04/25/14 04/25/14 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> i'll take a backseat to no one in my commitment to network neutrality. because once providers start to privilege some applications or websites over others, than the smaller voices get squeezed out and we all lose. the internet is perhaps the most open network in history, and we have to keep it that way. >> that was president obama in 2007. this week, federal regulators unveiled new rules that would

effectively abandon net neutrality. we will speak with former longtime fcc commissioner michael copp. .he author, astra taylor >> it turns out [indiscernible] rich tend to get richer online. an treat ande share, the appearance of a quality online is far more elusive than people like to admit. but the 50th anniversary of the world's fair in new york will stop >> this fair represents the most promising of our hopes. they gathers together from 80 ies the achievements of industry, the health of nation, the creation of man. this shows us what man at his most creative and constructive

is capable of doing. >> we will speak with norman and than 700l who led war protesters demanding fair hiring practices at the world's fair and called on president johnson passed the civil rights act. all of that and more coming up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. ukraine is warning it will continue efforts to retake control of eastern areas despite .arnings from russia tensions have escalated after ukrainian authorities said they killed five pro-russian separatist. russian president vladimir putin has announced new military exercises on the border and warned of unspecified consequences. on thursday, secretary of state john kerry warned the united states could take further action against russia if it does not back down.

days, two opposite responses, and one truth that cannot be ignored. the world will remain united for ukraine. so i will say it again. the window to change course is closing. president putin and russia face a choice. if russia chooses the path of de-escalation, the international community -- all of us -- will welcome it. if russia does not, the world will make sure the cost for russia will only grow. as president obama reiterated tolier today, we are ready act. >> u.s. was journalist has been released by pro-russian separatist in eastern ukraine. vice news correspondent simon ostrovsky has been held since monday. he says he believes he was targeted for his reporting. >> they had my photograph at a checkpoint just down the road from here, so the guy the

checkpoint saw my picture and my face and they pulled me out of the car and all hell broke loose. there were four other journalists with us in the car. i think they were released pretty early on. headquarters to where the pro-russian forces have their headquarters right now. >> president obama has left japan without sealing a deal on the transpacific partnership, a secretive pact among pacific rim countries to establish a free-trade zone encompassing nearly 40% of the global economy. the deal has faced mass protest in japan by farmers and others who say it will cause large-scale poverty and displacement like what happened in mexico under nafta. obama said a deal could still be reached if japan further opens its economy to u.s. products. obama continues his asia tour in south korea today. israel has suspended u.s.-backed these talks with the palestinians following a unity pact between the palestinian authority and hamas.

israeli officials say the only resume negotiations if the pa abandons the deal with hamas. the marshall islands is suing the united states and eight other countries accusing them of failing to meet commitments for nuclear disarmament. in an unprecedented legal action rocket for the international court of justice at the hague, the tiny pacific island nation is accusing the nine countries of flagrant violations of international law, saying they're upgrading their nuclear arsenals instead of working to reduce them. the marshall islands chain, which includes the bikini atoll, was the subject of 67 nuclear test in the 1940's and 1950's, which have less -- left lasting health and environmental impacts. a federal judge has dismissed criminal charges against a former blackwater guard accused of firing the opening shots that triggered a massacre of iraqis in 2007. at least 14 civilians died in the new sore square massacre, including a nine-year-old boy. but the judge dismissed the

indictment after a federal appeals court ruled the charges have been filed after the statute of limitations expired. prosecutors may seek new charges ahead of the june trial of three other blackwater guards in the case. the decision comes as an army sergeant faces a possible court martial for killing two unarmed iraqi boys in 2007. at a perimeter hearing this week, military prosecutors said michael barbera shot the two brothers as they herded cattle, posing no threat. after an earlier investigation, barbera received a letter of reprimand prompting accusations of a cover-up. and ranchersans are continuing their week of protest in washington amid e-cig is the keystone xl pipeline. on thursday, the cowboy and indian alliance rolled out a fake pipeline in front of the lincoln memorial and called on leaders to reject the project. to the canadian government is, let's do what is right for north america.

