Tim Wise Lecture - 'Colorblind' (2016)

0:05good evening students faculty and staff

0:07and of course our special guest Tim

0:09Weise I am Dr Luis Paredes your director

0:13of diversity and inclusion here at

0:14Stetson University that's

0:19right tonight's event is sponsored by

0:22the cross cultural center and the office

0:24of fraternity and sorority

0:28involvement as part of our ongoing

0:30Vision to be an institution of inclusive

0:33Excellence where the power of diversity

0:35is maximized and celebrated as a

0:37strength we provide various

0:39opportunities to gather in community and

0:42have dialogue and learning it is

0:44important as a community of Learners to

0:47gather and reflect on current social

0:50cultural issues relating to power

0:52dynamics associated with racial

0:55constructions labelings and ideals of

0:58belonging

1:00as individuals and as a collective we

1:03should actively assess the ways in which

1:04our identity and diversity does affects

1:08our University and presents

1:10opportunities for learning and action it

1:13is my hope that tonight we all

1:16participate in a provocative and deep

1:19conversation during which we examine the

1:21complex the complexities of race and

1:24identity in our campus National and

1:27Global

1:28narratives a little bit bit about our

1:30guest tonight Tim Weiss Tim Weiss's

1:33anti-racism work traces back to his days

1:36as a college activist in the 1980s

1:40fighting for divestment from and

1:42economic sanctions against aparti South

1:45Africa after graduation he threw himself

1:48into social justice efforts full-time as

1:51a youth coordinator and associate

1:53director of the Louisiana Coalition

1:55Against Racism and Nazism the largest of

1:58the many groups organized in the early

1:591990s 90s to defeat the political

2:02candidacies of white supremacist and

2:05former KKK leader David Duke from there

2:09he became a community organizer in New

2:11Orleans public housing and a policy

2:15analyst for a Children's Advocacy group

2:17focused on combating poverty and

2:20economic inequity he has served as an

2:23ajan professor at the Smith College

2:25School of Social Work in Northampton

2:27Massachusetts and from 1999 9 to 2003 he

2:31was an advisor to the Fisk University

2:33race relations Institute in Nashville

2:36Tennessee we are happy to welcome Tim

2:39Weiss thank you thanks wow this is crazy

2:44like I didn't expect I was here 11 years

2:48ago and I think we had like 11 people

2:51and they were only in the room because

2:53they had been forced as punishment to

2:55read my book which is really awesome

2:58when you write a book and they give it

2:59as pun punishment because somebody did

3:01some stupid racist and that's what

3:03happened it was like the women's

3:04softball team there was some racist

3:07incident and they're like oh we know how

3:08we're going to solve that we're going to

3:09make them read this book they don't want

3:11to read amazing and they brought me in

3:14and I was supposed to talk to them great

3:16if you ever write a book and have

3:18somebody assigned it as punishment you

3:20know you've really arrived your ego will

3:22be taken down several notches as was

3:25mine this on the other hand is fantastic

3:28because in order for all of you be here

3:30as punishment there would have to be

3:32some crazy amount of racist

3:34happening on the campus and I'm going to

3:36really hope that that is not the case

3:39and if it is do not let me know I need

3:40to get out of here relatively safely um

3:43I guess extra credit still counts for

3:45something though which is nice right to

3:47see because I know that When the Crowds

3:49Are this big usually there's been some

3:50academic bribery involved I'm cool with

3:53that I don't really care why you came

3:55like I don't care whether you're here

3:57because issues of racism or like the

3:59stuff that gets you out of bed in the

4:00morning and it gets your blood pumping

4:02or whether you're here for the extra

4:04credit either way you're here and I'm

4:06here and I keep the lights on very

4:08deliberately so that if you get up to

4:10leave I will totally notice and call

4:12that out so you might just want to

4:13hang out it's just an hour of your life

4:16you ain't going to get it back again but

4:17it won't be that painful and it'll

4:19hopefully be informative you're not

4:21under any obligation to agree with the

4:24things that I say the only thing you

4:26have to do is listen and then commit to

4:28thinking about some of the things things

4:29that I say and then having this

4:31conversation and continuing this

4:33dialogue with the folks on this campus

4:35who I have no doubt both faculty staff

4:39administrators and students have been

4:41wanting and Desiring this conversation

4:45and real traction around issues of

4:47racial equity for a long time and those

4:49folks are

4:51disproportionately people of color to

4:53whom we need to learn to listen and

4:55whose lead we need those of us called

4:57White to follow when it comes to

4:59creating Equity so on the one hand I'm

5:01very glad to be here as you know a

5:04aspiring white Ally to talk about these

5:06issues but the real work and the real

5:08leaders on this subject whether we're

5:10talking about it this or any other

5:11campus or those folks of color who live

5:13with issues of race and racism every day

5:16who speak out about them every week and

5:18yet who were often ignored I hope that

5:21the next time there is a program on this

5:22campus in which not a white man but a

5:26person of color is above you on this

5:29podium speaking that you will be here

5:31just as readily as you are this evening

5:34because only then will we really know

5:36that we're making progress as a society

5:38when a person of color can get up and

5:40say all of the things that I'm about to

5:42say in the next hour and be taken as

5:44seriously as I expect to be and get the

5:47amazing Applause that I'm totally going

5:48to get when I'm done because this is

5:49going to be really great um or now you

5:52know whatever that's great too

5:56um so here's the thing the the reason

5:58I'm really glad you're here even even if

5:59it's for the academic bribery piece of

6:01the extra credit is that a lot of times

6:03when we have discussions about race on

6:05campus and I've been doing this work for

6:06a long time been doing anti-racism and

6:08civil rights work for 25 years I've been

6:10doing it on the lecture circuit for 21

6:12of those and a lot of times people don't

6:15come to these events because they are

6:17under the impression and they have every

6:18reason to be they've been encouraged to

6:21think that we don't have to have this

6:22conversation anymore that we've attained

6:25some level of post

6:27raciality as a society and so this

6:29conversation is p this conversation is

6:32tired we don't have to talk about race

6:34and we know this because having a man of

6:36color as president for the last roughly

6:38eight years proves that we can't really

6:39have a problem with racism of course if

6:42we were to think about that for just a

6:44second and we were to ask if that were

6:46true for gender so if I were to say for

6:48instance does it mean that there is no

6:50sexism in England because Margaret

6:52Thatcher was the head of state there or

6:55if I were to say that there is no

6:56patriarchy in Pakistan because a woman

6:59Benazir B was elected there not once but

7:02twice now she has been assassinated

7:04since so it lets you know how much some

7:06folks loved her but if I were to suggest

7:08that there was no sexism no patriarchy

7:10no rape culture in any of the many

7:13nations where women have been heads of

7:15state in Ireland in Israel in India

7:17Great Britain the Philippines Pakistan

7:20Germany right now I think every woman in

7:22the room at the very least would know

7:23that I'd lost my mind right I don't

7:26think there are any women in this room

7:27who plan on packing your bags and moving

7:29to Karachi tomorrow just because Benazir

7:31B was the head of state because we

7:34understand that just because a woman can

7:36attain the Pinnacle of political

7:38leadership doesn't mean that millions of

7:40other women do not face sexism

7:43individual accomplishment doesn't tell

7:45us anything in and of itself about

7:47systemic structural institutional

7:50society-wide truth but when it comes to

7:53race we apparently believe it does in

7:54this country so the presence of a man of

7:56color in the head of itical leadership

8:00we are to believe and we are told means

8:02that we don't have to have this

8:03conversation or we're told that it's not

8:06that we don't have to have it it's just

8:07that having it makes things worse you'll

8:09hear that people will say if you would

8:11just not talk about racism racism would

8:13go away it's people like you meaning

8:15people like me who keep racism Alive by

8:18insisting on discussing it yes of course

8:20because we all know that social problems

8:23are the result of conversations about

8:25social problems we all know that right

8:27like if I were going to give a talk

8:28about world hunger I'm sure you would

8:30all agree that I probably shouldn't do

8:32that because if I open my mouth and tell

8:34you that there are billions of children

8:36on this planet starving from lack of

8:38nutrition that I probably ought not say

8:40it because if I say it that's why they

8:42will starve right and if I would just be

8:44quiet if I would just be silent that

8:47somehow food would miraculously appear

8:49on their plates right to blame the

8:52conversation for the problem is like

8:54blaming your speedometer for your

8:56speeding ticket right the speedometer

8:58didn't cause you to go 80 and a 65 all

9:01it did was tell you what you've done

9:03right it's just a way of transmitting

9:05information that's all that a

9:06conversation about racist it can't be

9:08blamed for the problem of racism there

9:10wouldn't be a need for the conversation

9:12were the problem of racism not in

9:13existence the same is true with any

9:15other social problem so we have to move

9:17past this idea that the more we talk

9:20about it the worst it gets because

9:21there's no other problem about which we

9:23would say that with a straight face now

9:25having said that I don't want to suggest

9:27that any conversation will do just

9:30because we have to have a discussion

9:32about these issues doesn't mean that

9:34it's irrelevant how we talk about it

9:36there are better and worse ways of

9:39addressing the issue of race and racism

9:41and I want to suggest to you that by and

9:43large our problem stems I think from

9:45three large issues or barriers to

9:48effective dialogue things that keep us

9:50from having the kind of discussion that

9:52we really need to have maybe four if I

9:55have time but three for sure the first

9:58is that for the most part we steadfastly

10:01refuse to accept that we ourselves

10:03Harbor racial bias in other words we

10:06take this view that we have attained

10:08this Pinnacle of colorblindness that we

10:10do not see or think about race that yes

10:12there may be other people out there who

10:14are racist but not me my Uncle Jim he's

10:15an but not me you see I don't

10:18have any of that bias I have you know I

10:20have black friends I dated an Asian

10:22woman once I have a dream catcher in my

10:24rearview mirror and now I have come to

10:28the conclusion that my great great great

10:29grandmother was a Cherokee princess I

10:31can't

10:32possibly have any racism in me that's

