Transcripts For CSPAN2 Today In Washington 20130105

In 1999 he tried to buy my case. We didnt get there until 2003. My case was heard in my home county in alabama in january of 2003. After a week of testimony the jury came back with a verdict in my favor. I had two women who came forward, one of them still working at the plant and at the time she took a tremendous risk, and she paid a horrific price for doing this. But she had suffered a lot of discrimination as well. And she has never gotten anything for it. The other had sold her service and have been working 22 years. She went to work for honda as a supervisor. She took a personal day and came to court and testify on my behalf. The lawyer asked her why she never complained and she said i was a divorced mother supporting a blind and handicapped son and i live paycheck to paycheck and i couldnt afford to bring up my pay. Because you see, we were all told in management but if you discuss your pay, you will not work here. Evidently, no one ever did discuss their pay. And she said that i knew that if i brought up my pay, but i would not have a job. And i couldnt afford to lose my job. Most of the years that i worked there i was in a supervisory perdition. A general Maintenance Man was going to testify for me. There was another area manager sitting there to testify as well. But we didnt need them after the two women. All of the managers names in our salaries and what we started at and where we worked up a time and it was a disgrace. That is really all the jurors should have seen. It was beyond a shadow of doubt that i have been discriminated against simply because i was born a woman. But that was 2003. The verdict came back and they said i lost the age determination just a couple of other ones that were thrown in. But the pay discrimination they found in my favor. 3. 8 million. They said dont cry, dont quit, dont do anything. When i heard that verdict, thats all i needed to hear. I will tell you this. When i saw this, i knew i would never give get any money. My husband and i were trying to keep my kids in college instead. And that is hard. Thats the normal family life. The judge explained to the courtroom why i was only entitled to 300,000. The only discriminatory item that i had was the fact that i was a woman. I didnt have color or anything else. So i could only get 300,000. That page, you can only go back two years. I knew that going in. I did not know about anything else. Backpay can only go back two years. I hope i live long enough to see the cat taken off of this. The cat needs to come off. Because that is the only way we can compensate an individual for all that lost money. The judge took the lowest paid mail and he only been working at goodyear just a little over one year. He had less education unless experience. And he already made 600 more a month than i did from a lower paying job. The judge calculated my two years backpay, and i was given 30,000 per year. So i left the courtroom with 360,000. The headlines said from california to chicago to new york and florida, all across this nation the headlines read jacksonville, alabama, woman awarded 3. 8 million from Goodyear Tire and rubber. They say that i got that money. The gadsden headline said that as well. I got a lot of compliments of the headlines in the news. Well, that was 2003. He went to the 11th circuit record and then my guilt was hurt in the Supreme Court in november of 2006. Life goes on. We had our normal family life the best we could do. But i worked the case just like it was a job. I called over 100 people to find the people that we needed to testify on my behalf. People were afraid of losing their jobs. They were so afraid. That is why they switched over. Most of this was color coded. But life went on and my husband had two surgeries on his back. He was laid up for weeks. Then he had cancer on the writer and the left ear. They removed the left side of his face and grabbed the skin off his right leg. I left him at home with a Health Care Nurse to travel to the Supreme Court to hear my case. Because it was important for me to be there. All i heard was leadbetter and she and this is our story. But the equal Employment Commission has supported my case all the way from the time it started until the Supreme Court. The law was on my side. All the cases previous to this was based on paycheck, which meant we were still getting a paycheck, it started a new Accounting Period but when the government reviewed the goodyear side, it would be such a hardship on the corporation, they claimed. Well, we waited until may of 2007 and the verdict came out. They came back five to four and Justice Alito red everything. He said that i should have filed discriminatory behavior during the first paycheck that i got them even, even though i didnt know it. What this means is that if you have a new job, you have six months to file any charge. But i dont think people go around and try to figure out should i be filing a charge. You are trying to learn the job. I barely learn how to get to the restrooms at that point. Thats just not the waves was to be. But Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she doesnt understand what these people go through in the real world. The ball is in your court, and you can correct this injustice and stand up and change the law back. Shes exactly right. Congress are heard loud and clear. That was may of 2007. The lawyers will be when they call, that you dont have to respond to the media, but the law was on my side. I have worked in this case. My lawyers have worked there. We didnt have anything to be embarrassed about. The arbitration Case Settlement that we had allowed me to come back and work two days a week and i could get my old rate of pay. I said look, i dont want to earn any more money, i just want what im entitled to because i shouldve had it when i was working. I dont want to earn any more. And i said i know how goodyear things. I would be on the mailroom on saturday and sunday nights. And they said oh, no, you can get along with hr in scheduler with them. And i said no, he has been a goodyear just the right time to transfer out, and he did two months after the verdict came out. Now he does work for goodyear anymore. Two weeks after the birth, my lawyer bobby a plane ticket and said we are going to washington to testify before the house. I did so twice before the house and twice before the senate. And i had the opportunity the first time in the senate to testify before ken kennedys committee. The chargers showed how they had voted since they been on the bench, and it was they didnt always appear to be the same individuals. My case is not the only one that they have reversed would change log for. I spoke at the democratic convention. I was invited by the president. In the meantime, we are doing radiation and chemotherapy at my house for my husband. And i am flying back and forth to washington. The coalition in Washington County up there three or four days a week. I would be up at 5 00 a. M. And i would do a tv spot, and we were getting support from democrats as well as republicans. The Lily Ledbetter is bipartisan. It does belonged to the republican or democratic parties. It is fundamental to each american life. The we are able to be paid for we have legally been entitled to and have earned. I could see the tears of the Democratic National convention. They asked when did i endorse obama, and i said tonight. I knew that i had to get off the fence and go for him because john mccain had just said that womens problem was that we didnt have enough education or training. Thats why we didnt make enough money. I couldnt can let that go. I had to start campaigning and tried to get the laws changed. Because it was important. It was a record deal. It took us 18 months to get the Lily Ledbetter bill passed. And the paycheck fairness act. Fifteen years in the works, it failed by two votes. All democrats voted for it, but no republican would come across the aisle and vote for it. It was the same as the Lily Ledbetter bill. Had that been the law, i wouldve known that i was getting shortchanged. Way back when and i couldve done something about it. But theres his peoples lives. This is not a game. This is families across the nation. And i have learned that young people are suffering because her mothers are working two jobs and they still cant make ends meet. And their mothers