His rallies, the songs stay the same and he alone controls the volume. Do you want to bust a move the expresident ial way . Then get down with deejayts maralago spotify playlist. Youll get songs like. Trump has no idea that the songs, when read in sequential order, provide a glimpse into his subconscious the deejayt spotify playlist. Shake your coup thang announcer its the late show with Stephen Colbert tonight. Court proceeding plus, stephen welcomes Steve Buscemi and Henry Louis Gates, jr. featuring louis cato and the late show band. And now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, its Stephen Colbert stephen hello hello [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause] welcome. Welcome, everybody, to the late show. Im your host, Stephen Colbert. [cheering] well, forget the old saying april showers brings may flowers, cause from now on, its april trials bring me smiles. [cheering] because how many left . 88 charges left . Okay, despite, so far, despite 88 criminal charges, donald trump has faced zero consequences. Its been one delay after another. But [booing] exactly. But thats about to end. Because right here in new york, in the hush money case, the judge wont delay trumps criminal trial to wait for an immunity ruling. [cheering] lets go the best part is, its a criminal trial, so trump has to be there every day. Starting april 15th, we get to see donald trump having to see Stormy Daniels testify about having to see donald trump naked. Ugh. Ugh. Your honor, for reasons that will soon be all too apparent following her testimony, id like to submit into evidence this baby bella mushroom. [laughter] if you know what im talking about. I dont know if you noticed, but thanks to trump, our politics are getting a tad heated. In fact, a new pbs newshour npr marist starbucks eggbites poll found that 1 in 5 americans think violence may solve u. S. Divisions. When reached for comment, 1 in 5 americans said, you wanna go . You got a problem . cause we can settle this right outside with some muy thai [laughter] personally, i Stephen Colbert stand with the majority, the 4 out of 5 americans who choose nonviolence and i proudly say, [applause] i proudly say, sure. Im never going to stop you from applauding me. I say, 4 on 1 . We can take these guys. Go get daddys bat you wanna go, bruh . The stats down like this 28 of republicans believe violence could be the answer, compared to just 12 of democrats and 18 of independents. Really . Who are those 18 of independents . I dont really strongly feel committed to any particular ideology, but i am willing to kill for. Whatevs. [laughter] trump himself is taking every angle he can to try to weasel his way back into the white house. Hes even pressuring the state of nebraska to change how it awards electoral votes. Always a bad sign when your Campaign Strategy is to bully individual states. Hey, more like old hampshire, you dusty bitch. Now, gimme all your electoral votes, and go back to 69ing vermont. Oh i bet ben and jerry like to watch. Nebraskas electoral system matters. Many believe it could be decided by a single electoral vote from nebraskas second district. In other words, this is a complete and total hey, steve . Stephen oh, hi, brianne. Its my writer brian stack, brian, whats up . Well, i couldnt help but notice you were talking about nebraska. You know what they say about nebraska . Stephen whats that, brian . No. Im asking. Do you know what they say about nebraska . cause the writers and i are trying to cook up a real crackerjack joke. And if you know anything about nebraska, we could probably write the joke to play off of that. You know, for your monologue. Stephen brian, i am doing a monologue right now. Perfecto. Well put our noodles together, get ya something great. Big laughs, major joke. Writeup in huffpo for sure. Ill be back in one hour Stephen Brian stack, everybody. Thanks, brian. Very kind. He tries. Oldest man in world news, yesterday, the oldest man in the world died just weeks before 115th birthday. Awww. Stephen our condolences to the family of Juan Vincente perez mora of venezuela, seen here sitting. Mr. Mora credited his long life to working hard, loving god, resting on holidays, going to bed early, and drinking a glass of aguardiente every day. Aguardiente . Ive never heard of it, but i want it. Gimme the life juice right here cane neutral spirits. Okay. [cheering] ooh hoo i feel older already. Dont go far with that. Now that mr. Mora has passed, the organization that certifies global olditude, the Gerontology Research group, said they are currently working to find the worlds oldest living man. Currently the two top contenders whose birthdays are being verified are Gisaburo Sonobe of japan, born november 6, 1911, and brazils josias de oliveira, born