Alliance. Good afternoon. I am the executive director of the my brothers Keeper Alliance. Thank you all for joining us today. The killer of george floyd the killings of george floyd, breonna taylor, have left americans outraged. More than 1000 are killed in america and black people are three times more likely to be killed than white people. Together, we can work to refine redefine Public Safety so that it recognizes the dignity and humanity of every person. This town hall is part of a n ongoing mine brothers Keeper Alliance town hall series. My brothers keeper was launched in 2014 after the tragic killing of trayvon martin. The president launched it in the east room of the white house, everybody to do whatever they could in their power to make sure men of color knew that they matter and to reduce the systemic barriers that stand in their way to make sure every young person has every opportunity to reach their dreams. Today, the work of my brothers keeper continues at the Obama Foundation where we lead a network of more than 250 communities and a massive call to action to businesses, mayors, and other folks across the country. Our mission is to build safe and so younge communities boys and men of color are valued and have opportunity. We are excited to have president obama sharing his viewpoints today and gathering a panel of local and National Experts that are fighting on the ground and fighting this fight for many years. Before we start our program of george, breonna, ahmaud, and others by taking a 32nd moment taking a 30 second moment of silence to remember those lives and reflect. Please join me in a moment of silence. Thank you. We speak their names and hold them in our hearts. It is with their memory that we move ahead in action. It is now my pleasure to start where we should always start. With the future. A young man who i had the pleasure to meet when we were at the my brothers keeper ohio conference. There is a statewide network of my brothers keeper in ohio. This young man blew us away with his incredible words. He graduated from Fort Hays High School in may, class of 2020. He was a straight a student and member of the National Honors society. Patrick will attend the Ohio State University in the fall and plans to major in criminal justice and criminology. It is my pleasure to introduce this brilliant, bright young man, our future, playon patrick. Hello, ladies and gentlemen. , i am 18 years old and plan to attend the Ohio State University. And this is 2020 quarantine killings. And they ask, how do black boys write about their city . How do we know streets if we dont know uncracked sidewalks. They ask, how do these black boys know anything about their city . How the buildings are sitting on corners where brothers bodies are still learning how to rot. There are small crosses placed in the grass where families cannot afford to bury loved ones. Remind my brothers and i that we are early grave before we are anything else. We call those corners playgrounds. We call those corners the killing fields. We call our bodies bullets even if we were never aimed in the right direction. We call the remnants of our mothers family the diaspora tree. We make a catalog of prayers of broken hands. It we pray for our family tree to make its way back home. We use our hands to dig the graves we cannot afford. We are farmers of broken, black bodies. We have never known cities. Never known comfort. Never known safe streets in any city. We use our feet to walk streets paved by sunlight. And ask our shadows if they meant to choose this skin. We make a catalyst of bodies our dinner menu and we eat with our eyes closed. We are fed lies so easily, it tastes like medicine. Always conflicted between being black and being peaceful. I wish god could have given us a choice. For years, we had been told there was something we need to scrub off this body as if this dirt could go away. Working in the field makes you turn onhow easily we each other for a little slice of the pie. We dont know this city. How it was built with our hands. How we couldnt have gotten a house or a bed when it was first built. When it was first settled. When it was first taken from the indians. We dont know home. People could run miles into the night. Our faces bedazzled with remnants of the stars. We will forever search for our fore footsteps. We dont know home. We know this land has never been ours. We know how to fold ourselves into nothing. We know our sweat and tears tenderized this soil. We make fertilizer from the soul. We know how to make these hands be useful. We are the farmers a revolution. No country was built without the piling up of dead bodies. This company this country just happens to be where our dead were dragged and hung up. America, the land of the free and home of the brave. We fought and died for that slogan, right beside our white brothers. Doesnt that make us worth something . Tonight, a riot is the language of the unheard. I want to take a second for thanking the village and the Obama Foundation for giving me an opportunity to communicate and spread the message. It is my honor to introduce a man that needs no introduction. He is the founder of the my brothers keepers program. He is a father, lawyer, lecturer, community organizer, and so much more. Born and raised in honolulu, hawaii, he is the man who changed america forever. He is none other than the 44th president of the United States of america, president barack obama. President obama that was unbelievable. And we could not be prouder. You are a hard act to follow. I cant wait to see all the good things that you will be doing in the future. Good afternoon, everybody. All the participants, the panelists. Let me start by just acknowledging that we have seen, in the last several weeks, the last few months, the kinds of epic changes and events in our country that are as profound as anything that i have seen in my lifetime. Than playonot older. I will be 59 soon. Let me begin by acknowledging that although all of us have been feeling pain, uncertainty, disruption, some folks have been feeling it more than others. Most of all, the pain experienced by families. George, breonna, ahmaud, and so and so many that we thought about during that moment of silence. And to those families affected directly by tragedy, please know that michelle and i, and the nation grieve with you. We are committed to the fight of nation in more just the memory of your sons and daughters. And we cant forget that even as we are confronting the particular act of violence that led to those losses, our nations are in the midst of a Global Pandemic that has exposed the vulnerability of the health care system, but also the disparate treatment, and as a consequence, the disparate impact that exists in our health care system. The unequal investment and the biases that have led to a disproportionate number of infections and lossoflife in communities of color. In a lot of ways, what has happened over the last several weeks is