[ applause ] >> hi. good morning everyone. that is a warm welcome from my dear friend nick. i am so glad to see everyone here. the panelists are joining us on the stage right now. i wanted to open up with a few remarks about the incredibly extraordinary time that we are in. i don't mean that in a great way. i think it's so important that all of you are gathered here this morning. this is an extraordinary time in

our country. it is a time when they are being turned on their head and when we are reminded on a daily basis the extent to which we cannot take our core values for granted. it is when they are turns back the clock on almost every area of progress to womens rights to you name it. they are increasing tensions and divisions that speaks to part of their ways that really amplifies and inflames the rhetoric. it is more important than ever

it gets tarnished. we all know the only time identity politics gets invoked is some how white identity is masked as something that is neutral. the 2016 election with invocation and disparagement, the anti muslim and rhetoric they have been tweeting about the nfl players that are taking a knee and also out of love of country being tarnished as unpatriotic. don't make any mistake about it.

there are deep racial overtones. it is a time of deep polarization. it has been preying on the divisions as part of this strategy at a time when they spent the first nine months outside of the oval office pushing on agenda. in april of 2017 just months after i stepped down i testified at a judiciary hearing and the corn that hate was becoming legitimized and normalized.

it was about aggressively enforcing civil rights laws to combat racial and other discrimination. now twe have a justice departmet that has a decidedly anti civil rights agenda on almost every front. it is harming real vulnerable communities around the country, an attorney general that is intent to using to our country. we all know the history of this country and the slavery but look, i want to remind us that the events in charlottesville back in august and followed up on in march were horrific for other reasons too.

what i think shook us is the president's result that resulted in heather hires murder. president trump forfeited any claim to the moerl leadership that a president must command. [ applause ] . it was deeply pain. to so many of our communities. more than ever it was clear that it would fall to the rest of us, to all of you in this room to uphold america's ideals of fairness, justice and inclusion. the president proved he would not. we all need you more than ever. the role of state and elected officials i think is more

important than it is right now. we know that talk is cheap. some of those same officials that have been busy they were in essence pushing devicive policies in washington since the days back in august we have had the pardon of arpiao and leaving people vulnerable, people who have only known this country as their home and are looking at possible deportation. they are living in fear.

last night the white house released cruel immigration principals to guide negotiations for the dreamers using them as bargaining chips to have cruel immigration policies in place. there are specific things we need to do. i know the panel will be going into more detail on that. groups like the anti defamation league and naacp and others. they are part of leadership conferences 200 plus organization coalition. they have been working to focus public officials on the problem of hate groups and racism in our communities. 46 states have a statute that

cover race, religion. not all of them present gender and gender identity status. some have separate statutes, constitutional vandalism and allow for civil actions. we think states should have laws in these areas that cover all of these things. there is work to be done in schools about teaching our kids tolerance and messaging out the values that we want the next generation to have. we need to be concerned about laws that use their cars about weapons. we also have to fight white supremacist policies including voter suppression. [ applause ]

know that an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. our members are mobilizing across communities. they are building power locally to push on fights because it is not just about one community. it is about who we are as a country and who we want to be. on voting rights, there has been a vicious attack on voting rights. at least ten federal courts have found states have engaged in racial discrimination that prevent black and brown folks from voting.

we are alarmed about mass voter purging. we know fate-based legislation. there has been bipartisan support for same day registration, for early voting. we need state to empower statutes in the face of an attorney general who has been returning us back. we need state attorney generals to fill this breach. they need to engage the way the civil rights division has been able to do use your pulpit to

speak out right now. we need elected officials to reject this and stop and push back on that us versus them rhetoric and understand that we need to be embracing economic solutions for all who are hurting and feeling left out of this country's economy. it is going to take all of us. we need to recognize that hate and exclusion are not just by white supremacists who are marching in the streets alone but also in policy agendas that are having a real impact on real

communities. i'll close out by saying it's often in times of crisis that we find our strongest voice, our power to fight hardest and most effectively to protect the vulnerable and to make justice real. we are fighting for the soul of our country right now. it isn't just about the symbolism right now. it is about the kind of country that we want to be. thank you for fighting for justice, and inclusion. i hope you have a great terrific day. >> thank you. thank you for letting me moderate this panel. i was going to set the stage but

i think she did a good job at doing that. i will just jump right in so we can get to questions i won't hold you too long before your lunch. today we are talking about facing off against racism in a time of trump. it is probably a question people are asking for the positions you hold. we'll turn to our first panelist who was the vice major of charlottesville, virginia. he currently serves on the charlottesville housing authority board and charlottesville police citizen advisory panel. almost two months ago everyone turned on their news and saw the tragedy that was going on in charlottesville and the hate that was in the streets. can you talk to us about how the

