thumbnail of Aware!; 3004; Civil Rights Roundtable: Race Relations in America
Transcript
Hide -
If this transcript has significant errors that should be corrected, let us know, so we can add it to FIX IT+
no no the aware show we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal that they are endowed by their creator with certain an elite mobile rights that among these are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness this quote from the us declaration of independence has been called the most potent and consequential words in american history and it's considered a sweeping statement of human rights for many in this country the passage has been used to promote the rights of marginalized or under represented groups and represents a moral standard for which america should strive all of the election of president obama many have said this at all the end of racism in america and causes trouble first the whites has
truly been one however the southern christian far the southern poverty law center an organization that tracks and monitors hate groups and extremist throughout the us can it get fifty nine hundred thirty two acts of hate groups in the us to which florida has fifty one the third highest count so where are we in america what is the status of race relations in our nation as a struggle for civil rights truly been one recently three black us house of representatives including well known civil rights leader congressman john lewis who marched in support of the right to vote in nineteen sixty five claimed they were spat on and racial slurs shouted at them including the n word by some white members of the tea party movement as the congressman walked outside the us capitol the tea party members who were protesting at the time denied this even occurred without you know you have these words are shouted on our playgrounds more often than you might think incidents like this along with
disparities and housing employment education and healthcare went up the question that continues to be asked how far have we come and how far do we have to go to achieve equality eradicate hate and racism tonight on the aware show our guest who are engaged on the front lines of civil rights advocacy will share their perspectives as we try to gauge the status of race relations and civil rights in our nation with that in mind joining me here in our studios is our civil rights roundtable discussion and our guests include an icon in the syria reverend h j matthews next we have dr calvin a vet director of the escambia pensacola human relations commission next we have allison bennett a representative with the sclc which stands for the southern christian leadership conference pensacola chapter elbow mccorry mccorvey presidents at the end of a lazy
p pensacola branch jerry macintosh with movement for change susan watson regional director american civil liberties union of florida known as aclu dr tierney incomes principle of edwin elementary school an executive member of the end of a lazy p and also the equal opportunity acting chief it to feel it a year reserve banks pamela williams president at the end of a lazy be okaloosa county branch and last but certainly not least we have to instill it was also a member of the sclc pensacola chapter many voices one community here on the aware show thank you so much for being here each and every last one of you will begin with you reading matthew's because sometimes you don't know where you're going into you've looked at where you've been and you certainly an icon in civil rights you do that for us because they are going to where you think we are now well thank you so much but are listening to the opening statements of bob as the battle for
civil rights and one aka i think that a lot of us have been local sleep like the fact that we think that has been won but based on what i'm seeing now and what i asked saul back then in the early days of the movement are we have allowed ourselves to be pushed back all we had made some progress but now we are in the basis of being pushed back into recognition that are we certainly have a long way to go oh we we have been almost there almost there but now i had never seen the level of hatred in this country that i have witnessed this election of a president rock or bob and i have experience on terrible hatred in this country but the tea partiers and those who claim although they are working for the vestiges of the country are really working trying
to shove us back to the time that never should've been allison i know that you tell them say abu can either of you from your organizations can attest to probably what reverend activists saying now any of you can speak to this yes i think that the case is very well injustice anywhere that the right to justice everywhere necessarily true in this two thousand and ten so how far have we come to look at faces like giants who's joining us here for the show june your castle law tell us a little bit about your background before you even begin to explain to us what some of the things that you have separate my father was chinese and my mother was a cherokee indian and german arm but we suffered a lot too because the air and that we grew up in was after where were too and we were calm
racial slurs to home and the time we lived in virginia there was a lot of that one on there to them for instance you had to use as a calm the colored water fountain in the restroom but we were allowed to go to a choice of our school so we chose to white school because my parents felt that it was a better education and then after that there were still alive that went on on the playground like you say you wouldn't you wouldn't need frandsen and then you would go to their houses and think okay where were in a play but they're parents with you can play with her own she can come out today because it now know we were mixed and its wonders mix
in everybody's mics i guess you do without even now because you're still you're always going to be who you are but tell us what is that like now for you oh it's maybe a better person and become aware of things that happened when i was little so one make it a better place now and that's over a choir member of the southern christian leadership conference to make a difference and sure the us well let's talk a little bit about the tea party movement now i can say that being a journalist myself in actually haven't gone out and covered one of these party movements really recently i had a sense of i do a lot of golf because of what's been going on with it i didn't experience anything we have experiences that have been somewhat documented i think a lot of this now comes about because of the election of president barack obama we've never seen some of the words some of the things some of the signed some of the