10:35somebody else's problem not mine so our

10:38inability to see ourselves as racially

10:40biased makes it very difficult to have

10:42an honest conversation because we spend

10:44so much time trying to divide ourselves

10:47into the good people who are not racist

10:49and the bad people who are racist that

10:51we miss the fact that we're all being

10:53programmed and conditioned in racist

10:56ways every day so I'll have more to say

10:57about that in a second but the second

10:59problem that keeps us from having real

11:02dialogue and making progress and taking

11:04action after the dialogue is that even

11:07when we are willing to acknowledge

11:09personal bias we don't see the systemic

11:11problem so we might be willing to attack

11:14the individual racist who does something

11:16on a college campus we might be willing

11:19for instance to punish the women on the

11:21softball team here at Stetson in 2005

11:23who did whatever it was they did I've

11:25forgotten now what it happened but we

11:28can punish them we can make them read my

11:30book we could theoretically kick them

11:31off campus we could do whatever right

11:34but that doesn't necessarily get it the

11:36systemic and the institutional the

11:38structural problems so I want us to talk

11:40about the difference right between the

11:42individual and personal on the one hand

11:44and the structural and the institutional

11:46on the other so we'll talk more about

11:48that the third thing and this is big and

11:50I'll spend the bulk of my time on this

11:53is that we refuse to acknowledge the way

11:55that history affects where we are today

11:58the way that the the past affects the

12:00present we have this incredibly

12:02ahistorical view right that the past is

12:04the past and it doesn't matter the

12:06present is now the future is then it's a

12:08very linear thing right what happens in

12:11one generation apparently doesn't affect

12:13the next in our mind and we don't want

12:15to talk about the history of racism in

12:17our country even though unless you

12:19understand that history you cannot

12:21understand anything that you see today

12:24with regard to racial disparities in

12:26this country it is impossible to

12:28understand everything from where people

12:29live and where they don't unless you

12:31understand that history it is impossible

12:33to understand disparities in wealth or

12:35income or educational outcomes unless

12:38you understand that history it is

12:40absolutely impossible to understand why

12:42police are 21 times more likely to kill

12:45young black men than young white men two

12:47to three times more likely to do so even

12:49when those men are unarmed unless you

12:51understand the history of law

12:52enforcement policing and how we got to

12:54this space it is impossible to

12:58understand the current drama concerning

13:00the issue of immigration unless you

13:02understand our history and particularly

13:04how we have misremembered it it isn't

13:07just a matter of how the past affects

13:08the present it's how we remember the

13:10past or misremember it also affects the

13:13present and I'll have a lot to say about

13:16that and if I have time there will be

13:18one more but I won't tell you what it is

13:19yet because I may not have time and we

13:21may just have to save that for a

13:22different day so let's talk about these

13:24one at a time first the individual piece

13:27right this idea that yes there's racism

13:29but not me I as the saying goes don't

13:31have a racist bone in my bodies I have

13:34all those black friends this is

13:35something that African-American folk are

13:37intimately familiar with this line that

13:39we as white folks use oh I've got black

13:41friends so I can't possibly be racist

13:43first of all usually let's just be

13:45honest when we say we have black friends

13:46we are usually lying I'm just wanting to

13:48be honest and truthful here I'm not

13:50saying that sometimes we're not telling

13:52the truth but most of the time we're not

13:53how do I know that very simple because a

13:56few years ago there was a survey that

13:58was taken where they found that 75% of

14:01white Americans which that year was 142

14:05million white people said that we had

14:08many black friends now I want you to

14:10think about that when you say many you

14:13just told me what you meant see I know

14:15what many means if you wanted to tell me

14:17that you had one black friend which I

14:19might have believed you would have said

14:21a not many if you wanted to tell me that

14:24you had two black friends which all

14:26right maybe you would have said a couple

14:28not many if you wanted to tell me you

14:30had three black friends which now I'm

14:32really starting to think you might be

14:33lying you would have said a few so when

14:36you say you have many you just said you

14:37had four or more black friends each keep

14:39in mind the numbers 142 million white

14:42people who said that they had four or

14:44more black friends each and there were

14:46only 35 million black people to go

14:48around that

14:50year half of whom said they didn't even

14:52have one white

14:56friend so actually there weren't even 30

14:59million black folk for us to hang out

15:01with and play with and party with it was

15:03like 17 A5 million black people to go

15:05around for 142 million white people I

15:08wasn't good at math but I'm seeing a

15:10problem between the numerator and the

15:12denominator as the saying goes right I'm

15:15not saying that we might not be friendly

15:17with people of color but there's a

15:19difference between being friendly

15:22talking to folks in the res Hall talking

15:23to folks when you see them on campus or

15:25around the water cooler at work and

15:27actually being friends but more

15:29importantly even if every one of us was

15:30telling the truth it wouldn't matter

15:32would it what does having friends of

15:34color have to do with whether or not you

15:35might be racially biased see we act like

15:38somehow that's a get out of jail free

15:40card that we can't be racist if we have

15:42black friends think about the logic of

15:44that if that were true then heterosexual

15:46straight men could never be sexist

15:48because our Ultimate Defense would be

15:50what I love women I date women I'm

15:52married me a woman I can't be sexist I

15:56sleep with women how can I be sexist

15:59the only sexist men are gay men by that

16:01logic which makes no damn sense at

16:06all right and we would recognize the the

16:08idea the women in this room think that

16:10they're like no sexist heterosexual men

16:12I doubt that any of you would not in

16:15agreement with that but that's sort of

16:16The Logical analogy from these some of

16:19my best friends are black or Lettin know

16:21or I dated an Asian woman or whatever

16:23none of that matters right it sort of

16:25misses the point that one can have

16:27personal bias even if if one has

16:30personal closeness to people from a

16:32different group because what you can do

16:33is carve out an exception for those

16:35handful that you like and still hold on

16:38to biases about the larger group there

16:39was actually a survey that was done

16:41right before the 2008 presidential

16:43election where it was found that

16:45something like 40% of white Democrats

16:48right when they were ped said yeah they

16:51were going to vote for uh President

16:53Obama there were 40% who said yes they

16:55were going to vote for him but that they

16:57still held on to very serious racial

16:59stereotypes about the larger black

17:01community so they had created an

17:03exception you know for Barack Obama but

17:06the way that they viewed the larger

17:07community of black folks was still

17:08negative so is that racism or not I

17:11would say it's a 2.0 version 3.0 version

17:14but it's still a form of bias so the

17:16idea that we're not personally biased

17:19just because of our connection to people

17:21of color doesn't really wash but more

17:23importantly we know from the research

17:25that it just isn't true right that in

17:27fact the overwhelming majority maity of

17:29us have been conditioned to Harbor

17:31racial biases and as a result we do so

17:34the overwhelming data suggests that most

17:37all of us have to some extent or another

17:39internalized certain negative

17:40stereotypical biases against black folks

17:43against Latino folk against Muslims in a

17:45post 911 environment against poor people

17:48of all Races and ethnicities against

17:50women as women regardless of class or

17:52race against lgbtq folks against

17:55disabled people WR any time that a group

17:57is marginalized they're com certain

17:59stigmas and stereotypes and we're all

18:01familiar with them and not only are we

18:03familiar with them the research says

18:05overwhelmingly we actually have

18:07internalized them in fact the research

18:09says that about 45% of black folks

18:12nearly half have actually internalized

18:14negative biases against other black

18:16folks so it isn't just white folks who

18:19get conditioned even the one who's the

18:21target of The Stereotype is vulnerable

18:24to internalizing it so there was this

18:26study a few years back just to give you

18:27an example of what I me

18:29where they took these nice white liberal

18:31people who didn't have any overt racism

18:33so far as anybody could tell and they

18:35hooked them up in a lab setting to these

18:37brain scan monitoring machines right so

18:40they put the electrodes on the head and

18:42they're monitoring the brain scan images

18:45right and they start to flash images on

18:46a computer screen in front of the

18:49subjects who were taking this test keep

18:51in mind none of these people are overt

18:52racists none of them are clansmen

18:54they're not white supremists or skin

18:55heads right they're sitting in front of

18:56a screen and they're being shown imag

18:59and the images are being flashed so

19:01quickly that their brain can't even

19:03consciously know what it saw right so

19:05it's like 85 milliseconds or something

19:08this is stuff that they used to do back

19:09in the 50s in movie theaters they would

19:11actually do this right they would put

19:13these subliminal messages on the screen

19:15they'd like go into the film and they'd

19:17like insert the word popcorn on the film

19:20right so you're sitting there watching

19:21the film and all of a sudden you're like

19:22damn I need some popcorn you don't even

19:25know where that came from it's a

19:26subliminal message they just flash it

19:28really quick your conscious mind doesn't

19:30know they stopped doing that in the

19:31movies I think right but how would I

19:33know I have no idea maybe they're still

19:35doing it I don't know but what I do know

19:37is that in this particular case they're

19:39flashing these images for 85

19:40milliseconds and most of the images were

19:42sort of meaningless like a beach ball a

19:45bunny rabbit a blade of grass a tree

19:47whatever and there wasn't a whole lot of

19:49activity on the brain scan right not a

19:51lot was going on but then they flashed

19:53an image of a black male face for 85

19:58Mill seconds once again your conscious

20:00brain doesn't even know what it saw or

20:02that it even saw anything but

20:04subconsciously your brain is responding

20:06what happen well that part of the

20:08brain that responds to anxiety and fear

20:13lit up like a Christmas tree right that

20:15part that tries to regulate after you're

20:17afraid of something it's called

20:18executive function so when you have an

