easily done, and it can be done. there are those who want to push back, but we need to be pushing forward and the only way we push forward is we all or many of us engage and say, look, we want to go forward with these things. >> in an effort to keep us on time, and going to have to let that be each one of you has given a great final thought, but to put some historical context on what mr. king was just talking about, president obama saying to everyone help me govern, the fantastic story about mr. king's father, dr. king, correct me if this story is wrong, coming back from oslo, having been awarded the nobel peace prize, he and andrew young stopped off here in washington to have a meeting with president johnson. they had just gotten the 1964 civil rights act passed and they were pushing for voting rights act and the meeting with the president, with president johnson, they pleaded with the president, bring the voting rights act up for a vote and he

said to them, i gave it all for civil rights act, can't do it, can't do it. i don't have the power. meeting ends. dr. king and mr. young sit and they talk about the meeting they just had and dr. king, they were talking about how the president said, he doesn't have the power, he doesn't have the power and dr. king said to andrew young, well, let's get him some power. and that conversation led to the march across the edmund pettus bridge, john lewis, not ralph abernathy, and hosea williams, which you all hopefully know was bloody sunday. less than three months later, the 1965 voting rights act was passed and signed into law by president johnson. so, when mr. king talks about helping a president govern,

giving a president the power to do what you want, that's a concrete story that you can now run with and tell all your friends. martin luther king iii, professor harold mcdougall, brandon wolf, fatima graves, thank you very much for this conversation. [applause] >> welcome back, everyone, after that long exhaustive break. [laughter] >> that while my fellow panelists are taking their seats, i want to once again thank panel one for the important discussion and particularly for their diagnosis of the challenges. they were extraordinary. [applause]. >> iment and also, what i like about that panel they have very real prescriptions and very real takeaways each of us can do to heal and go forward in

our democracy. now, i'm very much looking forward to this next panel on political violence, hate trends and path to community. this is dear to my heart. and i worked with my mentor, the late reverend vivian, hate crimes, and communities organized against hate violence. for those of you who don't know who reverend vivian is, i implore you if you have a moment to look him up particularly when he gave an impromptu speech on the steps of selma courthouse as he was registering people to vote. and for those with the hate groups the things i researched in the late 90's have become sound bites, campaign platforms and even laws in 2024. make no mistake, oppression is

being legislated. rights that have been fought for and died for are being eroded. i talk a lot about my 16-year-old daughter and i think about her today as i'm looking out at some of the students here, she's the only grandchild of martin luther king, jr. and coretta scott king, she's a junior in high school and at 16 years old, she, just like you, have fewer rights than the day that she was born. today we face a tide of hate that is threatening our democracy. hate is being legislated around this nation. the history taught in schools is being rewritten. books are being banned and our leaders are using their words to sow division, fear and hatred. the results are clear an uptick in anti-semitism, islamophobia,

white supremacy, homophoba, sexism, racism, and bigotry, all leading to hate crimes and political violence. words have power. words have the power to subjugate and disenfranchise. words also have power to elevate ideas, raise consciousness and to make progress. i look forward to the latter in this discussion. an editor at axios, thank you for moderating this important discussion. now i turn it over to you. >> thank you. [applause] >> thank you all for joining us today. as we were just hearing about this important discussion that we're going to have, we all know that we're seeing urgent and alarming trends of

political violence, hate crimes and divisive rhetoric and that includes hate crimes across the board whether we're talking about black, asian-american, anti-semitic, muslim american and i did not think i would be standing up at this point in a presidential campaign and say we would see two assassinations attempts against a presidential candidate and of course, against the back drop off the january 7th attack on the u.s. capitol. ... >> were shot provinces president

for color for change, of change. harry dunn is a former u.s. capitol police officer and founder of democracy defenders. of course arndrea waters king president of the drum major institute. and resident executive director of the lawyers' committee for civil rights under the law. [applause] >> as we talked for all this i wanted to start with an open question to all of you. it's really just how are you doing? how are you feeling or thinking about this moment in political violence, hateful rhetoric and our democracy? i know that the big question but i thought we should start with that, given all the topics we're going to cover this hour. can i start with you? >> i see you senses in washington, d.c. most of the father of a five week old daughter. >> congratulations.

