Transcripts For CSPAN2 After Words Linda Sarsour Together We Rise 20180128

On january 21, the Year Anniversary of the largest protest. How did you get involved . Goes back to the moment when you first got involved. Sunny was like everybody else, had a moment of despair after the election in 2016 and was online, trying to figure out, analyze, why are we in this situation . I started seeing posts and Facebook Events about this million women march, and my first instinct was to be there was are a million women march in 1997, but i digress. I started going into the actual pages and see the commentary and conversations people were having, and i made a comment in there and i said exhope you include muslim win and muslim communities, but it was one over group that was not described in the description of the event. The talk about solidarity with other groups but muslims were not included. And im sure it he one intensal but i felt the need to say something. And then as i was making that commonality, bob land, the original founder, was already in conversation with an africanamerican civil rights leader and carmen perez, has been work on criminal Justice Reform and they were already in conversation about bringing in women of color. The minute i made that comment, he was like, oh, yeah, we have a third and her name is linda and is a muslimamerican organizer and if you bring news, linda has to be included in this work. They were thats how i beyond the womens march. Originally when i went to the table, we came with some conditions. We werent just going to be tokennized in this moment, especially in light of the credit tike that his was staredded the critique that it was started bay woman. We went cant to be tokennized and we asked to be cochairs of the march and also had very important roles. Tamika did a lot of assistance around operations. I was the fundraiser, also worked on the unity principles only the profit we their the platform we created. And carman was involved it and was a lot of work, and it was something we had to think about whether we had the fortitude and the resources to engage in that, but it happened it and was amazing, hard but amazing. Host happen did it ever. Tell us your favorite moment from the womens march, from the actual day in washington. Guest not many people know in the story but about maybe a week and a half before the womens march happened i was in a hotel room, watching msnbc and i saw a man named charlie, the inauguration announcer for 60 years, and he has done every president ial candidate, both republican and democrat, except when donald trump came, he fired him. He didnt want him to be announcer and then charlies wife died, literally the same period when he was asked not to be the announcer. Host i heard story. Guest so moved by that. It was bawling my eyes out and i went back home to new york, i went to the womens march headquarters where all the organizing was happened. I said, everybody has to stop. We have to get charlie broughtman . He was inauguration announcer and trump fired him and his wife today, an old man. He will not end his life in this way. And they were like, look you find the guy brings the guy, and i win on a mission. I i contacted everybody i knew and i found him and brought him to the womens march and he was the announcer for the becames march, which was much larger, factually and actually for the gnawingation and the most beautiful point is when he showed up. A man his 80s, and i cant complain to you the energy that he walked in with, the gratitude, and especially in such a difficult moment in his life, after he just lost his wife and lost his job he has had for over 60 years. It gave me so much joy and a very personal moment for me. That may not be contextually as part of the march but that moment will resonate for with mow forever ido remember the story and being touched by it. Aisle so glad you too action. In fact that idea, the things that tough us all, people like you take action, is so much at the heart of what is a story of this book. So the idea of the book is many of you were at the sister marches around the country for the world, but most of you dont know what it took, what the behind the scenes stories are. Tell us the behind the scenes work. The largest protest in washington, dc, and new york city, and then in 600 other places in the country across the globe. Guest i mean, thats what is really most important about the book, is that you get to really go behind the escapes and get to hear mind the scenes and hear the joy and pain and hardwork and perseverance and the attack and critiques and having to work internally but with the external forces out there, what people dont realize is most of us didnt know each other. This is not like an established organization that has been around for 50 years, we have been there done that. Some of us had been there done that, but most of us never organized a day in our otherwise. So we walked into women who never waved, bogey could too muchers, Public School teachers entrepreneurs, baker, people from tech who were so moved by this kind of election gone wrong that they were ready to roll up their sleeves and give what talents they had. So we war building relationships and getting to know people at the same time we had to organize this march that has to reinstill hope in people. We had a mission, what did we want people to feel when they got the. There was a lot of hard moments youll hear about in the book. Here we were, women of color, who had a little resentment in our hearts, organizing with white women, and not specifically or personallied toes those white woman. Just in general, now you feel directly impacted and feeling targeted, now youre feel something sort of despair, but we come from communitieses commt felt that for 0 long expires muslim, living in post 9 11, i couldnt help this wish you were around 14 yours ago weapon had other latina and people from the lgbt communities. And said womens rights are human rights, productive rights, equal but. We are like, lets have a deeper conversation. White women dont get paid the same as machine but black men dont get paid the same as white women and immigrant women who are not paid the same as back preliminary. So has to be an infusion about race analysis