20:20irrational response that you're trying

20:22to control it lights up because you're

20:24trying to get a control of your emotions

20:25the point being you only had to get

20:27control of your emotions cuz there was

20:28some kind of a fear response in the

20:30first place and this was among nice

20:32white liberal people without any overt

20:34racism at all what does it mean that

20:37even people with no overt bias could

20:39still have a type of subconscious

20:41priming that allows them to respond that

20:44way and that was in a nice comfortable

20:46lab man they're sitting there with

20:47bottles of water and air conditioning

20:49sitting in a nice cushy chair what do

20:51you think that might imply for law

20:54enforcement on the street when they

20:55encounter folks of color in situations

20:58that are not nearly that comfortable and

20:59that easy what might it mean for a

21:01teacher in a classroom when they're

21:03interacting with students in a situation

21:05that might be stressful and how they

21:07respond to that child see what this

21:09tells us is that we can be conditioned

21:11to have these responses even though we

21:13don't even know we have them right

21:16because why advertising Works

21:19advertising Works what do I mean by that

21:21think about a couple weeks ago Super

21:23Bowl right these companies spend

21:25hundreds of millions of dollars to sell

21:28you a bunch of stuff right so they're

21:30trying to sell you Sprint plan they're

21:32trying to sell you certain types of

21:33toilet paper toothpaste beer Diet Coke

21:36whatever the hell Drake was trying to

21:37sell right they we're selling you all

21:39this stuff and these companies spend

21:40like a hundred million I think that was

21:42the Sprint ad was Drake right 100

21:44million dollars or more to try to take

21:46out these ads and sell you consumer

21:48products why because they understand

21:50that the more you see their ad the

21:52better odds are that you will buy their

21:54junk right and that happens we know

21:56actually in the world of marketing there

21:57is a theory called the rule of 12 right

22:01and what the rule of 12 says is that

22:03when you've seen an ad a dozen times

22:05that's the moment where you're

22:06exponentially more likely to go buy the

22:08product right so like the first couple

22:10times you see it you're like sometimes

22:12if you're like me you look at the ad

22:13you're like what the hell was that I

22:14don't even know what that was an ad for

22:17like these people are stupid I'm not

22:19going to buy there I don't even know

22:20what the hell it was these people are

22:21idiots oh you think they're idiots they

22:23just spent millions of dollars you think

22:25they're they're just throwing money away

22:26no they know what they're doing they

22:28give you you a vague innocuous ad the

22:30first few times cuz then you'll be the

22:31fifth time sixth time you'll be like I

22:32got to pay attention to that that

22:34was crazy the first four times now all

22:36of the sudden you're looking at it

22:37you're like oh Taco Bell Crunch

22:41Wrap breakfast Crunch Wrap right and at

22:44first you're still like that's

22:46ridiculous why would I want a taco

22:49wrapped up like a burrito with a egg and

22:50a piece of sausage in it at 6 o'clock in

22:52the damn morning why do I need that

22:54nobody ever wanted that reverse the

22:56clock 5 years before they had that you

22:58think anybody was lobbying for a

23:00breakfast crunch WP at 6:00 in the

23:01morning any of y'all write a letter to

23:03Taco Bell like you know what we need at

23:056:00 a.m. is a taco wrapped up like a

23:07burrito with an egg and a piece of

23:08sausage in it nobody was asking for that

23:11but some genius at Taco Bell was like

23:13watch this and he creates the product or

23:17she does they create a ad campaign for

23:18it now you got folks around the block

23:20they're like I'm not eating Egg

23:21McMuffins anymore screw Egg McMuffins

23:23I'm all about a breakfast Crunch Wrap

23:25and they sold you on it cuz you saw the

23:27ad 10 times 20 times 30 times and then

23:30folks started trying it now if that can

23:32work with Taco Bell it can work with

23:34toilet paper toothpaste tennis shoes

23:36cell phones candy right think about how

23:39much easier it is to sell you on a

23:41racial stereotype because you've seen

23:44that ad metaphorically speaking more

23:46than just 12 times right we've been

23:49exposed to those stereotypes way more

23:51than 12 times by the time we're young

23:53adults we've been exposed to that stuff

23:54all of our lives and it takes root in us

23:57whether we want to acknowledge it or not

23:59and if we don't acknowledge it see it's

24:01very hard for us to move forward because

24:03we're so busy saying you're a racist but

24:05I'm not you're prejudice but I'm not

24:07you've got bias but I don't that we

24:08can't even see ourselves in the work but

24:11let me tell you something this thing can

24:13affect everyone even no matter how

24:15Progressive you think you are no matter

24:16what kind of progressive home that you

24:18were raised in and I know this from

24:20personal experience because I've seen it

24:22my own children my wife and I have two

24:24daughters they're 14 and 12 but when

24:27they were seven and 5 one Sunday

24:29afternoon we're sitting around and it's

24:31raining out right can't really go to the

24:34park so we're looking for a TV looking

24:36for a movie to watch on the satellite

24:39cable satellite deal or whatever right

24:40so we're flipping around the on demand

24:42Comcast thing and looking at trailers

24:45looking at commercials for different

24:46movies and we come across the trailer

24:49for the movie Evan Almighty if y'all

24:50remember that it was comedy where Steve

24:53Carell plays a congressman and Morgan

24:54Freeman plays God and Morgan Freeman

24:57tells Steve Carell that big flood is

24:58coming and he should build an ark like

25:00Noah and ride it out you know it's sort

25:02of cute it's like the modern retelling

25:04of the Noah and the Ark story I guess

25:06you and as it turns out my wife and two

25:10daughters had already seen the film at

25:12the theater so they didn't necessarily

25:14want to watch it again that Sunday but

25:16because they had seen it they recognized

25:18the actors on the trailer and they

25:21recognized some of the dialogue right so

25:23it got their attention and the youngest

25:25of my daughters at that time Rachel

25:26right she's five years old she looks up

25:28and she does what any 5-year-old would

25:30do she says daddy is that God pointing

25:32at Morgan Freeman right in the flowing

25:34white robes in the role of God and I

25:36thought that was sort of cute because

25:37that's exactly what you would say at

25:39five right I mean like when you're five

25:41you don't know anything about the Screen

25:42Actor Guild or like casting directors

25:45right you just figure maybe God wanted

25:47to make a movie and if God wanted to

25:50make a movie odds are God could get the

25:52movie made like it wouldn't be hard for

25:54God now one would hope that he would

25:56make a movie that you know got better

25:58than 23% on Rotten Tomatoes but but at

26:01least in theory this could get done so

26:03my 5-year-old asked the question I sort

26:05of laugh at it I'm like no Rachel no

26:07that's not God that's just an actor

26:09that's Morgan Freeman he plays God often

26:12he'll probably be in this role again he

26:14sort of gets it over and over and over

26:16um but it's just an actor playing a part

26:19and she's like oh okay good cool and I

26:21thought the conversation was over with

26:23right but it wasn't because then the

26:25seven-year-old Ashton looks up now she's

26:27interested in this

26:29conversation she looks up she sees

26:31Morgan Freeman in the role of God looks

26:33at her sister starts to laugh and she

26:34goes Rachel that can't be

26:37God and I knew in that moment two things

26:40as surely as I knew my own name right

26:42one was that I was going to have to ask

26:44her why not and secondly I already knew

26:47what her answer was going to be before I

26:48ever asked her the question but I knew I

26:51had to ask it now I was hoping for some

26:52help from my wife so I looked to the

26:55left where she was sitting and I got

26:57nothing

26:59at all except the look that was like

27:00yeah smartass this would be your area of

27:03expertise I really got nothing for you I

27:05might take some pictures and scrapbook

27:07this precious moment but beyond that I

27:10got nothing so I knew it was on me I

27:12looked back at my daughter and I asked

27:14her the question I said why why can't

27:15that be God and in the moment before she

27:17answered I had this fantasy this really

27:19brief like blip of a fantasy in my brain

27:21where she was going to give me a really

27:23great answer not the one I'm expecting

27:25but one that I'm hoping for like well

27:27Daddy that can't be God CU God is a

27:28woman that would have been

27:31cool that's not what she says I'm also

27:33thinking maybe she'll say something like

27:35really deep and philosophical like some

27:37existentialist answer like oh Father

27:40what is God

27:43anyway but she was seven so she didn't

27:46give me that instead she gives me

27:49exactly what I knew she would she says

27:51that can't be God because God isn't

27:52black God is white

27:54now please know this and it probably

27:57won't surprise you to learn if you

27:58didn't already know we don't have any

28:00racialized images of a deity in our home

28:04no racial we don't have any images of a

28:05deity at all in our home but certainly

28:08no racialized images of a God right we

28:11never allowed those awful one might say

28:14God awful if one was intended to giving

28:16puns and right those god- awful

28:18children's Bible books that permeate the

28:22South if you're from the south like I am

28:23they have in every damn pediatrician's

28:25office right the blue books the Bible

28:28series cuz you know that's what you need

28:29when you get your booster shot is a

28:31little God talk that's really important

28:33you know so they have these God aul blue

28:36children's bible stories the ones that

28:37make Adam and Eve look like they were in

28:39the garden of Sweden right right Adam

28:42looks like Justin Bieber I mean like old

28:44school with the Bob Justin Bieber not

28:46like ripped and tattooed Justin Bieber I

28:48mean like old school Justin Bieber it's

28:50absurd right the idea that the first

28:52human beings look like that right

28:56obviously absurd there's God right in

28:57the Santa in the sky white dude all the

29:00biblical characters in The Bible

29:02children's books white people even

29:03though they were in a part of the world

29:05where there are no white people right so

29:08even though we don't have that in our

29:11home my child has nonetheless already at

29:14the age of seven somehow internalized

29:16the idea that the creation source of the

29:19universe whether taken in religious

29:21terms or humanistic and more

29:23naturalistic terms is somehow closer to

29:26her than to Morgan Freeman and if my

29:28daughter has internalized that what do

29:30you think black and brown children

29:31internalize when they see the same

29:33imagery and they see those images they

29:35see them in the stain glass of our

29:37churches you see them in the Christmas

29:39cards that get sent around every holiday

29:41season where baby Jesus is in the manger

29:43in what apparently is Bethlehem

