children all over the country, and then they want to see the real thing. >> with the changes along those lines, do you think that people would like to think differently about the smithsonian? >> i would like to think so, first they will see a more holistic view, that we have sciences and the research is very deep at the smithsonian. whether history, art, culture or science. there is always research, i would hope so. i think they would see us as a cutting-edge place, things can be fun at the smithsonian, we don't have to be serious. so have popular culture collection. i was look at a painting by tony bennett of duke ellington, that was a great thing, and i have the opportunity to see him next week. and these are the kinds of things that the smithsonian can

be, not always serious but it's fun to go and new exhibits are happening. and we are communicating with you so it's a two-way street. as opposed in the past, you come and tell you what to see. and in the future, you go to the internet and you come and say what you want to see. >> wayne clough, secretary of the smithsonian institution, thank you. we continue this congression with bred and stacey, stacey, what did you learn? >> i think that we learned that wayne clough is a very good fund-raiser, and one thing that you >?hcould see in how he talk about the institution about his love for it and the future, and that help it raise the money to survive. and the fact that they are raising money, in the nonprofit

world, people saying just to stay flat is even tough. >> you brought up the question of the online changes, the web development, what have you been seeing over there? >> he's already tried to bring an online project pilot for k-12, they did it as a pilot for 5,000 students this past spring. they want to do that to talk about climate change and be an educator, as the smithsonian hasn't done before. >> he came on because of smaller as resignation and what mr. clough has inherit? >> i think there was a number of changes, there was a culture o problems and he's had to move

quickly to deal with that. and he's got experience with a college, and he said that they were behind and has to bring them up quickly. it's a sprawling institution and he's done much to put things in place. and congress and the public will trust the institution more. >> this came up and looking back, what happened and why was there no oversight? >> one thing the board was a high-power, the justices and the president of the united states were on the board, but didn't have time to watch, and mr. small was accused of keeping a lot of things to himself and deciding he would act like a corporate executive than a nonprofit executive. and he got into a lot of trouble, the board talked about resigning because they were so in the dark.

but in the end they decided to overhaul themselves and have invited the public to ensure trust. it was g8÷a messy situation and conflicts, there was a scandal a week in the washington post. it was a big job he inherited. >> in the course of this conversation, did anyone surprise you? >> no, i think that science was in charge of the smithsonian and that was a long tradition. and it will be interesting to see where they focus in the future? >> his biggest challenge? >> to try to survive in this economy, in the future it will be more challenging and the years ahead. i think he's got a great vision, but getting the money behind that to carry that is tough. >> both of you thank you for

sharing your minds today on "newsmakers," we appreciate it. >> this morning on c-span, the naacp's 100th annual convention, and robert woodson discusses his switch to conservatism. the supreme court holds a rare september session to hear oral argument of citizens united and federal institution, a campaign of finance, and they will decide if the government can band corporations from hearing public candidates, the court is hearing this case. the supreme court has a rare special session wednesday,

hearing oral argument on a campaign finance case, and it's the first day on the bench for justice so -- sotomayor. here is justice ginsburg. >> i think you will be surprised, this term i think we divided 5-4 in one-third of the cases. we might get a fourth impression on that degree of disagreement. just scolio commented in his early years on this court, there was no justice that he disagreed more often than just brennan, yet he considered him his best friend on the court at

that time. and he thought the feeling was reciprocated. the public wouldn't know that from reading an opinion by dissent by brennan or the other way around. but these were two gentlemen that liked each other. >> hear from other justices during supreme court week, as c-span listens to the higher court. >> now the naacp 100th annual convention, former secretary of state, colin powell discussing civil rights. >> thank you, next to bring greetings is a man who needs no introduction, the president and c.e.o. of our sister

organization, marc morial of the national urban league. >> good morning. let me first of all say to all naacpers, a warm congratulations on 100 years of making a difference. [applause] making a difference, and i want to say that on behalf of all urban leaguers everywhere, all across this nation, who have worked with you. stood side by side with you, and pushed and pushed throughout the 20th century to make this nation a better nation. i am also humbled to share this stage with giants. to share this stage -- with men and women who we

celebrate. but men and women who exhibited courage and conviction. men and women who defied the dogs. and the odds. who stood up against tyrants. southern dictators. who stood up in an effort to make this nation, this nation a better nation. so i salute each and every one of them this morning for the work they have done. for the inspiration that they have provided to us. and for the changes that they have brought. now number two, i stand here as a proud child of the naacp. [applause]

i stand here as a life member and as someone who as four years old carried a naacp membership card. and i carried it because my late father, erne eft -- ernest morial served as president from 1962 to 1965 and had the chance to serve under dr. hooks. but what i remember in those days and times, was attendance as rallies and marches and meetings as a young boy. and what i can say today, that exposure instilled in me a

fundamental understanding that a life with service is a life well lived. so today i salute the naacp, and i also want to say, for this generation of civil rights leaders, your new president, benjamin jealous, with whom i have had an opportunity to work, and so many others. we believe that we stand today on the shoulders of these giants. we stand today to say that the work of civil rights is a long way from finished. that the work of civil rights is a long way from irrelevance. that the work of civil rights is in the white house, it's in

the congress, it's in city hall, it's in the board rooms, it's in the county halls, it's in the churches, it's on the streets, the work of civil rights, the pursuit of freedom, economic equality and justice must continue in this, the 21st century. so we will not rest until every child in this nation has an opportunity to sit in a clean, decent classroom with a quality teacher and graduates on time. we will not rest until everybody who works is paid a decent wage with benefits for all. we will not rest until the work is done. congratulations naacp, i salute these giants and i say, our work goes on.

god bless. [applause] >> thank you mr. morial. so, this centennial convention has been full of surprises, and we would not disappoint you this morning, we thank mr. brock and hazel with this convention, but our surprise comes once again from the entertainment world. i would like you to join me m welcoming three legendary artists that will bring us greetings this morning, two minutes each. first mrs. dion warwick. >> good morning.

oh, you can do better than that. good morning. all right, and it is a good morning. i first would like to take the opportunity that i will try to do two minutes, i promise. first of all, congratulations. 100 years of doing anything. is worth being congratulated for. i am here as an artist, a recording artist to speak on an issue that we are very, very happy to say thank you for you passing a resolution. and that bill i am speaking of is being championed by a man that i have an ultimate amount of respect for and gratitude to. that is our chairman, john conyers. [applause]

the issue of the recording industry or artists in the recording industry, basically is an issue of fairness. it has been perpetuated that we are trying to put black radio out of business. which is such a silly, silly thing to think. it's silly to think, because if you take a look at me, why would i want to do that to me. at any rate, all the misnomers that have been perpetuated by radio, am/fm radio and unfortunately black radio, these are untruths. and until you have had an opportunity to read the bill or understand our side of the

story, which we have not been given an opportunity to issue via radio. we have been barred from doing so. the only way we can get our word out is through these kinds of gatherings. 48 years ago i recorded a song called "don't make me over." and that was followed by two or three other songs, one that comes immediately to my mind is "walk on by." and when these particular recordings were sent to radio stations, they were sent with almost a prerequisite that they were promotional issues. we felt that was wonderful, and thrilled that we were played at all on any radio station. it has come that radio stations

since i have been recording and prior, w7fñhave been issuing wonderful, sizeable checks to publishers and writers. forgetting there was an artist and musicians playing for g6xus and those who did that eww, and ahh and those background singers, on the recording. those that i mentioned, the artist and musician and background singer, have yet to receive one cent in royalty. and know that you think that you when you heard it, i got two cents in my pocket. but if i could do it and get it retroactive, nothing would

please me more. but that's the issue, all we are asking that we are fairly treated and that is to receive that one, two or three cents that is due us. so keep us in mind and know that we are depending on you to make this issue happen. thank you very much. >> thank you mrs. warwick. the next person is someone who has been with us all week, and she's been so very active and even has sang, and we so appreciate her. please welcome thelma huston. >> thank you, what an honor for me to be able to say congratulations to you on your centennial year. and also to be able to be in