that these women never have to have a race analysis or they didnt feel the need to talk about race. We were critiqued very forcefully, this idea why were we being divisive. Oh, excuse me. So maybe if we talked about race before, we wouldnt have been in this situation we got ourselves in. So, the book is really behind the scene, the truthful account of how you get to the largest single day protest in ten weeks, how women are questioned every step of the way. Our permit for washington, dc hit the front page of the washington post. The fact that people didnt belief that we were capable of getting a permit, which is probably the easiest thing to do when youre organizing a mobilization, and kept on. Every media outlet in america called us, day in and day out, where is the permit . I thought, guess what, even if we dont get a permit, were still showing up. Those are my streets. I pay for those streets and were showing up. There was a lot of that happened and there was through all the Relationship Building and little falling outs we had here and there, these women are our sisters and they have evolved, and it was a great learning opportunity for all of us, in this organizing of the womens march. And when we got there on january january 21st and told mpd would have 2 hon host what is that. Guest the local Police Department and they were like, how many people do you think . We were like, i dont know, 400,000, maybe 250. If you want to be real impresssive. They were like, thats pretty impressive, but when he got there a million extra people came it and was beautiful. Host it was amazing. I was at the womens march in new york with a bunch of friends and by partner, and there was a definite sense that the tent was huge, that the messages were many, but the spirit was the same, which is one of a fierce love and inclusion and i was pleased to see as a policy person myself and who says, we have no know what were fighting for, have to know what the vision is, even in these dark, dark moments. I was really pleased to see the womens march put out a platform in the weeks before the march, and i signs saw it, i thought this is a platform i can get behind. This would really transform our country, and this includes some issues probably quite unknown to many of the white women who are knitting pusy hats, but whom in this moment what a powerful opportunity to educate them and they wouldnt say, no, that would say, i hadnt heard that. Tell us about the creation of the peninsula. And what you will platform and what you will do that. Guest the reason we believe in places like wisconsin, and michigan, states where we should have won, is we felt that to to the democrats were too busy focusing on us, vote for us because were not them. Were not the basket of deplorables and thats not how people are moved. Im moved by things i cared about, by communities love, that i have a role to play in protect ing the most marginalized people. This is not just about were here because were antitrump. Trump is just a manifestation of the unfortunate diseases that have plagued the nation for a very long time. We wanted people to come and feel like they were marching for something, we have values and principles we stand for. So carman, fred and i went on a mission to find 27 of to the most brilliant woman, and women identifying folks in the country, and say we want to put together a platform that speaks to everyone, and being able to read a platform and people to say, you know what . Never really thought about this but makes sense to me but i care about these three issues and this brings me to the tablement. For transwomen, want to come to the table because they believe that immigrants deserve to be treated with dignity, and im coming to the table because Women Deserve equal pair, and womens bodies should be their choiced. Antiwar and pro diplomacy and pro peace, and all we put forth what the brilliance of women coming together and saying this, is what we believe in and when we watch we march for these things. Were not marching against one person. Were matching for these things and against all these bad things like racism and sexism and misogyny. And i heard that thats was theobalders, most intersectional pratt from the that came out of any movement and i was the moist proud. Host here we are in 2018, a year that i think many of us, yourself and myself included, is going to be a year of transformational political change. What is the womens march doing now in this moment . Does the platform play a role in setting out a vision for the next wave of candidates who are going to come all across the country . Whats 2018 look like for you. Guest on january 21, 2017, we organize the largest singling day protest in u. S. History and we could have went home and that could have been enough. Impressive thing to put on your resume. But we had so much access to Human Capital and didnt want to drop it on january 21st and wanted to find ways to engage these folks that marched with us, stood with, felt that inspiration we all felt on that day, and we have been able to engage people in the first ten actions in the first 90 days after the womens march, getting people to town halls, writing letters to members of congress, and we were doing a lot of basic type organizing because a lot of these folks this was new for them and was really great to be able to collect even more folks along the way that said i didnt go to the march but watched it on tv. Moving forward, just being really a group that attract a lot of kind of media attention. We went up against the nra. The nra put out a video with actual clips of the womens march and calling on people in this country who are nra members and said to them, you have to come out, face these people clenched firsts of truth, which i places of open carry which we have been met with, and we could said, let the nrr do what they want but we said no, were going to stand up and not be afraid and we galvanized a whole group 0 of women who said im here about this fierce, bold, Women Leadership and never experienced this in a way that is so bold. Then we went to organizing the largest Womens Convention in 40 years, the last one was in 1977, in houston, texas, and ever sense the three there was an issues based convention but an actual