good morning. it is saturday, february the 27th. i'm ali velshi. coming up this morning, a reality check on what the conservative action conference has become the parade of lies of hatred that aims to subplant what was once the republican party. plus disturbing echoes from the january 6th insurrection attempt from the capitol. the acting capitol hill police chief warning congress that militia groups were, quote, preparing for war and may be planning for more violence, but first, breaking news overnight. just hours ago the house voted to pass president biden's $1.9 trillion covid relief bill, the american rescue plan act of 2021 passed at 2:04 eastern this morning by a vote of 219 to 212. now it's on to the senate where negotiations will begin with the clock ticking down to march 14th when enhanced unemployment benefits expire. the $15 minimum wage is expected

to be the first provision to go in the senate version. also yesterday, food and drug administration advisers recommended the single-shot johnson & johnson covid-19 vaccine for emergency use authorization. the fda is expected to follow the advisory group's recommendations as early as today in making the j & j version the third vaccine available in the united states. the move comes as the white house looks to ramp up the shots available in the administration. it will be able to vaccinate 4 million people a day by the end of march. more than double the current pace of 1.5 million shots a day and this week, president biden celebrated the 50 millionth vaccination at a white house event, but stressed the fleed to remain vigilant in the days ahead. >> i want to make something really very clear. this is not a time to relax. we must keep washing our hand, stay socially distanced and for

god's sake -- for god's sake, wear a mask. some of our progress in this fight is because so many americans are stepping up and doing those things. the worst thing we can do now is let our guard down. >> internationally another vaccine on the market is critical as the worldwide death toll from coronavirus has grown past a staggering 2,5 million souls lost. also this week the biden administration took its first known military action authorizing air strikes against iranian-backed fighters in eastern syria. the air strike was in response to recent attacks against american and coalition personnel in iraq including an attack in erbil this month which killed a civilian contractor and wounded a u.s. service member. the u.s. response targeted a transit hub used by militia fighters near the iraq-syria border and multiple fate -- facilities were destroyed. here's defense secretary lloyd

austin following the strike. >> we are confident that that target was being used by the same shia militia that conducted the strikes. we are very deliberate about our approach as you would expect us to be. we allowed and encouraged the iraqis to investigate and develop intelligence and that was very helpful to us in finding the target. turning from international concerns to those within our borders, as part of her testimony on the capitol riot, the acting capitol hill police chief warned lawmakers this week that the threat from extremist groups is still very much of concern. >> we know that members of the militia groups that were present on january 6th have stated their desires that they want to blow up the capitol and kill as many members as possible with a direct nexus to the state of the union which we know that date

has not been identified. so based on that information, we think that it's prudent that capitol police maintain its enhanced and robust security posture until we address those vulnerabilities going forward. also overnight a report from "the new york times" that the fbi has singled out a potential assailant connected in the death of this man, capitol police officer brian sicknick. it is believed that his death may have been related to mace or bear spray that he inhaled during the riot. investigators have pinpointed a person seen on video of the riot who attacked several officers with bare spray. the assailant discussed attacking officers with the bare spray beforehand. investigators have yet to identify the assailant by name and another capitol riot finding this morning.

new disturbing footage obtained by the department of justice. i must warn you, this will be difficult for some people to watch. it's police body cam footage of what federal prosecutors say is former nypd officer thomas webster. he is charging a d.c. police officer during the deadly january 6th riot on capitol hill. webster is seen holding a flag pole in the video. his lawyer says he's pleading not guilty to assaulting the officer and argues that the officer struck webster first and a full-blown melee ensues. this comes as they indicted six nationalists of the proud boys on con pir see to obstruct the certification of the election results and to attack law enforcement. joining me now helene cooper, pentagon correspondent for "the new york times" and an msnbc political analyst. good to see you, good morning. let's begin with the latest reporting in "the new york times" related to officer

