CSPAN3 — Lucas Johnson Remembering Roots
20260829 215400 UTC
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[00:00:01] IT IS JUST UP AGAINST A VERY
[00:00:03] PATRIARCHAL AND VERY POWERFUL
[00:00:06] FORCE THAT DOES NOT WANT TO CEDE ANY OF ITS OWN POWER.
[00:00:09] AND WHENEVER YOU COME UP AGAINST
[00:00:11] THAT KIND OF RESISTANCE, OF COURSE IT'S GOING TO SEEM LIKE
[00:00:15] EVERYTHING YOU'RE TRYING IS FAILING. BUT YOU TRY NONETHELESS.
[00:00:19] YOU CAN WATCH THE REST OF THIS PROGRAM AND ALL OF OUR BOOK PROGRAMS ANY TIME ONLINE AT BOOK
[00:00:23] TV DOT ORG.
[00:00:26] BOOK TV IS TELEVISION FOR SERIOUS READERS.
[00:00:30] KEEP WATCHING FOR MORE OF THE
[00:00:31] LATEST NONFICTION BOOKS.
[00:00:34] THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY.
[00:00:37] MY NAME IS BRONTE AND I WORK WITH THE BOOKSHOP, WHICH IS AN
[00:00:39] INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE OVER IN EAST NASHVILLE. BUT FIRST, I'LL JUST GIVE A
[00:00:44] QUICK INTRODUCTION OF OUR TWO AUTHORS TODAY.
[00:00:47] LUCAS AL JOHNSON IS A FORMER REPORTER FOR THE ASSOCIATED
[00:00:50] PRESS, WHERE HE WORKED FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS, MAINLY COVERING
[00:00:53] POLITICS, EDUCATION AND RELIGION. HE'S THE AUTHOR OF FINDING THE
[00:00:56] GOOD COAUTHOR OF YOUTH CHANGE IT, AND HIS NEW BOOK THAT WE'RE
[00:01:00] ALL HERE TO HEAR ABOUT TODAY IS REMEMBERING RUTH'S. JOHNSON WORKS IN HIGHER
[00:01:04] EDUCATION AND HAS TAUGHT HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS. HE'S A FREELANCE WRITER AND
[00:01:07] COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIST, AND HE LIVES RIGHT HERE IN
[00:01:11] NASHVILLE. AND OUR CONVERSATION PARTNER IS DR. LORETTA WILLIAMS JR.
[00:01:15] HE IS A SCHOLAR OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION AND PUBLIC
[00:01:19] HISTORY AT TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY, WHERE HE ALSO COORDINATES THE NORTH NASHVILLE
[00:01:24] HERITAGE PROJECT. EARLIER THIS YEAR, HE WAS APPOINTED DAVIDSON COUNTY
[00:01:27] HISTORIAN BY NASHVILLE'S MAYOR, FREDDY O'CONNELL.
[00:01:29] DR. WILLIAMS HAS WORKED AS A HISTORIC SITE SPECIALIST FOR THE
[00:01:33] STATE OF FLORIDA AND AS COORDINATOR FOR THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES PROGRAM
[00:01:36] AT ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC STATE UNIVERSITY. AND HE SERVED AS TRUSTEE OF THE
[00:01:41] HISTORIC SAVANNAH FOUNDATION. HIS MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS AS
[00:01:44] A COAUTHOR INCLUDE FROM THE FIERY FAIRNESS TO THE PROMISED LAND. AND I'LL TAKE YOU THERE.
[00:01:48] AND WE HAVE COPIES OF BOTH OF THOSE AVAILABLE AS WELL. IF YOU'D LIKE TO PURCHASE THEM TODAY.
[00:01:52] SO PLEASE JOIN ME IN GIVING A WARM WELCOME TO LUCAS HENDLER AT
[00:01:57] THE. OKAY. THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING OUT
[00:02:00] THIS AFTERNOON. AND I'D LIKE TO WELCOME YOU TO
[00:02:04] THE Z ALEXANDER LUBY CENTER HERE.
[00:02:08] THIS IS AN IMPORTANT SPACE THAT
[00:02:13] RECOGNIZES THE HISTORY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND A VERY
[00:02:17] IMPORTANT MAN IN THAT MOVEMENT.
[00:02:19] Z ALEXANDER LUBY WAS ARGUABLY
[00:02:22] THE GREATEST LAWYER IN THE
[00:02:24] HISTORY OF THE VOLUNTEER STATE.
[00:02:26] AND IT IS A MOMENTOUS OCCASION
[00:02:30] BECAUSE IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, WE'RE CELEBRATING THE 50TH
[00:02:34] ANNIVERSARY OF THIS BUILDING.
[00:02:36] SO THIS IS A VERY GOOD PLACE AND
[00:02:38] A GOOD TIME TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION.
[00:02:42] I'M THIS IS A CONVERSATION THAT
[00:02:45] I THINK LUCAS AND I HAVE HAD OFF AND ON FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS.
[00:02:48] AND IT'S KIND OF NICE WE GET TO
[00:02:52] INVITE YOU INTO SOME OF THE
[00:02:54] THINGS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT.
[00:02:56] BUT FIRST, I WANT TO THANK YOU, LUCAS, FOR ALLOWING ME TO SIT
[00:03:00] HERE AND CHAT WITH YOU. YEAH.
[00:03:04] FIRST QUESTION IS THIS WHAT
[00:03:06] INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE
[00:03:10] REMEMBERING ROOTS AND REVISIT
[00:03:10] THE LEGACY OF ALEX HALEY'S WORK?
[00:03:14] AT THIS PARTICULAR MOMENT IN HISTORY, HE WELL, I KNEW THAT
[00:03:18] THE 50TH ANNIVERSARIES WERE COMING UP FOR ALEX HALEY'S BOOK,
[00:03:22] WHICH CAME OUT IN AUGUST OF 1976.
[00:03:26] AND THEN THE MINISERIES CAME OUT
[00:03:29] LIKE A FEW MONTHS LATER IN JANUARY THREE OF 1977.
[00:03:33] AND SO I KNEW THOSE WERE COMING UP. AND I WANT TO DO SOMETHING.
[00:03:37] BUT WHAT ALSO MOTIVATED ME IS AN
[00:03:40] ARTICLE THAT I CAME ACROSS
[00:03:42] WRITTEN BY MICHAEL HEARNE FOR
[00:03:44] THE NEW YORK TIMES AND IN THAT
[00:03:47] ARTICLE, HE WAS A STUDENT OF ALEX HALEY.
[00:03:49] WHEN ALEX HALEY LECTURE AT AT HAMILTON COLLEGE IN NEW YORK.
[00:03:53] AND ALEX HALEY AS HE WAS TRYING
[00:03:55] TO RAISE MONEY TO DO HIS RESEARCH, HE WOULD GO TO
[00:03:59] DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, DIFFERENT UNIVERSITIES, DIFFERENT
[00:04:02] INSTITUTIONS AND LECTURE AND SO HAMILTON COLLEGE WAS ONE OF THOSE PLACES.
[00:04:06] AND MICHAEL WAS A STUDENT THERE IN 1968.
[00:04:08] AND SO IN THAT ARTICLE, HE GIVES GREAT DETAIL ABOUT WHAT IT WAS
[00:04:13] LIKE WORKING WITH ALEX HALEY.
[00:04:15] AND SO I KNEW I HAD TO GET IN CONTACT WITH HIM SOME KIND OF
[00:04:20] WAY JUST TO SEE IF HE WOULD BE WILLING TO PROVIDE SOME
[00:04:22] COMMENTARY FOR MY PROJECT. AND SURE ENOUGH, HE GOT BACK TO
[00:04:26] ME AND HE WAS ONE OF MY ONE OF MY MAIN SUPPORTERS FOR THE PROJECT.
[00:04:29] AND IT WAS HIM AND LEVAR BERGEN THAT I KNEW I HAD TO GET IN
[00:04:34] ORDER TO REALLY KIND OF GET THIS THING GOING.
[00:04:37] AND I FINALLY, AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS, WAS ABLE TO GET AN
[00:04:41] INTERVIEW WITH LEVAR BURTON IN
[00:04:43] SO GRACIOUSLY, GRATEFUL TO HIM FOR DOING THAT BECAUSE WE SPENT
[00:04:46] ABOUT AN HOUR ON THE PHONE AND HE ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS AND
[00:04:50] REALLY GAVE ME SOME GOOD INSIGHT FOR THE BOOK.
[00:04:54] WOW. I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD BE
[00:04:57] LIKE TO SPEAK TO THE OF BURTON. YEAH, QUITE A MOMENT.
[00:05:00] HE'S A PRINCE. YEAH.
[00:05:02] TO PREPARE FOR THIS CONVERSATION, AFTER I READ YOUR
[00:05:06] BOOK, I WENT BACK AND REREAD
[00:05:09] ROOTS AND AS I LOOKED THROUGH
[00:05:11] IT, IT IS A BOOK WITH SEVERAL
[00:05:18] VERY, VERY POWERFUL, POWERFUL
[00:05:22] SCENES. ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC, I THINK,
[00:05:24] IS THE BEHOLD SCENE, THE THE
[00:05:28] SCENE WHERE KUNTA CANTY RAISES
[00:05:30] UP KIDS, THE EMPEROR'S ANSWER TO THE HEAVENS.
[00:05:35] WHY DO YOU THINK THIS SCENE
[00:05:37] RESONATES SO DEEPLY ACROSS
[00:05:39] GENERATIONS AND IN CULTURES?
[00:05:43] I THINK BECAUSE IT'S AS YOU
[00:05:46] SAID, IS A POWERFUL SCENE AND IT'S ONE OF THOSE ACTS THAT I
[00:05:49] THINK INDIVIDUALS, EVEN IF THEY
[00:05:54] HAVEN'T SEEN ROOTS, BUT FOR THOSE THAT HAVE SEEN ROOTS, I
[00:05:56] THINK THEY DRAW LIKE A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
[00:06:00] AND YOU ALL PROBABLY KNOW THAT
[00:06:04] FAMOUS SAYING WHEN IT WAS DONE WITH KIZZY.
[00:06:06] BUT FIRST IT WAS DONE WHEN KOONTZ'S FATHER HOLDS HIM UP TO
[00:06:10] THE STARRY NIGHT SKY AND SAYS, BEHOLD, THE ONLY THING GREATER
[00:06:14] THAN YOURSELF. AND I THINK THAT HAS SO MUCH
[00:06:18] MEANING AS FAR AS EMPOWERMENT
[00:06:20] FOR PEOPLE AS WELL AS AS OTHER
[00:06:23] OTHER THEMES THAT CAN COME FROM THAT.
[00:06:25] AND I THINK THAT'S WHY IT JUST TOUCHED SO MANY PEOPLE.
[00:06:30] LIKE, THERE WAS ONE MAN THAT I INTERVIEWED AND HE WAS WATCHING
[00:06:33] ROOTS WITH HIS WIFE AND HE SAID,
[00:06:35] YOU KNOW, WHEN I HAVE WHEN WE HAVE CHILDREN AND WHEN I HAVE A
[00:06:39] CHILD, I'M GOING TO DO THAT. AND SURE ENOUGH, HE HAD A LITTLE
[00:06:42] GIRL AND HE TOOK HER OUT AND HE HELD HER UP AND DID THE RITUAL.
[00:06:47] AND THEN LIKE SEVERAL MONTHS
[00:06:49] LATER, HE HAD A LITTLE BOY. AND HE DID THE SAME THING WITH THE LITTLE BOY.
[00:06:54] AND I WAS ABLE TO TALK TO BOTH
[00:06:58] ADULTS. NOW, OF THE CHILDREN. AND THEY TALK ABOUT HOW THAT
[00:07:02] THEY APPRECIATE HIM DOING THAT
[00:07:05] AND HOW IT'S MADE THEM FEEL OVER THE YEARS, BEING ABLE TO AGAIN,
[00:07:08] TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION AND WHAT
[00:07:11] IT'S DONE IN THEIR LIVES.
[00:07:14] I AND I CAN UNDERSTAND NOW THAT
[00:07:17] THAT CONNECTION CAN SPAN
[00:07:20] GENERATIONS BECAUSE WE HAVE FROM HIS FATHER DOING IT TO HIM IN
[00:07:24] AFRICA TO THE PRESENT DAY, WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO MANIFEST IN THE
[00:07:28] SAME SORT OF BEHAVIOR, 21ST
[00:07:31] CENTURY AND NEXT QUESTION IS
[00:07:33] RELATED TO THAT.
[00:07:37] HOW DID ROOTS INFLUENCE THE
[00:07:39] GENEALOGY MOVEMENT HERE IN THE UNITED STATES AND INSPIRE A
[00:07:43] PIECE OF PEOPLE HERE TO TRACE THEIR OWN FAMILY HISTORIES?
