Transcripts For CSPAN3 U.S. Civil Rights Commission 60th Anniversary 20180114

Is here. U. S. Commission on civil rights now. We will have with this later today both representative and representative derek kilmer. Expect we allas i do, that in this building there can be some challenges. We will bessed that able to have both congressional representatives with us. We also have several former commissioners. Dena titusntative with us. Thank you very much. Two fellow commissioners on the eooc. Eeoc. Thank you for coming. I understand that susan eisenhower, who is the granddaughter of president eisenhower, who in 1957 signed the u. S. Commission into existence. Thank you for that, for joining us. We have john fore, acting assistant gore acting assistant attorney for civil rights and the officer for civil rights and Civil Liberties at dhs and also probably a former Virginia State Advisory Committee member for the u. S. Commission on civil rights. We have several of the u. S. Commissions regional staff who traveled to be with us from california, missouri, and illinois. Thank you for coming from afar. And thank you to all of the commission staff, both regional and local for being with us today. You all are who do the hard work to make sure that we as a commission can be the commission and do the work we need to do for sure to ensure civil rights satisfaction. Thank you to our staff director and our general counsel and their team and also, again, to the same person who is in addition the acting director of the office of civil rights evaluation and to the team in that office who write our civil rights reports. Thank you to the office of management, including budget and finance. Administrative services, the clearinghouse division and Human Resources to keep us paid and who keep us in Effective Response to the many people who contact the commission with their concerns. Thank you for the work you do. And thank you to susan, who is heathers mother for gracing us with your presence today. Shortly after last august in charlottesville that elevated youth to National Prominence in honor of her memory. I was devastated as i know we all were by the events last august that brought us to that moment. [indiscernible] please, will you stand, so we acan honor you . [applause] i am devastated by what led im veryt moment that proud of the u. S. Commission on civil rights for responding unanimously as a commission to both honor heathers legacy and to call on the nation to rededicate itself to walk in her path of justice. Thank you for joining us today as we commemorate that moment and reminding us of what it is that we need to do together as a nation. What i know unites all of us in this room is a deep passion for civil rights. And a commitment to giving voice and vision to what works and what we need to do to improve and satisfy our nations ideals. The u. S. Commission on civil rights in its 60 years has influenced every federal civil rights law enacted in that time. And that is an enormous and remarkable record. And i hope and expect that we will continue to honor that legacy and press forward as we now enter into our seventh decade. I know we will hear more about that work in our Panel Discussion shortly, so i will leave it there for the moment and just say that i am honored and committed to be your eyes and ears, together with my fellow commissioners, the vice and michael and dave, harriet and peter. The commissioner of the former chair joe radel two had planned to be with us today had lastminute emergencies that have taken them away from this moment, but they also want to be here with us to celebration. Without further ado, it is my thrill to be able to introduce dr. Carla hayden. As i mentioned to her when i saw her earlier, i am a fan. As a student of history and a person who was saved in her love librarians by many over time, it is especially thrilling in this room to be able to introduce dr. Hayden. The 14thworn in as librarian of congress on september 14, 2016. She is the first africanamerican woman to lead ehe national library, to b nominated to the position by president obama on february 20 4, 2016 and confirmed on the senate. Which is no small feat. Before joining the library of congress, she served as the ceo of Enoch Free Library in baltimore. 3. Nce 199 she served on the National Museum and Library Services board after her nomination by president obama since june 2010. Prior to joining the Pratt Library she was chief librarian of the Chicago Public library from 19911993. She began her career with the Chicago Public library is the Young Adult Services coordinator from the 19791982 and as of the Library Associate and childrens librarian from 19731979. Dr. Hayden. [applause] thank you so much and good afternoon and welcome to the library of congress. It is my honor to be with you today. Ad i have to tell you that person that i have known through many years, mary frances good to see you here, and also, library and appear everywhere. And so, my colleagues who is the head of the alexander public vibrator who is sister is on the commission but the library i wanted to give a special thank you to her. When i was asked by president obama to serve as the 14th librarian of congress, the 14th since 1802. And as the first woman that was quite something because librarianship was one of those feminize professions, like nursing and social work and education, where 85 of the workforce is female. And the top management does not reflect that. And so, people said that mr. Melville dewey was probably having a moment at my swearing in. But the most significant part was being an africanamerican. Because, at the swearing in, i was able to talk about the fact years,r many, many people of color were for bid in two read and that there were laws, many laws in the books. In fact, i started to list them all at my swearing in and it was too long. Only had a few minutes. But whipping, all of these things. And so to be the first africanamerican to head up the Worlds Largest library, the unique universal collection, was especially significant. And at the library of congress at, byen mr. , when i was president obama to serve, he said, ive seen the contents of Abraham Lincolns pockets. He night he was assassinated. Ive seen the original draft of the declaration of independence that had a section on slavery and it was taken ou t, because they knew they could not get it passed. They said, we will deal of slavery later. Seen these things but i know that some of it is because of who i am and t position atim in, and what can you do to make sure these resources are at the fingertips of every young person . When i thought about it, i realize, as i came to the library, and you saw some of the treasures. This is just a tiny fraction of what the library of congress has about civil rights and africanAmerican History and all types of history. The factthink about that when i was in baltimore and the unrest that happened there. I was at a storefront that looked out over the store that was burned. And, of course, the car. There was a library there. And there was a little girl about 10 years old who asked, what is the matter . Whats going on . If i could have pulled up the papers of rosa parks in her own hand when she talked about what it felt like to be in that jail so, what it felt like when she said, i am alone, i feel like nothing. This is horrible. What it would have done at that moment at that time to be able to have those resources. And so, my vision is to share these resources, the largest and the most heavily used collection at the library of congress of the naacp living collection. The Legal Defense fund. The papers of th student nonviolente coordinating committee. The papers of Justice Thurgood marshall. The Martin Luther king fbi files. The brotherhood of sleeping susan b. Anthony and now the first photo of Harriet Tubman that was ever taken that shows her not as the older woman that we all think about with the shawl, but Harriet Tubman as she thaty left that l ed underground railroad. And to be able to correlate with the new africanamerican museum to purchase that photo in to make sure it is there. But to also have those pinch me moments, i call them. And to share these treasures. In baltimore with the rosa parks papers. Just recently, the papers of frederick douglass. Now, i have to tell you, when you are at the Worlds Largest library with collections that date back to i dont know the and everything, these are collections you go through and we see in the stack areas. 