president that's popular with african-americans and african-americans are strategicically located and there is a republican congressional leadership that's been attacking prez obama almost from the moment he took office. so there are considerable number of similarities between 1998 and 2010. the question is whether or not black voters turn-out if they turn-out, the democratic prospects are going to be a lot better than if african-americans do not turn-out. finally a word about african-american candidates running for office. there's 12 black candidates running for statewide office. all of them democrats. three senate candidates. a gub in the to recall candidat 50% for the all-time high for republicans. two last thing about black candidates i especially wanted to mention. i do a lot of racially voting analysis. there's only one member of the congressional cacusus that's runs this year. on average 16 members of the black cob aggression the caucus were running. this years there one. there's two other black candidates running unopposed. fredericka and tim scott who's going to be elected in

african-american -- african-american unemployment rate has always been higher than the [ inaudible unemployment rate. that's never changed. >> to be fair, the unemployment rate is higher in the black community, the graduate unemployment rate for college graduates among blacks is even higher and here's the other thing you talk about health care, you have corporations and -- that are talking about waivers or they'll have to take people off their health care plans. well, that affects disproportionately the black community. you're right, he's the president of the united states. black population is 12% of the country. so, if 97% of them voted for barack obama and they're not seeing the results whether it's fair or unfair, they're not seeing results in 20 months, they're going to have serious concerns. >> are you suggesting that black people are going to vote against democratic party? >> there are over a dozen black conservatives running in races this year. they're also going to get an amount of the vote. we have a split in the black community in some respects, the urban, we have the suburban. the su

what haps was the people met resistance from african-americans, the small group of african-americans who were there already, who were concerned about their own tenuous state and other groups that might be competing with them. they met so much resistance that it's a wonder that they survived. they distribute people who migrated were more likely to be married than the people who were in the north already. they were more likely to be raising their children in two-parent households. all these things are recently being discovered as sociologists and others look at the facts from the census data. a lot new is coming out about them. tavis: i started this conversation by doing what i could in two seconds to give you i think the props that you deserve, what you've done with this -- what will be a classic and historic text. but i don't want people to think i was being hyperbolic. let me ask it as a question. tell me, situate for me this migration in the making, mat touring of america -- the maturing of america. >> it is hard to separate out the legacy of this great migration because it's so im

look at the migration of african-americans. the acclaimed new text is called "the warmth of other suns." a conversation with isabel wilkerson coming up right now. >> all i know is his name is james and he needs extra help with his reading. >> james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference -- >> thank you. >> you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance supports "tavis smiley." with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tave miss it working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one at a time. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: isabel wilkerson is a professor of journalism at boston university who became the first african-american woman to will win a pulitzer prize for journalism in 1994. her new text is called "the warmth of other suns." america's great migration. first of all, congratulations on -- great lakeses, an honor to have you on the progra

african-americans, particularly african-american women, are avid readers and book-buyers, and they are a hugely sought-after demographic for publishers. so i don't think that necessarily says that black folks aren't reading. may have more to do with austin. i don't know. i'm glad everybody who is here is here. >> thank you. [applause] >> with that, the old saying, if you want to keep something from black people, you have to hide it in a book. but we won't get to that today. with that, we thank you so much for being here, this was a speed date, so next time we have to have him back, it's going to be a long date. >> okay. >> thank you so much. next door at the book signing. >> thank you all very much. thank you. thank you. [inaudible conversations] >> eugene robinson, associate editor and columnist at the "washington post" was a worth a pulitzer prize for distinguished commentary in 2009. he's also the author of "coal to cream" and "last dance in havana." this event was part of the 2010 texas book festival held annually in austin. >> next weekend on both tvs and depth, best selling autho

african-americans and asian- americans. do you novak when the agent exclusion act, the chinese exclusion act was before congress in 1870, the first national leader to speak out against that was frederick douglass. the same man who fought against slavery. do you know that when the chinese exclusion act was voted on in congress, there was one black senator named blanche bruce, the only african-american in the u.s. senate, voted against it. similarly, we work side-by-side for semel -- civil rights and improve public education. in '86, and laundry owner sued the san francisco board of supervisors for a racially discriminatory law, and it brought equal protection to minorities, and that overturned the 1857 dread scott case, which held that minorities were not protected by the u.s. constitution. we have the landmark case of brown harris is board of education, 1954, to thank for equality in education. -- brown v. board of education. seven years later, the chinese community here worked shoulder to shoulder with the african- america