[00:07:48] ONE THING IT DID INSPIRE WAS A
[00:07:50] LOT OF FAMILY REUNIONS, GATHERINGS.
[00:07:52] BUT AS FAR AS GENEALOGY
[00:07:54] ORGANIZATIONS, FAMILIES SEARCH WAS THE FIRST ONE.
[00:07:59] THE OLDEST ONE. IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1894.
[00:08:01] BUT AS FAR AS AND SASTRY.COM AND
[00:08:04] THOSE THAT FOLLOWED I DON'T THINK THEY WOULD BE HERE WITHOUT
[00:08:08] ROOTS AND IN PARTICULAR ONE
[00:08:12] GENEALOGY REALLY POPULAR PROGRAM
[00:08:14] FINDING YOUR ROOTS BY THE ESTEEMED SCHOLAR DR. HENRY LOUIS
[00:08:18] GATES. HE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THAT
[00:08:22] PROGRAM IS A RESULT OF ROOTS.
[00:08:24] AND SO IT DEFINITELY INSPIRED
[00:08:27] HIM TO DO WHAT HE THAT WITH WHAT
[00:08:31] THAT SHOW IS TODAY. BUT YEAH, I THINK WITHOUT
[00:08:35] WITHOUT ROOTS, I DON'T THINK ANCESTRY AND THIS DESIRE FOR
[00:08:39] PEOPLE TO FIND OUT REGARDLESS OF THEIR RACE REGARDLESS I DON'T
[00:08:43] THINK THEY WOULD BE INCLINED TO REALLY WANT TO FOLLOW AND FIND
[00:08:46] OUT WHERE THEY CAME FROM IF IT
[00:08:48] WASN'T FOR ROOTS.
[00:08:53] WHERE REALLY ASKED YOU WHY YOU WROTE THIS AND WHAT DO YOU HOPE
[00:08:58] READERS TAKE AWAY FROM THIS WORK AFTER THEY READ IT AND HAVE A
[00:09:00] MOMENT TO SIT WITH IT AND THINK
[00:09:02] ABOUT IT AND THIS IS A GOOD
[00:09:06] SEGWAY KIND OF FOLLOW UP ON THE LAST QUESTION. I MEAN, I'M HOPING THAT PEOPLE
[00:09:10] WILL WANT TO NOT JUST TRACE
[00:09:14] THEIR ROOTS, BUT I MEAN, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE WHAT ALEX
[00:09:18] HALEY DID GOING BACK GENERATIONS. BUT TO START WITH, YOU KNOW, MOM
[00:09:21] AND DAD JUST SIT DOWN AND FIND OUT LIKE WHAT IT WAS LIKE WHEN
[00:09:25] THEY WERE GROWING UP AND THEN MAYBE TALK TO, YOU KNOW, GRANDMA
[00:09:29] AND GRANDPA AND FIND OUT. I THINK THESE DAYS, ESPECIALLY YOUNG PEOPLE, I THINK, YOU KNOW,
[00:09:32] THEY'RE STILL INCLINED. AND ON SOCIAL MEDIA, YOU KNOW, VIDEO GAMES.
[00:09:36] BUT MAYBE TAKE A MOMENT AND JUST TALK TO, YOU KNOW, YOUR PARENTS
[00:09:40] ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE HISTORY. AND YOU'D BE SURPRISED WHAT YOU FIND OUT.
[00:09:43] I MEAN, YOU'D BE SURPRISED THAT THE THAT THAT YOU THE THE THINGS
[00:09:47] THAT THEY WENT THROUGH, HOW THEY OVERCAME CERTAIN THINGS.
[00:09:51] I THINK THAT STUFF IS INSPIRING. AND I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE
[00:09:55] COMPONENTS OF ROOTS THE TENACITY
[00:09:57] OF THIS FAMILY TO OVERCOME THE
[00:10:00] THINGS THAT THEY DID TO MAKE IT
[00:10:02] IN AMERICA, WHICH APPLIES TO ANY FAMILY.
[00:10:06] SO I THINK YOU FIND OUT THINGS
[00:10:08] WHEN YOU TALK TO RELATIVES. AND SO THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS
[00:10:11] THAT I HOPE PEOPLE WILL TAKE AWAY AND ALSO GO TO YOUR ELDERS
[00:10:15] AND, YOU KNOW, AND, YOU KNOW, TALK TO THEM. BUT IT DOESN'T HURT ALSO TO
[00:10:21] RECORD THEIR STORIES, YOU KNOW, THEIR ALL HISTORIES.
[00:10:24] THAT'S HOW ALEX HALEY WAS ABLE
[00:10:26] TO, YOU KNOW, FIND OUT, SIT ON ITS PORCH.
[00:10:29] YOU HEARD HIS GRANDMA AND HIS AUNT CYNTHIA AND OTHER AUNTS TALK ABOUT KUNTA KINTE AND
[00:10:34] CHICKEN GEORGE. AND HE JUST STARTED WANTING TO
[00:10:36] DO MORE RESEARCH.
[00:10:38] SO, YES, I FOUND.
[00:10:44] I'D BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T MENTION THIS.
[00:10:46] ROOTS HAS BEEN IN THE NEWS HERE
[00:10:49] IN TENNESSEE RECENTLY AS A
[00:10:54] SOURCE OF CONTROVERSY AND THESE
[00:10:56] TENNESSEE, THEY ACTUALLY BAN
[00:10:59] ROOTS FROM FROM CLASSROOM FROM
[00:11:02] THE LIBRARY AND CAN YOU SPEAK ON THAT A BIT?
[00:11:08] WHY THIS BOOK HAS BEEN
[00:11:10] CELEBRATED AND BANNED?
[00:11:12] WHY DOES ITS INCLUSION AS AN OFFICIAL STATE BOOK HERE IN
[00:11:16] TENNESSEE WHILE BEING BANNED ELSEWHERE? WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT AMERICA
[00:11:23] TODAY. I THINK IT SHOWS, NUMBER ONE,
[00:11:27] THE CONTINUED DIVIDE SIDE THAT WE HAVE.
[00:11:31] BUT THE FACT THAT IT WAS, YOU
[00:11:33] KNOW, BANNED HERE. I GUESS WITH THAT, I'M STILL
[00:11:37] STUCK ON IS BANNED IN KNOX
[00:11:40] COUNTY WHERE ALEX HALEY SPENT A LOT OF HIS LIFE.
[00:11:44] BUT THEN THE LAW THAT THEY BANNED IT IT CAME OUT IN 2022.
[00:11:49] BUT THEN IN 2024, IT WAS MADE AN
[00:11:53] OFFICIAL STATE BOOK. SO HOW DO YOU BAN SOMETHING
[00:11:56] THAT, YOU KNOW, AS AN OFFICIAL
[00:11:58] STATE BOOK WHEN IT'S BEEN
[00:12:00] DESIGNATED IN THIS IN THIS REGARD?
[00:12:02] BUT WHAT I DID APPRECIATE, FIRST
[00:12:05] OF ALL, THE SUPERINTENDENT
[00:12:07] MAKING THAT REVERSAL, BUT ALSO
[00:12:10] SO JUST THE BACKLASH, IF YOU
[00:12:13] WILL, OR THE PEOPLE THAT CAME
[00:12:15] OUT AGAINST THE BANNING.
[00:12:18] I THINK ONCE AGAIN SHOWS THE
[00:12:20] IMPACT OF ROOTS TODAY, 50 YEARS
[00:12:22] LATER, JUST HOW IMPORTANT THAT STORY IS.
[00:12:25] AND THAT'S WHAT I WAS REALLY GLAD TO SEE, MORE SO THAN ANYTHING, JUST THE CONTINUATION.
[00:12:30] AGAIN OF ALEX HALEY'S LEGACY,
[00:12:32] BUT ALSO JUST HOW PEOPLE ARE SAYING, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WRONG,
[00:12:37] THIS TYPE OF BANNING PERIOD SHOULDN'T HAPPEN. BECAUSE WHEN YOU DO THAT, YOU
[00:12:40] ROB STUDENTS OF THE OPPORTUNITY
[00:12:42] TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS AND TO
[00:12:45] HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SLAVERY, TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS
[00:12:48] ABOUT OTHER ISSUES, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT.
[00:12:50] AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT ALEX HALEY WANTED SO MUCH WITH ROOTS
[00:12:56] BECAUSE WHEN ROOTS CAME OUT, HE TALKS ABOUT HOW THE NUMBER OF
[00:13:00] PEOPLE THAT CAME UP TO HIM AND A
[00:13:01] LOT OF WERE WHITE PEOPLE WHO
[00:13:04] SAID, THANK YOU FOR WRITING THIS
[00:13:06] SO THAT I CAN UNDERSTAND AND
[00:13:09] MORE SO AFRICAN HISTORY, BUT
[00:13:11] ALSO JUST A BETTER UNDERSTOOD
[00:13:13] ENDING OF THE TRANSITION OF
[00:13:15] AFRICANS TO AMERICA AND JUST A
[00:13:19] BETTER UNDERSTANDING ABOUT SLAVERY.
[00:13:21] NOT TO MAKE ANYBODY FEEL GUILTY, BUT TO EDUCATE, TO HAVE A
[00:13:26] CONVERSATION. AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT IS SPARKED. AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE CAN
[00:13:29] TAKE FROM THAT TODAY TO HAVE
[00:13:31] CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THESE ISSUES
[00:13:33] INSTEAD OF TRYING TO PUSH THEM UNDER THE RUG AND PRETEND LIKE
[00:13:36] THEY DIDN'T EXIST.
[00:13:41] YEAH. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I TOOK
[00:13:43] AWAY FROM THIS BOOK, I DIDN'T
[00:13:46] REALLY HAVE A WHOLE LOT TO DO WITH ROOTS, BUT IT DEALT WITH
[00:13:49] YOU AS A PERSON. YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN FRIENDS FOR
[00:13:53] A WHILE AND I DON'T. I WAS JUST AMAZED AT THE PEOPLE
[00:13:57] THAT YOU HAD ACCESS TO. YEAH.
[00:13:59] SO MY NEXT QUESTION IS THIS. YOU INTERVIEWED THE ORIGINAL
[00:14:03] CAST MEMBERS AND SCHOLARS FOR THIS BOOK.
[00:14:07] WHAT WHAT'S THE MOST SURPRISING
[00:14:09] OR MOVING STORY YOU HEARD FROM THESE PEOPLE?
[00:14:15] I TALKED TO BLAIR UNDERWOOD AND
[00:14:19] HE ACTUALLY FOUND OUT THAT HE
[00:14:24] HAS A COUSIN AND HE WAS ABLE TO
[00:14:28] TRACE I THINK IT WAS LIKE TEN IN JUNE.
[00:14:31] IT WILL SEVEN GENERATIONS, MAYBE. BUT HE WAS ABLE TO TRACE HIS
[00:14:36] COUSIN BACK. AND THAT'S THE FEELING THAT HE
[00:14:40] FELT WHEN HE FOUND THEM.
[00:14:42] AND HE WOULD REFERENCE ONE OF MY
[00:14:45] FAVORITE SCENES, AND THAT WAS IN ROOTS THE NEXT GENERATION.
[00:14:49] WHEN JAMES EARL JONES, WHO PLAYS
[00:14:51] ALEX HALEY, FOUND THE FINDS THE
[00:14:55] GRIO, WHO'S ABLE TO GIVE HIM THE INFORMATION HE NEEDS ABOUT KUNTA
[00:14:57] AND HE JUST SAYS, I FOUND YOU, I'VE FOUND YOU.
[00:15:01] AND BLAIR UNDERWOOD WAS SAYING THAT WAS THE FEELING THAT HE HAD
[00:15:04] WHEN HE FOUND HIS COUSIN. YEAH.
[00:15:08] AND I THINK THAT'S JUST THE FEELING THAT PEOPLE, WHEN THEY
[00:15:12] DISCOVER THINGS, WHICH IS WHY I GO BACK TO, YOU KNOW, TRACING
[00:15:16] YOUR HISTORY, NO MATTER HOW FAR IT IS.
[00:15:19] JUST MAKING DISCOVERIES THAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW BEFORE, I THINK IS
[00:15:22] REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.
[00:15:28] AND ONE OF THE THE THE MOST
[00:15:32] IMPACTFUL AND MEMORABLE SCENES FROM BOTH THE BOOK AND THE
[00:15:37] MINISTER IS IS THE WHIPPING
[00:15:38] SCENE WHERE KUNTA KINTE REFUSES
[00:15:41] TO ACCEPT THE NAME TOBY.
[00:15:44] BUT SORT OF IMPACT DID THAT
[00:15:46] SCENE HAVE ON VIEWERS AND
[00:15:48] CONVERSATIONS ABOUT IDENTITY, IN YOUR OPINION?
[00:15:52] YEAH.
[00:15:54] UM, I THINK JUST NOT TO BE NOT
[00:16:00] SO WAVER IN WHO YOU ARE, WHO YOU
[00:16:02] BELIEVE, WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN.
