tv Book TV CSPAN February 25, 2012 12:00pm-2:00pm EST
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>> you know, these bombs and everything. but is not really discussed that much, you know, domestically. >> uh-huh. >> and also i read a little paragraph in "the guardian" that says, well, an election is coming x obama needs to consider -- and obama needs to consider whether bombing or not, you know, how this will be tied to his policies of re-election.
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so this is -- [laughter] that's kind of a déjà vu kind of thing. i don'ti don't know. >> i mean, it's a very old tactic. before the israeli election beginning -- end of 2008, beginning of 2009. it's an old tactic. i didn't realize the u.s. was in on it. i've seen television with regard to israel getting closer and closer to doing this. you know, i mean, the irony is that there are, apparently, something like 100 nuclear warheads in the desert and, you know, iran probably has about enough nuclear power to light up a few watches. and so here we're, you know, why do they have the right to have nuclear weapons and iran
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doesn't? i mean, you know, who decided that? >> [inaudible] you know, the bomb being -- this is being discussed. >> no, no -- right. right. and, i mean, it's hard for me to, you know, really comment extensively about that. but i think israel will do, if it happens, israel will do the job for the united states. the important thing about, i mean, the united states and getting into any of this is that in order to function the united states needs an enemy and needs an enemy that's constantly present and preferably a war, you know in and so libya, you know, was next on the agenda. actually, that was a wonderful by michele bachmann at the gop presidential bedebates in
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december, she said obama has invaded libya, and now he's moving on to africa. [laughter] did she think libya was in northern europe? you know? a serious presidential candidate in the united states. you know, you tell me this country's not over? i mean, how could it not be over? and, but it's, you know, i mean, there's no doubt in my mind that ten years from now we'll be making war on some country on the other side of the planet spending trillions of dollars on it, you know, chad, ghana, an arty ca, it -- antarctica, it doesn't matter. we've got to have an enemy in order to function. that's the whole problem of negative identity x that's the, i mean, the only way america could possibly save itself, and it can't, but it could slow the mess down is what jimmy carter wanted to do; stop blaming the outside, he said, let's look at ourselves. it was a very christian point of view. don't look at the what's that
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line the mote of dust, the speck of your enemy's eye but -- >> [inaudible] >> yeah, right. you know, so, i mean, that's what's needed to do. of course, you know, you know the result. he was voted out of office, and a drooling baffoon was elected, you know, for eight years who basically, you know, sponsored death squads in latin america and said that ketchup was a vegetable. [laughter] you know? >> hi. to paraphrase your postmortem comment, i had a question just as a postmortem evaluation of a patient i guess you could say, hey, this guy could have lived longer if he had done this or in retrospect if you took that, say, you know, your book as a postmortem of america what could we do to extend our --
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>> right. >> -- you know, time here and the nation's? >> well, what does happen in a phase like this, i mean, if you can compare it to an organism that's dying, you know, which i would, what happens in those phases is that the organism throws out antibodies that are attempting, basically, to prolong life or get back to health or something like that. i would say that the impulse behind occupy wall street is that of an antibody trying to say, well, if you have a situation where 1%, the top 1% owns more collectively than the bottom 90%, you know, one thing you've got to do is address that in balance. so that would be part of their solution and part of their demand and so on. how to actually make that happen is another story, but at least their analysis is severe social inequality is the death of a society, and that has to be addressed.
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other antibodies, i suppose, include people like, you know, myself and chris and all those people that basically are saying red flag, not good, you know? and that type of thing. but i, i really don't -- i actually feel it's too late. in fact, you know, a friend of mine wrote me the other today that he thought the wall street protests were, you know, was analogous to chemotherapy for the terminally ill, you know? and it just may be too late for any of that stuff. but the things that, i mean, in the book "the twilight of american culture," structurally i compare the united states to the late roman empire, and i identified the factors that were the same. and i said here's what you've got to do, you know, you have to reverse all these things. not believing for a minute that anybody was going to pay any
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attention. i figured i'd sell 12 week books or something like that. wasn't much more. my mother bought four copies. [laughter] so, you know, there are things that are quite clear like rebalancing the social inequality, for example. or the fact that if you have 77% of a school system not knowing who george washington was, well, maybe we ought to take a look at redoing that curriculum, you know? remove estee lauder and stuff like this. but, i mean, the real question is sort of, for me, it's not what should be done because i think all those things are kind of obvious. it's what's most likely to occur. what's most likely to occur, quite honestly, is that kim kardashian will be a study unit in the texas board in a couple of years from now, you know? i would not be that shocked. and, um, so it's sort of like there's, you know, arnold toinby
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said this, but also jared diamond most recently in his book. both of them said what's characteristic of a dying civilization is that in a dying phase it does precisely those things which accelerate what's bad. you can count on it to do it faster. that's what we're seeing. so we've invaded libya, on to africa. anybody else? [laughter] >> on point of -- [inaudible] do you think it is -- [inaudible] communities not working proposerly -- properly? there people talk with each other in the café what is happening in the local community, and this is not happening here. here people are in turmoil, but they don't talk like that type of talk. do you think that that is something to basic we have to
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pay attention to? >> yeah, those are major differences. >> and to add to that, the year, this years the mexican community which i love very much, they suffer less from this, also, because they have the stronger community ties. they talk to each other. yesterday i went to the mobile shop, and he was from latin america. so i had a good chat with him, and that never happens with a white person from america. >> yeah. >> that's my point, okay. [laughter] >> no, that's a good question. in his probably most famous essay, labyrinth of solitude, o.k. talf owe says that what is
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considered in mexico communion in the united states is considered contamination. it's harsh, but it's true. americans don't want to talk with each other, they just want to live in a bubble. and there are a lot of factors for why there's more of a social safety net in europe. i mean, i would recommend to anybody -- europe, obviously, has a lot of economic problems right now, and we're seeing a struggle, but i would recommend to anybody europe's promise by stephen hill. this is a really good book talking about differences between united states' direction and european direction. the tradition of extreme individualism has gone, goes back to the late 16th century in the united states, and it's so intense that, um, to even ask your neighbor for help is considered a sign of weakness in the united states. i mean, that's how, it's
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pathological ideology, you know? i mean, that's really what it is. and, you know, i run a blog -- for those of you interested, it's just morris berman.com, and for people who live outside the united states and have lived in both will frequently comment that the one reason they're happy to be outside the united states is that there's a feeling of we're all in this together. that doesn't exist in the united states, you know? i mean, go over to the management section of barnes & noble. it's looking out for number one and the brand named you. i mean, all -- me, myself and i, you know? it's one book after another that says, you know, your job in life is to screw everybody else and be on top of the dung heap. hooray, you know? and on that note, thank you very much. [applause]
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>> you're watching booktv on c-span2, 48 hours of nonfiction authors and books every weekend. >> a big conservative story here. laura, what is the message to the cpac folks here, what do the candidates need the hear there this crowd? >> don't be so anxious. it's all going to work out. we'll all unite in the end. and if you're a republican nominee and you become president, we're going to hold you accountable. i think people have been burned before, and they don't want to be burned again, so it's kind after a gut check. but i don't get the sense that everybody's afraid, i think people are excited, and from what i've seen so far, all the candidates have done a great job. i think we're going to hear a lot more in the coming days, and this is all good. this is a very good thing that happened today. >> how do you assess the race, where it stands now? >> santorum's, obviously, experiencing the surge that a lot of the other candidates have experienced, the question is, is
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he going to be able to take the heat now? romney's going to turn it up, and he has the organization to do it. you can fly by the seat of your pants for a while but not for an entire primary season, so he's going to have to step it up. >> thank you. >> all right, we love grip. how are ya? >> good, how are you. >> great. here you go. thank you, take care of yourself. hi, how are ya? >> hello. >> sorry, my head was down. >> hi. >> hi, how you doing? >> good, how are you. >> good. you having fun? >> yeah. >> good to see you. >> nice to meet you. >> they'll do it for you. >> they said they won't. >> oh, you can do it. >> i'm sorry. >> that's okay. >> great. >> thank you so much. appreciate it. >> take care. all right, bye-bye. hi, how are you? thank you, take care. >> thank you very much. >> thank you.
