guest: the job of the naacp is to increase turnout. host: the naacp invested heavily in data. that thereognize is was turnout compared to presidential elections. vote ine voters who presidential elections typically

do not vote in midterm elections. they aggressively communicate with voters in targeted areas to increase turnout. we talk about the landscape. we are looking at the most recent kavanaugh hearings and what that could mean to the right as a whole. all of the bread and butter issues. what we look at is our polling data. they feelg data says disrespected. we are about earning back our respect. host: are you asking them to vote for a certain candidate or to pitch -- asking them to vote overall? party we do not support a or a candidate. we support engaging physically to make democracy work. we're talking about

responsibility of the african-american community as a whole to create the best quality of life for our communities. host: our guests will talk about the efforts of voter mobilization. if you want to call -- when it looks to african-americans, what are the top issues? guest: respect. many african-americans feel disrespected. next of that, it is access to health care. job opportunities. the traditional things we have always talked about. but more than anything else, feeling disrespected. having someone in the white house to completely create false equivalence -- when you look at charlottesville, virginia -- between a racial hate group and a protester.

having someone in the white house to call african nations countries. having someone in the white house use demagoguery around racial division. it is something that we see as disrespectful as humans in this country. ist: as far as voting concerned, will they vote mainly for the democratic party because of these things? guest: it is not for us to determine how they vote. traditionally, because the party has better aligned with the interests of african-american vote their, they interests. we are saying to any political party, if we -- if you want our vote, talk about issues that are important to us. make sure our children have opportunities and are well and are protected in ways in which they can fully

participate. political parties who care about those issues will get the vote of the african-american community. host: when it comes to the respect you say voters want, how do you find that gets resolved in a midterm election specifically? guest: the political landscape as we currently see it is one in which the policy concerns that african-americans care most about are not addressed. that is how you address respect. you talk about a young person's opportunity in the future. that is a good quality public school. you can have the opportunity to thrive and learn. making sure that those who have freedom of health-care issues are not thrown away because they cannot afford health care. isial mobility israel -- real, and i have an opportunity to be mobile and advance in my career. those are respect issues i care about. host: president trump constantly points to the black unemployment

rate, the current level and the number it is. what do you think of that number? does it tell you something and does he make a point? guest: i think the trajectory over the last eight years, 10 years is what we should look at. we had a low point with the crash of the stock market. we have seen, slowly, african-americans in a trajectory. we have seen a constant trajectory of progress. more importantly, what policies are put in place over the last 18 months to address those things? i would venture to say none. as far as -- host: as far as the states you are looking at, is this a nationwide effort or targeted at specific states? guest: we are targeting michigan, ohio, pennsylvania, north carolina, georgia, and florida, looking at african-american turnout. we are putting hundreds of people on doors to talk to those

communities to increase turnout thato say african-americans will control our vote. we will determine the outcome. we will do that with a scientific method with proven results. that is important. nobody else should be controlling the boat of the african-american community but the african-american community. of therolling the vote african-american community but the african-american community. host: jerry, democrat line. you are on with our guest. go ahead. two questions and would like to make a comment if i can. the first with the president of the end of lacey p is -- naacp is, what efforts have you taken to prevent voter suppression by

racist white conservatives on the republican side? far in terms of white people's attitudes toward african-americans do you feel can change, it in terms of the younger generation of white people. and i would like to make my comment if i could. host: quickly, please. guest: on voter suppression, we filed a lawsuit last week in georgia where we realized there being9,000 applications denied process for new registered voters. tennessee, we also learned there was vote suppression to deny the process. voter the whole nature of registration as a vote suppression. you have to fill out an application to qualify to participate in a democracy they invest in with tax dollars.

it is voter suppression. as a matter of fact, there are four components where we think we can expand democracy. one, elimination of voter registration. two, illumination of restricted polling cases. summary should not get off work and drive past five polling places before they can cast their ballot. third, voting should not take place on a weekday, one day, contained within 12 hours in works where many people eight hours a day. it should be on a weekend or holiday so everyone can participate. and there should be something .ike compulsory voting over 200 democracies, including australia, have upwards of 90% of the population vote. in canada, upwards of 92% of the 93% ofion, in germany, the population. in the united states, only about

