting has a function but political education precedes the vote. if you take that franchise and hand it over without demanding it turn back, is useless and what is happening in our communities, belonging to a party that has been mistreating you for the longest -- it is time for us to think outside the box and not look for the box to be adorned with the white ribbon. >> are you talking about third-party candidates or -- >> i am talking about our people at some point having a political convention, keep everybody out. and let's work it out. this is not working.

it is not working. you have black faces in high end places not enough. >> you feel the democratic party has -- >> not that i feel. the reality of it is. >> and yet you wouldn't find yourself wanting to vote for the republicans? >> i am independent. let's be real with it. >> here is reality, my brother. here is reality. you have a whole bunch of barbie doll links. someone is supposed to help me here. these women who are republicans who don't know chicken salad from chickens that, are not leaders. policy is an imperfect process. it is an extraordinarily

imperfect process. those who spend time in politics know that. third-party possibilities do it. we see them before. what was his name? ross perot made a difference in 2000 or '92. he made a difference. i think african-american people have the right to raise issues and platforms but i also think at the end of the day if you tell me is that my choice is any democrat or sarah palin -- [laughter] -- i will go with any democrat. that would be me. that might not be you. i am not sure that i can see russia from alaska. >> and yet there are many

progressives. there are many people of color who are in this quandary. is a quandary that is not the quandary -- the quandary is how to get action for -- the same thing you are urging. >> we cannot assume -- let me be really clear. those who are steeped in presidential politics understand the limitations and the president has. >> talking about more than the president. the old party is straight through -- >> make it happen. >> what i think is really exciting. doing exciting work. i know some of the folks who support that. i think in minnesota you have --

that is exciting. at the end of the day. politics is the art of compromise. i know that i don't want sarah palin or michele bachman, let's go down the list. mitt romney or john mccain. a flawed obama is better than the best of those people. [applause] >> my name is carl e. petersen. i am a professor at the university of maryland. i want to start off by saying this conversation reminds me of things you always said. those black folk and its emphasis on politics, education and work.

it seems we are revisiting that conversation 110 years later. has a sideline i also wrote a book about family and i am talking later this afternoon so i am glad to hear about your book about entrepreneurship because my family was entrepreneurs but along with on for northship they were interested in education. that is the question that i wanted to ask about because as a college president -- we work really hard with our students, black and white about addressing a comment that was made this morning by michael lomax. what do we do to get our kids to college? that seems like such a big issue, getting our kids through high school and into college. i work for a foundation called posse, and our executive

director -- what they do is they work to get disadvantaged kids into college. how we address our failing public schools system especially when it comes to black kids? >> thank you for your remark. terra lawson is the new d.c. coordinator of the posse foundation in d.c.. i am proud of her. she is my baby girl. i borrow her from time to time. we are excited about [talking over each other] >> come. we are excited about that. i am excited about the image the posse foundation has which is about changing the metric around college attendance. here is what we have to do.

going to college is not boring. it is not a nerdy, it is not white folks. it is how you build yourself and your game. so many young black people have been told that you don't need to, want to or have to go to college. if you want to be a banker that is what you have to do. if you want to be a scholar that is what you do. if you deal with health disparities that is what you do. we need to make this as exciting as any other game in town. the posse foundation is important because it brings young people in a group that deal with what they do and so you have a group of people reenforcing each other. here is what is more important. we need to have conversation about what we want black america to look like. when we have those conversations

we have conversations about excellence. we have conversations about excellence and talk about the ways we let our young people to be and what they can aspire to. that is one of the reasons i wrote this book. we can play the game. and enslaved purchase -- a paris and can present themselves. if an enslaved person could purchase him or herself, how come we can't do what we need to do to be ourselves or love ourselves and with ourselves up? when we talk about college attendance and college participation it is about claiming our rights to be there. we are -- celebrate women and having to do that again and develop in the twenty-first

