i don't know how to pray, and i don't know god. and i think it, the room went dead silent. like if there were cockroaches in the room, you would have heard 'em. my wife went back to her room realizing, you know, i'd been married to an awesome man, and i still am, and i'd be fine married to a blind guy, but being married to someone who didn't believe in what he believed in before, that was something different. so she began to pray. friends began to pray all around the world. and for me it was a choice that i had to make. it was a personal choice that i had to make. i knew i had support. friends would come into my room on a daily basis singing christian songs. i know doctors thought our room was creepy because balloons would be coming out, i thought the room was huge. apparently, it was like a little match boxcar. but it was that support. but again, it still came back to me. i was the one that had to make a

choice. i was the one that had to choose to make a difference. my company commander called me every other day to see how i was doing. we were awesome friends. my brigade commander would call me every week to see how i was doing. something that doesn't normally happen in an organization, to have the top leadership call you to see how you're doing? the support that i had was amazing, was awesome. and people like toby keith, country singer, gary sinise, the actor, generals, three-star, four-star would come in and try to see me and i'd say, no, no thank you. and one day my wife said, scotty, andrew wants to see you. she didn't say who it was, but something hit me. it was andrew harris, the boy who i had taught sunday school with three years earlier had driven down from west point, new york, with his dad to come and see me.

and i don't know if i knew that day or in the days to come that the impact that i had made on >> up next on booktv, showing griffith examines the first term of the obama administration questions whether the president is sufficiently answered many issues facing the african-american community. this is about an hour and 45 minutes. >> hello, everybody. welcome to harlem, new york city. i am the director of the pacifica radio archive, the oldest and largest collection of public radio programs in the united states going back to 1949 and holds 55,000 real to real cheap, documenting the progressive left is that the

last half of the 20th century maasai job to do the preservation of excerpts ability of recordings in a sort of inspired the book were going to talk about tonight. really quick i will hear introduced joanne griffith, the editor go with the purchase of the boat, you'll get a free cd which is 11 hours of archive recording as well as participants of the book. joann griffith that was so lucky to find you in and meet her in the archives to take on this project. joanne is an international broadcast journalist having worked at the bbc, npr and pacifica radio network. for over 17 years in broadcast journalism has been dedicated to the theme of the african diaspora, so it is perfect landing of julian's skills as a journalist and the inspiration of ringing the audio to print forms here today. thank you so much for joining us

will hand over the mic to joann griffith who will then carry on with their guest panelists. [applause] we also want to mention great rogerio who helped shepherd this project. >> is actually lovely to see greg. we've been going backwards and forward for the last three years i guess it is now, talking about this project in framing this project and bred in the project in editing the project and saying you have to get it finished in me saying i don't like you. but now it is done, so it's really lovely to be here in new york can see you in thank you for helping to put this together. i am an international broca's journalist and editor of redefining but power. before we get into the conversation discussion tonight, i just really want to give you an idea of what redefining but color is about.

this is a project i was born out of the archive in the pacifica radio archives and very specifically, one particular voice which will tell you about in a moment. i was introduced to the archives back in 2007. i've been a journalist for 17 years, worked for bbc, npr, pacifica radio network. an audio that. i love sound. any kind of sound i absolutely love it. i love the way the voices can make you feel. i love the way when you sit and listen to a really good of radio come you have a driveway moment when you sit in your car and you can't move, you have to finish. what happened? and you have to sit and wait. that is really what i wanted to do for my entire career. but specifically what happens to people from the african diaspora. i'm not from harlem. i'm not from anywhere in the

united states. the sport and the united kingdom in this quiet town called ellsbury. my family is from barbados. it has been as kind of ordinary. he married into the family. her parents actually moved to the u.k. they had me and my sisters about that time of global sensibility that they bring to my work. i want to tell the story from the caribbean, from africa, the u.k., from here in the united states this was fortunate when ice tumbled across the archives. i was here visiting my husband -- for my boyfriend he was at the time and i said i want to go and visit a radio station. and i stumbled across kp s. k. i'd long been a fan of amy goodman on democracy now and has

introduced a brand in the archive inevitably walked into a room that's probably half the size of this or that were in here and as he walked in, bear in mind i probably needed a jacket that was more well suited for the whether you have your a typical new york winter i walked in on every single site as we seek your books. on every single side there were tapes. 55,000 of them. big realtor will cassettes of his crisp cardboard boxes. some were yellow with age and they'll have numbers on the side. the numbers don't mean anything. when you pull them out and see the names on the back. malcolm knox, was the part, so many of those voices crying out and say listen to me. listen to what i have to teach you. don't keep me here in this box. take me out. learn something.

one of the recordings -- one of the first recording skippering introduced me to an aspiration for this book was from signy heiner. the one voice that cries out so loudly that he couldn't be ignored because she wanted to be heard. and as a result we have this project called the "re-defining black power." with that i want to work at the archives and find that the foreword and this is what he said. >> at the time i was unfamiliar with fannie lou heiner. the stories had been taught in school yet her voice was like nothing i'd ever heard before. a small ski boats of the ice cream store in berkeley was the voice of this woman telling a

sympathetic interviewer about her work for african-american voting rights and her leadership role in the mississippi freedom democratic party. her tone was soft and gentle with his mississippi drive and colloquial phrasing, yet aspire with determination. it was the heartbreaking voice of billie holiday singing strange fruit. the direct brutal honesty. i heard the pain and promise of the civil rights movement of most headphones. her words cut like a dagger she described her perfect beatings she adored on the order of a prison guard, tupac and it struck, leaving her blinded when i had one of them and she said beat me until he was exhausted. sitting alone, the game of my

emotions broke there in the corner for modest office. this interview has never been transcriber published nor have countless others like it. if you've not heard that recording, reach out to the pacifica radio archives and listen to it. it's nothing like you've ever heard before. following a two-week do in "re-defining black power" is look at the obama presidency. we were all excited. there's going to be an african-american president. and even though i'm from the u.k.,, we'll felt like he was going to be our president too. despite this brother. we're going to claim him paper related links to a few guys, too. you had a chance to vote. we didn't. the election of barack obama, whether you voted him or supported him or not has

transformed american political and social life forever. it has transformed the way the world sees the united states. when i was born, it's like wow, could we perhaps see about prime minister? i'm not really holding my breath for that one, but if it can happen here, who knows, maybe it could happen in another western country as well. but we wanted to do in "re-defining black power" is take the voice whenever people talk about this transformative moment in african-american history and they can never talk about barack obama without talking about all of the black freedom fighters who fought and died and were named on the road to us having an african-american president. before introduced my panel, we

define hook about discussion and we have said in interviews that over two and a half years, all of them from the good act to this. activists in the civil rights tradition. activists from the legal system. activists and the media, emotional justice, the industrial complex. people who have literally spent their lives trying to make things better for african-americans in this country. one of them who really was probably one of my favorite, but also because i never knew my grand parents. finally felt a little grandfatherly to me and his professorial way and he had been in barbados, to come us of that kind of want me to a little bit. but dr. vincent harding. how many of you know him, heard of him?

