Original Broadcaster Captioning (Enhanced). Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:01IT IS JUST UP AGAINST A VERY
00:00:03PATRIARCHAL AND VERY POWERFUL
00:00:06FORCE THAT DOES NOT WANT TO CEDE ANY OF ITS OWN POWER.
00:00:09AND WHENEVER YOU COME UP AGAINST
00:00:11THAT KIND OF RESISTANCE, OF COURSE IT'S GOING TO SEEM LIKE
00:00:15EVERYTHING YOU'RE TRYING IS FAILING. BUT YOU TRY NONETHELESS.
00:00:19YOU CAN WATCH THE REST OF THIS PROGRAM AND ALL OF OUR BOOK PROGRAMS ANY TIME ONLINE AT BOOK
00:00:23TV DOT ORG.
00:00:26BOOK TV IS TELEVISION FOR SERIOUS READERS.
00:00:30KEEP WATCHING FOR MORE OF THE
00:00:31LATEST NONFICTION BOOKS.
00:00:34THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY.
00:00:37MY NAME IS BRONTE AND I WORK WITH THE BOOKSHOP, WHICH IS AN
00:00:39INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE OVER IN EAST NASHVILLE. BUT FIRST, I'LL JUST GIVE A
00:00:44QUICK INTRODUCTION OF OUR TWO AUTHORS TODAY.
00:00:47LUCAS AL JOHNSON IS A FORMER REPORTER FOR THE ASSOCIATED
00:00:50PRESS, WHERE HE WORKED FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS, MAINLY COVERING
00:00:53POLITICS, EDUCATION AND RELIGION. HE'S THE AUTHOR OF FINDING THE
00:00:56GOOD COAUTHOR OF YOUTH CHANGE IT, AND HIS NEW BOOK THAT WE'RE
00:01:00ALL HERE TO HEAR ABOUT TODAY IS REMEMBERING RUTH'S. JOHNSON WORKS IN HIGHER
00:01:04EDUCATION AND HAS TAUGHT HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS. HE'S A FREELANCE WRITER AND
00:01:07COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIST, AND HE LIVES RIGHT HERE IN
00:01:11NASHVILLE. AND OUR CONVERSATION PARTNER IS DR. LORETTA WILLIAMS JR.
00:01:15HE IS A SCHOLAR OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION AND PUBLIC
00:01:19HISTORY AT TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY, WHERE HE ALSO COORDINATES THE NORTH NASHVILLE
00:01:24HERITAGE PROJECT. EARLIER THIS YEAR, HE WAS APPOINTED DAVIDSON COUNTY
00:01:27HISTORIAN BY NASHVILLE'S MAYOR, FREDDY O'CONNELL.
00:01:29DR. WILLIAMS HAS WORKED AS A HISTORIC SITE SPECIALIST FOR THE
00:01:33STATE OF FLORIDA AND AS COORDINATOR FOR THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES PROGRAM
00:01:36AT ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC STATE UNIVERSITY. AND HE SERVED AS TRUSTEE OF THE
00:01:41HISTORIC SAVANNAH FOUNDATION. HIS MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS AS
00:01:44A COAUTHOR INCLUDE FROM THE FIERY FAIRNESS TO THE PROMISED LAND. AND I'LL TAKE YOU THERE.
00:01:48AND WE HAVE COPIES OF BOTH OF THOSE AVAILABLE AS WELL. IF YOU'D LIKE TO PURCHASE THEM TODAY.
00:01:52SO PLEASE JOIN ME IN GIVING A WARM WELCOME TO LUCAS HENDLER AT
00:01:57THE. OKAY. THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING OUT
00:02:00THIS AFTERNOON. AND I'D LIKE TO WELCOME YOU TO
00:02:04THE Z ALEXANDER LUBY CENTER HERE.
00:02:08THIS IS AN IMPORTANT SPACE THAT
00:02:13RECOGNIZES THE HISTORY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND A VERY
00:02:17IMPORTANT MAN IN THAT MOVEMENT.
00:02:19Z ALEXANDER LUBY WAS ARGUABLY
00:02:22THE GREATEST LAWYER IN THE
00:02:24HISTORY OF THE VOLUNTEER STATE.
00:02:26AND IT IS A MOMENTOUS OCCASION
00:02:30BECAUSE IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, WE'RE CELEBRATING THE 50TH
00:02:34ANNIVERSARY OF THIS BUILDING.
00:02:36SO THIS IS A VERY GOOD PLACE AND
00:02:38A GOOD TIME TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION.
00:02:42I'M THIS IS A CONVERSATION THAT
00:02:45I THINK LUCAS AND I HAVE HAD OFF AND ON FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS.
00:02:48AND IT'S KIND OF NICE WE GET TO
00:02:52INVITE YOU INTO SOME OF THE
00:02:54THINGS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT.
00:02:56BUT FIRST, I WANT TO THANK YOU, LUCAS, FOR ALLOWING ME TO SIT
00:03:00HERE AND CHAT WITH YOU. YEAH.
00:03:04FIRST QUESTION IS THIS WHAT
00:03:06INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE
00:03:10REMEMBERING ROOTS AND REVISIT
00:03:10THE LEGACY OF ALEX HALEY'S WORK?
00:03:14AT THIS PARTICULAR MOMENT IN HISTORY, HE WELL, I KNEW THAT
00:03:18THE 50TH ANNIVERSARIES WERE COMING UP FOR ALEX HALEY'S BOOK,
00:03:22WHICH CAME OUT IN AUGUST OF 1976.
00:03:26AND THEN THE MINISERIES CAME OUT
00:03:29LIKE A FEW MONTHS LATER IN JANUARY THREE OF 1977.
00:03:33AND SO I KNEW THOSE WERE COMING UP. AND I WANT TO DO SOMETHING.
00:03:37BUT WHAT ALSO MOTIVATED ME IS AN
00:03:40ARTICLE THAT I CAME ACROSS
00:03:42WRITTEN BY MICHAEL HEARNE FOR
00:03:44THE NEW YORK TIMES AND IN THAT
00:03:47ARTICLE, HE WAS A STUDENT OF ALEX HALEY.
00:03:49WHEN ALEX HALEY LECTURE AT AT HAMILTON COLLEGE IN NEW YORK.
00:03:53AND ALEX HALEY AS HE WAS TRYING
00:03:55TO RAISE MONEY TO DO HIS RESEARCH, HE WOULD GO TO
00:03:59DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, DIFFERENT UNIVERSITIES, DIFFERENT
00:04:02INSTITUTIONS AND LECTURE AND SO HAMILTON COLLEGE WAS ONE OF THOSE PLACES.
00:04:06AND MICHAEL WAS A STUDENT THERE IN 1968.
00:04:08AND SO IN THAT ARTICLE, HE GIVES GREAT DETAIL ABOUT WHAT IT WAS
00:04:13LIKE WORKING WITH ALEX HALEY.
00:04:15AND SO I KNEW I HAD TO GET IN CONTACT WITH HIM SOME KIND OF
00:04:20WAY JUST TO SEE IF HE WOULD BE WILLING TO PROVIDE SOME
00:04:22COMMENTARY FOR MY PROJECT. AND SURE ENOUGH, HE GOT BACK TO
00:04:26ME AND HE WAS ONE OF MY ONE OF MY MAIN SUPPORTERS FOR THE PROJECT.
00:04:29AND IT WAS HIM AND LEVAR BERGEN THAT I KNEW I HAD TO GET IN
00:04:34ORDER TO REALLY KIND OF GET THIS THING GOING.
00:04:37AND I FINALLY, AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS, WAS ABLE TO GET AN
00:04:41INTERVIEW WITH LEVAR BURTON IN
00:04:43SO GRACIOUSLY, GRATEFUL TO HIM FOR DOING THAT BECAUSE WE SPENT
00:04:46ABOUT AN HOUR ON THE PHONE AND HE ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS AND
00:04:50REALLY GAVE ME SOME GOOD INSIGHT FOR THE BOOK.
00:04:54WOW. I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD BE
00:04:57LIKE TO SPEAK TO THE OF BURTON. YEAH, QUITE A MOMENT.
00:05:00HE'S A PRINCE. YEAH.
00:05:02TO PREPARE FOR THIS CONVERSATION, AFTER I READ YOUR
00:05:06BOOK, I WENT BACK AND REREAD
00:05:09ROOTS AND AS I LOOKED THROUGH
00:05:11IT, IT IS A BOOK WITH SEVERAL
00:05:18VERY, VERY POWERFUL, POWERFUL
00:05:22SCENES. ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC, I THINK,
00:05:24IS THE BEHOLD SCENE, THE THE
00:05:28SCENE WHERE KUNTA CANTY RAISES
00:05:30UP KIDS, THE EMPEROR'S ANSWER TO THE HEAVENS.
00:05:35WHY DO YOU THINK THIS SCENE
00:05:37RESONATES SO DEEPLY ACROSS
00:05:39GENERATIONS AND IN CULTURES?
00:05:43I THINK BECAUSE IT'S AS YOU
00:05:46SAID, IS A POWERFUL SCENE AND IT'S ONE OF THOSE ACTS THAT I
00:05:49THINK INDIVIDUALS, EVEN IF THEY
00:05:54HAVEN'T SEEN ROOTS, BUT FOR THOSE THAT HAVE SEEN ROOTS, I
00:05:56THINK THEY DRAW LIKE A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
00:06:00AND YOU ALL PROBABLY KNOW THAT
00:06:04FAMOUS SAYING WHEN IT WAS DONE WITH KIZZY.
00:06:06BUT FIRST IT WAS DONE WHEN KOONTZ'S FATHER HOLDS HIM UP TO
00:06:10THE STARRY NIGHT SKY AND SAYS, BEHOLD, THE ONLY THING GREATER
00:06:14THAN YOURSELF. AND I THINK THAT HAS SO MUCH
00:06:18MEANING AS FAR AS EMPOWERMENT
00:06:20FOR PEOPLE AS WELL AS AS OTHER
00:06:23OTHER THEMES THAT CAN COME FROM THAT.
00:06:25AND I THINK THAT'S WHY IT JUST TOUCHED SO MANY PEOPLE.
00:06:30LIKE, THERE WAS ONE MAN THAT I INTERVIEWED AND HE WAS WATCHING
00:06:33ROOTS WITH HIS WIFE AND HE SAID,
00:06:35YOU KNOW, WHEN I HAVE WHEN WE HAVE CHILDREN AND WHEN I HAVE A
00:06:39CHILD, I'M GOING TO DO THAT. AND SURE ENOUGH, HE HAD A LITTLE
00:06:42GIRL AND HE TOOK HER OUT AND HE HELD HER UP AND DID THE RITUAL.
00:06:47AND THEN LIKE SEVERAL MONTHS
00:06:49LATER, HE HAD A LITTLE BOY. AND HE DID THE SAME THING WITH THE LITTLE BOY.
00:06:54AND I WAS ABLE TO TALK TO BOTH
00:06:58ADULTS. NOW, OF THE CHILDREN. AND THEY TALK ABOUT HOW THAT
00:07:02THEY APPRECIATE HIM DOING THAT
00:07:05AND HOW IT'S MADE THEM FEEL OVER THE YEARS, BEING ABLE TO AGAIN,
00:07:08TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION AND WHAT
00:07:11IT'S DONE IN THEIR LIVES.
00:07:14I AND I CAN UNDERSTAND NOW THAT
00:07:17THAT CONNECTION CAN SPAN
00:07:20GENERATIONS BECAUSE WE HAVE FROM HIS FATHER DOING IT TO HIM IN
00:07:24AFRICA TO THE PRESENT DAY, WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO MANIFEST IN THE
00:07:28SAME SORT OF BEHAVIOR, 21ST
00:07:31CENTURY AND NEXT QUESTION IS
00:07:33RELATED TO THAT.
00:07:37HOW DID ROOTS INFLUENCE THE
00:07:39GENEALOGY MOVEMENT HERE IN THE UNITED STATES AND INSPIRE A
00:07:43PIECE OF PEOPLE HERE TO TRACE THEIR OWN FAMILY HISTORIES?