century. anything within the human consciousness is attainable for any of us. what does that mean? learning is attainable for all of us. thinking is attainable for all of us. achievement is attainable for all of us. this is a message we have to give to our young people. we cannot allow someone to tell our young people they can't. when we come home with that message we need to say who told you that and get a can of you know what and say you cannot bring that into our state because we know that we can compete. we know we must compete and we know we will compete as long as we have that opportunity. i hope you will continue your work and i hope that all of us will continue the work of lifting up our people. yes, there is a horrible

achievement gap. it makes me cry. people ask me -- i don't sleep at night. i worry about the achievement gap. i know that when i see you in this room that you came here because you wanted to have a conversation about who we are. we are a people who have achieved and we will continue to do so. >> on a more practical note we have to kick out bad teachers. we have to make a decision between our children and the adults. we have been way considering. [talking over each other] >> starts way before college. >> who are bad teachers? >> i am not -- >> this is an issue.

>> we have to analyze who is being productive and who isn't. >> a former champion in washington d.c. basically blamed teachers for low achievement. >> the results that came out showed that they have eliminated the teachers who were not performing. and her work was port and manipulated results. [talking over each other] >> because i am a member of a sorority -- one of the black women's organizations that basically have a lot teachers. [talking over each other] >> i thought i like you but you made a mistake. who got the holy water?

we can save her. we have -- you talk about the gap. my age group is, i guess we don't get a voice because a lot of us are educated and we are not employed as well. we are not being considered and i wanted to, as somebody who grew up in the city who moved to other states and who is a very persevering person, i would like to know one of the things that specifically this book fair is about books. my industry that i am interesting -- interested in publishing and was outsourced to years ago, the company ãand tal gap the company i used to work for went bankrupt. i am an entrepreneur. but who is going to employ me? i just travel an hour-and-a-half

to connecticut for a technology job and after doing a great job was turned away because i was told by live too far away and i would leave them. i am the most loyal person and because of that loyalty i am not employable. i am overeducated and a lot of areas and when they look at someone like me they go what do we do with you? what is the direction someone like myself who is committed to the community and digs in and goes wherever i go and tries to make it better but gets turned away? what does someone like myself do? >> you are looking at the technology job. [talking over each other] >> more about the creative side. i get turned away from those creative positions because of who we look like or whatever. >> each one -- education jobs

have been downsized. >> publishing -- [talking over each other] >> i was just that borders yesterday at the everything must go sale. what i realized is even though everything must go and everything was discounted the books were more expensive than i could buy online or download on mike kendall and as i wrote in my blog, media.com i take full responsibility because i was an early kendall adopter. this is the new -- certainly julianne's experience in publishing, this is the future. this is selling phenomenally well. gave me the figures of all the books that are flying off the shelves that are part of julianne's company and the entrepreneur aspect of that, read the example of the making of a black american.

because that is the story of creating, we are a little bit beyond looking for jobs. we have to create our jobs. we have to create our company. i just wrote a piece about catherine cook who when she was 15 she and her brothers please the 15 and 16 years old started myyearbook.com. still a student at georgetown university and that is the creative piece julianne malveaux is talking about. we are beyond looking for employment. we have to focus on creation. >> building our own businesses? >> let me say a couple fangs. when we look at the unemployment numbers it is clear we have to create our own opportunities. when you look at the fact that a third of all black people don't

have employment, most of the people who are unemployed right now have been looking for more than a year. i would ask you to engage your spirit in keyways that you can create added value to the world. that is what entrepreneurship is. creating added value. back in here, stand up. in here -- sneak in, but anyway. and his lovely wife. we are glad you are here. you need to figure out, where is your passion, how do you engage your passion? i think i raised some things in the context of this conversation but more importantly, if you prefer to work for others, you

are -- you need to figure out what value you bring to others. if you are an entrepreneur, go for it. create your space. there are a whole bunch of websites. i think our nation is devolving from an economic perspective. more of us will be entrepreneur. our young people and i applaud you for standing up and speaking your truth. i think a lot of our young people have many challenges. whether you are an art major or science major or journalism major, business major i believe you will be an entrepreneur at some point in your life. that is unavailable. there is a requirement for our students to do that.