dr. vincent harding was a speechwriter for.or martin luther king. he wrote that speech beyond vietnam in 1967, the one that he delivered right here in new york at riverside church in 1867. and when i sat down with dr. harding and his office was actually his emily. when you turn you bump into books. there's books above, book solo. this is a scholarly demand. but he's an act to face in his 20s. he left his home. he was like you know, this is -- this is not what my life is meant to be about. he and his wife, rosemary malpass on the transition and he said i could have done my life's work without her. so when i was talking to him as a journalist to me is very important to talk about definition and make sure we have

the definition right. because i forgot the definition what can everything else to talk about is not to make any sense. it's not going to be accurate. one of the first questions i asked him. i actually sat down with all the people face-to-face and had a conversation with them. i asked him about his definition of the civil rights movement because this is where we defined our conversation. and his very grandfatherly, professorial way he didn't quite take my hand and tapped he may well have. he said, the civil rights movement is a convenient journalistic term. but the longer i live, the more i am certain that the civil rights movement is absolutely inadequate way of talking about the great transformative movement that many of us were deeply involved in and many of us continue to be deeply involved in. i prefer the movement for the

expansion and deepening of democracy in america. chew on that one. it's a good one. and so whenever you say civil rights movement, i'm going to be hearing the movement for the expansion and deepening of democracy in america. now i have not been any of their interviews for this but i could've sat there and should not for the chewed on that for the rest of my life. the movement for the expansion and deepening of democracy. that is what this book in its own small way is hoping to be apart of. it was unnecessary and shtick, neither hebrew people in the movement at that time were interested in the election of an african-american president. it was about making sure that everyone had an opportunity to be educated, that people were locked away in prison for no apparent good reason.

it was about human rights. it wasn't even about civil rights. so these conversations in this book were just a starting point. what we're going to do tonight is expand the conversation. you are part of the conversation . so with this book in this project i want you to read it, listen to this cd, 11 hours of audio, and people from history, conversations i had with the people in this book about what you'd add your voice to a two. it's just like how were able to sit and listen to the conversation that someone has the foresight to house so we can be inspired some people look at this moment in history, they can hear from african-american exactly what they do, what we think about the so-called age of obama. so i'm going to tell you exactly how to get involved.

i do want to get into conversation tonight. i have to say i'm a little bit sad because this tour is almost over. i've been away from home. me and my roadie, my mom has been all the way through. but each place we visited from los angeles to san francisco to oakland to washington d.c. and even here in new york we had met her event. each conversation had been different and focused on something different from education to the meaning of that this time to talking to people who are part of the next month and right back at the beginning to talking about women and how they are pretreated the media. tonight we can have their place. i'm so pleased and happy and excited and beyond thrilled that we have two phenomenal gentlemen with us tonight. we have award-winning filmmaker,

said one end of privacy in some of this work, barack and curtis where he talks about barack obama. [applause] where he talks about two sides of african-american cannot get iran to talk about that a little bit more. we also have cultural critics, presenter of lesser blacks, duke university professor, said she was trying to solve subway from north carolina. [applause] thank you jim demint, both of you for joining us tonight. i'm going to come sit down to give brandis microphone. rub a bit of a conversation with a gentleman and open it up for you guys to join the conversation now. i just ask when you have a comment please raise your hand. i will see you. no shouting out from the back or anything like that. and all of this is recorded as well. i get to that point just raise

your hand and make sure the microphone before you make a comment. so gentlemen, as it has been with all of the events and also what we have done with each of the people interviewed in the books from vincent harding to where i'm from from, michelle alexander talking about mass incarceration, i still mark talking about emotional justice, we'll started talking about the 2008 campaign and when it looked that that vermont, this but there may actually just do it. so let me take it back to election night, november 4, 2008. iran, where were you and how did you feel? >> i was at an election night party that was hosted by the

various kevin powell and it was summer in new york city in the atmosphere was complete electric. it was like being in the club, a party, but it was an election experience. it was sort of debuting a result. i remember being there and watching the monitor and the different speech reporting the exit polls and reporting all of the different numbers coming in. and for the first time really starting to believe yes, it could happen that barack obama could be elected president of the united states. and when the announcement was made in a declared the winner, with a declared president barack obama, our member standing there in total shock, just looking at

the monitor and document the various images of old celebrating across the country, feeling the vibration and energy in the room. i mean, people hugging each other. people that don't even know each other hugging each other. it was really friendly that night cheered and their members spilling out into the streets of new york city and people standing in the middle of the street, praying, holding hands and praying and just being overwhelmed with a ton of emotion. >> he was sitting there nodding your head, too. how did it go down in north carolina? >> in the fall of zero wait, i was visiting scholar at the university of pennsylvania. to be there three days a week, basically sunday to wednesday. i did in one election night to go by but a family, which was

still in north carolina. i flew home to north carolina that they just to be home that night with my family, knowing i had to fly back the next morning. i still remember when cnn called the election right after 11:00 my oldest daughter at the time was nine. i think we might've woken up to what one also. the thing i remember most about that moment with my own parents. my father had passed in february february 2008 than i often said when when i voted in the primary, it was like actually voting for that though he couldn't make. he did register to vote any time aside until 1976 with jimmy carter ran for president because they were both from georgia. it's the only time he's compelled. and anytime barack obama rant coming he was dealing with debilitation state wouldn't allow him to be engaged in the process at all. of course he passed in february of 08. another was also suffering from

dementia. folks who naturally would've wanted to sit down and communicate about the election i couldn't talk to them. my last memory was fine back the next morning, sitting in the airport and there's always tvs on all the time. i thought it was so interesting that every tv in the terminal was off as if somehow they didn't want to actually process would it have happened the night before. >> you can't escape tv screen. but how did come as black man, accomplished black men who are out there doing your work, seen in the world, did you feel when that happened that finally brothers might actually get it right. did you feel not quite accent, but maybe things would be a little easier.

over the conversations you're having with your guys? >> i never felt like we were going to get a break. on a personal note, i felt like i needed to get making tight because i was inspired by barack obama's game plan, if you will. i was inspired by his ability to achieve the impossible, you know, and to overcome the odds and to do some thing before and to run inside a brilliant strategic campaign. i was the one thing that i thought about. as you also remember initially walking remember initially walking remember initially walking command can i say to myself okay, so this command, saying to myself okay, so this is what inclusion feels like it this is what it feels like to feel like you have some level of power and privilege and you can

feel like you're part of a supposed you to disassociative frown. and i remember feeling well, this is a really empowering feeling that i have been missing out on for almost, you know, my entire life basically. so that was one thing. i look at that man differently. i did feel a feeling a sense that a sense that black men were looking at ourselves collectively somewhat differently. i did learn that depends on who you talk to him he spoke with, where they were and i and how they felt about themselves and how they felt about their road personal power. i feel there were a lot of black men i spoke to who still felt like doubt, the salt lake barack obama didn't necessarily put them. even when i was making barack incurred as a attack to send

