dreamers is essential to our national interests. dreamers are members of our society brought to this country as children, some before they even spoke, but now for almost all of them, english is their native language, this nation is the only home they have ever known, they pledge allegiance to the flag in school, at events, with their hand over their heart just as we all do and just as we begin every day the proceedings of this chamber. and many of them know and never talk for granted the gifts of living in the greatest, freest, strongest nation ever to exist on the planet. they know it and never take it

for granted because they hear stories from their aunts and uncles, maybe even their parents, about what life was like in the place they left when they were brought here as infants and small children. and so they go to our schools, they learn skills, they go to colleges and many to higher education, and they have skills and training and gifts and talents that would be extraordinarily useful and important. one problem: they are not citizens. they are not citizens, and they are in constant danger of deportation. they are stuck in a potentially

illegal and devastating situation because they have no path to citizenship in a country that should welcome them and make possible for them to come out of the shadows. in recognition of those overwhelming merits, president obama used his well-established executive authority to institute the daca program. understand that the daca program does not grant citizenship. it just defers and delays deportation proceedings. and countless young men and women came out of the shadows, made known their presence to the united states government to become a part of the daca

program disclosing their illegal status, and they are now fearf fearful. in fact, fearful is a clear understatement. they are terrified. and i have met with many of them, and i have known many of them over the years, and i have come to admire and respect their patriotism, their aspirations, and their dreams. as dreamers, their dream is american citizenship, which all too often many of us take for granted. their dream is american citizenship in the best sense of it, giving back to the country that they regard as their home, giving back in using those talents as nurses and doctors to

help the sick, as engineers and scientists to build inventions and advance our knowledge, as entrepreneurs to build businesses and employ people and create jobs and drive the economy forward. in fact, immigration reform and these programs are thought to be job creators and sources of economic progress. the daca program was a temporary effort, a respite, for them in their striving to gain some permanency and some reliable status so they could be secure and feel safe in this country.

and their terror now is well-founded, in fact, because the threat to them from the incoming administration is that they will be in fact deported en masse -- or perhaps their parents will be with them -- and the american dream will become a fantasy ... in fact, a nightmare. we're talking about young men, one of them well-known to me in bridgeport, who was brought to connecticut from brazil at the age of five. he studied in the bridgeport public schools from kindergarten through high school and then he went to attend fairfield university. he majored in chemistry, minored in mathematics, and he excelled, so that during his senior fear

at fairfield, he was accepted at university of california at berkeley chemistry program. he has to live under the threat of deportation because he has no way to apply for lawful status while he is finishing his studies here in america potentially contributing greatly to the american quality of life. and the new briton woman who was borbrought to america when she s six years old. the journey was terrifying, she couldn't understand what was happening and certainly had no idea that she was entering america in a way that would affect her the rest of her life. at six years old the idea that she was here in an illegal status was incomprehensible.

but her family settled in connecticut and she began school immediately in briton and went to the public schools there and gagraduated from high school in 2008 and decided to attend college out of state at bay path college, earning a great many leadership positions there and became the first in her family to graduate from college and then pursued a master's degree in occupational therapy and now has dreams about helping people, maybe a nonprofit. to make sure that families with low incomes have access to occupational therapy. and i think, too, of the young woman i know who was born in venezuela. she was brought here when she was 11 years old. she remembers her mother telling

her that she was going to america to learn english. and her mother also told her that she could be successful if she was bilingual and if she worked hard and studied, and that's exactly what she did with her family when they settled in norwalk, connecticut, and she began middle school right away. life at the beginning was difficult. a lot to learn. and by the time she was a junior in high school, she stopped trying to get perfect grades because she feared colleges wouldn't accept her simply because she was undocumented. and even after she was accepted, she couldn't afford it. but she persevered. she attended community college, a huge financial burden, and

after norwalk community college, she went on to western connecticut state university. she persevered and she triumphed over obstacles that many american young people do not face. but she pursued a double major there -- accounting and finance -- and she hopes to become an accountant and pursue a career in business, but she has no pathway to citizenship. -- or even lawful status. and she fears that her dreams will be unreachable. that is why daca is so important, why it should be extended, why we need to reform a broken immigration system that keeps the dreamers and all of the 11 million people in the shadows without a path to earn

disengship, why -- citizenship, why we need to go back to the bipartisan reform proposal that passed overwhelmingly in this body with strong support on both sides of the aisle and then was denied a vote in the house of representatives. that bipartisan effort needs to be resolved. in the meantime, the dreamers should be given lawful status so they can pursue their studies and their careers and give back to the greatest country in the history of the world. thank you, mr. president. and i yield the floor. seeing no one ready to speak, i request -- i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. daines: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 578, s. 2971.

