Transcripts For CSPAN Racism In America 20180115

Here our deep respect and sincere appreciation for people of other backgrounds who seek to grow in faith as well as knowledge. Georgetowns jesuit tradition of education has always prided both the pursuit of truth and virtue. It is the transformation of the whole person from ignorance to understanding, from isolation to dialogue. From indifference to more responsibility. It characterizes the best of what i just thought might georgetown has to offer. So much of the political and social discourse of our nation has heart into a rancorous noise. It has distracted us from our ability to be informed, honest, and even prophetic and our dialogue about the ethical issues facing us today. With these dialogues, we hope that a conversation in the midst of this sacred space might offer a more prayerful posture to engage political, academic, and spiritual leaders. Placing these dialogues with an in place of prayer and worship can sustain and empower us to be more active participants and renew our common sense of purpose. Tonight the office of mission and ministry in collaboration with the initiative on catholic social thought continues our series that seeks to deepen conversations about social justice along with this rich and deep heritage in our christian faith. Tonight, we unite in confronting racism in our hearts. Before beginning, with song and prayer, i would like to invite the president to share his own personal welcome. Thank you very much, father bosco. Good evening everyone. Thank you for this opportunity to be with you all. As father bosco shared, for a second dialogue hosted by our initiative on catholic social thought in public life in her option in our office of mission and ministry. These dialogues are not ready to come together in prayer, are an opportunity to come together in prayer, reflection, and dialogue. We seek a deeper alignment of our values and our action. We are grateful to the initiative, to the office of mission and ministry, to the Democracy Fund, to chris crawford, for their efforts to make this evenings dialogue possible. In just a moment, john carr, director of our initiative on catholic social thought in public life, we introduce an will introduce and invite to the stage an extra in a panel an extraordinary panel. To each of you, i want to thank you for your presence. We are grateful to our panelists for the reflections that they will share with us. Id also like to thank rabbi rachel garner who will lead us in an opening prayer in just a few moments. In recent years, our community has come together through town hall meetings, classrooms, and religious spaces with our , partners across the city. We have gathered in response to public incidents and personal experiences. We sought to establish new structures and new opportunities. To urge one another, to support one another in the important work towards Racial Justice. 150 years after the abolition of slavery, our society is still grappling with the problems of racism and Racial Injustice and we are grappling with that here, in our community and in our city. Tonight we gather for this dialogue to explore the role of the state, explore the role of religious faith in pursuit of the common good of ridding the world of racism. There is a letter, the challenges of racism today, in which we are reminded that it is our faith that causes us to confront and overcome racism. Recent efforts under the leadership of archbishop gregory and Bishop George murray. The 1979 pastore reflective, brothers and sisters to us. The leadership of Cardinal Patrick oboyle to eliminate the resources. Illuminate the resources. This issue requires our enduring attention and response. Cardinal boyle sought to eliminate the cause of rachel illuminate the cause of Racial Justice. He offer the indication, the march on washington alongside john lewis and dr. King, and offer the attendance of local parishes within the march. Less wellknown is a gathering here at georgetown in 1964 in support of the civil rights act. His role as chairman of the Interreligious Committee on race relations, hell sit in interreligious event here on cap on campus attended by 1600 6500 people of protestant, catholic, and jewish faith. He said, we are here tonight to speak with one voice are deep one voice our deep religious convictions about the begin the of man and the rights of all men, what are Congress Considers in terms of Public Policy we hold in terms of Human Dignity. He concluded together and by saying, this assembly is but a beginning. We have embarked upon a crusade that will not be ended until every american has been given the right, equal opportunities, and full recognition of her or his Human Dignity. In these words, Cardinal Oboyle issued a call that remains is remains as urgent today as it was 53 years ago. It animates our long going continued commitment to grapple with our store participation in the institution of slavery. A call that demands each of us to address with greater vigor the legacy of these institutions that persist in our nation. A call that inspires reflections, and Work Together at the university community. I wish to express my appreciation to all of you. It is a privilege to be here for this convening. We are grateful. [applause] please join with us in grace,ng amazing found in your program. Please stand. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me i once was lost but now im found was blind but now i see twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved how precious did that grace appear the hour i first believed the lord has promised good to me his words my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures yet when this flesh and heart shall fail and mortal life shall cease i shall possess of the veil a life of joy and peace when we been there 10,000 years bright shining as the sun weve no less days to sing gods praise then when wed first begun please remain standing. In the shadow of rabbi abraham, Joshua Peschel and all the , rabbis who want for justice for me and surrounded me with my privilege privacy tonight. [singing in hebrew] blessed are you god. He you opens our eyes. Open our eyes this day and every year to see your light, dear god, as a shines through every human being. Help us see the radiant and light of every human family. Blessed are you god. You guide our footsteps. Guide us towards wholeness. Move us away from the racism that wounds us, divides us from ourselves, and cuts us off from one another and you. Drive us away from the equivocations that on is the divine image and some but not in others. Blessed are you god. Who gives us strength. Strengthen our current should end in our courage to turn inward and tried to pursue the world as it should we. Strengthen us to protect and plead one anothers cause. Blessed are you god. [singing in hebrew] who takes care of our every need finally, bless us in our gathering tonight and faithfulness to hear hard truths tonight bravely. If our hearts begin to harden in defensiveness, soften us to one anothers pain. If we begin to recoil in comfort discomfort, give us empathy. Is what you desire and require of us. Quiet our minds. Ready our spirits for the hard work that the world needs us to do. May we be comforted by the knowledge that you are with us every step of the way. Can you hear a song . May it in your will, maybe ours. It be hours amen. Please be seated. [indiscernible] good evening. My name is john carr and im the director of the initiative on catholic social thought public life. Im honored to partner with our colleagues in the office of mission and ministry. Thank you, rabbi for that prayer. You can tell we are an interFaith Community. We sang all the verses of the song. In the catholic way, two verses. The president talked about how we are wrestling with this at georgetown. Many of you know it is taking on very direct original, historical reality with the broader understanding of the sale of human beings to support the college of university. The very definition of White Privilege. People ask why has georgetowns response been different than other places. There are many reasons. One of them is sitting next to me. The work of the group on slavery, memory, and reconciliation. There are two things we should think about tonight. One is religious convictions on human life and dignity, about human rights and justice, about solidarity, that gives different way of looking at world. The other has been the leadership of our president. Instead of trying