Is the author of let them in, the case for the open border. Please stop helping us. And false black power . A critique of the national jason riley, author, columnist. Fox news contributor. And among your books, please stop helping us. I want to begin. You say liberalism has convinced black to see themselves first and foremost as victims. I believe that is a big part of a political strategy actually. And theyve been at it for some time. Theyve had a lot of success. Victims, primarily. Then the followup that has a Government Programs to help you overcome your victim had. There are a number of essays and books written by is a a failure or success . If you look at the track record of the program, look at the goals that the objectives for stated at the time. You have to say its largely a failure. Particularly with regard to the people that were targeted by many of these programs. Their lives have not significantly improved even though they were being told it would improve at the time. In your book you talk about, ronald mason. Who was he and buys it no go. I think the issue there was whats the kind of these institutions. Since the Civil Rights Act. And a lot more education in the country. Integration. Because blacks didnt have in the first half of the 20th century, they are not the bus to the extent. But they have more options nowadays. So it was troubling, how to stay viable both economically in terms of Higher Education. And this has been resisted by some who want the schools to remain retain their independence. Its often for nostalgic reasons. For someone whos pushing for this plan, we got a lot of pushback. I think if they are producing good results, yes. They should stay in existence. The problem is that a lot of them are not there and theyre being keptafloat primarily for federal dollars. My point is if a school is for filling his promises then, it doesnt matter if its an all black or white school. Where i think the value is of late in recent decades is in the. Educating kids in ste. The parlance of blocks that go. I still think they do very server critical purpose in Higher Education. This is the cover story of the washington post. Gene robinson americas your reaction to that . I think theres a tendency to view black history in america as a history of. There are various reasons why various groups want to keep that narrative alive. But in the end, i think black history is about yes, racism still exists. Nor do i expect to see america think wished of racism in my lifetime. But, i do think black history is more than that. For me, the more relevant question is what can be done in the face of whatever racism still exists. And i think that is the relevant story of today. That is the message to give young people today. My fear is that by perpetuating this notion that its all about victimization. Its all about racism. Its sending the wrong message i sent to the next generation. Why try if people are teachers are racist. Employers are racist will they if theyre leaving the door with that for the message, i dont think it helps a child. Ive been called names, followed around department stores. Pulled over by police. You write about that tell. Where were you . I was doing an internship in the early 90s. And i was a double ai was on the sports desk. We had to work until the baseball games on the west coast were over. And i was driving to and from my uncles house where i was staying. And i had my car which had new york plates because i was from new york. And i was driving home one evening after work. Probably early the next morning. And i hear sirens blaring and the police pulled me over. Pull me out of the car at gunpoint and pushing me around. I said the space that i fit the description of someone they were after. What were you thinking . I was terrified. I remember getting back into the car after i left because they were gone as soon as they came after the release i wasnt the correct person. Just getting back in my car, shaking. I had a standard and i couldnt get it out of here. My hand was shaking so vigorously. It was terrifying. Making national headlines, three black men, 16 years old at the time. Convicted of murder state did not commit but they were just released. What does that tell you about americas criminal Justice System . That it is not perfect. Knowno go [indiscernible] we dont talk about the racial makeup in this country and i dont think you can have questions. As imperfect as the criminal system is. I still think there are behavioral differences that lead to some being overrepresented and some underrepresented. So that was a look back [indiscernible]. I wanted to say for programs that were put in place. I wanted to look back and see whats worked, what hasnt worked and why. I had a little bit of this the book is essentially about the track record of using political power which has been the strategy. The issue was if we could integrate, everything is will take care of itself. We just need to get things in place. The civil rights had quite the perspective. In the early 1980s. Los angeles, philadelphia, washington d. C. That had black mayors. We had black Police Chiefs and fire commissioners. But if you look at the track record of these black run cities. Under these black regimes, you have even more impoverished. I dont think the track record is a good one. A groups work ethic, if they think the government is going to you cant replace a father in thethe homebrewed and have a system in place that says to a woman from if you have additional child, we will send you the money. Imagine the perverse incentive for in place. And thats what we saw going on. Thats what we saw with bill clintons welfare reforms in the 1990s. But not entirely. We are in new york and our guest is jason riley. His column is available at the wall street journal. For those of you in the mountain pacific time zones. You can find us on book tv on twitter. That book was written in the 2000s and