the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 578, s. 2971, a bill to authorize the national urban search and rescue response system. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. daines: mr. president, i ask consent that the committee reported amendment be agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 648, s. 3183. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 54 -- 648, s. 3183, a bill to prohibit the circumvention of control measure, used by internet ticket sellers and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. daines: mr. president, i ask consent that the committee reported substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time

and passed and the motions be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: mr. president, i ask the chair lay before the senate the message to accompany s. 15 1550. the presiding officer: the chair lays before the senate a message from the house which the clerk will report. the clerk: resolve that the bill from the senate, s. 1550, entitled an act to amend title 31, united states code to establish entities tasked with improving program and project management and certain federal agencies and for other purposes do pass with an amendment. mr. daines: i move to concur on the house amendment and ask consent the motion be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered paid and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 5995 which was received from the house. the presiding officer: the clerk will report.

the clerk: h.r. 5995, an act to strike the sunset and certain provisions relating to the authorized protests of a task for delivery order under section 4106 of title 4 1-rbgs united states code -- 41, united states state code. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered paid and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on veterans affairs be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 5509 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: without objection the committee is discharged. the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 5509 an act to name the department of veterans affairs temporary lodging facility in indianapolis, indiana as the dr. otis bowen veteran house. the presiding officer: without objection the committee is

discharged. the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to s. res. 605. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 605 honoring arnold palmer. the presiding officer: without objection the committee is discharged. the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that the commerce committee be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to s. res. 610. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 610

expressing support for the designation of the first friday in october 2016 as manufacturing day. the presiding officer: without objection the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 626 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 626 recognizing the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the university of texas md anderson cancer center in houston, texas. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection dane i ask unanimous

consent that the committee on the judiciary be discharged from further consideration of s. 3386. mr. daines: and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 3386, a bill to amend title 36 united states code to designate may 1 as silver star service banner day. the presiding officer: without objection the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 89:-- 9:30 a.m. thursday, december 1. following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their would later in the day. further, that following leader remarks, the senate be in a period of morning business with

senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. finally, that the senate proceed to consideration of h.r. 6297 at 1:45 p.m. tomorrow as provided for under the previous order. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned till federal spending policy andl medical research bill that would fund of fda and the national institute for health and made changes to laws dealing with pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

every weekend, book tv brings you 48 hours of nonfiction books and authors. here is a look at some of our programs for this coming weekend. saturday night at 845 eastern, mit film author of open to debate and how they put liberal america on the fighting line. this made him an early pundit. >> as our level of discourse seem to deteriorate in the shouting matches are increasing in so long, it seemed like a particularly important time to be talking about a show that really values several discourse debate. >> sunday on in-depth, the anniversary of the attack on pearl harbor is a discussion. we will take your phone call,

tweet and phone calls. on "after words", george mitchell served as u.s. special envoy for middle east peace from 2009 - 9 - 2011 looks at the is really conflict in his book, a path to peace. he is interviewed by jane harman, president president and ceo of the woodrow wilson center >> the palestinian authority has long since been renounced violence and have opted for peaceful negotiation to achieve the state. >> go to booktv.org for the complete weekend schedule. now representatives from the national council, muslim advocates in the federation of teachers and leadership conference on civil and human rights urge president-elect

donald trump to denounce at ask of hate in the u.s. this is about an hour from the southern poverty law center. >> good morning. my name is richard cohen. i'm the president of the southern poverty law center. i am trying to buy brenda, the charities program director for muslim advocates. jana is the president of the national council of the raza. randy is president of the national federation of teachers. i'd also like to acknowledge the presence of two people who are important to us. gloria from moms rising. thank you for joining us. we are here today to release two

reports that document president-elect donald trump's own words have sparked incidents around the country, hate incidences and has had a profoundly negative effect on our schools. the first report is called ten days after. harassment and intimidation in the aftermath of the election. it describes 867 incidents of hate that were collected around the country in the ten days following the election. i have no doubt whatsoever this is a tremendous undercount. the incidents we are talking about have taken place in schools, public streets and parks and retail establishments. many people have been targeted in their homes. the incidences have been ugly. they have been aimed at people

because of their ethnicity, their race, religion, their sexual orientation in their gender. time after time, the perpetrators have invoked mr. trump's name, his slogan his slogan or his words in their fault. time after time they said they have never experienced anything like that before. the level of hate that has been unleashed by the election is something entirely new. our second report is called after election day. it is based on the first 10,000 reports that we have received from educators from around the country. the impact has been incredibly disturbing. 80% of the teachers who have

responded to us have reported heightened anxiety among their traditionally marginalized students. students were recent immigrants are living in real fear. 40% of the respondents reported hearing derogatory comments directed against students of color, muslims, immigrants and lgbt students. over 2500 specific incidents were reported to us where teachers told us that mr. trump's name had been invoked, rhetoric from the election had been employed. again, most disturbingly perhaps, 85% of the teachers who

responded to us, they they told us they were worried about the long run. they're worried about the continuing impact of the election on their students. they don't think this is going away anytime soon. now, since his election, mr. trump has disavowed wait to. he has told the harassers to stop it, but what he hasn't done add is acknowledged that his own words have sparked the barrage of hate that we are seeing. instead, he has been ignorance. he said he is surprised that any of his supporters would be harassing or intimidating anyone pretty said he has no idea why white supremacist would be energized by his election. really? neither of these facts should be a mystery to anyone, much less to mr. trump trump.