october 21, 1911. And im being told we have aging news this morning, and this is true, while we were working on this script, the news broke that sadly, Gisaburo Sonobe passed away at 112. We mourn his passing and celebrate our new old champion, brazils josias de oliveira there he is mr. Oldest man now we do not yet know what he credits his long life to, so im gonna take a stab in the dark and say a delicious daily bottle of bud lite lime. Oh. Oh, yeah. Really washes away the aguardiente. Did you like that . Living at all, of course, requires a bit of luck. Just ask my colleagues in oregon at kgw8, eugenes news leader. Youve gotta see this. A eugene man is lucky to be alive after narrowly escaping an incident that couldve been out of a movie, really. A 4foot concrete saw came loose at a construction site and went flying toward a nearby Convenience Store just seconds after the man walks in. Stephen wow that is either a freak accident, or that guy is the target of a very inefficient assassin. Damn it. If the saw blade doesnt work, ill get him with a runaway houseboat. Now to get him near the canal. For more on this story, we turn to kezi9, eugenes news commander. Just for some height comparison here, im about 59. You can see right here where the top of the blade is would have been right here at the beginning of my torso. Stephen which means it could have been a real tragedy or the worlds fastest bris. [laughter] the man. The man. [cheers and applause] the man who survived the close call told reporters, i dont think i would have survived even being touched by that thing. I need a beer. Im still shaken. Its 9 00. Im not going to work today. Wise choice. [cheers and applause] beer . Wise choice, citizen. But i have to say, if youre getting a beer at 9 00 a. M. , you already werent going to work today. Oh, theres news from britain, a place i have no comment or feeling about, where a man has pled guilty to the theft of a solid gold toilet worth 6 million from blenheim palace. How do you sneak that out past the guards . Sir, im afraid ill have to check your bag. Did you bring this golden toilet from home . Yes . Very good, cheerio. This 18carat toilet was part of an art exhibition, and the toilet itself was titled america. Meant to comment on the economic disparities in the u. S. , or as the artist puts it, whatever you eat a 200 lunch or a 2 hot dog, the results are the same, toiletwise. To which everyone whos eaten a 2 hot dog said, no, my friend. No, they are not. Theyre very different. Back over in tech, we have an update about the Apple Vision Pro headset, the number one tool to deliver a purple nerple in the metaverse. Apple has introduced a way to hang out with friends or colleagues who are also wearing their vision pros, and its called spatial persona avatars. Unfortunately, they are creeping people out. Its an exciting Tech Innovation that will have workers saying fine. Ill go back to the office in person 5 days a week. Apple says that the goal of these avatars is to make collaborating and hanging out feel more natural in the vision pro. Yes, its clearly the most natural way to spend time with your colleagues. Right, louis . Louis thats right, steve. As natural as playing my guitar. Darn it Tim Cook Stephen we got a great show for you tonight my guests are Steve Buscemi and Henry Louis Gates jr. But when we come back, i take to the skies. Join us, wont you . [cheers and applause] announcer the late show with Stephen Colbert sponsored red lobster. Enjoy a new street corn shrimp, shrimp scampi, and more with shrimp your way. Corn shrimp. And our famous garlic shrimp scampi. Its time to grab some cheddar bays and get flavorfull. Hurry in to try shrimp your way, only at red lobster. screams bleeding gums are serious, jamie. Dr. Garcia . Woah. Theyre a sign of bacterial infection. Crest gum detoxifys antibacterial fluoride works below the gumline to help heal gums and stop bleeding. Crest saves the day. Crest. To help protect from hiv, i prep without pills. With apretude, a prescription medicine used to reduce the risk of hiv without daily prep pills. With one shot every other month, just 6 times a year. In studies, apretude was proven superior to a daily prep pill in reducing the risk of hiv. You must be hiv negative, to receive apretude and get tested before each injection. If you think you were exposed to hiv or have flulike symptoms, tell your doctor right away. Apretude does not prevent other sexually transmitted infections. Practice safer sex to reduce your risk. Dont take apretude if youre allergic to it or taking certain medicines, as they may interact. Tell your doctor if youve had liver or kidney problems or Mental Health concerns. If you have a rash or other allergic reactions, stop apretude and get medical help right