challenges, structural problems in the United States, have been thrown into high relief. They are the outcomes, not just of the immediate moment in time, but the result of a long history of slavery, jim crow, redlining, institutionalized racism that have too often been the plague, the original sin of our society. And in some ways, as tragic as these last few weeks have been, as difficult, scary, and uncertain as they have been, they have been an Incredible Opportunity for people to be awakened. They offer an opportunity for us. We can Work Together to tackle them, take them on, and change america to make it live up to the highest ideals. Part of what has made me so hopeful is the fact that so many young people have been ,alvanized, activated mobilized. Because historically, so much of the progress we have made has been because of young people. Dr. King was a young man when he got involved. Cesar chavez was a young man. Malcolm x was a young man. Feministrs of the movement were young people. The leaders of Union Movements were young people. The leaders of the Environmental Movement and the movement of the Lgbt Community finally had a voice and was represented were young people. When sometimes i feel despair, i see what is happening with young people across the country. With talent, voice, and sophistication that they are displaying. It makes me feel optimistic. It makes me feel as if this country is going to get better. I want to speak directly to the young men and women of color in this country, who as playon so eloquently described, have witnessed too much violence and too much death. And too often, some of that violence comes from folks that were supposed to be serving and protecting you. I want you to know that you matter. I want you to know that your lives matter. That your dreams matter. At thego home and i look faces of my daughters, at my nephews and nieces, i see limitless potential. You should be able to learn and make mistakes without having to worry about what will happen. Taking a jog, driving down the street, or looking at some birds in the park. I hope that you also feel hopeful even as you feel angry you have the power to make things better and you have helped to make the entire country feel as if this is something that has to change. You have communicated a sense of. Rgency i want to acknowledge the folks in Law Enforcement that share the goals of reimagining policing. There are folks out there that took their oath to serve your communities and your countries, they have a tough job, and i know you are just as outraged as are many of the protesters. And so we are grateful for the vast majority of you that protect and serve. I have been heartened to see those in Law Enforcement that recognize let me march along with these protesters. Let me stand sidebyside and recognize i want to be part of the solution. And who show restraint, volunteered, engaged, and listened. You are a vital part of the conversation. And change is going to require everybodys participation. When i was in office, i created a task force on 21st Century Policing in the wake of the tragic killing of michael brown. That task force included Law Enforcement, community leaders, and activists. They were charged to develop a very specific set of recommendations to foster better working relationships between Law Enforcement and communities they are supposed to protect. Even as they are continuing to promote effective crime reduction. That report showcased a range of solutions and strategies that were proven and based on data and research to improve Community Policing and collect better data. Reporting and identifying how police were trained. And using force in ways that increase safety rather than precipitate tragedy. Most of the reforms that are needed to prevent of the type of violence and injustices take place at the local level. Reform has to take place in more than 19,000 american municipalities. More than 18,000 local Law Enforcement jurisdictions. We need to be clear about where change is going to happen. And how we can bring about that change. Mayors and county executives appoint most Police Chiefs. And that determines Police Practices in local communities. District attorney zana states attorneys District Attorneys and state attorneys decide whether or not to investigate or charge those. In many cases, there are Police Community review boards. Those oftentimes may be elected as well. The bottom line is i have been hearing a little bit of chatter on the internet about voting versus protest. Politics and participation versus civil disobedience and direct action. This is not either or. This is both and, to bring about real change. We have to highlight a problem and make people empower people in power uncomfortable. But we also have to translate that into Practical Solutions implementedt can be and we can monitor and make sure we are following up on it. Very quickly. Let me just close with a couple of specific things. What can we do . Number one, there are specific evidencebased reforms that if we put in place today, would build trust, save lives, would not show an increase in crime. Those were included in the 21st Century Policing task force report. You can find it on obama. Org. Two, a lot of mayors and local officials read and supported the task force. Today, i am urging every mayor in this country to review your use of force policies with members of your community and commit to report on planned reforms. What are the specific steps you can take . I should add that the original task force was done several years ago. Since then, we have collected data, in part because we implemented some of these reform ideas. We have more data as to what works. There are organizations Like Campaign zero, color of change come out there highlighting what the data shows. What works and what doesnt in terms of reducing incidents of Police Misconduct and violence. Lets go ahead and start implementing those. We need mayors, county in positionsthers of power to say that this is a priority. Number three, every city in this country should be a my brothers keeper community. Working to expand the opportunities for boys and young men of color, programs and policy reforms. Go to our website. Get working with that because it can make a difference. Let me close by saying this. I have heard some people say that you have a pandemic, then you have these protests. This reminds people of the 60s and the chaos, the discord, the distrust throughout the country. I have to tell you, although i was very young when you had riots and protests, assassinations, and discord back in the 60s. I know enough about the history to say that there is something different. Look at those protests. That was a far more representative crosssection of america out on the streets peacefully protesting. And who felt moved to do something because of the injustices they have seen. That did not exist back in the 1960s. That broad coalition. That recent surveys have shown that despite some protests