sicknick and what about the charges and the potential charges he made in connection with officer sicknick's death. >> good morning. it's nice to see you. it's kind of significant that they are now opening a homicide investigation that although bear spray is viewed as a non-lethal weapon, it can, in some cases, have the kind of effect that it did with officer sicknick. so the fbi have not identified the suspect yet, but they have video, and they also, more significantly which you mentioned on your broadcast have video of the suspect threatening that he was going to use bear spray to attack police officers. so this is a fairly major movement in the case. i think it's going to be -- it's hard to imagine that they're not going to be able to identify the

suspect. so we're going to see where it goes. we're seeing all of these. as i was watching your intro. it was almost as if we're holding up a mirror, almost at america itself when you see the former military people who were members of that riot and members of that mob. you see the former police officers who is also a reflection of who we are. as a country and as a society. i think there is a lot of reckoning that will be going on, but the officer sicknick one is a significant detail in this case. >> i agree with that. let's talk to -- let's talk about president biden's first military action in the middle east. you reported on the air strike against iranian-backed fighters in eastern syria. i was talking to ali soufan a little while ago. this is complicated because it was targeting iranian immigrant who are in syria for action

taken in iraq. what do you make of this? >> this is all about sending a message to iran that biden is not trump, but just because president biden is president biden and not president trump that he's not quite as all out as vociferously as president trump was, he is trying to say i'm going to stand up for american interests and american national security so don't try anything. the administration took -- president biden took almost two weeks to come up with a decision on how to strike back in erbil which killed a u.s. contractor. he weighed several options. the pentagon gave him a whole list of it and he went with more of what the pentagon is describing as a more restrained option. you may not feel if you were too restrained as you were on the receiving end of the air strikes

which were seven bombs dropped on the buildings and it says up to 17 people were killed. the pentagon has not confirmed that and they're still doing their damage assessment. for president biden this is significant. i don't want to use the word red line because we've all overused that and this is a significant line he felt he had to draw with the iranians according to administration officials and they believe iran is behind the funding and providing weapons to the shia militias and they want to send a message, don't push us too far just because you think we're not going to be going as all-out anti-iran as the trump administration. president biden does want to get back into this iranian nuclear corps. so there is a certain degree with treating iran with kid gloves in the administration and at the same time they'll have to figure out what kind of balance to strike. >> that is an interesting

balance trying to get back to the iran nuclear deal to stop backing anti-government in syria. helene, thank you for joining us. helene cooper is pentagon correspondent for "the new york times" and political analyst. joining me sort show is malcolm nance who has 35 years' experience as counterintelligence officer. author of the book "the plot to betray america" how team trump compromised our security and how we can fix it and he's msnbc terrorism analyst. i want to start on this particular topic, this issue of military action and helene and ali soufan did a nice job of explaining why joe biden is doing something like this, targeting iranians while at the same time trying to get back to the table with iranians. there is some question on capitol hill as there always is about whether or not there was enough consultation and

information given to members of congress before an attack. members of congress typically think whoever the president is doesn't consult with them enough on these things. bernie sanders had very strong words for the president saying we need to not continue to be in this forever war in the middle east. >> well, it's an interesting point and because presidented bien signed off on this attack, the first above the ground attack that we've noticed it's now become a flashpoint for some people. let me point out to you that analysts are overplaying on this, if it had not been for the fact that a shia militia had fired off rockets in a u.s. facility in erbil in kurdistan, this strike would not have gotten attention whatsoever. u.s. forces carry out attacks all of the time in iraq. it's just that working with a coalition partner, the shia militia which happened to be

iranian backed that was stationed on the iraq-syrian border and we decided to strike that one facility and it was probably a rocket storage facility and something benign. it was nothing on the scale of what donald trump did in killing suleimani and creating the groundswell of sectarian desire to really punish the united states. i think this will fly under the radar. >> almost took us to the edge of war, that action with kasim soleimani. it's problematic that thousands of americans took part in that thing and that people died. it is deeply, deeply offensive and worrisome that members of our military and members of our national guard and that image that i showed you of someone from the new york police department. we've heard of police officers and firefighters from various forces around the country. that is really problematic, malcolm. these are people sworn to protect us and to see that they're attacking both democracy

