this was the law where african-american, of course voters in general, but more specifically african-americans had to come and make sure -- they had eight a different ballot boxes. you had to make sure when you cast your vote, that you put your ballot in the right box or it wouldn't count. he also of course castigated the state of south carolina for allowing the klan and the rifle clubs in the upstate areas, the democratic rifle clubs to sort of run rampant and to shoot and kill african-americans as they tried to vote. he called on benjamin harrison who was the president at that time to enforce the law, to defend the right to vote in the state of south carolina and in the south in general. were you trying to get my attention? okay. so smalls -- smalls, then, gives us an understanding then of how the civil rights movement that is in the goals of the movement extended back past 1954. now we historians, we argue a back and forth over this issue of when did the civil rights movement begin. and of course those of us who believe that the civil rights movement is a long movement. i had one colleague

in the african-american vote, no.ver get more than 5% of that vote and he didn't win himself a lot of friends, i don't think -- i didn't actually have a chance to watch the speech. it's a little earlier out here than it is back east. but i saw some excerpts of it and this just didn't go over too well. he starts talking about charter schools and vouchers and things like that, and obamacare. a lot of african-americans benefit from -- and will benefit from obamacare. so that's not a winner for him. >> ron reagan, thank you so much for your time. >> sure, richard. >> that wraps up things for me. "now with alex wagner" is next. what you got, alex? >>> mitt romney attempted the near impossible today, courting an african-american audience. romney supporter and former ohio secretary of state ken blackwell is here to help us assess his performance. >>> meanwhile, house republicans are making their 33rd attempt to repeal the nation's health care law. theater enthusiast laurence o'donnell is in the bull pen to discuss that most

well, the african-american community as a whole did not control the pen. and the media basically enhances what they feel is relevant and what they feel empowers them. the media and not only the media, but the -- our educational system was not concerned about enlightening and a empowering african-americans. so it was our job as parents and through our various institution, the church, our faith-based institution, that's how we educate ourselves to the history of our people, the african-american contribution to america. >> question? >> but let me say this question is, though, and my question is really to this panel, this esteemed panel i must add, because i know these gentlemen. they have, and i don't have a question per se, but these gentlemen have contributed greatly to the education and the enlightenment to the contribution of african-american, especially in relating to the avery institute. and dr. dulaney, dr. powers, ms. nichols, they have contributed a lot. but it's up to us to challenge the educational institutions in the school system to really push t

convention w was to franchise african-americans. and he tried to stand up and prevent the disfranchisement of black south carolinians. that work remains unfinished because of what is going on in south carolina under the guise of voter i.d. and it's happening in other places too. so this is robert smalls' unfinished work that all of us have a responsibility to take up and to continue and to push forward and to work with all other progressive forces. and understand what's going on here because the dismantling of the right to vote in the 1890s in south carolina and other places in the south was the precursor to the massive oppression of people across the board in every aspect of life. so we need to -- we need to take up this effort and to do what smalls did and hopefully we will be more successful than he was able to be although he gave every ounce of his energy in 1895. >> i think we have time for a few more questions. >> i think it speaks to the point that dr. dulaney made when he said when did the civil rights movement start for afr

kill other africans in their interest that's what it sounds like to me. no in this and this is my international are going to i mean first go ahead. i have to say that the you know africa was split up in these commands and it wasn't given much emphasis because nobody really cared about it frankly and now all you do is you hear the commander and other people in the in the command itself talking about what are the threats the threats to oil right so i think well is a major factor in this and we can't discount that i don't know as we're trying to the united states is trying to have afghans africans kill other africans but certainly we have all these military training programs with special forces around the world and that's kind of what end ends up happening we want geo political influence for oil and other reasons but what happens is a lot of the time unfortunately that all this training goes to repressing internal revolt and we try we say that we're instilling democratic values but you can't you can't do that in a seminar training course or whatever so they