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have a good one. how are ya? >> thank you so much. >> how's it going? >> good, how are you. >> enjoy it. you'll laugh, promise. how are you? >> good, how are you? >> great. enjoy. listen to my speech, laugh. how you doing? >> you got here. >> i know. sorry, great to see you. how are you? >> glad you made it. >> i know. i'm sorry, it was just -- i'm hosting o'reilly tonight, so it's, like, the worst timing. good to see you. >> laura, thank you so much for coming. such a big fan. >> sorry i'm so late. great to see you. thank you. how are you? >> hi, good, how are you? >> i'm great. thank you for being here. >> thank you so much. >> take care. hi, how are you? how's it going? >> doing good. >> there we go. we got one. nice to see you. bye-bye. how are you? >> good, how are you? i just want to say thank you. i'm an intern at heritage, so -- >> oh, fantastic. >> oh, good, come be an intern for our show. >> that would be great. >> e-mail our web site, put
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intern on the subject line. >> thank you. >> all right. hi. >> hi. >> how are you? >> i watch you every day, i wanted to meet you. >> oh, thank you. watch me total, i'm hosting o'reilly. all right. hi, michael. >> glad you got in okay. >> sorry, it was a little hairy out there. thank you. hi, gene, how are you doing? >> i'm doing fine. >> great to see you. thanks for being here. i'll do it. hello, how are you? >> good. i listen to you all the time. appreciate it. >> oh, really? do we make you laugh? >> you didn't get bruised, did you? [laughter] >> hi. >> how are you? >> i'm great, how are you doing? >> thank you very much. >> it's great to see you. how are you doing? >> good. >> you having fun here? you anxiety-ridden? >> not at all. >> good man. great to see you. >> thank you for coming. >> oh, my pleasure. great to meet you. >> hi, how are you? >> hi, how are you. >> oh, i love watching you on fox. >> thank you for watching. we need you to support us.
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>> oh, well, that we do. >> watch o'reilly tonight, i'm hosting. >> oh, are you really? >> yes. >> nice to meet you this person. huge fan. >> thank you, back at ya. >> up next, matt wasniewski, historian of the house of representatives, presents a history of house of african-americans who served in congress. he's joined by former congressman ron dellums, the founding member of the congressional black caucus, at the rayburn house office building near washington. this is about two hours. >> good morning, good morning, everyone. i wanted to welcome you to this black history month program. it is the blacks, black americans in congress briefing and discussion, and i think this is an outstanding way to start the morning, so we're going to begin. my name is adrina, and i am the director of voice virtual library project.
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a voice, african-american voices in congress is a longstanding project of the cbcf that chronicles legislative accomplishments of african-americans in the congress and the impact on shaping democracy in america. the web site, www.avoiceonline.org, is a resource which helps cultivate public discourse or and scholarship on african-american leadership in government and promotes civic engagement among youth. i am honored to be your moderator for today's event. today we will hear from the house historian matt wasniewski and the lead editor of the book "black americans in congress," another fantastic resource. later we will hear from former congressman ronald dellums who will be introduced, hopefully, by representative barr rah lee. at this time, please, welcome the sponsor of our briefing, congresswoman frederica wilson who represents florida's 17th
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congressional district. a lifelong educator, congresswoman wilson before coming to congress served as a principal, a school board member, florida statehouse representative and a florida state senator. this is her freshman term in congress. congresswoman? [applause] >> wow, thank you so much, ah green that, and thank you, matt, for being here with us today, and thanks to all of you for coming out to share this with us. history is so important. and in florida i served as the coordinate naitder for african-american history in the entire state and was responsible for placing in the textbooks of history black history. in fact, congresswoman carrie meek, congresswoman brown and
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congressman al c. hastings are in the fourth grade textbooks of florida when we study the state as being elected. so i'm very happy to say, also, i serve as the chairman of black history for the miami-dade county public schools. i have a whole segment of the community that is interested in making sure that everyone learns african-american history as they come through the public schools. so we meet quarterly, we give suggestions to the african-american history task force and make sure that that goal is met. so today we continue that legacy, and i want to thank keenan and all of the interns in my office for all that they have done, especially pulling this together, thanking c-span for coming out to cover us today as we move along, we expect more
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people o come. they have just called votes. i'm going to vote, and i only have two votes, and i will be back to enjoy this wonderful, rich session. i see our great honoree is here this morning, and let's give him a hand just as he enters the door. [applause] we're so pleased, this is just a great day in washington. it's a great day on cap top hill, and it's a -- capitol hill, and it's a great day for our nation. thank you so much. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much, congresswoman. and now, please, welcome matt wasniewski. >> thank you very much, congresswoman wilson, for arranging this opportunity to discuss black history month with you and in particular the history of african-americans in
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congress. so many changes have occurred in this storyline in the recent past by historical standards that it really is, it's been an amazing amount of change. and certainly within the lifetimes of those of us in this room there's been tremendous change in this story. i'd like to throw two statistics at you to point this out. the first is that there have been 126 african-americans who have served in our institution, the house of representatives. there have been six other individuals who have served in that other body on the north side of the building, the senate. okay? no african-american individual has ever served in both chambers. so if you add them up, that's 132 people. and as a portion of congress, all the members of congress going back to 1789 to the first
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federal congress, that accounts for about 1% of all the people who have ever served in the house and senate. now, to demonstrate how this change has occurred very quickly in recent years, consider this. as african-americans, as many african-americans have been elected to congress since 1990 as were elected in the entire period between 1870 and 1990. from 1870 the first african-americans, a senator from mississippi, joseph rainy from south carolina, a member in the house. so that's a tremendous amount of change. and what i'd like to do today is to help you better understand some of the earlier context of this story. representative dellums certainly is an authority on what's happened in the modern era. so what i'd like to do is prepare you for his talk by talking about some of the pioneers, some of the early representatives and senators who
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came along and made the changes that have happened in our lifetimes possible. and to do that, i want to refer to a publication which we published in 2008, "black americans in congress," and we're going to use our web site behind me to illustrate that. erin from our office is going to drive the bus on that and highlight some of the individuals i'll be mentioning. this book was published this 2008. the web site features some things not available in the book; lesson plans for teachers, a gallery of art and artifacts that weren't in the book, and it's also updated regularly, so i'd recommend it to thin who'd like to learn more about the history. i am just going to be skimming the surface today. it's at baic.house.gov, and it's formated in a chronological manner where we break african-american history on capitol hill into four long generations. and we do that to provide context so that people can understand the elections in which these members came into
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congress, and also the environment in which they legislated in both the house and the senate. so let me move to the first generation of african-americans who served during the reconstruction period after the civil war up until 1887. reconstruction, of course, as you no doubt are familiar with was the northern effort to reform the seceded southern governments, the former confederate states and integrate the south back into the union. now, historians typically date this between 1863, 1865 and 1877, the formal end of reconstruction. now, during most of reconstruction in both the house and the senate a very influential group of individuals nope as radical republicans really ran the legislative agenda in both chambers. and radicals tended to be former abolitionists who wanted to impose a much harsher version of
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reconstruction on the southern states than did presidents lincoln or johnson. and radical leaders such as thaddeus stephens of pennsylvania who was truly the leader of the house, chairman of the ways and means committee and then the appropriations committee, and then charles sumner of massachusetts, the great radical leader in the senate wanted this program of reconstruction to, in the end, create a multiracial society wherein newly-freed african-americans would be integrated fully into the political process. now, the very first african-american in congress was with hiram revels who i mentioned. he toured the nation after his term as a senator after the mississippi legislature had appointed him in 1870. and when he took a long national speaking tour, newspapers referred to him as the 15th amendment in flesh and blood. okay? this north carolina-born preacher personified