[00:16:05] OF COURSE THERE'S A FOLLOW UP
[00:16:09] SCENE FROM THE SCENE WHEN HE'S WHIPPED. THAT'S, I THINK, JUST AS
[00:16:13] POWERFUL.
[00:16:13] AND THAT'S WHEN HE'S LET DOWN
[00:16:19] AND HE FALLS INTO THE ARMS OF FITTLER, PLAYED BY LOUIS GOSSETT
[00:16:23] JR AND IN THAT SCENE IN THE
[00:16:25] MINISERIES, HE LOUIS GOSSETT
[00:16:28] PUTS WATER ON HIS FACE AND
[00:16:30] CONSOLES HIM AND HE SAYS, DON'T YOU CARE WHAT THEY SAY?
[00:16:34] YOU KNOW WHO YOU BE, WHO YOU ALWAYS BE.
[00:16:38] YOU BE KUNTA AND WHAT OH, WHAT?
[00:16:40] I ALSO LIKED ABOUT THAT SCENE,
[00:16:42] WHICH ENDED UP NOT BEING
[00:16:44] SCRIPTED BECAUSE SOMETHING JUST CAME UP WITH LOUIS GOSSETT AND
[00:16:49] HE JUST KEPT ON TALKING. FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND. AND.
[00:16:51] BUT YOU HAVE THIS THIS FATHER
[00:16:55] FIGURE CONSOLING THIS YOUNG MAN
[00:16:57] AND THIS AND THIS SITUATION.
[00:16:59] AND I THINK IT JUST SHOWS ALSO
[00:17:02] HOW THAT'S NEEDED TODAY WITH
[00:17:04] OLDER MEN BEING THERE FOR YOUNG
[00:17:06] MEN AND HELPING THEM, BEING MENTORS IN SOME KIND OF WAY TO
[00:17:10] HELP THEM, YOU KNOW, MAKE IT IN
[00:17:14] THIS LIFE, GIVING SOME KIND OF GUIDANCE. AND THAT'S WHAT I TOOK AWAY, TOO.
[00:17:18] AND I THINK THAT PLAYS A ROLE AS
[00:17:20] WELL AS WHEN A YOUNG PERSON SEES SOMEONE LIKE THAT.
[00:17:24] IT HELPS WITH THEIR IDENTITY.
[00:17:25] IT HELPS TO FORTIFY WHO THEY ARE
[00:17:28] AND WHAT THEY BELIEVE IN.
[00:17:30] SO THAT'S WHAT I GET FROM BOTH
[00:17:32] OF THOSE BOTH OF THOSE THINGS.
[00:17:36] IN YOUR BOOK, YOU DESCRIBE ALEX
[00:17:38] HALEY AS AN AMERICAN GRIOT.
[00:17:42] HOW DO YOU SEE THE ROLE OF STORYTELLING AND HEALING AND THE
[00:17:46] RECLAMATION OF OUR HISTORY?
[00:17:49] I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO
[00:17:51] CONTINUE TO TELL STORIES
[00:17:56] REGARDLESS, ESPECIALLY OUR STORIES, WHICH IS ESPECIALLY AT
[00:18:00] A TIME LIKE THIS, WHEN THERE IS
[00:18:02] ATTEMPTS TO ERASE CERTAIN THINGS.
[00:18:04] IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO
[00:18:08] CONTINUE TO SHARE THESE STORIES IN SOME CAPACITY.
[00:18:11] AND I THINK IT'S INCUMBENT UPON, ESPECIALLY AGAIN, WHEN IT COMES
[00:18:14] TO YOUNG PEOPLE FOR A PARENTS TO IF THE CHILD DOESN'T ASK ABOUT
[00:18:17] THE HISTORY TO VOLUNTEER, VOLUNTEER THAT HISTORY NOT JUST
[00:18:21] ABOUT THE FAMILY, BUT ALSO ABOUT
[00:18:26] AMERICA AND HISTORY, ABOUT THE INCIDENTS THAT HAPPENED.
[00:18:29] AND, YOU KNOW, LIKE WITH SLAVERY, JUST LIKE THE HOLOCAUST IS CONTINUE TO BE TALKED ABOUT
[00:18:33] AND SHOULD BE TALKED ABOUT. SO SHOULD SLAVERY BE TALKED
[00:18:36] ABOUT SO THAT THOSE THINGS, AGAIN, NOT REPEAT IT, BUT A
[00:18:40] BETTER UNDERSTOOD AND I THINK IT
[00:18:43] ALSO EMPHASIZES WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THOSE THINGS, PEOPLE SEE
[00:18:47] THE HATRED THAT EXISTED AND HOW
[00:18:49] WE SHOULD DO JUST THE OPPOSITE AND REALLY LOOK FOR WAYS TO
[00:18:53] REALLY TREAT EACH OTHER BETTER.
[00:18:54] THE MORE RESEARCH I DID ABOUT ALEX HALEY, THE MORE I FOUND OUT
[00:18:58] IN SOME OF HIS WRITINGS. I CAME ACROSS HIM TALKING ABOUT
[00:19:01] CIVILITY, AND I REALLY TRIED TO WORK THAT INTO THE BOOK AS MUCH
[00:19:04] AS POSSIBLE, WAYS THAT WE CAN
[00:19:07] DISAGREE BETTER, WAYS THAT WE
[00:19:09] CAN JUST GET ALONG BETTER AND
[00:19:13] JUST A LOT OF THAT, AGAIN, GOES
[00:19:14] BACK TO HAVING CONVERSATIONS.
[00:19:19] AFTER COMPLETING THIS PROJECT.
[00:19:22] WHAT SORT OF IMPACT DID IT HAVE
[00:19:26] WITH DO YOU FORESEE IT HAVING ON SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT TO WRITE
[00:19:30] IN THE FUTURE? HOW HAS IT IMPACTED YOU AS A WRITER?
[00:19:33] DO YOU THINK? WHEN I FIRST WROTE FINDING THE
[00:19:36] GOOD THAT CAME OUT IN 2004 AND
[00:19:40] THAT WAS A BOOK THAT WHEN I WAS A REPORTER WITH THE ASSOCIATED
[00:19:44] PRESS, I INTERVIEWED FRED MONTGOMERY, WHO WAS ALEX HALEY'S
[00:19:48] CHILDHOOD FRIEND, AND FINDING
[00:19:51] THE GOOD CAME FROM ONE OF ALEX
[00:19:53] HALEY'S FAMOUS SAYINGS FIND THE GOOD AND PRAISE.
[00:19:56] IT IS WHY I TOOK THAT FOR THE TITLE.
[00:19:59] AND SO I TRY TO APPLY THAT THEME
[00:20:02] OF FINDING THE GOOD IN SOME
[00:20:04] CAPACITY AND WHAT I WRITE.
[00:20:06] AND SO GOING FORWARD IN THE NEXT
[00:20:10] PROJECT THAT I'M LOOKING AT, I
[00:20:12] WANT TO TRY TO DO THE SAME THING AGAIN.
[00:20:15] WHAT CAN WE DO?
[00:20:16] WHAT CAN BE DONE TO BETTER A
[00:20:19] SOCIETY IN SOME KIND OF WAY?
[00:20:26] AND. I NEED YOU TO GO BACK A LITTLE BIT TO THE MOMENT WHEN YOU FIRST
[00:20:29] SAW THE MINISERIES.
[00:20:32] YOU REMEMBER THE CAN YOU SHARE
[00:20:36] WITH US THE IMPACT THAT IT HAD ON YOU?
[00:20:39] AND YES, AS A FAMILY AND YOU COMMUNITY WHEN IT FIRST CAME
[00:20:42] OUT, I THINK THE SCENE EVEN
[00:20:46] BEFORE THE WHIPPING SCENE AND I WAS PROBABLY ABOUT EIGHT YEARS
[00:20:49] OLD, BUT I REMEMBER WERE WHEN
[00:20:51] THE KUNTA WAS CAUGHT AND AND THE
[00:20:57] CHAINS WERE ON HIM AND HOW HE
[00:20:59] JUST LANGUISHED AND JUST WAS
[00:21:02] FIERCELY TRYING TO GET OUT.
[00:21:04] AND THEN HE JUST KIND OF COLLAPSES FROM FRUSTRATION
[00:21:09] BECAUSE HE'S JUST SO TIRED AND WORN OUT.
[00:21:11] AND IT JUST THAT REALLY HIT ME
[00:21:14] AT THAT AGE, JUST WHAT IT WAS
[00:21:17] LIKE TO BE FREE.
[00:21:19] BUT THEN NOT BE FREE.
[00:21:23] THE AND AND JUST THAT WAS JUST TAKEN AWAY FROM THEM.
[00:21:27] AND I JUST NEVER FORGET THAT
[00:21:30] SCENE AND I'M CURIOUS AS TO YOUR
[00:21:35] THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW.
[00:21:38] HOW THE BOOK AND THE MINISERIES
[00:21:41] CAN BE USED AS A TEACHING TOOL,
[00:21:47] PARTICULARLY IN TODAY'S ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE HAVE TO
[00:21:50] TREAD VERY LIGHTLY IN HOW CAN
[00:21:56] THIS BE USED IN THE CLASSROOM?
[00:21:58] HOW CAN THE STORY OF ROOTS IN THE MINISERIES BE USED IN THE
[00:22:03] CLASSROOM IN YOUR VIEW? I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP. I ACTUALLY PUT TOGETHER A
[00:22:07] READING AND VIEWING GUIDE TO
[00:22:09] ACCOMPANY THE BOOK FOR
[00:22:11] CLASSROOMS, FOR BOOK DISCUSSIONS.
[00:22:14] BUT I THINK IN THE CLASSROOM, AGAIN, IT GOES BACK TO AN
[00:22:17] OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS.
[00:22:19] THERE IS A PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, MARRIED
[00:22:23] PROFESSOR HENRY GAUSS, WHO HAS A CURRICULUM AROUND ROOTS.
[00:22:27] AND I ACTUALLY TALKED TO A COUPLE OF OUR STUDENTS AND THAT
[00:22:31] I INCLUDED THEIR COMMENTARY IN THE BOOK. AND THEY WERE AND ONE OF THE
[00:22:34] STUDENTS WAS WHITE. AND HE WAS JUST SAYING HOW THE
[00:22:38] ENLIGHTENMENT BECAUSE WHAT SHE WOULD DO IS SHE WOULD HAVE THEM
[00:22:41] TO WATCH AN EPISODE.
[00:22:43] AND THEN AFTER THAT EPISODE, SHE WOULD HAVE THEM TO WRITE AN
[00:22:46] ESSAY ABOUT WHAT THEY SAW. AND IT WAS JUST INTERESTING TO
[00:22:50] SEE HOW, YOU KNOW, THEY WEREN'T
[00:22:52] LIKE JUST LIKE, OH, YOU KNOW,
[00:22:55] THIS IS I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS.
[00:22:56] THEY WANT IT TO LEARN MORE.
[00:22:59] I MEAN, AND THEY GOT FROM ME, LIKE THE ONE OF THE STUDENTS WAS
[00:23:02] SAYING, THEY COULD, YOU KNOW, SEEING HOW IT WAS TREATED, IT
[00:23:06] JUST REALLY OPENED HIS MIND TO, YOU KNOW, A MORE A BETTER
[00:23:10] UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPACT OF
[00:23:12] SLAVERY AND SOMETHING THAT HE
[00:23:15] HADN'T EXPERIENCED BEFORE. AND THEN AGAIN, IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR HIM TO TALK
[00:23:19] ABOUT IT AS WELL AS THE OTHERS. SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT IT REALLY GOES TO.
[00:23:24] AND TO SHOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS
[00:23:27] ISN'T JUST AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY IS PART OF AMERICA
[00:23:31] HISTORY. AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT SHOULD
[00:23:32] BE INCLUDED AND DISCUSSED.
[00:23:38] TOWARD THE END OF THE BOOK, YOU
[00:23:39] HAVE EXCERPTS FROM AND FROM AND
[00:23:44] FROM THE TEXT. AND AS I READ IT, I WAS LIKE,
[00:23:46] THIS MUST HAVE BEEN THE MOST
[00:23:48] DIFFICULT PART OF THIS BOOK TO
[00:23:51] PUT TOGETHER BECAUSE IT'S IT'S A
[00:23:55] BOOK THAT'S PREGNANT WITH
[00:23:57] IMPORTANT THINGS OR IMPORTANT
[00:24:01] MOMENTS. AND OUT OF THAT BIG TAKES, HOW
[00:24:03] DID YOU NARROW DOWN THE ONES THAT YOU USE FOR THE BOOK?
[00:24:07] ARE THESE WERE THOSE THE ONES THAT WERE MOST APPEALING TO YOU?