union is involved the african union has special negotiators there is the u.s. role to support internal solutions to these problems not to militarize them more violence does not solve the innocent civilians get caught in the crosshairs ok peter what do you think about that i mean if what is the united states want to do does it want to make have all of the governments of africa on the same page when it comes to military threats and those kind of things it seems rather odd to me why doesn't the african union just take care of itself. well in fact the u.s. policy would be favorable in fact would encourage the african union take more ownership of these issues but the fact is it's not fully capable and in areas where it in fact has reached out for example in somalia where the african union mission force has been in the last two and a half years greatly assisted by u.s. and european. militaries i mean holding up the peter as is the african union isn't willing to do it why then should the united states do it i mean if the united states want to point i should it be dete

africans kill other africans but certainly we have all these military training programs with special forces around the world and that's kind of what ends up ends up happening we want geo political influence for oil and other reasons but what happens is a lot of the time unfortunately that all this training goes to repressing internal revolt and we try we say that we're instilling democratic values but you can't you can't do that in a seminar or training course or whatever so they take these militaries take the the military training but they don't always have human rights and democracy in mind so i don't think the u.s. has the idea that we're going to set africans against each other but unfortunately i think sometimes that's the end product of it james you want to jump in there go ahead. well the i want to jump in and say that it's more about and then military den military let me quote vice admiral mohler of africa he said protecting the free flow of natural resources from africa to the global market is one of africa's guiding principles ok end of court ation so i offered africa start

see how important african-american history is to a larger american history. robert smalls is included in the museum's vision, and it includes the stories related to robert smalls and his life and word. in february of -- february of this year, the museum celebrated the groundbreaking. and president obama was there. and i want to share with you his words in talking about the importance and significance of this museum. he said that moments like this made him think about his daughters, sasha and malia, and what i want for them to take away. i want them to see how ordinary americans can do extraordinary things, how men and a women just like them have the courage to right a wrong. he said i want them to appreciate this museum not just as a record of tragedy, but as a celebration of life. and when we look at, again, robert smalls and the ministers associated with his life, we think of those as some of the ones we have talked about, my colleagues have talked about previously, those that are related to the individual and personal stories, his immediate circle and fami

these are every day honey bees not the africanized kind.adner clipped away branches then holding a box under the swarm he nonchalantly brushed several thousand bees into the box. it made quite a buzzy little christmas package. >> what i hope i've done is get the queen in here. and this is just going to give them some place to hang on to. so, we'll be able to tell in a short period whether i have the queen in here or not. >> reporter: wadler knew he had the queen in the box when worker bees took up positions outside the entrance and fanned their scent into the air. signaling that the queen was inside and that this was home now. the other bees followed them inside. in the course of all this, wadler did get stung. that white thing on his finger is a buried stinger. >> doesn't that hurt? >> yeah >> reporter: and so the bee man walked away with about 5-pound of bees and things will be a little more peaceful around this neighborhood. >> in california's farm lands, bees are a very valuable commodity. growers need them to pollinate their crops and

>> we have almost 75% what we call black african. then one is dealing with about 10% to 50% of whites. the rest would be coloreds and indians -- 10% to 15% of whites. the rest would be colored and indians. people like myself are of the malay region. >> what about religion? is it a christian area? >> i think that 50% of africans would identify with one or another denomination within the christian faith. the community i come from, the muslim community, is about 3%. there is a good size of atheists appeared there hindus. there are significant population of jews. and there others that you could find in the world which would be in the great mosaic of africa appeared >> with such a small percentage of people who follow islam, you have been in the forefront to bring people together, have interfaced conversations. what is your motivation? >> i think it is a responsibility i have as opposed to a motivation. when a small 3% muslim minority can find peace with itself, at peace with its fellow citizens in a country like south africa, there shoul

