the national press club. there going to go over and watch him do his speech and take some questions. live coverage on c-span. this is going to wrap up washington journal for today. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

ben i let me start about some preliminaries. my name is david anderson. a longtime member of the club. i was washington correspondent for the cincinnati herald. there may be a lot of folks who are journalists here. i'd do expect members of the media may be here and asking questions. those may be working journalists, so please understand they are here to do a job. after our guest makes his opening remarks, you will get a questions.sk these

please identify your name and affiliation. on march 21 there will be a panel on the south china sea dispute, and that will tell various security and legal issues. the club will have a newsmaker on the lineal politics. , the club will host the commissioner of the irs. that is an annual event where we have the higher risk commissioner speak right before taxes are due. that is pretty standard.

the other final item is this is a good time to make sure your and any other electronic device that makes sounds is turned off. is the president and ceo of the advancement of colored people. founded in 1909 and is the nations oldest and largest grass roots-based civil rights organizations. on may 1620 14 he became the person to serve as chief executive of the association.

are the most committed advocates for civil rights in their communities. andas born in el paso texas grew up in georgetown south carolina bachelor of arts from jackson state university and master of divinity from boston of university school of theology. he is editor and member of the veil law you -- of thing you policy review. -- editor and member of the yale policy review. washington he directed the federal communication -- office of business opportunities and

served as the executive director of the fair housing council in greater washington. his work continued under civil rights under law and the u.s. department of justice, where he filed the government's first lawsuit against a nursing home, alleging housing discrimination based on race. prior to taking the helm of the ceop, he was president and of the new jersey institute of , where hetice directed successful efforts to leave the passage of legislation, which led to formally incarcerated men and -- his wife and their two churche members of the in hyattsville maryland.

mr. brooks is happy to address issues such as the situation in flint michigan and criminal justice reform, but i recently have been notified he wanted to focus his initial remarks on the tone and violence of the current presidential campaign. his speech today is entitled democracy awakening. the national press club is pleased to welcome to its podium the president of the naacp, mr. brooks. >> good morning. i wanted to thank david for that kind introduction. i want to say how humbled i am to be here.

so many social justice seekers have spoken and share the perspective on the world. i also wanted to express appreciation to the journalists in the room. create ade and distance that allows people to think critically about the issues. you also create a sense of intimacy, which allow people to draw close to injustices and the kind of injustices the naacp host to eradicate. this is an extraordinary moment in american history. this is not some random date on the gregorian calendar, not happenstance, not a matter of coincidence. to the month this is the 51st since bloody sunday, and occasion at in our collective memory as a country.

the image of the middle-aged who was literally be to doesavement on the bridge not require much effort. mind the image of a young man who is now an older statesmen. at that time he was simply known as john lewis, who was beaten to the point of a concussion, to the point of near death. bloody sunday is one that resonates in this year. i want to talk about the right to vote, the voices of the 2016 campaign and the prospect of violence. when you think about the right

to vote, it should be understood as a civic sacrament in the temple of democracy. this being the first presidential election in 50 years without the protection of the voting rights act. being a time when african-americans, latinos, people all across the country, feel that this civic sacrament is being threatened. we have seen state legislature after state legislature engage in a multimillion frenzy. when you have 30 states that have imposed voter id laws, these are seen as cynically innocuous. when we bear in mind that a substantial fraction and intolerable fraction, a percentage of american voters to not possess these ids.

when we think about the fact that there is a certain exclusivity to the exclusivity of the moment, that it's not to say we are dealing with a kind of nostalgic black and white discrimination of yesteryear. we are dealing with a multiracial ethnic exclusivity. when the rights act was enacted into law, it was enacted into johnson,esident lyndon who used a series of presidential pens to sign this legislation into law. the voting rights act was enacted with the blood, sweat, and here's from americans all across the country. ,ere he are 50 years later dealing with a multiethnic form of bias and discrimination at the ballot walks.

african-americans are turned away in significant numbers. that halfmated million citizens who did not possess the requisite id and franchises in danger, disproportionately affecting african-americans and latinos by way of example. we have a lot in texas that was previously declared to be discriminatory by the department of justice. a federal court has found this law is discriminatory. means it literally endanger the franchise of half a million people. law that have a essentially says if given an id that allows you to carry a concealed weapon is deemed

sufficient proof of identification to vote, but an id that allows you to carry a book of shakespeare, a book of chemistry, a college textbook is insufficient as proof of identification to vote. consider the state of north carolina. in a few short we saw a massive rollback in terms of the franchise. we saw not only african-americans and latinos having their right to vote curtailed and restrained, but also young people. 90-year-old plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging that who voted forrea 70 years.

because her name does not match the name on her birth certificate or match the name on -- the fact she exercised it for 70 years is at risk. there is an inclusivity to the exclusivity. not merely african-americans, -- merely latinos that is to say when legislatures declined on her collar -- decline to honor college ids but hey honor ids to carry who engageeapons -- in study on a military campus, decline to honor the

ids of college students, that is a generational war in terms of the franchise. really a matter of african-americans or latinos but -- in the state of georgia, when we lose tens of thousands of voter registrations mysteriously, , disproportionately affecting latino and african-american voters. ofis not merely a matter african-americans, but also senior citizens. disproportionately they do not have conflicts between their birth records, people being born call and find it difficult to vote. -- at home, and find it

difficult to vote. mother was a 16-year-old college student, she participated in civil rights demonstrations to assert her rights under the american constitution. as a citizen in the state of georgia. as a woman with a disability who wheelchair,r and a she calls up her son and poses to me a very simple and straightforward question. she says, i have heard about these voter id laws in georgia. i'm not quite sure where my birth certificate is. you are a lawyer, told me what to do. that is a question that citizens are posing to their legislatures , posing to their elected officials.

when we want to exercise our rights as citizens under the constitution. this mocke engaged in of billion frenzy of voter franchise -- of voters disenfranchised. we have seen the curtailing and constraining of the right to vote, rather than expanding the franchise. we have pre-registration. 17-year-olds are about to turn 18 at the time of the november election and would be allowed to register early. we had early voting. all these progressive reforms. the speak to the civic aspirations of our country, of being curtailed and constrained. challengee there is a

with respect to voter fraud. we know empirically that one is more likely to meet the tooth very standing next to santa claus than to counter an actual instance of voter fraud. of millionsrate out ofbalanced -- a handful verified voter fraud. what we have his a group of politicians, a group of officials who have arrived in their office via the vote and are constraining the vote. there is a flip side. a mirror image of this constraining of the vote. here that the naacp is a nonpartisan

organization. as was noted in the be --uction, we came to in the land of lincoln in illinois. inspired by our constitution is an unarmed telegenic -- is an unapologetic opposition to opposition to racial hatred. there was a picture taken in , a group of children of various ethnicities, various hues. cynthia -- the eachid tone picture, wearing shirts with the acronym naacp.

