no, there's so much about african-americans that we don't know, and certainly african-american women that we don't need a new story, we just need to keep recovering that old story. we have time. because, again, let me announce for those of you who did not come in at the time, we're using the cameras here. so c-span is taping this. it will air november 1st starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern standard time if you're in another time zone but, you know, or another state, i guess perhaps you should check your local listings, all right? please because we do have these cameras here, please identify yourself if you have a question or make a comment. so i'm going to open the floor to anyone who has a comment. yes. >> question. >> stand and identify yourself. >> i'm ann brown from cal state fullerton. i want to, first, thank you panelists and chair and some of the thoughts that you brought up about this idea of harriet tubman and individual icon versus the collective and how there's this possibility of the individual erasing the collective and somehow i'm curious about thoughts on why harriet tubman

there was an alliance with gj, an african-american man and activists. in 1948 they come togetherin a tactical electoral partnership . they managed to both get elected through various local offices, sutton is the first african-american from the region elected to construction. and for garcia, the mexican american counterpart, and allows him to get on the school board and fight for equal access to schools among mexican americans in the city. but out of those early efforts comes a reconfiguration of local politics and san antonio's been written about a lot, the government, but more importantly a new activist tradition and a key player in this is a man named albert . albert becomes active in the early 1950s area he forms another local democratic political club that aimed at organizing among mexican americans in san antonio and he uses that to build a massive get out the vote organization and political machine on san antonio's southwest side which brings adlai stevenson as a presidential candidate to san antonio to speak at a major victory and moving forward

jose anderson: you had a group of african-american professionals, a group of african-american creativeom which houston and marshall could draw encouragement from the whole post-harlem renaissance era, and so that community actually helped to energize momentum for the legal campaign across the entire country. jose anderson: new york was an exciting place to be the headquarters for the campaign. in fact new york had plenty of race issues of its own. thurgood marshall: after a riot would break in harlem a code number would go out to all policemen in the 123rd street precinct - that's right in the middle of harlem. in the meantime all of the white policemen in harlem, where the riot is going on, just stand perfectly still. and don't use a weapon, don't use a gun, just stand there until you're replaced. and then these guys go out in these other cars, and the colored fella taps the white fella on the shoulder, he gets in the car. and it about, well less than an hour, there are all black cops there. so where is the race riot? the re riot is gone. in the radio car and ride around, you know, lo

your routine as a comedian often mimicked africans and also african americans, and about african americansid this. "you are not african but we play along. it's a very loose term, african american, because half the time you use it for people who aren't even african. as long as you're black they say african american." i didn't deliver it like that, you're not doing myjokesjustice. all right, yeah. i'm not trevor noah and i'm not a comedian, satirist. i'm just asking, are they not african american? here's what you're missing. what you're doing right now is the equivalent of me saying, "now it's raining more than ever, i'll be here with you forever. you can always be my friend, standing under my umbrella. ‘ella, ‘ella, ‘ella, ‘ella, ‘ella, ‘ella, ‘ella, ‘ella, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ‘ella, ‘ella, ‘ella, ay ay i seem like a mad person right now because i'm not doing everything that was within the context of the song umbrella by rihanna. when you're doing comedy merely by words, i spoke it, my eyes, my voice, my connection with an audience is completely different. people can see when you're being p

you sound like you are an african-american man. i'm an african-american woman. nuances.he rules and a black plan going to his -- man home with luggage and losing his key should never instances and some we have seen where officers have routine track stops and be ends dead is outrages and it wouldn't happen to a person who was not african-american or color.ven of and until the country gets to a place where it can talk honestly that is why i'm talking about a united america being one. until we can have the courageous conversations about what is your experience, pedro, when you ask is yours and we listen we will never break it down ecause white people see it as complaining, race baiting, et cetera and i think that is unfortunate because they don't black skin every day. host: would the legacy be seen up ssues that he has taken say on voting rights and criminal justice reform and and what will they show us as far as how he treated the issue. of a policy more guy versus more of an activist you had jessef if jackson as the first block resident it -- black president it w

the untold story of african-american slaves in the white house. how would you say that the president, what has been his attitude of processing -- approaching gracious use ? issu he has been cautious. es. >> he has had to walk a fine line where he has to get across the message which he has wanted. a greater and better racial relations. not move so fast that it actually damages the other things he wanted to do as president which was get us out of the great recession. he had to walk an interesting line this entire time between going further and faster and making sure that race relations was not the only thing that his presidency would effect. he had this really incredible balancing act. a lot people will say he did too much. a lot of people will say he did not do enough. it is one of those things where he was going to be attacked either way. i think he did as much as he thought he could. there a lot of people that think he should have done more. he believes under his tenure race relations have improved. james: he definitely has said that repeatedly.