womans convention, the first one in 40 years it and was inspirational and even skepticked said, wow, we have never been in a place that was so organized and was so intentional about the people we put forth, our speakers were over 65 women of color, and putting forth the most directly impacted communities and giving instructions to folks, and then we went from there continued to kind of build our credibility to our base, basically, saying we know what were doing, trust us. And having to come back over and over to prove we know what were doing, and here we are in 2018, and what were doing now is basically taking the momentum that we continue since january 21st last year, and using it to build political power in 2018. Watching is cool. Its great. You put your frustrations out there you feel good and get on a high for a day, but what is it you do the day of the march and weeks after the march, the months after . Right now we have launched power to the polls and it will bell larged on then one, Year Anniversary on january 21, 201, and were doing a National Tour. Going to communities where the work is already happening. We are not the first people to do Voter Registration or engagement work there are local communities, including communities of color that this is what they all day long, but coming to a community and give them our platform and say, follow us, msnbc, cnn, here are the people thatter going to win in arizona and florida and michigan and nevada, and the idea is looking at Voter Suppression laws in states where there is Voter Suppression. We have to pull out a million and a half or register an additional million and a half and this across the movement with our partners in order to look at the one about 1. 5 Million People who are literally have obstacles to go to the polls as we of the bring in people who will help us address Voter Suppression laws. Might not be able to beat the Voter Suppression system in 2018 can, and putting in people who are aligning with our values and principles. One thing that doesnt resonate with communities and specially not millenials is the idea of lesser of two evil. What about allowing people during the primaries to put their souls into people that they believe in or people who believe in their cause, and then understanding that na november, we dont have a choice and we know who we need elect in office. But what if we were able to win progresses with real progressives and women and folks part of the women who won. That the focus of power to the polls. Traveling the country and mobilizing people and telling people, were going to win, confidently. In 2018, im pretty, pretty positive that were going to have such big wins and not only are we going to have big wins but im pretty positive well make history. Well have governorships, given to representatives of communities that have been so marginalized in our country, and were going to sit back and say we were alive in 2018 and have the first native governor in the idaho or the first black omaha governor in georgia and i, black woman governor in georgia, and i want to tell my children about that. Host i couldnt agree more remember lets go back to the book, and the book is now on sale. The book is something that sort of a beautiful commemoration that people who went to the march or were alive when the march happened, saw it on television, can own, and there are a lot of stories stories and testimonials from people you might not expect. What is one chapter that is surprising to your our readers . Guest the book is for me a historical artifact and if you want to own a piece of history, youll buy together we rise and its full or, up in one, this story directly from the organizees. Not a second hand. This is us telling you exactly what happened and you this from history. Womens voices have always been erased in light of the commemoration of dr. King there was the ella baker and Coretta Scott king and be say our revolution will be tell twitessed and feeted and facebooked and also also includes essays from celebrities and prominent activists and thought eaters and leaders win different communes. One of the essays in the book is written by my mentor, named sister who works at the chambering center, she has been around since the days of the Civil Rights Movement, new Coretta Scott king and new Betty Shabazz and malcolm x and she wrote a piece about us and this new movement and in fact reaching back for us to move forward, and she always reminds us of the shoulders of the people we stand on. So why before that essay and how we move forward is that anyone who is in this movement right now needs to understand that theres nothing that you are insenting here. Inventing here exyoure following a legacy. So as a muslim woman, someone like sister sacrificed to me and im able to say im a muslim woman. She has seen a lot in her wife and her words are inspirational. If someone who like here who has seen so much pain and trauma and the midst of a movement and still alive during the reemergence of Civil Rights Movement in this moment, i think anyone who is feeling still a little despair, will feel a lot of hope reading sister ishould. Host before the program we talk about your family and your children and you were just bringing into the room the lions andly and the lyon esss and how much sack pri identifies and pain and how much blood and sweat went into is. And you were talking about watching the movie selma with your kids sunny think what people often see, they see is on National Division sharing works and stories or on a cover of a magazine and people think this work is glamorous, and its not. Nobody wants to be anyone on the front lines of the movement, and especially dont want to be a woman of color and definitely not a Palestinian Muslim American Woman in a hijab. And i received some of the most vicious attacks i didnt expect. I expect people to disagree with me and thats welcome, even vigorous disagreement, which is cool, but threats to my life and my children, defamation of my character, and its really been hard, and what people often forget is we are mothers, many of us are mothers, parents and to have to sit and explain to your children why someone or some people want to create a monster out of your mom, who you love dearly, does