john lewis lewis and the chinese railroad worker. i was on the side of wage fairness. i was on the side of expanding opportunity. that is who we are. in your positions, that is what you do day in and day out. keep up the pressure and we can move this nation forward. i come to you with a sense of optimism. you know what? we have tackled more serious challenges in our nation and defeated them. we are going to do it now. there is human capital talent in this room and across the country. with your leadership, we will continue to build a more perfect union for everyone. thank you for having me. [applause]

>> the former bush administration, a baroque gonzales,-- alberto says that the stance on immigration could cost them in the elections. he was on a panel. this is 40 minutes. >> senator, thank you for the introduction. it is a pleasure for me to be here to meet so many people. you know, i had the experience today. i used to work for npr. me andwould come up to say that it is nice to put a face to a voice. i would say, i did not know what you look like either all stop i

had an experience of a woman coming up to me and saying that it is great to finally put a body with a face. i have never had that before. i can only think, i hope she liked the body. you know what i mean? anyways, before i introduce the guests, thank you to wells fargo. they sponsored this meeting and the session. i want to thank all of you following the live stream. i have one more thank you to everyone who is using the conference hashtag. it is trending and people are using it.

now, the main event. with us is dolores, alberto, and wilson. welcome all of them. i am going to have a brief conversation with them 41-2 minutes -- for 1-2 minutes. we'll have a conversation with the group and, hopefully, reflect all of your interests. so much has been said about her. it is hard to introduce her. she created the agricultural worker association. she cofounded the farmworkers union. she works through her own foundation.

tinois an icon in the la community and america. she is american history. so, my first question goes to delores. what is the most significant outcome of the civil rights movement. >> we see that we have a lot of latinos and african-americans. we have organizations and engineers. i went to college on campus and, with women, we had doctors and attorneys. so, we know that we have come a long way and we have more representation in our legislatures. at the same time, we know that we have a long way to go, even

though the civil rights movement was about gain the right to vote. we see voter suppression. the issue ofut redistricting. we have many cities where you have to have general elections not in acts and district where people can elect someone who looks like them. thee was a bill in legislature to say that it is a law in the state of california that electric -- elections have to be by district. people can get somebody who looks like them and sit on those councils, school boards, supervisory districts, etc.. we have dealt with voter suppression and another one is not allowing -- to vote. i am -- felons to vote.

i am on the commission. we had hearings. in the state of washington, if you pay been in prison, restitution and you cannot vote until you pay all of the money you owe. we have heard people cannot vote it is that. -- because of that. there are all kinds of ways to keep people from voting. >> you look back at this. i do not mind giving away your -- i do not want to give your age. >> i do not mind. i am 84. >> when i am 84, i hope to look as good as you. it is a pleasure to be with you every time. and you look back 50 years moment,960's, at that

the passage of the civil rights act and the voting rights act, did you have any idea that it would really change and you would one day have latinos as the second largest minority in the country? know,l, i know that, you from experience and being involved in getting people to vote, that it would make a difference. of course, if we do not like the law, we have to elect people who change the law. i foresaw the impact. i was involved before the civil rights act was signed. remember theime, i harassment that i, as a young latina, suffered at the hands of police and teachers. i see my great-grandchildren, you know, suffering the same types of discriminations. that, on ahink political level, we have made a lot of headway. on a personal level, we know

that racism is still alive and well in the united states of america. we have an african-american president and people use it as an excuse. it is there and we can see him play at all of the politics that are happening right now, including the refusal of the republican congress to take up immigration reform. >> thank you. let me introduce our second guest, alberto gonzales. the 80th attorney general of the united states. from 2005-2007. the former texas secretary of state and the member of the supreme court. now, a law professor in tennessee. in keeping with what we are doing at the convention in the next few days, a veteran. cleese join me in welcoming join me in please

welcoming alberto gonzales. government enforce laws of segregation. ensforced laws- of segregation. the americans story and your story is the american story. that story has been written on the backs of individuals, like the woman sitting to my right. it has been written with the civil rights act and the department of justice has an important role in enforcing those rules. from my perspective, as the former attorney general, the loss cannot change the hearts of men and women. i did not know if education or communication will some day a cate thefear -- eradi

fear that motivates preju dice. we needat day comes, laws like the civil rights act. i am proud of the civil rights division and i want to give credit to secretary perez for his work there. have challenges, even within the department of justice, to be honest. there was a tough report issued by the inspector general that was critical of the civil rights division under president obama and president bush. there was too much partisanship branch that is a charged with keeping an even playing field. if they cannot do that internally, -- isarly, the civil rights act one of the most important pieces of legislation passed by

congress and exist because we need it still. >> you look at the arguments that are going on in the states. disenchantment -- disenfranchisement, does that concern you? >> i would travel to get more texans to vote. we have a problem of getting people to vote. that is true in the hispanic community. we are not going to enjoy power or influence unless we come out to vote on election day. i, for one, supports two goals. eligibleng as many voters and protecting the sanctity of the vote. they are not mutually exclusive. i do not have a problem.

that they do have access to some i.d. that allows them to vote. how do we know whether or not they are eligible is the key. they have to be eligible voters. >> and our third guest this afternoon is ms. wilson. she's the president of the san diego branch of the naacp. she was a public defender for more than 24 years. please join me in welcoming ms. wilson. >> when you think about the commemoration, 50 years, what extent to you think the united states has changed with regard to race relations, to what extent do you think the country has stayed the same?

>> i would have to mirror what she said. you look at jobs and employment, segregation, things have gotten a little better but still a lot of things have remained the same. you look on the outside, it looks like we've made a lot of progress. i hesitate to use that word we have much work to do. my people are tired of always having to do work. no matter what we've done in this country, my people and other people of color were always struggling. so i'm not sure why we are always struggling and the best way i can explain it is i try to tell people that being black in america is like watching a bad movie. it's the same movie playing over and over again. the only difference is the characters oh or the scenery. but it seems like it swings back and forth but we keep struggling

and i wish that would change. of course we are going to have to keep trying to get better but in a way i wonder we're in 2014 or in 1940 because it seems like it's the same old battle. when my people reached this country it was always education. they denied that. voting, we had jim crow and now his son grow up and now we got james crow and we are still having problems with the vote which is very important to me. and there is no reason to have the voter i.d. even though i agree that as long as the laws do not discriminate against minorities or poor people but that's the only reason to have those laws because whether it's the intent you still have the discriminatory impact. i want my people to be able to get education and be able to vote. once that happens then i know we've moved forward.

