judy: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" the fight for 15. debate continues on raising the federal minimum wage as income iner "y in the u.s. grows ever wider. then, getting the vaccine. we look at the reasons why many health workers remain hesitant to receive covid inoculations. and disconnected. amid the pandemic, millions of students with limited broadband access are at risk of falling further behind. >> until internet is looked upon not as a luxury but as a need, we're going to have this gap. and it's unfortunate that this

is dividing us in a country that's already divided. judy: all that and more on "the pbs newshour." >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> before we talk about your investments, what's new? >> audrey's expecting. >> twins. >> we'll be closer to the twins. >> at fidelity a change in plans is always part of the plan. >> consumer cellular. johnson & johnson. bnsf railway. the kendeda fund. more an kendedafund.orgful the

carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in democratic engagement and the international peace and security. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. announcer: this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs news station from viewers like you. thank you. >> i'm stephanie sy with newshour west. we'll return to the show after these headlines.

the u.s. has carry out an air strike in a building in eastern syria. president biden ordered the air strike, the first under his administration. the strikes were authorized in response to recent attacks against the u.s. in iraq. they destroyed multiple facilitieses at a border checkpoint used by iranian-backed militant groups. the campaign to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 was dealt a critical blow this evening. the senate parliamentarian a nonelected official determined the proposal could not be included in the democrat's covid relief bill as it advances to the budget reconciliation process. biden's press secretary said, the president is disappointed and that he will work with kong to determine the best path forward. we'll have more on the debate over the minimum wage after the news. president biden marked a helpful milestone in the pandemic today.

the country's 50 millionth covid vacks nation. he said the u.s. is ahead of schedule on vaccinating 100 million people in his first 100 days in office. >> this is not a victory lap. this is -- everything's not fixed. be we have a long way to go. and -- and that day when everything is back to normal depends on all of us. >> more than 45 million people in the u.s. have received at least one shot of the pfizer or moderna vaccines. johnson & johnson vaccine could receive emergency approval tomorrow. the number of americans filing new unemployment claims fell sharply last week to 730,000. the drop suggested layoffs caused by the pandemic may be easing. but the overall figure is still historically high. the president's nominee for surgeon general vowed today his overriding priority will be the harm that covid is causing

american families. he spoke at his u.s. confirmation hearing and added a personal note. >> there are issues that have been worsened by covid, mental health and substance abuse disorders and those are any accompanying priorities as well. to me this is very personality. i've lost seven family members to covid. >> also today, the full senate confirmed former michigan governor jennifer granhome to be secretary of energy. the sexual abuse that engulfed u.s. women's gymnastic took a shocking turn. john gedderd was charged with human trafficking, sexual assault and other offenses. after the charges were announced, gedderd died by suicide of we'll return to this later in the program. >> the u.s. house of representives has voted to ban

gender -- most republicans said it violates religious freedoms. it's prospects in the senate are unclear. the acting u.s. capitol police chief warned today that extremists might again target the capitol when president biden addresses a joint session of kong. pittman appeared at a u.s. house hearing and said there are continuing threats. she said her agency never expected the large pro-trump mob on january 6th because they had muddled intelligence from an f.b.i. report. >> that f.b.i. document also stated that this is an information report. not finally evaluated intelligence. it was being shared for informational purposes, but has nod been integrated with other information, interpreted or analyzed. receiving agencies are requested

not to take action based on this raw reporting. stephanie: about 800 protestors breached the capital out of more than 10,000 who masked outside. in myanmar supporters of the junta attacked supporters. some were cut off and beaten by groups of attackers. police stood by and did not intervene. back in the country, texas lawmakers grilled the state power grid operate other over last week's winter storm blackouts, but the head of ercot insisted that the blackouts prevented even worst outages. the legislature will stay in session until it don'ts reforms. and mr. and mrs. potato head are going gender neutral. hasbro will now market the classic toys as potato head. it's the late nest a series of adjustments to classic toys. barbie comes in multiple skin

tones and the thomas the tank lineup has added female characters. still to come -- debate sbess fights over raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. a foreman u.s. gymnastic coach dies by suicide following charges of human trafficking and sexual assault. many healthcare workers remain hesitant to receive covid inoculations and much more. >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state ufert. -- university. >> we learned this everyoning that president biden and other democrats have lost the battle to raise the federal minimum wage in their covid relief bill. but as workers and employers struggle, the debate has taken new urgency.

