when we talk about african- american history, we are talking about african american history not as aarate and distinct history, but as an integral part of history -- the history of san francisco, the history of the united states, and of the world. we cannot think about this broader concept of history without understanding the role and contributions people of african descent have played in this broader statement of what history is. this is true not only for people of african descent, but all people. we are all part of history. "we present from the african american perspective is simply that -- a perspective of history that helps fill up that picture. without the understanding of these covers perspectives, it is difficult to fully appreciate our true history. i am doing the best i can appear. -- up here. i guess we should have some of three stanzas a couple of times. [laughter] we also have ms. jackson with us. a pleasure to have you with us. in your programs, there is also a flier in your programs. it is on the flip side of "lift every voice and sing." it is a flier about a program wh

but it also takes african-american life and uses it as a lens, understand what it means to be an american. that's what this museum does so well. and in essence, while i could talk about the museum forever -- i won't -- the goal of the museum is simple. the goal of this museum is not to just create a great green building, although it's going to do that. its goal is not to just find wonderful artifacts, although we've done that. and its goal is not to just build great exhibitions. but, rather, its goal is simple. this museum should make america better. this museum should find a way to help people have candid conversations to find real reconciliation and healing over the chasm that has divided us the longest -- race. and i have to tell you, i'm honored to be here to introduce to you someone whose life, whose career has made america better. now, i can tell you a lot about spencer crew. let me tell you, we have closed dives from johannesburg to tokyo. we have done the hardest thing two historians could ever do, that is collaborate with writing effectively for years. but i think that what i rea

all african-americans did not reside in places where there are zero african-americans. i grew up in a community that was 15% african-americans. it is a little weird that the party is only recruiting black republicans to run. republicans recognize they have a problem with problems -- public perception. people of color want to represent us and if they are good, they want to see them get a chance. host: here is a tweet -- guest: that was the point i was trying to make earlier. this problem is is ideology. congressman of west was a bit more moderate, a bit less inflammatory and someone who would be a prime statewide candidate. host: sarah palin season as a pick for vice president. -- sees him as a pick for vice president. let's get to phone calls -- a republican in kentucky, go ahead -- caller: i would like to make a comment and then questioned. i have no disrespect toward any color or creed or whatever. i'm not a bigot. i grew up with a friend, you would not even called in an african-american. how do you call president obama and african american when he is half white? i am

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

house of representatives becoming the first african-american to serve in our institution. the arrival of rebels and rainey ranks among the great paradoxes in american history. just a decade earlier these african-americans' congressional seats were held by southern slave holders. in so many aspects menard's background and his experiences foreshadowed those of african-americans who would shortly follow him into congress. as phil just alluded to, he was young. he was just 30 years old when he made that speech on the house floor. like a lot of the men who would follow him in the 1870s and 1880s. he was born into a mixed race family. he was exceedingly well educated relative to his contemporaries, and like all those who would follow him in the next decade, he was from a reconstructed republican government in the south, and as did menard, african-americans elected after him found allies among radical republicans on the hill. menard's contested election, too, was a preview of what awaited other black politicians. such cases skyrocketed in the late 19th century, particularly in the

and it would have made him the first african-american to serve in congress. but his opponent, a white man by the name of caleb hunt, challenged menard's right to be seated. and as the house elections committee would soon uncover, more than 80% of the votes that were first cast for hunt were thrown out by the local canvassing board swinging the election to menard. meanwhile, thousands of african-american men appeared to have been denied the ballot by violence, intimidation, and outright fraud. and to complicate matters, the late representative mann's original opponent, republican simon jones, challenged the validity of mann's original election to the house in april of 1868. arguing in essence that he, jones -- are you taking notes -- was the rightful winner and there was no vacancy. adding still another layer of complexity was the fact that the louisiana second district, the e louisialouisiana second distri nominp nominal entity in wh memess wap mess wmess wam redistrictr redistrire readmittance to the union of july of 1868.pir ip i wenswenscy were greatly cha

free and enslaved african-americans were closely bonded. they enter-married, and free people taught enslaved people to read and write. in spite of the close knit community african-americans experienced a mercurial existence. living conditions varied greatly. access to the people depended on the people who owned or hired them.