ago . wilson, 50 years secretary perez mentioned next year 50 years after the voting rights act, you would think 50 years later we wouldn't be in this place. but you are saying we keep coming back to this point. that's not to suggest we haven't made progress. but it does suggest that there is some stubborn issues about race in american society. and it looks when we think about it in the 50 year context that the argument has changed with demographics because you now have so many more latinos in america. you have more blacks, more a'sans, so you have about a third of the population as people of color. how has that impacted the change n the last 50 years. >> those in power are in fear. and that's the reason that i

think we're having these problems is demographics are going to change and there is fear. that's why we have these type of laws. the only reason you want to keep people not educated and not able to vote is you want to keep them out of power. vent thri numbers are going to change and it's going gog to be a whole different ballgame. i'm not sure if i will see that in my lifetime but then again i didn't expect to see a black president so there is still hope there. >> i encourage my panelist to join in the conversation, argue with each other, interrupt each other. already we have seen some perspective with regard to what is going on with voter i.d. laws. there is a tremendous emphasis on voter turnout.

people are looking for that kind of increase. announced they project there is going to be an ncrease from 2010 from 6.9% of a latino vote. this year 2014 the expectation is 7.8% of a lat know vote in the midterm elections. so when i look at that, mr. attorney general, i think there is more coming but what if those people are unable to vote. >> let me clear about this response. i want all of our people to come out and vote on election day. republicans are worried that is going to happen, they need to change their message. if they can't get hispanic vote then they need to remessage. i want all eligible hispanics to come out and vote on election day. >> this is a bipartisan

organization. the question would be is it the case to you as a republican that you think or maybe ms. wilson is right there are people who fear sharing power. >> there is no question about that. i think that's some of the resistance or perhaps a lot of the resistance in our party with respect to immigration reform. people are fareful of the way our country is changing without any thought or regulation or guide frns our leaders. that has been the source of some of the problem with have with respect to not making progress in immigration reform. i think fear and it's understandable. the need for better communication, better understanding amongst our groups in order to make progress in this area. >> what i'm cure about is yesterday in congress they had a vote on the voting rights act which was gutted last year, a

part of it by our u.s. supreme court. but why is it that when they took the vote, not one republican voted to allow the hearing go forward or for there to be a vote on it and it was all the republicans. and that voting rights act when it was first passed was bipartisan. it's been there for almost 50 years and now all of a sudden the game has changed. you would think that a country that goes around all over the world trying to spread democracy cannot even get it right right ere at home. >> it sounds like you think you know the answer? >> well, the answer is let the people vote. >> i think you think you know the answer with regard to why not one republican would vote to reauthorize the voting rights

act. >> yes. >> and what's the answer? >> the reason they are doing it is the people of color, minorities vote for democrats. they want to you is press those votes. that's the only reason. >> attorney general, how would you respond? >> it's not my place to speak for republicans in the congress or in the senate. and i don't know what legislation you are talking about. i think you are talking about revising the provision of the voting rights act which is in section four which was shot down by the supreme court in the shelby case. it could be as simple as very complicated formula which is a predicate for the department of justice being able to impose a preclearance requirement. maybe the republicans are unhappy with that form louisiana they don't consult with me anymore. i don't know the reasons for that but that's what we're talking about is the supreme

court struck down a formula based on racial demographics in 1965 and the supreme court said you have to update it. this is an attempt by congress to update to allow the department of the justice to impose preclearance requirements. >> when you hear about limiting the number of days people can vote. limit the hours that precincts are open. does it strike you as punitive or do you think if it's for everybody, that's fair, what do you think? >> i think it is fair and it is voter suppress and we need to change that. one thing republicans need to understand. every single month 73,000 latino reach the age of 18.

every month in the united states of america 73,000 latinos reach the voting age of 18 years old. that is something they need to look at. because his opponent was anti-immigrant. harry reid when he went for the senate in nevada, he endorsed immigration reform. he reached out to the latino community and the latino community pushed him over the top. they need to take note. the more they attack immigrant community. when they attack the immigrant community, they are attacking me. my great grandfather was in the civil war in the union army.

i was on this end of the border when they put that border. but my children and my grandchildren get the attacks. they have to understand effort they attack our community, our community gets very angry. and this whole thing about immigration reform, all they have to do is set it for a vote. is a we're going to have a vote on immigration reform. 75% of the country support it. 65% of republicans support it. the more they continue to attack our community the more people are going to become democrats. the other thing is that all the posters show that latino community love obama care. they love obama care because millions of them are uninsured. they also love big government. they think the problems we have in our society, we need government to cure them. so the republicans are on the

wrong side of the messaging right now and eventually it's going to catch up to them. i don't care how much voter suppression they do. eventually people are going to matter what. e no a few weeks ago you would have said boehner and kanter. but he was defeated in virginia and one of the issues his opponent used against him was he was for amnesty. >> we look at that election they only had 8% turnout to begin with. but look at mr. graham's election. he won the election and he is for immigration reform and he defeated all of his tea party opponents.

that was not real issue. if we want to get immigration reform, we have to call our corporate buddys to help us. i'm going to use this as a comparison. in arizona when the legislature passed a law they were going to let public places discriminate against our friends, the gay community, tall corporations jumped in right away and said to the governor don't sign that bill. they jumped in there immediately. our gay community we love. the latinos are a lot more people. where are our corporate buddies at now? we need them to talk to their friend in the republican congress and is a you need to vote for immigration reform

right now. e're not going to give up. >> my perspective is congress needs to vote on this and they need to do it soon. this is a law enforcement and security economic issue. his is about us. this is about america, about who we are as americans. i've heard republicans say, this president is only going to enforce laws he wants to. my perspective is, congress has a job to do. how the president does his job does not mean they should not be doing theirs. they ought to be doing their jobs. [applause] and both branches ought to be working together.

and i know how hard this is. we could not get a dem with a republican congress. but that is why we elected these people to go there, to tackle the most difficult issues we have in the country. and they should be accountable. flex but you know, what your position is, it's so interesting to me -- >> but you know, what your position is, it's so interesting to me, because obviously there are those within the republican party who are just resisting. there is the radio crowd that is saying that you are rewarding people who have done illegal things. you are in a position of a civil war within the republican party over this issue. how do you see it playing out? >> i think in the end, my side will win stop -- will win. or it will be the end of the party. but the end of the party? flex yes -- >> the end of the party? >> yes. that's the way i see it. the truth is, hispanics are growing in force and if they

feel like the republican party does not have anything for them, that republicans are not going to win the white house. they will lose control of the house and senate. his is an important issue. >> some are marks from former out -- former attorney general alberto gonzalez. lastly, a house subcommittee held a hearing on marijuana use and safety while driving. members looked at several issues, including the challenge of creating federal standards for using recreational drugs. the hearing is an hour and 45 minutes. >> in 2016 unless you have some latino vote for republicans it's difficult to see on the map thousand republicans could twin presidency. >> it's going to be a challenge. >> that's not my area. >> we've got you here on the hot

seat so we're turning up the heat. >> ms. wilson, what do you think about this idea unless the party deals with voter disenfranchisement issues, immigration reform, the republicans have a troubled future? >> i that's going to happen and if i may is a it wouldn't be a bad thing to me. >> increasing voter turnout in 2014, can people like these elected officials here this afternoon use these issues to spur hispanic voter turnout? >> i think we have a lot of work to do. number one we know education is a big issue right now.