we hear from them now and then from two economists. >> hi, my name is denore gordon, i am a food service worker and have been for more than 30 years. and i am in favor of raising the minimum wage. >> my name is naya marshall, i own a restaurant in the city of detroit. >> my name is christian cardona, i'm and a mcdonald's worker here in other land orks florida. >> my name is carrie burkett, i own a boutique in lexington, kentucky. my name is lotonya jones. i have been caring field. i am a housekeeper, a confidant. prescription official, shover, i do all this for my clients. and make $10 an hour. i ask my daughter today how me being in this field has impacted her. she didn't get to see me a lot

because i'm working so much. she sees me struggling to make sure the bills are paid, to make sure that we have food. and that's a hard thing to hear from your child. >> workers are all college age. so the minimum wage increase sounds great to all the college girls and for the business owners, i think it's a little different. you start to think, can i even afford to have the girls that i have on a schedule? if i want to keep all of them because i would want to. i'm going to have to cut their hours. i would try to keep all my employees, but it would be very hard. eventually, something would have to give. >> 10 years ago, my father and my sister and i came to this country. we came here seeking better opportunities. we believed in the american drm. but the reality is that people who work very hard in the

country can still live paycheck to paycheck. we all live less than $12 an hour. raising the minimum wage to a living wage would mean for me that i would be able to afford to go to school and seek higher education to go for a job that i love, do something that i care about. >> i don't think that wages should be increased during a pandemic, because most businesses are barely making it. as it stands right now, i'm barely keeping my doors open week by week. 48% of black businesses have closed as of right now. adding a wage hike would add a huge number of closures. what that mean my employees would be on unemployment. we already have a labor shortage as it stands right now. >> right now, i'm working as a 55-year-old with carpel tunnel

is rolling silverware in a restaurant. i've worked every day of this pandemic. and to say the least at my age, it's been stressful. raising the minimum wage, the effect on my life would be substantial. at this point of my life, i'm stockpiling everything i can in my social security. i need be able to hopefully not retire in absole poverty. many americans feel completely lost in this society of work, work, work, until you die. there must be more than the american dream than that. >> raising the minimum wage will have both positive and negative effects on the economy. the question is on net, will it be good for the country? and we're joined by two economists with different perspectives on that question. michael strain is the director of economic policy studies at the american enterprise institute in washington.

and aaron dubet is a professor of massachusetts amherst. i want to start with you, michael. we heard from workers who have been o the front line fighting the pandemic some of whom are making $10 an hour. given all the inequitys that have been laid bare in the last year of this pandemic, is now the time to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour? >> i think the economies does have inequities. and they should be addressed by public policies. don't disagree by. -- i don't disagree with it. the best question is how do we address those inequities? i don't think a $15 minimum wage is the best tool. the policy debates find for the $15 an hour minimum wage will reduce employment opportunity biss over -- opportunities by

over one million jobs. who's going to be getting those jobs? it's going to be the at least skilled, least experienced, most vulnerable workers who are going to bear the costs of that policy. i would look to a different policy. i would look to federal earnings cities -- subsidies, programs like that that can be used to pull people out of poverty but that wouldn't have the effect of eliminating over a million job opportunities. >> you mentioned the c.b.o.'s most recent analysis. so i want to talk about those numbers before we get to mr. dubet. they say with a $15 minimum wage hike, it's projected that 900,000 people could be lifted out of poverty. 27 million people would get a raise. and 1.4 million jobs would be lost.

with that in mind, aaron dubet, with all the job losses with the pandemic, is now the time more even if it means that hundreds of thousands of people would be lifted out of positive? >> first of all, i think it's important to understand that we have not raised the federal minimum wage for almost a dozen years. that's the longest that we have not raised the minimum wage since we've had the minimum wage wage in 1938. so i think it's the right time to raise the minimum wage. look, we are not really talking about raising a very substantial raise in the minimum wage during the pandemic. we're talking about phasing in over a number of years. so i want to think abo where we would be five years from now without a minimum wage. i think we would be in a place where low wage jobs -- all these workers are going to struggle even more. so let's look at the c.b.o.