things that have been have been shown to us having do you ever remember seeing anything like his eight k in your history or are worth author is at a high level though i've seen it on the near the days of the movement we saw all kind of things all kind of science in all kind of issues that were being made toward us as african americans but i think with the advent of the tea party as it has actually got worse after that again i've never seen it at the level it is right now and then these people who claimed that the teapot in is not fueled by racism or follow a lot i have to preface that by saying that will cost i think president of former president jimmy carter hit it on the hit when he said that these tea party isn't nothing but how people are feeling racism and awesomeness of grab that because that they're not in all of those they claimed to be demonstrating against a
plan and all of this but it is not a plan to submit its of the president himself who that haiti direct directed called and when it's directed toward him as mr bennett scenario is director paul it was so long if it's at a higher level i think the concern to a faith that so many people thought that a lot of that was over when he was elected without jerry district attorney in virginia who was wanted to note speakers that at the gun rallies they are having around the country what what is to rid of the need for the gun is if you have a protest that's a hero obama has already said siam legislation that you beat with a guns into the park without totally disagree with because i feel that we have enough guns already business on the streets that need some of them need to be
taken off and in our community there the young men and women that lend themselves at a huge number and paul bowles end of his used to say that there is no racism whatsoever when bob and his this was done as a man to me for them to make those payments it and you get slams where the blackmail with hitler moustache and all and you're using all kinds of language to take back our country and all of that we have to sit through sit through bulk republicans presidents but we respected the presidency itself and it has nothing to do with the presidency but that it has everything to do with ms blackmon in the face of american indians but some people cannot do with respect to this in terms of we talked about
the climate but it in december of two thousand nine i was the victim of a hate crime and some of the things which robin matthews talk about the we can really show anything here because it was racial the n word was used i thought there was a noose that was drawn on one of my cars and then there was you some of the pictures which were up sales figures in very graphic in the sixties but just be the climate is lending itself to the racial incidents hate crimes which are on the increase in the southern poverty law center's latest publication beer is one hate crime every hour that's nine thousand and eight so you know i can attest i'm a victim and when i did called the sheriff and because it was just on the windows and not on the air paint you know i was
told that they couldn't even recorded as vandalism some old pictures were taken no report was me and i knew it was wrong because of my position in the military as an equal opportunity person and of course i ended up calling for blue aliens who also were ceo who told me hearing don't take anything off cue cards and came out to the house and it was documented as an off base incident so we're talking about two thousand nine and now's two thousand ten this is continuing of course you know send them called a watch commander in the same chair and come back out take a report and take pictures but see that was not reported in the paper and on the news what initially happen was i was told they could write a report so how many other people of color specifically african americans have
been victims of hate crimes and maybe just we're told there's nothing that can be done yeah you do at math skills and the case unit and then some talk of people being unable to say that and there is there a legitimate anger out there but i don't think it's all racial if you will with that there's some anger i would be angry when the losses will have brought obama not one the privacy of approach an angry but i think this anger has has risen too little a word is a sellout folk ditty those who see is an opportunity to bring in the racial element of phrases we solve along with his passengers are that was signed by the governor today is certainly going to win it why'd it being racial profiling going on there very very heinous on i think these laws are being passed all over the country particularly in the south and so we've got to be careful on that folks are traveling chinese laws this is a state that isn't really to back this up in their back is out because they're angry because the
last election the fuel so now let's try to use the legislature too to enact laws that will move us backward rather than ticket for it but there is legitimate and are they are being rebuilt every four years of the bush administration that we've allowed our country to get into the mess that we're in that we're now trying to fix the problem is that their anger did seem to arise until after the election of our current president initiative and that angered some years ago when we were allowing financial institutions that take advantage of working families without any oversight whatsoever job hunters and this can confuse but isn't this place anger all of a sudden from the aclu in your perspective what what would you have to say about god i was just to say i think the tea party movement has just focus our attention on this that there is there has been an all and our communities aren't and racism all along i may it's just now really focused and people are are seeing it and paying