city has been able to rebound from the activities that happened a couple of months ago and activities that happened this weekend. we saw some of the white supremacists in the streets yet again. how has the city been able to rebound from that and what have you been able to do to help in the healing process? >> thank you. i would like to thank all of you for having me. i would say i'm rather giddy to be sitting next to her from virginia. this woman right here literally always answers the call, stands up, rejects the notions from white supreme si and also when we see injustice she always

stands up. if we request give her a round of applause. [ applause ] so the city of charlottesville, we are one of the most courage use. it is important for us to notate it did not start with creating the decision in our parts. we have had issues of systemic injustice and impression within our community for generations. charlottesville is the same place that chose to close down all of the schools during the massive resistance opposed to integrating. we also tore down an entire african american neighborhood during urban renewal.

we have been talking about equity and notequality. i think i want you all to understand equity means that everyone gets what they need in order to be successful what we need is equity and not equality. i would like to encourage all of you to stop using the word equality. equity is what we need. when we look at the bandits and those that wanted to get those, richard and his minuions.

they said they felt empowered they the leader came and specifically said we came to charlottesville to full phil fu the promise of our president. i think it had the opposite effect. we have seen the community become a lot more together based off of what transpired. we passed the equity earlier this year. it is to underserve community. my colleagues accepted it and voted for it 5-0. after that we have been doing a great job -- or we have been doing a better job of listening to our community. people have been very upset. they are traumatized by what happened but not just from the events of august 12th.

because of such we are now in a position in which we can listen to the members of our community. we are a city in which i'm only the 7th african american ever. we have been in existence for over 260 some odd years. i am proud that we are truly dealing with that. that makes me proud of the city of charlottesville. >> yes. >>. [ applause ] >> so let's build on that a little bit. we have senator jennifer who was elected to the senate in january of 2017. she shares the martin luther king memorial commission.

she is a member of the virginia legislature womens health care caucus and the fire and ems caucus. >> i told you. he is a hero. as a state senator we have heard about the aftermath in what was happening before charlottesville. can you share what important lessons you have learned and what people can start to do to built community outside of charlottesville? a lot of times people want to just go to the place and don't want to knowledge it is happening everywhere. we got the news story in that place. >> so it's not so much what i learned. it is what was reenforced. prior to being elected to the

senate i served 11 years in the house of delegates. i -- i want to start with a story. in 2009 governor bob mcdonald, every governor has a black caucus over for dinner. the first time he had us over it was also the beginning of the celebration of the centennial of the civil war. actually i think it was 2010. we walk in the door and there are gigantic portraits of robert e. lee and jackson. unlike other governors he had eight ledge islators from other

states. he said all right. i had just two weeks prior to that killed ton floor the first gof issued photo i.d. bill that made it to the house floor. [ applause ] and i did it by telling another story about my great grandfather

who in 190 -- whatever -- 8 maybe. he knew he would be given a literacy test, got all of the questions right and this rej said i need more questions because he got them all right. he had to have three white people vouch for him. he went to a man who actually he grew up with, he said will you vouch for me and after some convincing he did. i told that on the house floor explain why voting is so important to communities of color. the governor said shouldn't we want to fight voter fraud? i said let's set aside there is no evidence of a rash of people voting claiming to be someone

they are not. what do you need to get a photo i.d. i said do you know there are people who don't have a birth certificate? he said no. it was the racial integrity act was the first time births were recorded and you had to report your race and the first director of the bureau of vital statistics was a white supremacist. you had two choice, white or colored and you didn't check colored and he thought you were you didn't get a birth certificate. he said i had no idea. i thought of course you didn't. you are a middle-aged white man who grew up in fairfax. why would you know that? you're not being taught it in

school. so that is part of the problem. the bigger danger are those who aren't overtly racist who think they are -- i'm not just talking republicans. let's be honest. let's be honest. but they don't understand that you don't just repeal jim crow or in some cases fight it in the court system and then wave a magic wand and the effects are gone. so part of what we have to do as a government is educate each other and take an honest look at the policies we are putting in place. there are some concrete things we can do.