away. Serious side effects include allergic reactions, liver problems, and depression. Some of the most common side effects include injectionsite reactions and headache. You must receive apretude as scheduled. Ask your doctor about longacting apretude. And prep without pills. Save at apretude. Com. [stomach growling] its nothing. Sounds like something. When you have nausea, heartburn, indigestion upset stomach, diarrhea pepto bismol coats and soothes for fast relief when you need it most. On your period, sudden gushes happen. Say goodbye gush fears thanks to always ultra thins. With rapiddry technology. That absorbs two times faster. Hellooo clean and comfortable. Always. Fear no gush. you made a cow actually its a piggy bank. My inspiration to start saving. How about a more solid way to save . Im listening. Well, bmo helps get your savings habit into shape with a cash reward, every month you save. Both cash reward . And theres a cash bonus when you open a new Checking Account to get you started. Wow. Anything you cant do . mugs. Bmo [cheers and applause] stephen welcome back, everybody. Give it up for louis cato and the late show band. Talking to you. Hey hello, my friends. There you go. Thanks, everybody. Please have a seat. Youre very kind. Coming up. F fabulous guests a fascinating man, a scholar, a writer. Henry louis gates will be out here just a few moments. But first, in just a few minutes, one of my favorite actors. And also a lovely person, Steve Buscemi will be out her. Who doesnt love some buscemi . People often say booshemi but its not, its booskemi. Dont say it. He will knife you. I have seen it happen. Airplanes. For decades, theyve been considered safe, but lately it doesnt feel that way. We all remember back in january, when a door plug flew off an Alaska Airlines flight after key bolts were found to be missing from the plane, then just a few weeks later a united flight was forced to land after a passenger noticed the wing was coming apart. I know, shocking. That it wasnt spirit airlines. And that wasnt all, because in just the last month, a tire fell off a united Airlines Flight after takeoff, damaging several cars. Another flight was forced to make an Emergency Landing due to problems with the hydraulic system. A plane experienced a fire in the left engine, and then just last week, a flight had to turn around because the contents of one of the planes toilets flowed into the main cabin. So if you think airplane quality has gone down the toilet, youre wrong its actually coming up the toilet. [laughter] but if youre nervous about flying right now, please dont worry. There are other air travel options. According to one expert, hot air balloons are the safest mode of aviation. Which is why im proud to bring you a message from the late shows newest sponsor. [cheers and applause] are you afraid to get on an airplane . Then why not travel by whitlocks hot air balloon steve hi, im steve whitlock. Stephen and im stephen whitlock. Were brothers steve but the fraternal kind. You may recognize our balloon from jigsaw puzzles. Stephen or motivational posters steve or just from looking up stephen air plane quality is declining, but anyone who says our balloons are unsafe is full of hot air. Steve good one, Stephen Stephen thank you, steve steve the most dangerous thing that happens on hot air balloons is the occasional seagull. Seagull [cawing] stephen balloon travel is also fair. Theres no first class or economy. Just one class basket. Steve also one bathroom basket. Seagull no need to worry about loose bolts. Our hot air balloon relies on the timetested security of wicker. Stephen yep, nothing breaks this put it up here. Steve hot air balloons can take you any place you need to go as long as that any place is downwind. Stephen due west. Could be bali or albany. Only time will tell steve want Inflight Entertainment . Stephen here remembers most of the movie ford vs. Ferrari. Stephen matt damon is working on a car. Its either a ford or a ferrari, i forget. And then the batman drives another car. And one of them wins something. Steve hey no spoilers. Tell them how to book a flight, stephen. Stephen will do, steve. Just draw a big x on the ground. Maybe out of rocks or something . And well try to land there. Be patient, though. Hot air travel takes time. Steve we were born up here stephen our parents left us in this basket with nothing but a set of adultsized clothes and a thirst for the sky steve seagull [cawing] so book a flight with whitlocks hot air balloon today stephen we accept all major credit cards. Steve or just conversation both were so lonely whitlocks hot air balloon come get high with us stephen oh, we forgot to mention you can smoke weed up here steve there are no laws stephen well be right back with Steve Buscemi seagull [cheers and applause] class clowns. Old truck. More memories. Less sugar. Fewer net carbs. Fewer calories. The best things in life start with just the right ingredients. 