brothers who could not vote because they've been disenfranchised because they had been imprisoned. the election for them is meaningless. a lot of black men felt like even the barack obama is president obama was president of the united states, he was still not the person in charge, right click it really depends on who you talk to. where did they come from, where did they decide? with their class background? where did they set? and so i hate speak for all black men because every single black man. i can only speak about mine and the brother that i know. >> i had a slightly different reaction to the election in that regard. it might come of barack obama to be elected had to run as the most exceptional ever. and if the criteria for being the black president is to be the most exceptional either, there was very little opportunity to

think this would have a germanic impact on the rest of us within the required, would we consider the nominal mediocrity of the 43 men who came before him. >> there's actually a point when he talks about the number of others and this is something that michele alexander wrote the new jim crow and the agents of mine and speaks this very point. we hear about the memories of election, she was in her home at the time, which is where she lived. and she actually talks about she was elated when she caught to vote for barack obama. he was on his knees in the gutter. there were four or five police officers around him in a semi

circle laughing, joking to be shooting the breeze accident dubious to his existence. then averted their eyes and carried on. i just remember thinking, what did the election of barack obama mean forehand, this man in the gutter. a few comments on this point because depending on where you start, it's a black man he felt quite different. others a couple you to view on a black man want. >> i were put in prison social conflicts so when i went to work, that evening when i saw

barack, it was surreal. the next day when i went to work, i felt almost like i'm part of the privileged class. now i know what it feels to have a brother in their were a person of color that is now calling the shots. at the same time it had mixed emotions because like you i was like well, you know, if he really part of calling the shots or is it really a figure. i really didn't feel totally inclusive, but it feels good to have a symbol is some of black in the white house and also i felt that it was time for us black and to put the suit tie on and talk eloquent and what have you. because he was as simple as that and that is what made me feel. that is what i had going through my mind. >> thank you.

yes, this young man here. >> so in terms of my opinion, it wasn't on election night. i was at college in mostly the opinion that i had, havingeñ worked in the campaign was that seem from sort of a small things come small controversy that it happened over the campaign thatl it wasn't going to make sort of the leap of faith that he was going to get backed up by the larger black community, either at the speak of the reverend wright issue in how he responded by that by being quite

diplomatically and presenting a speech, but not really from that those words spoken by man put up on a pedestal such as dr. martin luther king and also the issue of course was the young muslim women who ascended back in order to basically try to eliminate the controversy again being a muslim and that thinking let's put a cut and dry here. this is who we are. >> as a young african-american man, how did it make you feel. did you have a little bit more slacker in the world? >> in my personal opinion, as he different, when i perris raised, alice thought to write to be included in the room. enable me to go out and communicate with others that they had the right to be in the room as well and b÷

able to, as he said, an amount of power that everybody to work for greater goal. >> okay, thank you. it's interesting that the panel in los angeles and talking about race and education, specifically young black men, but there is a grandmother who was in the audience and she said that she felt that she no longer had to lie to her grandson, that he could be whatever he wanted to be. in one stroke with the election of the black and, regardless whether he was any good, regardless of the policies were, look at him. he did it. don't let what anybody tells you stop you. it was powerful to to tell him and no longer had to lie. you do a lot of work with young men and kind of helping them understand gender relationships in treating young women with respect. how has it impacted on them the

type of conversations with the 89 euros to work with. >> i don't work in -- a comment to be very intelligent, curious, full, sometimes bored out of their minds and being talked to read older man and wanted to go to the bathroom and that sort of thing. but i didn't make any parallel our connection to barack obama. i think what struck me most about the 89-year-old boys is the potential that lies within

them to become a barack obama or someone else, not necessarily in barack obama, but to be a filmmaker to be a lawyer, doctor, professor, to be whatever they want to be and what happens in between the time that they are 89 years old and become 1718 and potentially go off to college or go off to jail and thinking about how those tracks are still very well in place for them. and how much attention has to be given to their nurturing and hopes and dreams. and what they want for themselves, but they believe themselves to be in the time. barack obama remains a fresh symbol of what they can become. but i think in their world and their communities and our communities, the pitfalls are

still dared and i am concerned that many of them won't become a lot of this pitfalls. >> what is happening at their education and i was actually checking them again the 50 state report on black males in education and an essay in academic year 2007, 2008 for young black members and here in new york city for 25% of black male students are graduating and statistics have a more depressing. what are happy where black boys

in particular, crows are doing much better is, but black boys are doing so badly. what's going on? >> there's lots of reasons. i know this one public school teachers in the audience can address even better. the boys are criminalized within these institutions. i like the reference who released this great report in which we talk about african-american occasionally do with all these numbers about how they feel, why they fail, percentage or we never had conversations many talk about the 44%, what is the 56% doing to be successful? and the model awaits a model for other african-american students. we always create this dynamic. i have two different experiences in terms of the stage. i have an annual pattern of

14-year-old to have a flexible in a scheduled to spend time with them. the young men that are in the class with her are out of control. and on the one hand is the kind of out of control that gives you -- you almost want to shake a few of them at that kind of level. at the same time as looking up the environment they are surviving and we talk about whether there's a system where they are primarily comely female teachers who have been socialized to fear the very thing they are responsible for teaching. there was a nativity school and dora, which is all black and latino men. a lot of black male teachers some latino t. shares see themselves there and it's a totally different process. the part of it is how do we create systems which were no longer criminalizing our boys? boys and girls learn in very

different ways. the research is out there. what are we trying to apply curricular models for young boys to learn that don't fit how they naturally learned. young boys like to move. they're very into motion. you all remember what that experience was or have young son. you look at how we socialist but boys and girls. we are here in the bookstore. how many by the time they are a grizzled have seen other black men looks quite how many of the young boys there ever a situation where black man has read a book to them? so of course these books become a kind of mystery for them. what are we supposed to do at this? which is why say which one it does something like gc. his book dakota was brilliant because of that is the kind of book that i could use to sit down with a group of 10, 11, 13

new ways to get them interested in literacy survey start here, but then we can take them to langston hughes and the boys and all hooks and all of them. >> can i just say some thing, just to end and put a button on my story about working at this eight and 9-year-old voice. at the end of our workshop with them, we asked all of them in the room what they wanted to be when i wanted to grow up. i'm sure you've had this experience. the vast majority of time and this is happening almost every situation i have been in and working with boys and young men for almost 20 years now. most of them wanted to be an athlete, hip-hop executives and placed the order to something in the world of entertainment at words. i don't think anyone at this young men or boys said they wanted to be president to be president of the president of the united states or city councilman or wanted to be a

superintendent. >> or a filmmaker. >> a couple dead. [laughter] -- a couple dead. [laughter] we still have to get beyond the notion that these very limited gains. and i'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. i think we still view our capacity has been very, very narrow and very limited and i think that is one of the things that i am working to try to change and probably some of the people in this room are as well >> that is one of the things that troubles me a little bit÷ about how barack obama's image

has circulated because now that it's become the dominant model for how to be successful, bottle of our young men will be able to fit into the model. the blackness is diverse. the things that you are diverse in the things we can suddenly attacked at a sun box called barack and the only way to be successful when a brother talks about the hbcus in north carolina and bow ties and stopped back in and all these kinds of things. to directly correlate how they dress to their capacity to succeed academically. the white kids who come into my class at 8:30 the morning with pajamas and flip-flops signed and they have no problem thinking because they are dressed this way that they can't also be as exceptional as they think they can. >> let's wait a moment for the