let's not capitulate to multinational corporations in their grief. >> we do not want to pollute our water and destroyed our land. children ande our our grandchildren survive on the forefathers have done for many generations. obama toresident reject the keystone xl pipeline. >> thousands of protesters are expected to join the march on d.c. on saturday. the obama administration delayed a decision on the pipeline for the third straight year. federal regulators have unveiled changes aimed at preventing deadly black lung disease among coal miners. the long-awaited rule hours the amount of dust allowed in mines and requires new technology to monitor dust levels. like lung disease has been on the rise in the u.s. since the late 1990's.

vermont is poised to become the first state in the country to require a label he -- labeling of genetically modified foods. governor shema has vowed to sign the bill passed by state lawmakers on wednesday. the measure would take effect in july 2016. connecticut and maine have passed similar laws, but there's have clauses that prevent them from going into effect until neighboring states require the labeling. u.s. postal workers rallied outside staples stores across the country thursday to protest the shifting of their jobs to nonunion retail workers. at issue is the opening of postal counters inside staples stores which are staffed by employees paid far less than union postal workers. an arkansas judge has struck down the state strict voter id law, saying it violates the arkansas constitution. the law requires voters to prevent -- resent a photo id before casting a ballot.

it was enacted last year after the republican-led legislature overrode a veto by democratic governor mike beebee. in nevada rancher whose stand against the federal government became a right-wing cause has been caught on tape making racist comments. cliven bundy refused to pay decades worth of fees for grazing his cattle on federal land, ponting a standoff with federal rangers during which an armed militia of supporters flocked to his aid. in comments quoted by "the new york times," a new discussed what he termed "the negro." >> now what do they do? they of or their young children, but they're young meningeal because they never learned how to pick cotton. are they better off as slaves again cotton and having a family life and doing things, or better off under government subsidy? >> right-wing figures including fox news host sean hannity and senators dean heller, rand paul, and ted cruz have all condemned

bundy's remarks after the publicly supported his case. the navy has reassigned a former commander of an elite flight squad and is investigating claims he presided over rampant sexual harassment. captain gregory mcwherter served two stints as commander of the navy's blue angels. last week, the navy announced he had been relieved of his most recent post as executive officer of a base in california. an internal military document, which was accidentally e-mailed to an editor at "washington post," shows a former squad member filed a complaint against mcwherter last month. he is the latest in a series of senior commanders to face investigation amidst an epidemic of sexual assault and harassment in the military. the issue of sexual assault on college campuses is in the spotlight this week. brown university is under fire for allowing a student who raped and struggled a classmate to return to campus after what amounted to one semester suspension. the victim, lena sclove, said

her assailant was found responsible for sexual misconduct a university panel, but will still be allowed back in the fall. surrounded by supporters, sclove described the injuries she sustained in the attack will had a> it turned out i spine injury in my neck from being strangled. i could not walk for about two months for to anywhere in february. i was bed ridden and forced to take a medical leave. i lost my one semester of freedom. now my next opportunity to come back as a student here at brown is after the rapist is allowed to come back. i feel like i should have been thanked by the administration for keeping the campus safe. instead, they kept him safe. >> brown is not the only ivy league school facing scrutiny for its handling of sexual assault. students at columbia and harvard

universities have filed complaints accusing their schools of violating federal law by failing to adequately protect survivors and punish perpetrators. last month, a harvard student published an open letter titled "dear harvard: you win," detailing her unsuccessful battle to have her accused assailant moved out of her residential house. imprisoned black panther mumia abu jamal turned 60 years old on thursday. he has been more than three decades in prison, much of it on death row, jealous sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 2012. he was convicted of killing a philadelphia police officer, but is widely seen as a -- political prisoner. >> you fought for my breath. the state hates you because you fought for me, with me, every step of the way. i am humbled by your support and energized by it. struggles like this prove the possible, and we are not done.

