that's what this is about. don't sit on it because if you sit on it, it will go away from you because god will say hey, you ain't using it, i'll give it to somebody else. ok? the wealthiest place on earth really is the cemetery because it's are where all the hopes, dreams, goals, music, arts, inventions, are lost forever. the hardest jobs, listen to me good, the hardest job for a black preacher is to give a eulogy of an irrelevant black child. you hear what i just said? to try and console their families and try to give meaning to a life of no purpose. how many of those eulogies have been said in our community? because we have been wayward. you remember the song "i got plenty of nothing, and plenty of nothing is good for me?"

i don't like that song. i like the song "god bless the child that's got his own" because that's what i got to do. anyone that professes to love this country must know history. we were taught his-story. that george washington cut down the cherry tree and did not tell a lie. nothing could be further from the truth. because if we were taught history we would know about the great and wonderful people called african-americans and how much they gave and sacrificed to build this country and leave a rich legacy of -- to all of us. not just black folks, to everybody. this country was built by africans, yngsdz and americans. we came here in 1619, one year before the mayflower. we did not come here as enslaved people. we came as indentured certify vanlts just like whites did and

the people of jamestown were starving until black folks came there in 1619 and showed them how to grow tobacco. any time y google it, because we're in that age. do you know in 1624 euro and isabella johnson had their first child. it wasn't out of wedlock, they were married. william tucker, 1624. i want you to know that we are just full of myths. we are full of myths and we bought them all and what we have do is to say that we're not going to deal with it. how many -- who told the colonies that the british were coming? no, no, that was the first person killed in 1770 but who rode off and told the british was coming. paul revere. nothing could be further from

the truth. ever heard of israel bizle. he run 346 miles on horse back from boston to philadelphia to warn not just boston, but all of the colonies in that upper area about the parish were coming. in other words, there are stories that made america and there are stories that america made up. you hear what i just said? there are stories that made america and there are stories that america made up and too often the myth becomes the choice and you believe rather than the facts and here's one thing and i'm going to close it here. he give me 15 minutes. i say, how are you going to give me 15 minutes? it takes a day of my time to come up here and give me 15 minutes. but i'm going to take what i need to take. what else are you going to do when you get up here?

i'm going to leave you with this and you got to listen to this. the myth of absent. in american history as in american life, black americans are invisible presence. did you hear what i just said? you got to just listen to that a little bit because it's got to sink in a little bit. they are not seen not because of their absence but because of the presence of a myth that prepares and requires their absence. did you hear what i just said? they are not seen not because of their absence but because of the presence of a myth that prepares and requires their absence. the myth of absence which expresses this idea and intention operates not by misinterpretation and slander but by silence and exclusion. by simply not mentioning certain realities and by removing black actors from scenes in which they played supporting roles, the

manipulation of the myth changes the color of the past and controls the perception and acts in the present and it's no accident that the dominant images of popular history are white. do you follow me? if you think about the myth of absence, if you look in all, every aspect of history, or even if you go to a place that you see nobody of color -- i went into an insurance company two days ago and the pictures on the wall was from 1937 and 1951. there was not a black face, there was not a woman and there was not a latino in the picture. that's the myth of absence. and if you see it long enough, you will believe that that is how it's supposed to be and for many of us, we've swallowed the pill, o.k.? we've swallowed the pill and i'm going to close right there, i got one poem and i'm going to

get off of here so al can get his program back. me and this boy go back 100 years so we can talk like this, you understand. all right, here we go, do it anyway. people really are unreasonable, illogical and self centered, love them anyway. if you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives, do good anyway. if you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies but succeed anyway. the good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow but let's do good today anyway. honesty and frankness will make you vulnerable but let's be honest and frank anyway. the biggest ideas with the can be shot down by the smallest of minds. what you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

let's keep building anyway because people need help but they attack you when you help them but let's keep helping them anyway and give the world the best you got and you'll get kicked in the teeth, but guess what, give the world the best you got anyway. thank you very much. ♪ >> ♪ lift every voice and sing 'til earth and heaven ring

ring with a harmony of liberty let our rejoicing rise ♪ our ancestors are to be honored as the roots of the treat, and the greatness and health of the tree depends on the death and health of its routes. when we do not honor our ancestors, we become like trees without roots. there is an unbroken continuing between the realm of the living in the realm of the dead in african culture -- an unbroken continuum.