sweet in the sense that the pride of an african american to have an african american president.r in the sense that i looked at what he inherited as a president. >> what i thought about mostly was i'm a teacher, and i've seen kids, and said now every child, when you tell a child, "you can be president," yes, you can can. >> couric: sean, how did you feel when you saw the election of barack obama as president? >> i watched the election. i saw that it was a very exciting time for americans, and yet, i understood that there were some serious challenges ahead. >> couric: the biggest of those challenges, the economy. unemployment remains higher than 9%. among african americans, it's more than 16%. hasjonn simmons didn't vote for barack obama. he didn't think his economic policies were pro business enough. >> i think we need to inspire business growth, entrepreneurship, opportunity. that's what's going to regenerate a strong economy, not, you know, developing social programs or government programs. >> couric: should he be held accountable in any way for the current situation? >> the mo

that said, we have an african-american in the white house.e have a president who is being attacked 24/7. from many different angles. and you know, there is power to imagery. so you know, to the extent that this portrayal for better or worse can maybe you know, offset some of that, who knows. >> how much of what's going on in d.c. plays into what you all think about when you get in the creative, in the creative offerses and you're thinking about plots and characters and things like that in. >> it's a good question. i think that shows that work the best reflect real life. i think of "law & order" those episodes are ripped from the headlines. there are elements in our show that you will see that will resonate to us, because it is our reality. >> maybe you and i should sit down and talk, face to face, just you and me. >> no. there's been enough talk. >> what do you want? >> release the detainees or this time people will die. >> this show called "the event" is shrouded in secrecy. you know, that a lot i cannot say about the story points. >> just a

african students about their history, culture, language. we want to expose our culture to the majority of the population because we are the children of the cradle of civilization. we are the children of the first humans on earth -- i do not know who can speak about this -- but according to the bible, the land is called eden. we feel we have a lot to contribute to the commission and city to make it a viable entity, to make it a productive society, and we want our people to be productive members of our society. we want to expose our children and people that come into this country. we understand the problem with immigration. it is have a crucial year for immigrants. we need to make improvements. the second issue, this is a critical time. immigrants want to be productive members of society. they want to be a part of our society. they want to be able to develop. they want to grow. they need social, economic help. a lot of this is of great concern for their community. i would like to have another session to finish the work that i have done. i hav

>> well, we have 14 great african-american women in the congressional black caucus. these women are the boldest and the most brilliant members of congress. they're incred nl. i am telling you, we bring our unique perspective to public policy. for example, i was on public assistance. i raised two children as a single mom. and we have to fight these battles such as cutting food stamps, such as cutting the safety net, and many of us who are african-american women really get it. we know what that's about. so we have to use our experience and our understanding of impacts of budget cuts and of doing things that would be terrible for people on our deliberations and our decision making. but we still have to face a lot of the stuff that everyone faces, all black women face. so wet can't forget, and i don't think any woman in the congressional black caucus has forgotten from where they came and who they are, and so, you know, i have to take that into my decision making whenever i cast these votes. >> powerful words. congresswoman, thank you. it's been a pleasure to meet you. >

>> like most -- not like most, but like a lot of people, african-americans lived in chicago, detroit,k, summertime your parents sent you down south. so many summers it was split up. it was spent half with my father's mother which is in snow, alabama and the other was spent in atlanta, georgia with my mother's mother, and she's the one that put me through morehouse and the nyu graduate film school. she lived to be 100 years old and she's an art teacher. she taught art for 50 years and the south and for 58 she never had one white student because of segregation, and a lot of white students missed out on a great teacher. anyway, she saved her social security checks for 50 years and used that money to send her grandchildren to college. so since i was the oldest i had first dibs. >> when you read about spike lee often in the media, it is said the lead tag line controversial. do you accept that and do you buy that? >> i think that people are very lazy today. journalists, so instead of trying to be creative or do their job, it's easy to use a one-word label to define one person. how can you u