numbers. c.b.o. numbers said 27 million people are going to get a raise from the this policy. and they argue that 1 prnt 4 million fewer jobs will be there. over all even if you take the c.b.o. number seriously, means that working people as a whole comes out far ahead because the gains are greater than any job losses. and as a result nearly a million people are pulled out of poverty. i happen to think that those estimates and job losss that the c.b.o. put out are too pessmix. i laid out in great detail why i think those estimates tend to really put more weight on some of the most negative studies that actually have been done to date, which actually have been shown to have a lot of problems. >> that gets to another question i have, which is the number $15 an hour which is a lot compared to what was proposed when for

example president obama was president. and he proposed $10 an hour. michael strain, i want to ask you about that. there are places, for example, in the south where folks are certaining that federal minimum wage that has not been changed for a decade just over $7.65 an hour. isn't it time to look at some type of raise? and can you see how that might minimize job losses, and yet lift at least a few hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty, which is what the c.b.o. estimate was for $10 an hour. >> going to $15 would have a significant market in many of these states. there are three state where half of workers earn less than 6.50. and that should tell you how high a $15 minimum wage is. you're talk about a wage that

would directly affect a huge share of workers in many -- in many states, in, in over a dozen states. and the effects of that -- in my mind pretty clearly point to -- point to job losses. you're right that a lot of those states currently have a $7.25 minimum wage. you would be more than doubling the minl -- minimum in those states. those states are particularly low wage. think aaron is right to point the the trade-off. you're going to have jobs that are lost. and at the same time you're going to have households with higher income because most households are going to keep their jobs and those that are affected by the minimum wage are going to get a raise. the question is, is that trade-off worth it? and i think the answer is no. >> aaron, what is your response to system of michael's alternatives to raising the

minimum wage? and also what do you say to people who say why not continue to leave this up to cities and states based on the cost of living in though low kales? >> in terms of regional variation in practice, we actually do have regional variation because especially higher wage blue states tend to have higher state minimum wages. and so we actually do accomplish that by allowing states and increasingly cities to having higher minimums. at the same time, there are, you know, around almost, you know, maybe around 21 states that currently have not had a federal increaser any other increase for near lay dozen years. so i do think we need a federal floor to insure that low wage workers everywhere are reached be it alabama or be it massachusetts. >> we'll have to leave it there. aaron dubet with the university of massachusetts at amherst and michael strain from the american institute. thank you both.

>> thanks for having us. >> as we reported earlier there were shocking developments in the world of u.s. olympic sports today. former women's gymnastics coach john gedderd died by suicide after being charged with human trafficking and sexual assault. christine brennan, long-time reporter for "u.s. today" has covered sports for years. christine, thank you for joining us. this is just another terrible turn in what seems to be a steady stream of awful news coming from women's gymnastics. >> to begin to fathom this terrible dark nightmare, this awful labyrinth of lies and

deceit that these men, larry nassar is the name that many people know, in jail now, serving a 60-year term for his sexual abuse of so many of these young women with more potential charges and jail time to come. and now john gedderd the coach who worked hand in hand with larry nassar side by side for at least a quarter of a century, maybe more in michigan at this -- at this gym in lansing, michigan. we're talking about hundreds of young women who were sexually abused. that's one of the reasons why there was such joy in the gymnastic community when gedderd was brought to justice when the charges were announced. and then of course, the news that he died by suicide adds just another layer to it. unbelievable tragedy and a nightmare within something that

we expect that's something so beautiful and so pure and so lovely, these kids playing sports. judy: one of the many questions i have, christine is how did it take so long for this to come out. the gymnast said as long ago as 2000, over two decades ago, people knew that this was going on. she put it in her book, a couple of years ago. why has it taken this long for this to be known and for there to be charges? >> judy, this is a question that should be shouted from the roof tops. why was no one listening to these young women? and why was the power dynamic in -- in this sport as disease in many sports, youth sports, why was it so difficult for any of these young women to believe that they would be heard or that they would be comfortable to speak out? this goes to the very heart of obviously abuse in this case

horrible, years, decades long sexual abuse but the power dynamic involved with any sport. and it's something that people should be looking at. this is triggering so many conversations that hopefully get us to a better place. but you've got these gymnasts who are being abused by larry nassar and there's the -- in the charges -- also charges that gedderd abused one teenage girl. you've go this going and no one speaks out. you're hoping to go to the olympic games and you're hoping to make a big state competition and it would take a lot for a young teenage girl who spent years and years in the gym and her parents are spend all this money, maybe even mortgaging

their home to have this girl follow her dream to then be able to step up and say, you know, i'm being sexually abused. and in some cases the girls didn't no what this was. larry nassar says i have to work in this area of your body because of your back or whatever pain you have and they didn't know any better. the notion that no one look out for these kids that no one was able to speak out for them and they felt so hampered from speaking out themselves. it is truly one of the tragedies of american sports and something we'll be talking about for years to come. judy: we want to remember and think about as you were telling us those young girls who grown up to be young women but who carry this with them throughout their enter lives. christine brennan, thank you very much. >> thank you, judy.