, given the fact that 27% of african-americans are covered by medicaid. we know that governor romney has said he thinks that the paul ryan budget is marvelous in terms of details as far as what he would do if he was elected president. it looks like a lot of programs that are now currently helping african-americans and will help them in the future would be gutted by such a budget. >> well, no, i would disagree. i think what he was saying when he focused on the energy initiatives, he was saying we got to get this economy growing again. energy and all of the above approach is what i will use. bringing down the cost of gasoline, bringing down energy costs, is going to drive our economic expansion and job creation. he knew going into that, this was a political calculation, that there is dissatisfaction in the african-american community that after three and a half years, there is an unemployment rate of about 14% in the african-american community, and blaming it on bush is getting old, even in the african-american community. and look, there's not going to be a

african-american community has gone up. but you see, the devil's in the details. from 2008 to 2010, african-americans made up more than 21% of the public sector work force. there are 30% more likely to work in the public sector than non-black workers. check out this number. 636,000. that's how many public sector jobs have been lost while republicans have been calling for eliminating more and more government employment. mitt romney's solution for the economy is to keep cutting public sector jobs. it's popular with the republicans, romney's record as governor of massachusetts is also a pretty tough sell for african-americans. according to the former head of the boston naacp, the only time the naacp had any interaction with the administration and the governor was to protest when he eliminated the affirmative action office. romney never spoke about the republican voter id laws being implemented across the country, and he should have. 25% of african-americans lack the proper id to comply with this laws. many are in key swing sta

so the dark green areas are the heavily african-american areas, really some 90% african-american here. if you draw the districts inside atlanta, right? you'll end up drawing districts that are over 90% african-american. now, if you join them with the largely white suburbs, right, then they end up being about 30% african-american. and if you there's racially polarized voting. if african-americans and whites are voting for different candidates, you can dilute the black vote by taking either strategy. all right? and so there is a kind of goldilocks principle of redistricting. right? not too hot, not too cold, but to good it just right, assuming that what you're trying to do is establish accurate representation. so those are the strategies that gerrymandering -- we characterize gerrymanderers into one of several categories. a partisan gerrymander typically is drawn by over concentrating your opponents into as few districts as possible and underconcentrating your support. right? so take, for example, the republican gerrymander of -- of pennsylvania that we talked about in v. versus jubelir

almost three decades with african-americans.cally are democratic voters so you do have some identity politics that does play a role. so you may get a little bit of a shift, maybe 8 percentage points, 10 percentage points, maybe towards barack obama for identity politics. but in general, african-americans are just democratic voters. what mitt romney, the best case scenario is that mitt romney dampens enthusiasm for barack obama. >> it won't be mitt romney dampening the enthusiasm. it won't be mitt romney dampening the enthusiasm. i think mitt romney is smart to be at the naacp convention becausely knows it's important to talk to all americans no matter what they may look like. he's snamart to be there and she his message. you have 14.4% unemployment in the african-american community, and for people who aren't working, no matter what color they are, this is a very tough time. so -- >> but is he there because he thinks he can win over african-american vote errs or trying to send a message to independent voters that i'm willing to g

ho mofheblas african-american outlets, so african-american newspapers in particular -- and we know how important african-american newspapers are to the community, buparticularly for scholars paul ad tut they were alwa - psewe oy nemenswre op-eds, reports from camp. they were, you know, asked to guest edit or guest op-ed in the crisis. so actually that's where my title ces from, mwhs wh wheanesamerican citizen league's crisis, basically, the newspaper. he was asked to, ll, he writes about jim and jap crow. yosee i loselfos pase. amhsge ib--'s a african-american woman right now, mina davis, and over at the california eagle, you know, again, two histories of african-american women that haven't really been with told. butinvirehy lahtst wer wh grew up in california, was incarcerated in arizona, but they have these wonderful debate going back and forth about h are we going to build alliances, whoue en mmieatn'go get along? but you see this incredible conversation and dialogue through the newspapers. and i have some, you know, because it's a diary i he thes excerpts were friend wereomin doit