to evade her evade or escape or minimize, has taken this head on. He helped us had gone away forward. Moral principles of leadership. We need. E are things we need. We witnesses additions and people have been a big part of the problem and solution. Think about it. People relied of the bible by slavery. The klan burned the cross to intimidate people. The abolitionist love the scriptures. Martin luther king jr. Was a reverend. Oboyle stood up in difficult times. In the pastoral letter you have your hand, it is a step forward. Bishop gregory, its a step forward. We are here to talk about how those ideas those institutions , in leadership can make a difference. And we have a Remarkable Group of to help us think about that. One is a pastor, a leader, the only africanamerican archbishop in our country. The fact that he is the only is only says something about him and it says something about us. Jim has been a leader in at his life. We have your teaching, enter scholarship, and inner in her teaching, in her herlarship, and also in leadership on this. Someone called the conscience of the congress. Representative lewis has a day job. He had votes tonight. We are assured he is on his way here. We have hard questions. We have elements of responses. And we have a great group of people to help us. Let me turn to you first. Went toop gregory, you charlottesville. You said we have to find better ways to talk about the r word, racism. You lived a life ministered, dealt with discrimination in your own situation, grew up in chicago. One of my favorite things about archbishop gregory is that he said he decided he wanted to be a priest before he was a catholic. A testament to the power of Catholic Schools in the innercity. I worked in the conference would archbishop gregory was president. He provided enormous, tremendous leadership in many areas. I personally will never forget that at a time when the church was on trial and i was the parent of young sons, he stood up on a revoked sexual abuse and insisted on accountability and change in the church. This is a pastor of courage and a lot of that courage has come in the area of Racial Justice. When you say we have trouble talking about the r word, racism, what did you mean . How should we be talking about this . Our colleagues are saying that Democracy Fund are trying to make the case we can talk about tough issues through civil dialogue. Why do we find it hard and what should we be doing to overcome our avoidance of the r word . I think we find it difficult , especially at this moment in our nations history, because we have become so polarized. And have in so many different , ways, lost the ability to speak civilly to one another. But i also think its difficult because the issue of racism at its core is a spiritual difficulty. It is a spiritual moment. And like any spiritual moment, it calls us to conversion. Were afraid in many ways to talk about the race question. To talk about racism with one another. Because it might reveal that what we thought we understood, we dont understand. And thats the heart of the spiritual conversion. To acknowledge that what we thought we possessed that made us feel secure, we dont. When young men with torches march through the streets of charlottesville saying you will not replace us, when young black men lose their lives in our city in conflict with police and broader violence, when as the president said, africanamericans are twice as likely to be jobless in this city and infant mortality is twice as high for africanamerican babies. How do we skip to spiritual conversion . Notdo these realities shape only our spiritual response, but our personal, how public response . John, i think part of this moment and part of this response is that there have been moments in our history, recent history, where we reached a momentous event. Whether it was the civil rights act, the Voting Rights act, the election of the first africanamerican president , and there was so much hope in achieving that threshold that we confused the achievement of a public event, civic event, with human conversion. And so there is a disappointment , when we find ourselves facing the same issues and sometimes even more complex issues that we thought, if we could only an act this piece of legislation legislationiece of if this young, articulate african man can be elected president , surely we have crossed the threshold. These events caused us to doubt that we might ever be able to achieve those moments of real, deep spiritual reconciliation. You talked about spiritual conversion. You talked about whether we will cross that bridge. What are the roles and responsibilities of religious institutions and leaders in this . We are in a chapel, not a lecture hall. We began with song and prayer , not a political call to arms. Pope francis seems to be a universal leader who can touch our conscience in ways that many others cant. What is the responsibility of religious institutions and what can we learn from, one, religious leaders, not only for other religious leaders but for civic, community other , leaders. I think pope francis and dr. King, obviously its a most prophetic way, said the role of faith is to accompany people. To walk with them in lifes journey and not only does walk with them, challenge them. Its the work of evangelization. Its a work of inviting people to conversion. Earlier, it was referenced that dr. King, the world refers to him as dr. King, but he was first reverend king. That his leadership was primarily a spiritual leadership. Now, there is no question that he was directly involved with the civil changes that took place as a part of the Civil Rights Movement. But he was first of all one who spoke to the heart of our nation about the spiritual values were spiritual values that were being ignored. Marcia, youre a scholar. Youre a professor at georgetown. Im going to get this right. You were a professor at oklahoma. You are a native of chicago. Its a bit of a chicago night here at georgetown. You have all sorts of awards for your teaching. Youve written an incredible book about young africanamerican girls and women growing up. Yet, what i want to ask you about is the experience of serving on this working group. Almost all of us walked in here and off to the right is Isaac Hawkins hall. It used to be called mullaney hall. Who is father mullaney, who is Isaac Hawkins, and why is that important for this discussion tonight . When we think about the context of the work we did, for a number of us it was an exploration not only into georgetowns history but the history of the united states. Father mullaney was an American Catholic in a time when American Catholics were not clear about the question of slavery. That was who he was. He was also a leader here at Georgetown University and had a choice to make. The choice was around the assets of human beings. That was the 272 men, women, and children who were sold to reconcile some of georgetowns allow the Jesuit Community here to imagine georgetowns future. Its important to remember why we made a decision not only to rename the hall but also Mcsherry Hall to another name. I think the renaming is important for other institutions to resist the false idolatry of buildings, confederate statues, flags, the symbols in our culture at this moment that people devoting these things rather than thinking about the spiritual conversion we were talking about. And so, i think that in making the move to say we are no longer going to put a place of honor for this person who had a legitimate choice in a moment when American Catholics are grappling about the question of slavery and made the choice that was the most nefarious and most fundamental in reifying the institution of slavery. Isaac hawkins is the first name that appears on the bill of sale in 1888. We were thinking about this renaming, we were thinking about the proper character of isaac in the bible and the sacrifice. As we imagine all our institutions of being predicated by sacrifice of human life and Human Dignity, then perhaps we would have a different relationship, not only with our institutions, but with each other. The second hall is named after a free woman of color in washington, d. C. Was that was a school for half american girls. Having a memorial at georgetowns campus to her helps us remember the racial composition of georgetown. It was georges town. It was the center of africanamerican life. We need to imagine a person living a free life and watching her brothers and sisters live in an unfree