the first two words on the banner, racial hatred or race hate. century, wee of the have committed ourselves to combating racial hatred in any form, anywhere on this country. no apologies, but we have a firm resolute commitment. when mexicans are referred to as rapists, when we talk about erecting a wall between the border of united states and mexico, when we hear women referred to in misogynistic terms that degrade their dignan dignan see -- their dignancy the

curtailing of the right to vote -- the sickness -- the suggestion that some people count, some people don't count. some people can participate, some people are simply left on the sidelines of our democracy, we are very clear. demagoguery,orm of is inconsistent with the values of the naacp and inconsistent with the values of this country. in 1920 there was an that came into being in the wake of the ashes and the embers of the civil war. experienced a resurgence. it was called the ku klux klan.

it grew massively in numbers -- theis toxic mix of unpatriotic americanism. number two, a kind of thin christianity and anti-immigrant sentiment. fast-forward 2016. we have americans that find themselves in the throes of economic -- in the wake of income inequality. they are being appealed to on the basis of anti-immigrants in addition to that, a two corinthian kind of christianity. lastly un-american patriotism. is committed to

maximizing the vote. we don't argue or campaign for any candidate. campaign against any effort to make any citizen feel less than a citizen and less than a member of this democracy -- less of a member of this democracy. standare the values we for, and we are clear about that everywhere we are. units across the country in every state, every large city, and hundreds of small towns, in prisons, churches, synagogues, native american riches -- native american reservations. every corner of this country is represented by the naacp. we have members, we have

takethizers, and those who a clear unapologetic stance against any campaign rhetoric that undermine the values of this country. this is not merely about campaign rhetoric that alienates. it is also about the prospect of violence. where we have seen the hate crime rate go up in recent i am a methodist and a father. dad, ie i a muslim and a may be worried about going -- may be worried about my daughter going to school with her head covered. i am a christian. but if i were a seek -- were a

sikh and a dad i would be worried about my son going to school. we are responsible for the words that we use. the suggestion of paying the of people who commit wanton violence, this is -- you cannot engage on the apologetics of violence as people are being sucker punched in the audience. inconsistent with the values of the naacp. the naacp is an organization that is committed to the realization's of the values of the constitution.

last summer the naacp, inspired by the voting rights act, the fragility of the civic sacrament, leah m -- we announced the journey for justice. i will close with a story of a man i met on the way. a navy veteran, veteran of the vietnam war. miles to virginia. the american flag he carried for , he wrapped ites

up, but when the sun came out he unfurled it. he nearly collapsed to the pavement. we took him to the hospital and there he died. day was listening to a group of young people that he died at the hospital. difficult moment of that day was a question they pose to grief counselors. if a man was willing to die for the right to vote, why can't we vote and fight for the right to vote? the naacp is doing and will do. mid-april we have something called democracy awakening, 200e we are working with organizations and all across the country to come to washington to

stand up and protect the right to vote. i know this is bigger than one election, bigger than one campaign. it is as large and expensive as our democracy. the way we come together and bind ourselves as a republic and democracy says everything about who we are and the values we stand for and stand behind. is what the work of the naacp is about. that is why i am here. thank you. [applause] >> we will take some questions now. >> i'm covering the national press club for the wire. 2012 mitt romney beat the

naacp. see the twostically nominees -- do you see them doing that in the general election? >> i can't speak to their campaign choices. the naacp is a religiously nonpartisan organization. republican aspirants for the white house. we work with republican and democratic governors and legislatures all across this country. criminal justice reform, juvenile justice reform, environmental justice challenges. we will extend an invitation.

we will look for representatives of the republican party to be at our convention. we will hold our convention at the same week as the republican national convention in the same state, right down the road. >> just a follow-up, you talked about nonpartisan admission of the naacp. i hear those conventions in cleveland and one in cincinnati tohave invitations going out the five major republican and democratic candidates. any response to those invitations? mr. brooks: i believe we will extend invitations to the nominees and i know we are in

touch with both parties. i know we have in fact extended invitations to all the candidates now to participate in a civil rights briefing. we conducted to such briefings. one was with secretary clinton and the other with senator sanders both of whom responded to our invitation. auspices ofr the our sister organization, the urban league. we have already done that. >> any response from anybody? mr. brooks: no. wondering why donald trump is getting so much press and what it says about the american people that those views which your organization [indiscernible] are becoming tolerable and popular. mr. brooks: i'm not sure how

tolerable they are. or how popular they are. the new york times recently did a lease on the geography of pumpism, as it were. there is some correlation between the economic anxiety, economic insecurity of many americans and the appeal of anti-immigrant message. ,e want to focus on the message not so much the personality. what we are most concerned about is this anti-immigrant appeal, this otherization tone and tenor, particularly at a moment when we see the diversification and expansion of the american electorate. there is a new book, " brown is the new white," where we look at a combination of young people, people of color, representing an

ever-expanding fraction, a percentage of the electorate. in thatto move direction. need to recognize that the country as a whole is getting , the electorate is more diverse so this is not a moment to engage in otherization. in terms of its appeal, i think it speaks to the anxieties of voters, not so much the intrinsic appeal of the message. assess the jobu the american media is doing on the election campaign? are they delivering the immediacy of some of these campaigns? there are remarks that certain supporters and candidates are

using. has it been given a fair treatment of the issues? mr. brooks: we certainly appreciate the fact that the media has focused on the alienation of some of the oftoric and the otherization some of the rhetoric, the violence we have seen in rallies or demonstrations or counter demonstrations. that is in fact helpful because it's important for people to understand that words have effects and there are consequences to political rhetoric. more to the point, policies have an effect. in other words, when we talk that an immigration policy runs roughshod over our constitutional values, and immigration policy that would have a religious litmus test -- this not only evaluates --

this not only violates our moral hurts thet constitution as well. the media has done a great job with that and the challenges, looking very closely at where all of this goes in a historical perspective. there have been scholars that have looked at authoritarianism in the context of contemporary times. there are others who have looked appeal in the context of american history. explaining that to post-millennial voters is an issue. in other words, or you have 19 olds, for whom the clan is a relic of history, baton and to them why tenor of this campaign is potentially dangerous, i think, is a very difficult job of very

difficult job but one that needs to be taken on and requires a more nuanced and more analysis that you can get in a soundbite. that's a major responsibility, journalistically speaking. i have always been impressed with your statements on jesus as the first great organizer of labor. you about thek right to vote in the issues. the right to vote is one thing and we have always heard that african-americans on some level have been taken by granted for the democratic party. when you took about the issues come you talk about trumpism. what concerns me in this election is how the african-american intellectual leak supports sanders and the masses on some level are being