at him. >> the african-american vote. >> mission impossible. >> more than 90% of african-americans support the president. >> a high-stakes appearance for moim mitt romney today at the naacp. >> mitt romney and the naacp. >> i do love that music. i have to tell you. i do love listening to that organ music. >> romney just never connected to his audience. >> things went smoothly until he decided to take on the president's health care plan. >> i'm going to eliminate every nonessential expensive program i can find. >> the crowd shouted him down with boos. >> that includes obama care, and i'm going to work to reform and save -- [ audience booing ] >> he is the worst republican in the country. >> all of us saying that rick santorum was right. every time someone says something like that, a gay angel gets its wings. >> if you want a president who will make things better in the african-american community, you are looking at him. you take a look. >> i can't! >> i want to give him credit for stepping up into the arena, so to speak. >> there have been republican candidates who have refused to go to the

those who could, resisted the name, calling themselves african, in 1987, they said we the free africansty of philadelphia. the white racist colonization soda organized to send free black men back to africa in order to protect their pace innent claims on citizenship, african was dropped in fave of colored. that's why in its founding in 1909, the oldest civil rights organization calledist the national association of the advancement of colored people. in 1930, the naacp campaigned for news organizations to use negro with a capital "n." think of martin luther king jr. dekraring the negro is still not free. in the military movement that followed, young men and women demanded black pow and said it loud. i'm black and i'm proud, right? a movement began to refer to black folks as african-american, linking folks to a global identity. black tells you about skin color and what side of town you live on. african-american evokes discussion of the world. two decades later, america's first black president is undeniable african-american, but is he not the descendant of colored people known as negros. so

he singled out one african-american who came with the 20 in his entourage as an african-american that was in his kitchen cabinet in massachusetts, and he promised that he would remain in his kitchen cabinet if he was in the white house. to talk about being in the kitchen and not talk about an african-american actually being in your cabinet is really not a good metaphor to use with african-americans. >> goldie taylor, you're a southerner, you know the southern strategy that republicans have used since nixon and started a little bit before that. where there's actually an almost-overt sometimes appeal to racial and racist voting. and tell me, goldie, if i'm being too cynical, to think that the romney campaign actually went in that room today with the hope of getting booed, at least three times, because they want the video of their candidate being booed by the naacp to play in certain racist precincts where that will actually help them? >> i don't think you're being too cynical at all. as, you know, our friend toure said earlier today, you know, i truly believe that mitt romney went into

the african-american rate rose. could that dampen support, and do you think mitt romney made any inroads? >> well, let's go back to governor romney at the naacp. look, naacp is one of the most storied and oldest civil rights organizations in this country. every american today, america is better today because of the naacp. you know, you had a lot of not just democrats but conservatives after mitt romney's speech saying that mitt romney seemed to be purposefully antagonistic. towards the naacp. >> when you look at what he says -- >> that's absolutely not true. >> when you look at what he said -- i didn't interrupt you. please don't interrupt me. >> he was purposefully antagonistic towards the naacp. the question becomes, you know, why was governor romney using the naacp as a prop to have a conversation or to prove a point with conservatives who still don't trust him? because clearly he wasn't there to give a conversation to try to reach out and gain more support among a civil rights conversation. >> that's absolutely

it an insult not only to briantery but african-americans everywhere. i grew up in the south and i know what racism looks like and fought against it my entire. and appointed more people of color than any governor in my statacy history and receiving 48 percent of the african-american i take a back seat to no one in fighting bigotry. it is not disappointing, it is dus gusting to hear the attorneys of and members of congress hiding behind racism instead of talking about why briantery was dead. and who is for it it insults african-americans that accomplished great things not because they were tanglewood resort properties incorporationed up but because they were the best at what they d. there is racism in this country, and i know that. but that is not the reason that eric holder is in. it is condescending of every taxpayer that wanting answering questions is about race. if we can't get government officials who are supposed to be accountable to the taxpayers f. they are people of color, they shouldn't take the jobs. dr. king king had a dream that people would

