next, the announcement by national trust president stephanie makes followed by a brief history of the library. this is 40 minutes. [applause] [laughter] >> good day. welcome everyone here to howard university for another momentous occasion. specifically the president of the national trust historic preservation. i want to thank you for your partnership and stewardship of this arrangement and what we are about to announce. is anunders library iconic building on college campus. represents aer major symbol of the university. it ensures everyone understands what has happened in this building over time. this building was designed with inspiration from independence hall. that was not done by accident. that was a building that housed the constitution of the united states of america. at the time he used that as inspiration because blacks in this country at that time, despite what the constitution said, were not operating under an equal system. the building was designed with that in mind. i have to say the building went on to become the site of many historic progress in this country, including during the time of brown versus the board point,ation and at one they would gather here with many stewards of that particular legislation to have discussions about what should be occurring and what the strategy should be. as a matter of fact he referred to it as the west point of the civil rights movement. we still believe it is the west point but it is also the center point. we are pleased to look at it. myn i came here this was preferred place of study. albeit in the stacks late at night under the sixth floor of the stacks. i'm not sure how to get there. i'm hoping i didn't leaving the graffiti anyone would find. have many a memory being in this historic building. the books house here during the library's opening represented an important opportunity for the education that took place on the campus. it was the second-largest building on any campus. for that matter on any campus that was totally dedicated to the education of blacks. it was a most expensive building built at that time. it has had an opportunity to educate many. theas represented one of base points of the long walk that occurs on this campus at times of commencement. there is many an image of our graduation ceremonies with the clock tower in the background. he attended cornell as well. heer military service degree and receive a join the howard university as an assistant professor. onelegacy on my campus is that is as rich as any university president, any board of trustee member. he is responsible for 10 occurred projects that on this campus including the , doma torymnasium buildings, chemistry building, frederick douglass, and a dedicated in 1939. to join withtoday the national trust for historic preservation to embarq on a designation and a project we feel would restore the founders library. it still is going to obviously .ouse memories that we have i spend a lot of time with the original writings of frederick douglass. it is one thing to read his words, it is another thing to see his writing. to see how few errors he makes. appreciate the brilliance of the man. he could write five pages without a single error in free-flowing thoughts with notes in the columns for comments he wanted emphasize. that is what is happening in this building. we're still preserving that rich legacy. we have to continue to make sure we promote that. buildings like these are important. they legacy they house are even more important. i'm a father of a nine-year-old an 11-year-old. this election, they will see someone in the white house that for the first time will not look like them. my daughter last night was -- asked who was the president before she was born? i told her george w. bush. -- he asked how old was she. she was two years old. we have come a long way in the history of our country. i am now the father of two african-american kids who believe the occupants of the white house look like them. the only way they will understand the legacy of this country is if we take it upon ourselves to make sure the past that history on and one of the investments we must make to do that is to invest in buildings like these. and the information and legacy they house. i would like to call to the meeks.stephanie [applause] stephanie: thank you. good afternoon. it's wonderful to have you with us. we should you making the time. we really appreciate you inviting the national trust into the howard university family. it was one of the most sophisticated libraries in the world. through our work together we hope to ensure it remains of the cutting edge of technology and scholarship. years, it has75 been one of the hubs of international and creative vitality at how word and throughout greater washington dc . in this building brilliant minds like charles hamilton houston and thurgood marshall forge the strategy that he came brown versus board of education. today it houses some of the most collections in the country. opportunity to learn just how precious that resource is. , a continues to inspire the most dynamic and provocative thinkers. an author talked about the influence of this building in campus. this mac as he called it in the power it had on him. in his recent book he describes how it gave him the chance to wrestle with the ideas and philosophies of great minds. the book won the national book award last year. when asked why he wrote it, he said i had a memory of myself as the young person, sitting in the founders library at howard university, and reading baldwins fired next time cover to cover. i wanted a book a young person could do that with. this is whatns founders library has been about. young people have come here to this source of knowledge and awaken their own creativity and inspiration. they have learned of scholars, thinkers, philosophers and leaders who changed america for the batter and discover the most important lesson there is. us the powerithin to transform the world. for all of these reasons and more, the national trust is delighted to partner with howard to craft the next chapter of the founders library story. which is why i am proud to announce that founders library is the newest national treasure of the national trust for historic reservation. [applause] stephanie: thank you. it is a signature initiative at the national trust, a revolving portfolio of the 60 diverse and important projects around the country that are a critical -- at a critical moment in their evolution. we strongly believe older building