i am hilary shelton director of naacp washington bureau. is the oldest and largest grassroots based civil rights organization celebrating 100 years of service and addressing many of the issues of inequity that we will discuss here today. certainly as we talk about the last century there is still much more that needs to be done before we truthfully say all americans regardless of race, ethnicity, family income or where they live have access to high-quality education. despite the equal protection clause of the u.s. constitution, the 1954 brown versus board of education decision, we talk about improving our schools. have a dramatic disparity in public education continues to plague our nation. the implications of the persistent achievement gap are detrimental to not only individual students but to families and communities and our entire nation. compared to whites, significant gaps for african american and spanish students are evident in virtually every measure of achievement for national assessment math and reading test scores, high school comp

he has received the naacp freedom award and congressional gold metal for his service as commander of the 100 fighter squadron of the 332 fighter group, better known as the tuskegee airman. [cheers and applause] >> ilyasah is an author. educator, and lecturer. dedicated to preserve the shabazz foundation. her father is globally reveres as one of the most important human rights leader. he was an international advocate for human rights. today he's committed to developing educational federal program that is foster self-empowerment to expanding the role of government to encourage individual responsibility for improving society. and to capitollizing on the arts and entertainment to encourage an understanding of culture, of history, and of self-expression. she's corporation president of the malcolm x and dr. betty shabazz memorial center. we're honored to have her with us today. >> toure is a renowned journalist and author and cultural critic. he is currently on the morning meeting and host two shows, the hip hop shop and on the record. he's been featured in the "new york times," "new yorke

the naacp is the largest civil rights organization, celebrating 100 years of service. as we talk about our last century, there is still so much needs to be done before we can say that all america is children's had access to free, high-quality education. race, ethnicity, family income or where they live have access to high-quality education. despite the equal protection clause of the u.s. constitution, the 1954 brown versus board of education decision, we talk about improving our schools. have a dramatic disparity in public education continues to plague our nation. the implications of the persistent achievement gap are detrimental to not only individual students but to families and communities and our entire nation. compared to whites, significant gaps for african american and spanish students are evident in virtually every measure of achievement for national assessment math and reading test scores, high school completion rates, college enrollment in college completion rates. an addition there is a wide variability across states in educational investment and outcomes. w

the naacp is the largest civil rights organization, celebrating 100 years of service. as we talk about our last century, there is still so much needs to be done before we can say that all america is children's had access to free, high-quality education. race, ethnicity, family income or where they live have access to high-quality education. despite the equal protection clause of the u.s. constitution, the 1954 brown versus board of education decision, we talk about improving our schools. have a dramatic disparity in public education continues to plague our nation. the implications of the persistent achievement gap are detrimental to not only individual students but to families and communities and our entire nation. compared to whites, significant gaps for african american and spanish students are evident in virtually every measure of achievement for national assessment math and reading test scores, high school completion rates, college enrollment in college completion rates. an addition there is a wide variability across states in educational investment and outcomes. w

the american association for the advancement of -- american association of retired people, not the naacp -- i'm sorry about that, mr. president. these are some of the reasons that aarp and 4 million americans are supporting this bill. premiums are reduced for this, mr. president, by 93% of people who will have reduced premiums. this strengthens our fump by cutting our deficit by as much as $1.3 trillion over the next two deck it's a. that's trillion with a t we want to help shape the deliver resystem in our count try. that right in america has 750,000 bankruptcy as year. and it advances the first time in the country that good health will not depend on great wealth. good health should not depend on how much money you have. it acknowledges finally the health care is a fundamental right, that my friend, senator harkin spoke about so clearly. not just a privilege for the most fortunate. president johnson, formerly majority of the united states senate, signed meca

when we look at the fact that hes a drissed the naacp. so i think there is a difference between trying to make the president an activist lead sbeg dealing with the tollcy. bill clinton who had a policy of welfare reform, and a better policy than barack obama, i don't understand how one can say that. when you look at the fact that this president has said we must deal with unploemts across the board, the worst thing that can happen is they make the jobs to give them conservatives a way to willie horton us. i hope the president does not go for that bait. >> i'm not suggesting that bill clinton's policies for positive. however, barack obama has instituted a set of policies negative to the black people. this year, $85 million were cut from the education budge as an example. >> larry: we will be right back. tightness in my chest came back- i knew i had to see my doctor. he told me i had choices in controller medicines. we chose symbicort. symbicort starts to improve my lung function within 15 minutes. that's important to me because i know the t