[applause] >> thank you. so everything at the moment seen that the lens of that relationship, that new way of understanding, then the way medicine world around me, i am hopeful of course that's what children do. they give us that hope for a better future but also fearful and ashamed, too, because we are on the cusp of another election in the united states and my child is american. my wife is american and my child is america. were on the cusp of fearing and predicting political violence that harry saw so sinfully four years ago. we are also seeing this rise around the world to wear at a moment in a year of elections where over 2 billion people around the world took part in democratic elections this year from india united kingdom to the united states.

in all those countries autocracy is knocking at the door of democracy and threaten to upend the thing that is kept our communities, people of color, lgbtq+ people safe for decades. i am fearful for that reason. but there is hope not just in the eyes of my five-year-old daughter. i'm i'm not quite sure for iser able to see me yet but i can see her. there's also hope on this stage alongside me and in this room. [applause] >> first of all thank you. it's great to be with you all. when i think about this moment of political violence i think it's incredibly important we remember there were no good old days. this is an event that is hosted by the king family so there was no good old days in terms of what it means to actually fight for a better tomorrow and the

forces that are constantly going to be standing in the way. i lead a next-generation, color change found in aftermath of a flood which was hurricane katrina. in the gulf coast was a flood that was caused by bad decision-makers and turned to life altering disaster by bad decision-makers. like books were literally on the roots making for the government to do something and left to die. that's also violence. and in the moments like hurricane katrina and so many of the moment it illustrates things that we already knew. geographic segregation, generational poverty, the choices made time and time again, the impacts on all sorts of systems that harm and hurt us but at the heart of it no one was nervous about disappointing black people. government, , corporations, nee. when institutions are not nervous, doesn't matter what research report you have that illustrates all the facts,

doesn't matter what you do in the courts if you don't have power to implement it. it doesn't matter. you need people power in there to change. you need the ability to hold those in power accountable and force people to do things they wouldn't otherwise do, to be able to change the rules. when i think about this moment we are in, of heightened political violence, i am constantly thinking about what can we do to change the world? what can we do to change the incentive structure that allow for political fathers to be profitable in this country? that's one of the things i hope we talk about. in moments of pain, in moments of challenge, in moments where we can feel like all of the forces are in on us, i consult you go back to what can we do? what type of strategic action we can take. how do we make sense of the mold to bring people together to fight for for a better tomo? and to recognize that every

single change that is, in this country has come with us having to overcome forces that wanted us to be silent, wanted to push us down, and wanted us to be afraid of what we could achieve together. while i absolutely recognize this moment i also recognize the possibility of people in this room and people around the country making something possible that we didn't believe was possible. [applause] >> good afternoon, y'all. my name is harry dent conformer united states capitol police officer. i was at the capital on january 6th -- thank you. the question, how are we doing? i'm a large man of statue, right? people see me and they want to give me a hug. i can use offer comforting words to them, make them feel safe to other 13 your daughter. i like being that teddy bear come right? i like being that person.

i left the capitol police after 15+ years to run for congress. like you said earlier i like change. what can we do to make a difference? all right, i do every thing i could to as a police officer. what's my next step? what's next? very solutions oriented. when i was ready for congress i had a lot of people i would talk to on the phone, in person and they with a harry, i am scared. i'm worried about our country. i pride myself in being able to issue comforting words, a look, something that could say hey it's going to be okay. and they couldn't do that because i'm not going to lie to people. i don't know if it's going to be okay. i don't like to be this year monger or what was me, well is we are but i'm worried.

i'm nervous about this upcoming election -- woe is me. i don't say that to promote fear. i say that too great a sense of urgency so that we can all say what can we do? because the one thing i could not do is remain silent and do nothing. it was hard to speak out like i did. that was hard. what would have been harder is not saying anything, not doing something. so no matter what happens, i love listening to music. i mean music person. i like old school, hip-hop, r&b. tupac was on my playlist at the time, and you know, you have your next song tupac rader, whatever comes on next related to it. whitney houston the greatest love of all came up after that.