>> mumia abu jamal supporters are holding a celebration of life festival in philadelphia saturday to celebrate his 60th birthday and call for his release from prison. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. federal regulators have unveiled new rules that would effectively abandon net neutrality, the concept of a free and open internet. the proposal from the federal communications commission would allow internet providers like verizon or comcast to charge media companies like netflix or amazon extra fees in order to receive preferential treatment, such as faster speeds for their content. 's proposal,c broadband providers would have to disclose the terms they offer for the more rapid lanes, and would be required to act in what it called "a commercially reasonable manner." >> media reform groups like free

press and to -- denounce the rules, saying -- in fact, this statement echoes what and senator barack obama said about net neutrality in 2007 when it was a key part of his campaign platform in the 2008 presidential election. >> i will take a backseat to no one in my commitment to network neutrality, echoes once providers start to privilege some applications or websites over others, than the smaller voices get squeezed out and we all lose. the internet is perhaps the open network in history and we have to keep it that way. >> that was november 2007. if the fcc approves the rules

next month, will then accept public comments and issue final regulations to the end of the summer. for more we're joined in washington, d.c. by the longest serving member of the federal communications commission, michael copps, who retired in 2012 and now advising the media and democracy reform program. in new york, astra taylor is with us, author of the new book, "the people's platform: taking back power and culture in the digital age." we welcome you both to democracy now! juan, you also wrote your colin headlined " fcc flip-flopped attorney internet and to the superhighway of the rich." >> yes, and i called it may be the boat jackson term fight because when president obama nominated the current fcc ,hairman to take over the fcc he referred him as the boat jackson of telecom. though jackson was an athlete who was a star in football and baseball.

he was an all-star in both sports. wheeler is the only person ever inducted into both the cable industry hall of fame and the telecom all of him because he was a lobbyist for both of those industries before he became the fcc chairman. it is under wheeler now the fcc is moving in the structure to create the superhighway for those who can pay on the internet. >> michael copps, your the longest serving member in the fcc, retired in 2012. why do you see this ruling as a threat to the quality and the internet? >> this is all about making sure the internet, which is the most transformative of communications in history, really serves the people and consumers and we are playing very fast and loose with that right now and turning it into the playground of the few and turning it over to big companies, consolidated companies, that are able to

exact tolls work content reducers. and their friends and the people who can't afford to pay for those fast lanes. they may say nbc news with all , they getotainment the fast lanes and democracy now!, well, they can do the slow lanes over there. what you're really seeing is the transformation of the internet where 1% get the fast lanes and 99% get the slow lanes. that is not what the potential and the promise of the internet was. this was to be our town square of democracy. this was to be our opportunity, creating technology to open doors to a more profitable future. and to shackle it now and do not have clear rules of the road going ahead to make sure that we all have access and that we are not being ripped off, and these companies aren't just managing scarcity for their own benefit

-- if we let that happen, we have really undercut the potential of this transformative technology. this has to be stopped. >> commissioner, it is amazing this is occurring under president obama who himself admits the incident played great role in his being able to cobble together the coalition that brought him to power in the white house, and insisted he would defend net neutrality. here is tom wheeler wheeler responding to concerns about the proposed rules and saying there is no turnaround in policy, the same rules will apply to all internet content as with the original open internet rules and consistent with the court's decision, behavior that harms consumers or competition will not be permitted. at is what wheeler said. you later wrote that the proposed changes that --

what is your perspective on this? >> they're going about this in an entirely -- in an entirely wrong way. the fcc has some rather pallid net neutrality rules a few years ago. i did not think i really got the job done, but the become please took them to court anyhow. the court threw them out. so we have no rules right this minute. anyone can block content, speed up, favor who they want to favor. thatnly way to get around is to impose that part of the as that recognizes broadband a telecommunications service. the court literally told the fcc