70% of the population votes for a presidential election and that is considered high turnout. that is not representative governments. the naacp wants to open up democracy so all the voices can be heard. host: in the georgia race, brian kemp put out a tweet emphasizing the 53,000 georgians on the pending list can still vote. guest: that is misleading to say the least. they will have to take out what is called provisional ballots in and that is, contested. that is not accurate. if he is concerned about those individuals voting, process the applications so they can be legitimate voters on the voter rolls, and can but without an option. host: maryland republican line, fred. you are on with our guest. naacp, they are only representing the liberal democrat side. if you are a black conservative, they don't care about you. they don't speak for you.

they pull the race card. they will use the class warfare. this is the typical democrat playbook. i want to talk about voter fraud. , in the 2012ia elections, when barack hussein obama was running, 42,000 votes were african-american. 69,000 voted for barack obama and zero for romney. that is a mathematical impossibility. democrats refused to turn over voter rolls and cried at criticism. this division is such -- host: you dropped off. mr. johnson, go ahead. west: black conservatives -- not only have black republicans on our board, but some of our predecessors were republican. about partisanship. this is about inclusion to ensure that all citizens of this country have an opportunity to

participate. i challenge anyone who cares about the african-american community -- understand the needs and interests of our community, and create platforms for participation. do not use fear and racial hatred as tools to divide, because that is going to lose -- that is a losing equation for african-american voters. partiesas political cater to our needs and interests -- for many years, we were republicans. for many years we have block voted for democrats. for all those years, we have voted for the interest of our communities to fully participate as citizens, to make sure our young people have a quality , and that the tax dollars we put into the coffers are distributed in an equitable way. that is what we are concerned about as african-americans. the lyrical parties are only vehicles for those agendas.

parties to political create an agenda that will speak to the needs and interests of our community. host: when you challenge the president, is that a way of reaching out to the black community? guest: i think kanye west is a but heful entertainment does not represent the black community. he represent kanye west's interests, and he should have the right to do so, but we are not a monolith. there is no leader of the black community. he should be respected for his opinion as an individual, but his opinions do not represent the black community. host: how so? guest: who is he accountable to? how has he spoken and come to that conclusion? did a lot of black people inform his opinion? we are not a monolith. he should have the right to have his opinion. either we agree with it or not as an organization, as -- he should be able

to do that. do i agree with his opinion, no. two i agree with the antics used in that meeting, no. i think it demeans the office of -- soesidency, so if he both he and president trump truly put a scar on our democracy with that display. host: did you respect the issues he brought up on some tangential level, the issues he talked about? guest: i think it was before he. buffoonery. to allow an entertainment to come and stand up and do all the antics while you sit there -- this is the office of the presidency. office ine highest this country. it should be treated with a level of respect, a level of the committee, a level of authority that this country represents. it should not be used for late-night tweets or entertainment.

it is beyond words what i am seeing displayed on this. is the difference between president obama's embracement of beyonce and jay-z, members of the entertainer community? guest: he invited them to celebrate their artistry, not their political views, not to allow them to display that level of buffoonery. that was about kanye's political view and his opinions about policy. trump wants to celebrate kanye's artistry, that would be great. let's put it in the contact they should be in and not for anything else. sarah, democrats line, go ahead. caller: mr. johnson, i am so glad to see you. the same thing that happened in

georgia -- i am in mississippi, predominantly a black county. removedetary of state all of the absentee ballots, and now we have to prove that the reason we are not able to come we haveoting post" -- to bring a certificate saying we are disabled or senior citizens. i think it was done on purpose. you are from mississippi, and you know it is republicans destroying all kinds of things to remove us off of the polls. i would like you to know that, because i had no one to talk to about it. to do really need something about that. host: was there no one on the regional level you could address these issues with? caller: ok, i went ahead and i