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african-american emancipation and franchisement in the civil war period. he occupied a senate seat that had been held by a man named albert brown who left the chamber in 1861 when the state seceded, and it was a very powerful, symbolic appointment. brown was a former slave holder, and here was hiram revels taking his seat less than a decade earlier. as senator henry wilson of massachusetts escorted revels to the front of the chamber to take his oath on february 25, 1870, the atlanta constitution had a reporter in the galleries who wrote: the crowded galleries rose almost en masse, and each particular neck was stretched to its uttermost to get a view. a curious crowd colored in white rushed into the senate chamber and gazed at the senator, some of them congratulating him. a very respectable-looking, well-dressed company of colored men and women then came up, took revels captive and bore him off
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in glee and triumph. well, revels' triumph was short lived because after his short appointment expired the following year, a leading white republican in the state, a former confederate general -- james alcorn -- was appointed to the full six-year term and took his seat in the senate. and in many respects hiram revels' service foreshadowed that of other african-american members during this period, during reconstruction and the decades after. there were 17 african-american congress men who served between 170 and 1877 -- 1870 and 1877, and they had a lot in common. they all came from reconstructed republican governments in the south. most were born in the south. eight of them had been born into slavery. those who hadn't been born into slavery, the majority of them were born into relatively large, free, mixed-race communities in
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urban areas in the south such as charleston, south carolina. and their professional backgrounds were diverse. they were teachers, clergy, hotel managers, merchants. and one profession a number of them shared in common, and it is a, it was a time-honored 19th century vehicle for advancing one's political career. a lot of them came from journalism backgrounds with start-up republican newspapers in the south. there was a lot to unite this group. and with their stories of personal triumph and individual moments of heroism, they offered a powerful collective symbol of the victory of african-american citizenship and voting rights in those years after the civil war. but it's important to remember, too, that during this period these african-american members never really achieved the level of power that was wielded by their white colleagues in both the house and the senate. and in a sense they really
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served at the margins of institutional power. they were, in a sense, tolerated but not embraced on capitol hill. and a couple of things to point that out. none of these figures really held influential committee positions. no power committees, appropriations or ways and means or later rules. they didn't serve in the leadership. and nor did they serve in sufficiently large numbers to really drive a legislative ayen da. in fact, the large itself group of african-americans who served in the 19th century in one congress was eight. seven representatives and senator blanche bruce from mississippi. and that was in the 44th congress, 1875-1877. these were all republicans, and they at that point were serve anything a congress that was under -- serving in a congress that was under democratic control. lacking any qualitative institutional power, these african-americans were, for the most part, on the floor relegated to passive roles to
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support legislation that was being introduced and shaped their colleagues. by their colleagues. but they provided firsthand accounts of civil rights abuses against their constituents in the south and often against themselves that got a lot of press attention. probably the most noteworthy debates in which these african-americans participated related to the civil rights act of 1875. now, the civil rights act of 1875 was a very forward-looking piece of legislation. it was very progressive. it had been introduced by charles sumner in the senate, and had it been enacted in it entirety, it would have done everything that the 1964 civil rights act did in terms of outlawing racial discrimination in public transportation, schools, juries and public accommodations. and i want to introduce one fella who was involved in the debate. his name was robert elliot from south carolina, and he is truly
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one of the more interesting people who we profiled. he was much younger than his colleagues. he had a photographic memory, and he was a great orator. when he came to the house floor, the national press in the galleries took note. he's also a character because he essentially, as we found out, invented much of his early personal history, probably to make himself more suitable for political office, but i'll let you read the profile in the book. he offered in early 1874 a very eloquent rebuttal to the former confederate vice president, alexander stephens, of georgia who had been elected to the house and who came onto the house floor in opposition, to speak in opposition to this civil rights bill. and i want to the read you a quote that elliott gave on the floor. i regret, sir, that the dark hue of my skin may lend a color to the imputation that i am controlled by motives personal to myself in my advocacy of this great measure of national justice.
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the motive that impels me is restricted to to such boundary, but is as broad as your constitution, and i advocate it because it is right. well, "the chicago tribune" reported watching mr. elliott give this great speech and then watching the elderly alexander stephens deliver a very dry speech from his wheelchair in the well of the house. they reported that elliott had a harmony of delivery that resonated with the entire chamber. mr. elliott has demonstrated the real force of the new order of things. well, elliott left the congress for a great political opportunity. he became speaker of the south carolina state legislature. state house of representatives. but like so many african-americans in this era, elliott would very soon struggle later in life with the opportunity to participate in politics at the state level or even eke out an earning, and he died in obscurity in 1884 after
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jim crow laws and selling regaition had begun to redescend in the south, and he died of complications of malaria and with little public notice. so i want to move to the second generation that we profiled in the book. um, this generation of african-americans, this is a story that really is one, we date it between 1887 and 1929, and it's one of really contraction and decline and exclusion as african-americans are pushed out of the political process in the south. and it's unique from the narratives of women and hispanic-americans and some of the other groups who we've studied newly admitted to the political process. because once women or hispanic-americans were on the political scene here on capitol hill, they were a presence. but african-americans for many
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years were completely excluded from participating on capitol hill. there were only five black members who served from 1887 to 1901, and beginning after 1901 there was a nearly three decade gap in african-american service. in the house and the senate. following reconstruction, this is a well-known part of the narrative, as part of the compromise of 1877 which put rutherford hayes in the white house a deal was struck that ended formal reconstruction in the south and pulled northern troops out of the south. and the political rights of all freed blacks were the casualtieses of this deal as jim crow and the underpinnings of a system of segregation came into place in the 1880s and 1890s. southern freed men were ruthlessly and systematically excluded from the political process. poll taxes, grandfather clauses, literacy tests, all-white primaries and so on. and beyond these devices were
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repeated efforts to challenge the elections of african-americans who were elected from southern districts. at least eight african-american members in the 19th century had their elections challenged. in fact, the very first african-american who ever spoke on the house floor while it was in session was a man by the name of john willis maynard from louisiana. and in 1868 in a special election he had been elected with 64% of the vote to a district that encompassed greater new orleans, but the election was contested by his opponent, and when it came before the house elections committee, the elections committee decided to seat neither of the gentlemen. so maynard, who could have become the first african-american in congress by a full year, lost that and didn't take his seat. african-american representatives in the late 1880s and 1890s, the few of them that were left,
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were relegated to oddly-shaped districts which were either as political scientists say tracked to dilute and disperse black votes into other districts or, conversely, packed to contain most african-american votes in one district to open up more districts for white candidates on the state delegations. and where law and legal challenges failed, there was outright gimmickry, fraud and violence that marred a lot of these elections in which these individuals were involved. going back to the district was an adventure for these gentlemen, to put it mildly. and i want to highlight one man who served this one of those oddly-shaped districts which was a salamander-shaped district that wound its way along the eastern coast of north carolina, and it was known as the black second district. it was represented by a string of african-american men. this man was named george white,
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and he was born into slavery in 1852. he cut his teeth in local politics in the reconstruction era, he practiced law. in 1894 he made a bid to be elected to congress and challenged his brother-in-law, the district's former black congressman, henry cheatham. this was during the thom nation convention. well, white lost, but he split the vote enough to prevent cheatham's re-election, so you can imagine what the family gatherings must have been like after that. but white persisted, and he won election in 1896 to the first of two terms. and he was the only african-american in congress during that period from 1897 to 1901. when he stood for re-election in 1908, there was a very violent race riot in wilmington, north carolina, on the coates in his district.