836 miles of shelving and reach from here to davenport, iowa. And 30 million, her eyes are open like this, yes. Bemillion items ready to catalogued and made available. The papers of 23 president s from George Washington to calvin coolidge. You walk down the aisles as i did recently, and because i have had the unique experience in baltimore and in maryland and really connected with Frederick Douglasss quote once you learn to read you will be forever free. So, im going to the aisles recently. The stacks underneath the building and i am passing by Thurgood Marshall and passing by Oliver Wendell homes, ralph ellison, susan b l funny. Susan b anthony and i get to frederick douglass. I said, hold on. I asked the curator, can i look at some of these . I pulled out a random box. Box 22. Opened it up. Opened up a random and pulled a random file out. Opened it and there in his own hand was Frederick Douglasss description of Abraham Lincoln, a plain and simple man, a man the because he fought for freedom or thought about the freedom for colored people and that was the term he was murdered, killed, assassinated. And, every time he mentioned that he said murdered, killed. You could feel the anger. You could feel the emotion coming through that. And then he said one of the worst injustices that he had witnessed was that the colored people who had so much to, that to Abraham Lincoln were not allowed in washington, d. C. , to participate in the Funeral Services and pay tribute to Abraham Lincoln. So, i closed the file. And i said, thank you, president obama. Thank you for the opportunity because these are the things that will give context and will give meaning to what you do and what you are fighting for. So, thank you for being here. Please come back. And we will show you some of those treasures, too. [applause] she is amazing. I hope that our next panel will be equally amazing. And to lead us through that task will be richard lee, a journalist and news anchor for nbc news an formerlyd cnn where he became the first asia american male to anchor Daily National cable news show in 2007 and has reported in almost every seminal International Event in the last decade, including conflict and political upheaval in the middle east and asia and economic challenges in an evolving global economy. More recently, he reported live and the field at the paris San Bernardino attacks and the ferguson of baltimore during heightened racial unrest. Travelsof work, mr. Lee each week from new york city to San Francisco to care for his father, an alzheimers patient, and to highlight and raise awareness of the importance of family caregiving and health care education. Caregivings an aarp champion in an Alzheimers Association celebrity champion. Richard also is a Spokes Person for u. N. Women. And for the antihuman Trafficking Group not for sale and board advising for an ngo teaching survivors to become a software coders. A former businessman and he often as a thought leader in media, race, and storytelling. He is ranked in the top 1 of social media users and was named one of 21 dynamic careers to watch alongside jayz and sheryl sandberg. Without more, i will say we are grateful to mr. Lee for moderatoring us today. [applause] much. Nk you so i have to talk to my manager because hes lying a lot, at least in that bio. It really is fantastic to be here. I sat in the back and thought of the meaning of what this commission has had for me and for my grandparents and my parents and what were here to celebrate today. Thank you for being leaders and standing up he does it mean so much to each and every one of us. Me being a storyteller, catherine and the rest of the chairs, as well as the commissioners in this room, my first story as a young cub reporter was of rodney king. Then later when i stood in the streets and ferguson and baltimore i said to myself, this is happening again. Why . Why am i standing in the streets . Im a young person relatively to the great civil rights leaders of our country. I cant imagine some of the pain that weve discussed among this elite group and civil rights. So, i really appreciate what you have done, what it stands for, why i lived such a good life is because of what this commission has done. Its why, when we see faces like chin, as we looked at kit 35 years since his killing, its because of the work that has happened in this group, and the decisions you have made, suggestions you have made. Thank you so much. Finally before we get into the panel, i just came back from malaysia as well as the balkins. And you know this, but i have to say it. What is discussed with this commission is what people around the world look up to. They look for the, the standardbearers of civil rights and that is again what this commission has discussed and what it decides upon. So, thank you for having me here today. 60 years, i cant believe in this grand, grand room. I was sitting in the corner looking up and realized what a small key, small grain of sand i really am. Thanks for having me and now i will move to this microphone. Thishe title of conversation that we are going to get into, the commission past, present and future. And were going to try to get this done in a meaningful amount of time. I would love to do this for the entire afternoon, but i would get the hook, no doubt, as i often do. I would like to give a little bit of background of the chairs, current and past that are sitting on this dais today. First up, as you are hearing from catherine lehman. Is the current chairman of the u. S. Commission on civil rights. President obama appointed her to a sixyear term december 2016. It may feel a long time ago, it may feel like yesterday. Catherine also currently serves as council at the National Center for youth law since october, 2017, and before coming to the commission, catherine served as the assistant secretary for civil rights at this department of education. Catherine. [applause] im going to walk through time backwards. In a good way. Marty president barack obama appointed mr. Castro in january elevated him to chair making him the first latino chair in the history of the commission. Marty is the president and i hope you do not mind i will usually first name is that ok . Great. Marty is the president and ceo of castro synergy that provides Consulting Services to organizations that seek to collaborate with and have a positive social impact on diverse communities. Marty. [applause] gerald reynolds. Gerald was scheduled to be here today. But he hada personal emergency and could not join us. A little bit of background on gerald. Bushdent george w. Appointed mr. Reynolds to serve as chair of the commission december 2004. And served in that role till 2010. So, well clap for gerald. [applause] i love it when people clap for me when i am not around. Kind of nice. That is the only time people will clap for me. Dr. Mary frances barry. Thebarrys tenure at commission lasted over five administrations, starting in 1980, including serving as chair from 1993 to 2004. She was first appointed by president jimmy carter. Then by the house of representatives and finally by president bill clinton. Shes currently the geraldine r. Segal professor of American Social thought and history at the university of pennsylvania. Mary. [applause] dr. William b. Allen. President Ronald Reagan appointed dr. Allen to the commission in 1987 and during served as chair of the commission from 19881989. 