because of the of the issues one we're fighting right now. they don't teach civics in school anymore. so young people don't know why they should be voting in the first place. we wonder why they aren't voting and it's because they don't understand the importance of voting. we have to be invited to vote. if somebody doesn't invite you, you are not going to vote. i would is a to the public officials here we have a lot of power in this room. i was talking about how many young latinos are are going to be turning 18. we should have voter registration at every single high school. that should happen and we need

to give kids credit to go out there and knock on doors to get out the vote. that was my experience. and latino leadership is knocking on doors. that's when i came to the home of a family and saw the poverty they were living in. i think going door to door and giving kids school credit to go out there. they can go into any neighborhood but knock on doors to remind people they have to vote. we have to make democracy work. we cannot have a democracy when we have over 50% of the people not voting. and these local elections are important, these school board elections are important. we want our kids to know the contribution of people of color, of the chinese. when we were at an election there and he said we're at the governor's mansion in virginia. this is the oldest governor's mansion in the united states and

it was built by thomas jefferson. i said no, it was built by his slaves. and this is the history that our kids have to know. all of the contributions of color made to this country and they don't know that. we can do it. we have the power right here in this room we can instill some of these practices to make sure people vote. >> i'm a republican as you know and imet proud to be a republican for many reasons. we've had some great republican leaders from the hispanic community. >> george bush was popular with

the hispanic community. he was the right messenger quite frankly. not that hispanics believed in all the policies but they believed he believed in them and understood thefment part of that is from being a governor of a border stafmente it hurts the hispanic community to have one so dominant party the other party is meaningless. you need to have two competing parties that don't take the hispanic community for granted. they ought to be competing for our vote. it's very important. >> good point. >> but part of that and i want to conclude on this message on this question is about turnout because we want to see more people participating in the democratic process, the essential element of that is the vote. but when you look at it, let's go back to the last presidential election, 2012, 66% african-american turnout.

64% white american turnout. when you come to the hispanic community, 48%. we can do this with midterm elections as well. why is it that you see in the mind set of the latino community a lack of this enthusiastic for voting that you see in other communities? >> i think and i've done this for the last 60 something years going door to door getting people to vote. a lot of times people don't know how to vote or are afraid they will do the wrong thing. they get these long ballots of names they don't know. is a vote for you what you know. they don't get proper information about who to vote for and they don't want to do the wrong thing so they don't vote. it's important we have to go educate people how to vote. if they vote one time, they will continue to vote. and we can do this work but it

takeses a lot of leg work. you are not going to do it on. you have to go into the neighborhoods. this is what my organization does is go door to door. in my community we have been able to activate over 10,000 voters just in our area. if we had more money we could go out into more communities. people vote once they understand procedure and process. they don't want to do the wrong thing and that's why they don't vote. they have to be invited to vote. >> do you think if republicans day better job of speaking to common interest with the latino community you could inspire more latinos to vote? >> absolutely. and i think the party gets that and they are working very hard to address it. but it's a dual responsibility. i think citizens have a responsibility to care about these kind of things and come

out and vote and get educated about what is required. it's also a responsibility of the candidates. they should be inspiring. reaching out to the hispanic community there. is a responsibility both with the electorate and the candidates running for office. 48%hat do you attribute the hispanic turnout to in 2012? why is that the lowest when you look at the racial groups in the country? >> i agree with the other panelists and a lot of people have to ask themselves what is in it for me and they don't understand what is in it for them. you have to do more for them. we put on community forums and let them know what the issues are and candidates there will be more interest. and the other problem is people still believe their vote doesn't count or they vote for a certain

proposition and they get mad hen it's overturned. i think it's keeping people more infered and once they are more nfered they become more involved. >> they were going door to door and people didn't want to vote. they lost their people didn't want to vote, they were mad, they lost their homes, jobs.ost their

some of their friends or neighbors or relatives were deported. them out andpull say it's important for to you vote, and we did get them out to vote. was pulling teeth to get people to vote. so proposition 30 in california, the reason that we are now in the circumstance in california of proposition 30, by the way this is good for the people in the other states. a law that millionaires have to pay 3% more in state taxes. pay a million dollars, 2% 50, 1 #% more. so we were abe to bring in over $6 billion to the state of most of that went to education. we had to go door to door to get for that.vote and the few that we went to, marginting to get that not thery, it was always voters. it was the voters that don't

vote. people who registered and didn't vote before. it can happen, just takes an of work to make it happen. >> on the >> so on this 50th anniversary of the civil rights act, i want panelists for helping us to put our place in help us to understand how well a continuing effort to make democracy alive in america. very much. [applause] c-span in prime time includes coverage of the western conservative summit in denver. by the colorado christian university. the featured speaker was former andka governor vice-presidential candidate palin.

>> these days you hear all of denouncingicians barack obama saying oh, he's an imperial president and ignores court orders and changes laws and refuses to enforce laws that he doesn't like. that's true, but the question is, what are you going to do it?t let's call their bluff. becauseing their bluff, we need a little less talk and a lot more action. for as only one remedy president who commits high crimes and misdemeanors, and impeachment. it's the i word. conservativen summit in denver, on c-span, eastern.t 8:00 p.m.

years, c-span brings public affairs events from washington directly to you, new the room at congressional hearings, white house events, briefings and conferences. offering complete gavel to gavel coverage of the u.s. house, all as a public service industry. we're c-span, created by the cable tv industry 35 years ago. you as a public service by your local cable or satellite provider. like us on h.d., facebook and follow us on twitter. >> the u.s. africa summit continue this is morning on at 9:00 eastern. after opening remarks by former new york mayor bloomberg and commerce secretary pritzker, former president bill clinton will moderate a pan they'll of generale heads electric, dow chemical and wal-mart. our coverage of the summit c-span just after 11:00 eastern, with national security advisor susan rice with the discussion heads of ibm and coca-cola.