as such for starters the naacp supports several legislative initiative aimed at closing the gap. these include h.r. 1569 s 618 the every student counts act which will bring meaningful accountability to america's high schools by requiring a consistent and accurate calculation of graduation rates across all 50 states to ensure compatibility and transparency. under the every student counteract graduation rates and test scores are treated equally. more over the every student counts act which require high schools to have an aggressive attainable and uniform annual growth requirement. this will insure consistent increases in graduation rates for all students by meeting him annual research based benchmarks with long-term goals of reaching a 90% graduation rate. this would also require the segregation of graduation data by some groups to make certain that schools are held accountable for increasing graduation rate of all students and require the student activities focus on closing the achievement gap. h.r. 2451 is a helpful in addressing this concern. the students bill of rights would re

for the advancement of colored -- i'm sorry, the american associatioamerican assd people, not the naacp -- i'm sorry about that, mr. presiden mr. president -- these are some of the reasons that aarp and its 40 million americans are supporting this bill. contrary to what we heard my distinguished friend, the republican leader, say, premiums are reduced, mr. president, by 93 -- 93% of people who have insurance will have reduced premiums. this effort also strengthens our future by cutting our towering national deficit by as much as $1.3 trillion over the next two decades. what my distinguished republican counterpart is saying is without basis in fact. these aren't numbers that i came up with. these are numbers the congressional budget came up with. $1.3 trillion. that's a trillion with a "t." it cuts the deficit more sharply than anything congress has done in a long, long time. it lowers costs. i've talked about medicare. my friend, the republican leader, said it's going to reshape our nation. that's why we're doing it, mr. president. that's why we're doing this. we want to reshape the hea

and that's why we need to support groups like the legal defense fund, the naacp and all of those who are fighting for freedom for everybody, not just african-americans. >> interesting you find this book a boost to the ego, and there is that part of it, i think, in the last third -- >> right. >> -- maybe the last half. but the first half -- >> is oppression. >> -- it's harrowing. i mean, i was almost crying going back through it like these brothers are getting lynched and charred and burned and attacked, and they're constantly on the run. i can't imagine the mind set of these people who were -- let me -- you were going to ask what's our favorite story. i'm going to just jump ahead to that because this is a fantastic thing from 1911. and they put it over two pages, angry mob burn a colored man who murdered police officer. and, you know, obviously, this story -- you have to read through the lines because it starts off saying having shot in cold blood and instantly killed this police officer, well, obviously, this brother did not just run out in the street and shoot this officer. so some

in the mainstream civil rights organizations like the entel lil' -- naacp and urban league had never been happy about this ticket to the streets non-violent direct action approach these kids like rip were increasing. it made them nervous. they must refer to work in the courts. so they were not keen on the rides either and of course the kennedy administration was desperate to get pictures of the burning buses and bloody teaching riders of the front pages of newspapers, not only in this country but around the world. the images, anniston or everywhere. kennedy was new in office. he was about to go to vienna to have his first meeting with khrushchev, and these are not pictures -- this is what the image of the united states that he needed to be projecting. he wanted to be projected at this point in the cold war. the riders, however, were undeterred, and they said we are going to continue on our way. so, bobby kennedy got on the phone with mississippi officials and said what ever happens you can't let them get beaten up any more. and mississippi said we will protect them, but we might do t

doctor brown has received the naacp freedom award, and the congressional gold medal for his service duringworld war ii. as commander of the 100th fighter squadron of the 332nd fighter group. better known as the tuskegee airmen. [applause] >> ilyasah shabazz is an author, educator and lecturer dedicated to preserving the shabazz member. her father, widely known as knock him ask, remains globally revered as one of the most important human rights leader. her mother, dr. betty shabazz, was a nurse, educator and activist and an international advocate for women's rights. today, she is committed to developing educational programs that foster self empowerment to expanding the role of governme government, to encourage individual responsibility for improving society. and to capitalize among the arts and entertainment to encourage an understanding of culture of history and of self-expression. she's corporation president of the malcolm x and dr. betty shabazz memorial and educational center, and we are honored to have her with us. [applause] >> a renowned journalist and author and cultural critic, he

president for advocacy policy for the it naacp.we're glad you're here as we focus on the crucial civil-rights issues of the difference between crack cocaine and powder cocaine sentencing laws and how those lines have become so obvious and prevalent and undercutting of the trust and integrity of the criminal justice community needs to be successful to carry out their responsibilities and our community. so we're on the senate side to talk about legislation to begin addressing those disparities and with us is an esteemed a group of experts from different segments. what of the things that is great from the particular group of individuals rehab as some bold this a a very well how to for you will see their perspective. people that lead to the far left, right, democrats, repu blicans cover religious activists and those that are agnostic but the bottom line is that they all agree on one issue that there is a big problem in america when you have the racial disparities that we see with the criminal-justice system as a focus on powder cocaine