it is looking at trying to figure out where it is looking at, how can we have these conversations and it's going to make recommendations but it starts really at home and in the schools. it is something teachers could use to talk about what happened in charlottesville and racism and creating a community where all feel valued. the first step is talking about it. our problem in virginia and every other state is after massive resistance we anymore. it was rude. what you saw in charlottes vil

is not if first time. if you look at when slaves were emancipated there has been a rise of political power among first blacks then communities of color then a swift backlash as soon as possible to put them back in their place. so you had african americans elected to our state legislatures, constitutional conventions and the minute it ended you had civil rights movement and gangs there and then you had clan rallies then we elected the first african american president of the united states and we made all kinds of

progress for all communities of color then we got donald trump. this is a pattern. if we don't understand our history and recognize the signs it is going to happen again. [ applause ] >> i mean there was a whole lot in there. i won't be that skilled of a moderator to dissect everything i just said. we'll come back to some of what you said. there are a lot of solutions weaved in throughout your piece,

but oftentimes in the moment of a national crisis people feel like -- so lisa this is the first time i'm going off script. roll with me, okay? >> so oftentimes in a national crisis we almost want to reinvent fire again. we try find solutions to problems that might already exist in other pockets. your work at the southern poverty law center is focused on reversing the new jim crow and policing, sentencing, imprisonment, post conviction practices through litigation, legislation and public education. you do a lot of work in the deep south but those issues don't just exist in the deep south. when we find ourselves in a national crisis after the election where it's clear that someone who touts white

supremacists and idealology and policies and in the aftermath of charlottesville they are looking for resources, help so they can still do their job but also navigate these complications. can you talk about how you focus your work and what are available that these can turn to immediately to start navigating some of these issues in their location and in their communities? >> absolutely. my name is lisa. i'm it is an impossible act to follow. i am honored to sit here with my copanelis copanelists. i think you for the invitation to be here. the organization was founded in 1971. our head quarters are in montgomery, alabama.

in jackson mississippi twoond in florida, tallahassee and miami. some people say we need more and some times i think we do. we work through litigation to basically protect society's most vulnerable. as you all know in these days people of color, imgranlts, lbgtk bd and everyone else that has been heart part of this country since the day it began and continues to be with us still. you will see dots that represent the 917 different active hate

groups there are dots as far west as california and the ooegs earn sea board, and throughout this country. all of us have the obligation and responsibility to identify those groups to be wary and to monitor them to stand up and speak out not just when things happen but all of the time. they have believes or practices an entire class of people.

they vilify others because of race, religion and sexual orientation. there are 917 of them operating now in the united states. so in terms of resources, what can edgilylators do? they partnering with ledge islators in our own states and working yes, across the aisle. we have to remember it is the

same law that is to peacefully protest and it's a foundational right that must be respected. understanding the law and basis for it is critical but also understanding public officials obligation which is providing safe environments for community members to speak out in defense of the democratic values that define our nation. and you do not have to standby and urge your constituents to do the same. we also have on our web site a ten ways to fight hate guide it includes everyone to law enforcement, to pta members, to

just about everybody who can agree these are not the values our country -- well, they are some of the values our country is founded on. i can't say they aren't. that's one of the things we have to change, right? i know it's none of the values that we share. we have to work hard tore bring our communalties in. we need to support victims we need to educate. they start with children which within of thens they have a program that provides free education pearls. i invite you to encourage school to each out. we will happily send these materials. some of them are really hard and

oftentimes people are scared. they can be anxious. in my opinion the -- kids need to understand why the biases but through the media and through the public dialogue right now. but really have the conversation about what values mean and what tolerance is and why it's so important. what gives them the media is when everybody shows up to protest against them. hosting another event is a great way. pressuring leaders -- and i know

none of y'all need that pressure but for those of us that live in places and all of you have colleagues who don't share your values. it is on us to continue to pressure those leaders and force them to come out and denunciate hatred and intolerance. staying engaged. we are in it for the long haul. the issues that i work on that really reflect the racism that has been embedded in the society from its creation, right? the issues that lead to mas inkrars i'm you lucky enough to have a they are all ways that

you can work. we hopefully can work with you to push back and to prepare ourselves for the future when the cycle rolls again. thank you! tha thank lisa you talked about working with people you don't agree with. a great example is turner. representative turner is a retired educator of the memphis city schools and executive director on leave of the memphis branch of the naacp. representative turner, you were

able in the time of the state of tennessee and not as progressive as we would hope but in a time that was so polarizing as a country. it is like us against them all of the time. you were able to get a piece of legislation passed that opened up cold cases from the civil rights movement. can you talk about how you were able to navigate that path to get that legislation passed but also just share some of the best practices and why it's important to reopen cases from the civil rights movement that have now become cold. >> well, first of all i want to thank you fsix for giving me th tuchblt it is one of my favorite conferences because i know i'll be with others who think as i do. this morning's u.s.a. title says