having been marred by the actions of some, a tiny minority that engaged in violence. As usual, it got a lot of attention and focus. A majority of Americans Still think the protests were justified. That would not have existed 30, 40, 50 years ago. There is a change in mindset that is taking place. A greater recognition that we can do better. That is not as a consequence of speeches by politicians. It is not the result of spotlights and news articles. It is a direct result of the activities, organizing, and mobilization and engagement of so many young people across the country that put themselves on the line to make a difference. So i just have to say thank you to them for helping bring about this moment, making sure that we now follow through. At some point, attention moves away. At some point, protest starts to dwindle in size. It is important for us to take the momentum that has been created as a society and as a country to say, lets use this to finally have an impact. Thank you, everybody. Im proud of you guys. And i know that we will be hearing from a bunch of people that have been on the frontlines of this that know a lot more than i do about it. Thank you, mr. President. For everyone that is watching, the president decided that he wanted to stay and art of the conversation that will be led by brittany, with the attorney general and other leaders. I want to reiterate the pledge the president measured. If you are a mayor, you can go to obama. Org. Several mayors have said, sign me up. They have already taken a pledge. Mayor de blasio of new york mama , mayor lightfoot of chicago, the mayors of minneapolis, d. C. , san francisco, and atlanta. All my brothers keeper communities. We will be posting all the cities and the mayors that take the pledge. And in 90 days, we will see who has taken the pledge and the work happening to create lasting change in communities. It is my pleasure to introduce a friend, activist, educator, writer from nbc and msnbc news. A lifelong activist after the activist and member of the ferguson uprising. Cofounder of Campaign Policy zero, a platform to end Police Violence. Cohost of pod save the people. Today, camping zero, for brittany is a cofounder, adopted 8cantwait. The conversation with president obama and our other leaders, please welcome Brittany Packnett cunningham. Brittany thank you. Thank you for gathering this conversation with this moment of intense grief and hopefully intense purpose. You may be watching this and coming here because you are experiencing that grief and you need a community in which to do that. You may be here because, like me, you are girded in the strength of your ancestry. You come from people, like i do, how did far more with far less and are sure we can win in this moment. What why you have come here, we are glad you are here. Were are here to get honest, to get clear, and to get to work. Even the moments of seeing people raise their voices and in the moments where a Police Officer might take a knee, that momentary action might turn into true, systemic, and lasting change. So many brilliant voices have been gathered. We better understand how we got to this moment. I want to make sure to lift up the names of the people that brought us here. It was george floyd, a father in minneapolis. It was breonna taylor, a lifesaving emt. It was shawn reed, friend and brother in indianapolis. It was tony, a black trans man that loved life in tallahassee, florida. And we are having this in the shadow of ahmaud arbery, and two black trans men that were killed from the hatred that yesterday. Said, we havent been at this for a long time. There is some key work to do and now we are going to do it. Attorney general holder, i want to start with you. I was raised to be an activist. If you asked my mom, this is the only life i have ever known. As it relates to successfully a relates to systemic racism when mike brown was killed in ferguson just a few minutes from my own home. As you know, there were literally thousands of brave protesters like the ones we are seeing right now. Those organizers were on the the whole world by attention. I want to know what you learned from those grassroots activists. What have you carried from those conversations and ferguson with you . Mr. Holder it is good to see you again. And thank you, president obama, for convening us today. I remember back in 2014, meeting with the president i did not know how people would react to my presence. But we made the determination that i would go. The thing that struck me the most, a few things really got me. There were young people that were in a lot of ways directing the action that you saw. Andmmunity was in anguish there was a commonality to the things that they were concerned about. I was struck by the way that people talked about the way that people of color were impacted by the criminal Justice System. There was a genuine desire to make things better. It was not just about complaining. There was a genuine desire to work. I left heart by what ice i left heartened by what i saw. People were extremely respectful. I also left with the notion that if we invested some time, if we invested some federal resources, we would be in a position, using the great leaders. The young people that we met there, to make life in ferguson better. And an example of what was possible in the rest of the country. Brittany as the president reminded us, this is not an either or question. One of my favorite things to remind people is that it is not about policy or protest, this is about policy and protest. We know that dr. King and so many others taught us that protest is what creates pressure so that policy can get passed. Similarly, we are in a longterm game and a shortterm game. While we are dealing with radical imagination and reimagining what Public Safety can look like even beyond police , we have to make sure people are safe now. In your role as attorney general , you did a lot of the work protecting People Safety right now. Can you talk about that work, specifically as you engaged in pattern and practice investigations and consent degrees. In situations like this, when we saw the uprisings that we did all over the country when you were still in office . Mr. Holder one of the key things that people need to understand is that there is not a tension between justice, fair treatment, and Public Safety. You can keep people safe and also have a better, more equitable criminal Justice System. Im not going to get too boastful here but for the first time in 40 years during the obama administration, we reduced the number of people incarcerated in the federal system and also lowered the crime rate. Again, there is not that tension. You can make things better in terms of community and Police Relations and keep people safe at the same time. We tried to come up with ways in which we could look at what we thought were the problems. With how policing was done, address those, involve policing and bring them together so that they can