, if you want to do this open internet and internet freedom, you should have classified broadband this when the first place. back in the early part of the century under chairman powell and martin, the commission got the silly idea the majority that they would call broadband something else, put it in another part of the law where there was no authority, and that is where chairman john michalski resided the rules have gotten thrown out and ash gina caskey resided in the rules of got thrown out. work becauseng to the authority is not there. >> financial analyst told cnbc why internet service providers want to charge extra fees from content distributors like netflix. >> i'm certain every internet service provider ultimately is going to charge because they can. isp's view the proprietary networks the way --

crude pipelines be the transportation is a valuable asset. it is capital intensive. i think they believe they should be able to charge people to put stuff through their pipelines. >> that was michael packed her. astra taylor, author of, "the people's platform: taking back power and culture in the digital age." respond. >> first off, everything -- every time we refer to wheeler, we should refer to them as former cable lobbyist. there is a sense this is inevitable. people are willing to pay. that is the model we are going to have. what isto understan driving this. this is not something happening to consumers. cable companies make 95% profit on broadband already. they are lobbying for these changes.

in the span of 10 years. this is not something that is inevitable or necessarily going to benefit anyone except the committed players. i think we also need to think about how we -- net neutrality is such a dull term. i've seen many of my friends commenting online. i'm trying to care about this issue. >> what exactly does it mean, network neutrality? >> it basically means all data should be treated equally. telephone lines where landmines could not discriminate. they could not deny anyone service. they had to serve all. the when broadband was reclassified like michael copps just described in 2005, isp possibly from still communication service to information provider and they don't have the same obligations.

we need to go back. we need to reclassify it. i feel like there's a way we are framing this that we need to find a new turn to talk about what it is they're trying to do too the net. some say a payola internet. broadband discrimination. something to get people to see what this change means that they care about it a bit more. astra wasioner, as saying, some say this is a done deal already. you recall those phrases being used more than 10 years ago when there was an attempt to consolidate media ownership and everyone was saying that was a done deal, too. but then you went out into the heartland of america and began holding hearings that changed the nature of the discussion. do you think it is time for something like that again? >> it is imperative.

the decisions that are going to be made by the fcc this year with regard to internet freedom and with regard to further consolidation like this ridiculous comcast, time warner cable merger, are going to determine almost the future of the internet for generation. so the future is now for the internet. you are absolutely correct. the only way we're going to put a stop to going down this road is citizen action. that happened in 2003 when chairman powell was trying to change the media ownership caps at the commission so fewer and fewer behemoths could gobble up more and more independent stations around the country and there was a grassroots movement at that time led by free press and common cause and others. i went out and commissioner atul singh went out around the country. 3 million people thereupon wrote to the federal communications in congress saying we don't like

these rules. in the meantime, powell had pushed them through. you know what happened after those 3 million people spoke, the senate voted twice -- u.s. senate, to overturn those rules. the house expressed its displeasure, and the courts and those back to the commission saying they were inadequate. that is what we need to do again right now. when i used to talk about media consolidation on radio and in television, i think a lot of folks said, well, the internet is somehow exempt from that. it is so dynamic that it is exempt from what happened to radio and television and cable with all of the consolidation and gatekeeper control. now people are beginning to realize, wait a minute, this is happening to this wonderful new transformative technology, too. we can afford to let it go down that same road. what a horrible denial of the

opportunity creating potential the internet would be to cableize it. and who better to do that than the biggest cable company in the united states of america, comcast, as they seek to take over time warner cable and already took over nbc news. you are exactly right. this change, protecting the internet, isn't going to come from the top down. it was bittersweet to hear that president, but fast-forward now five years and we're getting this sellout of the internet and the internet for the 1%. >> earlier this month, the european parliament voted to protect the neutrality of internet service providers toward websites. telecom companies will be barred from blocking or slowing down selected services. the measure drew opposition from the european telecommunications network operators association. it's chairman argued the move

would restrict the number of services available to european customers. >> we don't see why we should limit the european internet and restrict the consumer to have access to new services. and also we see this is very dangerous to start to regulate the internet, and maybe it will be completely different of the regulation and the rest of the world. >> astra taylor? >> there's doublespeak in there, but he is right. there might be completely different regulation of access to the internet in the u.s. compared to europe, because we might choose the payola model while the european union has been trying to neutrality in brazil took a big step forward with its internet constitution. we are at the crossroads where we might be going down one path all the rest of the world as from her privacy protections and has neutrality, and is able to dole on this technology and