he has been singing the white supremacist song since he came down the escalator in his tower and announced his canady, calling mexican immigrants races. instead of of pretending to be surprised by the pervasive hate that has infected our country, mr. trump needs to take responsibility for it and repair the damage that he caused. he needs to speak out forcefully and repeatedly against bigotry. he needs to apologize to the communities he has injured and demonstrate that they will be protected and valued in his administration. he needs to go to jersey city and apologized to the muslim community by lying about their reaction to the 911 attacks. he needs to go to l.a. to assure dreamers that he will not use any information from the application for deferred action to deport them for their family,

and he needs to go to chicago to apologize to the black community for his grotesque stereotypic descriptions of their lives in neighborhood. more portly, his words must be followed by concrete actions in his policies and his appointments that repair the wounds of division that his campaign have caused. 600,000 people have signed a petition on our website asking him to do just that. if he does not, anything less than an apology, repairing repairing the damages he's caused, reaching out to marginalized immunities and having his actions follow his words, if he doesn't do those things, the hate that mr. trump has unleashed during this election season will continue to flourish.

i will be happy to answer a few questions in a few minutes. first i would like to turn it over to my colleagues. brenda. >> thank you richard, good morning. today today we stand hand-in-hand with our fellow americans who reject racism, bigotry hates, anti-semitism and division. the fbi reported a 67% increase in hate crimes against muslims in 2015. we expect an even more dramatic rise in incidents of hate and violence when the data for 2016 is tabulated and released. in fact, muslim advocates have been tracking hate crime since november 2015 and we have recorded nearly 175 hate crimes against american muslims for their country and those perceived to be muslims in the

date leading up to the election. we are disturbed by the increased frequency of reported hate crimes and incident since the election all across the country. president-elect trump's recent statement against hate violence and white supremacist group that support his election as a step in the right direction, but there must be more. we need him to strongly reject bigotry in all of its forms, unequivocally call on americans to stop the hate violence and ensure his administration will prosecute the perpetrators of hate crime to the fullest extent under the law. furthermore, president-elect trump must reconsider some of the selections he has made as top advisers to his administration. otherwise, the selection of individuals like steve bannon, lieut. general michael flynn and jeff sessions indicated that the bigoted and divisive rhetoric that we saw in the campaign will continue as a matter of policy

and practice in the white house. america is hurting right now. all of us need to come together and feel safe. children are getting bullied. women with head scarves are being attacked and rhetoric has become commonplace across the country. hey crimes have skyrocketed an american muslims, like many are genuinely fearful. if president-elect trump wants to bring america together and be a leader for all americans, he will need to disavow the dangerous proposals and ideas that single out and demonize muslims and other communities. now is the time for president-elect trump to make changes in his rhetoric, his selections in the policies under consideration by his incoming administration in order to send a strong message of unity to all americans. thank you.

>> my name is janet and i am president and ceo of the national council. [inaudible] >> less than 48 hours after election night, and clr hosted a check-in call with all of our affiliates across the country. our affiliate are community-based organizations that provide health, social service to millions of latinos and others every day. many of them are in charter schools or afterschool programs. what we've heard from them troubled us deeply. virtually all of these affiliates focused on the same issue. we asked them, what were they hearing and seeing in our community in those two days

after the election? what they said was the devastated impact of the election, its tone, its divisiveness, its harsh rhetoric and its outcome that was having on the children they know and serve. they reported on countless incidents of harassment, verbal and physical taught, widespread bullying, and most tragically many students contemplating taking their own lives. they also stressed the profound anxiety and fear that have gripped these children about the future. they are deeply worried. these children are deeply worried about their parents and other family members due to the immigration status. these kids are frightened, and with reason, that their families may be broken up by the policies of the incoming administration.

they are left to wonder whether the statements of canada trump will be carried out by president trump. in short, everything they chronicle in its new import report is corrupt corroborated. we are angered but not surprised that teachers have witnessed a negative impact and 80% notice how how anxious their students are. this is unacceptable. and clr has already begun working with our affiliates to provide supports in teacher training to address bullying. we are working with partners like our friends here today to combat this issue together and at a national level. we are grateful for documenting

what is going on by issuing those reports and by helping us document. [inaudible] the report was translated from english to spanish and translated on our website. it has to start with the president elect. while he said he wants to be the president of all americans, we have heard precious little in response to what is going on in his name. especially when it comes to the impact on children and young people. he needs to reassure or address anxiety and fear of so many communities for whom he will now also be president. president-elect trump, we are

asking you, we need you to protect and defend americans and condemned the violence and hate being committed in your name. reach out to marginalized communities, repair the damage. thank you. >> thank you richard, thank you brenda and jana and wade, my name is randi weingarten and i am the president of the 1.6 million-member american federation of teachers. we are the largest college union and the second largest teachers union. i am here not just to thank richard but all the speakers one big and small ways have been spending their adult lives fighting hate and bigotry, while at the same time increasing opportunity.

this is not an either/or situation. this is a both and situation of the united states of america. i appreciate what they have done because we cannot live in an evidence free zone. during the campaign his rhetoric and policy proposals pitted americans against each other and created fear and division. unfortunately as the other speakers have said, we have seen a disturbing and search we have seen is carried out in his name, particularly in schools. while mr. trump looked at the camera directly in insisting in his interview and said to the people doing it as teachers know

we need to actually be consistent in our message if you want people to hear it. pre-k-3 university, public and public and private, all of which must be safe and welcoming places of learning and acceptance for students and parents and our communities.