should not be trapped --amber and laughed together left to gather dust. they should be active and fully .ngaged in the community working with howard we will make founders a creative learning space for the 21st century while maintaining its distinctive character and central place in the life of the university. we are delighted to join in this partnership. working to save howard fits well into our efforts to expand the scope of historic preservation to reflect the full and diverse history of our nation. often looking to ensure overlooked places that are essential to our american story are protected. will talk about, this is something that is critically important for the future, not just a preservation but our future as a nation and our national understanding of who we are and where we come from. i hope that our work together will be just the beginning of our collaboration. , want to encourage the faculty the staff, and students to tell us about more places that have been overlooked and underappreciated for too long and deserve our support. apply we can expect to the research, knowledge and wisdom that has been accumulated here at founders library and developed through our partnerships together to help craft a more inclusive vision for our future. thank you wall, once again, for being here and for your generous embrace of the national trust in this partnership. we will now watch a video put together by the national trust and howard university on the meaning and importance of this hallowed place. thank you. [applause] ♪ >> founders library has a story to tell. it is a story of eight people growing from its fruit on the african continent to span europe, asia, the americas and beyond. thousands of years of triumph and achievement. its collection holds more knowledge about the black experience as told by black voices than any other in the world. , generations of wisdom, culture and history, a testament to education and a symbol of freedom for the black community. its role as an incubator for come a testings ground for educational pioneers, and an inspiration to literary luminaries seeks to its might. combined, it's resources serve as an unmatched tool for the self reflection and determination of scholars of african descent. as the primary learning resource for the nation's premier historically black university, it is a conduit for which enlightenment passes the best and brightest of each generation to the next. now it is time for the libraries at light to be passed again. today, with the support of the national trust for historic preservation, howard university announces it claimed to transform the library into a 21st century space where intellectual, cultural exchange while sharing its story with the world. for more than 75 years, founders library has served as a source forial' enlightenment, power, righteousness. now it is a designation as a national treasure, it is poised to do so into the future. ♪ [applause] >> good afternoon, everyone. african american national treasurers remind me of a beautiful quote. memory is a selection of images. some elusive, others printed indelibly on the brain. each image is like a tapestry of intricate texture and the tapestry tells a story and the story is our past. culture andg black its material form, we tell the stories of america. and the stories of who we are and where we come from. i feel strongly that black , andre, black landscapes black history matters. that our collective identity matters, that african-american memory matters. our culture is embodied in old buildings and the history they keep. howard alum ossie davis said once "any form of art is a form of power. it has impact, it can affect change. it cannot only move us, it makes us move." and i can relate. as a graduate student at the university of kentucky, i had the fortune to conduct a statewide inventory of historic schools in my home state. rosenwald schools are part of our national treasurers portfolio and they represent a massive school building program. they helped to construct over 15 southern in states. the design team included america's first african-american architect, robert taylor and landscape designer, george washington carver. i learned my mother and father both attended rosenwald schools. i felt a connection to the past and iconic figures and history like never before. i had a multisensory experience with these places. i could see, touch, smell, hear, feel the creaking boards as i walked into these buildings. cents, a also a six transcendent quality. i began to understand the power of old buildings to bring the past into the present unlike any form of history. it was continuity in washington's vision for uplifting the black community. it was ongoing and real and have directly impacted my own life. preservation makes washington lived.enwald lice once you can tell the identity of our nation by the prazosin started by the places we preserve and honor. the stories of enslaved and the free persons of color were often forgotten. these stories are rooted in 250 years of slavery, 90 years of jim crow, 60 years of separate but equal. we can learn from these spaces. example, at a national treasure in which mend, virginia, once the heart of the antebellum trade scene, we are working to preserve the legacy of slavery. to use these fights of injustice as safe havens for difficult conversations about race in america. our goal is to move us beyond racial indifference and award a place of hearing and reconciliation. preservation is about people. it's about social impact. it's about creating a sense of longing and resilient community. when we create a landscape that speaks truthfully about who we are, i think we can change the way our nation thinks and how we relate to one another. reservations highest purpose can be redemptive, holistic, transformative. it's true the black experience is partly about racial inequality. however, we are more than the descendents of the enslaved. we are a direct reflection of their dreams and aspirations. we believe our work is about truth and service. we are telling a new, broader, truer american story where african-americans are actors in history rather than spectators. for this reason, we are intentional in selecting african-american national treasurers that are rooted in activism, achievement, and architecture. in essence, we are reconstructing america's national identity. howard alum polly mary said one person plus one typewriter constitutes a movement. today, a movement can be launched with an iphone and a