life. Knowing they have Human Dignity and living in a world that they cant see that is one of the ways the memorialization process on this campus can really animate and help our students understand why we pursue the kind of education we pursue here at georgetown. You talked about what the renaming symbolized. Some people say that the symbolism thats easy. , in making that judgment, they made their judgment and long time ago. What are the behaviors and actions that we have to take to not talk about that legacy of years ago, but to deal with the reality today . You studied this. He lived this. We are in the chapel but if you dont believe what our talked about, if it is in a matter of spiritual conversion, one of the moral qualities . What are the civic virtues that we need to deal with at a time when this . I think at the heart of White Supremacy we think about the power it tries to consolidate, but White Supremacy is also from othersing away and being unable to live a dignified life yourself. What do we do about racism today . We dont have this kind of leadership. Its not just about a conversion of your heart. Its about the restoration of your own Human Dignity. I dont think a person who has invested themselves in white supremacist ideas, they have no idea of their own human unity because you have not lived in a context that allows of the rigorous moral inventory you need to do that. Im going to bring of election because thats what i do. [laughter] this past election was a moment in which we went from a real of whats possible in this nation to this three ring circus about reaching across the aisle. Its ok someone disagrees, no big deal. Instead of saying, what we take a moment to think about the consequences of your power when you exercise them in a democracy and its predicated on the power and stripping the dignity of other people . Why dont we sit with that . The problem with a lot of antiracist work is that its wellintentioned but doesnt require anything of the person seeking conversion. There is no moral wrestling or or real reconciliation. I think that in terms of people who are organized around our religious communities, we are not the only ones who have the access to the moral questions. Any member of this community the this Community Living in our society has the opportunity to grapple with the moral question. When we decide that moral questions are just for the church folk i think what we did , georgetown is particularly constructive. My husband says the more you can tolerate the negative emotions of others in the negative emotions of yourself the better you do in the world. Talk about really hard to do. We have never as a nation sat with what the negative emotions of what we have done. Things about you. But you say tough things in ways that invite as in instead of pushing us away. Dogooderes a grim and you call us to justice. What was your line . Joyful justice. I never thought those two words went together. Somebody who is a practiced practitioner of joyful justice is jim wallace. He is a minister of the gospel. He is a bestselling author. He is a colleague, he is a sojourner. He is a baseball coach. He coached other peoples kids. Thats as close as you get to purgatory in this life. [laughter] but you talked about moral wrestling. This is a man who has done moral wrestling since his teenage years growing up in michigan, he asked hard questions about segregation and discrimination. He got involved with the black church. He has written 12 books which is almost as hard as coaching for 11 years. In and your latest book is americas original sin racism, White Privilege and the bridge to the new america. I have my copy. You should get yours. What is the bridge to the new america when a lot of people civilly while a lot of people want to make America Great again . When i realize youre going to have is the chapel, i was i was very grateful because i realized this was the right place for this conversation. It is clear to me that we are not going to get to where we need by just talking politics. We have to talk about theology. Weve got to go deeper. Whats at stake is the soul of the nation. And the integrity of faith. Doing arian and i were Racial Justice week at marquette. He asked how many white students had ever heard racism named and called a sin from the pulpits . He asked that question all the time of his white students. Almost no students raised their hands. He said, lets talk about sin. So, it wasnt just slavery. It was a kind of slavery that we created. Wheat White Christians in particular, because we said we cant do what we are doing with kidnapped africans and Indigenous People if you believe people are made in the image of god. So we had to say they worked. We threw away a lot of this to create this system. It is still continuing in our policing structures. Our mast incarceration, health care, jobs. Its about the image of god. You mentioned Little League baseball coaching, really good theology, that theology. But White Privilege comes down to this. Every black player ive ever coached for 20 seasons, 11 years, every black player has had the talk with their dad or mom on how to behave in the presence of a police officer. What to do and what not to do. How to hold your hands. Keep your eyes. And none of my white players have ever had that talk. With their mom or dad. And in this liberal town, very few of their parents even knew was going on. The talk. The talk is everywhere. Its about what black parents have to tell the kids. White privilege, safety. Safety. I cant tell you how many activists or africanamericans when they talk about why , and howe privilege they dont feel safe with their kids walking out the door, any door, in the city. The answer is, of course, repentance. It doesnt mean just feeling guilty or sorry. Thats too easy for us white folks. It means turning around and going in a whole new direction. So what we say in chapel about sin, repentance, conversion, and idolatry, has to be turning around things in policing systems. Education, Economics Health , care, criminal justice. Thats the test of our words here. What our words here do on the street. Jesus, god hits the streets. What do our words or prayers mean here on the streets and in systems and structures . And in our hearts. Thats what we havent dealt with and this nation is not going to find the bridge until it goes deeper than politics. Archbishop. Two weeks ago, i had the privilege of going down to sea island, georgia. Its an upscale, lovely place. I stayed at the colony and i was going to go out and play golf. I was dressed in a good golf outfit. Im not saying i was worthy of a game in that respect, but as i dressedg out, clearly to play golf, a young, white lady came and asked me where is the restaurant . She presumed, the presumption was if a black man was at the colony, no matter how he was dressed, he was a staffer. The presumption its what you said is it possible that this black man is here as a guest and is going to play golf like my husband . The presumption was just the opposite. And it tags on to what youre saying about White Privilege. And the importance of black parents speaking to their kids about this is how you must behave in the event that you are stopped for a ticket or you are somehow in front of an authority. If i can add something, so the inability to read you as anything but a servant is where people are at. Their moral imagination to imagine a World Without discrimination, with equal schools. They cant even get there. I think that is something i have found when i travel. People always ask what can i do . They want me to assign them a book. They said, you probably read a lot of books. What can i do . I no longer engage that question. I say its more important to think about what have you done. What harm have you brought into the world . What choices are you making that have caused harm . And what are you willing to do. Does your imagination allow you whatdoes your imagination allow about . Think factve to wrestle with the that our behavior has caused a series of limitations to our imagination and once we deal with that behavior we can imagine it on a larger scale. Because the solution is not superficial. No. Its in the heart and in the soul. A hopeful, black, chief executive has those stories. Those same stories. People throwing their keys at him. People asking for teeth as he goes to a table at a fundraiser. As an elected official, these are his stories. At my class in georgetown, i have a young student who was at