>> a woman with passion and a dream. >> reporter: a dream that james meredith says he envisioned when he dared to challenge a system because it was never just about him, it was about justice for all. >> they, the young black women, are the future. my great hope is that every black woman will be inspired by ms. brown jackson to the extent that they will take the torch and run with it. >> it was an honor to speak with both mr. meredith and madison. the jackson inspiration was inspirational to me, including my own grandmother and aunt. they were able to attend day one of the hearings. >>> the cbs "overnight news" will be right back in just two minutes. stay with us. >>> that's a warning for dog owners in south florida. a type of canine i flew enza is making the rounds and spreading quickly. michael george reports. >> reporter: a highly infectious disease is spreading among dogs in south florida. >> it's a canine flu, a canine cold. >> reporter: it's officially called canine infectious respiratory disease complex. but it's off referred to as canine or kennel cough. >> we'll see a dry, pro

james meredith is enrolled at the university of mississippi. the school is technically integrated at the cost of two lives, almost 200 injuries, and the reputation of a state. now the questions are, was it worth it? [music playing] ross barnett: i could not pass this platform without first reaffirming fully my absolute and unshakable for segregation the races at all levels. [film reel] curtis wilkie: when he ran again in '67, i think, at the outset, people thought that he would be a hard figure to beat. [music playing - "let's roll again with ross"] all the reds in washington will say they hope ross will fall along the way. but we won't give our state to little bobby k. roll with ross, roll with ross, roll again with ross. who is the best man yet? ross barnett, ross barnett. curtis wilkie: barnett had a reputation of just kind of a blundering blunderbuss. and we all thought he was a complete buffoon, something of a fool. he was constantly doing goofy things. so he was a laughable figure of mythic proportions here in mississippi history. gerald

marshall had descended upon motley's office waving a letter from james meredith. the missive contained such a preposterous idea that marshall thought the writer must be out of his mind. i am submitting an application for admission to the university of mississippi, meredith wrote, and ip anticipating encountering difficulties with the various agencies here and the state. in view of the brewing trouble, meredith requested marshall's legal assistance. after marshall finished laughing about meredith's proposal to sue ol' miss, he watched his hands of the case. marshall knew connie backer motdly had the smarts and courtroom zoils do the job. and he thought her gender would be an advantage. the fight to deseg brat ol' miss might get someone killed. but in the context of mississippi's white supremacist yet show horse culture as marshall saw it a black woman would fair better than a black man. any white supremacist he opined would scarce legal think twice about murdering a black man but might hesitate to lynch a black woman. the very idea of a black woman lawyer violently

preventing jay james meredith's matriculation to ole miss. while in mississippi motley built community with the small band of lawyers and activists who took part an lds effort to and jim crow in the state. she leaned on mega evers the naacps most prominent operative in mississippi who often invited motley to his home where she enjoyed home cooked meals and fellowship with evers his wife and their children. but only one month after motley left, mississippi for the last time mega evers was assassinated. it devastated her motley couldn't get out of bed for weeks following his death. she couldn't even bring herself to attend his funeral. nevertheless she had left the state victorious constance maker motley emerged as one of the most respected lawyers in america a story in the new york times titled integrations advocate captured the professional heights to which motley had soared and i'm quoting a tall striking woman with piercing dark eyes is almost always in the courtroom and the eye of the hurricane surrounding the struggle for civil rights in

the james meredith case, the struggle to desegregate ole miss, brings to the fore how much she had to sacrifice as she litigated that case going to mississippi time and time again under threat of her life. she just got out in time, essentially, is the way she felt. there were many moments of struggle. she had a young son and a husband back in new york. she only was able to leave them behind because she felt that she was on a mission to set things right for african americans. >> in the book, you take the reader -- before you take the reader through her life, you make it very clear that a good part of why you are doing -- why you wrote this book is because there has been little recognition and historical recognition for this woman. that's at the core of what led you to start writing this book. >> that's right. and i should say that i came to know about how relatively little had been written about constance baker motley when i wrote my book about the struggle for civil rights in atlanta. motley mitigated the atlanta school desegregation case all the way to the supreme court. spent plenty

it includes the word trauma so james meredith was famously he appeared vacant when he was experiencing all of you know the pushback as he was walking around on campus. he seemed to not have any expression. um, but of course inside he did he was just wearing his armor in order to get through and i would say that motley had her moments of being that way as well and a part of the guardedness was because you know, the situation demanded it she did not have time to sit in a corner and cry, which i'm sure she might wanted to do. on some occasions i want to get a little bit more personal into her life. would you say then she did sacrifice a lot in terms of her family, but has such a supportive husband a supportive mate through all of this as well. and that was vital to her ability to do what she did. she was very to a real estate broker harlem real estate broker who fortunately had his own office and so some flexibility which allowed him to do things like chauffeur her to work every day when she was and at the courthouse and then come and pick her up and he would wait for her while she finish

