orton to the house of representatives and with president donald trump in the white house for four more years, wisconsin, we are going to make america grade again -- again. thank you all very much. god bless you and god bless america. ♪ [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

>> this evening, senator kamala harris makes her acceptance speech as the vice presidential nominee for the democratic party and leading up to a coverage watch speeches from other women vice president shall nominees, geraldine ferraro and sarah palin. speeches today at 6 p.m. eastern only on c-span. your unfiltered view of politics. ♪ , available innts paperback, hardcover and e-book from public affairs presented biographies of every president inspired by conversations with historians about the leadership skills that make for a successful presidency. electionresidential year, as americans decide who should lead our country, this collection offers perspectives into the lives and events that forged each president's leadership style. to learn more about all of our presidents and the books

historians visit c-span.org/the presidents. available in paperback, hardcover and e-book wherever books are sold. joining us now is the president and ceo of the naacp, derrick johnson. thank you for being on our show. whereu talk about african-american support was for the democratic ticket's four years ago and what needs to change for joe biden? derrick: we had a high percentage of voters supporting the democratic party in 2016 but we did see a drop in voter participation, about 7%, which is the first time in 20 years you have seen a drop in african-american voting. i believe as a result of the announcement of kamala harris, you will see an increase in

voter turnout compared to 2016. n voter turnout compared to 2016. down i understood you set with candidate biden to talk about issues, racial equality at the top of that list. guest: we are in the midst of the george floyd controversy. there are lots of questions about structural racism. i thought it was a good opportunity to talk about how we address racism, something that has plagued to this country for decades. we must grow beyond our negative past to get to a future and perfect this union. what does a biden administration specifically need to do to address issues? and anyny campaign elected official needs to start looking at how their public policy is impacting

african-americans and a negative way. we have a real problem with mass incarceration for the same type crimes african-americans are incarcerated at a rate that is multiples of the rest of the generation. education for our children, where a children is born, the zip code determines the quality of their education. we have seen over the last several decades of resegregation of america. resegregation is based on economic alliance. there is less empathy, less eirection of valuabl resources. there are multiple things that could or should be addressed through public policy to push back against structural racism. host: to what degree does the vice president work on the 94 crime bill or senator harris is

work as attorney -- senator attorney --k as an how does that affect every can american support for the ticket? affectdoes that african-american's support for the ticket? guest: what we have now is a public discourse that is divisive. we are looking at scenarios where xenophobia, anti-semitism, racism have become a standard. many want to get out of where we are so we can start to repair and rebuild some of the ground we lost. look at our economic system right now. we are on the brink of destroying it. thatandemic has been one has impacted african-americans, impacted this nation. we lack of federal response. these are all things people will

be more concerned about than anything else. host: if you want to ask him questions, you can call us (202) republicans, (202) 748-8000 fou -- (202) 748-8001 for republicans, (202) 748-8000 independents, and (202) 748-8002. president trump has pulled does -- abysmally with african-americans and hispanics. on recent executive order safe policing encourages law enforcement to adopt stricter standards on use of force. how do you respond yucca -- respond? guest: more could be done.

there is a lot of good language, but we need more enforcement. we need to do away with qualified immunity. we need to establish a database of police misconduct so bad actor officers are not allowed to go from one agency to the next committing heinous crimes and misconduct. when you look at the first step act, there is so much more that can be done. where those two issues exist, there is so much more impacting african-americans. we are over three times more likely to die from covid. we are sitting in the midst of the pandemic. we had to force the administration to release race data. the economic collapse we are looking at, we have so many workers who are essential workers not provided with any ppe. we are not giving them hazard

pay. he is forcing kids to go back to school in person without a true plan to mitigate the spread of the virus, which could create a super spreader event. there are so many things we are living now you cannot point to two things you did earlier this year or last year. what about now? host: the president was touting the unemployment rate amongst african-americans. was that an achievement before the pandemic hit? hest: i didn't see anything did to address the unemployment rate of african american community. what we see in this administration is the legacy of eight years of progress addressing the unemployment rate. you look at the trajectory in 2007 and you see how employment americans, all

especially african-americans from 2009 onwards. that was the growth of the market. what i hear is taking credit for work done. i'm looking -- host: let's hear from lawrence in st. paul, minnesota. independent line. lawrence, go ahead. derrick,erek, the -- the issue of a single family homes in the black community, and the number of black males in prison is skewed towards black males because they do not have fathers or homes. i have yet to hear the naacp or democrat party speak to what is indeed an issue that needs to be addressed. you had black lives matter talk manifestohe -- their