[00:24:09] HOW DID YOU MAKE THAT DECISION? YEAH, THEY WERE THE ONES THAT
[00:24:13] WERE THE MOST APPEALING AND I'M
[00:24:19] SOME OF YOU REFERRING TO THE WHAT ROOTS MEANS. YES.
[00:24:22] YEAH, I WAS JUST I MEAN, WHEN I
[00:24:24] WAS GETTING THAT INFORMATION AND
[00:24:27] IT WAS MOTIVATING TO ME BECAUSE AT TIMES, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS A LABOR OF LOVE IN A SENSE.
[00:24:32] AND, YOU KNOW, BUT IT WAS SOMETHING THAT I REALLY WANTED
[00:24:35] TO GET DONE AND COMPLETED. AND SO WHEN SOMEONE WOULD
[00:24:39] RESPOND AND THAT I PROBABLY
[00:24:41] WASN'T EXPECTING TO RESPOND AND
[00:24:43] I WOULD GET JUST THEIR DEEP
[00:24:47] THOUGHTS ON WHAT ROOTS MEANT TO
[00:24:49] THEM, IT REALLY IT KIND OF IT
[00:24:51] MOTIVATED ME TO CONTINUE. WELL, YEAH, THERE WAS SOME JUST
[00:24:55] PRETTY MUCH WHAT I GOT I WAS
[00:24:58] ABLE TO USE IN SOME CAPACITY AND TO GO BACK, YOU MENTIONED MAYBE
[00:25:02] AS FAR AS TALKING TO OUR ELDERS,
[00:25:06] AT LEAST THREE PEOPLE SINCE I
[00:25:08] STARTED THE PROJECT IN LATE 2004
[00:25:12] WHO ARE NOW DECEASED. AND I'M SO GLAD THAT I WAS ABLE
[00:25:15] TO GET THERE.
[00:25:18] THEIR COMMENTS AND ALSO A COUPLE OF THEM I RECORDED.
[00:25:21] BUT I THINK THAT JUST EMPHASIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF, YOU KNOW,
[00:25:27] PRESERVE BEING THAT OR HISTORY,
[00:25:29] WHICH IS JUST SO IMPORTANT. JUST EVEN IN THE IMMEDIATE
[00:25:33] FAMILY TO HAVE THAT BECAUSE YOU JUST DON'T KNOW.
[00:25:35] LIKE YOU AND I WERE TALKING BEFORE WE CAME UP.
[00:25:38] ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT REVEREND JAMES LAWSON? I, I REMEMBER AS A REPORTER WITH
[00:25:43] THIS AP WHEN I WAS WORKING ON A SOCIAL JUSTICE STORY, I WOULD
[00:25:47] OFTEN CALL HIM. AND I MEAN, I WOULD CALL HIM, FOR ONE THING, YOU KNOW,
[00:25:52] EXPECTING TO BE ON THE PHONE MAYBE TEN, 15 MINUTES.
[00:25:55] WE MIGHT BE ON THE PHONE AN HOUR
[00:25:57] BECAUSE HE WOULD GO ON AND ON ABOUT CERTAIN THINGS THAT WERE
[00:26:00] ON HIS MIND ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HISTORY.
[00:26:04] HE WOULD GO BACK TO HIS DAYS WITH DR. KING, BUT I DIDN'T MIND
[00:26:08] IT BECAUSE I WANTED TO HEAR THAT, YOU KNOW.
[00:26:10] AND, YOU KNOW, NOW I STILL HAVE SOME OF THAT RECORDING AND HE'S
[00:26:14] NO LONGER WITH US. SO THAT'S JUST KIND OF THE
[00:26:16] IMPORTANCE OF, YOU KNOW, GETTING
[00:26:18] OUR ELDERS ON RECORD.
[00:26:24] IN MY CLASSES, I TEACH AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY.
[00:26:29] I. IN REVIEWING MY LAST SYLLABUS, I
[00:26:32] NOTICED THAT I HAD A LOT OF WOMEN OFF.
[00:26:35] THERE'S A LOT OF WOMEN
[00:26:37] HISTORIANS, AND I SEE THIS
[00:26:39] PLAYING OUT IN THE ROOTS AS WELL AS WE GO THROUGH THIS STORY.
[00:26:43] WHAT ROLE DID WOMEN PLAY BOTH IN
[00:26:47] HALEY'S FAMILY AND THE ROOTS NARRATIVE OF WHAT ROLE DID THEY
[00:26:50] PLAY IN PRESERVING AND PASSING DOWN THIS HISTORY, IN YOUR
[00:26:54] OPINION? I THINK THEY PROVIDED STRENGTH
[00:26:59] AND THEY ESPECIALLY IN THE CASE,
[00:27:02] LET'S SAY, AND THE CHARACTER OF KIZZY, I THINK WOMEN CAN DRAW SO
[00:27:06] MUCH STRENGTH FROM WHAT SHE WENT THROUGH.
[00:27:09] HER RESILIENCE, BUT ALSO THEY
[00:27:14] WERE EDUCATORS BECAUSE IN A WAY
[00:27:17] THEY WERE EDUCATING ALEX, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST ABOUT HIS
[00:27:20] HISTORY, BUT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OTHER THINGS AS WELL. AND HE JUST KIND OF TOOK THAT
[00:27:25] AND JUST KIND OF WENT WITH IT.
[00:27:29] BUT THEY ARE THEY WERE IN SO
[00:27:32] MANY WAYS, YOU KNOW, MOTHER FIGURE IS I GO BACK TO WHEN YOU
[00:27:37] LOOK AT THE BOOK AND HOW HE WAS REARED, HIS MOTHER BINTA TO
[00:27:41] KINSEY AND THE LOVE THAT SHE SHOWED CAN'T, I THINK SHOW A
[00:27:44] COUNTER AND THEN HIS GRANDMOTHER, WHO WAS PLAYED BY
[00:27:48] MAYA ANGELOU IN THE MINISERIES, AND CICELY TYSON PLAYED HIS
[00:27:52] MOTHER. BUT THE GUIDANCE THAT THEY
[00:27:55] CONTINUE TO SHOW AT A YOUNG AGE,
[00:27:57] I THINK IT EMPHASIZES THE JUST THE NURTURING TO THAT.
[00:28:01] YOU KNOW, WOMEN, EVERYBODY. IT.
[00:28:06] AND THIS IS A QUESTION OR COMMENT.
[00:28:10] THIS ULTIMATELY GOING TO COME UP WHEN EXPLORING ROOTS.
[00:28:13] THERE'S SOME CONTROVERSY AROUND
[00:28:15] ALEX HALEY AND THE WRITING OF ROOTS. YEAH.
[00:28:19] HOW WOULD YOU RESPOND TO THOSE
[00:28:23] CONTROVERSIES OR COMMENT AS
[00:28:26] BEING THE FACT THAT YOU'VE BEEN
[00:28:28] VERY, VERY CLOSE TO BOTH HIM AND HIS WORK OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS? HOW WOULD YOU RESPOND TO THAT?
[00:28:32] I DON'T THINK IT TARNISHES.
[00:28:34] I THINK ONE OF THE BIG THINGS
[00:28:37] WAS THE LABELING OF ROOTS AT THE TIME.
[00:28:41] IT WAS LABELED JUST NONFICTION.
[00:28:45] BUT IT WAS LATER REALIZED AND THE PUBLISHER LATER KIND OF
[00:28:49] ACKNOWLEDGED THAT IT PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE NONFICTION
[00:28:54] NOVEL, LIKE TRUMAN CAPOTE'S
[00:28:59] PUBLISHER.
[00:28:59] AND I THINK THAT ALSO IT
[00:29:03] PROBABLY COULD HAVE BEEN MAYBE HISTORICAL FICTION. SO THERE WAS SOME CONTROVERSY OVER THAT.
[00:29:07] BUT I DON'T THINK IT TARNISHES
[00:29:08] THE IMPACT OF ROOTS, WHICH JUST
[00:29:11] STILL STANDS ON ITS OWN.
[00:29:14] THE IMPACT IN SO MANY AREAS. AND I'LL READ WHAT DR. GATES
[00:29:17] SAID ABOUT IT. HE SAID ITS IMPORTANCE AS A
[00:29:21] PHENOMENA LAY BEYOND ITS, QUOTE UNQUOTE, HISTORICAL ACCURACY.
[00:29:26] THE BOOK IS A LANDMARK IN AMERICAN HISTORY, A SIGNAL
[00:29:30] ACCOMPLISHMENT AS A PROFOUND ACT OF THE IMAGINATION.
[00:29:33] AND TODAY, ALL OF US WHO EMBARK ON THE EXHILARATING PATH IN
[00:29:36] SEARCH OF OUR ROOTS STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF AN INTREPID AUTHOR
[00:29:39] NAMED ALEX HALEY.
[00:29:43] THIS WILL BE MY FINAL QUESTION.
[00:29:46] YEAH, WHAT IS NEXT FOR LUCAS
[00:29:51] JOHNSON AFTER YOU HAVE SOLD
[00:29:53] THESE BOOKS AND GIVEN SEVERAL
[00:29:58] BOOK TALKS WITH YOUR NEXT PROJECT, WITH SWISS IN THE FUTURE?
[00:30:00] I'M ACTUALLY CAME ACROSS THIS
[00:30:04] MILITARY FAMILY OF THEY CALLED
[00:30:08] THEMSELVES THE DAVIS 11 IS 11 BROTHERS AND THEY COLLECTIVELY
[00:30:12] SERVED 158 YEARS IN THE U.S. MILITARY.
[00:30:15] AND WHAT'S REALLY UNIQUE ABOUT THEM, MY STATE IS THEY'RE AFRICAN-AMERICAN.
[00:30:19] SO THAT RAISES SO MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW CAN YOU SERVE A
[00:30:22] COUNTRY THAT, YOU KNOW, DOESN'T
[00:30:24] REALLY LOVE YOU BACK AND SO MANY
[00:30:27] THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING NOW AS FAR AS WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE
[00:30:31] MILITARY AND THE THE TURNING BACK OF THINGS.
[00:30:34] BUT I REALLY WANT TO DO A DEEP DIVE INTO THIS FAMILY BECAUSE
[00:30:38] THEY'RE LIKE FIVE GENERATIONS
[00:30:41] AND THEY SERVED UNDER LIKE 15
[00:30:45] PRESIDENTS AND THEY'RE LIKE OTHER LIKE NEPHEWS THAT ARE
[00:30:49] CONTINUING TO SERVE IN THIS FAMILY. SO THAT'S KIND OF THE NEXT
[00:30:52] PROJECT KIND OF IMPACTING THAT. AND AND THE REASON THESE
[00:30:55] GENTLEMEN SERVE AND WOULD GO
[00:30:58] BACK AND DO IT AGAIN IS THEY SAY SO WE'RE VERY MUCH LOOKING
[00:31:02] FORWARD TO THEIR OKAY.
[00:31:05] LIKE WE'LL TAKE A FEW MINUTES FOR A Q&A.
[00:31:09] THERE'S THE MICROPHONE.
[00:31:12] YOU KNOW.
[00:31:22] FEEL FREE TO MAKE YOUR WAY OVER TO THIS, MIKE, IF YOU HAVE
[00:31:26] QUESTIONS TO INTERVIEW.
[00:31:30] HELLO, MY NAME IS ALFRED DIGRAPH AND READ HAPPY TO BE HERE.
[00:31:32] LEAGUE LEADERSHIP TENNESSEE.
[00:31:34] SO THE COMMENT ABOUT CIVILITY IS
[00:31:37] ONE THAT COMES UP HAS WHICH YOU
[00:31:39] VERSUS STATE AND IT SEEMS TO BE
[00:31:42] IT SEEMS TO BE BECOMING A LITTLE
[00:31:44] MORE CHALLENGING TO HAVE
[00:31:46] PEACEFUL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS, THESE TOPICS.
[00:31:50] SO I LOVE THE QUOTE FINALLY GETTING PRAISE IT. I DO HAVE MY COPY.
[00:31:53] I GOT SIGNS JUST, YOU KNOW, SOME LIST, SOME LUCAS.
[00:31:56] BUT I WANT TO JUST SAY THIS IS
[00:31:58] VERY INSIGHTFUL TODAY AND I GUESS MY QUESTION WOULD BE, WHAT
[00:32:01] ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE? YOU MENTIONED REVEREND LAWSON EARLIER.
[00:32:04] HE TALKED ABOUT CIVILITY. A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE PAST
[00:32:07] ELECTED OFFICIALS SEEM TO COME
[00:32:09] TOGETHER NOW AND TALK ABOUT
[00:32:12] POLITICS AS IF EVERYTHING WAS
[00:32:15] PEACHY WHEN THEY WERE IN OFFICE. BUT IT SEEMS TO BE NOW THAT
[00:32:19] THERE ARE NO LONGER ELECTED, THEY CAN TALK A LITTLE MORE FREELY. SO COULD YOU GIVE US A LITTLE
[00:32:22] INSIGHT ON THAT, THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT QUESTION?