attention to it and where as before it was more institutionalized now they're carrying signs on lee we see racism and our art practice in and the community and law enforcement on that i've heard the n word used by law enforcement officers on here in escambia county so we can't just say it's it's just i think it's exacerbated by the election of brock obama but i think it's been here alive and well for a long time school system when a cultural or teacher can send an email to another teacher referring to er person using the n word and the superintendent never say anything to discourage that or we have principles
what demote it for no apparent reason and you do demote for blood brussels and you say that they're not ready to be possible with say health for a proud of time you know one black origin and role than a satanic our head football coach of the subcontinent would come out and said he'll see where thats a problem so they are insensitive to the students and the community and the environment that officials that come into our churches beyond election time and woman sighing and shake hands and grand but when they get in office they forget about the people who voted them in i think we're set right all not the cost level of racism and hatred of the cost of that apathy that we experience in the nile only where there's so many of us of african americans who have been low mostly to believe that everything is all right and
that only a certain actions anymore and then the tea party is of the lab and they out there calling attention to their calls well we'll we're being complacent and sitting back and pointing fingers of blame of course we do know that within a lot of the point but we need to realize that we point like that there's one common type of us and that's something that we can do in our community that these people realize that we don't know when fall asleep at the wheel sammon on that because as you pointed out there are many problems in our community but we as people in the community of not stepping up to make and demands on our local elected officials that our state officials to help correct some of these problems education for example education debt back yesterday it's been deteriorating for a number of years and every town we'd have brought the issue for what we failed to get support from the community to come
in and demand these changes that need to be made as long as the citizen of the skinnier county and the post college community at large in northwest florida large do not stand up to make demands on our local elected officials things are not going to change and there are a lot of problems and but the racial climate has been more focused today because we do have an african american president but that is not the problem the problem is there is a change of karen in this country and that changes come about because they're much our teresa is was soon become the main arteries and people have great fears about the campaign got a quiet here and called him a county with the coughing taking in in terms of bob ney be racially discrimination cases an area of
employment a fair housing and sores violations and others they're here we had about three hundred and fifty cases that will file of a hundred maybe six of those were african americans and that that's filled out the porch and looking at the bottom are demographics are at an area and make a great majority of those well and we were unable to mediate and making changes that have to be based on and made the formal complaints with the us and they were about to valid complaints and they went on to be an equal opportunity commission with it when they mate formal charges will if you had any doubt that race ever and yet there are over three hundred and thirty six cases eighty six at the cases this season that i mean it's look at our schools where charlene minority
children and children with disabilities into the juvenile justice system we call it the school to prison pipeline look at what we're doing with our people with former felony convictions stripping them of their right their voice and their right to vary on that that is so so many things that are going on in our community the idea is that look at the criminal justice system and the numbers of young black man and women that are serving time for kids for crimes that don't really hurt another person like dried serrano or whenever they share a constant to themselves we've got to step back were creating an atoll under class of people we've got to step back and stop this it's ridiculous and it's not the american way it's not true that the true american values that this country was founded on hot pursuit that we hear when we hear it we hear one group say
that we're were angry about the government you know we want the government to get out of our lives when it comes to healthcare and things at the same time they want government to be intrusion what they want government initiative to put a young black women women in jail in cuban prison what they want government to intrude when it comes to and actually work everyone they want them with what they want government for the when it comes to a government where we were looking at the government as it was to take your people who was revived quality health care for all the citizens or wants to ensure that things are right that most of the government's intrusive and it's in a way it's in that we have these tea party movement i went to a tea party a rally and for walt and just last week or so after american we are then i went there just as here for myself to see for myself and to ensure that the masses and i saw a locally with near the same issues of course most people they know me and so the river in practice but i do think we have to engage with that because they are still parts in most cases part rome communities and so rather than the same to
them recently going to turn you off because are angry because you don't agree with this i think we've got to be sure that we sit down with him and engage with and my concern as well as one of his razor blades jay is that the level of hatred anger that we're hearing we're sleeping and when we wake up when they're not talking a browner by people when something happens that sparked something in our community i'm afraid the outcome i'm really scared i mean i mean i'm speaking plainly that all is that we're hearing on one side is going to wake us up on the other side you're not gonna like what we see and so we've been quiet we have there has been little to sleep if you will but we've got to be careful that something doesn't spark the sleeping giant awakening like that the volatility that
