praise. the majority of white people in this country do not like martin luther king. but now he was this and that and they want to praise him. there is a gentleman that called. he said blacks didn't have a liquor store. he suited up in 1967. this country is like it is and blacks and whites alike we are is because of gentlemen like that in this world. we are all -- comments and everything and jump off a mountain. thank you for taking my call. host: two more tweets.

host: jody writes -- that's all the time we have for this segment of "washington journal" this morning. up next we are joined by dr. ben carson. and later we will discuss a department of justice grant program. we will be right back. ♪ >> tonight, we begin a series looking at the developments in the technology industry for

2015. we met up with our three guests in las vegas. gary shapiro president and ceo of ford motor company, and the fcc commissioner michael o'rielly. >> solving problems of the world. if you look at the show, we talk about transportation problems. a lot of driver=less cars. a lot of ways of building connectings. health care. they tell you about yourself and getting information, use the cloud, and safety. safety of everything. when you take a lot of problems for the last several years the

goal is to be reducing them. >> a great opportunity to highlight our innovation. next generation connectivity systems. we are talking about the semi autonomous vehicles on the road today. we are developing them for the future. innovation is important. this show encompasses that. >> a great challenge to gather information. i enjoy. this is an opportunity to learn what is happening in the marketplace. i am looking at new televisions. i think about headphones and what it does for -- satellite products and video products. the impact on so many different items.

i get to learn a number of different products that may come to market that might involve some futures and it is an opportunityt o to learn. >> tonight on "the communicators" on c-span 2. host: we are joined with retired nurse surgeon, author dr. ben carson. you wrote if dr. king could see america today, he would be disappointed in what he sees in the black community. guest: what he was advocating for was not people being sustained, but for people to be empowered. what we have seen is the opposite. look at trajectory of the black community in america from the time of emancipation, it was

almost straight up, until the mid to late 1960's. since that time it has been going down. you have to ask yourself, what happened? a lot of people who consider themselves great and wonderful do-gooders started patting people on the heads and said, "i will take care all of your needs." it has created a cycle of dependency. i do not think that is what dr. king wanted. he wanted a situation where people had a fair chance to given their god-given talents and to be contributors rather than need to be taken care of. host: let me ask you this question. who best embodies mlk's legacy today? guest: there are people across

the nation in every home. they don't have to be famous people. look at the people who have turned their attention to the opportunities and to the talents they have and have worked with those things to create opportunities for themselves and their families as opposed to those who say, i am going to concerts raise -- concentrate on the injustice. there was injustice yesterday today, and tomorrow. you can spend all your time concentrating on that are concentrate on something else. my mother used to say if you walked into an auditorium with racist people, you don't have a problem, they'll have a problem. you can sit anywhere you want. that is the way i have lived my life. if they have these problems, let

them stew in it. i have important things to do. that's what i think dr. king would be saying. there are $1 trillion worth of assets. learn to turn your dollar over in your own community two or three times before you send it out. that's how you create wealth. just about everybody. we need to learn how to do those things. host: you say you have important things to do. does that include running for the presidency? guest: that is something i am considering. sometimes you find yourself in a situation. i thought all the clamoring would d ieie down. sometimes you have to do things that you are obligated to do rather than what you want to do.

when i retired, i bought a nice home in florida on a golf course. i was going to relax. somehow that doesn't seem to be in the cards. host: he made in a parents this weekend in south carolina. "our founders wanted to make sure there was not a political class in this country. that hasn't worked so well for us." who did you mean? guest: i mean no particular individual. the way our system was put together, it was put together with the people in mind, the common people. anybody was supposed to be able to be a representative, not just a select group of people. that is what i was referring to. host: we are talking with dr.

ben carson. if you have questions or comments, the phone lines are open. we will start on a line for republicans. keith calling in from tennessee. caller: thank you. i would like to say you are one of the most brilliant men that has ever been seen on tv. you have the right attitude. you know what dr. king would have wanted, to do the best they can do in their own environment and take care of the resources that are there for them, not to go out and destroy them and crying wolf every time somebody says something they do not like. stand up for yourself, get an

education and use the talents god give us all. everyone was given talents to develop and share, not to go out and cry, i do not have. the thankful for what i do have. enjoy ensure with others. guest: absolutely. we the american people need to understand something that is very important. we are not each other's enemies. enemies are the people who are trying to divide us. race, income, age on religion, on just about anything you can imagine. that is not why we're called the united states of america. we have to rise above the division and look at the good things that exist. host: tonight on this martin

