we'd seen the lowest unemployment rate ever recorded for african-americans. this president actually advanced legislation with senator scott to create opportunity zones. now thousands of opportunity zones have been launched in cities around the country generating more than $100 billion in capital investment to create new jobs. and also this is a president who's been a champion of a cause that african-americans have supported in overwhelming numbers for decades. he's been a supporter of giving parents the right to choose where their children go to school whether it's public, private, parochial school. and we're going to continue to move forwards in a way that -- forward in a withdraw that puts law and order first. we're going to listen to law enforcement and community leaders about constructive changes that we can advance and support in public safety. but we're not going to stop there, lou. i mean, the truth is the democratic party has failed much of the african-american community for generations in this country. many of our african-american families live in ou

he specializes in african-american and modern united states history, world war i, and african-american intellectual history. he is the author of "torchbearers of democracy: african american soldiers in the world war i era." which received the 2011 liberty legacy foundation award and a 2011 distinguished book award from the society for military history. he is also a part of so many projects that i continue to be talking about around the nation as we are giving the teacher professional development workshops. what is called world war i america. you can find a video with them as well as questions and things he curates to change how students about world war i. it is a true pleasure to have dr. williams back. he is currently completing a a fellowship. this morning, dr. williams will discuss african-american soldiers and the rise of the new negro. please help me in welcoming dr. chad williams. [applause] dr. williams: good morning, i hope everyone is doing well. i hope we're all awake. thank you for being with me this morning. thank you for your introduction, laura. you are so good at what yo

in terms of understanding the african-american experience and understanding the african-american history. this is a sacred time, tulsa is a sacred city and it's important for it to be celebrated as a place that was rebuilt, that african-americans didn't let the destruction stop them but also should be a cautionary tale about the limits of freedom. >> host: everyone should be open to being educated, should be educated. but as you wrote in your book, when then-president-elect donald trump went to visit the museum of african-american history and culture and you there as the director, you wrote the president apologiesed in front of the exhibit that discussioned the roll of the down in the slave trade. thought maybe he was paying attention to the work of the museum. he quickly approved me wrong as he turn from the display and said, they love me in the netherlands. all i could say was, let's continue walking. there's little i remember about the rest of the hour we spent together. i was so disappointed in his response to one of the greatest crimes against humanity in history. here is a chance t

african-americans were in the fast track. we had alabama, mobile representatives in montgomery and d.c. we had local senators. everything was working as it was supposed to come as far as a democracy. the guysened was, when sat on the bus of the train car in new orleans and ed i am going to covington. they said, you cannot sit here. covington.m going to they said, you cannot sit here. that was ferguson. the decision was separate but. blacks were considered colored. they said the first train car will be for whites. the one in the back will be for dsllards -- colore it -- coloreds. but equal.rate after that, we had the jim crow laws. colored restaurant and white restaurant. ,hen we had the ku klux klan that intimidated african-americans from voting. in alabama, most of the men who had weapons where the confederate soldiers, so they became the policeman. ,hey created all of these laws like a lottery. if you were standing on the corner, you could be arrested. they amended the state constitution to say, if you were incarcerated, yo

african-american to raduate. so when she graduated, nobody in alabama would provide her job. o ultimately, she gets a job with the department of justice and washington, d.c. the school did ask her to come back to do the commencement address, and she did to make a long story short, the theme of her commencement address was you must always be prepared because you never know what door you may have to walk through. and that is the story of ms. vivian malone jones, who opened a lot of doors. the city made this honorary vivian malone jones way as a complementary to the historical marker in place in front of where the homestead used to be. h roger williams grew up in louisiana on a sugar lantation. he wants to be a pharmacist. he goes to pharmacy school, comes to mobile and opens a pharmacy right here. 1896, he decided he wants to be a physician. he goes to a medical school in ashville, tennessee, becomes a doctor and be -- opens up the doctors for office upstairs. octor's office upstairs, rugstore downstairs. his home

i did not say oldest african american church. it is the oldest baptist church in the state of alabama. the story goes that the individuals that were shipped here, they would be singing spiritual's with so much conviction and passion, that their owners started having headaches and nightmares. ultimately, he emancipated them. he set them free. they were worship-ing not too far from here, and they moved to this location. not only was it against the law for african americans to be educated in alabama, it was against the law for them to have property deeds in their name. unfortunately, this was an integrated parish. the property was defeated in the white parishioners names. they continued to worship together here until somewhere around 1860, and they moved to the african american parishioners. they continue to go to church and in 1930, they decided they would build a new church. we all know what was going on in 1930. it was the great depression. but they felt so strong about their fate, they said we will start this project and complet

