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we are tired of being beaten by policemen. we're tired of seeing our people locked up in jail over and over again and then -- how long can we be patient? we want our freedom and we want it now! [ cheers and applause ] >> it is saturday, july 18th and the country is mourning the loss of civil rights champion congressman john lewis. he died last night in atlanta at the age of 80. the speech we just showed, leaders of the march on washington back in 1963 famously asked him to tone that speech down. he demonstrated a fire and a passion early non his career delivering that momentous address when he was just 23 years old. lewis had always led the way in fighting injustice.

he was one of the central figures who led protests across the edmond bridge in selma. it was dubbed bloody sunday after rampant violence broke out. he had been known for making necessary trouble. he brought that attitude to the united states congress in 1987 when he was elected to represent georgia's fifth district. he was often called the conscience of congress because of his unwavering moral code. house speaker nancy pelosi wrote in a statement, quote, every day of john lewis's life was dedicated to bringing freedom and justice to all as he declared 57 years ago during the march on washington standing in the shadow of the lincoln memorial, quote, our minds, souls, and hearts cannot rest until freedom and justice exist for all the people. joining me now, nicole hanna jones, pulitzer prize winning journalist at the "new york times" magazine. rolland martin of rolland martin unfiltered. thank you for being with us. nicole -- >> good morning. >> we had planned to have you on the show today to talk about another matter, but this becomes

a very important one because you have become, to some degree, a historian of our time as it relates to black people in america. and, john lewis forms an important part of that history. this is a man who at a very young age decided that he had a passing to channepassion to cha youth and folks at a young age. and he did that until yesterday. >> yeah, this is a particularly hard one for us all, ali. i'm pretty emotional this morning. there's not a single -- there was not a single living american, i think, more responsible for the rights that i have and the rights that so many americans have today than john lewis. and he many one prerequisite for equality, and that was that you were a human being. he was on the right side of every struggle for equality, whether it be more black rights, whether it be for gay rights,

women's rights there are was a man who believed in the ideals of our founding creed and who fought and put his life on the line literally again and again to make this country a democracy or as close to it as we have become. >> roland, it's interesting because he has fought for those ideals and saw some degree of success, saw the passage of the civil rights bill, he saw the -- he saw himself elected to congress, spent 17 terms in congress. but in the end, he is witnessing a movement that looks very much like the movement that he was involved in in the '60s. >> that's precisely why i chose to put on this hoodie, shoutout to cliff and natasha with black voters matter. because he understood what they were doing. and the fact that black folks today are variety fightifightin

same battle was engaged in, a significant part of that is dealing with voting. i know in the midst of all of this folks don't necessarily want to be so -- talk about politics. but when i look at last night the statement of senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, which i thought was a worthless piece of paper, because here's the piece i don't want to hear any republican today, congressman john lewis when sitting on his desk is a bill to fix the voting rights act after the supreme court shelby v. -- a decision, which john lewis stood for redied with that bill sitting on mcconnell's desk. all of these wonderful words about him for me mean nothing when they were unwilling when he was alive do what's right. we haven't just lost congressman john lewis. yesterday, we also lost reverend dr. c.t. vivian. 95 years old. fierce fighter who was right

there with him. in march we lost reverend dr. joseph lowery. that's 273 collective years of knowledge that we have lost three civil rights titans. and i was texting aaron holder last night and i sent him a photo. it was i photo of john lewis, lowery, vivian, and and drew young andrew young. he called them the second set of founding fathers. that puts into context what these men and the women who also thought, what he meant to us black foles folkks, but also th zblu country. >> nicole, you've been wrooiiti about this. you go back before the first set of founding fathers to the roles that african-americans had played in american history. and to this day, just last week

the secretary of state mike pompeo named your work specifically as a rewriting of history. john lewis and others faced similar criticism at the time, that they are trying to change american history. yesterday donald trump talked about the threat to suburbs, the threat to people's way of life, the crime that's going to come into their neighborhoods if joe biden is elected. the language of oppression in 2020 sounds like the language of oppression in 1965 and 1963 and 1867 and 1776 and 1690. >> absolutely. i mean, it's kind of this amazing and revealing juxtaposition to have mike pompeo saying how dare you argue that slavery is foundational to america, race six foundational to america and then trump goes live using the same racist dog whistles that we have heard since the founding of this