29:45Pennsylvania rather than the other

29:48Bethlehem right Lily white jesus which

29:52makes no sense anthropologically

29:54biologically historically makes no sense

29:56at all but our children see those images

29:58and it can affect them now if you were

30:00to try to break into my house and hurt

30:02my children I would kill you without

30:05hesitate I don't even have a gun but I

30:07would find something and I would throw

30:09it at you and you would die like it's

30:11just that simple I would make sure that

30:13you died right if you were to try to

30:15hurt my kids I'm not saying that because

30:16I'm a badass I'm just saying like that's

30:18I'm just letting you know like don't

30:19mess with my children but the problem

30:22right the problem is that there is

30:24something coming into that house and it

30:27is hurting my children and it's hurting

30:29all of our children and it's hurting us

30:31and I didn't even know it was there see

30:32the doors are locked at night the

30:34windows are shut the alarm is on and

30:36whatever this thing is doesn't know the

30:37code but the Dirty Little Secret is it

30:39doesn't need to it weasles its way into

30:41our children's brains and affects them

30:44that's how I know that we've all

30:45ingested this poison and we better own

30:47that if we're going to have an honest

30:49dialogue it's not about feeling guilty

30:51about it in fact that's the beauty of it

30:53right if we've all been subjected to it

30:55there's no reason to feel guilty cuz we

30:57could not have helped but ingest it the

30:59question is what do we do now how do we

31:02take responsibility which is not the

31:04same as guilt responsibility is what you

31:06take because of the kind of person you

31:08are guilt is what you feel for the stuff

31:10you've actually done those are two

31:11different things we take responsibility

31:13for things even when we're not to blame

31:14for them so that's the first piece the

31:16second piece the systemic piece right

31:19our inability or our lack of

31:21willingness to admit that there's also a

31:24systemic element to racism that it's not

31:26just about personal prejudice if it were

31:28it'd be so much easier right because we

31:30could just educate people out of their

31:32biases right and we could somehow undo

31:34their personal stuff and everything

31:36would be fine but there's a bigger

31:38problem and it's systemic it's the way

31:40that policies and practices and everyday

31:42procedures reinforce inequality between

31:45different racial groups even if there's

31:48no overt bigotry in the room what do I

31:50mean by that let me tell you a story to

31:51make that point and it's a story about

31:54my own life I am from the south I grew

31:56up in Nashville Tennessee I've lived in

31:57the South all my life 10 years in New

31:59Orleans the rest of it in Nashville 5

32:01months in Houston but we don't talk

32:03about

32:04that no offense to Houston I'm just

32:06saying like there there are reasons and

32:07we will not discuss them um so growing

32:10up in Nashville I went to school in

32:13public schools at a time when they had

32:14really just become truly integrated that

32:17may seem sort of hard to believe because

32:19theoretically right the Supreme Court

32:21outlawed segregation back in

32:231954 but as was the case in Nashville so

32:26too was it the case all throughout the

32:28South that very few school systems

32:30actually moved toward real desegregation

32:33for about 20 years so it was 1974 the

32:36year that I started first grade that the

32:38school system in Nashville was actually

32:40truly integrated all the way down to the

32:42first grade level and so by 1979 80 my

32:46fifth grade year right there were a lot

32:48of teachers in that system that had been

32:50in there for a really long time like

32:52they had been teaching since the days of

32:53segregation and they were the kind of

32:55people that really preferred the days of

32:56segregation right so they didn't like

32:58having to teach black kids now but what

33:00they really didn't like was having to

33:02teach white kids who hung out with black

33:04kids and that was me see I told you

33:06before most of the time when we say we

33:07have black friends we lying in my case I

33:10pretty much didn't have anything but

33:11black friends for the first several

33:13years of school because I went to

33:14preschool at a historically black

33:15college when I was three years old

33:17Tennessee State University Early

33:18Childhood Ed program so most of my peers

33:20were black kids so when I got into

33:23public school that's who I was hanging

33:24out with that's who I played ball with

33:26that's who I played on the playground

33:27with that's who I sat in the cafeteria

33:28with and there were teachers who not

33:30only didn't like the black kids but

33:32really didn't like me particularly

33:33because of my affinities both culturally

33:35linguistically and artistically with

33:37black folks these the early days of

33:39hip-hop and I was that kid like I was

33:41the white kid that hung out when we

33:42would have like rap battles and I'm not

33:44going to do that now because it

33:45would be tragic but but in those days

33:48like 7980 you could be really bad at

33:50that in Nashville and you were still the

33:52best on the Block right CU it was

33:53Nashville it wasn't Brooklyn it wasn't

33:55the Bronx right so the teachers really

33:58had a problem with who I hung out with

34:00and the music that I listened to and who

34:02my friends were and there was one

34:03particular teacher Mrs crownover who was

34:06most offended by it and so one day I get

34:08a report card I have a D minus in a

34:10reading class which was what she taught

34:12right and my mom freaked out because

34:14reading was like the one thing I could

34:15do right if it was a math class she

34:18would have totally not even blinked

34:19she'd have been like well at least you

34:20didn't fail you know good for you you

34:23got it up from the F last time you know

34:26but in this particular case i' been

34:27reading since I was like two and a half

34:29right so she sort of freaks out she

34:31schedules a parent teacher conference

34:32she goes to talk to Miss crownover and

34:34within about 345 seconds she realizes

34:37that grade had nothing to do with my

34:39actual effort let alone my attitude let

34:41alone my ability to read it had to do

34:43with my Social Circle because Miss

34:44crownover looks at my Mom within the

34:46first minute of the meeting and says any

34:48white parent that would send their kids

34:50to public school in this day and age

34:52meaning an integrated day and age

34:54obviously isn't fit to be a parent

34:55they've lost their mind this by the way

34:58is not what you want to say to my

35:00mother so within a day or two she

35:03organized with some other parents and

35:04within two or three or four days she had

35:07very directly and unceremoniously made

35:10sure that Mrs crownover was relieved of

35:11her income and her professional duties

35:13from there on out she was forced into

35:15early retirement as she should have been

35:17so good for my mom on the one hand

35:19that's great we got rid of the bigot but

35:21remember I told you it wasn't about

35:23individual bigots it was about systems

35:25and so here's the problem even as my

35:28mother took action as she should have to

35:30remove This Racist from the classroom

35:32where she had no business teaching right

35:35but the problem was that after Miss

35:37crownover was gone I went back into a

35:39school system that every day in a very

35:41subtle but pernicious way was sending

35:44the same kind of message that Mrs

35:46crownover was trying to send which is

35:48white students are better black students

35:50are lesser and they shouldn't be

35:51together how was the system sending that

35:53message very easy by putting almost all

35:55the white kids in the honors and the

35:57advanced level classes no matter what

35:59kind of students we were I was a lousy

36:01student I wasn't a good student till

36:03like last week I literally got my

36:05together like Tuesday of last week right

36:07I wasn't a good student but I was always

36:09in the honors track and the black kids

36:11no matter how bright they were they were

36:13almost always in the standard or the

36:15remedial level track and never moved up

36:17no matter how well they did so the

36:19system was sending a message by dividing

36:22us and saying that it was division based

36:24on ability but it wasn't they were

36:26sending the message that crownover was

36:28sending they didn't even need her there

36:30to send it you see and my mother never

36:32saw that and I never saw that it went

36:35right over our heads and that's not just

36:37a 1979 story that continues to happen

36:40today right now in this country students

36:42of color are half as likely to be placed

36:45in advanced placement and honors classes

36:47compared to White students students of

36:48color are half as likely to be taught by

36:50the most experienced teachers white

36:52students twice as likely to have the

36:54most experienced teachers right Black

36:56and Latino students two three even four

36:59times more likely to be suspended or

37:01expelled even though they do not break

37:03the rules more often than white students

37:06that's the belief but it's not true

37:08there have been 14 different studies

37:09they all find the same thing that the

37:11rates of serious School rule infractions

37:13are virtually identical across racial

37:16lines people bringing drugs to campus

37:18equally across racial lines people

37:21bringing weapons to campus actually

37:23white men more likely to bring guns and

37:25knives to campus in K12 schools than

37:27black men or Latino men contrary to

37:29popular belief but that's what the

37:31Centers for Disease Control research

37:33says but who is it that's getting caught

37:35it's black kids and Latino kids they're

37:37the ones getting searched they're the

37:38ones getting detected they're the ones

37:40getting suspended and often prosecuted

37:42whereas white students are doing the

37:44same thing doing drugs just as much

37:46bringing weapons just as often if not

37:48more so and escaping notice so that's

37:51still happening that's a system and it

37:53doesn't require one overt racist in the

37:56classroom for that to continue

37:57right so that becomes a problem we have

37:59to do more than just look at the

38:01individual we have to look at the way

38:03that structures operate sometimes

38:05without us even realizing it's happening

38:07because if we don't do that we can get

38:08rid of every individual bigoted cop or

38:11every individual bigoted teacher or any

38:13individual bigoted employer we can sue

38:16them I guess in court and maybe people

38:18can even win those lawsuits but what

38:19does that really change unless we take

38:22aim at those institutional policies that

38:24keep recreating inequality the third

38:27piece

38:28our unwillingness to see how history

38:30affects the present how the past and the

38:32present mix we really don't like this we

38:35really don't want to talk about this

38:36when I say we I mean those of us called

38:38White especially there are people of

38:40color who don't necessarily always want

38:41to engage it either but especially those

38:43of us called White we'll say things like

38:44this when people of color bring up

38:46racism we'll say why can't you just get

38:48over it you know all of that slavery