[inaudible] they have to feel that their are safe. since the election, more and more do not feel safe. over the past year, teachers have reported this disturbing trend. we even called at the trump effects. we have story after story of community college faculty member in washington state was brought to tears and verbally assaulted with slurs and another testified last week. they are saying whites only, white america and it was painted on the stall door. i can go on and on. in my hometown, new york city, last week, five swastikas in chelsea. my whole life, there was not more than one swastika anywhere in that city.

eleven days ago, we sent a letter signed by 200 organizations, cosigned by the law center and aft come to the president-elect asking him to denounce these actions that were done in his name. over 43000 people signed that letter. we know he received it. since then, crickets. silence. mr. trump has claimed he will keep america safe and he will stand up for the little guy. he refuses to speak up for the littlest guys. our children who are being taunted and bullied in school by kids who use his name as a weapon. the president-elect knows how to use his voice. he's done so to denounce a broadway show, to denounce media personalities, but his lack of leadership here to end the hate fueled acts inspired by his

divisive campaign rhetoric is deafening. don't tell me that others haven't stood up. look what just happened, not just here but this weekend, even with delta. we saw that one trump passenger made more than 100 travelers uncomfortable. what did delta do? they not not only denounce the bad behavior, they barred the man from ever traveling on a delta airplane, they apologized and reimbursed the victimized passengers. we have seen how leadership from governor, in new york and governor cuomo and the governor in pennsylvania and l.a. mayor garcetti, it's time for our president-elect to use his voice to effectively and unequivocally denounce these hateful acts that

are done in his name. thank you. >> good morning everyone. first, i want to thank richard cohen and the law center for these important reports and for their important research on leadership. i also want to thank my colleagues who are here this morning to bear witness so powerfully. this is the challenge of our time in addressing hate and violence triggered, in large part, by the presidential election we just experienced. my name is wade henderson. i serve as president and ceo of the leadership conference on civil and human rights. the leadership conference is the

nation's leading coalition with over 200 national organizations working to build in america as good as its ideals. i am honored to note that all of the organizations here today are members of our coalition. throughout the presidential campaign, as you have heard, and especially in its aftermath, many of the communities that we represent have come to live in fear. they fear for their basic safety and well-being. as these reports have made abundantly clear, that fear is unfortunately justified. during the course of this campaign, as we have heard president-elect trump discussed a broad range of proposals that, if implemented, would

dramatically, would dramatically reverse our nation's progress on civil and human rights. in the process, he has has vilified innocent americans as rapists, as terrorists, as criminals, inciting neighbors and coworkers and classmates to turn against one another. the hate filled rhetoric of this campaign was shameful and divisive divisive in ways that go well beyond the boundaries of our political norms and traditions. the vast majority of americans who voted for donald j trump did not vote for hatred nor did they vote for violence or terrorizing people for being who they are. the america we know, the america we celebrate, the america we strive to create is a nation that honors and respect equal protection of the law for all of its people. it embraces its diversity as a

strength and it strives to be a place where all people can live and work and study and pray and love as free and equal americans the same nation that values these ideals, and let's just be honest about it, is itself an imperfect work in progress, but a work in progress nonetheless. yes, it is public schools are notoriously unequal. it's young men and women of color are often profiled by police, as are some in the muslim community or communities thought to be muslim. it warehouses people of colors often with irrational and desperate. [inaudible] what we know is we can do better

we won't be able to do better with the president who fans the flames of bigotry or treats women with disdain or response to this outpouring of hatred and violence with indifference. governors, state attorneys general, u.s., u.s. attorneys, members of congress have already responded with programs, initiatives and legislation which we celebrate for enhanced data collection and enforcement, and public calls for this kind of violence to end, but president-elect trump has thus far failed to do his part. now president-elect trump, you you vowed to be the president for all of us. today we are calling on you to make good on that pledge. by disavowing the hate speech that has infected our public discourse, and by telling your

supporters, and all americans to stop committing these acts. you must lead by example in both word and by deed. the nation and the world are watching. i will close with this one observation. some of my colleagues have noted the appointment president trump made in the early days of his transition. indeed, those appointments send a message that is unmistakable. that unmistakable message seems to reinforce the very issues that are at the core of our concerns today. we are concerned about the impact of jeff sessions at the department of justice, general mike or steve bannon, just just a heartbeat away from the presidency. the time to discuss these issues will soon rise on capitol hill. right now, we are asking the president to stand up and to be counted and honor the pledge that he has made to the american people to be the president of us all.