did get a certificate from my doctor. my father, who i was a caregiver to, was bedridden. i had no one to stay here with my father. that is when i started doing an absentee ballot. other than that, i would always go to the voting polls in my county. after i saw what was happening in georgia, i likened it to what happened to me. the same thing. host: thank you for calling and telling me the story. guest: i think you should call the mississippi naacp office and register that complaint so they can look into it. , yourot for sure particular -- what you are describing to me i do not think is accurate in terms of what the law requires. it is the county clerk that is responsible for the absentee voter list. you can reach up to the county

circuit clerk to determine if that is the case. you can call the mississippi naacp office. corey wiggins, the executive director, can investigate the claim for that county. host: the race in georgia for governor stacey abrams -- how is she faring? guest: by news reports, it appears to be a competitive race , dependent on turnout. we suspect this is why we see this non-processing of voter registration applications, as it will be a very closed race. african-american voter turnout will be critically important in this state. i want to be with you, watching to see the outcome. we do not endorse candidates. north carolina, republican line. caller: hi, i am a conservative republican, and i think that trump and the at are doing a

wonderful job. decade, thethe last majority of the black democrats have always stuck to the , to hold onto a race card. if they still feel that the republicans are being so racial towards them, why don't they give us the chance? vote for a republican. then that way, they would see that they would have a better are notity, and that we the racists. it is the black democratic party in congress and the house of representatives that is throwing out this race card. it is them. the token to get a vote.

unfortunately, most recent history really does not bear that out. , majority of the state legislative bodies across the country, the majority of the governor seats across the country, and the level of racial intolerance has actually increased, and the number of racial incidents have increased. the response of republican leadership has been less admirable in terms of denouncing activities. in fact, when you look at some of the message of the intolerance coming out of the white house, very few republicans are standing up, denouncing this president's call offs when it comes to his statements dealing with women, statements dealing with immigrants. those are all statements of racial importance, and both parties have an opportunity to speak out about it.

seen the type of reaction from republicans to demonstrate that they are concerned with racial intolerance. they are in majority control of much of the political landscape across the country. host: maryland, independent line. caller: my question is, considering 4.4 million 2012 obama voters stayed home in the 2016 election, 2/3 of them african-american, what mistakes were made in the clinic campaign to cause this disconnect with the african-american community, and what can be done in future to increase black voter turnout? center to our the program. no candidate or political party should be the driver of african-american vote turnout. in the naacp, we recognize this inherent deficit in that type of approach. egocentric leadership will fail us every time.

we are looking at how we truly leverage our boat collective -- te collectively to navigate the outcomes we want to see with the public policy landscape. how many-- host: people are involved in the mobilization effort? guest: depends on the state. upwards of 500 paid canvassing programs, thousands of volunteers, mobilization of religious institutions. we are all at high alarm of what we have seen over the last 18 months. it is our job to reverse the trend. host: what is this costing you? guest: it is a pretty penny, around $6.5 million this year. and that is woefully under what it should be, considering the huge task we have to undertake. we are a, policy-driven organization.

we see volunteers that will push the interests of their local community needs. host: democrats line from austin, you are on. am a member of the naacp, and i agree with everything you have said so far. national association for the advancement of colored people. we should change it to the advancement of people of color. all through my life, a very light skinned brother, all through the military, people would say, "are you white or are you colored?" i think it should change to "people of color." thank you so much, sir. you have done a great job. host: mclean, virginia, john, form -- from our independent line. caller: i want to refer back to a caller about three colors back. callers back.