country and that i understands politically the only card he has left to play right now is antiblack racism. it's interesting times that we're in. i take it as a compliment when people say that the work that we're doing at the 1619 project is revising history, because history has needed to be revised. we have needed to be more honest about what we are and who we are as a country. and few people understood that better than john lewis. i have to second what roland said. when i interviewed john lewis in 2014 commemorate freedom sum, he which was the attempt to democratize mississippi as well as the country, he said that shelby v holder made him want to cry. that all of the work, the work that got his head bashed in was being undone. and so when we do have republican congressmen who are offering their condolences and yet not standing up for the very rights that he fought for and put his life on the line for, it is hard to take that with sincerity. this has been the story of black people in this country on this

land since the beginning is we have been the perfecters of this democracy. as i say in the 1619 project, as much democracy as we have, it's always been born on the backs of black resistance. and we still have black people fighting in the streets for that democracy now. >> rolland, give us an evaluation in the world in which john lewis succeeded as part of the civil rights movement and the freedom fighters and the things that happened in 1965 and the battles that are underway right now. because while the proximate cause of the protest in the street right now are police brutality and police violation which existed back then too, it is economic injustice. it is unequal access to education. it is the criminal justice system. it is the same things that they were discussing in 1965. >> absolutely. while nicole was talking, i immediately ga immediately begin to think about

what dr. king said in his speech april 3rd, 1916 at mason temple when he said, be true to what you said on paper. and what black folks have been saying, what lewis and vivian and lowery and juanita aber naththy, we can go on and on, what they said is, america, be true what you said on paper. fulfill what you wrote. don't just sit here and like trump hog the flag and talk about what it means to be a real american. if you are denying black folks the very thing a white person gets the moment they are born. and so here we are in 2020, 52 years after dr. king's assassination, here we are seeing these lions pass away and we're still fighting for the very same thing because we have yet to be a nation that is provided black folks to be full

american citizens. i am 51 years old. my nieces and nephews of the first generation of martins born technically fully free. yet, we still have to sue when it comes to housing discrimination. you talk about what donald trump said. we still see the roll back of civil rights in this administration. when you still see one of the first acts of the republican congress after he won was to roll back the protections for black folks when it came to getting auto loans. we're still dealing with that. and so the reality is for black people, we have to do exactly from what frederick douglas said, agitate, agitate, agitate. power concede nothing without a demand. and i dare say to any person if you're black or white or latino or asian, doesn't matter who you are, if you truly want to honor john lewis, you mobilize and organize and register and vote and kick out the very people in congress, in state capitals and

public commissioner's court who are denying people their rights as americans. >> and -- and, nicole, one of the last things that john lewis said this very year 60 years after the beginning of his fight for education rights and equal access and all of the things he fought for, in the end it came down to one word, vote. he said we've got to vote in ways we've never voted before. so whether it's your work or his work or anybody else's work, it doesn't manifest if it doesn't manifest in the vote. >> yes. i mean, voting, of course, is huge. there's a reason why some of the bloodiest and deadliest battles in the civil rights movement were over the franchise. in this country in particular we have defined citizenship by your ability to vote. if you're not able to vote you're not a full citizen. that's why we punish people with taking away their right to vote. so he understood that voting is power. voting determines who sits on juries.

voting determines both at the local and federal level what resources a community has. whether we will enforce civil rights law or not. but think much more importantly, black people have voted at very high rates, particularly black women, black women are voting at the highest rates of all groups right now. we also have to have politicians who are standing up for our right to vote, who are not making it more difficult for us to vote because we are seeing waves of voter suppression. that is what he was fighting against. black people have had the right to vote since the 15th amendment. what has not been so clear is our ability to exercise that right. >> thank you, both of you, and for the work that you continue to do. roland martin and nicole hannah jones is going to stick around for us. john lewis was beaten by police while peacefully protesting 55 years ago. and those images bear a striking

redem semblan resemblance that's happening this week. the police are not wearing badges or identification and rounding up people and putting them into cars. my next guest says that what the trump administration is doing is, quote, unconscionable and terrifying. that's just ahead. unconsciona terrifying. that's just ahead. hey, can i... hold on one second... sure. okay... okay! safe drivers save 40%!!! guys! guys! check it out. safe drivers save 40%!!! safe drivers save 40%! safe drivers save 40%!!!

