that is very much what james baldwin did. thinking about malcolm x and his mother, she was a radical activist, a nationalist long before her children were even a thought in her mind. she was writing for the world newspaper, putting her name in writing, saying i will stand up for myself and my people. this. this is also what we celebrate and love him for. we should have known longer for my book that they were following in their mother's footsteps. >> let's turn to your book, which also celebrates three mothers from a very personal point of view. this is your own three mothers. yourirth mother, your aunt and your grandmother. tell us about their influence in your life and how they shaped you. >> i realize they are so regular, ordinary and just people you meet at the grocery store or at church. but it really instills strong values. we weren't better than people, but no one was better than us. they were very clear that was worth fighting for. every time i got kicked out of class, or thought someone was treating unfairly, they wou

that is very much what james baldwin did for the entire world.nking about malcolm x and his mother. she was a radical activist. a proud guardian and nationalist. lo before her children were a thought in her mind. she was writing for newspapers putting her name in writing saying i will stand up for myself and for my people by any means necessary. this was what we celebrate and love malcolm x. for. we should have known long before my book that they were following in their mothers footsteps. >> let's turn to your book which also celebrates three mothers from a very personal point of you. this is your birth mother and aunt and grandmother. tell us about influence in your life and how they shaped you. >> i appreciate my mom and my grandmother more and more as i get older. i realize they are so irregular. so ordinary. people even if the grocery store. people you met at church. really instilling strong values. they always taught myself and my cousins and my brother that we were not better than people. no one was better than us. they were very clear that

i should say, of course james baldwin and the fire next time. but it really started for you in a moment of truth as you described it with the death of george floyd it did we were all sitting at home with the george floyd happened. sitting our homes, and i don't know if you guys remember we're all in quarantine, right? we didn't know what tomorrow was going to be like, oh really the next moment. we know if we're gonna have a job. we didn't know if we were gonna live we didn't know, you know, we had loved ones who were suffering from covid. maybe we were suffering ourselves and we didn't know and then all of a sudden this thing comes across our television screen with this, you know guy with this knee on the neck and i just remember the first time i saw it. i close the door went into the room closed the door and i started crying. and i was talking to the television and every time i see it now, i still talk to the television and i said that's enough. that's enough. okay. okay, that's enough. it's enough. and so we were all drawn to that moment becau

when you read richard wright or james baldwin you see the gratuitous cruelty, today there is not a single institution that is not discriminating in favor of black. >> it seems one of the things that we're doing with the solutions to this. one of the things that we're doing and what you're saying is correct there are problems that are very big which nobody wants to address. as a result we are addressing effectively non- problems none of the children that you describe being gunned down in their front yard are going to be safe if the new york orchestra suddenly changes the composition of the term bone session. >> to complement all of that, i dispute not of it. there is a human question of disposition towards the world there are two pools you can take as you look at the world, most good people will go between the pole rationally based on similes and those are gratitude and indignation gratitude is far more difficult to cultivate has free practice from a young age and is difficult because it requires recognition there is something greater you been given in the position is to be thing for four.

. ♪♪ [music break] amy: wednesday song which was created around a james baldwin quote. democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. as we continue our discussion about ukraine examining the historical context of the russian invasion with an historian who says putin's war is a colonial one. timothy snyder is a professor of history at yale university and a permanent fellow at the institute for human sciences in vienna. he is the author of several books. "the road to unfreedom: russia, europe, america" and "on tyranny: twenty ssons from the twentieth century." expanded version, audio version is just out, updated with 20 new lessons from russia's war with ukraine. in his recent article for "the new yorker," which is "the war in ukraine is a colonial war." he talks about just what that means. welcome back to democracy now! what exactly do you mean? >> i have in mind the whole history of colonialism, which is very familiar to us from european or american cases involves denying other people israel coming tonight another state