microphone to make its way over to you. >> thank you, yes. >> thank you so much. i'm an english teacher. i work for young men in privatep school@hs.dh@h they saved the pain of tuition. you might have a partiallhdp@hdh scholarship. i guess the first question@p@@@h be. they're using that well, even though they have high iqs unless you have the highest i.q. so something is wrong with that picture. our young men and women face cold, ugly racist then. there's no way this young man should been getting c's or low

grades in their courses. i've caught and their families, their fathers. i thought hundred dollars from them. silhouettes of deliberation bookstore and look up books. i'll start with hip-hop with them. and we read it. the exiled. i didn't have the courage and i was an honor student. as part of an. we read the boys, all of our scholars. the grades went up and one school, president nixon's grant sun was up at school. that is where one of my gunmen were was the school. the children absentees and hats to a's and b's in their work. and i don't work for people. they do their own work. so boat through the thought

pattern. but the headmaster walked in when they were doing an exam, walked into the room, what around and stared at the blackmail who moved from absentees two a's and b's to insinuate the child was cheating. and so, his parents were one of the few people who said you are looking at racism. you haven't mentioned that yet. that is settled in a lot of our children back. he won a scholarship and at the@ private school. then they get a second one to a white child who was the little delaware. >> that's a good example of someone who has helped and assisted. it's kind of like we showed them the way and teach them the way and give them the tools just like we say we have here at he-man books. but for others, is it as simple

as african-american boys, is it as simple as been facing racism in the classroom? booklet of this gentleman here if we can take the microphone there an end to this gentleman here at the back. if you both could wait for the microphone to get to you. >> my thoughts are well. i'd link chris rock put it well when a brother who is a rap artist or entertainer or an athlete, is celebrated. but the brother who is getting straight a's and speaks proper english and carries himself a certain way, he's not a supported, you know, in our community. and they think that it seems to be -- i've been hearing about this for the past 20 years. but the guy who is good with his face or as an athlete, he is celebrated by his peers. did you just about?

the guy who is an engineer or lawyer, he is only celebrated when he gets to that thought. but there is the potential coming in now, for an athlete from grade school to college. you know, he is celebrated. he knows this is the route to go. do not ..

>> i don't want to put words in your mouth, but i think what we all have to do collectively as a community is to figure out ways how we can successfully redefine masculinity. because for far too long, just like you spoke of, the idea of what it means to be male, what it means to be masculine is, um, is not positive, is not progressive. >> what about physical prowess? >> it's all about the physical and not necessarily the cerebral. and to tie it back to barack obama, one of the things that i do think is very important that we see, that we see myriad images of are men who use their brains, who use their minds in order to achieve and to be successful in whatever field that they are in. and i think that's very, very important. you know, when i was growing up, the the same thing. you know, i remember going to high school and not really

applying myself as much as i could because of how my male friends were going to perceive me, what they were going to think about me being on the honor roll which i could have easily been on the honor roll, but i didn't want to be because it wasn't cool to be on the honor roll, right? and, you know, we have to shift that, and we have to, you know, we have to really establish and create young male leaders who other young men in their peer group of their age can look to and say i want to be like that. when i went to college, it changed for me. i went to college on an athletic scholar hardship, and most of the young black people, my college students, my classmates, they were all going to the library. after dinner they were all going to the library. i would ask them, what are you doing? i'm going to the library. what are you doing? i'm going to study. nobody was going to play video games, nobody was going to hang out and party. people were going, and they were taking their studies seriously.

and those, um, that, that influence, that peer-to-peer influence was major for me. it was a major transformation because i took my studies seriously because that's what my male friends were doing, and i became socially conscious, i started, i started getting into black nationalism, i started getting into just trying to become as conscious and aware as possible because i saw my other male peers doing that. and i just think we have to have more models of that in elementary schools, in middle schools and in high schools in order for it to change. and i think, i do think that barack obama does on some level, you know, he does set a standard of excellence. his family sets a standard of excellence. i mean, i think when they talk publicly about not allowing their children to watch television until the weekend, i think, is very important. i think having images of barack obama taking his children to school when he was first elected, you know, i think those things are very, very important. i think that as a community and as a culture we have to raise the bar, and we have to demand excellence not just from our

young people, but from ourselves too. how many of us, how many of us can do better? [applause] how many of us could become better at what we do in whatever our chosen field is? how many of us could go to work and put a little extra effort in? how many of us could come up with a game plan that's five or ten years out, okay, that's going to change our lot in life or our situation in life? i mean, we all have that ability. i think barack obama demonstrated that masterfully, now we have to also do the work of changing our communities in the same way. >> i want to say a little something about the racism piece. you know, if you ask me whether or not i think educational institutions in this country are racist, i would say, yes. if you were to ask me if i think the majority of teachers are acting out of some sort of racist sensibilities, i would say, no. i would say that they have been largely socialized to see black

bodies in certain kinds of ways. you know, i have, again, i mentioned a 9-year-old daughter, and i like to refer to her as little sophia. if any of you have seen or read "the color purple," right? very much in charge of herself and what she wants to say, and i've seen situations where white male teachers have been threatened by her presence in the classroom, and so they go through this process. it's a form of racial profiling. your kid's not doing anything, but they're watching your kid more than they're watching the white kids because they've already been socialized to think there's something pathological about your child, right? and, again, this is not necessarily them acting out. what they're acting out is what the larger society has chosen to depict our children within that context. when byron talked about us taking it to the next level, what this means as communities and as parents is that we have to be in the face of these institutions all the time. we need to have a presence in these schools that as soon as

parents we walk into the school, they're going, oh, my god, what did they -- what did one of these teachers do or say. and, again, i realize many parents are not in the position to do that. if you're working class and you're working 9 to 5 and those two hours you spend at school means those are two hours you don't get paid, that's real, right? so it has to be a process of the community being also engaged, right? where are the educational professionals who are black in our communities who can be advocates for us in these classroom and school situations? >> a statistic in los angeles, i think los angeles unified school district, i think, is the second largest school district in the country, and it was saying that even though in the schools -- the schools are, like, 80% african-american and latino, 80% of the teachers are white. >> right. >> and they were saying, you know, even not so much for latinos, but for african-american children it was having a detrimental effect. >> there's a great charter

school in chicago, um, black and latino men, of course, they got a bunch of press a few years ago because 100% of those boys went off to college, right? and everybody's trying to figure out, you know, is it manager you did -- something you did with the curriculum? no, 90% of the teachers are black men. these boys are seeing themselves in the classroom, they're seeing black men as vehiclal who can do complex thought. they're not just seeing rappers and ball players. and even when those are the examples, right? how do we intervene in those discussions. the conversation about someone like jay-z, the question is how is he worth $400 million? right? you know, jay-z could teach at wharton. and so that's a part of the jay-z story that we need to be able to pass on to our boys because you don't necessarily just have to be the rapper, right? you could be the entertainment lawyer. you could be the head publicist,