that was tupac. listening to tupac and whitney houston came on. you know, i listened to the lyrics and said, i decided long ago never to walk in anyone's shadow. if i failed, if i succeed at least i lived. no matter what they take for me, you can't take away your so that, right? i thought it was a love song, right? when i was younger. wow, this is very powerful. so it gave me the courage, the internal fortitude to say we got to do something. what can i do? i asked the question to all, what can you do? you can do something, so. [applause] >> how am i doing? it depends on the day, and sometimes it depends on the moment. you know, one of things that is

always been my guiding star sma used to monitor the organization originally was called national anti-klan network, and then turned into the center for democratic renewal because we knew that these groups threaten the very idea of a democracy. but when you're monitoring things like the ku klux klan and neo-nazis and skinheads, i had to decide early on how to argue that in in a way that the service to our community and to the world. so i put on my office wall a quote by bell hooks that says we must never become like that which were fighting against. [applause] and that is always something

that is my guiding star. and obviously we are in some very, very difficult and challenging days. but i've had the immense pleasure, honor of, see, my belief and understanding in good and in human nature is that because i married martin luther king iii. as wonderful as he is. my knowledge about with good and right and just and the fact that we can change the world was informed by working with two people who did just that, reverend vivian and anne braden was mentioned in the letter from a birmingham jail as a white southerner in the movement for peace and justice for all of us. so i know what happens. i know how powerful we are, and i also know what happens when it looks impossible, you know,

there's nothing that's impossible the very word says i'm possible. i do know what happens when average people become super people. and that's what this time calls for. so then that gives me hope. it is given the tremendous hope to be here with young people today. you all remind me so much of our daughter and she holds our feet to the fire to make sure that we are operating in a way that's not, that's honoring young people and honoring your power. and they really believe, and i've said it before, that this generation really believe is going to be the greatest generation that this country has ever seen. [applause]

you are bold. you are innovative. you are unapologetic, which sometimes makes you hard to parent. [laughing] but all of those things, all of those things are going to bear you all in this nation will pick so it's at those moments as well that gives me hope. it is being around all of the people that are here today on these panels, to know what you all survived, and you keep going in your standing and leaving. to know how we all have stood together come with march together, you know, i know the people whose hearts are working towards truly building that path to the beloved community. it's standing in working next to mi familia vota and hector who

understand that black and brown standing together, someone assess earlier, in fact, who, what died or what are y'all doing? i said we are black, they are brown, and we are building the rainbow coalition together. you know? so it's at moments like this that gives me hope, not only for humanity but for our democracy. and i'm always clear that this movement has always been a movement about coping. it's only been a movement about hope. it's about what people saw that need to change and have the courage and the power and the vision to do so. and it also is about faith. and in particular in the black community we have always been guided by our faith, whatever that is. and we always know that when it's the darkest, we don't give up. we look to the stars.

we remember all of our ancestors that it came before us and we know and understand that each one of us, no matter our faith, no matter our pastor today, somewhere someone in some way prayed for you, and take the young people i want you to understand that you are the answer to prayers of your ancestors. and those are the things that keep me going, that faith in humanity, the fate in this coalition that's that con standing together, and the knowledge that the matter what it looks like, you know, today is gandhi 150 fifth birthday, 155. and one of the things that he said is that whenever he despairs, whenever he gets tired, which we all do, is that he looks anything about history. and he says as a way of tyranny, the way fascism has never one

ever. he said it may look like it from time to time to look back and you think over history, that is never one. and always what is good, what is right, what is just that is overcome tyranny, that's overcome fascism and now it's just our turn to do our part in that long march for freedom. [applause] >> i'm full of just listening to my friends here. stevie wonder has a song that going to quote a bit out of context, ordinary pain. what i think about the song title i think about the ordinary pain the black folks. since slavery. jim crow, and now. i think that the ordinary brown and black folks. think about darpa to a brother said, the longer, as long as we had education in this country we

had racial discrimination in schools. as long as we've had elections in this country with a racial discrimination in voting. as an ordinary pain, that's the things were fighting against. we can feel weary, we can feel weary but i think the thing that, i'm feeling sometimes weary and body but in spirit not at all because what i do hold onto is not just people fighting against that what we're fighting for. our organization, lawyers' committee for civil rights under law with talk about something wiggle the future we deserve, and all of the dreams and aspirations of this generation to design dispraise, taking the shorts, i don't know if you know what that means, taking the shorts. look it up. it's an old phrase. but you know i think about this generation. i think about all the things

