Today. Also all of our essays are listed on our website, 1776un e 1776unite. Cd. Com 1776united. Com. One of our greatest supporters enable us to do this. The reason that we are gathered to address the 1619 project, the good news is that it has stimulated a much needed debate in the black community. The quality of life in the black kmoount has been served over the past two centuries with the quality of the debate within. During the 19th century, there were three areas, one, there were those who believe in recolonization that we should return to africa. This was embraced by president lincoln. The great fabric. The second is insurrectionists. Matt turner, the third were accomodatione accomodationers, this debate was in the black Community Service as well. The 20th century the debate occurs of the civil rights commitment. In the 60s we had our own Tea Party Movement within the civil rights movement. When everybody first thought we should have a legal challenge of segregation. When the students at greensboro, they start to sit in. Dr. King discouraged those students from doing that. They said to him, lead, follow or get out of the way. Dr. King then but the leadership did not embrace it. That was one of the currents. Because of these different divisions of how we should pursue to pass forward. Then you had your insurrectionists, the black panther party, the republicans believe we should have a separate state in the United States. You had malcolm x. It was a healthy debate. In the last 50 years there has been no debate in the black community. We hope that 1776 will spark this kind of approaches and ideas. What we are troubled by 1619 is that it defines america as being racist. Simply put all white people are privileged and also are victims and all blacks are victims. This negative message is dangerous to the future because nothing is more lethal and it do not excuse for failing. Our inner city ablaze toxic drugs and predatory violence. 1619 says that these conditions were done by slaveries and the shadows of jim crow. This was untrue. If that were the case. More blacks were killed by other blacks today than over 50year period clan. We have 9 11 every six month. That condition did not exist prior to the 1960s. And so our essay will bare out the truth. Black America Future was never deni defi defined. When people at their worst, we were at our best. When we were denied access of hotel, we built our own in atlanta. The saint teresa in chicago and new york. When we were denied access to business in the brownsville section of chicago, there were 731 businesses owned by blacks in the city of chicago, and 100 million in real estate assets. Between 1930s and 1940 when the jury segregation was a rule of law and those political representation, when the Unemployment Rate in the black community was 40 , we did not respond to that oppression by killing ourselves. In fact, the marriage rate was higher than any other group in america. Because of our strong christian values, exercise controls over e elderlies people can walk without being mugged by our grandchildr grandchildren. Poverty lowered down to 2 down to 40 . We were well in our way mending ourselves. If black america is defined not by americas birth defect of slavery but it is defined by the promise of america. If we were to abide by the principles, the direction given to us by 1619, what they are saying is america is an evil empi empire. America does not deserve to be supported because its fundamental principles are corrupt and hypocrite cal. What they have saying to the thousands and thousands of blacks who gaifr their lives to the military that their sacrifice was enough. We rejected the notion. We believe that if these policies are continued and unchallenged, it has serious implications to our National Security because if you are saying as 3,000 schools have been given disaster curriculum, can you imagine a 10 years old child, black child growing up for eight years of antiamerican propaganda, theyre going to be called to join the military. Why do you want to defend a nation that you have been told to corrupt and immoral. Theyre not going to be willing to join the police force to protect us. So it is important for this narrative nobody challenged. We are not going to engage to political debate, americans are tired of the cot bam. What we are offering is 1776 is as spir recreation a s aspirational and inspirational. Our activists have come together because our activists are living examples of the founders principles and their actions have served to transform in the inner city community. So what we are going to do, if i am going to ask some of them to come up and share their essays with us so that you can get some of the details. We hope to develop a curriculum that so that we can present our k through 12, our children, our alternative. People inspired to achieve when they are given victories that are possible. Not always showering with injuries to be avoided. This garbage thats coming down from scholars and writers in 1619 is most hypocrite cal because they dont live in communities. So advocating something that they dont have to pay the pemt for and so we believe that we create a pound of intellectual ghettos by under performing schools it is racism. And right now we are seeing a disaster. But these killings in st. Louis, this spring, we have 16 