>> ♪ 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 went to the supreme -- that case went to the supreme court. [inaudible] the rest is history. [applause] >> ok, i would like to bring to the stage our honored guest. i'm going to introduce him, and

if you and mrs. colvin could make your way. described as an artist who speaks the truth we desperately need to hear, is a harvard law graduate, prison activist, hip- hop artist, grand slam poetry champion, actor, author, and educator. his new book, "the ugly side of beautiful: rethinking race in prisons in america" will be published later this year. the start of the off-broadway hip-hop theater production, he has lectured and performed at over 100 colleges and correctional facilities in the united states, africa, asia, latin america, and europe. he has released two albums to critical acclaim, taught at brooklyn college, new york university, the new school in columbia university, and is now touring lyrics for lockdown.

one of those is sponsored by the naacp. i learned that he is beginning rehearsals for the remakes of "the wiz." let's welcome him. [applause] our moderator for this afternoon, world renowned anti- racist, multicultural educator. [applause] yes. as many of you in the audience know, she is an accomplished front line teacher. a teacher, educators, researchers, writers, consultant, speaker. she is like a mother, auntie,

big sister, all in one, for me. she has taught in canada, the caribbean, and the u.s. and has been involved in the development of teachers for two decades. she consults on anti-racist inclusion very and equitable education. she assists school districts and schools to continually restructure themselves for equitable outcomes for all students. the initiative put that puts race -- she designed the initiative that puts race on the table. she is the virtual scholar for teaching for change. she is the author of "reality check," a major report on education. maybe conversation began. >> this is an occasion when we are going to talk across generations.

these two guests here. and then we have some time for you to talk with them. the afternoon is full, and we are on to a little bit of a late start, so let me tell you how we hope to go. we will begin with ms. colvin giving 10 minutes of her very long and illustrious life in terms of work for civil rights. just 10 minutes. then, bryonn bain, whose life is not as long but illustrious nonetheless, will give 10 minutes also with some trauma at the head of it. and then we will have a conversation for the next maybe 20 minutes, amongst the three of us. then we will open it to the floor for you to ask them questions. the goal is this -- when we leave this afternoon -- as a teacher, you have to have your objectives set, yes? any teacher with herself has to

know what you want to have come of this. what i want to have, this is that we are all more informed about the way in which systems of racism work in this country -- what i want to have come of this. and also have a clear sense of what each of us can do about it and what we individually will do with our own work. that is the assignment. let's get started. i'm going to ask ms. colvin to, in 10 minutes or so, stick to two important dates, mentioned by awele. the march to date and the may 11 date in court -- the march 2 date and may 11 date. i know there is a lot to say, but if you could fill us in on that and then move on.

>> first, i would like to say, good evening, everyone. i will try to take you back to march 2, but first, i have to begin with when i first understood that the races were separated. i was born in alabama, but i moved to live with my biological aunt and uncle. remember, in the rural area, there are no signs saying " white" and "colored" because it is too difficult, but how i learned about it is in the general store. they sell everything. everything you want to find in