right? you could be the videographer, and we could go on and on in terms of the ways folks are successful living salaried, professional middle class lives on hip-hop who are never anywhere near the mic. >> let's take the comment from the gentleman back there. [laughter] >> the problem to me seems as though, for one, black men don't have no army. by not having an army, your kids get shot down, and you want to go to court. where you shot down a kid, they come to that officer's house and knock down that door, you know? they hesitate on shooting any other nationality but your kid because they know the average black men has not got no real men who would say, you did what? and whether you're black or white, you want to prove to scientists and doctors coming for you. and once the world know that, then things will change, and every aspect of it is as long as

we sit here and talk that talk and talk and talk, ain't nothing going to happen because you ain't no threat, you ain't got no power, you ain't ready to die, you ain't ready to stand up and let people know you can't do this like business as usual. until you have a back-up, you ain't going to get nowhere. you ain't going to have no respect for nobody. >> thank you. thank you for your comment. let's take a couple more, and then i want to get into -- [cheers and applause] >> could i get a comment on that? >> um, well -- [laughter] on some level i agree. >> i was going to say, my mom's sitting over there, so i'm good. go ahead. >> i think that the level of violence that's 'em wedded -- embedded, inflicted upon young black men and the level of sexual violence inflicted upon young black girls and women is largely because, um, they feel like they can and get away with it. i understand. so i'm agreeing with him. >> but that's also a critique of

black men and black boys of black girls in our communities also. right? we're not just talking about white folks, this is stuff internally we also have to address. >> yeah, i mean, so -- yeah, i mean, so the pathology is complex and is very real, um, the level of disrespect that you're talking about, i think, is very -- that's true. it's very true. and i do think that we have to become stronger as a community and as a voting bloc. i think we have to really demonstrate that we are not going to accept the level of violence that is being inflicted on our communities whether it's young black men or young black girls. and, you know, i don't know -- i can appreciate your sensibility around the violence, right? and around, you know, the being able to mobilize and have armies. i think that that's, i'd like to

see something like that happen myself, to be quite honest with you. to be real honest with you. because i don't like to see our people being slaughtered and being defenseless. i don't like that, you know? and i understand, you know, even though i do believe in nonviolence, i do believe in nonviolence, i preach nonviolence, but there are moments where i feel like the only way that people are going to respond is if we show them that we're not playing games. so, i mean, do we have the resources, do we have the capital, do we have all that it takes to do that? i don't know. i do know that we have to respond differently, you know, and we have to do it in a stronger way than we have been doing it. and if we don't, it's only going to continue. it's only going to continue. >> and we've had models of that in the past. we talk about groups like the deacons of defense, that was part of what their responsibility was. but even as we use that as a model, we can't think that

there's a singular way in which we can respond to this. when we talk about organizations and organizing ourselves, that's a multifaceted process. so even as we talk about the kind of example that we use, we also have these folks who are organized within institutions to be able to advocate on behalf of the violence that's occurring for our folks. >> i mean, i thought it was critical when william bennett said the only way to end poverty was -- >> abortion. >> -- through abortion, um, and crime and all those different things? i just feel like people should not -- white people should not be able to see those type of things and feel comfortable walking down the street. >> now, also -- >> now, i'm saying that -- [laughter] if you feel comfortable, the only way you can say something like that is if you feel like there's going to be no repercussions to it. [applause] so who is going to stand up for us? somebody has to stand up for us, and there has to be some level of fear, real fear that, you know, that your words and your

actions are going to have some consequences. and i think that's really important. >> but then we also have to look, and byron, if you can come to these two comments and the lady just here -- no, in just a second. if you can come forward, thank you. but then we also have to look at -- i know there's something all three of us have discussed, when you have people like 45-year-old rapper too short and xx video basically describing how to sexually assault young women. this is giving fatherly advice. he's black, and he's giving this so-called fatherly advice to a huge audience of young, easily-influenced, young men. how do we start to break that

down? that's not a white person doing that, that's one of our own. let's deconstruct that. >> are you all familiar with the too short -- >> yeah, can one of you just kind of flush that out a little more? because i don't want to say what you say, because i don't want to add anymore field to it. >> so too short, anthony shaw. i think it's t dollar sign, dollar sign -- >> he is an aging 45-year-old rapper -- >> and not aging well, can we just say that? [laughter] >> xxl magazine, which is one of the more popular quote-unquote hip-hop magazines on their online site allowed him to do a video in which he gave fatherly instruction to, in his words, middle school and young high school students on how to turn out females. in which he gave explicit instructions on how you push them up against a wall, you then lick your finger to lubricate and then put your hand in her panties in order to wet her.

those are the explicit instructions that he offered, all right? when he -- they finally got pushed back, xxl took it down. as the editor said, well, i didn't see it, and i apologize. so on the one hand, if we're going to be real about in the same way that we're going to hold a newt gingrich or a rick santorum accountable, we have to hold black men accountable also, right? if not, we look just simply hypocritical. >> he said it all right there. i mean, um, i just think that, um, too short's comments, um, are really indicative of what a lot of men are teaching young boys and men around manhood and around sex and around sexuality and around sexual violence and around violence against women. and too short is the latest

person to get caught out there on videotape giving, providing those kind of instructions. but based on my work working within the marine corps, working within the u.s. army and air force and with division i football programs, educating boys and men around, um, preventing sexual violence and talking about masculinity, i know full well that these are attitudes that are pervasive around the country. not just in the black community, but in white communities n asian communities, all over. this is a masculinity issue, it's a masculinity problem, and there have been women for generations who have been working to address it and to get men to own up to our sexism, own up to our sexual violence, own up to our battering and emotional assault and to do something about it. but also pleading with men to work as allies to not -- nonabusive men to work as allies to create some sort of change, to challenge people like too short, to challenge other men who are sexist, and, you know,

who are espousing, um, ideas that reproduce violence against our girls and women. so i, you know, there's a coalition -- >> the 44%. >> we are the 44%. >> marc and i both signed on as allies to that project. for me as a male, i think it is important, it is very important for men to see other men and young boys to see other young boys who stand up and speak out against this strongly, right? who challenge sexism right there when it happens to confront the violence when we see it happen and when we think it's happening or when we know something about it. to me, that's one way that we can begin to change the culture because from what i understand, i don't know too much about it, but from what i understand, too short has begun to retreat, has he not? >> uh-huh. >> based on the feedback, based on the response to what he said. >> based on the fact that folks

began to organize. you know, this is the thing, and this is to your point, right? let's just use the drop squad strategy as the last resort, right? what do we need to do before we then have to drop squad too short to somebody? >> right. >> so part of that is there's an organizational mechanism already in our community in which folks respond to these things. y'all know what 44% stands for? the fact that 44% of the women in this country who are sexually assaulted and raped are under the age of 18. consider that number for a second before you start blaming all this on r. kelly, right? because it's not like he rapedñ all of 'em.ññ so in that kind of dynamic, first, it's starts as an individual petition, and then it moves off the color of change which has close to 50,000 signatures in a petition, right? and it creates this coalition, right, that's going to be a national movement because if we're going to talk about protecting our girls, we need to be talking about protecting all girls within this kind of

context. and, of course, the same kind of strategy and mechanism that we're using could be easily applied to do the same things in terms of pushback in terms of heed ya racism, right? and, again, this is the beginning of the organization. the drop squad strategy is the last resort. right? be what are we going to do before that point in time? i keep thinking about the brother's point earlier, you know, when you talked about, you know, what it means to be in the room. and part of the failing of what has been the last four years, you know, with barack obama is that we got in the room, but we don't know what the hell to do once we're in the room. right? yeah, we're included, but included means you don't just elect somebody, you help that person to govern, and one of the ways is to hold that person accountable. and if you never tell him what you expect of him, you can't expect him to do it just because he loves you. >> and that's a point that all of the contributors to redefining black power make. they say, listen, you know, he said yes, we can. not, yes, i can, you know?