in but african-americans live in more than chicago. so that is one thing we will be looking for him to see what he's going to do. now, he's a republican, the republicans are big on business and economic rights. that is an area african-americans need help as well as, just as the caller said. so everyone will be looking to see what the incoming administration has it say and will do for african-americans, for asian americans, hispanic americans when it comes to race relations, whether it's on the economic or civil rights side, whether they will push forward on reauthorizing parts of the voting rights act. everybody will be looking to this administration so see what they will do. because this really wasn't a huge topic for them during the campaign but now that he's the president of all america we will be looking to see what the administration has to say on these issues. host: there is ruth from wilmington, north carolina, independent line. caller: good morning. i am calling about the topic because i feel as though the question, first quest

the other piece that came with it is that because they had worked so well, african-americans, african-americans and mexican americans exerted new power in which they wanted to put the priority first, understandably. white activists were not always ready for that. the end results i get into it in great detail in the tenth chapter. the coalition starts in fighting again and white liberals decide to go it alone. they form a group called the texas liberal democrat and they claim that they were going to have a group of individuals and be colorblind and speak for everyone. that did not work. it was a conflict over what the goals were for white liberals it was to win this fight with the democratic party i to rig good government to the state and it was about winning the next election. so they were just different visions. i argued that the unconscious often white supremacy of the liberal made it very difficult to see that. >> right after your book the economic opportunity act was passed. hundreds and thousands of people who were active went to work for headstart, legal aid or community action. minority

, oh, look, an african-american friend.e'd have people beaten up in his audience when they were. sometimes they were his supporters when they were african-american. his proposals -- i mean, look at his cabinet so far. only one african-american. he's put where -- the place where they -- a lot. republican presidents put their one african american in their cabinet which is housing and urban development. a person, ben carson, who has expressed no interest in housing his entire life. it is really -- there is no one else in the administration and i think the idea that he's going to be looking out for the interest of african-americans -- i'm very skeptical about that. >> agree, dispute? can president-elect donald trump can he bridge a gap with the african-american community? >> of course. it has been disgraceful. chaka fattah, prison. liana washington, prison. we can go down the line. 26 philadelphians who have been indicted, convicted -- >> john purcell. >> that's one from seven years ago. >> brett fees. >> i can give you a lot o

and of course as an african-american man 70% of african-american men never finish high school in d.c. on time, which means and if they have a record, good job they are not able to get them. so du bois is doing this study but we have not learned as much about this study because we are not engaged in the day-to-day work to try to understand. it's not enough to say what the social problems are. one must try to solve them. du bois also founded these organizations. so he's not just the intellectual. he's an organizer. what does that say about him? now, you know, dr. king was a great speaker. and they said oh the jokes -- he couldn't organize himself out of a paper bag. but see he didn't have to because all he had to do was figure out the theory. he's with you, he's marching. why was he necessarily do the day-to-day work. and du bois he is organizing, he's not writing the leaflets. today to organize is quite simple, you, i don't know the stuff, hash tag or tweet, come out and people come out. but this is a different day. one has to do leaflets and have to buy the paper and they have to set

then i found out there was an african-american cemetery. the cemetery i would say was the size of a large room.it was, it had some of them had been obtained by roots, children at an angle and we could hear gunshots there which people were doing target practice and i thought then that it looked like headstones but have been struck by bullets. the holes didn't go all the way through but it was clear dumping had said. and once i took in the physical dimensions of this, i could feel the spirit of the past. and it was palpable area and all of us african americans, some white, we can all feel the spiritual significance because i was looking at the site, people who had accompanied me on this journey and there was something amazing about this that we felt embrace. i think for me personally, it was my permission to tell the story. i started with thestories i remembered . and the stories kept rolling because i continued to pay classes on poetry and literature. and i lived in state college and i found out through a lot of mentors who had been kind pro

and the anti-slavery presence, and by african-americans in the west, there wasn't enough readership, and enough subscribers because he was outdone by the frederick douglass paper. we didn't get media attention. it doesn't add and also struggles to launch successful publications. douglas has been sustained, and they don't know the name, and it is