taken for granted and voting for clinton. attackrankly, the unfair on senator sanders and rejecting everything senator sanders did in the 1960's including attempting to desegregation housing in chicago, getting arrested for protesting segregated school systems on the west side and the southside of chicago and hillary clinton being a goldwater supporter. senator sanders was at the 1963 march on washington. , what roles that does the naacp and the urban league have to say these are issues and look at these issues? i think it's very interesting in missouri the reason why senator sanders came so close was, in

people,at younger because there is a economy between younger african-american voters and older african-american voters, not so much endorsing anybody but these issues and how they relate to trumpism and ends like that. some would argue that the violence, what led to the five victories that clinton had last led, the fear of violence to clinton doing so well against senator sanders last week. certainly: i understood the commentary but i want to make sure your -- of your specific question. purely -- isis clearly against trumpism and this kind of demagoguery. acp has historically

spoken about issues but what -- dealing the naacp on some level with the selection and also, not only is there a others buttween between young and old in the community. the rule of the naacp in the present is best indicated by the past. 2012, the naacp led the nation and registering people to vote. accounts, we were the most effective and one of the most effective organizations in terms of bringing people to the ballot. locks in terms of making clear the nation's civil rights agenda, we do that on an ongoing basis, not merely on elections

where we lay out issues. we educate communities across the country with this agenda and are issues and we score members of congress on the basis of our issues through a report card we have done for the better part of a century. we have a hard, long track record of educating ordinary voters who are charged with an extraordinary responsibility to elect the leaders of this democracy on the issues. about that, your point generations -- let me note something that may not be intuitively obvious. the naacp is the largest young people's civil rights argan position in the country bar none. when you have over 2 million digital activists, you have units in high schools, youth councils and colleges and prisons.

at our national convention, out of seven thousand, 2000 will be done people. on the national board, 10,000 of the seats are reserved for young people. we have a long-standing commitment to young people. to bringt them enough the issues to them, make clear what we stand, provide the information to them and encourage them to vote and get them to the polls and we let them make their own decisions. we are a nonpartisan organization to make no apologies for that. we are as clear about being nonpartisan as we are about being firmly in the camp of supporting civil rights under any and all circumstances. that's where we are. let you get away without the issue of flint,

michigan. they gave the michigan governor 30 days to replace infrastructure. comes up on march 23 which is next week. has there been any response from the governor during this time? he was here in washington testifying yesterday. and you had any response what does the naacp plan to do in march 24 if governor snyder has not complied with the naacp request? mr. brooks: let me provide some for something called the ultimatum. i would call it a civic promise. departmentr and his of environmental quality

switched the water sources in flint. ofy declined to use a form corrosion control that would have cost less than $200 per day. action,sequence of this and the failure to alert the people as to the danger of the water in counter pension of federal regulations that prescribed that you engage in corrosion control that is protecting the pipes before you they actually provided the people the water without having a corrosion control plan in place. why is that important? well, the governor, at this point, is saying we don't need to replace the pipes. generationalng a poisoning of children in flint, we don't need to replace the pipes. ,e can simply treat the water

treat the corrosion, and get the water to the point of safety and we can walk away from this problem. how do we know that to be true? , to he declined to put forward a price tag, a timeline, and a deadline to replace the water infrastructure in flint. who, lookingor across the city of poisoned children and endangered them ways with 55 million relative pennies to the price tag of this problem has started to replace the pipes. what has the governor don? relative to what needs to be done, nothing. nothing. we have an infrastructure challenge that could cost close to $1 billion. what has he requested? initially, 20 some odd million

dollars. we have a federal delegation that is seeking federal funding. what has he done with respect to seeking funding from the state legislature to pay for fixing this problem? relative to what's being done federally, nothing. the naacp being on the ground and talking about this issue months before the national press arrived, when we went to flint, we met our branch in flint, our stake conference from the state of michigan and our branch from detroit. we held a town meeting and asked the people what they think should be done. we put forward a 20 point plan. we set them with the governor and asked him to take leadership and responsibility for this problem. in other words, translator, we asked him to fix what he broke it in the intervening weeks, nothing has been done. on march 23 which follows international water day, we will be back in flint engaging in

direct action in civil disobedience. we will start small. we'll take a calibrated approach. our direct action will escalate in response to in action. is action, wehere are than willing to work with andmayor and the governor to bring about a resolution to this problem. we have to be clear -- we have a generational poisoning of children. you have had people pay for months for water they cannot use. among lawyers in housing law there is something called an implied warranty of habitability. when you rent a house, it is assumed it is in fact habitable. there is an that implied warranty of drink ability. when you get water out of the tap, you deem that it is drinkable. you at least assume it is not like arsenic is poisonous.

these people have been paying months on and an untold recently , they received not a refund for money they paid for poisonous water but in fact a credit. water which, i might note, is still not safe. that's why we will be there on march 23. >> other questions? >> what is the naacp relationship with rachel dolozof f? mr. brooks: she was a well respected branch president, someone who is really liked by her members. we wish her well. she has resigned her position. she has taken on other responsibilities.

we simply wish her well as we would any member of the naacp. if no more questions, we will wrap this up and i want to thank mr. brooks for his presentation today which was excellent and for responding to the questions. members of the press have not signed in, sign the sheets him the table outside the door and we will adjourn, thank you very much. [applause] host: caller: [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> if you missed any of this conversation with an aa see president cornell brooks come you can watch it online at www.c-span.org. we will have more live coverage coming up today.

have the director of the hudson institute center for religious freedom and she will talk about christian genocide by formal declaration of genocidal asked by the group against religious minorities in the middle east. we will bring you her remarks at the heritage foundation at noon eastern. prior to that, we's show you john kerry's news conference yesterday making that declaration. network, c-span two, an all-day event examining the impact of israel's influence on congress, the media, academia and other major institutions. a number of people are participating and explore in the cost and benefits including foreign aid and covert intelligence and foreign policy and the u.s. regional and international standing live at 2:00 p.m. >> this weekend, they c-span cities tour takes you to montgomery, alabama to explore

their history and literary culture. house that wasa the turning point for scott and zelda. when they moved here, the ideal was to regroup. this house was a landing pad. it was a regrouping, as i have said, stage, and it was not the sort of place where you're going to find scott and zelda engaging in domestic activities, if you will. it was the sort of place where they were going to be planning their next move. >> on american history tv -- >> what happens in the 1958 campaign is wallace really does try to reach this racial moderate and tries to campaign for the poor and working-class for progressive improvements. he gets the support of the naacp in its initial campaign. unfortunately, he loses by a pretty significant margin to

john patterson. he completely is devastated i this loss. governornts to be as and he is really upset by this loss. he considers it a failing. him what thesk take away from the 1958 campaign to talkays i tried about progressive improvements and i tried to talk about good roads and good schools. no one would listen. when i started talking about segregation, everybody stopped and started listening to me. >> watch the c-span cities tour saturday at noon eastern on c-span two and sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. on american history tv on c-span three. the c-span city tour, working with their cable affiliates and visiting cities across the country. , a conversation about the state of black women in the u.s.. host: we want to introduce you

to melanie campbell, president and ceo of a group called the national coalition of black civic participation. which is what? guest: it is a 40-year-old coalition that was started on the purpose of getting black voter participation in 1976 and it evolved to two programs, one that focuses on black women and girls and another that focuses on young people, young leadership. it is called black women's roundtable. and black youth vote. host: there was a report put out by your organization, black women in the u.s., 2016, power of the sister vote. is this a gray card on how black women are doing it in america today? is that fair? it's an organizing tool. guest: we are not a think tank per se, but we do have smart women with partners.

