cornel west joined us. in tonight's episode, we call this one suffering, we look at what motivated us to take this for and the personal face of an american tragedy. >> most of those people do not know where they are. >> there is a new and poor in america right now. i want them to come together. >> the corporations get away again. the banks got away again. this entire legislation is on the back of the poor. >> well adapted to indifference. we want great leaders who love the people. tavis: the more i see what people are going through, all people of all colors and creeds, that is why i left the studio. that is why i give up my vacation time and called doctor west and we hit the road. it is the telling the truth that allows suffering to speak. this is a nation of great abundance and great people. somehow, great inequality and great suffering. 43 years after the death of martin luther king, our nation has prosperity for a handful while huge swaths of the citizenry are asked to do more with less. to bring the foc

cornell west.e had to say. >> out of deep love for working and poor people, that we're willing to put whatever it takes even if we get arrested today and say, we will not allow this day of martin luther king jr.'s memorial go without somebody going to jail. because martin king would be here right with us. willing to throw down out of deep love. >> and a short time later, dr. west was arrested and he is joining me now as promised. dr. cornell west, professor, author of the brother west living and loving out loud. and the co-host of a new radio show, smiley and west. great to have you with us tonight. you're always welcome on this program. >> always a blessing, my brother. congratulations to you for your new time slot though, brother. >> well, thank you. i appreciate that. are you absolutely positive that dr. king would have been there? would this have been his moment? would this have been his movement? would he have been a leader of this? >> there's no doubt that king would be part of the occupy mov

fresher tour, miller. >> listen, what helps herman cain more than my endorsement is guys like cornell west by the way for the uninitiated if you want to find out who dr. west is google downside of tenure and you will find out and tavis smiley and guys like that who don't dig them, tavis works for public tv and i can only assume that he says what they wanted juan williams to say and juan didn't say it. so, you know, when guys like that get on herman, that makes me want to be more on herman's side. >> bill: that's an interesting point because he had been attacked now, so it draws more people into him who, you know, would be politically compatible with his thinking. they feel sorry for him and support him. that's an interesting point. >> listen, harry belafonte attacks him because he is broke for god's sake. how much can that residual check on the deo song be? it's not even like the monster mash we saidial check which comes around once a year. >> bill: i liked that song. hank williams jr. talking about creative artist comes on "fox & friends" and he makes a comparison about president obama th

tavis: my friend, cornell west, who took the poverty tour.s to the media mobilizing project, who put together these pieces. one reason we work with them is their mission to hire and train people from these backgrounds. tonight and again, all this week. i am joined by vicki b. escarra, from "feeding america." an honor to have you here. >> thank you, good to be here. tavis: september was the month when these census numbers came out. it puts the number at $50 million in poverty. this is hunger awareness month. >> the link between poverty and hunger is like other things linked to poverty. 50 million people in our country live in hunger. 16 million children. the link is there. we were stunned by the numbers and were a bit pleased because it looks like the food and security numbers hold their own. the work w are doing is helping to feed 50 million people. >> holding their own. how long can they hold on. what kind of increased demand have you been getting? >> in the last three years, hunger increased by 50% and it increased more than with kids. out

also with us, princeton university professor, cornel west, author of more books than we've got time totion, and co-host of the smiley and west radio program, that's also been part of these protests quite often in recent months. both, thank you guys for being with us. peter, one thing we haven't seen a lot in occupy wall street protests is wall street businessmen like yourself going down there. what are you trying to accomplish in doing that? >> well, you know, i sympathize with the situation that they have, but i'm trying to help encourage them to direct their anger towards washington. you know, it's big government that has wrecked the u.s. economy, not capitalism. they need to understand that. and if they really want a bright future for this country, it's capitalism that's going to provide it, not government. >> cornel west, what do you think of what mr. schiff is saying here? >> well, one, i just think it's a beautiful thing that brother peter goes down for dialogue. democracy's all about public discussion. i think it's very clear that the occupy movement is very much not about hatin