the first african-american senator of new orleans.e than 25 years, his outstanding contribution for encouraging community empowerment and efforts to eradicate urban blight as distinguished him as trailblazer in local and state government. state senator troy a. carter, sr. [applause] >> good morning. thank you to the armed forces and the armed color guard for the presentation of the colors. give them a big round of applause. [applause] and thank you to stephanie jordan for those beautiful renditions of the national anthem and "lift every voice and sing," did you feel it? that is good native new orleans theme. good soulful voices, give them a big, big round of applause. stephanie jordan. [applause] distinguished guests, friends and members of the congressional black caucus i am honored to serve as your emcee of the ceremonial swearing-in of the congressional black caucus of the 115th congress. i am also honored to be here to celebrate my dear friend, and fellow louisianaian congressman richmond to the new chair of the congressional blac

>> guest: i am a professor of african-american studies and history at emory university.nd i teach civil rights and human rights and u.s. cold war foreign policy. >> host: how long? >> guest: i've been teaching since 1996.ou go so two decades. >> host: where did you grow up? >> guest: columbus, ohio. colum >> host: so it's not just the south necessarily? >> guest: no. >> host: did you grow up in an integrator or segregated area? >> guest: when we moved in my father was a military man. had been career military. so after serving 20 plus years in the army he moved the family to columbus, ohio, because you want to my brother to go to ohio state.o ohio when we got there there was a house, a member and oakland park my mother wanted. to the real estate agent said no, you people don't live there. i will show you where you people live. so we bought a house in the neighborhood that, by the time was integrated, within 10 years there was only one white family left.te famil and so my elementary and my junior high were almost predominantly black, and i went blessed in high school. >> h

and 17 million african-americans representing 41% of the african-american population in this contry.ad out through different parts of the country. urban centers, suburban neighborhoods, and rural counties. we continue to celebrate the past eight years of successful leadership with one of our own in the white house. there's much to celebrate and that is due to the heroes and sheroes that came before us. legendary people like john lewis and eleanor holmes norton who remind us the progress our country has made and our people have seen. revolutionary leaders like maxine waters and bobby rush who remind us of the many battles that we have waged and he many battles we have won. social justice warriors like jim clyburn and elia cummings who show us every day the importance of fighting. fighting for what's right and fighting for what's just. brilliant luminaries like bobby scott who help light this nation's path to more pros russ and inclusive future. and our next generation of strong, courageous leaders like aye crethclak, hakim jefferies, mark veesy, and the list goes on, and you see the t

41% of the african-american population in this country.th one around the white house. there is much to celebrate. that that is due to the heroes and those who came before's. legendary people like john lewis and eleanor holmes norton who remind us of the progress or country has made and a people have seen. revolutionary leaders like eckstein ward and bobby rush who remind us of the many battles that we have waged and the many battles that we have one. social justice worries like jim clyburn and elijah cummings who shows every day the importance of fighting. fighting for what is right and fighting for what is just. brilliance luminaries like bobby scott and barbara lee who helped like this patient's path to more prosperous and inclusive future. and and our next generation of strong, courageous leaders like evette clark, deandre carson, and the list goes on. and you you see the talent appear. however, we will miss a profound opportunity if we only gather to celebrate. we'll not do the people we represent justice if we do not ask knowledge the

then i found out there was an african-american cemetery the size of a large room. it was the head stone, some of them were up heaved by roots at an angle and we could hear gunshots, people were doing target practice and i saw things that looked like head stones could have been struck by bullets, it was clear something had struck it. once i took in the physical dimension of it, i could feel the spirit of the past. it was passable and all of us, some of us were african-american, some were white and we could fear the spiritual significance. people who accompanied me on this journey and there was something amazing about this, felt embrace stand for me it was permission to tell the story. i started with the stories that i remembered and the stories kept growing because i continued to take classes on poetry and literature at penn state and i found out through a lot of mentorship, kind professors, they helped me to know i needed to tell my stories in poetry. when i wrote this book of poems i wanted to decompress the anger. as i wrote this book of poems i found answers to

