[ applause ] American History tvs reel america journeys through the 20th century with archive films, tonight focus on the police and communities. 8 00 p. M. Cbs news special report watts, riot or revolt . This 1965 report looks back to the watts riots tracing the events of august 11 through 17, 1965. And searching for reasons behind the violence and destruction. At 9 00 p. M. Pilot district project washington, d. C. A series of three 1971 office of Economic Opportunity films documenting a program to improve Community Police relations in the nations capital. Just before 10 00 the people and the police, oakland. This 1974 kron tv Program Investigates the history of Police Brutality in oakland, california, and documents a variety of efforts to reform the department. And at 10 25 p. M. A 1960 Police Training film explains how to recognize and deal with the mentally ill. All of this coming up tonight on American History tv. Next, reverend al sharpton and Trayvon Martins Attorney Benjamin Crump talk about criminal justice, Voting Rights and the 2016 election. Our first speaker absolutely needs no introduction whatsoever. He is known around the world and throughout the nation as an ir repressible force against injustice of any kind, be it social, political or racial. If theres a causetobe champion, he is unafraid to bring it to the forefront or fight for what is right. He is a good friend. He is organization in the National Action network and National Urban league have wo worked collaborating on many, many things together. As i said last night, there are tree shakers and there are jelly makers. And the reverend al sharpton is a tree shaker. Ladies and gentlemen, please greet and welcome back to the National Urban league the founder and president of the National Action network, reverend al sharpton. [ applause ] thank you. First of all, good afternoon to the National Urban league. Im honored and happy to be here with my friend and colleague, the president of the National Urban league whos done a great job in leading this organization and leading us around this country for the last decade or more in this capacity. And even before that as mayor of new orleans. Give him a big hand. Marc morial. [ applause ] as we meet at the convention this year, we need to be clear that we are facing a dilemma that weve not seen in decades. We are at the crossroads of real decisions that will impact and effect where this country and our community is going for the next half century. You will hear tomorrow from some candidates for president. And they have reduced so far this president ial race to a beauty contest and a sound bite contest. And not really gotten deeply into the issues that effect our communities. We are right now this week remembering fifty years ago when Lyndon Johnson signed the medicare bill. Next week, fifty years since he signed the Voting Rights act. What no one is discussing that if the wrong person with the wrong politics, no matter what party gets in the white house who they will appoint to the Supreme Court may end what we have had for the last half century. There are cases of affirmative action, Voting Rights, womens rights and other vital issues that will go in front of this Supreme Court. So this is not about who is ahead in the polls. This is about whos going to stand for the things that the National Urban league and the Civil Rights Community forced into law a half a century ago. All of that is at stake in this election. We need more than a smile and a wave from the candidates. We need Firm Commitments and firm plans on what theyre going to do about unemployment, disproportionately in our community. What about the income inquality . Yes, but then you have income inequality and then you have to double that in our community because all unequal people in this country are not equally unequal. [ applause ] many in the Progressive Community have not addressed the race involved in the economic order. Then weve got to deal with education and criminal Justice System. Just this morning charging a university of cincinnati policeman for murder. Just a few weeks ago we dealt by the hundreds with a year since eric garner was choked to death by new york city policeman on video and still nothing has happened in the Justice System to bring that cop to justice. Where are the president ial candidates on policing, on economic inequality . Where are they on education . Where are they on the things that dr. King and Whitney Young and roy wilkins and others made law . We dont need to be entertained. We need to be engaged with real polici policies. We must begin to prepare now whether its National Urban league. Whether its National Action network, whether its nacp, that were on the brink of a postobama era. Weve had for seven years a black president and a black first lady, and a black first family. Whoever wins this election will be the first whites in the history of this country to succeed a black president. Weve never been there before. So we need to see who is the one that we feel is qualified to follow eight years of a person sensitive to us that come from us, that will not turn around what he has began. We dont intend that when the black family leaves the white house, that black concerns leaves the white house with them. So it is not enough for them to give us their pet speech, their best lines, not only here but everywhere. And four or five minutes at debates. We want some direct substantive issues. The bar is raised higher than it ever has been raised before. After obama you will not get away with what you got away with before. We want to hear the real deal. We have become adjusted now to the white house dealing with things from trayvon mart into black unemployment, to federal sentencing and all. You cant tell us anymore that on a president ial level you cant deal with certain things. That model has been changed. And were not going to let it be changed again back to where we lose and where we do not continue a forward and progressive trend. The same must be true in the private sector. Because we will have a heart erode in the political arena, were going to have to bear down in the even more. As marc and nacp and all of us in partner in the private sector and tell them you have got to invest in the communities you make your money. You have got to deal with not only jobs and training but procurement and contracts. It is not about Civil Rights Organization shaking you down. Its about you shakedown our communities every day. If you sell us your products and our kids cant get jobs, and our cousins cant get contracts, and our lawyers cant get contracts, and our accountants cant get contracts, and our Service Industries cant get contracts, you are shaking us down. the shakedown of the private sector on black america. We will