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eleven african-american men were killed, 25 were wounded. in congress white, despite serving under a republican majority, had his legislative initiatives constantly rebuffed. one of the big bills that he tried to bring to the floor was an anti-lynching bill. and just weeks before he announced his retirement from the house, president william mckinley refused to pledge aid for that anti-lynching legislation. white, in frustration, came to the house floor and delivered a speech in which he said this, mr. chairman, is perhaps the negro's temporary farewell to the american congress, but let me say phoenix-like he will rise up and come again someday. during the 28-year absence of african-americans from congress, civil rights legislation for african-americans in both the south and the north was all but ignored. washington was a segregated city, the federal government was segregated by custom, if not by
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statute. there were a few white members of congress who carried the mantle of racial justice, confronting their colleagues on issues that were important to black americans. the naacp which was founded in 1909 and its executive secretary, james wheldon johnson, worked closely with a few members in the house to secure passage of an anti-lynching bill in the early 1920s, but that bill died in the senate. and this gentleman behind me was one of the advocates for african-americans in a true character. george white, from north carolina, had introduced legislation originally that would have punished southern states for disenfranchising blacks. and this derived from the 14th amendment. white's proposed legislation required congress to penalize states that sought to disqualify eligible voters by subtracting the number of people who were
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disenfranchised from the totals that were used to determine how many seats each state would have for its delegation. and this effort became known as reduction. and it got started up after each census, as you might expect. this gentleman behind me, george texas inkum of massachusetts add advocated reduction in the 1920s. he was true hi one of the most colorful characters in the house. he was an avid big game hunter who would line his office walls with trophies that he often named after political opponents. he became known as the conscious of the house. and during this protracted fight, he repeatedly brought the issue of african-american voting rights and reduction to the house floor and challenged the house leadership to address it. going to move on to the third part of the, our book here, and that begins in this 1929 as
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african-americans regain place on capitol hill. and this is in the form of oscar depriest who is elected from a chicago district. and this marked the beginning of a third long wave or generation of black americans in congress up until 1970. individuals elected in this period were nearly the mirror op is sits of their 19th century predecessors. they were all northerners, they were elected from black majority urban districts, and with the exception of depriest and senator edward brook of massachusetts who was elected in the 1960s, these men and a woman at the end, shirley chism, were all democrats. now, there was a shift in party loyalty that occurred that owed itself to some larger forces that are operating beyond capitol hill. one of them in the late 19th century was the lily white
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movement in the south in which southern republicans began to freeze out african-americans from the political process, from local politics, from nominating conventions. another even larger force at play here is the great migration of tens of thousands of african-americans beginning in the early part of the 20th century and lasting for a number of decades. these are folks who are coming from rural poverty and in the south and looking for northern industrial jobs and the opportunity to participate more fully in politics. and also by promising african-americans fuller participation in the political process in the 1930s, the new deal coalition also helped reactivate black political participation and brought greater numbers of african-americans into the democratic party, again, over a number of decades. but looking at these individuals from an institutional
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perspective, african-americans who served in this era we describe as embarking on a long apprenticeship in both the house and the senate. they attained more desirable committee assignments. they representing relatively safe majority black districts won re-election and accrued the kind of seniority they needed to advance themselves slowly into the leadership. and while they shared identical goals about advancing the civil rights of their constituents, they often disagreed over tactics and legislative styles. and one such legislative style was that of william dawson of illinois who was elected to the house in 1942. now, dawson was one of these mens who served for a very long -- members who served for a very long time. he preferred to work behind the scenes, but he eventually became the first african-american to chair a full congressional committee. the other style which we will highlight here is this fella who
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everyone, no doubt, knows, the very charismatic preacher, adam clayton powell, who served from 1945 to 1971. he was an unapologetic civil rights activist. he was known as mr. civil rights. and, in fact, we titled the chapter covering this period "keeping the faith" after his of oft-used quotation "keep the faith, baby, spread it gently and walk together, children." in 1943 mr. powell won election to a new district that encompassed harlem, and he served for a total of 12 congresses. he eventually in the early 1960s rose to chair the education and labor committee and helped oversee the enactment of some major portions of the great society legislation. when powell first came to congress, speaker sam rayburn of texas, kind of anticipating powell's confrontational style, encouraged him to play the part
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of a good freshman member, to be seen but not heard. and he called him into his office, and he told him, adam, listen to what your colleagues have to say. try it all this and get reelected a few more times and then start moving, but for god's sake, adam, don't throw those bombs. powell replied without missing a beat, mr. mr. speaker, i have ab in both hands, and i'm going to throw them right away. rayburn burst into laughter, and powell recalls this was the beginning of a good friendship between the two men. but most famously throughout his career powell pushed something, an anti-discrimination writer that became known as the powell amendment, and he tacked this onto as many be pieces of legislation as he could. it was eventually included in the 1964 civil rights act, and it aimed to prohibit the use of federal funds by institutions or businesses that practiced vim nation. discrimination. powell also routinely confronted segregationists on capitol hill,
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and i want to give you one example. there was a very senior member from the mississippi delegation who called powell's election to the house a disgrace. and he publicized his intention to avoid sitting next to an african-american man on the house floor. well, if you know anything about adam clayton powell, this only prompted him to act decisively. he responded by sitting as close to this southern politician on the house floor as possible, and at one point he followed this very senior chairman around the democratic side of the chamber and made him move a half dozen times in the one day. he later remarked he didn't know whether to, quote, baptize the man or drown him. this era really marked a period of challenging institutional racism not just for powell, but for other representatives. and in this regard i want to briefly highlight oscar depriest who was elected in 929. 1929.
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on opening day in 1929, speaker nicholas longworth of ohio changed the longtime practice of swearing in members on the house floor by state delegations which would, in alphabetical order, come into the well of the house and take the oath of office. members of the illinois delegation, which depriest was a part of, had come to longworth and told him they feared that southerners who were sworn in before depriest might object to his seating. and so what longworth opted for is what persists to this day in our practice on opening day, which is to swear in the whole membership en masse. when depriest's staff were discriminated against in the then-segregated house restaurant, he came to the house floor and gave this quote as part of a speech: if we allow segregation and denial of constitutional rights under the
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dome of the capitol, where in god's name will we get them? depriest shamed the house into creating a special investigate story committee -- investigatory committee, but the majority of its members aseeded to the wishes of racial conservatives, and they refused to recommend reforms to the whole house. and, you know, despite the bravery and resilience of the members who served during this period, they had o overcome overwhelming institutional inertia. there's a lot of stories to tell here. i want to give you one, and again, i'm just kind of moving right across the surface. a primary example of this inertia in the 1950s was the house rules committee which, as you know, structures bills and pulses them onto the floor for consideration. it was chaired by an arch segregationist, judge howard smith of virginia, and this hugely influential panel routinely watered down a long parade of civil rights bills that came before it.
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oftentimes, smith would shutter committee operations, just close the committee down, and he'd go back to his farm, his horse farm this northern virginia. at one point he excused himself to inspect a burned-down barn on his property to which leo allen of illinois who was then the ranking republican member on the committee, i think, came up with one of the greatest sound bites in congressional history. he told the press, i knew the judge was o posed to the civil rights bill, but i didn't think he'd commit arson to beat it. eventually, in 1961 speaker sam rayburn challenged smith in a bruising fight that expanded the membership of the committee to break the hold of those who were blocking reform legislation. and it made possible what would occur later in the 1960s with the civil rights act and the voting rights act. and as so often happens in american history, change at the political level is often driven by social movements that are
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happening out there far away from capitol hill, and certainly, it was the post-world war ii civil rights movement that forced congress and the presidents eventually to act with that civil rights act in '57 and '64 and the voting rights act in '65. and in many respects this movement that was occurring out in the country overshadowed what was going on here in washington, but it did create the conditions that effected change on capitol hill in the post-1970 period. and within a decade the number of african-americans in congress doubled. and as their numbers increased, the momentum for organizing oaf time strengthened -- over time strengthened. very briefly, i'd like to talk about the final time period here which we coffer in the book, and that's the post-1970 era. this is the most recent generation of african-american members, and it's marked by a post-civil rights group.
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the acts in the 1960s, the voting rights act and it extensions the 1970 and '75 and the early '80s and court-ordered redistricting opened new avenues of political participation for millions of african-americans. consequently, during this period many more african-americans were elected to state and local political office and then congress. in fact, 97 of those 132 individuals who i mentioned at the start of the talk were elected after 1990. okay? many of these members were elected from southern states for the first time in seven or eight decades. in 1973 barbara jordan of texas and andrew young of georgia became the first african-americans elected from the south since the 9th century. 19th century. the growing ranks of african-american members in congress marked a time for formal organization and coordination of black efforts.