and, you know, life for -- for any african-american. life for an african-american who had known the kind of power and society that o.s.b. wahl had known was a life of continuing indignity. so the prosecutor was constantly disparaging his work. the judges were discourteous to him. one thing that was very interesting to see was not only the fact that, you know, i followed him over many decades, and you can see his idealism and his spirit curdling a little bit, and at the same time when he's in court and people attack him and attack his character, he is constantly defending himself in very strong terms, and, also, in -- with some very strong actions. people say things that suggest he is a dishonorable person, and whether they were white, whether they were black, he would slap them across the face. >> i have a personal story that in my family, i was telling daniel before we came on, during the dna phase, i had my dna taken to do the test. my family, of course, carries a very strong tradition, so i knew in fact, that my great-great-grandfath

: the lost history of african-american inventors". as we close you just accept a request from secretary hillary clinton to be an ambassador, cultural ambassador. what is the job going to be? >> guest: it entails me going to select groups of young people in various countries and emphasizing the value of education and giving them an insight into what life in america is about. >> host: have you done any trips? >> guest: i went to brazil and it went well and i had a great time and had interactions with the people i met with. >> host: thank you for interacting with the c-span audience on booktv. appreciate learning about your writing career? >> guest: thanks for having me. >> here are the top-selling nonfiction titles from independent bookstores across the country according to indybound.org as of july 26th. first is wild by cheryl stray did that recounting her hike on the pacific coast and howard travels change her life and mental health. laura hildebrand tells of an olympic winner's time as a prisoner in world war ii with unbroken. jonah

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

instead, it's worse for african-americans in every way.african-americans have are been suffering greatly during this weak, intrepid recovery. >> romney is going to be -- sorry, jim. i just want to run this by you because you're talking about mitt romney and what he's going to be saying about the economy. i talked with someone from the naacp in the last hour of newsroom. he told me, yeah, we know that it's bad but unless mitt romney presents a plan for us, it isn't going to fly. >> reporter: well, no doubt about it. i mean, he is walking into an audience that is very supportive of president obama and obviously this are plenty of folks around the country in the african-american community that would like to see president obama not be just a one-term president, they would like to see him be a two-term president. but i will tell you, carol, that mitt romney is determined, no matter where he speaks, to spread this economic message. while he may not have a plan that is tailored to african-american voters, he has been talking a great deal about ho

some african american voters cast their ballots along color lines, that is true. but you there is nothing any one can do about voters who choose personal over policy and that happens on both sides. the good news for mr. romney is that african americans will not decide the presidential election this year. as many analysts believe fewer of them will vote for barack obama this time around because of the bad economy and because the president has not actively supported black special interest groups some blacks will walk away. by the way, mr. obama has largely kept his promise to be a color blind president. a new quinnipiac poll says 92% of black americans supporting president obama and mr. romney 2%. far more important to mitt romney is the woman vote and we will get to that in the next segment. brave to go to the convention in houston. not going to change many hearts and minds but the symbolism of him being there is a positive thing. president obama is not going to the naacp meeting himself. he is sending vice president biden. >>> reaction with us, dr. mark lamont hil

than the african-american president can.sertion and the obama team's response, with our morning joe crew. >>> and when we come back here, we'll huddle around the water cooler to watch a united states congressman call in the props department in his argument supporting health care reform. "way too early" is back in a moment. [ female announcer ] the power of green coffee extract is now in our new starbucks refreshers™ -- a breakthrough in natural energy. made with real fruit, starbucks refreshers™ are delicious low calorie drinks you can feel good about. ♪ rethink how you re-energize. ♪ get a boost of natural energy with a new starbucks refreshers™, in three re-energizing ways. try one on us, only at starbucks. >>> . >>> we told you at the top of the show that mitt romney visited the naacp convention in houston yesterday to state his case as the best alternative for african-american voters. but romney faces an uphill battle, winning the support of the historically democrat-backing community. if you want to sound really smart t