41% of the african-american preponderance population.ess our country have made and our people have seen. revolutionary leaders like maxie water who remind us of the battle we have waged and won. justice warriors who show us importance of fighting for right and just. brilliant like bobby scott who help light the path to the proserous, andre carson, mash and the list goes on, you see the talent up here. however, we will miss a profound opportunity if we did not gather to celebrate. if we do not acknowledge the mood of people of color throughout nation. there are many americans especially black americans who cannot understand how ke got here today. coming off hope, pride, inspiration they are fearful of devision hate, and pettiness. many of our young people are frustrated with the fact they seem to be fighting the same causes that dr. king and ref rand jackson and many others galvanized country behind the civil rights. that's common humanity. in 1853, theodore parker, minister and quintessential thinker told us i do not pretend to understan

community about african-american issues. will he talked lgbt communities about lgbt stuff and do we find latinos -- [speaking spanish] we're only talking to people at the time to quit missing the fact that we are universal values in mind. when the reality is, african and i can scare about equal pay for equal work. and people in the lgbt community care about voting rights. and best anti-scene to the salad bar problem is what i saw on saturday when i was in south bend marching with the women a south bend in solidarity with women of the country and around the world. [applause] that was a women's march but it was in march for all of us. there were older people and young people and people of all colors. i suspect there were even some people from different political parties, all united in solidarity with the women of the world and i think solidarity, not isolation come is the way that we can move forward with this party. [applause] >> and congressman ellison spirit joy, you asked a question, which scripture we target and to identi

one of our dnc members from new hampshire is african-american. as head of the state chair's association i hired the first african-american woman to be the executive director of the association and our first director of training african-american woman. the leadership of the state chair's association are filled with african-american, latino and people of color and young people as well. that's what my record is that's what i will fill the dnc chair as well. >> i would make sure more diverse talent is recruited. there's framework reproducing activities and framework transforming activities. everyone on this stage pretty much wants the same thing. if you want to see why i believe i'm the right person, look at south bend. we have worked with the vendor base. and assumed responsibility by the way for how diverse the vendor base is in the first place. part of the solution is in this room. we have a lot of work to do. the party has to assume responsibility for that. if we are not living our values and walking the walk we will not be fataken seriously as a

we only talk to the african american about african american issues. we only talk out lgbt community about lgbt stuff and find latinos -- [speaking foreign language]. >> we're only talking to people one at a time. we have universal values when the reality is african americans care about equal pay for equal work and people in the lgbt community care about voting rights and the best answer to the salad bar problem is when i saw on saturday when i was in south bend marching with the women of south bend in solidarity with the women of the country and around the world. that was a women's march, but it was a march for all of us. there were old people and young people, and people of all colors and i suspect there were people from different political parties, all united. united in solidarity with the women of the world and i think solidarity, not isolation is the way that we can move forward as a party. [ applause ] >> congressman? >> joy, you asked the question which percentage voted for the candidate. the truth is, there is a lot of people that should have v

that african-american cop that was gunned down. just the other day. these officers are putting their lives on the line. those cops in dallas, we all had tears in our eyes. real tears. they were trying to let these people demonstrate peacefully. and they were gunned down. the outrage in this country. >> sean: that raises, james, another question. that is the black lives matter group. i mentioned the four high-profile race cases that he inserted himself into as an attorney and president. i think it was unwise especially without due process or evidence being produced. then he invites a group that is on tape chanting pigs in a blanket, fry them like blankets. how do you possibly justify dissociation as somebody who says that wants to be a racial hero? >> the argument was that the great uniter, not the great divider. we've already talked about it ad nauseam. it is to divide and conquer. the race card has always been an easy card to play. instead of talking about the issues that are at the heart of the problem, the family, we start to look at other areas li

african-americans. the descendents of those africans. in eight years do you believe that we can correct something that's been going on all the time? and i'm not saying that he gets a pass, but there needs to be something put in place to change the dynamics of what has been happening historically. >> host: professor glaude who teaches at princeton university, "democracy in black: how race still enslaves the american soul." what are you hearing so far? >> guest: well i mean, we know that it's going to take time to assess the significance and substance of obama presidency. we know what's following. we know the country is deeply divided. and i think part of what we have to do is to kind of take a cold detached and objective look at the substance, as far as we know, of his time in the white house. what we do know is that unemployment i think right now is about four point 6% speared the national average among african-americans. it's about eight point 1%. a doubling. it's an indictment of his approach. because

we only talk to the african-american community about african-american issues. he only talk to the lgbt community about lgbt stuff. --n we find latinos [indiscernible] we are missing the fact that we have universal issues that bind us together. african americans care about equal pay for equal work and people in the lgbt community care about voting rights. the best answer i've seen to this problem is what i saw on saturday. i was in south bend marching with the women of south bend in solidarity with the women in the country and around the world. [applause] was a women's march, but it was a march for all of us. their old people and young people and people of all colors. i suspect there were even people from different political parties there, and they were all united aroundtary with women the world. solidarity, not isolation, is the way we can move forward in the party. asked the question, which group should we target when you i'd unify the percentages who voted for our candidate? the truth is, there's a whole lot of people who should have been voting for us who do