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[car traversing over rocky ground] vo we got a Subaru Forester wilderness to discover all of the places that make us feel something more. [minimalist piano plays throughout. ] [heavy sound of water coming from waterfall. ] vo subaru is the National Park foundations largest corporate donor, helping expand access for all. Get 2. 9 apr financing for 72 months on a new 2024 forester, going on now. Ugh. Cabin crew cross check. That yellows not gonna fly. Buckle up whoa reality checkup theres toothpaste white, and theres crest 3dwhitestrips white. Whitens like a 400 professional treatment. [pilot] prepare for nonstop smiles. Crest. [cheers and applause] stephen i guessed right. Welcome back, everybody. Ladies and gentlemen, my first guest this evening is an actor you know from some of your favorite movies, including reservoir dogs, the big lebowski, and the death of stalin. He has just directed a new film called the listener. Please welcome back to the late show, Steve Buscemi. [cheers and applause] hi, steve. Steve hi, steve. Stephen thanks for coming back. Always lovely to talk to you. Steve always great to be here. Stephen we had your friend Tim Blake Nelson was on the other night. What comes to mind when you think about him . Steve i first worked with him over 20 years ago. Hes a Brilliant Writer and director, he did a movie called the gray zone about the holocaust and auschwitz. We were filming in bulgaria. Have you ever been there . Stephen ive never been to bulgaria. Lovely . Steve it is. We were in sofia most about the countryside is beautiful. The crews were great, and the people were great. Sometimes when i go to a place like that, i wonder if im going to be recognized or not. How big am i in bulgaria . Pretty much, i pretty much wasnt. One day im Walking Around and this group of teenagers, teenagers were following me and i thought oh oh. These young kids are hip. They know me. One of them stopped me and they said, are you marc anthony . Stephen the latin heartthrob singer marc anthony . J. Los exhusband marc anthony. Steve yeah. Stephen do you get that a lot. Steve first time. Ive gotten willem dafoe, john waters, that i understand. I didnt get it. I had to break it to them that i wasnt. They walked away disappointed. When i got back to new york i went to my local coffee place in brooklyn and there was a new guy working there, i give you my order and he looks at me and he says, has anyone ever told you you look like marc anthony . [laughter] this is true. I said wait a minute. I said you know what, i was just in bulgaria, and these kids thought i looked like marc anthony, and he looks at me and he goes, im from bulgaria. [laughter and applause] go figure. I dont understand it. Stephen youre considered one of the great character actors but youve also been the big lead. Here is your lead in boardwalk empire on hbo. How, maestro, how i ask is it different playing a leading man as opposed to a supporting role . Steve the work that i put into it is the same. Show like that, i mean, it really was an ensemble. Even though my character was the lead, i really felt like it was a team effort. Thats what i really enjoy, working with other actors. But ive learned, you know, like for my career, its important to get roles that mean something to this story. This way you dont get cut out. Stephen [laughs] have you been cut out a lot . Steve in one period of a year and a half, i was in three movies. The grifters. One by woody allen, alice. And one by gus van sant even cowgirls get the blues. So they were supporting roles. They were like one or two scenes each, but in the end i guess they werent as important to the story. Stephen you shot it. Steve i showed up for work and got paid and they cut me out. Stephen do you know who they would not have cut out . Marc anthony. Steve thats right. [laughter] stephen he wouldnt have put up with that. No way. Steve but then i learned all right, try to get parts where your character is important to the story and then after a while i just tried to get parts where i wasnt killed. Stephen thats another good one. Its written it that youre killed, you know youre getting cut. Steve well, yeah. When i got boardwalk. The character was based on a real guy nucky johnson. I did the research. He lived a long life. And i thought, great. Ill be okay. I see the name that they changed to nucky thompson. They fictionalized the character. And then i got worried. Stephen leading men often get up on the posters. But you have been on the posters. This is your character rock hound. Everyone had a