38:50stuff was a long time ago in fact Louis

38:53CK has this really funny bit right where

38:55he jokes about how white people have

38:56just moved the the date of slavery

38:58further and further and further back

39:00like it used to be slavery was 100 years

39:02ago because it was and then it was

39:04slavery was5 years ago because it was

39:07and now it should be slavery was 150

39:09years ago but we'll actually say things

39:11like that was hundreds and hundreds that

39:13was like a thousand years ago where

39:16we've had had slavery for 500 years when

39:19in fact it's very much within the

39:21lifetime of people in this room's great

39:23greatr grandparents even sometimes great

39:25grandparents and in fact de facto

39:27slavery extended well past the

39:29Emancipation Proclamation there were

39:31people of color being sent back into

39:32virtual enslavement all throughout the

39:34first 30 years of the 20th century being

39:37made to work in the mines in places like

39:39Birmingham coal mines there and

39:41elsewhere going back to the very

39:42plantations from which their

39:44grandparents and great-grandparents had

39:45been emancipated as sharecroppers as

39:48tenant labor tenant Farmers right so in

39:51fact slavery isn't that long ago

39:53segregation certainly isn't that long

39:54ago but here's the point we don't want

39:56to talk about it and this is really

39:58funny that we want to tell black and

39:59brown folks to get over the past because

40:01frankly those of us who are white we

40:03love the past absolutely flipping love

40:07the past how do I know that because some

40:09of us clearly want to go back to it how

40:12do I know that because the tea party was

40:15a thing and during that period when the

40:17tea party was a thing you had a bunch of

40:19white folks go into rallies dressed in

40:21Revolutionary War costumes carrying

40:24muskets and wearing powdered wigs okay

40:26here's the thing thing if you dress up

40:28in a revolutionary war costume with a

40:30musket and a powdered wig calling

40:33yourself the tea party which I think is

40:34a really old ass reference you were in

40:36no position to lecture black people

40:39about getting over the past that's all

40:41right because by

40:45definition because by definition You're

40:47Still rocking like

40:491774 you got me right but even now right

40:52we say things like what is July 4th

40:55other than a reference to the Past like

40:57why do we still celebrate that

40:58Independence Day we broke away from the

41:00British a long ass time ago that didn't

41:02happen last Friday so why do we still

41:04set off fireworks every July 4th right I

41:06dare you to go up next Independence Day

41:08to like the most patriotic guy on the

41:10route you know with the red white and

41:12blue wardrobe cuz that's an awesome

41:14wardrobe pallet and like a big iHeart

41:17the USA button on his hat like flying a

41:20flag blaring Lee Greenwood from the back

41:22of a pickup truck I dare you to go up to

41:25that guy tap him on the shoulder and say

41:27yeah this is all really nice this is

41:29great but when are you going to get over

41:31it hope you have running shoes on cuz

41:34he's going to chase you although he'll

41:36probably have had enough you know slices

41:37of Mom's Apple Pie that he won't be able

41:39to catch you but my point being we love

41:41the past as long as it makes us feel

41:43good about ourselves right when a

41:46current presidential candidate says he

41:48wants to make America great again it's a

41:50reference to the Past right it's a

41:52reference that says we want to go back

41:54to when things were great but only great

41:57for certain people because the time

41:58that's being remembered so fondly wasn't

42:00so great for everyone right so we love

42:03the past as long as it venerates us we

42:06just don't want to deal with the ugly

42:07but that's not how history works you got

42:09to deal with the good and the bad and

42:10everything in between right and we know

42:12that don't we like on a personal level

42:15we know like put aside politics and race

42:18just like you as individuals right we

42:19all come from families that are jacked

42:21up in one way or another right we all

42:23have dysfunction we all have really

42:25messed up stuff in our families some of

42:27which we talk about a lot of which we

42:29never talk about right and the fact is

42:31if you ever want just as an individual

42:33to move past your past you have to

42:36confront it whether that's on a

42:37therapist couch or whether that's with

42:39friends or a lover a spouse or a partner

42:41whatever it is you've got to be willing

42:42to confront where you come from in order

42:44to get to the next place that's better

42:46but we don't want to do that we don't do

42:48that as individuals and it eats us up

42:50and we don't do that as a country but we

42:52have to do that because the past affects

42:54the present inertia isn't just a

42:56property of the physical Universe it's

42:58also a property of the political and the

43:00economic universe and here's how I know

43:03it's so important again a story

43:05involving my own children about why it's

43:07so important that we know our history

43:09and are able to articulate that and the

43:11dangers of not knowing it so as it turns

43:14out our daughters are both dancers and a

43:17couple of years ago when they were let's

43:19say 12 and a half 10 and a half I was

43:21driving them to dance one day after

43:23school and in order to get to the studio

43:26where they were both dancing dancing at

43:27that time we had to drive from the

43:29school to the studio it's about an

43:318-minute drive and right in the middle

43:32of that drive is a public housing

43:34project and so we're driving the route

43:36we're right in between two sort of

43:38public housing developments and we're

43:39there at the red light waiting for it to

43:41turn green and the 10-year-old 10 and a

43:43half-year-old daughter Rachel she looks

43:45up and she says uh daddy why is it that

43:48pretty much everybody in this

43:49neighborhood is

43:50black now that is an incredibly good

43:53anthropological and sociological inquiry

43:56it's really very observant and a very

43:58important question now the only reason

44:01she asked it she probably noticed in

44:03many of our drives to the studio that we

44:05were driving through a virtually all

44:06black and you could tell from the

44:08infrastructure poor Community but that

44:10was the first day she asked about it not

44:12the first day she noticed it I'm sure

44:13she' noticed it but that day she decided

44:15to inquire and probably the only reason

44:17she even bothered was because she

44:19figured Daddy might know because daddy

44:20talks about this stuff so I'll ask him

44:22like if I was an accountant she totally

44:23wouldn't have asked me that she' have

44:25been like how do I do my taxes I and

44:27like Google it I don't know turbox

44:29something electronic um right but she

44:32figured I might know so she asked the

44:34question why is this neighborhood pretty

44:36much all black and her sister of course

44:39because this is what siblings do right

44:40older siblings try to show off for the

44:42younger sibling and so the older sister

44:43immediately jumps in to impress daddy

44:46with the answer which she somehow knew

44:48or at least in part she jumps in she

44:49says redlining which oddly enough was

44:51true and for those who don't know what

44:53red lining is I'm about to explain right

44:56so it turns out that in fact in this

44:58country the reason that people of color

45:00disproportionately live in lower inome

45:02communities and urban areas is in fact

45:04because of this thing among others

45:06called redlining and what that was was

45:08that for generations and it was

45:10perfectly legal to do this by the way up

45:13until 1968 when the Fair Housing Act

45:15passed it went on for Generations where

45:17you had banks that would take red

45:18markers on big maps in their offices in

45:21the loan Office of the bank and they

45:23would draw lines around black

45:25neighborhoods and occas Latino

45:27neighborhoods too but especially black

45:29neighborhoods and they would say anybody

45:31who lives within the boundaries of these

45:33lines cannot get a loan from the bank

45:36you're not going to get a mortgage loan

45:37for a house you're not going to get a

45:38business loan to start up your own

45:39business didn't matter what your credit

45:41record was by the way didn't matter if

45:43you had a good job didn't matter what

45:45your occupational status or your

45:46education was simply living in that

45:48Community meant you were not going to

45:50get a loan so when my daughter says

45:52redlining is in part implicated it

45:55wasn't the full picture but it was a big

45:56piece of it the bigger picture being a

45:58history of discrimination who could live

46:00where and who couldn't and so I explain

46:02that to my daughter the 10-year-old of

46:04course when her sister said redlining

46:06she said yeah I don't know what that

46:08means and I said yeah neither does your

46:10sister she's just showing

46:12off but I explained it took about three

46:14minutes real simple little three minute

46:16discussion wasn't a long conversation

46:17right but it was enough to let her know

46:19that history matters and that the things

46:22that she sees didn't just happen that

46:24they're the result of certain policies

46:25because here's what's interesting about

46:27that area that we now like to call the

46:29ghetto the reality is the ghetto was

46:31created and public housing in particular

46:34was created not for poor black people it

46:36was created for poor white people and in

46:38fact for the first several years of

46:40public housing people of color couldn't

46:42even get into public housing projects

46:44they were essentially segregated by race

46:46only poor white folks could even live

46:47there and then what happened is the

46:49government created some new programs

46:51under the FHA program the VA loan

46:53program later on the GI Bill program

46:55which allowed those same white folks who

46:57had been poor and struggling to leave

47:00public housing and to leave urban areas

47:02and to hustle it out to the suburbs

47:04where only we could live or to the

47:06smaller towns where only we were going

47:08to be welcome so what's interesting is

47:10that the hood became the hood because

47:12only people of color now were allowed to

47:14live there white folks were literally

47:16being subsidized by the government to

47:18move to the suburbs the white middle

47:20class and make note of this was built by

47:23government government programs that

47:25underwrote those loans because those

47:27families could not have afforded a loan

47:29otherwise they were able to get one

47:30because the government underwrote the

47:32loan and guaranteed the loan in case of

47:34default but only for people of color

47:37people I mean excuse me only for white

47:38folks people of color by and large

47:40couldn't get in on any of that so white

47:42folks were able to move people of color

47:44were not certain neighborhoods

47:46deteriorated economically other

47:47neighborhoods went up in value at the

47:50very same time the government was doing

47:51what they called urban renewal which

47:53meant they came through black

47:54neighborhoods and Latino neighborhoods

47:56and they built interstates right through

47:58the heart of the community right

48:00knocking down black homes black

48:02Apartments knocking down blackowned

