we go to frederick douglass' home. we visit richmond and jefferson davis' home. it helps a great deal to go to the location where events happened. it brings them home to students, the reality, sights. and certainly, my own experience as a young man with my father -- just to visit historic sites. for me, this is something that is absolutely an essential part of how i approach the past. i want to go to the places that have been important historically to the figures that i am setting. one of thewn career, great joys of a career has been my involvement with these statue of liberty, ellis island restoration. and the time i have spent with other historians constructing a museum on ellis island. that is the perfect example of a monument of the masses. the museum is a very poignant, direct way, the history of migration to the united states >> what did you and others gain from a conference like this? >> what one gains from a conference like the annual meeting of american historians is people with fresh ideas and scholars who are engaged with work. it is important work, es

frederick douglass gives us the text of the past he wrote when he escaped. and so, i knew that some people were literate, but i have not really -- what surprised me was people were using their literacy to find family words, to track them down during slavery and after slavery. so when i see an ad written notice placed by thorton copeland, i am not positive thorton copeland wrote that himself. i don't know if he's literate. that's all i got is what he tells me in that. so he may have been moderate or the editor of the news paper, the tennessean could've written it, so he may have dictated it. i was surprised to see so many people are to search for family members during slavery. >> from your book, obadiah filled lived in rockingham, north carolina, purchasing people in virginia, north carolina and south carolina first they'll to south carolina. he corresponded with his wife, jane commit during his trips come informing her of the progress of business and expressing his love for her and her four children. it is evident that intellectually and emotionally he kept

the same tension existed between president lincoln and frederick douglass. eventually they became really good friends. lincoln understood that he needed frederick douglass and the abolitionists just as lbj needed the civil rights movement. together, they produced something -- thank god they were there at that moment in history -- that changed our country forever. [applause] colophon oh, what was your perspective? or bad luck tod be there when the relationship dissolved. --i think at both ends dissolved in the sense that dr. king made a decision about the vietnam war. he admired king. quitek they were both good at politics. in january of 1965 -- 1964 rather, in a phone conversation between king and president johnson, johnson starts talking sorry, about, i'm the voting rights act. king reminds him about the states he didn't carry having the lowest voting record. -- if youid to king can find a worse condition -- this is january -- the worst in alabama, mississippi, louisiana, south , where people are denied the right to vote, if you take that one illustration,

it a brilliant black abolitionist, for a group does frederick douglass, said president lincoln was "the first great men that i talked with in the united states freely who in no single instance reminded me of the difference of color. above all, the black statesman declared, president lincoln was emphatically the black man's president. moreover, he was the first to show any respect for their rights as men. he was the first american president who rose above the prejudice of his times and of his country." will rightfully deny that president lincoln's constitutional legacy transformed american history? it was he who accepted war in order to uphold the constitution and the union, and with war, to free the slaves. here, byk, even we what extraordinary internal compass did president lincoln direct this whirlwind on this question, the great warlord himself, as the whirlwind of civil war violence gathered? expect ton said, "i maintain this contest until conquered or my term expires or congress forsakes me or the country itself forsakes me." thank you very much. [applause] >> i am a humble and obe

we always needed white friends frederick douglass needed white to friends and the civil rights movement and today as general james who was a commander of of 369th regiment stand up. and with his lovely wife who is a stol port will you please stand? [applause] but general james knows how important of the success especially after the war and he is said charter member of the veterans' association and his son who was the 13 term congressman was instrumental in the establishment or congressional approval of the of 369 veterans association but back to william pickens. he said world war i showed clearly that blacks had become from a most undesirable element to the most reliable element in america as symbolized and recognized by calling out of the national guard troops to protect the white house. the war had allowed blacks from africa and america the opportunity to make the first great record as of modern international factor in a positive world influence and this was a lesson ever to be lost on blacks. world war i help to produce a self confident moody grow and all the change that came later t

i want to read you a section from the book that comes from frederick douglass's autobiography. his 1855-- autobiography. in that autobiography, frederick douglass complained that william lloyd garrison and other influential in -- influential white abolitionists thought there -- thought his intellectual growth weakened their cause. "ier escaping from slavery, was reading and thinking for g." if he did not have the ,lantation manor of speech people will not ever believe you were a slave. it is best that you not appear to learned. -- too learned. give us the facts, we will take care of the philosophy. uss problem is still with when it comes to the history and that is a lot -- i say in the introduction that the thinking -- itedom will put people will form the intellectual spine of this book. i know the events. i do not have to talk about -- two people in mississippi about what happened during the freedom fromr, but i want to know any number of people, what i want to know is what really thinking? -- what were you thinking? why were you thinking that? it is important to understand in