we almost fail him if we don't try to push him to be as great as he could be because we're too scared, len washington said in his critique about the media and the african-american president, he said, you know, we have a paralysis of analysis. we have, you know, we've almost reneged on our side of the bargain. well, i'll run, but i need the backing. and now he's there, where is everybody else? van jones makes the point as well even though he didn't spend that long working in the obama administration, but, you know, none of us have worked in an administration. but he said he got scared. he would look around. there's about a thousand people that work within kind of a governmental administration. and he said he looked around, and he was, like, where did everybody go? where were all the people who were there who were donating their $1 and their $5? what happened to all the people that were out there grassroots, knocking on doors, doing social media campaigns? he's, like, where did everybody go? he said, we've been left alone.

you need to have the microphone to make a comment, and i do want to get to this gentleman here and this lady here who have been waiting for patiently.o >> i think that the brother ino the back with the army and the professor up here, um, are both correct. this approach has to beí multifaceted. and i think that, you know, i've been sitting here and, you know gazing back and forth betweenp redefining black power and your backdrop, hue-man for every view. [laughter] i mean, right now we're at a stage in the which people go in drift -- different directions, and they have to take where they come from, the things that they have assembled along the line in terms of expertise to bring us to a greater good. and i decided at the time in which i came along, i went away but not upstate with my, this brother over here. i went to the united states air force. and that was my choice, and it

worked well for me in the context of the '60s and '70s and going through the movement of the time. >> thank you, sir. can we take a comment from the lady in the back there? >> um, i sort of agreed with you until you got to the -- >> can you hold the microphone close to you, ma'am? >> -- million you got to the point -- until you got to the point where you didn't think there was much racism in our school. racism permeates our schools. i'm a retiree from the board of ed. and the example of that is the failure of too many of our children. the parents need to be a part of their when they come home, make sure they do their homework and read and do whatever, but we have a tendency to make excuses and make -- i know your next comment is that you wasn't making excuses, but it comes -- [laughter] and i'm here to dispute that. now, getting back to what the gentleman said in the back --

>> can you hold the mic -- >> we all remember the gentleman who was defending his home out in queens, and these italian kids threatened, came on his property and threatened to kill him and his mama and father and everybody else. and what did the father of the dead young man do? said he was going to kill the father who was defending his family. in court he even said what he was going to do. i agree with this gentleman back here. we are too timid, and if we didn't have the ancestors that we had, we wouldn't be able to sit here and realize that we have a little job that they can snatch from you any minute that they want to which is what their plan is, and we're too comfortable. no one wants to come in front of the television or say on the phone, what have you, it's amazing we can come out for a hue-man bookstore reading. >> i appreciate the fact that

you did. thank you. >> and it's standing room only. >> it's really hurtful to know that our, see, i'm not going to make excuses for our men and our young boys because they weren't taught, you see? our history is the white man has been molesting our women, our girls for years. >> absolutely. >> okay? so they are looking at the way that our men came from that background, and we have a lot of closet pedophiles, yes, in our own community. but if we caught everything that is going on, the wife, the mother is left to raise a child. i have one boy, one man, and three grown daughters. i used to have to ask my son -- my husband, rather, who was very good to me and the family, few before some -- but for some

reason or another when men get that first boy, they're happy. once the boy gets here, they're gone. my husband was actually a pool player. i had to say, andrew, take him with you to the pool place. you see what i mean? we need some real -- >> we need some good examples. i mean, and for some of you who are fathers in the audience, is it, is it fair what this lady is saying, you know, are our husbands or our fathers just absent, if we can take this gentleman's comment just here, please. this gentleman with the orange top right behind you. >> um, whoever -- two points. first, with regard to the issue concerning doing warfare, um, it is my firm belief that we've neglected the understanding that

malcolm and martin came to that the problem is not just blackness, the problem is rather universal. a whole lot of white people are discovering that they're the niggers of the new age. their pensions are gone, their medicare's about to be gone, and they are available to become a coalition. but we're sitting up here consistently enamored about the fact that there's a need to concentrate solely upon the fact of my skin color is one thing, and somebody else's skin color is something else. we need to get over that and come to the appreciation that this is in large measure about people, not just about black people. the other thing with regard to, um, i appreciate the fact that there's a whole bunch of fathers who ignored their responsibility of being a father. um, that young man who first spoke is my son, and i understood that in order for me not to pay prices to the god i

believe in, that it was going to be my responsibility to make sure that, one, he was protected, two, that i devoted the necessary time so that he could become the type of individual and understand the nature of the rules of engagement of the society that he's in. i think to a large measure i've been successful, but y'all are here, y'all can talk to him about that. [laughter] >> would one of you like to take that? >> [inaudible] >> yeah. we'll be right with you. either of you want to comment on what the last gentleman said? very briefly if you can, please, because we do want to -- >> you asked the question that obama looked around and said where's all the people -- >> no, it was actually van jones who was the green jobs adviser to president obama who literally turned around and said, okay, so the election is over, the administration has started, we're here, where's everybody else? as in us. >> well, didn't obama disband

all those store fronts that he had, the support of the people? >> sorry to jump in, sir, but why is it that we need president obama to officially have things set up? why is it that we cannot stay organized in our own communities? >> i'm asking, when we was organized, once he became president, didn't he disband all them groups that was together and electing him and networking and going door to door? and once he got in the house, he disband all the across the country. >> i ask the same question, but why should it stop us as individuals? why do woe these the president -- we need the president to tell us what to do? >> i'm not saying we need the president to tell us what to do, i'm just curious, do you know why he disband -- >> it was the end of the election campaign. that's what all campaigns do. once it's finished, they pack up, and they go home. but it's still incumbent on us

as individuals to say, well, this stuff is happening in our community, this is what i want to do to try and change it. that shouldn't be the president's job. i'm not an obama defender, but should it be the president's job to tell us as individuals what to do within our own communities? and i'll open that out to the floor. do people feel as though they were abandoned by president obama after the 2008 election? >> because i just want -- >> very briefly, please. >> if he already had the network together, he was moving forward and he had a team, then if other people seen that his team was still intact, then they would be more likely to join -- [inaudible] >> okay. >> so i couldn't understand why would he be successful and then disband so we can regroup again which totally, it seems -- >> i mean, because part of it is elections aren't governing, and that was a system that was set up to get him elected, not

necessarily a system set up to help govern. .. because that was the only way kennedy could win the election to close this election until 2000 when john f. kennedy got killed besides the fact that lyndon johnson may have been a race to and clearly didn't support civil rights. he had to carry the water forward because there is a

political illness countries to force them to carry the water forward. how to get barack obama to carry the water for those of moore's concern to us whether it be the prison industrial complex, no child left behind/race to the top. we can go on and on about the kind of policies that are allowed even from the obama administration because there is not before us a tear in terms of our issues that are really pushing that. we can't expect our national organizations to do that kind of work either. >> on to say quickly that i believe that after barack obama became president of the united states, most of the people who supported him and galvanized the efforts for them went home and laid on the couch. and the tea party woke up and went to work. an attempted to take rates.