i am hilary shelton director of naacp washington bureau.elebrating 100 years of service and addressing many of the issues of inequity that we will discuss here today. certainly as we talk about the last century there is still much more that needs to be done before we truthfully say all americans regardless of race, ethnicity, family income or where they live have access to high-quality education. despite the equal protection clause of the u.s. constitution, the 1954 brown versus board of education decision, we talk about improving our schools. have a dramatic disparity in public education continues to plague our nation. the implications of the persistent achievement gap are

association for the best of colored people -- i am sorry, american association for retired people, not the naacpout that, mr. president -- this is one of the reasons they aarp is supporting its bill. contrary to what we heard by distinguished friend and republican leaders say, premiums are reduced, mr. president, by 93% of people who have insurance to have reduced premiums. this also strengthens our future by cutting our towering national deficit by as much as $1.30 trillion over the next two decades. but what my distinguished counterpart is saying is not based in fact. these aren't numbers i came up with. these numbers congressional budget came up with. $1.30 trillion. that is trillion with a tee. it cuts deficit more sharply than anything congress has done in a long, long time. it lowers cost. i talked about medicare. my friend, the republican leader, said it will reshape our nation. that is why we are doing it, mr. president. we want to reshape the health care delivery system in our country. america has 750,000 bankruptcies a year, about 80% caused by health care costs. 62% of the people who

the niagara movement, and the founding of the naacp. washington state, for the rest of his life. the civil rights movement came along in the 1960's, people said booker t. washington is an all-time -- uncle tom who would not advocate for civil rights. >> you sent a picture of them being on the campus of tuskegee. they would come to the school, and even though they virulently disagreed, the gavel on. -- they got along. >> washington tried to hire him to come to tuskegee. and washington's third wife was a friend from their school days. so they, it was part of the family that was a friendship. there were political rivals. they would never be complete enemies. if they had lived another 50 years. he kept the divisional live. i think they really did represents two complete the divergent views. we have to have political rights, or we're not going to get anywhere. >> keep married three different women, and all three came from tuskegee. >> his first wife was a high- school streesuite art from west virginia. he married her in west virginia, and she came down and was a faculty member. then s

some are large corporations like target and best buy, like aarp and campbell's soup, like the naacp and several media, black entertainment television and the urban league. we have national partners and then we have local partners. the local partners are the heartbeat of the system. they reach out to local communities, to local neighborhoods to get the word out about why the participation in the census is important, so first on our reach, partners are william porton frist. these are voluntarily non-contractual people who helped us get the message out because they realize their group will benefit from their participation in the census and then we have complete count committees. complete count committees are tenet the local level often named by a local mayor. they often break up into subcommittees. some committees focus on education, some on civil services, some on business communities, some on ethnic and cultural groups and they speer had the effort to get the word out in their cities. we have over 9100 of those spread throughout the country. 37 states have formed complete count committee

chamber of commerce, the naacp, and the heritage foundation. and i ask permission to place in the record the list of supporters from -- the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. maloney: as we have seen since this time last year, the lack of transparency in terms of how tarp funds are being spent make this is bill necessary. the american people, members of congress, regulators are demanding transparency. it's time we gave it to them. they are entitled to it. i would like to thank members on the other side of the aisle, mr. king and others who have been supported, -- supportive, and particularly chairman frank for his leadership and mr. hoyer. it's time for us to have a system so the american people can tell in realtime how their tax dollars are being ewed. i would add i also believe it would build confidence in the system, hopefully confidence that's being managed in an appropriate way. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. campbell: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the sp

like aarp and campbell's soup, like the naacp and several media, black entertainment, telemundo, ewanion and the urban -- ewan vision and the urban league. we have national and local partners. the local partners are the heart beat of the system. they reach out to local communities, to local neighborhoods to get the word out about why the participation in the census is important. so first on outreach partners are really important for us. these are voluntary arrangements, noncontractual people help us get the message out because they realize their group will benefit from their participation in the census. and then we have complete count committees. complete count committees are down at the local level, often named by a local mayor. they often break up into subcommittees, some subcommittees focus on education, some on social services, some on the business community, some on ethnic and cultural groups, and they spearhead the effort to get the word out in their cities. we have over 9100 of those spread throughout the country, 37 states have formed complete count committees. a lot of ethnic