your laundry and cooks dinner for you. And i remember taking my kids to watch selma, and my kids resonated with the imagery and selma and those who marched in selma and were part of the movement at that time, sacrificed much more than we are sacrificing right now. When my kid get to see in the engaging in acts of civil disobedience, when they watched different elements of being in our living room and watch my organizer friends come home and get around the table and talking about the next actions and my kids in the room and seeing dr. King and gathering in peoples homes. Women are cooking for them. So there is imagery that resonated with my kid asks and the slander or threats they received from oppositional figures. Host including the fbi. Guest including the fbi who were almost asking dr. King king king to kill himself and that help me to have a conversation with my kids that i do this because i love my children and i want them to live in a country that respects the and emloves them and respects and love all children but it comes we risks and i explain to my children if this was easy and cool, everybody would be doing it and we wouldnt have to fight for our rights because we would all have our rights. So the movies and those narratives coming out kind of going back and bringing forth this story and visual way for my children has helped therapeutically for children who are experiencing trauma who worry about their assist of their parents and mr. Mom in particular, in my case, and sometime mist kid are like, very edgy. Theyll text me, where are you . Who is with you . I dont think kids should be worrying about where their mom is, not at 6 00 on a thursday night. But our kid struggle with us, and i have security detail, and when dish dont always bring my kids to public things anymore because i dont want people to make connections and that hurts my heart because i want my children to participate in my life, but unfortunately were in a moment that maybe temporarily that cant happen. Host thank you for sharing that, linda. This is a moment right now when so many women are finding their voices. It is unbelievable. It is a moment where women are finding their voices through the metoo movement, through the movement to move into politics. You have Record Number of women saying, fine. Never thought politics was something i would have to do permanent personally but its clear the system is broken and people currently in power do not have my community, my children, the future of our planetses bat heart, and so take me into maybe into detroit, where you had thousands of women, or what is going to happen in nevada, where you are going to have an anniversary of the womens march of 2017, going to have more womens marches across the country, and i think that the main one is going to be in nevada. What does it feel like to be right now, a woman finding her voice . Who are the women who are drawn to the womens march and are doing things theyve never done before. Tell me about those women and what it feels like. Guest its really interesting is that ive been traveling the country for the past year, been to rural indiana, to kentucky, parts of florida, texas, michigan, you name it, ive been there. And believe it or not the people who come out for me and want to be in the space with me often times are majority either really young people, kind of millenial age or even younger 0, white women. And its its one of the reasons why the opposition is shook up, because its like, why would white women want to hear from a Muslim American woman. What do you have that theyre attracted to . And i think what women in general are attracted to with us is that we believe in our power. We are powerful people. And the womens march allows you to feel in your individual power. So often times were taught you have to be part of an institution or have to have some sort of stature or particular agreeing, and what we did in the womens march, bakers and School Teachers and social workers and stayathome moms and everybody had a role to play, and you didnt have to be a seasoned organizer to be part of the movement. So women are saying i can be part of a movement, i can be an i can organize a local hud until my community, even i can put together a town hall meeting. Yes, you, absolutely. And thats what the womens march instead in many people in the country. Think this moment i always think back to january 20th, on that very dreadful day and the inauguration issue thought what if there wasnt a march on january 21st . I didnt in the where we be as a country if we didnt have the moment to say, wake up, were here, were united. Lets all get on the same page and let fight together. I dont believe we would have had the metoos and the times up and the 2,000 women saying im running for office or watching the wins in virginia and new jersey and in alabama. I if county win in alabama, for gods sake, you can win anywhere. So we are in a new moment and im proud to have been part of the large group of women, those who organized d. C. And across the country and across at the world who have reminded women that youre powerful, and then were even more powerful when he organize together, and a lot of these movements are giving people courage, and we need courage in this moment, and courage is we all have it in us. Actually not something you find. For me, courage is not something that is exterior. Its in you but there has to be a moment when it unleashed and it has unleashed a lot of courage in many people, including women ihave been thinking about this idea of courage, and if theres one word i think defines what we need right now, what should unite all of us who believe in a better america and a better world, is that we need courage, and we need our elected officials to have courage to stand up for those who are being targeted, those who are the most vulnerable and that is something that we sense immediately when a leader has or doesnt have courage. Guest absolutely. Host so, tell us about how you started. When did you first find your courage . How did you become an activist sunny was an aspiring High School English team. I watched dangerous minds and i thought, ill be michelle five at the. I want to work with young people of scholar help them find their voices. And