african-american artistic director. latino outreach person.us, aside from the staff, aside from the artists that we work with him being a reflection of oz, yes, the community is changing, but brava has always tried to be ahead of that, just that sense of a trend. i tried to make about the work that shows the eclecticism of the mission district, as well as serving the mission. that is what i feel brava is about. ♪ >> so it's a tremendous honor to be here today. we've got a tremendous program for you. this is our annual black history month kickoff. it was started many, many years ago. dr. carter g. woodson had participated in the founding of black history month. he was involved in the group known as the oh, -- association for the study of african-american life and history. the local chapter of that group is what is now known as the african-american cultural and historical society. so it's an honor. we've been doing this for many, many years and it's great to see so many faces out here today. right now what i'd like to do is thank our partners an

, 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.

the divide among african-americans. who is the next generation of leaders, and is he leading a new york institution into the new century. that's what's going on in our world. up next. [ male announcer ] next gear is over 25 years of innovation. next gear is being the best selling car in america and having some of the best mpgs in the cle s. next gear is the reinvented 2012 toyota camry se. with available 268hp, v6, best in class combined mpg and available entune™ multimedia-system... the 2012 toyota camry se. it's everything you love, nothing you expect. ♪ >>> this is david alan grier, and you are watching "our world" the black enterprise. i gave him the little look. that's it. ♪ >>> the love story that's been told to many generations is back on broadway. ♪ >> i caught up with one of the co-stars david alan grier. ♪ oh, yeah >> whoa, whoa! ♪ ♪ bop, be-bop, bow, boo >> we're here with the legendary actor david alan grier. thank you for being here today, man. >> thank you for having me. >> talk to me about this new play t

although he was never seated, he was the first african-american who addressed the house chamber. we heard more about him from phillip magness from george mason university, and matthew wasniewski, historian of the u.s. house of representatives. this is about an hour from the u.s. capital historical society. >> before we begin, before i introduce the speakers, let me introduce congressman danny davis of illinois to make a welcome to the audience. congressman. [ applause ] >> thank you very much. and let me just say how delighted i am to be here. as a matter of fact, the last time i was at a meeting, i was so inspired by a woman who made a presentation of a book that she has written that i have been trying to get that book into school districts all around illinois and other places throughout the country. and actually had her at my home in chicago for the kwanzaa celebration that we do each year to present to our guests. so it's always a pleasure and a delight to see and be a part of looks at the development and evolution of our country. and to think of how magnificent it really is w

one voice for every african-american in this country. for the next six years, he was the only member of color in the entire united states congress. this was 1929 in washington, d.c., it's a southern town. so we dealt with in your face racism every single day he was there. for every restaurant in town for the fourth congress, he dealt with a hostile, racist environment, yet he was able to succeed in advancing the betterment of african-americans. he would do what he had to do. crossing party lines was not an issue to him. if he found a supporter, then so be it. he would welcome that support. e he would acknowledge that support. he was the black caucus of one. in the house and senate, but then a black caucus of just him. i know my time is limited, but i have been accused of being long winded before in the past. in closing his efforts to try to level the playing field for his african-american constituents never ended. when he left congress after two failed attempts to get reelected, he went back to the chicago city council in 1943. and in do

well go back to the big picture on tom hartman coming up in this half hour and elderly african-american man accidentally calls for medical help ends up being shot dead in his own home so how did a false alarm turn into a senseless death and in tonight's daily take the fear machine is tearing apart american society how can we turn it off and return america the land of the free the home of the great. with a nation still trying to figure out what happened in sanford florida that led to the death of seventeen year old trayvon martin back in february and why george zimmerman is still walking around as a free man a new and just as disturbing case is coming to light out in new york it was there that a sixty eight year old african-american man was gunned down in his own home by police officers who were responding to a false alarm ken chamberlain sr a former marine who suffered from a heart condition at a medical alert system but wouldn't but when pressed would call for emergency medical somehow chamberlain's medical alert system was triggered leading to an ambulance being dispatched to his home