do business with those that do business with us, or were going to stop doing business. Lastly, we must make alliances with all of those that are willing and demonstrated the ability to work shouldertoshoulder for our empowerment and equality along with theirs. There is a false argument about who suffers the most, whether its us or women or gays or latinos. If youre in the hospital and you are on a ward, you dont lay in the bed comparing pain. You all try to get well together and demand the best health care and best medical attention. We are not trying to compare who hurts the most. Were trying to find out how we all get well together and fight together and get the proper attention. So the task is clear. Those that have led this organization for over a century, they will either record that were the generation that fumbled the ball and dropped it, and we lost the gains of fifty years ago because we were too busy being entertained, being humored, egotripping, back biting, deciding whos going to be out front rather than what were in front of. Whos going to have the baton when the parade isnt going anywhere . Who cares who has the baton to a parade thats marching backwards . It is time to march forward. Its time to keep the agenda going straight. This is our time. This is the beginning of an era where the first white will replace the first black president. Weve got to make sure they understand that president obama is going home. We are not going anywhere. Thank you and god bless you. [ applause ] another front line soldier recognizes one of the hardest working leaders in the social justice and Civil Rights Movement is none other than melanie campbell, president and ceo of the National Coalition on black civic participation and the convener of the black womens roundtable. Melanie is a great sister. Shes got the unique ability to build powerful coalitions that bring Diverse People together for the common good. And shes got more than 20plus years of fighting for civil, youth and womens rights. She is a true friend. She is a partner. Shes an advocate. She is a friend of the National Urban league. Ladies and gentlemen, melanie campbell. Good afternoon urban leaguers. Good afternoon urban leaguers im always honored to join you and your president and ceo, my friend and brother from another mother marc morial. Our Freedom Fighter for justice, reverend al. And this year i am so honored to have my mom, who is 86 years young, here with me. Mrs. Janet campbell, and my big brother, Isaac Campbell jr. , and my colleague tonya tyson, if they would just stop and stand. [ applause ] lady in red. Im a native floridian. And those who know me know i always talk about my great home in florida. So i also want to welcome all of you here to my home state of florida. Urban leaguers, we are one week away from the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights act you heard reverend sharpton talk about that was precipitated by bloody sunday in selma, alabama. It was signed into law by president Lyndon Johnson on august 6th, 1965. Congress later amended the act five times to expand its protections and has always done it in a bipartisan ago, the u. Court gutted the law in the name of socalled states rights. By striking down section 4 of the vra, making it nearly impossible for the u. S. Justice department to do its job to protect our Voting Rights. Last month, a Bipartisan Group of lawmakers led by democrats introduced legislation to remedy the Supreme Court action and introduce the Voting Rights advancement act. In the meantime, dozens of states have created various such as aggressive laws, restricted hours and in some cases restricted access to actual polling places. This is outrageous. So urban leaguers, now is the time for you and i to act by contacting your congressional representatives in the house and demanding that they hold a hearing on Voting Rights in order to pass the Voting Rights advancement act. We need this new act to protect our Voting Rights in time for the 2016 president ial election. I know your theme for this years conference is save our cities, education, jobs and justice. If we want to save our cities, we need the vra to protect our vote. We know we have living proof our votes do count. Lest we forget that black voter turnout was the key vote for president obama being elected in 2008 and 2012 to be the first africanamerican president of the United States. Lest we forget, in 2012, black voters surpassed the rate of white voters for the first time in history. And black women, sisters, we are the secret sauce leading the way for the black vote. And young black women led the way in 2012. So the black womens round table is organizing our power, the vote campaign, in partnership with the National Urban league and others. Because we all know, if sisters vote and black youth vote, great. Great things happen. Lest we forget, if we want quality education for our children, we need a strong Voting Rights act to protect our vote. Lest we forget, if it we want quality jobs and end high black unemployment, we need a strong Voting Rights act to protect our vote. Lest we forget, if we believe that black lives matter, and we want to end the senseless killing of our young black men, our women and children by Law Enforcement and vigilantes, we need a strong Voting Rights act to protect our vote. So urban leaguers, yall know how i am. Im from the baptist church. So please stand up. I know you all had a long day. And repeat after me. Now is the time for action now is the time for action we cant allow anyone to block us from voting. We cant allow anyone to block us from voting. And not on our watch and not on our watch. And say that again. Not on our watch not on our watch we wont go back. We wont go back. Now is the time to move forward. Now is the time to move forward. To protect our right to vote. To protect our right to vote. Speeches wont do it. Speeches wont do it. Hashings wont do it alone but voting our power will do it. But voting our power will do it. Thank you. Peace and power. Thank you, melanie. And were glad to have you on our side. Now, our moderator for todays Plenary Session also needs no introduction. Hes active on social media. Hes the host and managing editor of tv 1s news one now and anchors the first daily Morning News Program in history to focus on news and analysis of politics, entertainment, sports and culture from an explicitly africanamerican perspective. Ladies and gentlemen, Roland Martin so how are we doing . Thats it . Yall just had lunch or something . So how are we doing . All right, then. Glad to be here. So glad i literally just got off the plane and im here two hours. And then ive got to fly to l. A. But thats how we do it. Always grounded and going. Before we start, where are the houston