or james meredith over in mississippi. it happened in alabama. it happened in georgia. when mary frances is trying to get in, the governor has run on a platform of not one. and everyone knew what that meant. no, not one. in my term i will not allow one negro student into a state university. he ended up eating those words. i have to say. and in mississippi, the newspapers there would run in jackson wrote a song, you'll love this mary frances and they showed the music on the editorial page and the lyrics went something like never, never, never, never, never, never. and that was all. and that's how all these states just rose up to stop a single or two or three african-americans from getting into their state universities. very sacred state universities. it was a dynamic time in 1961 with when mary frances is finally gettinged a milted in may of 1961. the freedom rides were rolling through the south, which was striking the fear of who knows what in white people that they might have to sit on a bus with with a black person. and it's just everywhere you turn you saw white resi

what the south was doing, rising up to stop people like mary francis from getting into school or james meredith over in mississippi. it happened in alabama and it happened in georgia. when mary francis is trying to get in, the governor at the time has run on a platform of no, not one. everyone knew what that meant. no, not one -- in my term, i will not allow one negro student into a state university. he ended up eating those words, i have to say. in mississippi, the newspapers there would run -- actually wrote, one newspaper there in jackson, wrote a song -- you will love this, mary francis. they wrote a song and showed the sheet music on the editorial page. the lyrics went something like, never, never, never, never, never, never, never. that was all. i mean, that's how the state -- all these states just rose up to stop a single or two or three african americans from getting into their state universitys. they were very sacred state universities. it was a dynamic time in 1961 when mary francis is finally getting admitted in may of 1961. the freedom rides were rolling -- the buses were rolling th

rising up to stop people like mary frances from getting into school or james meredith over, you know in in mississippi. it happened in alabama and happened in georgia. i mean when mary francis is trying to get in the governor at the time has run on a platform of no not one. i mean and everyone knew what that meant. no, not what i will in my term. i will not allow one -- student into a state university. he ended up eating those words are i have to say and in mississippi the newspapers there would run actually wrote one newspaper there in jackson wrote a song you'll love this mary francis say wrote song and they showed the sheet music on the editorial page and it the the lyrics with something like never never never ever and that was all okay. i mean, that's how this that's how the state all these states just rose up. to stop a single or two or three african-americans from getting into their state universities. they're very sacred state universities. it was a dynamic time in 1961 when mary frances is finally getting admitted and may of 1961. there were the freedom rides were rolling. th

or james meredith over, you know, in mississippi. it happened in alabama. it happened in georgia. i mean, when mary frances is trying to get in, the governor at the time as run on a platform of "no, not one". and everyone knew what that meant. no, i will -- in my term, i will not allow one negro student into a state university. he ended up eating those words. i have to say. and in mississippi the newspapers there would run -- actual three wrote -- one newspaper in jackson wrote a song. you will love this, mary frances. they wrote a song, and they showed the sheet music on the editorial page. and the lyrics went something like "never, never, never, never, never". and that was all. okay? i mean, that's how -- that's how the state -- all these states rose up to stop a single or two or three african americans from getting into their state universities. their very sacred state universities. it was a dynamic time in 1961 when mary frances is finally getting admitted. in may of 1961 there were -- the freedom rides were rolling -- the buses were rolling through the south, which was striki

it brings to life some household names including thurgood marshall and james meredith and also some names that may be should be a little more familiar adam for many years in brooklyn. i live next to carter g woodson elementary school. i did not know who he was. i found him in your book and i was thrilled if i said this is what it's all about. we are also joined by clint smith his author of the best-selling book how the word is passed a reckoning with the history of slavery across america clint is a poet in addition to being a writer and those of you have who have read the book know that is lyrical account of a kind of tour that clint took a place where black and white americans interacted sometimes to disastrously now one of clint's unique gifts is a writer is that he can go to a place observe talk to anyone hear things that are both funny and also pauling and then reserve judgment and we're gonna talk a little bit about how he manages to do that in this house. thank you both so much for for being here. we really had a book come out in 2021. it was about a year after the murder of george

they will be the james merediths, with the noble sense of purpose that enables them to face jeering and hostile mobs, and with the agonizing loneliness that characterizes the life of the pioneer. they will be old, oppressed, battered negro women, symbolized in a 72-year-old woman in montgomery, alabama, who rose up with a sense of dignity and with her people decided not to ride segregated buses, and who responded with ungrammatical profundity to one who inquired about her weariness, "my feets is tired, but my soul is at rest." they will be the young high school and college students, the young ministers of the gospel and a host of their elders, courageously and nonviolently sitting in at lunch counters and willingly going to jail for conscience' sake. one day the south will know that when these disinherited children of god sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the american dream and for the most sacred values in our judeo-christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fa