african-americans needed help. someone made an anonymous donation for someone to change the name so that was done. it was initially established for the african-americans and creoles of the mobile community. it has been a 38 -- thriving church in the community ever since. as a parochial school, it has first through the eighth grade. 1968.gh school closed in we had a national figure, hermann, she became secretary of weber who attended school here. this is where she read waited from. some reasons it is on the trail ,s during the civil rights days now needed a place to meet. the school's cafeteria was the only place in the city that would allow them to meet and strategize on how they were problemsapproach the that existed in the african-american community and trying to resolve them with the city. ,he nuns and the priest here because this street was the main thoroughfare through the african-american community, during the civil rights days, all the marchers would come down this street. when those marches took place, the

today african americans. very famous newspaper out of new york called the colored american. some went so far as to say we should get rid of qualifying adjectives and referred ourselves simply as americans. so those were conversations. but that term was free people of color, or colored americans. those were terms widely used by the communities in the north and identifying themselves with the american contexts. i'm not sure how much time we have left. maybe one more question. i'm >> just to comment on what you said, free people of color. in its common usage you here now people of color, the it is an interesting transition. i am looking at the picture the, another sailor. you sort of alluded to it before, but i was just wondering, if he did not exist, if he was not there with this still have been the boston massacre? was he that prominent? we don't know. i just had another question. the newspapers of the time, how would they have reported it? >> i think absolutely the boston massacre would've played the role it

african-americans needed hope. someone made an aanonymous donation to change the name and that was done. it was initially established for the creoles and african-americans of the mobile community. it's been a thriving church in the community ever since. there's a parochial school here that has the first through the eighth grade. there was a high school. the two-story building. the high school closed in 1968. we had a national figure, alexis herman, became secretary of labor during bill clinton's administration, she attended school here. this is where she graduated from. some of the reasons that it's on the trail is that during the civil rights days, the neighborhood organized workers had to have a place to meet and ultimately the school's cafeteria was the only place in the city that would allow them to meet and straj guitegize an they were going to approach the problems that existed in the african-american and how they were going to resolve them in the city. the nunses and priests because the street was the main t

today, who today we call african-americans. a very famous newspaper out of new york in the 1830's was called "the colored american." someone went so far as to say we should get rid of any qualifying adjectives at all and simply refer to ourselves as americans. so, those are conversations. but the term "colored american" or "free people of color" were terms widely used by the free black communities in the north in identifying themselves with in the american context. so i'm not sure how much time we have left here. maybe one more question. >> just a comment, actually, on what you said. you said "free people of color." in its common usage you hear now "people of color." interesting that transition. i am looking at the picture you brought along, another sailor. and, sort of, you alluded to it before. but i was just wondering, if he did not exist, if he was not there, would this still have been the boston massacre? was he that prominent? i mean, we don't know, -- i just had another question. the newspapers of the time, how they repo

long past slavery in the 1930s, african-americans from ex-slaves to african-american employees of the project are still trying to gain the authority with the white public to tell their own history and narratives about important events in the nation's past. so long past slavery, unfortunate lishgs it continu unfortunately, they talk about that legacy to shape us as a nation and certainly continues in terms of confederate memorien that kind of pushing back against a national narrative of equality and democracy. that conflict is playing out every day in the news. forms of public memory that we have about, again, still the meaning of slavery, the legacy of emancipation and the on going freedom struggle that continues since then. >> katherine stewart, thank you. >> thank you so much. it was a pleasure. i appreciate it. >> thanks for your interest in my work. >> yes. >> cdc director dr. robert redfield is getting ready to talk to the subcommittee on the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic. live coverage of his testimony right here on c-span3.

>> i cannot speak of all of african-americans.ak a lot of african-americans every day who are giving it a shot. listen, we can't continue to do what we have always done. i know on sunday mornings before the election there is always some democratic candidate who comes in and promises hope and change. the community never changes. ago mett trump years african-americans in the face and said what do you have to lose? last election, 13% of african-american men actually voted republican for the first time. this tall long way to go, but as we get closer and we start drawing a contrast to joe biden, where is joe biden? no one has even heard of this guy. definingeally start candidates and people get a chance to see the difference, remember, joe biden is the same waswho, in the 90's, locking up more african-americans than any legislator around, declaring that the youth of african-americans were juvenile predators. when that gets told, i think even more african-americans will recognize the donald trump has or hope for the african-american com