respectfully, i would like to room -- to recommend that the naacp look at what the democrats are offering you versus what the republicans are offering you. i think the democrats are offering you sort of perfection in the quality, and a utopia that i am not sure is going to help the black community as much as the republicans. they look at character and merit within the private realm, and so forth. naacptfully, i think the is looking at the two different parties -- and i heard you suggest that you are not affiliated with each one or either one, that your independent, and i respect that. to look at what is best for the black community, and frankly, many people, not just black or colored or brown -- if yout any people

look at character, and the character within your society -- if you look at education within or notciety and whether the republicans or the democrats are doing the better job with regard to education, i think those issues might help you choose which candidate, which party you would like to support. i will hear your comments. host: would you give an example how? example.et's take one i think it is one that the naacp is particularly interested in -- you have mentioned it a couple of times, education. in inner cities in particular are doing a very poor job when it comes to educating youth within the city. thus we have the competition now between private and charter .chools and public schools in washington, d.c., the high

schools were graduating kids that were not eligible to graduate. thousands and thousands of them. the is something that democrats, who run the administrations, should have yelled from the rooftops. this is not right. host: mr. johnson? guest: first of all, i think character is something we should zoom in on. character is what you do in the dark when no one is looking because it is the right thing to do. it is not in good character to malign women and talk about "grab them by their personal parts." it is not in good character to take money from foreign nations to undermine and subvert our democracy. it is not in good character to have statements were you characterize whole communities as thieves. when not in good character the party stands by and watch as these activities and says

nothing in response to it. merit, merit about is often used as an excuse to not provide access. when you have people of good merit, you create criteria that did not exist before. we have seen that take place across the board. education has been an equally missed opportunity by both parties. it is something the naacp -- we have filed thousands of lawsuits against education systems headed by both republicans and the democratic party, because the denial of education for all children is one of these things the nation refuses to truly address across the board and is an unfortunate missed opportunity, because we have so many talented kids who are underexposed to access to the rigors of a full education. as a result, we are lagging behind so many nations around

the delivery of public education. you do not do that by outsourcing it to a private concern that can maximize profit. you make it a policy priority across the country, so that we can develop best and most talented minds this country can offer, across community and racial lines. host: our guest is derrick johnson, the president and ceo of the naacp. he served as vice chairman of the national board of directors, as the state president of the mississippi congress of the naacp. democrats line, you are on with our guest. good morning. caller: thank you for c-span and for your guest today. i wanted to make a comment maybe iout the kanye west visit -- agree with a lot of what you said. i feel like that was done to maybe bring out the black men who may be have fathers who were not in their homes, or fathers that were not around. toeel like that was a way

relate to them. i wanted to know your comments on that statement. thank you. guest: first of all, said to say, ithink -- sad to think kanye west may have mental issues that need to be addressed. does perhaps the appeal you suggest was intended. it would be a mischaracterization to say that having kanye west at the white house is an appeal to young men without fathers at home. that is not only demeaning, but the display we see speaks to potential mental illness, some of which might be bipolar. the white house should not be used as a platform for that display. it is demeaning to this country. it is something we should never

see, and unfortunately it took place. that should not be a black issue. host: how would you rate the effort of democrats and are publicans to reach out to african-americans through their vote? guest: i think one party has done better than the other party , but has come up short. our interests go beyond political agenda. our interest is something that will make democracy better. ,quality interludes many because equality means someone has to give up power. the democratic party has struggled with that. to have a clear seat at the table for everyone is something give-- some people have to up room. that has been a struggle in the democratic party. have permanent interests. vehiclearty presents a to carry those interests, that is where we will be.

that i can assure you if that interest is not carried by one or both of the parties, we will seek out another way to make sure there is inclusion at the table. is there a way to reach out about these issues and how they should be manifested? guest: we are talking to both parties about our interests. there are some republicans who agree with us on criminal justice reform. we communicate openly with them. democrats talk about access to quality education. we are agnostic to who we talked to to advance our interests. that goes across the aisle. host: from the republican line, steve is in new jersey. caller: how are you? i would like to address the issue of a formative -- affirmative action as it applies to the selection process in universities, especially the