people . All right. If you aint from houston, you dont get a shoutout. Hometown always gets a shoutout. Certainly glad to be here. Mark, thank you so very much. Our panel, were going to have let me set the ground rules. I didnt fly here to waste my time regurgitating the problem. Our panel is talking about solutions, talking about what we need to achieve, how were going to achieve that on some of these issues. And more importantly, when we come here, when you gather next year, we should be able to look back and say this is what was accomplished as opposed to having the same conversation year after year. Thats of no interest to me whatsoever. And so lets get right to it. I want to bring out our panel right now. First up, hes an attorney here in florida. We also should congratulate him. Hes the newly elected president of the national bar association, ben crump, principle, loc. [ applause ] next up, michael p. Mcmillan, president and ceo of the urban league of metropolitan st. Louis. Karen freeman wilson, mayor of gary, indiana. Last but not least is reverend dr. Jamal harris, empowerment temple, baltimore, maryland. All right then. They also reminded me, if youre tweeting, use saveourcities. I want to get right into it. Were talking about Police Accountability, criminal Justice Reform and also voting. And so i want to deal with voting last and i want to get right to Police Accountability and criminal Justice Reform. We saw yesterday, for the first time in cincinnatis history a cop has been indicted for murder for killing someone. Folks, remember the riots in 2001 or uprising 2001 . Many folks forget, you had 15 black men killed in cincinnati over a period of five years. You heard the prosecutor say without body cameras, we would not be having that conversation. He would not have been indicted. And so what are you seeing, what are you hearing . Mayor, i want to start with you. In your city, do your Police Officers have body cameras, and is there a drive in the state of indiana to make sure that every Law Enforcement agency, they have body cameras to protect them but also the public . The first thing is that we are starting a trial with body cameras. But i want to disabuse us of the notion that body cameras are the be all and end all. And theyre not. Its a piece of technology that can be used. But you have to draw back to recruitment, you have to make sure the right people are on the bus. You have to deal with the disciplinary issue. You have to deal with how you train Police Officers to deescalate situations, to look at individuals who are being stopped as human beings. But the reason i want to start with the cameras sure. Because theres so much attention placed on it, and that is something for the folks sitting here when they go back home, there has to be something they are pushing and driving in order to get done. Weve seen it already in los angeles, weve seen it in houston. So my question for you, you say a trial, what is that trial . Is it a handful of folks . How many officers . Describe the trial in your city. So what were looking to do is put body cameras on each Police Officer who is on duty. But the thing about body cameras is that you cant just put 20 or 30. You have to have the full equipment. You have to be able to store the tapes and do all of that. And thats a costly proposition. Now the good news is, the Justice Department has put some money out that will allow a number of departments to do that. Gary is one of them. That is applying to do that. But there has to be more. The federal money covers 50,000 when, in fact, there are 600,000 Law Enforcement officers in america. Tim scott, south carolina, is pushing for a more comprehensive bill. Pastor brown we saw in baltimore, where they vetoed a body camera bill. Freddie gray gets killed. Baltimore is supposed to have it by the end of the year. Again, thats one of those issues as part of the Police Accountability criminal Justice Reform that people can latch on to and when they go back home, say at least the start is, make sure this happens. I am absolutely for it and was on the panel for the mayor of baltimore to explore whether or not we needed it. An attorney in one of the earlier sessions said, if you dont record it, it didnt happen. The first time in the 21st century that a white officer was arrested for killing a black person was the incident with walter scott in north charleston. We are 13 africanamericans, 13 of the u. S. Population. But 37 of those who were killed by the police. Think about what would have happened, because they had a false report when it came to walter scott in charleston, south carolina. Yeah, but also the cincinnati officer lied, as well. Absolutely. But again, it goes back to why the body cameras are so needed, so necessary. Where would we be or would we even know the same of sandra bland if it were not for these cameras. So the cameras are so critical and so important and so weve got to lift up the veil behind the wizard of oz to make our Police Officers know theyre accountable. As a defense attorney, as a civil rights attorney, the reality is, we have now talked in the past eight, nine months, four cops indicted, the most consistent thing about those four cases, all caught on video. So we dont you no longer have a situation where its the cops word versus the victim, because we know in america, the cops word is always going to win out. Absolutely, roland. The thing i think as an officer of the court that is so very critical with having these body cameras is for so many years, the Standard Police narrative was in line with what the law in america said in gardner v. Tennessee. All the cop had to say was, i was in fear of my life. I thought he was reaching for a gun. And if he says that, the court has to accept that as correct. They cant challenge it, unless you have overriding evidence to contradict the Standard Police narrative. And so what i am so what he says in his mind his subject belief, if he thought he was in fear. So, you know, they say black men are the most fearful people in america, if you believe the media. So all they had to say, even 12yearold tamir rice. You know, they treat us like trayvon. They said he looked like a grownup. So you have all these scenarios where they concoct in their mind where were dangerous. Our children are dangerous. And they say we felt in fear of our life so were justified in using deadly force. But with these body cameras, with these cell phone videos, with these dash cam videos, it continues to contradict the Standard Police narrative over and over. It did it in Alicia Thomas in Los Angeles Police department, and for the first time in a long time, i can remember, you actually had a cop get convicted and the judge give the maximum, because it was captured on video where