dr. michael lomax from the united negro college fund. next we have dr. michael lomax -- dr. thomas sugrue, author of the forthcoming book on some of these issues, although "not even past -- barack obama and the burden of race." [applause] we all got the memo of the color of the tie? [laughter] next we have somebody that probably needs no introduction, given the affinity that many people have for the memory of his father, not just in this country but around the world. of course we're talking about the late rev. dr. martin luther king, jr., and one of his esteemed sons, martin luther king iii. i believe that his twitter named in @kingiii. martin luther king iii, we're glad to have you here honoring your father's memory. [laughter] you thought i was joking about the coordination of the ties. we're very pleased to have gwen ifill, moderator and managing editor of the popular pbs -- pbs show, "washington week." she has served as moderator of presidential debates, most recently in 2008, which featured joe biden and sarah palin. she has written a book on these topics. ladies and ge

dr. michael lomax. following dr. lomax's remarks, chuck williams will introduce in more detail our additional panel members. he will also moderate the discussion. dr. williams is the former co- hosts of the show on cbs radio. he is currently an assistant clinical professor and director of the center for prevention of school age violence at drexel university. it is my great pleasure to introduce to you dr. michael lomax. he will share his thoughts with us before we move to the panel. he is one of our nation's foremost leaders in advocating racial equality and justice. for years, dr. lomax has been encouraging americans to see education as the pivotal area where racist dynamics must be acknowledged and addressed. if it is noteworthy that tonight, as we dig into some of the challenges of racial division in america, that president obama just this week introduced a blueprint for an elementary and secondary education act that would overhaul no child left behind. i know dr. lomax agrees that the president is confronting a pe

. >> i want to go back to dr. lomax. one reason arkansas did political debate is so impoverished is because of the failure of our -- one reason our political debate is so impoverished is because of our failure. it is a place where we as educated citizens and educators can play a critical role in helping our students become good citizens. we often fail at that. >> good, bad, or indifferent -- technology is constantly changing. there is an entire network of people who do not watch television, they go to the web. it is huge. i think about the fact that -- one of the conflicts that occurred a few years ago in louisiana largely became undergirded by the internet. it was not until after a large number of persons knew about the because of the internet that the major networks -- cnn, fox, others -- began to talk about it. the reality is that people are going to different places to get their information. what we see -- even if you look at how our news is presented to us, is about entertainment. some of the things are not necessar

[applause] let's thank our panelists, dr. lomax, professor sugrue, dr. king, gwen ifill. by the way, you can stay and gwen will sign copies of her book. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] cable satellite corp. 2010] >> coming up, cut -- several experts in nuclear security talk about president obama as upcoming trip to prague. and the irs commissioner on his role in collecting tax revenues. after that, a discussion on conservatism and the global economy. tomorrow on "washington journal," a discussion on how massachusetts was used as a model for national health care legislation with the massachusetts health and human services secretary. a look at anti-government militias in the u.s. with marked potok third we will also check with joe and lublin of the "wall street journal" about a survey taken nuncio's about pay and perks. tuesday, a discussion on federal oversight of car safety standards with former administrators of the national highway traffic safety administration. along with the president and

i agree with dr. lomax. if these things that the president and congress are proposing are enacted, then it does, in fact, benefit to the entire community, but certainly it benefits the african-american community. >> i want to step in and throw a slightly different dimension into this conversation. just a few months ago, leading civil and laborites organizations, among them the naacp criticized national -- criticized prison of, for not putting an employment and joblessness at the top of the -- crescent -- criticized president obama for not putting in employment and joblessness at the top of the agenda. -- unemployment and joblessness at the top of the agenda. it takes people outside the administration to put these issues on the top of the agenda. it cannot happen from the top down. one error that many supporters of president obama made is that they assumed that once in the white house, he would embody their dreams and their agenda. our dreams and our agendas. they forgot one of the important lessons that come

dr. lomax's remarks, cecil williams will introduce in more detail are additional panel members, and he will also moderate the discussion. dr. williams is the former co- host of the show on pbs radio and, and he is currently an assistant clinical professor and director of the assistance for school age regioviolence. it is my pleasure to introduce