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how are we supposed to know who you are? how are we supposed to know you're not kidnapping us and you're civilians kidnapping us? >> that really happened in america. unidentified storm troopers, that's what nancy pelosi called these federal officers, we think they're federal officers in oregon. federal law enforcement has descended on the stiff portland, grabbing peaceful protesters off the treat street. they show officers driving up to people, detaining them with no explanation and then just driving off. some videos, like the one i'll show you, show officers escalating confrontations with protesters using tear gas and rubber bullets in the is how the scene has looked this week. [ gunfire ]. >> don't.

don't. >> this comes after more than six weeks of protests began outside the federal courthouse and the county justice center in portland. federal officials including president trump said they plan to crack down on the demonstrations. on thursday night they said. officers were just protecting federal property. >> what i saw yesterday was a dhs force. we have about 100 or so federal officers there to make sure that we support that courthouse, defend that courthouse. we have these violent protesters coming in, targeting the courthouse, targeting the federal park, targeting other federal buildings. our law enforcement officers are going to respond in kind. >> oregon governor kate brown has called what the administration is doing an extraordinary abuse of power and wants them out. but says acting secretary wolf has refused. you can't make this stuff up. a former assistant director at the fbi told my colleague last

night he's never seen any like this in all of his years of law enforcement. >> in my 25 years in federal law enforcement, i have never seen deployment of federal resources in these kinds of circumstances without a request or at least an acknowledgement and concurrence of local, county, and state authorities. >> four democratic lawmakers who represent oregon are now calling on the specteinspectors general investigate these actions. joining me now is susan bonamici who represents oregon's first district. i was talking to representative blum blumen in our and he said there was no request or coordination that these federal people, i don't know what you call them, troops or officers, showed up, they come without badges, they use unmarked cars, i'm glad that

the homeland security secretary said that they've got 100 dhs officers, at least we have some sense of who they. but is it your understanding there was no coordination with local authorities on this? >> that's right, ali. thank you for having me on the show. i just want to start by saying we're grieving today with the loss of congressman john lewis and i'm glad you're recognizing him. >> absolutely. >> and especially with what's happening now in portland, i have the honor of serving with congressman lewis and walking across the bridge with him on the 50th anniversary of bloody sunday and i'm bringing his voice with me in this fight. so, yes, it's true that we did not invite these officers to come to oregon. they are not welcome here. everyone should be alarmed at what's happening. and it really started, heightened the tension in our community when a week ago today one of these officers shot in the head a peaceful protester. now this was one of these

supposed to be nonlethal, less lethal munitions. but this man 26 years old standing across the street from the federal building, it's my understanding he's still in the hospital. we don't know how he's doing. but he had to have surgery. this is not helping our community. and then after this young man 26 years old peacefully protesting was shot, then we started hearing these stories about people walking through the streets of portland, not at a federal building, and being picked up by these camouflaged clad, unmarked and -- unmarked cars grabbing them off the street and taking them sometimes with their faces covered and questioning them. this is outrageous and alarming and it's not helping our community. it's terrifying people here. and we have to remember why they are protesting. they're protesting police brutality. they're protesting the murder of

george floyd and breonna taylor and so many others. we don't stop police brutality with more police brutality. >> congresswoman, i just -- i mean, i think bears saying over and over again, these images that my viewers are watching on the left side of the screen, this is america in 2020. charlie pierce wrote a column in which he said portland is being pinot shade. these are expressions we use about other countries. it's the kind of thing that my colleagues and i have covered in other countries when governments are quelling dissent and sentencing the open six. feder opposition. the absence of accountability. >> this is portland, oregon. had is a wonderful community. a great state. and the presence of these officers here who are terrifying our community are, again, making it much worse. they're accessexacerbating the