9841987 he served as a member on the National Council of communities. Emeritus professor of political philosophy at Michigan State university. Dr. Allen. [applause] to michigan. We will not discuss that at all. Remain civil, please. Let me start with this if i may. Ill just because of the order we are sitting here on the dais here, i will start with dr. Barry. When you served as chair of the commission, how did you view the commissions role . Dr. Barry i want to say, first of all, that i wrote a book about the history of the commission which is called and justice for all. I went to all the president ial library selected the archives, im an historian and a lawyer and an archive rat. Spent many hours in this building doing research on the history of it. Where is miss eisenhower, the granddaughter, is she here . Somebody said she was here. Well, in any case, i learned about what the commission is supposed to do from knowing the history of it. And from experience. Wasth ee most important thing rthur fleming, aut chair of this commission and had been a cabinet secretary in every administration from hoover all the way up to carter. He was a moderate, liberal republican, the old school, a grand man, there is an award and federal government for senior officials, career officials who do the best job called the fleming award. Distinct award. Remind me, and i have read this in the files and elsewhere, that eisenhower said he wanted to commission so it could put the facts on top of the table. And that arthur would always, when he was in hay adams having breakfast, he would always slam the table when he said it. And the history of it does show that there were political considerations. But in talking with his attorney general, the point was that ordinary people would be able to come to the commission or the commission go out to where the ordinary people were and listen to them and dig around and find the facts and get the officials in, and that the subpoena power was so important to use, they argued about that. So, you can get the officials to come in whether they wanted to or not and you can get ordinary people who are scared to come because they may get fired from the job to say i was ordered to. Theyre going to get me. It was to put the facts on top of the table. So, what guided me i wasnt always interested in what elites think happen to be won by myself. Pen to be one im interested in what the people think about things. And i think to do its job effectively that things like briefings and hearings and state Advisory Committees and finding out whats going on out there is really important in formulating legislation. And helping the congress in trying to pass something and advising the president and the people on what is going on. So that was my mantra while i was at the commission. Mr. Lee great. Dr. Allen, what did people think about the commission when you were chair . Dr. Allen i dont know what people thought about the commission while i was chair. Its an odd question when you stop to think about it, because after all, the commission never takes polls. People into specific context what they think about their lives and their experiences. It tries to establish the facts as far is it can acquire those, gather them together as mary frances suggested. But there is not a polling organization. You might want to ask why is the commission not a polling organization . Care the way so many other entities in society cares about collecting public sentiment on a daily, weekly or monthly basis . One of the reasons is because the commission wasnt establish simply to be a mirror. It was established to change Public Opinion in the country. 1957 onwards from has been the motivating mission of the commission, to take, an understanding of civil rights that was incorrect and steadily, slowly, by persuasion, influence, illustration, demonstration lead the country to a healthier understanding of civil rights. And i believe that work is still underway. Ive prepared some notes for the commission on this occasion in which i have entitled them still work to be done. Mr. Wasnt a long list . No, it is a single tax. It is not a long list at all, it is a difficult task. I wanted to build off what dr. Alan said as well as dr. Barry. How has the commission changed what people thought about the right in your chairmanship . I have always thought of out not onlythe commission in conscience for the country and civil rights, as the conscience but it has become a tagline in many ways. It is our job to come in and show what this country should be, what the intentions of those of us who believe and civil rights and equality want this country to look like. Even after all of the work that the commission had done over the years with the civil rights act, the Voting Rights act, we see the history right here. When i was first appointed in 2011, i did and interview with a wellknown National Journalist who asked why there was a need for a Civil Rights Commission , we have a black president i said well, we might have an africanamerican president but , racism and bias is alive and well in america in we have come 2011. A long way from jim only in america. But there was still, and at that time, hatred, bias, and discrimination that is there. It might be in some ways the same as during jim crow but it has also taken on different forms. In the days of the past takensions, any as also on different forms requiring even more work to root it out and shine a light on it. It is a great equalizer in that we bring people together and talk about what this country should be. I walked the streets of ferguson in the aftermath of michael brown. I got to sing with thousands including the president obama, at the 50th anniversary of selma. We talked to parents who lost their children to bullying and we tried to protect transgender kids. All of these issues are at the very core about each of us being treated like humans, equally. In letting our full potential be reached. Remains to betill the important work that the chair and this commission are embarking on. Can you tell us what you think the commissions role is. I think it has been the come the had the responsibility to be the eyes and ears for the country and make recommendations for the country of how we can be our better selves. My hope for us is the same hope we have had over the last six years. Do not mess it up and to make sure in this urgent time that we are vigilant and fierce about ensuring civil rights. That we maximize what it is we have. We