dr. avery jones is our editor who is a strong scholar. we decided three years ago, one of the things we realized is that in order to be successful in network, we had to engage electronically and economic empowerment and we had to have good data. there was not a lot out there on black women, so we started a report three years ago. we started doing this women of power study, it is part of releasing it every year. this is our fifth year doing the summit, so this is is a report organizing and guiding to. it is a big election-year and have a better understanding of what happens with our political power, we talk about black women as one of the highest voting demographics in the country. that is great, but what does

that mean to leveraging that power to improve quality of life in a community? that is why we do it. we utilize people to write in the report. we have a part that elevates people who are legal scholars or experts in their field, so the report is a compilation of thoughts and they do about what happens. this year, we are focusing on a lot of issues about our power of the system vote. -- power of the sister vote. we were the strongest vote in 2008 and 2012. that is when we voted higher than any other demographic, so we are saying that we have to leverage that in 2016 and every year. and looking down from the presidency, which is very important, this year, we know that you have, for instance, 13 governor races up this year, that was a beat of the 99

legislative chambers, and it is up this year. several mayors races like baltimore has been going through a lot with police, criminal justice, so this report gets into some of that but also some of those issues that are economic issues, health issues and the like. anything judiciary. host: we will talk about a couple of those, but one of the things i wanted to talk about first, even though black women tend to vote democratic overwhelmingly, you report that younger black women are trending away from the democratic party and identifying more as independent. guest: yes, we have been doing this report and we have also taken information from earlier in the year and some is in here. we released a survey on what black women want from the next resident. -- president. millennials, as in example, do not identifying the same way.

i really of third found nearly one third found themselves as independent. also, it is a challenge for those who are losing what could be eight, quote on quote, reliable ground. what was interesting this year, the report talked about in south carolina and georgia, we had african-americans in the primary voting. more than usual. voting republican which was interesting. host: why do you think that is? we will put the numbers on the screen so you can participate in the conversation as well. it is divided by political group. sorry to interrupt. guest: it is ok. a lot of issues matter to us. we have to go deeper in those estates to fully understand it because it is to brush and early

-- it's too fresh and early to know, but a summit data that we -- but based on the data we know, we are seeing this opening. the challenge we are talking about at the summit. we had the town hall meeting last night that was made up of millennials, leaders and organizers and we had a conversation about how we should leverage that political power. we are not a model that people want to make us to be. -- we are modified in monolith -- we are not a monolith that people want to make us to be. we are not just black women. we have to also know how to deal with that in the primary. one of the things he talked about last night was the fact that in some cases, young people turning out on the democratic side and a lot are voting for bernie sanders and hillary clinton is doing pretty good herself, but they say, why is that happening? some of the challenges in people

are facing is because they are independents and you go to some of the close primaries and you cannot vote, so some of the issues is educating new voters about the process and what we have to do. voter education is important. host: two weeks ago on this program, we asked the question -- why you supporting donald trump? the first call, a black woman from georgia. he says what i feel. we received at least seven calls are in that segment from african-americans, self identified, saying they are supporting donald trump. guest: that is interesting. i cannot speak to it other than to say, because i am nonpartisan and i have to be careful when i speak, but just as i had to do an anecdotal analysis, some of that i think is name recognition.

quite honestly, in some ways, i am somewhat fearful of the discourse because people get their signals and we are seeing one of the things that many colleagues are concerned about is that a lot of young black activists and organizers are being attacked donald trump's rallies, and how we saw the young man, who was walking and hit, but most of those people who are black lives matter activists and others are young black females, so we challenge candidates to understand that as black women, we have a problem. that is something we are trying to figure out and how do we make sure that we speak up and that folks know that you cannot attack our people or children.

whatever is going on, it is something called pants off, and -- hands off you cannot a lot things to happen. these are happening to young people who are expressing themselves and that cannot just happen. if you're going to be the leader of the free world, that has to change. host: black women still lacking -- lagging behind in the economy and black women make up more than half of the black work force but are still most likely of any group of women in america to live in poverty, 28%, due in large part to locate. -- location. -- two low pay. guest: answer to that is low pay. they are most of the heads of households, and in many cases, the average black woman, and this is an earlier report, they have about $100 a month, and people have to start asking why?

we have to figure out the way to shift that low number, not just for ourselves but the future generations. we have retirement security that is a good progress report and we are looking at it from a generational lens about what is happening. college affordability is number one. criminal justice is up there and even taxes. the idea that there needs to be something done about what happened to middle-class and what happens with taxes with the top 1%. there is a concern in our community about that as well. host: one more issue before calls. an article in "politico," "black lawmakers hurt by obama's supreme court choice." -- irked by obama's supreme court choice. yes, we support him but not progressive. guest: this is playing out in the public discourse.

it was a disappointment for african-american women. we will see how this nomination -- judge garland is highly i think qualified candidate and that is not the issue. 227 years of the supreme court has never had an african-american woman. for us, it is i on the priority list. it didn't heart or stop with president obama. we know diversity makes a difference. on the other side, on the supreme court over there, it is important what happens on 1600 pennsylvania avenue and what happens on 1st street is critical, so we have to be in the room to help fix the things that impact us for 20 years, 40 years and that will be continued to be abdicated. -- to be advocated.

we had a question in december at the roundtable about presidential candidates for republicans and democrats. we did a questionnaire that we sent to presidential candidates. republicans did respond. we asked them, would you appoint an african-american female to the supreme court? hillary clinton a bernie sanders said they would definitely would do it because they have a role in it. congress has their role in it and they have to do their jobs now that the president has made a nomination and by consent. -- advise and consent. we see that as an issue. 20% of black women in the poll said this was a high-powered issue. also, a sorority just did a survey of our membership and we have over 250,000 members, so it

is an issue that will not go away. we'll continue to advocate and change the trajectory. this is not just black women but about america. host: from your report on black women in the u.s., there are 185 point females and 56 male like -- white female and 56 blackmail federal judges and near 42 black compared to 42 black women serving as judges at the federal level. 112 justices have served on the supreme court's. of the 112, only four have been women and only to have been african-american. a black woman has never been nominated or served on the supreme court. let's take some calls. william in washington, d.c., republican line. you are first up. caller: good morning to miss campbell. i would like to congratulate her. she did in fact receive an award, a lifetime achievement

award, from the black press and the past couple of weeks. -- in the past couple of weeks. guest: thank you. caller: a couple of questions. a, do you have any republican friends? b, you mentioned you were disappointed with president obama's supreme court nomination, what kind of grief would you give resident obama -- what kind of grade would you give resident obama for his tenure throughout, his tenure in the presidency, in particular, as far as black people are concerned? host: william, what grade would you give the president? caller: an f. host: why? caller: i am waiting for her, she would be an advocate, but i don't think he has done anything for black interest or issues at all. host: thank you. guest: i have friends about