♪ judy: covid-19 vaccines were developed with record-breaking speed and rolled out first to front line healthcare workers across the country. be despite being first in line many of those workers have decided getting the delay on those shots. >> you want to sign these out? >> since mid december dr. cappie ferrer has been going nonstop. >> we're holding these clinics monday through friday 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. >> an infectious disease expert at children's national hospital in washington, d.c. ferrer is leading the charge to vaccinate all staff who work at the medical facility. >> you better go on and poke me and get it over with. >> that's more than 8,000 people. and ferrer says most have gotten their first shot. but not all. >> 1500 straight out said no, i'm not getting that vaccine. >> what were the reasons?

>> i would say -- a lot of it was because they were being cautious in terms of they were like, this is the first time. i'm not going to be the guinea pig. other folks had misinformation. there's covid in that vaccine. that's going to change your d.n.a. >> among the skeptical, nurse quitra williams. >> there's no way there's a vaccine for covid 9 this quickly. >> williams warned her family against it. >> they looked for it for my professional opinion. and at the time i said absolutely not. no one gets this vaccine, i mean, no one. >> i was leery because it seems like they were rushing things. you to hurry up and find something and is it really going to work? >> jane kiefer a certified nurse for 45 years was worried about side effects. she got the vaccine after getting covid then losing her husband to a heart attack. >> and i lost my husband a week after i had covid.

so -- >> oh, i'm so sorry. i can't afford to get sick. no one's around to take care of me anymore. >> the first in line for limited supply, research show about 1/3 remain reluctant. it's been highest among black and latino workers who are more likely to contract covid-19 than their white colleagues. >> we have to acknowledge them and listen to themmle >> dr. julie moritsa the vice o.t. the robert wood johnson foundation which is a funder of the newshour. >> some of these communities have reasons to have distrust of the healthcare system, distrust of the government because of historic because of discrimination or mistreatment. we have to talk to them. what is the information they need feel more confident in getting vaccinated? >> ferrer found herself having that conversation not only at work with colleagues but also at home with her wife.

>> when the vaccine was first made available to both of you, did you both jump at the chance to get it? >> no. no. i mean, not me, anyway. >> dr. clarissa dudley works with d.c.'s children's hospital. >> i'm assuming she's going to be onboard with me. should we get it on the same day? what about side effects? she goes i'm not getting this vaccine. i said how can you not get the vaccine? she started giving me all these reasons. >> what were those reasons? >> i am black first in this country. and that has with it a lot of baggage to tell you the truth. and so my public health degree the culminating experience was related to the relationship between black people and physicians. and that relationship has been a cantankerous ones. those are the kind of things that are deeply embedded and challenging to overcome even

someone who is a scientist. people in the community are being thoughtful about the vaccine. >> you use the word "thoughtful." fair to say there's mistrust? >> oh, absolutely. >> skepticism? >> a lot of mistrust and skepticism. >> were you surprised that there was that level of skepticism? >> i was not because having had that experience, that always went to that. >> i looked at the data, gained knowledge for myself so i can make a decision that was not only that i could support but that i could, like, encourage other people to support. >> and do you agree that? >> once dudley was onboard, ferrer enlisted her to convince other colleagues.

>> i know that staff are environmental services staff and many black americans and latinos. i knew that her as a messenger would resonate far more than i would. >> also hearing it from somebody who was hesitant. >> and calming the challenge. >> we talked about the branding. that's not a great idea to call the old, warp speed. >> the doctors found that following up paid off. >> if you text them and say hey, we have an streaks dose and i saw you the -- we have a dose, and i saw you the other day. >> were you really following up. >> i said this is the third time you asked me dr. ferrer. >> we know from market research