have incredible colleagues and incredible civil rights leaders, colleagues, friends. We have extraordinary staff who have decades of service to the country who bring expertise and deep commitments to the charge that we have. We also, at this time, have a deep and broad set of kinds of topics that we have under our belts and i hope in the near future we can release them. There is a lot to say and do in respect to civil rights and making sure that we maximize the expertise and experience we have and the platform we have as the only independent, bipartisan federal entity in existence that is able to advise the country, the president , and the congress about what civil rights ought to be and how to shape our norms. What are you watching today . We are watching a broad range of topics. We are poised to release the first report on lgbt status in the country. That will be an important marker for us and will follow work my colleagues have done. We also have in our agenda work on police use of force and the status of rights, finance equity, there is a broad range of topics pending in a distressingly wide variety of ways. These kinds of issues, some of them are new and different ways of not living up to our deals and some of the same old same old and we have not yet satisfied our promises. We are watching the community re for eachcan be the other. Some of those issues are new and different ways of not living up to our ideals, and some are old ways which we have not yet satisfied. And whom we ought to be for each other. We bemarty, what should watching from your seat as a former chair . Marty i think chairman lehman talks about some of these issues clearly. But i think from a broader perspective, civil rights and Civil Liberties are in danger currently in this country. There is a Resistance Movement that has been taking place at the grassroots of this country and it is not necessarily partisan. I think it is about principles. The commission has a historic light that is shining on how this administration is protecting and funding civil rights. That is one of the Important Roles were back. Not only looking out at the world to see whether lunch counters are being open to all and whether jobs are accessed by everyone regardless of where they come from, who they love, also, is our but federal government doing what it is supposed to be doing, to protect the rights of our citizens and residents . I think in this iteration of the commission, that becomes more important. Because even under the obama administration, those of us appointed by the president were independent. So we still looked with a tough eye. To make sure the menstruation was doing what it should have been doing. From and children coming Central America were being detained in prisons, many of them for profit, but our own administration, which is not meeting some of the overripe mandates. We had to say, hey, we can do better. Now even more so, the commission needs to focus on the federal government and its conduct. Ensuring it needs its mandates. To protect all american citizens and residents, both. Dr. Alan, what are you watching today, and why . I would like to repeat what the chairman just mentioned, that the work of the commission is not simply to assess the dynamics within the society. That is part of it and it is necessary to accumulate those facts which will be the basis of the judgment. But it is also to evaluate the performance of the government so , that what we should be watching, each problem deserves attention. Every single human being who suffers unjustly, deserves attention. We do not need to parse the opportunity to assess the functioning and mission of the commission on civil rights. We need to remember that it is supposed to cast a critical eye on the government and most dimensions of the society in which we can discover patterns that are correctable. It does not mean we are there is sensors of the community, it does not mean that every human suffering is to be addressed by the commission, that has never been the case. It does mean that the commission casts a critical eye with regard to the question of civil rights and in the performance of this country and its government in bringing our understanding and implementation of the guarantees of civil rights to a level which ideally speaking would make the , process city of the commission itself. Attain the ideal, it is no reason not to visualize it. Dr. Barry, what are some of the lessons from your time that you would apply today . Dr. Barry as usual, i am not going to answer your question. [laughter] host your my perfect guest. For expose a great lineup, happens to me all the time. [laughter] dr. Barry it seems to me that while it is important that the commission under Performance Commission monitor performance, dr. Alan is right. Since the passage of the civil rights laws, that has been a major function of the commission, and it should continue to be, no matter who is in office. And it should be done. The second thing under reported to the public is that we have been doing a pretty good job as a country, in whatever role the commission played, and achieving some diversity. Important areas of our lives, whether it is education, employment, achieving some diversity. The are still problems with all the groups who are embraced in the cons that, marginalized people who are now involved that is, truth. But we made some progress. But there is a deep floor flaw in what we are doing, and my students in my graduate seminar talked about it the other day. While we are making progress, there is a group that is lagging. This group is a group that the Civil Rights Commission was first established to address. Those are africanamericans, black slave descendents in the united states. You might have seen the big headline story in the new york blacksbout how the involvement in Higher Education institutions have declined. All thee enrollment of different groups that people call people of color i like to name everybody, i that would take too long, ok, i will name them all. Just americans, but not asianamericans, japanese, chinese. People from the pacific islanders, all the rest. Blacks from the caribbean, from africa. Host point well taken though, doctor. Dr. Berry in other words, there are lots of people. I look at lead institutions in that article because i teach at one and a conceit on the campus, and i have seen it for years. Education is important because this is rather leaders and the people who make the decisions in our society come from. If we do not do a good job of especiallyng people, in democracy and how it is country, that is how we may feel good about ourselves in institutions of power. We feel good about helping those in the bottom, but we forget about this wholehow we may feelt ourselves in disparity that is in existence. The disparitywhy i have some ideas, and there some research and papers some research and papers published, about the same thing same thing happening with poor whites students. From listening to people, theres some kind of catch. We won a few of them, but not too many. I think the reason why you think it is important, is not just for people not just because of the original mission of the commission, but all the others arrive groups that have civil their protections, protections involved from the Legal Framework established in addressing africanamericans. To the extent that we do not do anything about the condition of africanamericans, eventually all of those other things