. >> civil-rights activist cornell west, find out whether he will what do you think of this one?lly? what's this? this is a rose i made from a turnip. let's try together. perfect. two rlds that fit in one kitchen. come in today and save up to 20% on a kitchen from ikea. >>> welcome back. our top stories. a fort washington man died after his car collided with a commuter bus in waldorf. the bus was pulling out of a commuter line at route 205. the bus driver also as minor injuries. >>> investigators will continue searching for 11-year-old william mcquain, the germantown boy missing more than two weeks. the suspect, his stepfather, waived extradition from north carolina. >>> girl told police someone tried to abduct them as they walked near oakton high school in fairfax county last friday blake lane near palmer street. another teenager reported a similar encounter last tuesday. >>> as fans mourned the death of waracing champion dan wal heldon questions are being raised. his car climbed on to another vehicle and went airborne. he died from trauma. >> the cars cannot touch each other. w

cornell west. i spoke with him and tavis smiley. my interview with them cub in about 30 minutes here on cnn. >>> let's go to the capital now, capitol hill, where this week the senate is expected to vote on president obama's jobs bill. 60 votes will be needed to overcome republican efforts to block the measure, which has a $447 billion price tag. cnn's athena jones has a look at thilgts. >> reporter: the bill would cut payroll taxes, extend unemployment benefits, give tax credits for raising wages or hiring unemployed veterans or the long-term unemployed and provide money to keep public workers on the job and invest fle building schools and roads. it would be paid for with 5.6% tax on income over $1 million, starting in 2013. >> it is that proposed tax on high-income americans that has united so many republicans in opposition to the jobs bill. they argue that taxing anyone, even people who make a lot of money is the wrong thing to do in a sluggish economy. >> well, what's concerning about it is, he put ideas in this jobs bill that ha

, professor cornell west, and a businessman named peter schiff, who actually had gone down to the protests in new york. i just want to play you a little soundbite from something peter schiff said and just have you respond to it. >> peter, one thing we haven't seen a lot at occupy wall street protests is wall street businessmen like yourself going down there. what are you trying to accomplish in doing that? >> well, you know, i sympathize with the situation that they have. but i'm trying to help encourage them to direct their anger toward washington. you know, it's big government that has wrecked the u.s. economy, not capitalism. they need to understand that. and if they really want a bright future for this country, it's capitalism that's going to provide it, not government. >> what do you think he does not get? >> oh, my god. wow. wow. that's -- that's such a huge disconnect. i'm afraid anything i would say would be just too mean. and -- >> i'll tell you, professor cornell west said he needed both to sit down with him over coffee and cognac because it would require that to kind of

poor and feature conversations with leaders including kathleen sebelius, jeffrey sachs, a and cornell west among others. we are glad you joined us. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or boulevard, but a place where wal-mart stands together with your community to make every day better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and answer, help tavis improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: when her homeland became torn apart by rebels, she decided to fight back. she cursed and empowered women to fight for peace and a new era of stability in the country. a new memoir about it is called "mighty be our powers," how sisterhood and sex changed in nation at war. leymah gbowee, i am pleased to have you on the program. leymah gbowee or witness to the worst of humanity and helpe

, professor cornell west, and a businessman named peter schiff, who actually had gone down to theew york. i just want to play you a little sound bite from something peter schiff said and just have you respond to it. >> peter, one thing we haven't seen a lot at occupy wall street protests is wall street businessmen like yourself going down there. what are you trying to accomplish in doing that? >> well, you know, i sympathize with the situation that they have. but i'm trying to help encourage them to direct their anger toward washington. you know, it's big government that has wrecked the u.s. economy, not capitalism. they need to understand that. and if they really want a bright future for this country, it's capitalism that's going to provide it, not government. >> what do you think he does not get? >> oh, my god. wow. wow. that's -- that's such a huge disconnect i'm afraid anything i would say would be just too mean. and -- >> i'll tell you, professor cornell west said he needed both to sit down with him over coffee and cognac because it would require that to kind of come to some