tensions here. we are demanding answers from this administration. i have to say that feels like the president who was supposed to be a president in a democracy is acting like a dictator and trying to deflect from his failed leadership on addressing the coronavirus pandemic and his other inadequate leadership. and he's drawing attention away from that and trying to show that he's a law and order president. this is neither law nor order. >> congresswoman, i want to ask you, i know you paid respects to john lewis and you were walking across the edmond bridge with him what do you remember about him? >> what i remember is first of all, he was a brilliant man, but always so gentle, so kind, and so calm. and walking through the capital with him, people would come up to him all the time and they would ask him to say hello or for an autograph. he was so kind to everyone. and when he was in a room, you

could feel his presence in such a positive way. and i hear his voice saying, never give up, never give in, always keep the faith. we're going to miss him. >> congresswoman, thank you for joining met joining me. there is growing evidence of that masks help stop the spread of covid-19 so you'd assume that the president of the united states would do everything in his power to keep americans safe starting with something easy, like federal mask mandate. you, of course, would be wrong. >> will you consider a national man dhat people need wear masks? >> no, i want people to have a certain freedom and i don't believe in that and i don't agree with the statement that if everybody wear a mask everything disappears. our surgeon general says don't wear a mask. all of a sudden, everybody's got to wear a mask. the mask causes problems too.

i'm a believer in masks, i think masks are good. >> masks cause problems too, the president says, while also somehow saying he's a believer in masks. well, that means i don't know what. but it comes as cases of covid-19 continue to skyrocket nationwide. country topping 70,000 new cases a day. florida and texas have joined california and new york as states with more than 300,000 total cases. even worse, hospitalizations and deaths are significantly rising as well with multiple states setting records in both categories daily. joining us now from one such state is texas, nbc news reporter pricilla thompson. good morning to you. texas has reported 174 covid-19 related deaths yesterday. you've got some insight into another area of growing concern for texas? >> reporter: that's right. another week of record breaking numbers here in the state. but food insecurity remains an issue. in just a few minutes, this parking lot is going to be filled with thousands of cars

coming through these lines in order to get pallets of food. they're being pulled off of those trucks right now and those folks are lined up outside the gates waiting to get in. but the problem here, and you know we saw this increase demand early on and it has continued. it has not gone away. but the problem that they're facing now is that a lot of those volunteers, you know, in april hundreds of national guards men and women came in to help in these efforts. but now as of today those folks are gone and the food bank which typically on any given shift will have a thousand people working at sites across the city is now down to just around 150 volunteers to help feed the thousands of hungry folks in this city. and this comes as we know at the end of the month, many of those cares act benefits are going expire, specifically that extra money from unemployment. and that could lead to even greater numbers here. but ofbl whbviously when we see case numbers ticking up, it's making it hard for the food bank to find volunteers who are

willing to come out here and give back amid a global pandemic. and, you know, they are doing those temperature checks, trying to social distance those volunteers out here as we work to give people food. but it's truly a growing challenge here in addition to the public health crisis. ali. >> pra salicilla, thank you. turning to the passing of john lewis. he was a civil rights icon and as his colleagues called him throughout his 33 years in the house of representatives, the conscience of the congress. he accepted atlanta, georgia, but one would argue that his constituency was disadvantaged of all americans wherever they lived. notably, lewis pushed his colleagues to push the voting rights advancement act of 2019 fight voter suppression and restore the act which he marched for in 1965. here's how he described the bill last year.

>> forces in america today trying to take us back to another time and to another period. we've come to a fault and made too much progress to go back. with this piece of legislation, we will continue to go forward. >> i want to bring in democratic congresswoman of alabama. she represents the stiff selma where lewis marched. she is the first elected black woman to -- from alabama. congresswoman, thank you for being with us this morning. i want to start with your thoughts. you knew john lewis very well. >> you know, we lost our -- one of our moral compasses, the world did in the passing of john lewis. i'm so honored to not only call him colleague, but to call him dear friend. he was a living legend. i grew up in selma, alabama. i now have the opportunity to represent selma and montgomery and birmingham civil rights