-- of all stripes. i don't judge my friends by the colors and i have friends' apps and in all parties. -- i have friends in all parties. i am not here to grade president obama. i would not give him an f, that is the caller, one of the things i think is important that your people are concerned about our issues about voting rights and things like that. i think in the last, having attorney general eric holden, i point directly to i think the president gets exactly what is happening in the community. i think he has done a great job. this is a national association. host: what was the award you one? guest: this is a national publishers association. several people gave me this award for my work, so to be awarded by the black press was a

little unnerving, but it was -- i was honored to receive this the other day. i thank them for it. i'd like to be on the camera really, but it was part of the job and it was nice for them to stop and thank the work than i do. i don't do it by myself. our organization was worthy of being awarded for the work that we do. host: next call comes from cissy in baltimore, democrat. caller: good morning. how are you? guest: good morning. caller: i am so glad you are on air. this is the second time this week that i have heard programs concerning black women. one was in annapolis, and the other was talking about

the dorothy heights organization -- guest: national council of negro women, yes. caller: my issue is this, and maybe you can help me with this. that is -- black women have held organizations together for many, many years, and now we are aging out. we are getting older, and we are having a hard time attracting the young black women to our organizations. sororities are number one. all of these other organizations that we have really, really worked hard all these years, and i would like to know, what your idea is to attract young black women because i have people in my family who are graduates of

universities, and when i look, it comes out in their yearbooks, but how can we get these women who are college-educated to go back into our organizations are what ever? host: thank you for calling. guest: first of all, i was just with the national executive director of the national council of negro women. maybe two months ago, not longer, the new executive director, i meant toward and i was one of many. -- i was meant toward and i was minute -- i was mentored and i was one of many and she was a board member of my organization helped me develop the work that i do for the black women roundtable.

i think we will see dynamic things come out of the national council of negro women. as i mentioned earlier. we had our day on capitol hill couple weeks ago and i moderated a panel of millennials collegiate's, and i was really enthused by the energy in the room. i think that many of our organizations, especially those that have been around much longer than mine, i really honing in on the lectures. the model that has worked for my work and the work i do now is generational leadership and making it intentional about that. we have to remember that if i came into this town 20 years ago as a young upstart, and you get

to the table, sometimes, you don't realize you're are already at the leadership table so you are at the table bring him something and you realize that you are. we have leaders in our states and we have to make sure we are intentional about having people at the table so they can bring what they have to only can share and then from each other and it is what they call lifelong learning. that includes organizing, civil rights, any other entities we have in the generations. host: back to your report, black girls are disproportionately impacted. by the school to prison playbook. guest: yes, that is a problem and that is growing when it comes to rates and things like that. -- suspension rates and things like that. several of my colleagues and i

worked around the issue. it is a part of the concern we talk about with criminal justice. young black men, of course, there is an alarming situation again black girls and how they are being impacted by the criminal justice system earlier and earlier in life. they have this campaign called, what about our girls? we have to make sure we are not saying boys over girls. they are our children. this issue about being able to send the child or having to send a preschool child, right, so the big understanding is that at three years old or four years old, we help to push them into a trajectory in the criminal justice system. there is a need for the congress to act on criminal justice reform in bipartisan involvement and we need to ensure that women get all these kinds of aspects that impact our children and they also need to happen in congress britt make sure the

education system, that we are performing those kinds of things that impact our children and i can remember when i was having up -- when i was coming up, trying to understand how policies work and i lived in atlanta for a long time and went to school there. i can remember we talked about three strikes you are out. in georgia, they made it three strikes, you are out, and how that impacted our community with criminal justice and the need for sentencing reform. all these things that interrelate and the gets back to the economic opportunity and quality of life for our communities and throughout the country, so i am money more -- i am accepting more about myself and how we can get the work in engagement and tie that to the vote. host: next call from nat in baltimore, independent line. caller: hi.

i am 88 years old. matter of fact, i have watched the black community deteriorate from when i was a kid during the depression in coney island. principally, it is the destruction of the family. i just wonder what this young lady is doing to prevent so many out of wedlock births which take the girl completely out of the competitive system, out of the education system, on to a welfare-dependent system, and destroy her life and the kids' lives, too. guest: first of all, mostly white people are the ones who are on welfare, so i cannot speak to what you are saying in that point. i think what is important and what we know is happening in

african american communities, there are things we need -- we have disparities. but african-american women have the highest growth when the -- when it comes to entrepreneurship and we talk about that. from growing the business from single proprietor to one that can grow. two scale. our goal is continuously to make life better for the mother and i have an 87-year-old mother. she is still with us and engaging. she was a teacher for 40 years and still teaching in many ways to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and enable to understand that politics in fact affect our lives, so people have to understand that all communities are part of this. i will continue to do the work that i do until i leave this earth to make life ready for the

next generation, so that is my response. host: jan in maryland, republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. my question is that i think most americans are worse off right now, especially like in the past 10 years or so. things seem to be spiraling out of control. i would like to know because we are in an election year, can you give me specifics as to what hillary clinton has done to improve our american lives? guest: i am not here to talk about the candidates, but i think one thing that we are doing is that we ask all the candidates, and i mentioned earlier, at the black women's roundtable, we asked multiple organizations, and that is that the american coaching at work, and we did the survey back in the summer and we took that two