that have been extrapolated from that are going to become a problem and be stagnated. Their protections involved from the isal frameworkalso, americas n racism against black americans, madison and jefferson both said that. It is here now, and it keeps surging. We talk about it every time it happens, we say researched. It comes out in ways that we notice. I think that the commission, not just the commission but anyone else who has any kind of responsibility, ought to take a look at this issue and see what has been the result of diversity. We do not want to talk about identity politics, that is bad framing. It is like liberal, used to be. We are progressives, not liberals. multiracialism is great, that , thechard delgado said very astute law professor and scholar has said, it is all groups have problems, but their problems are not the same. If you lump them all together, and never dissect what their problems are, and what it is that they need in particular, you never really address and get to the heart of the problem. I happen to agree with that. You did not ask me that but [laughter] lui i do not mind, im used to it. It will be edited [laughter] allen this is something that i think as we look at today, aln preparation for 2020 and the new generations that will be coming, and we thinkgenerations that wi, and we think back and i think about a statue my father has of a young pastor. I am guessing that for him, in terms of why he decided to become a pastor, was that he was energized by at that time, a young pastor himself, Martin Luther king. It was something my father, even through alzheimers, would bring up as a reason for many of his life decisions. For they euros going forward, how important are civil rights leaders . Who are you watching that might be of note, and why . You know, weeds do not grow spontaneously, they grow from seeds. Dr. Barry explained a few moments ago, some of the seeds which were noticeable a few moments ago. 30 years ago i gave a constitutional edge or us on which i took note of the 30th anniversary of the commission of civil rights and celebrated it. But i also pointed out some danger signs pointing precisely in the direction that dr. Barry has described. I make that observation to say, are we always going to assume that the continuing difficulties are always there because they were there 300 years ago, or are we ever going to take responsibility for the things we do that continue to foster difficulties . We could see long before the New York Times expose, what was happening to be a moment of black American Students in Higher Education, and we talked about it. We said, this is happening. I was called to the university of colorado system to speak about diversity. I was happy to do so, it is one of those topics that has been on my radar, which i have addressed there and i gave a very warm discussion in which i said, look, you have to refocus area and you are speaking about diversity and you have certain notntions but you are paying attention to the fact that you are spreading differences on the emphasis of diversity. Call it identity politics or whatever you want, you are putting the focus on the difference, but not what brings together, at least in the context of the university. We should be identifying ourselves as a common mission. Inclusive ince a is a way of bringing people together . I was very pleased to see not long after that, inclusiveness became quite a byword. It spread throughout the entire country. [commentary in unison] that they my point is refocuswe did not fully wherever it began. That i am thecase only one who said that we should talk about inclusivity. We need toid calibrate the mission. We need to calibrate the vocabulary, calibrate our understanding of the effect we are having on the world, rather always, sitting back and assuming the effects proceed from some evil source somewhere else. We need to go from seed, and we ares writing some of this is in addition to the seas originally spread. Is, is room my focus getting clarity about where we can gain traction, and power over these dynamics in a society, and where we can see our own failures in relationship to these dynamics. I think that is the most important tax task that we have to confront today. Onhard lui marty, reflect saidto what dr. Allen there. Marty it is always important to have leaders but the concept of Leadership Today is different than it was 50 years go. Particularly among millennials, the lead in a common fashion. They do not select one person to be there as a spokesperson or a charismatic leader. They try to do it conveniently, and i think we need to understand that to the extent that we want to succeed with the new generations coming. Does not always work in every setting, and where can i have one governor, but those sorts of political leaders are important, playing a Important Role in the development of civil rights in america. In the grassroots, it is really more of a communal leadership that we need to foster. I think that leadership leads to inclusivity that the chair is talking about. One of the things that were never overcame, we legislated and litigated civil rights. But one of the things we failed to do well, is when heart and minds. There was always some festering anger, bias, and that we could not completely pull out. As my mother says, that leads are hard to kill, or they die hard. Positive way,es a we are winning those hurts and minds and when he took and thus create this communal leadership by default. Come together and say that we have more things in, that then separate us. We will never be 100 on every issue, but maybe that is ok. Bulk of my chairmanship, we worked together because we were for conservatives and for progressives. Out a numberwe put of reports during my chairmanship and they said everything that i wanted they were fair. It wasnt only things that i wanted or with the credits wanted their weird mood forward, we issued reports and we worked together. Catherine. That concept, removing away from the singular idea of what civil rights may be . Based on a culture that is not limited to young people, but limited we are all accessing these kinds of conversations. Therefore when you talk about civil rights and look at leadership in that space, it has become more local or communal. I think it has, and it has been. 20 years ago there was a civil the travelingf around the country of dr. King. Playinghildren dealing, before armed police when they were marching at that moment in the photo. Marching and asking for the right to attend school. Sorry, they were kneeling and praying. They were little girls and little boys taking a risk of themselves, and first one else, because that is what leadership looks like. When thatotos was incredibly meaningful to me was a 96yearold luck man raising his fist held on the , shoulders of other men because the first time. He had the right to vote for the first time. I do not know his name, but he had to vote because that is what leadership is and was. There were suburban housewives Holding Signs in front of people igger, dont you wish you were white . Forgive me for the term. I know the hate that that transmits, and the reality is had unbelievably consequential, charismatic and terrific leaders, some on the commission and some who were not who have advanced our rights in , ways that are powerful. It is amazing for us to have the opportunity to see the to markers of the moments here in y this room with us today. Weve had at the same