think you. >> thank you wade, thank you janet, thank you brandy. we will take questions now. i think we have a microphone and people can't hear us. >> do you see this administration in this president as someone you can work with over the next four years or do you just do you see yourself in opposition for the duration of this presidency. >> i will let wade answer that but from our point of view, it's both both. mr. trump is the president. where there is common ground, we are certainly not going to oppose him on issues just for the sake of doing so. what we are concerned about of course, is the very precious little common ground and the

people he has appointed to lead in core agencies such as the department of justice are people he indicated he will nominate are going to roll back policies, initiatives that are critical issues in voting. issues in policing and voting in the criminalization of poverty. i think in all of those kinds of issues, i think the civil rights community will stand united against those policies. >> it's an important question, i think we are appear, were, were trying to do her job. our job is to represent these constituencies. our job is to promote the civil rights and interests of these constituencies. so, when we feel that's being threatened, we, we need to call it out. i want to make it really clear, we are also reaching out. we are asking asking president-elect trump to hear us and to respond and to meet with

marginalized communities and our leadership and give us a chance to either raise these concerns, provide more education and background or hear him out. it's not fair for many of our communities to be kept in the dark, do not know or to have the uncertainty or to be a young child, an american citizen child and have an undocumented parent or to be a dreamer and not know about your future. it is our job to do that and call that out to the president-elect. we want to do both. we want to make sure we are calling out rhetoric and actions that we feel are threatening to our communities, but we are also expanding a hand to say we are willing to work with you. you promised and pledged to be a

president all of us, we want to help you do that. >> at the end of the day, if we can do things in a bipartisan way, we want to do that. like jenna and wade said, our job is to create economic and educational opportunity in america, to ensure that we lift all votes to ensure there is no hate and bigotry and to promote. [inaudible] we have actually asked mr. trump through a direct letter on november 18 to do this. he has not responded. a president of the united states, we need to find ways to have that president bring people together, and just like when there is common ground, like there was in the last congress on the education, the new bill, we all came together and we all said it was a good bill.

at the end of the day, this is first things first. the president elect has to create a climate that keeps american safe, all americans, those who voted for him and those who didn't vote for him. this is a really important test the president-elect of whether he will keep all americans safe. >> yes, ma'am thank you for doing this. i have several questions but i'll stick to just one. judging from his speech, he said he wants to. [inaudible] burnt flag and that's protected speech. are you hopeful that since he's been walking away from some of his campaign pledges that he may

reconsider some of the cabinet positions that he has named? how hopeful, do you see hopeful signs that he will walk away from some of the rhetoric or hear you out and maybe make some adjustments? >> thank you. i'm wade henderson and i'm with the leadership conference. thank you for your question which is really a follow-up to the first question about whether in fact, we are hopeful we could work together. i was reluctant to speak initially because i wanted my colleagues who had organizations, whose communities are being directly affected by these issues to speak first. i thought it was important as well to be clear about weight where we, as a community, in addition to the remarks of my colleagues colleagues also stand. when my angelou once observed that when someone shows you who they are, believe them.

it's a standard that has to be applied both to the person currently occupying the white house in any who would hope to replace him. we are deeply troubled that in the wake of what we have described as incidents of heat related speech activity and in some instances violence, this president-elect has chosen to address the issue only in the most superficial manner. what we are asking him to do is provide the kind of thoughtful leadership that he made a pledge to all americans to provide. assuming he does that, then we will take his actions for what they represent, a step forward in helping to bring us together. but, i don't want want to overstate the challenge that we face because the appointment of steve bannon as a counselor and advisor, a few steps away from the white house when he has supported and embraced

organizations that take direct views that are anti- somatic, islamic public, anti- immigrant, and races. or appoints as an attorney general, someone's whose record suggested will have great difficulty in enforcing civil rights law including a crime laws on the books. that is a real challenge. so, we are looking to have the congress of the united states, the senate do its job where it can advise and consent, in the case of senator sessions and implore the president elect to use his discretion wisely. reconsider the appointment of steve bannon. reconsider the appointment of mike flynn and reflect the interest that we all are trying to promote. thank you.

>> i will try to articulate this as best i can. a lot of people are saying, he's tweeting but he's a media guy so he's just messaging and he's really trying to keep people a little confused intentionally as part of his personality and tactics. i don't know if it's because he ran a reality show, and i don't mean that in a disparaging way. the problem is, now he is president-elect. what he is messaging out there has an impact on young people's lives. these are children who are confused and concerned and in fear for their parents and their families. so while perhaps president-elect trump thinks he's playing a messaging game and he's trying to create a new way of

communicating, and perhaps that is a political tactic that he's using, it is our job to call out that tactic and say there are vulnerable people who are affected by that and these are young children, they are americans, many of the students, their lives are really affected. they are hanging on every word that's being said. i'm just not sure he understands that as he has moved into this role of president-elect, and it's important for us to try to remind him, to try to reinforce that real people's lives are affected not just by what he does, but by what he says. >> if i could at one point, one of our great, great hopes at the