children under the age of 14, murdered on the streets by other blacks. Only one arrest. They dont have families living in those neighborhoods. And so 100 uplifting stories. I want uplifting stories in our essay about how our people are achieving the odds so we can inspire the nation and again, we are delighted that we have the opportunity to offer a competitive alternative. It is not enough to show people we must give them an alternati alternative. We also are pleased to have in your group stephanie dotch he has a book on baltimore school. That closed the education gap in the south, 1920s and 1940s. It was eight years for whites and fiver yea years for blacks. They close that gap within six months in 20 years. If racism were the caucus. How did we achieve in the present of those circumstances . So well be presenting evidence. I am going to ask right now dr. Ben lowry to step up and offer some comments to us. Thank you. I am professor of the social sciences at brown university. I have been in collaborative for 35 years. I am happy to be associated with this project. I wont take a long time to say what is just said. I am here for two reasons. I believe in america and believe in black people. Something tells me when i read that document that the 1619 project, they dont believe in america. We are not a city on the hill and i am sorry to have to report that i get the impression that they dont believe in black people. I will be brief. This great nation abolish slavery. Abolition is the new idea. Thats a western idea. Not possible with Democratic Institutions that were built in 1776. Not possible of the ideal of enlightment that embodies the Political Institutions in 1776. There is a reason why democracy come along of the 200 ideas since model the constitution of the document that is were created in the era of 1776. I believe in america. Not perfect but perfectible. I believe in black people, slavery was a long time ago. The idea that the speck to slavery still determines we have shown and well continue to show that we are not nearly bobbling at the end of a historic string. We can raise our children. We can educate them and build this and create wealth. We can conduct ourselves in the manner that deserves to be honored and emulated by others. I believe this project by 1776 project is the essential step in that direction. Thank you. I am going to [ applause ] good afternoon, it is humbling and my honor to be here. In the mid 1960s my parents immigrated from jamaica to the United States with their two sons. They had known that we would have to confront and over come issues of race. But they also knew something else. They believe this idea of the American Dream. They believe despite this nations history that their two children kanpur sue a better life. And because my parents love their example, their 48 years of marriage and before my dad passed away and the Incredible Opportunity that i experienced in this exceptional country. My mom can watch me and see me embodied what mher and my dad dreamt years ago. More than 2,000 students are primarily black and hispanic and all from low income community. The dreams that the parents and the school that is i will leave have the same aspirations that my parents have for me. Con the contrary, they choose our schools because we build within what is possible. The last thing our kids need to hear is they are in a perpetual state. I am incredibly honored to be apart of 1776. It is the future of the next generation that matters more than what we believe in the past. Our kids ultimately will succeed not because they developed a mindset around enslavement, rather we need to liberate the next generation to share stories of success so they develop a sense of empowerment. Thank you. [ applause ] we have an exciting young man, colin hughes, a student at the university and prolific writer and one of our rising stars. Thank you, bob. I dont have time to share my entire essay but i just have a few brief comments. The question we are here to ask today is what makes america unique . Put differently if you were to view every nation on earth in anonymous line up, how would you be able to tell which one in america . Increasingly, our institutions and universities seemed to answer in one voice, oppression, racism is often said, quote in our dna. It is said to be our essential characteristics at the country. You can take out america in a lineup because of our tendency to exploit the weak and value profits over humanity. Today we are challenging that false narrative. Any argument that says america is defined by racism and White Supremacy must explain why america is the number one definition for black and brown migrants all over the world. Any argument that says the constitution was nothing special must explain why nations all over the world have copied it. Any argument that says the institutions of slavery is what makes america unique must grapple with the fact that slavery was dealt with in every country. To point to americas worst, to point out what it is least unique about us and tax it off as our defining features. America is far from perfect. To say this is to point ou out nothing manmade ever have been or will ever be perfect. Our challenge is to make incremental progress, to create as if it were a more perfect union. We can either raise in next generation of americans to see