actualize its potential. we're going to change course, we have to recognize some of the factors that sometimes people compare the fight for net neutrality to sopa. i think that our alliances with --ac >> stop online piracy act, which was to feed it. >> and we're seeing them be silent on this issue because some have gotten so big the last few years that they might than if it into competitive advantage in being able to use the fast lane and see it as a way of squashing competition. it is up to society to comment around as much as they can make --and flood our officials make it loud and clear we are not the ones asking for this. >> when you say some of the big companies, one of them, netflix, immediately after the court decision in january that struck

down the latest attempt by the fcc to establish open internet rules, immediately cut a deal with comcast to begin paying the extra to make sure their video wasn't being degraded. >> exactly. that shows you the power these isps are massing and why we should be so worried. if they can beat up netflix, they can beat up the rest of us, right? >> copps michael copps, you compare with what is going now with comcast merging with time warner. talk specifically about that. that is happening at the same time. >> this is amazing. it all started with the big comcast-nbc merger a few years ago. when they came into the commission and i was there and told me the dimensions and extent of merger, i was just about breath taken away because this was not just a cable company merging with another cable company. this was about broadband as well

as broadcast because they are huge provider of broadband. it was about old traditional media and about new media, content, and distribution. it was giving so much power to one specific company. and now they're taking that footprint they got high-paying all of those billions of dollars to buy nbc and are buying of time warner cable, even larger swaths over the united states of america. the way i see the business plan, it is from ration scarcity to make a profit from the scarcity, data caps, having people pay for faster lanes and slower lanes. what i really want people to realize is that this isn't just about speeds and gadgetry and gimmicks. this goes to the heart of small they democracy. if we're going to give a company such tremendous power over distribution and content to slow down news or maybe saying, we

don't like that advocacy cause or that good government cause over here, so we are going to block that. then we have taken this tool that could give is a wonderful newtown square of democracy in turn it into the same old same old that we have right now, and given the problems this country has right now, we can't afford to go down that road. we need informed public and open news and journalism that these companies are also limiting. now, butad story right we do have an opportunity here with these new rules. people can see they're not going to get the job done. we can't have rules that say, well, we will look at this on a case-by-case basis over some ambiguous term commercially reasonable. we need to say, no blocking or discriminating or speeding up, no slowing down, and put it in that part of the law that allows the commission to do it, get it over and done with so everybody

knows what the rules are, then we can go forward. >> the rules will actually be laid out in may and then voted on. michael copps, former fcc commissioner, retired in 2012, thank you for being with us. youa taylor, we would like to stay with us so we can talk further about your book, "the people's platform: taking back power and culture in the digital age." anniversarye 50th of the world's fair that took place here in new york as president johnson came here to inaugurate it, why were 700 people protesting outside. we will speak to two of its leaders. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

we continue today to look at equal access to the internet. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report.

i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. astra, one of the fascinating parts of your book to me, you try to reach out to young people who had been sold the bill of goods about the liberating inequality of the internet and who don't see some of the dark side of what is happening. obviously, every new technology promises to liberate the human race. it happened with the telegraph and then happen again with early radio, and happen again when cable came around, i noticed it communications technology of the internet has the same promises. your concerns about the dark side? >> i love that you picked up on that. i wanted to write something that would influence the younger generation the way books influenced me when i was beginning my path to become an independent media maker, and activist. these technologies have existed

long enough to see the new system is looking a lot like the old. it actually makes it -- i think people will have a much more realistic relationship to them because by the time i grew up in the wrist television, i just took it for what it was. it was something that was just part of the environment and all this romance that it had been infused with wasn't there. it is important not to get cynical. the utopian financial of the net israel. it is a remarkable innovation. it is true there are many qualities that enable us to talk directly with people. it is different than the old broadcast model. the problem is the underlying economic conditions haven't changed. the same old incentives that shaped the old media model and made it so problematic are still with us. the internet might have disrupted investigative