guest: african-americans vote for african-americans for a variety of reasons. around the country, you see different americans living in different conditions. many times people have different ideas about what is important in their lives. a candidate in new york is running on something different than someone in rural alabama. host: washington, d.c., filled up. -- phillip. caller: washington, d.c. it is no stranger to race politics. he looks at a candidate, sees with their platform is in relation to what he would like to see in office. do you vote democrat down the line? guest: i voted for a friend of my mother who was a republican in college. for the most part, i will vote for the democrat. i have a hard time voting for republicans who are against my interests, even if there is a democrat who will not express my best interests. host: this morning, cnn is talking about not only the african-american vote, but the lending enthusiasm of young voters. ging enthusiasm of young voters. guest: we have seen the excitement go up since 2006. you want to see young voters aga

guest: african-americans vote for african-americans for a variety of reasons. around the country, you see different americans living in different conditions. many times people have different ideas about what is important in their lives. a candidate in new york is running on something different than someone in rural alabama. host: washington, d.c., filled up. -- phillip. caller: washington, d.c. it is no stranger to race politics. he looks at a candidate, sees with their platform is in relation to what he would like to see in office. do you vote democrat down the line? guest: i voted for a friend of my mother who was a republican in college. for the most part, i will vote for the democrat. i have a hard time voting for republicans who are against my interests, even if there is a democrat who will not express my best interests. host: this morning, cnn is talking about not only the african-american vote, but the lending enthusiasm of young voters. ging enthusiasm of young voters. guest: we have seen the excitement go up since 2006. you want to see young voters aga

guest: african-americans vote for african-americans for a variety of reasons. around the country, you see different americans living in different conditions. many times people have different ideas about what is important in their lives. a candidate in new york is running on something different than someone in rural alabama. host: washington, d.c., filled up. -- phillip. caller: washington, d.c. it is no stranger to race politics. he looks at a candidate, sees with their platform is in relation to what he would like to see in office. do you vote democrat down the line? guest: i voted for a friend of my mother who was a republican in college. for the most part, i will vote for the democrat. i have a hard time voting for republicans who are against my interests, even if there is a democrat who will not express my best interests. host: this morning, cnn is talking about not only the african-american vote, but the lending enthusiasm of young voters. ging enthusiasm of young voters. guest: we have seen the excitement go up since 2006. you want to see young voters aga

telling african-american voters, don't make me look bad. karen travers, abc news, washington. >>> one final political note this morning. a top republican is questioning whether sarah palin has what it takes to be president. karl rove took issue with palin's upcoming reality show, "sarah palin's alaska," saying it may contribute to a tense that she is not presidential material. palin says in a clip, i would rather be doing this than in some stuffy, old political office. end quote. >>> an american man is in custody this morning, accused of plotting to blowup subway station near the pentagon. farooq thought he was arts pating in an al qaeda plot. but it w >>sting. >>> in pakistan, another u.s. drone attack is being blamed for killing seven more suspected militants. intelligence officials say the unmanned planes targeted a house in north waziristan near the afghan border. just yesterday, two similar attacks claimed the lives of seven alleged militants in the same area. >>> and travelers in france are coping with another day of disruptions, afte

when you stack the two sides up, african-americans go into the voting booth and say, you know what?ats who have may interest at heart. when you have a candidate like rand paul running for senate in kentucky saying i think we should be reconsidering perhaps the civil rights law, that sends a message to african-americans they're not for me. >> remember that under ken mehlman at the rnc, they were trying to make inroads with african-americans and katrina killed that, unfortunately. this is a good thing for the black community because there is a growing feeling in the black community their votes, our votes, are taken for granted by democrats because the assumption is, where else are they going to go? competition for our vote is a good thing. the other thing if you talk to members of the congressional black caucus, tell they'll you there are more african-americans in line waiting for their chance to run on the democratic side that sometimes you get a better chance on the republican side. >> so, ezra, we look at the numbers, president obama captured 96% of the african-american vote in 200

