announcer: you are watching american history tv. all weekend, every weekend on c-span3. to join the conversation, like his son facebook at the thin history. >> monday on the communicators, jim cicconi, chief lobbyist for at&t talks about the issues he has worked on. the future of telecommunications and why he feels the sec has become more politicized. the editor ofy communications daily. >> compromises now a dirty word. your groups that each extremes that seeks to present in and use compromise as betrayal. ofay compromises the art government and is necessary to solve problems and i think, frankly, that has leached over into communications, the fcc, and that is one reason nursing this of love polarization and

politicization in the fcc. >> watch the communicators monday night at 8:00 he's on c-span2. >> the national museum of african american history and culture opened yesterday on the national mall. we talked with african-american members of congress about these the sony is new is museum. congressman, in your view, what is the importance of the new african-american museum. >> the new museum is so essential to any american identity no matter what color or identity. i mean, you can argue that he revolutionary war, not just the civil war, but the revolutionary war before, had something to do with issues of race. british under lord mansfield, said they were not going to allow slavery anymore on british land. the american said, you might not we are. this is our economy.

in the south, southern california and municipalities decided to break was northern counterparts because of this issue. you moved to the civil war, you argue today,ple was the civil war over slavery or not #the discussion is, they sure thought so. they wrote in their documents as they seceded from the united states even before president lincoln was inaugurated that they were leaving because the issue of slavery was so prominent in the nation plus history. civil war was not the first time the nation was pulled apart. we all know that even well before that, the nation was seething at the seams because of those issues of slavery. so we and slavery with the 13th amendment, it took 100 more years to end second-class citizenship for black people. you cannot understand america without understanding the

history of african americans and everybody has a story in there. everybody has a place and a role, so memorializing the history of african-americans in this museum is one of the most important things we can do for all americans. >> what is your sense of the role congress has play? >> i think on with has played an important role as it should. congress, after all, you know, past laws that made second-class citizenship and slavery the law of the land. they passed the 13th amendment which outlawed slavery and the 14th amendment which guaranteed citizenship and equal treatment. they then pass laws that helps maintain racial subordination and ultimately pass the 1965-1964 civil rights act which helped and american apartheid. congress is deeply implicated, therefore they absolutely should be part of the story of the

museum because congress is part and parcel of our american racial legacy. >> it is located on the national mall, and you think that is the appropriate place? museum should absolutely be on the national mall, the week national mall actually had slave trading. washington, d.c., was a slave-trading town. it was part of the story with desegregation when american 1964 the board ofrsus education, and had to do with washington, d.c., segregated schools. it should be here because the mall is a place of national honor, national prominence, also a place where so much african-american history took place whether or not it is the den of the building of the capital or the white house, contributed to by slaves or slave trading which happened on the national mall.

it is where it should be. >> the first african-american president is about to leave office. what is his position on the opening of the museum? read you know, my mom who is -- 1940 in rural louisiana could never conceive of a black president. growing up in louisiana's segregated schools in the segregated south, to her the idea of a black president was unimaginable as a little black girl growing up in that time in in that state. exist isr this to even something that so many untold generations, it was beyond their imaginations but americans always exceed their expectations, right? to have the first african-american president is great to chris and

the museum -- to christen the museum is appropriate and fitting and an apt way for him to salute the nation as one of his final official act and i think it is a tremendous official achievement and to anyone who is president will be lucky to have observed his ring and the making. mean tois the museum you personally? >> you can read as many books as you want, study as much as you want, but to me the museum has a profound emotional connection. it's validation, if acknowledgment. the american slave if anything was on it knowledge. we were not acknowledged as human beings. we were cows, chickens, articles of merchandise and production. so not to have a museum dedicated in honor of the people who will forever 246 years, i mean this was a slaveholding nation longer than it was not. said to have a museum dedicated to the dignity and contribution

into history of these people, i commentaryemendous to the people themselves but also to america at large. how many societies in the history of humanity has the ,eople who were in servitude servitude is not unique to americans. how many slaveholding societies have been able internally to overcome that system? ?nd establish legal equality we have a long way to go to rid ourselves of american racism, but we have a question slavery and jim crow. that is an important step in the achievement of mankind so for me it is an emotional connection. it is about my mom, about my kids. it has something to do about how police officers might treat me up they stop me. it has something to do with, you know, you know, people

struggling for equality right now. into the future. i think it is a tremendous achievement for our nation and in extreme proud to be an american. >> can you tell us what the new african-american museum means to the country? >> i am really excited about the opening of the museum. i was a history major at georgetown. i am really excited about this, having been here so many years and washington. i am looking to see the complete story of america. i feel that you cannot tell the story of america without telling the story of the african experience here as well. the african dias bra -- the us african diaspora.