different tagline. Steve bruces was heated for the honor. Liv tyler did for love. Ben affleck he did it for her. Will patton. And then it was me. It was rock hound. He did it for the money. Stephen its honest. Steve at the time, i had only done pretty much independent films. There was even a website that said i was the indie king. So i was a little you know like oh, wow. Thats a little too on the nose. Did it for the money . They have these posters of each character that they put up and i actually called my manager and i said, could you ask them not to put them up in my neighborhood . I dont want to be walking my son to school and seeing my face on a bus saying he did it for the money. Stephen [laughs] steve the studio head said to my manager. This is the first time ive ever gotten a request from an actor not to be on the poster or not to have his poster up. Stephen did they take it down . Steve they didnt put up in my neighborhood. Stephen thats nice. Thats very pleasant. You recently did something that i know it was fun because i did it many years ago. You were a guest on curb your enthusiasm. There you are. Thats you and larry david and the late great Richard Lewis in that scene. I had a brief but fun part. Steve i remember. Stephen what was your experience like . Steve i loved it. Ive been watching the show from the beginning. As you know, theres no real script. Its just an outline. Stephen a piece of paper that said this is what your character will or will not do. Steve yeah. And so i knew the story. There were certain things we had to hit but otherwise youre just improvising. When you come onto a show that you know so well and love and then youre in it. Its like being in a dream. Larry david i love. To work with Richard Lewis too. I told richard, i was once booked on david letterman. I didnt make it on. They came to the dressing room and very solemn, they said we are sorry. Youre not getting on tonight. Richard lewis ran too long. So i got to share that with him. He was horrified. [laughter] but yeah, its the best show and i have to thank susie essman for getting me on the show. We were at a new years party together. I was trying to be subtle about it. Saying so, this is the last season . She says, wait a minute, youve never been on the show. And i went, i know. Why . Why do you ask . She got me on the show. She called larry and the producers and lo and behold she got me on. Stephen we have to take a quick break but stick around. Well be right back with more Steve Buscemi, everybody. [cheers and applause] if your moderate to severe Crohns Disease or Ulcerative Colitis symptoms are stopping you in your tracks. Choose stelara® from the start. And move toward relief after the first dose. With injections every two months. Stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve had an infection, flulike symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. Pres, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. Some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. Feel unstoppable. Ask your doctor how lasting remission can start with stelara®. 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Hi, im stacey, and ive lost 60 pounds on golo. guitar music this belt i used to wear, way down at the first and second notch, its the only thing ive kept from before losing weight and im keeping this because im never going back. My frequent heartburn had me taking antacid after antacid all day long but with prilosec otc just one pill a day blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. For one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. One pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. Stephen hey, look at that. We are back with a director of the listener, Steve Buscemi. You have now directed a new movie called the listener starring Tessa Thompson. Whats it about . Steve Tessa Thompson plays a home helpline worker. Its ith they call a warm line. Its not a crisis line. Its basically for people to call if theyre going through something or if theyre lonely and they just want to talk. She works the night shift because thats when most of the calls come in. Its peer based. Shes been through a lot herself. But theyre not supposed to reveal that. Basically there to listen and help if she can. Stephen i understand you called one of these warm lines. Steve i did. It was sort of at first in the name of research. You know, i felt weird calling. Doing research. But actually i was so i havent directed a movie in years and i get very anxious anyway when i direct films. And one morning, i woke up almost having this panic attack and nightmares. And i went, i dont need a reason to do research. I really need this. I called the number and just started talking about what was going on in my life at that moment. And