are not there to prepare good healthy meals, the kids are becoming obese, they are not there to go to the Parent Teacher conferences, education is hurting. This needs to be turned around. This is what is driving the nation down. The fact that so many people are underpaid or the work that they do. Simple to me because when people are paid fairly, it benefits the community and the state and the nation. They will turn them on a background in the neighborhood, and they will spend it and it makes things longer all the way around. I also have learned that doing the right thing may not be popular. But doing the right thing sometimes means having the courage to speak the truth. That came from a judge in birmingham, and i so believe it. I also learned that its not so much what happens to us, but how we react to it. I lost my husband in december of 2008. I came home from doing a 2020 mac that meant in new york and found him and he was already cold. The treatment had worn them completely out. We have nine operations on one of his eyes. He never did regain his eyesight. And he had prostate surgery the previous year, plus all the other treatment. His body was so worn out. But i could not let it go. And i wont let go today because we still have a lot of work to do. I am disturbed right now that they are trying to take away the rights and the decisions that us women have made for our bodies. We have to wake up. I did learn that one person can start a battle. But it takes a lot. Everyone across this nation, one of the headlines read that she struck a nerve, and thats exactly what i did. People got behind me. In that same interview, it was a good job. Those of you that worked at the plant, you know that those were good jobs. I just got if i wouldve just gotten paid what i was legally entitled to, i wouldve let it go. I thought about it long and hard. Because once i had started, i knew i would be in for a long time. But that was the price i was willing to pay and my family supported me. I could not let it go. My title immediately became troublemaker. So id carried it through. The birmingham attorney sent back information to the media, and i have not heard from them. But this is something that we all need to get behind. We cant let this go. The kind of people who went to the white house the first time was senator Hillary Rodham clinton. The second was from president obama and the third letter was from michelle. I would suggest this. Until the College Students that. Research people. Research their voting records are what have they done for you back home . Those are the people that you need to support. Not what they might do or might think about doing, but what they have done. I couldnt let this go. I cant let it go today. I have traveled the world. In march of 2009, i shared my story for six days. I have never lived anywhere but alabama and the south. And this had to be a big southern problem, but no, no, it is coasttocoast and north to south and east west. Its also around the world. We shared my story with french and the japanese, and they send reporters into the country and interviewed me. And they put articles out there as well. The chileans newspaper interviewed me for the second time. They have the same problem. What is sad is that they are looking at the United States for leadership to set an example. But there is a lot in the book. And i would love to share with you a little bit about what we have and give you some information there. Then we can open it up to questions. I hope you have seen the rachel interview on hardball. It is online. There are a lot of videos on the internet and there are a lot of people who have done a good job. On Tuesday Morning we are going to harvard and boston. Tuesday night. So i think that lanier scott ison captured my story extremely well. Since this is a local audience, i will share some things. I did turn down a movie deal early on. Simply because i wanted the story to be heard across the nation. Because its important that we wake up and stop this from happening to other people and other families. We do not have to accept that. We can do something about it. Thank you. And she had said, her story is every womans story. Unfortunately, the reason why this is the case is because today, in america, you probably know this, caucasian women earn 77 cents for every dollar that a man earns. This fact is based on the median earnings of all fulltime your brown workers. Fulltime yearround workers. A woman earns approximately 11,000 less than a man. So the equal pay act was passed in 1963. Women earn 53 to every mans dollar. That was just 50 years ago. And there are two things to note. The gap has not closed. Not very much. That is about half a cent annually. If you add up that difference over the course of a lifetime, a working lifetime is considered 47 years of lifetime work. So as a high school graduate, that means that you lose 700,000 if your woman. For a college graduate, that is 1. 2 million. For a professional school graduate, you have 2 million that you have lost. So for Lily Ledbetter when she discovered that note after 19 years, that meant that she was making 40 less than the other managers doing the exact same job. In other words, she lost over 200,000 in her career and i was not taken into consideration in her retirement and Social Security. For women of color, those numbers are worse. Africanamerican women earn even less than that. Her story is every womans story. There are over 60 million working women in the workplace. So in these cases, from wall street to walmart, it doesnt matter where you look, women are discriminated in the law. Here is her story from her point of view. From a womans experience. So what we did a lot of information in the back of a book about the paycheck paycheck fairness act that still needs to be passed and about pay equity. If you read the story from you also have bad but tuity. If you read the story from you also have bad but that is a resource. And we hope that things will change. We are going to wrap it up for questions. I will give you two answers right off. I do not know who gave me the no. Because what happened after i filed the charge, i dont know who gave it to me or where it came from. Goodyear one of my bosses they are burned my personal file. The judge said let me explain the law to the goodyear attorneys. One person files a charge chart from you are required to retain those records into a closed. They could not produce it. So it wasnt there. Thats all we had other than our pay records that had been discovered that mike attorney could finally get from goodyear. So i dont know who gave me the no. And no, i do not buy Goodyear Tires. If i have a vehicle with them, i get rid of them immediately. One thing thats interesting to point out is that you have spent over a decade fighting the battle. When he got to court in 2003, the number of legal documents if you stack it up, it would be three stories high. So its hard to understand what someone really goes through and how much time and effort and energy and heart rate goes into something and experiences to stand up for whats right. I could not let it go. It just was not right. I could not let go. The law is on my side, and all it did was talk to the Supreme Court about this ruling until the next ridiculous case that came. It was on the wrong form or wrong date it should have been let go. But they thought, okay, just let that one go. The shots were not called in a correct way, in my opinion. She is right. Its a long fight on individuals and hard on families. We cannot leave home on a vacation or go on a trip because we needed to be in reachable place for the attorneys for 10 years. It took nine years in 18 months. Were we thinking at the time . You dont see any cases in the paper that are quick fixes. They dragged him out. Equal Employment Commission has more money than i do a lot of work with them now are you would think that they are doing is training governments that dont bring in the official people to train them and what they should be doing. And they go in and train those people, and therefore, they dont make these mistakes. They are doing a lot of work now as well as some who have a large sum as individuals. In my case, when i talked about that money, that 360,000, had the Supreme Court awarded as they should have, my attorney and i had to pay federal and state taxes on it. So i wouldve had