that it takes 17 touch points before you can even consider something. >> the williams that's what made the difference. >> she kept providing more and more information, you know, any question she was willing to answer. i will be texting her, what do you think? so she was very instrumental in me getting the vaccine. >> also dee acceptance, insuring access is easy. >> nakisha works at children's registration. today, she's getting her second shot. >> i wanted to see if they had any reactions or side effects that i should be aware of. i was encouraged to get it. so i did. >> this is my girl right here! >> christine brown works security at children's, a covid survivor she had early doubts and waited. >> i heard like different stories like some of them said -- a lot of people said, well, the shot gave them headaches. they were mainly talking about

the side effects of it. >> after a few weeks of consideration, brown opted for the shot. today, she says it gives her a sense of peace. >> i mean, that's it. >> for dudley and ferrer earning the trust of their colleagues is the necessary first step to wider acceptance. >> one of the reasons why the c.d.c. decided to vaccinate healthcare workers first because typically healthcare workers are seen as trusted people of the community. we knew that that had future ripple effects in the community. >> recognizing that our community is dying. brown and black people are dying at significant rates and we need do something to try to limit the spare that's happening there. >> patience and persistence, they say are what it will take to keep the vaccine effort moving forward. i'm onmas in washington d.c.

judy: now, during the pandemic, the federal government has given billions of dollars to state and local governments to boost access to broadband internet. yet many children in this country still can't connect for class. john yang reports on the persistent digital divide. it's the first of two reports tonight as part of our race matters series. >> so you're not going to say she? or you're going to say her? >> tuesday morning at frances marion school in the city of marion, a handful of students are in class. >> so information in this speech is missing -- >> officials suspended in-person learning because of the threat of coronavirus. but many students are still here two days aweek because they can't get online at home and neither can some of their

teachers. >> i will prefer to be at home. but my situation calls for me to be here. >> english teacher temp ra tucker. >> i live in a very, very country type area in the suburban way out in the country. especially with me, i could hear my students. they could hear me sometimes. but the connection was very, very off in the country. >> you know, it's almost like, we're like mayberry r.f.d. in 2021. >> kathy trimble is the principal, an overwhelmingly african-american pre-k through 12th grade school. 90% of the students receive reduced price lunches. the school won an apple grant. and all 800 students received free i pads. tremble says that was a great help when students are in school. >> what it does is it prohibits

them or blocks them off from the rest of the world without the internet, it was just like a book with no pages. >> marion is the seed of perry county in central alabama and home to a rich civil rights history that echos today. in february of 1965, a white state trooper killed jimmy lee jackson a young unarmed black man while jackson was defending his mother during a voting rights demonstration. his murder inspired the bloody sunday march from selma to montgomery that sparked the passage of the voth rights act. if years the area struggled. rural, poor and on the dark side of the digital divide. >> it's almost like we're out in the woods and we're yelling and screaming. and because there's no one around, no one hears us. >> before the pandemic, she was

on the dance and cheerleading squads and was a strong student. but at home just 10 minutes from downtown marion, she's often unable to get online and has fallen behind in her schoolwork. >> it takes a long time for your assignments to load up. it jump a little bit. so you won't get all the way through. or it will start you all the way over. >> the pandemic has brought the digital divide into sharp relief. for private internet service providers there's often too little incentive to fill gaps particularly in hard to reach rural areas. and so millions of americans like vinera are left in the digital dark. last year, they used cares act funding to give her and her brother a wi-fi hot spot after deploying wi-fi enabled buses didn't work. >> every step that we took, we

had to in some instances had to step back and rethink this and come up with a plan b. and now we're on plan c, de. i'm not sure where we are. >> but most days the hot spot is unreliable too says her mother who also depends on it for telehealth visits to manage her sigh dye -- her diabetes. >> it's sketchy. some days it drags. or some days it won't pick up at off. >> and it's not strong enough for all three children to get online for remote instruction leading to incomplete assignments, slipping scores and a lot of frustration. >> it makes me upset. it's not being able to help them when i know they can do their work. they know their work. the only thing hindering them.