selection process when it comes to medical schools and law schools, in which people who are by academiced performance are allowed to be enrolled in these medical and law schools, which denigrates the quality of the profession. it can give a patient or client less confidence in the profession, knowing that the person had gone into these schools not based on the qualification, but based on the color of their skin. host: i struggle with affirmative action, but it may not be the same kind you talk about area the affirmative action of legacy, a privilege, of white males automatically provided access. the concept of the policy of affirmative action is one in which this country or a state or university take affirmative

action to reverse the trend of diversityy promoting so that those with the skills and abilities can have equal opportunity. that is the goal of the policy. it is not to push someone who is woefully unqualified in a position or a profession they cannot perform him. it is to level the playing field of the inequity created because of a privilege based on where someone is born that they had no choice of. so you have a lot of individuals who are entering professions there are legacies. they were born in the household of a doctor who gave money to a school, so that their child can go to the school. it does not speak to anything based on their qualification. that is the type of inequity that the program of taking

affirmative actions to ensure quality individuals who are competent and capable of provided fair access and opportunity to succeed. norman inhost: massachusetts, independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call and for having mr. johnson on your show. the naacp has done many great things for this country, and continues to. what i am asking about is the board you spoke of, the board of directors of the naacp that has democrats and republicans on it. i would assume it has independents on it too. , comparedo the u.s. to the e.u. system, there are three right-wing parties, right-wing blocks, the far right or the hate groups, the conservatives, and the liberals. most democrats, republicans, and

independence in this country lineup with the conservatives. they also have a left-wing bloc that includes the greens, socialists, and what they call left, the former communist parties. does the naacp board have anybody from green or socialist parties? i will hang up and listen to your answer. host: i will have to take a look. i know we have had people who were actively involved with the green party movement. i know we have staff who are actively involved with the green party movement. our board, our membership, and our staff is a representative body. we have board members from hawaii, members in anchorage, alaska. some of our membership is in the southeastern region, where over 52% of african-americans live. individualsy of with a diverse set of opinions and agendas and experiences, and that is what makes us strong.

that is what allowed us to exist for 109 years. think which should be part of our organization. we think all of those things should be part of the organization so we have an opportunity to hear the voices of african americans from across this country. hear from voters about their issues directly, had a chance to talk with them, and has that changed the way you approach for mobilization? guest: we conducted a poll, a survey. we did online panels. we looked at the data. where are we participating? where are we dropping off? what can we do to increase participation? here is the messaging that people are saying -- what is concerning you? how can we address those concerns collectively, and what message will motivate the community? we have done those things. host: is the respect aspects new

as far as the research or is that past polls? guest: that jumped off the page as we talked to people. people now are feeling disrespected. we said, in order to gain our respect back, we have to control the vote collectively to make sure the outcome of elections reflects the interests of our community. host: when it comes to using the poll -- if you go to the website of the naacp, you can find the data of that poll, at naacp.org. mr. johnson, one of the things he put out in the press release -- you were asked the question, why do black voters vote or not? is respect enough, or are there other things following why they do not vote? guest: they may not think their vote matters. we have messaging for that. interesting, for people who do not vote in a midterm -- some of them do not realize it is taking place. when you think about elections,

there is a huge ad campaign to a presidential election. a multibillion dollar ad campaign. the midterm election is not that same level of investment. people go out to vote when they are reminded that this is taking place and is important. but it is not a level of outreach or ad campaign that people simply do not know, although for those of us who are insiders, we are like, how is it they cannot know that it takes place on a tuesday? it is contained within 12 hours. most people work eight or nine hours. only those of us who truly engage aggressively in this arena -- we can tell you win an election is going to take place. we can tell you what is on the ballot, because that is what we do. and have aextend consistent line of communication and education, so people know when issues important to them will be on the ballot, and how they access their ballots to add their voice. the money and

manpower you are investing, how do you gauge success in this effort? the money and manpower you are investing, how do you gauge success in this effort? guest: increase the turnout. it is not about which party wins or loses. are we able to move the needle percentagewise, compared to the previous midterm election and target areas? if we are able to increase and hit our benchmark, that is success.