-- we sent that to all the democratic and republican candidates. we asked 21 questions in that -- 41 questions in that survey so we can understand what their plans are. our goals are to make sure the candidates are telling us on paper and also challenging them through the primary process to tell us specifics about what they plan to do. we wanted to hear that from all of them and that is what we have been doing. we have been hosting town hall meetings. we were in south carolina for the primary. we had african-american women and others who came to engage in the dialogue and it very much covered. it was before the republicans voted in south carolina and the democrats won first and then republicans. -- and the republicans went for some of the democrats. we were down there before anyone voted. that is what we are doing, we are challenging all the

candidates. it is not about one. as far as i'm concerned, it is not about one candidate but challenging the primary and deciding who will be the nominee. we are making sure that this -- that african american women who are part of that discourse, challenging candidates to tell us what they will do. for our boat. host: which republicans did you hear back from? guest: john kasich, jeb bush, ben carson, and i am plinking on -- and i am blanking the fourth one. host: john kasich, donald trump -- senator cruz guest: this is what we did, you will see it is online. you can go and see what the candidates said. it is easy to navigate. and we are updating throughout the election season. although the current candidates, well, rubio is out,

so it is ted cruz, and we are continuously engaging all of those campaigns. we told all of them, if you fill out our questionnaire we will , put it up online and get it out there. we asked for those campaigns, donald trump's campaign, ted cruz's campaign to respond to the black women's roundtable questionnaire and we asked them on a regular basis to respond. host: next call from ruth in pennsylvana on the democrat line. you are on with melanie campbell. caller: since it is election time, but i am interested in -- host: we are listening. turn down your tv. caller: i can see you. i have it off. ok, what i was asking, do you

give them the information, democrat or republican, on the people running? like you are talking about south carolina and i am talking about hillary, to you realize what the clintons have hurt black people more than any president? it started in new york with rockefeller about three strikes you are out, and he made it -- president clinton made it federal and that is what really took us and put us in jail like they did, especially men. host: who are you supporting for president? caller: probably bernie. host: thank you. you heard what she had to say about the clintons. guest: one of the things happening in this election, i give kudos to the civil rights

community, kudos to black lives matter community, and really the community at large on pushing the issue run criminal justice reform. i think hillary clinton and what i am not seeing on the other side is real opposition about criminal justice reform. i think we would ask anyone about to vote task those hard questions. i am bipartisan and i will not -- i am nonpartisan and i will not advocate one way or the other. organizations to help, and the people -- our organizations job in the people i work with is to challenge them and asked them the hard questions about what they will do. i think it is important. i have gone through quite a few presidents and i can go back and see good and bad in situations. history is a really good teacher but it is not one single issue. understanding economically where we are in the 1990's and where

we are today and what happened after 2007 when president obama came in, and to understand the policy impacts. we talk about local to national and how it is important that, yes, things happen on the president level and we have to pay attention to what is happening. one of the key things, one thing about federal crimes and what has happened for most of us, we are impacted by what is going on in the state level and presents. -- and prisons. in the governorships that are up. legislative chambers broad about looking at are very broad about looking at all of the elections because they are impacted by who is in the government office, who is in the state legislative office, and that is power.

the da it is a local issue and not a federal issue. for us, it does, let's focus on not just the presidential election but the down ballot races that are in this election year right now. host: two very publicized down ballot elections, the prosecutors in chicago and cleveland both lost their jobs. guest: that is the power of the vote. our report says how would a sister vote? we analyzed if there was significant african-american vote that took lace to get them -- that took place to get them unelected, and black women were on the top of the list. host: this goes to what we were talking about with the judiciary earlier. what does a person's race, ethnicity, or gender have to do with their ability to interpret the constitution? guest: i think that in any area, it is about not attaching yourself. -- you don't detach yourself.

you have to understand -- i have not been lawyer and not trying to act like one, but i am a voter and a citizen, and i want to see that that court is respective of me, not just by color, but that when they interpret the constitution and the african-american history of this country for black people, we had a moment when the constitution to not really impact us in the way that was good, so we came to the country through slavery. the reality is to understand that it matters. those talk about the supreme court, but when it comes to the criminal justice system and bias, it is about that you may not realize that your life impacts how you deal with people on the street as a police officer for an example. it does not stop. we have three levels of government, and everyone wants to see themselves related into that government.

we have judiciary, the legislative and executive branch, and it makes no sense that there is never been an african-american woman. in 227 years. i know other communities feel the same, asian and pacific island communities feel the same and it matters that all americans should be represented on every level of government. host: allen, north carolina, you are on with melanie campbell of the national coalition of black civic participation in the black women's roundtable. go ahead. caller: good morning. you are an exceptional woman and thank you for your contribution. i want to provide a solution that may not have been spoken of. one solution is to focus on the family. women of color through oppression were strong women when men were taken out of the family. i would suggest that women like

yourself would focus on getting the men back in the families so that the focus on the family can be on spirituality, education and then politics. once we teach our children that they can understand what the system is, we can navigate through discrimination, certain things that have set up being educated, but you have to have the man and household with the woman and appreciating marriage, being together, helping our teens to have a relationship, date and get married. there are no married families anymore in our community and that is hurting us badly. what i would suggest is nonprofit organizations that have curriculums to strengthen our families and get the men back in our family and out of jail and things of that nature, and also helping our young men understand the importance of our education. we are exceptional americans based on the oppression from which we come, but you all have the power to redo are strong,

-- we have always had and we are strong but you have to get the men back in the household. thank you. guest: thank you. the chairman of my organization, thomas w george, the chairman, spoke with reverend tony lee, and we have a gathering of black men. one of the things i think is important, and i am also part of my brother's keeper alliance as the committee member of that, so being able to engage black men is something organization is connected to and the family. the family dynamics are changing in this country for sure, but it is something we see as important for quality of life, no doubt, two incomes really impact the

quality of life, but it is also something very different for this generation. we will continue to work to promote men and women in our community to have a better quality of life, and that is the way i will do my part in this pr community to have a better quality of life. that is how i'm going to try to do my part in the solution. paul, brooklyn, republican line. go ahead. i am in houston, texas. is reason i am calling because there is a color that was concerned about what he remembered growing up with black families and communities where the percentage of people in poverty, the number of families he remembers being

black. what has changed? the reality is african americans have a much higher percentage of illegitimacy than the white community. unit, themportant most important institution in the united states, is the family . there's no way a young, black and or woman -- black man or woman will get the values, respect for elders, comes from that the family. i grew up with 10 brothers and sisters. we learned how to respect our family, neighbors, grandparents, clean up after each other -- that is the fundamentals to life success. host: we got the point. guest: thank you. i grew up in a family where i learned all those things. historically, one of the things that concerns me is that when he

comes to any of our communities looking at the realities for the black experience the way that we impact that this country going as far back as slavery is that our families were tone apart -- torn apart as part of an economic system. taken away from their children. fathers were taken away from their children. callers who talk about the immediacy of illegitimacy is that for our families, i think the word is a misnomer. illegitimate children are those who do not have both parents in the house. we don't want to see that happen, but it does not have been all the time. the divorce rate is not a black problem, it is an american problem. the historyook at

of great teachers. if we look at things from a holistic perspective and not just what happened yesterday. i believe we have a better opportunity for race relations in this country. you have to understand i respect , everybody's history. i wish people would respect ours. host: paul in brooklyn, republican. i think i punched the right button this time. good morning. caller: i am a democrat -- host: you know what? i have lost -- you go ahead. sorry. caller: technology is very complicated. [laughter] i want to congratulate your guest. melanie campbell, you are doing a fantastic job. i am an african american scientist.