law center is that mr. trump mightily disappoints the white nationalist who are celebrating his victory now. some of the early signs are obviously not hopeful. the bazaar and disheartening naming of mr. bannon as the chief strategist is a very unfortunate sign, but we are not going to let him forget his pledge and we are going to keep pushing in the hopes that he does disappoint some of the people who have brought him to the party. >> to the point were just making , richard spencer, he seems to be getting what he wants to call his dangerous to her. he's going to texas a&m and him and wants to speak at the university of michigan following

that. he seems to be so determined to take advantage of the trump effect and to get on campus, confront the micro- aggression, safe space point of view that, at college every voice needs be heard so he's taking advantage of the public university, texas a&m. if he can do that at other public universities, how does your role change or what is your role in confronting what seems to be a white supremacist movement on some of our campuses? >> let me turn to someone who has members on each and every one of those campuses. >> we have a very activist union at michigan, at and arden and other places, new york city and at a&m we have some membership in community colleges. not a and m directly. what's happening is our

membership is creating a circle of protection for our students that are most vulnerable and for educators that are most vulnerable. they will be out in force fighting, not fighting against free speech, but fighting against the incitement and fighting for the right and dignity and inclusion in fighting against the bias. were already organizing at the university of michigan and several other places, but this is part of what we believe is our role in terms of really protecting our most vulnerable charges, and that goes for universities as well as our pre-k elementary and secondary schools.

we are working with and trying to get the college administration's to to ensure that there are protections against incitement, but we are also going to be out there fighting for the pluralism and inclusiveness that we believe is necessary in america. >> there is so much going on right now. answer, yes. what we have actually done at the law centers is we have a plat platform called share my lesson which is free for anyone and we have put a lot of materials on that platform, course materials, curriculum materials about how to teach inclusiveness, how to teach against bias, how to do all this and trying to do it in a way that is a political. there is lots of that that's going around. yes, we are going to use this as

an opportunity to educate as well as an opportunity to protest, but what were not going to do is we are not going to take a page from them about suppressing the right of free speech. >> yes or just curious as to how systemic you think this is going to be. this data is showing us ten days after the election. now we are 20 days on. does it show that in the last ten days this trend is continuing or is it declining, getting worse? that could point to how systemic this really is. >> in the days after the election, we saw a lot of celebrations, a lot of people acting out. the gloves were off because political correctness was out the window.

we have seen that die down somewhat, but to think that the hate is gone is quite naïve. we will see spikes again and again, around the inauguration we will see the low-level harassment continuing. a study came out that said 35% of his twitter followers also followed white supremacist group the most popular twitter handle was white genocide. the second most popular was donald trump. so i think this is not going to go away. it will continue to fester and flourish until mr. trump takes decisive action, acknowledges his wrongdoing, apologizes, reaches out, repairs the damage

and of course this is not going to be something, it's going to fall to religious leaders, schoolteachers, people in and their communities to assist in repairing this damage. >> thank you again. i'm brenda. we started tracking hate crimes against muslims and those perceived to be muslim back in november 2015. when we started tracking it, i 1. over 50% were against houses of worship in particular. the way we have been tracking them, we have a map a map on our website which you are welcome to look at, is looking toward federal law as well as state law and what may fall to a definition of a crime there. we have not seen a slow down and unfortunately with the eggnog ration coming up her concern there could be another spike around that time as well.

>> i work for a sweetest news channel. we have daily children's news for children between ten and 14. you are honestly adults, but you do talk a lot about how children are affected. i was wondering if you could give me a few specific examples so children watching this understand what other children specifically are going through. >> the report after the election day is filled with very specific examples of swastikas, fights, graffiti, name-calling, bullying, name-calling, bullying that we have seen. i know that the teachers could probably multiply what we have seen tenfold. in the back of our report we also have some recommendations for teachers for how they can

set the tone in their classrooms , how they can do what they can within the confines of their four walls to make the world a better place for their students. randy, i don't know if you want to add something. >> that's why my earlier remarks, i gave you gave you one of the examples. if you are in a junior high school and you see, written written on one of the stalls something that says and, it's frightening. with teachers in that school did, because it was not just that, i was also several other places where they saw things written like a whites only, white only, white america, what they did in that school is that the educators came together, created a plan, created things we call restorative justice circles, had kids talk about

their feelings, had kids talk together in a very diversified setting and tried to deal with and create an understanding zaidi and try to create some resemblance of security and a safe space. : >> >> kids have told their teachers that they are really afraid when they are

in school their parents will be taken away poco muslim kids a told their teachers that they don't want to wear if anything that shows that they are muslim. said teachers are hearing this all over. i have heard those stories. also about dreamers in los angeles also minneapolis. the reports that we put together every one of these incidents has the story attached. >> to you take a position on the sometimes violent protest protest against trump being elected president? >> our work collected instances of the anti-trump violence and be documented

