it may grow to include more rabbis there largely from the reform and conservative movement whose numbers tend to be more liberal and politically than other parts of judaism. basically what i was told was this was a movement that grew out of a lot of angst across the political spectrum about the best way to respond to donald trump and that there are some conversations about people jeering mr. trump are turning their backs to them and that the rabbis one to make it clear that they did not object to hearing the invitation for him to speak. they do not want to treat him rudely and contribute to what they feel is a toxic atmosphere around him but they would send a message by not going and not appearing at the event. their concerns, certainly rest on what he has said on israel issues where he said he will be

neutral between the israelis and palestinians, but even more than that rests on his rhetoric about immigrants, about potentially imposing religious test for immigration, what he said about women and some of these issues that they feel are not welcoming and inclusive which are strong and important values for them. >> it's important to note that his appearance meant that he was not going to be in salt lake city. fox news canceled the debate that was originally scheduled for monday, march 21. any reaction reaction from the trump campaign? >> they have said some of the things that mr. trump had said when asked about his positions that they literally told me that some of his best friends are jewish, that many of his company executives are jewish and he has been a strong supporter of israel and they have cited a number things in the past. he marched in a a parade in new york city, that was a pro rally prayed. he received an award from a jewish organization and so he

actually just gave an interview where he promised to be the best friend that israel can have. they are pushing back which is not always their way. it actually shows a sign of them trying to persuade the wary which is not always been trump's message in the campaign so far. a lot of time he just speaks to his fans. >> let me follow up with us does this spell potential problems for him? ease the front runner in on the road for accepting the nomination in cleveland. could this be the beginning of some internal strife within this key constituency of the gop? >> so another thing we looked at in our story was not just this effort, but also the conversation among republican views of who there are not an enormous number but some of them are very influential and there is deep angst within that community. it in some ways mimics the angst

across the establishment of the republican party, but deep concern about trump. the republican jewish coalition is meeting in las vegas next month and they are expected to be dominated by conversation of how to greet trump, can they endorse him or do they just feel he is not a candidate that they can support. >> what can we expect from the other republican candidates. you indicated governor kasich and cruz will be speaking and they will hear from joe biden and hillary clinton. >> i think this is an environment, i was told by some people associated that this is a very specific audience who wants policy specifics. i think there will be an effort by hillary clinton to construct herself contract contrast herself and give a specific policy oriented address that includes, but includes that's

one that a pro israel group is going to want to hear. i imagine she will stress her support for tuesday pollution and the is really government and do it with some level of seriousness. in some ways that's interesting to see about trump, his tone. he's he's not one that generally gives written speeches or take on issues of policy in any depth. this is an audience that will expect that of him and it will be interesting to see what it looks like on him to give a serious policy address or if he doesn't choose to do that even though that is what the audience is expecting. >> you quote him in your piecing this group normally reliable jewish voters see reason to doubt trump and question him. >> yes. mr. trump, since he started his campaign in one breath he will

say he's the most pro israel candidate among politicians running and then he'll say things like he's not sure there can be a peace deal because he's not sure israel wants one. he's doubted their commitment to peace which is not something that has gone over well in the republican jewish community. then he has repeatedly said that he thinks this would be a negotiation and he's a great negotiator but that you have to go in neutral. again that's not something, that neutrality word is not something that the republican jewish community wants to hear. >> so as they said, there has has been significant doubts in that community. >> the rabbis organize a boycott of his speech, a pro israel israel group, it's available online and washington post.com. thank you for your time. we appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. >> donald trump is in arizona tomorrow meeting with voters ahead of the states primary on

tuesday. his campaign rally in phoenix begins at two pm eastern. we will have a live on c-span. >> join american history tv on c-span three saturday for live all day coverage of a lincoln symposium from ford's theater in washington d.c. starting at 9:00 a.m. eastern featured speakers include sidney blumenthal, author of a self-made man. author edna green medford on lincoln and emancipation. stacy pratt mcdermitt author of mary lincoln, southern girl, and northern woman. author of fortune full, the life of john wilkes booth. the abraham lincoln symposium on

american history tv. live coverage saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. eastern. >> the supreme court has a lot of power and with that power comes responsibility. you have individuals sitting on the court for 30 or 35 years and that's just not, it just doesn't pass the smell test when it comes to a modern democracy. >> sunday night on q&a, they talk about changes he'd like to see at the supreme court including opening up oral arguments to cameras, imposing term limits on justices and requiring justices to adhere to the same code of ethics that other judges follow. >> these decisions affect all americans. all americans are aware of the third branch of government and in the last ten or 15 years it has become so powerful. the idea that issues on voting and marriage and healthcare and immigration and women's rights,