48:04businesses all around the country

48:06between 1950 and 1970 about one in five

48:10apartments or houses lived in by black

48:12folks was knocked to the ground for

48:14economic development purposes even

48:17though people of color couldn't benefit

48:18from almost any of that Economic

48:20Development so that's how our

48:22communities come to look the way they

48:23look but if we don't know that and if I

48:26don't tell my daughter that but maybe

48:28let's say I don't tell her because I

48:29don't know what if I don't know the

48:31history what if I don't do this work and

48:33therefore don't know the answer what do

48:35you think my daughter is going to assume

48:36is the answer what would you assume is

48:39the answer you know what we would assume

48:41if we're not taught the history we would

48:43default to the position of this culture

48:46which says what wherever you end up it's

48:47all about you so if you're living in a

48:49poor neighborhood it's just because you

48:50didn't work hard enough and if you live

48:52in an affluent neighborhood it's

48:53obviously because you're smarter right

48:55the default position of America is this

48:57notion of rugged individualism and

48:59meritocracy and wherever you end up is

49:01all about your own genius your own

49:03effort your own morality your own

49:04cultural ethics that's what we believe

49:07and we believe that even though there is

49:08no such thing as a rugged individual in

49:11the history of human beings how do I

49:13know that very simple human beings are

49:15social creatures by definition we've

49:17never lived in isolation from one

49:19another we've always lived in families

49:21and tribes and communities Nations right

49:24if you ever meet someone who's actually

49:26a rugged individual and hasn't been

49:29raised in a social context you need to

49:30get the hell away from that person they

49:32would be like a feral animal right they

49:34would be wild it'd be like being raised

49:36on an island by a porpus they wouldn't

49:37even know how to have language they'd

49:39probably try to eat you because they

49:40wouldn't understand there's like a taboo

49:42against that right you need to get the

49:44hell away from anybody who's actually a

49:46rugged individual because there are no

49:48such thing and certainly let me just say

49:50this If you inherited $200 million from

49:53your daddy's real estate Empire you sure

49:55as hell or not a self-made anything or a

49:57rugged individual you might want to

49:58write that

50:04down so there is no there is no rugged

50:08individual anything we're all social

50:10beings some have had opportunity others

50:12have not unless we're honest about that

50:14unless we're willing to have a

50:15conversation we end up misleading

50:17ourselves and we can't understand what

50:18we're seeing and then if we can't

50:20understand it we're not going to fix it

50:21right we're not going to fix the

50:22disparity in housing if we don't

50:24understand where it came from so if the

50:26data says and it does that white folks

50:28on average have 15 times the net worth

50:30of black folks 13 times the net worth of

50:32Latino folk right we just assume we must

50:35have worked harder is that right that's

50:36interesting because actually black folks

50:38and brown folks have done some of the

50:40hardest work in this country ever since

50:41the country was founded were it not for

50:43the labor of African descended peoples

50:45there would be no country at all in fact

50:47it was my family it was my

50:50family white slave owning family in the

50:53South that got black folks to do all the

50:54hard work cuz we were lazy asses and

50:56didn't want to work at all white folks

50:57in the south on the plantation used to

51:00want to sit on the porch and drink mint

51:01jeps and have carriage rides rather than

51:03work while black folks did all the real

51:05labor and yet we decided that black

51:07folks are lazy which I find

51:09fascinating right and then people write

51:11to me and say well these black people uh

51:13they're just taking all the jobs okay

51:15which is it precious because it can't be

51:16both people of color can't take all the

51:18jobs and be lazy I don't ask much of

51:23racist because I expect very little but

51:26you cannot be lazy and take all the jobs

51:28are we at least clear on that like if

51:30you took all the jobs you were like the

51:31opposite of lazy if you are indeed lazy

51:33you probably did not even take one job

51:35let alone all of them so I just need

51:37racist to get their damn story straight

51:39that's all I ask I just don't like

51:40moving targets that's all right but if I

51:44don't tell my daughter the truth she

51:45defaults to the position of the culture

51:47and then she can't understand what the

51:48problem is the same is true with

51:50policing you can't understand the black

51:52lives matter movement and the importance

51:54of it if you don't know the history and

51:56the Rel reltionship between law

51:57enforcement and black and brown peoples

51:59if you understood that history you

52:00wouldn't ask one question about why this

52:03movement is necessary and why it's

52:04righteous if you knew that history but

52:06you don't know it and it's not your

52:08fault you weren't supposed to know it

52:10and nobody taught it to you right so you

52:12don't have to know that modern policing

52:14traces back to slave patrols that black

52:16folks first experience with law

52:18enforcement was having you know who

52:20working class and poor white folks on

52:22Horseback going around keeping black

52:24folks in line on behalf of the rich

52:26master that owned all the property that

52:28sounds a lot like modern policing cuz

52:30ain't no rich people policing right it's

52:32workingclass folks who were out there

52:34protecting the property of rich people

52:37against the depredations of poor people

52:39that's what modern policing is and it

52:41traces back and we know that's what

52:42modern policing is by the way because we

52:44will lock you up for 10 years for $100

52:47worth of food stamp fraud but if you

52:48take 12 a half trillion doar on Wall

52:51Street 20% of the net worth of this

52:53country you will not do one day in jail

52:57so we know that law enforcement has got

52:59nothing to do with enforcing the law

53:01it's got nothing to do with good people

53:02and bad people law Breakers and the law

53:04abiding it only has to do with

53:06controlling certain people and black and

53:08brown folks know who those certain

53:09people usually are because it's always

53:11been them see black folks know that it

53:13was cops who were involved in race riots

53:15and racial terrorism against black

53:17communities for the first 50 years of

53:19the 20th century you didn't learn about

53:21that in class either and that's not your

53:23fault it wasn't taught but in fact every

53:25single year just about from 1900 all the

53:28way to the 1930s 1940s at least there

53:31were race riots where white folks would

53:32just go into black communities burn them

53:34to the ground bombed them from the air

53:36like in Tulsa Oklahoma RI people out of

53:38their homes beat them in the street and

53:39police Sat by watched it happen and

53:42participated that doesn't mean that

53:43every cop in the modern era is like that

53:45but it means that black folks can be

53:47excused for being not so clear on the

53:50decency of police in their communities

53:52because there's a history there it was

53:54police who dragged black folks and white

53:56allies off of those sit-in stools at

53:58lunch counters in the South to enforce

54:00segregation see when your job is to

54:02enforce the law and for most of American

54:05History the law was against you as a

54:07people then enforcing the law means you

54:09are the first line of Oppression people

54:12of color know that history and need to

54:13be excused when they don't just get over

54:16it because that continues how do we know

54:18it continues very easy we know from the

54:20data on racial profiling that black

54:22folks are twice as likely as white folks

54:24to be stopped and searched for drugs

54:26even though white folks are more likely

54:27to have drugs on us on the occasions

54:29that were're searched white folks use

54:32drugs and sell drugs at the same or

54:34higher rate than black folks and Latinos

54:37and yet it is black folks and Latinos

54:39who in any given year make up 85 to 90%

54:43of the people who get arrested and

54:44incarcerated for a drug offense see

54:46people of color know that and if we

54:48don't we don't understand when black

54:50folks rise up and say black lives matter

54:52well what do you mean

54:53black all lives matter yet sweetheart I

54:57know they

54:58do yes they do and that is a totally

55:01irrelevant and unnecessary point to make

55:04you see you don't have to say all lives

55:06matter we take that for granted what

55:08we've never accepted in this country is

55:10that black and brown life mattered you

55:12have to Proclaim that which is ignored

55:14you see that's why we have black history

55:16month right now and not White History

55:18Month we don't have to have white

55:20history month because we got May and

55:21June and July and

55:24August and every other month where we

55:26learn about white folks we don't have to

55:28call it that see how slick that is

55:30that's how white supremacy operates you

55:32don't have to call it White History

55:33Month you just call it

55:35history and literature and theater and

55:39poetry and

55:40art you don't have to racialize where it

55:42came from right that's what maleia Sante

55:44at Temple calls universalizing the

55:47particular which is the Hallmark of

55:48eurocentric thought right not

55:50everybody's experience is the same and

55:52so when certain people have been left

55:54out of all you have to call called that

55:56out by name cuz see we've always said

55:58all and we didn't mean it we said all

55:59men are created equal and we didn't mean

56:01that right we didn't mean women but

56:03we didn't even mean all men we said all

56:06and it was a lie when we said it right

56:09and so in a sense when you say black

56:11lives matter to respond with all lives

56:13matter would be like going in a time

56:14machine back to 1971 y'all won't

56:16remember this those who were students

56:18those who were older will around 1970

56:207172 the big phrase was black is

56:22beautiful right there was this desire to

56:24take back the beauty narrative from a

56:27beauty industry fashion industry glamour

56:29industry that had hijacked it and

56:30denigrated black physicality and Beauty

56:33right so folks we're saying black is

56:34beautiful to reclaim a sense of Beauty

56:36for themselves it' be like getting in a

56:37time machine going back to 1971 hearing

56:40somebody say black is beautiful and

56:42tapping them on the shoulder and going

56:44but we're all beautiful in our own way

56:46yes shut up we know not the point it'd

56:50be like going back to the early 80s when

56:52the HIV aids crisis started and it took

56:54several years for the president of of

56:56the United States to even utter the word

56:57Ronald Reagan didn't want to even utter

56:59the word let alone Cut Loose with

57:01funding to deal with the problem until

57:02his buddy Rock Hudson died of it and

57:04then all of the sudden he was willing to

57:06talk about it a little bit right so for

57:08the first several years what' you have

57:09you had activist out in the street you

57:11had act up G Men's Health crisis out in