cornell west, get off the symbolic crack pipe and harry belafonte. >> this is business as usual, he calledecretary colin powell, i believe, a house slave, i think it was. i mean, the-- of considers, herman cain, a conservative, is going to get beaten up. not only by many black americans on the left, but also by the media that just can't take him seriously, as a candidate. but, i think that perry really hurt himself badly in this, in this debate by not walking an away from the mormon cult accusations. >> and perry and juan williams came to his defense and said, look, people like cornell west are threatened by an independent thinking herman cain, jim. >> they are, and they are he' threatened by any evidence that as juan williams said in that segment, that the country isn't just alive with racism. i mean, as juan said. the fact that obama got elected, a black president, elected four years ago, they, in the mind of al sharpton and the rest, it just didn't happen. and now, of course, the prospect of a second african-american getting on the ticket, perhaps, it's just, again, there's only one sol

we have the latest on cornell west. >>> welcome back. if you are an nbc 4 facebook fan, you can win an apple i touch today. just like our nbc washington facebook page and sign up to win great prizes. we'll pick a winner and then make the announcement at the 11:00 p.m. news cast. tom kierein with our forecast. some changes on the way. >>> over the last 12 hours, we've had an increase in clouds after a gorgeous weekend. clouds closed in last night, now playing peek-a-boo with the cloud cover. some scattered sprinkles in the pan panhandle of west virginia, frederick county, maryland. right now 65 at reagan national. 50s shenandoah valley and parts of western maryland. so for this morning we have a small chance of a few sprinkles between now and 8:00 or 9:00. some sunshine after that. during the afternoon, becoming mostly sunny with highs reaching low to mid-70s. a mild monday on the way. this evening, sunset 6:27. mostly clear throughout the early evening and a few clouds closing in by midnight near 60 degrees. a look at big changes on the

cornell west is a professor at the university and cohost of the smiley and west radio show.ofessor, the argument that is being given for the figures is that police have been working in high crime urban areas. in areas notorious for criminality. 87%? can you explain that? >> it's black and brown and you and i know that the ugliest feature of any society is arbitrary. fair police power is something else. and democracies, if we don't have rule of law that curtails the police power, then our democracy is a sham. we want to make sure in fact that these pressures young people of all colors are according to the desensey and their rights. >> you say arbitrary and that sounds deliberate. it sounds like there is a campaign going on. >> arbitrary in terms of unfair. in terms of unjustified. illegal jitimate. >> when the figures were revealed. the most common reason for why they stopped an individual was not because the individual fitted the description of a suspect, but described as this. fortive motive. is that like having a cigarette? >> we have to ask them to unpack that. what in th

cornell west. why he was arrested. coming up, charity begins with your phone. higher mobile you c uld save a bundle with geico's multi-policy discount. geico, saving people money on more than just car insurance. ♪ geico, saving people money on more than just car insurance. >> today president obama is hopping on a bus to parts of virginia and north carolina. it does promote his jobs bill. we are live on capitol hill this morning with more. >> the morning. president obama is heading south, attacking this buts to north carolina. this is a starkly read. president obama was able to swing it. he is hoping this plan will help the people back to work and keep north carolina in his column. >> in a speech that echoed that of a campaign style rally. >> i know they're better days ahead. i know it is because of the man poring over us. all he and his generation in georgia. >> id seemed president obama was giving them a taste of what is to come. the president is hitting the trail to drum up support its. he has his work cut out for him in a state dillon with tim 0.4% unemploym