it was about immigration. I was working at the wall street journal at the time. I got a new position and asked me if i wanted to take over this piece. It kind of fell into my lap. Im not an immigrant or the child of an immigrant. I did enjoy immigrant history. Some of the arguments you realize as you write about it are old and its been around for so long. So that book really came out of editorials at that time. Its sort of, i sort of expand on a lot of the editorial pages. Over the decades. Sometimes conservatives in particular. The foot of immigration view on the right you always have protectionist strain on the right. But that was never the dominan. Reagan was extremely proimmigrant. George w. Bush and his father were both proimmigrant. Even the republican nominees that lost like mccain or romney were far more proimmigrant than you had in donald trump. So this is not a new development on the right. Although there is this faction, more antiimmigrant faction on the right but its never been the predominant one. Should the rules be different for an immigrant versus citizens . There two different groups. Will tell you that someone was forced out of their country. Someone like that will behave differently rather someone who came willingly to start a new life. When i am writing about in that book that is the case i make is that we would be better to put in place or other types of programs that allow the laws to determine the level. Right now its being made by public policymakers who are trying to think hard about the United States economy point take a little from here and from there. And that just doesnt work. Its soviet style planning thats left us with a vacuum of fraud. 12 Million Immigrants fit hundreds of dead bodies in the arizona desert. If we would do better, that would allow us to regulate. The current book youre working on is what . Im currently working on based on the hoover institution. Whose books i am writing when i discovered them in college. Its a project im looking forward to. How would you define your ideology. Can you put it in a box . I guess i define myself as a free market conservative. Someone who believes Smaller Government is the way to go. And someone that believes in individual freedom. In please stop helping us, you write the Civil Rights Movement became an industry. By whom . Its become an industry for everyone from individuals like al sharpton, Jesse Jackson whose entire organization like the naacp. The they have effectively monetized black discrimination. And they have done it for different reasons. If youre a Civil Rights Organization like the naacp, it is not in your interest to a college that things have improved for black people. And what youre trying to do, that the civil rights battle has been fought and won and you are trying to stay relevant. If youre in an organization like black lives matter but you want to raise money. Whether or not they are actually relevant you will play that out because its in your interest to do so. We were talking about the victimization earlier. And that is something democrats and black Democrats Use to get reelected. The different groups i think have different incentives here. But it has very much become an industry. An industry that has no vested interest in realistic [indiscernible] right. Again. That doesnt serve their purpose. They want to stay relevant or they want to raise money or get elected. So they want to keep race and racial victimization front and center in the national debate. Would use where do you do most of your thinking and writing . At home. I have a home office. It took a little getting used to but i commuted in an office for more than two decades. At the wall street journal so it took a little adjustment. I find it more productive to start right away. Our guest is jason riley. Well take your calls in just a moment. Lets talk about your father. You write about him in the book with your parents separated when you were a child. He made a big difference. He was an excellent role model. Not only my father. My mother is very religious. And we attended church three times a week. And the congregation was full of black men who took care of their families. Spoke a certain way, behave this way. I was very fortunate. I grew up around very solid male role models. And i think it made a big difference. They are part of the problem that many blacks, particularly was not having. The lack of role models in the community or even in the home. Given the rates of single parenting in poor black communities. Its a problem. Born and raised in buffalo . Yes. Welcome to booktv. Hello. Good afternoon. I want to ask how republicans, especially black republicans, why dont they educate as far as politically . [indiscernible] voter suppression. [indiscernible] you should have me on your Radio Program discussing this. What im asking you to do, when i ran for the house in florida. I was a republican. I was called a racist. Jackie robinson was my hero. I honor doctor Martin Luther king. And i was called racist. Its terrible. I asked him what democrat in the south. Thats what you should be teaching them. Thank you for the call. We will get a response. I would agree with the caller that there is a lot of black history that doesnt get a lot of attention. Civil rights organizations and black politicians. Because again, it doesnt serve their interests. Their personal interest. What was going on in the black community between the end of slavery and the beginning of the modern day Civil Rights Movement. There was quite a bit of progress being made and this was remarkable. Given it was happening at a time of widespread racism in this country. That was open. After the goal. This is the days of jim crow. The rate at which they were educating themselves. The race at which they were joining the middleclass professions. Tremendous progress that actually flowed after the civil rights legislation of the 1960s passed. We saw many