he is asked often by african- american reporters if he has an african-american agenda, and his answer is, at this time, my overall agenda is the best thing to help african-americans. it is sort of a sense that he is not trying to develop an agenda specifically for african- americans, and i think, politically, that is probably smart. >> when you look at presidents, it is often said that arthur like kitchen cabinets -- they are like kitchen cabinets. did any african-americans have influence? >> more recently, we have that african-americans in key positions like colin powell. before that, one example is a person named william slade. abraham lincoln trusted his judgment, and felt that he was in contact with everyday america. he actually got -- bounced each lines off of william slade, and took him with him when he spoke, including at gettysburg. he wanted to see what his valet thought about it. that is remarkable. the person he trusted with the gettysburg address, it was is african-american the valet. >> this was a free man? >> at this point, absolutely, yes. he had been a slave. >> there

this training program for african americans in tuskegee, alabama. i found a memo where he figured out when the press deadline would be for the weekly black newspapers on the last day before the 1940 election and he released this press announcement that roosevelt was doing all these things for african-americans just hours before that deadline so he guaranteed the top headline on every black newspaper in the united states on the day of the election was going to be roosevelt create programs for blacks, promotes first black general, all these things. very astute political. there are moral reasons for doing this. there are political reasons for doing this. you don't have to be too much of the senate to believe roosevelt did this more for political reasons than for anything else but he did create the program and tuskegee. that created some divisions within the african-american community. the naacp had been lobbying all along for the creation of integrated flight training. it is easy to get african-americans into flight training. just let them in existing

in this case, the notion of the african-american staff and the first african-american president is so much more intense. >> host: yeah. let's go back to george w. bush and the household staff. the certain of reyou knowon that george herbert walker bush talked about. any staff members george w. bush was close to? >> guest: i didn't find any particular staff members, no. but the staff that he knew when his dad was president, as you say, it was almost like sort of a reunion with the bush family when -- after the clinton period of bush the son came back. then the father would come back for visits. so that sort of enhanced the whole notion of sort of the bush family knows the household staff. the household staff liked the bushes in some ways because they were so predictable. that's very important to have consideration for the household staff. some presidents were late, some presidents were like lyndon johnson would say i'm going to have 50 people for dinner in two houses. take care of it. bush's were much more willing to give people notice and understand when some things couldn't be done.

he did point out that he did promote and name the two highest ranking african-americans in american history in condoleezza rice and colin powell as national security advisor for condi rice and then secretary of state and, of course, powell's secretary of state in the first term. and he says he isn't given a lot of credit for that. and that just shows that he's working on merit rather than a racial template to put over things. >> host: how do you think secretary rice and powell influenced president bush on domestic issues? their portfolio was of foreign policy, of course, but domestic issues were never seen quite as his forte? >> guest: no, that's true. i interviewed secretary powell for the book and he said that he did discuss some domestic issues with the -- he served ronald reagan, george bush, the father, george bush the son, he mentioned how in the case of the l.a. riots after the famous incident with rodney king, he did try to explain to president bush, the father, why so many people were upset in the african-american community about a traffic stop. and about this sort of thing and try

a panel on african-american economic history. our coverage will continue three hours from now with a panel discussion on african-american humor. that will be followed by a panel on african-american history and finally about six hours from now we will wrap up with a discussion on the first years of the obama administration. that is coming up in the 2011 harlem book fair. right now united negro college fund president michael lomax on the state of african-american literacy. >> good morning, everyone. welcome to the thirteenth annual harlem book fair. i am max rodriguez, founder of the event. [applause] >> thank you. i would like to thank you for joining us for a conversation in community, conversation in books, conversation on who we are, where we see ourselves, where we hope to see ourselves and how we get there. that is what we do at the harlem book fair. we assess ourselves and celebrate ourselves and plan for ourselves and our families and children and our community and bring in the author's that talk about the theme that drive