between 20 and 30 and we would condemn those just as well at the same time we defend the of free-speech rights of protesters so we did not ignore that at all. >> just a follow-up there is talk of the dreamer's but i am wondering you are calling on trump to call out the hate from that interview but if you look at social media inseams - - this seems what they are seeing is that people are really not talking to each other they are screaming past each other and talking about the talking points on the left door of the right. so where do you get the

optimism of that somehow that will lessen or stop to be a little more forceful? because what you see on social media is replicated in the workplace and schools and other places where they are not talking to each other. >> and think on this leadership matters. we are at a time and a moment where we have to see the leadership in this particular area. we talk about the challenges of a social media and the inability to filter what is true or not true we will have a long period here in this country how we reconcile that. and it may well be in some of the school's the kids are just being kids. they are pranks the when you

are in an environment of high end anxiety we'll have a responsibility to step in as leaders to try to create a stable and unified environment. we're doing our part as community leaders across the country give the of faults the tools that they need not to panic but educate about what options they have and violence is never the answer . in school teachers are trained to give those resources. church leaders and faith based leaders to step in to think how they can step in. we need the president-elect and our future president to also think about what he can do and say. not just on one person but

for the presidency is the most important role that we have been this country and he needs to do his part. he cannot do what all global we are trying to do our part and we need him to do his part. >> ina reporter for the tokyo broadcasting system and a father of two girls. not to personalize but with all of the comments of anti-racist attitude shown from your president-elect, how are we as adults or parents to explain this to the younger ones? how are we supposed to explain what is now going on

quite. >> i think a conundrum. one of the disturbing facts that we uncovered with earlier reports that came out in march than almost half of the teachers in the country had decided they could not talk or teach about the election this time because they did not know what to say about what mr. shrontz was saying so that is a problem for teachers less of a problem for and parents and a faith community but we have to speak out of first is to protect the victim's right to surround the with caring adults. but when the president says things with the most cherished values is an

incredibly hard job. >> touching on this a bit but trump has clearly been trying to confuse the media and the public about what politics will look like or through is named to his cabinet he will tweet alive and kovach afloat the muslims and then go back. so how is this uncertainty specifically affecting the populations that you work with? what if people just don't know what will happen over the next few months quick. >> as a candidate we saw the donald trump in using divisive and hateful rhetoric to single out a number of communities across

the board in most concerning right now the his appointments themselves are a signal that those policies he treated on the campaign trail everything from registry for the immigrants immigrants, concerns about a judge's ethnicity to properly adjudicate cases as well as mass surveillance of the mosque all that seemed rhetoric but if you look at the appointments they connect. so our greatest concern bearing is taking a stand right now against of bigotry and campaign rhetoric we call for the president-elect to change course with his appointments. >> we will take one more question. >> could you talk a little

bit like one richard spencer crew is very highly educated and very polished there are others out there and also the other extreme is some like kkk? >> dispenser the head of the national policy institute is a committed racist his words make that clear. he believes in the national state that men are created done equals and there should be what he calls peaceful ethnic cleansing following hitler. there have been other richard spenser's before the number of charismatic highly educated white supremacist one that comes to mind is

the late dr. pearce from the national alliance the author of the book that was the blueprint for the oklahoma city blocked -- bombing he was a physicist he is also a member of the former american nazi party so it is naive to think that's all people in though wyser-pratte mr. organizations are dim witted. there are a number of highly intellectual and twisted people so we see richard spencer in the past in this very important when the media interview him to confront him with his statements. richard spenser's news because steve abandon is news it is important to cover him because some could say that is his alter ego

was because richard spencer is the originator of the right that he did say on that bright barred new site was the platform for a the alt-right >> day you have suggestions what ordinary americans can do to promote tolerance to fight the heat from - - eight? >> one correction there is no such thing as an ordinary american. only those who have answered the call and those who have not. each and every one of us has a responsibility to push back against anything but contrary for with your family or at work during your house of worship people

are not powerless and the worst thing that one can believe in that individual's can make a difference it is a self-fulfilling prophecy and our history of the civil-rights movement shows just the opposite side of me to call you on the ordinary american thing. >> we have a question on line from the of birmingham newspaper. >> regarding the incident of the reports of this indicates of blue state or reinstate -- read state quite.

>> it is good to hear you if all me barely kent. if you look at the map you can see the distribution of the hundred 67 instances that we've documented hate. one colleague and the author of the trumpet fact is here. >> in terms of the school there was no regional patterns and there were many problems in both red and blue states it just comes down to the demographics if it is a large number of immigrants than there is the fear it does not break down that easily.

>> i want to make a point with the latino community and i want to be clear right now we know that all children that are latino under the age of 18, 95 percent are american citizens. it is important to note we are talking about citizen children for the most part 95 percent of latino children are american citizens. many of them for them to be terrorized door hunted they are american-born. all lot of times part of what happens in these environments is this painting all of these communities and to gather that is why unity matters

today that it is about one particular group the standing up and will for the principle of tolerance and inclusion and equal protection under the of law. >> thanks for coming together collectively our commitment is to hold mr. trump to the first commitment he made when it was clear he was the president elect that it is time to lose the division in our country progress has to be more than words but a pledge that he takes seriously the he will repair that with his action and his policies reflect that commitment. and tell he does some will be a commitment unfilled. thank you so much. [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] been a.