this sister was handcuffed and shackled and the officer kicked her in her female genitals seven times and choked her, and she died in their custody. And had she not died in their custody, you would believe it was just business as usual. But once she died and that video surfaced, it was the video. And i think im a great lawyer, but without that video, you know they would have accepted and the cop was convicted, going to prison for three years. Only on assault. They didnt charge it with manslaughter, but that was the First Time Since oscar grant they convicted a Police Officer in california. And remember, oscar grant, the guy only got six months. At least she got three years. So were making progress. And the video cameras are helping. Michael, karen talked about Police Accountability and also changing the rules. I want to remind folks what happened in st. Louis. Youve got powell, a young man, mentally disturbed, takes a couple Energy Drinks out of a store. They call the police, and they say hes mentally disturbed. Cops roll up, and when we showed it on tv, news 1 now, it literally was 16 seconds from the moment the door opened when the cops arrived until he was dead with nine shots. Bystander captured it all on video, and he literally he did not run at the cops with a butter knife. They said he had it was a butter knife. He literally stepped like this, nine shots fired. And the law in missouri has it where if theres a certain amount of distance between you and the perpetrator, the cop can fire use deadly force. Thats exactly what happened. No issues. Didnt go to grand jury. Cop is back on the street the next day. Roland, that was another disgrace that happened weeks after Michael Brown was killed. And what it points out to is the fact that as you mentioned earlier, so often the narrative that comes from the police that does not have a camera associated. We have to believe. So thats why i have in the and a bystander captured that video. Absolutely. We literally saw the entire incident two minutes before, cops arrived, and then he gets killed. And what the police chief was told, he initially reported to the media turned out not to be the case. But going back to the conversation about body cameras, one of the things that i think we also need to add to the equation is an independent Monitoring Agency on the film that is acquired through these cameras. Because too often lies have been told, even in st. Louis since everything has happened in the past months, my camera is broken or its malfunctioned or we dont have the tape. We need an independent entity to be able to get that video to prove what has really happened. Then, of course, you saw what happened in chicago where you have an independent review board and they fired the brother who was a 23year cop because he actually recommended officers be disciplined who actually fired their weapons. And that was a socalled independent Police Review board as well. There are folks here who are working in individual cities, and there are so many things that can be under the banner of Police Accountability. If there was one thing that you want to charge them with, leaving here to fight for to ena enact, what would it be . I think the value of what you just touched on, the civilian review board. Added to that, going back to a very old model, is having police live in the community that they oversee. That weve got to remind and i keep saying it over and over again. In the community or the city limit . In your city, if you want to be a cop in this city, you have to live in the city. Absolutely. That would be a start. When you would consider in baltimore over 40 however officers dont even live in the city. And i think that when you have a neighborhood understanding the Police Officers knew who lived where, these are not the enemy, but these are citizens on patrol that we begin working in tandem. And so i think that requirement across the country is that number one, you have a civilian review board. And number two, require that the officers live in the city they serve. Anyone else, jump in. I would say that the independents so often when you have incidents involving Police Officers, its reviewed by other Police Officers. To have an independent review, either through the Prosecutors Office or even special prosecutors, is helpful and something thats really important in communities. But, you know but i want you to stay right there. Because what happened was, we saw it last year with eric garner. We had all these folks calling for president obama and congress to do that. But the reality is, what people dont understand is, these are state cases. The federal government does not have jurisdiction to create a special prosecutor to oversee a state case. So we saw right now, you have kerric, the officer inlk n chare who shot and killed jonathan farrell. The police chief there says he was immediately charged, charged with manslaughter. He came on the scene, farrell was in a car accident, called for help. They he knocked on some doors, they thought he was trying to break in or whatever. Cops arrived. And hes running to the cops for help. One officer three officers on the scene, one white, two black. White officer fires ten shots, kills farrell. The first grand jury did not indict. Then the state attorney general took over the case, that grand jury indicted. His trial starts monday. So one of the things we have to fight for is, you have to create whether by executive action like we saw in new york where the governor created executive order, ordering independent examiner or prosecutor or you have to go to the state to have the law changed. I just want folks to know, the federal government cant do that. It has to be a state change, not a federal change. Right. When i was referring to the a special prosecutor, i was talking about it from the state level. Right. Because as a former attorney general, i understand that in many cases, you many states, you do have the ability to create that. But even at the local level, local prosecutors can request special prosecutors in certain instances. So the power is there. Its a matter of really pushing for, requesting, insisting on it. But the other thing, roland, is that if we treat this as a onefix problem, then we will consistently no doubt be where we are. Weve got to deal with this in a comprehensive way. Its about race. Its about job creation. Its about education. Its about Police Accountability, and certainly its about having a multifaceted movement. Faith, government, business. Because, you know, in any city where weve seen problems occur, it has been wholly disruptive. So even if you say that youre not moved by compassion, and i think we all should be, you should be moved by the fact that this could disrupt your business in that community. And the