journalism, but it did not disrupt advertising. tot is what i am trying emphasize. but you say it is a rearrangement, not revolution. explain. >> so much we tell ourselves is about the revolutionary impact of this new technology. but i think continuity is important to the story. there are new winners and losers . for example, we're told the old media dinosaurs were going extinct. it seems they have adapted very well. it is what michael copps was talking about. we had these old media companies -- nbc -- joining with the cable companies, buying up internet startups. there is this integration, the merging of the new and the old that doesn't fit into the sort of myth we've been telling ourselves. >> and where does google, facebook fit into this?

companies that portray themselves as upstarts 10 years ago have now become the biggest companies on earth. the market capitalization of google and apple, consistently in the top 10 technology companies. 13 of the biggest -- 13 of the 30 biggest companies on earth. goliaths of our age. we have hollywood moguls and silicon tycoons and we have them collaborating. the thing is, the old 80 a model, which was funded by advertising, was a situation where you could turn off your television and opt out. he had much more pervasive, ubiquitous system -- we have a much more pervasive, ubiquitous system right now. in a way, the old problems have intensified because it is not just something you are watching come in now you are being watched and tracked and monitored.

on theinant business internet is surveillance. this will create a lot of problems down the road. i think we need to look ahead and look at the forces that are shaping the development of these tools. >> and of course the same gender and racial and ethnic inequities of the old system are being replicated in the new system. i want to play, and from reporter amanda hess who wrote a story in january for pacific standard, headlined "why women aren't welcome on the internet." she described the dangers women face online, and her personal expense from internet trolls. this is amanda hess talking to pbs's "to the contrary." >> i was on vacation this summer in palm springs was some of my friends. the first morning we were there, i got a text message from my friend on the east coast but 5:30 california time. i woke up and she texted me to say she found a twitter account that seem to have been created for the purposes of making threats to me.

so i went over to my computer, looked at the account, and it was about seven tweets that were saying things like, "i'm going to come to your house and rape ,"u and remove your head saying we lived in the same state and social violence against me was really important. >> that is reporter amanda hess, one of the chapters in "the people's platform" by our guest astra taylor is titled "open systems and glass ceilings: the disappearing woman and life on the internet." >> i talk about the gender dynamics and challenging maybe -- the idea was we would be able to transcend our bodies, real-world identities, and go be whoever we wanted to be on the internet and the best would inevitably rise to the top. look at the way the old hierarchies carryover. one aspect of that is this issue of persistent discrimination online. it is hard to measure an in network space.

it seems like, well, if you look over here, there is a whole lot of women, maybe they just don't want to participate. amanda hess did a fantastic job of challenging that myth and telling her personal story that was pretty dark and scary. she is not alone. there are so many in women who have come forward with similar tales of discrimination and harassment. it is not just anecdotal. i quote a study in one of the chapters, if you use a female user online, you get 29% thansing messages gender-neutral. we have to be aware of the way these inequalities of the old world have carried over. the challenging -- it is a challenging issue to figure out how to remedy because who was in charge of enforcing equality or silencing hate speech? >> i think the power of your book is the taking back power and culture in the digital age

that you don't give up, that you say there are ways to fight back, not to reinforce the status quo that is reflected in the old media. actually being transferred over to the new media. >> there are so many things we have to do. now neutrality is the foundation. joining the fight, joining the groups like free press in a struggle, but as i argue in the book, neutral network is just the beginning. it doesn't solve the problems of the old 80 a model because there are is still centralization and consolidation and commercialism. those are things we have to address head-on and think of an alternative to the advertising model that is dominant online and find other sustainable ways of funding culture and social media in funding our future. >> astra taylor, thank you for being with us, author of the new book, "the people's platform: taking back power and culture in the digital age." she's also a documentary filmmaker who directed, "examined life: philosophy is in the streets" and "zizek!" about the slovenian philosopher slavoj

iek. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. when we come back, it is the 50th anniversary of the world's fair that took place here in new york in queens. we will speak with two leaders of the protests that took place outside the world's fair. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> "it's a small world after all." this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report.

