fredues and white fredues and there was not an acceptance of me setting out to prove they were commingleded even though everyone knew they would. >> very southern. >> i wanted to make it contemporary times. doesn't anybody care, they took away our rights. is the constitution a piece of paper that means nothing that the president can sign another ask we lose our citizenship and they can do what the hell they want. it's wrong then and now and i don't care what kind of questionnaire it is i will yell it at the president, roosevelt, whoever, it was wrong and it matters. he says it has to matter. to me it's the speech i gave him was drawn from what's happening i think in the country right now in relationship to the war. who is considered patriotic who is considered a trader? and the point of a play to me is that it isn't just the museum piece. that, in fact, it does have relevancy now. and that it does spark a certain amount of controversy in relationship to what goes on now. >> twice in the same day the auditorium was standing room only. new york times best seller crediting mortson came to talk

there was not going to be an acceptance of me setting out to prove that they were commingleded. even though everyone knew they were. very southern thing. as i went into the 70's, people started to begrudgingingly give me the records. the 80's, it was just, you know, sort of the fine, fine. fine. as i went to the 90's it was easier. after oprah, that was a whole different, people were chasing we down the street. i have a record i think you might be interested in. it was almost to that point. it wasn't really wasn't only that the people that were managing those records in libraries or courthouses had changed some were the same people. so interesting to me. it was fascinating to see that not only the times had changed but some of the people themselves had changed. >> no longer acceptable. >> no longer unacceptable. >> yeah. >> yes. >> one of the records you found in which you reprinted in the book is an 1850 bill of sale. from the plantation that fellamin and elizabeth and others were working on. and it's quite extraordinary. it lists them by name. their age and just as an example