the spirit pervades the everyday world of the living. in a community such as this one, we begin by honoring the ancestors, and we pour libations to honor them, and that is what rashid is going to do. we pur water -- pour water, the primary ancestral offering, the source of life in the universe. it is associated with the womb of creation and with the fountain of life. in the spirit of honoring the ancestors, we say, praises to the ancestors of this land, the keepers of this land. praise be. praises to the ancestors of the middle passage. praises be. praises to all of those whose courage, strength,

determination, perseverance, blessings, grace, blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifices have uplifted us, our community, our people. i want you to take a moment and out loud and with passion and with gratitude, call up the name of those whose shoulders you stand upon. praises be. praises be. praises be. praises be. praises be. praises be. praises be. we call -- praises be. we call upon you all to join us in this commemoration of the past and join us in the celebration of the youth leaders

of yesterday and today and those of tomorrow. we ask you to participate as we ourselves become more energized and inspired to follow their example and to take action, to be healers, peacemakers, social justice activists. we call upon you, great ones, to ask that you give us your blessing. bless all of us, and especially, bless our youth. bless their bodies, their spirits, their minds. we call upon you, ancestors, to ask for your guidance for all of us and especially our youth. especially our youth. guide their feet, their heads, their hearts. be to their left, they're right, above, below, in back of them. we ask that all of those who are present today be more inspired, more informed, and more hopeful and more blessed and more ready

to take action when they came. >> i want to thank sonya davis, one of our peacemakers in the community. a healer, civil rights attorney, and she has been a member of the restorative justice for youth program in oakland. linda. [applause] >> good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the koret auditorium of the san francisco public library. i'm a member of the african- american interest committee here at the library. it is our hope that you will be profoundly moved and inspired by what you hear and see today. social justice is concerned with equal justice, not just in the

court, but in all aspects of society. this concept demands that people have equal rights and opportunity. everyone, from the poorest person on the margins of society to the wealthiest, deserves an even playing field. every race, every color, every culture. what happened in 1955 is not unlike what is exploding out of the headlines today. it was a young person's death that started the uprising in tunisia. it is young people on the front lines in egypt. slowly but surely, the young people in sudan are following suit and rising up against an oppressive government. it was a young girl who stood still when she was ordered to give up her seat to a white woman, violently taken from the bus, pushed into a police car, ridiculed on her way to the station, and shot inside a jail cell until she was bailed out hours later -- shut inside a

jail cell until she was bailed out hours later. hers is a powerful story, along with that of a man who was racially profiled and accused of a crime he did not commit. i would like to invite ronald, who garner's several proclamations from various officials, and we would like to present them to ms. claudia -- to ms. claudette colvin. we want to thank him for his efforts in securing these proclamations. if ms. colvin would come up as well. >> it is an honor to be asked to make these presentations. the elected officials represented here are trailblazers themselves. many of them have been the first in their community to hold

office. for example, ed lee, the first chinese-american to be appointed mayor in san francisco, is represented in this group. so is our congresswoman, nancy pelosi, the first woman ever to become speaker of the house in the history of the united states. [applause] tom amiano, who has been a historic figure and trailblazer, coming from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered community. [applause] also, our newest elected official, supervisor cohen, with her election last november at age 32, is the youngest african-american ever to be elected to the board of supervisors. [applause] she is now san francisco's highest-ranking elected official who is african-american, one of

three women on the 11-member body, and the only african- american on that 11-member body. let me read -- since we are short on time -- the letter from the united states senator, dianne feinstein. it reads, "dear mrs. colvin, it is a pleasure for me to join your friends, family, and colleagues in recognizing you for all the work you have done in the fight for civil rights. thank you for dedicating your life to the cause of equality. you have given so much to this country. when you refuse to give up your bus seat on march 2, 1955, it ignited a spark within montgomery, alabama, that helped begin the process of change. the landmark united states supreme court case that eventually ended segregation on all buses within this country could not have been achieved without your valiant efforts that began with your testimony