i'm amy goodman. a song that many people heard for the first time at the 1964 world's fair. >> events are underway this week in new york to mark the 50th anniversary of the world's fair that in 1964 in the fair took coronan flushing meadows park, queens, it drew 51 million visitors over the span of two years. on april 22, 1964, president lyndon johnson spoke at the opening ceremonies. >> this fair represents the most promising of our hopes. it gathers together from 80 countries, the achievements of nations, the health of the creations of man. this fair shows us what man at his most creative and constructive is capable of doing. >> it was 50 years ago that fairgoers flocked to the world's

fair to get a taste of the wider world and a glimpse of a possible future full of rocket ships come a superhighways, and complex kitchen gadgets. differentar, very future was being chiseled out by devoted group of civil rights activists who used the prominence of the world fair to propel their fight for racial equality into the national consciousness. their vision for the future involved less spaceships and more integrated schools. there were less interested in affairs futuristic exhibits and more concerned with equitable hiring practices on the fairgrounds. the protesters greeted president johnson with chants for the passage of civil rights act. d, the 700 who demonstrate nearly 300 were eventually arrested and carted off to jail. but we are joined now by norman and velma hill. 50 or's ago the help organize the nonviolent protest at the world's fair. we welcome you both to democracy now!

talk about what the scene was like. you got into the world's fair or you're standing right outside? >> we got into the world's fair. the me first thank you for having us here. we are very happy to be here. we are very happy to talk about any event that most people just aren't aware of now. it was april 22, which, by the way, was norm's birthday. >> happy birthday. >> we were doing what we did most of the time, which was demonstrating. now that was a core demonstration -- >> the congress of racial equality. >> it was under jim farmer. core became a very different organization years later. but this was under jim farmer right after the freedom rides in

the south. we were very concerned. norm was the program director of core, and we were doing many things to bring what was going on in the south to the north. there are always problems in the north. >> velma was east coast field secretary. >> we were a couple at core. something interesting was that april 22. we had what we called extremist groups in core who had decided that they agreed with our goals, but they did not like our tactics. what they wanted to do was what they called a stall-in. they had planned to do so very interesting things. they planned to go onto subways, stop subways from running by pulling down -- >> the emergency brake.

it-in atplanned to s the bridges and stop people from going to work. and they planned to take ravenous rats and set them loose with president johnson was going to speak. and we just did not think that was a good idea. we thought that that's really preventing workers from going to work, who had nothing to do with the world's fair. so we plan something that the world's fair where we got 700 people from around the country to come in to sit-in after billions, to say we want the passage of this civil rights bill, and we want to make sure that there are minorities working at the world's fair -- visibly working. because this world is not a white world. it is quite world and a brown

world and a black world and we wanted to make that statement and make it clear. >> norman, what about the hiring of people in the weeks and months before that at the world's fair? have there been clear problems in the hiring at that point? >> yes, there were. it was clear to us the workforce was not were presented if -- representative and did not include minorities, including blacks, at all levels. so we felt it was important to dramatize the situation and confront the key decision-makers at the world's fair about this problem. organize a demonstration that would directly confront the world's fair and those who are running it. and we did so by assembling a group of demonstrators as velma indicated, who sat in at various

pavilions of the world's fair, including the main entrance, a democraticarmer socialist writer and author exposed poverty in america, bayard rustin, most outstanding colleague of the civil rights movement, ernie green, assistant secretary of labor under rate --tial and president clinton >> [indiscernible] arkansas.rock, andred mob threats eisenhower had to call in the troops to enable them to inegrate the high school little rock in 1957.