get to know each other and understand how difficult it is to be a Police Officer. Understand how communities of color have had to deal with unfair Law Enforcement practices over the years. We bring people together. It was through those kinds of meetings that we were able to formulate the policies that led to the 21st century. And bringing pattern and practice investigations, using the power that we had under the civil rights statutes. It was, for me, the highlight of my time as attorney general. Given the opportunity to get into communities and affect positive change, to bring and establish relationships between people and Law Enforcement and people in communities of color. That is, in some ways, what im most proud of. It lays the foundation for future work. Young people, that is our audience today. Young people were critically involved in all of the work that ferguson anding in other parts of the country. Brittany i want to ask you one more question before i move on. At campaign zero, we believe we can live in a world where police dont kill people. Police trying to engage, imagine what communities look like beyond police, looking at a moment where we dont have traditional systems because communities are so healthy from the ground up. When you think about your most radical imagination for where we can get to as a community and as a people, what is that dream . Mr. Holder that is an interesting one. My dream is that we would get to a place where people are judged on their individual deeds, their individual characteristics. And that we dont stereotype people. Thats not only with regard to how we do things in the criminal Justice System. We make a mistake if we think that the criminal Justice System exists separate and apart from the greater society. Issues that we face in the criminal Justice System, inappropriate use of force, implicit bias, a range of things, those grow out of the same kinds of problems that we see in larger society. We have to deal with problems that are more systemic. If we want to deal and be effective bringing about needed change. I would hope that we get to a place where discrimination is no longer a factor in the lives of people of color. That fair treatment would be something to be expected. Stereotypes. Born in slavery, the notion that in order to enslave people, you had to think that they were in some ways different. Those attitudes may not be as explicit as they once were. Still, are a part, i think, of. He american psyche it is implicit radical change, i would like to erase those feelings and base policy on realworld experiences as the reality of peoples of this nation as opposed to the perceptions of stereotypes. Brittany i hear you saying that being able to live, being able to breathe, is not a radical idea at all, is what everybody is owed. Thank you for joining us. I want to move now to philippe cunningham, a councilman from the city of minneapolis where so much of this is centered. Minneapolis is ground zero in so many ways as it was home to george floyd and his family. I have so many questions for you. First, i want to know how you are doing . What is happening on the ground in minneapolis. I see my friend deion jones , who was peacefully protesting in los angeles when he was hit with a rubber bullet. We have seen so many images of that kind of unnecessary confrontation. And a lot of them, unfortunately, are coming from minneapolis. What do we outside of minneapolis need to understand about what is going on on the ground . Thank you for having me and thank you for the question. I am starting off that i am here today because of the strength of my ancestors and elders that came before me fighting the fight to make eye existence and work as an elected official possible. On the ground in minneapolis, folks are mobilizing on a scale we have never seen before. And a Diverse Coalition of folks is emerging, demanding justice. Not only for george floyd, but for how the city of minneapolis protects its residents. What were seeing right now is generations of trauma and rage, violence bestowed on the black community by the state at every single level of government. And i will add that as a black, clear, transgender man, i have lived the trauma and the trauma i have to carry und experiencing it experiencing and witnessing statesanctioned violence as well as generational trauma of my ancestors who have survived slavery. What is interesting about this, ground zero in minneapolis, we are an incredibly progressive city. At the same time, we are the city that has the most significant Racial Disparities between white and black folks, the entire country across every indicator. This has just been boiling under the surface. I have been in office for 2. 5 years. Within my first two years, i had to deal with three officerinvolved shooting deaths in my ward alone, including one that was suicide by cop. The trauma from those incidents doesnt dissipate because the legal system deemed their deaths justified. President obama spoke to the data we are starting to see. Over policing, criminalization, mass incarceration have not made our communities safer. In fact, people being caught in the criminal Justice System further disenfranchises black and brown folk. It triggers a cycle involved in the criminal Justice System that is often passed into generationally past ine tergenerationally. Enough is enough. And our system is obviously broken. It is time for a new system of Public Safety in our city. Over the years, we have heard who believe the solution is adding Police Officers. We have heard from reformers who want incremental change. Those voices are waning now because our whole city has seen for the past three dates that we have the ability to keep ourselves safe and our community safe. I am a little bit tired because i have been up all night with my community, organizing my community, working closely with folks on the ground to post up patrols because Minneapolis Police department nor the National Guard were showing up to protects we are seeing our homes and businesses. Protests and businesses. We are seeing largescale protests right now. The historically black community in minneapolis that i represent, we are dealing with far right wing groups burning down blackowned businesses. We have come together to protect the community. Now it is time for us to systematize Community Safety strategies and make them sustainable. Brittany i like what you said and i couldnt agree with you more on all of it. I want to hold space for the intersections of your identities and the way that systems particularly impact you because it is such a critical part of the conversation. We cant allow it to be erased. I want to acknowledge and agree with everything you said about the fact that we save us and we can continue to save us. We can imagine it is beyond the traditional system, figure out how we protect one another and build up Strong Communities from the ground up. We are more than capable, no matter what anyone else says. That