front of such people that i so admire. and to have an opportunity to say that to you. i want to say also that i was so aroused and motivated to do something other than what i have been doing, that i as a result have listened to the wonderful talk by reverend dr. benjamin hooks. sir. i want you to know, that i immediately went up to membership and i have been reinstated. i have my membership. as a result of that, thank you. and it's my commitment to go out and continue to work in my industry to bring forth more of us in here. however, thank you -- thank you but i would like to say thank

you again for passing this resolution. it's a very important one, you know that everyone who sings and makes records is not riding around in cadillac and rolls royces and bentleys, there are many of us who are practically homeless. and this will be helpful to them to perhaps put food on their table. thank you for this and for allowing me this opportunity. god bless. [applause] >> thank you mrs. houston, and the next surprise is someone who i know is part of my generation, and i will just say, how you like me now. let's bring on cool mo-d. >> thank you, thank you. i am extremely honored to be

here, i mean it's a stage full of icons. man, jesse, who we have spoke at many events in the past. i come from the hip-hop generation, the first hip-hop generation. and one of the few people not at same level as dionne, and i come from a different side of the equation. but those icons i definitely respect, and mr. conyers, man, thank you for everything you have done. when i see ñw]the civil rights and the stuff going on from the 60's, i am a baby of the 60's and a child of the 60's. and have seen the work that these brothers and sisters have done to get us in a position we are in now. and as an artist i am proud to be here. on the other side of that equation, i would never do anything that has anything to do with getting rid of hurting black radio. because without black radio it

was the voice of the people, we aired our differences on the air and spoke to the other communities. and from the hip-hop generation, i come from that era that we were being outcast and people telling us it wasn't real music. compared to what is going on in hip-hop, what we were doing so benign, i say let's not make the same mistake. we need to listen to evening and hear each other out. and hear both sides of the equation, i would never personally do anything to get rid of black radio, because without black radio, you wouldn't hear wild, wild west. i want to see the other people on that side of the equation, come and let's have the people get the information. just when you vote, i don't say

just vote, but learn, get w;8 informed and then vote. and that's my position today, and it's an honor to be here. congratulations on 100 years, and without you guys, i wouldn't be in a position to speak here and do the music. and thanks once again for coming out. [applause] >> ok. so we got our invocation and heard from the sponseors and special guests, and now on to the icons we have before us. [applause] i would like to introduce dr. william harvey, vice president and chief officer for diversity and equity at the university of virginia in charlottesville, virginia. he will serve as our facilitator this morning, that will talk about the accomplishments of the naacp as

we move into our second century. dr. harvey. [applause] >> good morning. thank you so much for attending this very, very session of the naacp conference. and we are very pleased to have you here. as you know we have a group of people here that are luminaries in a variety of fields, i mr. morial stole my introduction as they are a community of giants. but we want to hear of their accomplishments and these are all winners the highest gold medal of the highest achievement by an african-american, not just in

civil rights but the whole range of individual endeavorers. and other previous prize winners, such as wcjames johns carter williamson, jackie robinson, rosa parks, thurgood marshal, oprah winfrey and dr. martin luther king, jr. clearly this award is begin to those who had accomplishments the world. and we have recipients of this award and i want to give a brief introduction. they are not in order, though many of these people you recognize by face, as i call them out, i want them to

identify themselves. first five representatives of the little rock nine. [applause] a name that is often associated with the little rock nine is daisy bates, and she was not a student that just participated in little rock school, she was the president of the little rock branch. we have with us five of the original nine participants. they are mr. ernest green. [applause] mr. carlota reynier. mr. terrence roberts.

mr. jefferson thomas. and mrs. minniejean brown-tricky. just to provide the briefest background in context, these are recipients of the 43rd medal in 1958, they desegregated little rock high school in 1957, that was a previously all white high school. there was a little resistance when they tried to do that. a mob of irate white citizens formed and the governor of arkansas at that time, called out the arkansas national guard in order to prevent them from desegregating the high school. fortunately president eisenhower overruled the

governor, and the 103rd division went to little rock and escorted these people and r the 53rd recipient is a gentleman by the name of andrew jackson young. mr. young has worn many hats in his career, and known in many respects, most originally as perhaps in his ministerial capacity, as an ordained minister, and served as mayor of atlanta, and member of u.s. congress and ambassador of united nations, and he's the 63rd recipient of this award. [applause] the 71st recipient of this

award and dr. benjamin hooks who received the award in 1986. dr. hooks has special claim to the naacp as one of its own. in addition to being a judge and baptist minister, he served as executive director of naacp from 1977 to 1992. and among other honors was appointed to serve under president richard nixon and the first african-american to hold that post, reverend hooks. the 74th recipient of this award is 1989 is the reverend jesse jackson, sr. and reverend jackson has wore

many hats, he's a clergy man and a civil rights activists and a founder er rainbow operational push and was the president of the naacp in 1984 and 88. . is gentleman named florence wilder, known to many of us as doug wilder. [applause] he was the first african- american state center tour -- state center to be elected to statewide office when he assumed the position of lieutenant governor, and the first african- american to be elected as governor of a southern state 1990 to 1994. [applause]

the 76th recipient in 1991 is general colin powell. [applause] general powell first received public acclamation in his role in the military when he was elevated to four-star general status. he later became the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and more recently has served as secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. [applause] in 1993, the 78 recipients was dr. dorothy height.

she served as the president of the national congress of negro women from 1957 to 1997. [applause] she has prided counsel to numerous policymakers, including eleanor roosevelt, dwight eisenhower, and lyndon baines johnson. in 2004 she was awarded a congressional gold medal. in 2001, the recipient was mr. vernon jordan. [applause] mr. jordan also has close ties to the naacp. he served as a film director in the state of georgia prior to

moving to serve as director of the united negro college fund. [applause] last but not least, a gentleman who has already been recognized this morning with some of the previous comments that has been made, congressman john conyers. [applause] the 92nd recipient, he received the award in 2007. he has represented detroit in congress for more than 40 years. [applause] he is a well-known and well- respected champion and is the first african-american chair of the house judiciary committee. [applause]

so there is our distinguished line up. these are the giants that have been previously referred to. even before we move into the conversation stage, i think that, given their summary of extraordinary accomplishments and contributions to america and the world, they deserve a standing ovation right now. [applause] ♪ >> what we would like to find out from our panelists today is their sense and feeling about the major accomplishments of the >> we would like to hear -- who collectively

received the 43rd medal. these are individuals of the little rock nine. any member of that group, can you give us a sense of the role the naacp played in little rock and your efforts to desegregate little rock high school rock, and your efforts to desegregate central high school? specifically, its sense of how the naacp served not only in that particular situation, but in others since then, to improve the situation for african- americans in the united states? >> i think we can say without doubt that the nine must owe a huge debt of gratitude to the naacp. they were there pushing,

nurturing, providing sustenance for us as a group, in the presence of our attorneys, who did tremendous work. [applause] i think one of the things i would also like to say is to thank you for the members who offer a prayer for us during that time in 1957. some of you are here, and without those prayer, we would not have made it, i assure you. the work of the end of this -- naacp has been tenacious, and continues to be so because of need. we continue to face a tremendous need. i was asked by a young high school student, since 1957, have you been involved in the civil rights movement? i think his understanding of that was somewhat truncated. i told him it began in 1619 and

continues unabated. so far, all of us, as we consider the future, we have to understand that we must be supporters of the naacp because we cannot do it alone. we have an organization who is dedicated to improving the lives, not only for black people, but for all americans, because we have that kind of vision. [applause] >> i would simply like to add that my first remembers in little rock was of river crenshaw, who was president of the little rock branch -- rev. crenshaw. he was always collecting memberships. i think they were $1 or $5 at that time. our parents were members of the naacp in 1957, 1956, 1955, when they instituted the court

challenge, so that the 1954 decision of all deliberate speed would have some meaning. for all of us, it was those giants, those people who do not get recognized, our parents, rev. crenshaw and others who made up the arkansas branch, who had the courage to step forward in had a vision of what this country could be and were willing to fight for it. we owe them a great debt of gratitude. [applause] . .