also with us, professor cornell west, author of more books than we have time to mention.art of the protests quite often in recent months. both, thank you guys for being with us. peter, one thing we haven't seen a lot of occupy wall street protests a business men like yourself going down there. what are you trying to accomplish doing that? >> you know, i sympathize with the situation they have but i'm trying to help encourage them to direct the anger to washington. it is big government that has wrecked the u.s. economy, not capitalism. they need to understand that. and if they really want a bright future for the country, capitalism will provide it. not government. >> cornell well, what do you think of what mr. schiff is saying here? >> one, i think it's a beautiful thing to go down for dialogue. democracy is all about public discussion and very clear that the occupy movement is very much not about hating any individuals but rather we hate injustice, that we hate inequality and i think peter would agree that there are human values that are not reducible to market price. the

dicks a spokesperson for the revolutionary communist party you see there also author and activist cornel west they say new york police practices are both racist and unfair r t was in the middle of the action when police decided to arrest the activist during these peaceful protests the video you see here police taking cornel west and karl dicks into custody along with about thirty other protesters now these protests come just two days before the annual national day of against police brutality a lot of light of course being shed on this issue of police brutality in the last few weeks because what we've seen at occupy wall street it's all the movement gain support because people say what they're seeing is clearly unfair some even using that phrase screw us and we multiply but recently we saw one protester yell of police for several minutes angry about their treatment toward protesters and this wasn't just any protester this is sergeant mark thomas a former iraq war veteran who wore his camouflage and his medals and gave police a little piece of his mind. and you know usually. you do like. this v

harvard university civil rights activist, cornel west, mr.in has to get off the symbolic crack pipe. he is using too much attention to talk about issues aren't necessarily in interest of african-american voters. to that herman cain fired back. this is the georgia businessman on "hannity" last night. >> people like harry bell font tee, professor west and others who attack me they don't want black people to think for themselves. and this is why they are so upset with herman cain who is now moving up into the top tier for the republican presidential nomination and that people are listening to me. they don't want me to wake people up and get them to read the fine print and think for themselves. >> reporter: there are a handful of polls show herman cain is statistical dead heat for the frontrunner status in iowa and competing nationally knocking on the door for mitt romney in second place. he does not have the kind of money that the rest do but he certainly has the ability to garner the attention. tonight's debate performance for him is the opport

again, that is cornell west and tavis smiley reflecting on martin luther king junior. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement available only with liberty mutual auto insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. to learn more, visit us today. responsibility. what's your policy? i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. time to shine for the republicans battling over the white house. on tuesday night the glitz of las vegas will be the backdrop for the gop debate sponsored by cnn and the western republican leadership conference. these guys will be watching as well as you, i'm sure. all of you. will cane and lz granderson are here. weeks ago a lot of people were calling ate two-man race between mitt romney and are rick perry. and now herman cain is surging. how will it make a difference in the debate? will they spar over different things? i'm going to start with you, will. >> herman cain's position

. >>> and civil rights activist and princeton professor cornell west is due in a d.c. t this afternoon. he was one of 19 people arrested in a protest called occupy supreme court. west refused to leave the grounds of the court. he joined the protest after leaving the dedication of the new martin luther king memorial. >>> happening today, president obama is hitting the road talking about jobs. the president is embarking on a three-day bus tour across north carolina and virginia. mr. obama is trying to gain support for pieces of his jobs package after republicans in congress blocked the overall bill. the president will begin the tour in asheville this morning, making several stops in mostly rural communities across both states before wrapping up the tour in virginia. >>> first lady michelle obama will honor a number of schools across the country at the white house today for their lunchroom practices. each school participated in a one-year program called the healthier u.s. schools challenge. it encourages lunchrooms to serve more fruits and vegetables and develop healthier