time activists, leaders, believers in , the nation, who they should be, who led us. So i think it is absolutely true that we have people who build our imagination, who step into a never that i believe, you hoped you would be in. But they stepped into a moment to hope to lead us into who we can become. And people who drank that they could be those leaders and helped fulfill those promises. We continue to have people whose know,that we do not people who share with us their vision for our country that is the vision that weve had a 60 Year National consensus about what civil rights should be. Dr. Berry may i address that question, i will be brief. [laughter] just to say that the way that change has been made, positive change in the civil rights arena, part of it has been the work of the commission and its glory days, before the partisan disruption which i was in part responsible for. Done by it has been people who gathered together to protest, because protest is an essential ingredient of politics , and politics is one way that we make nonviolent social change in this country. Movement of the kind that happened with the people going up against the fascist, in charlottesville. All aroundovements the country who are organized. They are necessary and the commission has to take the public, in of the terms of what it is interested in, and what it is angry about or upset about, and wants to do. I wrote another book, called history, teaches us to resist. It will be out in march. It has the story of the movements that have taken place against the president in very challenging times against precedent. Litigation, investigation, legislation, they are all part picture, but you have to have organized people. The leaders that we have, when you say how many leaders and who are the leaders, i would name all sorts picture, of people. Such as the leader of black lives matter and her group, there are a million of them and they are all people in the resist is who are in fact organizing. The people organizing in daca, all the rest, we have people who are activists and moving. The commission should, with its expertise and the reports it has done over the years, have some very important things to say about that. When it comes to the issue of Police Practices, the commission has several reports it did. It did the first major report on Police Practices and table right. What police should not do and not do. All of these things, the commission should have something to say about, but it should be in tune with what ails the public at a particular time. Richard lui part of what is ailing the public at this particular time, today, if you turn on any news channel or open the paper, marty, is the issue of gender. We have talked about the rights of the Lgbtq Community members, and that has become as the sun rises in the east, it sets in the west, it is now part of the fabric of our country. It was not always. We look at the issue of gender and because we have stories of hollywood, stories of leadership politics, talking about issues of sexual assault, in ways we have not been used to seeing. Where do you think we are when it comes to civil rights related to gender . I bring up the Lgbtq Community because it seems that within the last 10 years, this country has had a watershed moment. Martin castro when president obama appointed me in a january of 2011, as the first latino chair, he also appointed the first game member openly gay member of the commission. To focus on some things, and while we were about to issue the report on lgbtq in the workplace, i am proud to say that the first report which actually addressed lgbtq issues was our report which we issued under my chairmanship. We looks at the condition of both lgbtq kids, but also transgender children. Ofre were elements of all the protected classes we looked at by was the first time that the commission raised the issue of lgbtq as a protected class. We got some pushback, that we thought it was important to address that. When the transgender bathroom issue came out, we were the first to come out strongly in support protections for those children. We have always been at the forefront of the commission at looking at gender issues. In my chairmanship, one of the reports i am proud of is the work that we did on military sexual assault. We were able to put generals in front of us and call them to task, for not protecting the women who then and still are overwhelmingly object to sexual assault. If we cannot protect the women in our armed forces, my god, how will we protect the women in other parts of the country . This has been the issue. Sectshe issue of trafficking, which we looked at secx trx sex trafficking, which we also looked sec at. Aboutose who do not know the commission, we even put out a report to highlight this. Wasthe conversations i having with this one commissioner it was a question of, if you look at incarceration, 90th percent of the people incarcerated are male, it is not a discrimination against male issue. I said no, that is the opposite. It is like Sexual Harassment in the work lace. Women are being targeted by sexual trap by sexual traffickers. 90 of those being trafficked are female. Now we are at the point where we are maybe at a crescendo point in this country. Like i said, it has been there, weve had these battles them and then it goes away or goes off the radar screen, but it does not go away. It is up to us to maintain it on the radar screen, and take actions on it. History about the commission, it was integral to this, the law which protects sexual equality in school. School,ity is that in out of school, as a country, the work that we have done in the country has advanced enormously but not far enough. The quantum of sex discrimination is a standing. The types of forms of sex discrimination that we see at it is even from eating news today, jawdropping, in its repetitions, in its variety of ways that women as well as men, are harassed because of who they are. The perceptions of who they are, and the degree to which those in whatountry have ignored sexual law requires. How much we have not done to satisfy the core civil rights goals that we live by. I am aware and deeply grateful, that the country has moved in a way that is exponentially farther than where it was for my mother and my mothers mother before her. I think that the more equal than from myin, and i know,. Ewels, might two daughters my 13yearold who wants to join the stem club in her middle school, her teacher said she should do it, and you should absolutely do it, and you will be the only girl. In this century, the fact that might daughter is the only girl in a stem club, it means that we have not moved far enough. The commission has work to do on this topic, and i am proud to say that we are doing it. We as a country need to live every day with the promises that congress has made to us, the Supreme Court has made to us, and we have made to everyone about who we are. Alan, what isr. The country listening to this topic of gender discrimination . It depends on if you are talking about lgbtq issues, or sexual discrimination . Becausetry is listing i once predicted it would be harder to get rid of discrimination against the lgbtq people, then to get rid of race discrimination, and i was wrong. Richard lui why do you think you were wrong, doctor . Dr. Berry i think it is wrong because most people know someone who is a or have had someone who works for them was day, or people in their family who were