>> and if had it not been for him and wally branten, i question if we would have gotten in school, in fact i know we wouldn't have got in school any sooner. being out of school for three weeks. but with that work of thurgood marshal that pushed our situation to the point that the president of the united states had to make a statement. and that statement was the 101st air bourne. and i would like to thank dr. hurst to be a part of that

group, for the naacp to meet in little rock in 1987. that was our first time for the nine of us to get back together again. we had no seen each other in 30 years as a group. and the naacp held their fall meeting in little rock, arkansas. and i would like to thank him for that effort. [applause] >> i think my colleagues have said pretty much everything, but i would like to just remember when we received the medal, and i think it was w9kon of the amazing experiences i had ever had. but now i am sitting with this group, and i am saying wow, we were really important when we were 15 and 16 years old. [applause]

and it's a wonderful thought, but i am hoping, and i think that if i were to talk about what we as a little rock nine represent, and what we would hope to impart to all audiences, is that teenagers think deeply, have great ideas, want change. [applause] and we have to support them. so i am really honored to be on this stage. because i really know how important i am now. but -- [applause] but i do hope that we can continue, the naacp continue to help young people to develop their potential and capacity. [applause] thank you.

>> thank you, i would like to just briefly tell you something about the naacp in my life. as a young kid, i always wanted to be actively involved in the civil rights movement. i am the youngest of eight children, and my older brothers and sisters were out there doing things. but my mother and father wouldn't permit me because i was too little. and they were afraid we might go to jail. my mother told me, if i do anything to end up in jail, don't call her. so i steered away from anything that just might be a cause to get arrested. when wiley and thurgood marshal went to court for the naacp defense fund and they fought

and made integrated schools in little rock legal. i jumped and that was a blessing to a prayer. now i can legally go to central high school and not be arrested. and naacp has been doing legal things for me ever since. [applause] >> i was passed a note that suggest there may be a little difficulty hearing, particularly in the back, and that may be because of the ampication or because of not quiet conversations going on. we ask you to refrain from dialogue this afternoon. the five of you and the nine that you represent ineffect became symbol. but you would agree ta -- that there was a tremendous

amount of people oñbehind the scenes. and in the civil rights movements, there are countless men and women whose names we don't know, that were important in moving the civil rights movement forward. i would like to direct a question to dr. hype, and her observations that women have played in moving the naacp forward. >> thank >> thank you. i was asked to say something about some of the achievements of the naacp. >> go right ahead and speak. >> when we were asked to say something of the achievements of

the naacp, and i thought back about our experience, i have to say that i was not only challenged. and tonight, today i would like to say something about an experience of the naacp that did not achieve its full call but made a deep impression on the life of this country and on my life. and that was the anti-lynching campaign. i was a student in high school. i won an elk essay contest on the constitution of the united states. and i went to new york university with the scholarship that i won in that contest. and when i got to new york, having been active in my church and in many of the women's art

circles and clubs, i was thinking for something that connected me not only to my studies but to what i was interested in. and i was very fortunate because with kenneth stark and jim robinson and those kind of fellows we got together and we organized a harlem youth council. which was very lucky because juanita jackson mitchell, who had been youth director of the naacp -- [applause] >> -- introduced me. and she came up and saw what we were doing and she asked me to join her and i did. and we organized thited youth committee against lynching. [applause] >> and that was really the beginning of my understanding

why it was that i had to work hard to make the 14th amendment of the constitution that i had done a other racial on have real significance and to -- oration. here in 97 i'm still working -- [applause] >> -- still working to make the 14th amendment of the constitution fulfill that objective in our country of equal justice under law. equal justice under law. and i really will never forget how it was, that i who had come from a small town in pennsylvania, found myself walking around times square in

new york, chanting with the harlem youth group, and mrs. mitchell, and chanting, stop the lynching. we didn't stop the lynching, but it disturbed mrs. smith, who wrote strange fruit, and it exposed it. that was as powerful document as uncle tom's cabin was. and in the course of all of this, i think we learned that every day that the naacp set out a sign that said, a man was lynched today. that was a signal, we went into action. and though i say now that we had women and girls and we were in /hgreat numbers. we all worked together. but though the naacp did not

get the anti-lynching bill, what we learned and what we did with the coaching of thurgood marshal and charles huston and walter wright and others, that we learned the importance of working together. we didn't get the bill, but i have to say thanks to the naacp that we made some progress, and we stopped lynchings. and whether we -- when we look to the future, we need to say that we need the naacp for at least another 100 years, to help us move to the future. [applause] >> let's drill down a little bit and do some reflection on the organization itself. and the best way to do that is by asking people who were directly involved to offer some

of their observations. mr. jordan, you were field director and dr. hooks, you were an executive director, can you share the most significant involvement the organization has been conducted over the last 50 years? >> the job i had from 1961 to 1963 as the field secretary of the naacp, is one of the best jobs i have had in my life. and i have had lots of jobs. -- yeah, but, number one, i was working for ruby hurley, and that was quite something. secondly, i was working for w.w.law who was president of the state conference, a great man from savannah. and then i was working with megger edwards in mississippi,

and bob saunders in florida, and w.c.patton birmingham and john brooks in virginia. one of the best parts of my job, is that i would pick roy wilkins up at the atlanta airport and drive him to georgia for a mass meeting i had set up. and then i would drive clarence mitchell from atlanta airport to georgia. and then next week it was mr. current to august, and i was a young boy out of law school, and driving these people, it was like a post-graduate course. and those conversations and

working with ruby, he said, when you set up a mass meeting, never get the biggest church, get w÷a medium-sized church, so the press would 5nysay, there an overflowing crowd at the mass meeting. i want to tell you one story that taught me a lot. there was a problem at the savannah naacp between w.w.law, the president and jose that was a recruiter, and they were in some huge dispute. and gosta and hurley sent me to savannah to resolve the dispute. and i get to the branch, and put w.w.on that side and jose

on that side and let's work this out. and later on, they were whooping my fannie. local disputes, you let the local people work it out. [applause] >> good morning. can you hear me all right? it was a great joy serving for almost 16 years as c.e.o. of the naacp. we had some marvelous times, some great time. and i am great to be with these great acorns -- i mean icons. they are boiled and parched and fired and roasted and celebrated. and now to have this brief opportunity to be with so many i have known for so long.

and if i have any great memories, there is a marvelous staff that was assembled. when i went to the naacp we were some serious trouble, there was a suit for one million dollars, and couldn't raise enough wmoney to appeal i. and ben, said, why you are leaving to go to the naacp, and my answer then and now wo/is, thought then and now, that the naacp is the greatest organization that is known for the improvement of civil rights. "the new york times" may not acknowledge it and "new york post" may not look at it, but we are here. america would be the laughing stock of the world, if not for the worth of naacp.

lynching and unequal pay, you name it. and now my words to those coming on, it's a very busy day in jerusalem. ad 33, a young man by the name of simon has come to see what is happening. saw a man with a cross on his shoulders. and the soldier said, boy -- black man, you know, boy, come out of that crowd and help carry that cross. and let me tell you something, whether you are shooting marbles or playing domino or basketball, no matter how much hell you raise, one day it will be your turn to do something about it. and let me say, it's your turn now. if you don't think i did a good job, it's your turn now. if you don't think we are a good general, it's your turn now.

let me hear you say, it's my turn now. it's my turn now! [applause] >> secretary powell. secretary powell, it's your turn now. [laughter]