less than 50,000 and spent 40 of my own money. It was not a complete washout. I had already spent 40,000, and i worked every weekend getting ready to go to trial and i was there for every deposition in i think you will enjoy the book. Especially if you work in the plant now or you have worked their way you know someone who has worked there. You are youre going to say yes, i can do that. I saw that. You really will. Are there any other questions . Im sure you have something you would like to ask. [inaudible question] i am concerned about voting. Theyre trying to stop people from voting. Youre right. And we all need to be concerned about that. Thats true. I commend you for all youve done. Please use the microphone to ask questions or everyone can hear. On the day that the Supreme Court made its decision, id like to know what you felt. Id also like to know how you felt that they president obama signed it into law. Thats a great question. The day i heard the verdict, my husband and i were at a luncheon at a senior group from the church when i got the call. The media started calling. [inaudible] Brian Williams to the questioning. The next day cnn came. It was just one media interview after the other. [inaudible] i have met him since then. Some of the videos are still on youtube. You can believe what you see on tv. They take your photos down, they rearrange or tables, they make a change and i said, i dont think so, i just lost 3. 8 million and you want me to make a change. [laughter] my husband is from the retired military and he said i have a fresh pot of coffee. But when we went to the white house for the bill, they called me and said does your daughter to come. We both had been on the train for the obamas since an operation. And i said that i would call her. And the lady we talked to said ill have to give her clearance and its not easy. So let me know quickly. So i called my daughter at 6 00 a. M. In the morning. And i told my soninlaw what i needed. An hour in the morning went by and my daughter called back and said did you get five of the same. And i said sure. I was so embarrassed that i call back and i gave them the Social Security numbers. We walked up to the white house gate that morning and people were chanting my name and all those women and the men. You wouldve thought i was a rockstar. My grandsons eyes were this big. Looking at me. They had never been involved in any of this. We get to the white house and they pull me out separately and they are leaving all the people and doing everything. Then they sign the bill. That was an awesome walk down the red carpet. The feeling i had because i was afraid and i have prayed so hard. I dont think youre supposed to pray for personal things like that. But i had prayed that it would send a message and it was the first bill that president obama sign in the law. I was the second one to talk to dance with him at the ball. There is a picture in the hardback Washington Post book. They are online. While we were dancing he said we are going to do this. Well, i knew that he wasnt talking about dancing. He was talking about the Lily Ledbetter bill. He said we are going to do this. So he saw through and he got it done and it went through and he signed it. When the pen hit the paper, it meant so much. All you do have family who are working out there today, you have that right and you have opportunity to file a charge if you find out youre being discriminated against. It was an awesome feeling. We ran into the reception that was the first that they had done since they got there. And i turned it down because they do market going to College Campuses, military bases, law schools and anywhere else anybody invites me. Last week i addressed the assembly in california. That was an awesome experience as well. Id then some places with lanier and shes got three more years and do another book. It has been rail and the doors open and i had dinner and the home monday night of the marshall loeb, who started fortune magazine. I could need for looking at the chandelier and all the things that the wall on the floor because i participated in a fundraiser in new york. Not that i could give any money, but me being there created a lot of excitement and pictures and i spoke at the equal pay piano and when that the latter to raise money to get women into politics, either republican or democratic and i was an awesome experience. So many doors. Ive got to do my last thing on my bucket list in 2010. I got to meet justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I also was the first ordinary citizen to testify for elena kagan when she was confirmed. I didnt take that lightly. I found out her background and look there that could have been supported her and that is the first one to testify for her. So it has been an awesome journey. It really has. When i did the thing with Valerie Garrett and the president come he told me he was getting me tired of getting me a proof to get the white house. A lot of people think i only went one time. But i was supposed to have been there last monday, but i heard he had the commitment to california and ive never missed a commitment yet. The guy said, could you stand out. Its a podium for 15 minutes then weve got people staying here to montgomery from birmingham and surrounding areas. So i got my person to drive me, so i havent missed one yet. Im getting close though. Its amazing. Any other questions . Ive got one in the back of the room. Hes got the night. In a movie, who would you pick to play the part of Lilly Ledbetter. A veteran meryl streep. I have a meeting tomorrow with a movie producer from california. He is an alabama native, we do have the tv channels to make movies, but i waiting to get meryl streep. If id gone with the Publishing House of disney, they got a lot of work for women. She started giving over a Million Dollars for the Womens Museum in washington d. C. And they have the land and that those been passed in the house hangout. So theyre raising money. We dont have a Womens Museum in washington. Shed be the one. Shes got a younger daughter who say it plainly younger. Ive got my choice, but i dont think i have much in that choice. I would just like to commend you for your tenacity and everything that youve done and at what else god has for you to do continues to strengthen you and everything he ascertained for you to do. What are they to ask is did you say there was the paycheck fairness law to come up and with a hindrance are you receiving bipartisan support . Is it just democrats, republicans . Where is the is the state of that law and where is it being passed quite it will come up again and ive been told that it will pass, but what happened a crane close. I nervous not really, but if that had been the law a good juror shortly after, i couldve found out because goodyear said they wished i had come to them first. I did. And what might sad was too much bs from the man. Except he said the word. I asked him from time to time to check and see about what was the top come in the mid the bottom two increases figures. I dont know if john new or not. He worked there, but i dont know if anybody knew. He said he hadnt had time to check. When i got the note, i went straight to toc because it was time to stand up. Paycheck fairness will come up again. The only reason it didnt pass this last time was when they had just gone back and there is no republican going to cross that line. They wouldnt cross it for nothing because the two callings and the other lady retiring this year, both of them i called them. They called me back. You folks alike this. I stayed to there in washington and back in those days could be a lawyer from the law center, and maybe one or two others sometimes and we would call on the congress had us and in the senate and in the beginning well make up the assistance. Now i can call and walk in the door. I see harry reid. Its rosa delora, i see her. If a senator leahy from vermont, i see him and i travel all over the country for each one of those people. Ive been to california for George Miller and i think him because it was his committee who named the law ledbetter. And i am told that i am the only alabamian with a lot named for them. Its not common. There is less than 35 in history. Ill be going back to Seattle Law School in seattle, washington next month and isolated there thats been doing the research. So this is not a common thing