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and what occurred then in early 1971 was that 13 african-american members of congress led by charles diggs of michigan created the congressional black caucus, and we have an image of the early caucus on the far right. the mandate was to address, quote-unquote, permanent interests that were important to black americans. to advance african-americans within the institution of the house and the senate. to get them better committee assignments, the get them -- to get them into leadership. the cbc also forged a legislative agenda and a cohe's e voting bloc -- cohesive voting bloc. representative louie stokes of ohio who was a cbc cofounder once noted blacks never could rely on somebody in congress to speak out on racial questions, but they can with the caucus. and among the cbc's early achievements were passage of the humphrey hawkins act in 1978 to
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promote full employment in the balanced budget, a 1983 passage of the federal holiday commemorating martin luther king jr., and in 1986 for the very first time passing legislation that would, that imposed sanctions on south africa for its practice of apartheid. these were all cbc victories. within congress the cbc used its influence as a growing unit within the democratic caucus to push party leaders to a point -- to appoint african-americans to better committees and more leadership positions. and this generation of african-americans in congress held positions on a full cross-section of committees really for the first time. including some of the most coveted committees; appropriations, ways and means, shirley chism went on to rules, and she was the first african-american on rules, and other influential panels such as judiciary and armed services. and i know mr. dellums has an interesting armed services story about getting on to that
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committee which i'll let him tell. mr. dellums eventually chaired that committee, and it made him one of 16 african-americans who served, chaired a congressional committee in the post-1971 period. now, to give you a little perspective, between 1870 and 1971 there were just three african-americans who chaired panels. and for the first time black members in congress rose into party leadership ranks during this era. bill gray as democratic majority whip in the '80s, j.c. watts of oklahoma who became a republican conference chairman in the late '90s and most recently james clyburn of south carolina who served as democratic whip. as well part of this story, too, is that there were more african-american women elected to congress. shirley chism of new york was the first elected in 1968 from a district that enconnell passed brook -- encompassed brooklyn. it made her the first
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african-american in congress, 30 other women followed her since 1969. and particularly in the post-1990 period women have accounted for a major part of this story. women account for about 40% of all the african-americans who have been elected after 1990. so this is a rich, multifaceted history, it's one we're still learning about particularly at the staff level during reconstruction. i have some stories, but i'll save those for later, and i e enjoy the chance to share some of this with you. i believe we have time for a question or two? okay. [applause] >> thank you. and i also at this time i want to take a moment to recognize someone who's just entered the room, congressman hank johnson from georgia. [applause] and if you would be interested in saying a few words.
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>> ladies and gentlemen, good morning. it's good to be here with one of the lions -- it's good to be here this morning with one of the lions of congressional history, ron dellums. a man who always said what he meant, meant what he said and stood by his principles and is still standing. so it goes to show you that you can have some principles, and you can be successful. you may not be as rich as some of the others who have left congress, but that's only in the pocketbook. but in the mind and spirit, you can feel real good about the work that you did and the legacy that you left. and so this is the legacy that
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ron dellums has left for us to continue. and be, um, i can tell you that the work that you were involved in as an african-american here this congress is making a difference ongoing. there are many barriers that remain to be busted up and te mollished -- demolished, and it's ever-ending battle, but we shall not get angry or, um, let's say sad about having to fight because fighting makes you strong. so we'll just go ahead and continue to fight and be responsible in doing so.
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and hopefully, our efforts can, can make you proud, congressman, mr. chairman. so with that i will -- and i thank the, frederica wilson and the african-american voices in congress for bringing this opportunity to us to learn about history. thank you. [applause] >> so at this time we'll take any questions for mr. wasniewski. well, i just had, actually, i have one question. you broached on the topic of learning more history every day in terms of the staffers and different things. if you could just tell us maybe one story about that, that would be very interesting. >> sure, happy to. in the handout you received at the front door, we actually have a historical highlight that we
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discovered just a few years ago. one of the really interesting things about all these electronic databases that we have access to now, you know, historical newspapers and the pdf version of the congressional record and the globe and its predecessors going all the way back is that we're able to do searches that we previously couldn't. and the story of african-american pioneers at the staff level on capitol hill during reconstruction has come into focus. you know, these are individuals who aren't really covered, and the staff aren't covered in the public record. so we've been able to search these databases and uncoffer some very interesting -- uncover some very interesting individuals, one of whom highlighted in that handout, william smith, who was appointed librarian of the house of representatives in 1881. and he had originally been appointed to the house staff in 1864, and charles sumner actually on the senate side was his sponsor. and he worked for whitlaw reid
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in the house library. and that was later the editor for the new york tribune and a vice presidential sate. well, mr. smith rose through the rank, and he was appointed to a very prominent position, the house librarian, and served until the early 1890s. he's one of the african-american staff that we know about from that time period. one of the others who we've discovered very recently is, in fact, a man by the -- a young man, perhaps even a teenager, by the name of alfred q. powell who we've discovered recently was the first african-american page appointed to the house in 1871. ..
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we learn a little more of this history every day. the senate appointed a page in the reconstruction era too. will someone championed by charles sumner, great radical republican senator from massachusetts. that was two years earlier in 1869. that is the story we are still learning. we put them on our web page and it is exciting. it is multilayered and we are always on to something new. [applause] >> thank you so much. now at this time i would like to
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introduce congressman barbara lee. she is u.s. representative from california's ninth congressional district serving since 1998. she is the first woman to represent the district. she is the former chair of the congressional black caucus and was former co-chair of the progressive caucus. interesting fact she began her political career as an intern in the office of her predecessor. former oakland mayor as well. eventually she became chief of staff before being elected to congress serving as california state assembly and california state senate. [applause] >> good morning. let me first thank matt from the house historian's office for his
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presentation today. and a boy and congress one frederica wilson for your willing -- your tenacity and for organizing this important forum and for bringing my former boss to capitol hill. to meet and greet but listen to and learn about this man and i served as an intern when i was in college. this was during the watergate summer of 1973. you can imagine what an amazing summer that was for me. we continued to work for ron until 1986. everything i learned about
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progressive politics and political -- for practical nature of progressive politics and how to keep one's principles in mind within the context of this institution i learned from this great human being and -- some of the issues we are dealing with as we speak and he would talk to his staff and i have to say how important if any of your staff and interns how important you are to our work because brown always asks staff and intern's what do you think? give me your best thinking. it was interesting for me because why would he want to know what i thought or what i believed in? later i came to realize he always wanted fresh ideas, new
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thinking, creativity so he could make the best possible decision not only for his constituents but for the country and the world and pushing the envelope little bit. knowing what young people and old people and the rainbow coalition of people and ron is the father of the rainbow coalition from berkeley, california, putting together a coalitions to be elected to city council and always wanted the best thinking of all of us into his decision. he ultimately naturally made the decision, i learned quickly why he was asking for our input and the other thing i remember, how do we do this as it related to constituent casework and helping people? the only thing you need to ask is is this the right thing to do? that was the yardstick he
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learned. don't think about the politics. don't think about an election. don't think of who wins or loses. is this the right thing to do? you don't have to talk to me about it. it is the right thing to do just do it. he worked with shirley chisholm and charlie digs and i was blessed and privilege and fortunate to have a chance to meet them and to see how they interacted to see how he lead in terms of his input into these other founders of the congressional black caucus and using his expertise and perspective to bring people together. it was quite an amazing moment for me but because he is quite an amazing and brilliant man. move forward in this institution. crotona avenue ching from
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congress as an anti-war candidate. that was during the vietnam war. i know he will tell you about how he got into the armed services committee. but i never saw him waver as he moved up the ranks in the armed services committee and ultimately became chair of the armed services committee in the mid 90s but can you imagine chairing the armed services committee coming from berkeley, setting a standard where he said we're going to have a rational defense policy which means looking at where we can cut the military budgets so we can invest in domestic priorities? that argument and that debate is beginning among democrats and republicans and the white house in this current context. he was always way ahead of his time. every time i have to make a decision, i think of the moments
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that are embedded in my psyche. you just stand on the corner and do the right thing and the rest of the world is going to walk right up to you. there you will be. everybody else will be with you. that is true. when you do everything you stand by your principles and do what you know is best for your constituents and your country and the world. sooner or later everybody will do that and they will be with you. so i have to just thank him for his leadership on hiv and aids and he served on the president's advisory committee on hiv and aids under the clinton and bush said ministrations. he lead the charge on capitol hill. to fight aids and tuberculosis
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and malaria. he always has staked out the turf ahead of everyone else. it is an honor to be able to bring him forward. i would like you to give him a round of applause. he introduced the south africa sanctions bill 12 or 13 times. he kept reintroducing that bill but the united states had to get on the right side of history. congress overrode reagan's's veto on the right side of history and helped the people of
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south africa. welcome and -- former mayor and military marine officer and city councilman and friend. [applause] >> thank you. good morning to all of you. i have been asked to introduce one of my former colleagues, representative smith. [inaudible] >> ranking member of the house armed services committee. i never imagined in 1997 that i would one day be in that
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position but you set of very high standard with your honesty, your intelligence and your thoughtful approach to all of those issues. the armed services committee had a little bit of a bias. nice to have folks with a balanced perspective on what will our military needs to play in protecting our society and our values and nobody has done a better job than you. i am honored to be here today to hear you speak and thank you for your service not just to congress but the country. >> thank you very much. i deeply appreciate that. thank you. [applause] >> let me thank all of you who were instrumental in arranging for this opportunity. i am pleased and privilege to be here. i want to thank barbara lee for a kind and humbling
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introduction. i am honored to call her friend and privilege to color my representative. i remember in the middle of my fourteenth term for personal reasons it was time for me to leave. i can't do that. i talk with my hand. so when i got ready to leave people said who would you like to see represent the district in your departure? in 1970 this district elected a man who was a feminist. life is a progression. so i think progression should be to collect a woman and the district did that and i am
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honored -- barbara lee has done a spectacular job. [applause] >> when you get my age you tell stories. i will tell a few stories. i never wanted to be in politics. i wanted to be the black segment floyd of america. sigmund freud. i am the first member of my family born out of the south. i had no idea i would have a master's degree. i promised my mother wouldn't end up in san quentin. everything was really cool. just to back up, i joined the marine corps. everything was going really well. when i graduated from high school at a certain point, i went a little crazy as teenagers tend to do and.