, an african american woman would protect her man's manhood. there's this interracial romance that happens, black man, white woman, and how this is all viewed. she said how she felt her character had to really stand up to protect her man and as a consequence it became part of the play. the african american woman will not tell earl that his wife has actually left him already and run off with another man. she doesn't tell him that because she's trying to protect his manhood. those are things i think if you are a smart playwright, you really take advantage of your very smart actors and your very smart directors. again, this thing where it's always coming down it ego. at sundance, in every rehearsal process, i like being part of a very generous workshop. if you were in there you would say, wow, it's pretty free-wheeling. for example, you have 9 characters, 9 story lines that all are trying to be pieced together so they all are introduced, they all intertwine and at the end they are all resolved in some form or fashion. it's a delicate architecture.

african-americans serve at the head of the nation's largest corporation. african-american sits in the white house. by any measure, that is progress. but if that is -- if that is one america, there is as well, as we well now, another america. in this other african-american of 100 students who start the 9th grade in that african america, only three -- only three will complete college. compared to 10 white students. now the ten is nothing to be proud of. but the three is appalling. much of the difference between the college graduation rate of people of color and the majority population is, of course, financial. the cost of college, and the inability of millions of family incomes to keep pace with the cost continues to be the single largest factor in the inability of families of color to send their sons and daughters to college. and the inability of those sons and daughters once enrolled to stay in college and graduate. ask any college president, ask any african-american college president, ask any president, what's the number one barrier, staying in school, pa

i want to know how many companies were african-american own. we heard testimony this afternoon about the fact that there are not enough. i agree with that. i want to know what companies were present that are african- american owned? >> there are several, actually. >> as part of each team, i do not know how many for each team, but there were african american companies on each one. i know that -- i'm just going off the top of my head. commissioner torres: i can wait. i'm not a supporter of proposition 209. i think it is embarrassing that a minority person sponsored a that initiative. be that as it may, i think it is our duty as a public agency to make sure that when we go over all of these proposals and, in fact, there is some concern, and some concern i shared over the years, that we need to make sure we have out reached so that not only african-american, but latino-owned companies are included, especially with the local hire provisions that i know will be difficult to implement. you have done an incredible job of doing that. how are we going to

economic recession and the african. american community it's a it's an economic depression with unemployment rates soaring high is in the low twenty's and in some communities like cotton for example the most probably the most famous african-american community in the country is not in the world the unemployment rates among african-american men it's fifty percent and higher in that community and that is just an astounding figure i had it but i think it's a stain on our fabric of the country at this particular time so very well said don thanks so much for being with us tonight thank you so much for having town america still has a long way to go to fulfill the dream right with your cane fortunately it seems that most of our country is at least moving in the right direction. it's the good the bad of the very ignore it negative mostly ugly first the good research is cern the european organization for nuclear research as we speak the largest and most profound experiment of our time is underway deep underneath the nations with its there

i just did team teaching on african-american jewish political thought. next year i'm teaching another course on martin and the influence on art, and a whole range of courses. most having to do with either history, political thought, 19th century political thought or doing with critical race theory, african-american political thought. >> host: you're the author of "look the negro". what's that? >> guest: a group of essays relating to race and film, and two other occasional essays as well, so, for example, i have an essay there on representation of race in a movie, you know, "the lion king" that many of us saw a long time ago. i have an essay on med ya representations of race during the king uprising in a book i edited and also interesting piece engaging another philosopher around the reading of the british stair movie. unlike the du bois book, it's less an engagement to reconstruct the thought of a particular thinker. again, it has more to do with race and contemporary culture, representations of race. >> who in your view, if any, is similar to du bois to

in the part of the african-american community with the police department. one great, sage mind said people tend to hate each other because they fear each other. they fear each other because they do not know each other. and they do not know each other because of a lack of communication. going back to my days on this board, i often sat in in chamber and said we will never deal with this mistrust of the police personnel until we get the patrol, police personnel, in these challenged communities in which they will know the community, the community will know them. but in our police departments there has been major resistance to the idea of officers living in the community and having a beat in the community like they do in certain upscale communities around this nation. and including san francisco. so that we can only, supervisor cohen, i feel in part deal with this question of mistrust when we get more african-american police. i'm not saying only an african-american can do quality policing, but there's a greater opportunity for one to do it. it ought to be an int