if you have not taken such a class, take one and do your thing. >> yes, sir. >> my name is casey and i want to dovetail off of what the earlier gentleman said about the political parties, democratic and republican and how they are basically failing, failing people in general. people in the community and across the nation so many people have written in so many news articles that democrats and republicans are two -- we are being played like monkey in the middle. we're having this discussion about the deficit ceiling should be raised and so on and so forth and details are being kept away from us.

what are they talking about cutting? who is going to be heard in this process? obama is giving generous negotiating invitation to republicans. what does that entail. there will be protests in the street. and -- building of their police forces. >> protests in the street? >> talking about cutting medicaid and social security. >> but the question is? >> the argument is the people need to be more politically awoken, politically aware. need to be more involved in what goes on.

>> i would be very happy to see protests in the streets. but where have we last seen protests in the streets. people have been opiated. we continue to hear about things that are going to happen. we wring our hands but people have not responded. we talk about voter suppression. you are suppressing all people. all people being hit by social security, medicaid and medicare. you cuts voter opportunities and obviously people who are being cut have nothing to say because they can't vote. i would love to see people rise up. but the fact is we all shut up. we are here, quiet, opiated by this. i want students to yell about

pal grants. how dare we cut pal grants? how dare we take the poorest students in their nation and say to them that their financial aid is going to be cut. we give a ig and other people no interest loans that are students pay 6%, 7% on loans? it is okay. we don't see anything. you take that energy. i love your energy. take it to the streets. >> we have taken it to the streets. there have been protests. you live in a nation that seems to be manipulated by mass media. >> i knew it was going to come back to mass media. [talking over each other] >> we are running out of time. once you lay blame on the mass media we are all set.

[talking over each other] >> people are activated and people are protesting and doing things and i have joined the freedom party which has been involved in protests to change the way education has been destroyed. >> thank you very much. i appreciate your efforts. we are at the end of our time. i want to thank julianne malveaux for wonderful surviving and thriving. thank you all so much. i am carol jenkins and we will see you the next time. love you all. >> booktv recently visited baton rouge, louisiana with the help of local cable affiliate, communication. the visit was part of our city for checking out literary culture of several locations across the country. now let governor william

claiborne's correspondence on the campus of louisiana state university. >> i am para and i am head of special collections for l s u library. special collections is held here. special collections has a variety of different parts to it. today are am talking about an item from the louisiana and lower mississippi valley collection which is the premier collection in special collections. documents the history and culture of louisiana and the lower mississippi valley from the colonial era to the present day and includes published material like books, journals and newspapers as well as unpublished manuscripts like this volume i have here which is one of our jewels that william claiborne's letter book. this latter book was capped by

william claiborne was appointed by thomas jefferson to receive louisiana from the french for the louisiana purchase. it is amazing. he was only 28 at the time and he was governor of the mississippi territory. this is the correspondence that he sent back to thomas jefferson and james madison and other officials to let them know how it was going to louisiana after the changeover. it wasn't always going so smoothly. the thing to think about is that back then and this covers october of 1804 to may of 1805 and they didn't have word-processing or xerox machines but wanted to keep a copy of something they had sent. they had to have a clerk copy it for them and this is the copy that they kept in louisiana of when they sent forward to washington as well as correspondence that were sent to people in louisiana.

it was really an interesting time in louisiana because it was quite uncertain. there was a lot of debate and doubt as to whether louisiana was going to stay part of the united states. the french felt they had a claim to it. spanish felt they still have a claim to it. that made it hard for claiborne to establish the government he needed to because people were wait and see what is going to happen. they didn't want to cooperate with americans that went back to the french or spanish because that would be held against them. some of these letters relate to that while he is trying to establish legislative council and the court and he is not getting a lot of cooperation. there was a lot of tension between the french who are here, spanish, the english who are also around and americans. this letter here, you see