>> what did i do to you, man? >> one the areas that we have seen the greatest progress in, we believe is the united states military, and obviously you are a prime example of that. [applause] >> can you share with us your observations of how you believe that the naacp has had effect on producing positive changes in the military? >> you heard two references to the 101st air force division and their role in little rock. and i was a brigade commander, and i would not be a brigade commander in the 101st division if not for the naacp and the

work. now my story is a little different from the distinguished individuals on the stage. they were all warriors, front-line warriors in our second civil war, in the 50's and 60's. i was in the military in that period of time, and the war in vietnam and i served in korea. and my family stayed in birmingham in 1963, so i was well aware, my father-in-law was guarding my wife and infant son, and i was in vietnam fighting for country. and my father-in-law was fighting for my rights and the rights of all african-americans. i am so honored to be among this group of distinguished people on the front lines of that war. it was the naacp and so many similar organizations that did in the course of our nation's

history that allowed us to move forward. and it was the naacp in world war i that pushed for more black officers to serve with black troops under french officers. and when they came back, they were not celebrated. they were still coming ba >> they were still coming back to a nation that was segregated. but it was a start in that century. it was a start in a change in attitudes towards black men and women serving. and then we came to world war ii where it was the naacp and the brother hood of sleeping car porters and all the pressure that was put on roz develop to start opening up -- roosevelt to start opening up employment for those who wanted to work for the war effort, especially african-americans. it was after world war ii where

we had demonstrated in the skies with the tuskegee airmen. we had demonstrated on the ground with the marines, the golden 13 of the navy. we had shown once again as we had throughout the entire course of our history that the only thing that counts are you as valorous and courageous as your white soldier. if you were then you deserved every bit of citizenship that that white soldier enjoyed. it had to come. it had to come. in 1948 it was president truman who decided this had to end and he signed that executive order. took another five years before the last segregated unit was eliminated in the armed forces. and i came in four years later. when i came in in 1958, the army has a way of ordering things to happen. and what they essentially said was we are now integrated. there'll be no more segregation. lieutenant powell, listen carefully. we don't care if you're black, green, blue or yellow, don't

give us any hard luck stories about growing up in the bronx or that your parents were immigrants. the only thing we care about is performance. and the only thing we're going to measure you by is performance. but to get to that point where i would be measured solely by performance, it took the work of the naacp through all those years to make that possible. [applause] of the naacp to make that possible. people sometimes think, gee, you became the chairman of the joint chief of staffs. as if i dropped out of the sky and became the joint chief of staffs. and the black chairman of the joint chief of staffs, there ain't no white chairman. and i am proud of what i was able to achieve. and i have never forgotten that i didn't just drop in, it was these men and women and thousands like them that did it

for me. and we have to keep teaching our kids. let me say -- let me say maybe jumping ahead of the moderator a word about where we have to go. because we have got a remarkable record of 100 years of service, the naacp has. we have changed this country and changed for the better. where are we going? i will use two numbers, 50 and 70. 50% of the african-american kids are not finishing high school. 70% of our children are being born out of wedlock. they are connected. if our kids cannot read well by the third grade, they will be in jail by the time they are 17 or 18. if our families do not come back together and teach children to mine, -- mind your manners and adults. if we don't teach respect --

[applause] for the naacp and all of us have to focus on, it's not just the past generations, it's the generations ahead and they are in trouble. we are in a situation, where if you looked at the inner city nine of today, you would find that six of those nine are not going to graduate from high school. is this what they sacrificed for? so that future generations are not finishing high school? there is nothing more important for us as a nation and as the african-american people of this nation, to get back with our kids and give them the emphasis for education and start putting our families together. and restore a sense of pride and dignity. the kind of pride and dignity that we have tried to inspire

in our lives. that's got to be the inspiration of future generations. [applause] >> let's turn now to one of our front-line soldiers in the civil rights movement. the naacp is and will continue to be the preeminent organization, and there are other groups. reverend jackson, can you tell us what the naacp has done to help you make rainbow push successful? >> thank you, all of us are members of the naacp. whatever branch we are off of that tree, it's the same tree. i want to first express myself -- the chairman for his leadership in snik and an

elected official chose principle politics and didn't get there is seat in the legislation, that was defiant. and we thank julian bond because he inspired the legislation. when there was georgia lead in that face of those acts of courage. this is a significant week for me, several of us went to jail nine years ago, trying to use a public library. as naacp youth leaders, a.j.

whittenberg had convened us to begin to defy the law. and our leader prepared us to go and go to the library and be prepared to go to jail. and we went after taking a test, if they put a cigarette on your back and circle it off. it was nonviolent develop. -- discipline. we went to the library, and if you don't, we rushed back to the church. and they said, why are you back so fast. we are back because they were going to arrest you. that's why i sent you, go back to jail. and between july 16, 1960, and in 1984, the same week 24 years later, all driven by the same naacp drive for freedom. just one slight evasion and

it's difficult to disagree with chairman powell, he was not in the civil rights movement. i think we define the movement as too narrow. the struggle was against race supremacy, we had to de metholize it, when a soldier did well, that was the movement. when jack did well, and when sammy davis, jr. did well and when harry belafonte did well, that was the same movement but different roles in the same movement. and so -- [applause], secretary powell doing well, has made all of us better off. we thank you for that general powell. [applause] my concern today is that we are

speaking too much in the past tense. we assume until w+recently it an inequality that drove our predictament. and it was the lack of effort that drove our predictament. effort must be there to achieve progress. we are in a struggle in new york it was reported that blacks are four times less likely to get a jobs than a white. we have the joy of an african-american president of our choosing. and the william sisters and tiger woods, and these very successful athletes. why are they so successful against the greatest of the odds? when the playing field is even, and the rules are public, and the goals are clear, and they

are fair referees, we can make it. so while we play on the an evening playing field, the masses of our people are number one in infant mortality, and we want to make racial inequality legal, and the inner city kids are asking to swim without the pool. and so there are americans in prison today, one million are black, 500,000 are latino. and if you are targeted and don't have the best of lawyers, you faced odds of prosperity. the leading in baltimore is wells fargo, the case of countrywide, that we are

targeted for home foreclosures, targeted and cleared and clustered. we are now free. but not equal. that's the fundamental issue today. we are free, and that's why the president said, you are free from slavery, and free without reconstruction, you are free to starve. so unless we target the stimulus where the needs are greatest, we are free to celebrate but also free to be less employed. free to be more jailed. so today we charge our government to infact don't just stimulate the banks top down, stimulate the neediest people bottom up. thank you very much. [applause] >> reverend jackson, you make

reference to the political changes that have taken place. and tomorrow evening we will have the opportunity to see the most significant result of those changes. and it's for us to get a chance to see the past and state levels. and we let me turn to former congressman and governor wilder, in that order, i would like to see what the naacp has been able to do to affect the national agenda, and what the change is at the state level. >> can i pick up on jesse right quick, when he talked about the stimulus at the top and not the bottom. one of things we have been talking to the fdic and fcc, is why not have a bank account for everyone american citizen.

and we know that if we are in democracy without the right to vote, we are slave. but we are in a system of capitalism without access to capital. and there could be very easily with all of this stimulus, it would be good for the banks. and the banks have not expressed any difficulty if there was a direct deposit of all of the possible benefits. half of our people are entitled to an earned income tax credit and don't get it. but if it were automatically going into an account, then we would solve a lot of problems. let he go back, i want to go back, colin, one of my heroes

in the naacp was ralph bunch. because ralph bunch was doing studies on -- he did all the intelligence studies on africa as an oss assignee from howard university. almost everything you see at the united nations, ralph bunch wrote. i contend, i can't document it, but i contend that ralph bunch did the intelligence in north africa that helps the tuskogee air men to be successful. we don't know the history, but ralph bunch said to martin luther king and me, the problem is too much you do is public. if you will succeed in this business, you have to keep most of it under the water.

and ralph bunch never -- in fact he tried to turn down the noble prize, when he came to atlanta in 1964, we couldn't give him a hotel room. here is a race man that i think had more impact on this nation than anyone knows. and we don't know enough about him. i was fortunate enough in fifth grade to go and see thurgood marshal and alexander tuoru plea the case for teacher's salarys in louisiana 778÷in 194. there was a series of victories, and there wasn't a separation of legal defense fund, it was all naacp back then. and there was a systematic break-down of all the laws that affected us in the south.