the wealth of the average african-american house or. the average white house or the income gap between whites and blacks and latinos and hispanics is also growing and there are millions and millions of families in communities of color across the country that are literally living from paycheck to paycheck and you know if they do in fact in mind so many of them have fallen off of their employment rose into. a state of unemployment there too they're experiencing difficulties qualifying for unemployment insurance for for many of these states so they end up a c.p.s. mission at this particular moment in history of the country is just this critical as it was right in their place he was from one hundred two years ago. time you mentioned that what's going on in the states with republican governors one of the things the seems common across them is this alex sponsored legislation that requires a driver's license or similar id to vote and. this is targeted right head on an urban people you know i mean i would have d.c. you're right i don't own a ca

those are things that don't just affect the african-american community. they affect the immigrant populations, the latino communities in many districts in this community, the asian communities as well. we need to implement policies. i was warmed by what i heard from the mental health department with regard to intervention, early intervention. in the communities. putting clinics in the districts. i believe that these are effective ways to gain traction on these issues. i also hope to see more involvement from the sheriff's department. i think that inputting the sheriff in place of the police department where we have issues with rebuilding trust is an important change. one of these places where we see that is an important shift, i anticipate, getting deputy sheriffs to do the booking rather than the police department. thank you for your time. chairman mirkarimi: thank you. next speaker, please. bithe way, all the rest of the cards that i have here and other people who want to speak, you should just come on up. >> living in the bay view and working in visita

in the country, we too much attention to african-americans, etc.. so it would be naive to think that he doesn't have this going on in his head. should he make some strong statements and should he have a strong policies as regards to poverty? of course, people claim he does, he just has talked to some other things that clearly that is a major issue and dealing with it as vigorously as with any other issue. >> you brought up the tea party and i feel when you say in the tea party and conservatism is going to cost controversy. i'm going to read a couple of paragraphs from the book. what it all adds up to is an america that is psychologically and politically divided in the most bizarre way. one american celebrating the rise of a black president and the beginning of the end of racism while the other drowns in paranoia and racial fear. in one american anger is mellow and in the other it explodes and the future seems brighter than ever while in the other is cloaked in gloom. the biggest locus of anger these days seems to be not in the nation's black and bro

for african-americans.it has been down since the election. in my own survey it is not as high as 70% but closer to 30% or 40% who were saying that would help them. but i also think the obama election is not just one phenomenon that accounts for all of this. it takes place against the backdrop of many things. certainly a huge event and one that for many people of color and others as well indicates things may be possible in this country that a lot of people thought were impossible a few years ago. it is an event that i call the end of final revelation. a series of things that happened which cause a lot of people to sit back and say let me rethink some fundamental assumptions i have always made about where this country is and where it is possible for people to go. >> what if he loses in 2012? >> the gain in you saw from his election in 2008 will there be a resumption of danger? >> first of all i am very careful to state in the book that there's a lot of angry people out there. that hasn't changed. there are a

or characteristics of african-american humor at the outset was that it was underground. it was hidden, because africans could not say what they wanted to. the satirical humor the day brought with them, the satirical, verbal descriptions or comments, commentary on life as a side had to be silenced here. they could not do that. it could mean death and it certainly could mean being sold. it had very tragic consequences of the humor was hidden. what happened was you would get folktales coming out. he would get these very interesting folk tales coming out for the humor becomes indirect. it becomes humor that is delivered in a different way. i think one of the main sources of that humor are the old john tales where the slave pretends to be ignorant, pretends to be naÏve, but in fact he is using his naÏvetÉ to criticize the master. later on i will read something from that if we have a chance and one of the jokes that illustrate that. you have a slavery situation and you have the blacks attempting to continue their old tradition of criticizing, observing what was going on and you

some having to do, as you might guess, with african-american political thought.course on du bois, on martin delainey. i also teach for systematic courses, critical race theory. i'm teaching -- >> in each shi's critique of modernity. i just finished team teaching with a colleague on african-american/jewish political thought. next year i'm teaching at course of the influence on art. so a whole range of courses, most having to do with either history political thought, is theth century german political thought, or having to do, again, with critical race theory. >> you're also the author of "look a negro." >> yes, that's right. >> what is that? >> that's a collection of essays relating to representations of race in film. and a few other caigal essay -- occasional essays as well. so, for example, i have an essay there on representation of the -- you know that movie, the lion king? i have an essay on media representations of race during the rodney king uprising, a piece that was originally publish inside a book i edited called requested reading rodney king." al stanley

