colvin, without you we would not be where we are. [applause] thank you for sharing your story, and keep telling your story because we need to know, and our children need to know, and our children's children need to know your story. and we want to thank our sponsors today. we have the san francisco unified school district. we have marked as bookstores, who will be selling this -- ms. colvin's book, written about her, by philip house. we have sponsorship from the african diaspora, and the friends of the san francisco public library. i serve as part of the african- american interest committee that helped put this program together, and i want to thank all of you for coming, and i want to thank sfgtv for taking the program today. we want to thank the department here at san francisco public library, and we are having a reception in l58, and we want to thank read your catering for providing some delicious food for us to nibble on today, so will you please join us and say thank you again to mrs. colvin and also to byrin bain for telling his

colvin could make your way.cribed as an artist who speaks the truth we desperately need to hear, is a harvard law graduate, prison activist, hip- hop artist, grand slam poetry champion, actor, author, and educator. his new book, "the ugly side of beautiful: rethinking race in prisons in america" will be published later this year. the start of the off-broadway hip-hop theater production, he has lectured and performed at over 100 colleges and correctional facilities in the united states, africa, asia, latin america, and europe. he has released two albums to critical acclaim, taught at brooklyn college, new york university, the new school in columbia university, and is now touring lyrics for lockdown. one of those is sponsored by the naacp. i learned that he is beginning rehearsals for the remakes of "the wiz." let's welcome him. [applause] our moderator for this afternoon, world renowned anti- racist, multicultural educator. [applause] yes. as many of you in the audience know, she is an accomplished front line tea

colvin earlier. she said the media has a certain way to take people and put them up and you do not hear about everyone else. as if these are isolated incidents. so they called and his producers were like, we want to interview. we want to interview you on your campus in cambridge. i said, my brothers would like to, too. we have been putting this case for five months. basically, i said we are not going to do it. this is bogus. my porter rican red-haired cousin, he has funny hair. he was there, too. so we came back and they decided to do it with everybody. when that story came out, i started getting harassed. the police were giving out my social security number, my name. i had 50 cases of identity theft that followed. the next thing you ask to talk about was november 23, 2002. this experience changed my life. we started going to the prisons with a purpose now. we turned into touring artists for the prisons around the country. talking to the folks who were incarcerated, folks in the local community to in

marie colvin has seen at least one of these videos.i spoke to her a short time ago on the phone from misurata. marie, you have actually seen evidence of basically systematic rapes by gadhafi forces of civilians in misurata. what have you seen, what have you heard? >> reporter: i thought it could an urban myth. there's no phones, everybody has been literally, virtually incarcerated in their homes, but i watched one of these videos and turned my stomach. there's no way to describe the disgust i felt. it was four young women, probably about 16, into the early 20s, stripped in front of their parents and two little children. and then taken into a separate room by about 20 soldiers in uniform, and raped horrifically. at one point, one of them screams for allah god, and one it was four young women, probably about 16, into the early 20s, stripped in front of their parents and two little children. and then taken into a separate room by about 20 soldiers in uniform, and raped horrifically. at one point, one of them screams for allah god, and one

colvin . thank. that experience of being fired here while i had to stock rise i nerving so i. asked to be transferred to the army helicopter pilots and because they never stuck they should rockets and machine guns. i don't think i really thought about what your job was. but. at some point. you come upon a situation where you see people you have to. and you have a machine gun and we call it hasan unveiled because it looks like a conscious brain thanks to seeing people move. and seeing. women and children go into a house and being told that this is an enemy location. you. have to train at this building and you have to far you the rockets from machine guns and if you're far enough away it's still not quite like shooting people. but i think it it presents a problem for most people if you think about taking a gun. and shooting since. most people can't. a soldier has to be trying to do it so. loosely it was pretty tough i tried to. not see or. out that it didn't hit anybody or you only saw the building exploded you didn't see the people. the day i got hit the weather was exactly lik

and marie colvin has seen one of these and i spoke to her a short time ago.have actually seen evidence of basically systematic rapes by gadhafi forces of civilians in misurata. what have you seep, what have you heard? >> reporter: there's no phones here, everybody has been literally -- virtually incarcerated in their homes, but i watched one of these videos and turned my stomach. there's no way to describe the disgust i felt. it was four young women, probably about 16, into the early 20s, stripped in front of their parents and two little children. and then taken into a separate room by about 20 soldiers in uniform, and raped horrifically. and one point, one of them screams for god and one screams back "our god is gadhafi" and they raped these four young women repeatedly. >> how do we know this isn't just a group of thugs don't this? is there evidence that this is directed by officers, that this is somehow a part of their strategy? >> the direct evidence that i have is talking to one of gadhafi's soldiers who is a prisoner here, and repentant. and he said his

sergeant robert colvin jr. of anderson. specialist raymond white of elwood. lance corporal scott zimbowsky. sergeant jere my wright of shelbyville. master sergeant mike heister of bluffton. staff sergeant brian keith miller, pendleton. specialist jonathan lamond of richmond. lance corporal andrew whitaker bryant. william justice mcclellan of new castle. private first class jacqueline pauley of muncie. and sergeant jeremy mccrurery of my hometown of columbus. this was a victory for freedom. and as much as it belongs to those who made the decisions, developed the intelligence, who slid down the ropes and stepped into harm's way sunday night, this victory belongs to those who lie in earthen graves, in my district and all over this country, who brought it about. winston churchill said we sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready to visit violence on their who would do us harm. today i pay a debt of gratitude to a commander in chief, present and past, and to all the members of the armed forces who allow us this day to say, justice served. osama bin l