and how much of this country was built on the premise of slavery and a full race of people that have been forgotten until recently. i think this is really an awakening and an opportunity not just for those of us that are here, but for our children and our children's children to get a complete history of america, where it came from, how it was created, and where it is going to go. >> what you think about the placement of the museum on the national mall? >> where else would it go and where else would you tell this important part of our history but on the mall? the smithsonian system has been used for so many years as an instrument of education and an instrument of the glory of america. the glory of america is that while it was built on slavery, it redeemed itself, recognized what it had done wrong, and decided to change. we are in the process of changing. that is the greatness of america. the ability to when it is going left, go right. to make itself liner with history and justice for all. >> do you think the museum itself is part of the

african-american story? when you consider that 50 years ago, the passage of the civil rights act and the first african-american president just having served two terms? do you see the museum fitting into that storyline? >> timing is everything into there are no coincidences. i'm just so honored to be here as a member of congress and to be there when our african-american president is going to be art of the opening of this african-american museum. you know, since 2008, until now, we have faced enormous questions about race. we really have boiled to the forefront what is happening in america and this museum is part of that healing. part of that understanding of what we are and what we believe is americans with regard to equality for all people. >> is there a role for the museum in the national conversation we're having about race? >> well, you know, i had the

opportunity, i was well honored to sit down with director bunce and talk to him about what the museum can do. i represent the u.s. virgin islands, which next year will have 100 years as part of the u.s. we have our own story of slavery and exclusion from the american story itself. from one of our virgin hamilton, alexander to denmark messy being part of the slave movement. two alexander hamilton and others. we are hopeful that our story as well, all excluded people can be told at this museum. the museum is really providing a vehicle for that from slave ships to inventions to art to the intellect that have built this country. >> can you tell us what the museum means to you personally? >> i was a history major. so to me, all things revolve around history. and if you don't know your

history, you cannot move forward. and as a mother of five children, this is something i have told all of my children, that we will take a day as a family and we will immerse ourselves in the museum. we have been to all of the smithsonian museums but this one is our museum. it is important to be able to see yourself in all aspects of american life. and i am moved that there is going to be a place for not just myself but my sons and my daughter to be able to see themselves and feel like they are part of the american story. >> thank you very much. >> congressman, how long have you been in congress? >> this will be my fifth term. what has been the support of the last few years for this museum?

a long time that ago, but it has reached a point where we see in the tradition all of the efforts, all of the concerns, all of the work that has gone into making this happen. so it is really a great time in history of our country. >> it has been 50 years since the passage of the civil rights act and the first african-american presidency is coming to a close. in allyou see the museum of this? >> it helps integrate, it if you will, african-american life as a part of the development of this great nation of ours. i mean, we have not reached the point yet where that perfect union has been established, but we continue to move towards it. we continue to see the potential of it becoming and i think

that's how this museum will integrate and work its way into the hearts and minds of all americans who will view this as a tremendous accomplishment. >> how important is it, do you think, that the museum is located on the national mall near the washington monument, the lincoln monument, the martin luther king memorial? mr. davis: well, i couldn't think of a better spot, a better place, because all of those are parts of this great country of ours and this museum fits right in with all of the other edifices that are there and so i think it's in its rightful place. >> what does the museum mean to you personally?

mr. davis: well, personally i grew up in rural america. my parents were share croppers. i went to a one-room school where one teacher, ms. king, taught eight grades plus what we call the little primmer and the big primmer all by herself. i played basketball on the ground in high school because we didn't have a gym. first school bus i ever rode on, a gentleman made it, mr. duly, had a flat-bed truck and he put a cabin on it and that was our first school bus in the town where i lived. and so this museum, which is a depiction of not only the struggles but the triumphs, the accomplishments, the achievements of african-americans give me a tremendous sense of pride.