secretary of state john kerry facing africaues with the president of tanzania, tunisia and rwanda. and president obama will address the group in the afternoon. >> up next a discussion of programs and african-americans. from "washington journal," this half-hour. joining us next in r studio in new york, jason riley, now up with his second book :alled, "please stop helping us how liberals make it harder for blacks to succeed." thank you for joining us on washington journal. what motivated you to write the book? the book because i think that a lot of the efforts to help black underclass have not been working. in many cases, they have been doing more harm than good. i thought the 50th anniversary of the great society programs

was an opportunity to look back on what has been tried and perhaps thinking about reevaluating our efforts on this. host: how do liberal policies make it harder for blacks to succeed? guest: one of the essential themes of the book is that blacks ultimately must help themselves by developing the same habits and characteristics and attitudes and behaviors that other groups in america have had to develop in order to rise socioeconomically. to the extent a government effort or program or social policy, however well-intentioned, interferes with that necessary self-development, i think it does more harm than good. that is what a lot of these policies have done. well-intentioned policies have put in place at incentives and have led to results that were not intended. host: tell us about your upbringing. you're now an editorial writer ." the "wall street journal

you write about admiration for your dad. where did you grow up and what was life like for you? guest: upstate new york in buffalo. that is where i went to college. i came down to new york after taking a job at the "wall street journal" 20 years ago now. i grew up somewhere in the working-class, lower middle-class, place on the sort of income spectrum. my parents were divorced when i was very young. my father played a very active role in my life. i had two siblings and he was very close to all of his children, saw us several times a week, holidays, so forth. i had a large extended family on my mother's died right there in buffalo. a very religious family. of myurch was a big part upbringing as well. in addition to my father and a role model there in terms of black men, i also had a lot of black role models on my mothers

side of the family right there in buffalo growing up. host: did your operating feel typical to you? -- upbringing feel typical to you? guest: no. i got a glimpse into different worlds growing up. i attended public schools and private schools, both catholic schools and nonsectarian schools. i got a pretty widely varied view of different ways that people grew up here and i did not find my upbringing typical, no. host: jason riley is our guest. his book is "please stop helping : how liberals make it harder for blacks to succeed." republicans (202) (202)02, democrats

737-0001, independents (202) 628-0205. the book also covers a wide range of economics to crime statistics and prison sentences, to president obama. i wanted to show a quote from your book about the popularity of president obama. you write in your book talking about polls on the presidency --

host: what do you think is behind the reason the african-american support has grown for president obama, or at least sustained in his second term? guest: there are a number of reasons i point to in the book. one of the first ones and perhaps the most obvious one can be a sort of racial lori -- loyalty. black folks very proud of the first black president being elected and some book -- subsequently reelected. i guess there is some of that going on. that isso think behind a, i would say, greater than normal were greater than average reliance on political saviors among blacks in america. looking to the government for solutions. reflected inhat support for obama. i argue in the book that blacks in fact have an overdependence on the government and on politicians to provide solutions in the black community.

you see this reflected not only jobs, government jobs going to blacks, whether it is the military, the post office, other civil service jobs, you also have it -- independents in terms of government benefits, handouts, welfare, food stamps, so forth. i argue this is something the democratic party has encouraged in order to win votes from blacks, or the party that gives you things. they are the party of bigger government and i think black loyalty to the democratic party is reflected in that sentiment. that one ofargue the reasons you see blacks so overwhelmingly supporting the is the lack of black outreach on the part of republicans. it is just not uncommon for a republican candidate to simply write off the black vote. also reflected in

black loyalty to democrats. i don't subscribe racial animus to it. it's just pragmatic politics. i think republicans don't feel they need the black vote to win elections right now and that you won't see a serious black outreach effort until they do feel they need the black vote. right now, in the republican party, you see a big debate over the latino vote and whether republicans can continue to win elections going forward without more of that hispanic voting block. there is no discussion regarding the black vote in gop circles. is our guest.ley we were talking about his book and the unemployment rates. thelatest statistics, unemployment rate for african-americans is 11.4%. hispanics, 7.8%. white americans, 5.3%. for asians, 4.5%. that was the rate for july 2014.

we have calls waiting for jason riley. let's go to kevin in marshall, texas. caller: yes, god bless you. of black i have a lot friends. of course, we start talking politics and all. you, if liberalism has heard one single group or than any other in this country, i do believe it is the black race. as i try to tell them how it has hurt them and held them back, it winds up being i comes to thehen it end of it. i was just wondering, and you bring up a really good point, that the republicans, they do not do any outreach. i think that is a pitiful shame because blacks really need to join all of us as americans as small government, understanding that we need to, you know, rely on ourselves more than the government.

i think that's what it takes for anyone to succeed in this country. i'm just wondering, what can i do differently, that i can try to reach people, my friends, and convince them that this just is not good for anybody? thanks for the call. i don't know. one of the points of the book is that blacks need to help themselves. i argue that a lot of the barriers to black social economic progress today are caused by black soldier -- culture, attitudes toward education. we all know the steppingstones toward the middle-class this country -- in this country. hard work, so forth. those values, and there is a black subculture out there that rejects those values out of hand. it is reflected in the music, the rap music and so forth. it is reflected in the violence in these neighborhoods. it is reflected in attitudes toward schooling.

the book is not an autobiography or a memoir. but i do include personal anecdotes in there about what it is like to grow up lack and mail in the inner-city. treatment of kids who are bookish, and nerdish, the acting white problem, getting beat up, made fun of, ridiculed for wanting to go to school, raising your hand in >>, knowing the answers, studying, this is a huge problem in the black community. people like bill cosby want to talk about it. but he gets his head handed to him when he does. even when president obama comes out and talking about growing up without a father, black liberal elites slam the president and accuse him of talking down to black people and condescending them. i think this has got to change. the black political left in particular has a certain narrative out there that they want to keep out there because it serves their interest.

that narrative is that white racism is an all-purpose explanation for what ails black america. when others want to talk about what blacks are doing or not up theroperly to move socioeconomic ladder, those black elites do not want to hear that. they want to keep the conversation focused on what whites should be doing for blacks instead of what blacks should be doing for themselves. i do not think it does the black underclass any favors. you write about your upbringing and talk about a good friend, trevor. you said, by contrast, the trevors were everywhere. i related with them, went to school with them --

book you write in the about you and trevor going separate ways in high school. what could have been done differently than -,- then, back in those years, that would have change that? anythingdon't know if could have been done differently. i lost my younger sister to drugs when she was 21 years old. overdosing. on cocaine. you know, trevor fell in with the own crowd and so did members of my own family and we lived under the same roof. and yet had widely different values and attitudes toward school and learning and what it meant to be black, frankly. contention your that liberal policies make it worse? are -- not talking about it is a problem. not wanting to discuss black culture.

when we talk about crime, the left loves to talk about the racial disparity in incarceration rates. they don't want to talk about the racial disparity in crime rates, in black behavior. they want to talk about how many black kids are getting suspended in school versus the white kids, regardless of who is doing the bullying in school. why would we expect to see parity in school discipline? do we see parity in behavioral outcomes outside of school? do we think this behavior begins after the kids leads -- to leave school? there is a disparity in the prison system, why would be expected in behavior? we do not want to talk about that. we want to keep the focus on white behavior. you have liberal organizations out there scouring the nation, looking for the next donald sterling or clive and bundy and go, look, nothing has changed. you cannot hold blacks -- lastble as long as cannot be held accountable. i fundamentally reject that.

i think we need to talk about , these kidse shooting each other in chicago. it is not because of a racist criminal justice system, which, by the way, today, is run by one black man, eric holder, who reports to another, president obama. it is not about race as police, racist rug lost. it is about lack behavior. it is about the breakdown of the black family. it is about fatherless homes and this warped sense of what it means to be a man in the ghetto. and a black person in general. and we have got to talk about these issues. that is not where the conversation typically heads. the conversation heads toward white racism and how that impacts the black community. let's get back to calls. exegesis, independent line. -- massachusetts, emily, independent line. let's try betty in birmingham, alabama. democrats line.