the countrys worth as its defining feature and see the american experiment as corrupt or we can teach them to see the country as it is. We can teach them to see the country that migrants all over the world leave everything behind for. We can teach them how to take america out in a lineup. Thank you. [ applause ] now it gives me a great pleasure to introduce my long time friend, clarence page. Thank you very much bob. I am not going to read my whole essay either. You all can do that at your leisure. I want to say how i became to be involve. Great thing of journalism is sometimes what you cover is a story, it has a tangible effect on your own life. Thats how it was when i met bob woodson about 30 odd years ago. I was working on a panel called league story at the time. I should call the black men mclaughlin group. One thing was always a nagging point of discussion for us was where was our people . Ever since the 60s, our need for a new agenda was very apparent. Trying to bring people together around certain points was very difficult. And this brings me to the 1619 project and the 1776 project, because one of our Big Questions was, what do we do now. One thing about woodson, he quoted abraham mazlow, if the only tool you have is a hammer, all problems begin to look like nails. If the only tool we have is civil rights, and that its wonderful tool when appropriate, but you cant fight everything out in the courts. You have to build solutions from the grassroots. You need to go to the people who are directly affected by the problems and see what they think needs to be done and put that together with what other people would like to do. And you see where you can meet together on Common Ground, something thats a geographic place thats unknown in washington these days. But Common Ground is a nice place to be. When you go through history, you find thats where we move ahead. I was disturbed when the 1619 project, for example, gave the impression that white people didnt have anything to do with the liberation of black people, as if there werent any white people in the abolitionist movement. I see a lot of stories all the time, i was telling bob about how i was surprised, i was trying to figure out how President Donald Trump had defied my predictions and actually won the election, that i was directed by several friends, why dont you bring a book called hillbilly elegy about poor white people in appalachia. I was surprised to see that j. D. Vance and i have the same hometown. We were there in the last great days of postcold war stability, a factory town that over time, with the changes in economy, changes in politics and all, in more recent years it went from being an all American City to being known as having one of the worst opioid addiction and overdose problems in the country. I was shocked to find in 2017 that my hometowns city budget, 10 of it the Previous Year had gone to ambulance calls. Thats the sign of complete deterioration, degradation, breakdown in a community. I have another unusual friend, charles murray, back in the 80s, i love turning short stories into long ones, please forgive me, but i was upset with charles for various flaws i saw in the bell curve which he coauthored. In 2011 he came out with a new book called coming apart which focused only on poor white people. He got so much heat for talking about race, he said, im going to write a book about poverty without talking about race. I said, charles, i love you. But he made so many points in this book that ive been saying for years, that white folks have the same poverty problems as black folks. We have different skin color, basically. I call it the povertization of poverty. In the 60s, johnson started the lbj war on poverty, it was at a time when poverty had a white face, white appalachian face. And then after watts, poverty became black. Life magazine, saturday evening post, look, publications, for you young people, that were once very popular in america. And thats where we got the visual profile of america. Were still in that stage today. When you say poverty, so many folks think of a black face. They dont see we have problems across the line. Ive talked with j. D. Vance and compared notes. We do have a Common Ground, which is that we all want a more productive america, we want to see the American Dream revived. For so many folks, the American Dream is a fantasy. To me, thats what the declaration of independence is about. I just got back from monticello, another long story i wont get into. I love the literature, im going to wrap this up, but just as Thurgood Marshall refused to celebrate the bicentennial of the constitution, but he did celebrate the improved constitution, because the original constitution wasnt perfect. But it had the mechanism for its own improvement. And that is where i am today, ladies and gentlemen. I feel like we all know where we stand now. We are all aware of Common Ground. We need to talk about how can we move forward together. And thank you very much for your patience. [ applause ] next im going to introduce dr. John sibley butler, longtime friend and probably the nations foremost expert on the history of blacks in business. Many years ago we sponsored his research and we published a magazine with pictures of four black men in durham, north carolina, in their 90s. All of them had retired from their own