00:07:48ONE THING IT DID INSPIRE WAS A
00:07:50LOT OF FAMILY REUNIONS, GATHERINGS.
00:07:52BUT AS FAR AS GENEALOGY
00:07:54ORGANIZATIONS, FAMILIES SEARCH WAS THE FIRST ONE.
00:07:59THE OLDEST ONE. IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1894.
00:08:01BUT AS FAR AS AND SASTRY.COM AND
00:08:04THOSE THAT FOLLOWED I DON'T THINK THEY WOULD BE HERE WITHOUT
00:08:08ROOTS AND IN PARTICULAR ONE
00:08:12GENEALOGY REALLY POPULAR PROGRAM
00:08:14FINDING YOUR ROOTS BY THE ESTEEMED SCHOLAR DR. HENRY LOUIS
00:08:18GATES. HE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THAT
00:08:22PROGRAM IS A RESULT OF ROOTS.
00:08:24AND SO IT DEFINITELY INSPIRED
00:08:27HIM TO DO WHAT HE THAT WITH WHAT
00:08:31THAT SHOW IS TODAY. BUT YEAH, I THINK WITHOUT
00:08:35WITHOUT ROOTS, I DON'T THINK ANCESTRY AND THIS DESIRE FOR
00:08:39PEOPLE TO FIND OUT REGARDLESS OF THEIR RACE REGARDLESS I DON'T
00:08:43THINK THEY WOULD BE INCLINED TO REALLY WANT TO FOLLOW AND FIND
00:08:46OUT WHERE THEY CAME FROM IF IT
00:08:48WASN'T FOR ROOTS.
00:08:53WHERE REALLY ASKED YOU WHY YOU WROTE THIS AND WHAT DO YOU HOPE
00:08:58READERS TAKE AWAY FROM THIS WORK AFTER THEY READ IT AND HAVE A
00:09:00MOMENT TO SIT WITH IT AND THINK
00:09:02ABOUT IT AND THIS IS A GOOD
00:09:06SEGWAY KIND OF FOLLOW UP ON THE LAST QUESTION. I MEAN, I'M HOPING THAT PEOPLE
00:09:10WILL WANT TO NOT JUST TRACE
00:09:14THEIR ROOTS, BUT I MEAN, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE WHAT ALEX
00:09:18HALEY DID GOING BACK GENERATIONS. BUT TO START WITH, YOU KNOW, MOM
00:09:21AND DAD JUST SIT DOWN AND FIND OUT LIKE WHAT IT WAS LIKE WHEN
00:09:25THEY WERE GROWING UP AND THEN MAYBE TALK TO, YOU KNOW, GRANDMA
00:09:29AND GRANDPA AND FIND OUT. I THINK THESE DAYS, ESPECIALLY YOUNG PEOPLE, I THINK, YOU KNOW,
00:09:32THEY'RE STILL INCLINED. AND ON SOCIAL MEDIA, YOU KNOW, VIDEO GAMES.
00:09:36BUT MAYBE TAKE A MOMENT AND JUST TALK TO, YOU KNOW, YOUR PARENTS
00:09:40ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE HISTORY. AND YOU'D BE SURPRISED WHAT YOU FIND OUT.
00:09:43I MEAN, YOU'D BE SURPRISED THAT THE THAT THAT YOU THE THE THINGS
00:09:47THAT THEY WENT THROUGH, HOW THEY OVERCAME CERTAIN THINGS.
00:09:51I THINK THAT STUFF IS INSPIRING. AND I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE
00:09:55COMPONENTS OF ROOTS THE TENACITY
00:09:57OF THIS FAMILY TO OVERCOME THE
00:10:00THINGS THAT THEY DID TO MAKE IT
00:10:02IN AMERICA, WHICH APPLIES TO ANY FAMILY.
00:10:06SO I THINK YOU FIND OUT THINGS
00:10:08WHEN YOU TALK TO RELATIVES. AND SO THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS
00:10:11THAT I HOPE PEOPLE WILL TAKE AWAY AND ALSO GO TO YOUR ELDERS
00:10:15AND, YOU KNOW, AND, YOU KNOW, TALK TO THEM. BUT IT DOESN'T HURT ALSO TO
00:10:21RECORD THEIR STORIES, YOU KNOW, THEIR ALL HISTORIES.
00:10:24THAT'S HOW ALEX HALEY WAS ABLE
00:10:26TO, YOU KNOW, FIND OUT, SIT ON ITS PORCH.
00:10:29YOU HEARD HIS GRANDMA AND HIS AUNT CYNTHIA AND OTHER AUNTS TALK ABOUT KUNTA KINTE AND
00:10:34CHICKEN GEORGE. AND HE JUST STARTED WANTING TO
00:10:36DO MORE RESEARCH.
00:10:38SO, YES, I FOUND.
00:10:44I'D BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T MENTION THIS.
00:10:46ROOTS HAS BEEN IN THE NEWS HERE
00:10:49IN TENNESSEE RECENTLY AS A
00:10:54SOURCE OF CONTROVERSY AND THESE
00:10:56TENNESSEE, THEY ACTUALLY BAN
00:10:59ROOTS FROM FROM CLASSROOM FROM
00:11:02THE LIBRARY AND CAN YOU SPEAK ON THAT A BIT?
00:11:08WHY THIS BOOK HAS BEEN
00:11:10CELEBRATED AND BANNED?
00:11:12WHY DOES ITS INCLUSION AS AN OFFICIAL STATE BOOK HERE IN
00:11:16TENNESSEE WHILE BEING BANNED ELSEWHERE? WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT AMERICA
00:11:23TODAY. I THINK IT SHOWS, NUMBER ONE,
00:11:27THE CONTINUED DIVIDE SIDE THAT WE HAVE.
00:11:31BUT THE FACT THAT IT WAS, YOU
00:11:33KNOW, BANNED HERE. I GUESS WITH THAT, I'M STILL
00:11:37STUCK ON IS BANNED IN KNOX
00:11:40COUNTY WHERE ALEX HALEY SPENT A LOT OF HIS LIFE.
00:11:44BUT THEN THE LAW THAT THEY BANNED IT IT CAME OUT IN 2022.
00:11:49BUT THEN IN 2024, IT WAS MADE AN
00:11:53OFFICIAL STATE BOOK. SO HOW DO YOU BAN SOMETHING
00:11:56THAT, YOU KNOW, AS AN OFFICIAL
00:11:58STATE BOOK WHEN IT'S BEEN
00:12:00DESIGNATED IN THIS IN THIS REGARD?
00:12:02BUT WHAT I DID APPRECIATE, FIRST
00:12:05OF ALL, THE SUPERINTENDENT
00:12:07MAKING THAT REVERSAL, BUT ALSO
00:12:10SO JUST THE BACKLASH, IF YOU
00:12:13WILL, OR THE PEOPLE THAT CAME
00:12:15OUT AGAINST THE BANNING.
00:12:18I THINK ONCE AGAIN SHOWS THE
00:12:20IMPACT OF ROOTS TODAY, 50 YEARS
00:12:22LATER, JUST HOW IMPORTANT THAT STORY IS.
00:12:25AND THAT'S WHAT I WAS REALLY GLAD TO SEE, MORE SO THAN ANYTHING, JUST THE CONTINUATION.
00:12:30AGAIN OF ALEX HALEY'S LEGACY,
00:12:32BUT ALSO JUST HOW PEOPLE ARE SAYING, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WRONG,
00:12:37THIS TYPE OF BANNING PERIOD SHOULDN'T HAPPEN. BECAUSE WHEN YOU DO THAT, YOU
00:12:40ROB STUDENTS OF THE OPPORTUNITY
00:12:42TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS AND TO
00:12:45HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SLAVERY, TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS
00:12:48ABOUT OTHER ISSUES, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT.
00:12:50AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT ALEX HALEY WANTED SO MUCH WITH ROOTS
00:12:56BECAUSE WHEN ROOTS CAME OUT, HE TALKS ABOUT HOW THE NUMBER OF
00:13:00PEOPLE THAT CAME UP TO HIM AND A
00:13:01LOT OF WERE WHITE PEOPLE WHO
00:13:04SAID, THANK YOU FOR WRITING THIS
00:13:06SO THAT I CAN UNDERSTAND AND
00:13:09MORE SO AFRICAN HISTORY, BUT
00:13:11ALSO JUST A BETTER UNDERSTOOD
00:13:13ENDING OF THE TRANSITION OF
00:13:15AFRICANS TO AMERICA AND JUST A
00:13:19BETTER UNDERSTANDING ABOUT SLAVERY.
00:13:21NOT TO MAKE ANYBODY FEEL GUILTY, BUT TO EDUCATE, TO HAVE A
00:13:26CONVERSATION. AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT IS SPARKED. AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE CAN
00:13:29TAKE FROM THAT TODAY TO HAVE
00:13:31CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THESE ISSUES
00:13:33INSTEAD OF TRYING TO PUSH THEM UNDER THE RUG AND PRETEND LIKE
00:13:36THEY DIDN'T EXIST.
00:13:41YEAH. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I TOOK
00:13:43AWAY FROM THIS BOOK, I DIDN'T
00:13:46REALLY HAVE A WHOLE LOT TO DO WITH ROOTS, BUT IT DEALT WITH
00:13:49YOU AS A PERSON. YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN FRIENDS FOR
00:13:53A WHILE AND I DON'T. I WAS JUST AMAZED AT THE PEOPLE
00:13:57THAT YOU HAD ACCESS TO. YEAH.
00:13:59SO MY NEXT QUESTION IS THIS. YOU INTERVIEWED THE ORIGINAL
00:14:03CAST MEMBERS AND SCHOLARS FOR THIS BOOK.
00:14:07WHAT WHAT'S THE MOST SURPRISING
00:14:09OR MOVING STORY YOU HEARD FROM THESE PEOPLE?
00:14:15I TALKED TO BLAIR UNDERWOOD AND
00:14:19HE ACTUALLY FOUND OUT THAT HE
00:14:24HAS A COUSIN AND HE WAS ABLE TO
00:14:28TRACE I THINK IT WAS LIKE TEN IN JUNE.
00:14:31IT WILL SEVEN GENERATIONS, MAYBE. BUT HE WAS ABLE TO TRACE HIS
00:14:36COUSIN BACK. AND THAT'S THE FEELING THAT HE
00:14:40FELT WHEN HE FOUND THEM.
00:14:42AND HE WOULD REFERENCE ONE OF MY
00:14:45FAVORITE SCENES, AND THAT WAS IN ROOTS THE NEXT GENERATION.
00:14:49WHEN JAMES EARL JONES, WHO PLAYS
00:14:51ALEX HALEY, FOUND THE FINDS THE
00:14:55GRIO, WHO'S ABLE TO GIVE HIM THE INFORMATION HE NEEDS ABOUT KUNTA
00:14:57AND HE JUST SAYS, I FOUND YOU, I'VE FOUND YOU.
00:15:01AND BLAIR UNDERWOOD WAS SAYING THAT WAS THE FEELING THAT HE HAD
00:15:04WHEN HE FOUND HIS COUSIN. YEAH.
00:15:08AND I THINK THAT'S JUST THE FEELING THAT PEOPLE, WHEN THEY
00:15:12DISCOVER THINGS, WHICH IS WHY I GO BACK TO, YOU KNOW, TRACING
00:15:16YOUR HISTORY, NO MATTER HOW FAR IT IS.
00:15:19JUST MAKING DISCOVERIES THAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW BEFORE, I THINK IS
00:15:22REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.
00:15:28AND ONE OF THE THE THE MOST
00:15:32IMPACTFUL AND MEMORABLE SCENES FROM BOTH THE BOOK AND THE
00:15:37MINISTER IS IS THE WHIPPING
00:15:38SCENE WHERE KUNTA KINTE REFUSES
00:15:41TO ACCEPT THE NAME TOBY.
00:15:44BUT SORT OF IMPACT DID THAT
00:15:46SCENE HAVE ON VIEWERS AND
00:15:48CONVERSATIONS ABOUT IDENTITY, IN YOUR OPINION?
00:15:52YEAH.
00:15:54UM, I THINK JUST NOT TO BE NOT
00:16:00SO WAVER IN WHO YOU ARE, WHO YOU
00:16:02BELIEVE, WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN.