civil liberties were muslim as if that actually living at all that it is a severe thunderstorm top of laughter no well i look forward to i'm steve inskeep you know so on although gavel if you say let's say that will protect america's been the most innocent yes yeah you didn't begin with you steve
or you know come to really make it out of that the question has to do with the representation of juvenile justice system to find things were really starting a white actress there who make this making his comment about that sleeping giant waking up though and that's a bubble that we're allowing this is going and the middle income into the school system this isn't a broad
statement has ruled that complain about in school says there's no reason that the cases are now i guess i kind of view and citizens of the state and refuse to focus was unsettling to start talking about juveniles being residents have been trying to get him just up the vault president jimmy carter how about you yeah funny because the nsa and targeted the senate ailsa
hour one fisherman i'm on top of them and some of their juvenile justice system and people in fire so there was talk about a sleeping giant and an album was talking about the thought process is before the assault their last because they have a lot these other people to dominate the conversation recording and it really gets started they're coming to me and shouted the question to get to world we are with discussion that we're not just a gift happened to say grounded you have commented on do you not going to be violent family who fell just
talk about maybe some because you get more of the sahel the pre crash because both that's code for just going to go back into town changes have you just can't explain what you mean by the sleeping giants and we'll go from there totally would the palestinians because but yeah i'm ready i'm ready how they find her with cleaning up thinking well it's that the silent majority that group of people who are hearing seeing what they're seeing on a television and a teleprompter yet they haven't responded believe he will i think it's that group that's really the majority after americans was white and others are hispanics who are seeing things
and perhaps becoming fearful what they see in this is something happens to spark that figure that i'm afraid that they may indeed we can we may have some problems and we've seen in the sixties and seventies you out here somewhere the horrible language only and italy c p telefon the recorded message is that we receive this is just actually are a moment when we have griesa before we hear that the masses of the left but what folks are saying and doing and so once it starts thank you and after we hear some was that of the public and for that i had recorded and why would i just worship come to the phone sometimes and or two and i was calling a sort of the lady who's calling us and that's not really new foreign organizations who are fighting against our discrimination hate negative thing because i know the southern poverty law center has received its fierce cheer
on threats and that sort of thing and no h k you on the front lines of the civil rights movement has had your life threatening anyone when you had to have special security around her house with force that so that's that's that's snacking i know you guys know that when you get to those frontlines of didn't have to deal with everyday so hot sauce you for doing it and i've got to do it really know they give each and every day that you have to do it at you you probably do have to separate the absolute ignorance mom you know there were a couple of the community will become reaction are we wait for something happens rather than being proactive and in and going out and looking at issues on the funny in because i know if you were confident a funny note the war about what could happen in the back the black community have become reactionary we wait for something has happened and they only one step up then and would do something about it but they may think that going on now that
we need to start saying things that when you start talking about the people in the tea party but if they're comfortable in selma for that they say doing what they do our military bases where someone in an email the lid fill law and with racial slurs and got picked up how people see the sign out to the portable in doing this this is not this is not a moment and no designer of all of disappointed i know i can say well mostly because i feel that that i feel like i've been is this is an injustice to me you know that that that the va actually kept i can is that the level of the people who didn't win and i was able just to suck it up and accept the fact and we didn't want you know that's a normal that that's normal for me but when
they don't know i am i mean they just didn't expect it last june of the american it was if it's all and if they've shown that particular behavior southern poverty law center the top of the show is indicating that there were nine hundred and thirty plus hate groups that demanded as carrie talk about earlier cases they're not documented how many are groups are out there that aren't documented were busy so maybe so favorable view the new car and the militia groups rule that we know about that are out in the surrounding area on the reservations are practicing and they're not even going to have names just groups of people who are out there doing things with guns and preparing to beat apple also the people not to and not to categorize people are because every republican is not awful and i am a democrat one thing that we have to be real
careful how we put people in likud and say just because this is a republican that less of that part because you know we got some good people on home almost out but the thing about me and i still get back to the point in a thing called a key ring and up and we all knew that we just gonna wake up we have got to wake up in this country because when you get to talk about the legal system is rotten to the core toyota call it like an eighth and these distributors who have the lives of people in their hands and the concern and the mob justice it ain't just as any more than just us so we have to be real will happen in villages the end due diligence to make sure that we come up at some kind of a way the kind of the boston early on and in this might not come across to sound too good but in a lot of instances where we used to call people grand dragons and they wore white role now we call people you on monday when a black girl