sidwell friends. My two best friends, chase and sarah, were out walking. I think we should stand up and welcome him. [applause] that was a really good story, jim. Just the transition we are talking about. How do we build the beloved communities that you and dr. King, he talked about, you talked about all the time. We were talking about the talk and the archbishop was telling the story, atlanta, atlanta, chicago, chicago. Its a little rougher for us minnesota people. They explained that he was in a resort on his way to play golf and some buddies stopped by to say, where was the restaurant . You never did say what you told her. Simply said, i am a guest here like you. Jim and i are part of the circle of protection. Doing remarkable work. Christian churches of every stripe. And bread for the world was part of the where i was trained to get my head on this. An africanamerican bishop, he jogs. That frustrated me but also, secondly, he said he never leaves the house without his drivers license. My daughter was trying to teach me what White Privilege was. She had read about the leadership of our president. Maybe being a part of the university where the sale of 272 human beings being brought forward may be part of White Privilege. There are a lot of untruths in washington these days. [laughter] i am being diplomatic here, it is a church. One untruth is there are no heroes in washington. We have a hero, and he is here tonight. [applause] you dont remember me, but i remember you, congressman lewis. I had the great privilege of working for Coretta Scott king. Part of that was to see the giants of the Civil Rights Movement. Frankly, they were mostly older men. And they would debate and talk and eventually, it came time to decide. And then a much younger man would make the case with passion and urgency and with clarity about the path forward. And that young man was you. And now, you are not so young anymore. [laughter] and you are still making the case for the path forward. I looked at the program and you were the youngest person to speak there. You are the only person still living who spoke at the march on washington. And it was the giants of the Civil Rights Movement. It was seven leaders of religious groups. You have always told the religious community that we have to play our part in the struggle for civil and human rights. As you think back to the march on washington which you spoke to as a young man, and think about what we have been through this last year, what do you think needs to be done . Congressman lewis first of all, i am delighted to be here. Im pleased to be here tonight. I regret very much that i had a commitment at another university that delayed me. But i am always glad to be at georgetown. The past few months have been like hell on wheels. I have seen a great deal, but i have never in all my days seen what is happening in america today. Sometimes, i feel we have lost our way. Dr. King spoke a great deal about the beloved community, and redeeming the soul of america. I think it was some theologian that said the church should be a headlight and not a tailight. I think im getting it right. And Martin Luther king would also say from time to time that we have to be a spark plug. Most of the young people would not know what a spark plug is. [laughter] and not a firecracker. A firecracker will just come along and boom. A spark plug would continue to burn and burn. We have to give our people, all of our people, and especially our young people, our children the sense of hope that we will make it. That we will overcome. And tell them not to get lost in a sea of despair. Not become bitter. The way of love is the better way. Just love everybody. You may get arrested and go to jail a few times. You may be beaten or bloody but you are making a down payment for building the beloved community. Congressman lewis, you mentioned arrest. I think i read that you have been arrested 50 times. Almost 50. Dont bet on you not breaking 50. You talked about bloody sunday, that was your blood on the streets. And yet you never expressed bitterness. You always talk about love. How do you, in a really divided nation, in a time where people are pitted against one another, how do you pull people together . How do you help them see that what they have in common is more . We had a conversation about what White Privilege does to white people. How do you lift the banner of service and love in a society that seems to be tearing itself apart without resorting to hate . How do you invite people in, without pushing them away . Congressman lewis it is important for all of us as children of god almighty to continue to live lives of love. Love everybody. And never give up on this idea that we can all become more human. We are all created in the image of god almighty. I remember, in nashville, as a student in 1960, before our first arrest. We had studied the way of peace and love and the philosophy of nonviolence. At the end, it said remember the teachings of jesus. Martin luther king jr. And gandhi. May god bless you. 89 of us were arrested that day and every single one of us had a copy of the dos and donts as a way of life. Let me ask our panel if we were to do the dos and donts of resisting racism, you dont have to do the whole list tonight, but if you were to think about a do and a dont, what would be on your list . Jim . We talk in chapel a lot about love. And we should. And we are. But the love that john lewis showed on the bridge that day was a love that was willing to risk. We often do not put the risk for love. In our church tradition, it is love to risk and suffer. I think, particularly when we are talking about a bridge to a new america, i think it means that those who believe in what we are saying tonight, have to be willing to say where are we going to risk our presence . Our privilege . Our wealth, our time, our bodies, our faith . In the middle of transforming the systems about policing and health care and mass incarceration. When i talk to the young kids in the street, that is a question i always hear back from there. Not do you believe in what we are trying to do . But what risk are you willing to take . That is a question we have to be willing to take. Where we live, where we act, in the coffee shops, in the streets. It will really take some risks to make the changes that we believe in. We had this 50th anniversary, going back up the bridge and there you all were. You were all walking with the wheelchairs and walkers. All of the foot soldiers were there. What struck me was all the risk these foot soldiers took to make Voting Rights happened. It did not just happen. It was the risk that you all took. The test of love is risk. One of the dos i would take is to tell people how they can join our conversation. Pretend i told you that about a half hour ago. For those of you who feel badly about those that could not fit in here, this is being taped by cspan and will be broadcast over the next days and weeks. Archbishop, your dos and donts. Congressman lewis put his finger on the heart of the issue about loving other people. I would say a do has to be loving yourself. And realizing that my dignity, my goodness, my worth is not dependent on my standing on someone else. If, in fact, we are gods children, that is where the dignity lies. In our creaturehood that god gave to us. And i do not have to step on anyone to be worthwhile. You are born with that. It comes when you go down the birth channel, you bring it with you. And i am not made a better man or a better woman because i can say well, at least, i can say that i am better than. I have to love myself simply because i am convinced that god made me lovable. The dos are powerful and eloquent. Sometimes, the donts are more difficult. I look back at the roster of the march on washington. Congressman lewis was the youngest. No women spoke at the movement. Several were recognized but something that has changed for the better in 50 years is that women of color are now leaders. And you are one of those leaders here in georgetown. What are your dos and donts . Dont forget the women. [laughter] [applause] in forgetting the women, you forget where the mechanism is made and developed and where the longevity is. It is the women that remain committed to movements. If i were to add a dont to the list, i would say do not try to soothe the tears or silence the anger, sit with it. Because, going back to the issue of gender, we have such an opportunity in this moment when we think about racial conflict to address the real grief of conflict. The real grief of communities. What unfortunately happens is the grief gets shut out because it feels angry or uncomfortable. After the uprising in ferguson, i spent a long time talking to communities about ferguson. At the end of the day, i could say that a woman lost her son. A man lost his son. A group of people lost a member of their community and they were angry and sad about it. My only wish for other people is that the people we love and care about, when we say goodbye to them in the morning, we want them to return to us. In this country, because of the color of your skin, your sexual identity, there is a possibility that you will not return. And so much about our christian teaching is the joy over the return of jesus. Perhaps we would have a more humane approach to these questions. [applause] congressman, you got me started on this what is a do and a dont for today . Congressman lewis to love. Love. Love is so strong and powerful. I will give you an example. 