businesses. And it was john butler who found them and wrote about them. I would like to ask john to come up and offer his remarks. Thank you very much, bob. My interest was in innovation and entrepreneurship and success among blacks. A former columnist was there and he said, you better document everything because nobody will believe it. I did a book called selfhelp among africanamericans. As a little boy i grew up around aspirations, xavier university, fourth Generation College graduate. My question has always been, whats the algorithm for black success. I trace the success from the early 1700s, great colors such as w. B. Dubois, being a scholar i also look at all of the work done in the Negro College graduate stints since its exception. Right now im doing a book now on the relationship with success in america. If we look at that algorithm, what are we talking about . 75 or 40 years ago, the whole idea of looking at success and having a future is very, very important. You have to remember bobs work in st. Louis, i can remember us talking about, how do we really, really change what they call the inner cities . Not all black americans are inner city blacks. Im a fourth Generation College graduate, fourth generation of success, how does that happen . The algorithm then is to concentrate on changing the narrative, first of all, about what america is about. Bob said, its the inspiration of black america, the inspiration of how we create institutions and organizations. Its very, very difficult, but different from detroit because of the position. Nashville is different than detroit because of the success of the black population. People have confused segregation with homopholy. In 1910, blacks were more likely to be employed than another group in america. Homopholy was a development of publishers. Therefore, by the 1960s, if you will, black southerners were more likely to be southern black southerners were more likely to be College Graduates than anybody in the country, because there was an emphasis on homopholy, the emphasis on coming together. If you have a problem in the community, thats on ourselves. When i did my research in north carolina, talking to those black traditions there, i said, how did you create such an entrepreneur spirit in the 1920s and 1930s . They said, we solved all our problems by not asking what america what they did to us. This is in a line with our group, thats really, really interested in coming to america and saying the following. Theres no other country in america with this tradition of giving people an opportunity to move from point a to point b. In my opinion, when im looking at the work im doing now on the algorithms of success, theres nothing like the relationship between innovations, entrepreneurship, selfemployment, and creating a future for future generations. Thank you very much. [ applause ] next we want to introduce jason hill, who offers some remarks on his essay and his work. My name is jason hill. And i think that the 1619 project, like every project, presupposes an answer to the question, what is the moral meaning of a phenomenon. And the 1619 project offers an indictment of the United States of america, a country that i think is the greatest, most unprecedent phenomenon that has ever existed. I came to this country as an immigrant with 120 in my pocket and went on to become a College Professor and the author of many books. In my latest book, we have overcome, at this time i didnt realize it but i was answering a question to the 1619 project, what is the moral meaning of america. And in that book i sought to give an answer. And that answer is, america is an ethical state. Why do i say america is an ethical state . I tied it back to the 1776 project. America as an ethical state because, and i make the statement that race was always endemic to this country but race was metaphysicalically irreleva. The reason i say race continues to be metaphysically irrelevant, i realized race would never be something, a phenomenon that would determine black peoples fate and destiny irreirrevocabl. There was something that provided the tools for the inclusion of black people into what i call the domain of the ethical, into the widening pantheon of the human community, so that black and other minorities would suffuse the american landscape with narratives of their own and continue to expand this wonderful experience which is not a hermetically sealed phenomenon but an openended system. And that the voices of black people and the lives and agency of black people would continue to be a constitutive feature of this Great Republic of ours. The 1619 project would have us believe that blacks are not part of the moral meaning of america. What my project is partly doing is rendering that piece of nonsense as what it is, nonsense. Black people, whether they were slaves or entrepreneurs or farmers, have always contributed to the moral meaning of america. Its an aspirational country, and blacks have always pinned their aspirations on the best in america, to call for the best within us, and to call for an exercise of moral excellence. Thats just a little bit what have im doing in my project. Thank you. [ applause ] and now, carol swain will come and share her very exciting paper. Im carol swain and im a former professor of Political Science and law at vanderbilt university. And i was also