an end and then going away with so many of our young people and all the people in the african american community there and we just sit back and you know and say well you know we got to do it through the political system well last time but then there's another system that we view is that we don't have to get back to in all of the call attention top line you know people not paying of too much of the country where they revere and not too much attention a lot of labor played well they're comfortable in what they're doing and we know happen in a lot of the companies also have to find i think a van is i heard earlier duis culture diversity training and just to kind of segue into one minute talk about just yesterday there was one of the neighbors who came by and again this is months later which he did express arm her on now and say simply but she did say i'm so sorry what happened to you so it it went into conversation about i'm really close to
diversity and some train all of us have to play a part and i told her you know the golf courses right here but do you realize that the inventor of that tea was an african american and part of it is you know this one that we have to start somewhere close when you raise the awareness of the contributions of african americans and other ethnic groups to build in this country that it was built on our backs us as slaves and that's one of the things especially my dad and i i did years ago and two thousand six is two author of a book about the contributions of african americans which is a compilation in as a school principal it starts i think they're amused mccorvey talked about it with us because this is learned behavior these children don't come into the world when i was called the n word are four year olds in california else
in else are you as i was going up to high school that four year old didn't know what they were talking about is learning so that hate roles but all of us have a part of knowing your history and i think that sort of we can't be apathetic we have to have knowledge from whence we come the contributions we've made and just to give you a tag was going on you know it's for all americans and doesn't end of your book is called the african american quiz book for all americans a wealth of knowledge about history and culture past and present and it's a well laid out before church groups it's for organizations medium he went to the tea party and so that they think wears one in and that's one of the things that's happening in the ignorance of not knowing what we have done to contribute to this country and
and we have to have the knowledge so we can share of conversations and correct people when they think all we did was to be slaves in this in this particular god there's so many things we touch every day which has been the invention of an african american and other ethnic groups and so when you raise awareness is i research on this is he began to arm a lemonade when some cases but also to reduce the kind of a trip or misinformation that you have about people of color so and i think all that's you know all of us play a part in what we do with our friends with people who don't know so they can begin to you know it's a it's a it's on your mind if someone tells you what the truth is an idea that speaking to the fall and that's welcome to go let you brought all of that out because my question just before we went to you had something to do with some of the things an h jay ensley others that on the panel even said what came to do because most importantly by the time the show was over it's
not necessarily just to say here it is because our people experience of every day they know what it is they know it's here it's what can you do what we do and it's such an individual thing that limits the collective thing and we'd like to leave our view is with a sense of what can we do i mean she just mentioned let people know who we are we don't know we also was hand this really bright it own opinion of ourselves and i think in the book that isn't it explain it well you should explain to us who we are we are we don't need to try and condense all the people who we are we need to convince ourselves that we all were there was a momentum a sleeping giant on that the captain marvel that's called awakening the sleeping here on end and that book was of circulating although in south florida which would require reading for people in charge who
were costs we guess you know we just lost sight on the contributions that we make this concrete and and what were all we've done and as you said it was built on our backs corwin over body we were wearing the same ballpark so to speak because i believe hatred is taught there's not a child born into this world that come into this world not knowing how to speak in the language that we're under a hate word hatred is taught in the state of florida department of juvenile justice this statistics show from two thousand seven to two thousand nine eighty two thousand young people went through the system eighty two thousand so in our schools our worst teachers must be sensitive to the needs of the community and what are we teaching our
children if if if we are adults was in emails of hate or make the comment too loyal person who the brits tolkien who build a great job keeping the environment of our schools safer don't end up the garden sold a lot of them languages that have been used in the schools of them in escambia county and it has to be from the southern to live off his down they have to come out mr hahn building with a statement saying this rhetoric this bigotry this hatred would not be tolerated morris more than just just a statement because some behavior have to generate your mustang and ask all system there is an over representation coming out russell says the individual justices writer least in the town you know spoke with dr ross but when he said that they're coming in his courtroom and he's fighting the weekend which would charges that should've been helped them to school and not bring things to look