is what i want to ask you about. As an elected official, youre playing the role in a traditional system and you have a radical imagination about what is possible. We know that budgets are moral document. As we see some cities investing in housing, jobs, things that keep people well and keep their needs met. Adopting the more imaginative and bold even though they should just be the things that people receive. How are you thinking about enacting those things . Where does minneapolis go to make sure that everybody there is not just living in a liberal city but an equitable city. Phillipe thank you for framing it that way. When i talk about the work that needs to be done, what we have seen is that a lot of Reform Efforts that have been implemented, we have tremendous leadership from our former mayor that came to office, unabashedly demanding major overhauls in the Minneapolis Police department. She was the First Woman Police chief that is also native, the first lgbt police chief. Every officer is trained in procedural justice and antibias training. Then she appointed our citys First Black Police chief. His vision is what we would all like to see. Even with all of that work, many officers have been in all but open revolt against these efforts with their grievances being aired by the police federation. When we take a step back and look at the big picture about what does it mean to keep our community safe, we have to be thinking about it from a different frame and a different paradigm. We know the system of policing is rooted, founded on and rooted in white supremacy. In a history of slave catching. So as we are trying to do this police, culture and the institution of policing overall, we have to get serious about investing in new alternative systems of Public Safety safety that are rooted in justice and our community. We have a paradigm for this. It is the Public Health approach to Public Safety. Thinking about violence as a disease that spreads, it spreads interpersonally and intergenerationally. There are evidencebased strategies. Minneapolis has been working with John Jay College as well as the National Network for safe communities, as well as cities united. We have been working together to really institutionalize this opportunity. I have been a tireless advocate for violence, prevention, and intervention efforts. We have created, in late 2018, the office of prevention for city ordinance. We institutionalized a new system. But that only goes so far. We need money to go into that. That is where the budget as a moral document comes in. There is always political will to put money into the police budget. The budget is almost 200 million in minneapolis. And we approved a budget of 1. 6 billion. They take up a huge chunk. We had to fight relentlessly to get 50,000 for a Domestic Violence Intervention Program strategy for us to implement, despite the fact that in minneapolis, the number one reason for 911 initiated police calls for service is because of domestic assault. We are not successfully getting to the root of these issues. Having a systemic, institutionalized, new approach that is Community Led with intervention as well as moving further upstream, thinking about housing and jobs. Training and education. That is what comprehensive true Public Safety is. We have to start think about, what would it look like to have a future without police . What does it look like to not need the police . And work backwards from there. Brittany i used to be a teacher so backwards planning from Everything Possible is my jam. Its my favorite thing to do. I am glad you helped root us in the concept of radical imagination and action toward that. There are things and policies that have to change. There are investments that have to be made as you move toward those longterm goals. Close with you, what should we all be understanding about what the grassroots demands are as we are attempting to be supportive of what is happening on the ground there . In the shortterm, longterm, and everything in between, not in between, comprehensive Community Safety has to include culturalpolicy but investment. Phillipe phillipe i was a teacher special , a education teacher. Backwards planning is a good thing. What we really need in terms of support in minneapolis is for folks to keep an eye on us and be able to hold us accountable. There is real momentum here. Since i have been in office, i have heard from so many folks who were like, the way we solve this problem is by adding more police. More if we implement specific reforms. Body cams, diversifying the Police Department, antibias training, those sorts of reforms. We really need to dig even deeper into it. What we are seeing is a groundswell of demand. Demand to defund the police. These are the ones that are transformation oriented. In minneapolis, the public and political will are concentrated at this point in transformational change. Things have also changed with who is in elected office. I am actually not the only black trans person on minneapolis city council. A lot of folks dont realize that. My sister, Council Vice President andrea jenkins, is also on the council, and she is a powerhouse. Organizers are in office now, so that opens the possibilities when we Work Together. I would say that we are starting state of Minnesota Department of human rights has opened an investigation into the Police Department for the past 10 years for systemic racial discrimination. I would say that what we need right now is for folks outside of minneapolis to keep an eye on what is going on and to invest in the folks and organizations that are on the ground and have been doing this work for years and years. And also to push folks on the ground to make their voices heard. That is one of the biggest things i hear the most from folks that simply want more police. I have been labeled soft on crime because i advocate for a comprehensive approach for Public Safety. Inneed folks who believe transformational change. We have already begun to see the seeds of so much of that transformation right there in the hometown due to leadership of yours and so many others. We saw the first black woman president of the university of minnesota get them to stop contracting with the police force. We saw the Public Schools follow suit. From former teacher to former teacher, i am always like, yes, it is about time we make schools safe for young people. And that is not need to include police. Thank you so much, not just for this conversation, but your continued courage. I will come lastly to my good friend and partner in this work, rashad robinson, who is the president of color of change. We have been on the phone a lot during the last few weeks. You are always thinking so critically about how we ensure thatthe local conversation they have upheld at the national level. And that everyone is doing their part. We dont have saviors, we build teams. That is how we get the work done in the community. That is the work color of change has done, to