luther king, jr day you will be holding an event with the attorney for'michael browns family on how to move forward with race relations. guest: it is so important that we begin to discuss things rather than get into corners and shoot hand grenades at each other. one of the things which is incredibly important in terms of relationships with police is to get to know each other. i was talking to ed mullins last week. he is working with leaders and are trying to put together a league throughout the neighborhoods, an athletic league, and they can't compete

against each other involved in each of the teams. it is an interesting thing. when you get to know people, the horns disappear and the fangs go away. sometimes you don't think about what color they are. host: efforts with the head of the justice department grant program that focuses on policing. that is next with ronald davis. let's go to michael in detroit michigan. good morning. caller: good morning. this is what i would like to say. to be a black man and to say what you just said, that doesn't make no sense to me. the party you represent represents the kkk. thank you. guest: i wonder if this gentleman knows that the republican party was formed as

an abolition party. the republican party fought for the rights of freedom to have guns, so when the kkk came in and tried to destroy them they would at least have the opportunity to protect them. it was the republican party that fought the civil rights legislation and for the voting rights legislation. the republican party was the party of abraham lincoln of martin luther king sr. of george washington carver, of frederick douglass, of booker t. washington, and i could go on. what is important? here is the important thing. no democrats -- not democrats not republicans.

how do we reach a point where we don't have to be depended on anybody else, where we use the talents god has given us, developed those. don't allow ourselves to be manipulated by those who want to create division, because that's how they keep you under control. host: we're talking with dr. ben carson, the cover -- t h story of the cover story ofe "the weekly standard." how do like that title? guest: my whole life has been composed of long shots. people saying what could be done and what hasn't been done. using the talent god has given you, faith and hard work, i do not believe those things. host: jerr is up nexty == jerry

is up next. caller: it has been refreshing to hear dr. carson's comments. that's long as people worship obama and al sharpton as idols instead of jesus christ, and with the purpose was, everybody was created equal, we need to take a good strong look at dr. carson because he is not afraid to stand up to the truth. i really appreciate his comments. guest: courage is something that is severely lacking in our society. a lot of people believe the same things i believe, but they are afraid to say it because somebody will ostracize them or call them a name. this is the land of the free,

supposedly. supposedly, the home of the brave. i would just say to people, be willing to stand up for what you believe in. i remember in high school in detroit, there were a lot of people who believed in hard work and personal responsibility. but they would not say it because somebody would call them a name. that doesn't work for me. host: let's go to michelle, arming him alabama, republican line. caller: good morning. dr. carson, i went to apologize for the democrat. i don't know how you can be so stupid not to know the democrats are the ones who started the kkk . but that is not the reason i'm calling. to compare and contrast you with president obama, the huge difference, the biggest difference between you is content of character. it doesn't matter what anyone says to you, you do what you

believe is right and you will go so far, maybe even the presidency. i am kind of crossing my fingers. guest: thank you. caller: and you have my vote. guest: i appreciate that. it is the content of character. that is what he preached. so many people are superficial and the way they look at things. i was asked by an npr reporter, dr., white of you talk about race very often? i said, because i'm a neurosurgeon. he thought that was a strange answer. i said, when i cut somebody's head open, i am actually working on the thing that makes them who they are. skin doesn't make them who they are, it is their brain. as some people are so superficial, they can only see the skin. host: we asked our viewers to write into our facebook page with questions for you for your appearance today. guest: no, i don't think they

represent what he was about, but i am happy that people are speaking out. as long as they do it in a legal and peaceful way, that would be representative. but what i hope that people don't allow themselves to be manipulated because if we are going to be taken seriously in the black community, we must be objective. if there is somebody who is engaged in a lot of criminal activity, a lot of violence, and something happens -- you know to come out of say, well, this guy was really a wonderful heroic figure, it blunts any arguments we have down the road when something really does happen. so it is basically crying wolf.

if we just say anybody who is black, no matter what they have done, no matter what their history is, if something happens to them, we're going to get outraged, that really delegitimize his us. yes, those lives are important that we need to be thinking about things that we couldn't do to prevent the situation from occurring in the first place. we need to be teaching of people values and how to react to authority and personal responsibility. we need to be teaching the young ladies that they are valuable, not to be allowing somebody to impregnate them and end their education and send their children into a spiral of poverty and that this go on generation after generation. until we can begin to deal with those things, we're not when a make any progress. host: one other question from facebook --