caller: good morning. from birmingham, alabama, where dr. king said, we kept everywhere. , i mean, come on. do not sit there and say that all black people, we have stuff going on in our neighborhoods, we have children in white neighborhoods, these kids coming up in schools killing these other kids and whatever. we have drugs everywhere. that is why eric holder and the --tice department is saying african-american men get for selling a certain amount of crack, and the white guy get away from selling tons of cocaine. come on. in theave disparity justice system. we do have racism.

i don't care how you try to hide your head and say that black people need to stop. . . .

if you sent home all the drug offenders, blacks would still be people37% of incarcerated. drug offenses are not driving the black incarceration rate in country. blacks are overrepresented among violent crimes, property crimes, crimes.llar it is black criminality broadly speaking that needs to be addressed. trying to blame this on drug loss is a copout, does it not

water. >> bill for jason riley. there? >> yes, okay. first of all, are there? host: yes. caller: sir, i reject your premise that the liberals are causing the problems. i think your book will appeal to the same people that buy the books written by anne coulter. my question for you, is there anything that we can blame the republicans for? should we give them the credit for the success of the caucasian people that have been successful in their business with the tax breaks and

things like that? thank you for this. for your answers. thank you. guest: i think you somewhat misstated the premise of the book saying liberals are the reason for all the problems. that does not value the things that other groups value in order to move up in society. and this is a -- it's not a recent trend, but you can date this trend to the great society programs. one of the arguments in the book and one of the narratives out there that doesn't get a lot of exposure is that blackses in this country largely lifted themselves out of poverty,

coming out of slavery, through reconstruction, through jim crowe. blacks were entering professions at a higher rate before 1960. blacks were increasing their years of schooling both in absolute terms and relative to whites before affirmative action and other programs designed to help them. there's a narrative out there, that is why the ranks of the black middle class increase. i argue that that is not the case. moreover, it gives blacks a

sense that but for these programs we can't get ahead in america, we can't succeed without affirmative actions or government programs and so fourth. that's just a false narrative. we were doing that and we were doing a very good job of that. now, that is not to argue that the civil rights legislation in the '60s was necessary. i'm very happy it passed. it was necessary. i think all americans can be very proud of that. but that's a separate argument from saying black people need affirmative action to get ahead in america because we were moving along very well before affirmative action was put in place. host: this is mary anne. caller: i get so tired of hearing people like this get on

tv and say black people want welfare and all this stuff. look, welfare, food stamps, were created for white women and they used it up until this time and still using it and nobody says a word until a black person need it. host: mr. riley, do you think liberal policies, more broadly, she spoke about welfare and food stamps have not been helpful. guest: there's a difference in terms of dependency on these programs. multigenerational, approximate proportion of whites versus blacks, the rate of welfare and food stamp use, there is a difference and there are racial differences in uses of these programs. my point is an open-ended welfare benefit does not help a group of people

develop a work ethic. that's an example to me of a well-intentioned policy that is there to show sympathy that in fact, in practice is doing more harm than good. caller: i wish that we could make that very important distinction. i know that words mean things. they get to use the term bastardized. racism, to be a racist you have to believe in racism and believe your group of people are superior to the other group of people. i wish we would drop the term racism and substitute it with racial bias. most people are racially biased and they're not taught this. it's

not their parents. it's what they see in life. i hear black callers every single day call in if it has anything to do with president obama and circle the wagons so to say i can't pick on my wife's family. she can pick on her family, but i can't. i agree with a lot of the points you're making but -- god bless you, you have a hard duty. the woman said that she's tired of hearing this stuff. i mean, i hardly ever hear people like you talk on radio or tv. thank you. host: well, i think that there are more people in the black community who i think have an

appreciation for what i'm saying than a lot of people realize. the media tends to run to the current black leadership to speak about blacks and they have a different agenda. jesse jackson has been out in california complaining about yahoo and twitter and facebook's hiring practices essentially trying to put in quotas for hiring. i'm sure in exchange for money. talking about what whites should be doing for blacks instead of what blacks should be doing for themselves. if jesse jackson wanted to really do good for the black community, we should go back to chicago and devote all of his time to getting these kids to

stop shooting each other. if he does that, hiring practices will take care of themselves over time. they're hiring from a pool of company that graduate from some of the most difficult schools and blacks are simply underrepresented in that pool of people and we can do something about that. we don't need jesse jackson but he does that because that benefits him. host: we have david here. caller: just to respond to the last comment. i personally wish we would drop the term race all together. i think it was an idea from 300 years ago that we're all divided in different races. we're all part of the human race in my view. in

regards to the destructive nature of leftist ideology. jason, you remember the saying of the soviet union, we pretend to work and they pretend to pay us. when the soviet union collapsed, 60 percent were alcoholics. they targeted the african american society which caused more destruction. it broke up the black family. it helps contribute to that and all the problems that have followed since. guest: if you look at black outcomes, again, prior to the great society programs in terms of black labor participation

rates, in terms of the stability of the black family, marriage rates among blacks in many years in the '40s and '50s exceeded marriage rates among whites. unemployment in this country. we've had a black unemployment rate that has been double the white rate for 50 years. that was not the case in the 1930s and '40s and '50s. and it was not because blacks were doing menial, low level jobs. they were lifting themselves out of poverty, entering the skilled professions at a faster rate prior to the 1960s. so there is something to this notion that the great society did -- the welfare state did more to break up the black family than slavery

did. because if you look at the black family through reconstruction and jim crowe, the families were still together. there's a lot of social science data out there about the outcomes associated with an absent father in the home, drugs, criminal justice system, teen pregnancy, not finishing school, on and on. there are all kinds of problems associated wit >> book tv this weekend, friday night at 8:00, with books on obamase equality, the

versus the clintons, and the ofobiography of former mayor washington, marion barry jr. woodward bob interviews john dean on the watergate scandal. marks,afternoon anthony president and c.e.o. of the new york public library, sheds light past, present's and future. book tv, television for serious readers. the u.s. african leader summit way in washington d.c. a three-day conference bringing together nearly 50 heads of governments. the summit began with a world bank for you on trade and africa thatn included comments from secretary of state john kerry and u.s. trade representative michael froman. this is 45 minutes.