give us the opportunity to be on the team. How are you thinking about making sure people understand what their role is on the team . What is the spectrum of demand you are seeing, remembering the color of change and pushing and exploring as you do this work . Rashad thank you for the question. Thank you president obama, attorney general holder. It is great to be on this conversation and back doing work with my brothers keeper. I would say a couple of things. Over the last eight months alone, over 5 Million People have taken action with color of change. Raising their voices online, signing petitions, making phone calls, showing up to rallies. Because weortant want to be able to translate this moment into the ability to actually change the rules. Sometimes, those are the written rules of policy and sometimes they are the rules of culture. Both, howtalk about channel strategic action. Racism is like water pouring ovary floor with holes in it. It will find the cracks. We constantly need to figure out how are we shoring up the system that will have cracks in them and building new systems for the future. So on the written rule side we are focused on how do you get people in that moment, something clear to do, pushing for justice ,hen Justice Needs to be served recognizing that we have to move people up the ladder because none of the families the longterm rules need to change. The other speakers talked about it. We need to be focusing that energy on local politics, pushing to change local practice. Then we think about the work at the federal level. We have to change all of the part of what we try to do , and building for energy and helping to describe for people how to do it. A couple of years ago in the height of the challenge of Police Violence, we came up with came up against District Attorneys and states attorneys that we didnt have the ability to move. It didnt matter if we had 10 petitions, 100,000 petitions, they were not nervous about disappointing the community. So we recognize we had to help the Community Better understand. We have to build more energy so District Attorneys could not operate without public pressure. These are executive level positions that had a large amount of power in the criminal justice space. We built the national Searchable Data base. We worked with folks in hollywood like common to develop an animated video that describes the role of District Attorney s for everyday people so people can understand how District Attorneys operate. We worked across the movement of take demands that we could to get people talking about treating kids as kids. The use ofd ending bail. Mail. Money increasing transparency. All of these things are incredibly important to winning justice longterm. We have to change the role and that is the role of prosecutors what the public expects from. We have tonge change the role of prosecutors and what the public inspects from prosecutors. And the way public thinks about criminal justice and leads me to the cultural conversation. Because for the last 20 years basically, a couple of blips, Violent Crime has gone down. According to pew, americans think Violent Crime has gone up. We have a deep gap between perception and reality. That makes it hard when we are trying to do the critical things the councilman talked about in terms of reducing police budgets, making sure we are investing in education. Reducedies that have the need for Law Enforcement. Because the public has been inundated with images that make us believe that Violent Crime is right around the window. We had to build a program and through our work at changehollywood. Org, we worked with usc to study crime tv shows, and now we are working in writers rooms to push and change the content and storytelling. One of the things we looked at, all of these crime tv shows covered in cities like new york , very diverse on air. Then you look at the writers room, all white, no sort of connection to the community, no skin in the game on the impact of the images that they are portraying, constantly putting black faces on the criminal a magical world where black and brown people exist but racism doesnt. We have to work that and change that and part of that activism is the work we have to do. Get to the place where narrative change is enough, for us to achieve the type of policy changes that are needed, we have to change the story. And i want to say far too often about black communities are we tell a story vulnerable. We will say things like black communities are vulnerable when they have been under attack and black communities have been targeted and have a history of being under invested. All of those things are not being vulnerable but being on the chopping block. So when we work to change that story, we can accomplish so much more. Brittany i have one very brief question because i know we have to wrap up. People keep asking me this question. I want to ask you and maybe give me some tips, is this moment a game changer . We have been in this work for a while now. Is this moment a Seismic Shift in whats possible where we see ourselves right now . Rashad i think its a great question. We want fast food. We want things that are quick and easy, and progress and justice is not easy. But think about an inflection went. It predicts the possibility for a hugely forward, and also a threat for us to go backward. I think what we all have to recognize is a lot of things have changed over the last several years. White people in a starbucks take out their cell phones and are filming a Police Interaction that they recognize is wrong because the movement has trained them. A major Financial Company that creates consequences for an employee that does something racist in a park uses the word racism in a statement that we wouldnt imagine them doing it. That doesnt mean we give institutions too much credit but we recognize what we have won along the way and the way in which we have shifted what our demands can be, we shifted what can be possible. I want folks to think that we have been the game changer. The game has continued to change and the deep level of pushback is an absolutely of the power our movement is building. Make no mistake, doesnt mean that progress is a straight line. But i want folks coming into this movement to not come into this and think they have to fix the movement but put on their arm our and join us and follow the institution that has been driving. And then they have their creativity but we have been winning, and reaction to what we are seeking is a result of the progress that i believe we are making. The pushback wouldnt be as so great if the progress isnt real. We are the game changer. We have heard that changing our communities, having the kind of world we deserve, it is hard work and necessary work and we have to be brabe enough to imagine what is possible and then go work for it and not just dream it and we have to be incisive enough to make sure people are safe, whole and healthy now, that black people deserve to live