>> it's a lack of broadband access to systemic inequalities. >> nicole turner from the brookings institution. she spent months traveling across the done true documenting the lack of broadband access. people of color particularly african americans and latinas and people from tribal lands who are struggling with a set of systemic inequalities, economic socially and pled political that keeps them on the outskirts of educational achievement they're struggling by not being connected. and even more so today. >> the federal communications commission estimates that nearly 14.5 million americans lack reliable broadband access. but many say the way the f.c.c. counts is highly inaccurate and paints an overly rosy picture.

brooned band now estimates the numbers of disconnected americans at 42 million. about half the country have slow or unreliable internet. >> we're seeing losses to kids who are not connected to any type of schooling. among african-american or latina kids it's upwards of a year where they will not have cognitive retention of basic skills. that's a travis si. what we're suggesting is the regurgetation where young people do not have the resources to survive. >> across the country, people like kathy trempable have been trying to address this through patchwork solutions like mobile hot spots. wi-fi buses and anyone-school truxstrubblings for those who can't connect. >> you're coming up with mandate solutions that fill blind spots

that is reflective of the path that we have broken our social contract when it comes to having everyone connected. >> she and others hope that with the pandemic and a new administration in the white house, broadband access will be thought of as part of the nation's basic infrastructure like roads, sewers, electricity and healthcare. >> until internet is looked upon not as a luxury but as a need, we're going always have these difficulties. we're going to have these students. and we're going to also have this gap. it's it's unfortunate that it's dividing us in a country that's already dividing us. >> "for the pbs newshour" i'm john yang. judy: daily reports of deeping racial division within the

country leave many looks for answers. we turn now to special correspondent charlane hunter gault who profiles a leader to help inform future race relations ♪ >> this is one of dr. ronald crutchle favorite ways of communicating dating back to the 1970's with the german orchestra and bond. he has long used his musical talent to create harmony. but harmony is also a key component of his efforts as president of a university which is be set of issue of racism and division. here at the university of richmond, that came to surface a couple of years ago when a student-driven organization unearthed a number of racist images in past year books.

dr. cruther says it's a call for action one that not only he hopes his university confront racism but hopefully ce for lessons for all institutions even the larger society. >> he recently published the book "i had no idea you're black." he is a friend. and he asked me to write the forward. >> as the title suggests, it details how you formed your ideas about rail on the road to leadership. and at the moment, you see your job as responding to what you describe as whiplash. what do you mean by that? >> if you look at the way americans live these days, we live in seg gated -- segregated societies. 91% of whites have only other

whites as part of their social network. 83% of blacks. and 63%, 64% of hispanics. so when students come to college and university campuses they're coming from these communities. many of them have had some experiences interacting with people who are from a different culture race from them. but most of them haven't. so we as universities have to realize that these students have no experiential basis from which to build relationships across racial differences or for that difference religious and ideological differences as well. and that manifests itself in different ways. >> but you said universities are crucibles for learning how to live and participate in a democratic society. but no more. why is that? >> student self-degre gait.

when they come into the university, we have to engage them in ways that help them to learn how to have conversations with people from different races, from different political perspectives, and how to have full-throated conversations in -- in a way that focuses on listening to what the other person is saying so you can have a deeper understanding of why they hold that view. in other words, true authentic interactions as opposed to superficial. >> there was an organization at your university that unearthed a number of racism images. and you said you saw it as a call to action. >> i took it as an opportunity -- as a relatively new president to develop a commission which i call the commission on university history and identity. and the goal of that commission was to go back look at that

history and tell the full story. the story of those individuals who were enslaved and were hired out to the university of richmond. as a university that was founded in 1830 to educate white baptist ministers in the capitol of the confederacy. it's critically important for us to understand our history and to know all of our history as we move forward into the future to develop what i call a skilled enter sbr cultural community. >> when you begin to bring together white kids, black kids, kids of all colors and start to have these uncomfortable conversations, how do you comfort them? how do you deal with that? >> you know, what we have to do as universities develop culture conversations. some of which will be

uncomfortable. but if we don't prepare them, help them if you will exercise that muscle, we will not have served them well when they graduate. to be honest with you, i've not always been in that place myles. i had a conversation with a parent who had given us a large gift. he was trying to demonstrate to me that he had raised his children not to -- not to see race. and he said, you know, we've raised our girls not to see color. well, i felt i needed to be honest with him. when you tell me that you're saying to me that you raised her not to see who i am. i'm a black man. you can't miss that and he looked at me. and he looked at me rather quizzically. but he said, you know, i had never thought of that in that manner. when you have people of a variety of political

persuasions, ideologically it doesn't mean that everybody has to sing kumbaya. but what it means is that people have to learn how to be in community with each other in a way that where they demonstrate empathy and the ability to listen and hear. >> well, how hopeful are you that we particularly in the united states can -- can overcome this challenging time any time soon? >> i could not get out of bed every day if i were not a glass half full person. if i didn't have that perspective. i have to remain hopeful. i will say this. i don't think will have dwelt this in our lifetime. it's like cancer, if you will. we've never found cure for it but we keep finding ways to prolong people's lives. >> who's job is it going to be? >> it has to be every's job. we have to work together as a campus. black, brown, asian, low -- you