and police officers is highly problematic. >> what youio see is the depth of the delusion created by president trump with his big lie ideology which is push out, that it was stolen and to actually anger his base to the point where they were ready to destroy democracy, and many of these people that have been swept up in this and the entire trump train lots of theme are extremists and a lot of them are military, and policemen, paramedics. we've identified and i know i was on a photo identification group, we identified people carrying handguns into the building. some of them were police officers carrying their credentials as well. the fact that these people decided democracy was no longer worth defending unless it was their version of democracy for their tribal leader is the most

disturbing part of this. they no longer believe in america. they believe in dictatorship. >> malcolm, as always. thank you for joining us. malcolm nance is an msnbc terrorism analyst and the author of the plot to betray america and how team trump embraced our enemies and compromised and how we can fix it. president biden is to give remarks at the house of representatives and we'll bring you those remarks live when they began at 11:00 a.m. eastern. kamala harris joins al sharpton for an exclusive interview it airs this evening at 5:00 p.m. eastern only here on msnbc. here's a live look at the annual conservative political action conference in orlando, florida. still ahead, i'll speak to a republican strategist who says cpac still billed as a forum is filled with white supremacy. this will be a good

conversation, i promise you. the u.s. has accused china of creating genocide and crimes against humanity through its repression of the uighur people. who are they and what's happening to the 12 million people of western china? when we come back, you're watching velshi on msnbc. watching velshi on msnbc ♪♪ it's the easiest because it's the cheesiest. kraft. for the win win. did you know you can go to libertymutual.com to customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need? really? i didn't-- aah! ok. i'm on vibrate. aaah! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

i want to tell you about a story far away and its people about who don't know much, but who are suffering. shin zheng it borders russia, mongolia and the former muslim states of the soviet union. of the 25 people who live in shin zhang about 11 million are turkik as opposed to the hang chinese the overwhelming majority. uighurs. it's a chinese name that means

new frontier, new because 70 years ago china annexed east turk stan and made it part of china. uighurs speak their own language similar to turkish, they are culturally central asian like the people of kazakhstan and uzbekistan. they are mostly muslim and practice their religion and it's monitored closely by chinese public security officials. as is often the case when a country an exes the place. uighurs make up less than half the population and that shift has threatened their livelihoods. according to the council on foreign relations in 2017 the chinese imposed a blunt government policy of forcibly assimilating uighurs into larger chinese society under the guise of a counter terrorism campaign. they built detention camps and moved what are believed to be a million uighurs into them.

some working for meager pay and some for no pay at all. the chinese government long denied the camps existed until irrefutable evidence emerged. now the chinese say that they are vo kagal training schools or boarding schools or re-education centers. shin zhang accounts for a fifth of the world's cotton supply. the bbc reports that china is forcing uighurs into hard manual labor in cotton fields. the chinese response is that the works are part of a quote, vol untheary poverty alleviation project. they have reported physical, mental and sexual torture including rape through mass sterilization, forced abortions and coercing uighurs to marry non-uighurs and even the disgraced former president of the united states who claimed to be the only one willing to stand up to china didn't stand up to the persecution of the uighurs

possibly because they're muslim. possibly because they're a minority. possibly because the former president liked nationalistic authoritarian leaders. on his last full day as secretary of state, mike pompeo tweeted that china was carrying out genocide against the uighurs. antony blinkin yeahed and pressed the two super powers. as america retakes its place as a leader among nation, stopping genocide and ethnic cleansing around the world needs to become its priority. needs to become its priority

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there's no question. none, that president trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. no question about it.

the people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president. >> if the president was the party's nominee would you support him? >> the nominee of the party? absolutely. >> so mitch mcconnell says trump is morally responsible for the capitol siege yet he's willing to support him in a 2024 bid. come on, mitch! mcconnell is only kissing the ring this week because trump is about to come out of hiding where he'll likely set the stage for that run next cycle. tomorrow the seditionist ex-president, a loser, i'll remind you, will headline the conservative political action conference, cpac, the event that started in the early '70s has been viewed for conservatives and some who have gone off the deep end and rooted in ideas and talk about policies who in their opinion, make the country for several place.