a tenured professor at princeton. Ive known bob for more than 30 years. The essay i wrote for this project is titled Critical Race Theory and its destructive impact on america. Its an essay that you can read. I believe that what i have to offer thats most important for this 1776 project is my life story of having been a high school dropout, one of 12 children born and raised in rural poverty. I dropped out after the eighth grade. I married at 16. By the time i was 21, i had three small children. I earned a d. E. D. , went to a Community College and got the first of five degrees. I was able to graduate magna cum laude. People came into my life, and the ones that took an interest in me and steered me forward, they were white. And many of them were white men. And these people encouraged me that i could do anything. And i did not see myself as handicapped because i was black, i was a female, i was poor. I didnt see any of that until i got to graduate school. And then i learned that i was oppressed, that i was poor, that i was black, that i was female, and that i couldnt do any of the things i had already done. So i believe the 1619 project offers a very crippling message to our children. And i was spared from having that message brought to me. And i believe that if i had been exposed to that, if i had internalized that negative message, i dont believe i would have been able to do the things that ive done in life. I believe in america. I believe america is the greatest country in the world. Im a patriot. I want to do everything that i can for this nation to bring it together. And i think that we do need to learn to love and respect each other. And this negativity thats seeping into our schools, teaching, for one thing, white children are being shamed, theyre being told to be ashamed of themselves because of the color of their skin, and black children are told that because of structural discrimination, that they cant, they cant, they cant. We are at an important Tipping Point in this nation. What we do matters. And i believe that the 1776 project, that this project is an important historical moment. And we need people to get behind us. We need to make sure that our message reaches white, black, asian, hispanic, everyone. America is a great country and we need to fight for it. Thank you. [ applause ] now we want to hear from thank you. Greetings. Dont let the nice suit fool you. Im from the hood in philadelphia. Actually im from two hoods. The first hood is an environment where criminality and violence litter the landscape. Its a place where homicide is the number one killer of black males between the ages of 15 and 34. The second hood is just as dangerous, and i would argue that its more detrimental to ones wellbeing and development, because it kills dreams and aspiration. Now, that hood that im talking about is victimhood. Specifically racial victimhood. And this hood is being force fed to us and peddled by a racial grievance industry whereas the physical hood is being sustained, which essentially is a byproduct the leftist policies but thats another story for another day. Anyway, on this valentines day, the 1776 project is bringing a message of love. And sometimes love can hurt, like the truth. And here is the truth that may be hurtful to some peoples ears, these people who have agendas. America is not a racist labyrinth specifically designed to stifle the advancement of black people. And, our police are not badge bogeymen who, as they are often made out to be. So with gods help, this 1776 project will indeed break the gravitational pull of racial victimhood that seems to be omnipresent in this great country. Thank you. [ applause ] i now want to bring wilford riley up. Hi. So im will riley. Im an associate professor of politics at Kentucky State University and im the author of the books hate crime hoax and taboo. I do have a nice natural baritone, as well as a nice natural tan. Ill back up a little bit. I dont think i need the mic, honestly, in a room this size. The title of my essay is slavery doesnt define africanamerican history, something i believe to be obviously true. Obviously these, as have been noted, are severalpagelong scholarly pieces, thanks to the Washington Examiner for publishing these over the last few days. Slavery obviously is a human universal. People of every race were sold as slaves although for whatever reason this is not taught very often in the schools. There was an entire slave trade, the barbary slave trade. Slavery existed everywhere in the world until the modern west stopped it around the 1850s. So thats point one. The second point from the essay is that obviously, given that we have no slaves today, there was an Antislavery Movement in the United States. This was a Movement Made up of many black and white people of goodwill. As most things do, the campaign against slavery proceeded incrementally. In 1888, a law was passed prohibiting the imporation of slaves, essentially crippling the atlantic slave trade. Finally, we freed the slaves in the United States at terrible cost. During the civil war, about 600,000 americans, most of the men of the north were killed. I did the calculations on the back of a playing card deck coming here. That was one for every 9. 