when i was in my branch, there scientists in my branch, -- there were 50 scientists and i was the only one african-american. out of 10000 and people in the campus of nasa, there were only four african-american phd's. i want to point out that, you know there is a book by joe and , reader of msnbc called "hard choices." and also, african-american women are the strongest voting block in this country. african-american women do vote. they get out in higher percentages and vote. they elected the first african-american president in history. the women do vote. the thing is my concern is the bias against african-american women.

also, i have called many time about bashing against hillary clinton. that is also bashing against african-american women as well. you have to be careful about female bashing. it concerns me because it is bashing against all women. keep on your good work. guest: thank you. i will keep doing what i can. host: from your report on black women in the u.s. "lack women -- black women largely absent from tech companies while major tech company giants like apple, facebook, google, intel, microsoft, and twitter are collectively hiring thousands of workers. on average, their employment of black women comes in at only 3%." guest: yes. part of what we say is that -- one thing for sure and one of the things in our summit is we have a track where we talk about girls and technology.

and that, in many cases, being able to make sure we do a better job that folks have a job in tech. it does not always have to be only math, science, and technology. there are all kinds of jobs. there are other kinds of jobs. at the same time, we know that when it comes to where they quality jobs are, high wage jobs are, we have to do a better job of getting girls -- not just of color -- but girls into stem. i remember a study a while ago that talked about how young girls are tracked away from math and science around sixth-grade. when i was growing up in that time, it was english and other things. it was seen more for boys.

so we have to deal with that gender issue and encourage girls to be all they can be. so at our summit, we have 15 stage representatives. every state brought girls with them. we had a stem conversation with them about how this is something they can do. you hear more people do hack-a-thons. as a community, we have to do more of that so we can tap into the creativity of young people. it is important. so we have a piece written by a resident expert in how important the issue of technology impacts education and impacts economically every aspect of our lives. it impacts the media. me sitting here and how important that industry is to the current and future economic

situation and our country and that we have to make sure our girls are directly involved in that for their careers and for their lives. host: i want to get your comment on what ed have to say about how an attack on hillary clinton is an attack on black women to the same thing we hear from a lot of viewers, that attacking president obama is racist or supporting donald trump is racist. i want to get your thoughts on that. guest: women candidates -- there are enough studies out there about that, that women candidates are not treated the same in the media. i do not think that has changed for hillary clinton. or even -- the republican woman who is running. fiorina. the name gave me a tongue twister. we are seeing that in this

election. that is important for women overall. women are not treated the same when it comes to running for office. that has always been and we need to change that. host: melanie campbell with the national coalition on black civic participation and the black women's roundtable. a new report out on black women in the u.s. she has been our guest. guest: they can google the black women's roundtable report and get the website. host: and we have put it on the screen. thank you for being with us. in 20 minutes, we will be at the heritage foundation in washington for a discussion about christian genocide by isis and secretary of state john kerry's declaration of genocidal attacks against religious minorities in the middle east. .e will year from nina shea

secretary kerry made that announcement yesterday in a news conference at the state department. sec. kerry: good morning, everybody. da2014, the terrorist group seize territory in iraq, overrunning cities and committing atrocities. the united states responded by renouncing these acts and taking coordinated actions to counter them. year,tember of that president obama mobilized an international coalition, now 66-members strong to hold and river the momentum of daesh. that is what we are doing. in 18 months, coalition airstrikes have helped to liberate key cities and towns.

the terrorists out of 40% of the territory they once controlled in iraq and 20% in syria. excuse me. we have degraded their leadership, attacks and their revenue sources, disrupted their supply lines. currently, we are engaged in a diplomatic initiative aimed at trying to end the war in syria. .hat civil war fuels daesh doing what we are doing now, we are taking to further isolate, defeat them. we working to stop the spread of daesh and its affiliates within and beyond the region. all of this constitutes an extraordinary effort by large segment of the international community and the united states. that effort is warranted by the appalling actions of the

organization we oppose. my purpose in appearing before you today is to assert that in is responsiblesh for genocide against groups in areas under its control including "using 80's, christians, and shia muslims. 's genocidal by self proclamation, ideology, and actions. in what it says, believes, and does. is responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at the same alsos and in some cases against sunni muslims, kurds, and other minorities. i say this even though the ongoing conflict and lack of access to key areas has made it impossible to develop a detailed comprehensive heckscher of all donedaesh is doing and has . we have not been able to compile

a complete record, and that is obvious. we do not have access to everywhere. we have conducted a review of the vast amount of information gathered by the state department, intelligence communities, outside groups. my conclusion is based upon that information and the nature of the acts reported. we know that in august of 2014, daesh killed hundreds of yazidis men and older women in a town and trapped tens and thousands of yazidis unmount sinjar to food,llowing access water, or medical care. without our intervention, it was clear that those people would have been slaughtered. rescue efforts ultimately saved many, but not before daesh captured and enslaved thousands of yazidis women and girls, selling them at auction, reaping them at will, and destroying the

communities in which they had lived for countless generations. we know that in mosul and elsewhere, daesh has executed christian solely because of their faith. ethiopianexecuted 49 christians in libya. they have forrest christian women and girls into sexual slavery. we know that daesh massacre hundreds of turkmen and show box at mosul. the siege and starved, the turkmen kidnapped hundreds of and women,n men reaping many in front of their own families. we know that in areas under its has made ash systematic effort to destroy the cold real heritage of ancient communities, armenians, syrians, orthodox, and roman catholic churches, blowing up

monasteries, tombs of profits, desecrating and in palmeiro, beheading and 80 three-year-old scholar that preserved antiquities. we know that their actions are animated by an extreme and tolerant ideology that casts yazidis has "pagans and devil worshipers." we know that daesh has threatened christians by saying your rome,"conquer break your crosses, and enslave your women." shia muslims are referred to as " and subjected to frequent attacks. in december 1 year ago, a 14-year-old boy approached the gate of a shiite mosque in baghdad. jacket to show an explosive vest and surrender to the guards. he had been recruited by daesh

in syria and join to serve islam . he was told after his recruitment that unless he obeyed every order, the shiites would rape his mother. he said of she is a that it is a duty imposed upon us to kill them, fight them, displace them, and cleanse the land of their filth. one level of genocide is the intent to destroy an ethnic or religious group in whole or part. we know that daesh has given some victims a choice between abandoning their faith and being killed. that for many is a choice between one kind of death and another. daesh kills christians because they are christian. yazidis because they are yazidis . shia because they are shia. this is the message it conveys to children under its control. its worldview is based upon a