to the courts and he's the senate's something's got to be done without making changes and it has to do with remember most of us are teachers all of the minority rights and i'm an older i'm not understanding the culture when a kid might react and in many stores and they're all books that we know if you give him a few minutes to calm down to be back in place but what they do that the second thing he does it or she doesn't then they lost the panam call in the us are or will remember at the beginning of the chardonnay thompson was blessed and therefore is not learning and settle into a system that's way way way more than what he needs to be doing in terms of this is about this is that we're losing most of our students an elementary school there they lost before digital screen to fill justice last year from florida twenty thousand twenty thousand children in florida went from the public school system into the juvenile justice
system that's a waste what a last resource but opponents in the senate are not assassinations not the cost of the fed to get on film right wing because i was dancing to convince the vietnam war there all ends and when people will put themselves in places of thought that they have to battle brought the military right here in this county all i would dare say that the superintendent of screens is one the prime perpetrators of a lot of stuff is going on in these games always good to have that as your daredevil us ari you're a lawyer david mallory brave that day most in hope in my opinion are not the whole station lot of the superintendent is one of the main part of the message and then took into billy's question about what we can do and it's in the present we do for our statistics and tells you how bad this is probably you know the problem is we know it's been known as but the reality
is is what we have been when we were really telling people to do with this but you know for a look at the program and i think people have become engaged as as we've said earlier is that you know we're sitting at home or globe sleep without coming into it with a tea party that we're going to become engaged with the idea of what those who are opposed to our positions simply doesn't allow folks' voices being yelled at me and physicians being told were shooting at home without ever got over a school board meetings to county commission big star city council and we've got to stay on the front line and engage laws and things are being changed because were sitting you know and allowing it to happen and then you know combine the fact saying oh gee that's so what threat to us where where we are we will be running for office or weaver that simple little thing that you forts are greatly in others around this true default are forced to do to go and vote and we're finding you know we have sixty percent twenty percent turnout that's ridiculous so we can hold ourselves accountable to people as well look i'm oh i'm all for saying that folks are a bit of a
motto for showing that we got some work to do that we can do less sales we are going to be running around every time it's election time colorful fault of the churches will he get a ten percent turnout and then we wonder why we have the result we can continue to do their work for them to sleep and jack wakes up and becomes active in their community to really get rid of it you can get kerry said the media and many instances has been complicit complicity and happened to perpetuate a lot of the things that are going on especially if you watch on the politics of this country we talked to actually about conflict and resolutions and all of that and when you see that dates on television how big ten days how they attack one of them would get out of politics to become a bully mentality so that children see this and we act as if they don't see that but we're telling them don't do that is known to get about the same token
we adorn it will also the politicians of dawn the radio stations that we listen to all we listened to anyway if you listen to some of the stuff is coming out of bed the venom has come from there as poison the atmosphere in such a way that there are many good people began to believe this stuff yet lascivious and his boat that if you tell our long enough and big enough even you'll become the believe it so that there is a perpetual our lab has been told let's hear about people and about the situation and the condition and pinon they're not talking about the book the poverty that affects everybody both black white brown people and at the bottom of all of that the us policy joe let's get you back in this discussion what do you think is just someone who's in bob the sclc and as a minority or so would you think can be done well when the thing is that when a man can see a man as the
man or woman there's a moment a boy as a boy girls a girl and baby it's a baby not one color when they can see him as a man as it'll be better that you forgot and i see what you're saying that if you could ever happen what happens do we have a long way to go and shorts and if it's getting aid for the low level and i shot on the get that through repetition though it is with america's is there is a big bang and then one week we shared a dialogue what you do in a cabin without human voice and commissioned and cause damage what are some of the things you're doing on the economic front that out of ballots and in bringing equality and i think thank you start working with maritime park and we've been editor the url contractors advisory committee to try to assure that that we receive what was
stated in a covenant which was that and with the thirty eight million dollar project and that while the covenant that was written when we should be receiving thirty three percent those films that we extended for four constructing the park and we've requested to become leon's bozeman and it was dr sure that that happens also we've filed a cow for complaining as easy way mara and utilities company they received a hundred and thirty million dollars from half a mile to relocate our plan from downtown to can tom and that's public assistance grant money and once you receive that you are mandated day of inclusion of minority women and disabled firms and to a public records request found out that that's not happening so we will file a complaint we've now that receive back from other part of equal rights so far the committee homeland security who have accepted our complaint