however it's evolved into a cesspool of hatred, bigotry and exclusionary garbage. a place where speakers rail on the marginalized for striving for equal rights. i like conservatives and respect conservative ideology even if i don't agree with it. today's version of cpac would offend me to my core. not only was blatant prejudice on display this week, we saw missouri senator josh hawley brag to the crowd about his rejection of the 2020 election results which ultimately gave way to the insurrection on capitol hill and the deaths of five people. >> you know, on january the 6th, i objected during the electoral college certification. maybe you heard about it. [ cheering ] i did. i stood up. so i did that and i want to have a debate on election integrity and what was the result of that? you know what the result was. i was called a traitor.

i was called a seditionist. the radical left said i should resign and if i didn't resign i should be expelled on the united states senate. as i said earlier. i'm not going anywhere. i'm staying right here. i'm going to stand up for you. >> josh hawley is a good guy and he's a good speaker. he's a smart guy, but that's not conservatism. bragging about actions that led to a right-wing mob storming of the capitol is not conservatism. hatred and bigotry are not inherently republican values and they seem to be these days. any republican who didn't sell their soul to trump will tell you that, but let's also be clear. it doesn't matter what they or i think because when it comes to the gop, trump is a king. he's a pagan god as michael cohen told me last hour. he won the civil war within the republican party and now traditional conservatives are paying the price for it. those thousands of former republicans who defected in disgust in stead of trying to fix the problem left it for

trump's taking. joining me is rick tyler, an msnbc contributor and author of "still right" and rick, i'm trying to plug your book here, man because it is a tough sell making the case for conservatism today. it is an ideology and deserves a place on our political spectrum so people like you and i can debate, but that's not what conservatives today are offering me. >> no, conservatives today, ali, and thanks for having me on. it's a little while calling yourself a vegan while chewing on raw meat. it's your actions and what you believe in that make you conservative. you mentioned very well put in 1974 the cpac conference started as a place for conservatives to gather and share ideas and most of all to be around other conservatives. it was a great event that we all looked forward to year after year. i went for over a decade to cpac

conferences and the first cpac conference featured ronald reagan. ronald reagan introduced senator john mccain at that very conference as a war hero, and that was the event, and actually after 9/11, ali, if you're interested to know, the cpac conference decidedly took a darker turn. it began to embrace islamophobia, and that was the first dark turn, but it was -- its mission was actually to make conservatism the mainstream philosophy of the republican party. it happeneded to be the establishment. conservatism has always been an orphan to the republican party and reagan made it so they were invited to the dinner table, but in 2015 was decidedly an anti-trump cpac and one year later it was a decidedly pro-trump cpac, but here's the

problem. conservatism at the cpac conference no longer exists because in order for you to be a follower of donald trump you have to believe all -- and this is what all these candidates or all of these elected officials that are on the stage, they've all subordinated themselves to literally what donald trump thinks and that's the republican platform and if donald trump says higher taxes are good like higher tariffs, they have to say higher taxes are good. if he says deficit spending is good, then they have to say deficit spending is good. if he turns around and say immigration is wonderful. they would all turn around and say immigration is wonderful and they subordinate themselves to the king and that's all that they can do. that's the only position they have, and by the way, they're all saying this conference has nine different panels talking about how the election was stolen. >> yeah. >> if that's their point of view, if the election was stolen you must re-nominate donald

trump to be the next nominee. >> to fix that. >> you couldn't possibly run against him because his election was stolen. therefore he must put to his rifle place which is president of the united states. sorry for going on so long. >> no, no. and rick, people know you and i are friends and we enjoy talking to each other and we share some opinions and we don't share lots. that is the fundamental beauty of this pluralistic nation in which we live, right? we don't have to share those views. we saw josh hawley -- >> we share goals, but we don't share views. >> josh hawley and i don't share goals on this issue of democracy. >> no. >> nor do ted cruz and i these days and i need to understand that because you and ted cruz were tight for a while. >> when he started to formulate his tax policy and what i saw which really disturbed me is ted cruz completely shifted his position on free trade which has