hash tag. the black lives at her movement has been beautifully rebranded. this spirit of activism has always been part of our team unity dna. it's evident at national treasurers like fort munro. fort munro has an underappreciated heritage related to the origins and ending of slavery in america. in 1690, the first slave ship to arrive in the new world deposited its cargo of human beings where fort munro now stands. in 1861 at a civil war rage, sheppard mallory, james townsend , enslaved african-americans, saw it protection at fort monroe. benjamin butler declared them contraband of war. as word spread, more than 500,000 enslaved people followed in the footsteps of mallory, baker, townsend, leading to one of our nation's most extraordinary and, until now, and overlooked story of self emancipation and self-determination. fast forward to the 20th century, the neat row houses and tree-line the streets of the pullman community in chicago harbor a multitude of stories. magnate social experiment became a catalyst for the first african-american union in the u.s. president, asa legrand off, would use his hard-fought victory at pullman to help end segregation in the military, defense contracting, and education. places matter. we believe these national treasures represent an important chapter in the story of civil rights. in the story of labor rights. we are proud to have played a role in creating the fort monroe and pullman national monument. at the pullman celebration, president obama said "you stand on the shoulders of giants. you stand on the site of great historic movement. that means you can initiate greatest stork movements by your own actions. pullman and 40 monroe are just two examples. institutions like the naacp, howard university, the southern christian leadership conference developed legal and nonviolent protest movements that forever have changed our nation. their stories are embedded in african-american national treasures. for example, by preserving the ,hildhood home of polly mary who was a trailblazing feminist, cofounder of the national organization of women, and the first african-american episcopal celebrate an unmatched legal mind. they're good martial once referred to her legal research as the bible of civil rights law. foundersreserve library, once the home to howard to distinguish law school, we honor charles hamilton houston and thurgood marshall's service. intellectual brilliance. as they crafted the strategy that made brown versus board of education a reality. founder library mad at. in birmingham, alabama, the motel was at the epicenter of the 1963 protest marches and was a war room before the movements top leaders. this is where dr. king made the decision to defy a court injunction and submit himself to being jailed to show solidarity with his local protesters. dr. king wrote a letter from a .irmingham jail segregation, ag gaston constructed the motel for the cities black elite and visiting african american luminaries. standing as a historic monument to the civil rights act of 1964, this vacant motel matters. obama is right. these stories of activism and achievement echo in the struggles for social justice we see today. ferguson, baltimore, chicago youth. latino americans, lgbt communities come and women can learn from these national treasures to use their voices for a positive change in the community. if we help ensure these stories are preserved. alongside the ag gaston motel is the sweet album in district in a land tech, once known as the richest negro street in america. todd said "they say philadelphia is the capital of boxing and joe frazier's gym is the white house. the african house is considered one of the finest examples of a creole landscape in america and the house is an exceptionally rare example of african building condition and crack the chip. from the mountain view club in arizona to the last surviving boyhood residents of malcolm x. , weoston, one of a handful are saving indelible places from the past. some elusive, others printed indelibly on the brain. then there are architectural marvels that take our breath away. a historic resident that embodies the optimism and perseverance of american entrepreneurship. madame cj walker was america's first self-made female millionaire. and i can 17, the new york times described her home and wonder house with a degree of elegance and extravagance that only a princess might envy. her state was designed by the first license of black architect in new york. walker created an intentional monument dedicated to her own life and to inspire her race to reach its highest potential. in her will, she said the madam located the beautiful palace and trust to her race after the life of herself and that of her daughter. as she thinks of it now, it will be held in memoriam of her. a museum or monument when in the after years, members of her race made to it because of the realism of such a grand result. understood the power of architecture to inspire great achievement in all-americans. and last, overlooking the nations capital founders library come is handsome sense of maturity and agents this is both beautiful and majestic and is arguably the architects best work. compared it to aladdin's palace. when the library opened in 1939, it was the largest of any and the most modern and sophisticated college library in the world. provided pioneering black architects of the freedom to design intentional monuments meant to be preserved. across the american landscape, howard university stood the most impressive institutional buildings. many are the heart of their academies and centers of learning. yet they too need to be revived and make new again to fulfill their intended purpose. from within 75 years, founders has to does this humble of intellectual and creative vitality. in "between the world and the " asdescribed his alma mater in neck of an founders is where he discovered his passion for writing. he said "i had a memory of myself as a young person sitting in founders library and reading james baldwin's "fire next time" cover to cover. black spaces and black culture matters. in the words of an unknown author who said "we age not by founderst by stories" library has many stories to tell. to our history, our community come and to our understanding of delightedand we are to partner with howard university to envision the next chapter and the life of founders library preserving its tangible, authentic history. if howardting tribute reaches its 150th anniversary in 2017. this is why we designated