>> good morning, everybody. esteemed delegates, my name is mike frohman. i serve as the u.s. trade representative kirk year it on behalf of president obama asked trade representative. >> on behalf of president obama i am pleased to welcome you to 13thngton d.c. and to this annual agoa forum. this takes place on the eve of the first ever u.s.-africa leader summit, the them of which is investing in the next generation. and this takes place just over a expiration ofe the legislation authorizing this meeting provides particularly unique and timely discussing aa, agoa, and a like to open this ministerial by thanking

colleaguesim and his here at the world bank for hosting us ed to. president kim to dedicated his life international development and to improving the lives of underserved populations worldwide. we're very fortunate to have him here at the world bank. the world bank has been a key our effort to spur andomic growth in africa throughout the world. so president kim, thank you for you hospitality, we look forward working with you and your colleagues here at the world bank as we strengthen our with our agoas partners. let me turn it over to you. much, mike, very and thank you very much everybody. i'm veryd gentlemen, happy to be here today with you to launch these important discussions on the united states african growth and opportunity act. i'll just make two points before turning to our key tote speakers today. the first is to remind ourselves african countries have enormous potential to expand trade in order to drive growth,

reduce poverty and deliver jobs. countries must now find the to takeproaches advantage of opportunities to greatly expand trade within africa and throughout the world. one opportunity for instance is manufacturing sector, which could help african countries in terms of exportialization, diversification and job creation. recent analysis from our group suggests that if this sector grows in africa at the same ited it did in east asia, could create 7 million new jobs continent. exporting opportunities in essential tos also reducing poverty in many countries. such aseference schemes agoa, now in its 15th year, have played an important role in helping africa realize this opportunity. agoa helps african countries their exports and move away from dependence on minerals and commodities to reach more

diversified and inclusive sources of export growth. played a key role in employment in the apparel sectors, attracting foreign investment and general it t efforting new jobs in the private sector. in madagascar, for instance, thanks to agoa, and a set of targeted policies, apparel now accounts for a larger share of than any other industry. my second point is that in order realizecan countries to their export potential and full full advantage of agoa, they address several constraints. one is an infrastructure challenge. of infrastructure in sub-saharan africa, including water, road, cuts countries' economic growth by points every year and reduces productivity by as as 40%. a second restraint is a lack of capacity of local firms and workers. are few industry specific

training institutions dedicated industry, and the ones that do exist often don't meet thekills skills skills tht needs of the employers. lastly policy reforms are needed development of the --tive firms across we believe it will be critical to reduce barriers to regional goods, services and investment. following trips with the u. last year,y general for instance, we're building regional economic integration efforts in both the great lakes and the, another region of after california it will give african firms the ability to ex-ploy markets, gain knowledge and experience, a chief economies of scale and increase ther competitiveness in u.s. and in global markets. a range of nontariff and raisetory barriers still the transaction cost and limit the movement of goods, services, acrossand capital

borders. the end result is that africa is integrated with the rest of the world, faster than within its borders. the costs of the regional trade barriers fall disproportionately poor. building better regional linkages means more than removing tariffs. addressing real world thetraints that parcellize daily operation of tracer. we hope that agoa will continue beyond 2015. we also hope agoa strengthens so that africa's doors to trade with the world open more widely. here todaye of you to focus your discussions on a few key proposals, including increasing product coverage, relaxing rules of origin for products, and recognizing the special needs of fragile states. issues willthese help us not only ensure that agoa's solid track record

it helps but that african economies expand their exports even more. engaging anded to helping african firms use agoa and other trade programs to repel export in the united states and across the world. it's now my great pleasure and honor to welcome secretary kerry, who was my senator for years when i lived in massachusetts, who for more than a quarter century dating back at been calling has on the united states leadership and world leaders to promote trade,tional specifically for africa. it's a great honor to have you here, secretary kerry, and we to your remarks. >> well, president kim, thank your welcome.for you here and iof appreciate the substance of your comments, and also appreciate generous comments regarding my privilege of being your senator. this is a very exciting week for in washington and we are

really thrilled to welcome here.ody this particular discussion and many others that are going to need to begand i your indulgence at the beginning of my comments. so to to speak and run, speak, because i have a series. we have so many presidents in the next three marathon i am giving a of meetings this morning. # i thank jim kim for his leadership at the bank. and for hosting us here today. know that one to of the things i admire most about dr. kim is that wherever life, been in his whatever leadership role he has served in, this is a man who has the willing to challenge status quote. and that was true when he found innovative ways to deliver partners inin the

health. it was true when he applied ways toto finding new provide care for hi and aids at organization,th and when i was in the senate i did some work with him on that. was true he balanced the budget and led dartmouth college through its critical period of transition. so we welcome his leadership here. ist many of you may not know that when he was in high school he was a quarterback. those of you who know justcan football have to imagine what it was like for this young guy about 10 years heer he arrived in america, was facing down big midwestern linebackers. and there was no better preparation for today's world that.fe than a few decades later, he was working revolutionizing really how h.i.v. and aids was going to be dealt with.

in the senate and we were working to try to find a stronger trade links with africa. saharalarly with sub africa. for several years with the help of somebody you all know well, i think, jim mcdermott, a former foreign service officer and time, of congress at the we discussed creative ideas about how to break down the to trade while at the same time lifting up the governments and for transparency. and the result of those early was in fact the africa act thatd opportunity president clinton signed into law in the last months of his presidency. now, as michael is the andththis meeting annually, but for 14 agoa has been one of the primary tools to push forward greater trade and investment in

africa. and guess what, it is working. we've seen imports from agoa by 300%.s grow whether it's cocoa and cashews or textiles or petrochemical products from agoa has served as catalyst for greater trade and prosperity. promote helped to greater protections for the african work force. and, yes, we do have some of our own interests on the line here, too. it up front. has made it, agoa possible for ford motor company fromport engines duty-free south africa where ford is invested over $300 million so supply engines worldwide. and the efficiencies of that allowed ford to create 800 new jobs at their of thecity plant as part global production line. this is how it works. africa iss what

witnessing now. with i think something like 10 of the 15 fastest growing countries in the world in africa. in the white house, president obama's number one creatinghas been strong, middle class jobs here at home. but the president has always understood that the best way to do that is to strengthen our ties andonal economic foster broad growth globally. here understands how interconnected we all are. increasinglyns are all of them walking around in some countries more than others devices, everybody is connected to everybody every day.t of the and that is changing the way people think. sense ofging their possibilities. it's changing aspirations and realities of politics on the ground. as president obama has said, a new center of global

growth. banking assets have more than doubled. the telecommunications market since 2004 alone. and we know that africa will work force than india or china by 2040. get aheadme simply to of the curve, to invest in for then, above all vast numbers of young people and the increasing numbers of people today'suse of interconnectedness are demanding their part of the future. much of what has been happening in places where we've tremendous upheaval in beent days, whether it's elsewhere.r syria or it's young people who month size senselly because of their of devier, frustration, of the possibilities in the future. a more time to build

open exchange of ideas. and information. of the reason president obama thought of doing the summit he's having this week here in washington. it's to lead to greater partnership, to build our capacity for innovation. agoa is one of the best tools, most vital tools for forward the dramatic transformation that we're seeing today in parts of africa. this is clearly a moment of africans.y for all it's also, i say to you frankly, of decision, because it's the decisions that are made the decisions that are deferred that will ultimately minesine whether africa the continent's greatest natural resource of all, and that is not not gold, it's not oil, it's the talent, the aspirations of its people. the entire obama administration