state legislative districts in which african-americans made up at least 55% of the eligible voters. black voters sued, arguing that by packing minorities into these districts their vote was diminished in other parts of the state, violating the 14th amendment's equal protection clause, which prohibits the government from using race as a predominant factor in redistricting unless it serves a compelling state interest. the court is expected to decide the case before the end of the term in june. >> the argument first this morning in case 15680 bethune hill versus the virginia state board of elections. >> the district court created a new legal standard that permitted virginia to apply a one size fits all, 55% racial floor to all 12 of its predominantly black districts. virginia applied this 55% rule to move voters in and move voters out of districts on the basis of race regardless of the differences in voting patterns, geography or the interest of black voters in each of those districts. this actual conflict test which the d.c. -- which the district court invented for predominance has no

that's when you're really going to tell whether the african-american has the opportunity to elect the candidate of their choice. those are relatively rare. the idea it's somehow presumptively unconstitutional for the state to look at one of the most recent open primaries in hd 75 and say, yeah, 5 percentage points but 5 percentage points in a badly splintered primary, it's only 300 votes and delegate tyler herself is saying these need to be north of 50%, everybody is basically saying that. i don't think it's fair to put this -- this is where i take issue -- i think it's a mistake to put in this the same basket as albany, the idea you can't go from 80 to 75% is a cartoonish version of the voting rights act. to say in the same area 9 of 12 districts are already north of 55%, to say 55% is a pretty d n darned good threshold for compliance with the voting rights act isn't in the same category at all. i know they try too get a lot of mileage out of the idea one size fits all. two things i'd say about that one i already said, we're talking about the same part of the state and no reason to t

of course the real protagonists at heart of the story are the african-american farmers, field hands, ministers, merchants and servants who were forced out by the mobs. all my life these people had been an absence, vanished civilization whose names and struggles i assumed were unknowable and now lost forever. but i have come to know more about them than i ever thought possible. and come to know just how heroically they carried on. this is joseph kellogg who is the largest black property owner in the county. he founded the colored methodist church and was a real leader in the community. one of the lives i had kind of picked up growing up in the county that the black community was this monolithic group of very poor, marginal sharecroppers and there were plenty of people like that including ernest knox and oscar daniel but there were also educated and property-owning african-american citizens who were deeply ehe meshed in the culture of some of the elite white people in the county. this was a surprise to me. it complicated my sense of both the white community and the black community. i'm

if you want to reach african-american go to the african-american community and talk to them.nfortunately, president-elect trump has not been able to talk in a way that reveals that's someone not stuck with an 1980s view of african-american life or urban life. that's the fear you see in the eyes of african-american is eight years of, not great years, because we just launched week after week of african-americans being killed in police involved shootings, but there's a comfort that the person sitting in office understood. >> up next, this "hardball" where the action is. when you're close to the people you love, does psoriasis ever get in the way of a touching moment? if you have moderate to severe psoriasis, you can embrace the chce of completely clear skin with taltz. with taltz, up to 90% of patients had a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques. in fact, 4 out of 10 even achieved completely clear skin. do not use if you are allergic to taltz. before starting you should be checked for tuberculosis. taltz may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to

that book talks about georgetown as an african-american community. going back to the era of slavery. so again, there are people who know this history. i don't know if most of the people who live in georgetown today know that history. but it's something we could all learn. >> i guess considering the -- for 40 years of the period that you covered, jesus didn't exist per se. so it might be hard to answer this question. but in the document of mr. queen's petition, it was witnessed by what looked to be a priest. >> yeah. >> i don't know if he was episcopal yan, catholic, jesuit. i'm sure he wasn't a good friend with the father afterwards. i'm wondering if we know -- how much we know about protesting catholics. especially given the obedience to rome and to baltimore, what kind of -- what do we know about their conflict? this guy seems to be someone who was on the side of mr. queen. if i was dealing with petitions like this, that's what i might conclude. what do we know about priests who found themselves on the opposite side of the establishment? >> great.