2 slaves freed. So if the usa owed a bill for slavery you can argue that we, black and white, have both already paid it in blood. So all of this is discussed in the essay. One final point in the piece is that many modern black problems seem to have very little to do with slavery and a great deal to do with the social revolution of 1960s. And the clearest evidence i can find of this is that theyre mirrored among our white countrymen. So in 1938, for example, according to the economist walter williams, the illegitimacy rate, if you want to use that term, for africanamericans was 11 , and only 4 for whites, good for caucasians as well. But the illegitimacy is 60 for native americans and 42. 3 for the entire country regardless of country. This is a national universal problem that clearly by definition has nothing to do with slavery. I suspect if you look at opioid abuse in white neighborhoods and gaini Gang Violence in africanamerican neighborhoods, we cant make excuses, we just need to Work Together and solve these problems. So i note this in the piece. Finally, im a supporter of the 1776 project for one simple reason. I think some things are commonsensical, obvious truths that youve heard from athletic coaches and preachers and mothers and fathers your entire life. If you look at freedoms or income or virtually anything else on a global basis, it is not especially hard to succeed in the United States of america. People regularly come from countries where without any mockery at all, cars are a luxury item, ethiopa and vietnam, and outperform much of the native population of the usa. I think this is possible for anyone of any color in the United States of america, given personal responsibility and hard work, theres absolutely no reason whatsoever that middle class africanamericans or our appalachian countrymen should be heldt congress about economic poverty in this country. What i stand to say, i stood to say then. We can achieve through hard work, perseverance. I was a 17yearold teen mom. I stand here today as a married women, almost 15 years, with four children. I stand as an advocate for quality education. I am a 13year home school mom. So you cant tell me what we can do in this country, the liberties and freedoms that has been afforded to my family. When it comes to africanamerican history or black history, ive been teaching my children for 13 years. Its not black history, its not white history. Its american history, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Were one, and they will learn the truth. I thank god for this opportunity to be a part of such phenomenal people. And as we come together and as we embrace the truth, and like mr. Woodson, continue to tell us not to debate but to have an alternative. We all stand here today as an alternative. And we all look black. Well, some of us. So we are the alternative. Our children can succeed. They can be successful. Weve been doing this since 1642. Amen. And so we can succeed in this country. I thank god to be a part of such a beautiful, beautiful project. And i just want to tell my family and friends and the people of this country, we love you. We love our children. Which love our youth. And every parent wants the best for their children. Amen. [ applause ] before introducing and taking questions, i want to acknowledge in the room the presence of one of our leaders, mr. Tyrone parker, the president of alliance of concerned men, in the back. [ applause ] and his group, over many decades, as exoffenders themselves, have witnessed to exgang members and brought about peace in these communities through just will and determination to do so. And he and Carl Hardrick and Curtis Watkins and others who are part of the woodson family, we just praise you and thank you for being a part of it. Another one of those neighborhood healing agents, as i call them, is tony mcilwain, who ive known for four decades. One of our leaders in the city of detroit. And i want her to give remarks and then well take questions. Okay. My name is Toni Mcilwain from the east side of detroit. Im talking about an area thats 80 to 85 at or below the poverty level. What did i do . I went and lived in that community and i decided that we are better than what people said we were. And i took that community and i developed block clubs, i developed neighborhoods. They cleaned up that community. They went back to school. We were able to reduce the crime by 40 in two years. 40 , because we were able to do that. Theres one thing i noticed, one of bobs letters that he sent me, is that god do not select the capable. He selects those and makes them capable. And i was grateful for that, because i saw a neighborhood transform from a deteriorating neighborhood to a liveable neighborhood. But not only did i see the neighborhood transform. I saw a resident of a neighborhood, 50 blocks, 5,000 residents lived in that area, and they are now called the heroes of their own families. Im grateful for that. Why do i think the 1776 is important . Why do i think that . Because were part of it. We are what we are supposed to be where we can lift our own selves up by our own bootstraps. And im glad that i was able to lift myself up and to show the other people in that community that they too can lift themselves up. So bob, i want to thank you for what you have done, bringing us together, because by god, we are the incapable, able to be capable of changing our own neighborhoods. Thank you. [ applause ] well