then 9 11 happened in new york estimate was 21 years old. Here i was, muslimamerican, never really thought about it much. Im just muslim, like other people are other things. Never something that was at the forefront of my mind and then here comps a very dreadful day, very tragic day in my city and walking home from my College Campus in brooklyn and watching seeing my local community, the Stores Closed down. Thought, why are the Stores Closed down . I didnt know what happened. There was no twitter at that time no facebook. You cant debt no cell phone service. And then at the moment when i realized what had happened and all of a sudden i went from being just an ordinary muslim girl, born and raised in brooklyn to being affiliate or attached to or being a suspect in a very tragic event that killed millions of my fellow americans, clerk new yorkers, my life and perspective changed with a matter of minutes and i remember a few weeks after 9 11 happened, being at the mosque and women came crying to the mosque, saying that someone came to my home and took my husband and they were like a few of them. I thought, that do you mean somebody came to your house and took your house . Didnt make sense. In fact it happened. Raids on the community its lived, in that i loved, and i was just very radicalized at that moment. I said this is not right. Why would these why should our community be terrorized for nothing to do with us, nothing do with these people if became a translator and it started translating for women, and started volunteering to find services for. The, someone who is bilingual and thought it was a little spy thing was done and then it became my fulltime and my life to defend a community, defend my own family to defend my children, defend myself, to be able to worship in this country. So thats my entry point into the work, was 9 11. And its been still a connection for me even 16 years later. Host how did you get your analysis and your sense of solidarity around rare justice. Because thats not a given. Muslim americans have been lumped in with other degraded eds. But its not a given theres the same issues they affect a young africanamerican man in the bronx and your family and community in brooklyn. So, where did that come from and then how did you use that the advent of that certain of connection you made when you really became a leader for Racial Justice in a very intersectionsal way in new york, to cross those bridges in the womens march context. Guest i started with flexing on my own life. I went to john j. High school in brooklyn and my school was at the time of the 90s a lot of Gang Activity in new york city, and my school wag where you walked in the morning and you were stopped and frisked. My school was 90 africanamerican, and those are my friends and people. So for me i thought that it how it was. I didnt understand this idea of the school to prison pipell and we had nypd officers walking the halls of the high school. There was never such thing at School Safety officers. So i started reflecting after watching young people saying that Law Enforcement is coming to your home and saying this is religious profiling. I thought, wait a minute. I went to a school where there where are Police Officers arresting black kids and i started to connect the dots in this were reading on my own, going online and find out what is going on the world ask then i became part of a Nonprofit Organization and i started seeking out coalitions and work and im just dish talked to this organizer. They would say, comp to this, come to that. And the place it solidified and clicked for me was around racial and religious profiling by the new york Police Department. Really connecting stop and frisk specifically as a discriminatory poly so the unwayned surveillance of muslims by the new york Police Department and we built the coalition around in new york city and we won very large landmark civil rights legislation and Police Reform in new york city, and since then i will never work on any issue without looking at it through a Racial Justice standpoint, even as a Muslim American i come from a Diverse Community and a third of muslims are africanamerican. So for me i dont consider when i marched guess stop and frisk i believe i first and for most matched for my black muslim sisters and brothers and all black people in america. But Racial Justice became everything for me. Immigration, who is left out of this conversation . Black immigrants. When you think about reproductive right, who are this direct lip impacted . Women of color or black women. Issues of equal pay, the inequality, even amongst the women who are fighting for equal pay, there needs to be a Racial Justice analysis through that as well. Then i also realized and as i built very deep relationships with organizers here, in new york city and then nationally, cant win alone. Black people cant win alone, white people cant win alone. And we have to bring it together. And i the n the beginning people thought we were crazy and why we wanted to make study visible at the womens march, and youll read more in the book. When we did the unity prims people said to us, here we go again, women, going to throw a whole bunch of issues together, youre not focused. How are you going to fight of all these issues, distracting. Were said, its not a distracting. We dont level single issue lives so why force people to prioritize things we think is important and why not let communities prioritize what impacts them. So i did intersectionsal organizing. The term has been out a long time but the implementation of it in the movement has come out in recent times. We hear the word but for me i realize in the past 11 years, maybe five or six years into my organizing work, when i finally woke up and said, no, this is not going to workment we have to organize together. And also the idea of, like, when people say to me, i linda, how do you connect criminal justice to reproductive rights . I dont understand how you connect reproductive rights to immigration . These things dont connect. And everything kents. Can connect the dots. Environmental justice, and Racial Justice and economic justice. We have created a web now that is very clear, and obviously demos has done that in a way that is eastly