to have the law. The congressman miller said, we dont blame them. Whoever drafted the bill. Any other questions . [inaudible] before you got that now, did you have any suspicions you are not being paid . Common sense would tell me based on the treatment and so forth and a lot of other things are so great in the book, common sense told me they were not paying me what the men were being paid, but i was sort of a trailblazer. And i think any woman had ever lasted as long as i did in that job. Not to my knowledge. I felt like i was in the ballpark, but when i got that note and saw how much less in calculating overtime in retirement, i wasnt even in the ballpark. I was in a different game to tell you the truth. If id been close it wouldve been okay if because they did change to the payforperformance they called it, but every which way they wanted to get the money up recently. But i did not know why wouldve filed a charge. I followed a church in the early 80s to get my job back and keep from losing the job i had in that setting record, tunis in the book as well. I knew how to file a charge and i worked for h r block managing all this people and locations than i hit the wall. This question is really for lanier. Can you go through the process of you and lily linking up. Id like to know how many pages of notes you have from here. Thousands. I met lilly after the bill was signed when i did a statewide magazine. When she decided she wanted to do a book, she knew she wanted an Alabama Writer. She liked the article above. We have a natural reporter and lo and behold we got together and started talking and i started listening and writing, but it was tough because lilly was traveling so much. We talked a lot on the phone. I did a lot of research, but it took a year of research and interviewing and writing the book proposal to sell the book, nine months to finish the book and nine months to publication. So that was the process. The picture on the front is a birmingham photographer. So its an Alabama Writer and an alabama native. We did a tour of possum trot and where i grew up and all that section and thats the video running for obama right now. The family cemetery. Yeah, youve got together to get the history. Its been a journey through the lawyer in birmingham is the one that negotiated contracts for lanier and a book agent in new york. Hes not made at times and he had two children when we started together. Thats how they got through, he had four. He went to washington that firsttime and sat right behind me during the testimony and he was so infuriated when he came to do the child, he wasnt sure how the rural people in alabama would respect him for accept what he said, so he brought one of the partners in the firm, who is a short redhead serta seamier drive. But john would get serious at him because he didnt do it exactly like he wanted. Hes one of those precise people, but hes really been good to me and when my husband died he was there. He came to the receiving that night. He went to washington for the bill signing. Thats an interesting story, too. He was in afghanistan in court and his wife had his assistant network gave him a plane ticket to atlanta to baltimore because her mother lives in baltimore. So she had him flying to bwi and spend the night with her. But she called him in saint john, theres a thousand dollars plane ticket waiting for you at the delta cantor in atlanta. Biotherapy to that bill signing and he really had a good time. He really enjoyed himself. He got to meet a lot of people and it was good, somebody asked him what he did for close. He did not go back, but he stopped at pennies than oxford and bought him a shirt. He had fresh clothes and it was good. He was there, Washington Attorney was there and Kevin Russell was the one who had to italy with me because john was the first choice, but he had a court trial, so you didnt go. Kevin tells his Harvard Students now that he lost the biggest case of his site. I tell people they didnt pay in many brought me a pair of italian leather shoes. So its really been interest in life. A lot of places i go i dont have any money. I dont have any money that i cant. I may speak to a group of and it is the hot 160 to 70 on a. Somebody told me that god was not finished with my life. The hair at the university of alabama for a series of tests. Mine showed it was my number one job should have been in politics or public speech and i thought that was the funniest thing ive ever read. So now i told dont take those tests seriously. It may mean something. But if there are no other questions, will sell you some books, science and books if you brought one. [inaudible] okay. Ive got it framed. When my husband passed passed, my boys took all of his things. Theres only one last. In fact, my metal grandstands went to auburn and he care that you and it around and hes got it done in agra now. I took the family pictures down. Now it looks like a museum. The bill and the pattern and i got an honorary doctorate of law in 2010 from the City University of new york. I earned it. It only took me 20 years. I couldve got the real one of months, but that was quite an honor. My daughter and youngest friends son went on that trip. Their eyes get real big one against the airport, this person standing over the nature of this around and he liked that. The oldest one went with me. He just turned 21, so he went to harvard, he and his mother did. I also had a bad present to me from louisville, kentucky engraved in assist to l. A. , thanks for going to bat for the women of kentucky. I did pick 16 and and design from new york. I have a huge, huge waterford on my dining room table that came from the ywca about three years ago at the national convention. I had a collection, make you stick it out. I took all that out and how about these awards. The military basis come back with a volta. Ill tell you, i went in the airport in the guy said he can have that they are. I said i might as well have it out. Ill take all that stuff out and see what it is. But its really interesting and a plaque from harvard last time had 77 cents at the top so the young man i hire to come in and help me get all this fixed entrainment of framing may be, she framed my pen and my go for a period of the 500 per image because its big plaque and a pin. I am not kentucky colonel. The proclamation on that. Its just as good. I have to Lilly Ledbetter days proclaiming a state of illinois. The government came in both time and presented those. But the commissioners did that one and i really would like new mexico and arizona and all the states. Ive been everywhere and almost every state and i go back to in three times. So its really been an interesting life so far. Weve got a Lilly Ledbetter day here in gadsden, too. You sure did. Two, three years ago. I sure do hope they give me that picture, the one with the green jacket. They didnt give me that picture, but it had Lilly Ledbetter a day here. But still no one in the state of alabama. I did get proclamations of the two governors, but they had to come through the Democratic People in montgomery. They didnt come from anybody. He didnt just volunteer. Last question. You went to be a natural ball. Its the president make a dancer . Yes, very good. Hes got a lot of rhythm. How did you know . I had ballroom dancing. Thats where the grace comes from. She found that it did holloran dancing for eight years and could be. I went to the grand nationals in miami, florida and won every one of them. She said your brother worker and you can ballroom dance classics as for my granddaughters name. That came from lanier. The article for the magazine had tired with grace on one side and great on the other. We couldnt do that on the book. [applause] i want you to see this bracelet and wherein said still settle for less. I really like that on College Campuses. I have a nap when i it says make a difference. But i wanted that to be the last line she made a difference. Thank you for being here. Ook and the controversy in new york. This is one hour. [cheers] [applause] [cheers] [applause] [cheers] [applause] so this is a very special moment for all of us here. She is only in new york for one night. She has blessed us and i should let you know straightaway if you would like to ask questions at the end, write them down on the card. We will take those cards from the people at the very end. So i would like to start