[00:32:25] YEAH, I, I WILL SAY THIS.
[00:32:28] ONE OF THE THINGS WHEN I WAS WRITING THE BOOK, LIKE I SAID, I
[00:32:32] CAME ACROSS WHERE ALEX HALEY TALKED ABOUT THAT, LIKE THE WAY
[00:32:35] HE PUT IT, YOU KNOW, GETTING OUT
[00:32:37] OF OUR OWN LITTLE ROOMS AND COMING INTO THE LIVING ROOM
[00:32:41] TOGETHER AND HAVING, YOU KNOW,
[00:32:43] CONVERSATIONS, GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER.
[00:32:46] BUT I'LL I'LL SAY WHEN WHEN
[00:32:48] CHARLIE KIRK WAS ASSASSINATED
[00:32:50] AND GOVERNOR SPENCER COX GAVE
[00:32:53] HIS HIS HIS TALK IS KIND OF LIKE
[00:32:55] THIS LONE VOICE ABOUT WHAT WE
[00:32:57] SHOULD DO BETTER TO, YOU KNOW,
[00:33:00] THIS BEING A WATERSHED MOMENT. AND ARE WE GOING TO GET OFF THE
[00:33:04] OFF RAMP AND TRY TO MAKE A CHANGE OR ARE WE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO AND THE SAME
[00:33:08] THING THAT WE NEED TO DO, AND I
[00:33:10] JUST THINK THAT HE STARTED THE
[00:33:15] CAMPAIGN CALLED. I DISAGREE BETTER.
[00:33:18] AND I THINK THERE ARE DIFFERENT
[00:33:22] GROUPS AND COMMUNITIES THAT THAT
[00:33:24] MEET TO TALK ABOUT WAYS WHERE WE CAN BE MORE CIVIL.
[00:33:28] IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT MAYBE AS FAR
[00:33:30] AS GOING EVEN FURTHER BACK IN
[00:33:33] YOUNG PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, IN IN
[00:33:35] SCHOOLS, HAVING, YOU KNOW, CIVIL EDUCATION, WHERE YOU LEARN ABOUT
[00:33:39] CIVILITY AND AND CIVICS AND
[00:33:41] INCORPORATE IN THAT WAYS, HELP
[00:33:43] EXERCISES WAY AT AN EARLY AGE. THEY START, YOU KNOW,
[00:33:47] UNDERSTANDING HOW WE MIGHT DISAGREE, BUT HOW CAN WE
[00:33:51] DISAGREE WITHOUT, YOU KNOW, GETTING REALLY UPSET WITH ONE ANOTHER.
[00:33:54] AND IT'S REALLY NOT THAT COMPLEX. I MEAN, I KEEP SAYING LIKE
[00:33:58] CONVERSATION, BUT I THINK IF WE JUST TAKE TIME TO SIT DOWN AND
[00:34:02] JUST DISCUSS SOME THINGS, YOU
[00:34:04] FIND SOME KIND OF COMMON GROUND SOMEWHERE. AND IT'S A MATTER OF JUST
[00:34:08] SITTING DOWN AND DOING IT OR COMMUNICATING IN SOME KIND OF
[00:34:11] WAY, SOME KIND OF SPACE THAT'S NEUTRAL WHERE YOU CAN JUST, YOU
[00:34:14] KNOW, TALK ABOUT THINGS YOU.
[00:34:16] YEAH, THANK YOU.
[00:34:23] I WILL. HI THERE. I'M GERANIUM, A NONPROFIT
[00:34:28] MARKETING STRATEGIST AND A NATIVE OF NASHVILLE. AND SO I REALLY ENJOY THE CONVERSATION.
[00:34:32] THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HOLDING THIS TODAY.
[00:34:34] SO MY QUESTION IS, IT'S KIND OF COUPLE LAYERS.
[00:34:37] I'M GOING TO TRY TO MAKE IT SIMPLE. OKAY. YOU KNOW, TODAY I'VE GOT TWO
[00:34:41] TEENAGE BOYS AND WHEN I THINK
[00:34:45] ABOUT STORYTELLING AND STORYTELLING FROM THE
[00:34:48] PERSPECTIVE OF THE BLACK EXPERIENCE AND BRINGING THOSE
[00:34:51] STORIES TO LIGHT, I THINK OVER
[00:34:53] THE COURSE OF MY BOY'S LIVES, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE THE
[00:34:57] AUDIENCE FOR KIND OF FICTION AND BLACK STORYTELLING HAS REALLY
[00:35:01] EVOLVED. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BLACK HONDA AND BLACK PANTHER AND ALL THESE
[00:35:04] OTHER THINGS HAPPENING. AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, FROM THAT
[00:35:07] POST-OBAMA PERSPECTIVE TO TODAY,
[00:35:10] THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS GAINS THAT WE KIND OF ASSUMED WERE
[00:35:14] SOLID AND THEY WEREN'T GOING TO GO ANYWHERE. AND THE TRAJECTORY WAS ALWAYS
[00:35:18] FORWARD AND UP. IT MIGHT BE SLOWER OR FASTER AT SOME MOMENTS, BUT IT WAS ALWAYS
[00:35:22] GOING IN A POSITIVE UPWARD DIRECTION. I THINK FOR ME, KIND OF LOOKING
[00:35:25] AT THE EXPERIENCE OF THE PAST 20 YEARS, LIKE A LOT OF THINGS ARE
[00:35:30] NOT SOLID, THEY'RE NOT PERMANENT AND AND REALLY KIND OF LOSING
[00:35:33] THOSE OF ASSUMPTIONS AND ASSESSING THE WORK IS THAT WE
[00:35:37] MOVED TO DO GOING FORWARD. SO LONG PREAMBLE HOW DO YOU SEE
[00:35:42] STORY TELLING, YOU KNOW, AROUND THE BLACK EXPERIENCE NOW? WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND THAT WE
[00:35:47] MIGHT DO AS PARENTS, AS PEOPLE WHO CAN TELL OUR OWN STORIES OF
[00:35:50] THE BLACK EXPERIENCE TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT GETS REINFORCED
[00:35:54] GOING FORWARD? IT'S INTERESTING.
[00:35:56] YOU SHOULD BRING IT UP. I WAS AT A REUNION IF A FEW
[00:36:00] MONTHS AGO AND THERE WAS A FATHER WHO HAS A 14 YEAR OLD,
[00:36:03] AND HE ASKED ME IF I THOUGHT HIS
[00:36:05] SON WAS TOO YOUNG TO WATCH ROOTS.
[00:36:08] AND I TOLD THEM, YOU KNOW, NO, I
[00:36:12] THINK THAT YOU SHOULD WATCH IT,
[00:36:14] BUT WATCH IT WITH HIM.
[00:36:16] AND AS YOU WATCHING THAT,
[00:36:20] EXPLAIN, I'LL BE THERE TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS HE HAD,
[00:36:22] BUT ALSO TO EXPLAIN, YOU KNOW, WHAT HE'S SEEING.
[00:36:25] AND SO I YOU KNOW, AND I'M NOT JUST SAYING THAT BECAUSE, YOU
[00:36:29] KNOW, IT'S ROOTS, BUT I STILL THINK THE ORIGINAL SERIES IS A
[00:36:33] GOOD TEACHING TOOL FOR THE TO BEGIN WITH, THE BLACK EXPERIENCE.
[00:36:36] I THINK WE SHOULD GO BACK AND USE THAT AND THEN, YOU KNOW,
[00:36:40] MOVE FORWARD AND JUST KIND OF THAT'S A STARTING POINT AS TO,
[00:36:44] YOU KNOW, SLAVERY AND THEN, YOU
[00:36:48] KNOW, ALSO LIKE IN ROOTS, THE
[00:36:51] NEXT GENERATION, IT TALKS ABOUT MORE INTO THE CIVIL RIGHTS AND OTHER THINGS.
[00:36:54] AND GRADUALLY MOVE INTO THOSE AREAS.
[00:36:58] BUT I THINK A STARTING POINT, A GOOD TEACHING POINT, IS TO WATCH
[00:37:02] ROOTS WITH YOUR IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE IT ALREADY.
[00:37:04] AND THERE'S A REMAKE OF ROOTS TO IT, WHICH CAME OUT IN 2016.
[00:37:09] IT'S OKAY. I PREFERRED THE FIRST ONE, BUT I THINK IT'S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO
[00:37:13] EXPLAIN AND FOR THEM TO SEE THAT
[00:37:15] TRANSITION FROM AFRICA INTO
[00:37:19] AMERICA AND WHAT HAPPENED. BUT JUST, YOU KNOW, LET THEM
[00:37:23] KNOW THIS HAPPENED AND POINT OUT
[00:37:27] THE RESILIENCE, POINT OUT THE STRENGTH THAT THEY CAN DRAW FROM
[00:37:31] THAT AND THEN, YOU KNOW, PUT
[00:37:34] THAT INTO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE
[00:37:36] GONE THROUGH CONTINUING TO GO
[00:37:38] THROUGH AND USE THAT MAYBE AS A
[00:37:41] SPARK OF HOPE THAT, YEAH, THINGS ARE TOUGH RIGHT NOW.
[00:37:43] YOU KNOW, THEY SEE WHAT'S BEING HAPPENED, LIKE THE HISTORY
[00:37:47] THAT'S TRYING TO BE A RACE, BUT REMIND THEM THAT IT WON'T BE
[00:37:51] ERASED. YOU KNOW, IT WOULD NEVER BE ERASED. AND HOW, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN BE
[00:37:55] PART OF THAT GROUP THAT MAKES
[00:37:58] SURE THAT IT ISN'T A RACE BY TALKING ABOUT WHAT I SAID
[00:38:02] EARLIER, LEARNING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THEIR ANCESTRY, TALKING
[00:38:05] ABOUT, YOU KNOW, TALKING TO THEIR PARENTS AND LEARNING ABOUT
[00:38:09] WHAT THEY WENT THROUGH AND AND THEN TAKING THAT AND JUST
[00:38:12] BUILDING UPON THAT AND JUST LETTING THEM KNOW THAT, YOU
[00:38:15] KNOW, DESPITE WHAT'S GOING ON, YOU CAN STILL BE SUCCESSFUL.
[00:38:19] SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.
[00:38:21] YEAH, THAT THAT MAKES SENSE.
[00:38:23] YOU KNOW.
[00:38:28] YEAH. GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M LARRY WOODS. I'M A PROFESSOR AT TENNESSEE
[00:38:33] STATE UNIVERSITY AND I TEACH CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND CIVIL
[00:38:37] RIGHTS LAWS.
[00:38:38] SO ROOTS AND THE SUBJECT MATTER
[00:38:42] AND EVERYTHING. YOU TIVOED AND INVOLVED AND
[00:38:46] PRODUCED AND ENCOURAGED WILL COME UP FREQUENTLY AND
[00:38:50] FREQUENTLY. MY CLASS NOT THE BOOK, NOT THE TV SERIES.
[00:38:53] AND FIRST SAY, BUT THE THEMES
[00:38:56] AND THE KNOWLEDGE AND THE INSPIRATION.
[00:39:01] I CAN WILL REMEMBER AROUND THE
[00:39:04] 70S AND 80S THERE WAS AN EXPLOSION OF BLACK STUDIES
[00:39:08] PROGRAMS ALL OF A SUDDEN AND I'M
[00:39:11] NOT ENOUGH OF A SCHOLAR. I'LL LEAVE THAT TO DR. WILLIAMS TO KNOW WHAT THE DIRECT
[00:39:16] CONNECTION TO THE PUBLICITY AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ROOTS AND THE
[00:39:19] MINI SERIES RELATES TO THAT.
[00:39:20] BUT I THINK INNATELY THERE'S A
[00:39:23] CONNECTION THERE THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US TO UNDERSTAND THAT.
[00:39:27] YOUR BOOK OBVIOUSLY ADDRESSES,
[00:39:29] AND THAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR PAST.
[00:39:33] THANK YOU FOR BRINGING UP REVEREND JAMES LAWSON, ONE OF
[00:39:35] THE REAL HEROES OF SO MANY MORAL
[00:39:39] AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS OR
[00:39:42] REVOLUTIONS IN OUR HISTORY.
[00:39:44] REMEMBER, LAWSON ALWAYS CAL
[00:39:47] COUNSELED ME OVER THE YEARS,
[00:39:49] LARRY, YOU GET TO EMBODY POLITICS.
[00:39:51] POLITICS IS NOT A SOLUTION.
[00:39:54] AND IN AND I'LL STILL GO BACK
[00:39:56] ARGUE THAT WITH THESE NOW GONE
[00:40:00] IN CAN OUT ARGUE ME ON IT ANYMORE.