they. They are familiar with them, most people in this country who are not black, do not have anyone who is black in their know, you do you not have the same kind of personal experiences that people have. So i was wrong about that. But people, even when we talk about gender, the people who are the worst treated our transgender people, especially black transgender people, there are killed by serial killers in huge numbers and no one ever does anything about it. Ethical toost getting jobs, they have terrible lives. I think that part of it is the movement. When people who have made up their minds that they were going ethical to to out themselves, come out, i remember when barney frank was mad cause somebody added him. I remember sitting in the green room and a beast he, waiting to abc, waiting to go on nightline. And i remember them saying i guess we cannot use them anymore, because he is gay or weird richard lui did you really hear that . Dr. Berry yes, i did. Part of it is that somebody knows everybody. And what people when people outed themselves, it was easier. Were onlyt gays interested in having families, like everyone else, the whole picket fence strategy worked because people who used to think that gay people were world people who stayed out all night, got drunk, did promiscuous things, well, they just want to have a house and some kids and a family, like us. I think that helped. A whole lot, and im glad it happened. But i think that all those things had something to do with it. Richard lui really interested, dr. Alan. Dr. Allen i assume you mean the same question . Look. I think the country is fundamentally a country of people who are committed to the equal administration of the law. It does not mean that there is a diversity of sentiment about what that is, there is. I suppose the best word i could choose, there is a failure with regard to upholding that. It has happened throughout our history. I do not think we ought to normal,t as something that people believe in the equal administration of the laws, the equal administration of justice. What they have difficulty with, what they struggle with, is knowing how to make that a tactical reality. Issues,y picking, the it does not bring clarity to the fundamental question, to be honest with you. In fact, it sows confusion because it leads us to think, we have a problem x to solve tomorrow, and we have another one the next day. These problems will be there forever. It undermines our attempt to make foundations that can guide the formulation of Public Policy and the administration of the laws. I remember in the debate between hannah arent and ralph ellison, when they discuss talking to strangers. Danielle allen has a book on this. What struck me as so powerful was the fact that something that lay at the heart of ordinary to anence was invested, extraordinarily moral and philosophical power. We tend to undermine that extraordinarily moral and philosophical power when we use transitory, ephemeral dynamics in place of fundamental reasoning about what the rule of law requires. A republican people, not by accident. Even if those who created the republican institutions were not all sincere in their professions of equality, or whatever else. Is aepublicanism deliberate thing, and it is a challenge. It is not easy for all human beings to accept the responsibility of republican life and recognize, that the choices they make, they must be held accountable for. To think there is an administrative arrangement that can remove the accountability and make everything turn out all right is simply a mistake. It will never happen. Yes, it is true, we have created with regard to samesex relationships, and altered environment than previously existed. That is nothing unusual in the longer course of events in history of the united states. We have constantly shifted cultural expectations. Was it because there was a commission on civil rights . No, as was indicated, the commission was laggard in a taking of the topic and did not lead the way. And we ought to be learning from the area in which they did not lead the way, what the dynamics are that underscore change in this culture. I dont want us to flatline the relationship between this commission and society. I dont want to treated as a onedimensional thing. It is a multivariable relationship, and we dont have to therefore set out a scorecard by which we say this or that particular issue now has relevance because the commission has stamped it with approval. Apologize, 30 seconds, we have to finish. Please go ahead. Dr. Berry the commission was the first Government Agency to 30 seconds, we have to finish. Permit an activist who was openly gay and a lesbian to testify in a hearing. But that doesnt correct it, it is a footnote. But they were the first one. Richard lui we have to close it, and i will ask everybody to, we will finish with kathryn closing. I will start at the left of the berry 30e, dr. Conclusion,your please . Dr. Berry i have taken up all my time. [laughter] richard lui dr. Allen. Conclusion, please . Dr. Berry i have taken up all my time. [laughter]dr. Allen i came onte commission at a time when there was a great deal of divisiveness. One of the lessons i derived from my experience was how important it was to transcend the divisiveness, no matter what was happening politically. To support the mission. When i was called back after having served on the commission to testify about reauthorization for the commission, i entered the house Hearing Committee to give my testimony in support of the commission at the end of the chairs testimony in which i was being blamed, two chairs removed, for operational failures. Nevertheless, though i was the scapegoat for something i had nothing to do with, i still mounted the chair, gave my testimony and said the commissions work is not finished, it is important and we need to make a commitment to it. I say that again today. Richard lui marty . 30 seconds. Martin castro ok. First of all, it is a treat to be part of history. That is what we are doing today, celebrating 60 years of history, but also as an individual to , have been the first latino chair of the commission. I tried to be the chairman for all people, all walks of life, i but i have to say that it was also important for me as a latino to go to my community and let them see that the son and grandson of mexican immigrants who crossed the border 90 years ago with no hope other than to find a better life, they could have a grandchild that would be in the adopted home country of this nation in a leadership role. Thats what the commission brings. It can bring an abiding hope to communities that have been oppressed, individuals who have been shunned. People who feel less than what they should be, that there is hope. And the people who sit in these seats as chairs and commissioners have a duty to make sure this country, as president obama said, that this union is always working to perfect itself. We have come along way, but we have a long way to go. I know this chair, and i want to express to everyone, you will have mine and im sure my fellow chairs, you will have our supporting continuing that support and continuing that mission. I will take my 30 seconds to agree with mr. Allen come out that the work of the commission is far from done. And also, to entreat all of you and all of the people you know to share information with us about what is you want for this country so we can continue to live up to the legacy that