guest: that is a complete and total fabrication and myth that is a perpetrated to try to get people to hate me. that is absolutely incorrect. i don't want to do away with things that are necessary and a safety net. what i want to do is create opportunities for people to escape the situation. you don't have to be dependent on those things. my mother worked two or three jobs at a time because she didn't want to be on welfare. she occasionally had two of -- had to accept assistance. she did not want us to be on it, either. but it was there when it was needed. i have no problem with that. in fact, i am glad that we have

that kind of system. i want to see it expanded, but expanded a business, industry wall street, churches, the private sector. i want them to get even more involved. i have been in gauged with some programs around the country where people would adopt, for instance, young boys out of the inner city of single-parent homes who are moving in the wrong direction. and bring them to affairs, get to know them, help them out financially. honest everything the one of them graduates high school and goes on to college. that is what happens when we have personal relationships. it very seldom happens when you're just getting government handouts. i am looking for ways to bring people to the point were they are willing to invest in each other. and the reward for that investment is moving somebody

from dependency to independents. that is what america should be about. host: we're talking with dr. ben carson from john hopkins school of medicine. he directed pediatric surgery there for 29 years at john hopkins children's center, author of half books. let's go to georgia, democrat line. caller: dr. carson, good morning. i am also from detroit. i remember back in the 1960's, i think i was about 13, when it were passing the civil rights law, hearing people say, buy them a ticket and send them back to africa. today, this country is full of people buying guns are just killing young black kids. have you been back to detroit recently? guest: yes, have. caller: have you supported and try to build up detroit like they're trying to do?

what you really need to do doctor, by that home in florida on the golf course. thank you. guest: i don't see any threat there. i don't know what he is talking about. host: mark, pennsylvania, republican line. caller: yes, dr. carson, i saw you on fox and i often tell people that you should have been the first black president. you are very intelligent. your analytic. you wait things out and think before you speak. you know a lot. you embody what them ok -- what mlk wanted for the black community. i am a little nervous, but if you run for president, i will spread the word for people to vote for you. guest: thank you, i appreciate

that. i find it amusing sometimes when people say they're probably won't be another black president in our lifetime because of all of the things that have happened under the first one. but my answer to that is, isn't he half white? does that mean we aren't going to have another what president either? host: a column in the new york times, looking at campaign noting cash is piling up for ben carson with a two-party tilt noting people want him to run for president have already donated some $12 million to the cause. your thought on the amount of support out there? guest: there is plenty of support and plenty of money. i hear people saying, jeb bush is getting in, mitt romney is getting in. you better announce right away so you can get some of the money.

i don't play those kinds of games. i just think it is silly. you do what is right and you do what makes sense and the timing ticket service self. host: sandra, republican line. caller: good morning. dr. carson, it is an honor to talk to. i just wanted to take i'm so thankful you are running -- i mean, i hope you are, and i hope the big republicans, wherever they are, china put in mr. bush and mr. christie and the other one, i can't even think of his name, that they will stop and think about the smaller people want, and you would be an honor to vote for. you are very honest and brilliant. thank you very much. guest: i appreciate that. if i do run i think a lot of people will become clear to people when we get to the debates and they get to actually hear real solution and real logic.

i don't really care how many people are running, because i believe if we have an open-type primary, people will see what is going on. host: can you give sandra a sense of when she might a decision from you? guest: i will have made a decision by may 1. host: nancy, san antonio, texas independent line. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i think the man sitting next to you [indiscernible] i think it is so sad that for so long [indiscernible] not in the spirit of people. until the black people can see the people like dr. carson are really the ones who have their back [indiscernible]

host: i don't know if you were able to hear. guest: i got the just. if you look at the history of black america, you go back to the time of slavery and in some states, there were actually more slaves than there were slave owners. they were very concerned about the power of the blacks and the ability to perhaps even to overthrow them. so they began to tell the slaves that worked in the house of they were the ones that worked better in the yard and the ones in the are that they were better than the ones in the field. they were always creating rumors to make sure that they never amalgamated their power. after slavery ended, they were saying, the light skin is better than the dark skin. on and on it goes. and today it is, well they

don't believe this than they are against you and their hateful. because the last thing the people who want to control you want is for you to be able to amalgamate your resources, your intellect, your people, and to be able to become independent thinkers. they don't want that. think about it. host: we have about 15 minutes left with dr. carson. we will get to as many of your calls as we can. springfield garden, new york, independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. dr. carson, you seem confused to me politically on the national stage. as a certified brain surgeon you're constantly boasting about your cheap rent -- achievement as to how you have risen from the slum to a mansion in florida. that is great for you. however, you seem to purposefully negate the fact