. >> we the jury find the defendant james baldwin junior guilty of murder. >> i just broke down cryingynolds was in the courthouse that day two. he believes the jury made the right decision. he wants the public to know that he did more than they think to look into judy's death. still, he realizes because of his incomplete investigation, a killer might've walked free. you get emotional over this. >> i do. i take it personal. this case was a big learning experience for me. i'll never dropped the ball on anything, and then i did it. and i'm sorry for it. >> jamie never took the stand, but he did speak at the sentencing. >> she fell from a ladder. that's why i was trying to get her to the hospital. i love my wife. i mean, more than anybody in this room. i mean, we had a great relationship. >> the judge sentenced the 60 year old to life in prison, without the chance of parole. jamie is appealing. is he evil? >> yes, he 100% as evil. satan spawn. 100%. >> judy's family says they can finally move on with their lives. and there's one thing that brings in peace. you are religious, does that giv

you know >> "oh, my god, i posted a thoughtful james baldwin quote?": we were both out very late. it was very late for me on monday met ball >> whoa-oh, model! >> seth: there you go, the met ball [ cheers and applause this is a beautiful photo. you took a couple of really nice groupies, as well. >> oh, yeah. >> seth: group photos. >> look at the hadid sister, right there. look at that [ laughter ] >> seth: and there she is, there. i like how you showed, "i can be with people who also have sunglasses and people who don't. >> and people who don't have sunglasses i can still be with them, as well. >> seth: yeah, very nice >> look at these hags. >> seth: yeah. [ laughter ] i mean, it's not a contest, but it is, really. >> but i am winning. >> seth: you're going to frame this and call it "amy and three hags." >> well, that's what it is [ laughter ] >> seth: there were a lot of - i mean, you know, there were a lot of people who i think are most famous for their work on reality shows at the met are you a fan of reality shows yourself >> oh, my god, am i ever

i have embraced the wise desire not to be betrayed by the two much open but as james baldwin put it,bout all the young people in all of this it, is their fate that's most valuable to damage, they are the ones that most believe the change was not only possible but eminent, only to have america retreat and retrench. there's not much hope and that piece, charles, and talk to me about your worry for the younger generation? >> yeah, in generally speaking i've written about this before, as a spiritual concept i think that hopes important it keeps people from falling in despair. as a political concept, it is not useful and in fact, hope is often aimed at black people because they lack power and they say well, maybe the powers a b that will change if things just lined up and we can help well enough, which well enough and, you pray eyed enough. but when i say in the peace and well as that i have learned that it is very -- about power, who has it, who can exercise it, who had benefits and who, in harm's. we do need to shift our thinking about what really will transform america away from people

. >> one of the things you write about that reminds me of james baldwin's criticism is that you criticizeaying aversive racism is a manifestation of racism, that well-intentioned people who see themselves of educated and progressive are more likely to exhibit. it exists under the surface of consciousness because it conflicts with consciously held beliefs of racial equality and justice. what do you mean about this, and why is that central to white fragility? >> because there is a tension between, on the one hand, what i have been trained not to see, but on the other hand which i really do know. so, i'm going to say something rather bold. no one grows up in the society and doesn't know it's better to be white. right? i know that it's better to be white, i understood that from a very early age. we all get that message. of course, the impact of that message varies based on whether you are or are not white. but on the one, hand we understand that. but on the, other we can never admit that. there's all of these taboo's all-round talking openly about race for white people. there's this idea that

author begin again, james baldwin for america and lessons for. own it is amazing.arkably important book. i'm going to keep the discussion going with eddie and imani perry about tony morrison. very soon you are going to be able to catch the extended cut, which will be exclusively available on peacock, msnbc's streaming network. check on a personal twitter and audio account for the details. we are going to let you know as soon as it is available, at ali valerie, and at velshi msnbc. that does it for me. thank you for watching. back next saturday and sunday. do not when you are just next. up, yet next, michael steele filling in for jonathan capehart on the sunday show. which begins right now. >> this, morning georgia is on our minds after record setting early morning turnout, taking place in tuesday's primaries, and donald trump's rearrange fantasy we will have a preview of what's

that has an opportunity for everybody to thrive and i think that's i think all the time about james baldwin's quote where you know, i'm paraphrasing but he's like, i love america more than any country in the world. and that is why i reserve the right to to criticize her in perpetuity until she gets it right and that's the sort of the way that i think about it, right like in and again, this is a situation where different people can have different ideas. some people might want to leave and i'm not one to say like you shouldn't but i i don't think there's any onus on black people to have to go somewhere else because place belongs to us, too. thank you for that thought provoking question. noel i was here actually to hear you in these two guys happened to so same here honestly i want to say thank you for expanding on the vocabulary and the opportunity to continue this conversation first off but secondly through both of your research's and especially you mr. smith and goola monticello, do you think you changed maybe just one person's perspective unless you start with your book. you know, it's it's