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scholarship. in order to keep a promise to my mother that i would eventually go to school i joined the marine corps. in basic training you have to take a battery of exams. i took all these exams and i had a black girl instructor, staff sergeant fallon who spoke like this. called me in his office, two men are here to interview you for officer candidate school. this was 1954. i had never seen a black officer. had never seen one. he said they're going to interview you for those c.s.. why are they interviewing me? you scored the highest score of all the people in the training battalions so they came to interview you as a candidate.
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i am going to make something of myself. run down to kwanzaa at hunt and bang on the door. private jones reporting has ordered. get in here. two white guys at the end of the closet huts, i stepped up smartly and stood at attention. private dellums reporting as ordered. one of the guys was looking at a piece of paper and looked at the paper for me and looked at me and gave it to the other guy who looked at the paper and looked at me. what race are you? 1954. i stood at attention. i am a negro. that is what i thought. get back to your outfit. summarily dismissed. in a split-second those hopes and dreams and aspirations racing through my mind when away.
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i took a step back and shagged out. went back to my office -- my outfit totally bewildered. what was this all about? eventually staff sergeant allen called me when i told him what happened. he checked out and called me in and said guess what? here is the problem. when you first go in the marine corps, the first day they cut your hair balls. you're in this endless line until some clerk was typing a form, ron dellums 11 -- saw light skin. didn't see kinky hair. caucasian. so those two guys came to interview ron dellums. everything else the same except they came to interview a young white kid but i was a black guy. so it didn't happen. it was wonderful to go back to
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that military base some years later as chairman of the house armed services committee. [applause] >> 1967 i am on my way to than dies university and for me it was an incredible thing. brother from 1014 wood street, going across the country to ivy league school to work, ph.d.. i told brothers and sisters in the movement i will be back. i am going to train my mind. i wanted to be the guy in the back room when people said what is the program? wanted to write the program. had no idea of ever being out front. arranged for me to have $33,000 worth of scholarships from brandeis university. i will be back in the movement
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but well-trained. i get a call one night in january of 1967. they wanted me to go to a meeting one night where black leaders in berkeley, california, were deciding on who would be the, quote, black unity candidate for berkeley city council. they had one black person on berkeley city council and everybody was saying one african-american, we need to move beyond one. my friends call me up and said your name has been kicked around as a possible candidate. i am not interested. i'm going to brandeis university to work, ph.d.. i have $33,000 worth of scholarships. i will be back later. put your coat on. we will be back in 20 minutes. they drove me to the meeting. 2:30 in the morning i didn't tell anybody about school.
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i just that i am not interested in politics. i have strong views about things. i am not ready for politics and politics are not ready for me. we were the activists of the 60s. they brought out six other fellows who really wanted to be the candidate. they have seven name on the blackboard. they said take somebody -- take ryan's name off because he is not interested. they took my name off and a woman stood up and said hold it. before you take his name off let me ask the young man question. in 67 i was a young man. i heard what you said. but if the community asked you to run, would you run?
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run on your own terms of. i thought about that a zillion times because it changed my life. i stood up and i said that is the only way anybody ought to be in politics. on their own terms. she said keep the young man's name on the list. he is going to get one vote. please don't do this to me. i want to go to brandeis university. i am not interested in politics. don't trust politicians. one of my friend, john tompkins became my field director grabbed me by the jacket and said shut up and sit down. we are going to win this. pull me into the seat. that moment passed and i became the candidate. i got home at 4:00 in the morning and i told my wife at
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4:00 in the morning -- wasn't that kind of party. i am candidate for city council. what about brandeis? i will figure out later. so several days later i went to my friend's and said you got me in this, you have to get me out. i am not interested in politics. please get me out of this. too late. it is done. what do you mean? get me out of this. i don't want to be a politician. too late. time passed. won the election. i became a member of berkeley city council. 1970, people in the community, peace community, act came to me and said we want you to run for congress. i didn't know how to say no. i said if i run i have to run on
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my own terms. fine. so i become a candidate for berkeley city council -- i mean the united states congress. the rep had been in congress for 12 years. this is 1970 against the backdrop of the civil-rights movement. the district was 71% white, 29% non-white. african-american and latino americans and asian-americans. seven to eight voters were white voters. very interesting when we called a press conference one of the press said what makes you think as a black man you could win against a white person in a predominantly white congressional district?
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it was 1970. i thought for a moment and i said your question assumes there is a monolith known as the white community. it is a monolith that i reject. when i look out there i don't see the white community. i see peace activists. if i speak to peace they will vote. i see union people. we speak to the problems and plight of workers they will vote for us. i look out and see students. if you speak to their concerns, i see senior citizens. i look out there and -- i don't see the white community. i see people who have their own interests and concerns and if i speak intelligently and strongly and passionately to those issues we will get the vote. my prediction is when the smoke clears and the dust settles that
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i will defeat jeff by a margin of 55%. i don't know where that came from. but it ended up, it became that. i win the primary. to everyone's shock and amazement. we put together this incredible coalition and we won the primary. we put this incredible coalition together of people of color, senior citizens so one night the phone rings. you won't believe this. you have been attacked by vice president agnew. when i was elected richard nixon was president and spiro agnew was vice president. i said don't make a joke. i have been campaigning 18 hours. i am dead tired. you have been attacked by the
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vice president. really? i am just a young black guy way out here in california. in little rock, arkansas you were attacked by the vice president. called a press conference at the campaign office. i will be there. 10 minutes to 10 i was standing at the street corner getting ready to cross the street. cameras and press from all over the world. from china, from other parts of asia, from europe, everywhere. i had never seen press everywhere. they came not to see -- what is this ron dellums the vice president picked out? to my right, out of the corner of my eye, i see this woman
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walking. she happened to be caucasian. an elderly woman walking very slowly and i heard her say are you ron dellums? i said yes i am. said i just walked 10 blocks to give you this. she pulled out a check for $5 and she said if i had more i would give it to you. anybody spiro agnew attacks i have got to support. she gave me this. this little woman was standing on the corner crying and tears in my eyes and she turned slowly to return to her home and i walked across the street into my future. walked into the campaign office nervous. my campaign director said here is the statement. we have been up all night writing this statement for you.