always been a political position and he did it for political expediency and he wrote in an op ed which you can read it, with the speaker -- the guy from wisconsin -- >> paul ryan. >> paul ryan, thank you. he wrote an op ed with paul ryan and he was talking about tpa which would give barack obama the tpp, the transpacific partnership. obviously, he was all for the transpacific partnership and the debate he claims he was never for it and claims to have read things that were never there and bought into the conspiracy theories about what was in the transpacific partnership which included back door immigration and included all kinds of deal killers and think, nobody had read it because it was a secret document. we don't allow tariff documents, trade documents to be fe gosch yated in public. they have to be done in private

because otherwise they would never get done and ted cruz did a 180-degree turn on free trade. he's willing to take an 180-degree turn on virtually any issue for donald trump. >> thank you for joining me. rick tyler, an msnbc political analyst and author of "still right." just because steve bannon was pardoned by the former president doesn't mean he's out of the woods legally. a federal judge declined to immediately grant a request to dismiss an indictment against trump's former chief strategist. bannon is accused of scamming trump supporters out of hundreds of thousands of supports to amass funding to help build the border wall, but bannon allegedly used those donations to pay for multiple personal expenses. a judge has ordered lawyers for both sides to submit written briefs on whether the indictment should stand in spite of the

pardon. the house passed the biden administration's $1.9 million covid relief plan overnight. the president is set to give his remarks on the american rescue plan at 11:00 a.m. eastern today. senator bob casey joins us on when we can expect as the relief bill heads to the senate. that's coming up next on "velshi." next on "velshi. so, subaru and our res are doing it again, donating an additional 100 million meals to help those in need. love. it's never been needed more than right now. subaru. more than a car company. (vo 2) to join us with a donation, go to subaru.com. i am robert strickler. i've been involved in communications in the media for 45 years. i've been taking prevagen on a regular basis for at least eight years. for me, the greatest benefit over the years has been

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i don't like veggies... what?! ♪ whatever you have at home, knorr sides can turn nutritious veggies into mouthwatering meals. ♪ veggies taste amazing with knorr. the $1.9 trillion rescue plan passed the house this morning. it would send $1,400 direct payments to americans who qualify and replace unemployment benefits that are set to expire in just two weeks. while a bunch of gop lawmakers did call for increased stimulus payments right before the election, republicans are now working overtime to try to kill this relief package, but the white house has been shoring up support outside of the beltway where many republicans, state and local officials, the folks who have to govern in this

crisis are supporting the relief package. west virginia governor jim justice is one of those signaling his support earlier this month and he said so in so many words that washington lawmakers have to stop nitpicking and pass a bill. biden has capitalized his support talking to the governors including kay ivy from alabama and asa hutchinson of arkansas, and greg abbot of texas and kevin stick of oklahoma. in the first five weeks in office, biden is spending as much time if not more courting republican governors as he is wooing the senators he needs to pass legislation. it's not just the governors supporting the relief bill. republican-led cities and towns are seeking aid. they're letting go of partisanship. this week the mayor of oklahoma city joined my colleague chris hayes and asked if this bill was a so-called blue state bailout as has been billed by his party members. >> i don't know a single mayor or governor, for that matter,

who isn't down in their revenues and oklahoma is a red state and our revenues are down. oklahoma city is kind of a purple city, but our revenues are down. to not support cities at all or not to support states at all is a totally unreasonable position because whether you're a red state or a blue state, a red mayor or blue mayor, your revenues are down and services are suffering as a result. that is a fact. >> now that the bill is passed in the house it's headed to the senate and due to the razor-thin majority that they hold in that chamber. senator, good to see you. thank you for joining us this morning. >> ali, good to be with you. thanks. >> senator, let's talk about this bill and we believe because of the senate parliamentarian's decision that the minimum wage can't pass under the budget reconciliation rules, that the wage issue may not be a part of this bill. if it isn't, does it have enough