against the montgomery public transportation system. i commend you for your passion, courage, and dedication. very few people could have demonstrated the level of conviction you showed at the young age of 15. young people today view you as a role model and as an important figure in the history of the civil rights movement. as united states senator representing the people of california, i commend your outstanding service to this country. i wish you good health and happiness in the years to come. sincerely yours, diane feinstein, united states senator -- dianne feinstein, united states senator." [applause] >> i don't know what to say. i'm so overwhelmed. it really feels good to get some

recognition from the politicians and top politicians. i'm glad that i lived to see this day. [applause] and i want to thank all who have made this day possible, including all the people at the library that put this event together. thank you very much. [applause] >> now, i would like to introduce the driving force behind this program, and award- winning, internationally known storyteller, recording artist, and educator. she is a truth teller and an artist for social change. she has made it her life's work to tell history through the words of its off forgotten witnesses.

zero two one-women shows -- she wrote two one-women shows. she told the true story of the 1955-1956 montgomery bus boycott through the eyes of four women. please help me welcome her. >> i guess you are wondering why i'm standing here. [inaudible] my teachers have been teaching me a lot about standing up for what is right. it was a week right after negro history week. i like negro history week a lot

because we learn about people who make a difference. that is what i want to do. teh white -- the white section was empty, and the colored section was full, so i sat in the middle, the seat on the left, the last one in the middle. i was not thinking about anything in particular. i had a chocolate candy bar, and i was looking out the window. an older girl sat next to me. i continued looking out the window. more people got on the bus, and some more color and some were white, and soon, no more seats were available. colored folks started getting up, and white folks started taking their seats. i just stared straight ahead. "make light on your feet." other people got up, but i told

myself that i would just stay seated. folks started staring at me. you know why -- you know, white folks. [laughter] "she knows where she belongs." open " i hope she is not one of them troublemakers --"i hope she is not one of the troublemakers." me? a troublemaker? just because of how i was born? my daddy that -- got a cowboy hat and cowboy boots. board rogers was coming to town

-- roy rogers was coming to town. it was for white kids only. why? they think we are troublemakers? i do not want to make trouble. troublemaker. just because of how we are born, we have to be troublemakers. that is when i looked and saw ms. hamilton getting on the bus. wait, let me get back on -- wait, driver, please, let me get back on. ms. hamilton, she sat right next

to me. "you need to get out so i can drive on -- get up so i can drive on." [inaudible] i want to stay black and die a natural death. [laughter] segregation is killing black people. that big fight, brown versus the board of education so all the black kids can get an education. [inaudible] the books have pages missing, and they all have things written inside of them. at the main library, we have a demonstration going on. [inaudible] how come we cannot use that facility?

they cannot even get a good job and fair pay. men, they come up missing. rape -- they do not want to talk about that, but if it is a white woman, it is on the news, on the radio, on television. i do not want to die like that. so i'm going to stay black and die. if i could do one thing -- >> i told you, you need to move on. do i need to get the police?" >> sir, i picked -- "sir, i paid my fare.

it is my constitutional right." the driver gets off the bus. police officers come. they are at the back door. "i had trouble with this girl before." "the two of you need to get up. you know it is against the law." open " i paid my fair -- "i paid my fare. if i move now, i will get sick. i'm pregnant." there is a volunteer. i think he was sensing there was going to be trouble or something. ms. hamilton, she got up and took his seat.

"officer, i did not know it was the law. that is not what the city ordinance said." "get up. get out." "i paid my fare. it is my constitutional right." next thing i know, they were dragging me off the bus, dragging me to the police car. [inaudible] "what is wrong with this black? we need to take her to jail." "no, no, no!"

next thing i know, they were taking my photographs and fingerprints. dan, i was locked behind this -- then, i was locked behind this cell. two weeks later, people were outraged. women could not believe it -- a child drug off a bus? violated segregation law, but they dropped two of the charges because i think they thought we were trying to challenge the

case, take it higher. [inaudible] he actin' crazy. i just stopped looking people in the eye and kept to myself. felt like an outsider. i don't want to be humiliated. [inaudible] [applause]

>> that is the piece that people are finally learning about -- that is the case that people are finally learned about, but more important is the case that happened a year later. a federal court case was filed challenging the segregated buses. the plaintiffs -- on may 11, that hearing began in 1956. the attorney, her lawyer when she was 15, and who did not win that case, but said her case [inaudible] realized that they could potentially win. claudette colvin was the star witness in the federal court case. that case had