know, low income. first generation whatever. across the -- the whole spectrum . otherwise, we won't find a cure for this disease of systemic racism. >> doctor, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you so much, char lean. take care. judy: last night 12 documents with rare signatures sold $130,000. ricky clouse reports from king's hometown of atlanta on the uncovered items on view for first time as part of our arts and culture series "canvas." >> and justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. >> the reverend martin luther

king jr. wrote those words behind bars in 1963. >> i'm in birmingham because injustice was here. >> king was arrested in april for leading a march pro testing racial seg segregation. he signed for them in a long book. first it was a letter, a couple of days later -- >> he got a western union telegram. on this side of the page is where he had next down and he would have to sign i. >> these historical documents containing a dozen of his signatures are in the hands of scott mussr. >> every time i think about it all the hair in my arms stand up. >> an anonymous woman asked him to research the potential value of her family's unique possession. >> i found the holy grail.

>> they sought help from experts. he flew in the woman's family to a sandy springs offices just outside atlanta. they handled the four pages with gloves. >> you're looking at piece of history from one of the most remarkable civil rights events. i mean, you can put this right up there with rosa. >> a jail employee was ordered to throw out the documents but kept them and selling them at auction was a hard decision. the minimum bid was $10,000. the documents sold for more than $13 times that last night -- 13 times that last night. this page of history ultimately received the respect it deserves. for the pbs newshour i'm rickie clause in atlanta. judy: in 1967 george henderson

along with his wife and seven children relocated to norman, oklahoma when he was hired as a professor at the university of oklahoma. the hendersons became the first african american property owners in norman. he talks about this experience and more in tonight's brief by spectacular. >> i was born in alabama. i grew up in east chicago, indiana. started my elementary education and special education labeled education retarted. we were labeled exclusively because we were black. my mother never believed in labeling. my mother believed in dreams and possibilities. she said george, you're going to take this family out of poverty. i think all poor mothers tell their babies that this child --

this child has to be the one. when i finished my doctoral studies, i received a call from a place called, the university of oklahoma. he said, we heard the you're interested in being a full-time professor. would you consider coming to oklahoma? i was silent for a moment. i said there's something you need to know about me. he said what? he said, i'm a negro. he said that's your problem. would you look to come to norman, oklahoma. terrible things happened to black people who stayed too long. imagine going to a place where you're not wanted where immediately you received obscene phone calls, garbage thrown on your lawn. police officers stopping me at night and asking why in the world are you in this neighborhood at night, boy?

it was the best of times and the worst of times. the worst of times was very obvious. people write about it. they talk about it. the best of times on the other hand where are the people who said we're glad you're here. welcome. 10:00 at night, doorbell rings, 12, 13-year-old boy. he said the doorbell said, i'm here to take you to a movie. i remember telling him. i teach that stuff in the university and we don't live it in this house. immediately there after my daughter and my son said we've got to talk. you were involved in the civil rights movement. you're encouraging other people to live as humane people. why do they behave so badly when our white classmates want to do things? that was my moment of truth.

if i teach reconciliation and acceptance, then i must live that. if i teach, judging a person by the quality of their character not the color of their skin, i must live that. my name is george henderson, and this is my brief with spectacular take on living what i teach. judy: wonderful to hear. and you can find all of our brief but spectacular segments online at pbs.org /newshour/brief. i'm judy woodruff. join us online. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you. please stay safe. and we'll see you soob. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> for 25 years consumer sell your yuelar has been offered no contract wireless plans designed to help people do more of what they like our customer service

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contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> this is pbs newshour west, from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university.

>> you never know where you're going to find me. today i'm in polesine, italy, at antica corte pallavicina. i'm going to introduce you to chef and artisan massimo spigaroli and his family's estate, which is a farm-to-table restaurant, a museum, and also a hotel. people come here from all over the world to witness a tradition that's been handed down for generations. i was overwhelmed by his passion. and then, back in my home kitchen, in honor of everything italian, i thought it would be fun to create a modern italian dinner board featuring porchetta meatballs with balsamic tomato dipping sauce and a black rice and arugula salad perfect for entertaining. this is an experience i can't wait to share with you, so join me. i love to av