african-americans. the descendents of those africans. in eight years do you believe that we can correct something that's been going on all the time? and i'm not saying that he gets a pass, but there needs to be something put in place to change the dynamics of what has been happening historically. >> host: professor glaude who teaches at princeton university, "democracy in black: how race still enslaves the american soul." what are you hearing so far? >> guest: well i mean, we know that it's going to take time to assess the significance and substance of obama presidency. we know what's following. we know the country is deeply divided. and i think part of what we have to do is to kind of take a cold detached and objective look at the substance, as far as we know, of his time in the white house. what we do know is that unemployment i think right now is about four point 6% speared the national average among african-americans. it's about eight point 1%. a doubling. it's an indictment of his approach. because

in the last eight years, have abortions have decreased in the african-american community? in the last eight years, have we seen more americans of african-american descent graduate high school?f less of them incarcerated? the real problem in chicago and across america, sean, is the breakdown of the family. if you have strong, intact families, i truly believe we would not see anywhere near they violence that we areexperiencin. >> sean: just a fact, in the eight years of the obama presidency, african-americans -- we have more african-americans out of the labor force, in poverty, on food stamps, i've given the statistics regularly. why?c why was he unable to fulfill that promise? >> he would have to talk about the black community's slavish devotion that has destroyed them since the great government, since the 1960s, the civil rights movement and the war on poverty. these policies have done more to destroyed not just the black community but the culture as a whole since they've been implemented. >> you know, sean, this president is a very articulate man. he had the opportunity f

a scholar in african-american religion i stood -- the eulogy was a bit confused.ce have to do with what we are doing? graces irrespective of our choices and action and in that moment, that moment a former slave or repenting slavery, what does that have to do with those people? what i was thinking at that moment was the distance, the distance with the african-american tradition and slavery because of that moment most preachers would have gone for precious lord, thomas dorsey, i am tired, i am weary. part of what i am seeing was an attempt to stand in a tradition and a tradition in a world where he was trying to consult but what was revealed in the moment as a scholar of african-american religion. >> david maraniss, did this just happened, was planned in advance? what is the back story? >> he thought about it on the way down and talk to the staff and his wife about it. some didn't say anything but it wasn't just spontaneous but it was a decision he made at the moment to do it. someone who is not a religious scholar, a lot of people were, understand your intellectual

an african american. it ain't going to happen. >> but by january of '08, barrack obama pulls off a stunning win in the iowa caucus and rides high into new hampshire. voters there turn around and deal him a devastating defeat. obama reacts by turning his concession speech into a rallying cry. >> for when we have faced down impossible odds. when we have been told we're not ready, or that we shouldn't try or that we can't, generations of americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people, yes we can. yes we can. yes we can. yes we can. >> it was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they braised trails toward freedom. >> he did that song and that video on his own. >> it turns out that the coolest stuff generally does happen organically. the hope poster was on his own. it spoke to the energy out there. >> millennials that are not reliable voters were inspired by something. >> he has lived in so many different cultures. grew up as a black kid in hawaii with two white grandparen

laws, laws that were designed to disenfranchise particularly african-americans, mr. sessions has indicated that the gutting of the voting rights act has actually had no impact and no one has been denied the right to vote. he is, it seems to be, tone deaf to the cries of african-americans across this country, to protect their voting rights. so, i will yield back to my good friend, mr. veasey, and i just would encourage the senate to look very carefully at this nominee, because in fact the united states attorney general 's only charge is to protect the civil rights of all the citizens and i don't know that he will be willing or able to do that. i yield back. mr. veasey: thank you, representative moore. i thank you for your comments and thank you for bringing up issues with voter i.d. in wisconsin. that may have tilted the election results in that state. also now, my good friend from the impire state, yvette clarke , the representive from rooklyn. mr. clarke: thank you, mr. vease -- ms. clarke: thank you, mr. veasey. i rise today on behalf of the people of the ninth con

. >> the first african-american president. and yet, you are half white. you were raised by three white people, your mother and your two grandparents. >> and an indonesian. >> and an indonesian. are you comfortable with this characterization? >> i am, actually. i write about this in my first book. fairly early on i came to the realization, maybe as a young adult, that the essence of the african-american experience is we're a hybrid people. and because the concept of race in america is not just genetic. otherwise, the one drop rule wouldn't have made sense. it's cultural. it's this notion of a people who look different than the mainstream suffering discrimination and for many decades terrible oppression, but somehow being able to make out of that a music and a language and a faith and a patriotism and a belief in this project we call america that is unique. and so for me to say i'm african-american doesn't preclude, you know, all the values that my mother and grandparents taught me. it's entirely consistent with those values. and so i didn't feel as if i ha