9 october, i had an opportunity to travel to rochester, new york. One of my colleagues invited me to come and meet some of the nuns that took care of us in selma, in the Good Samaritan hospital. Can the people hear the congressman . Congressman lewis i met three of the nuns that took care of us on march 7 in 1965 in selma. They are retired in rochester. When i saw them, i started crying. They started crying. And they kept saying john, we love you. And i kept saying sister, i love you. Had it not been for these nuns, i dont know what wouldve happened to us. It is the power of love. To have that connection that is a spark of the divine in all of us. When i was growing up in rural alabama, we would sing a song from time to time. I dont know the words but it was Something Like running from heart to heart. There is a connection. Mike, dont hate. Dont hate. As dr. King said and others said, hate is too heavy of a burden to bear. It will destroy you. Archbishop . Jim . Hate is gone. Thanks be to god. [laughter] [applause] i would say the dont and especially to the young people who are here. Early on in life, do not lose hope. If there is a virtue, i think, that this particular moment really calls for, it is the virtue of hope. Because, with so much of the negative energy that is out there, the divisiveness, there is the invitation, the temptation, i could say, to abandon hope. In dantes inferno, that is over the portal of hell. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. Jim, you talk about evangelicals talking about sin a lot. Catholics have been known to use that word a lot also. The way we get to that is an examination of conscience. Part of that is what we should and what we should not do. What should we not do . We had a town hall on this in atlanta. A white, he called himself an ally said you know, i am a recovering racist and i go to a multicultural church. But he said that things were getting so bad he did not feel any hope anymore. An older africanamerican woman stepped up and said that is White Privilege. A retreat to cynicism is what we do not do. But hope and desmond tutu taught about this hope and optimism are not the same. I am not optimistic about what we are seeing right now but hope is not a feeling or a movement. Hope is not a feeling or a mood. It is the decision that you make. Desmond tutu acted in hope every day when there was not that much optimism around. You have done that everything will day. How do we not retreat to cynicism, a privilege for those that have to survive . How do you act in hope . I invite people to join the conversation on twitter. Im going to read this. That should be a response. The lord be with you. And i would invite colleagues to bring forward the microphone because we have some time for questions. If you could stand up here and ask people to line up instead of jumping around, that would be a great help. Lineup behind this gentleman. I want to begin further back. Ok. Congressman lewis, you crossed the bridge, not for love. You crossed it for Voting Rights. Love was the way you expressed that. Our friends at the Democracy Fund want democracy to work. But, it looks like we are backwards on Voting Rights. The Supreme Court invalidated major sections of the bill. People gave great speeches about how they were going to fix it. Now, we have legislators trying to make it work. What is at work here . What can congress do . Is that something concrete we can work on . After you crossed the bridge, after the voting right was signed it was not fixed. Congressman lewis we can fix it and we must fix it. The vote is precious. In a Democratic Society such as ours, it is the most powerful, nonviolent instrument that we have and we have to use it. I believe that what happened in virginia a few days ago, last tuesday, the handwriting is on the wall. [applause] jim, anyone else on Voting Rights . In a couple of decades, we will no longer be a white, majority nation. We will be a majority of minorities. We are foolish if we do not see that there is a strategy at work to take votes away from people of color. Immigration policy. Refugee policy. Gerrymandering. The voter fraud, fraud. Voter suppression. There will be voter fraud, Voter Suppression strategies coming from washington. That is what we are up against now. What john did on that bridge, that work is not done and to protect it, we have to understand the strategy in place to take votes away from people of color. Mass incarceration is part of that. All of these things. We have to care about those things and get involved in those struggles in our communities. Particularly as we approach the elections coming forward. Jim, you are so right. I am convinced that there is a deliberate, systematic effort to keep the same group of people from participating in a democratic process. When the pope came and spoke to the joint session of congress, he said we are all immigrants. We all come from some other place. What we need to do in america right now we need to set the people free. Set them on a path to citizenship. Open up the process and let everyone come in. [applause] in terms of the voting issue too, we have to do something about the lack of hope or the fact that we live in this nation and a great percentage of our people do not vote. Obviously, congressman, you and your colleagues in the Civil Rights Movement spilt blood to get the right to vote. How many of our people, africanamerican and white people, do not bother to vote . We have got to really encourage the active participation in the franchise. We will turn to questions. I would ask you to identify yourself and put your question in the form of a question. [laughter] it is not jeopardy. My name is mark combe. I do not know how i ended up in georgetown. I am not catholic. My friends drag me over here every time i am not interested. The only one he does not come to i am interested in. They are all wonderful. They are but, that is true. This is not really a question. I want to tell a short experience i had. I play poker. I am sitting at a poker table i hope this is a short poker game. This will be real quick. There are two black kids, one of which i knew and had played with before. She works at another casino. She has a good job. Probably middleclass type kids. Another gentleman, about my age and he makes a very racist comment at the table. And i Say Something to him. I Say Something i have a big mouth. The kids quieted me down. They clearly did not want any part of it. They did not want an argument. They didnt want anything. Like they wanted to ignore it. I am wondering i wonder if the Younger Generation has not run into racism or they just want to pretend like it doesnt exist anymore. Maybe that is the best way. It is getting better. It will take care of itself. Is that a pervasive thought . I cant presuppose their thought but there have been moments in my life when someone has wanted to stand up and Say Something on my behalf. A consequence of racism is wanting to protect yourself from further humiliation. Racism disciplines you to keep your place. Perhaps, they actually appreciated that someone was calling out the racism, but sometimes in those moments, especially in a country that is so armed as our own, confronting racism you always have a second thought. Because you dont know who or what is on the other end of it. As someone who spends a lot of time living with unhealthy anxiety. But it is grounded in the experience of not knowing what kind of exposure i have put myself up to. [applause] good