reason it is comprehensive. But the reason i am trying to individually identify things to work on, because i think what happens is, whenever we have comprehensive conversations, we wait for there to be comprehensive bills to focus on as opposed to saying, no, let me grab lowhanging fruit. Well, the good news now is that we have some documents. Weve got this from the u. S. Conference of mayors. We just had the 21st century president ial task force that came up. And even if you look at the consent decrees that have come out of cleveland and other places, that is something that communities, that the urban leagues throughout the country can pull down, offline and say to their police chiefs, to their mayors, to their leadership, is our Police Department in alignment with these documents. Right. And roland, i think that we all focus i think erroneously sometimes on the Police Officers. Theyre the low man on the totem pole when we talk about criminal justice. And i say to the urban leaguers out there, really what weve got to look at is the top of the criminal Justice System, what happens in the courts. These grand jury proceedings, these secret proceedings where the prosecutor gets grand jury consent 99. 9 of the time for everything they want, except when its our trigger man dead on the ground and they say we cant get a true bill to indict the officer. So its got to be grand jury reform. And weve got to really look at it, roland. Weve got to think about it. When they had the 50th anniversary of selma, we were talking with congressman john lewis and attorney fred gray and attorneys solomon, all my heroes in the Civil Rights Movement. And Michael Brown in ferguson had just happened. And they were talking about selma to ferguson. And they looked at me, and they said, well, ben, you know, 50 years ago, when we were crossing the petis bridge, it wasnt kkk who attacked us and beat the hell out of us, it was the Police Officers. And 50 years later, theyre still doing it, and the reason theyre allowed to do it is because the Community Stakeholders are allowing them to do it. The powers that be are allowing them to do it. If we stop allowing them to do it, then it will stop. Which allows for us to go into this whole issue of voting, because there a direct connection between how we vote, who we vote for, and seeing these changes. Michael, i want to go to you first. Bob mccullough, prosecutor, st. Louis, one of the most egregious legal actions ive ever seen in terms of how he proceeded with the Michael Brown killing. Hes been elected repeatedly. Hes a democrat. Black folks keep voting. The governor of missouri, jay nixon, democrat, the president praised him for his work afterwards. I dont understand why. But the point im making is, i know urban league, nonpartisan, but im being very clear here. Mccullough runs unopposed. The reality is, you look at kim thompson, d. A. In brooklyn. The reason the cop who killed who was killed in a darkened hallway, is a black prosecutor, black d. A. The reason you had 30 people freed from death row in texas, Craig Watkins was the d. A. Of dallas county, africanamerican, who put in place a whole group to go back and retest cases that were controversial. 30 people were freed. He lost his reelection in november. The point there is, what do you tell folks here to say yes, you can fight for the changes, but if we fall for a dr r, and that person is not doing the job, then we still are losing, because the prosecutor is the one who is deciding at the end of the day who is going to get indicted and who is not. Theres no question, roland. We have done a bad job when it comes to voting. When you talk about the democrats in office and what they have done and the commitment to the Africanamerican Community, it is verbalized on a regular basis. But when you ask for concrete results, sometimes you dont see those results. And its been disappointing. In terms of ferguson, when you look at the government itself, we had only had one member of the city council that was africanamerican when mike brown died. Luckily, we have now gotten to a point where we have half. But it shouldnt have had to take such a huge tragedy to elect two more black people to the city council. So were getting to the point where were educating people more, but we have a lot more work to do, because our vote in many cases has been taken for granted. It is just assumed that 90 of the Africanamerican Community is going to vote democratic, and some people can come by and pat us on the head every two, four or six years and well be fine. And that no longer should be acceptable. And the other piece is, if youre not registered to vote youre never going to get called for jury duty so youre not going to serve on juries. And, again, one of these things in terms of folks can work on, lets be honest, how many of you all have got a jury summons and you say, damn preach. Its true. Its true. So i believe, again, you talk about what can folks do, i believe what National Urban League Chapters should do when they go back is figure out creating campaigns, making it clear that serving on a jury is also part of black lives matter. And thats if i can chime in, roland, thats so important. Because yall know how heart breaking it is when you walk in that courtroom and you see some black potential jurors, and they proceed to do everything in their godly power to get off of jury duty, and they can make all the difference in the world white folks do it too. But there aint enough of us in the pool in the first place. But ive got to say this, because i know in a lot of ways, trayvon started a lot of these matters coming to light. It is still heart breaking as theyre working on the book about trayvon and roland you and jamal were there. You all know that they had at least 30 black people who they sent for potential jury service, and about 74 of them came up with reasons why they could not serve on jury duty. And just imagine if in the tragic killing of trayvon martin, roland, you had more people that could understand despite the prosecutors best efforts to try to defend the honor and value of our young black mans life, fish out of water experience for them. Those black people who potentially got out of jury duty could have rewrote history in how Trayvon Martins death was determined. So its up to us. Weve got to do it. Reverend jackson talked about this, and they were mad, upset, and he said, you want to see the cop get charged. Yeah you want to see the cop go to trial . Yeah. He said, are you registered . No. Well, hell, you cant vote on the jury. And so i think part of the problem part of this issue, again, that goes into this notion of voting, we have to recognize that when you dont know, you dont know. And a lot of folks simply dont know the process, and i