and i just reinforce what mark said about not sustaining all at the mag and the momentum created by his campaign. you know what i mean? i don't know. i am not sure. i'm not familiar what you're talking about with obama disbanding his campaign headquarters around the country, but i do now that barack obama's team and his cabinet have been working to try and sustain that momentum and reach out to their voters and constituencies. to their fundraisers. >> that's a good point. most vast majority of people have setbacks and watch a figure that mythologized as someone who is smart enough, charismatic

enough, powerful enough to mr. amnesty you have heavy lifting on it done to be set back and watch him face cannot position that has absolutely no desire to see him six he appeared to want to see them fail. they want us to the democrats fail. they want to see a black resume failed. they want to see black men fail and black people fail and america to see this experiment debark obama, the first black male president was a complete failure. that is what they want to see. >> you just reminded me of some and from the book, a conversation with the communications minister of foreign lives and they are home back in may of 1985 and also ramona. we had a long conversation. she said she and others have been moved it not to have been a

opinion come up with your policy is black or white, somewhere between or something else that they are taught him politicians will do what they want to do. politicians want to be reelected to thought be reelected. something she said that was really powerful, she said i resented junior recently. he said barack obama is the new crack. he's got people hallucinating. he is the new crack in the black community on poor communities. and what she meant by that is pretty much to echo what the gentleman you are insane and other contributors say that barack obama is not the messiah. he is not the savior. he is one man who is probably trying to do the same for the politicians and we can't hand over her agency to one

individual. he is beholden to congress. and we can see how that's working out. their not exactly receiving hamlet in 2008 that's not the case now. he's the new crack. he's not out there saying he's doing his job. with the job i'm supposed to be doing. yes sir. >> hi. >> qaeda. >> before proceeding, i would like to have knowledge everybody than they do here tonight. i'm glad that you all are here. i for one always have knowledge

to african heritage is an african-american. i for one would say hoping that the realization of justice and a true understanding of african history of the black man's economic goals. >> i'm sorry, but could you get to the essence of your point, please? >> absolutely. i do want to hear you, but i'm just mindful of the fact issue much and make a comment.

[inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible]

[inaudible] >> thank you. thank you very much. i love that quote, politicians are not humanitarian spirit obviously not. i'm going to quote you on that one. there's another comment i believe that the back. now? circuit. let's take this on here. we're planning to come to this gentleman here and he can -- is there someone in the back here first, please?

coming to you at the microphone. thank you offered the insipid waiting for the microphone. i really appreciate that. >> in reference to the statement, and that she made about the film -- if you look at barak's administration, if you also look at what he did when he spoke to the congressional black caucus, totally reprehensible what he did after that. >> is that when he said put on your walking shoes? >> i was totally like he was disconnected from the black community. you know, so we can pretend that he's including us, but it's really the illusion of inclusion. you understand what i'm saying? because he is a person, the brother had the formula for the

korean economy. he gets kicked out of the administration. >> at the interesting thing with van jones, he made the point and asked him very specifically, do you feel you're more effect is in the administration are out? has said bicentenary countless others in the white house administration are out working against, it matters to me when it's to be done, regardless of where i am, i am still going to continue to do that work. i thought that was a very powerful thing that applies to all of us, we don't integrate like to be told yes you can go and organize. we can go do that. >> that might be dramatic on van jones fire. [laughter] >> is a very smart man. but like i said, you know, if you just look at a figure, you know, it's easy to believe that a person's articulate, all the

opinions are coming from them. but when you look at those briefings, come on. if you don't see us in there, just let? for not being talked about. it's real simple. >> if i could get the microphone back to brian. when i had a conversation with linn washington, a veteran communist with the chirpy and too many other outlets and he was saying that he gave the figure. he was talking about the same press briefing and the number of african-american journalists in their supposed to by journalists than they are. it was actually quite difficult. a veteran journalists who is having a really tough time at the beginning of the administration getting into both white house press briefings. there is a waiver that could work in the media, what is known as collecting the fourth estate, the people meant to hold the executive branch and congress and the supreme court accountable if we as black folks and journalists can't get and it

becomes difficult for everybody has to do that as well. so you're right, we do need to be at the table. another comment that the frog. take some final comments from our panel. >> in your boat, "re-defining black power," i'll go back to the booths. with black power coming from harper's garden, renaissance, post-mao cohen, black liberation army, panthers and now we hear barack obama. in your attention, the title of the book said kerry bent throughout the faces upon black struggle. he didn't have black armed struggle in the 60s with the every thing else.'

now we can have political power. now your panelists, the title, "re-defining black power" almost sounds like it eca d. i'm a christian stand, like when jesus ade. are you saying barack obama is now a new turn in due course the black power? or was it that all those are inclusive? >> it is actually the second point. it should actually give you background to where we got this from. it is a collection and the radio archives called to funding blood power, which has now come -- malcolm x and dr. martin luther king and many, many doctors who come you know, we could be here all year and it's difficult to say these are the people that signifies that power. and with redefining black power, what we wanted to do this kind

of mary that continuum as dr. vincent harding text about the movement and expansion and deepening of democracy. we don't want to talk about president obama without making sure we pay homage to fannie lou hamer and all the people who paved the way for barack obama come with folks psycho reference again surely choosing. this is something we just don't talk about. barack obama was the first african-american to run and win, that he was not the first round. if that's the the way we wanted to make sure that she always talk about the other. for me personally, redefining black powers about saying listen, this is how i define my power, which may be very different to how you define it. some people are natural leaders. if you go out in late heard some are natural organizers. if you are a should go out and do it. but no longer do we want someone to say, well, you know you're from the diaspora come african-american.

your life should be to take it i low graduation rate, high teen pregnancy rate, high unemployment, high mass incarceration. that is not all that we are in another professor neil earlier said we talk about the 47% of young black whiz who are graduating. what about the other 53% who are? why are they not talking about them and why we're not producing models to replicate their success? redefining black powers about mary all of those traditions, talking about all traditions in tandem, but also same book within their communities in new york, los angeles, d.c., florida or wherever you are, you take that to your power and say this is what i'm going to do. the longer we stay well, somebody else's fault, it's his fault i don't have a job or her fault and not married or whatever, we hand over power to all of these people fought so

hard for us to have answered me if you thief here tonight with nothing else in addition to the vet, i have to say that come if you leave here tonight with nothing else, starting tomorrow, i'm going to hook up with the useless again man who was in on the scene for whatever reason, i will bring younger to a library to pick up some books that actually reflect to shiites. i'm going to takers and young children to a theater for a come up with words by people who do work like byron, and make sure they watch barack's documentary that i've been made. we have so many resources to know whether it's books, theater, film, log posts, like what professor neil does. we have focused resources. we just have to make sure we actually share them as well.