so when you say 8% of chinese students, i mean, 8%, 39% of african-american, you mean 8% of the entire chinese american student population? >> no. i mean 8% of those 411 f's. this takes -- this is just looking at the f's. >> ok. so then looking -- if i just go to the english column, where it says that 86 chinese american students got f's and then 94 african-american students got f's, it says that -- the chinese americans make up 5% and then africans make up 29%. but the difference is only eight students. am i misreading that? why is the percentage so dramatically different? >> because of the total number of students in that ethnic group enrolled -- >> that was my question. so 5% of chinese american students failed, not 5% of all f's in english? >> right. that -- >> that was my question. >> thank you. >> a quick question related to that. and maybe that's something you address down the road. but how surprising where -- were these numbers? because this is a pretty stark contrast that you're looking at. english, african-american, students are three times more likely to be failing in in eng

the african-american female use account for one-third of the felony drug arrests for all african americans youth in california. i repeated analysis, san francisco authorities have not been responded to serious disparities and have not provided rational explanations to disparities or policies to ameliorate them. nor have authorities explain why drug policing became radically more so over the last 15 years. we are not arguing the police alone bear responsibility for those patterns. many agencies have been involved. if there are objectives, local authorities would seem obligated to provide detailed explanations. the execution of drug law enforcement policy is extremely harsh on african-americans, latinos, and young people, while favoring whites or older citizens driving the cities. not only makes little sense, but the result of such a policy exacerbates racial disparity. serious analysis is needed on how to defend such consequences. finally, it is arguable they amount to a violation of human rights under the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination and the cause of the international

african american politicians under investigation, we love to talk about a number of african americanpoliticians under investigation. we love to talk about patterns. we love to invoke racial injustice. we love to say that every time a new measure is passed that says you have to do one extra thing, that is the ugly and of jim crow. it sounds good. it makes you feel nice and warm. the only problem is, as good as it sounds, and eventually the real wolf does come knocking at the door. when the real wolf shows up at the door, if it turns out that zimmerman is lying, that is what happened. then it sounds like what we are saying, it sounds like it is what we have said, and how we have said it before. it does not resonate the way it should. i will make those two cautionary point. do not think it is going to solve anything or and anything -- end anything and be careful about how we talk about walz being at the door. -- wolves being at the door. >> recently a participated in a forum in new york. the african american studies library in new york, on the panel was randall kennedy. in the process o

and find a location abroad that would accept african-americans as equals. and allow them to participate in the direction of their lives, to own property, to participate in government, to vote, to serve on juries, everything that was denied here by the dread scott decision and constitutional interpretations at the time.thc interpretations at the timecons interpretations at the tim cons interpretations at the time. menard is hired in 1863 by the u.s. immigration office. we have pictures of three individuals here. the man in the center is james mitchell, who was abraham lincoln's commissioner of colonization. and he was the man that hired menard. mitchell was an irish-born american preacher that lincoln knew from illinois. he brought him to washington specifically for this role, to administer the programs. and mitchell knew of menard through his abolitionist activities and thought of him as a potential ally, who could bridge the gap between the white community and immigration movement in the black community. mitchell hires menard on as a clerk in 1863. which a

, the largest african-american urban population in the nation. this population growth also created a much more segregated city in washington, d.c. as african-americans continued to move in and were funneled into certain sections of this city. by the start of the 20th century, washington's african-american community constituted essentially a separate city within the federal government, a secret city, as one author has described it. now, while we know a great deal about the general history of african-americans in this city, i would argue, i would suggest, that we do not know enough about the specific issues unfolding in different portions of the district. those of us that know washington, d.c., know that this is a city of multiple parts, different experiences, and different communities. georgetown is different from the park, which is different from u street, which is different from northeast, which is different from capitol hill, which is different from the area surrounding the white house. the community in each of these areas have unique character