slave in your history you could point to my great with my kids great great grandfather it's frederick douglass frederick probably wouldn't like it but they you know they don't use it to the kids and mother was very strict but i'm just suggesting that when he held up. i don't care and the language is less important to me than intention ryan what do you make of when what do you think when you hear a white person use it though i think the referee is going to have to make a judgment here and that's where it gets tough is it a black ref is it a white ref is it a white ref that grew up in the hood as a white whether they grew up in the suburbs it's just such a nuanced word in the way that you can use it is so nuanced and that's what russell simmons in that clip is talking about the intention of the word see the word is appropriation in the black community we've appropriated that word in order to talk to our homeys talk to our friends oftentimes like russell said talk to our own family members right and if you look at other words and you mention a few other derogatory terms for jews and jews don't ne

frederick douglass, talked about escaping dependency, booker t.why has that tradition become so much less prominent inside the african intellectual communities? >> i think the civil rights movement has become an industry, and it's a very lucrative industry. what you've seen over the past 50 years is an attempt by the black elite to stay relevant, and what i try to get across in this book is that it's much more important for the black poor to have a man in the home than to have a man in the white house like they have today. the obama presidency shows that overwhelmingly is the case. the things that ail the black community are not going to be solved by politicians, they're going to be solved by the black community getting its own act together internally, the family -- and it's going to start with the family. >> if the results are as awful as you argue, why hasn't there been a revolt? intellectually and politically, within the african-american community itself? >> well, on the one hand, you have the history of segregation, and who was on what side ba

i want to change with this thought from the great republican and civil rights leader frederick douglass. compositeech, "our nationality," his tirade against the chinese exclusion act. he said "every country has a , destiny that is defined by its geography and character. its character is defined by that nation at its best. and the geography of each nation that shaped the destiny is unique. ours is unique because we are bordered by two oceans that connect us to the rest of the world and two borders that attach us to friendly countries of different races." he said that our destiny based on our character defines us at our best and that our geography is to be the most perfect example of the unity of a human family that the world has ever seen. and the politics of the people on the stage and of this report, that is the promise we are seeking. the promise that united white indentured servants and black slaves to rebel 351 years ago in virginia and united blacks and whites to come together and freedom summer 50 years ago in mississippi. and today, blacks and whites and latinos and asians can co

frederick douglass put it another way when you said americans should remember that in victory would have meant death to the republic. americans loyal to the united states were convinced that secession was dangerous to liberty because it undermined the concept established that the people are capable of governing themselves. the citizens of republic to not need a king to rule over them because they are capable of selecting their own leaders. and peacefully abiding by the decision of the majority. for unionists, secession was a threat posed by small group of slaveholders to this success and self-government. not only in america, but around the world. if secession and the confederate government were not defeated, the concept of self-rule won at enormous costs in the revolutionary war would be discredited forever. to unionists, secession was not a vindication of the american revolution, but a betrayal of its basic concepts. the believe that secession pose a mortal threat to liberty can be seen in the lyrics of the battle cry of freedom, one of the most popular union songs of the era. all of yo

this is why the abolitionist john brown established a supply depot there and met with frederick douglass to discuss the harpers ferry plan in 1859. some argued chambersburg was just one of several towns in the region that is received visits from early and threats of demand for money and surprisppls the reason chambersburg was burned with that they did not comply. others have argued that the decision was rooted in previous insurance. after all, the confederates had been in chambersburg twice before. in october 1862, confederate albury visited -- confederate calvary visited town and one of their famous or circumvented of the union army. they burned buildings belonging to the warehouse and a store house containing more material. they returned this time with robert e lee. in late june 1863, 60,000 confederate soldiers began to leeert in chambersburg, and established his headquarters there. he town escaped large-scale thisraction at point much due to lee's 73. menake war only upon armed and that no greater disgrace should befall an army and through it our people bandy perpetration of the barb