57:13the street demanding research and

57:16funding for HIV AIDS right and what they

57:19were saying in effect was people with

57:22AIDS lives matter that wasn't the actual

57:25phrase and we didn't have hashtag but

57:26that was essentially what they were

57:28saying right people with AIDS lives

57:30matter and we need to pay attention

57:31because right now we're not paying

57:33attention to that and we don't seem to

57:35believe it as a society so we need to

57:36start believing it it would be like

57:38getting in a time machine going back to

57:401983 82 in the middle of an act up event

57:43or a gay men's Health crisis event and

57:45shutting down the protest by saying yeah

57:47but what about pancreatic

57:49cancer people die of all kinds of things

57:53right sort of not the point you have to

57:55Proclaim that which is ignored and if we

57:57know the history we understand that

57:58right because if we know the history we

58:00know that it is indeed black life and I

58:02would suggest Brown life life of color

58:04generally indigenous life that is

58:07usually denigrated demeaned ignored on a

58:10sexual level it's trans lives that are

58:12demeaned ignored right it's women is

58:15women so sometimes you got to Proclaim

58:16that which is not in the obvious frame

58:19of reference there's nothing pernicious

58:20about it it's not about saying black

58:22lives are worth more than other lives

58:24it's about damn it these lives actually

58:25do matter and even though the history

58:27says they don't we're here to tell you

58:28that they do and there's nothing wrong

58:30about that at all but if you don't know

58:32the history it might seem untour and I

58:35get it and again it's not your fault

58:37that you don't know the history but it

58:39is our responsibility to learn it and

58:42then apply it to what we see same is

58:44true with

58:45immigration this immigration drama that

58:47we have right now is only possible

58:49because we don't understand our own

58:51history as a country and particularly

58:53those of us of European descent we have

58:56Li to ourselves about how we got here

58:59and for what reason see black folks know

59:02why they're here native peoples know why

59:05they're here and how they got here a lot

59:07of Asian folk know particularly if

59:08they're Chinese American they know they

59:10got here because their ancestors were

59:11brought over to work on the railroads by

59:13the railroad Barons who didn't care if

59:14thousands of them died laying track 192

59:16hours a day but for those of us who were

59:19from Europe we have this fiction that

59:21we've told and we believe it even though

59:24there's no truth to it you know what the

59:25fiction is it's to Parts number one we

59:26say things like with regard to Mexicans

59:29coming over the border with regard to

59:31immigrants coming but only that border

59:32that's the only one we care about right

59:34the southern border I find that

59:35interesting we're not flipping out about

59:37Canada right we don't have any of the

59:39Minute Men or the anti-immigrant group

59:41sitting off the coast of Nova Scotia

59:42with a gun and a scope trying to like

59:45pick off the sneaky Canadians that are

59:47trying to sneak in here for our Superior

59:48Health Care

59:50system which after all would be pretty

59:52stupid thing to do but in any event we

59:55only care about that one border

59:56forgetting for a minute that that border

59:58was created at the end of a war that was

1:00:00started on false pretense by this

1:00:02country after which we jacked half of

1:00:04their country and you weren't taught

1:00:06that in school either because our

1:00:07history books aren't interested in

1:00:08telling the truth they tell this very

1:00:10patriotic history that has no

1:00:12relationship to the fact so that border

1:00:14is artificial Mexican folk who are

1:00:15coming here documented or not let's be

1:00:17clear are coming home their families

1:00:20were here before our families were here

1:00:22in almost every instance but we forget

1:00:24that and then we say things like I don't

1:00:26mind them coming I just want them to

1:00:28come legally like my people

1:00:31did the hell is that even mean come

1:00:34legally there was no law to break when

1:00:37our people came the fact that we didn't

1:00:39break a law that didn't even exist you

1:00:41don't get cookies for that you don't get

1:00:43like a pat on the back and a gold star

1:00:45because your great great great whatever

1:00:47was law-abiding when there was no law

1:00:49that he could have violated even if he

1:00:51wanted to but we've told this lie that

1:00:53we came for these upstanding principles

1:00:55so we'll say things like well you know

1:00:58our people came for Liberty and freedom

1:01:02democracy these people are just coming

1:01:04for Stuff they're just coming for jobs

1:01:07they're just coming for health care

1:01:09they're just coming for stuff we came

1:01:11for high-minded principle right because

1:01:14we believe that what kind of third grade

1:01:16version of American History is that

1:01:18right like when Donald Trump says well

1:01:20Mexico's not sending their best what the

1:01:22hell you think Europe sent their

1:01:24best Europe no our people were The

1:01:26Losers of Europe I'm not trying to be an

1:01:28I'm just telling you the truth

1:01:29like our people were The Losers of

1:01:31Europe the winners didn't get on the

1:01:33boat you understand what I'm saying the

1:01:34winners didn't leave why the hell would

1:01:36you leave if you were winning only the

1:01:38losers left because they had no choice

1:01:41they were dying they were starving they

1:01:43couldn't support their families a lot of

1:01:44them were convicts who were sold into

1:01:46indentured servitude to Rich to work for

1:01:48Rich European people they were barely

1:01:50above the level of a slave themselves

1:01:52the idea that we had these high we

1:01:54didn't believe in Liberty and freedom

1:01:56and we know that because once we got to

1:01:57the colonies we set up the opposite of

1:02:00Liberty and freedom and I don't just

1:02:01mean that for like black folks and

1:02:03Native folks I mean even for other white

1:02:05folks like we spent most of the time in

1:02:07the early colonies trying to figure out

1:02:09who the witch was right it was like well

1:02:12you're not a Christian well no you're

1:02:13not a Christian well no you're not a

1:02:15Christian I'm going to hang you from a

1:02:16tree really well I'm going to drown you

1:02:18in the Stream well I'm going to set you

1:02:19on fire like that wasn't Liberty the

1:02:21colonies were some of the least free

1:02:23places in the history of the cosmos but

1:02:26we act like we came for Liberty and

1:02:28they're just here to take advantage

1:02:29let's be clear our people didn't come

1:02:30for Liberty they came for stuff they

1:02:32came for stuff like land they came for

1:02:35stuff like opportunity they came for

1:02:37stuff like the ability to feed their

1:02:38families and there's no shame in that

1:02:40none at all but just like there's no

1:02:43shame in our families having done that

1:02:44there's no shame in in brown families

1:02:47doing that and coming over that border

1:02:48from Mexico Central America or wherever

1:02:50else they might be coming there's no

1:02:52shame in any event but we've told a lie

1:02:54it's like we have this image in our head

1:02:56that sometime in like 1650 this was a

1:02:58common scene in England all the nice

1:03:01white noblemen got together and one of

1:03:03them gathered his children around the

1:03:05fireplace in the middle of the 1600s and

1:03:07said well now children uh I think you'll

1:03:11agree with me that we're doing quite

1:03:12brilliant here and we have this big

1:03:14mansion and we have all this gold and

1:03:16you remember last week when the king

1:03:18invited us to the palace and you played

1:03:20out in the garden with his children I

1:03:22know it was brilliant right it was great

1:03:23it was great it was great I bet it was

1:03:25lots of F but Daddy thinks that we need

1:03:27to stop all that nonsense and maybe

1:03:30strike out on an adventure so here's my

1:03:32plan even though we're doing so well

1:03:35even though we pretty much run the show

1:03:37here in England I think that what we

1:03:39should do this summer follow me stick

1:03:41with me I know it's going to be a

1:03:42stretch but I promise it's going to be

1:03:43great is we should get on a big

1:03:45boat a rickety Old Ship I don't even

1:03:49know if it's seaworthy children it might

1:03:51sink we might be eaten by sharks we

1:03:53might get hijacked by Pirates we might

1:03:55get scurvy and die a horrible death

1:03:58however I think you will agree it will

1:04:00be an adventure a great one indeed that

1:04:02did not happen noblemen didn't leave

1:04:06those who were doing well did not leave

1:04:08only the losers got on the boat people

1:04:11say things like what my family came over

1:04:12on the Mayflower okay sweetheart you

1:04:14might not want to talk about that if you

1:04:16actually knew who was on those early

1:04:18ships I'm not sure who was but I know

1:04:19who wasn't The King The King was not on

1:04:21that ship nobody the king really wanted

1:04:23to keep around was on that ship right so

1:04:26our inability to see this though

1:04:28understand the importance historically

1:04:29if we don't understand that we came for

1:04:31the same reasons that folks come today

1:04:34be they documented or not then we can't

1:04:36see them in us and we can't see us in

1:04:38them and that's why we have this drama

1:04:40because we're spending all this time

1:04:42pretending that our motivations and our

1:04:44even human decency and ethics are

1:04:45different when they're not you see this

1:04:48is why history matters so much we can't

1:04:50fix any of these problems whether it's

1:04:52immigration issues whether it's criminal

1:04:53justice issues whether it's wealth erity

1:04:56all of that we can't do anything about

1:04:57that if we're not willing to understand

1:04:59history but let me close with this and

1:05:02it's a point that I think needs to be

1:05:04made because

1:05:05sometimes when we talk about racism and

1:05:07we talk about the heavy weight of

1:05:09History sometimes people assume that

1:05:11there is an attempt on my part or other

1:05:14anti-racist activists or Educators part

1:05:16to instill guilt in white people I have

1:05:18no interest in white guilt none and

1:05:20people of color surely have no interest

1:05:22in white guilt guilt will not liberate

1:05:24anybody from anything it will not

1:05:26liberate any of us from systems of

1:05:28inequality it isn't about feeling guilty

1:05:30it's not even about white people per se

1:05:32it's about whiteness as a system right

1:05:34sometimes people get tripped up on that

1:05:36right and they think like oh you hate

1:05:37white people actually let me be clear I

1:05:39love me some white people I totally

1:05:41absolutely love me some white people

1:05:42like my wife is white I totally love her

1:05:44um those daughters that I've been

1:05:46telling you about they're white CU

1:05:47that's what happens when white people

1:05:48make babies I love them uh my mom love

1:05:51her nice white lady and my dad and I

1:05:54don't get along but it's it's not cuz

1:05:55he's white it's about some other

1:05:57that we don't have time to process

1:05:58tonight but if you read my book White

1:06:00like me you'll know what some of that is

1:06:01um we don't have to talk about that it's