evening. I have the privilege of working at Archbishop Carroll high school, the first integrated high school founded by Cardinal Oboyle, as you mentioned. For archbishop gregory and mr. Wallace, i wonder how our churches need to change. Given the fact that the Current Administration was mostly elected by people who identify themselves as christians but tend not to go to church. If we are talking about the role religious institutions can play, it is hard to play that role if religious institutions are not factors in peoples lives. I wonder how you think the church has to change in order to inform that moral imagination, as you framed it. The first thing the church has to do is acknowledge that it also is racist. That the sin of racism is not a sin that is out there. It is a sin that permeates all of us. One of the things that pope francis does, and he does quite well, when he describes himself, it was asked how would you describe yourself . And he said i am a sinner. And it was not just a cute response. It was a sincere response that as a minister of the gospel, im going to invite the people that i care for and serve to conversion and so i have to begin by saying that it is a journey i have to take with you. Jim . The operative word in White Christian these days is white and not christian. That is a question back to the idolatry. How do we name this as White Supremacy . It is an idol and idols are not from god. How do our pastors love our people enough to preach the gospel to them . This is not an issue of politics or civility. It is a matter of discipleship. What does it mean to be a disciple and what does that call us to . Our discipleship and our congregations are talking about Racial Equity and healing as matters of faith. We are not going to help navigate this bridge to a new america. It has to happen someplace. Churches are critical. Sports, Little League sports are critical but congregations will be a critical venue for navigating this bridge to a new america. If we talk about this in a chapel as an issue of faith that we are called to respond to. Thank you for your work at Archbishop Carroll. It is an amazing place. I am josh and a master student here. The 50th anniversary of dr. Kings slaying is coming up in april. No doubt we will see his face on a lot of magazine covers. What do you hope to see as part of that commentary . What do you hope not to see . Well you think of that a story that may not be appropriate. I went to memphis. My flight was canceled. I had a day in memphis. I went to graceland. And i called for a taxi to go to the civil rights museum, the Lorraine Hotel where dr. King was murdered. The woman on the taxi phone said aint no one ever gone that way before. In terms of making the journey. We have to make the journey so that the people, including those at graceland, that they see the civil rights museum. Congressman lewis they dont what you just said. I plan to go you are the person here that knew dr. King the best. 50 years we have sort of sanitized him in some ways. It is wonderful that he is part of a National Holiday but, as we remember his death, what should we remember about his life . Congressman lewis we should remember that he was a preacher of the gospel. He did not study to be a civil rights leader. He was a minister of the gospel. He believed in the power of the holy spirit. The power of god almighty working through human beings. And i think he had, as he studied and became involved in the movement, i think he pointed to pockets of the beloved community. And you saw it. You saw it in selma, in birmingham, in montgomery and around our country. But, i also think when dr. King was if when he died, something died with him. The day and the hour that we heard he was assassinated, i was in minneapolis campaigning for Bobby Kennedy. And i cried, like many people all over the world. And two months later, Bobby Kennedy was gone. But i did not lose hope. I kept the faith. That somehow and some way, we would survive. And i think, if it had not been for dr. King and Bobby Kennedy, i would probably not be involved in american politics today. I admired both of these men. Had it not been for dr. Martin luther king jr. , i dont know what wouldve happened to meet but he freed me and liberated me. So, april 4, i am going back to minneapolis and later to memphis. I have not been back there since that day, april 4, 1968. I am going back there early in the morning. And now, im going to make it back to memphis. We have to go back. Any comments . How do we remember . The only thing that i hope in the reflection is that kings antimilitarism and questions about anticapitalism that at 50 and questions about the wages of capitalism, that at 50 years as a nation we can understand that was part of his greatness. [applause] the archdiocese of atlanta has been working closely with a number of our ecumenical and interfaith partners. While we have not flushed out a specific program, i suspect it will be an interfaith and Ecumenical Service that day. From my perspective, one of my predecessors, the first archbishop of atlanta, paul hallidayan, was a friend of dr. Kings. And paul died the same week. He had been sick, obviously. But i would like to combine those two because the archbishop had a profound impact on the catholic community, the interFaith Community, and the 50th anniversary of dr. Kings assassination might be a good time for me to realize the importance of the ecumenical fellowship that has to be the bedrock of our society. Jim . Marsha said it well. His last speech had the three evil triplets, racism, militarism, and economic misjustice. And economic injustice. He was not done. And we cannot be done either. There are already rumors about a Poor Peoples Campaign growing up around the country because of the 50th anniversary of that beginning and ending. But that is coming back. How do we bring this back and recognize that he was not done . What would he think watching the newscast that i just watched . What would he think if he saw what we were watching this evening . He would have a clear agenda in his head about not being done. What is our agenda for this 50th anniversary . He went to memphis and not nashville to support garbagemen who were striking for dignity, wages, and jobs. Next. I am a sophomore at georgetown. We have talked about women in the Civil Rights Movement. We supplanted race and racial liberation for general liberation at a time when they were running concurrently. One of the marginalized groups in todays racial Liberation Movement is the black and brown women who identify as part of the lgbtq community. What is the church doing to identify with the black, Brown Community who are also lgbtq . My i tend to think that religion is conflicting with those that are part of the sexual liberation. How do you reconcile that and support those black and brown people . Who should we ask to answer that . [laughter] the first part of my answer is not enough. But, a wonderful jesuit james martin, has written a wonderful book in which he challenges both the institutional church, his catholic church, my church, to be in dialogue with the Lgbt Community to build bridges. And that has challenged a lot of people in my church because you do not want to build a bridge if you think you are already on the right side of the cliff. But that, i think, is where we have to go next. And we are not doing a lot. About two years ago, i met with a group of parents of gay and lesbian young people. And they called themselves the fortunate family. And they just wanted to talk to me. The last question that one of them asked me was archbishop, can you love our kids . And my response is, was to them, i have to love your kids. I dont have an option. And so, it has got to be a lot of bridge building. From both sides of the chasm. Because i think, if the Lgbt Community has felt hurt, and they have been, they have built up a certain anger and resentment and if youre going to build a bridge, you have to do it jointly. And i think that is the call we have to have right now. I heard the chimes. And we got a little bit of a late start so we will go a little longer. Can i ask people to offer two questions together and we will ask the panel to respond. And then two more. And then we will wrap up. Pull the microphone down, please. Thank you for this opportunity. I am encouraged about the story that gregory said about being a presumption just because you are africanamerican. I am glad and honored. I would like a response from all of the