[00:40:03] BUT I'M INTERESTED IN IN PUSHING
[00:40:06] YOU A LITTLE BIT TOWARD THE FUTURE. I THINK YOU AND OBVIOUSLY YOUR
[00:40:10] BOOK MAKES VERY CLEAR TO HOW WE
[00:40:13] OUGHT TO BE USING AND ADDRESSING
[00:40:15] AND COPING WITH THE PAST.
[00:40:18] BUT I WONDER, WILL WE BE SITTING
[00:40:20] HERE TODAY AND THE DISCUSSION IF
[00:40:24] THE TV MINI SERIES HAD NOT BEEN
[00:40:28] PRODUCED, IF IT WERE JUST THE BOOK.
[00:40:30] I'M A PERSON WHO USED TO RUN
[00:40:33] BOOKSTORE OF MY WONDERFUL WIFE.
[00:40:35] I LOVE BOOKS, BUT IN OUR KIND OF
[00:40:40] 21ST CENTURY SOCIETY, THE I'M
[00:40:42] NOT SURE HOW IMPORTANT BOOKS ARE
[00:40:44] ANYMORE AS COMPARED TO 50 YEARS AGO. I WOULD HAVE SAID TV.
[00:40:48] TODAY I'LL SAY THE INTERNET AND
[00:40:52] I THINK MY COLLEGE STUDENTS AND MANY OTHER PEOPLE THAT I DEAL
[00:40:56] WITH ARE VERY MUCH AFFECTED
[00:40:58] EVERY DAY BY WHAT THEY EXPRESS ON THE INTERNET.
[00:41:02] I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH THAT
[00:41:05] CARRIES OVER TO BOOKS OR EVEN TV
[00:41:08] PROGRAMS ANYMORE. SO WHAT ABOUT IT?
[00:41:11] WITH THE GROWTH AND CONTINUING RISE OF THE INTERNET, ARE WE
[00:41:15] GOING TO REMEMBER THE ROOTS MINI
[00:41:16] SERIES AND IN RESPONSE TO IT FOR
[00:41:20] IS IT GOING TO FADE AWAY BECAUSE IT'S NOT ON THE INTERNET
[00:41:24] EVERYDAY? WELL, GOING BACK TO WHICH YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT THIS, LIKE
[00:41:26] THIS PUSH FOR OR AMERICAN
[00:41:29] HISTORY STUDIES AND ALL THAT, THERE WAS A RESULT OF ROOTS.
[00:41:33] AND I TALK ABOUT IN THE BOOK
[00:41:35] LIKE ABOUT 240 UNIVERSITIES, I BELIEVE IN COOPERATING IN SOME
[00:41:40] WAY DISCUSSIONS ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY,
[00:41:43] AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES, IF YOU WILL.
[00:41:46] SO ROOTS DID IMPACT THAT.
[00:41:49] ON THE VIEW A FEW MONTHS AGO.
[00:41:53] LEVAR BURTON WAS ON THERE AND
[00:41:55] THAT QUESTION CAME UP ABOUT ROOTS TODAY.
[00:41:59] HOW WOULD IT BE ACCEPTED?
[00:42:02] AND LAVAR SEEMED TO THINK THAT
[00:42:04] IT PROBABLY WOULDN'T REALLY BE
[00:42:06] WATCHED AS MUCH BECAUSE YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, SO MANY OTHER,
[00:42:09] AS YOU WERE SAYING, SO MANY STREAMING SERVICES AND SO MANY OTHER AVENUES.
[00:42:13] BUT WHOOPI SAYING THAT I THINK
[00:42:15] THAT BECAUSE OF THE ORAL HISTORY
[00:42:18] ELEMENT, THAT IT WOULD STILL BE
[00:42:21] PRETTY STRONG BECAUSE THERE
[00:42:23] WOULD BE SO MANY PEOPLE STILL
[00:42:25] WILLING TO OR WANTING TO KNOW
[00:42:27] AND PASS ALONG THAT OR HISTORY.
[00:42:30] AND SO I'M OPTIMISTIC.
[00:42:32] I DON'T THINK THE IMPACT I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE AS ROSY.
[00:42:36] BUT WHAT WILL MAKE IT, I THINK
[00:42:38] PROBABLY BE MORE RECEIVED IS
[00:42:40] WHEN YOU HAVE INDIVIDUALS LIKE
[00:42:42] YOURSELF OR PARENTS TO GET
[00:42:44] INVOLVED AND SAY, HEY, LET'S SIT
[00:42:47] DOWN AND WATCH THIS, BECAUSE THE
[00:42:51] TEACHERS REALLY AREN'T GOING TO REALLY DO IT IS NOT THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO DO IT.
[00:42:54] AND IF IT'S BANNED, THEN IT'S NOT BANNED AT HOME.
[00:42:57] IT'S UP TO THEIR PARENT TO, YOU KNOW, SAY, OKAY, WELL, LET'S
[00:43:01] READ THE BOOK OR LET'S WATCH THE MINISERIES. AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE
[00:43:04] GOING TO CONTINUE YOU TO GET ROOTS MOVING FORWARD BECAUSE IT
[00:43:08] CAN GET LOST. NOW, IT HAS SURVIVED 50 YEARS.
[00:43:12] THAT'S PRETTY IMPRESSIVE. I MEAN, THAT'S THE WHOLE IMPETUS.
[00:43:15] YOU KNOW, FOR THE BOOK. AND BECAUSE IT'S STILL EMBEDDED
[00:43:19] IN POP AND POP CULTURE, I DON'T THINK MANY PEOPLE KNOW THIS.
[00:43:22] BUT AGAIN, LIKE, FOR INSTANCE,
[00:43:24] YOU HAVE RAPPERS THAT ARE
[00:43:26] CONTINUING TO THAT USE ROOTS IN SOME CAPACITY, LIKE KENDRICK
[00:43:30] LAMAR, ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR RAPPERS.
[00:43:32] HE HAD A SONG CALLED KING KUNTA
[00:43:34] ON ONE OF HIS ALBUMS, ROOTS WAS MENTIONED ON THE POPULAR TV SHOW
[00:43:38] TED LASSO. I MEAN, SO IN SO MANY WAYS IS
[00:43:43] STILL PART IN SOME WAY OF OUR SOCIETY TODAY.
[00:43:46] SO I THINK THERE'S STILL THOSE THOSE NUGGETS THAT WE CAN USE TO
[00:43:51] CONTINUE TO TO LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IT. AND YOUNG PEOPLE AND CONTINUE
[00:43:54] WITH CONTINUING HOPEFULLY FOR ANOTHER 50 YEARS.
[00:43:58] YOU KNOW, THANK YOU FOR YOUR BOOK.
[00:44:00] YOU KNOW.
[00:44:05] HELLO, I'M SARA LEE.
[00:44:08] TERRI WOODS WAS CO-OWNER OF BOOK
[00:44:10] MAN BUT WOMAN AT NEMACOLIN IS A COLUMNIST FOR THE TENNESSEE
[00:44:15] LOOKOUT. YEAH. SO MY QUESTION TO BOTH OF YOU ALL IS ABOUT BOOKS.
[00:44:19] OKAY. WHAT BOOKS DO YOU WANT TO REREAD EVERY SO OFTEN?
[00:44:22] WHAT'S ON? WHAT THINGS BRING YOU TO SOME
[00:44:26] ALWAYS HOPE AND KEEP YOU
[00:44:31] MOTIVATED TO KEEP TEACHING AND WRITING.
[00:44:35] THANKS. I'LL LET DR. WILLIAMS, WHO'S
[00:44:38] MORE SCHOLARLY THAN ME, WHO TAKE
[00:44:42] THAT ONE VERSE.
[00:44:46] I READ BELOVED EVERY YEAR, AND
[00:44:54] I. AND IT SEEMS LIKE I PICK UP SOMETHING EVERY SINGLE YEAR FROM
[00:44:57] AND I BOAST IN MY CLASS JOKE IN
[00:44:59] MY CLASS SOMETIMES, BUT I DON'T REALLY BE JOKING. AND IT'S LIKE I COULD TEACH
[00:45:03] AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY AND
[00:45:05] JUST USE THIS BOOK AS A TEXT.
[00:45:11] OFTENTIMES REFER BACK TO ISHMAEL
[00:45:16] REED MUMBO JUMBO.
[00:45:20] AS A BIG FAN OF JAZZ, RIGHT?
[00:45:23] AND IT'S JAZZ IS JUST RUNNING ALL THROUGH THAT.
[00:45:25] THERE WAS A LOT OF THEMES THAT
[00:45:29] RESONATE IN REED'S WORK THAT, YOU KNOW, INFORM OUR
[00:45:33] UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORK I DO.
[00:45:35] AND LAST, I KNOW YOU ONLY HAS
[00:45:37] ONE SARA LEE, BUT IF ANYTHING
[00:45:40] THAT HAS TO DO WITH THIS,
[00:45:43] ANYTHING THAT'S WRITTEN BY.
[00:45:46] BY JAMES BALDWIN AND HIS WORDS
[00:45:50] SERVE AS A SORT OF REVIVAL
[00:45:52] MEETING FOR ME.
[00:45:56] AND ALSO JESMYN WARDS WERE
[00:45:58] ANYTHING SHE WRITES IS VERY
[00:46:01] ILLUMINATING FOR ME. THAT'S WHAT I READ.
[00:46:05] AND I WANT TO CHIME IN ABOUT.
[00:46:07] IT'S A TRIVIA FACT THAT YOU WILL ABOUT WE MENTIONED JAMES
[00:46:11] BALDWIN. SO WHEN ALEX HALEY GOT UP THE COAST GUARD, I THINK IT WAS
[00:46:14] AROUND 1959, HE WROTE ABOUT SIX
[00:46:17] PROMINENT WRITERS, ABOUT HOW HE
[00:46:20] COULD CONTINUE TO BE A WRITER.
[00:46:22] HE DID SOME WRITING, AS YOU MAY WELL KNOW, IN THE COAST GUARD.
[00:46:26] BUT HE WANTED TO BE A
[00:46:29] PROFESSIONAL WRITER, AND THE ONLY PERSON THAT RESPONDED TO HIM WAS JAMES BALDWIN.
[00:46:33] AND THEY BECAME GOOD FRIENDS. AND JAMES BALDWIN ACTUALLY DID A
[00:46:38] REVIEW OF HIS BOOK, ROOTS THAT
[00:46:41] IS STILL PRETTY, PRETTY WELL KNOWN TODAY.
[00:46:45] I THINK ABOUT ONE BOOK THAT I'LL MENTION IN THIS ONE BOOK IN PARTICULAR, BECAUSE IT REALLY
[00:46:49] IMPACTED ME WHEN I WAS IN
[00:46:51] COLLEGE AND I READ IT AND I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN.
[00:46:55] BUT IT'S NATHAN MCCALL'S MAKES
[00:46:58] ME WANT TO HOLLER AND I THINK
[00:47:02] THE REASON IT RESONATED WITH ME BECAUSE AT THE TIME I WAS LIKE
[00:47:05] GOING INTO JOURNALISM, BUT IT'S BASICALLY HE WAS A WASHINGTON
[00:47:09] POST BECAME A WASHINGTON POST REPORTER, BUT BEFORE THAT, HE
[00:47:13] WENT TO PRISON AS A YOUNG PERSON
[00:47:16] FOR A CRIME THAT WAS, I THINK,
[00:47:19] EVENTUALLY RULED SELF-DEFENSE. BUT HE ENDED UP DOING TIME FOR
[00:47:23] IT. BUT I REMEMBER HIM TALKING
[00:47:25] ABOUT, YOU KNOW, GOING TO PRISON
[00:47:27] AND THEN BASICALLY HAVING TO KIND OF REBUILD HIS LIFE.
[00:47:32] AND THE BOOK IS FOR A YOUNG
[00:47:35] BLACK MAN WAS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF THAT.
[00:47:38] THE ISSUES THAT WE DO FACE AS AS
[00:47:42] BLACK MEN. BUT HOW HE SHOWED THAT
[00:47:46] REGARDLESS OF YOUR CIRCUMSTANCE, YOU CAN GET THROUGH THIS, YOU
[00:47:49] CAN OVERCOME, AND HE END UP BECOMING THIS PROLIFIC REPORTER
[00:47:53] FOR THE WASHINGTON POST.
[00:47:55] AND HE WENT ON TO WRITE THE MEMOIR THAT WE KNOW AS MAKES HIM
[00:47:59] WANT TO HOLLER, WHICH OF COURSE,
[00:48:03] YOU KNOW WHAT THAT TITLE COMES FROM. BUT YEAH, THAT WAS ONE THAT AND
[00:48:06] THEN OF COURSE, THE LATEST BOOK
[00:48:08] BY PERCIVAL EVERETT, JAMES IS
[00:48:12] ONE THAT I WOULD DEFINITELY ENCOURAGE BECAUSE IT'S JUST
[00:48:16] GENIUS US TO DO WHAT HE DID WITH THAT, WHICH IS WHY I WON A PULITZER.
[00:48:19] OF COURSE.