in 2 minutes, i swear to god, i was weeping. The person on the other end which are so supportive, and she was so generous and so sweet. After 10 minutes of talking to her, i felt so much better, and i could go on with my day. Stephen we have a clip of tessa. Steve theyre not supposed to break protocol, which is revealing too much about themselves. But tessa gets one call where she feels that its necessary to reach this person, and so thats a little bit of whats going on. Stephen jim . Well, im not supposed to go into personal details. Its against policy. I will tell you this. Ive done my share of drinking and drugging and ive been to jail. Have you . Unfortunately, yeah. Not for a long time. But i have a rap sheet that would probably scare off a few neighbors if they knew about it. Trying to share the wisdom. I dont know that i have much wisdom. But Something Like that. [applause] stephen steve, it was lovely to see you. Steve thank you so much. Stephen the listener is in theaters and on videoondemand now. Steve buscemi, everybody. Well be right back with Henry Louis Gates, jr. To help protect from hiv, i prep without pills. With apretude, a prescription medicine used to reduce the risk of hiv without daily prep pills. With one shot every other month, just 6 times a year. In studies, apretude was proven superior to a daily prep pill in reducing the risk of hiv. You must be hiv negative, to receive apretude and get tested before each injection. If you think you were exposed to hiv or have flulike symptoms, tell your doctor right away. Apretude does not prevent other sexually transmitted infections. Practice safer sex to reduce your risk. Dont take apretude if youre allergic to it or taking certain medicines, as they may interact. Tell your doctor if youve had liver or kidney problems or Mental Health concerns. If you have a rash or other allergic reactions, stop apretude and get medical help right away. Serious side effects include allergic reactions, liver problems, and depression. Some of the most common side effects include injectionsite reactions and headache. You must receive apretude as scheduled. Ask your doctor about longacting apretude. And prep without pills. Save at apretude. Com. No two bodies are the same. Some pads, never got that message. 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My next guest is an author, emmywinning documentarian, certified macarthur genius, and harvard professor. His new book is called the black box writing the race. Please welcome back to the late show, Henry Louis Gates jr. Henry thank you. Stephen lovely to see you. Henry you can call me skip. Stephen okay. Before we get to your new book right here which is the black box writing the race. I want to say congrats. You are celebrating ten years of finding your roots which was a fascinating show. [cheers and applause] but i was a guest when the show was called faces of america. That was in 2010. I had a really good time. Absolutely fascinated to learn about my family, all the extended family. Things i knew nothing about. As i said, iwas an honor but i was always wondering how did i end up on your list . How did i get picked . Henry we do the survey and we were looking for the whitest person we could find. [laughter] stephen well, well. I wasnt going to tell this story. But there was a family history, legend and the family that we are part chickasaw. My dna was done and you said to me backstage, you said youre white, baby. You are the whitest man ive ever met. Youve taught for over 40 years and your new book as i said before is the black box. Based on an intro to African American studies course that you teach at harvard. Why write this book . If your students buy it, do they automatically get an a . Henry [laughs] well, youre not really supposed to assign to the students books youve written. Stephen but they know you wrote it. Henry i only decided to publish this book after i decided to stop teaching the course. The reason that i did the approach that i did to structure the course is that i hate bullies. When i was a undergraduate, i went to yale as an undergraduate. Between 69 73. The campus was full of ideological bullies, people trying to tell you how to be black. The black muslims were there. The black panthers were there. The black cultural naturalists, where there. If you didnt have a 2foot high afro you werent black enough. People were tell you who you could date, who your friends could be. I decided that if i ever was in a position of power or authority, i would take a stand against any kind of ideological bullying. So that my students would not suffer the kind of anxiety and embarrassment and angst that my generation did. [applause] stephen well, im curious. I am curious what the black box is. Is it a literal box . Metaphorical