and will be coming into pensacola to do an investigation and is it within minutes on an eighty days they will give us a finding all from a complaint that the unit that's at the fuel like economics is a major part of what happens happens if you if you give people a living wage a lot of our social ills what will change because people don't have to do things that they that they have to do and if you were not given the opportunities it it will never change so that's why officers don't look at those those these organizations in the end two to let everyone know all the other farms in organizations here in the city and county that were now putting eyes on and we will be watching everything that they do and if they don't they don't conform to what the data isn't new regulations are all we will do the same thing with the organization sclc what you
are going to you're on the struggle for civil rights but more importantly there's a new crime game convention committee that's long long well for people from ft ellie states attorney's office doctors' from our sacred heart and we are glad to be involved with that committee we will be going through the communities talking to the young people find out what were they angry about it is it is our very are disturbing to me that in the last three years we have had eight young people between the age of fourteen and nineteen murders in escambia county by other young people are so i asked sergei a hatred as tarp what what what is that young people are angry about it so well we'll glad to be a part of the game convention
committee will be going to different communities and engage young people are putting their faces on facebook with guns and money and then that marshland so someone is going to have to try to reach out to them but parenting we we want to say it's got to be a major part of it when you were working years ago we did a series of discussions here in the fiscal a community and none of those discussions were held on the campus europe etc and we dealt with the issues that effect in this community and they get away we came up with solutions but as is the case most of the time when you come up with solutions you presented to govern that you get the reply we don't have the resources to make it happen now we're still a fan resources for other things so we're going back to the day the local governments here say and we gave you the solution to the problem
now let's deal with it because these problems are not going to go away they're gonna continue to escalate and if we don't do something about it we gonna continue on as my friends will say a slip and janice gonna wake up is going to explode in this community and then they're going to be trying to put the lid on and it's not really possible to do we got to do it before i get to that point we got to deal with a very mature radio talk show you also are very active with the movement for change what did you see and what is your organization doing in what you as a journalist really well one of the things that that was move the chains do quite a few days but by the same token we look at issues like law enforcement we feel that that that that are agency is not known what you need to do we go out we get on a political move to change we go out and work to get another person elected over and over again this is one
thing but all know ailes for the radio show we try to educate people about what's going on in the community even knowledge that they wouldn't on there or not it from just listening to music because music alone isn't a step but it's not enough to feed our young people music they need to be educated so but then i worked with the mother with programmed to witnesses black middle of it where they bring in students to taste and how to think the tombstone but the ball toward for the moment do you you know you say you want the doctors lawyers in all of this but pat what have you done to to get to that level so you teach in the deep thinking of how to get how to get their finances in old already before they even get out of the tent lebanon twelfth grade also and you also have to look at the hockey and needs of our young people the security have air food is more have you know all of those things are all along all along sicha ways in that they have to
deal with and scoot to learn how to not get into the prison system itself so we work with that also very busy aclu what racial justice is one of our main purposes here in this region on when of course our work worked in the school to prison pipeline working with earl watching out of watchdog for law enforcement arn doing rights restoration and what i would love to date is to engage my colleagues here about here and and one day sit down and start to talk about some of these more institutionalize issues that we need to be able to get a rap for a hand on you know the record system you know those things that are really tough and hard to do and hard to figure out you know let's start this conversation
let's talk about the let's educate the community and see forward and that's what we're trying to do we be aware show and we plan to do something and fall to kind of blow this up a little bit bigger and take is imminent focus on hold it more so i think were on the same page with that susan i'm glad that you're saying that to get the cards when these guess you know and they keep that discussion going terry and that's an educator primarily sense that's a focal point i started in inner cities schools in oakland california now in florida but in terms of as a principal to have a diverse staff because children have to see african americans and other people of color in those teaching there though their children and that's how the appreciation increases it was at our school actually when president obama when the election results came and we had our kids go you know sixty seven percent of our children voted for president obama which is you know