from 1941 right up to 1954. and i think it would be good for us to see -- it was 60 kids in my fourth grade class. and my teacher was getting paid 35% of what the white teachers were getting. no way -- that was the structural inequality of the south that the naacp broke down before we got started. now when @@@@@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @

>> here for 40 years we'd been breaking down the law. and suddenly in 1960 some upstarts are going to take it on our own and we're going to selectively decide to be civil disobedience. i mean, my parents almost put me out over that. but it was -- it took us just about a year before constance motley and all the same lawyers across the south. wiley branton, arthur shores, donald hollowell. all of them -- i mean, whenever you see a picture of martin luther king doing anything you see a picture of a naacp lawyer. and so we have not had a segregated -- a divided movement. we've had an united front even when we disagreed. united front even when we disagreed.

look now where we go from here, the two things i want to focus on is getting everyone a bank account, and voting on the weekend. on the almost 200 nations that vote, we are down in the lower third. but all of those where people vote, 70-90%, they vote on weekends. they don't vote on workdays. now we in georgia can vote for 30 days, but it's 30 work days. so weekend voting. and the only reason we put voting on a tuesday is because that was a good day for farmers. and now the only 1.7% of people in america are farming. and everyone else is living in the city. and we ought to be able to vote saturday and sunday and all the time leading up to that. and that's where i think we

should push this movement. >> that's a great segway into my presentation. you know andy, there ought to be a law. [applause] great idea. ladies and gentlemen, i am the final, i am so honored to be on this stage. i am the most recent springer and maybe presumably the youngest. no, i wanted to try that on for size. but i close this discussion on this note, the two people that inspired me in addition to this great history that's been recited up here. is martin luther king, jr. and

nelson mandela. and barack obama. here is three. why? because in each case they were told that they couldn't do it. every time, nelson mandela sentenced to life in prison became the first democratic-elected president of south africa. they told him, he was lucky to be alive. much less and have his senses, and to get out of prison and to become its leader. and then there was martin luther king, who was advised against starting this movement in the south. and then vote nonviolence after having been to study nonviolent theory.ñbb they said no, this will never, never work. and then more recently

tomorrow's special guest. you know the 44th president of the united states, jump started and stands on the shoulders of everything that has been done by this organization for 100 years. that's why he's coming tomorrow. [applause] i close on this observation. certainly there has got to be more responsibility, and a lot of the folks don't have any parents. and i think there may be a governmental responsibility to create a full-employment society instead of giving the

trillions of dollars to the people that brought on the depression. let's put everybody to work. and then they can create their bank account. let's put everybody to work and create jobs. well, that makes me recall even in my moderate youth the humphrey ww1çhawkins full employment and balance growth act by senator hubert humphrey and the late gus hopkins, that's the dean çpxof the congressional black caucus before me. and there is very little talk about putting everybody to work. it's trillions to this and trillions to that. and help the auto industry, and don't let the banks. how can a.i.g. be too big to fail? and we are giving them billions. and what they are doing? they are going to have vacation

retreats with our bailout money and then giving rewards to their top executives in the millions of dollars. president obama tell -- i want some of you to tell him, i have to go back to vote. but you tell him let's start having more accountability for all of this money they are getting. and let's do more to stimulate people as reverend jackson said, from the bottom up. and not the top down. thank you naacp. [applause] >> well, i think that my colleagues have said it all. i am obviously humbled not only by receiving the award. but by likewise being here.

it's historical. when you consider 100 years. but ben hooks, colin powell and jesse and others have pretty much put their hands right on it. the naacp in $ñits infancy was thinking about not themselves, but those who followed them. they knew that their lot was almost foresaken. look at the song that was written by james weldon johnson, at v'eña time when hop unborn was dead. so what he is saying, even in spite of that absence of hope, there is something for our children. my grandparents were slaves. my mother's people were not. i had aunts and uncles that were slaves. and yet they knew somewhere,

somehow, there might be an opportunity for this little boy in virginia. and yet when i look back and recognize some of the things that the naacp has done for me. i listen to gernen, i was a couple of years ahead of him in law school. i recall after graduating from howard law school, i was asked by mr. robinson, did i want to help him. can you believe, did i want to help him? when and how and when. i broke my neck. and he said, doug i want you to go with me, we are going to law school, and have the moot court of the defense of the naacp lawyers they are trying to put out and disbar. sam tucker and auto tucker, we

need to go, and would you go with me. will i go? let me drive. i drove up there. sitting there i had the chance to meet these giants, bob ming from chicago, bob carter from new jersey. truedo from new orleans, and marc morial's dad, dutch. and i am watching these guys, jim neighbor and george hayes being there, and what were they doing? getting the forces to tell the virginia state bar, you are not going to drive these people out of business. and that was the whole effort. if they could stop the naacp, they could stop progress. before the case was tried, once they found out who was coming, with that army. case dismissed.

[applause] case dismissed. that put something into me when spike robinson said to me, would you have any objection if i would ask thurgood to appoint you to take my place. i am going to be the dean at the law school. but i want you to be the registered agent for the naacp fund. would i take it? in a heart beat. so i had the occasion to meet those people and to participate in the cases. and i had occasion to recognize what could be done. i recall earlier this year, i was in a church, and a lady brought up her two sons and one looked at me, and said, i am going to be the president of the united states. and the other said, i am going

to be the governor of virginia. i said in their minds they see it. about 15 years ago i was in a church and a boy came up to me and said, are you doug wilder? and i said yeah. and the father said, mr. wilder. >> are you doug wilder, and i said yeah. governor, of something. yeah, he said, haven't you been dead? what he meant was for wchim to read about an accomplishments means that these people were not there. so when these two young boys came to me this year, u]1and wi resolution in their eyes, and spirit in their voice, saying,

i am going to be the president of the united states. i said you can be anything you want to be in this country, and we are going to help you get there. [applause] >> i think when we look ahead and obviously some of the sessions that are going to be occurring in the near future, looking at internationalism. looking at globalism. looking at the ways that the united states empploys the world. and the president is coming from ghana, and i want to start with you secretary powell, and anyone who has thoughts, how can we train a set of relationships and other countries, and particularly with africa, and how can naacp help, so as our young people

begin to become citizen of the world and take their natural place. >> we are all citizen of a world, the information of the resolution and the way that the children are ?3ñcommunicating, the fact that all of us folks up here are analogue, trying to be digital. but our children are born hard-wired digital. and my children and >> but our children are hard-wired digital. my children and grandchildren are trying to keep me up-to-date. i'm pretty good. i'm pretty good. but i'm pedaling as fast as i can. they wanted me to go on face book. i said, no, i'm not going on face book. book. [cheers and applause] chz. >> [laughter] >> then the next day one of my

assistants said you're already on face book. i said they can't put me on face book if i don't want to be on face book. she said you're already on face book. i said well i'm going to call a lawyer. i'm going to sue them. but you've already got 10,000 friends. ok. [laughter] >> that's funny but it reflects the nature of the changing world. the world is interconnected. tom freedman says the world is flat. the world is globalizing. just think of the world we're living in where one of the most underdeveloping, still developing countries in the world is financing one of the richest countries in the world. china is financing us. where do they get the money? by selling stuff at wal-mart. this is the nature of the world we live in. it is a far better world than the world i started at all those years ago. we're not facing two embarrass that meant for our destruction, the soviet empire and chinese empire. we still have problems in iraq and afghanistan. but for the most part many of

the bare years that used to exist are gone. the naacp can help especially with our youth programs is educate our youngsters in a manner that prepares them for this information-driven, globalized economic system that we are all living in now. our children have to learn languages, they have to learn more about geography. they have to learn more about other cultures, other religions and they have to be ready to be citizens of a global environment and not just citizens of the united states of america. and i think the naacp can help in this regard through its youth and educational programs. . here? all right, i thought she would be here, because she wanted to hear me sfeek. :-speak. francis, give her a hand, and thank you for all of have done,

the river is wide and i can't step it, love you baby, and i can't help it. [applause] >> reverend jackson. >> reverend jackson. you the global connection. we live in our faith, whatever it may be. we look under the law. the naacp's most significant contribution was affording us equal protection on the law. the decision changed the law, and testing the law. the 57 little rock decision was challenging the law. and in 64 +1ñand 65 was