african-americans are about 12.3% of the american population. they are 14% of all illegal substance users, thereby 14% of all drug, it legal drug sellers. however, they are 35% of all people arrested for drugs. they are over half of all people who work in -- convicted for drugs. they are two-thirds of everybody who goes to prison for drugs. that is racism. that is not the result of negative police officers. that is the result of the way the criminal justice system works. it is the places that they -- the police are dispatched to arrest people who are doing these things. a quick example. on the new jersey turnpike back in the 1990s and i'm using this example because many of you have heard about it. automobiles were stopped pretty regularly, and searched. they stopped many times the proportion of african-americans they represent in the country. as a result, they arrested many more african-americans because they found what they were looking for, often -- not often, sometimes, drugs and guns. so as a result, more african-americans were arrested on t

saying that obama's selection creates more forrtunities african-americans. it has gone down a bit. and certainly in my own surveysi it's not as high as 70%.as 7 it's closer to about 30%,un 40 percent you're saying that i is going to help them, but i also think that the obama election is not just of -- is not just one phenomenon that accounts for all of this. i think that takes place against a backdrop of many things. it is certainly a huge event, and one that for at least many people of color and others as well, indicates that things may be powerful in this country that a lot of people thought were impossible even a few years ago. it is an event which -- i call it the final revelation, a series of things that happen which cause a lot of people to sit back and say, wait a minute. let me rethink some fundamental assumptions i have always made about where this country is and what is possible. >> so what if he loses in 2012? >> well, i think -- >> the gain you saw from his election in 2008, will there be a resumption of anger? >> well, first of all, i am very ca

i just finished teaching african-american jewish political thought.next year and teaching in other corners on heidegger. so it'll range of courses, most having to do with 19th century german political thought, or having to do with critical race theory and african-american political thought. >> ewart also the author of book, a. what is that? >> guest: that his essays written to representations of race and film. and to other occasional essays as well. so for example, i have an essay there in representation of race in a movie, lion king, gave us all a long time ago. i have an essay by media representations of race during the rodney king of praising, the piece i was originally published from an uprising. also interesting piece engage in another philosopher around his reading of a reddish stare movie. so is unlike the du bois book, it is less an engagement and to reconstruct a thought of a particular thinker. again, it has more to do with race in contemporary culture representations of

we saw miss ethyl freeman, elder african-american woman in the chair, but there was no story.mage. when i saw that picture, my mother, my grandmother is 100 years old and is still alive today in atlanta, georgia. so when i saw miss freeman slumped over dead in that wheelchair, i saw my grandmother. i want to get the story. all i had was the picture. so we found her son, herbert freeman, got the story. >> and the earthquake in haiti. >> dealing with a little kid here, we don't even know if they're 8 or 9 years old. you know what i mean? this is the reality of what we're dealing with right now. >> i went underground for a bit, picking up bodies, bringing them to morgues, digging holes, burying certain people. things like that. that's what we've gone through, you know. everything you used to sing about, you used to talk about, that you believe about, it gets tested at that moment because it's like, you know, you wore that flag on your back at the grammys, you know, and that's the first time they saw the haitian flag on tv but what does that mean, though? if you can't be on the gr

and check out for african-americans. >> when you look at the latest job numbers, african-americans have did not begin with the recession. the job market has not been friendly to mark summers. he has come to this d.c. career center for help. >> apparently, one place is looking at me. >> it's a similar story for african mrnz across the country. the latest jobs report shows the unemployment rate for raftof african-americans is just under 16%. >> so it's always been that way? >> give or take, yes. >> howard university's processor says this has been always at play. >> unless america makes the significant investment in equality, then african-americans and other people of color, and particularly now hispanics are going to find themselves in a constant struggle. >> the congressional black caucus wants the government to do more. >> this is an urgent appeal to the white house, to the congress, and to the people in municipalities all around the country that we must attack this issue of unemployment and that black unemployment -- >> highly educated african-americans are not immune. even with a phd

