that is what frederick douglass thought of andrew johnson. tell me more. >> well, here actually read johnson. frederick douglass was a brilliant man, and he could see that this was a man who did not have the best interests of african-americans at heart. it is a terrible thing to think that this guy was ahead of reconstruction. the question was what do we do with four million african- american slaves who were set free. his answer was, send them back to as near slavery as possible. >> was johnson that of his own doing are not doing, as it were, or is he regarded as being such a bad precedent because he followed a guy named abraham lincoln? >> is both things. it would be hard to follow lincoln. in surveys of presidents, johnson is usually in the bottom five and lincoln is number one. it is quite a shock for people. he was not really equipped to do what had to be done for the nation at this very, very critical time. so it was both things. following a popular president, a person who was popular in our time, and historians looking at what he botche

washington and george washington carver, but she lectured about the contribution of frederick douglass, w.e.b. dubois, and how jackie robinson had broken the baseball barrier. and we remembered the opera singer who was not allowed to sing in the hall and had to sing in lincoln center. all the discrimination and the local in justices. like, everything was separate and unequal. the school was inadequate. we could not go to the hospitals. they built a house adjacent to the main hospital. the white people were not supposed to be in the same room with an n-person. you know the n-word? i said to myself at the end of the day that i love my country and i'm glad that that day, i took a stand. i saw through the supreme court that the flaws that america had tried to correct them by removing those horrible signs

frederick douglass traveled the country at the time and he was a free black man but he traveledso at great personal risk throughout the countryside and he proved ultimately that he was a living breathing example that intellect and leadership could come from a recently freed slave. c caches clay was a cousin of henry clay, and in abolitionist. in the heidler's biography of henry clay they describe caches clay as follows. a venomous pen was his first weapon and a billy knight his second weapon. he was so effective with this firstpon. weapon that he was wie have the second weapon handy. he parted ways with his cousinwo henryrk clay although they workn together on some things in henry clay got him out of a few difficult times with the law but they parted ways when cascius clay published a letter where henry l clay seemed to be more n favor of emancipation than hef was publicly. they never spoke again after that of henry clay disavowed the letter and condemns cascius clay. cascius clay was an unapologetic abolitionist. mad he was an agitator and makewn people mad particularly slaveowners

wheatley, langston hughes, james baldwin, alice walker, toni morrison, to benjamin banneker, frederick douglass, w.e.b. du bois, ida b. wells barnett and colin powell. the likenesses of the extraordinary are matched by the equally poignant letters of the ordinary hoop in an hand share their joy and pain, ecstasy and hard. >> this letter is from hannah grover to her son, cato. it was written june 3, 1805. my dear son, i long to see you in my old age. i live in caldwell this -- with mr. grover, the minister of that place. my dear son, i pray you come to see your dear old mother, or send me $20 i will come to see you in philadelphia. and if you can't come to see your old mother, pray, send me a letter and tell me where you live, what family you have, and what you do for a living. i am a poor old servant. i long for freedom, and my master will free me if anybody will engage to maintain the so that i don't come upon him. i love you, cato. you love your mother? you are my only son. this from the affectionate mother, hannah, hannah grover. ps, my dear son, i have not seen you since i saw you at staten