to unleash the potential both for the benefit of the and to createca, greater prosperity for the world. is committed to that transformation and with a seemless renull of agoa, the question is will we continue to create shared prosperity. beth future for both the people of the united states and the people of africa, and also benefit as a who consequence. that is really the bottom line of what we are working to achieve today. and what we will work towards in year's agoa of next gabone, is to achieve this goal. i say unabashedly, we want to getwill work hard more american companies to invest in africa. also want more african companies to invest here in the united states, there's no reason

they shouldn't. the fact is today africa is increasingly a destination for investment. and tourism. and african institutions are leading efforts to solve african problems. of this underscores the asmatic transformation possible. cooperation can actually triumph over conflict. so we know that our cooperation essential in's order to promote economic growth that is shared by all africans. say to you, fighting corruption is a definitive process.part of that to do so will take courage. and yes, it sometimes means risks.g but fighting corruption lifts macintosh a country's balance

sheet. transparency and accountability greater investment. works betterways with transparency, with the accountability. that is an environment where innovators and entrepreneurs can flourish, and i guarantee you it is an environment where capital to movedecision to its sense of security and its sense of risk. so ladies and gentlemen, africa the marketplace of the future. africa has the resources. has the capacity. africa has the know-how. questions africa faces are similar to those confronting world.es all over the

is there the political will, the purpose, tomon address challenges. prepared together to make the hard choices that those --uire is aotion that africa natural partner of the united states and vice verdict a. that the united states can be a vital capitalist in africa's continued transformation. it's exciting. the possibilities are endless. forward to working with you to fulfill the full measure of possibilities. i'd like to reintroduce the person who opened this,

anotherneed inintroduction. within the treasury department, at the national security council, at citibank >> thank you mr. secretary and thank you for joining us this morning. we are very fortunate to have secretary kerry and the state department as full partners in this overall effort. he has been a tremendous advocate for trade investment with africa and economic policy more generally. welcome, morning,

and as i learned in africa let me say all protocol observed. for the past 14 years we and our predecessors have gathered representing more than 1.1 billion people traveling thousands of miles bearing as many as 41 flags and speaking 21 official languages all for one reason. the promise of trade. agoa is a powerful reminder of that promise. it has been the promise of trade policy and it has been a success. from the first full year to the last, u.s. imports have grown threefold to more than $26 billion a year. nonoil imports have increased fourfold as has the stock of u.s. foreign direct investment. it has contributed to the diversifyication and competitives in of subis a harne economies and supported

across the continent and what these broad strokes cannot capture is the opportunities for families communities and individuals. the united states has benefited from agoa as well not just the stability that comes from increased global prosperity but also from the market opportunities that accompany africa's rise. subsidies have increased fourfold. and last year those exports helped support nearly 120,000 american jobs and as africa continues to grow our economic futures will become even more intertwined. indeed, africa's trajectory means that the theme of this week's historic summit investing in the jesked generation applies as much to the united states as it does to africa. r shared future will be made prither. seemless renewal will send an

important signal to those already making decisions about next year and in some cases many years in the future. the sooner we renew our commitment the more likely they will do the same. improving agoa is critical because despite the concrete benefits, it is clear that more can and must be done. although nonoil exports have increased by fourfold last year's total of $5 billion remains small both in absolute terms and as a share of u.s. imports. and while we are seeing countries starting to branch out and use agoa for more products there is much room to grow. improving wrires adapting to the change that is have occurred since the year 2000 applying the lessons we have learned and anticipating where current trades will take us. it is clear that the africa of

2014 is not the africa of 2000. many of you are moving away from unilateral preferences and entering into agreements with trading partners which provide for reciprocal access. going forward we cannot think of agoa in isolation. that is why for the past year we have conducted a review that asked not only how agoa was working but also how it fits into the broader ark of our trade and development policy. ur efforts relied on the input of the government private sector and civil society. among our findings one observation is clearer than the rest. to unlock ago amp's true potential we need to do more than focus on tariff preferences. in our view, ago -- agoa must be linked slowly. we are looking for a compact supported by the industries and backed by international artners.

today's next ordinary opportunity to begin filling in the details and begin towards trade, growth, and a moment. consider the challenges that many countries face and -- at borders and ports. corruption and gas and infrastructure can make the time associated with shipping twice that of coming out of asia or latin america. and that impinges upon the competitiveness of african progress -- products and development. there is an opportunity to multiply the benefits of agoa through the wto. the historic trade facilitation t agreement,fa, allows standards for laminating red tape at the border. fa includes pathbreaking

bilities and deals with unique circumstances. and it allows for resources in support of those efforts, including recently announced tsa facilities at the wto. i applaud those who are among the 40 or so developing countries leading the way in implementing the tfa by announcing their so-called category a notifications. they are sending a powerful message. unfortunately commit a small number of the pto -- wto members have placed this in jeopardy. i am working to make sure this effort does not go to waste and that the potential of this new agreement are not

squandered. we also need to address problems with infrastructure, hard and soft, from the roads that nbcc builds to the development of airports and outraged -- and our trade and legislative support to double access to affordable, reliable electricity. we are focused on the deficit in hard infrastructure. and as usaid and the state department support trade facilitating and eliminating roadblocks both figuratively and literally, we are helping to improve africa's strop -- soft infrastructure. we recognize the need for capacity building, including the strengthening of laboratories, training of inspectors, said african farmers and manufacturers can better meet the agricultural and technical standards necessary to export their products to global markets. and as the secretary said,

there is also a need to build human capacity. africa is on the path to become the largest contributor to the world workforce by 2015 -- by 2058 and that requires equipping the next iteration of african exporters with the skills they need to succeed. i was honored to participate in a panel on entrepreneurship at the young african leaders initiative here last week in washington. and i'm delighted that some of the incredibly talented participants will be here with us today. the african women's entrepreneurship program andyali are two examples of not just taking resources out of africa, but investing in capital in africa. and there is an incriminating -- an increased demand for agoa products, including working with regional actors and value chain. this is a whole government effort on our side and i know it can be really learning -- be

bewildering and time to work with all of our different agencies. we will be working to create one-stop shop investment platforms that will work to bring advice, partnerships, and financing to agoa a artners. we have it in a fight for areas in which the score might be strengthened, so the beneficiary countries can better utilize and diversify their exports. as all of you know, it falls to congress to decide what changes ultimately will be made, but we believe in our review and your efforts to examine these questions can greatly inform ongress. first, agoa will be strengthened by its reauthorization timeframe that is sufficiently long to ensure project ability for producers, consumers, and investors. second, there may be rally -- a value in revisiting the list of

covered products under the program to see if we can add any new products. in 2006 for example, agoa was expanded to include 700 additional areas, mostly in textiles, which brought new markets in africa. the existing range of products eligible for duty-free treatment under agoa is already more extensive than any other u.s. preference program. almost all agoa beneficiaries have duty-free benefits and there are only 316 duty evil terrorists --dutiable tariffs. i will be consulting closely with domestic stakeholders in the coming months. third, there may be ways to streamline agoa's requirements to make the more flexible.