i represent dr. lonnie bunch, the director, who lives in my congressional district, illinois, oak park, illinois, is home for him. so i feel personally just a tremendous sense of pride in terms of his leadership in accomplishing the development of this museum. >> congressman, thank you very much. >> congressman meeks, can you tell us what you think the significance of the new african american museum of the mall is to the country? >> it is very significant. all i can think about in my own mind this growing up myself and no one knowing the contributions the african-americans have made in our society. it wasn't taught in schools but i learned primarily from my parents. with this new museum, things i

was told will be opened up to all of america, even internationally, so people can come and understand and see that this country would not be what it is today if it wasn't for the contributions of african americans in almost every walk and facet of life. it is tremendously significant to show the contributions, not just for african-americans, but for all of america, to know that this is indeed our country and we contributed to it in as great a fashion as anybody else, if not even more. >> how do you see the museum itself fitting into the larger storyline, the passage of the civil rights act 50 years ago? does the museum itself had a role in this larger history? meeks: i can't stop and

continue to think of the 44th president of the united states. when he was first sworn in or when he first won the primary, it was on the eve of the march on washington. when he was sworn in, it was right after the birthday of dr. martin luther king. now, before he leaves office, after serving eight years as president of the united states, this magnificent, gorgeous museum is opening. it means that children yet unborn, when they look at the grand opening of this museum, they will also see the picture of the first african-american president. i think of it not only in the context of right now, but 50, 100, 150 years from now, the absolute grandness of it will be shared with populations yet unborn in a significant place on the national mall.

>> is there a role for the museum in the national conversation we're having now about race? rep. meeks: more important than ever. some folks are asking, are we better off today than we were before? the answerto that is absolutely yes and the museum is a testament to that. those who may have been ignorant to the facts of what african-americans have stood for or have done will now become educated as a result of this museum. when you think about the smithsonian and what they do, it educates people. this is part of the educational process that is good for all of america, no matter what state you come from, whether the east, west, north, south. rural or urban america. this is an educational piece so that we can all have a greater understanding.

yesterday, i was in a committee hearing and some of my colleagues don't understand or don't know the african-american experience. now they will have a chance to come and see this for themselves, hopefully bring their children, and they can walk away with a better understanding that will hopefully further the dialogue so that we can become a more perfect union. because we still have always to go in the museum can help with get there. mean todoes the museum you personally? it isentative meeks: really emotional to me. i am old enough to remember traveling from new york to south carolina, where my parents live, and getting off a train and seeing colored and white signs. seeing my father being talked down to as if he wasn't a man.

and, seeing friends and understanding that i was told not to go to certain areas and i couldn't go simply because of the color of my skin. in not really understanding why that was. i can recall, in new york, others trying to tell me to lower my expectations because a negro, as they would say in that time, could only get certain types of jobs. this museum, will be, on its opening, so moving to me. i make waiting it to when i went to visit ghana, and i went to see the slave castles. the feeling and the echoes of those people who were leaving those slave castles, crossing

the ocean. they could not have dreamt of this museum. just the thought of that is so moving to me because there was thatch blood, sweat, tears was given in yet, as a people, we believed in this country more than he and others did and when the country did not believe in us. and now on this federal mall we are going to have because it meant of all that we have been through. that is marvelous. >> thank you with very much. >> interested in american history tv? visit our website c-span.org/history. you can see our recent schedule or visit a program. road to the house rewind, american history, and more. at c-span.org\history.

c-span voices from the road bus is in ohio asking what question would you ask candidates. dayton, ohio. to me be most important issues in the election are higher education and other issues that affect millennials. as the youngest elected official in ohio, i think we need to make sure we are putting higher education that is affordable for students and making sure we do not leave my generation 17 train dollars in debt and a social security and article system that will not be there for us when we needed. >> i am a sophomore at audubon university. my most important issue is education. university level. k-12 needs to be more equitable. studentsto benefit all regardless of zipcar, race,

social-economics that is full up we need to find way to make college more affordable. >> me, the most important issue is health care. >> i am a junior at audubon university. i think one of the most important issues is education. i think fostering it from a young age is really important. and there are discrepancies between the candidates we need to expand upon and see what we have to offer here. >> voices from the road on c-span. week, american history' takesmerican artifacts you to distort places to see what artifacts reveal about american history. the moses myers house was owned by the first jewish family in north america in the 19th century.