with a beautiful conversation that we had. This was page six of the book, and you talk about when you were a child, he would drive down the back roads of georgia and how scary that was. You said through this incident that there is more than one way to terrorize somebody. Based on what happens. Well, back in those years it was really scary before we were liberated. [laughter] but to have this happen, i mean, you are only trying to do the best that you can for everyone. To have someone take your word and to use the equipment that they have today to cut and splice and make your message appeared to be the exact opposite of what it was and is, it is just and on the legal situation, and it is a way to terrorize someone. You dont know that you will ever be able to really get the truth out. But i was determined that even if i had to tell one person at a time, you know. It makes me think that there is this whole Energy Around this book. The last time this energy was july of 2010. We are going back to those places and those people who are making those accusations and calling you a reverse racist. How do you feel being back now that you have the whole story . It feels good to know that i was able to use that same media to be able to get the story the wright story out. Its a feeling i cant explain. How great it feels to be able to sit here. It is really amazing. I made the decision years ago that i didnt want people to forget my father and what he meant to us. But i had no idea that i would be able to tell the story in this way. It feels great. What is so beautiful about this story . Its more than a book . Is a living history . A love letter to choices, and it reminds us that without the feeling, the facts dont convey what history has been. And that as brutal as the history of African Americans struggle for humanitarian rights and it has been humanity and love and family and choice and possibility and sacrifice. Im wondering if you could go back. I know you were trying to go gangster by driving that truck. [laughter] well, you know, in baker county, read about some of the shares of earlier years. The gator actually rules everything and everyone in the county. You cant imagine looking at the restrooms were earlier days, my great grandparents came to baker county. I dont know if they came in waves or not, but they ended up as sharecroppers with the intent on buying land. And that they did. They brought enough gumption and bought some land and the hawthorns lived in one area. The williams in another. We were all one big family. And so we had to help each other. So my father, there were five girls, any farmer once assigned. I guess any man. My mother kept having babies, and they were all girls. We all had nicknames. [laughter] that is hilarious. You know, situation we were in, we felt safe and comfortable there. And i feel like my father wanted us to have an education. He knew that education was the key to a better life. He did think i believe that all of us would come back home and work from there. I grew up with lots of family and community support. I went to a segregated school. Supposedly giving us equal in separate but equal facilities. One thing they drilled into us and the church and in our homes and in the schools was that they expected us to do good. They expected us to go and do good and reach back and help others. [laughter] thats powerful. We are in day three of this huge teachers strike in chicago. So there is a battle for public education. Yes. So your dad was killed . Yes. It goes back to that time and what happened and what you know about what happened, and how your family work through that. It happened at a time when i look back at those days. My father was as happy as any man could be. My younger sister was eight years old, my dad wanted to try one more time and he knew this was a boy he said. We were concerned. One day at school my best friend asked me how is your mother, and i said she doesnt seem to be getting any better. And my friend said your dad was at the store handing out cigars, your moms going to have a baby. She told everyone. He was feeling on top of the world. We were getting a new home. He was able to get a loan. The first black person to get a loan through the Home Administration to build a home. He wanted a brick home, but the white county supervisor told him that a black person cannot borrow the money to build a brick on. So he and my mother picked the smallest block. So the oldest was about to graduate from high school. To run off to college. We went to church the day before. We were always in church. And i was driving the family to church. We met this man on the road to church. He told my father he was coming to get the cow. My father said if you come back tomorrow, i will come back around. So they agreed to meet at 9 00 oclock the next morning. The next day we all got up and went to school. Midmorning the principal called on the intercom for me to come to the office. I went to the office and that is when they told me that my father had been shot. They sent for my other sisters and they were afraid. The teachers and principals did not know what to do. But finally one of the teachers said she would take us to the hospital where they had taken my father. She was so afraid. I can remember. There was a small bridge across the river into the next county and you could barely get two cars to pass each other on the street. That was the only way to get to the next county without going 30 miles out of the way. But you were supposed to go through the little downtown area to get to the bridge. She actually went around to take us to the hospital. When we arrived, they had actually moved him to albany at that point. It was actually the next day when we got a chance to see him. He lingered for 10 days before passing away. I remember on the night of his death that the house was filled with people. My mother was seven months pregnant. The baby was a boy and he was born two months after my fathers death. People were coming to show support for us. And i just didnt want to be around anyone. I went into one of the rooms. I felt as the oldest that i needed to do something. I felt that if i had been a boy, i probably wouldve been able to get get a get a gun and kill the man cannot change my mind. But i certainly couldnt do that. My father tried to teach us to fire a weapon monday. All of my younger sisters were taking their time with the gun, but he put the gun in my hand, all i could do was cry. I knew that i couldnt get a gun to try to kill the man. But i needed to do something. I was praying and i remember a thought that came into my mind. My folks did not know that i didnt intend to live in the south. I was applying to schools in the north. I really did not want to live in the south. Because of the conditions we were living in. I didnt want anything to do that again in my life. I would talk and say, just wait. [laughter] so the thought came to my mind that the thing i could do would be to give up my dream of living in the north to stay in the south and devote my life to working for change. I felt a columnist after that. I didnt share that with even anyone, and i didnt know how i would do it. We were not involved in the civil rights movement. Others have been working in the Movement Since 1961. I. T. Is about it now. He had not come to baker county to help get the movement started there. But once my father, who was a leader in the community with murder, that was one thing that brought everyone together, and they were ready when they came in to help us, the baker county movement. Wow. Whats the interesting part to me is in the book you really write about the way that the legacy impacts you. So you talk about the fact that when that happened, the black children lost father by friends found themselves living in this no mans land and we didnt get the chance to really feel the price of those young folks paid in order for us to be where we are. We know it intellectually, but we dont get to see that. And that is something that the book really does beautifully. We started the movement in june of 1965. In august of 1965, about 15 others and my sister decided to integrate the white schools. I can remember the first day. I had graduated and was going off to college in september. And we took them we tried to take them to the school. Of course, it was about a block away stopping us. The next day things would