it was part of the message they heard about all the things about change would starts with us so principles of color have to be hacked to step out and higher diverse staffs know what you do then you have trained what do the library's look like are those of us that organization's i'm in the late summer a member of the pensacola capital means incorporated we're philanthropic but we reach out to young people on the dealt and delta sigma theta we work with young girls we had some of those girls now are going on to college we went into places that they called not so desirable mainly low income areas but those young people we work with for several years american business owners association there's two ways can tell us just the things we've done in oakland's the county with our event lazy that the haiti event right in line
with the naacp so people will see the kinds of things we're trying to do to make communities better it takes all of us and it's you know it you'll be amazed how many african americans we represent thirteen set of this country and how many people are not members of the naacp sclc in the other organizations but we're out here fighting for their rights that needs to change people need to join forces and reach out to get into these communities one professor temple university set are african american students sit on the periphery of education of the last one because we're not include you know if you look at the filaments in the lights that was an invention of a of an individual louis latimer who had part to do to you we'll alexander graham bell only talk about others might lose lead over there was a war whose that there was an african american had something do with a phone we talk
about your ironing boards they're a boon because we were in the polls so we have to be able to to include that in the textbooks so our children are african american boys feel good about themselves our girls feel good about themselves and then other ethnic groups as they make contributions to this country that raises it increases the awareness and appreciation for so we have an outreach to do as educators and community people and you know the bible tells of the harvest is plentiful but the li river few we still have a lot of work to do in that as you said around this ruined so few people sometimes help was doing it we're about it takes a village to raise a child but it really takes the community to raise a village in we there's so much we need to do is not just focusing if you will on one thing we do need to be concerned about a health we'd be concern about economics about education law politics and all the things that are going on and it takes some villagers and there's too few of these villages
to me folks are still sitting back and allowing a few to try to do the work of many we need to get the entire village involved in that in this community and we've got to engage even those who don't agree with this do you have a comment it comes skills a minute past the start with you with with asking everybody became a caregiver unless you have a final say here rapping all the things that we all need to think about as people that we've got to and this is a whole attic turned to each other and stop turning on each other and i think that that's what we need to learn to do and when you talk about the contributions that we've made aw everybody knows about seeing is because they leave them a rulebook all of art robot who is also an african american and so a lot of walk ins know loud obnoxious don't
know our history and this is why sometimes we don't like to joke i found that mean i think that when you had some final comments that you wanted to make too i think this is a very important discussion we have enough to sit down and they figure sorry provided this opportunity for us in this august and will people you've got a lot of work to do in our own community which we talk about a country but the reality is as lookout reopened pensacola for walton question surrounding area does a lot of work was in the fourth to be done with their leaders to do the freedom of a comet education is the key we have to make sure i would children at an early age is receiving the best education they can receive and it i just can't thank the government of the sun and that belong yesterday putting twenty two million dollars more into choice groups and
thank you all for being here and thank you for being there that's all the time we have now korea we're show until next time stay informed his stay aware on tv shark tank mine the
Series
Aware!
Episode Number
3004
Episode
Civil Rights Roundtable: Race Relations in America
Producing Organization
WSRE
Contributing Organization
WSRE (Pensacola, Florida)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip-97258801287
If you have more information about this item than what is given here, or if you have concerns about this record, we want to know! Contact us, indicating the AAPB ID (cpb-aacip-97258801287).
Description
Episode Description
A civil rights roundtable of local leaders discussing the state of race relations in the U.S.
Series Description
AWARE! Explores the varied cultural interests of the many ethnic communities throughout Northwest Florida and parts of Alabama. Focusing on people and current issues, the series features guests who relate their encouraging, inspirational, and sometimes controversial but always entertaining stories.
Created Date
2010-04-23
Asset type
Episode
Subjects
Race relations--United States--21st century
Rights
Licensed under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal License ("no rights reserved").
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
01:02:37.776
Embed Code
Copy and paste this HTML to include AAPB content on your blog or webpage.
Credits
Guest: Susan Watson
Producing Organization: WSRE
AAPB Contributor Holdings
WSRE
Identifier: cpb-aacip-ac3bc37bbc6 (Filename)
Format: Betacam: SP
Duration: 01:02:38
If you have a copy of this asset and would like us to add it to our catalog, please contact us.
Citations
Chicago: “Aware!; 3004; Civil Rights Roundtable: Race Relations in America,” 2010-04-23, WSRE, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed March 28, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-97258801287.
MLA: “Aware!; 3004; Civil Rights Roundtable: Race Relations in America.” 2010-04-23. WSRE, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. March 28, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-97258801287>.
APA: Aware!; 3004; Civil Rights Roundtable: Race Relations in America. Boston, MA: WSRE, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-97258801287