believe this is where you are ban League Chapters have to say, wait a minute, youve got to have voting education. And put it in a way that says, yes, if and maybe you create the campaign of folks who actually served on juries. They say i voted. How about saying i serve on a jury. Right. I think thats right on point. Im an alumnus of naacp. And we have three prongs we have to bring back which is voter education, voter registration, get out the vote. I think weve got to go back and remind people why they are voting. The other part thats so necessary is that we have to mature as a people that were not just voting for black faces if they dont have a black agenda. And i think that weve got to get beyond symbolic people to say, well, weve got a black states attorney or black commissioner. If d. C. Is chocolate city, were fudge village. So weve got black mayor, black president , city council, black controller, black states attorney, black Police Commissioner and still dont have black justice or black economic development. And so i think going into this president ial cycle, weve got to ask what it is. And you say this all of the time, ive stolen it from you and the only reason im giving you credit because youre here, whats the ask. And i think with with 17 people running for the republican party, i think six now for the democratic, what are we asking for. And i think going to this election, weve got to go clear on what our ask is, and while the urban league is nonpartisan, i believe the naacp i want us to be mindful of the fact that the black electorate elected the presidency twice. If we didnt get out the vote, there would not be a black family in the white house. And i say that to say, here we are now being at the next cycle and theres no black person on the ticket. We are not even being entertained anywhere for a cabinet position. So we cannot just give our lunch away without even having some mandate and requirement of what were looking for. Again, i am focused on what is tangible, what is real. You heard melanie, you heard reverend sharpton talk about the issue of voting. Naacp august 1st is starting their 800 mile journey to justice, selma to d. C. I had the ceo on the show today, were going to run it monday. And i said, okay, we going to arrive in d. C. September 15th. But the question i have is, are we going to drop 500 to 1,000 people on capitol hill every day until the they reauthorize the Voting Rights act. See, this is where organization comes in. And the question that i have, and i want you all to answer for chapters, one, youre right. You organizations cant endorse, but they can be involved in issues. Do you believe that individual urban League Chapters should be right now asking the question, who are the members of congress from our city and our area, and we are going to hit their congressional offices every week and demand how theyre going to vote when it comes to the Voting Rights act, because you dont have to always come to d. C. You should be making some noise in your respective cities. Yall can pick up on that. That is absolutely the case. And, in fact, you know, i wanted to go back to what reverend bryant said. Because over the last four to five years, theyve almost tried to frighten civic organizations outside of the naacp, the urban league, the sororities, the churches. You know, youre involved in actions that may jeopardize your nonprofit status. Its not about who are supporting a candidate. Its really about the issues. And they should be involved, not just in voter registration. Thats the first step. You have to get people to participate. You have to clarify the issues so that you can galvanize the people. So its important for the urban league, for the naacp, for the sororities, for the fraternities not only to be involved, but not to be run off with the first sign or the first article that says, oh, these nonprofit organizations are engaged in illegal activities. Go ahead. I want to just segue and pick piggyback on my sister. I think this is the time, should all of our enties be nonprofit. And im afraid our people are catching the spirit of the organization. Were not making a profit. I think that there has to be something that gives us to the place where we understand, we ought to have the freedom to say what we need to say, how we need to say it, when we need to say it, without the fear were going to lose corporate sponsorship. Exactly. If, in fact, its about the advancement of our people, then some of that needs to be put aside. We need to form our own packs. We need to be able to really do some things that puts us in a different place, rather than just a glorified welfare society. Hold on one second. So urban League Chapters from virginia stand up. Virginia. All right. So bob goodlatte, republican, is the chair of the house i didnt say sit down. Bob goodlatte is the chair of the house judiciary committee. Anything with the Voting Rights act is going to go through his committee. Anything dealing with criminal Justice Reform goes through his committee. Yall should be organizing folks going to his congressional offices in virginia and making it clear to him and dealing with him every single day, hitting him every single week, and saying, you need to act. Hes from virginia. Yall have some homework. Yall can sit down now. Ben, you wanted to make a comment. Yes. You know, how were talking about getting ready for the 2016 election, their people think diametrically opposite of us, also getting ready for the 2016 no, no, no, no. Theyre getting ready. They started eight years ago. Yeah. And understand and i agree. They are passing all kinds of laws to disenfranchise our community to stop the souls to the polls, to stop the early voting, to make the voter i. D. , to put Police Officers at the voting polls, to intimidate us and stop us from voting. So i know with the national bar association, what were focused on is that were going to challenge them, and were not concerned about our corporate sponsorship, were not concerned about our status. Because the fundamental right in america is your right to vote and vote for the prosecutor, vote for the judge. And, you know, we get confused sometimes with the president ial vote. And think thats the most important vote. Man, you go down to that courthouse, the most important vote in many instances is that d. A. Because hes going to find whether you go to jail or not. You dont even get to the judge, roland. If the prosecutor billy comes to court and june come to court. Same offense. Billy gets to go home with his parents. June gets fingerprinted and handcuffed. And thats all on the prosecutor. Of you tell me whats more important to vote for the prosecutor or president. And youre talking about jury duty . Thats right. Yall, the vote in jury duty, just one