of these trends either slow down or even reverse course. It doesnt get a lot of attention from the Civil Rights Activists today. Because it doesnt serve their narrative. You write in please stop helping us that poor blacks perform better in the absence of government. Why . Well, we have a lot of that we can look back on and see if in fact these programs were effective. In 1996, the university of california ended will be so after that band went into place with a number of black graduates increase by more than 50 percent. The number of hispanic graduates increased by more than 50 percent. So a program to have been put in place to helpincrease and expand the ranks have been practiced , been resulting in fewer black lawyers or architects or social workers in the absence of the policy. I again, we dont have to guess here. We dont have to speculate. We can simply look at the past record of these programs that weve had in place over the years. Rob in new york city. Welcome to the conversation. Good afternoon mr. Riley. Im a big fan of yours. I am a black american. I agree with everything you say. But it really doesnt make a difference. You have the mentality of being comfortable being a victim. Its not going to change. The Democratic Party knows this. This will be their favorite word. Racist. Too many black folks will be attracted to that. Feeding their emotions. Thats what the Democratic Party is banking on. I heard someone once a fax dont give a damn about your feelings. My family, no matter what. Im telling you now, this doesnt make a difference. Youve been told you have a national problem. Its never going to change. The Democratic Party is waiting for the big race win. Thats what they are banking on. Police shootings, Something Like that. Then black folks will leave their feelings and emotions up and they will take them for granted. I didnt vote for trial. Im voting for him now because, what have you got to lose . Look at the facts of unemployment. We are better off. It doesnt make a difference. Its just never going to change. The black added to just will never change. Thanks for the call. You are smiling. I appreciate the call. And i think he makes good points about the strategy of the democrats. And hes right. The democrats have been very at pushing their victim mentality. And so it is very difficult to change minds out there. But im more optimistic than the caller, i will say. But he does make excellent points. From the book please stop helping us, you write this. Insists immigrants are coming here not to take advantage of welfare programs, why then are they flocking to states that are so skimpy with benefits to the poor . Thats a question i often asked my friends on the right who see immigration as a problem. The idea that immigrants are coming here to go on welfare and not work is just not borne out by the facts. On many fronts. But we can look at the situation we have today. You have, picture number. 10, 12, 15 Million People in the country illegally. Unemployment rates at a six year low. The wall street journal reported recently theres Something Like. 2 million more Jobs Available than there are people looking to work. We have a labor shortage. Notwithstanding the fact we have 15 Million People here illegally. So again, the other argument is they will put on wages but i cant tell you how often ive been told, you should be especially wary of these folks. Because theyre going after jobs that are held by a lot of blacks. Again, what does that say with black unemployment and we are at generational lows. Which is like for people at the low end of the pay scale, faster than theyve been rising for management. Immigrants coming here and stealing jobs. Affecting wages. Wheres the evidence . You write about Jesse Jackson. 50 years ago, he was fighting jim crow laws and today hes fighting for his own relevance. Absolutely. I think the civil rights battle has been fought and won. You see now amongst civil rights leaders. Even among the activist groups. What they are pushing for, where they want emphasis. In terms of the black community is so at odds with reality that its hard to know where to begin. One of the previous callers mentioned the way the left plays a Police Shootings. Any Police Shooting is tragic. But, is it the problem today that these activists have made it out to be . We are in the york which is one of the few places that has detailed records of Police Shootings going back to the early 1930s. In 1971, police in new york [indiscernible]. The most recent stats from a couple years ago shows around a dozen. Thats a 90 percent reduction in Police Shootings. And in Police Shooting fatalities over the past decades. So we have an activist movement out there that bank on there being some sort of epidemic of Police Shootings. The facts simply do not bear that out. You can look at other large studies. Police shootings may make up 12 percent of all shootings going on. If there are bad cops, let them out. If they hold a position of authority, but the idea that thats what we should be emphasizing. The two percent of shooting instead of people responsible for 98 percent of shootings is ridiculous. Lets talk about the crime rate and blacks in jail. You write about, these are your words, blacks are responsible for an astonishingly disproportionate number of crimes for the past halfcentury. Yes. Blacks are responsible for more than half of all murders in this country. Despite only making up 13 percent of the populace. The black Violent Crime rate is 710 times higher than the white Violent Crime rate in the country. Thats something we need to be honest about. We want to have about the racial makeup but we dont want to talk about the racial makeup of who commits crimes. We pretend these have absolutely nothing to do with one another. Its ridiculous. They office to have something to do with one another. If we want to reduce the number of people in the criminal Justice System