happen. Some of those same people were probably clan members as well. But they were eventually able to start school. But there were signs in school and the teachers would refer to them as negroes. The thing that was so hateful that impacted them so much as well, you see, they had arrived by bus. They were not allowed even as it was raining to come into the black schools to wait for the bus. These were our own people doing this. Those who were juniors and seniors could not attend the prom at the white schools are the black schools. We had a program about three years ago. Some of them are 60 years old now. They feel so much. We had a program where we got a congressman, a secretary of state, we did lots of things to try to help them understand and share what happened to them. Even though that school has been turned into a center for the community, and this is one of the things we have done, not someone else we have done everything we could do to hold on to that building. People can come in and get on the market. Head start and other programs, all individuals who are hurt so much as juniors and seniors by her own people. Wow. This is all of these years later because they remembered what happened to them. Even though the people who did it, many of them are not even living now. They still cant let go. Wow. You know, this idea stayed with us generations to generation. We carry what happened emotionally. The reality of those that walk the journey is not something that we get a chance to experience. Its such a beautiful way that the book fills in those gaps. You can feel it and you can breathe air. It is so emotional. It made me cry so many times. So to come back, i was seven months pregnant. And you say that really talking about how strong her mother was. Because the family changed so radically. We talk about the fact at that time that someone dies there is no counseling and nothing to help the family deal with the loss. Its very potent. Thats right. They bring counselors and now when theres a tragedy. We didnt have that. Each of us have to deal with this in our own way. My father was murdered in march. He saw the movement in two weeks after that, i left to go to school out of state. A group of white men burned a cross in front of our house. My mother and four sisters were at home. Like i said, we moved into the new home one week before my father died. So he was with us in that house one week. And then one of my sisters was sitting on one night in september studying. [applause] they actually allowed them to leave. They had surrounded these white men, and allowed them to leave, and then suddenly showed up with the investigation people, and they were all aware of whats going on, and then nothing really happened as a result of identifying some of the people. But my mother, she became when daddy was living we felt like there was six girls. He was just one of us. 11 years after my fathers death when my mother announced to us, im running for office, i couldnt believe it but i was happy. [applause] that year decided he was retiring and one of his sons would become sheriff. So he had one of his sons running for office. So we were running into some of as we came campaigned around the counties, running into some of them. And then on the night of the election, we were in the courthouse this is like something from the movies. Stuff from out of mississippi and other places. It was happening right there in georgia. We were at the courthouse that night, standing because they war counting the paper ballots and we were watching them count the ballots, and out of the back room the gator walked past us and spoke. Then he realized after walking a few feet away he had just spoken to sheryl sherrod. He was angry because we had been having meetings and my father kept saying do not put another johnson in office. So he walked a few feet away and came back and said, i take that back. I didnt know who you were. And so he is standing there, with a gun on his side, and my husband is standing there, and they are staring each other just staring at each other, and i was about to have a heart attack, because i knew, even with all of those people in the room, that gator was just mean enough to pull his gun out with everyone there to shoot. But someone ran outside and got his son, the one would was running for office, and then he ran in there and grabbed his daddy by the arm and said, come on, just leave that alone. Show pulled his daddy out. I can tell you that night driving from newton, the city where the ballots were being counseledded, counted, was very scary because we had to go highway 19 and i didnt feel like the gator felt like it was over. But the son did win, and my mother won, and [applause] she became the first black elected official the baker county, and believe it or not, she is still serving [applause] we convinced her this year although they were all begging her, please stay in, because she has been the voice for people on that board for all people but especially black people on the board of education in baker county. You know, her first meeting back in 1976, the superintendent introduced her as he said i want to introduce our newest board members. Joe halls daughter, and there was this old board member said, is that the nigger joe hall . Joe hall is an honest man. He found my wallet and he brought it to me and all the money was still in there. That was it. You know. But she is a strong woman. We convinced her, though, to just give it up. You have so many things happening in education. The superintendent begged us to if we had gone along, her children, with another four years, im sure she would still be there but we thought, its just time. Its time for her to enjoy life a little more. She is always on the case, always whether its in education or whatever, she is the person people go to in the county for help. [applause] and so with all this political activity, you still manage to find love. Lets talk about your man. [laughter] in love with a freedom writer. Charles sherrod. [cheers and applause] now, according to the book, you know, a young man was interested in a young lady who wasnt too interested in return. What was up. You know, he met my family before he met me, and for all of these years, until about two years ago, i thought he wasnt telling the truth. He kept telling me he said, when i saw your pick tier, said, im going to marry that girl. My sister said its true. They kept talking about this other sister they had, and he wanted to see a picture, and they showed him a picture, and he said im going to marry her, and sure enough, within three years we were married. Yeah, love. [applause] so, you get married and you and your husband are working together. Youre both in the movement and really dealing with the issue of discrimination and establishing the degree to which the discrimination works. And then you are pregnant with your daughter, russia, and sherrod is deciding if he is going to take a trip to israel and figure out farm until a completely different country. You just had your baby, the. Yes. When i married him, i realized i was marrying a person who was married to the movement. I admire that in him. So, i had to steer share him with everyone always. But at it beautiful the way you write about when you had to resign and you called charles on the phone, and charles was the one who soothed your spirit as you were driving home on that day, july 2010. So, we have something in common. You made a trip to ghana, you write about that in the book. Going to ghana, going to stand in that space where potentially your an an ancestors, african slaves, may have come from. My goodness. The reason why i had the opportunity to go i had applied for a kellogg scholarship and didnt think i would get it, but during the time of the interview, one person asked me, shirley, is there something youve always wanted to do and you never had chance to do . I said, yes. I always wanted to go to africa. He said, where. I said, ghana. So, the first thing i did after i was notified i had the scholarship and could start traveling, i went to ghana, and i was so excited that couldnt sleep. I was just the thought of getting to africa, you know, a place where my ancestors came from, i couldnt it was just more i cant describe what i was feeling, and i just couldnt wait to get there, and to ask them, you know, what do you think of africanamericans, and