that's how that went down. [ gunshot ] >> vernon jordan is in very serious but stable condition this g while local and federal officials are trying to find out who shot him and why. >> he talks about going after high-profile targets like mr. jordan and larry flynt. and actually stalking them, getting up close to where they were staying and where they were at the time, which really is a very stupid. because when you go after people famous, you are going to get law enforcement from all over the country. was there something that happened to you or did you decide that i need to kill somebody? >> i was actually trying to get a race war started. that was my goal. commit enough racial incidents to get the blacks all stirred up and they would start killing whites and the whites would retaliate for that and it would go back and forth until a full-scale race war was going on. >> joseph wanted blacks and jews to fear that anywhere they went, they would be gunned down. that is such a grandiose scheme and it's unrealistic. having unrealistic goals is consistent of people who demonstrate a psychopa

so vernon jordan said if he will not do it, he will. we have presented this report which is called the state of black america. friends and colleagues, when we talk about the state of black america, we are talking about the state of the nation. [applause] as black america and urban communities go, so goes this nation. we are indispensable a and inextricably wound in bound together as a single nation here in the 21st century. each share we ask what is the stake of black america? i must report that the state of black america is that we are under attack. we are the quality of education. how is the quality of education under attack? when tens of thousands of schoolteachers are laid off in school district after school district, in cities across the nation, and the quality of education is under attack. when 10% of the people control 2/3rds of the net worth, when unemployment has skyrocketed to nearly 14%, 15%, economic equality is under attack. in 2012, the right to vote is under attack. democracy is under attack. why is democracy under attack

vernon jordan.t back home down south and was then escorting charlene hunter across those steps as a young civil rights attorney. >> he put his degree to good use. >> immediately. >> what a favorite he was. >> we spoke of it briefly. we were interviewing robert carow. he did not know it. we talked about nick catsenback and 90 years old, really shaped our lives. >> june 1963. he pushed with the help of the national guards leader down there in birmingham, pushed the governor out of the way. and integrated vivian malone, the sister of sharon malone who is now the wife of the attorney general. who says we aren't making progress? >> and six degrees of separation and also of course, jack kennedy. elusive hero. what a great father's day present or mother's day present. >> and his birthday is coming up. he would be 95 this month. jack kennedy. >> and be sure to watch chris, of course. chris matthews on "hardball" right here at 7:00 on msnbc. >>> what political stories will be headlines? thy way with listerin

this report began when a former president, vernon jordan, watched president ford present his state of the union in the mid 1970's. in that statement, address, president ford did not mention urban, did not mention black, did not mention poor people or their concerns, even once. vernon jordan at that time said if he will not do it, the national urban league will pyrrhic each year since then, we have presented this report which is called the state of black america, but, friends, and colleagues, when we talk about the state of black america, we are talking about the state of the nation, because as black america and urban communities go, so goes this nation. we're in the ostensibly -- in dispensibily wound together in the 21st century. we asked each year, what is the state of black america? in 2012 i must report the state of black americans is we are under attack. the quality of education is under attack. how is the quality of education under attack? when tens of thousands of schoolteachers are laid off in school district after school district, in cities across the nation, the quality of e

so vernon jordan said if he will not do it, he will. we have presented this report which is called the state of black america. friends and colleagues, when we talk about the state of black america, we are talking about the state of the nation. [applause] as black america and urban communities go, so goes this nation. we are indispensable a and inextricably wound in bound together as a single nation here in the 21st century. each share we ask what is the stake of black america? -- each year we ask, what is teh state of black oamerica? i must report that the state of black america is that we are under attack. we are the quality of education. how is the quality of education under attack? when tens of thousands of schoolteachers are laid off in school district after school district, in cities across the nation, and the quality of education is under attack. when 10% of the people control 2/3rds of the net worth, when unemployment has skyrocketed to nearly 14%, 15%, economic equality is under attack. in 2012, the right to vote is under attack

as my friend and mentor, vernon jordan likes to say, you cannot concentrate on the best of what we have done. you must focus on the worst of what we need to do. that is your charge to define your success at least in some measure by what we do for our brothers and our sisters. you cannot close the ranks behind you. cannot enter the ranks of the elite and close the ranks behind you. you are part of a chain of those men and women who have gone before us. those who broke the shackles of slavery, they fought for freedom and justice, they took to the streets and demanded voting rights and civil rights, giants like martin luther king and folks like your teachers, your parents, who now pass the baton off to you to take care of. it is at once a sobering and exhilarating responsibility. to alt graduates, allow yourself to -- to all the graduates, allow yourself to bask in what you have accomplished but not too long. and you will cherish what you have learned here and use it as a foundation for good. my congratulations to all of you. you worked long and hard to arrive at this place and my congratu

o'connell who was cia station chief in amman, jordan, from 1963 to 1971 and became king hue same's friend and close -- hussein's friend and close adviser. up next, vernon loeb and sean o'connell -- jack o'connell's son -- talk about the book. this is about an hour. >> good evening, and welcome to our middle east policy forum tonight. it's wonderful to have all of you here. this is a special program for me both because of the subject, the topic, but one also for years i was in the foreign service and having served in jordan twice both in the 1980s as deputy chief of mission and 2001-'4 as ambassador. i knew jack o'connell personally and very well for many years, and i can tell you he was a great man and deeply involved and deeply committed, and he had strong, strong feelings. and thank heavens, he put them in a book. thanks to vernon loeb who worked with him as author, and we're happy to have jack's son sean here as well to share some things. but let me just say that, again, the middle east policy forum is a program that we run through the institute for middle east studies here at the elliot school to try to bring programs, four, five or six during a se