. >>> civil rights activists and a princeton university professor cornell west was arrested in dc this afternoon. he was among 19 protesters demonstrating at the supreme court about corporate influence on politics. police abreast -- arrested a group. west attended the dedication of the martin luther king jr. memorial on the mall. >>> now more on the highly anticipated memorial dedication. it has been decades in the making. today, finally, thousands of people gathered to celebrate the first memorial of the african-american on the national mall. president obama thinks the civil rights leader for making it possible for him to reach the white house. [unintelligible] >> a historic moment. thousands would not miss. >> you have to realize where we come from and where we have to go. >> before 5:00 a.m., crowds filled independence avenue. it was filled with songs. and calls for change. they are trying to keep the dream alive of martin luther king jr.. >>from his daughter to his sister. >> i witnessed a baby become a great hero for humanity. >> it was an emotional day. >> it makes me want to do

what you are thinking when you watch them, cornell west, they are so threatened because they know hermanhas real appeal and will bring conservative arguments to the black community that hasn't been there in generations. eisenhower got about 40% of the black vote. nixon, 32% of the the black vote. the republican party, for the most part now, writes off the black vote. they don't put money or time into organizing. >> reagan did. >> he tried briefly. but the republican party in the whole does not invest a great deal of efforts. but when herman cain said he can get a third of the black vote, i don't think he's playing games. i think a southern black man with his credentials, and his economic plans, the fact he was a success in business, you know, the fact he's a gospel singer and church going, about two-thirds of black americans in this country, according to pugh, they are conservatives and open to herman cain. >> your book is about this, and why in this day and age is this type of rhetoric, it's almost acceptable that conservative african americans are attacked in the most vial, vicious, ha

. >>> let's turn now to a key figure supporting the wall street rallies, cornell west, who also co-hostsg west" with travis smiley. thank you very much. we were just talking to a tea party organizer who's asking what do these people on wall street want, it seems they are against capitalism. is there a central -- from what i've heard, the people i've heard talking, there's a lot of different people with a lot of different opinions. is there a central point, a central belief? >> well, let me first say i'm blessed to be a small part of the occupy wall street movement, 101 cities around the world, over 70 cities in the united states. the major issue is corporate greed, 1% of the population own 40% of the wealth. 100% income growth in the last ten years went to the top 10%, 83% of income growth went to 1%. we're calling for the renewal of democracy, and i'm not a leader, i'm one voice among others, but it's very clear the corporate greed and the industrial complex and military industrial complex and the corporate media complex and on wall street is sucking the democratic energies out of our s

. >>> author, activist and princeton university professor cornell west was among 19 people who were arrested yesterday while protesting on the steps of the supreme court. the demonstrators are a part of the stop the machine protest against corporate influence in politics. west is a well-known academic professor, whose books include "race matters "and "democracy matters." >>> we have a programming note for you. tonight at 7:00 p.m. we will broadcast dr. martin luther king's i have a dream speech. television stations are rarely allowed to slow the speech, but following yesterday's dedication of the dr. martin luther king jr. memorial, his family is allowing us to show it. so you can set your dvr, and make sure that you are watching tonight on 9news now at 7:00 p.m., for this rare opportunity to witness a piece of history. >>> redskins fans want to know who the team's quarterback is going to be next sunday. rex grossman was benched yesterday, after he threw four interceptions. that makes 11 turnovers in five games. the redskins's defense stepped up to keep philadelphia scoreless in the second h

. >>> let's turn to princeton university cornell west who co-host a radio program smiling west and he joins me now. professor, thanks very much. we were just talking to a tea party organizer who's basically asking what do these people on wall street want? it seems like they're against capitalism. is there a central -- from what i've heard, the people i heard talking, there's a lot of different people with a lot of different opinions. is there a central point, a central belief? >> let me first say that i'm blessed to be a small part of the occupy wall street movement, 101 cities aren't world or 70 cities in the united states. the major issue is corporate greed. 1% of the population own 40% of the wealth. 100% income growth in the last ten years went to the top 10%. 83% of income growth over the last 25 years went to 1%. we're calling for the renewal of democracy. and i'm not a leader, i'm one voice among others. but it's very clear the corporate greed and the presidential complex and the military industrial complex, in the corporate media complex and on wall street is sucking the democ