on this issue. i would like to hear more. so would i. and i tell you, this was a space we were once very comfortable in. and it was not foreign to us as a party, a national party, to speak about injustices hike this. now we ve moved away and we re afraid of it. so i m hoping you see a rand paul working with senate democrats on minimum sentencing legislation, that s a step in the right direction. so all those folks out there looking at the fergusons and new york and saying well you know they re different but. there is no but here. they re not even different. it is part of the same narrative we ve seen played out in this country. race is still an issue. obama s election didn t change it. a future black president won t change it. we have to deal with the black and white of america before we deal with the red, white and blue. this last year it has been brought to the surface. you look at the people marching
or compassion that eyes. we have to look at the people of our own country with the same eyes. we have to understand that we are people together. we are not, not fighting in the, for a control of the world. we should be fighting to improve ourselves. to build up our own society. that include fergusons of the world. that include the young people. the reason you have been duke the series. for the first time since grand grant was president. america is not the leading economic power on the planet. the chinese e can economy overe united states to be largest in the world. we would talk, american exceptionalism. kids group in america. does that frighten you for the future of america and the children in this country? not at all. no, i mean economies. the american dollar is psychologically the strongest currency, the basket, everyone goes to, not everyone, most everyone. what scares me is america s
need protection from police. what happens next in terms of our national response? what s going to happen in terms of our national response to what has happened already and to what will undoubtedly keep happening unless we change? joining us now is maria teresa kumar. she was at the meeting today with the president and vice president at the white house. it s really nice to see you. thanks for being here. thanks for having me and thank you for having this conversation. part of it is it s a big long holiday weekend. i m not sure everybody knows these protests have been unabated and big and it s really continuing in the same tenor for a solid week now. this is a movement. this isn t just a reaction. that s absolutely right. i flew in yesterday from el paso. even in el paso, there were protests. it s because i think what ferguson is is an example of all the fergusons happening across the country where you have
black president. are we no better off today? is the african-american public right about this, we re no better off today in race relations than we were six years ago? i think we re right, chuck. i hate to say this, but i think about what my father and grandfather told me about race relations way back when i was a young kid, how they were devastated with the idea of separation based on race. it is worse now. we think of people who don t have jobs who can t go to school, people who can t get healthcare. we are in a situation right now that will create fergusons over and over and over again. it s not just ferguson, missouri. it s around country. we see this racial divide despite the fact that it s a black president, who i love dearly, there s a racial divide in america that s not going to went trayvon martin being killed, with michael brown being killed, with the 12-year-old being killed by police. it s not going to end at all. ben, do you agree?
black president. are we no better off today? is the african-american public right about this, we re no better off today in race relations than we were six years ago? i think we re right, chuck. i hate to say this, but i think about what my father and grandfather told me about race relations way back when i was a young kid, how they were devastated with the idea of separation based on race. it is worse now. we think of people who don t have jobs who can t go to school, people who can t get healthcare. we are in a situation right now that will create fergusons over and over and over again. it s not just ferguson, missouri. it s around country. we see this racial divide despite the fact that it s a black president, who i love dearly, there s a racial divide in america that s not going to went trayvon martin being killed, with michael brown being killed, with the 12-year-old being killed by police. it s not going to end at all. ben, do you agree?