white nationalist saves models for rallies across u.s.a. i am here as a black representative to present a motd l for counter acting hate rallies across the u.s.a. [ applause ] because what it all boils down to -- and senator gave that example when the governor said he did not know it says you shall know the truth and truth shall set you free. >> preach. >> pass the collection plate in a minute. [ laughter ] >> and i'm delighted to be here. i'm conditioned. she didn't tell you, but every

dr. king lead, i was there. the night he gave his famous -- i fmt. when he gave i was right there. . and what god to me tapd ledge chris cha ch can ledge is layture. if you don't know what my parents have gone through, when you judge me by what you have --

and that's the problem with 45. he has not known what poverty is. that's another speech. [ laughter ] i'm still pinching myself about getting that bill passed. i wake up and say you did not do that. you could not do the legislature with never 24 republicans. you wouldn't that for 28 republicans. you didn't do that. oh, yes i did. [ applause ] oh, yes, i did. [ applause ]

and the reason i can do that is because i had a story to tell. you heard the expression there's an app for that. every situation i have a story for that. in 2010, one year after coming to the state legislature representative said would you look to carry this bill. >> i said cold cases. i felt like a burr rabbit in a bra patch. rechl i said yes, i want this

bill it took 18 -- not 18, 14iers to ge it passed. hem just. i was pi to m it had my name ohm over it how did i do it? first of all i personalized. i could have been an unsolved cold case of the civil rights era. i told my story. i told the to rim -- after the city moved me. i was a opportunity on scholarships. that means to get my with wrp

and i was always the lasting one to leaf. the then i transferred to norma, which we moved a lot. we moved out of memphis. the borderline separating the african-american from the white community. when i'd get on that number 9, i would say i have made too many sacrifices. and i would get and sit right behind. that was all well and good. until all the black folk got

off. you see the bus was coming from downtown and the maids and the cooks and those who work downtown. whietd women didn't work back then. that was well and good until i got to all the blacks got off. now i could have gotten off that bus and walked the rest of the way home, but i refused. and night after night they call e me every name under the sun.

and i said, lord, please, i can't hit right back because if i fight back, i would be another dead black girl because it would be their word -- i wouldn't be around. my poor parents have given up all they have and if i can, i'm going to ride this bus and some nights a driver would wait past my stop and take me into the mite white community. as i try to get off the bus, he'd try to catch my coat in the door. and i think about that. and i've got a whole repertory of the incidents that have happened to e me.

it's definitely led me to stand before the committee i told it for seven years. last year and the last assembly, it never got out of subcommittee. but last year not this year, 2016, it got out of the subcommittee. god, i was -- i just couldn't believe it. i told my colleagues it made it out of subcommittee. maybe they were tired of hearing my story, but it made it out. and the second thing i love because i personalized it. i had somebody greater than the rest of us.

intervened. he was there for me. our maker and it's like let me get to the point. he got out of his sick bed. don't you tell me, that man, he was a man, kill that bill. my bill failed. but i had the spirit. i can do this. i can do it out of the full committee. we were right back again. guess what happened. demand intervention. he got defeated. let him work his words. and it got out.

let me run through this quickly. if it i can do it, you can do it. you should know the truth and the truth should set you free. it was the truth. it was personalized. it was seeing somebody who had gone through all of this and yet i stood strong in my believes because i wanted my brothers and sisters to have that same opportunity. and let me say i got the pieces of paper. and the bill on june 6th, 2017.

this year governor haslam signed into law hb-1306/senate bill 1279 creating a special jury to legislative committee, which i now chair. y'all guess what, divine intervention. they another democrat the chair of this one. divine intervention. which i now chair to study cold cases and report its findings and recommendations to the general assembly. section one paragraph d of the act requires that all appropriate state agencies shall provide assistance to the special joint committee upon requests of the chair. and i'm proud to report to you

that the chair sent out letters two weeks a ago to the tennessee bureau of investigation, the da's conference, the public. defenders conference, the tennessee association, the association of medical examiner, the human rights commission, the fbi and it goes on. yeah, we sent this letter. now the job of the special -- i have to tell you. i have an amazing support group in terms of this bill. a powerful lawyer out of the state of jackson, tennessee, has done this on his own. i have atepided three events where he's had an event where somebody who was killed, the