00:16:05OF COURSE THERE'S A FOLLOW UP
00:16:09SCENE FROM THE SCENE WHEN HE'S WHIPPED. THAT'S, I THINK, JUST AS
00:16:13POWERFUL.
00:16:13AND THAT'S WHEN HE'S LET DOWN
00:16:19AND HE FALLS INTO THE ARMS OF FITTLER, PLAYED BY LOUIS GOSSETT
00:16:23JR AND IN THAT SCENE IN THE
00:16:25MINISERIES, HE LOUIS GOSSETT
00:16:28PUTS WATER ON HIS FACE AND
00:16:30CONSOLES HIM AND HE SAYS, DON'T YOU CARE WHAT THEY SAY?
00:16:34YOU KNOW WHO YOU BE, WHO YOU ALWAYS BE.
00:16:38YOU BE KUNTA AND WHAT OH, WHAT?
00:16:40I ALSO LIKED ABOUT THAT SCENE,
00:16:42WHICH ENDED UP NOT BEING
00:16:44SCRIPTED BECAUSE SOMETHING JUST CAME UP WITH LOUIS GOSSETT AND
00:16:49HE JUST KEPT ON TALKING. FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND. AND.
00:16:51BUT YOU HAVE THIS THIS FATHER
00:16:55FIGURE CONSOLING THIS YOUNG MAN
00:16:57AND THIS AND THIS SITUATION.
00:16:59AND I THINK IT JUST SHOWS ALSO
00:17:02HOW THAT'S NEEDED TODAY WITH
00:17:04OLDER MEN BEING THERE FOR YOUNG
00:17:06MEN AND HELPING THEM, BEING MENTORS IN SOME KIND OF WAY TO
00:17:10HELP THEM, YOU KNOW, MAKE IT IN
00:17:14THIS LIFE, GIVING SOME KIND OF GUIDANCE. AND THAT'S WHAT I TOOK AWAY, TOO.
00:17:18AND I THINK THAT PLAYS A ROLE AS
00:17:20WELL AS WHEN A YOUNG PERSON SEES SOMEONE LIKE THAT.
00:17:24IT HELPS WITH THEIR IDENTITY.
00:17:25IT HELPS TO FORTIFY WHO THEY ARE
00:17:28AND WHAT THEY BELIEVE IN.
00:17:30SO THAT'S WHAT I GET FROM BOTH
00:17:32OF THOSE BOTH OF THOSE THINGS.
00:17:36IN YOUR BOOK, YOU DESCRIBE ALEX
00:17:38HALEY AS AN AMERICAN GRIOT.
00:17:42HOW DO YOU SEE THE ROLE OF STORYTELLING AND HEALING AND THE
00:17:46RECLAMATION OF OUR HISTORY?
00:17:49I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO
00:17:51CONTINUE TO TELL STORIES
00:17:56REGARDLESS, ESPECIALLY OUR STORIES, WHICH IS ESPECIALLY AT
00:18:00A TIME LIKE THIS, WHEN THERE IS
00:18:02ATTEMPTS TO ERASE CERTAIN THINGS.
00:18:04IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO
00:18:08CONTINUE TO SHARE THESE STORIES IN SOME CAPACITY.
00:18:11AND I THINK IT'S INCUMBENT UPON, ESPECIALLY AGAIN, WHEN IT COMES
00:18:14TO YOUNG PEOPLE FOR A PARENTS TO IF THE CHILD DOESN'T ASK ABOUT
00:18:17THE HISTORY TO VOLUNTEER, VOLUNTEER THAT HISTORY NOT JUST
00:18:21ABOUT THE FAMILY, BUT ALSO ABOUT
00:18:26AMERICA AND HISTORY, ABOUT THE INCIDENTS THAT HAPPENED.
00:18:29AND, YOU KNOW, LIKE WITH SLAVERY, JUST LIKE THE HOLOCAUST IS CONTINUE TO BE TALKED ABOUT
00:18:33AND SHOULD BE TALKED ABOUT. SO SHOULD SLAVERY BE TALKED
00:18:36ABOUT SO THAT THOSE THINGS, AGAIN, NOT REPEAT IT, BUT A
00:18:40BETTER UNDERSTOOD AND I THINK IT
00:18:43ALSO EMPHASIZES WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THOSE THINGS, PEOPLE SEE
00:18:47THE HATRED THAT EXISTED AND HOW
00:18:49WE SHOULD DO JUST THE OPPOSITE AND REALLY LOOK FOR WAYS TO
00:18:53REALLY TREAT EACH OTHER BETTER.
00:18:54THE MORE RESEARCH I DID ABOUT ALEX HALEY, THE MORE I FOUND OUT
00:18:58IN SOME OF HIS WRITINGS. I CAME ACROSS HIM TALKING ABOUT
00:19:01CIVILITY, AND I REALLY TRIED TO WORK THAT INTO THE BOOK AS MUCH
00:19:04AS POSSIBLE, WAYS THAT WE CAN
00:19:07DISAGREE BETTER, WAYS THAT WE
00:19:09CAN JUST GET ALONG BETTER AND
00:19:13JUST A LOT OF THAT, AGAIN, GOES
00:19:14BACK TO HAVING CONVERSATIONS.
00:19:19AFTER COMPLETING THIS PROJECT.
00:19:22WHAT SORT OF IMPACT DID IT HAVE
00:19:26WITH DO YOU FORESEE IT HAVING ON SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT TO WRITE
00:19:30IN THE FUTURE? HOW HAS IT IMPACTED YOU AS A WRITER?
00:19:33DO YOU THINK? WHEN I FIRST WROTE FINDING THE
00:19:36GOOD THAT CAME OUT IN 2004 AND
00:19:40THAT WAS A BOOK THAT WHEN I WAS A REPORTER WITH THE ASSOCIATED
00:19:44PRESS, I INTERVIEWED FRED MONTGOMERY, WHO WAS ALEX HALEY'S
00:19:48CHILDHOOD FRIEND, AND FINDING
00:19:51THE GOOD CAME FROM ONE OF ALEX
00:19:53HALEY'S FAMOUS SAYINGS FIND THE GOOD AND PRAISE.
00:19:56IT IS WHY I TOOK THAT FOR THE TITLE.
00:19:59AND SO I TRY TO APPLY THAT THEME
00:20:02OF FINDING THE GOOD IN SOME
00:20:04CAPACITY AND WHAT I WRITE.
00:20:06AND SO GOING FORWARD IN THE NEXT
00:20:10PROJECT THAT I'M LOOKING AT, I
00:20:12WANT TO TRY TO DO THE SAME THING AGAIN.
00:20:15WHAT CAN WE DO?
00:20:16WHAT CAN BE DONE TO BETTER A
00:20:19SOCIETY IN SOME KIND OF WAY?
00:20:26AND. I NEED YOU TO GO BACK A LITTLE BIT TO THE MOMENT WHEN YOU FIRST
00:20:29SAW THE MINISERIES.
00:20:32YOU REMEMBER THE CAN YOU SHARE
00:20:36WITH US THE IMPACT THAT IT HAD ON YOU?
00:20:39AND YES, AS A FAMILY AND YOU COMMUNITY WHEN IT FIRST CAME
00:20:42OUT, I THINK THE SCENE EVEN
00:20:46BEFORE THE WHIPPING SCENE AND I WAS PROBABLY ABOUT EIGHT YEARS
00:20:49OLD, BUT I REMEMBER WERE WHEN
00:20:51THE KUNTA WAS CAUGHT AND AND THE
00:20:57CHAINS WERE ON HIM AND HOW HE
00:20:59JUST LANGUISHED AND JUST WAS
00:21:02FIERCELY TRYING TO GET OUT.
00:21:04AND THEN HE JUST KIND OF COLLAPSES FROM FRUSTRATION
00:21:09BECAUSE HE'S JUST SO TIRED AND WORN OUT.
00:21:11AND IT JUST THAT REALLY HIT ME
00:21:14AT THAT AGE, JUST WHAT IT WAS
00:21:17LIKE TO BE FREE.
00:21:19BUT THEN NOT BE FREE.
00:21:23THE AND AND JUST THAT WAS JUST TAKEN AWAY FROM THEM.
00:21:27AND I JUST NEVER FORGET THAT
00:21:30SCENE AND I'M CURIOUS AS TO YOUR
00:21:35THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW.
00:21:38HOW THE BOOK AND THE MINISERIES
00:21:41CAN BE USED AS A TEACHING TOOL,
00:21:47PARTICULARLY IN TODAY'S ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE HAVE TO
00:21:50TREAD VERY LIGHTLY IN HOW CAN
00:21:56THIS BE USED IN THE CLASSROOM?
00:21:58HOW CAN THE STORY OF ROOTS IN THE MINISERIES BE USED IN THE
00:22:03CLASSROOM IN YOUR VIEW? I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP. I ACTUALLY PUT TOGETHER A
00:22:07READING AND VIEWING GUIDE TO
00:22:09ACCOMPANY THE BOOK FOR
00:22:11CLASSROOMS, FOR BOOK DISCUSSIONS.
00:22:14BUT I THINK IN THE CLASSROOM, AGAIN, IT GOES BACK TO AN
00:22:17OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS.
00:22:19THERE IS A PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, MARRIED
00:22:23PROFESSOR HENRY GAUSS, WHO HAS A CURRICULUM AROUND ROOTS.
00:22:27AND I ACTUALLY TALKED TO A COUPLE OF OUR STUDENTS AND THAT
00:22:31I INCLUDED THEIR COMMENTARY IN THE BOOK. AND THEY WERE AND ONE OF THE
00:22:34STUDENTS WAS WHITE. AND HE WAS JUST SAYING HOW THE
00:22:38ENLIGHTENMENT BECAUSE WHAT SHE WOULD DO IS SHE WOULD HAVE THEM
00:22:41TO WATCH AN EPISODE.
00:22:43AND THEN AFTER THAT EPISODE, SHE WOULD HAVE THEM TO WRITE AN
00:22:46ESSAY ABOUT WHAT THEY SAW. AND IT WAS JUST INTERESTING TO
00:22:50SEE HOW, YOU KNOW, THEY WEREN'T
00:22:52LIKE JUST LIKE, OH, YOU KNOW,
00:22:55THIS IS I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS.
00:22:56THEY WANT IT TO LEARN MORE.
00:22:59I MEAN, AND THEY GOT FROM ME, LIKE THE ONE OF THE STUDENTS WAS
00:23:02SAYING, THEY COULD, YOU KNOW, SEEING HOW IT WAS TREATED, IT
00:23:06JUST REALLY OPENED HIS MIND TO, YOU KNOW, A MORE A BETTER
00:23:10UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPACT OF
00:23:12SLAVERY AND SOMETHING THAT HE
00:23:15HADN'T EXPERIENCED BEFORE. AND THEN AGAIN, IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR HIM TO TALK
00:23:19ABOUT IT AS WELL AS THE OTHERS. SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT IT REALLY GOES TO.
00:23:24AND TO SHOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS
00:23:27ISN'T JUST AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY IS PART OF AMERICA
00:23:31HISTORY. AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT SHOULD
00:23:32BE INCLUDED AND DISCUSSED.
00:23:38TOWARD THE END OF THE BOOK, YOU
00:23:39HAVE EXCERPTS FROM AND FROM AND
00:23:44FROM THE TEXT. AND AS I READ IT, I WAS LIKE,
00:23:46THIS MUST HAVE BEEN THE MOST
00:23:48DIFFICULT PART OF THIS BOOK TO
00:23:51PUT TOGETHER BECAUSE IT'S IT'S A
00:23:55BOOK THAT'S PREGNANT WITH
00:23:57IMPORTANT THINGS OR IMPORTANT
00:24:01MOMENTS. AND OUT OF THAT BIG TAKES, HOW
00:24:03DID YOU NARROW DOWN THE ONES THAT YOU USE FOR THE BOOK?
00:24:07ARE THESE WERE THOSE THE ONES THAT WERE MOST APPEALING TO YOU?