challenging the law. now we have some global laws that are giving us an uneven playing field. the last year we have 750,000 in korea, and they got 5,000 from us. because we globalize capital driven by the banks, but not globalized rights, women rights and children rights and environment. then we can not compete on an even playing field. so restructuring the trade agreements is a big deal. just restructuring, we don't have an effort deficit. i am convinced of that. in the inner cities where the plants have closed and the jobs

have left, and you die no matter how much effort you put forward. when schools are funded by the tax base and there is no tax base, our schools are legally inferior. and we cannot compete. in chicago we are trying to get the olympic games, but not olympic education. our kids don't have the charter schools that don't have track and field. we cannot compete because of the playing field is not even. and i would think now as we look at the impact, as you say china. and not long ago it was g.m. and chrysler and ford, another big three in detroit. are the gambling casinos, because of uneven playing field. and that's the ultimate. because of the historic stimulus put forward by the

president, we are still losing 600,000 jobs a month. and we have homes in foreclosure, and student loan debt. competing with credit card debt. and you raise to me a trigger question, if we are in the globalization. it must be globalization of effort. the globalization of rules. and i went to malaysia about two months ago, and why are you going to malaysia. if you push a button and it comes on, that's malaysia, that big screen tv, malaysia. but the record of plants in malaysia are making max of $500 an'

400,000 a year. and detroit cannot compete with malaysia, and requires a reorder of our global playing field. thank you. [applause] >> ambassador young, you have been an elected official at the local level and national level, and have served as ambassador of the u.n., what do you think? >> what i learned a few years ago from shamberg in harlem, we had 4.5 million slaves that came in the slave trade. but there are over 5 million africans that have come voluntarily since 1970. and they are the second most educated group of immigrants coming into the united states. what we are working on in

atlanta is trying to make it possible for them to get back home. not putting them out. but what you saw in india, and i was with mrs. king in india in 1970, and she said, and gandhi said i tell to go and learn as much as you can, and hurry back to mother india. and they are doing that. there are seven flights a day between here and africa. and they are flying full. now that is money. and nigerians send back $9 billion a year to nigeria to help develop it.

gandhiians send back 3-4 billion a year. we are a part of an international network. and i am just trying to figure out how to make it work and understand it. it's not easy, and i have not been able to be successful doing a lot of business in africa. even though i have been trying. i have helped american businesses when they get in trouble for doing all the &óvwr things. but it's a funny relationship between us and the rest of the world. but one that we got to figure out. i would like to say one more thing about nelson mandela. and not in any way negative. but nelson mandela did not get out of jail just because white people got sympathetic at his 27 years of suffering. he got out of jail because nigeria caught england sending

oil to nigeria, they canceled 2.1 billion dollars worth of british contracts to nigeria and kicked conoco oil out. and then margaret thatcher and worked out an imminent's person group, to say to south africa, you have to get nelson mandela out of jail. not because they liked him but the business of nigeria. now that's a power factor that we are just beginning to understand. and i was saying to general powell that i look to the military to help us with this. because africa is too big and too complex for us to figure out.

but if we train african military, the african military, most of the people, rwanda is working now, because paul mageni was studying in kansas and when the genocide broke out and he went back and created a government where no one can win. . there is a government of 48% female. they started out with education and technology. i am saying that this is a little country. one general who was trained here has had a major impact on

that whole part of southeast africa. now, northeast africa, the sudan, it is impossible. i get upset with my wife's friends who want to put people in jail and this that and the other. but if you put sudan in the united states, it goes from maine to key west, fla. and all the way out to cincinnati. they do not have any roads. they do not have any railroads. we are trying to expect them to act the way we acted. they are acting in the way we acted with the indians two hundred years ago. you do not condemn people for war crimes until you set them down and try to work it all out. we cannot do all of that. but if we train africans, themselves, to understand how to

resolve that, we will have an ally. i am convinced that the african global place is the missing piece of a puzzle in the global economy. this economy is not plan to make sense globally as long as we are competing with europe and china. if we put africa in the equation, they have enough needs and resources. they have all of the things that the rest of the world needs to survive. but we have not plug them in appeared that is what i hope -- but we have not pulled the man. that is what i hope we will be doing in future generations. [applause] >> clearly, we need to reorient our thinking to have a more global perspective. but the point that to make about the participation of women also needs some domestic

considerations as well. i want to turn back to dr. height and get her perspectives on where we stand in terms of engaging women much more in the political and the process of social change and how the naacp can be more effective. >> one of the things that i am concerned about is that, as we look to the future, we need to be conscious of where we are as a family in the united states and we need to look at where the unitewomen are in the united states. i'll say that we are special

because we seldom do what we want to do and always do what we have to do. [applause] women played a tremendous role in the civil rights movement and helped us to get where we are. but i think we have to be equally aware that some of the legislation that is now being challenged and threatened and some of it is really beginning to be weakened affects women. we need to make sure that we realize that there is no way, when so many of our children are reared with homes with women alone, we need to improve the quality of life for -- we cannot improve the quality of life for our families without improving the quality of life for women. [applause]

i believe the strength of the naacp against the tides that we are facing could make a difference. we really need it now, not only against the hate groups, but in the diminishing of some of the gains we thought we had won. they seem to be diminishing and that is a task for us all. [applause] >> dr. hooks, can you pick up on that finger? -- on that thing? what are your thoughts? what are your observations about the kinds of things that need to be done? >> before i can tell them what needs to be done, i have to find my microphone. [laughter]

but i think i said, in my little address the other night, first of all, too many black athletes and to many people making black business dollars are not giving back to the black community. let it be known, i will never forget in kansas city, we have michael jackson out. wherever he had a concert, we could do voter registration. people have forgotten that about michael jackson. in kansas city, 25 years ago, that was so. we also have to do something about this right-wing hate radio. i do not know what can be done. these guys say day after day that they hope that obama will fail. how stupid can you get.

when obama fails, the nation fails. did i make that clear? if obama fails, the nation fails. let's give a big hand for obama. [applause] finally, i understand that this is the digital age and all of that, but that is no excuse for print papers to have ignored the 100th anniversary of the best organization for human and civil rights that this nation has known. i do not know what it would have looked like without it appeared as we look forward to the future -- without it. as we look for it to the future with our new ceo, let's look to each other and help to build. it had not been for the naacp, we would have been the

laughingstock of the world if we were talking about human rights and still segregated in alabama. [applause] to you, from fallen has, we hold the torch. if you let go of the flame we give you, the justice will not rain in americreign in america. [applause] >> let's turn things back to where we started. i am sorry. >> one time, not long ago, the cleveland browns were playing the new york jets, a football game, and i think the jets had something like fourth and fourth to go. and they miss. they only got 3 yards.

cleveland won with only 10 seconds to go. one player, in his excitement, through his helmet off. he was penalized. so the other team through the goal and won the game. we won the freedom struggle. we are forgetting the equality struggle. we are free, absolutely free. [unintelligible] we do not own a downtown building nowhere in america.