stories, we'd be here all day and you wouldn't leave because they were so horrible. you wouldn't leave if you knew in 1941 edward williams was the president of the naacp, the first one to try to register to vote. they came by night and took him from his family and midnight they found his body seven days later in the river saying he died by drowning. they don't even know. the family identify ied him and they would not let the family have the body. so he is somewhere in a huge cemetery. those were the kinds of things happening. simply because he wanted the right to vote. if we could tell our children

all the sacrifices that have been made, if we could tell those that don't go to vote that you used to have to be able to tell the number of bubbles in a bar of soap. >> representative turner, i want to talk about the voting piece here. i'll give you 30 more seconds because i think what you're say ing is super important because we have the hear the stories of what you went through to get you across the finish line for success. but so often people don't want to hear those stories. they don't understand how it directly connects to them today. and so senator, we're coming somewhat to the end of our time so if the microphones are in the audience you can start preparing yourself for that. but young people aren't voting -- they department vote in this last election. communities of can color showed

up sometimes but in off year is hard to turn out communities and often times people only go to those communities the week before for get out the vote to engage that electorate. so senator, you talked a little bit about this but i'll open this up to all the panelists. how do we start to connect the dots between the stories that representative turner is telling, the success she's able to have by a unanimous vote to get something so significant to our country's history, but connect it to the millennials of today to realize how important each of their vote is in social change. >> i think speaking as a millennial. we do understand how important it is to vote, but the thing is, i'm just going to be very honest and blunt. democrats specifically, i pride

myself being a democrat and sometimes i'm ashamed because we run politicians and not real people. so from a millennial perspective and the age of social media, as you alluded to, the game plan coming around when it's election time because you want to do gotv, the younger folks, we would like to see a sermon rather than you tell me one. i don't want to go vote for a perfect person. or this individual who has billed themselves to be this and that and i only see you when it's election time. you present yourself in a way in which you believe you're the know it all rk be it all and you're the savior for my community. you have all of the answers. that is not going to make me vote for you. nor is that gloing to make me want to go to the polls to vote for you. >> so what will? >> what that's going to do is believe the system is only what it is. what it's always been. when you ask what it is, we have

to move away from running candidates who perceive themselves to be perfect, but run people -- and also encourage individual who is may not have always had the best past. when e we look -- i have had to go through it myself. bringing up old tweets or you want to go talk to individuals and say that if you haven't always been squeaky clean, those are the individuals who we need to begin. running in some of these elections because they know exactly what's going on in our communities. they can identify with those who have not always been perfect, but they actually care. i heard a speech from brother connors from michigan and also the brother bo wen sitting in the front. i heard them both speak about how important for young people as well as older people to be able to relate, identify but also not pretend to be perfect. that personal story that i heard

down there, that would make me go vote because i can hear my grandmother, my aunt, my mom or sister in that. sister jennifer talking earlier, that would make me vote because i can identify. i feel it may bones. i don't want to vote for a perfect person. i would rather go tweet. that's just being honest. >> i don't disagree with that, but i can't help but think do you think when my great grandfather went to vote for the first time he had a candidate that was going to be perfect and always thinking about the black community? no. but they understood your vote is your voice. and politicians at the end of the day want to get elect ed. and who do they listen to the most? the people who show up and vote and the people who participate in the process. now wes is right. it is on us to get out in the community every day and tell

these stories and talk to people where they live. i just had a community roundtable in richmond with some community activists talking about gun violence. and someone made a good point. the reason people don't vote is is they have been living in these particular neighborhoods in generational poverty and despair and they don't think their voice matters. too many times people from outside of the community say, well, here's what we think you need. rather than coming into the community and saying you tell me what you need, we as elected representatives have a responsibility to get out whether it's i do the neighborhood association circuit. as soon as session is out, i'm in every neighborhood association in anymy district and that includes the councils of the housing projects. i don't expect them to come to me. here's one other thing and this is my piece of advice for millennials. you cannot have these

conversations in 140 characters. or with an instagram picture. get out from behind the community, get off your phone and go talk to people in person. it is a two-way street. these conversations are hard. it takes time. but you got to start face to face. because if you are not looking somebody in the eye and talking about these hard issue, if. you're hiding behind your phone, you're not listening to people. so we as elected officials have to get out and start those conversations in the community the day after election day. not two weeks before. and happen all year round. >> i'll let either of you answer and are there questions? you need a microphone. raise your hand high. >> go ahead.