support with democrats in the senate to pass? >> i think it will pass if it doesn't have it in it, but that's a big loss for the country because if you raise the minimum wage as we've proposed and as the overwhelming majority of americans support you are giving a raise to 32 million people according to the economic policy institute and you're also helping directly the lives of children. it would have just that alone would have a transformative impact on the lives of children, but if it's not in the bill i still think the bill would pass because we have to get legislation done because of the deadlines on unemployment. schools need help to reopen and that's not cheap. we have to get the vaccine distribution funded and we have to make sure we're providing direct relief to people whether it's unemployment or food assistance or other help. >> let me ask you about the cost of this bill. i've always been fascinated by

the degree to which republicans and fiscal conservatives are arguing we can't afford this. it's $1.839 trillion. the -- i'm sorry, 1.927 trillion dollars and the republican tax bill in 2017 $1.839 trillion and that was supposed to pay for itself and give every american a $4,000 raise as the government then was putting it and thus increase our deficit. it didn't do any of these things and this is money going to state, municipality, vaccine and regular people and yet difference in the way of thinking about this? >> well, because the hard right took over the republican party a decade or so ago, but at least in the last five years, and the tax bill they passed in 2017 wasn't just bad. it was an obscenity and i've said that more than once and the folks who had no compunction about jacking up deficit to give

major corporations a permanent tax break and to give the super rich a break now all of a sudden rediscovered fiscal responsibility and the republican party on fiscal responsibility is a joke. they have no credibility on this and it's only that a democratic president is in office and they only cry about fiscal responsibility when workers and folks across the country are being low pressured and it's katie bar the door when they want to give their corporate friends a break? >> you tweeted a little while ago, two weeks ago that the american rescue plan has broad bipartisan support and 91% of democrats and 69% of independents and 53% of republicans support this. we just heard from republican mayors. we've listened to republican governors and i'm -- forget about the deficit side of things. most americans want this to happen. most americans need that $1400

check. most cities and states are short of this money. i'm puzzled as to -- and here's another poll that shows 76% of americans support the covid relief bill. the hard right of the republican party i would assume they would like to get re-elected, at least. >> it's pretty hard to go home. i think even on the minimum wage, i think that's a tougher vote for republicans than people realize to vote against it, but just on state and local support. that's one way to prevent layoffs, public safety layoffs, meaning firefighters, police officers and teachers and you want to go home and say i couldn't get around it and i couldn't support something that would give support to my local or state government. it just shows you how the extreme right will not abide by any moderation or common sense. >> senator, thank you for joining us this morning. senator bob casey of

pennsylvania is on the finance health education, labor and pensions committees. >> decades after the civil rights movement, millions are fighting against systemic are in american life. america still has a long way to go in the fight against inequality and we'll have more velshi after this break. velshi after this break. and enjoy fresher smelling laundry for up to 12-weeks. ♪ ♪ ♪ when it comes to your financial health, just a few small steps can make a real difference. ♪ ♪ ♪ learn, save and spend with guidance from chase. confidence feels good. chase.

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black history is american history. we've been talking a lot about it lately because february is black history month, but black history should be taught and learned and honored all year long by all americans. the precursor to black history month was founded nearly a century ago by historian carter woodson as negro history week. he explained the importance, if a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition. it becomes a negligible fathor in the thought of the world and stands in danger. >> it includes essays by 90 writers who are descendants of enslaved people and many are authors in their own right or otherwise experts. they all come together to tell a crucial piece of american history that is so often erased. i highly recommend reading this book. it's an easy read and a number of short chapters. my next guest is an award-winning historian, she

co-wrote "400 souls" from police vile tones mass incarceration to voter suppression and unequal housing, the social and economic disparities that shape contemporary contemporary black lives are all legacies of slavery and colonialism. kesha joins me after the break. k when it comes to laundry, everyone thinks their way is the right way. i wash on delicate. i just stuff everything in. you have to wash on cold, because it saves energy. the secret is, tide pods work no matter how you wash. so, everyone is right. it's got to be tide. mornings were made for better things than rheumatoid arthritis. when considering another treatment, ask about xeljanz... a pill for adults