i asked everybody. Its interesting because in all the travels, thats what you see, this thread through your book, of trauma and trouble and challenge and discourse, and your choice to find a way of resolution every single time. Even in ghana you have the dinner africanamericanish and you become the United Nations and navigate through. So theres this thread, and you come back and youre working in dealing with the discrimination that black farmers are facing. So youre on the other end of the usda, seeing exactly how the discriminatory policies are on the ground, and having land foreclosed upon, and knowing there was a meanspiritedness about the way they would foreclosure on their land. Tell us about that. One of the things i had to do and i was determined that everyone who worked with me did that. We i made sure we learned those regulations better than the folks they had working in the offices. So you would know when they were doing something or saying something wrong. You could know when you were anyone who has ever had to deal with discrimination, know when that happens. But to know exactly what that person is doing to you that is wrong is what i wanted and i needed to be able to do that to challenge them. I can remember a farmer called me he had been received a letter to come into the local office, which is about 60 miles away. He asked me if i would come to go to that office with him, and with his wife, and i said, yes. So i drove down to that office that morning. We went into the office with the county supervisor, and he started telling the farmer that he was going to foreclose the farmer had a farming loan and Home Ownership loan two different kinds and he said he would foreclosure first on the farm and then the house. Well, the farm is where he start ed crying during this speech that he was making because the guy would never stop. I was trying give him a chance to finish what he had to say but it was obvious he was just going to keep talking and talking and talking and not give us a chance to respond. So, i stopped and said, will you put that in writing. He said i aint putting no. He didnt say that first. What he did was when i said, will you put that in writing, he pushed his chair back from his desk and started looking at his feet. He eventually turned the chair all the way around, looking at the floor, and then looked at me and said, i aint putting nothing in writing. So we went at him. Oh, did we ever. I wish to this day i could remember what i said to him, but i cant. So, he eventually somehow we he told the farmer that he would get a letter in about six weeks, and that was the process, and the farmer had a bad sinus problem so he coughed a lot. Mr. Smith, you should do something about that cough, patting him on the back. Well, i want you to know that everytime that farmer got a letter, stating what action they would take, we appealed. I went to so many appeal hearings, sometimes i forget. What are we here for this time . But i stayed on that county supervisors case, i submitted to many complaints, he eventually left the agency. [applause] and thats that land is still with that farmer today. [applause] on the other hasnt, i had a white farmer you have interesting things that happen. The one white woman from the county where i grew up, had a boyfriend with a farm and he was experiencing some problems. So he wanted me to come to look at her to lunch at her house. A black woman who i knew was her housekeeper and cook. So i said to my husband, you got to go with me, man. We went to lunch at her home, and then from there the white farmer and his son we were going from there to the county Supervisors Office about ten miles away. We walked into that office the county supervisor was expecting the farmer. He wasnt expecting me. So, we walked in together. So to get rid of me he wasnt sure why i was there, i guess. He knew he had heard about me. Many of them had. So, he told this farmer to walk down the hall to another room. Well, the three of us walked down the hall to the other room. So, he knew then, without a doubt, i was with them. So he sat down and started talking to them, but he tried to turn in such a way that he was turning his back to me, but everytime a response was needed, i responded. I didnt let the white farmer respond. So, finally he realized he had to talk to me, too. And of course, i dealt with the situation for that white farmer. There were many, many, many situations im sure i heard in east georgia, one of the county supervisors was saying, you better not come over here with that mess in east georgia. Well, i went one day [laughter] [applause] i just cant this young black man his grandfather was giving up the farm, and he was interested in farming. Now, he had just been highlighted in one of usdas publications because he worked to restore conservation, helping a white farmer. But when i prepared his business plan, they denied his loan for lack of experience. So, i told them, the process for dealing with that is that you have to, within the first two week of denial, request an appeal hearing. He called me. I said, request the appeal hearing and ill be there but do not tell her it was a woman do not tell her i will be there with you. So on the date he was given for the hearing i had to drive 150miles to get to him. So by the time i was there i got i was mad. And i had heard that they the mess i was doing so the poor woman i think about it now i want sit, and i was on her so she was trembling. But the young man got his loan. [laughter] [cheers and applause] [applause] i felt bad about the way i treated her. But. And i think its important to understand that you come from the space where you had been on the receiving end of the discriminatory practices of the usda so when you walked into the usda to become the first director black director of Rule Development in georgia in the president s administration, you had this unique history of having personally experienced the discrimination and having helped both black farmers and white farmers navigate something that was racist, and you have all these stories that prove that again and again and again and again, to the night the book when you submitted your regs anyway all these letters cam from farmers. And one letter of support wrote about a usda loan official who kept a noose in his desk. He use open the drawer and you would see the noose and then he would shut it as he was having an annual actual meeting with black farmers. That was the reality you walked into and then get fired by the first africanamerican president. So we did all of that and come back to the beginning, july, 2010, and the president does call you, and this is what you call, im having a conversation with the president of the United States. Has a few things about the jim crow south. Talk about that conversation. Well, when he was i was actually here in new york. I had just been on the view. And was in a limo on the way to the airport with cnn when i received a call that was 404 area code, which is atlanta, so i answered that. And it was congressman john lewis. When we finished talking i thought i should check my Text Messages because i couldnt keep my voice mail clear enough to keep getting messages, and lo and be hold there was a message from the white house saying the president was trying to reach me. So, i called the number, and they wanted to arrange the call. So, so interesting, these people in the immediate in media, the person who was in the car with me from cnn, pulled out a camcorder. I said, you cannot tape me while im talking to the president. So i made her turn it off and put it away. [applause] so, he started out by saying, youre a hard person to reach. Well, everyone knew i had been with cnn all week. I didnt say that to him, though. [laughter] but anyway, he started out saying, you know, i would be called about a position they wanted to offer, and then he said, you know, those issues you have been putting out there are well aware of them. I said, no. You dont understand those issues the same way i do. So we went back and forth. And im talking to the president but i didnt well [cheers and applause] so he is trying to tell me, if you read my book youll know i understand. And i said, no, you dont understand these issues the same way. So we we were going back and foh and he told me to read his book and i would see and i said no. And i said, you should come