because we are human and we need much more from america. We know for sure that we just dont deserve to survive but thrive and as dr. Cornell west says. Lets go make sure that love is living out loud in public. Mr. President , i have seen that face many times. I know you are itching to ask a question, and i will close and hand it off to you. President obama i have been enjoying hearing all the wisdom that has been spread by so many others. Spread by so many others. I want to first of all if eric holder is price and attorney general. He rebuilt a Civil Rights Division within the Justice Department and was consistently on the ground working with communities, listening to communities and coming up with Practical Solutions to try to make things better. I couldnt be more proud of him. Blown away by philippe and all the good work hes doing. A consistent fouryear for change, you know, he was part of the conversations we have after ferguson and you know i think youre all that. So as i listened, i am feeling once again, inspired. And what has particularly inspired me is the degree to which folks are thinking strategically, practically and in a very detailed level about where are the places you can make change and what are the Practical Solutions backed up by research and data that allows us to create communities that are safe and just. See fed bond of them in africa and that is possible is one of the things that has been raised the fact that we dont have the capacity to eradicate 400 years of racism in one fell swoop i hope people dont feel like nothing is going to happen and once we figure this out as ive been known to quote doctor king all of you have bent it over the last four or five, six, ten years and we have seen the fruits of those labors and the degree of awareness that is out there. Think about some of the people that had unequivocally spoken out against the what happened in minneapolis. The. That isnt something that was happening five or six years ago. Hes been on the right side of this issue for quite some time. The human gender that the campaign put forth it cant wait. We talked about the 21st Century Task Force report. 81 of the things the campaign is promoting is for a lot of people that are watching they may be surprised some of these things are practical and could be implemented quickly. The show stranglehold soon to say that just isnt what we do. You dont need that to effectively restrain someone. It requires first a warning before pulling out a weapon and exhausting those actions a duty of other officers to intervene so they can just stand there and watch the justice happen to. Establishing and requiring all to be recorded and i want to be clear together those can reduce Police Violence but upwards of 70 percent doesnt stand in competition because we know these things can happen immediately without any executive order all we need is to have the political will and stand to say i will go and change the tonight but alone tomorrow. So do that now and then continue to work because we will continue to keep up the pressure, i can promise you that, to make sure that they are getting the Public Safety solutions that are communitybased and oriented and far beyond anything we are experiencing right now. These are not in competition with imagination. These are necessary steps we need to keep people safe as we do the hard work of making sure that we get [inaudible] thats great. And let me just point out in my opening remarks i said sometimes tension is posed between political progress. Police are an example of why you have to participate politically because protesting and making demand having somebody on the city council can follow up and in the room when the budgets are made and advising mayors on how they were going to negotiate the next contract. You need those folks to ultimately deliver the goods and i am constantly mindful of the fact that this is not a either or thing and there are so many ways all of which are necessary to make a difference. When we were talking about the cultural element of this, i think somebody mentioned to him just having a so the wall is important and on the other hand im human, heres my thing. Heres the story that you need to understand about our background and community. How do we break down stereotypes that is the work of a lot of people. Some are going to be on the streets protesting and running for office. During this week we picked up and read the fire next time. Its scary to see how James Baldwin lays out the reality 50 years ago that sounds like it was written yesterday. Thats activism and work and participation. I worry sometimes that as we debate strategies, people start thinking there is one way of doing this. We all have a role to play. But more specifically, we are practical in the shortterm as well as visionaries in the longterm, the better off we are going to be. But with that, im going to be quiet now because you dont need to hear from [inaudible] but i want to say how much i appreciate all of you. And im assuming that the conversation is going to [inaudible] let me think britney for the masterful moderation and wisdom and hard work. Im now going to turn over to the Deputy Director for the network and partnership at the right brothers Keeper Alliance to take a couple of questions from the community. So not everyone watching has an opportunity to ask questions but the communities do, so that is another reason you should come in. So, nicole was going to pose a couple of questions that we will get you out of here by 6 30. We realize we have been on for a while but we will be sending resources and weve created a group to continue the conversation there as well. So, let me bring you on for those questions. Thank you. Really powerful conversation, tons of great questions. If we dont get to your questions, do not worry. Im going to take the first question from our young people. This question mr. Councilman cunningham. How has the medias portrayal of the frequent violent riots in minneapolis affected your effort to promote the work of protesters, activists and elected officials pushing towards a self sustaining Public Safety system . Thank you for that question. So, the media portrayal of hyper focusing on the violent protests where the violence and rioting happening during the protest really pulled away from what is actually happening, the real story of the trauma and pain ann and the reason folks are out on the ground doing the work, why we are traumatized as a community, why we are doing this Work Together. So, the media is looking for the sensational authority and talking about the approach to Public Safety isnt that sexy. So its easier to pick whats happening right now to make that news would be. Those that have demand in a vision that is distracting and takes away from their voice and centering those that have been on the ground nonstop for years in some cases for decades so i want to make sure that ive been all over the media and fortunate folks have been reaching