district in congress. it's often hard to put into words how blessed i felt to be able to get to thank the person who i owe my very political existence to. so many african-american elected officials do. he was a humble man and i have so many memories of him coming back time and time again to selma,back, to walk across that bridge as he said one more time. even in the midst of his struggle with pancreatic cancer, he game came back this past march for the 55th anniversary of that march. he gave us a charge. that charge lives on. he said that we must keep our eyes on the prize and we must continue to fight for equality and justice. he did that in everything he -- everything that he did and pursued. he often lifted his name and voice to so many causes for justice. he's planted lots of seeds, as they say, and we must make sure that we rededicate ourselves to

his life's work. we have much work to do. voting rights should not be partisan, but it's become partisan. i really hope and pray that we can come together, republicans and democrats, and really restore the full protections of the voting rights act. that's what john would want. >> what -- what needs to be done now? the act for all intents and purposes is ready to go, it's sitting on mitch mcconnell's desk. >> that's right. we passed it in december and you showed his speech, john's speech as we passed hr-4, the voting rights advancement act. we just really called upon our senators to take that bill and take it up and the president to pass it. what a befitting tribute to john and his legacy. john was about the cause of equality and justice for all. and when we think about the unrest on the streets of america and across this nation, it's calling out for the love, the peace and the equality, the

equity that john's life stood for. he truly was a beacon of hope, a light of love in the face of atrocity and violence. he preached it, he lived it each and every day. my heart is full of wonderful memories of john from the 50th anniversary being able to introduce him as he pintroduced president barack obama in front of that bridge. it was critically important to me and the legacy of my district that we restore the voting rights act and the school protections and that includes federal oversight. now more than ever we need it and now more than ever john's light shines. and hopefully we can rededicate ourselves to his memory and to his cause. >> congresswoman, you make another point, it's not as big as the voting rights act, but it is about that bridge that you keep referring to, the bridge that is seared into the memory of americans, most americans know the name but if you don't know the name, you know the bring because you've seen the

images of the bridge. i don't know if everybody can -- can remember who edmond pettus is, but he was a member of the k.k.k. >> yes, he was. and that time bh when we are talking about removing generals and namings, everything has to be on the table including the name of the bridge. as a representative of selma, i understand the complicated history that is selma, alabama, where we have civil rights and civil war living side by side. he was also a u.s. senator. and so my kmoouncommunity's hav tough conversations about what do about the naming of that bridge. i just want to reiterate that i can't think of a better name than that of john lewis. you know, but that's a community discussion, not something to be decided by me. but i want us to remember as the legacy of john lewis the light of love and the triumph of love over hate that is his life's

work. and he had sowed that seed in so many of us. i was lucky to get to know him as a daughter of brown chapel ama church where the marchers led that march from selma to montgomery, i've been a life-long member of that church. i've got ann chance to sit and witness not only john, but reverend c.t. vivian and so many of the other freedom fighters. but to have an opportunity to serve in congress with john was such an honor and to learn from him, to sit at his feet and to learn about the humility, the grace by which he carried himself, the humble boy growing up in troy, alabama, in the midst of segregated south. he was a daughter -- he was a son of alabama, and we mourn his loss. but most importantly we are inspired and reinvigorate and

rededicated to his life's work. we are going to see the voting rights act fully restored. i sat with john as we watched oral arguments in the supreme court in the shelvey versby ver holder decision. i walked with john as we walked across the bridge on the 50th anniversary with barack obama. i walked with john just a few months ago on the 55th anniversary. john's commitment, his tireless efforts in the midst of his own personal health challenges as an inspiration for all of us. he stands as that inspiration. he will continue to be that beacon of hope. and we will continue to march towards that beloved community. he believed in is so fervently. we will keep the feigning. faith. and the march that is america that john so desperately believed in. >> thanks for your memories of him and the work you're doing and thank you for continuing to remind our viewers that we lost c.t. vivian this week as well.

we have lost two major leaders of the civil rights movement. thank you, ma'am, for being with us. in an historic much, the north carolina city has approved representa racin reparations for its black residents. former president jimmy carter releasing a statement saying roselyn and i are saddened by the death of congressman john lewis. he made an indelible mark on history through his quest to make our nation more just. barack obama said not many get to live to see our own lec legg gacy play out in such a meaningful way. john lewis did. h a meaningful way. john lewis did.