>> since is the last panel -- >> can you say your name and where you're from. >> yes, vivian flowers from the great state of arkansas. since the last panel, i have heard about so many issues and so critical to those issues being advanced, particularly all across the progressive agenda is based upon elections, based upon the numbers. even when e we heard representative turner's story. we heard about the last election, the person who was making it his business to push back against her bill for years lost. and so then when i hear about the dnc and hear about all of these things we must do and

overcome, i can't help but think about our local state parties and county committees as being the infrastructure through which we can make the change. because we don't have time and many states we don't have funds and resources to get to where we need to be in this next election and the following election. so i'm wondering for the panelists, we could talk all day long about problems. we know that racism, institutional racism is something we have heard that has been occurring for generations. i have stories. my grandparents have stories. my parents have stories. we know what policy can do. so what role can the state party play in those states where change needs to occur.

out of six congressional leaders, five of them were democrats. today there's zero. in 2010 all of our statewide elected officials were democrats. today there's zero. our highest level elected official is a a state senator who has probably served less than ten years. >> so this also sounds how do you build political power in places that might not be as democratic as you would like them to be. and also i'm just going to add on. every question won't be able to be asked here. but also a little bit what i'm hearing in here and you also respond directly to her question too. is everything going to be solved through an election. because we always go.

my first question after everyone had a chance to go was about voting. so as people who are elected, is everything going to be solved through an election. if not, how else can things be solved? >> that's not my question. >> i know it's not your question. they heard your question. i'm just adding on. everyone can respond to each pie piece. >> i really think community outreach, grass roots community outreach is the key. everybody thinks that barack obama invented it, but e he didn't. he was just the best at it. getting out -- a lot of people aren't going to come to the local democratic committee meeting. but you have a black caucus probably. you probably have a young democrat. you probably have an lgbt caucus. each of them you should have an outreach plan where each of your constituency group organizations are reaching out to the community organizations that

serve those b constituency ises, have a list of every community event they have and you show up. and you talk to people about why they should care about the elections, who your candidates are, who the party is and you do that all year round. and we have elections every year in virginia. and too often we recreate the whe wheel. but those people don't go away after election day. they are still having their events. they are still having their conversations. and the party needs to break into that and not think of itself as a silo where they have to come to you. who cares if it's just a state senator? i'm the western most black senator in the state. and i'm in richmond. i'm the northern most black

senator in the state. i don't just confine myself to my district. if anybody wants you to come out and talk to hem, i have adopted all kinds of communities. and i come to them. and yes, that's where you can use social media and secnology, but if it you're not in those communities, if you're not present in those communities in person, you're never going to build those relationships. >> thank you for the question and for those comments. in my 14 years as executive director of the members branch naacp, which for ten of those years we were the largest branch in the snags, those 14 years voter registration and voter education were paramount. and i drew, number one, the naacp had had one of the best training workshops and it worked because we put it in place at that time.

deal iing with we would go to he picnics and places like that and it's not going to help me. you said what about your child? don't you want a better life for your child. can worked every time. you saw something you could personalize about that individual, it may have been a child. it may have been that you were detected perhaps they didn't have a job. and you talked about how you elect people who are going to make life better for you. and another thing. i agree wholeheartedly go where you can. when i was in this schoolteacher, i talked to students 37 we had the freedom

to create the curriculum. one of the curriculum we developed was the power of the vote and the importance of the law. and i translated that and took that into workshops and this is the way it goes. close your eyes. you woke up and you got out of your bed, you went to the restroom and i tell them. in everything that happened, the cover that was on your bed, there was a law that stipted what the products were. when you set your foot on that floor, there was a law that told them exactly what the dimensions should be, how it was to be defined. that was a law. i said then you go out and you get in the car. there's a law. that car had to follow a certain

stipulations. you couldn't run the stop sign because there was a law. and i said in each one of those instances you could have had a part of that by electing people who could respond to your needs. and i take that same thing. if your light bill is getting cut off, that person was the director of the light company was appointed by the mayor. so if you want to be better, you have to connect it to the everyday life. that was the best time in time of voter registration and getting people to understand the political process and you just go on to deal with those things. you know your neighborhood. you know the issues. show them the relationship. our people think that the only time we're supposed to turn out big is when there's the

presidential race. there's more to life than the presidential race. is. >> let me thank my colleague. one of the things that i just wanted to address some of the things that i agree with. one of the things that we have done is we created a culture in the part of the district that i represent of electing individuals that come from the ground up. these individuals have plowed and sewed into the communities before they were elected. because what we tell people to do is when we do strangers in the land show up want. ing to be elected, the first question that should come out of your mouth is what have you done for me lately. >> we want to make sure you ask the question here.