racism exists and that not all will have equal opportunity based on how they look. your refusal to address the real issue, what is your agenda as -- on the national stage? what is it you're trying to do? it seems to me that there are a few people on fox news who are promoting you as the savior of as another black person who thinks differently than the average black person. don't you think that is racism? guest: first of all, i don't think i ever said there was no racism. in fact, what i said is there have been problems yesterday today, and tomorrow, and it will be as long as people are involved. i think we need to focus on the right kinds of things. a lot of our young black men get

into trouble. we have more involved in the penal system than we do in college and graduate school. these are not good things. homicide being the number one cause of mortality for young black males in big cities. we need to be thinking about a different way of approaching things. maybe if we taught those young black men that they have a very rich and strong history in this country, you can give him a history lesson he'll never forget. walked on the street, before you do so, look at your shoes. a black man revolutionized the shoe industry. you step out of that cream street, a black man, charles book brooks created the street

super. a young man black man invented the refrigerated truck. the traffic signal. in the gas mask the save lives after the war. a black woman invented the underwater canyon and made a possible to launch from submarines. you can use the opportunity to talk about a black woman who invented cosmetic products for women of dark complexion and the first woman of any nationality in america to become a millionaire. walked past a hospital and talk about the contributions to blood bank and understand the function of blood plasma. the first successful open heart surgeon in the world had mortality rate of less than 1.5%. thomas edison wasn't black, but his right-hand man was, came up

with the filament that maybe lightbulb work for more than two or three days. invented the electric lamp. diagrammed the telephone for alexander graham bell. walked past the railroad tracks, automatic railroad spurred on the industrial revolution. the automatic lubrication system for locomotives. yet so many inventions, somewhat say, is that a mccoy? is that the real mccoy? that is where the term comes from. we need to make sure our young people understand this. they need to understand they have a heritage here of invention, innovation and hard work. let's bring the right focus to them and stop all the animosity. host: talking about firsts. dr. benjamin carson performed the first separation of siamese twins joined at the back of the head in 1987.

james, florida, democrat line. good morning. caller: good morning, dr. carson. i am getting back to the point where you brought up the fact, i think you said lincoln and martin luther king and others for republicans back in the day which is true. my family was republicans, and i am mississippi, but they changed as the years went by. you know that republicans now it is not -- you seem like republicans -- they are not out to help people. the way you're sitting there talking, it is like people want a handout. people don't want a handout. black people don't want to handout. i'm quite sure it is the white people that are also being helped. i'm just surprised that you're sitting there saying things like that. i'm in, i don't understand that.

you need to get your publicity or whatever here on c-span this morning, and i understand you have to say the right things so you can at least have a chance at election, but i think if you're going to be honest, you should be honest all the way. i noticed that everybody is calling and talking about president obama. president obama has been in office for six years and he is trying his best to do what is right to help people, and he has been blocked. i can't understand why you think the same thing is not going to happen to you. host: dr. carson? guest: i will simply say, she obviously hasn't heard a word i said. go back and replay the tape and listen to what i said. you'll see it is just the opposite of what you have heard. host: on our twitter page -- guest: well, i think we have

some excellent laws already on the books to do with immigration policy. we need to enforce them. we are a land of immigrants. we have a mechanism whereby people can become legal citizens of the united states. i shortly support that. when it comes to illegal immigration, i think it is dangerous and we need to stop it. and the way you stop it is you turn off the spigot. the things that are drawing people in here, turn. and you secure the borders. as far as the people who are going to say a large part of our economy is raised on workers who perhaps are here illegally, i understand and i agree, and i don't think they should be working in the shadows. i think we probably should look to the north of us that has a

very good guestworker program. they come in pay taxes, are registered. i think that could work in a situation. if they want to become american citizens, they can get online just like anybody else. host: charles, republican line. you're on with dr. carson. caller: it is a pleasure to speak with you. i had a couple of points. one, when over seven out of 10 african-american babies are born to single parent households in america and it is growing every day, how in the world can we turn it around? it has gotten worse under president obama. it seems in the national media whenever a black man becomes very prominent and successful, he wants to marry a white woman. it looks like there is an all-out assault on black women in this country. why do young black men why --

is it unpopular to marry a young black woman? it just looks like there's an assault on black women in this country. guest: well, i know a lot of very successful black men who are married to black women including myself. i'm not sure that is true. you see a lot in hollywood and athletics, but i don't see it as much in the real world. it really doesn't matter. people are people. people tend to associate with people that they are around. relationships developed with people who they are around. so that, i don't see, as a relevant issue, to be quite honest with you. the first part of the question i don't remember. host: kevin has a question in palm springs california am independent line. caller: as a fan of brian lamb, i want to ask a brian lamb-style question. dr. carson we never hear about your personal life, your family