in our consideration today of prominent african-americans associated with this area, i would like to include the freeman family especially since i believe we have descendants present. john freeman, once he obtained his freedom, worked as a waiter at gadsby's hotel. earlier freeman had been a slave belonging to thomas jefferson who sold him to james madison. he worked in the madison white house with jennings as did his wife, melinda colbert freeman. she a free person, formerly enslaved by thomas jefferson, melinda was a member of the well known hemings family of monticello. the freemans were founders of the neighborhood where jennings purchased the house in 1854, just a 15 to 20-minute walk northwest of lafayette square. the freemans and jennings were eventually joined by other families of ex-slaves of presidents in this neighborhood including three syphax brothers, charles ii, william and colbert, sons of maria carter custis and charles s. syphax senior and nephews of nancy syphax who worked with jennings earlier on lafayette square. now in the 1850s, jennings and charles syphax, ii

free and enslaved african-americans were closely bonded. free people taught enslaved people to read and write. in spite of the close knit community african-americans experienced a mercurial existence. living conditions varied greatly. access to the people depended on the people who owned or hired them. also both enslaved and free african-americans had fears of being sold at any time. while free african-americans had some protections. these were not strongly enforced. if they didn't have their free passes on them, they could be labeled as runaways. even if someone did not come to claim them, they could be sold to cover the jail fees. they were charged a daily fee to be held in the jail. these conditions helped make the slave trade in d.c. lucrative with d.c. teetering between anti-slavery and pro slavery sensibilities. washington, d.c. functioned as large slave depot for nearly 50 years where enslaved people from maryland and alexandria were often held before being sold down south to georgia, the carolinas or new orleans. numerous advertisem

forming the largest urban community of african-americans anywhere in the united states. nevertheless, racial segregation endorsed and enforced in the taft white house would become an accepted management and household policy in the white house for many decades. world war i and ii would deplete the white house residents staff as workers were called up for military service. the great depression meant tight wages and war rationing. although there was a moratorium on entertainment from pr 1941 to 1946, workers continued to play a vital role in the operations of the white house. first lady eleanor roosevelt widely known for herum

spirituals are the root of most african american history. and music. it is important to know where the spirituals come from. the music came from africa. there are slave testimonies to the fact that music came from africa. and so that is the root of african-american music which is renowned around the world. the other thing that happened is that in the u.s. especially, we lost the ability to use the drum. we did not lose the ability to use rhythm. the -- which is the most direct link to africa, we use the staff and hand clapping. we are going to do a song that will become familiar to me -- to you in a moment. it was put together by our musical director who is holding the staff. and our soloists will be carolyn and nedra. when i ask you to join in, i want you to help us out. all right? thank you very much. [applause] [singing] [drums and singing] ♪ in the water ♪ ♪ [applause] [singing] ♪ ♪ [singing] [applause] >> the project. [applause] let's give them another round. ok. that brings us to the acknowledgements and closing remarks. on behalf of the san fran

african-americans and the circumstances surrounding their visits. this is 1:10. >> as we learned this morning, many did not enter service at lafayette square vounl taele vv. jefferson, madison, monroe, jackson, tyler, polk, taylor, owned slaves and brought them to the white house and from their plantations in the south. until 1862, when slavery was abolished in district of columbia slaves worked alongside paid black freemen and european servants at the white house. for most of the 19th century, the structure of the white house staff remained generally the, the same. at the top was a steward, federal employee who was bonded. the congress created this position to safe guard the silver and furnishings in the white house. the steward was on the government pay ll lroll. it required patience, strayed tiff -- administrative ability and great sense of discretion. beneath him, maids, footmen, cooks, laborers, and about 1/3 of the servants lived there in the basements. some in a dormitory-style, some in private rooms. the steward, a number of times, as an afr

african americans who have spent decades employed at the white house. some of the most famous are lillian rogers parks who was a seamstress and maid who first came to the white house as a young girl helping her mother, a white house maid, during the taft administration. her tale would eventually become a book and tv mini series called "backstairs at the white house." she and other long time workers such as alonzo fields, butler mater -- mate ra de and chief butler from 1952 to 1987, have been integral to the white house and have helped define its culture over these many years. alonzo fields eloquently observed i don't feel like a servant to a man, i feel i was a servant to my government and to my country. for more than 200 years, the white house has depended on workers, whose orgins can be traced to many nations and cultures reflecting the racial and ethnic composition of our population have kept the white house running smoothly over the years. thomas jefferson, famously employed french men, as well as irish servants. john quincy adams retained belgium.