it is looking specifically at the way in which frederick douglass had during the civil war a desire foro be able to think through our vision and our progress as americans differently through the importance of what he called not just pictures but thought pictures. what is conjured in the imagination when something impacts us so greatly? it lets us live in the back door of rational thought and look at the world differently. that relates to race as well. there are a lot of pictures that allows us to see these racial categories that we really used to divide ourselves. our commonalities are really evident. these racial images focused on the caucus during the 19th century. >> who is emanuel lee? >> that is my grandfather. it is a biblical name. he was a jazz musician and a painter. he inspired me. he spent his life doing those two things really. in large part because of what he was not able to do through his own education. he got expelled in the 11th grade for asking why african-americans were not in the history books. >> what is your deepest ambition that you are hesitant to tell me? >> the

i want to change with this thought from the great a republican frederick douglass.his tirade against the chinese exclusion act. "every country has a destiny that is defined by its geography and character. its character is defined by that nation at its best. and the geography of each nation that shaped the destiny is unique. we are bordered by two oceans that connect us to the rest of the world and two borders that attach us to friendly countries of different races." he said that our destiny based on our character defines us at our best and that our geography is to be the most perfect example of the unity of a human family that the world has ever seen and the politics of the people on the stage and of this report, that is the promise we are seeking. the promise that united white indentured servants and black slaves to rebel 351 years ago in virginia and united blacks and whites to come together and freedom summer 50 years ago in mississippi. and today, blacks and whites and latinos and asians can come together for a true south. absolute democracy for all of us. thank

if you want to see some of the greatest examples, the black freedom movement with frederick douglass. unbelievable. we are not saying that black people have a monopoly, but if you want to keep track of integrity keep track of the best neighbors in the country because they're going through some hell and still love it. that is also what he had in mind . no abortions, whispers. the affects of these people who are questionable work but not achieving, and it is open to everybody. we appreciate it. >> the different associations. for me, total fact. what to you think would be some most important factor to get rid money or education? >> a wonderful question, powerful question. so, i really think that the key thing is cohabitation, doing things together. if you have done significant things together in groups of black and white and shoot and gentile and so on, it is hard to hold on to bigotry. so they were a substitute to bringing them together to do significant things together. so i suppose i am advocating something that costs a bit of money, but it is not education and him in the transition a

it's looking specifically in the way that frederick douglass had from the civil war a desire for us to be able to think through our vision and our progress on america differently through the importance of what he called not just pictures but thought pictures, you know. what's conjured in the imagination when something impacts us so greatly that it lets us kind of shin in the back door of rational thought and look at the world differently. and that relates to race as well. there are many pictures that allowed us to see that these racial categories that we really used to divide us sometimes to see our commonalties are really evident when we look sometimes and say a photograph of matthew brady took of the surcassianian beauty. >> rose: who is manuel lee. >> -- one of us has a much cooler name than the other one. >> rose: shadrach. >> i do like shadrach, a biblical name. he was a jazz musician and a painter and he inspired me. he spent his life doing those two things really in large part because of what he was not able to say through his own education, expelled in 11th grade when he was in

frederick douglass put it another way when he said americans should remember that in victory would have meant death to the republic. americans loyal to the united states were convinced that secession was dangerous to liberty because it undermined the concept established that the people are capable of governing themselves. the citizens of republic to not need a king to rule over them because they are capable of selecting their own leaders. and peacefully abiding by the decision of the majority. for unionists, secession was a threat posed by small group of slaveholders to this success and self-government. not only in america, but around the world. if secession and the confederate government were not defeated, the concept of self-rule won at enormous costs in the revolutionary war would be discredited forever. to unionists, secession was not a vindication of the american revolution, but a betrayal of its basic concepts. the belief that secession pose a mortal threat to liberty can be seen in the lyrics of the battle cry of freedom, one of the most popular union songs of the era. all of you

was a wealthy english woman of abolitionism who put up the money to purchase the freedom of frederick douglass who was a fugitive slave. during the civil war, the great people led the fight against the english stock workers who refused to unload ships made by slave labor. antiracist solidarity is basic to working-class solidarity. [applause] longy -- it's been a time. forget whatll never communist and workers parties have done to save angela davis. [applause] long live international solidarity. workers and oppressed people of the world unite. our unity is our strength. sentdes, many parties have in wonderful greetings to our convention. we are especially delighted to have our many international guests who have joined us. many traveling thousands of miles. wereber of other parties blocked by the state department. the cubans sent in their application. they didn't say no. nothing came out of it. i thought we were relevant -- we were irrelevant? what are they scared of? [applause] secretary of state -- come on. we have had conventions before. what is your problem, brother? i think it is part of th