person being in that back row. Just one person. In florida, weve got six. And in st. Louis, they have 12. But one africanamerican who has the courage to say, im going to be on this jury, im going to answer every question appropriately and im going to be fair and im going to go back in that room and im going to defy the fate of this young black person today makes all the difference in the world. Because your vote really does count when youre on jury duty. Go ahead, michael. Go ahead. Roland, i. Wanted to add one thing. In addition to voting, we need to volunteer as individuals for candidates who are working for the best interest of the community. We need to get out, make sure we give up our time. And we also need to contribute to them. Because we expect people to run for office and get funded by corporations and pacs and unions and then turn right around and tell all those people who donated money to them, were not going to be bothered with your interests now. And thats living in a fantasy. The reality is, people who give large contributions to elected officials are always going to have access to those elected officials. So we need to contribute to people and give of our time, talent and treasure so we can have our own independent elected officials to stand for our agenda. Before we go to q a, im going to give another homework assignment. This is what i am expecting mark and your staff im expecting them to have yall send video of yall protesting and meeting with these folks locally. Because look, yall understand. My show, i aint got to ask nobody. Because heres my whole point. If we dont actually mobilize, organize ourselves, month who is going to do it. So we should be able to utilize our outlets. And let me say this here. I dont think we understand. These are the nationally syndicateded morning shows that target black people. Tom joiner, steve harvey, ricky smiley, yolanda adams, reverend sharpton, i have a show. Im leaving out a couple people. Joe madison. D. L. Hughley. Those shows blanket black america. So if were not utilizing our apparatus, were wasting our resources. So i expect the urban league to send us videos saying our chapter in this city, meeting with soandso outside our office. Our chapter here. Because if were not putting the pressure do you understand jim sensen brenner, wisconsin, when it comes to the Voting Rights act authorization. Hes had to build for four and a half years. We have to be applying the pressure to them and going to them and saying were going to bug yall every day. And im going to tell you pastor brian we came to loretta lynch. Who is from mississippi . Cochran on the fence voting for loretta lynch. We went to his office, and they wouldnt meet with us. We said, we arent leaving. And then they finally found five minutes. When he came hes about 90some years old. So i dont know if he heard me or not. I want you to understand. I looked him dead in his eye and i said let me be clear, you aint here with our black people. Because you were going to lose to that tea party person unless black people crossed over and voted in the republican primary. So i expect you to vote for loretta lynch. And hes like, i understand. I hear you. Yall know he voted for loretta lirvelg. Im not saying that was the reason but somebody black has to look him in his eye and say i expect you to vote this way. Were going to go to questions now. Heres the deal quick. I aint got a problem cutting yall off. So i want to hear a question. I want it to be tight, concise. If you go longwinded, im cutting you off. And im going to summarize your question. And okay . Five people here, nobody else get in line. Three here. Nobody else get in line. Im going to start here. Go. My name is lauren robinson, im a blogger for el boogie pop world. My question is, how do we bridge the gap for young people, mil n millennials to establish organizations such as the naacp, the National Urban league we have here. Especially in miami dade, broward, state of florida. Got you. Jamal. Were looking for a ceremony where people will handled over the baton. And i think revolution, young people have always done it. So if they dont pass the torch, get a pack of matches. And i think that its up to us to just really take it. This movement taking place right now from ferguson to sanford to baltimore to cleveland is young people. And so you dont need permission. Sign your own permission slip and just do it. I think we learn from the elders, but you cant wait on them. And, again, from a historical standpoint, if you study the committee, they started the lunch counter movement, ella baker organized them. Thats how snik was created. Theyre going to ask for permission. Dr. King wanted to control them. They said no, were going to remain independent. And so naacp has a youth division. Urban league has young professionals. But to jamals point, stop waiting. And so also, mobile eyes and organize. Let me also say this and i need you to major make this point asking. All these millennials need to cut out this bs of we dont have leaders. You cannot change a system by saying, no, its going to be a collective thing. Even sncc had a hierarchy. Im nicole roe, president of the young professional chapter of portland, oregon. My question to you all, what strategies do you all recommend on how we can identify corporate structures who dont have our interests and support particular politicians . Such as . Such as politicians that may be here tomorrow. Who wants it . Michael . I can answer it, but michael, you go ahead. Of. I think when you look at corporate structures, theres multiple levels. Reverend sharpton was talking about something very significant. We support these major institutions and then you see in many cases they dont have africanamericans of directors, they dont have a procurement policy, the people get contracts and they dont have a charitable and Civic Engagement support for the Africanamerican Community. Those are the kind of things that i think as roland was talking about getting information out in all of the different black media sources that need to be known in the community so we will stop supporting these communities. We give them the same money they then in turn in many cases will not turn around and give to us. Thats what we need to change in terms of information and dialogue across the country. Real quick, heres the other deal. You cant be satisfied because they gave 50,000 for an event. Follow me here. Because if you look at the pay structure of some of your corporate folks, if folks are making high six or sevenfigure valleys, they have a capacity to then give back to the organization more of what the corporation gave. Were happy with a check for a table at a banquet as opposed to the larger check. The other pieces are here, black folks too