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you have been attacked by the vice president. i am not going to read a statement. i have nothing to hide. why should i stand behind -- sorry you guys stayed up all night but i am not going to read a statement. are you sure? yes. at least read what he said saw you know what he said. i am so nervous, my hands were trembling. i didn't want the press to know i was frightened to death so i acted as if i was speed reading. i went like this. i didn't see a word. he said there is a young black man from berkeley, california, on his way to washington that i considered the most dangerous radical to be elected to congress since marcantonio of
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the 1920s. so i sit down, light action. the press was waiting for me to read very carefully scripted comments. predictable. i am really not a radical, really a liberal democrat. i said i have no opening statement. pregnant pause. that wasn't the script. they didn't know what to do. i am prepared to answer any questions. didn't know what to do. somebody said vice president come charges you are a dangerous radical. how do you respond to that charge? if it is a radical to oppose the insanity and cruelty of the vietnam war, if it is radical to oppose the danger of nuclear weapons, radical to oppose the cruelty and pain and oppression of racism and sexism and ageism and classism and other forms of
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chauvinism, if it is radical to eradicate poverty and disease and inadequate housing in this country than i am very proud to be called a radical. my campaign people applauded. not part of the script. then there was another pregnant pause and someone said vice president come charges you advocate bringing the wall down. how do you respond to those charges? this was 1970. burn baby burn. to you advocate bringing the wall down? how do you respond? vice president agnew had taken the time of his busy schedule as vice president he would have learned i said we have built walls very high and thick in this country among the classes and generations and religions and if we bring down those walls
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radical as toby, have you seen him? and i go, oh, my god. is that the with the democrats see me? of the republican simi. [laughter] carl everett, speaker of the house walked up to me and says you're on the city council. you know about cities. i'm going to put you on the district of columbia committee. so district of columbia committee, i went on, foreign fund affairs committee. interesting thing, after the difficulties that charlie had and i became the chair of the district of columbia committee with the least amount of seniority than anybody in the history of the country, but it was fascinating. and i became chair of the district of columbia committee nobody called me mr. chairman, but when i became subcommittee chairman of armed services committee morning, mr. chairman.
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good morning, mr. chairman. was something very different. fast forward. i have to tell you how i got on armed services because this is important because it is important to the evolution of the congressional black caucus. part of our concern was that we would spread out across all the committees so that our voice and our perspective and the perspective of our people, the perspective of the movement would emerge and all of these different committees. but i am the first african-american elected to congress and in majority white district to go back. simple said, should the brother be in the black office to make your presence majority of white folks. okay. let me represent all these radicals. people, people, you know, what about it.
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they said, these folks were sent to interview me. he's supposed to be my friend because the exit was sort of my lawyer. came and we talked a long time. he apparently went back to the cbc members and said, the guy is really a cool guy, so it is now so crazy twilight crazy guy. you know, an intelligent, personable. that calmed everybody down. i no -- i and the radical guy. remember, berkeley and oakland in the 60's, i maintain was different from any other place in the entire country. in some places it was the civil-rights movement and in some places it was a peace movement, but in berkeley every movement of the 60's emerged, also of st. -- simultaneously and in close proximity, so we all have to hear each other's pain, since each of his rage,
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others stand each other's analysis done embrace each of his politics. so black panthers and the brown berets, the peace movement, the environmental movement, the feminist movement to all of these movements emerged simultaneously. this young got tossed a black guy came to washington to represent all that. so and my second term i said, to be true to all of this the voice of peace and arms control and changing our perris needs to be of the armed services committee. good my colleagues and say, wanted to back my place to go on arms services committee. yeah, right. there will lose the radical view from berkeley and the armed services committee. okay. will do it. i don't think it the that we can ever do it, but they sent a letter.
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the day comes when they're choosing people. i get this phone call. you have been denied on the armed services committee. so i went to phil burton who was a leader in the house of the time from san francisco. a brilliant guy. i said, phil, i'm still an outsider and i don't know how to fight inside. i just have been denied on the house armed services committee. have i fight back. he said, who is the chair of the congressional black caucus. a set loose bolts. he is a wonderful guy, and a stimulant. he said, go find him, but also find bill clay. bill clay. take both of them with you to the meeting to fight to put you on our services. went. spot. a very good friend. i found a much as i have been
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denied. i need you to pick up the phone and get in touch with members of -- get in touch with carl and let them know that this is -- this is not going to go. how do you deny me to more on what ground? some lou calls up and they say come right over. we walked in the room. carl immediately said, we got all you guys good committee assignments to mull over just couldn't do anything for on. well, what do you mean? will, the chairman of the armed services committee got in touch with the members on the committee on committees and said don't want this guy and arms services committee. all right. row, then i give live a nudge and he goes, but mr. speaker, this is a matter of principle.
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aga boucle a low-tech and eclectic and the field but the brother on the armed services committee right to call a press conference and denounces as a racist institution. this wonderful back-and-forth. and luke a matter of principle. bill clay, militants. at a certain point the speaker looks around and says, well, i tell you what, we regard to go back and ask them to reconsider. at that point i knew it was over. i think timesaver don't worry about it. our letter get the call. you been appointed to the house on services committee. and later on when i became chair it was quite fascinating because the day that they voted me to become the chair a number of my colleagues came up to me with literally tears in their eyes and said, ron, we don't agree on
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very much, but i voted for you to sit at chair resources committee because i respect your integrity and respect your work ethic. that is how i, you know, became chair of the house armed services committee. there's one other quick story or want to tell. the other night, and this is true, a few nights ago my wife left the television on, and i awakened hearing live voice. sure enough, there i was, darker hair, and the floor of congress and the 80's speaking challenging apartheid in south africa. so listen to all story. nobody is ever done it quite right. i want to tell you the real story. without going into it way back in history. the foreign affairs committee
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finally reports out, as i introduce this investment bill back in 1971 or 72, the polaroid workers have come in from new england because, remember, lori was the camera they used to take those photos of south africans of the had to carry around. so the polaroid workers came down here to meet with the congressional black caucus. they came down the day of the caucus meeting. there were very militant, the black office. hey, you go meet. yeah. okay. i was the right track. so john conyers says, go with you. so he goes with me and meets with the poulard workers. at the end of the meeting and said, we will work with you to introduce a piece of legislation to bring sanctions against south africa. that was the very first bill that was introduced to bring
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sanctions in 19701, to. and there were only two sponsors initially to introduce the bill. fast toward to the 80's, vietnam, foreign affairs committee is bringing out, reported out a bill. now, i believe that there are two factors over which everyone of us has absolute control. everything else you don't really have control. two factors over which i think you do. you're fidelity, your faithfulness to what you believe in, and your willingness to show up every day for the fight. you have control of that. so with that in mind i keep infidelity with the movement and based on the idea that part of our responsibility as members of the cbc, the progressive voice here, was to take this server, the pain, the anguish, put that
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in legislative form. well, what people in the movement were saying was, this investment, take the economic strength. withdraw economically from south africa. everybody thought that was a very radical idea, but the second principle that i believe in is that the center of american politics is not a static place. people think that there is such a thing as the center. no. the center is the time, who shows up. so if you show up over year and the center may be year. if you don't show up in the center may be the left. @booktv of st.? -- you see what i am saying? so the foreign committee, when they get ready to bring up the sanction bill that was going to be the liberal, left alternative remember sometimes my seven colleagues used to say, ron, are you going to introduce one of
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those radical amendments? and i said, local why? and, well, that would allow me to vote against your arm and a second vote for this amendment they go on to my district beckett's it to people, no, if you think what i've voted for was liberal use to the scene had things that have broadened. so i learned that i have a role to play. stay faithful. show off. redefine the debate. so i induced the disinvestment bill, go to the rules committee. the rules committee is me one hour of debate evenly divided, half-hour for half-hour against. the amendment is the nature of the substitute. so here is the bill here on the left. so the time comes on the floor. we feel that we would have a one-hour debate. it would vote on it. if we have 150 votes it would take as a moral victory and it
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would get almost 11 hours on the committee bill. hopefully they passed the committee bill and we would be out there. so the end of the debate. all time has expired and the amendment offered by the summer from california. all in favor signify by say i. but, there were quite a few democrats of floor. i stood as tall as i could, sixth of four. the with me. they said, the word. regard to give you at least a momentary victory. all post to let there to republicans. in the opinion of the chair the eyes of it. no problem. the chair knew somebody was going to get up and say on this absurd that the light of corn, as with the is in case. that was going to be the bill.