the department of african-american studies.should also note, her book, "department stores and the black freedom movement." we are taking your questions and comments about the 1960 lunch counter sit ins in this hour of washington journal and american history tv. we have that special line for sit-in participants and family members. bonnie is on that line out of miami. good morning. caller: good morning. i wanted to share with you a very vivid memory from when i was 14 years old. i was living in new york city. my friends and i had gone into town to see movies and shop and we came upon a large crowd outside a very popular woolworths. they were chanting, and immediately, i signed on, joined the chance. it was 1, 2, 3, 4, don't go into woolworths store. 8, seven world works -- southern woolworths segregate. at that young age i immediately knew, as a white girl, this was wrong. there was something wrong with our country, which unfortunately i would have to reiterate today. the certain people who started the movement back then and succ

but i still have friends of mine that are african-american that still catch me to tell me the number of times they have been pulled over for driving while black. in places and neighborhoods i have never been pulled over that they have. multiple times. we still have a long way to go. 's legislative body can talk about it and share empathy and listen but we are also called to act so i bring a few ideas to engage with greater transparency. how do we oppose getting information out? simple things like gathering a federal database of the use of lethal force by law d whatever police department uses lethal force that data should be collected into a federal database to have a national tracking what was the situation how is that investigation handled basic details city councils and city leaders and managers should not be afraid to look at the data and ask hard questions we should not be afraid to look at the data and ask hard t questions. most every community has oversight boards that are citizen boards. good. are they empowered to engage? the oversight? can they look over the shoulders to eva

and most african-americans want a better life in fact, all african-americans want a better life and they know that through economic opportunity and so access to capital to start the dream of a small business, to build a business of scale has got to start with allocation of capital and the only private sector ferm i can think of is jpmorgan chase, jamie dimon dead on this effort to advance black pathways and opportunity access for african-americans and just created and hired a new head of global diversity, a young man of brian lamb and he's serious about that i think the private sector hads to step up and acknowledge systemic discarmelo anthony nation in this country with deployment of capital and access to economic opportunity and no one's going to be able to start a business without fair okay sestito capitse access to capital and that's where the solution is and that's a tangible and immediate step if businesses and the government and unions, for example, could take those affirmative steps you look at new york city. the health care workers union, 1199, which is comprised primarily

stephen benjamin is columbia, south carolina's first african american mayor, and has held the positionce 2010. mayor benjamin, thank you very much for talking with us. as a black man who's been in public life going back to the 1990s, what has this past week been like for you? >> i'm used to activism, that's why i got -- where i got my start. but this year and, honestly, the last several years have been unlike anything i've seen before. obviously, the global pandemic, unlike anything we've seen in the last 100 years, trying to deal with is intersectionality of so many issues that led to despairty impact on communities of colors and affect on those and with so many other major issues going on, people forget we're still very much in the pandemic. the collective pain that america has felt over the last week over the floyd case and as a culmination of the pain regarding systemic racism, violence, police violence and all these other issues, it has been overwhelming, and it requires, you know, real leadership willing to step up and address these issues. but it's going to take a lot of work, a

african-american respectability. and they were markers of a move fair employment and more racial equality in the marketplace. ,ost: back on the customer side on that experience black customers had, can you talk more about trying on clothes, returning clothes, what did they face? guest: african-americans were not permitted to try on or return clothes. they were not permitted to hold credit lines. they were not permitted to use the beauty shops. they were not permitted to use the same water fountains. many of the department stores -- i think for some folks -- my students, for example, that generation, it's hard for them to remember a department store you had every amenity that could possibly think of. in department stores there were beauty shops that african-americans were not able to attend or barbershops african-american men were not allowed to use. typically while they are able to shop in places, any that white americans believed black people could taint biologically, african-americans were not allowed to purchase a

officer, the only african american in the entire room, he said. what was he thinking about during these challenging times? quote, i'm thinking about wearing the same flight suit with the same wings on my chest as my peers and then being questioned by another military member, are you a pilot? what else is he thinking? i'm thinking about my mentors and how rarely i had a mentor who looked like me, i'm thinking about the pressures i felt to perform air free, especially for supervisors i perceived had expected less of me as an african american. he continues. he was thinking about the conversations he was having with his sons, the immense responsibility that comes from his historic nomination. he was thinking about how with this confirmation how he could make things better in the air force and america. so, mr. president, here's how i'm going to take up condoleezza rice's challenge that she put forward for each individual american. i'm going to ask questions as she prods us to do in this piece on why until yesterday no african american four star had eve