>> let's remind everyone there's a free cd from the archives wheo you purchase the book. >> do have to make that comment again and microphone? >> how would you say that we effectively hold iraq accountable? because smiley at cornell west came out in critique and that they got a lot of backlash for that. so how do you think we can effectively hold unaccountable and get results? >> so there is nothing wrong with professor west's critique of barack obama -- president barack obama. the problem was the style in which he offered to critique and which clearly resonated with most folks as being something that has less to do with policy and more to do with the personal rant between the two of them. so i think that is why they can't reject it. i think what is very real if we

think about mainstream media in this country, they have absolutely neglected what has been a very significant of critique of barack obama that is just as substantial as the critique we hear from the right and the tea party, but the critique is invisible. it wasn't for folks like black agenda report as an example, we wouldn't know that with the left making a critique of barack obama. that said, the same way any of these folks make politicians accountable. the facts and come e-mail, great letters, show up in their office, right? you consciously tell them i am not giving you money this month because you're not representing what we do. this is the thing that white folks to buy the time. we think about ralph reid in the success of ralph reid in relationship to the price of church bush, w. as opposed to his father as opposed to age. ralph reid is going into churches and sitting there with folks in church history at are

the folks you need to vote on because this is what they believe on abortion and these are the powers they follow. we should get serious about organizing. it's like those of you old enough to remember watching black depot for the first time on television, you call in all your friends. belafonte is going to begin tv. you figure out who in the community has the color tv and everybody comes to the house to watch harry belafonte for six minutes. so going to fred hampton junior, a response to barack obama was that they were so accelerated with it but we didn't take into account there's another part of it. getting him into office as the first part. organizing the weight every other political group that's because you're right. they don't respect us. but before we talk about the armed struggle, they need to response is setting up a political context. santorum and romney and the folks can say whatever they want to say because they know we don't never speak to them

politically. we don't counter them politically so it doesn't matter what they're going to say because we don't offer any retribution for the types of choices they make. >> there's a lot of -- digital, you had to make on that? >> i think mark's point was very well said. they are not going to respect our concerns and issues if we do not vote. if we do not vote in numbers. if we can't vote, if we disenfranchises senators and as mike said, if we are not a serious and organized block that should be taken seriously. >> real political power in this country is on the local and state level and we never come out for the selection. >> i do hear the criticism of barack obama's administration. i am also critical of her obama's administration. i have both inspired by barack obama, but also reminded that

barack obama the administration is facing a level of hatred and the trail and disrespect him the right that makes me want to defend him, right? so i think it is a complicated relationship we have with barack obama and i think it is very new one. i think it is a mistake, as you said to avoid the voices of people on the left, the organizers, nationalists, people have been doing community work and are seriously concerned about issues affecting us on a daily basis is a mistake to ignore those voices in a mistake for barack obama to not hear us and respond to us. the last thing i want to say is mark talked about how teachers and schools are racist and are enacting their racism against our young boys in school based

on how they've been trained in how they've been socialized conditioned to see black man is dangerous and threat as criminals. getting barack obama is being treated the same way. and congress, among his peers, on capitol hill. the governor of arizona liking her finger in his face, right? saying he was a threat -- well, she was inseminated by him. the public displays all disrespect at him. the cheapening at this presidents' day, reducing the value of his presidency in so many different ways. so that is the pirate that to me as a reminder that we do live in it deeply racist society, right? that is systematic and while at work cannot play. so we all have a lot to do. every single one of us have a lot of work to do. we had to continue to organize. we have to continue to raise our

children, raise their communities and be leaders of mark talked about. >> just to sort of tie-in the past night with the all-female panel, did you think there is an issue in terms of not allowing power to course through our own community, the relationship between black men and black women. that is that both of these folks who got the definition of masculinity being that we are partially oppressing black women and does not allowing them to reach their full potential because we are quote, unquote may be afraid of what is going to sort of the carter with air power being unleashed in the community and sort is by hypothesis being similarly for what ways have gone through, they feed ourselves as except

dan some form of inflated rent and segregation of black women allows us to basically be enslaved ourselves. so do you think until we allow the women in our community and the relationship between men and women have powerful coursing through it, we will be able to eliminate rl? [applause] >> it was a well stated question or point. i don't know if i can answer it, but i'll just say this. i think we have black men have become more secure and ourselves. who helped you a lot or introspect to work to figure out who we are and our power it would have to divest. we have to let go of the atf that in order to be powerful as the man, and we have to be in control and in charge and make money than our wives and spouse

or success in our sleeves and where context as a badge of honor. we have to start to divest in that brand of masculinity and become more secure in who we are and recognize that the women in our communities are valuable, important that we all have women in our lives, whether as a mother, sister, daughters who are important to us and the women we are involved with, someone's daughter is some of mr. and someone who is loved and cared about. i think we have to begin to view ourselves in a more human way as men. we have to view ourselves as more human and we can barely begin to deal with our emotional selves but i think that is when we can become more above the number excepting and affirming of the women in our lives. >> here's the thing. agreeing obviously with

everything that i read just that, our communities are best served by allowing the most talented folks to be able to defend the leadership. can we say that is historically been the case? note. and so, a community in which we ask that the talents of black women as leaders, that accepts the talents of black as leaders, while you sit that we know all of the heterosexual male names to the civil rights movements, but when you ask young folks who backrest and was very often à la joe baker was to get a link with because they essentially have been compartmentalized outside of bigotry at the civil rights movement. so we do ourselves a disservice by not allowing the most talented folks in our communities to be able to defend leadership.

just looks historically, can we think of one woman, for instance, who is the kind of political cachet in our history on the level of how how the couch about for martin luther king or jackson, al sharpton, we can go on and on. for except to bring up with the hype is one example. again, all these women have been reduced to a secondary level and our understanding of it. we do ourselves an incredible disservice to not realizing power does not have to be heterosexual and male. >> there is just really so much we could talk about and she wanted digest. but unfortunately, we can't stay here all night, at the rate she will never, ever have me back. >> unless of course we buy books. >> wow, i was just going to say that. but seriously, we've had this big conversation tonight and i

want to thank mark anthony neal and byron neal are coming out tonight and so crucial that we talk about a missed the cared conversation of seven people and this isn't a book. as i said drabek at the beginning of lot of you looking to see where did everyone come from quite a lot of you didn't hear this, but this really is the work and the project it is for everybody. i am not joking when i say that we will apply when people are back on this presidency, on this moment in history when it's one terms or to put our voices are right at the heart of it. i'm a journalist. i'm not an academic. i like to talk to people. i love to talk and intellect and discuss. but it is so important like sally lieutenants place because of the specifics to