00:24:09HOW DID YOU MAKE THAT DECISION? YEAH, THEY WERE THE ONES THAT
00:24:13WERE THE MOST APPEALING AND I'M
00:24:19SOME OF YOU REFERRING TO THE WHAT ROOTS MEANS. YES.
00:24:22YEAH, I WAS JUST I MEAN, WHEN I
00:24:24WAS GETTING THAT INFORMATION AND
00:24:27IT WAS MOTIVATING TO ME BECAUSE AT TIMES, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS A LABOR OF LOVE IN A SENSE.
00:24:32AND, YOU KNOW, BUT IT WAS SOMETHING THAT I REALLY WANTED
00:24:35TO GET DONE AND COMPLETED. AND SO WHEN SOMEONE WOULD
00:24:39RESPOND AND THAT I PROBABLY
00:24:41WASN'T EXPECTING TO RESPOND AND
00:24:43I WOULD GET JUST THEIR DEEP
00:24:47THOUGHTS ON WHAT ROOTS MEANT TO
00:24:49THEM, IT REALLY IT KIND OF IT
00:24:51MOTIVATED ME TO CONTINUE. WELL, YEAH, THERE WAS SOME JUST
00:24:55PRETTY MUCH WHAT I GOT I WAS
00:24:58ABLE TO USE IN SOME CAPACITY AND TO GO BACK, YOU MENTIONED MAYBE
00:25:02AS FAR AS TALKING TO OUR ELDERS,
00:25:06AT LEAST THREE PEOPLE SINCE I
00:25:08STARTED THE PROJECT IN LATE 2004
00:25:12WHO ARE NOW DECEASED. AND I'M SO GLAD THAT I WAS ABLE
00:25:15TO GET THERE.
00:25:18THEIR COMMENTS AND ALSO A COUPLE OF THEM I RECORDED.
00:25:21BUT I THINK THAT JUST EMPHASIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF, YOU KNOW,
00:25:27PRESERVE BEING THAT OR HISTORY,
00:25:29WHICH IS JUST SO IMPORTANT. JUST EVEN IN THE IMMEDIATE
00:25:33FAMILY TO HAVE THAT BECAUSE YOU JUST DON'T KNOW.
00:25:35LIKE YOU AND I WERE TALKING BEFORE WE CAME UP.
00:25:38ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT REVEREND JAMES LAWSON? I, I REMEMBER AS A REPORTER WITH
00:25:43THIS AP WHEN I WAS WORKING ON A SOCIAL JUSTICE STORY, I WOULD
00:25:47OFTEN CALL HIM. AND I MEAN, I WOULD CALL HIM, FOR ONE THING, YOU KNOW,
00:25:52EXPECTING TO BE ON THE PHONE MAYBE TEN, 15 MINUTES.
00:25:55WE MIGHT BE ON THE PHONE AN HOUR
00:25:57BECAUSE HE WOULD GO ON AND ON ABOUT CERTAIN THINGS THAT WERE
00:26:00ON HIS MIND ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HISTORY.
00:26:04HE WOULD GO BACK TO HIS DAYS WITH DR. KING, BUT I DIDN'T MIND
00:26:08IT BECAUSE I WANTED TO HEAR THAT, YOU KNOW.
00:26:10AND, YOU KNOW, NOW I STILL HAVE SOME OF THAT RECORDING AND HE'S
00:26:14NO LONGER WITH US. SO THAT'S JUST KIND OF THE
00:26:16IMPORTANCE OF, YOU KNOW, GETTING
00:26:18OUR ELDERS ON RECORD.
00:26:24IN MY CLASSES, I TEACH AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY.
00:26:29I. IN REVIEWING MY LAST SYLLABUS, I
00:26:32NOTICED THAT I HAD A LOT OF WOMEN OFF.
00:26:35THERE'S A LOT OF WOMEN
00:26:37HISTORIANS, AND I SEE THIS
00:26:39PLAYING OUT IN THE ROOTS AS WELL AS WE GO THROUGH THIS STORY.
00:26:43WHAT ROLE DID WOMEN PLAY BOTH IN
00:26:47HALEY'S FAMILY AND THE ROOTS NARRATIVE OF WHAT ROLE DID THEY
00:26:50PLAY IN PRESERVING AND PASSING DOWN THIS HISTORY, IN YOUR
00:26:54OPINION? I THINK THEY PROVIDED STRENGTH
00:26:59AND THEY ESPECIALLY IN THE CASE,
00:27:02LET'S SAY, AND THE CHARACTER OF KIZZY, I THINK WOMEN CAN DRAW SO
00:27:06MUCH STRENGTH FROM WHAT SHE WENT THROUGH.
00:27:09HER RESILIENCE, BUT ALSO THEY
00:27:14WERE EDUCATORS BECAUSE IN A WAY
00:27:17THEY WERE EDUCATING ALEX, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST ABOUT HIS
00:27:20HISTORY, BUT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OTHER THINGS AS WELL. AND HE JUST KIND OF TOOK THAT
00:27:25AND JUST KIND OF WENT WITH IT.
00:27:29BUT THEY ARE THEY WERE IN SO
00:27:32MANY WAYS, YOU KNOW, MOTHER FIGURE IS I GO BACK TO WHEN YOU
00:27:37LOOK AT THE BOOK AND HOW HE WAS REARED, HIS MOTHER BINTA TO
00:27:41KINSEY AND THE LOVE THAT SHE SHOWED CAN'T, I THINK SHOW A
00:27:44COUNTER AND THEN HIS GRANDMOTHER, WHO WAS PLAYED BY
00:27:48MAYA ANGELOU IN THE MINISERIES, AND CICELY TYSON PLAYED HIS
00:27:52MOTHER. BUT THE GUIDANCE THAT THEY
00:27:55CONTINUE TO SHOW AT A YOUNG AGE,
00:27:57I THINK IT EMPHASIZES THE JUST THE NURTURING TO THAT.
00:28:01YOU KNOW, WOMEN, EVERYBODY. IT.
00:28:06AND THIS IS A QUESTION OR COMMENT.
00:28:10THIS ULTIMATELY GOING TO COME UP WHEN EXPLORING ROOTS.
00:28:13THERE'S SOME CONTROVERSY AROUND
00:28:15ALEX HALEY AND THE WRITING OF ROOTS. YEAH.
00:28:19HOW WOULD YOU RESPOND TO THOSE
00:28:23CONTROVERSIES OR COMMENT AS
00:28:26BEING THE FACT THAT YOU'VE BEEN
00:28:28VERY, VERY CLOSE TO BOTH HIM AND HIS WORK OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS? HOW WOULD YOU RESPOND TO THAT?
00:28:32I DON'T THINK IT TARNISHES.
00:28:34I THINK ONE OF THE BIG THINGS
00:28:37WAS THE LABELING OF ROOTS AT THE TIME.
00:28:41IT WAS LABELED JUST NONFICTION.
00:28:45BUT IT WAS LATER REALIZED AND THE PUBLISHER LATER KIND OF
00:28:49ACKNOWLEDGED THAT IT PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE NONFICTION
00:28:54NOVEL, LIKE TRUMAN CAPOTE'S
00:28:59PUBLISHER.
00:28:59AND I THINK THAT ALSO IT
00:29:03PROBABLY COULD HAVE BEEN MAYBE HISTORICAL FICTION. SO THERE WAS SOME CONTROVERSY OVER THAT.
00:29:07BUT I DON'T THINK IT TARNISHES
00:29:08THE IMPACT OF ROOTS, WHICH JUST
00:29:11STILL STANDS ON ITS OWN.
00:29:14THE IMPACT IN SO MANY AREAS. AND I'LL READ WHAT DR. GATES
00:29:17SAID ABOUT IT. HE SAID ITS IMPORTANCE AS A
00:29:21PHENOMENA LAY BEYOND ITS, QUOTE UNQUOTE, HISTORICAL ACCURACY.
00:29:26THE BOOK IS A LANDMARK IN AMERICAN HISTORY, A SIGNAL
00:29:30ACCOMPLISHMENT AS A PROFOUND ACT OF THE IMAGINATION.
00:29:33AND TODAY, ALL OF US WHO EMBARK ON THE EXHILARATING PATH IN
00:29:36SEARCH OF OUR ROOTS STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF AN INTREPID AUTHOR
00:29:39NAMED ALEX HALEY.
00:29:43THIS WILL BE MY FINAL QUESTION.
00:29:46YEAH, WHAT IS NEXT FOR LUCAS
00:29:51JOHNSON AFTER YOU HAVE SOLD
00:29:53THESE BOOKS AND GIVEN SEVERAL
00:29:58BOOK TALKS WITH YOUR NEXT PROJECT, WITH SWISS IN THE FUTURE?
00:30:00I'M ACTUALLY CAME ACROSS THIS
00:30:04MILITARY FAMILY OF THEY CALLED
00:30:08THEMSELVES THE DAVIS 11 IS 11 BROTHERS AND THEY COLLECTIVELY
00:30:12SERVED 158 YEARS IN THE U.S. MILITARY.
00:30:15AND WHAT'S REALLY UNIQUE ABOUT THEM, MY STATE IS THEY'RE AFRICAN-AMERICAN.
00:30:19SO THAT RAISES SO MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW CAN YOU SERVE A
00:30:22COUNTRY THAT, YOU KNOW, DOESN'T
00:30:24REALLY LOVE YOU BACK AND SO MANY
00:30:27THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING NOW AS FAR AS WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE
00:30:31MILITARY AND THE THE TURNING BACK OF THINGS.
00:30:34BUT I REALLY WANT TO DO A DEEP DIVE INTO THIS FAMILY BECAUSE
00:30:38THEY'RE LIKE FIVE GENERATIONS
00:30:41AND THEY SERVED UNDER LIKE 15
00:30:45PRESIDENTS AND THEY'RE LIKE OTHER LIKE NEPHEWS THAT ARE
00:30:49CONTINUING TO SERVE IN THIS FAMILY. SO THAT'S KIND OF THE NEXT
00:30:52PROJECT KIND OF IMPACTING THAT. AND AND THE REASON THESE
00:30:55GENTLEMEN SERVE AND WOULD GO
00:30:58BACK AND DO IT AGAIN IS THEY SAY SO WE'RE VERY MUCH LOOKING
00:31:02FORWARD TO THEIR OKAY.
00:31:05LIKE WE'LL TAKE A FEW MINUTES FOR A Q&A.
00:31:09THERE'S THE MICROPHONE.
00:31:12YOU KNOW.
00:31:22FEEL FREE TO MAKE YOUR WAY OVER TO THIS, MIKE, IF YOU HAVE
00:31:26QUESTIONS TO INTERVIEW.
00:31:30HELLO, MY NAME IS ALFRED DIGRAPH AND READ HAPPY TO BE HERE.
00:31:32LEAGUE LEADERSHIP TENNESSEE.
00:31:34SO THE COMMENT ABOUT CIVILITY IS
00:31:37ONE THAT COMES UP HAS WHICH YOU
00:31:39VERSUS STATE AND IT SEEMS TO BE
00:31:42IT SEEMS TO BE BECOMING A LITTLE
00:31:44MORE CHALLENGING TO HAVE
00:31:46PEACEFUL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS, THESE TOPICS.
00:31:50SO I LOVE THE QUOTE FINALLY GETTING PRAISE IT. I DO HAVE MY COPY.
00:31:53I GOT SIGNS JUST, YOU KNOW, SOME LIST, SOME LUCAS.
00:31:56BUT I WANT TO JUST SAY THIS IS
00:31:58VERY INSIGHTFUL TODAY AND I GUESS MY QUESTION WOULD BE, WHAT
00:32:01ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE? YOU MENTIONED REVEREND LAWSON EARLIER.
00:32:04HE TALKED ABOUT CIVILITY. A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE PAST
00:32:07ELECTED OFFICIALS SEEM TO COME
00:32:09TOGETHER NOW AND TALK ABOUT
00:32:12POLITICS AS IF EVERYTHING WAS
00:32:15PEACHY WHEN THEY WERE IN OFFICE. BUT IT SEEMS TO BE NOW THAT
00:32:19THERE ARE NO LONGER ELECTED, THEY CAN TALK A LITTLE MORE FREELY. SO COULD YOU GIVE US A LITTLE
00:32:22INSIGHT ON THAT, THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT QUESTION?