african-americans are dying at a much higher rate than white people. that's not because the virus is racist, it's because they have poor health and why do they have poor health because they are poor. why are they poor? partly it's a consequence of past discrimination in housing and education especially, partly the result of well-intentioned policies that didn't work, but it's also because of corruption. politicians who get elected with money from special interest, especially the public sector unions govern for them, not in the general interest. public housing is a disaster. new york's public housing is plagued with chronic mismanagement. despite a quarter nearly a quarter of public housing is occupied by african americans. education is a disaster. in california math and reading scores that eighth grade are roughly 40-point gap between black-and-white students equivalent to four years of learning i agree for decades, persistent inequality in education, housing, law enforcement, yes the system is stacked against african-americans, who has been in charge

this year 88 african-americans were killed and 172 whited people. brutality, it's false. if it's about police brutality, why is there outrage when white people are the victim of the same brutality? gerri: so what's the agenda? what are they trying to do? >> i mean, i'm not going to pretend i know, but i would just tell you for sure that what they're doing is not speaking for us, forcing us to believe in things which are not true. you know, as a black woman, african-american, having a white person tell me in public how to feel about myself is the most racially -- [inaudible] situation in america. it's not true. gerry: you yourself actually protested against black lives matter on the streets of washington, d.c. >> absolutely. and i will do that with every energy i possibly have, with all the support i have from my african-american community. they do not seek for -- do not speak for us. based on everything we've seen before, it's to create antagonism in america. gerry: what reaction have you had from black lives matter, friends, what reaction have you

and as a senior general officer the only african-american in the entire room. that i'm thinking of wearing same flight suit with the same wings as my peers and then being questioned by another military member are you a pilot? what else is he thinking? i'm thinking of my mentors and how rarely i have a mentor that look likeke me. the pressures i felt to perform especially for supervisors i perceived expected less of me as an african-american. and think of the conversation with his sons and not responsibility from his nomination. so to take up the condoleezza rice challenge she put forward for each individual american. and as she asks us to do and i know african-american four-star had ever been ryconfirmed into a service chief in the united states military in the history of our country. and then to get data on minorities of the senior enlisted in the military and hispanic americans they are patriotic segments of theenf population. and then more than any other ethnic group in the country with a special patriotism. a patriotic service reflected at the highest ranks

zoning policy food justice and there's food deserts in all these different african-american communities there's environmental racism so many african-americans and their children suffer just from asthma there's high rates of unemployment and there's racial segregation in public schools and in rez and in neighborhoods so there's a there's a cascading reason why the of a god i'm not debating any of those reasons even though you really look at the washington post data they don't police shootings are unarmed all races in the last have actually decreased for 8 years where. police officers also all racists how to increase but. well that there are actually dispute that data if you look at what the guardian has said and look the guardian that is the british newspaper i mean the lies you have heard of them there is nothing out there so you can say that there are stacks other statistics and you can you can use that hysterics to set up your own narrative so but to plastic wrap our will be doing that is a progressive liberal newspaper that is on the i would i would actually dispute that the washingt

barbershops that african-american men were not allowed to use.ypically what is going on is that while they are able to shop in places, any place white americans believed that black ,eople could taint biologically african-americans were not allowed to participate. host: dolores's next out of trenton, new jersey, on that line for sit-in participants. good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead, dolores. caller: i just wanted to say that i went to morgan state college, it was called college at the time in 1950 nine. i started as a freshman there. demonstrated at a shopping center down the street. he couldn't eat at the counter, as you said we could buy anything but we could not sit down at the counter. the company was a department store. we couldn't try on the close there. mitchellnamed clarence , whose uncle became representative from baltimore, clarence organized us. he instructed us not to interact with any of the people that would say anything to us. signs that we held up. it was a wonderful experience for me. i could cry right now thing

the impact of racism as it relates to african-americans and, for that matter, other minorities in theomic impact has been real. and i think you're going to hear and we will experience, i think, a renaissance in many ways in the how we think about education, health care, job opportunities and even there's a big wealth divide that exists between different groups of people, particularly blacks and whites in the country. >> what about policing? a lot of democrats seem to be supporting this idea which is a principal idea of the black lives matter which is defund the police, cut funding for the police. what do you think about that? >> so i am not a believer in defunding the police. i think that there are probably a number of some people in my party, i don't know how big that number is -- and i would encourage those people to move to communities where there are big numbers of crimes including drugs and guns and shootings, and you'll find that you're not going to want to have a defunded police department. i do think there are more sensible proposals and ideas that are coming out of different