talk about how the nuclear family is a concept. that does not load well. you need mom -- that does not bode well. i would love to hear your comments. sayinglet me start by mass incarceration has had a devastating effect on the african-american community. when you look at crack cocaine, that was an excel rater that broke up the home -- and accelerator that broke up the home. it created a level of trauma and distress in the home that broke up homes. it is not unusual for there to be single family homes in black or white communities. we need to look at the root causes of that so we can address those root causes. i can tell you if you have education, stable job opportunities and it safe and secure neighborhoods that are

not redlined, that takes you a long way to address anything dealing with single-family homes and the lack of african-american males in those homes. if we get to the causes we can get to the outcome of the problem. what you discussed is serious. it is a symptom of several root causes that we must address. host: new jersey, james on our democrats line. caller: the structural racism we see now is not being distressed -- discussed. i know people in new jersey who have the law on their side yet judges are turning a blind eye. great statement. if you have a question, i want to respond, but i agree with you. you look at the number of the foreclosures that will begin to accelerate.

african-americans are more likely to be foreclosed on for no other reason than -- historic redlining or targeting zip codes where some homes have less value by nature of being in the wrong zip code. the homes can be of the same quality. it has been a long-standing people, the lack of wanting to work with african-american homeowners to ensure they can stabilize those properties to -- through hard times has been a problem. african-american homes are being foreclosed on at the same time for white homeowners, the bank will go in and to do a work around so it is not a foreclosure, therefore skewing the numbers when both are being impacted because of the economic downturn. host: there is a story in reuters about the president defending political appeals to

american suburban women saying people living in peaceful neighborhoods don't want people coming in and forcing low income housing down their throats. guest: what we see is moving from dog whistle politics to direct racial appeal. it is truly going back in time. race is one of the most powerful react.o get people to it creates emotionalism. often times that is done to score political points or get people to vote against their interest. at the end of the day, making those type of lofty statements for racial appeal does nothing for the policy impact. you have a president who right now can set a course to address so much of what he stated in appeal,at is not racial that has policy impact, and he has failed to do that. independent line.

caller: i was calling about two items. one, public education and that goes in line with the context of housing. housing value dictates public funding ash do you hear me -- do you hear me? i just want to make sure it is clear. broadband extension, we need that to go through our municipal utilities, as it is right now a public utility. i want to discuss the interest of the naacp and its long stance since brown, which is where we are with public education. the ground the board decision was the manifesto to dismantle the defective jim crow. if youot have the --

would speak to the naacp perspective on disavowing the creation of the diversion of the public tax dollar fund to charter vouchers, scholarship opportunities for black children now being used as a contact to dismantle and privatize the public education system. it red lines are neighborhoods d grading schools as a d, c, ,b,c,d. host: we will let our guest respond to what you put out there. board ofwn v. education dismantled overt segregation but when it came back the next year, they said

deliberatecannot be and with speed at the same time. as a result of that, they gave many jurisdictions into state governments the opportunity to redesign the funding for education and come up with schemes not to comply with the mandate. --y are fighting to ensure whether you are talking about , inproperty value particular jurisdiction, african-american property is undervalued compared to white property and it is done by jurisdiction. --n you look at the enclave families move out of surrey and -- certain jurisdictions and create an enclave outside of an education system then you have segregated based on how people live. any time you have a tipping point of around 25% of the kids,

you see it happen again. the way we fund public education is antiquated and much of it was created to get around the crown mandate. we are the only civilized nation -- the brown end date. we are the only civilized nation in the world that outsources education. most countries see quality education for all citizens as worker development, whether it is canada or germany, you name it. you do not find people outsourcing elaborate quality education. we have a problem that is part of the structural racism system we have seen. and: we saw senator harris joe biden during the debates go back and forth on the issue of segregation and bussing and now

they are together on the same ticket. what does that mean? guest: it means you had someone who had a position, and experience of the reality. it now we have an opportunity if they are elected to a chart a course forward. what does that mean then? it means we have the opportunity to do something great and big. for citizens across this country, ask american -- this is our opportunity to ensure that people get elected based on a value proposition of inclusion and from there it is upon us to enforce a public policy landscape that reflects that value proposition. just like fdr said, "i agree with you not making me do it." elected, everything