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. congressman john lewis died amid a civil rights resurgence in the united states with protests against civil racism spanning the country for months now. but some cities are taking their activism a bit further hoping to alleviate some of the pain and suffering endured by generations of african-americans in the form of reparations. on tuesday, a historic and unanimous vote took place in asheville, north carolina approving preparations for black persons and apologizing for the city's role in slafr,ry discrimination and the denial of baction libertie basic liberties. it pledges to boost investment in the black community hoping to create lasting generational wealth. meanwhile where are in rhode island, providence mayor signed

an executive order to have a truth telling and reparations process on wednesday. what those reparations look like exactly has yet to be determined. while these are clearly steps in the right direction, many believe these actions are long overdue. back with me, nicole hannah jones. also with us, robert patterson, professor of african-american studies at georgetown university. he's the author of destructive desires, rhythm and blues culture and the politics of racial equality. good to see you again. nicole, thank you for being back with us. nicole, you wrote about reparations and the fact that it's time for american to pay its bill and you offered your view of what reparations look like. can you share that with us? >> yes. so, the piece that i wrote is called what is owed. and it really looks at this idea that for 350 years black americans were legally denied

the ability to accumulate wealth and for 250 years the ability to even have an income. and that almost every disparity that we looked that. this country can be related in some ways to the economic status of black americans. black americans and indigenous people have the highest rates of poverty, the lowest wealth. black people have about t$10 of wealth for $100 of wealth that white americans have. i argue that the decision not to make up for centuries of economic exploitation has led black americans to so much of the inequality that we face today. and this is time for america to own up to its history and to make right what -- what was done. slavery and jim crowe above all else were systems economic exploitation. and the only way to have true justice is to have a redistribution of the wealth that was taken from black americans over generations.

>> so, dr. patterson, there are two steps to this, right in the first one, as nicole said, is the realization. the fact that there's a responsibility to make up for past injustices. and separating that from blame. a lot of people said i didn't have slaves, i had nothing to do with this, my family's about italy, or whatever the case is. it's not about blame, it's about responsibility and privilege. but then what does it look like? is it cash payments or investment in communities or historically black colleges? what are the ways in which we think about preparations? >> right, ali. so this argument about responsibility and accountability is very important because even though one may not have owned slaves the way that white supremacy and white privilege work are that they allow people to benefit by virtue of their membership in a particular group. so the fact that one did not necessarily own or enslave africans or directly participate in jim crowe, one may have

benefitted from it and now has the responsibility to respond to it. so, reparations can take many forms. i do think that there is a case for the individual payments. people are resistant to that. but if you think about you have a job, you're underpaid and your employer withholds your wages or pays you less than you are supposed to get paid, when you good to court and a judgment is made, you're going to get back pay and get paid for the penalty for the organization engaging in behavior that it should not have. so that's -- the individual payment is one part. but the investment communities makes a lot of sense too. we know from redlining and hyper segregation exactly which communities are predominantly black and which communities have been underinvested in. particularly if we think about red lining, how the government played an important and active role in denying loans not only to individuals seeking houses in nonblack communities but also in black communities, they also

denied businesses from being able to get loans to start in those communities. and so to nicole's point, when you look at all the different markers in communities, whether it be jobs, whether it be health care, whether it be education, the housing available in terms of quality and quantity, we know where those markers are. and so one way to be to put direct funds into those communities at a disproportionate rate. part of preparations is about equity and part of equity is closing the gap that exists and part of closing the gap that exists is by investing more, because lesses that been invested in those communities. >> nicole -- >> alley i -- >> sorry, didn't mean to disrupt u interru interrupt you. >> there's one other point i think this is very important. the government -- i used

redlining as an example. but the government has played an active role in disinvesting in black communities with the purpose of investing in white kbhunts communities. if you move past redlining when highways were being built out to suburbia the government was spending money to sent advise white plight and dins investigate disinvest in communities that were black. it's actually reinvesting or investing period in communities that have been disinvested in intentionally. >> i think that distinction is very clear. and, far cole, y and, nicole, you say it's not free money. but we are moving the needle on this conversation, nicole, because you got picked on by the secretary of state. he named your project. and implied that people like you