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my colleague from michigan, the republican colleagues for machine was in control of the time of the opposition. he was supposed to give up, like college and the democratic side have voted for me because some of the news contest for a voice vote, said that they knew the republicans or. with the jobs such unfolding. he doesn't rise. so the chairman goes, the ayes have it layaway give somebody, this is sent the script. they're looking around. he did move. the ayes have it. the ayes have it. the amendment carries. dane. in the nature of the subsidy.
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now we have to get a final passage. everybody goes, braun, you want. i almost fainted. the most incredible moment, he walked into the house and said, ron, a major euro for moments. asset quality means? he said to my respected. he did not take the house until it that you guarantee that this investment was going to bring an end to apartheid, but he said that was the option he felt had the greatest chance of bringing significant change. so i respect you for that. he said, but, it is never going to go anywhere. is going to die. is over. my party controls the senate and the bill is to radicalized by to
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die. as end of it. and he said to walk away. i said . tomorrow morning every is never an america, front page, house passes bill to challenge apartheid in south africa every television station is currently with the story there is a movement out there on the ground in the colleges and universities , liberals, churches and other places. movement is strengthened by victory. people will be buoyed by this bill be there will be strengthened by it. it will bring greater pressure, and about you think that this will be ending in the senate, i maintain that the senate will go beyond where they even thought there would go based on this bill passing and based on the strength that will occur from the statement that will be made
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in the streets on the part of the movement. i said, so, my good friend, may have the last laugh. he lifted me. his blood and drained. that's what happened. the senate passes the senate version of the bill. now the first time we can go to conference on the radical idea. this is going to be awesome. but then a group of people put together a meeting to me with me , and it was senator kennedy and senator lugar are who was chair of the senate armed service -- foreign affairs committee. iran the robinson, people from the movement and everything. bottom line was reagan is going to veto this bill.
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he said, i want to be hand tested, but all of us are here to tell you one story. he demands to the congress -- cut a conference on the bill and we negotiate anything that is different from the senate bill we cannot guarantee an override of ron reagan as a presidential veto. we can guarantee that this bill will be overridden. so i and instead, they're asking me to back off. at a certain point my heart was crying. i stood up and said, i understand was being asked of me here and i respect everyone in this room and i understand what it is you're saying, and while i would desperately like to go to conference and fight for the strongest measure and challenged
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the cruelty of apartheid in south africa, i understand the practical realities of what you're saying, that it would never outlive the president's veto, and that would send the wrong message. i therefore out of respect for you in this room and the desire to advance the cause, i will step back and allow the senate person to become the house version. reagan vetoed it. they over the veto. fast forward. chair of the armed services committee. a german journalist came to visit us. he said he had a tremendous amount of research. basin is research he had learned that at the clerk of south africa got in touch with margaret thatcher who was then the promise of england. what do you think it should do?
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i every introduce the bill even after the 1986 sanctions bill that was the republican senate version. again, stay faithful. i reintroduce the bill. eventually this sent the bill to eight committees. all came back as charter. so two years later the bill became the committee bill, and we actually passed it on the record of. and by that time the democrats were in control the senate. the senate said we will take up the bill. the senate was going to pass it. that as a backdrop. he said he as margaret thatcher and her response was, look, the disinvestment bill offered by -- introduced is sent to become law once it becomes law you will have no negotiating room.
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you will be powerless. and he said, what you think-do. the journalist said, and i quote, free mandela and begin to negotiate a knew south africa will you still have the ability to negotiate. so tell and that while his bill never became law it hung over south africa but the sort of pericles. [applause] a couple of quick things, and then i will conclude. going back to the night that the house passed the amendment on the voice vote the first time, i remember, i was so overwhelmed. late that night and i went home and put on my running shoes. i rain in the rain and iran and iran until i could not run any further.
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i sat down on the street corner summer and describe. i cried for our people. i cried out of joy for the moment. i've played only one very minor all los and some does it roll, money to people who came together to see south africa freed. but i was heartened by the day that i finally met mandela. i will close with this. mandela, when he was freed from south africa, went to me the anc i was placed on the delegation with bill clay -- bill gray heading the delegation. our job was to go to see if this is now time to lift the sanction , and i remember, and
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going to meet nelson mandela. i spent so many years saying free mandela, from my brothers and sisters in south africa and never met mandela. suddenly the morning and standing in line. here i am right there. sir, i would like to meet congressman ron dellums us from california. this is just my impression. he did this double take and he goes, ronald, we have heard much of you. you give a soap. you kept us alive. we had each other. and if i were to live to be a thousand and would never forgive him, the incredible joy and warmth that i felt in a moment. a lot of jokes about politics and politicians, but i want to know this, i deemed it a high
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honor and a great privilege to serve and the house representatives and to serve the people of california, to serve the people of this country in the people. it was an incredible thing. think you. [applause] [applause] i'm sorry, i lost track of time. >> that's okay. i sure ruling was fascinated as i was. [background noises] >> i guess the part i would be most interested about, obviously, your entire story has been amazing, but as a young man your initial, you racially
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disinterested in politics. at what moment did you know, once you're elected, still doubts after you were involved or what moment where you -- is in sight you were on a mission. when did that come to you, carry over from her childhood or what was your motivation or driving force behind that? >> as i said, you know, i was, in the book that i wrote i said i am trained as a social worker, and i have always tell whether it was 1-to-1, 1-to-community, i never cease being a social worker. alloy's want to be involved in helping to change their demands and improve the quality of life of our people. i was inspired by martin luther king, like many other people. i thought he was the most amazing, brilliant guy. i remember one night, and this will, in part, answer your question. every city has its own.
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they said, martin live the king is going to give a speech in a couple of minutes. whenever i knew he was going to speak, a young guy in the 60's, would literally go get a pad and pencil. i just thought it was so brilliant. in this one speech much of the king said, the most revolutionary act that our people can engage in is to assert the full measure of there citizenship, and i wrote that down. the most revolutionary thing that we could do is to assert the full measure of our citizenship. i went to the dictionary and a lot to do understand what that meant. revolutionary simply means a significant change. to assert means to step forward boldly. citizenship frames your rights of prayers and 80's. above all that together.
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what he was saying was if you seek significant change and step forward boldly and assert your right and primitive and assume the duties as a citizen. i am somebody is a powerful statement, but it is a psychological statement. i am a citizen is an awesome political statement. someone live the king said to me earlier in the 60's, you are a citizen. and if you really want to be radical, don't let anybody else to find that except you. quick aside. all hell breaking loose. the man was killed. the meeting of -- a lot of people were meeting, and others are meeting in city hall. i happen to be passing by. he said, you know, we kind of fit. look here. i am going to be on 1410 broadway this evening
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protesting, and i want to know everybody gets quiet. i said, nope. we thought that by 50 years ago. the only person that can validate your right to be on the corner of 14th and broadway is you. you're a citizen, and as a citizen you have -- you are cloaked in constitutional rights and brightest. your freedom of speech and assembly. if you still asking somebody to validate your right tell them we wasted 50 years of our lives. you go about 40 the broadway and express your citizenship. our responsibility is to make sure you can do that in an environment of peace. now, the point being is that people like me, we were motivated by martin luther king.
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i never had any idea that i would express that as an elected official. we never thought about it that way. but then when people said to know, we need your voice, it opened up a whole other venue because, in a minute. i understand, we can take the struggle to the floor of congress. that first night that i came here i sat up on the step, capitol hill. i looked out, and i'm thinking. far away from the hood. i am a member of the united states congress. i am here. watching this on tv. our struggles fall on deaf ears. why did they send me here? how was a pretty good activists in the bay area. the naturally my family and friends. why did they send me
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