>> [applause] with that wonderful introduction with all of her service and hard work to make this so beautiful and a huge thank-you to all of the

volunteers feel as they travel here from 33 states washington d.c. and puerto rico to put up the beautiful decorations to transform the white house science so grateful. as we celebrate our last holiday season end up white house thinking when we first came back here to washington we promised to open the house to his many people from as many backgrounds as possible and we truly wanted to make the white house the people's house particularly during law holiday season over the past eight years and through the seasons we have worked hard to achieve the goal by welcoming lost half a million gas for

ending stargazing volunteers with about half a million ornaments for the guests to enjoy the bringing smiles to the faces to the 200,000 holiday cookies prepared by our pastry chef and you can have some of those today. looking back i am proud to say we did our very best during doc holiday's for all walks of life to feel comfortable here in the nation's house. we do all of this with the help of the extraordinary staff with wonderful volunteers and those who take a very limited budget and they'd make miracles happen so for the final holiday preview of what to

take a moment for those who work tirelessly behind-the-scenes. that don't know if they're even in the room but our social secretary. [applause] you will see chris and susie our executive chef and an executive pastry chef also thanks to both of them all of the chef and the staff in the kitchen who have worked so hard to retain possible to make these holidays terrific. all of the escher's who never get credit they are working with the people in to greet and make sure things are moving like asia as a did that house.

they are to mendes i rarely can think geriatricians and carpenters to make sure the chandeliers have been moved and the structures are built and they do this in a matter of days they turn the house upside down pdf and all of the handiwork on the ordinance to the calligraphy and also our marine band you hear from my husband's favorite musical crew is the bay and. this is all possible because of these people and on behalf of the entire obama family we are so proud of this team that time we have spent with you and are grateful for reading you have done for us over the years.

[applause] before i get choked up we will officially kick off the final white house holiday season and celebrating with our military families our service members wanted warriors. [applause] negative course outstanding handsome beautiful talented engaging team. [applause] for the past eight years celebrating about holidays this has been one of the

favorite white house traditions that reminds us between the travel plans and the meals that we cannot forget what the holidays are really about the military families remind us what matters because as you serve the country in uniform or hold everything together as a military spouse or as to attend another news school in the other one back there is talking about i don't know what into even find time to contribute to your communities you coach your kids and teams on the weekend benne even cut the all-day short to come near to decorate the white house.

just another example we have one of our volunteers from redlands california fishy here correction is probably still working but i will tell you about her she and her family even with the base overseas they've managed to raise seven kids and just two weeks ago they celebrated the birth of there 15th grandchild. the service did not end when he retired they watched two of their sons serving in iraq and afghanistan she volunteered at the white house this year but that if patriotism is an art to the

then i ma master it is that type of commitment to serving others what the holidays are truly about with holiday decorations every year at the white house. this year's theme is the gift of the holidays and is usual we will be celebrating the country's greatest gift celebrating our military families. the visitors will see a tree and a flag composed of pitchers of military families we have met on bases and communities around the world over our time here it has gold ornaments honoring greatest heroes men and women who have given their lives to our country in right next to those display is a station that allows the guest send

messages to service members and we are hoping each of the 68,000 cast that will visit during the season will pause and send a message to express their gratitude. after that they will see other decorations that celebrate the guests that we share as a nation like the library to honor the gift of a great education. and we have trees swings to raise awareness about the millions of adolescent girls around the world to run not able to attend school opportunities are decorated with special ordinance that has the word girl written in a dozen languages.

as you head upstairs in the green room filled with decorations representing the gift of kitchen gardens in the shapes of peace and fruits and right next door a 19-foot tall white house christmas tree they have to take up the chandeliers and rearrange everything to get the treat into the house. that is in the blue room then you see the official white house gingerbread house. everything on it is something that you can eat the pastry chef worked very hard it is beautiful the have a replica of the new white house garden. the trees in that room 56

representing every state or territory in america then super sized replica of the dogs guarding their presence because it'll let them have have. i am just kidding. halted gather those who come to the next few weeks will see about how many ornaments ? >> six. >> six? [laughter] >> 100. >> cluster. >> 9,000. >> 200. >> 70,000 ornaments. >> i was shocked. we cannot wait to star welcoming people into the of white house over the holiday

season all of the of volunteers who make this happen you did a phenomenal job turning this into a magical place those of you are here today and those around the world once again to honor you for your service and your sacrifice is the love that we share with you. . .

you have some surprises in the back and your parents will be here. we will try to bring them back in one piece. i can't guarantee that they will be neat. all of it is washable. are you guys ready to come and join me? thank you all so much. come to the white house. it's really cool. take care. [applause]