are rewriting history in america. i think that indicates that your writing and thinking on this is having an impact. >> yeah, i certainly never expected to be in a speech by the secretary of state. but what i think is important is when we look at opposition to something like reparations, that clearly comes in part because we have been taught this history so poorly. most americans have no idea what slavery prevented black people from accumulating any property, any wealth. most people have no idea that we had 100 years of legalized racial apartheid in this country that was mainly about economic exploitation. we're here today also mourning the death of john lewis. john lewis was born into apartheid in this country where black people were illegally presfrentd having certain jobs, getting home loans, business

loans, attending colleges. this is a very not history, this history is not ancient in the is a recent history. we still have living victims. i do want to speak on what we're seeing in terms of a landscape preparation. i think it's very heartening that we do have communities that are considering this. you know this, ali, five years ago this was considered a radical fringe position. >> yeah. >> and you wouldn't see serious politicians taking this idea up. but, i will also say that we're still not going quite far enough. so when you look at asheville, they are not talking about transferring wealth to individual black people, they're talking about talking about investing into black neighborhoods and investing into businesses. what i fear is that we may see something very similar to what's happened with opportunity zoene is who gets to take advantage versus a targeted investment to the actual people who have been plundered. so we need to still push our

thinking further on this, but it is heartening that this is being considered in so many different communities. >> and thanks to the work that both of you have done on this. nicole hannah jones, pulitzer prize journalist with "the new york times" magazine. we just got another statement on john lewis's death there are one from the former president george w. bush. he writes in part, laura and i join in our fellow americans in the mourning of congressman john lewis. as a young man marching for equality in selma, alabama, he answered brutal violence with courageous hope. also at the white house they're flying flags at half staff. president trump has not personally made any comments but a statement has been issued from the white house. coming up next, a conversation with my good friend and colleague, joy reid. friend an colleague, joy reid.

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portland oregon and something unusual that's happening. federal officers in camouflage fighting with protesters. they're picking up protesters and detaining them and if it were happening in another country we would call it kidnapping. >> i call it kidnapping here. it is ironic that we've lost john lewis, all of these great men who fought for civil rights for black people but of course expand to everyone once black people are able to get their full citizenship and the fact that john lewis left his blood on what temporarily is called the ed monday pettis bridge because of brutal police, ironically enough this current president has sicked basically a kind of para military army on american cities. he has wrapped himself in, you know, racist mayor walter hedley, when the looting starts

the shooting starts. he's made himself the bull conner end of story and so now you have bull connerism erupting in an american city. people being kidnapped by secret police. the word fascism is now being used about an american president trump. this is everything that john lewis fought against. he saw donald trump for what he was. >> there are a few leaders like john lewis remaining alive. we lost vivian as well. you are talking to one of them though on your show very shortly, andrew young. >> yeah, andrew young, there are all these wonderful pictures of all these civil rights leaders that go back to 1960s and andrew young is one of the few left. you can count on one hand how many of the greats are here, are still here. we are losing a whole generation f othese incredible men and women who put their lives on the line for us and it's heart

breaking to think that, you know, that john lewis will not be able to see november. he'll see it from the hereafter but i wish that he would have been here to see everyone, you know, vote like john lewis bled for you and i think that's what people can do to honor him because he literally did that. >> joy, i'm going to miss you here. you know and our viewers know you're a very big part of the reason that i joined the weekend lineup at msnbc and i will carry your legacy forward. not a good-bye because i'm going to see you lots and lots on the reidout. thank you, my friend. the host of newest broadcast the reidout. premiers this monday night at 7:00 p.m. that does it for me. thanks for watching. you can catch me back here at 8:00 p.m. tonight. our coverage continues on the death of congressman lewis with a.m. joi. joy. joy ♪

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because they never quit. good morning and welcome to "a.m. joy." well, the country has just experienced an insurmountable back to back loss. just hours after the death of civil rights leader, minister and lieutenant to dr. martin luther king jr., c.t. vivii don't know called the greatest preacher to ever live by dr. king, the great john lewis. democratic congressman from georgia and an icon of t