00:32:25YEAH, I, I WILL SAY THIS.
00:32:28ONE OF THE THINGS WHEN I WAS WRITING THE BOOK, LIKE I SAID, I
00:32:32CAME ACROSS WHERE ALEX HALEY TALKED ABOUT THAT, LIKE THE WAY
00:32:35HE PUT IT, YOU KNOW, GETTING OUT
00:32:37OF OUR OWN LITTLE ROOMS AND COMING INTO THE LIVING ROOM
00:32:41TOGETHER AND HAVING, YOU KNOW,
00:32:43CONVERSATIONS, GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER.
00:32:46BUT I'LL I'LL SAY WHEN WHEN
00:32:48CHARLIE KIRK WAS ASSASSINATED
00:32:50AND GOVERNOR SPENCER COX GAVE
00:32:53HIS HIS HIS TALK IS KIND OF LIKE
00:32:55THIS LONE VOICE ABOUT WHAT WE
00:32:57SHOULD DO BETTER TO, YOU KNOW,
00:33:00THIS BEING A WATERSHED MOMENT. AND ARE WE GOING TO GET OFF THE
00:33:04OFF RAMP AND TRY TO MAKE A CHANGE OR ARE WE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO AND THE SAME
00:33:08THING THAT WE NEED TO DO, AND I
00:33:10JUST THINK THAT HE STARTED THE
00:33:15CAMPAIGN CALLED. I DISAGREE BETTER.
00:33:18AND I THINK THERE ARE DIFFERENT
00:33:22GROUPS AND COMMUNITIES THAT THAT
00:33:24MEET TO TALK ABOUT WAYS WHERE WE CAN BE MORE CIVIL.
00:33:28IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT MAYBE AS FAR
00:33:30AS GOING EVEN FURTHER BACK IN
00:33:33YOUNG PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, IN IN
00:33:35SCHOOLS, HAVING, YOU KNOW, CIVIL EDUCATION, WHERE YOU LEARN ABOUT
00:33:39CIVILITY AND AND CIVICS AND
00:33:41INCORPORATE IN THAT WAYS, HELP
00:33:43EXERCISES WAY AT AN EARLY AGE. THEY START, YOU KNOW,
00:33:47UNDERSTANDING HOW WE MIGHT DISAGREE, BUT HOW CAN WE
00:33:51DISAGREE WITHOUT, YOU KNOW, GETTING REALLY UPSET WITH ONE ANOTHER.
00:33:54AND IT'S REALLY NOT THAT COMPLEX. I MEAN, I KEEP SAYING LIKE
00:33:58CONVERSATION, BUT I THINK IF WE JUST TAKE TIME TO SIT DOWN AND
00:34:02JUST DISCUSS SOME THINGS, YOU
00:34:04FIND SOME KIND OF COMMON GROUND SOMEWHERE. AND IT'S A MATTER OF JUST
00:34:08SITTING DOWN AND DOING IT OR COMMUNICATING IN SOME KIND OF
00:34:11WAY, SOME KIND OF SPACE THAT'S NEUTRAL WHERE YOU CAN JUST, YOU
00:34:14KNOW, TALK ABOUT THINGS YOU.
00:34:16YEAH, THANK YOU.
00:34:23I WILL. HI THERE. I'M GERANIUM, A NONPROFIT
00:34:28MARKETING STRATEGIST AND A NATIVE OF NASHVILLE. AND SO I REALLY ENJOY THE CONVERSATION.
00:34:32THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HOLDING THIS TODAY.
00:34:34SO MY QUESTION IS, IT'S KIND OF COUPLE LAYERS.
00:34:37I'M GOING TO TRY TO MAKE IT SIMPLE. OKAY. YOU KNOW, TODAY I'VE GOT TWO
00:34:41TEENAGE BOYS AND WHEN I THINK
00:34:45ABOUT STORYTELLING AND STORYTELLING FROM THE
00:34:48PERSPECTIVE OF THE BLACK EXPERIENCE AND BRINGING THOSE
00:34:51STORIES TO LIGHT, I THINK OVER
00:34:53THE COURSE OF MY BOY'S LIVES, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE THE
00:34:57AUDIENCE FOR KIND OF FICTION AND BLACK STORYTELLING HAS REALLY
00:35:01EVOLVED. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BLACK HONDA AND BLACK PANTHER AND ALL THESE
00:35:04OTHER THINGS HAPPENING. AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, FROM THAT
00:35:07POST-OBAMA PERSPECTIVE TO TODAY,
00:35:10THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS GAINS THAT WE KIND OF ASSUMED WERE
00:35:14SOLID AND THEY WEREN'T GOING TO GO ANYWHERE. AND THE TRAJECTORY WAS ALWAYS
00:35:18FORWARD AND UP. IT MIGHT BE SLOWER OR FASTER AT SOME MOMENTS, BUT IT WAS ALWAYS
00:35:22GOING IN A POSITIVE UPWARD DIRECTION. I THINK FOR ME, KIND OF LOOKING
00:35:25AT THE EXPERIENCE OF THE PAST 20 YEARS, LIKE A LOT OF THINGS ARE
00:35:30NOT SOLID, THEY'RE NOT PERMANENT AND AND REALLY KIND OF LOSING
00:35:33THOSE OF ASSUMPTIONS AND ASSESSING THE WORK IS THAT WE
00:35:37MOVED TO DO GOING FORWARD. SO LONG PREAMBLE HOW DO YOU SEE
00:35:42STORY TELLING, YOU KNOW, AROUND THE BLACK EXPERIENCE NOW? WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND THAT WE
00:35:47MIGHT DO AS PARENTS, AS PEOPLE WHO CAN TELL OUR OWN STORIES OF
00:35:50THE BLACK EXPERIENCE TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT GETS REINFORCED
00:35:54GOING FORWARD? IT'S INTERESTING.
00:35:56YOU SHOULD BRING IT UP. I WAS AT A REUNION IF A FEW
00:36:00MONTHS AGO AND THERE WAS A FATHER WHO HAS A 14 YEAR OLD,
00:36:03AND HE ASKED ME IF I THOUGHT HIS
00:36:05SON WAS TOO YOUNG TO WATCH ROOTS.
00:36:08AND I TOLD THEM, YOU KNOW, NO, I
00:36:12THINK THAT YOU SHOULD WATCH IT,
00:36:14BUT WATCH IT WITH HIM.
00:36:16AND AS YOU WATCHING THAT,
00:36:20EXPLAIN, I'LL BE THERE TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS HE HAD,
00:36:22BUT ALSO TO EXPLAIN, YOU KNOW, WHAT HE'S SEEING.
00:36:25AND SO I YOU KNOW, AND I'M NOT JUST SAYING THAT BECAUSE, YOU
00:36:29KNOW, IT'S ROOTS, BUT I STILL THINK THE ORIGINAL SERIES IS A
00:36:33GOOD TEACHING TOOL FOR THE TO BEGIN WITH, THE BLACK EXPERIENCE.
00:36:36I THINK WE SHOULD GO BACK AND USE THAT AND THEN, YOU KNOW,
00:36:40MOVE FORWARD AND JUST KIND OF THAT'S A STARTING POINT AS TO,
00:36:44YOU KNOW, SLAVERY AND THEN, YOU
00:36:48KNOW, ALSO LIKE IN ROOTS, THE
00:36:51NEXT GENERATION, IT TALKS ABOUT MORE INTO THE CIVIL RIGHTS AND OTHER THINGS.
00:36:54AND GRADUALLY MOVE INTO THOSE AREAS.
00:36:58BUT I THINK A STARTING POINT, A GOOD TEACHING POINT, IS TO WATCH
00:37:02ROOTS WITH YOUR IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE IT ALREADY.
00:37:04AND THERE'S A REMAKE OF ROOTS TO IT, WHICH CAME OUT IN 2016.
00:37:09IT'S OKAY. I PREFERRED THE FIRST ONE, BUT I THINK IT'S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO
00:37:13EXPLAIN AND FOR THEM TO SEE THAT
00:37:15TRANSITION FROM AFRICA INTO
00:37:19AMERICA AND WHAT HAPPENED. BUT JUST, YOU KNOW, LET THEM
00:37:23KNOW THIS HAPPENED AND POINT OUT
00:37:27THE RESILIENCE, POINT OUT THE STRENGTH THAT THEY CAN DRAW FROM
00:37:31THAT AND THEN, YOU KNOW, PUT
00:37:34THAT INTO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE
00:37:36GONE THROUGH CONTINUING TO GO
00:37:38THROUGH AND USE THAT MAYBE AS A
00:37:41SPARK OF HOPE THAT, YEAH, THINGS ARE TOUGH RIGHT NOW.
00:37:43YOU KNOW, THEY SEE WHAT'S BEING HAPPENED, LIKE THE HISTORY
00:37:47THAT'S TRYING TO BE A RACE, BUT REMIND THEM THAT IT WON'T BE
00:37:51ERASED. YOU KNOW, IT WOULD NEVER BE ERASED. AND HOW, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN BE
00:37:55PART OF THAT GROUP THAT MAKES
00:37:58SURE THAT IT ISN'T A RACE BY TALKING ABOUT WHAT I SAID
00:38:02EARLIER, LEARNING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THEIR ANCESTRY, TALKING
00:38:05ABOUT, YOU KNOW, TALKING TO THEIR PARENTS AND LEARNING ABOUT
00:38:09WHAT THEY WENT THROUGH AND AND THEN TAKING THAT AND JUST
00:38:12BUILDING UPON THAT AND JUST LETTING THEM KNOW THAT, YOU
00:38:15KNOW, DESPITE WHAT'S GOING ON, YOU CAN STILL BE SUCCESSFUL.
00:38:19SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.
00:38:21YEAH, THAT THAT MAKES SENSE.
00:38:23YOU KNOW.
00:38:28YEAH. GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M LARRY WOODS. I'M A PROFESSOR AT TENNESSEE
00:38:33STATE UNIVERSITY AND I TEACH CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND CIVIL
00:38:37RIGHTS LAWS.
00:38:38SO ROOTS AND THE SUBJECT MATTER
00:38:42AND EVERYTHING. YOU TIVOED AND INVOLVED AND
00:38:46PRODUCED AND ENCOURAGED WILL COME UP FREQUENTLY AND
00:38:50FREQUENTLY. MY CLASS NOT THE BOOK, NOT THE TV SERIES.
00:38:53AND FIRST SAY, BUT THE THEMES
00:38:56AND THE KNOWLEDGE AND THE INSPIRATION.
00:39:01I CAN WILL REMEMBER AROUND THE
00:39:0470S AND 80S THERE WAS AN EXPLOSION OF BLACK STUDIES
00:39:08PROGRAMS ALL OF A SUDDEN AND I'M
00:39:11NOT ENOUGH OF A SCHOLAR. I'LL LEAVE THAT TO DR. WILLIAMS TO KNOW WHAT THE DIRECT
00:39:16CONNECTION TO THE PUBLICITY AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ROOTS AND THE
00:39:19MINI SERIES RELATES TO THAT.
00:39:20BUT I THINK INNATELY THERE'S A
00:39:23CONNECTION THERE THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US TO UNDERSTAND THAT.
00:39:27YOUR BOOK OBVIOUSLY ADDRESSES,
00:39:29AND THAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR PAST.
00:39:33THANK YOU FOR BRINGING UP REVEREND JAMES LAWSON, ONE OF
00:39:35THE REAL HEROES OF SO MANY MORAL
00:39:39AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS OR
00:39:42REVOLUTIONS IN OUR HISTORY.
00:39:44REMEMBER, LAWSON ALWAYS CAL
00:39:47COUNSELED ME OVER THE YEARS,
00:39:49LARRY, YOU GET TO EMBODY POLITICS.
00:39:51POLITICS IS NOT A SOLUTION.
00:39:54AND IN AND I'LL STILL GO BACK
00:39:56ARGUE THAT WITH THESE NOW GONE
00:40:00IN CAN OUT ARGUE ME ON IT ANYMORE.