that of the hopes and dreams you have for my kids who are all three kids between ages of five and nine. i think what you want for them and what they want for themselves are not just wishes. they are not i see on the cake. it's the cake console. it's a future the war, the deserve -- the future they deserve. i think about reverend c. t. vivian on the steps andrew talked about who she said we are willing to be beaten for democracy. not be beaten for no reason, for democracy. for democracy. so i get energy and life for what we're fighting for even though i have that duality with the ordinary pain that always clings and stings because a note to the extent our mission is to eradicate anti-black racism and all the other isms that generate from it, that won't happen in our lifetimes but we keep fighting. we keep fighting together and i

realize we're fighting for something that's bigger than us and were fighting for is what we deserve. so that's how i feel. [applause] >> thank you. thanks all of you for answering that. i think we should delve a little bit into this ordinary pain, which, and this moment. harry, it was a few miles from here on january 6th that support of the former president took part in a mob stormed the u.s. capitol building. a lot of people are afraid that something like that could happen again. how do we prevent that? how do we lower the heat of the rhetoric? >> we should be afraid that it could happen again because who would've thought that it would've happened in the first place? i was scared that day. i'm scared now that it could happen again. i'm no longer with the police department but one, i friends and former coworkers who still are there. and as a citizen who loved this

country, it's scary and set the could happen again. how do we keep it from happening again? first of all, logistically we have an adult in the white house now. resident biden is an adult. not like on january 6th when donald trump was responsible for the national guard and stuff like that. so logistically, we have and adults. makes you feel better. >> makes me feel safer. secondly, accountability. two things that accountability does. it brings peace and subtype of justice and comfort to those victims. secondly, it serves as a deterrent to keep people from doing it again. accountability has not been had at the highest levels of january 6th yet, to include donald trump, may be members of cars or anybody else that co-conspirator. now if we look at the supreme court with the recent immunity ruling, it's a possibility we

will never see accountability, never. so when you say how can we prevent it works if donald trump, right now has gotten away with it. and he is saying i did nothing wrong. and there's been nobody, legal body pushing back against it. so what's to stop him from doing it again? nothing really. well, there is. november 5, the people have a say that once and for all we can hold them accountable at the ballot box. that's been my mission. >> let me say one thing about that. applause for the brother, please. [applause] >> i agree wholeheartedly, though we decided a few months after the insurrection that we're going to file a lawsuit. , possibly have felt before. we do a lot of work on police accountability in terms of self-determination for black communities to determine safety

on her own terms. we begin safety not just against state violence but against white supremacist violence as well. and so we decide we would represent some of your fellow capitol police officers, most of them are black men like harry who run the front lines that day. what we've alleged though is a regular oh conspiracy, a conspiracy to violate civil rights. we're pushing for the accountability. there's at least three legs of this tool of accountability. there's the criminal liability which is very elusive. although i wasn't a number of the people we sued and we referred to today have been prosecuted and convicted,, sentenced. many of them fled. there's the political accountability which is about november 5, but other elections along the way. but there's also the civil liability and that's what we are so trying strategically

delegitimize the ideologies that led to those actions but also frankly destabilizing organizations. trump wasn't the only defendant. also oath keepers, proud boys and 24 of their co-conspirators. so one faucet doesn't do all the work but it's the aligned effort that makes a difference. what some people thought was an odd fellowship between us and police officers who are human beings and who defended life, liberty, property and democracy itself on that day is very important. >> imran can help us understand a little bit more about what this looks like online when we think about digital hate, thinking about how when we think about the community the later january 6th and what that looks like now also? >> yeah. i mean, i think, forgive me because i don't actually come

from the civil rights movement itself. i'm a student of the sociology and the nature of how the lies that underpin hate, and the words of hate spread in digital spaces online particularly on social media. the ways in which bad actors are able to weaponized the spaces, the ways in which ad platforms ultimately amplify and normalize the lies that underpin hate, and lies and hate are inextricably interlinked. all the way from the again come take at the syllogism, the notion blood libel, the protocols of the elders of zion. we should underpin hitler's ideology and is hateful, his murders hatefulness. or even in the 21st century the great replacement theory. the great replacement ferry was used to justify the massacre of muslims in christchurch, new zealand, and jews of there