digestible for people and now people start to get it. Thats why you see groups Like Sierra Club and 350 battle at a daca rally and never happened before. The fact of the matter. I speak from personal experience that i have never seen Environmental Justice groups show up in immigrant rights spaces and even in Racial Justice spaces, finding people the reproductive Rights Movement was nowhere to be found any criminal Justice System and people having access to criminal justice and reproductive rights as incarcerated woman. I wasnt happening. And i think that the womens march, one thing we do bring to the table and were not perfect is somehow we were able to bring people the people, and if were just the table convener and thats all, im good with that. Host an amazing, maying accomplish so, talk about the re sis stance . How is it going i have my own opinion. In many ways exactly as you said, linda, having the 21st, the day after that sparsely attended, cold, bleak, dishonest inauguration, and inauguration, nonaddress so have a way for people to come put their bodies on the line, show by moving. Buses and trains and planes, people just felt like they had to be either it was down in their town square or all the way in washington, dc. It set the stage for what came right after, which was the muslim ban and here in new york, the protests where people went straight to the airport. A sense of, we can move, we can be powerful, we can show that still did not win the popular vote, this country is different than the values being espoused from the white house. It really sparked this resistance moment that we are still in, where ordinary people are have their Congress Member on speed dial, and are setting up huddles, and think can they would do somethings to protect our democracy and to act out democracy, that they never thought. And now, a year after the inauguration, what do you think is the resistance in what are we doing well and what do we need to do better . Guest definitely been consistent mom since january 1st of last year. A week after here we are, totally exhausted from the womens march and the muslim ban comes and as a muslim and very important for me, i was so movement to see people in the hundreds show up at airports around the country and shows the decentralization of the movement that was a tweet and every was like issue get your butts to the airport and everybody showed up. Every since then, march for this, match for black women, march for Racial Justice, really just consistent opportunities for visibility, the dreamers and direct action and civil disobedience and also at the end we didnt win at the end, but watching us fight back against health care and winning twice until they knew they couldnt beat us that way and folded it into the tax bill which is how we lost recently, but watching the pushback on the transgender ban in the military. Everything that hat come forth of the administration there has been a response it to. Doesnt mean the resistance is perfect and the resi stance is not perfect and will never be perfect. Resistance is messing but a youre organizing with people, even if we were just organizing from the center all the way to the extreme radical left, that is a huge spectrum of people that youre trying to organize. When if say too people all the time is that were not all going to have the same tactics and strategying, which is what we see now. Some people want to engage just in civil disobedience, others just want to Health Others want to engage in lobbying and activism. My think is that thats the messy part, who gets to do what and what i say to people, as long as were all on the same page for the end result, doesnt matter how we get there thats the understanding were not yet clear on. Were dont critique me for engaging in electoral politics. Something you may not believe in as a tool. I believe in it as tool but maybe you can do the visible organizing and the direct action and civil disobedience and ill focus on electoral organizing. Resistance is strong. Going to be a little dysfunctional. Going to be organizations that dont play nice with one another. There are going to be times where leader made disagree on a particular policy, sometimes negotiations and compromises that people dont think we should make. Me personally, im on the page right now that this is actually amoment where we may not have to compromise go all in this time because were playing on two extremes, and i think that is actually good for us and the resistance. What i mean is that were so polarized as a nation right now, its actually easier to say, are you with us or with them . For those in the center who are not sure or where for example, a visual example. We want to do a recent womens march supported some local groups and united we dream in l. A. To do a march outside of senator feinsteins office in support of the dreamers, telling her if the dream act is not in the final bill we want you to be courageous and stand with us, which i know she will. Here we were a couple hundred people standing with the dreamss who want to in senator feinsteins 0 and across the street was a counterprotest that was pretty significant. Like 4 00 on a wednesday. About 40 people, with you already know with the money make gere agreement again. Holding up signs, dont want illegals in the country and it was an important moment when you have the media there and portray to American People are you on this side with the people who are talking about justice and dignity and respect, or are you on this side with the people who are calling human beings illegal and saying go back to where you came from. We dont want you here. You dont belong here. So i think were in a moment where people have to get off the sidelines and if you dont get have the sideline in my personal opinion, you dont pick a side jo you stay on he fence, youre on the side of the oppressors and i hope people join and understand that were not going to always agree and thats what i teal people. When he debate people online. Say the point is not nor you to agree if a everything i say. Well never agree im not going agree with republicans that, i wont agree with me. Im not going to agree with liberals as progressive or guess what . We probably can all agree we all deserve to have respectful debate and be treated with dignity respect if we can do that, God Bless America because people expect the idea that unity is uniformity and i never believed that. Unity is not uniformity. Unity is all of us understanding the end game here is that article marginalized communities are protected and when theyre protected, we all live prosperous, full, Productive Lives in this country. How we get there i dont care. Host so linda, as part of those many different marginalized groups you just alluded to there is demographic that voted majority for donald trump, even though someone from their demographic was on the opposing ticket. White women. 