. >> just in light of the [inaudible] the naacp and la raza for the president to focus on jobs, are there any sessions to be focused on the unemployment rate in the minority communities? >> i think obviously that will be part of -- i believe that will be part of the discussion. there are going to be folks representing a lot of different groups. there will be mayors that will be here that obviously have a keen interest and awareness in this. and i anticipate that that will be something that's discussed. sam. >> hi, robert. can you detail to what extent, if any, the white house's strategy is in negotiating with the taliban leaders? >> negotiate with -- >> leaders of the taliban or insurgent leaders as a way to compel them to drop their threat? >> i would -- i would direct you to either my staff or the pentagon on the exact implementation of. i think you heard general petraeus discuss efforts in both iraq and now afghanistan and the president outlined last night the notion that if there are those that are willing to walk away from the type of activity they've been involved in, reintegration

amendment came from a constituent request and is strongly supported by groups like the afl-cio, the naacp and the fair housing alliance. it says if your loan modification is denied you deserve to know why. it makes the loan modification program more transparent by giving homeowners the ability to modify their net present value analysis. if the servicer used an incorrect credit score or misstated income or made any number of mistakes, then you might be improperly denied loan modification. i urge my colleagues to support this measure, which includes both of these proposals. thank you, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. sessions: thank you, madam speaker. you know, madam speaker, the gentleman from colorado keeps trying to search and search and search and find who to pin this on, this bad economy and the job loss. well, i'd direct the gentleman, it's something we've known for a long, long time in this country. the answer is pin the tail on the donkey. mr. perlmutter: will the gentleman yield? mr. sessions: i yield

the urban league, the naacp, national action, the national coalition just to name a few, we are workingies on outreach, on motivation, on awareness, on information, on organizing. we are committed to making sure and we're going to do our part. we want to make sure that census and commerce understand how they can do their job better, do their job best, get this job done. this is an important time, an important crossroads, we have got to get this right and we're speaking out today because we did not want to sit back and when mistakes are revealed, call a press conference and say you could have done this, you should have done that. we decided that we were going to go in and very importantly, we have got an unprecedented coalition of organizations represented here today, who represent tens of millions of people, historic civil rights organization, organizations that work in the diaspera, people who have worked for years, new voices combined, unified with a single message and a single meeting talking to the secretary of commerce about something that's important to the nation. the final thing

for the advancement of colored -- i'm sorry, the american associatioamerican assd people, not the naacpout that, mr. presiden mr. president -- these are some of the reasons that aarp and its 40 million americans are supporting this bill. contrary to what we heard my distinguished friend, the republican leader, say, premiums are reduced, mr. president, by 93 -- 93% of people who have insurance will have reduced premiums. this effort also strengthens our future by cutting our towering national deficit by as much as $1.3 trillion over the next twoz >> these aren't numbers i came up with. these are the numbers the congressional budget came up with. 1 point 3 trillion dollars. it cuts the testify sit more sharply than anything congress has done in a long, long time. lowers cost, we talked about medicare. my friend the republican leader said it's going to reshape our nation. that's why we're doing it, mr. president. that's why we're doing this. we want to shape the healthcare delivery system in americas. it right that america has 750,000 bankruptcies a year? about 80 percent causes by healthc

i am the director of the naacp washington bureau, and the senior vice-president for advocacy a policy issues of our generation, the disparity of crack and powder cocaine sentencing laws in our country, and how racial disparity along those lines has become so obvious, so prevalent, and so undercutting of the trust and integrity, quite frankly, of the criminal justiceq communityç -- that the criminal justice community needs to be successful to carry out responsibilities in our community. we are here to talk about legislation to begin addressing those disparities. with us is an esteemed group of experts. we have people that need to the far left, far right, democrats, republicans, religious activists and those who are rather agnostic. the bottom line, the most important thing, is that they all agree on one issue, and that is that there is a big problem in america when you have the kind of racial disparity b.c. but our criminal justice system, particularly -- we see in our criminal justice system, particularly in the disappearancdisparity in sentenn powder cocaine and crack cocaine. first

the urban league, the naacp.n, organizing. we want them to understand how they can do their jobs better. we have to get this right. when mistakes are revealed, we could have had a press conference. we decided to go in and get together a coalition. this is unprecedented. historic civil-rights organizations, people who have worked for years, new voices combinedÑi, unified with a singe message and a single meaning. . . >> let me thank everyone for coming. let me thank everyone in the media. we will follow up to do interviews with anyone today. happy holidays. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> from the united nations climate summit in copenhagen, they're reporting that the u.s., china, india, and south africa have leached a meaningful agreement. ñrthey say is not enough to comt climate -- climate change. president obama is negotiating with a number of countries. earlier in the day, you can -- president obama spoke at the conference. you