pregnancy discrimination, i could go on and on. these issues that may be 20 or 30 years ago the executive branch and congress would get together and figure out a compromise and put together a bill a bill. that doesn't really happening more. the puck stops at the supreme court in a way that i feel is unprecedented in our supreme court. given that they're making these very important decisions in our lives the most we can do is expect them to --dash sunday night eastern on q&a. >> we will hear from naacp president cornell brooks. then a discussion on israel's influence on the u.s. later that is where lead to spence minister talks about u.s. israel relations and his concerns over their iran nuclear agreement at an event in washington d.c. >> naacp president cornell

brooks spoke today about voting rights in the 2016 election. he also discussed the water contamination in flint michigan. from the national press club, this is 50 minutes. >> let me start with a few comments about today. >> my name is david anderson. i'm a longtime member of the club and member of the club's newsmaker committee. >> i'm an attorney and years ago i was washington correspondent. there may be a lot of folks who are not journalists in here, so i do respect the members of the media who may be here.

many of those may be working journalists so please understand that they are here to do a job. after our guest makes his opening remarks and has a chance to answer these questions, please identify yourself, name and name and affiliation. before we get started i'd like to mention some upcoming events here at the club. on march 21 there will be a panel on the south china sea dispute and that will include various security economic and legal issues. on the 22nd the club will also have a newsmaker on millennial's and politics. on march the 24th, the club will host john who is commissioner of the irs.

that's like an annual event here the club where we have the irs commissioner speak great before taxes are due so that's pretty standard. the other final item is this would be a good time to make sure your cell phone, iphone and any other electronic device that makes horrible sounds is turned off. our guest today is cornell william brooks, the president and cbo of the national association for the advancement of colored people. the acronym being the naacp and

it's the nations oldest and largest grassroots civil rights organization. on may 16, 2014 he became the 18th person to serve as chief executive of the association whose members are the most committed advocates for civil rights in their communities. mr. brooks was born in el paso texas and grew up in georgetown south carolina. he received his bachelor of arts with honors from jackson state university and a master of divinity from the school of theology. mr. brooks earned his degree from yale law school and member of the yale law and policy review. his career began as a judicial

clerk with the u.s. court of appeals fourth circuit. in washington he directed the federal communications commission's office of communication business opportunities and served as the executive director of the fair housing council of greater washington. his work continued with civil rights committee under law and the u.s. department of justice where he filed the governments first lawsuit against a nursing home alleging housing discrimination based on race. prior to taking the helm of naacp, he was president and ceo of the union new jersey institute of social justice reheat directed the successful efforts to win the passage of legislation which enabled

formerly incarcerated men and women to rebuild their lives as productive and responsible citizens. mr. brooks, his wife janice and their two sons are members of the ame church in hyattsville maryland. mr. brooks is happy to address issues such as the situation in flint michigan and criminal justice reform. i've recently been notified that he wanted to focus his initial remarks on the tone and environments of the current presidential campaign. his speech today is entitled democracy and awakening. trump is him and voter suppression. they are pleased to welcome to its podium the president of naacp, mr. cornell william rex [applause].

good morning. i want to thank david for that very kind introduction and i want to just say how humbled i am to be here. so many news makers and leaders and social justice seekers have spoken and shared their perspective on the world. i also want to express appreciation to the journalists in the room. you provide and create a distance, if you will that allows people to think critically about the issues. you also create a sense of intimacy which allows people to draw close to injustice and the kinds of injustices the naacp has long fought to eradicate from our public. this is an extraordinary moment in american history. this is not some date on the

gregorian calendar. it's not a matter of happenstance or circumstance. this is, to the month, the 51st year since blood he sunday. it's in a location that is etched in our collective memory as a country. it did not take much effort to call to mind the image of a new age woman who was literally eaten on the pavement on the bridge. it did not require much effort to bring to mind the image of a young man who was beaten to the point of a concussion to the point of near death. that day, blood he sunday is one

that resonates in this year. for a few minutes i want to talk about the right to vote, the voices of the 2016 campaign and the prospect of violence. when we think about the right to vote, it is and should be understood as a civic sacrament. this being the first presidential election in 50 years without the full protection, this being a time in which african-americans and latinos and people all across the country feel as though their civil sacrament is being threatened. this is an occasion in the wake of the shelby versus holder supreme court decision where we have seen state legislature after state legislature engage in voter disenfranchisement permit where we have over 30 states that have imposed voter