out all over the world, and i keep hammering home Everyone Wants to talk about the riots and the violence but i always redirect it back to is it possible for us to build alternative Safety Systems it requires political will and investment and its what is important that we have messengers that have the platforms and the bully pulpit to have those platforms to be able to speak that and no if nor the media to distract us from that point of this justice. Thank you, councilman, well said. The next question i think any of our panelists can take this, what advice can you give to offer protesters demand and Police Accountability and less brutal practices while supporting and maintaining the broader public folks have been asking how do we change these Accountability Measures while also confronting the Police Unions that have invested in the non elected officials . Im going to take a stab at something. When i was in the state legislature back in illinois, the we passed one of the first, if not the first laws dealing with racial profiling and traffic stops and there was no way to get that passed without the support of the primary organization of the Police Unions. The argument i was able to make to them was a Police Officers are going to be safer if there is Greater Trust and less tension and they will be able to do their jobs better if they have the data that is collected and clear and Police Chiefs will be able to manage their forces more effectively and they will be less distracted by things that dont require an armed response and they can refocus attention in ways that are good for them as well as the community. It took a long time to make that argument, and im sure there are rankandfile members who didnt believe it, but after we passed it, we started being able to collect data on that issue and we were able to get them to go a long. Now, how responsive will this be in any circumstance it will go city by city. And its not easy but i guess the point i am making a i do think there is Police Leadership that recognizes the need for change, but change in culture is hard and sometimes the dynamics are different. And sometimes we need to close ranks even though we know that they are messed up. Finding ways to listen and recognize that they have a tough job but also incest that this is what we need to do, we are going to do it and we will work with you to figure out how to do it we should have a dialogue to find out what specific things are a problem, what is it that you think is a problem when you force people to articulate what it is that have been outlined a lot of times you have to engage in a conversation and i think it is possible to get that done. At the end of the day that if you donthough ifyou dont havel pressure to do it, then its always without pressure and thats why its important both for the protest and four followup to a. This question comes from doctor jim bostic in yonkers, new york. To think the panelists and the question how do we affect the generational differences and age and history between the Younger Generation and those of us have been in this fight for many decades to respect the ideas and approaches dealing with the institutional racism in the communities and do not diminish the role and the will of either. Im going to have to call it here. This will be the last question and im going to ask one of the panelists to take that and try to get a 92nd response while you are thinking of your response i want to say how grateful we are. Who would like to take that question with a Quick Response . I would say this. There is the need for young people to work with people like myself who have some ears behind them. It cannot be the determinant arrogance of age. There is wisdom through the lived experience and idealism young people possess in abundance. It is a combination of idealism and experience but i think the most effective movement. People who are older have to understand the younger people have always been in the forefront of positive change. The Founding Fathers were really young people, the federalist was washington, only 44yearsold. And Richard Pryor used to say you dont see in many old fools so young people need to understand that as well. You dont hav get to be 60 to 7, 80yearsold without having navigated a whole series of things thats worthwhile and you have things as a young person you might want to test and theories you want to try. Older people can say ive experienced this and this is why it isnt going to work. It is a combination of the two and a lack of areas that can create a coalition that can be successful. Thank you mr. Attorney general. Before we wrap up on an, any fil words . Just keep working and stay hopeful. As i said, this is a moment, and weve had moments like this before, where people are paying attention to, and that doesnt mean that everything will get solved, so dont get disheartened because it is a marathon, not a sprint, but the fact that people are paying attention provides an opportunity to educate, activate, globalize and act. And i hope that we are able to see this moment. The. And i hope all of the young people that have been inspired and engaged and involved keep at this because that is ultimately what is going to create the kind of country that we want to. This country was founded on protests. Its called the American Revolution and every step of progress in the country, every expansion, every expression of our deepest ideals has been one effort that made the status quo. And we should all be thankful to the folks that are willing in a peaceful disciplined way to be out there. If you are looking for places to donate or resources to a excited to provide Technical Assistance for you as you think about those policies as well as our broader public networks. So if it is just the beginning of the conversation we will continue in many different ways and also be on the lookout for the next town hall. Thank you mr. President and attorney general and councilman cunningham, thank you to all of our communities for the extraordinary work that you do every day and thank you to all of our young men and women for everything that you do not just to be the future, but to [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] 10 00 a. M. Eastern, the Senate Judiciary committee continues its review of the fisa application process. Russiaelated to the investigation. On cspan2, the senate is back the0 00 a. M. To consider nomination to be the ceo of the u. S. Agency for global media which operates International Broadcast outlets. The head of the centers redfielde control dr. Testifies before a House Appropriations subcommittee about the federal response to the coronavirus. 11 00 a. M. Eastern. Next, laura olson talks about the state of the 2020 president ial race in a keystone state where President Trump won in 2016. She discusses how pennsylvanias Political Climate has changed, and what issues are driving decisions at the polls. Including the economy and government response to the pandemic