free, but not equal. how many of you have a student loan? raise your hand. raise your hand really high. we are paying $100,000 to $120,000 in student loans. [unintelligible] these are unforgivable loans. they cannot afford to attend school and the others cannot afford to stay in school. in africa, of their governments are finding them and our government is fleecing yes. [applause] -- our government is fleecing

us. [applause] the government can borrow money at 5.4% and they charge students 8%. the government makes enough money out of stallone defaults to fund the program. -- to find the pell grant. northern trust and banking data to billion dollars of money it did not ask for. they send the money back. they could have modified home foreclosures. they could have invested in community businesses. so we are free, but not equal. we cannot think that we're going to close the structural funding

gap just by the joy of -- last year's victory was the climax of 100 years of fighting for freedom. [unintelligible] fighting for inheritance and access and quality is the next that in our struggle. [applause] -- fighting for inheritance and access and equality is the next step in our struggle. [applause] >> i would like to ask the five of you here -- you have talked about your personal concern and you have expressed your

gratitude for the naacp in helping you. what would you tell the representatives of the naacp york are durations of what the organization should be doing as we move into the next two hundred years? >> this organization has been dedicated to supporting education in all of its years of existence. certainly, that is a key point to think about as we move forward. but i am not talking about progress through formal institutions. i am talking about developing personal awareness of who you are and who you are in relation to others in the universe. in 1954, the legal landscape was changed dramatically, but it came after 135 years of legalized discrimination. if you discriminate for the 135 years, you do not stop on a dime because three judges said to

cease and desist. a lot of people think that slavery was abolished by the 13th amendment. think again. slavery was abolished as late as 1945 in this country. think about it. in your education, you will find that out. education, to me, is so essential. and much of it, i heard from everybody to get my education. it was even from those who did not have an education because the interest of how important that was. what we need people who demand of themselves personal education. thank you. [applause] >> i want to add my voice to this distinguished group. it is an honor to be here. i think the youngest recipients of the metal and the only group

-- we occupied the unique distinction. but education was the cornerstone of what we thought we were pursuing. it was the guiding light. it was the words we heard from our parents and our neighbors and our supporters and ministers and others, that we should pursue the best we could. i think the discussion today on the economy, economic interests, the globalization that we are dealing with, we are still down to fundamentals, trying to understand the best of where you are at this moment, set high goals for yourself, go beyond the reading list that the school gives you, go beyond the questions that the teacher poses for you, learn to speak chinese and russian and french and whenever the languages of commerce are going to be.

i understand that you have a special opportunity to make a change. as michael jackson's song says, "you can make a change in this world." if you believe that, you have thousands and millions of people behind you in this organization, naacp, with people like daisy bates and river and crenshaw -- and rev. crenshaw's. in my view, that represents that history. but we need to move on to the next century. i think the education is the blackening and tackling that gets you there. [applause] >> i think all of these things have been very well said. i, too, am very glad to be here to share this stage with all the icons.

really, the bottom line is that education is the road to success. that is what i learned as a small child. i heard it all my life. that was the impetus for me to want to go to little rock central high school in 1957. we need to continue to do that and speak those types of truths to our children. so many of us have attained so much that we have forgotten to teach our young children why they are or where they are today. we need to do more of that. [applause] i think that grandparents and aunts and uncles need to take the time to spend with these young children to help them

understand why we have these freedoms, as reverend jackson has mentioned. and we are free. we are free to do whatever we would like to do. we just need to work hard toward that. i know the naacp will continue to do that and build on the the youth to make this a better world to live in and be a part of this global community. as stated before, we do need to not only learn english. we have not learned its very well. [applause] we need to continue to do that. but we have to have that second or third language. a second language would be great. that is what i would like to see the naacp continue to do. it is wonderful to be able to celebrate 100 years. we celebrated our 50th two years

ago. i know how that felt. so this celebration is something to really check off and enjoy and feel good about. [applause] >> absolutely agree with my colleagues. however, i would like to say that the children are not in charge. they do not set the curriculum. they do not make the policy. they do not determine whether or not they get the education. i think it we need a few more universal in this capitalist economy. we need universal education for all of our children. we need universal health care for all of our children. because if we do not, we continue to maintain a with the

damaging, unequal system. i propose, of course, and everyone knows it -- i really agree with terence about education being the bottom line. what about as babies and young children? we have fallen short as a society. seems to me that we would continue to demand education in the interest of all. i am talking about universal. maybe not capitalistic or capitalism. but we have to make that kind of demand. it is kind of like a guaranteed income we were talking about. universal rights and responsibilities.

thank you. [applause] >> briefly, i would like to say that education is the underlying theme. the reason that we need success. i would like add the perspective that we keep saying that children need to be educated. but as many said, the children are not in charge. we need to instill within the children the importance of the need for education. children still learn by example. we have too many parents boasting and bragging about being a single parent. being a single parent. i do not see you why they use that as an excuse for failing to do the things they need to do. many of the folks in my neighborhood in little rock were

single parents. until you went to their house, you did not know that there was no man present. everyone in the neighborhood raised each of the children. they said that it takes a village to raise a child. maybe we need to incorporate more villages in this country. [applause] in my pre-teen days, it was like we were home school before we were sent to school. [applause] in my naive way, i thought all families work that way in the world, the way my family did. it was embarrassing when i got to my college economics 101 class a and found the economic structure that my family was among the poor class of people

in the country. i did not know that until i got to college. so it did not affect my education and my desire for things. i had a child then i had a family to support me. maybe we could try that with some of the kids. [applause] >> we have followed comments from ambassador young. >> i just wanted to -- go ahead. >> this is a very historic moment. and this has been a great morning. but i would like for all of you to go and get pat sullivan's book and read the very first chapter where wb do boys has left his professorship at havana university to it -- at atlanta university to come to new york

to do publications for the naacp. when he gets here and goes to the office of the evening post, mr. millard says to him, "i have no money with which to pay you." the point that i am making is that we have done so much with so little. we have never made the budget in the urban league and the naacp. we have never been over budget, but the historical lesson is that we have accomplished so much with so little. which suggests that now we got things that we never had, a black president, black sea 0's -- black ceo's, people sitting in places that we have never sat, having money and influence

that we never had in. now that we have so much more, therthe responsibility on us for achievement is greater than it was for dubois when he went to new york. >> i wanted to point that vernon is the way to go. we sit on a couple of committees together. i don't know anything about money. i have more schools -- i have about 75 honorary degrees. nobody ever taught me about money paired so i have to lean over and say, vernon -- nobody ever taught me about money. so i have to leonora and said, running. -- i have to lean over and say, vernon. the fellow who got put out of

georgia tech went across the street and opened something called the varsity. it is a hot dog stand. he is the largest contributor to georgia tech. you do not have to be a physicist if you know how to save money, invest money, and you do not mind working in. you can talk about capitalism all you want, but that is what we have. i hate to criticize john after he is gone, but all of us were thinking, in the 1960's, about a world that was stable. it had been organized by franklin roosevelt. they sat down in new hampshire and britain woods and there were all kinds of agreements. the dollar was the king and it was tied to gold. nixon broke that up in 1973.

and now it is every man for himself. and people do more things. they used to call them a robber barons. they put in a legislation called the glass-steagall act. they got rid of that. there was something that separated the savings and loans from the commercial banks, regulation q. they got rid of that. now the savings and loans got into gambling casinos and went broke and the banks cut in the housing and did not know what they were doing. they dismantled all of the stability that this economy had in a kind of freewheeling capitalism that is not fair to anybody that was not born rich. now, obama is good to have to sit down and all that he is

doing is wonderful, but that i think that is the reason god put him on north. you have to have somebody who can get the saudis and the nigerians and the indonesians to balance out some of the ignorance and dominance that has come out of europe. and it is a global struggle right now for a globally just economy. poor nations will always be poor unless our president can get them to sit down and realize that either we are all going to go forward -- as dr. king used to say, we're only -- we're either going to learn to live together as brothers and sisters are we're going to perish together as fools. [applause] >> where i thought vernon was

going with that story was another angle. our best minds chose to invest in the struggle for the next generation. [unintelligible] if thurgood marshall had become a great downtown corporate lawyer, our best minds reinvested in the freedom struggle. we had our best minds against their best minds and one against the arts -- and won against the odds. [unintelligible] there is a sacrifice deficit

among those who have benefited. the reason why the spanish thing is important, the majority is black and brown. that is the politics of our future. two-thirds of our hemisphere speaks spanish. before we jump hemispheres, two- thirds of our neighbors speak spanish. whether you're in l.a., new york, or miami, their population is going to be black and brown and the hispanic coalition. [unintelligible] he finished high school at 15 years old. he finished college at 19 years old. seminary at 22 years old and a ph.d. at 26 years old. those are the leaders that invested heavily into the intellectual development to lead the fight for the long haul.

we focused on beverly hills and hollywood and all that, but there were 11 people living in a four-room house on jackson street. it was a two-career household. there was a crane operator. he did not make -- it was a two- parent household. joe was a crane operator. he did not make much money at that. there were six boys in one room with a double bunk beds and four girls. there was a mother who made all of their clothes. they and eight in rotation because there were 11 people living in four rooms.