i don't say you have to drink african-american wine. i just want folks to drink wine. you may not like vision cellars phnot noir. that's ok. >> and mac couldn't have come into the industry at a better time. new research shows that only a handful of wineries are actually owned by african-americans, yet they make up more than 10% of the nation's wine drinkers, which is exactly why mac and a new generation of winemakers are entering the business and trying to educate others about this special way of life. >> this whole wine industry goes along with farming. i-it's-- it's all about a lifestyle, not--not about money. if you wanna aake money, uh, go off and become a c.e.o. of some company or something, uh, hit it lucky in, uh, vegas or something, but farming is a lifestyle. it's a lifestyle that i greup with in the sticks of texas. it's a lifestyle that i wouldn't give up. >> it's a heartwarming story, because he was really green, and, i mean, he came--like, started later in his career, uh, makin' wine, and, uh--but you could see he just had it in him. he was gonna make--do

could the- strategists in washington and african american lawmakers. i think that will really play out. it is not always clear-cut. in florida, democrats would love to unpacked the third district. some use to call it the wishbone that extends from jacksonville to orlando, and with three democratic leaning districts in their place. but that divided the democratic party i it makes it easier for republicans to capitalize on the split and get their way in court. a >> it is an interesting dynamic that tom and i saw and a similar vein when we return, the reform in congress. you take away any piece of jurisdiction from a committee or subcommittee chair, and it is like ripping a child of their arms. they will absolutely fight to the death. parties face this problem all the time. that you can take a district that is extraordinarily safe and make it non quite as extraordinarily safe, and that representative will do vengeance to the party's goals to keep it that way the missouri example is a good one but it is not as if emanuel cleaver were in trouble. this was s

thank you. >> authors on the african-american history and autobiography panel. booktv will continue with the final panel of the day, discussion of the first years of the obama administration. and you are watching booktv's live coverage of the 13th annual harlem book fair. >> what are you reading this summer? booktv wants to know.

it is 16% for african-americans. real unemployment rate for us is 28%. one in three americans has been looking for work for a year. if anyone stands up here and says i have not had economic hardship, someone has to key in their life. this is a brother or sister who says can you help me pay my rent that is not going to turn out right. help me if i am hurting. this is what is going on. we know because you have a phenomenal -- >> she is holding up my book too. >> a phenomenal ancestor who basically made it happen. even in the middle of hardship we make it happen but we make it happen because we decide we are going to make it happen. so i think what we know is john boehner and president barack obama -- >> she said that deliberately. john boehner. >> whatever. i tried. my mama does this thing with holy water. i don't have any holy water. anyway whatever his name is, the man is attempting to circumvent the president. the bottom line is on 70 occasions this has been called housekeeping. now that president obama has to deal with that it is called something else.

in this vacuum in japan town, there was the fillmore district with african americans and a variety of other people and they moved into the community. and then japanese americans get out of camp and they come back to their neighborhood that has been populated and made into a different life and different world and what happens when those two communities overlap and intersect? whose place is it, whose home is it? who is an american? how do we sort of coexist in this post war period where the people from that community are by and large marginalized, yet you have this whole kind of other thing happening where it's -- the war has been won, this is like new things, television is happening, advertising, this whole advertising thing is happening. so you have these marginalized peoples and what happens, is it possible to develop a kind of at that moment a cross-cultural community? is it possible to have kind of a multi cultural community that emerged from that moment? and so, in particular, that's what i wanted to explore. and part of the back drop is there was this extraordinary jazz scene hap

do not tell me that there are no good african-american doctors. my grandson became a doctor. there is nothing there to stop him -- he is supposed to graduate in april. [laughter] what i am saying is, the american school of public system -- the american public school system, the lower income population is not playing the role they should play. we are not adequately educating these children. the classrooms are too crowded -- that is all over the tv in new york. they blame it all on teachers. i think the youth deserve better. that is what i think. [applause] we have to start not when they are a teenager, but pre-k. [applause] >> you have said what families need to do. as a person in school, we know how much of our children's time is spent in school. we are often the surrogate parents for a length of time, so we have a particular responsibility in schools to get some of this truth out. i just want to throw this out for black history month. we need to ask ourselves, what information is being shared that is worthwhile, that will help young african-americans, and others, understand t