53 , according to exit polls voted for donald trump. Continue to vote for republicans whose agenda, whether its their economic agenda which keeps millions of million in poverty without a safety net or voice at work, or republicans whose agenda in tomorrows of reproductive rights and family leave and child care has no support for the kinds of lives that Women Deserve to live, and yet, white women, not latina women, not africanamerican women, not native american women, white women are still supporting a party that we might say is not supporting you. And there are so many white women whose lives are transformed by the womens march, who see the womens march as their home. What do you say to them . Guest i say host what do you a to them who say to sisters who may not have marched but otherwise share their culture and their beliefs. Guest i say to them it may not feel like this but a were fighting for them, too, and we believe in their potential to do the right thing, and i know that they continue often times to disappoint, and including disappoint their white sisters, the 49 oar 0 or 47 who dont vote for republicans. What i ask people to do, and i do this myself, im not actually loyal to any Political Party and have been known as a big critic of the Democratic Party for a long time. Say vote your values and principles and dont assume what the movement is about. The reason why i say that in the last year we got into a big controversy about proabortion, prolife, can prolife will be part of the movement. I never said with were a pro abortion movement. That wasnt the language we used. Very intentional about the language. Were pro choice, movement that believes a woman should have the agency to choose whatever it is she feels is right for her and her family and her body. If a woman chooses to keep her baby, we respect her. I you are woman who chooses of the hand abortion, for many, many ropes not an easy decision women make we respect you, too this idea of pitting women against each other, pro life vs. Proberg, im pro choice and believe in womens agencies to make any choices whether about their bodies, their jobs, their careers, their children, women should be able to choose. And that framing is important because it opens up an opportunity for people to see themselves, maybe this is not what i thought it was. Were not a brow a braburning, manhating movement, which white women have kept women of color out, manhating. Were not. We have sons and fathers and uncles and brothers who need to be part of these conversations, and many mom in the movement, in particularly black mothers and women of color, they children who may be incarcerated or women who could be subject to Police Violence or gun violence. They want their families to be protected, too. I say to those women, wake up. Listen to us, hear us, dont listen for responding to us, listen to see where were coming from and be want a quality education for children, actos to health care for everyone. Want you to be able to walk through your streets safely, be able to get a job based on you qualifications and credentials and be paid for your qualifications you have. I still have hope. One thing were doing right now, we have a woman named cassidy, and woman named riannan, leading an effort called confronting white womenhood. Cassy and sophie are white and another woman, heather and marie, who did a work shop at the Womens Convention called confronting white womanhood. People thought it was controversial. Here we go again your want to be all spicy about stuff and dividing women between white versus whim of color, so we took the risk and these young women put beautiful, infrakes operational, well thought inspirational and welling noout and we thought no one would go. A lot of people were white. We have a photo one over most remarkable photos where the line after the room was already filled up. Hundreds of peoplere left in, people sit opening floor and against the wall, there is would a line of million who wanted to good in and we had to repeat it the next day. So we do know there are white women in the country that starting to analyze themselves, and saying, wait a minute, im not a bad person but i understand that being white somehow unintentionally, i have been complicit in some of the suffering that happened around me to people of color, and they want to confront it. They want to analyze it. Dissect, and how to overcome it so they can be true, true allies and accomplices and this work thats been moving. People to ai sheaf michigan to learn and other people not shut them out. That happens in Progressive Left that bothers me, would were led my see one that says something we dont like and immediately we engage in callout culture, we take them and tear them to shreds instead of saying i heard you say this and this is how it made me feel but what did you really immediate . Or are you ready to risen to my feedback and someone to say, i was wrong. I learned something. We dont give people that chance, and this workshop well be taking around the country will be a moment for white women to circuits to sit, reflect, and come out strong in 2018. I was disappointed but i still have hope. Host you know, was on cspan now almost two years ago, actually, when a man called in from North Carolina and said exactly what. That im principle dis. Im a white male and im principle dissed and went on to talk about things, stair youretypes and then ended by stereotypes and he ended by saying we know bus the video went viral and touched a nerve. He said i want to be a better american. What ick do to change . I and i completely agree with you its