african americans.frican americans. "my favorite politicians ran for governor -- one of my favorite politicians ran for governor against david duke. year -- i really audit yeaodd do not mean like a midterm election, i mean a year that ended in an odd number. african-american turnout was like 80%. i think it might be worth it to african-americans to consider that there are people up there who would most definitely be hostile to them. >> it may not be enough in 2010 to make a huge difference, but i just want to emphasize how bad potentially this is for republicans in a presidential year. the tea party has basically branded the republican party as the tea party party. a lot of people do may not show upper this -- a lot of people who may not show up this time are likely to show up in 2012. there is a distinct racist party in the tea party. they are way more annoying and more extreme than most of america. it is going to be hard for them to shake that. republicans are going to do well and the tea party is goi

the african-american community knows what's at stake. unemployment rates 16.5%, unacceptable. when you look at the fact that we are to create jobs and the democrats have moved especially in the house, our job creation efforts over into the senate. the black community knows that a lot is at stake in terms of our economy and in terms of job creation. the african-american community knows what we have done -- what democrats have done in terms of education. just look at how we've increased pell grants, how we've taken the middle institutions out of the financial services institutions, out of our loans so that young people can get money. we brought in 60 million more in terms of student loans so i think the african-american community understands we've increased historically black colleges by $2.5 billion. so lots at stake, healthcare reform we did and yes, i think the black community really understands that and the black caucus is working to be sure this message is communicated. >> congresswoman lee, can you unequivocally say that if the tea p

african-american babies in care in the u.s. may have to wait longer than others when it comes to finding a home many cobbles couples opt for adopting black babies i'm opting out of rather adopting black babies despite official figures showing that more than half of all children in of up for adoption in the country are black or he's got a chick young reports. people like to emulate their show because i don't they don't seem to be following the stars when it comes to adopting children many still see things in black and white color was not an issue with this family when they adopted illinois we were much more interested in having you know getting a child's words free that was our primary focus we really weren't interested too much in what the child looked like of little you know why is one of very few black children in america adopted by a white family a study carried out by a group of economists suggest that african-american babies are five times less likely to be adopted then children of any other race some say one reason for th

in the book he argues the african-american population in the u.s. is made of four distinct communities. that have experienced very degrees of success. the program is 45 minutes. >> next weekend on booktv's and death -- in depth. >> hi. who do you think would be the best choice for our next republican candidate for president? [laughter] >> with a real chance to win? and even though i think john mccain is a good american would make the best candidate. >> i -- i really -- you know, i had this thing on my show called the duck of the day that i know my producers are willing on c-span and they will get me with the duck of the day. i do the best person is right now. but tosh, here's my answer. i'm not worried about that yet. i know everyone wants the next reagan to lock in the room, the next, you know, figure who will lead us, you know, out of the darkness. i'm not worried about it. i truly believe -- how many cities -- 15 cities now in just a little over a week and a half. i am thrilled about what i am seeing from the ground. it's going to happen the way

and a visit from a south african jazz artist. he's here in support of his first project in three years. it is a album called "so strong." coming up right now. >> all i know -- >> eugene robinson is a editor at "the washington post." his latest book is called disintegration, the splintering of black america. he joins us from new york. good to have you back on the program. >> great to be here. thank you for having me. >> congratulations on the 30 years at the post. how do you -- how do you historically situate that? 30 years at "the washington post"? >> it is very difficult. who knew -- who knew that i would have survived the 30 years at such an institution and who knew, you know, that the institution -- given the way things are now would have survived that long as well. but we're -- we're both still alive and kicking. >> what do you make quickly -- to your point now of the way the business is changing, that's to say this notion that people think that papers at some point in the not too distant future, that actual papers may be a t

department, we discovered haphazardly that they had known for years that in bayview hunters point, african- american women under the age of 50 had the highest rate of breast cancer in the entire state, but the health department has noted for years, and they failed to address it. they only started talking about it when we actually found out. >> we have babies that were born -- that were stillborn. we have babies that live for maybe an hour or 2 and died afterwards, and nobody could explain why. nobody could explain any of it to us, and it all has to do with where we live, what we are breathing, and what we are playing on. we are not put it all off on pg &e, because we know that there are many issues, but this power plant was the number one largest single standing source of air and water pollution in bayview hunters point. for obvious reasons, we wanted to make it go away, but we started -- we decided that we were going to plant our feet and go after them, as we said, one goliaths at a time. >> the power plant issue, both potrero hill and bayview, you never hear one mentioned without the oth