-- 8they ate in a rotation because there were 11 people living in forums. -- in four rooms. this was a two-parent household . there was a disciplinarian, working-class, i'm two-parent household. michael jackson said, the churches where we learned in the rhythm, the music, and the drums. our mama made our uniforms. there was something to be said about the jackson family structure that produced the world's greatest family

entertainment against the odds. thank you very much. [applause] >> today on c-span, health care, all meeting with virginia democrat, mark warner. that is at 6:30 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> september 1 marks the 70th anniversary of the start of world war ii. tonight, a commemoration, including the german chancellor, the russian prime minister, and the polish president. that is 9:00, eastern and pacific, on c-span. >> the supreme court holds a rare september session for a case on campaign finance. they will decide the constitutionality of campaign financing and whether government

can ban corporations from spending money to support political candidates. our same day airing of the argument will begin at 11:30 a.m. eastern on c-span freak, c- span radio, and c-span not a word -- c-span 3, c-span radio, and c-span.org. >> hearing oral arguments on a campaign finance case, the first appearance on the bench for justice sotomayor. it is the day before her formal ceremony takes place. here is justice ginsberg of what it is like to work with the other justices. >> she will be surprised by the high level of collegiality. one might get a false impression from the degree of this agreement justit.

justice scalia once said that there was no justice that he disagreed with more office -- more often than justice brennan. yet he considered justice brennan and his best friend on the court at that time. he thought that the feeling was reciprocated. the public would not know that from reading an opinion by brennan with a dissent by scalia or the other way around. these were two men that genuinely liked each other and enjoy each other. >> hear from other justices during supreme court week, as c- span looked at the home of america's highest court october 4. >> robert winton discusses his

switch to conservatism and why he thinks other african americans should join him. he spoke at this conference by the steamboat institute for just over 40 minutes. >> after that introduction, i wanted to ask if there were any questions. [laughter] board, give me the strength to tell and pursue the truth. especially when it is not convenient to me. if you would like to go someplace you have not been, you have got to do something you have not done. i am just pleased that the steamboat institute and its

freedom conference represents a breath of fresh air on the action front. we need a way that is willing to engage in self examination. dr. king said that the highest form of purity is the ability to be self-critical and reexamine. i grew out politically as a liberal left civil-rights activist. i am proud of those accomplishments in the civil- rights movement. i also know that there were unintended consequences of what we did. therefore it is important to move on. i want to do some analysis of what i believe we did right and what was done wrong and where we can move into the future. someone asked me what the difference between a real conservative -- difference between a neo-conservative and a

liberal. i had to figure that out. i heard a story that the find it pretty clearly for me. there was a man drowning 20 feet from the shore. the liberal camp along and noticed that he was 20 feet from the shore. since he had purchased 40 feet of ropy through it all to him but did not anchor it to the shore. the conservative said that i will give him 10 feet of rope, let him swim the other 10. [laughter] a neo-conservative sees the man drowning and goes home and writes a poem about it. [laughter] so, that put it in perspective for me. well i defined my ideology, i have a conflict -- concluded

that i have a cardiac christian that is a radical pragmatist. i do things because they work for the least of god's children. i think that the character of a nation has to be how does it affect the least of god's children. as you do on to the least of these, you do one to me. that is what causes me to get up in the morning. that is what motivates me every day. am i doing enough? am i doing god's work? that is the moral barometer the drives my life. i believe that this is one of the most compassionate nations on the face of the earth. prior to the 1930's the responsibility for caring for those that were locked out was largely assumed by informal

institutions within the community. because of the failure of the stock market and the economy collapsed, those institutions became overwhelmed. our government was afraid that communism would step in. for the first time in the history of the nation, government intervened on the economy on behalf of four people. the intervention was supposed to be an ambulance service and some how had more than two transportation service. until the 1960's it was mostly the individuals. but the informal institutions remained intact. those moralizing influences in the community, particularly the black community. we look at the black community today and we look at the 70% out of wedlock births, the high crime rate, high incarceration,

and we assume -- as some political pundits would assume, that is because of racism and economic despair and the climb, but it is not true. during the 1930's the black community, which suffered from discrimination and isolation and economic decline, had a higher of marriage rate than the white community. the largest sustained reduction in part to the continued between 1940 and 1962 -- reduction in poverty continue between 1940 and 1962. racial discrimination, and lack of money, poverty, if that was the culprit why did you not see the disintegration in 1964?

90,000 blacks in prison than, 900,000 now. something happened in the 1960's with of the war on poverty. when the government intervention changed from services directly to people. money was translated into services for the port and a dramatic increase in the amount of money going into the professional service industry. for every malady that four people suffered -- poor people suffered, there was a school of social work that was founded. if you were physically handicapped there was a program. with every program, there was a bureaucracy. with bureaucracy there were

professional certified providers of service. with it the result that 80%, about 17 trillion dollars had been spent on aid for the poor. 75% 80% of that money goes not to though poor but those that serve poor people. not with problems that are solvable, but which ones are refundable this year. the poor represent a commodity for the professional service industry based on how many you sir. [applause] as a civil rights activist, it became clear to me that the programs were under a false hope

for poor people. it was destroying them with the helping hand. nothing that the means you can possibly promote your interest. all the poor had to do was surrender their dignity and self-respect as a condition for getting help. that is why we have the situation today in the black community where the number of people being destroyed through homicide is comparable to a 9/11 attack every four months. a young person getting off on a greyhound bus in most of your urban centers has a higher mortality rate than getting of of the landing barge in the second world war i and italy. that is how toxic the environment has become.

it is important, we have to move in another direction. it is because of this reality that i said i had believed the civil rights movement and look for an alternative group of people, and the conservative movement that i met through peter at the american enterprise institute, as well as michael novak -- i was invited to come there because i was disenchanted and i wanted to associate with a group of people that had no strategic interest in the maintenance of four people -- poor people. they do not make their living off of serving poor people. what they're looking for is the market. i was also impressed, because i

and the liberal movement -- in the liberal movement there was no debate on anything. but at the enterprise institute, they always said that the competition of ideas is the hallmark of a free society. every month he invited the kennedys, ralph nader, others to come and debate the scholars. they had to be matched in terms of competence to debate the issues. as a result, the conservative movement's was served to deregulate intrastate commerce. what i did was recognized what i wanted, as i had begun to reach out to low-income groups. i found friends in the conservative movement. jack kemp understood.

he came to my office one day with a pad, no staff, sitting down for four hours. anybody know jack kemp? he never listened to anyone for four hours. [laughter] but he did that day. as a conservative, he asked how he could take the principles that he believed in and applied them in my community. he came and listened to the grassroots leaders. they said that we are willing to drive the drug dealers out of our community, hold ourselves accountable, all we want is an opportunity to control our own destiny. we want to clean up our community, control the contract, own the property, reduce small businesses -- produce small businesses, but every time we tried to paint our own

apartments, we are told it is a union job. every time you want to clean the floors of our own laundromat, we are told it is a union job. jack rather than freshman republicans in, they had hearings in public housing where they listened to low-income people talk about success. jack vashon 7 amendments of the housing act, saying bob, i can give you 100 republicans, but if it is just republicans it is dead on arrival. give me one democrat. we recruited one democrat from washington, he joined in with jack kemp, cosponsoring the housing act, giving liberty the low-income leaders. as a consequence the pastel floor.

-- it passed on the floor. ronald reagan signed a these amendments, free-market amendments, into law, with six public housing residents. that is what conservatives can do. that is what you can do. [applause] steve goldsmith, indiana, same thing there. we worked with him for six years. conservative prosecutor. a liberal, democratic town. but he privatize public service. he allowed residents in the communities to operate the parks, employing local teenagers that needed to work. because of that there was a sense of ownership by the local