comes before us of extraordinary work, to make us a better union, a better country, where we have recommended tools that have worked. To increase access to equity as a country. We have monitored the use of and the implementation of those tools that have worked, and where we have celebrated progress and identified ways to move forward. That is our charge, and it is as acutely necessary today as it has ever been as a country and we will only be as effective as we are together in doing that work. So i look forward to the celebration that continues for the next few minutes today and to the work that continues every day moving forward for all of us together. Thank you, very much, for what we will do, going forward. Richard lui catharine, thank you very much for putting us together on this anniversary. To all of our esteemed chairs hereby on this table thank you , for all of your years of commitment to this. I am truly humbled by all of the knowledge sitting up here, these brains that have gone through so much. [laughter] earlier, we could be here for a long but very good cumbers nation, so thank youto s allby on to our chairs again. Catherine lhamon dont get too comfortable, representative kilmer has joined us and he all to our chairs again. Has in a and our mess champion for the commission over the years. I look forward to hear what he will need to us for we leave. Richard lui thats right derek , kilmer from washington. We are in the members room and we are here because he is a member clearly, and he has put this together for us. So please, representative. Yes. [applause] rep. Kilmer thank you. I am standing with Martin Castro , thevillage called tahoa lower reservation of an indian reservation. We go up the climbed of a sandbank and shereservation. Says, when i was a kid, the nation was if the nation was a football field away, and now it is a front porch. In recent years, they have began to see the threat of rising sea levels and severe storms, not to mention the threat of us anatomy. She points out that her village is below sea level, which was not a problem generations back when the ocean was a football fieldlance away. Now when the severe storm hits, a football fieldlength away. Now when the severe storm hits, they have to worry about flooding. Was a message from her yesterday on my phone saying, it is happened again, we have a seawall breach, could he reach out to the army corps . Was a message from her yesterday on my phoneso that stf other tribes in my district who as i sit here today in this amazing setting, it is one of four tribal stories from my district, tribes who are in the process of trying to move to higher ground. Those stories deserve to be heard. Thats why im grateful, not just to former chairman castro, but to the commission on civil rights for listening to the stories. Billy frank junior, a civil rights icon and native american leader, used to provide vital direction, saying to those who wanted to advocate, tell your story. Tell your story. Storytelling is essential to change, but in order for change to happen, someone needs to hear that story and to listen to the people who are telling it. Too often, there is no one listening when communities of color or disadvantaged populations tell their story, and that is quite friendly what quite frankly, what the u. S. Quite frankly why the u. S. Commission on civil rights is so absolutely vital. So important, whether it is looking at gender equities in the Education System or challenges to the Lgbtq Community or religious or ethnic minorities, these stories matter. Addressing these inequities matter if we are going to form a more perfect union. Let me again mention the work the commission is doing on this issue, these issues facing the native american community. There was a 2003 report that showed our government choco systemic failures to live up to treaty obligations with tribal communities. I am grateful for the work they are now doing to update this report. I want to tell one more story we heard in the process of updating this report. One of the tribal leaders shared his story. He said, do you want good news or bad news . We said, look to the good news. He said, everyone of our High School Seniors graduated this year. I said, that is fantastic. What is the bad news . He said, well for the first , time, the state of washington is going to require students take the statemandated exam over the internet. He said, we do not have highspeed internet he said we tried it, we shut down every computer in the school except for two, and its one of those where you have to answer 10 questions and then click next page. It took one minute and 40 minutes to click next page. They timed it. He says that is not going to work. Sadly, that tribe is not alone. Many of the coastal tribes lack access to broadband which many of us take for granted. It doesnt just hurt entrepreneurs or schoolkids that need to take the statemandated exam, it is a civil rights problem. That is a civil rights problem. According to the fcc, approximately 63 of trouble lackibal land residents access to the internet. Only 17 of the rest of the nation likes that access. This isnt the only challenge that tribes face, and in the crisis report before they found , higher rates of substance abuse, lower graduation rates, underfunded schools and police forces, many areas lack access to Economic Development that families need to have a good income. These are real problems. Again, too often communities get ignored, when they highlight real problems. The u. S. Commission on civil rights is both listening, but importantly they are also , amplifying those quiet voices. I am so grateful for the work the commission is doing to update the crisis report. When it is completed, it will provide a roadmap for congress and for the administration to hopefully address his problems that too often go unnoticed. The commission looks at other communities, as well. The commission is a big one of the reason that hate crime legislation recently passed out of the house judiciary committee. I want to thank ms. Rowe for being here and adding your voice to this incrediblyimportant conversation. The commissions work is driving the house choco discussion on Voting Rights, breaking down barriers with regard to inequities and education, discrimination in the workplacg i i guess, to wrap it up, just want to say, thank you. I want to say thank you all for being here today, i want to thank the library of congress and dr. Hayden for hosting us and curating incredibly powerful exhibits. But to the tribes in my area, to nteaux and everyone else who is doing the important work of telling your story, i want to say thank you for that. Thank you for listening, thank you for shining a light on injustice and disparity, thank you for the work you are doing to ensure our nation keeps its promise to all of our residents. Thank you everybody, thank you for being here. [applause] richard lui with that, our time is now over, but what a great couple of hours, wasnt it . Of course you can come up and , talk to the chairs, they will be here. Think you for coming today, thank you. Thank you all for coming today, thank you. [applause] announcer youre watching American History tv, 48 hours of programming on American History every weekend on cspan3. Follow us on twitter cspanhistory for information on hours agile and to keep up with history news. This year cspan is touring cities across the country and exploring American History. Next, a look a