00:40:03BUT I'M INTERESTED IN IN PUSHING
00:40:06YOU A LITTLE BIT TOWARD THE FUTURE. I THINK YOU AND OBVIOUSLY YOUR
00:40:10BOOK MAKES VERY CLEAR TO HOW WE
00:40:13OUGHT TO BE USING AND ADDRESSING
00:40:15AND COPING WITH THE PAST.
00:40:18BUT I WONDER, WILL WE BE SITTING
00:40:20HERE TODAY AND THE DISCUSSION IF
00:40:24THE TV MINI SERIES HAD NOT BEEN
00:40:28PRODUCED, IF IT WERE JUST THE BOOK.
00:40:30I'M A PERSON WHO USED TO RUN
00:40:33BOOKSTORE OF MY WONDERFUL WIFE.
00:40:35I LOVE BOOKS, BUT IN OUR KIND OF
00:40:4021ST CENTURY SOCIETY, THE I'M
00:40:42NOT SURE HOW IMPORTANT BOOKS ARE
00:40:44ANYMORE AS COMPARED TO 50 YEARS AGO. I WOULD HAVE SAID TV.
00:40:48TODAY I'LL SAY THE INTERNET AND
00:40:52I THINK MY COLLEGE STUDENTS AND MANY OTHER PEOPLE THAT I DEAL
00:40:56WITH ARE VERY MUCH AFFECTED
00:40:58EVERY DAY BY WHAT THEY EXPRESS ON THE INTERNET.
00:41:02I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH THAT
00:41:05CARRIES OVER TO BOOKS OR EVEN TV
00:41:08PROGRAMS ANYMORE. SO WHAT ABOUT IT?
00:41:11WITH THE GROWTH AND CONTINUING RISE OF THE INTERNET, ARE WE
00:41:15GOING TO REMEMBER THE ROOTS MINI
00:41:16SERIES AND IN RESPONSE TO IT FOR
00:41:20IS IT GOING TO FADE AWAY BECAUSE IT'S NOT ON THE INTERNET
00:41:24EVERYDAY? WELL, GOING BACK TO WHICH YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT THIS, LIKE
00:41:26THIS PUSH FOR OR AMERICAN
00:41:29HISTORY STUDIES AND ALL THAT, THERE WAS A RESULT OF ROOTS.
00:41:33AND I TALK ABOUT IN THE BOOK
00:41:35LIKE ABOUT 240 UNIVERSITIES, I BELIEVE IN COOPERATING IN SOME
00:41:40WAY DISCUSSIONS ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY,
00:41:43AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES, IF YOU WILL.
00:41:46SO ROOTS DID IMPACT THAT.
00:41:49ON THE VIEW A FEW MONTHS AGO.
00:41:53LEVAR BURTON WAS ON THERE AND
00:41:55THAT QUESTION CAME UP ABOUT ROOTS TODAY.
00:41:59HOW WOULD IT BE ACCEPTED?
00:42:02AND LAVAR SEEMED TO THINK THAT
00:42:04IT PROBABLY WOULDN'T REALLY BE
00:42:06WATCHED AS MUCH BECAUSE YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, SO MANY OTHER,
00:42:09AS YOU WERE SAYING, SO MANY STREAMING SERVICES AND SO MANY OTHER AVENUES.
00:42:13BUT WHOOPI SAYING THAT I THINK
00:42:15THAT BECAUSE OF THE ORAL HISTORY
00:42:18ELEMENT, THAT IT WOULD STILL BE
00:42:21PRETTY STRONG BECAUSE THERE
00:42:23WOULD BE SO MANY PEOPLE STILL
00:42:25WILLING TO OR WANTING TO KNOW
00:42:27AND PASS ALONG THAT OR HISTORY.
00:42:30AND SO I'M OPTIMISTIC.
00:42:32I DON'T THINK THE IMPACT I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE AS ROSY.
00:42:36BUT WHAT WILL MAKE IT, I THINK
00:42:38PROBABLY BE MORE RECEIVED IS
00:42:40WHEN YOU HAVE INDIVIDUALS LIKE
00:42:42YOURSELF OR PARENTS TO GET
00:42:44INVOLVED AND SAY, HEY, LET'S SIT
00:42:47DOWN AND WATCH THIS, BECAUSE THE
00:42:51TEACHERS REALLY AREN'T GOING TO REALLY DO IT IS NOT THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO DO IT.
00:42:54AND IF IT'S BANNED, THEN IT'S NOT BANNED AT HOME.
00:42:57IT'S UP TO THEIR PARENT TO, YOU KNOW, SAY, OKAY, WELL, LET'S
00:43:01READ THE BOOK OR LET'S WATCH THE MINISERIES. AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE
00:43:04GOING TO CONTINUE YOU TO GET ROOTS MOVING FORWARD BECAUSE IT
00:43:08CAN GET LOST. NOW, IT HAS SURVIVED 50 YEARS.
00:43:12THAT'S PRETTY IMPRESSIVE. I MEAN, THAT'S THE WHOLE IMPETUS.
00:43:15YOU KNOW, FOR THE BOOK. AND BECAUSE IT'S STILL EMBEDDED
00:43:19IN POP AND POP CULTURE, I DON'T THINK MANY PEOPLE KNOW THIS.
00:43:22BUT AGAIN, LIKE, FOR INSTANCE,
00:43:24YOU HAVE RAPPERS THAT ARE
00:43:26CONTINUING TO THAT USE ROOTS IN SOME CAPACITY, LIKE KENDRICK
00:43:30LAMAR, ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR RAPPERS.
00:43:32HE HAD A SONG CALLED KING KUNTA
00:43:34ON ONE OF HIS ALBUMS, ROOTS WAS MENTIONED ON THE POPULAR TV SHOW
00:43:38TED LASSO. I MEAN, SO IN SO MANY WAYS IS
00:43:43STILL PART IN SOME WAY OF OUR SOCIETY TODAY.
00:43:46SO I THINK THERE'S STILL THOSE THOSE NUGGETS THAT WE CAN USE TO
00:43:51CONTINUE TO TO LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IT. AND YOUNG PEOPLE AND CONTINUE
00:43:54WITH CONTINUING HOPEFULLY FOR ANOTHER 50 YEARS.
00:43:58YOU KNOW, THANK YOU FOR YOUR BOOK.
00:44:00YOU KNOW.
00:44:05HELLO, I'M SARA LEE.
00:44:08TERRI WOODS WAS CO-OWNER OF BOOK
00:44:10MAN BUT WOMAN AT NEMACOLIN IS A COLUMNIST FOR THE TENNESSEE
00:44:15LOOKOUT. YEAH. SO MY QUESTION TO BOTH OF YOU ALL IS ABOUT BOOKS.
00:44:19OKAY. WHAT BOOKS DO YOU WANT TO REREAD EVERY SO OFTEN?
00:44:22WHAT'S ON? WHAT THINGS BRING YOU TO SOME
00:44:26ALWAYS HOPE AND KEEP YOU
00:44:31MOTIVATED TO KEEP TEACHING AND WRITING.
00:44:35THANKS. I'LL LET DR. WILLIAMS, WHO'S
00:44:38MORE SCHOLARLY THAN ME, WHO TAKE
00:44:42THAT ONE VERSE.
00:44:46I READ BELOVED EVERY YEAR, AND
00:44:54I. AND IT SEEMS LIKE I PICK UP SOMETHING EVERY SINGLE YEAR FROM
00:44:57AND I BOAST IN MY CLASS JOKE IN
00:44:59MY CLASS SOMETIMES, BUT I DON'T REALLY BE JOKING. AND IT'S LIKE I COULD TEACH
00:45:03AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY AND
00:45:05JUST USE THIS BOOK AS A TEXT.
00:45:11OFTENTIMES REFER BACK TO ISHMAEL
00:45:16REED MUMBO JUMBO.
00:45:20AS A BIG FAN OF JAZZ, RIGHT?
00:45:23AND IT'S JAZZ IS JUST RUNNING ALL THROUGH THAT.
00:45:25THERE WAS A LOT OF THEMES THAT
00:45:29RESONATE IN REED'S WORK THAT, YOU KNOW, INFORM OUR
00:45:33UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORK I DO.
00:45:35AND LAST, I KNOW YOU ONLY HAS
00:45:37ONE SARA LEE, BUT IF ANYTHING
00:45:40THAT HAS TO DO WITH THIS,
00:45:43ANYTHING THAT'S WRITTEN BY.
00:45:46BY JAMES BALDWIN AND HIS WORDS
00:45:50SERVE AS A SORT OF REVIVAL
00:45:52MEETING FOR ME.
00:45:56AND ALSO JESMYN WARDS WERE
00:45:58ANYTHING SHE WRITES IS VERY
00:46:01ILLUMINATING FOR ME. THAT'S WHAT I READ.
00:46:05AND I WANT TO CHIME IN ABOUT.
00:46:07IT'S A TRIVIA FACT THAT YOU WILL ABOUT WE MENTIONED JAMES
00:46:11BALDWIN. SO WHEN ALEX HALEY GOT UP THE COAST GUARD, I THINK IT WAS
00:46:14AROUND 1959, HE WROTE ABOUT SIX
00:46:17PROMINENT WRITERS, ABOUT HOW HE
00:46:20COULD CONTINUE TO BE A WRITER.
00:46:22HE DID SOME WRITING, AS YOU MAY WELL KNOW, IN THE COAST GUARD.
00:46:26BUT HE WANTED TO BE A
00:46:29PROFESSIONAL WRITER, AND THE ONLY PERSON THAT RESPONDED TO HIM WAS JAMES BALDWIN.
00:46:33AND THEY BECAME GOOD FRIENDS. AND JAMES BALDWIN ACTUALLY DID A
00:46:38REVIEW OF HIS BOOK, ROOTS THAT
00:46:41IS STILL PRETTY, PRETTY WELL KNOWN TODAY.
00:46:45I THINK ABOUT ONE BOOK THAT I'LL MENTION IN THIS ONE BOOK IN PARTICULAR, BECAUSE IT REALLY
00:46:49IMPACTED ME WHEN I WAS IN
00:46:51COLLEGE AND I READ IT AND I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN.
00:46:55BUT IT'S NATHAN MCCALL'S MAKES
00:46:58ME WANT TO HOLLER AND I THINK
00:47:02THE REASON IT RESONATED WITH ME BECAUSE AT THE TIME I WAS LIKE
00:47:05GOING INTO JOURNALISM, BUT IT'S BASICALLY HE WAS A WASHINGTON
00:47:09POST BECAME A WASHINGTON POST REPORTER, BUT BEFORE THAT, HE
00:47:13WENT TO PRISON AS A YOUNG PERSON
00:47:16FOR A CRIME THAT WAS, I THINK,
00:47:19EVENTUALLY RULED SELF-DEFENSE. BUT HE ENDED UP DOING TIME FOR
00:47:23IT. BUT I REMEMBER HIM TALKING
00:47:25ABOUT, YOU KNOW, GOING TO PRISON
00:47:27AND THEN BASICALLY HAVING TO KIND OF REBUILD HIS LIFE.
00:47:32AND THE BOOK IS FOR A YOUNG
00:47:35BLACK MAN WAS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF THAT.
00:47:38THE ISSUES THAT WE DO FACE AS AS
00:47:42BLACK MEN. BUT HOW HE SHOWED THAT
00:47:46REGARDLESS OF YOUR CIRCUMSTANCE, YOU CAN GET THROUGH THIS, YOU
00:47:49CAN OVERCOME, AND HE END UP BECOMING THIS PROLIFIC REPORTER
00:47:53FOR THE WASHINGTON POST.
00:47:55AND HE WENT ON TO WRITE THE MEMOIR THAT WE KNOW AS MAKES HIM
00:47:59WANT TO HOLLER, WHICH OF COURSE,
00:48:03YOU KNOW WHAT THAT TITLE COMES FROM. BUT YEAH, THAT WAS ONE THAT AND
00:48:06THEN OF COURSE, THE LATEST BOOK
00:48:08BY PERCIVAL EVERETT, JAMES IS
00:48:12ONE THAT I WOULD DEFINITELY ENCOURAGE BECAUSE IT'S JUST
00:48:16GENIUS US TO DO WHAT HE DID WITH THAT, WHICH IS WHY I WON A PULITZER.