be glad to take whatever questions you may have. Questions . Yes. You can come to the mic. This isnt necessarily directed at any specific person but maybe a thought that i was kind of wondering if the presenters had in general, which was that do any of you think that were at a point where, in terms of election, things like that, were past the point where we just talk about the black vote, as a monolithic thing, as if every black person is going to vote the same way in an election . Thats what joe biden is still banking on, this idea of having 40 of the black vote, that started to deteriorate over time. Do you think that were at a point where theres enough economic social diversity among black people in this country at this point were youre not going to be able to just say, oh, well, the black vote is going to go to this or that candidate . Is there enough dweriversity of opinion, enough diversity of lifestyle, that those days are over, do you think . Well, we are trying to, with 1776, to present to the country, and particularly black america, a reason to think more independently than what theyve been told. Its not enough to talk you can go to any, any city in the country, whether its the governorship controlled by republicans or democrats, the conditions of lowincome people are all the same. The answers will not be found through electoral politics. But if i could speak politically for a second, my goal is not to recruit republicans and make them democrats. I want the black vote to be an independent swing voter. I want them to get sophisticated enough to vote their issues, and to form strategic alliances. Its insulting, when i see politicians say, all weve got to do is go into a black audience and say were against racism, vote for me. Also if you look at the history, we made our best progress when we couldnt vote, in terms of community. So i think what bob is saying is that what were doing is concentrating, and everybody having their own individual aspiration of how they would like to vote. Its not necessarily just on the established expectations, but a swing vote thats really, really related to the community where you are. But right now, theres no diversity in terms of viewing the black population. Its just being viewed as a monolithic kind of situation. But, you know, its kind of where you are in life, i dont know if i would rather have the vote or a concession stand to sell the popcorn to the people who are voting. I would say that if we look at the Public Opinion polling, and if i were to look at the black youth and people that i talk with, i dont believe the black vote is monolithic. I believe that black people have reached the point where theyre looking around, and theyre both up for grabs. But in this next election, if i were to make a prediction, i think that the republicans, and donald trump, and i know were not supposed to be political, but speaking as a political scientist now, i think that 20 of the black vote would be reasonable. Just a quick comment on that, in addition to dr. Swain, im a political scientist in my background as well, i think this is really an empirical question. Right now there are large, pretty well funded movements like blacksit where the goal is moving africanamericans away from the mainstream of the democratic party. You can wager on this, this is something that people are interested in seeing in progress, will that happen. Thats an empirical question. I do think that theres an interesting background here, that if you look at, for example, church going, or attitudes towards issues like, quote unquote, transgender rights, the Africanamerican Community is a fairly conservative community, more conservative than most caucasian communities, the large majority. Africanamericans have become an 80 to 90 democratic voting wheelhouse basically because of the use of the race narrative. Thats an empirical fact. Joe biden running against mitt romney was one of the most milk toast, moderate individuals you can manage, the antiracist head of bain said, quote unquote, im going to put africanamericans back in chains. This was said to cheers. Will that continue . Well see. Theres a concerted backlash to change that right now, i will say, thats being studied in Political Science. The biggest barrier, even the whole Voter Suppression issue thats supposed to be popular, it turns out that the states with the most restrictive voter laws has the highest black turnout. And also, the biggest barrier to voting is apathy. In the last mayors race in washington, d. C. , in ward 7 and 8, less than 6 of the people turned out. And this is a pattern in newark, trenton, other cities, where blacks, democrats have been in power, the turnout rate, apathy is the biggest barrier to people voting. But i just dont think the answer is through the electoral process. Its a cultural problem. Its an internal problem. Somebody had a question. This is more a nittygritty than an abstract question. You mentioned the 1619 project, it already hes an educational curriculum, its going to thousands of schools. You plan to do something in that area too. Where are those plans, what would those educational materials be, when will you get them to schools, whats your time frame . We plan to develop k12 curriculum. Joe young is here from hartford, connecticut, one of the countrys most an animator to reach young people. And were going to commission him to do an animation on 1776. We want to produce videos. I think the impact of your film on clarence thomas, we need hidden figures. I went to a gathering in virginia, in fredericksburg, virginia, on a saturday afternoon where the author was there, in an auditorium, in a college, it seated a thousand people. There were 1,300. The fire marshal had to turn people away, hundreds were turned away. Her book was sold out. It was sold out in the local bookstore. 