these requirements are already very generous, including the broad third country fabric exception for apparel, but some limitations are main. removing limitations like those on a chelation of labor costs, or the percentage of u.s. content, could provide beneficiary countries greater flexibility and help integrate them into regional and u.s. supply chains. finally, it is important to update of goa -- agoa's processes. we believe the criteria can be strengthened to better promote open trade and broad-based economic growth, for example, by resolving barriers to trade and promoting fundamental worker rights. the review process can also be updated to allow for more effective enforcement, for example, by allowing partial and more timely withdrawal, rather than all or nothing withdrawal because it will affect the year following

decision. even as we discussed these changes, we must also use today's meeting to renew discussion about the future of u.s.-africa trade and investment relations. as africa's relationships with other trading partners evolve and other programs take into account of emerging economies, we need to assess the impact of our relations on africa and churn out a path for future development. today, we launched the official campaign for agoa's renewal. it enjoys 58 -- rod-based and bicameral -- it enjoys broad-based and bicameral support. we will work with all of you to impact the promise of agoa for africa and the united tates. let me turn to my friend, the honorable deputy chairperson of the african union. both in that position and the secretary general, he has been a long-standing supporter of

agoa and has testified before congress many times and shared his ideas about how it can be approved also i look forward to hearing his opening remarks on behalf of the african union and beneficiary countries. thank you. >> thank you very much. ambassador michelson and well-done, president kim. the president, the african bank, the ministers, excellencies in the region and economic communities, ladies and gentlemen, first, we pay tribute to the united states government for organizing this taking place one year before it is expired, and also for

coinciding and investing with the next generation. this prevents the next month opportunity to extend and him hunts -- and enhance the partnership as mentioned by the ambassador. since its inception by congress and engagement by the administration and broad-based employment across africa, since 2000, it has been my wish to be an advocate for agoa. hence, like many in this room, i am aware of the potential for -- as a catalyst for africa and u.s. engagement. e hope to build investment and

trade between the u.s. and frica. as we seek to strengthen our partnership, let's reflect upon that each experience in the ast 14 years is building toward the future. this should be done within the context of africa that is aspiring to be tasteful, integrated, and prosperous, and based on inclusive growth. africa that will continue to be young and growing, and over the next the case, a continent that inspires good governance and respect for human rights, justice and human -- and rule of law. in order to a compass this, it

must invest in children, young people, and in their health, education, skills, and technology to produce productive citizens and to give them a voice and participation in society. it is for this reason that africa is pursuing a skilled separation to train thousands n these endeavors. any post 2015 u.s. africa ooperation must draw lessons from past remarks and build a new arrangement taking into account the current global economic environment. for example, unlike during the time when the first agoa ago it was -- the first agoa was enacted, imagine a plan for rade and agenda.

these are just examples. the milestones will be achievements in economic sectors such as infrastructure, industrialization, science and technology, food and nutrition, security, and so on. it is in this context that agoa should be viewed. what have we learned from the implementation of the agoa since 2000? previous speakers have talked about what agoa has done as far as its impact on u.s. trade or

in directing investment and job creation. it has grown from a .2 million in 2001 to 26 million in 2013. during this same time, the performance of the sector improved and so did foreign direct mint -- foreign direct investment. u.s. foreign direct investment increased from $9 billion in 2001 to $25 billion in 012. and over 500 jobs in africa and in the u.s.. and countless lives have been touched and changed. we also recognize that we could have done more. that is why it is important to share this experience on the

positive aspects of confronting he challenges. we appreciate what you, ambassador from an f --roman, have just said, and the commitment to look at supply-side constraints, it -- such as the need for capacity building. we agree on the need to address specific trade provisions, such as eligibility and support for regional integration. indeed, particularly in the case of ldc's, there is limited additional coverage over and above the general. market access for a number of products, such as tuna, sugar,

obacco high tariffs are outside the limited tariff quotas. it is also evident that the preference is not enough for africa to penetrate the global nd supply-side system. and the -- low productivity of labor. addressing these issues requires, among others, increasing investment into frica.

addressing these challenges will enable africa and the u.s. to have a partnership with significant benefits for africa and the u.s. the eu and its member states continue to call for investment, with emphasis placed on a reliable that will complement the efforts of african countries and bring transformational change in their economies. support of integration efforts, especially on critical infrastructure will enable the speed of integration on the continent.

plus the value of additional african exports, and provide adherence to the jointly agreed actions. the global trading system is undergoing significant change. the advent of trade agreements within the context of an onyx -- uncertain development agenda will affect the ability to nhance its share of global trade. it is therefore within the context of our partnership good to find ways to exchange notes on these important issues. in conclusion, the litmus test of the partnership would be in its ability to improve quality of life, including the safety

d ty of the people of the united states, africa, and the rest of the world. external risks and shocks we face, such as climate change, conflict, and other conditions, can be better managed through a dynamic partnership of equals bills on a common heritage, values, and aspirations. finally, let me quote an african proverb that says, "if you want to go fast, run along. if you want to go far, go ogether. we are building a partnership or future generations, which is what agoa is about. i thank you for your attention. national cable satellite corp. 2014]

national captioning institute]

>> we're going to get started here. i represent the answer coalition. i'm going to be one of the cochairs here today and there will be several of us going back and forth introducing speakers. i want to introduce my cochair

who came all the way from new york to be a part of this. >> free palestine. >> i'm so happy to be here with you all today to introduce our next speaker. our next speaker is the executive director of mass comb grant justice center.

>> six years ago i asked president obama directly what do you intend to do about the palestinians? he said do whatever i can to ensure peace but to this day the israelis and the palestinians live in different world tover same land. through the eyes of the palestinian he sees the world is one of steady progress, he says death and occupation unless he is blind. let us look for a moment at the occupation. the chances are that the children of west bank and gaza were born without a father or loss of a brother or even buried a mother. every day the years pass and he becomes aware of what has been taken from him. through the television, the young palestinian sees the multiplying wonders of israeli life more land more homes more

education that he cannot have any of it. then he is told that he lives in a democracy. what can that mean to him? he cannot experience the freedom of others nor should we expect him to feel grateful because he is allowed to build settlements in order to feed his family. and thus the palestinian seems helpless to change his condition and to make a better life for his children. he is denied the most fundamental of human needs, the need for an identity, for recognition as a citizen as a man there in gaza violence is born and bread and n tel aviv the palestinian with barely anything to define himself and yet he continues to fight. several ask why does he continue to fight? because the palestinian is not fighting because he is poor or because he is hungry or because he has hope for his children. he is fighting to assert his worth and digget as a human