00:48:19OF COURSE.
00:48:31I CONGRATULATE ASIANS ON YOUR BOOK.
00:48:35MR. JOHNSON THANK YOU, SIR. I'M BERNICE WINFREY.
00:48:38I'M FROM NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.
00:48:40I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT PEOPLE
00:48:42SAY TIMING IS EVERYTHING. SO JUST KIND OF COMMENT ON THE
00:48:48TIME THAT ROOTS WAS RELEASED, SAY IF IT WAS RELEASED 20 YEARS
00:48:51EARLIER OR 20 YEARS LATER, JUST KIND OF COME IT JUST MY PERSPECTIVE.
00:48:55IT WAS A RELEASE AT A PERFECT TIME.
00:48:59SO JUST KIND OF COME IN ON HOW YOU THINK THE TIMING OF THE
00:49:03RELEASE COMPARED TO IF IT WAS LIKE 20 YEARS LATER OR 20 YEARS EARLY?
00:49:07I THINK THAT YOU WRITE THE
00:49:09TIMING OF IT AT THAT TIME WAS
00:49:13THE COUNTRY WAS KIND OF COMING
00:49:15OUT INTO THIS LIKE BLACK POWER
00:49:19MOVEMENT KNOW NOW MISTAKEN AND
00:49:21SO ROOTS KIND OF JUST ADDED TO THAT.
00:49:24WHEN YOU SAW THE THIS THE
00:49:29TRIUMPH OR THE TRIBULATION OF THIS OF THIS FAMILY AND OF THEIR
00:49:34CHARACTER WAS AND HOW THEY OVERCAME.
00:49:36BUT I THINK ALSO THE SHOW WAS
00:49:41WRIGHT'S WATCHED BY LIKE MORE THAN 130 MILLION PEOPLE.
00:49:43SO AT THE TIME ALSO THERE WAS A
00:49:45STORM, A WINTER STORM.
00:49:47SO PEOPLE WERE AT HOME AND THEY
00:49:49REALLY HAD, YOU KNOW, NOWHERE TO REALLY GO.
00:49:52BUT ALSO IT WAS ON, YOU KNOW, ONE NETWORK.
00:49:55SO IT WAS JUST LIKE NO PUN INTENDED, BUT IT WAS LIKE THIS
00:49:59PERFECT STORM FOR IT TO BE WATCHED.
00:50:02AND I THINK SO MANY PEOPLE TUNED IN. I DON'T KNOW IF IT WOULD HAVE
00:50:07HAD THE SAME EFFECT. YOU KNOW, 20 YEARS LATER.
00:50:10AND IT KIND OF GOES BACK TO THE QUESTION THAT MR. WOODS HAD
00:50:14ABOUT HOW IT WOULD BE LOOKED AT.
00:50:16I MEAN, NOW I DON'T THINK MAYBE
00:50:20AS MANY PEOPLE WOULD WATCH IT, I THINK PEOPLE WOULD TUNE IN.
00:50:24BUT I THINK JUST AT THAT TIME, FOR WHATEVER REASON, IT WAS JUST
00:50:28EVERYTHING JUST WORKED OUT TO WHERE PEOPLE COULD REALLY TUNE
00:50:32IN AND JUST BE ENLIGHTENED BY
00:50:37THESE THESE THINGS THAT THEY READ IN HISTORY. AND TO REALLY JUST SEE IT PLAY
00:50:41OUT. THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER LIKE AS
00:50:44FAR AS LIKE THE VISUAL THAT HE
00:50:47GOES LIKE AS FAR AS AMISTAD AND 12 YEARS A SLAVE.
00:50:50BUT I DON'T THINK ANYTHING
00:50:51REALLY HAD THE IMPACT OF ROOTS IN THAT.
00:50:57SO THAT TIMING WAS JUST REALLY GOOD.
00:51:02HELLO, MY NAME IS FREEDOM, MY TREE.
00:51:04CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN. THANK YOU, SIR. ON THE BOOK.
00:51:08THANK YOU, DR. WILLIAMS, FOR
00:51:11FACILITATING THIS DISCUSSION.
00:51:13MY QUESTION IS ON THE FORM OF
00:51:17THE BOOK ITSELF. QUITE THE AUDACIOUS TASK TO
00:51:21HARMONIZE SO MANY DIFFERENT WRITING FORMS. AND ONE COLLECTION.
00:51:25SO EVERYTHING FROM POETRY TO
00:51:27HISTORICAL NARRATIVE TO
00:51:30JOURNALISM TO ESSAY.
00:51:32I DON'T KNOW IF I'VE EVER READ A
00:51:36COLLECTION THAT INTEGRATED SO MANY DIFFERENT FORMS.
00:51:39CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR DECISION
00:51:41TO TAKE THAT APPROACH TO THE BOOK?
00:51:44I THINK IT'S UNCOMMON AND IT DEFINITELY MERITS SOME COMMENTARY FROM YOU.
00:51:48MAN WELL, THANK YOU. AND I HAVE TO SAY THANK YOU FOR
00:51:51THE POEM THAT YOU WROTE THAT IS
00:51:55IN PART IT'S IN THE BOOK AS WELL.
00:51:58I THINK THAT AT FIRST I WASN'T
00:52:03SURE. I KNEW I WANTED TO GET THESE
00:52:05DIFFERENT VIEWS FROM DIFFERENT
00:52:07WALKS OF LIFE, FROM SCHOLARS,
00:52:13THEOLOGIANS, ENTERTAINERS, STUDENTS.
00:52:16I DIDN'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW I WAS GOING TO COME TOGETHER BECAUSE I
00:52:20REALLY THOUGHT THAT WHEN YOU ASK PEOPLE TO DO SOMETHING, YOU
00:52:23KNOW, THEY MAY NOT RESPOND RIGHT AWAY OR IN A TIMELY MANNER.
00:52:28SO I FOUND MYSELF DOING, YOU
00:52:30KNOW, MORE WRITING, WHICH IS FINE.
00:52:33THIS IS HOW I CRAFTED THOSE, THE CHAPTERS THAT ARE THERE AND JUST
00:52:37KIND OF INCORPORATED THE VOICES
00:52:39OF THESE DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS.
00:52:42AND, YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO GO BACK TO BEING A REPORTER AND BEING
00:52:46ABLE TO INTERTWINE FIND THE QUOTES.
00:52:49AND THAT REALLY CAME INTO PLAY. BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S IT WAS
00:52:53CHALLENGING AT TIMES. BUT WHEN I GOT LIKE CERTAIN
00:52:56THINGS THAT I WAS REALLY LOOKING FOR, THERE'S LIKE, YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO SAY IN
00:53:00THIS CHAPTER. THINGS JUST STARTED COMING TOGETHER.
00:53:04AND THEN I KNEW THAT THERE WAS A SECTION THAT I WANTED TO HAVE
00:53:06WHERE PEOPLE COULD JUST BE RAW. THEY COULD JUST TALK ABOUT, YOU
00:53:10KNOW, WHAT IT WAS THEIR ROOTS, HOW WHAT ROOTS MEANT TO THEM.
00:53:13AND THAT'S THAT SECTION THAT I HAVE, WHAT ROOTS MEANS.
00:53:16AND I JUST USED THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE JUST TO
00:53:19SPEAK FREELY ABOUT HOW THEY FELT ABOUT ROOTS.
00:53:23SO AT THAT POINT, ONCE I KNEW I
00:53:25HAD THAT THAT SECTION, I COULD
00:53:27JUST USE THE OTHER COMMENTS THAT I HAD TO JUST KIND OF
00:53:31INCORPORATE THAT INTO, YOU KNOW, THE CHAPTERS AND JUST KIND OF,
00:53:34YOU KNOW, I HAD A THEME FOR THAT CHAPTER, LIKE THE WHOLE CHAPTER,
00:53:38LIKE THE LEGACY CHAPTER, YOU KNOW, THE WHIPPING SCENE.
00:53:42AND SO I COULD USE THE COMMENTS
00:53:44THAT PEOPLE SAID TO, YOU KNOW,
00:53:46KIND OF TIE INTO THOSE CHAPTERS.
00:53:48BUT WHAT WAS AMAZING TO ME ABOUT THE PROJECT, TOO, WAS JUST HOW
00:53:52IT JUST KIND OF STARTED COMING
00:53:54TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T
00:53:56KNOW HOW WAS REALLY GOING TO TURN OUT UNTIL AFTERWARD.
00:54:00AND I AM PLEASED THAT THINGS DO,
00:54:03AND I APPRECIATE SHE POINTED THAT OUT, HOW THINGS SEEM TO
00:54:07CONNECT AND THEY SEEM TO FLOW
00:54:09BECAUSE IT IS A LOT. I MEAN, YOU GOT WHEN YOU HAVE
00:54:12DIFFERENT VIEWS, YOU KNOW, HOW HOW DO YOU CREATE THIS
00:54:16HARMONIOUS I MEAN, THIS THIS
00:54:19FLOW AND IT JUST KIND OF SEEMED TO WORK.
00:54:21AND I'M GRATEFUL BECAUSE I WANTED SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE
00:54:25COULD KEEP AND REFER BACK TO IN
00:54:27REMEMBERING ROOTS. THANK YOU.
00:54:34YEAH.
00:54:47HELLO. MY NAME IS MARGARET CAMPBELL HOLMAN.
00:54:51I'M A RETIRED MUSIC EDUCATOR HERE IN NASHVILLE.
00:54:54AND MY CHILD, HOOD BEGAN WHEN I
00:54:57WAS AROUND THREE YEARS OLD IN
00:55:02NASHVILLE. MY CONCERN EARNED AND I'M ASKING
00:55:06FOR YOUR INPUT INPUT ON THIS
00:55:10CONCERN.
00:55:10HOW DO WE TAKE ROOTS ALL THE
00:55:14PIECES OF ROOTS AND CONTINUE TO
00:55:17POUR IT INTO OUR CHILDREN ON THE
00:55:20INTERNET?
00:55:21IT'S CARTOONISH, YOU KNOW, FOR
00:55:25THE CHILDREN TO GROW OLD AND WE DRAW THEM IN AND USE THE INTERNET.
00:55:29BUT HOW DO WE TAKE THE STORIES
00:55:31THAT ARE MONUMENTAL, AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, TO OUR HISTORY
00:55:35AND TO HOW WE MOVE FORWARD IN
00:55:37THE TURMOIL THAT'S OCCURRING RIGHT NOW?
00:55:41WHAT WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ACTUALLY
00:55:44TO BOTH OF YOU?
00:55:45BECAUSE I'VE HAD DR. WILLIAMS IN
00:55:49ANOTHER SITUATION BECAUSE I RAN
00:55:51A NONPROFIT AND WE HAD SOMETHING
00:55:54CALLED A PARTY SHOULDERS.
00:55:56AND THE STORIES THAT WERE TOLD
00:55:58WERE ABOUT PEOPLE SUCH AS PEOPLE
00:56:01IN THE NASHVILLE AREA THAT WOULD
00:56:05I WOULD COMPARE TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AREA THAT YOU
00:56:08HAVE BROUGHT IN YOUR BOOK THROUGH ROOTS. WHAT DO WE DO?
00:56:12WHAT CAN WE DO FOR THE CHILDREN
00:56:13TO CONTINUE POURING INTO THEM?
00:56:18THIS VALUABLE INFORMATION IS VALUABLE HISTORY OF OUR PEOPLE
00:56:21IN OUR COUNTRY.
00:56:25YOU KNOW, YOU YOU MAKE YOU TAKE THEM.
00:56:28WELL, THANK YOU, MISS MARGARET,
00:56:31FOR THE THANK YOU FOR THE
00:56:36QUESTION. IT'S.
00:56:41ON ONE LEVEL, I THINK WE NEED TO
00:56:43GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE
00:56:46REDEFINE WHAT A CLASSROOM LOOKS
00:56:51LIKE. I MEAN, YOU CAN PAY MONEY AND COME TO TEACHING AND TEACH WHEN
00:56:54MY CLASS AND I WILL TEACH YOU
00:56:57THIS HISTORY AS BEST AS I CAN,
00:56:59BUT ONLY HAVE LIKE 25 STUDENTS
00:57:03IN THE CLASS AT A TIME. SO THAT IT IT'S NOT VERY MANY.