but we think a clear focal point in 1964 here in new york city was the world's fair, and our attempt to demonstrate that the workforce was not representative and inclusive. >> by the way, one of the things that happen at that world's fair demonstration, i think it was the first time that we actually used walkie-talkies. core sort of came into the 20th century with walkie-talkies. they were very big. nothing like what you would see now. we had about 15 core staffers who were placed all around the world's fair. norm was called king cobra. and he is an imperial at all. if he was king cobra and i was cobra one. we took them out a week before and practiced what they would say, who got arrested, which

pavilion it was. we had a whole dialogue so that we would know what was going on at the world's fair. >> i want to turn to a clip from the person who was in charge of the world's fair, perhaps the most influential figure in the history of modern new york, robert moses. in the bookalized about the master builder of urban america. he spoke at the opening of the fair in april 1964. >> we invite visitors from every state and land, solicit their friendship, and devoutly hope that in presenting here this olympics a progress, we shall draw them closer together in our shrinking globe and promote peace in the end. >> that was robert moses. as pointed out in the book, moses had all of his building and reconfiguring of new york really destroyed many black and

hispanic communities. he had a racial edge to much of his redevelopment approach and racial bias. what are your recollections of moses at that time and his importance in the city? >> well, he attempted to be an internal figure. -- imperial figure. a law unto himself. gently, in the insensitive to the needs and concerns of minorities, especially blacks in that period , and we thought it was important that we understand that this not be a peaceful gathering without economic justice without equitable levels oftion at all the world's fair workforce. lbj afterto turn to

years of setbacks, advocates for equality, you, one of the protest reasons at the world's fair was the the signing of the civil rights act. this was johnson just a few months later signing the civil rights act. but we must not approach the observance and enforcement of this law in a vengeful spirit. its purpose is not to punish. its purpose is not to divide, but to and divisions -- end divisions, divisions which outlasted all too long. national, not regional. it is a challenge to all of us to go to work in our communities in our homesnd ar and hearts, to eliminate the

last vestiges of injustice in our beloved country. >> now that was july 2, 1964. you protested the world's fair april 22, 1964, pushing for this as well as their hiring. in the summer before, dr. martin luther king, bayard rustin, 250,000 other people, were on the mall in washington, d.c. i want to turn to bayard rustin speaking in 1963 on august 28. bewe demand that segregation ined and every school system the year 1963! [applause] effectivewe have civil rights legislation, no compromise, no filibuster, and that it includes public

accommodations, decent housing, integrated education, and the right to vote. what do you say? [applause] demand the withholding of federal funds from all programs in which this vilification exist. >> that was bayard rustin, the chief organizer along with a philip randolph, of the 1963 march on washington. norm hill, you became the head of the institute. you worked with both of these men through this period. >> in fact, i was staff coordinator under randolph and rustin of the march on washington. >> your thoughts today, 50 years later? >> i think is very interesting because that march on washington did something that most people don't understand.

before the march on washington, the question of race was the dominant factor that we were protesting about. with the march on washington and its demands, there was a convergence of race and class that most people don't understand. waslook at what bayard saying, what we wanted. we wanted full employment. we wanted full employment and inngs that were economic nature. >> i think what is so fascinating is when the civil rights act was signed, the emphasis on lbj, it was about movements, leading into that moment and you are part of that movement, leading 700 people protesting the world's fair. , thanks forelma

joining us. that does it for our broadcast. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org w.org >> this is democracy now. we are asking you to support link tv. as we go back in time 50 years to the world's fair that took place in new york. the 1964 world's fair. how many people in this country knew that hundreds of people protested that worlds fair for equality, for passage of the civil rights act? 1964 -- that is what we want to go to now. we are going to play for you an excerpt of a remarkable film called "king."

displayed in over 600 movie country across the after he was assassinated. from memphis to montgomery to washington dc. well, from montgomery to memphis. memphis is where he was killed on april 4, 1968. we urge you to call in and pledge $150 for this "king" film. we turn to a part of the film, that historic moment to read august 28, 1963. you will hear from the organizers of the march. and then to dr. king himself. we we demand that segregation be ended and every school district in