[00:48:31] I CONGRATULATE ASIANS ON YOUR BOOK.
[00:48:35] MR. JOHNSON THANK YOU, SIR. I'M BERNICE WINFREY.
[00:48:38] I'M FROM NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.
[00:48:40] I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT PEOPLE
[00:48:42] SAY TIMING IS EVERYTHING. SO JUST KIND OF COMMENT ON THE
[00:48:48] TIME THAT ROOTS WAS RELEASED, SAY IF IT WAS RELEASED 20 YEARS
[00:48:51] EARLIER OR 20 YEARS LATER, JUST KIND OF COME IT JUST MY PERSPECTIVE.
[00:48:55] IT WAS A RELEASE AT A PERFECT TIME.
[00:48:59] SO JUST KIND OF COME IN ON HOW YOU THINK THE TIMING OF THE
[00:49:03] RELEASE COMPARED TO IF IT WAS LIKE 20 YEARS LATER OR 20 YEARS EARLY?
[00:49:07] I THINK THAT YOU WRITE THE
[00:49:09] TIMING OF IT AT THAT TIME WAS
[00:49:13] THE COUNTRY WAS KIND OF COMING
[00:49:15] OUT INTO THIS LIKE BLACK POWER
[00:49:19] MOVEMENT KNOW NOW MISTAKEN AND
[00:49:21] SO ROOTS KIND OF JUST ADDED TO THAT.
[00:49:24] WHEN YOU SAW THE THIS THE
[00:49:29] TRIUMPH OR THE TRIBULATION OF THIS OF THIS FAMILY AND OF THEIR
[00:49:34] CHARACTER WAS AND HOW THEY OVERCAME.
[00:49:36] BUT I THINK ALSO THE SHOW WAS
[00:49:41] WRIGHT'S WATCHED BY LIKE MORE THAN 130 MILLION PEOPLE.
[00:49:43] SO AT THE TIME ALSO THERE WAS A
[00:49:45] STORM, A WINTER STORM.
[00:49:47] SO PEOPLE WERE AT HOME AND THEY
[00:49:49] REALLY HAD, YOU KNOW, NOWHERE TO REALLY GO.
[00:49:52] BUT ALSO IT WAS ON, YOU KNOW, ONE NETWORK.
[00:49:55] SO IT WAS JUST LIKE NO PUN INTENDED, BUT IT WAS LIKE THIS
[00:49:59] PERFECT STORM FOR IT TO BE WATCHED.
[00:50:02] AND I THINK SO MANY PEOPLE TUNED IN. I DON'T KNOW IF IT WOULD HAVE
[00:50:07] HAD THE SAME EFFECT. YOU KNOW, 20 YEARS LATER.
[00:50:10] AND IT KIND OF GOES BACK TO THE QUESTION THAT MR. WOODS HAD
[00:50:14] ABOUT HOW IT WOULD BE LOOKED AT.
[00:50:16] I MEAN, NOW I DON'T THINK MAYBE
[00:50:20] AS MANY PEOPLE WOULD WATCH IT, I THINK PEOPLE WOULD TUNE IN.
[00:50:24] BUT I THINK JUST AT THAT TIME, FOR WHATEVER REASON, IT WAS JUST
[00:50:28] EVERYTHING JUST WORKED OUT TO WHERE PEOPLE COULD REALLY TUNE
[00:50:32] IN AND JUST BE ENLIGHTENED BY
[00:50:37] THESE THESE THINGS THAT THEY READ IN HISTORY. AND TO REALLY JUST SEE IT PLAY
[00:50:41] OUT. THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER LIKE AS
[00:50:44] FAR AS LIKE THE VISUAL THAT HE
[00:50:47] GOES LIKE AS FAR AS AMISTAD AND 12 YEARS A SLAVE.
[00:50:50] BUT I DON'T THINK ANYTHING
[00:50:51] REALLY HAD THE IMPACT OF ROOTS IN THAT.
[00:50:57] SO THAT TIMING WAS JUST REALLY GOOD.
[00:51:02] HELLO, MY NAME IS FREEDOM, MY TREE.
[00:51:04] CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN. THANK YOU, SIR. ON THE BOOK.
[00:51:08] THANK YOU, DR. WILLIAMS, FOR
[00:51:11] FACILITATING THIS DISCUSSION.
[00:51:13] MY QUESTION IS ON THE FORM OF
[00:51:17] THE BOOK ITSELF. QUITE THE AUDACIOUS TASK TO
[00:51:21] HARMONIZE SO MANY DIFFERENT WRITING FORMS. AND ONE COLLECTION.
[00:51:25] SO EVERYTHING FROM POETRY TO
[00:51:27] HISTORICAL NARRATIVE TO
[00:51:30] JOURNALISM TO ESSAY.
[00:51:32] I DON'T KNOW IF I'VE EVER READ A
[00:51:36] COLLECTION THAT INTEGRATED SO MANY DIFFERENT FORMS.
[00:51:39] CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR DECISION
[00:51:41] TO TAKE THAT APPROACH TO THE BOOK?
[00:51:44] I THINK IT'S UNCOMMON AND IT DEFINITELY MERITS SOME COMMENTARY FROM YOU.
[00:51:48] MAN WELL, THANK YOU. AND I HAVE TO SAY THANK YOU FOR
[00:51:51] THE POEM THAT YOU WROTE THAT IS
[00:51:55] IN PART IT'S IN THE BOOK AS WELL.
[00:51:58] I THINK THAT AT FIRST I WASN'T
[00:52:03] SURE. I KNEW I WANTED TO GET THESE
[00:52:05] DIFFERENT VIEWS FROM DIFFERENT
[00:52:07] WALKS OF LIFE, FROM SCHOLARS,
[00:52:13] THEOLOGIANS, ENTERTAINERS, STUDENTS.
[00:52:16] I DIDN'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW I WAS GOING TO COME TOGETHER BECAUSE I
[00:52:20] REALLY THOUGHT THAT WHEN YOU ASK PEOPLE TO DO SOMETHING, YOU
[00:52:23] KNOW, THEY MAY NOT RESPOND RIGHT AWAY OR IN A TIMELY MANNER.
[00:52:28] SO I FOUND MYSELF DOING, YOU
[00:52:30] KNOW, MORE WRITING, WHICH IS FINE.
[00:52:33] THIS IS HOW I CRAFTED THOSE, THE CHAPTERS THAT ARE THERE AND JUST
[00:52:37] KIND OF INCORPORATED THE VOICES
[00:52:39] OF THESE DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS.
[00:52:42] AND, YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO GO BACK TO BEING A REPORTER AND BEING
[00:52:46] ABLE TO INTERTWINE FIND THE QUOTES.
[00:52:49] AND THAT REALLY CAME INTO PLAY. BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S IT WAS
[00:52:53] CHALLENGING AT TIMES. BUT WHEN I GOT LIKE CERTAIN
[00:52:56] THINGS THAT I WAS REALLY LOOKING FOR, THERE'S LIKE, YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO SAY IN
[00:53:00] THIS CHAPTER. THINGS JUST STARTED COMING TOGETHER.
[00:53:04] AND THEN I KNEW THAT THERE WAS A SECTION THAT I WANTED TO HAVE
[00:53:06] WHERE PEOPLE COULD JUST BE RAW. THEY COULD JUST TALK ABOUT, YOU
[00:53:10] KNOW, WHAT IT WAS THEIR ROOTS, HOW WHAT ROOTS MEANT TO THEM.
[00:53:13] AND THAT'S THAT SECTION THAT I HAVE, WHAT ROOTS MEANS.
[00:53:16] AND I JUST USED THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE JUST TO
[00:53:19] SPEAK FREELY ABOUT HOW THEY FELT ABOUT ROOTS.
[00:53:23] SO AT THAT POINT, ONCE I KNEW I
[00:53:25] HAD THAT THAT SECTION, I COULD
[00:53:27] JUST USE THE OTHER COMMENTS THAT I HAD TO JUST KIND OF
[00:53:31] INCORPORATE THAT INTO, YOU KNOW, THE CHAPTERS AND JUST KIND OF,
[00:53:34] YOU KNOW, I HAD A THEME FOR THAT CHAPTER, LIKE THE WHOLE CHAPTER,
[00:53:38] LIKE THE LEGACY CHAPTER, YOU KNOW, THE WHIPPING SCENE.
[00:53:42] AND SO I COULD USE THE COMMENTS
[00:53:44] THAT PEOPLE SAID TO, YOU KNOW,
[00:53:46] KIND OF TIE INTO THOSE CHAPTERS.
[00:53:48] BUT WHAT WAS AMAZING TO ME ABOUT THE PROJECT, TOO, WAS JUST HOW
[00:53:52] IT JUST KIND OF STARTED COMING
[00:53:54] TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T
[00:53:56] KNOW HOW WAS REALLY GOING TO TURN OUT UNTIL AFTERWARD.
[00:54:00] AND I AM PLEASED THAT THINGS DO,
[00:54:03] AND I APPRECIATE SHE POINTED THAT OUT, HOW THINGS SEEM TO
[00:54:07] CONNECT AND THEY SEEM TO FLOW
[00:54:09] BECAUSE IT IS A LOT. I MEAN, YOU GOT WHEN YOU HAVE
[00:54:12] DIFFERENT VIEWS, YOU KNOW, HOW HOW DO YOU CREATE THIS
[00:54:16] HARMONIOUS I MEAN, THIS THIS
[00:54:19] FLOW AND IT JUST KIND OF SEEMED TO WORK.
[00:54:21] AND I'M GRATEFUL BECAUSE I WANTED SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE
[00:54:25] COULD KEEP AND REFER BACK TO IN
[00:54:27] REMEMBERING ROOTS. THANK YOU.
[00:54:34] YEAH.
[00:54:47] HELLO. MY NAME IS MARGARET CAMPBELL HOLMAN.
[00:54:51] I'M A RETIRED MUSIC EDUCATOR HERE IN NASHVILLE.
[00:54:54] AND MY CHILD, HOOD BEGAN WHEN I
[00:54:57] WAS AROUND THREE YEARS OLD IN
[00:55:02] NASHVILLE. MY CONCERN EARNED AND I'M ASKING
[00:55:06] FOR YOUR INPUT INPUT ON THIS
[00:55:10] CONCERN.
[00:55:10] HOW DO WE TAKE ROOTS ALL THE
[00:55:14] PIECES OF ROOTS AND CONTINUE TO
[00:55:17] POUR IT INTO OUR CHILDREN ON THE
[00:55:20] INTERNET?
[00:55:21] IT'S CARTOONISH, YOU KNOW, FOR
[00:55:25] THE CHILDREN TO GROW OLD AND WE DRAW THEM IN AND USE THE INTERNET.
[00:55:29] BUT HOW DO WE TAKE THE STORIES
[00:55:31] THAT ARE MONUMENTAL, AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, TO OUR HISTORY
[00:55:35] AND TO HOW WE MOVE FORWARD IN
[00:55:37] THE TURMOIL THAT'S OCCURRING RIGHT NOW?
[00:55:41] WHAT WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ACTUALLY
[00:55:44] TO BOTH OF YOU?
[00:55:45] BECAUSE I'VE HAD DR. WILLIAMS IN
[00:55:49] ANOTHER SITUATION BECAUSE I RAN
[00:55:51] A NONPROFIT AND WE HAD SOMETHING
[00:55:54] CALLED A PARTY SHOULDERS.
[00:55:56] AND THE STORIES THAT WERE TOLD
[00:55:58] WERE ABOUT PEOPLE SUCH AS PEOPLE
[00:56:01] IN THE NASHVILLE AREA THAT WOULD
[00:56:05] I WOULD COMPARE TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AREA THAT YOU
[00:56:08] HAVE BROUGHT IN YOUR BOOK THROUGH ROOTS. WHAT DO WE DO?
[00:56:12] WHAT CAN WE DO FOR THE CHILDREN
[00:56:13] TO CONTINUE POURING INTO THEM?
[00:56:18] THIS VALUABLE INFORMATION IS VALUABLE HISTORY OF OUR PEOPLE
[00:56:21] IN OUR COUNTRY.
[00:56:25] YOU KNOW, YOU YOU MAKE YOU TAKE THEM.
[00:56:28] WELL, THANK YOU, MISS MARGARET,
[00:56:31] FOR THE THANK YOU FOR THE
[00:56:36] QUESTION. IT'S.
[00:56:41] ON ONE LEVEL, I THINK WE NEED TO
[00:56:43] GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE
[00:56:46] REDEFINE WHAT A CLASSROOM LOOKS
[00:56:51] LIKE. I MEAN, YOU CAN PAY MONEY AND COME TO TEACHING AND TEACH WHEN
[00:56:54] MY CLASS AND I WILL TEACH YOU
[00:56:57] THIS HISTORY AS BEST AS I CAN,
[00:56:59] BUT ONLY HAVE LIKE 25 STUDENTS
[00:57:03] IN THE CLASS AT A TIME. SO THAT IT IT'S NOT VERY MANY.