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as we celebrate black excellence but also reflect upon america's disturbing racist past, we have to remember history has its eyes on us. it's crucial for all americans to act and fight for equality as racism continues to threaten our present and future. joining me now is kesha. in blaine. she's the president of the african-american history society and co-author of "four hundred souls." dr. blaine, good to see you. thank you for being with us and thank you for this work we have put together. we have been celebrating author this month. i arch see black people wearing a t-shirt that says i am my ancestors' wildest dreams. you address this in which you

write black people are living their lives uninhibited by the chains of racism and white supremacy that bind us still. while i remain doubtful that we are our ancestors' wildest dreams, i believe we can be. we still have the unique opportunity to shape our current dreams into our future realities. tell me about what influences that thinking. >> well, thirst, thank you so much for having me. as i wrote the conclusion, i wanted to shift away from just the individual narrative and really begin to think about black america in a collective sense. that, of course, is the vision of four hundred souls, bringing together a community of writers to tell a community of history. what happens is oftentimes when we use that quote, we're talking about our individual successes. perhaps we've obtained an education, perhaps we've accomplished something meaningful in our lives. i'm not discounting the

significance of individual success, but what i wanted to convey is that we need to think about this notion of our ancestors' wildest dreams in a collective sense, and that means looking at the full experiences of black people in this country. if you look at it through that lens, it's hard to say we really are living our ancestors' wildest dreams. >> you actually -- your ancestors, you think about that a lot. your grandmother was enslaved in the caribbean, and you say you wish you knew what those wildest dreams looked like. on some level when people wear it on a personal lernl, they may be talking about their own personal successes, academic successes, or life successes. as a community, black people in america continue to suffer and are not living completely free. >> right. and i focus on my great-grandmother felicity in the caribbean and partly because i want us to think about this history in a global sense and to

understand the links between slavery and colonialism as i lay out in the conclusion, and what's clear and i talk about this notion of full freedom which kim butler, historian, has emphasized, it's clear we're not experiencing full freedom as black people in this country to this very day, and to anyone who's been paying attention with what's happened even with covid-19 and the way it's devastated black communities or looking at the uprisings in the way we have been challenging people to pay attention and to acknowledge that black lives matter, just those few examples, i think, underscore the point we have a very long way to go. >> this black history month is different from many others because of the last year. we have had the better part of an entire year of uprisings, of protests, of video evidence of police brutality against black people, and there are a lot of people who are not black who have been able to say while i'm not to blame for what's

happened, i am responsible to change some of this or change my behavior or recognize my privilege. is there a fear outside of black history month, outside of a world in which we are televising protests on an ongoing basis, some of that resolve is lost by people who don't have the lived experience that you have? >> i think so. i think that's partly why the uprisings was so meaningful and why it was a watershed moment in our recent past because it was an opportunity for so many people to come together regardless of their socioeconomic background, regardless of their race to acknowledge the challenges that black people are facing in this country and to stand as real allies in the struggle, not just to say black lives matter, but to truly recognize black humanity and even to put once self on the line even physically. we saw that in the protest over the past few months. the fear is that now that we've sort of shifted our attention in

different ways, that we will lose that resolve. i think 400 souls is important for reminding people that the struggle continues. i certainly hope we'll be talking about these histories long after black history month. >> it is a remarkable book. thank you for your contribution and the contribution of so many others to making this incredible history. dr. kesha n blain is the co-author of "four hundred souls." it's an important read and important gift. that does it for me. thank you for watching. catch me back here tomorrow morning from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. president biden is expected to speak in about an hour on the american rescue plan which passed overnight. don't go anywhere. "cross connection" with my friend tiffany cross begins right now. ♪♪

as we advance this legislation, we will continue to fight for 15, which will give 27 million americans a raise, we will seek a solution consistent with senate rules, and we will do so soon. >> to be clear, the swamp is back. >> democrats are embarrassed by all that's in this covid bill. they're jamming it through in the dead of night. good morning. i'm tiffany cross. on this morning on "cross connection", we have a jam-packed show. president biden will be speaking live from the white house. don't go anywhere. we'll be bringing it live. and the queen herself, tina knowles is here heroes. the house passed the biden administration $1.9 trillion covid relief