are you targeting and african-american audience. >> i wasn't targeting african-americans alone, but i thought since all of these people came from the african-american community, i would focus on that. it is crucial that we reach minority kids. so many minority kids today, if you ask them who they wanted to be, they would name you are an athlete or an entertainer. they only see themselves as being able to succeed in those two realms. athletes, athletics, and entertainment. there is such a wide variety of things that young people can do today to make a significant contribution to american life and to earn a great living and be recognized as doing something meaningful. >> you spend a lot of time talking to kids about this message, especially african-american kids. there are many other avenues besides entertainment and sports. forgive me, it sounds ironic coming from someone with a claim to fame on sports. have you got a message to the young people? >> it doesn't last forever. the crew doesn't last forever. the fact that i'm able to be an author and a public speaker has to do with what i

one voice for every african-american in this

>> my grandparents have a lot of -- like, they're very racist against african-americans. and, like, other races. but it's 2012. so they have to, like, push that aside. and they'll be like, no, that's wrong to be -- you want to stick with your own race. and i'm like, no, i'm friends with everyone. >> well, there was more. our cnn study found signs of hope and progress as well. watch. >> if somebody has, like, a different kind of skin color, they should -- they always -- if they're their friend, you always should be friends. so like, i have tons of friends that are black and i'm white. >> it doesn't matter what skin color you are. it just -- it's just inside here. like, in your heart. >> this is the second time that "360" has scientifically studied children and race. back in 2010 we discovered that kids as young as 5 picked up on racial attitudes in the world around them. and all of the ugliness that can sometimes come with that. this time around we wanted to understand why children have these attitudes on race. how those attitudes change as kids get older. and how the race

african-americans, it's about what african-americans have been doing for us as a society for many, many years. so when i have a chance to talk about my life because i'm just new rookie payor, wants to know how am i thinking, where am i coming from, i'm going to tell about these stories that never get told because they're about life. they're about contributions. they're about how we relate to each other and so i am so proud to be up here with malia cohen, who is going to create many, many new stories to come along with all of san francisco and the other supervisors up here and the oop leaders and al williams and the historical society who are doing very important work to document the contributions so that we can justify why we need to make a special effort to make sure that there is no outmigration, to make sure that there are jobs. to make sure we protect the family structure. because from my heart and where i come from and what my family is all about, i know what it is to be helped by the african-american community. i know that that's been a strong tring and -- thing and we wouldn't ha

>> my grandparents have a lot of -- like, they're very racist against african-americans. and, like, other races. but it's 2012. so they have to, like, push that aside. they'll be like, no, that's -- that's wrong to be -- you want to stick with your own race. i'm like, no, i'm friends with everyone. >> well, there was more. our cnn study found signs of hope and progress as well. watch. >> if somebody has, like, a different kind of skin color, they should -- they always -- if they're their friend, you always should be friends. so, like, i have tons of friends that are black and i'm white. >> it doesn't matter what skin color you are. it just -- it's just inside here. like, in your heart. >> this is the second time that "360" has scientifically studied children and race. back in 2010 we discovered that kids as young as 5 picked up on racial attitudes in the world around them. and all of the ugliness that can sometimes come with that. this time around we wanted to understand why children have these attitudes on race. how those attitudes change as kids get older. and how the r

human society is sort of a pyramid and upscale white folks like himself were at the top and african-americans were somewhere down the scale. not as low as native americans, perhaps and mexicans were in there somewhere, but lee had racial assumptions, but was -- much of this was