this hallowed ground our newest national treasure. closing, the recent historic places make an indelible mark on all of us is because they .epresent who we are by preserving african-american national treasures, our communal values and our contributions are no longer elusive. they are forever remembered as lasting testimony for the next generation of activists, achievers, architects. thank you. [applause] >> so we can now open it up to some questions. >> what is actually going to happen to founders library? >> it will probably take a couple years to do it right. we need to determine how we will implement here a building of this significance needs to be partly restored. there is a restoration strategy. also thinking how we can repurpose unutilized spaces here. we have to assemble a team of smart architect business leaders to secure the funding. >> we have a question from a student at howard university. >> how can we get involved in helping to preserve this? >> as an easy entry point, you via socialomote it media. you can sign your name on the picture board. you can also conduct research. we need more understanding about .he role of founders library then i'm hoping the university will build a transdisciplinary .eam informationhe system to really help to provide their input and thinking. >> what kind of training does it take to do this kind of work to record important places in american history? i love this. i'm adjunct faculty at the university of maryland and there are very few people of color that have graduate degrees and preservation. when i went to the university of kentucky, i was the first african-american to go into that program. you can be a professionally trained architect like my colleague. we also need a lot of folks from the world of business. when you really get down to it, the store preservation is real estate development. nonprofit managers that can help raise a funding to implement some of these visions. in many ways, you can be involved depending on what your area of interest is. >> good afternoon. i'm the executive director of the association for the study of african-american life and in of that at howard university. see thised to partnership with the national trust. my question is in addition to adding the history department onto the collaborative team you're talking about earlier, we are very interested in hearing what the students have to say about this because it's very important. technology we know is very important. other any plans as it relates to how we keep things innovative and what is happening relative to technology with the transformation? you are asking the tough questions, right? the conceptual planning phase for the library but that's an essential part of this. when we think about preservation, it's not only the building, at the national trust, are preservation strategy includes a collection and the building and landscape. >> good afternoon. my name is taylor hines and i'm engineeringhanical major at howard. the brown versus board of education preliminary writing was held in these walls. >> i think what makes founders unique to any other historic building in the country, let u's isacross hpc because that. there's no other place where legal minds, thought leaders develop a strategy that wasn't landmark designation and american history. that happened here. there is so much embodied thatre in these walls speaks to our contribution in american history. that's essential story and we have to make sure more americans are aware. we will take one more question. >> or the plan include what was previously considered? >> i don't know. i think it would make sense of we would build off of the initial plans. i thought they were strong. approach was a hybrid that included restoration repurpose thing of space. >> thank you all. [applause] >>. concludes our press conference. we hope you all have a wonderful day and if you are part of the media, we invite you to come to the front of the room for your interview opportunities. thank you all. >> this weekend, the c-span cities tour hosted by our charter communications cable partners takes you to montgomery, alabama to explore the city's history and literary culture. >> we show you a house that was the turning point for scott and zelda. when they moved here, the idea was to regroup. this house was a landing pad. it was a regrouping stage and it wasn't the sort of place or you're going to find scott and zelda engaging in domestic activities. of place theyt would be planting their next move. is wallacepens really does try to reach this racial moderate and try to campaign for the poor and working-class. naacp.e support of the unfortunately, he loses by a significant margin to john patterson and is a devastated by this loss. upset by thislly loss and considers it a failing. when people ask him what the take away from the campaign is, he says i try to talk about progressive improvements, good roads and schools and no one would listen. when i started talking about segregation, everyone started listening. -- watch this c-span the c-span cities tour on c-span3. , workingn cities tour with our cable affiliates and visiting cities across the country. >> this weekend on road to the white house rewind, in 1984 democratic debate with walter mondale, george mcgovern, and jesse jackson. here's a preview. first, i have made quite an issue out of the need for a new generation of leadership. i mean primarily those who have come into political life and leadership in the past decade ad that is because there is strong antigovernment feeling out there. i disagree with ronald reagan when he says he hates our government. i don't hate our government. i think we ought to have leaders that ask people what they can do for their country using the best instruments of our government but i think there is a fundamental difference between mondale and myself and i think we can meet the basic human needs and commitments of the people in this country by restoring entrepreneurship. 90 percent of new jobs have come from small businesses and i think the dedication of the democratic party to minority people shouldn't just be jobs, it should be the opportunity to own and operate as this is that create jobs. >> may i respond to that? >> we will get back to you. when i hear your new ideas, i'm reminded of that ad "where's the beef?" [laughter] >> let's keep going. [laughter] a minute. he's going to tell you where the beef is. >> watch the entire debate sunday at 10:00 a.m. sunday on our weekly series only on c-span3.