90 of the audience were black family members. So we really believe there is a thirst in america for virtue in acti action. And we want to use every means possible to develop a retail strategy. The problem with traditional ways, particularly of conservatives have of trying to push back against this is to publish white papers and then argue it on talk radio. We believe that thats insufficient and inadequate. So we hope to develop teachable retail oriented materials so we will have an alternative. The highest, most popular book on amazon in the socialist section is communism for kids. I wanted to address the previous question that was asked about whether the black vote was monolithic. And i think its not monolithic but there is a sort of monolithicity in relation to the democratic party. When you look at the white womens vote for donald trump, thats almost monolithic compared to the black vote. This is a larger issue about, without sounding conndescending or patronizing, but retraining the sensibilities of black voters in terms of their attitudes towards a complex, because many black people have been fed a diet of victimology all their lives. Im not an activist, but when i speak to black people i say, look, my people are not coming to save you. You are responsible for your own fate. And your destiny lies in your hand. And the procreative choices you make are your responsibility. Speaking as an independent conservative, as a group, theyve done a poor job of communicating to black people and to the world in general for example the morality of capitalism. Capitalism doesnt lift people outside of poverty and doesnt only have practical benefits, but capitalism is a moral system. This message has got to be sent to blacks, that capitalism is something good. And we hear the idea that black people vote for republicans or vote conservative, that theyre voting against their own economic selfinterest. And i think they have to be divested of these kind of shibboleths, that theyre not voting against their own economic selfinterest when theyre voting for a government that initiates tax cuts for Small Businesses that will then hire them and give them a break and also give them a chance to start their own businesses. So i think this is a sort of occasional process that conservatives should take very seriously, where is, you know, the democrats turn up with a bunch of chicken wings and wa r water watermelon slices like mrs. Clinton did, and hot sauce, and conservatives turn up with ideological pamphlets and start teaching blacks about the moral basis of capitalism, that capitalism is a good, moral thing in and of itself, satisfied from the practical results that it can deliver to their lives in terms of material benefits. Just in closing, i just want to add that america is in a moral and spiritual freefall that is consuming people of different classes and different races. The very pafact that in palo al, silicon valley, that the suicide rate is six times the national average, when 90 of twoparent households, where the parents have masters degrees, the crisis facing the emptiness of a 17yearold daughter, the mother has to face the reality of her 17yearold daughter, she has more in common with the 17yearold black woman who lost her 17yearold daughter to homicide in public housing. We need to address that lack of content and meaning in their lives. One is not insulated because of privilege and one is not shielded because of injustice. Thats why we are committed to taking race off of the table so that we can come together as americans and address the lack of content and meaning in lives that are causing even affluent white kids to overdose on opioids. And so this is our task for 1776. And i want to thank all of you for coming. And this ends our press conference. [ applause ] [ indiscernible conversation ] [ indiscernible conversation ] follow campaign 2020 to nevada this weekend. Saturday night, live at 11 00 p. M. Eastern, democratic president ial candidates joe biden, pete buttigieg, senator Amy Klobuchar, tom steyer, senator bernie sanders, and senator Elizabeth Warren speak before clark county democrats. And on sunday, live at 5 00 p. M. Eastern, joe biden, pete buttigieg, senator Amy Klobuchar and tom steyer speak at a forum on infrastructure. Live coverage on cspan. Watch on demand at cspan. Org and listen on the go on the cspan radio app. On tuesday, wgbh tv in boston hosts a debate between senator ed markey and two of his challengers in the 2020 massachusetts democratic primary election. Congressman joe kennedy and shannon riordan, an attorney. Watch live at 7 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan, online at cspan. Orgo or listen live on the free cspan radio app. E natura congressman bruce westman, republican of arkansas, a member of the Natural Resources committee in the house, is alsot a supporter