panel. Because this touches government directly. And to tell me how do i deal with love in response to the anger that i feel when i am presumed, presumed what i am not . Only because of the way that i look, and the way that i sound . I came back from canada on october the 23rd, a monday like today. At 2 00 along the border, congressman lewis, at 2 00 along the border in champlain, new york. We were passing customs. And my closest friends, they are white caucasians with blue eyes. He and his son. We gave the passports to the border patrol. And why did they choose me to run all of the databases to find out if there was something wrong about me . They had no problem with them. But, they wanted to see what about her . This is what he says where were you and what were you doing there . And my friend responds we were visiting my friend in montreal and we are coming back. And he looked at me and he said to my friend and her . How do you know her . Like he had picked me up down the road and maybe he was smuggling an illegal alien. I have been in this country for 40 years and a citizen since 1993. I worked for the federal government and i have worked with fema. I served this country and represent this country in three governments in south america. Thank you. They put us in a room to wait for 40 minutes and the Border Control called me. I think i better not say what he asked me because the humiliation was beyond what i can tell you. And the accusation was beyond. And i cried from albany, new york to boston, massachusetts. The love you are telling me to practice, teach me. [applause] and the understanding that you want me to have on the presumption of me not being a decent woman is unacceptable. I dont know how you want to respond to me, please. Thank you for sharing your story. If you could add your question and then we will respond to several at once. Yeah, i think that first of all, her question is much more important than mine is going to be. I would just, in addition to the Panel Commenting on her question, to have the Panel Comment on race relations, not just with the Africanamerican Community but the latino community. The one that is disturbingly effected by the Current Administration. Ok. I would like to add that it is not simply the black community or the latino community, although clearly we are at the butt of a lot of the hostility. I am also deeply concerned about the bigotry against our islamic brothers and sisters. [applause] congressman . Congressman lewis im deeply concerned about what happened to you and many others. Human beings. Every day. Because of the color of your skin. A. Philip randolph, a black man who was born in jacksonville, florida, moved to new york city and became a champion of civil rights, human rights, and labor rights. When we were planning the march on washington, he would say over and over again, maybe our forefathers and our foremothers all came to this land in different ships. But we are all in the same boat now. Martin luther king jr. Put it another way. We must learn to live together as brothers and sisters. If not, we are passionless fools. We have to sensitize and educate people in our places. I dont want to become political about it. But when you have certain individuals, leave it at that, in high places, sending the word out there that may be you dont look like us and you are not one of us. Then people become [indiscernible] that is not the american way. That is not the human way. We have to work every single day to remove those scars and stains from america. We have to do it. There are i think three more people in line. Four . Three. We will forgo closing comments and i would ask that we could take the three questions and asked the panelists to respondent and we will begin to bring the evening to a close. Please. I am a junior here at georgetown and a Vice President of one of the naacp groups. My question is for congressman lewis. In your life, what parts of your ideology have stayed the same . What parts have changed . And how do you stay true to the revolutionary values of your youth . That sounds like a term paper in the making. [laughter] i am sure congressman lewis will handle that. I am a senior and a student worker for campus ministry. I wanted to know how you guys personally would explain racism to people who claim not to see color or race. A large problem i have run into in my Faith Community is wellintentioned people claiming not to see race in the hopes that racism will disappear. How would you respond to that . Ok. And please, join us. I am francesca and a junior at georgetown visitation. It is hard to follow such smart people before me. You fit right in. My question i grew up in washington, d. C. But i am a latina. How do we approach racism and White Privilege in our communities, especially with those that refuse to acknowledge the existence of those things that exist in our community . These are great comments to end on. How do you keep your values . How do they change . How do you stay consistent . How do you explain racism to people who insist they are not racist . And how do you talk to people that insist they dont see color or ethnicity . Well. [laughter] congressman lewis i think all of us as humans have some strange habits. Really. Within the Civil Rights Movement, people discriminated. Look at the people that spoke at the march on washington. It was all men. It was dominated by ministers who did not think there was a role for women and the church. For women in the church. Right . And some of the leaders of the movement considered the movement their Little Church and discriminated against people that happened to be gay. One of the organizers of the march on washington was gay but there was not a role for this person to play in the movement. To play up front in open daylight because they were afraid that a member of congress, a southern senator would stand up and Say Something about this particular person or the movement. So, i think we all have to find ways and means, just let us just get along and be friends. The scars and stains of racism are deeply embedded in american society. When i spoke at the march, i said there must be a revolution of values. A revolution of ideas. And we all have to become fully, more human. Just be human. I see some of my colleagues in the congress and i say hello, brother. Hello, sister, how are you doing today . They probably think i am a little crazy calling them brothers and sisters, but we are all brothers and sisters. We are all humans. Can we just be human beings . One big family . And blessed by god almighty. I am trying to think of you and President Trump running into each other. [laughter] jim, can you take a stab . And then i will close. In los angeles, a couple of months ago, i visited with a pentecostal pastor. He is undocumented. His wife is a citizen. His kids are citizens. He went to check in with ice to tell them where he was as he did every year and they detained him and they are going to deport him after all of these years. A bunch of young people organized there is a new my conversion text, matthew 25. They organized this matthew. 5 group in los angeles and in two months they got this pastor set free. They beat ice and donald trump in los angeles. Someone asked me yesterday what keeps me going. Being with young people who are acting on what they think is true, the lgbtq, for example are all initials that our beloved of god. Getting back to the foundation here. I like the fact that they took on ice in l. A. With the text and not a political slogan. And the text, won. Getting back to the conversation, i think this is where faith has to shape and change politics. If we dont put our faith into action, we will not change politics. You,questioners come like i always come back and say, well, what is faith for you . What does that mean . And what will you do about what you say faithfully . In georgetown, you have the god squad in care of all the students. But unless we put our faith into action in order to debate politics, we will not win. We are in the serious battle for the soul of this nation and the integrity of faith. They are tied together. The individual who says i dont see color, race, i would say then you dont see gods creation. Part of the magnificence of gods creation is difference. And it is at the root of i didnt studies science, but it is at the root of scientific discovery. How do things differ . How do bugs differ and mammals differ . That is part of gods creative genius, that he can create all kinds of