-- it is a be fixed day of transition. they have the opportunity to advance in society through public policy. host: stafford, virginia. democrats line. caller: you are doing an astronomical job. i envy you. support you. i want to talk about voting a couple years back. now, they mark thinkthink -- mark has i illegitimately tried to get elected. the integrity commission of mr. pentz -- can you elaborate on that? guest: i don't know all the

details, but i can say north carolina has been an epicenter of trying to subvert the voting process. any you say kris kobach, it jumps off the page because there was a scheme to suppress african-american votes, a scheme to subvert the micro c, and a scheme to skirt -- to subvert democracy and a scheme to skirt the law. we have a problem in this country where on one side people say they are patriotic and they love this democracy and on the others they do all they can to subvert democracy by limiting access to the voting ballot. host: here is her shard, shard,rd, -- here is ra stafford, texas. caller: i was calling.

, withstion was more so the democrats in particular, what would be some key factors to empower black males in our communities? i guess i am answering the question myself, but how do we get educated about how to establish our own equity and our own selves does -- self sustainability? i want to know how democrats feel about that. nonpartisan.acp is political parties are vehicles. political parties do not define the agenda. individuals make up the political parties that define party platforms. african-americans have to define how to build equity.

we hefted define what public -- wees align with our half to define what public policies align with us. host: what will your organization be involved with in regards to the election? guest: we will be involved with increasing black voter turnout. it is disheartening when you see an erosion of black voter turnout in 2016, the first time in over 20 years. we had a historic turnout in 2012. we need to come back to that level to make sure our voices are heard at the ballot box. naacp does not tell people how to vote. we want to make sure individuals in our community are voting because in order for us to have a representative democracy all of our voices -- everyone needs to be registered so our voices can be heard. host: from jerry in mississippi.

caller: i am concerned about the .lection in the near future i would like for you to elaborate on may be poll watchers, what they watch for and what they need to be concerned because here in mississippi we have to be very vigilant about the boat. -- about the vote. commend all our poll workers. they go in each election cycle, they get a nominal fee for 12 hours a day there. we must support our poll workers wherever possible. with our election administrators

to ensure our workers have the necessary ppe equipment, make sure you thank them when you go to the polls. often times they are overworked and underappreciated. this will be a historic election. it is historic because of all the back and forth in mail-in voting. we ask people -- we are asking people to take a chance with their health in order to exercise their right to vote. they have to exercise their right to vote. we would not have this outcome 2016 were not for the election and the anemic response to the pandemic. we need more poll workers to step up at this moment, poll workers who are in -- younger. wherever you are located support your poll workers by making sure they have ppe. we saw yesterday from the

postmaster general suspending the planned changes leading up to the election. what did you think of that response? guest: i think it is good he won't make any future changes. the real question now is how he is going to repair the harm done immediately. the fact that when we take the opportunity to destroy one of our longest standing institutions in this democracy for the express purpose of the coming election, it completely undermines this process and borders in my opinion on treason. you cannot say you are a patriot on one hand and on the others destroy an institution so you can influence the election. that is what dictators too. that is what we see in other countries we go to war over. a woodland,

republican line. maureen. caller: i would like to know first of all i am considering turning into a democrat. the other thing that is bothering me right now is there are so many things happening in the inner cities. it is really hurtful to see these little kids being killed by back -- black on black crime. is there some kind of plan from the ncaa or your organization to help these people and get rid of some of these dirtbags representing these cities? you have a good day. guest: a couple of things. i am not here representing the democratic party. i am here representing the naacp .

i am concerned with what we have seen in many cities and what we know to be a solution is making sure people have opportunities and jobs. hope starts in classrooms. we need better funded schools so people can understand what is possible. people need to begin fully employed. they need a career path that is attainable. what we have seen in this nation is intentional blighting of communities. you have so many people left behind. you see a level of lawlessness because people lack hope. people lack any way to navigate out of those scenarios and we all have a role to play to reduce the number -- it is not a republican issue, it is not a democratic issue, it is a societal issue. host: derrick johnson, president of the naacp.

♪ coverage of the democratic national committee and continues tonight with former secretary of state hillary clinton, democratic vice presidential nominee kamala harris and former president barack obama. watch live coverage tonight at 9:00 eastern on c-span, live oreaming at c-span.org listen with the free c-span radio app. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. >> for only the third time in u.s. history, a major political party is nominating a woman to be their vice presidential candidate. the first time was in 1984, when democrats chose geraldine ferraro. 24 years later, republicans nominated then alaska governor