nation african american children. and sentenced to secretion india's millions of widows of bandon by their families you connected by society. are you watching on t.v. broadcasting live from moscow welcome to the program. the ballots are in the historic parliamentary poll which international observers have praised as being fair and free but there are still some doubts among opposition politicians on election watches that there were violations which could overshadow the next government's attempts to the just as itself of the following the election for r.t. to go pissing off in the southern city of osh and italian over cobra in the capital bishkek tell you first to you what exactly are the claims being made about the weekend bout it. well some members of the opposition claim that they believe this election was unfair they say that they have seen people here voters here being dragged around town from one polling station to another and being forced to vote several times one of the opposition leaders school has also said th

parents they came to the adoption agency it was their second child so african american by and large our family is largely irish english german and french canadian you know so it's not usually a lot of white people and we need i would prefer a little more color in our family. going to shut down our washington d.c. still ahead for you on our t.v. how some indian women are pushed to the margins. life is not easy on the fringes of hindu society yet they're all going to visions working to. produce to give readers a chance to live with dignity find out about the struggles some men do women face after their husband's death. but first a plane carrying the wife of the polish president has had to make an emergency landing soon after taking off from the western russian city off my doubts the aircraft carrying. reported engine trouble and touched down around one hundred kilometers away she was returning from events in the city commemorating the april plane crash there that killed ninety six people including president kaczynski his wife and many top polish officials the ballots are in for care of th

for young african-american men it is even worse.an-american male teachers into the classroom to serve as role models to the younger generation. with that story, here's craig melvin of the nbc station wrc in washington, d.c. >> good morning please. take a seat. >> reporter: aaron barnett brings a unique perspective to the classroom. >> i've worked in juvenile corrections before. often i was frustrated because i was working with young men already in the system. they already made mistakes. >> reporter: now at the all boys eagle kmea in new york, he's teaching these young men valuable lessons. things a student can't learn from a textbook. >> i can't tell you how many young men incarcerated or in the grave because they made a decision because they felt disrespected. >> reporter: as an african-american male teacher, mr. barnett is one of the few. >> what does respect mean? >> caller: in fact, of the country's 5 million teachers, only 2% are black men. >> it speaks to the crisis that we're in. it speaks ats a mission as a black man to give

africans in general use that word among themselves and not be very. very interesting formulation because that is the f. word to refer to homosexuals there's the. two pakistanis and asians. is. the formulation is the generally if you was the original target of the derogatory phrase then really you can't be the one to claim it back i got very impatient with always white middle class heterosexual men complaining they can't use always derogatory words when the rap on the n.w.a. album is using every. every other word there are different dialects over. english and black english is a very different dialect from what we're conversing in now with different norms so it's not really for for those of us in positions of traditional power i either white guy. to try and reclaim the words that are our ancestors used to oppress other people. alone or said it's for those who are oppressed to to reclaim those words and maybe give themselves. a new name you know we think of mumbai or. you change the name of the city depending on what you want to say politically ok and i

metro east is 84% non-african- american.s is that a poll watcher is across illinois make sure that we have a fair election. with the last two chief executives of the state of illinois convicted felons, we have a problem in our state. we are the six most corrupt state in america. we have become a punch line on late-night television my opponent said he would launch his own voter integrity operation and he was quite surprised when i said that is good. if we have a republican in a democratic poll watcher in precincts across illinois, we have a shot at a free and far -- fair election. in a state known as the most corrupt in america, that is a good thing. >> i think it is clear what happened here. congressman kirk cox caught on tape saying he wanted put voter integrity programs on the south side and the west side of chicago and other areas. these are goons and thugs that operate in florida. there has never been an accusation of fraud on the south and west side of chicago. we should encourage people to vote and you are trying to su