00:57:09SO I'M PUBLIC SPACES SUCH AS
00:57:15THIS NOW CHURCHES IS A RELIGIOUS
00:57:20SPACE IS OUR COMMUNITY CENTERS
00:57:23AND IN OUR HOME AS I WOULD TERMS
00:57:27ARGUE THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT ROOM IN YOUR HOME SIZE THE
00:57:33BEDROOM AND THE KITCHEN AND THE
00:57:34BATHROOM SHOULD BE THE LIBRARY.
00:57:39BUT IN SAYING THAT, HOW TO REACH
00:57:43STUDENTS, I FEEL LIKE OUR
00:57:46STUDENTS AGAIN, OUR CHILDREN ARE
00:57:47GETTING STORY WAYS ALL THE TIME
00:57:52ANYWAY, AND DIFFERENT FLAT FORMS THOSE.
00:57:54IT'S LIKE FRIENDS AND THE THING
00:57:58THAT HOOKED ME ON HISTORY, I WOULD SIT UP ON THE PORCH
00:58:00WHENEVER MY FATHER AND HIS FAMILY GOT AROUND AND I WOULD
00:58:05LISTEN TO THESE STORIES. AND I FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO
00:58:08FIGURE OUT A WAY TO BECOME
00:58:11BETTER STORYTELLERS.
00:58:16AND THE SPACES WHERE WE TELL
00:58:19THOSE STORIES AND THIS NOT SOUND
00:58:23LIKE A SHAMELESS PLUG. MAYBE IT IS. I DON'T KNOW.
00:58:27BUT I WORK WITH ORGANIZATION
00:58:27CALLED NASHVILLE SITES AND WE
00:58:31PUT UP QR CODES ALL AROUND THE
00:58:33CITY AND IF YOU SCAN THOSE
00:58:37CODES, SOMEBODY WILL START
00:58:39TALKING TO YOU JUST TSU UNFORTUNATELY BE ME.
00:58:43BUT IN OTHER SPACES WE HAVE YOUNG PEOPLE TELLING THE STORIES
00:58:48OF OUR HISTORY SO YOU CAN LEARN
00:58:50ABOUT, SAY, EARLY BLACK
00:58:53NASHVILLE BY JUST WALKING AROUND DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE.
00:58:57AND IT'S ALSO ACCESSIBLE, RIGHT? SO IF YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE
00:59:00WALKING WHERE YOU CAN'T WALK, YOU CAN ACCESS IT THROUGH THE
00:59:04CELL PHONE OR THE COMPUTERS.
00:59:07SO I SAID ALL THAT TO SAY THIS, AND I HOPE THIS IS ANSWERING
00:59:11YOUR QUESTION.
00:59:13OUR YOUNG FOLKS, YOU'RE GETTING STORIES ANYWAY.
00:59:19REGARDLESS. BUT IT IS INCUMBENT UPON US TO
00:59:22BECOME BETTER STORYTELLERS AND
00:59:25WE MIGHT NEED TO LISTEN TO THEM
00:59:27VERY CLOSELY TO SEE WHERE THESE
00:59:30STORIES THAT THEY'RE LISTENING TO ARE BEING TOLD AND MAYBE
00:59:33FIGURE OUT HOW TO ACCESS.
00:59:36THANK YOU TO YOU. AND I'LL JUST ADD ON THAT.
00:59:40HE MENTIONED THAT HOME AND I SAID THIS EARLIER, I REALLY
00:59:45BELIEVE THAT IT'S INCUMBENT UPON
00:59:45US AS ADULTS TO ESPECIALLY IN
00:59:49THE BLACK FAMILY, TO SIT IF THEY DON'T WANT TO COME TO US.
00:59:53WE GO TO THEIR HOME AND JUST HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT, YOU
00:59:57KNOW, OUR HISTORY AND THEN, YOU
00:59:59KNOW, JUST, YOU KNOW, ASK ME THE QUESTION YOU LIKE.
01:00:03WHAT IS IT THAT YOU LIKE TO KNOW?
01:00:05I MEAN, ARE YOU CURIOUS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU CAME FROM,
01:00:09WHAT YOU'RE CURIOUS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT WAS LIKE WHEN, YOU
01:00:12KNOW, WHEN I WAS GROWING UP DURING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
01:00:15AND I KNOW YOU KNOW ABOUT DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, BUT LET ME
01:00:19TELL YOU THIS STORY. LET ME TELL YOU, YOU KNOW ABOUT
01:00:22YOUR UNCLE WHO MARCHED WITH KING
01:00:26OR THERE'S SUCH AND SUCH THAT THEY MAY NOT EVEN KNOW ABOUT. AND I THINK THAT IF THAT'S THE
01:00:31CASE, IN A LOT OF CASES THAT HAS HAPPENED OR EVEN YOU YOU KNOW
01:00:34WHAT YOU DID, YOU KNOW, DURING
01:00:36THOSE PERIODS, I THINK THAT THEY
01:00:38WILL GET THEIR ATTENTION AND AND IT COULD JUST SPARK SOMETHING.
01:00:42BUT I THINK IT STARTS WITH
01:00:45BECAUSE YOU SEE, LIKE SOMETIMES THE TEACHERS AREN'T GOING TO DO IT.
01:00:48THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS AREN'T GOING TO DO IT IN.
01:00:51I GOT TO A TEXT WHEN THE THE BAN
01:00:54HAPPENED AND IN KNOX COUNTY FROM
01:00:58A FLORIDA TEACHER WHO PROVIDES COMMENTARY FOR MY BOOK, SHE WAS
01:01:02COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT TENNESSEE HAD BANNED IT BECAUSE IT'S
01:01:06BANNED IN FLORIDA. IT'S THINK IT'S ONE OF ONLY 1 OR
01:01:092 STATES THAT'S COMPLETELY
01:01:11BANNED ROUTES AND THEY HAD TENNESSEE WAS ABOUT TO BE THE
01:01:14OTHER ONE BUT YOU KNOW THAT WAS REVERSED, OF COURSE.
01:01:17BUT SHE WAS JUST SAYING HOW SHE
01:01:22READ THE LOGS THAT SAYS THOSE THINGS WERE NOT AGE APPROPRIATE,
01:01:25WHICH IS WHAT THEY USE THE BAN WAS. BUT SHE WAS SAYING HOW SHE READ,
01:01:28YOU KNOW, AGE APPROPRIATE STUFF OR STUFF THAT WASN'T CONSIDERED
01:01:32AGE APPROPRIATE AND HOW IT SHAPED HER LIFE AND YOU KNOW,
01:01:36WHO'S THIS? TELL SOMEONE WHAT YOU SHOULD READ. YOU KNOW, IT'S A PERSONAL THING,
01:01:39BUT I THINK IT'S IT AGAIN, IT
01:01:42ROBS STUDENTS OF THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE EDUCATED, TO TALK ABOUT
01:01:46CERTAIN THINGS. AND THAT'S WHY SHE WAS SAYING
01:01:48THAT IS A PARENT'S JOB TO DO
01:01:51THAT OR RELATIVE'S JOB. DON'T LEAVE IT UP TO THE SCHOOL
01:01:55SYSTEM TO LEAVE IT UP TO THE TEACHERS. BUT YOU TAKE RESPONSIBILITY IN
01:01:58YOUR COMMUNITY LIKE DR. WOODS
01:02:00WAS SAYING ABOUT EDUCATING, YOU
01:02:03KNOW, YOUTH ABOUT THE HISTORY IN
01:02:07GENERAL. AND I THINK IF YOU DO THAT, THEN THERE'S NOBODY CAN TAKE THAT
01:02:11AWAY AT THIS POINT.
01:02:13AND ONE LAST QUICK THOUGHT.
01:02:17I THINK IT'S CRITICAL THAT WE
01:02:20SOONER OUR CHILDREN IN THESE
01:02:23NARRATIVES, IN THESE STORIES
01:02:25THAT THEY SEE, THAT IS NOT ABOUT
01:02:29SOMEBODY OUT THERE. IT'S ABOUT ME AND THE PEOPLE
01:02:33THAT I SEE EVERY DAY. AND I THINK IT WILL RESONATE A
01:02:36BIT MORE WITH THEM ONCE WE WE DO THAT.
01:02:40THANK YOU.
01:02:43YOU SURE.
01:02:54HELLO?
01:02:56YEAH, EXCELLENT PRESENTATION.
01:02:58MY NAME IS RYAN LAWLER, AND THIS
01:03:00IS DIRECTED TO LUCAS JOHNSON.
01:03:04WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT
01:03:06YOURSELF AND HOW DID YOU GROW
01:03:09FROM DOING THIS PROJECT?
01:03:12OH, IT WAS JUST REFRESHING TO
01:03:15HEAR JUST THE VIEWPOINTS OF SO MANY PEOPLE.
01:03:19AND LIKE HE MENTIONED, THE
01:03:23FAMOUS AUTHOR ISHMAEL REED, WHO
01:03:26I DIDN'T REALLY THINK WOULD EVEN
01:03:28GET BACK TO ME, BUT HE DID AND PROVIDED SOME REALLY GOOD
01:03:32COMMENTARY.
01:03:32BUT JUST SEEING THE APPRECIATION
01:03:37THAT PEOPLE HAVE FOR OUR
01:03:41HISTORY, THE APPRECIATION FOR PEOPLE HAVE, JUST NOT FOR
01:03:45CONTINUING THE LEGACY OF ALEX
01:03:47HALEY, BUT ALSO JUST THE PRIDE
01:03:52THAT THEY HAVE IN THEIR OWN HISTORY AND HOW, YOU KNOW, LIKE
01:03:56THE COMMENT THAT AND I DON'T THINK I PUT THIS IN THE BOOK,
01:03:59BUT LIKE WHEN I DID TALK TO BLAIR UNDERWOOD AND HE SAID, YOU
01:04:02KNOW, WE WOULD NOT BE ERASED. AND HOW, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST
01:04:06THIS BELIEF THAT NO MATTER WHAT IS TRYING TO HAPPEN, THAT IT'S
01:04:10NOT GOING TO HAPPEN BECAUSE YOU
01:04:14KNOW, WE REALLY BELIEVE IN OR
01:04:16HISTORY, IF WE CONTINUE TO TELL
01:04:19OUR STORIES, THERE'S NO WAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THINGS WILL BE
01:04:23COMPLETELY JUST DONE AWAY WITH.
01:04:25BUT ALSO, AGAIN, JUST THE
01:04:29REINFORCEMENT OR JUST ME KNOWING
01:04:31JUST THE IMPORTANCE OF
01:04:33STORYTELLING AND HOW PEOPLE
01:04:36REALIZE THAT AND THAT THAT IS A
01:04:38WAY TO JUST LEARN SO MUCH IN
01:04:42THIS TO CONTINUE THINGS MOVING
01:04:46FORWARD. SO THAT WAS MOTIVATION FOR ME
01:04:49AND ESPECIALLY BEING A WRITER IN
01:04:51THE JUST KNOWING THE IMPORTANCE
01:04:53OF STORYTELLING AND BEING WILLING TO CONTINUE TO TELL
01:04:57STORIES AND ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO TELL STORIES.
01:05:00LIKE WHEN I TALK TO CLASSES, YOUNG PEOPLE, I TELL THEM THAT,
01:05:04YOU KNOW, DON'T BE AFRAID TO. EVERYBODY HAS A STORY.
01:05:07DON'T BE AFRAID THAT THEY DON'T THINK THAT MAYBE A STORY IS NOT
01:05:10THAT IMPORTANT, BECAUSE YOU'D BE SURPRISED WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN IT.
01:05:13BUT TO, YOU KNOW, WRITE THINGS
01:05:15DOWN AND TO CONTINUE TO TELL
01:05:18YOUR STORY.
01:05:20LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT, YOU KNOW, YOUR HISTORY.
01:05:24AND I THINK THAT WAS JUST ONE THING THAT JUST CONTINUE TO MOTIVATE ME EVEN MORE AS A AS A
01:05:29STORYTELLER.
01:05:31THANK YOU.
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