box . Is it a data recorder . Henry you know, a data recorder is something we cant see inside, right . You can see that it has outputs. It has inputs. But its internal workings are not comprehensible. And that is a metaphor that i use for the world that our ancestors were forced to form under slavery. A world separated by what w. E. B. Du bois said unveiled that separated the white world and the submerged black world. He said famously one always feels his twoness. An american, a negro, the ideals in one body. It was in the black box we were confined because of segregation first because of slavery and then after reconstruction as you know so well as a south carolinian with the rollback of reconstruction and the rise of jim crow, thats where we were relegated. In the larger white world which we could only visit with permission, we were stereotyped. We were defined as ugly. We were defined as stupid. Venal. People who wanted to steal. Potential rapists. So in the black box, we define ourselves and created one of the worlds great cultures behind this color curtain, behind the veil. Stephen what is writing the race mean . Henry one of the things that black people had to prove incredibly, and youre sympathetic with this because of your heritage. Was that we were actually full human beings. In the 18th century, as you well know he is quite a scholar. As you well know, there was a construct called the great chain of being. On top of the great chain of being. Imagine the staircase, infinitely long staircase with god at the top and under god on the next stair step where the angels. And then there were the five varieties of man. Europeans, asians, people from the subcontinent, native americans and then either at the bottom of the scale of humanity or at the top of the scale of the Animal Kingdom sat the african. And some racist philosophers decided that africans werent really human beings. Other people said that our ancestors were. So how would you tell . They decided they had to show through writing. The other thing that the book deals with is the fact that within the black box, there never was one way to be black. Black people have been arguing about what it means to be black since the day we got off the boat in jamestown in 1619. So the course is constructed around the famous debates in the tradition. Because again, fighting back against those bullies, i never wanted our students to think that there ever was one way to be black. My younger daughter liza, she was just a little kid, she said daddy, i wish i was your age and had grown up in the 60s and i said why, baby . She said because our people were unified. We spoke in one voice. I said when was that . [laughter] i missed that episode. We were arguing about whether we should stay in this country or go back to africa. Whether we should have Industrial Education or liberal arts education. My favorite is by what name should we call ourselves. So you know, when i was 16, we went from being negroes to being black. 1966. Thats when we started wearing afros and were very proud of our black heritage. And i thought that ours was the first generation ever to have that debate. So in my lecture about naming, its called whats in the name . I just read these quotes that were letters to the editor and the first person says we should chisel off the name african from any of our Cultural Institutions because sweeney called himself the african and the oldest Cultural Institution created in the box is the african methodist episcopal church. By the early 19th century people thought that was distancing us too far the white americans that we want to integrate with. The first statement says weve got to chisel off the word african. The next person says i think youre right. We should be colored. Thats less a distance from white than black is. The next quote i read says we should be africamerican. The next person said thats the ugliest word ive ever heard. I look up and tell the kids each of these statements was written between 1831 and 1845. So weve always had a diversity of opinion. The last thing that i say to the class is that if theres only one thing that you remember about any of my lectures about anything that ive said, i hope that its this. If theres 47 million African Americans that means theres 47 million ways to be black. Dont let a bully ever tell you how to be black. Thats it. Stephen skip, thank you so much for being here. Henry thank you, buddy. Stephen the black box writing the race is available now. Henry louis gates jr. , everybody. Well be right back. [cheers and applause] can one choice transform your life . Street ball icon grayson the professor boucher talks basketball and one decision that gave him new purpose. Stephen stick around for after midnight with Taylor Tomlinson good night