important for those of us with a huge mega phone, use it to inindividual people in and recognize the way in the right wing created this story of fear, that people like you and me are hurting america, that we are threatening to their families, that is a lie, and its one of the oldest lies of the founding of the country and that kind of fear has been manipulated and brought us donald trump, who is hurting this country, this planet, our standing in the world in so many ways and a way that now, even now, actually, millions of white americans are having second thoughts sunny have been vulnerable in the spaces ive been in especially in communities where i go they may never have had conversation with a muslim woman like me, and saying to people, and me system theres nothing you can ask me that will hurt my feelings. Anything you want to ask me about sharia law because you hear it from the rite wring and stairs you. You ask me how i can be a feminist and hear a hijab and ask me i andry tell you why. What about dismiss this happening in this country and i dont understand. Dui muslim does that . And literally allowing people to feel like they can have an dont conversation. People have been moved. Remember going to the university of massachusetts amherst and i was doing a keynote lecture sheers and professors are walking around, kids are protesting and i said thats not that serious and they were shook and insaid is no in to n the local College Republicans and some conservative kids. I said its fine, theyre welcome to come, and they come to this event, room is packed, auditory ymca, the wear trumppence shirts, they sat and when i saw them i was like, going to be fine. Get up there and i do my usual i think hey had an assumption what i would say and who i was how i was going to present myself, and at the end of the event we went outside into the open area, like on the outside of the auditorium, and it was really like some dramatic moment where i caught an eye with one of the kids that came. In fact before that i got and stag ovation and the kids felled compelled because everybody else stood up to stand up. I still didnt think much i. They were pressured into it. So when we were outside i caught an eye with one of the kids and he looked at me and i kind of like smiled at bit see what kind of reaction i was woo get and he started walking towards me and the crowd parted, and i put out my hand to him and he said his name and i shared my name with him and i was like i appreciate you came today. And i said i was like, people told me you were going to protest. What happened . He was like i, i didnt agree with offering you said but there are was some stuff agreed with. Said what made you come to that . He said you this was the most profound me. 19yearold white kid. He said i chose to give you a chance. I said to myself, how, a 19yearold college student, and thats what i ask people in the work were doing in this moment whether you feel like your on my side or not my side or support in the womens march or dont, give people a chance. And if after you give us a chance you still dont agree with us and you still dont think were the right group or dont think that you can organize with me or you can still come to the same table i come, even though we may differ on a particular Foreign Policy issue or particular political issue or social issue, i think giving people a chance, transformative things happened, and that day i said, wow, even for myself, giving people a chance, such a simple thing we can do in this moment. Host thank you, linda. Together we rise, the commemoration, the behind the scenes, oh, how we wish we had these for the other big marchs and big moments in social justice history. Its really an incredible treasure to have this book, and its coming out right now on the eve of the oneYear Anniversary. So just quickly we have 30 second left. Telephone us what is going to happen this weekend for us now, the weekend of the oneYear Anniversary of the womens march. The womens march is commemorating the largest single day protest in American History by launching and kick off a National Campaign called power to the polls which will be a National Tour gauging in registering voters across the country, because we will win in 2018 and the headlines will be, women led to us vowing and together we rise is a book that shares with all of us the hind of the scenes over the march and one of the most inspiration wrap physical things to hold in your hand with beautiful photography and you want to hold it to shower your greatgrandchildren. Su to much, linda. Youre watching booktv on cspan2. Television for serious readers. Heres our primetime lineup at 6 45m eastern, publisher and editor Roger Kimball exam thursday pros and cons of populism today. At 7 45, reactsan dunbar ortiz provides a critical history of the Second Amendment and argues people of color have been the victims americans spin culture. Then, on after words at 9 p. M. , a regard report on the Grassroots Movement in the u. S. , interviewed by matt lewis. At 10 00, a tour of publishing that includes interviews with people who are responsible for bringing their books to publication. And we wrap up our primetime programming at 11 20 on the november, lincoln in the bardo. Happens tonight on booktv. 48 hours of nonfiction authors and books every weekend. Television for serious readers. That turns off a lot of people about donald trump is that he does seem to have a certain outer vulgarity. Is populism inevitably veil gar . Well, today happens to be the anniversary of caesars in 49bc. Caesar was a populist, was he vulgar . No. I dont think its linked to populism, although i think those people who wield the tomorrow populist as a weapon would like to have us think so. Im glad you mexed mentioned that because one of the fundamental criticisms of donald trump. Respect. He wears the wrong kind of ties. Puts catsup on steak, unpardon sips. Other things as well, but i think that a large part of this aspect of the hysteria over donald trump is a matter i said esthetic. Maybe a better word is snobbery. You can watch this and other programs online become book tv [organ. Org. We want to say, welcome to Liberty Forum at Silicon Valley we know we are not alone. So look at owl of us here