many of us being silent and praising reverend jackson. Is literally forcing dramatic change. Intel announced a 300 Million Initiative because of the pressure. Tim cook at apple doing the exact same thing. What theyre doing is they bought a share in each company which give them the right to talk to the shareholders meeting. Some of us same thing. Part of this deal with politicians of how we force change stop getting happy because we bought a table. I would say go back april 3, 1968, listen to mlks mountain top speech, not the end. Listen to the whole 43 minutes. He talked in that speech about economic boycotts. Trust me. Its there. Next question. Hi. Sandra dennis, urban league. Welcome to ft. Lauderdale. I wanted to bring the question younger. There is a huge disconnect not only with millennials not only about ground movements. The importance of voting for local elections. After trayvon died, here comes Governor Scott again. How do we not only bridge that gap, but currently in curriculum in Education System k12, we dont really have africanAmerican History and such that really speaks to jim crow. There is such a huge disconnect. How do we bring it down some. Younger. Go ahead. I think its extremely important we understand how every elected Office Impacts us individually. Because ultimately, thats what people are motivated by. So you talk about quirklum. Curriculum. Who determines that curriculum . Its not really the teacher. Its not even the principal. Its the school board. Or state school board. One of the easiest offices to run for is that elected school board position. Thats something a millennial could run for that the young people could galvanize behind and really make a difference. Then youre having the conversation and having it from a position of power. The first thing is, see how many votes last folks won and see how many i need to get. Republicans didnt control didnt used to control texas. Used to be an all Democratic State when it came to politicians. How they took over texas, they took over the state school board. If i can add one thing, malcolm x said we are the only oppressed people who allow our oppressors to control our education. If it happens in black history and our children only know dr. King, were in trouble. We weve got to do something all year round in the black church so we dont just celebrate blackness in february. Because in august we are still going to be black. So i think weve got to figure out what were going to do to make that. Im going to give two things and one of them, im a huge believer in, and i dont care if anybody in this room disagrees. You literally have the creation of Charter Schools across the country. Black folks were the originators of school choice. If you read the book, 1865 to 1930, we actually created school choice. We took offices and put it in the state constitution. So it amazes me how were seeing we aint down with charters when we can control the schools ourselves and thats the most ridiculous thing ive heard in my life. The last thing is, its called Freedom Schools. Im not asking white folks to educate our kids. They have been creating Freedom Schools through churches. We did it through jim crow and it used to be called sunday school in some places as well. You can create a Freedom School. You aint got to ask nobody permission. Weve got all these churches. Who in here is a pastor . Stand up. Do you have a Freedom School . You can start one beginning tomorrow. Do you have a Freedom School . Do you have a Freedom School . You do. How long have you had it . Huh . Yall had a Freedom School for 20 years. Stand back up. I aint ask you to set down. When the program is over yall see him . Look at him. When the program over, the two of you are going to meet with him and talk about how they ran their Freedom School. And you can start tomorrow. Next question. I told you all, we aint got much time. Ive got a plane to catch. Proud member of the urban league and the young professional chapter there. So much like the lgbtlqq community has equality and the Hispanic Community has immigration, in st. Louis we have africanamerican communities spresk specifically traffic communications. Can you identify specific issues you can share with individuals in this room that will be direct action. I think the theme of support is good but general. Right. I would say the piece earlier that reverend brian talked about with requiring Law Enforcement to live in the communities. In most states, thats a state law. I know in the state of indiana, it says they have to live in contiguous counties. In gary, its rural. So you can imagine what some of the officers think. So to specifically advocate at the state, local level, for officers to be required to live in communities or at least to allow it to be a part of the city charity. Thats one. Worry going to get to the question real quick. Go. Im joe allen. Get to the question. 000. Since the right to vote is the constitutional right actually, its not. There is no affirmative right to vote in the United States constitution. Theres no affirmative right to vote at all in the u. S. Constitution. If you read bush v gore decision. I mean the amendment. Rvels no. It says you cannot be discriminated against. There is no affirmative right to vote. Its one of the reasons why in ohio, theyre trying to get a Voting Rights bill that puts it in the state constitution as opposed to the federal. But go ahead with your question. Prisoners and ex prisoners not be allowed to vote. Heres the deal. In florida, you have the governor who signed the executive order. Its not law. Can you speak to it quick . Certainly. President obama got votes for ex offenders that Charlie Christie signed an executive order. Thats how he got florida. Its simply your governor doing an executive order that makes the difference. Thats why youve got to vote. Heres the other piece. Right now when it comes to criminal Justice Reform, republican governors are better than some democrats. Forget the d and r. Next question. Charlie crist was a republican. I dont know what the hell he is now. Democrat, republican, i dont know what he is. Question. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Right to the question. How can the National Urban league as an Organization Support elected officials . They cant. You can support positions. Issues. Not an actual candidate. Its against code. So can you clarify how to offset that . We have an achilles heel as i said. One of the things do you think is create a 501 c 34. We can volunteer, vote and donate. Go ahead. I would just say, money is key. And im not just saying that because im elected. As black folks yes, you are. We give ties and then we dont give anything else. But it is essential that
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