different things, as in the book of genesis it clearly describes. So someone who says i dont see difference, my response is then. Ou dont understand creation i get that feedback a lot from people. I said do you imagine the kind of pain i am trying to talk to you about . That is sometimes jarring. I think we are at a point right now where there is a cincinnati silence is not only a way of coping with peoples internal stuff, but we have to present it as a real barrier to intimacy. If you choose not to see color, then you choose not to be close to me and i need to understand why. When you frame the question that for whats an opening you are try to teach them or to run away. If i could make one editorial comment, at the africanamerican history museum, ive only been able to get tickets because my former students have been able to give them to me. [laughter] objectse a good julian jillion objects at the museum. The one object that i love the most is one of the smallest, its a Little Silver box in which someone donated to the museum because a great, great, grandparents, his freedom papers were put in that box, and he had to carry them with him always. I think for a lot of people of color, with a guitar we think it is our credentials, we think it is our successor patriotism, but in the sense, we have these freedom papers that are etched onto us. People are asking us the constellation of them. We have to get to a point where we just assume that everyone is free because they are valuable. [applause] what a night. I have lots of people that i should thank, and im not going to. [laughter] on your program are a couple of upcoming things that im just going to highlight. One is the admin resources of our colleagues in mission and ministry. You can go online and sign up for daily reflections, which will help you focus the mind and your heart on some of the things weve been talking about, what faith requires. There are other wonderful programs. This thursday evening, our initiative is hosting a session with the Democracy Funds help on faith, the common good, and democracy in a time of President Trump and pope francis. It should be an interesting discussion. We are marking the 50th anniversary of the passing of a great jesuit. And we have Bishop Robert mcelroy who wrote a wonderful book on him, the obama faithbased Office Director melissa rogers, and a law professor for notre dame. Book onwe began in prayer and s. We have had wonderful reflections, candor, passion, questions. It is appropriate we end in prayer. I want to introduce kyle powell, he grew up in brooklyn and he is part of the class of 2018 studying history. He is a mentor, counselor, and a leader in our Protestant Community here to ask gods blessing for us, for our panelists, and for our nation. Carl. Please stand. As we end our time together, let us take a moment to pray for hope in our world and our time. Please respond to each petition, give us hope, lord. Let us pray that this dialogue here today be counted for the enlargement of our community. Give us hope, lord. Sorry. A little too slow there. It we may come together for a common purpose and bring an that which divides us. We pray. Give us hope, lord. May our endeavors restore the dignity of all our people and work for the common good of all, especially those for whom much has been taken. May those who were counted as little be counted as much. And may their lives be an abiding testimony to these efforts. We pray. Give us hope, lord. Let us play for renewal of commitments. For those pushed aside and forgotten. May sense of personal accountability offer their struggles abide and may the light of love radiate out and he will be inviting wounds of our nation. We pray. Give us hope, lord. May would be great to the may we be granted the vision to believe in a new world, where fear will no longer lead to injustice and selfishness will no longer bring suffering to others. We pray. Give us hope, lord. Finally, we ask god to inspire us with the active to be active participants, to promote peace and justice and love one another in the process. We pray. Give us hope, lord. We close our government with a prayer that was first read my read by the archbishop of washington, d. C. , as indication for the march on washington for jobs and freedom, august 28, 1963. Our father in heaven, we come who are assembled here in the spirit of peace and in good faith dedicate ourselves and hopes to you. We ask the fullness of your blessing upon those who have gathered with us today, and upon all men and women of good will. To whom the cause of justice and equality is sacred. We ask this blessing because we are convinced that in honoring all of your children, we show forth in our lives the love you have given us. Bless this nation and all its people. May the warmth of your love replace the coldness of springs from prejudice and bitterness. Send in our midst the holy spirit to open the eyes of all the great truth that we are equal in our sights. Give strength and wisdom to our president and Vice President , and enlighten and guide the congress of these united states. May our judges in every court with justice and equity. Let no one be so powerful is to be above the law, or so week as to be deprived of its full protection. The us special blessings for those men and women who, in the sincerity and honesty, have been leaders in the struggle for justice and harmony among the races, as moses of old, they have gone before the people to a land of promise. Let that promise quickly become a reality, that the ideals of freedom, blessed alike by our religious faith and heritage of democracy, will prevail in our land. Finally, we ask that you consecrate to who are dedicated our service all to the principles of the constitution of the united states. May we be sensitive to our duties duties towards others, as we demand from them our righ tsd. May we move forward without bitterness, even when confronted with prejudice and discrimination. May we shun violence, know that the meek shall inherit the earth, but may this meekness of manner be joined with courage and strength, so that with your help, oh heavenly father, we follow in the teachings of christ, your son. We shall now and in the days to come sit together as brothers and sisters in dignity, justice, charity, and peace. Amen. Amen. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [chatter] in recognition of Martin Luther king jr. Day tomorrow, we will show members of the Congressional Black Caucus paying tribute. Barbara lee of california spoke about the day Martin Luther king was assassinated. While fighting to secure the American Dream for all americans, dr. King was assassinated on april 4, 1968. That was a day that changed my life. We all remember that moment. I was living in san jose, california and was commuting to san francisco, about an hour away, by train. I returned that evening. My car was parked in the trains parking lot. And the on the radio, news came through that dr. King had been killed. I sat in my car for i dont know how long, and i cried. I was shocked like everyone, saddened, and angry. But i was also motivated to fight for the dream that dr. King envisioned. I quit my job. At that moment, i knew i had to do something. So i became involved as a Community Worker with the black panther party. But it was dr. Kings assassination that catapulted me into the movement. And i was determined to prove that even though the assassin killed the dreamer, he could not kill the dream. The rest of the speech and other lawmakers as they honor the legacy of Martin Luther king jr. Tomorrow night at 8 00 eastern here on cspan. Weekend, cspans city stewart takes you to newport, rhode island. Explore the rich literary scene and historic sites. Watch the cities tour of newport, rhode island on book tv on cspan2, and sunday afternoon at 2 00 on a cspan3. Working with our cable affiliates as we explore america. Next, a look at u. S. Policy toward syria with the acting assistant secretary of state for eastern affairs. He testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about combating isis and the challenges presented by russias presence in the area. The Foreign Relations committee will come to order. We thank our distinguished witness for being with us today. We regret the department was unable to send a witness. This is the committees second hearing of congress on the syrian conflict, but its been raised during many of our meetings. To date, more than 400,000 people have been killed in the syrian conflict