here's my question. kind of a question/comment. i think in my heart of hearts that we should meet these millennials and individuals where they are. and if they are on instagram and twitter, they are moved away from facebook for you older folks. they have moved. here's the thing. if you remember this time last year, they used instagram to create uprisings in every mall almost across the country. that was young people that did that. through their instagram pages. if they can harness that energy to do that it, we can help them direct that energy into areas of policy and getting the right people elected. thank you. >> i don't know if anyone wants to respond. >> how do we get people to do

that in other places? >> he had a comment. >> we have a question over here. >> the term domestic terrorism is used by both sides supporting the oppressors and the oppressed. it's used by us and against us. an example of how it's used by us, we were able to humanize the white man who is an american, who committed mass murder. an example of how it's used against us is is georgia republicans pushed a domestic terrorism bill that included limiting blocking a sidewalk, which is protesting. so what resources are there for us to actually strengthen our messaging on what domestic terrorism means. >> so specifically for charlottesville, just yesterday,

saturday night after richard spencer decided to come back to charlottesville with his whatever, they decided to come back. sunday morning i called on our commonwealth attorney to invoke a state statute that we currently have that was put in place to essentially stop the kkk from having open gatherings and burning torches and burning crosses on people's lawns. what we have said is we want the to use that same statute or create a variance of one to not allow anyone to have the open torches or the tiki torches to be in public spaces. so when we talk about how do we find resources, i think that's where it comes for us to work with either places like the southern poverty law center or working with the aclu or local legal aids to be creative and also proactive oppose to

reactive in the way in which we create legislation. i'm a local elected official. i'm not statewide, so virginia is we have to go through the state. but we can be very creative. i talked to a lot of friends on instagram and twitter. how can we be creative in terms of local policy is that will pass or the state legislature will allow us to do it. that's when we can use our resources. there's a wealth of information out there that we can use. the other point, and i want to be very brief, i really want the you all to understand this. we have to be bold. we cannot just not make decisions because we're afraid of, a, reelection, not being e reelected, or worried about what someone else may say or not say about us because we decide to make a decision. or be paralyzed from doing anything in fear or in lieu of consequence. the hell with consequence. we're talking about people who

need us right now. they need us today. and that is where i think we have to get to a point in being. i'm unapologetic in my blackness, in the way in which i want to help all people. but you have to be really willing for me to work with you. you have to be willing and show me that you're willing to help all people. and i'm not going to apologize for that. as you as elected official, i don't want you to apologize for being who you are. we are trying to help people. so if you do nothing else, help people and not be afraid to do it. >> do you want to add anything on the domestic terrorism? >> i really like the messages that were just state d and i wat to underscore those and reiterate how much we support speaking out. now is a time tr bravery in any way. i think being educated is critical. so knowing who those 917 hate groups are. monitoring them. i really like the message of not

just being reactive. being proactive and lifting up those stories right now. not waiting until the next event or the next casualty or the next news story. lifting up the stories of the people in the community right now. who exemplify the values of the people on that panel are talking about and pushing those messages out there and highlighting the success stories and the power and the hope of the people in the communities that y'all represent and lifting them up and keeping that message lifting high and lifting up the people who are not perfect. i love that message. owning that narrative and say ing this is who we are. this is our community. these are our values. this is who we want to represent us and not shying away from that. so i think being proactive is just as important as being prepared to be reactive. >> i would also just say you got to call it when you see it. there are double standards in the media and how they talk about certain issues.

as you having a platform, even if the incident of hate or violence didn't happen in your community, you can still talk about it. we'll go back here. >> very quickly. to truly have these conversations, though, all si s sides, good and bad, need to be heard. because when you just shut it down and it goes under the rug, it does not go away. and again, there's a whole lot of people in between white supremacists and not or there are a lot of people in the middle who are just now for the first time starting to think about these and they are not

always going to think or say the most enlightened thing. you need to give them the safe space to hear them and then explain here's a different point of view. there was a minister who told a story about how, yes, you heard us about our pain. there are also people in the civil war whose parents fought for the confederacy, were killed, had to raise children as a single parent. they have pain too. and one pain is not more important. your pain is is as important as it is to you as theirs is to them. if you don't give them space to talk about their pain, they will never listen to you about yours. that's a very difficult thing to do. but we will never truly reconcile as a country unless we are giving everyone the ability to express themselves honestly and we have an honest

conversation. not just two people shouting back and forth at each other. >> very briefly. thank you for bringing that up. it brought to mind an incident that happened this summer. as a part of the black caucus tour to talk about what tennessee had done. we went to the small town and the minute e we walked in the room, i noticed all these white folk and we didn't get anybody to come. and the african-americans, the competition of the city was such that the caucasians far outnumbered the black. but at the end of the session, ab african-american native who was very, very assertive talked about all the bad things that happen to blacks.