id laws. these laws, on their face, are innocuous but will we keep in mind that a substantial fraction or percentage of american voters don't possess these ids, we have reasons to be alarmed. why. when we think about the fact that there is a certain inclusivity to the exclusivity of the moment, that is to say we are not dealing with a kind of nostalgic, black-and-white discrimination of yesteryear. were dealing with a multi- day after nick exclusivity. is to say, in 1965 when this was enacted into law, he was enacted in law by president lbj who used a series of presidential pins to

sign this legislation into law. this was literally enacted with the blood, sweat and tears of america's from all across the country. so here we are 50 years later dealing with a multitude, multiracial, form of discrimination at the ballot box. consider this. african-americans are turned away in significant numbers. in the state of texas it is estimated that they are half-million citizens who do not possess the requisite id in his franchise is in danger. disproportionately affecting african-americans and latinos. by way of example, we have a law in texas that was previously declared to be discriminatory by the department of justice. federal court found that this

law is discriminatory. this law was first enacted and endangered the franchise of a half-million people. think about this. when you have a law that essentially says, if you have an id that allows you to carry a concealed weapon, it is deemed significant and sufficient id to vote, but an id that allows you to carry a book book of chemistry, a college textbook is in sufficient proof of identification to vote. consider the state of north carolina. at one point, the most progressive country with respect to voting rights, but in a few short years supreme court decision we saw a massive rollback in terms of the franchise. we saw not only african-americans and latinos having their rights to vote

curtailed but also young people. there is a 90-year-old in a lawsuit challenging that voter id law. who voted for 70 years but because she was born at home, because her name does not match the name on the birth certificate or match the name, her franchise, notwithstanding the fact that she exercised it for 70 years is at risk. as i noted before, there is an inclusivity to the exclusivity. it's not not just african-americans or latinos but young people. also 26 amendment generational discrimination. that is to say when legislatures declined to honor college ids but honor the ideals of those

who have ids that are used to consist carry concealed weapons, that is deemed okay and sufficient. when you honor the ids of 18 -year-olds who serve on military bases, who engage in study on a military campus but when you decline to honor the ids of college students, that is a generational war, if you will against the young in terms of franchise. but this is not just a matter of of the young or african-americans or latinos, but also rules and in the state of georgia, when we lose tens of thousands, tens of thousands of voter registrations mysteriously, and explicitly, this challenge the franchise is not really a matter of the younger african-americans, but also senior citizens. will we know that senior

citizens disproportionately do not have the photo ids necessary to vote, disproportionately have conflicts between their birth records, those born at home and finally typical to vote. for example, my mother, when she was a 16-year-old college student, she went to college she participated in civil rights demonstration to assert her rights under the american constitution. fast forward 50 years. as a citizen in the state of georgia, as a woman with a disability who uses a walker and a wheelchair, sheet phones up and calls her son and assess simple and straightforward question. she said i heard about these voter id laws in georgia.

i can't find my passport, i'm not sure were my birth certificate is. you're a lawyer, you, you tell me what to do. that is in fact the question that citizens all across the country are posing to their legislatures, posing to their elected officials, tell us what to do. we want to exercise our franchise. we want to exercise our right as citizens in the constitution but we have engaged in this frenzy of voter disenfranchise. this is a challenging moment in this democracy. we have seen the curtailing and constraining of the right to vote. rather than expanding the franchise, again we go back to the state of north carolina were only a few years ago we had early registration. we had pre-registration. that is to say 17 -year-olds who were about to turn 18 had time

to allow to register to vote early. we had early voting. all of these progressive reforms. these reforms that speak to the civic aspirations of our country are being curtailed and constrained, not because there is a challenge with respect to voting law. we know empirically that one is more likely to meet the tooth fairy standing next to santa claus at the voting booth then to encounter an instance of voter fraud. we know from studies that demonstrate literally, out of hundreds of millions of ballots cast a handful of instances of true fair fried voter fraud. this in fact is not what were challenging. we have a group of elected officials who have arrived in their office vehicle and two and

fact disrupted this. there is a flipside. a mere mere image of this curtailing and constraining of the vote. it's called trump is in. by that i want to note here that the end aa cp is a nonpartisan organization but as noted in the introduction, we came into being in 19089 in the wake of a land of lincoln. inscribed in our institution isn't unapologetic opposition to racial hatred. there was a picture taken about 1912. a group of five children, of various ethnicities and various

heritage each wearing a letter sweater with the word, the acronym and aa cp. naacp.