1:06:04not about white people it's about Whit

1:06:06Ness it's about a system of white

1:06:07supremacy that has turned us against one

1:06:10another right and so I want to tell you

1:06:12a story that tries to explain the

1:06:14difference between guilt and

1:06:15responsibility so you'll know what I

1:06:17mean when I say those things are

1:06:19different because it's one thing to say

1:06:20that it's another thing to really

1:06:21understand why so let me just share a

1:06:23brief story with you and then I'll take

1:06:24questions and I'll let you out of here

1:06:26and I'll be happy to sell you some books

1:06:27if you want one because I got a college

1:06:29fund to pay for um so you know feel free

1:06:31to come buy some merchandise but anyway

1:06:33the story is not about racism so that

1:06:35part of the speech is over right it's

1:06:37not about oppression it's not about

1:06:38privilege it's not about inequality it's

1:06:40about something totally different but I

1:06:42think the story has a lesson in it about

1:06:45those subjects so it has to do with

1:06:46something that happened to me when I got

1:06:48out of college I graduated 26 years ago

1:06:50this may from Tan University in New

1:06:52Orleans and when I

1:06:54graduated for some reason I'm still not

1:06:56totally clear on this I thought it would

1:06:58be a really great idea to move into a

1:07:01very large house with nine other

1:07:04people let me just give you a little

1:07:06life advice all right like if you

1:07:08haven't already figured this out okay do

1:07:11not think for one minute that it is ever

1:07:14a good idea to move into a very large

1:07:16house with nine other people it usually

1:07:18is not nearly as fun as you think it is

1:07:19going to be it has all kinds of problems

1:07:21but we didn't think about any of those

1:07:23we thought it was going to be great why

1:07:25because it was going to be cheap and we

1:07:27needed that because we were broke right

1:07:28we were right out of college we didn't

1:07:29have any money rent was $525 a month I

1:07:32don't mean per person I mean total right

1:07:35so again not good at math but I can do

1:07:37those numbers

1:07:385250 per person per month man you add

1:07:42the cable bill the uh utility bills we

1:07:45split the food right it's still less

1:07:46than 100 a month so like on that level

1:07:48this was a great idea right this was

1:07:50brilliant right hundred bucks a month

1:07:52man even in $1 19990 that was good right

1:07:55it'd be ridiculous today but it would be

1:07:58good even by 1990 standards so on a

1:08:00financial level it made sense but about

1:08:016 weeks into this little experiment in

1:08:04communal living we came to understand or

1:08:07at least I did why it had been a

1:08:08terrible mistake and this is what

1:08:09happened I was working downtown and I

1:08:12was living Uptown so I get on the street

1:08:13car to come back

1:08:15up Uptown in New Orleans I get off the

1:08:17street car I walk uh you know five

1:08:20blocks or so into the house on Robert

1:08:22Street I go up the steps at 1805 Robert

1:08:24I open the door and I'm met by this

1:08:26incredible smell and I mean that in a

1:08:28good way which is important to point out

1:08:30because when you live with nine other

1:08:31people there's all kinds of smells

1:08:32they're usually not good this one was

1:08:34actually really nice it was the smell of

1:08:35dinner being cooked for the whole group

1:08:38because we also took turns making dinner

1:08:40for each other and this particular night

1:08:42one of my roommates was making dinner on

1:08:44the left front burner of the stove there

1:08:45was this big pot of gumbo right and man

1:08:48that's that's what you do in New Orleans

1:08:50big pot of gumbo and it smelled good and

1:08:52it looked good and it even had shrimp in

1:08:54there not many like I said said we were

1:08:55broke but it had like

1:08:57three three of those really little bitty

1:09:00ass shrimp those shrimp that are like so

1:09:02small right that they make jumbo shrimp

1:09:04look like lobsters or something right

1:09:06and so I looked at it and I smelled it

1:09:09and I thought man that looks great and

1:09:11when my roommate asked me if I wanted

1:09:12any I normally would have said yes but

1:09:14as it turned out I didn't know he was

1:09:16going to make gumbo for the night and so

1:09:18ID already had dinner downtown before I

1:09:19you know came up town after I got off

1:09:21work so I said hey man I already ate but

1:09:23do me a favor um smells great looks

1:09:25great take me some of that put it in the

1:09:26container put it in the fridge I'm going

1:09:28to take it to work tomorrow for lunch

1:09:30and he said okay great and so he does

1:09:32that and then I go upstairs and you know

1:09:34listen to music watch TV hung out with

1:09:36some friends or whatever and did

1:09:37whatever we did for fun in 1990 there

1:09:39wasn't much wasn't much like social

1:09:41networking in 1990 was pretty much you

1:09:43just walk down the hall to your

1:09:44roommate's room and you're like hey what

1:09:46you doing and they were like nothing

1:09:49it's 1990 there's nothing to do go back

1:09:51to sleep get with us in like 15 years

1:09:53and there'll be something maybe or 20

1:09:55years right so we all sort of go to bed

1:09:57early I went to bed sort of early woke

1:09:59up the next morning at like 7:30 came

1:10:01downstairs to get some coffee get ready

1:10:03to go to work and I noticed that on the

1:10:05left front burner of our stove was still

1:10:07the same pot of gumbo and man it did not

1:10:10smell as good or look as good as it had

1:10:13the night before and my roommate had

1:10:16neither saved any of it for me nor had

1:10:19he cleaned it so I was pissed on two

1:10:21levels right now the food had gone to

1:10:23waste I definitely wasn't going to eat

1:10:25it now

1:10:25but he also left the mess for me or you

1:10:27know maybe one of the other roommates to

1:10:29clean so I sat there and I thought about

1:10:31what I wanted to do part of me wanted to

1:10:32wake him up right get him to clean it

1:10:34you know give him hell for it but then I

1:10:35thought no I'm going be nice I'm just

1:10:37going to clean it I'll take it up with

1:10:38him when I get home so I took the pot of

1:10:40gumbo and I brought it over to the sink

1:10:41and I got the brush and the soap and I

1:10:43started running the water into the pot

1:10:45of nasty day old gumbo and I stopped

1:10:47myself halfway

1:10:48through and I said man I don't have to

1:10:50clean this this isn't my mess I didn't

1:10:53even eat any of this let alone did I

1:10:55make it so now I'm feeling really

1:10:56self-righteous cuz I'm talking myself

1:10:58out of doing the hard work right so now

1:11:00I feel real smart so I take the pot of

1:11:02gumbo and I put it right back where I

1:11:03found it on the left front burner right

1:11:05and I walk out the door head held high

1:11:07knowing that I had not been suckered

1:11:09into cleaning somebody else's mess right

1:11:11so then I come back that night at about

1:11:126:15 6:30 and I see one of my other

1:11:15roommates making dinner on the right

1:11:17front burner of the stove but on the

1:11:20left front burner right where it had

1:11:21been now for 24 hours it's the same pot

1:11:24of Gumbo getting nasty

1:11:25more disgusting more crusted on the

1:11:27sides of the pot I looked at my roommate

1:11:29I'm like man what are you doing like I

1:11:31know you can smell dinner from last

1:11:33night how the hell can you make dinner

1:11:34for us now on the right front burner

1:11:36when it's right under your nose why

1:11:37don't you clean that and he looked at me

1:11:40and said hey man I didn't make the gumbo

1:11:42I didn't even eat any of the gumbo I

1:11:43wasn't even here last night how about

1:11:44you I said hey man not me now we both

1:11:47felt self-righteous and we knew what it

1:11:49meant he looked at me and said so you

1:11:51want some lentils and rice and I said

1:11:53absolutely so I piled up my plate with

1:11:56lentil and rice I ate my dinner I wiped

1:11:58off the dish in the sink cleaned it

1:12:00dried it put it in the dish rack went

1:12:01upstairs hung out with the roommates did

1:12:04whatever we do for fun in 1990 once

1:12:06again went to bed sort of

1:12:08early woke up the next morning I'd

1:12:10forgotten to set an alarm wake up about

1:12:137 but here's a tip if you're living in a

1:12:17house where a pot of Gumbo has been

1:12:18sitting on the left front burner of the

1:12:20stove for what is now 36 and 1/2 hours

1:12:23you are not going to need an alarm clock

1:12:25to wake your ass up you are going to be

1:12:27awake right because the smell is going

1:12:30to find you it is going to crawl out of

1:12:32the pot of Gumbo on the legs that it

1:12:35grew overnight and I'm not speaking in

1:12:37metaphor English Majors I mean that

1:12:39literally like the stink is going to

1:12:41grow feet and legs and it is going to

1:12:43crawl out of the pot across the kitchen

1:12:45across the living room up the stairs

1:12:47down the back hall go under your door

1:12:49frame and it is going to find with the

1:12:50Precision of a laser that thing on the

1:12:52front of your face you call the nose and

1:12:54you will be awake and now I was and I

1:12:57was pissed because I knew what the smell

1:12:59meant right I knew what was waiting for

1:13:01me on the left front burner having not

1:13:03been cleaned by anybody least of all the

1:13:05guy that made the gumbo so I open my

1:13:07door real loud I start stomping down the

1:13:09hall hoping to wake people up hoping to

1:13:11let them know just how displeased I am

1:13:15live with nine other people cannot find

1:13:17one of them and the guy that made the

1:13:19gumbo like where's Waldo nobody knows

1:13:21where in the hell he went he just made

1:13:23the gumbo like a practical joke and dis

1:13:25appeared right just wanted to see how

1:13:27long it would take for somebody else to

1:13:28clean up his mess I guess and I get down

1:13:30to the bottom of the stairs I look

1:13:32across a living room into the kitchen I

1:13:35see the pot of gumbo and I'm pretty

1:13:36confident the gumbo saw me right with

1:13:40the eyes that it had also grown it was

1:13:42evolving right there in our kitchen very

1:13:44rapidly yes and it was at that moment

1:13:47not one moment earlier but definitely

1:13:49not a moment later that I came to

1:13:51understand maybe the most important

1:13:53lesson I'd ever learned about any

1:13:54subject and what was it the lesson was

1:13:57it didn't really matter anymore who made

1:13:58the mess didn't really matter anymore

1:14:01who was the author of all this

1:14:02unpleasantness as the old saying goes

1:14:04the only thing that mattered was that I

1:14:06was tired of living in that nastiness I

1:14:08was tired of living with the residue of

1:14:10somebody else's actions I was not to

1:14:13blame but I had to take responsibility

1:14:15because if I didn't it may not get clean

1:14:17you see and the same is true with human

1:14:19society when we decide that we will

1:14:21clean up the residue of what other folks

1:14:24left us even though they did it without

1:14:26our permission and without our

1:14:27involvement when we decide that we're

1:14:29tired of living in that we will clean it

1:14:31not because we are to blame not because

1:14:34we are guilty but because we're the only

1:14:36damn ones left thank you all so much for

1:14:38being here I appreciate your time

1:14:41[Music]

1:14:41[Applause]