lemonade and those who did not subscribe to its perverse -- is based upon eliminating those who do not prescribed to its perverse reality. there is no doubt that it would seek to destroy what remains of ethnic and religious mosaic that once thrived in the region. i want to be clear that i am neither judge, prosecutor, nor jury with respect to the allegations of genocide. crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. ultimately, the facts must be brought to light by an independent investigation and formal legal determination made by a competent court or tribunal . the united states will support document, collect, preserve, and analyze evidence of atrocities. we will do all we can to see the perpetrators held accountable. i hope that my statement will insure the victims of the

atrocities that that the united states recognizes and confirms the despicable nature of the crimes against them. second, i hope that it will highlight the shared interest that otherwise diverse groups have in opposing daesh. the reality of genocide underscores more starkly the need for a comprehensive, unified approach to defeating in its core in syria and iraq, and broadly in its attempt to establish external networks. part of our response to daesh must be to destroy it by military force. other dimensions are important, and we dare not lose track of that. in the past two point five years, the united states has provided $6 million in emergency aid to iraqis that have been displaced from their communities. we are working with local authorities to assist in the recovery of sunnis that have been underrated and whose

ts face challenges, material and psychological. people who need help rebuilding their lives. we are funding investigation of mass graves and care for the victims of gender-based violence. those who have escaped captivity. we engage with the government of our dad to make sure that their security forces are representative and inclusive. we are coordinating with coalition partners to choke 's finances and slow recruitment of foreign fighters. we are preparing to liberate occupied territory with an eye to the protection of minority communities. in particular, the liberation of and parts of syria that are currently occupied by daesh. that will decide if there is still a future for minority communities in this part of the

middle east. , thehose communities stakes in this campaign are utterly existential. this is the fight that daesh has defined. daesh has created this. daesh has targeted their victims. daesh has self defined itself as genocidal. mind thatar in the best response is a reaffirmation of the fundamental right to survive of every group targeted for destruction. to be race, wes must preserve. that requires defeating daesh and the rejection of bigotry, discrimination. those things that facilitated its rise in the first place. that means that as more areas are liberated, residents will need help to repair infrastructure and to ensure that minorities can return in safety.

that they are integrated into local security forces and receive equal protection under the law. our goal is not just to defeat daesh, only to find that in a terroristsome new group with a different acronym has taken its place. our purpose is to marginalize and defeat violent extremists once and for all. that is not easy. we know that. as president obama and i have said, it will not happen overnight. today, i say to our yellow citizens and the international community, we must recognize what daesh is doing to its victims. we must hold the perpetrators theuntable, and find resources to help those harmed by the atrocities be able to survive on their ancestral land. naming these crimes is important . what is essential is to stop them.

that will require unity in this country, and within the countries directly involved. the determination to act against genocide, ethnic cleansing, other crimes against humanity must be pronounced among decent people across the globe. thank you. in justll hear more under 10 minutes at the heritage foundation about the issue of religious genocide by isis. , thell hear from nina shea director of the hudson institute's center for religious freedom. that is coming up again at noon. john kirby, the spokesperson for the state department elaborated on what secretary kerry had to say. we will show you his news conference from yesterday as we wait to go live to the heritage foundation.

>> i do not have an opening statement. it is st. patrick's day. happy st. patrick's day. >> i'm looking for the pint of guinness. i do not see it. i will defer to anyone who has questions about the genocide of announcement. >> we were told yesterday you would not be able to make an announcement today, then you were. what is that about? >> going into yesterday, we said that. it was the middle of the day here that was our assessment yesterday afternoon. that we did not think we were going to make the legislative mandate deadline of today. we wanted to be open, frank, and honest. we came out and talked about it.

in the afternoon and into the evening hours, the staff kept working on this, the secretary kept working on this. we were able to get to a point where the secretary was comfortable making the announcement he made today. and happily we were able to meet the deadline. it was just an honest effort to and thee open with you american people about where we felt we were yesterday afternoon. direction withy members of congress? were they insisting on meeting the deadline? >> the pressure to work into the night was self-imposed. the secretary takes these deadlines seriously, obviously. been a former senator himself, and he wanted to do everything we could to make it on time. we did.

on by not being spurred last-minute calls from members of congress. i did not need to be reminded that it was a real deadline and that we had an obligation to meet it. >> is it ironic that in your quest to be transparent, you ended up being wrong. [laughter] >> may be ironic. i am afraid it is not the first time and probably not the last. if we're going to be wrong about some thing, that is a pretty good thing. >> we were told the secretary had asked for additional information. did any additional information come in in the final 24-hours that allowed you to make the determination? >> i don't know if i would describe fresh data and analysis in the last 24-hours, but there was more staff work and that needed to be done, and he personally wanted to do for

himself to be able to make the assessment that he made this morning. i cannot tell you that fresh data came in and the last few hours that turned the tide. we had been, and is important to note, that we had a congressional deadline and had been working on this for many months. certainly, even more aggressively in the past month or so. the work had already been proceeding. in the past several weeks, the secretary did ask the staff for more information and analysis as we got closer to the deadline. nothing in the past several hours that was new or fresh. squarely, address, the practical implications of

this determination on u.s. policy toward islamic state? >> let me answer it this way. with this determination does is it helps us layout for the sake of history would we all know and have seen this group do to innocent people in iraq and syria. it also recognizes in a very way, the-- overt suffering of so many individuals. recognizes that. number three, we hope that it will help galvanize communities at home and abroad, as well as nongovernmental organizations. it will galvanize the world, quite frankly, to help us all do

more to defeat this group and to help us continue to collect and analyze information about their atrocities. real, practical results. are you asking me, will it change the military strategy against daesh? i don't see that. the president has ari decided -- has already decided months ago to intensify our efforts against the group, not only militarily, though that is one line that we have done and you will continue to see that. into its occasion isn't over -- the densification isn't over. workis distinct from the that got us to today to go after this group with more energy. and with more effort along all of the lines of efforts. so, i do not foresee an implication of this

determination, specifically, to the policy and defeating and destroying the group. one thing that i would say is that in august of 2014 when it was clear that they were basically exterminating all of the yazidis residence on mount sinjar, that is when the air strike started. from that time, we have been acting as if these are acts of genocide. clearly, that was their intent. they stated it and were trying to enact it. --treated it from genocide as genocide from the beginning. >> what is intensifying? what is going to be intensified? the scope intensified of airstrikes. we have intensified our efforts to counter their messaging. our undersecretary here for

public diplomacy is working with partners around the world to stand up counter messaging centers. we have put more pressure on their financial networks. , in the last couple of joined afghanistan has the coalition. there has been an intensification nationally and internationally. you will see that continue. this is a group that isn't the same as it was in august 2014. they do not move, operate, or communicate the same. they are having trouble obtaining and keeping foot soldiers. we are seeing that over and over in their increasing use of child soldiers and taking down defectors. >> you can see this online at c-span.org. we take your lead to the discussion at the heritage foundation on genocide by isis. the main speaker is