Up next its booktv is monthly in Depth Program with author and Princeton University professor imani perry. Our books on race and africanamerican history include prophets of the hood, may we forever stand, and the recently published breathe a letter to my sons. Its a letter. Its a series of letters to my son, but of course, its also a letter to the larger world, both about, you know, the reality of the terror and anxiety and worries that comes along with being a parent of black children, and particularly black boys in the United States at this moment, but its also filled with my desire for them to lead a life of beauty and joy and excellence and selfregard. Much of which, i think, one finds a lessons for in an extraordinary tradition that we have to draw from. Where did you come up with the idea to write your sons a letter . Well, so, i actually have written them letters privately for years, but my editor, at beacon press said, is this something youd be interested in doing . In large pa
Professor imani perry, what is the structure of your newest book, brief . Guest well, there are three sections. Fear, fly and fortune. It is a letter, a series of letters to my son but its also a letter to the larger world. Both about the reality of the terror and anxiety and the worry that comes along with being the parent about black children in particular at this moment but its also filled with my desire for them to lead a life of beauty and joy and excellence and self regard, much of which i think one finds the lesson for an extraordinary tradition which we have to draw from. Host where did you come up with the idea to write your sons a letter . Guest i have written some letters privately for years and my editor at beacon press said is this something youd be interested in doing in large part because ado talk about my children all the time and i write posts about them on social media and initially, you know, i think what we both had in mind with something that was probably bit more
So that when i go into the second paragraph where im like what if we took this identity apart, those people would not sort of, have a different history or body. But it would be a different relationship to identity. I think as a consequence, we have a more humane relationship to each other. When i got leader into the first paragraph when im saying an individual can be a heaven. Certainly, both someone who was raised by a white man or as someone who thinks of so many figures like, take for example, john brown. Who i think are some of the most precious people in the world. Its important to me to not have a formulation that removes them. So thats what i was thinking. One more question before we move on to some of your other books. Mothering black boys in america is a special calling. Yeah. Its a sentence my mother said to me. I think about it in a number of different ways. People talk about, in some ways that are difficult and maybe not a really hopeful about the challenges that black boys
Please welcome yuval levin and john meacham. Hey guys, how are you . [applause] how are you. Good morning. Im the old guy up here. So history as you all know is about words. Thats why youre here. The stately rhythms of the declaration of independence. The cadences of the sconstitution but its also about sounds. About the muffled drama lexington cardboard and the sound of the surf at omaha beach. The sound of a minister at the march on washington calling on us to live up to the fullmeaning of our creed. Its also about music. Music is one of the most universal expressions. You can listen to a song with which you might disagree. More continually and more profitably than you could ever listen to a speech about something with which you disagree. Absolutely, its as sure as the patriots were carrying their swords and their guns, they were carrying their pins their pros and their poetry along with them to move this revolution forward. Henry David Thoreau once wrote when i hear music, i fear no
Prizewinning biographer jon meacham look at American History through song. [inaudible conversations] please welcome tim mcgraw and jon meacham. [applause] hey, guys, how are ya . [applause] hi, how are you . Good morning. Im the old guy up here [laughter] so history, as you all know, is about words. Thats why youre here. The stately rhythms of the declaration of independence, the cadences of the constitution, but its also about sounds. Its about the muffled drum at lexington and concord and the sound of the surf at omaha beach, the sound of a minister at the march on washington calling on us to live up to the full mean being of our creed. And its also about music. And music is one of the most universe aral expressions. You can listen to a song with which you might disagree more congenially than you could ever listen to a speech about something with which you disagree. Absolutely. You know, as sure as the patriots were carrying their swords and their guns, they were carrying their pens,