and this white man got up and he said, well, i've got a side to tell too. and he told his side and when he told his side, i said, what am i in for. this man is mad. and i told him about some of the things that happened during the 60s and the strike when memphis after dr. king was assassinated was torn apart. a group of african-americans and white leaders started talking about each side had a story. and it worked. so i told the gentleman the same thing. i said i know we have a point of view. somewhere in here.

lord, i got through that one. after it was over, he said the man with the cast on his arm, he got his arm broken in schaar the l charlottesville. thank you for coming and helping me to come up with the best answer. that is that there will be two sides. we have our problems, but those groups coming together, those groups and leadership understanding the pain of each one of them came to reconcile and that is is what we are going to have to do. we don't have to give anything. we just need to listen to each other.

you should know the truth and the truth shall set you free. >> millennials are tired of talking. this is the comment. we want action. we have to have some kind of tangible result that's going to give someone, somewhere a result in which you can say that, listen, because of all of the dialogue that's taken place for 50 or 60 years, this has what has come of it. what's making a lot of us feel disenfranchised or why we don't want to participate in the process is because we don't e see the fruits of all of this dialogue that has transpired for so long. that makes me not want to participate. >> can i ask the question. let's take your question because you have been standing for awhile and been patient. go ahead and ask your question and we can weave this into the next one. >> i wanted to ask about the confrontation versus ignoring.

particularly when many have been emboldened to not only spin things one way, but to lie or deny things. denial of climate change, conspiracies that american islam is is all part of the terrorist plot and that guns don't kill people. i wanted to share with you something i got from a colleague. one of the legislators sent me this. i'd like to quote, the southern poverty law center has been totally discredited as they have engaged in irresponsible and reckless labeling of legitimate organizations as hate groups. they have also been linked to domestic terrorism and further even you are the the obama administration the department of army and justice have distanced themselves from that group. help me. how do you respond to legislators who say those things?

>> i think i missed the very end of that question. did you hear well enough to summarize? >> the question basically was people have been discredited. he's saying elected official is saying lies and so what do you do to counter that? is that correct? >> how do you confront them publicly? do you confront them privately? do you ignore them because it's outright lies? >> it's a combination of all of the above. we put our standards and measurements of hate organizations on our website. we don't try to hide it. we answer that. it's not popular with everybody. lots of folks criticize that list. we standby it. when questions are asked, we

answer them. hopefully in dialogue. when it's confrontational, we respond with the truth. we invite the critics. because again, that starts the conversation. and i'm happy to be part of that and represent an organization that is part of that conversation and welcome the disagreement when it comes and use it as an opportunity to educate. i hope that it goes to the question e. >> unfrptly, we are out of time. i tried to say it in the beginning we didn't think we were going to solve the issue of white supremacy in this session. i think i held up to that promise at least. and a lot has been said today and it's just the continuation of a conversation. you are here because you don't want to be passive in the moment that we're in this this country. you ran for office because you believe in this country and the hope and potential that could manifest because of the work that you do across the aisle

with each other. while i have been in a million of these conversations and sometimes you leave feeling a little deflated because you think what did we get out of this, you take something and you actually do something when you go home. you can sit in a conference. you can network. you can mix and mingling. if you don't take the action when you go back, it doesn't have to be an action that will breakthrough the national narrative. it can be as small as a conversation with someone in your state house that you don't ever talk to because you don't have agreeing views. that's an active resistance and engagement and change. i encourage you all to continue to do that work. thank you all for listening to the panel. thank the panelists for all you have to share. i think you'll be able to get. contact information, but thank you.

president trump this morning came out against a compromise on a health care law fix between chair lamar alexander and democrats. the president tweeting i am supportive of lamar as a person and also of the process, but i can never support bailing out insurance companies who have made a fortune with obamacare. here's what the top democrat on the health committee had to say yesterday about that deal. >> as we all know, patients and families across the country are look iing at the harmful steps that president trump has taken to sabotage health care in our country. they are realizing the president is allowed to continue down the path he's headed on, they are the ones that are going to pay the price. so i'm really glad the democrats and republicans agree it's unacceptable and the urn certainty cannot continue.