[00:57:09] SO I'M PUBLIC SPACES SUCH AS
[00:57:15] THIS NOW CHURCHES IS A RELIGIOUS
[00:57:20] SPACE IS OUR COMMUNITY CENTERS
[00:57:23] AND IN OUR HOME AS I WOULD TERMS
[00:57:27] ARGUE THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT ROOM IN YOUR HOME SIZE THE
[00:57:33] BEDROOM AND THE KITCHEN AND THE
[00:57:34] BATHROOM SHOULD BE THE LIBRARY.
[00:57:39] BUT IN SAYING THAT, HOW TO REACH
[00:57:43] STUDENTS, I FEEL LIKE OUR
[00:57:46] STUDENTS AGAIN, OUR CHILDREN ARE
[00:57:47] GETTING STORY WAYS ALL THE TIME
[00:57:52] ANYWAY, AND DIFFERENT FLAT FORMS THOSE.
[00:57:54] IT'S LIKE FRIENDS AND THE THING
[00:57:58] THAT HOOKED ME ON HISTORY, I WOULD SIT UP ON THE PORCH
[00:58:00] WHENEVER MY FATHER AND HIS FAMILY GOT AROUND AND I WOULD
[00:58:05] LISTEN TO THESE STORIES. AND I FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO
[00:58:08] FIGURE OUT A WAY TO BECOME
[00:58:11] BETTER STORYTELLERS.
[00:58:16] AND THE SPACES WHERE WE TELL
[00:58:19] THOSE STORIES AND THIS NOT SOUND
[00:58:23] LIKE A SHAMELESS PLUG. MAYBE IT IS. I DON'T KNOW.
[00:58:27] BUT I WORK WITH ORGANIZATION
[00:58:27] CALLED NASHVILLE SITES AND WE
[00:58:31] PUT UP QR CODES ALL AROUND THE
[00:58:33] CITY AND IF YOU SCAN THOSE
[00:58:37] CODES, SOMEBODY WILL START
[00:58:39] TALKING TO YOU JUST TSU UNFORTUNATELY BE ME.
[00:58:43] BUT IN OTHER SPACES WE HAVE YOUNG PEOPLE TELLING THE STORIES
[00:58:48] OF OUR HISTORY SO YOU CAN LEARN
[00:58:50] ABOUT, SAY, EARLY BLACK
[00:58:53] NASHVILLE BY JUST WALKING AROUND DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE.
[00:58:57] AND IT'S ALSO ACCESSIBLE, RIGHT? SO IF YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE
[00:59:00] WALKING WHERE YOU CAN'T WALK, YOU CAN ACCESS IT THROUGH THE
[00:59:04] CELL PHONE OR THE COMPUTERS.
[00:59:07] SO I SAID ALL THAT TO SAY THIS, AND I HOPE THIS IS ANSWERING
[00:59:11] YOUR QUESTION.
[00:59:13] OUR YOUNG FOLKS, YOU'RE GETTING STORIES ANYWAY.
[00:59:19] REGARDLESS. BUT IT IS INCUMBENT UPON US TO
[00:59:22] BECOME BETTER STORYTELLERS AND
[00:59:25] WE MIGHT NEED TO LISTEN TO THEM
[00:59:27] VERY CLOSELY TO SEE WHERE THESE
[00:59:30] STORIES THAT THEY'RE LISTENING TO ARE BEING TOLD AND MAYBE
[00:59:33] FIGURE OUT HOW TO ACCESS.
[00:59:36] THANK YOU TO YOU. AND I'LL JUST ADD ON THAT.
[00:59:40] HE MENTIONED THAT HOME AND I SAID THIS EARLIER, I REALLY
[00:59:45] BELIEVE THAT IT'S INCUMBENT UPON
[00:59:45] US AS ADULTS TO ESPECIALLY IN
[00:59:49] THE BLACK FAMILY, TO SIT IF THEY DON'T WANT TO COME TO US.
[00:59:53] WE GO TO THEIR HOME AND JUST HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT, YOU
[00:59:57] KNOW, OUR HISTORY AND THEN, YOU
[00:59:59] KNOW, JUST, YOU KNOW, ASK ME THE QUESTION YOU LIKE.
[01:00:03] WHAT IS IT THAT YOU LIKE TO KNOW?
[01:00:05] I MEAN, ARE YOU CURIOUS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU CAME FROM,
[01:00:09] WHAT YOU'RE CURIOUS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT WAS LIKE WHEN, YOU
[01:00:12] KNOW, WHEN I WAS GROWING UP DURING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
[01:00:15] AND I KNOW YOU KNOW ABOUT DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, BUT LET ME
[01:00:19] TELL YOU THIS STORY. LET ME TELL YOU, YOU KNOW ABOUT
[01:00:22] YOUR UNCLE WHO MARCHED WITH KING
[01:00:26] OR THERE'S SUCH AND SUCH THAT THEY MAY NOT EVEN KNOW ABOUT. AND I THINK THAT IF THAT'S THE
[01:00:31] CASE, IN A LOT OF CASES THAT HAS HAPPENED OR EVEN YOU YOU KNOW
[01:00:34] WHAT YOU DID, YOU KNOW, DURING
[01:00:36] THOSE PERIODS, I THINK THAT THEY
[01:00:38] WILL GET THEIR ATTENTION AND AND IT COULD JUST SPARK SOMETHING.
[01:00:42] BUT I THINK IT STARTS WITH
[01:00:45] BECAUSE YOU SEE, LIKE SOMETIMES THE TEACHERS AREN'T GOING TO DO IT.
[01:00:48] THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS AREN'T GOING TO DO IT IN.
[01:00:51] I GOT TO A TEXT WHEN THE THE BAN
[01:00:54] HAPPENED AND IN KNOX COUNTY FROM
[01:00:58] A FLORIDA TEACHER WHO PROVIDES COMMENTARY FOR MY BOOK, SHE WAS
[01:01:02] COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT TENNESSEE HAD BANNED IT BECAUSE IT'S
[01:01:06] BANNED IN FLORIDA. IT'S THINK IT'S ONE OF ONLY 1 OR
[01:01:09] 2 STATES THAT'S COMPLETELY
[01:01:11] BANNED ROUTES AND THEY HAD TENNESSEE WAS ABOUT TO BE THE
[01:01:14] OTHER ONE BUT YOU KNOW THAT WAS REVERSED, OF COURSE.
[01:01:17] BUT SHE WAS JUST SAYING HOW SHE
[01:01:22] READ THE LOGS THAT SAYS THOSE THINGS WERE NOT AGE APPROPRIATE,
[01:01:25] WHICH IS WHAT THEY USE THE BAN WAS. BUT SHE WAS SAYING HOW SHE READ,
[01:01:28] YOU KNOW, AGE APPROPRIATE STUFF OR STUFF THAT WASN'T CONSIDERED
[01:01:32] AGE APPROPRIATE AND HOW IT SHAPED HER LIFE AND YOU KNOW,
[01:01:36] WHO'S THIS? TELL SOMEONE WHAT YOU SHOULD READ. YOU KNOW, IT'S A PERSONAL THING,
[01:01:39] BUT I THINK IT'S IT AGAIN, IT
[01:01:42] ROBS STUDENTS OF THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE EDUCATED, TO TALK ABOUT
[01:01:46] CERTAIN THINGS. AND THAT'S WHY SHE WAS SAYING
[01:01:48] THAT IS A PARENT'S JOB TO DO
[01:01:51] THAT OR RELATIVE'S JOB. DON'T LEAVE IT UP TO THE SCHOOL
[01:01:55] SYSTEM TO LEAVE IT UP TO THE TEACHERS. BUT YOU TAKE RESPONSIBILITY IN
[01:01:58] YOUR COMMUNITY LIKE DR. WOODS
[01:02:00] WAS SAYING ABOUT EDUCATING, YOU
[01:02:03] KNOW, YOUTH ABOUT THE HISTORY IN
[01:02:07] GENERAL. AND I THINK IF YOU DO THAT, THEN THERE'S NOBODY CAN TAKE THAT
[01:02:11] AWAY AT THIS POINT.
[01:02:13] AND ONE LAST QUICK THOUGHT.
[01:02:17] I THINK IT'S CRITICAL THAT WE
[01:02:20] SOONER OUR CHILDREN IN THESE
[01:02:23] NARRATIVES, IN THESE STORIES
[01:02:25] THAT THEY SEE, THAT IS NOT ABOUT
[01:02:29] SOMEBODY OUT THERE. IT'S ABOUT ME AND THE PEOPLE
[01:02:33] THAT I SEE EVERY DAY. AND I THINK IT WILL RESONATE A
[01:02:36] BIT MORE WITH THEM ONCE WE WE DO THAT.
[01:02:40] THANK YOU.
[01:02:43] YOU SURE.
[01:02:54] HELLO?
[01:02:56] YEAH, EXCELLENT PRESENTATION.
[01:02:58] MY NAME IS RYAN LAWLER, AND THIS
[01:03:00] IS DIRECTED TO LUCAS JOHNSON.
[01:03:04] WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT
[01:03:06] YOURSELF AND HOW DID YOU GROW
[01:03:09] FROM DOING THIS PROJECT?
[01:03:12] OH, IT WAS JUST REFRESHING TO
[01:03:15] HEAR JUST THE VIEWPOINTS OF SO MANY PEOPLE.
[01:03:19] AND LIKE HE MENTIONED, THE
[01:03:23] FAMOUS AUTHOR ISHMAEL REED, WHO
[01:03:26] I DIDN'T REALLY THINK WOULD EVEN
[01:03:28] GET BACK TO ME, BUT HE DID AND PROVIDED SOME REALLY GOOD
[01:03:32] COMMENTARY.
[01:03:32] BUT JUST SEEING THE APPRECIATION
[01:03:37] THAT PEOPLE HAVE FOR OUR
[01:03:41] HISTORY, THE APPRECIATION FOR PEOPLE HAVE, JUST NOT FOR
[01:03:45] CONTINUING THE LEGACY OF ALEX
[01:03:47] HALEY, BUT ALSO JUST THE PRIDE
[01:03:52] THAT THEY HAVE IN THEIR OWN HISTORY AND HOW, YOU KNOW, LIKE
[01:03:56] THE COMMENT THAT AND I DON'T THINK I PUT THIS IN THE BOOK,
[01:03:59] BUT LIKE WHEN I DID TALK TO BLAIR UNDERWOOD AND HE SAID, YOU
[01:04:02] KNOW, WE WOULD NOT BE ERASED. AND HOW, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST
[01:04:06] THIS BELIEF THAT NO MATTER WHAT IS TRYING TO HAPPEN, THAT IT'S
[01:04:10] NOT GOING TO HAPPEN BECAUSE YOU
[01:04:14] KNOW, WE REALLY BELIEVE IN OR
[01:04:16] HISTORY, IF WE CONTINUE TO TELL
[01:04:19] OUR STORIES, THERE'S NO WAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THINGS WILL BE
[01:04:23] COMPLETELY JUST DONE AWAY WITH.
[01:04:25] BUT ALSO, AGAIN, JUST THE
[01:04:29] REINFORCEMENT OR JUST ME KNOWING
[01:04:31] JUST THE IMPORTANCE OF
[01:04:33] STORYTELLING AND HOW PEOPLE
[01:04:36] REALIZE THAT AND THAT THAT IS A
[01:04:38] WAY TO JUST LEARN SO MUCH IN
[01:04:42] THIS TO CONTINUE THINGS MOVING
[01:04:46] FORWARD. SO THAT WAS MOTIVATION FOR ME
[01:04:49] AND ESPECIALLY BEING A WRITER IN
[01:04:51] THE JUST KNOWING THE IMPORTANCE
[01:04:53] OF STORYTELLING AND BEING WILLING TO CONTINUE TO TELL
[01:04:57] STORIES AND ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO TELL STORIES.
[01:05:00] LIKE WHEN I TALK TO CLASSES, YOUNG PEOPLE, I TELL THEM THAT,
[01:05:04] YOU KNOW, DON'T BE AFRAID TO. EVERYBODY HAS A STORY.
[01:05:07] DON'T BE AFRAID THAT THEY DON'T THINK THAT MAYBE A STORY IS NOT
[01:05:10] THAT IMPORTANT, BECAUSE YOU'D BE SURPRISED WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN IT.
[01:05:13] BUT TO, YOU KNOW, WRITE THINGS
[01:05:15] DOWN AND TO CONTINUE TO TELL
[01:05:18] YOUR STORY.
[01:05:20] LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT, YOU KNOW, YOUR HISTORY.
[01:05:24] AND I THINK THAT WAS JUST ONE THING THAT JUST CONTINUE TO MOTIVATE ME EVEN MORE AS A AS A
[01:05:29] STORYTELLER.
[01:05:31] THANK YOU.
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