your kids and all of that. the obama's are proud and have always been out front with their family. you must commend him for his fine family style, i would imagine. as your style, i notice you are trying to parent america. i'm interested to know about your parenting style. i would also like to know about your religion. your seventh-day adventist. will you be taking saturdays off as president of the united states? that is really a slight to god for you to be working on a saturday, so i would like an honest answer on that. guest: ok, you will do what needs to be done on any day of the week. as a surgeon, there were many instances where somebody had a life-threatening situation on saturday and i would deal with it. so you do what needs to be done.

but you always give honor to god. as far as my family is concerned, i have three sons. my oldest son murray, was born in australia. i spent a year over there for his dual citizenship. he is an engineer. all three are married. they all got married in 2011. my middle son, bj is an entrepreneur, owns several companies. very savvy financial individual. my youngest son royce, is a cpa. nobody became a doctor, although, one of them is married to a doctor. and they're all doing very well. host: what was your parenting philosophy when raising them? guest: they did not have televisions in their room. when we did watch television when they were young, we watched

it together. i was very busy as a neurosurgeon and i traveled a lot. i was made it a requirement that my family go with me. so they had frequent flyer cards for every airline and travel all over the world, met all kinds of people. iowa's took them, my wife, and my mother -- the six of us, the musketeers, and it was wonderful. my mother lived with us for a large part of the kids growing up period, which was wonderful, because you do tremendous influence on them. . host: richard, republican line. caller: dr. carson, let me preface everything by saying i hope that you win the presidency. i will vote for you. i've heard you articulate over a third of time and my mother has a lot of your books and is for a high on u.s. well, with the

common sense approach you have in the knowledge and background you have, i believe all it is gonna take for you to catch on is for people have a little bit more exposure to you. wine calling today is i have a dreaded fear of what the next presidential election is going to bring forth. i believe when eric holder step down from the attorney general's position, it was to stir and agitate the racial relations in this country. ferguson proved that to be correct, because he went in there and said, well, there must be something there we have to investigate this and investigate that. let me take what i think the endgame is here. i believe what they're looking for when they have al sharpton and the other jesse jackson and some of these other people, all that does is create racial strife. but they want racial strife and i will try you why.

we have a republican congress and senate. and what i think there endgame is this -- i think they're ultimately going to have these protests every chance they get to turn race relations around and ultimately what they're going to ask for is reparations. host: dr. carson? guest: you could have some validity in those points of view. i think what the republican party needs to do is to really start reaching out to the black community, to the hispanic community -- to all communities who in the past they have not perhaps reached out to. and to really push the ideal of developmental potential and investing in people. in 2006, mohammed younis won the nobel prize for his micro-lending theory. lifted millions of people out of poverty in bangladesh in that region of the world.

97% of those loans have been paid back. there are a lot of things we can do. we need to invest the time and effort. but if we invest in alabama people and the tide rises -- if we invest in all the people in the tide rises it hosts well for all everyone. there are things we can do for the economy. the fact that it is even still alive with all the things that are going on tells you is a powerful and if we create the right kind of environment, it will explode and there will be excellent jobs available. and only at that point shall we talk about entitlement reform. host: richard brings up your book. i want to ask about "america the beautiful." buzz feed revealing some sections of that book were lifted from different sources, including website titled socialismsucks.net. what happened? guest: this was largely a historical book.

we decided a lot of historical things" a lot of historical things and we missed a couple. basically, that is what happened. host: independent line, linda you're on with dr. carson. caller: good morning. . turn down your tv. we can hear you. caller: good morning. dr. carson, you have great ideas . most people -- i think a lot of people do have great ideas. i just can't get with you because you say animosity. i have been seeing you on fox news a lot. oh, my god, i just can't believe it. you are on their a lot. i think if you just go around.

you have to mingle, but you are on their a lot. they are way, way far right. i just can't get with way way far right. i really can't. i think this country is a mental country. we need to try to edge our way back to the middle. i have it up and down. i've been up and down. i think it is about love. we'll talk about christian and this and that, but i don't think we know the real true meaning of jesus love. host: dr. carson? guest: i would say look at our program tonight when benjamin crump and i will be talking in the sinclair broadcasting across the nation. host: where is that taking place? guest: at one of the television studios here in town wjla. tomorrow i will be on cnn