the primary reason and that the african-american community faces a unique set of schallenges that are far too few people in position for those to fully understand. and to attend a good school with a private tutor to help with the sat and raised by one parent even a grandparent to live in substandard housing in a dangerous neighborhood attend a school that is failing them and they don't have a private tutor on the sat most days in a have exit on - - access to wi-fi do they really have an equal opportunity to go to the same college? with those paid internship. and another student just so they can afford to go back to school in the fall. do they really have an equal opportunity to get hired when they graduate? their entire a good lawyers and they have to use the public defender now has a criminal record do they really have an equal opportunity african-american men overseas and technology and finance had we expect widespread prosperity for all americans when a disproportionate number of disadvantagesan come when that comes from another there is a racial disparity some say these are the di

people with covid-19 debts were african-american. even the why people make up 63 percent of the state. however when you look more closely to that's, the vast majority of the deaths were concentrated in urbanized areas which is over 60 percent african-american and we had the most desperate however, other majority african-american parishes in rural areas such as east parish in madison parish combined, so only two deaths. we note coronavirus is spreading in various ways. the key factors in every transmission as in common proximity. it appears to be getting those in the dense urban areas the heart is . in minorities are more likely to live in dense urban areas as no surprise that they can increase the risk of covid-19. not only do we have denser living conditions in urban areas. consider other differences predict between say new york . intensity. public transportation, did we draw conclusions that this is all due to some race bias in healthcare, we may miss the need to analyze how weak sterilize public buses or subways. it's a variable w

the country is divided for many reasons african-americans are suffering miserably racial disparities are greater than they've ever been massively the average weight of family income is 300 times of what a black has a well then you have the bad effects be because of the coronavirus they have been americans suffer. greatly in massive. most 80 percent of the of the of the case of blacks less than 50 percent of the population is so everywhere you look you hear these are the same things and people are going where you know and then you have these cases you know everywhere. i've known at least the modern ones are always started by white people in one case he was james earl ray in 1968. and the problem is that african-americans are responding to these things and sometimes they do response has to be understood and it has been taken into consideration for example in 1960 viewers in washington d.c. . 50 years later the city is rebuilt but most of the black people in the in the affected areas have been pushed out so where it's going to have meanings of many different ways but the anger is always

in mississippi for instance only 5% of african-americans were registered to vote. two years after the voting rights act we had almost 60% of african americans registered to vote. the voting rights act word and that's why it got a crosshairs because it imports the democracy. the supreme court said section four of which is the preclearance, how you determine whether a state or jurisdiction comes under preclearance that racism really isn't a force that was and it looks like it's picking on the south and it would have been more movement. that's what it may have been to the supreme court. what is said to me if there were states that were working to implement and the federal courts for blocking them. the reauthorization of the voting rights act had shown the department walked over 700 proposed changes to the law by preclearance statements because they were racially discriminatory so racism has not stopped. but by blocking the preclearan preclearance, what it did, it let the dogs out and they kept charting out two hours after the decision it implemented a racially discrim

african americans have markedly lower levels of income than whites.st data from the census bureau shows every income white house holds received, black houses receive 59 cents, latinos 79 cents. the data is identical to the black and white gap income in 1978. you heard me correct. i didn't misspeak. i said 1979. the peak years from the gaines of the antipoverty policies of '60s and '70s. most of my students think we have made a lot more progress on closing the economic gaps in the united states. and as bad as the income data show, they understate the extent of racial differences in economic circumstances because income captures wages. the flow of resources into the household. wealth captures our assets, our economic reserves. and for every dollar of wealth that white households have, black households have ten pennies and latino households have 12 pennies. >> you said in america your zip code is a better predictor of your health than your genetic code because the neighborhoods actually -- and their health and wealth matter a great deal. that's correct.

dorn was also african american. the phrase black lives matters has become fraught with politics it is absolutely true that black lives matter. we should be horrified at what happened to george floyd, but we should also be horrified at what happened to david dorn. and those with political agendas seeking demagogue and tear this country apart, somehow david dorn, another black man, different black man who doesn't fit the political story they're trying to tell disappears from their narrative. it has become politically controversial to make a statement that every life matters. how far have we gone? our country was founded on that proposition, the declaration of independence tells us we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men, not some men, not just white men or white women, but all men of every race, of every creed, of every religion are created equal and are endowed by their creator by certain unalienable rights, that among them are the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. our country has no