to southwest georgia, and he said, sanford has been trying to get me to come. Sanford is the congressman from the second Congressional District where i live, and i said, well, you should come, and when you come, bring michelle with you. So, we left that visit has not happened, but he also told me the young man who arranged the call to get to him and if i had a message for him on an issue or whatever, i should contact that young man. I didnt keep that number, though. I dont do stuff like that. [applause] well, since the president kindly offered you his bugatti you should offer him [cheers and applause] were going to take some questions before we finish up, and you will get your chance to get your copies and miss shirley is going to be signing those. I know that folks have written questions down. So miss daisy is going to bring up some questions that were going to be able to ask you so that you can have a conversation with part of our audience. And this is sort of emotional for me. I was in the movement. My family was in the movement. And im ghanaian, and this is the beauty and the power of history crosses borders, breaks down boundaries and that the truth, when it comes to this history, is a global one, is a universal one, because i feel like in the way that you wrote it, i got a chance to hear things that my father never got a chance to say, and i think one of the things that is missing in generation is the silence because the pain is so deep. And what you do is you kind of sit on that scar and you live that silence, and thats a beautiful thing, because it means theres a whole generation that get a chance to understand this portion of history, the jim crow south, to this moment in a way they could not possibly have done. This book should be in schools, should be on the curriculum. Were just going to take a few questions before we close out. Okay. Do you still believe that integration was enough to dismantle white supremacy, and economic exploitation of africanamericans and what else do you believe needs to be done when it comes to racial and economic injustice . Integration obviously wasnt enough. We thought i think back to when we were integrating the white schools. We thought simply putting our children there was enough, but we didnt provide the support that was needed to help them get through that experience. And we sort of let white people off the hook with that as well. They did the things they did, and it was bad for us in baker county at least. It was at a time that people thought, we can register to vote. We can even wear we can sleep anywhere. Our children are in the white school and we have done the job. But we didnt. There was so much more that had to be done, and those of us who lived through those years of segregation and jim crow, the hurt was so deep that we didnt want our children to experience that, to know that. Its almost like we want to wipe that part of slavery and those years away so that our children can just be in this society and move on. So much is happening to them that they dont understand because they dont know the history. [applause] so we have some this is a twopart question. What are the main charges in developing the next generation of small with that in mind, what is the Community Planning . Well, just like me, just like i was back in those years, when it comes to agriculture, we, i think, think only of picking cotton, or shaking peanuts, but let me tell you, there are machines to do that now. It takes almost an educated person to run those tractors, and those tractors have f stereos fm stereos in them. When it comes to agriculture can we run away from it. So the land, that we had, as black people, most of it is gone. We didnt realize the asset that our ancestors coming out of slavery acquired and left for us. So, around 1920, 109 1910, right in that era, black people owned almost 15 million acres of farmland. Today thats down to around two million and were still losing. Growing your own food and getting in touch with the land, you know, you can learn just about you can learn so much in life, so much that can take you through life, by connecting with the soil. Kids can learn just growing they can learn math, they can learn to read. Theres so much to be learned. So much that the earth can give to us, and in addition, good, wholesome, healthy food to eat. We need to know how to grow it. [applause] when we think about the challenges with africanamerican communities and food deserts, foodity, and the challenges to getting fresh food into community. Another question about farming. How does one who is considering small farming for a living compete with the kind of thing o corporations who are squeezing out the small person with land purchase. Let me tell you about something we are doing now. All of our systems are being mandated to buy local produce. The thing that is keeping our farmers, Small Farmers, from being able to access that market and others like it, is that you have to have a facility to be able to bring that produce in to be properly washed, graded, packed, cooled, before it can be delivered, and in some cases, chopped or sliced. One one small farmer alone cant make that happen. But getting farmers to Work Together in groups, they can. So, right now in albany, georgia, thats one of the Major Projects im working on, trying to get a Processing Center for farmers to be able to use so they can access markets. They dont need to compete with farmers trying to sell to big chains because they cant. But there are markets all of us need to eat. All of us need to eat. There are markets right around them, and people who are right around them need to support Small Farmers by buying from them. This is going to have to be the last question. So were covering three and four questions at a time. The last question. Who are the heroes that inspire you, and specifically for a Younger Generation, what advice would you give to a Younger Generation facing discrimination they way you did as a child, as an obstacle, and what would you say to them to encourage them to speak out for justice as you did in the end, too. There are so many people that inspired me, but so many people that inspired me that really have such a an impact on me and the work ive done, those people you dont hear about. Those women in communities who give day in and day out, not for the recognition they get, because theyll never be recognized for what they do. But they give over and over. And theyre not afraid. I can remember my husband talk about an older woman in lee county, georgia, she is deceased now but calls her mama dollie. She was a midwife in her earlier years but she would set up at night with a shotgun, patrolling, allowing the workers to get some sleep, and [applause] my own during the first march in baker county, as white men were beating Charles Sherrod nearly to death, he threw her body over him and said, if you dont stop, youll kill him. At it people like that. People who dont look for the recognition but they work anyway. They help to make our communities work. [applause] i think there was a question about new communities. New communities. We created an organization back in 1969, and due to discrimination, we lost the 6,000 acres we had in 1985, and that was discrimination due to i mean, discrimination on the hands of the county supervisors at farmers Home Administration. We became i say we the communities became one of the claimants in the pickford case, and ended up getting the largest award in pickford, and because of that, new communities bought more land and we have programs. Theyre being on that land beginning next month. They will be harvesting pecans. And you can grow oranges in georgia so we have oranges. Peaches . Not peaches yet. But well be planting peaches, and probably grapes like we had in the old communities, and lots of training around agriculture, and we also have a racial Healing Project going. That some interesting work, to be able to sit down with white people in the area, to talk about race. Not easy. [applause] the book, another book, a living history, a love letter to the revolutionary practice of forgiveness, the importance of choices, the reality that history is so much more than information. It is our emotionallallity, that silence from generation to generation, does not help us create a better present. We have to open that up. The book is called courage to hope how i stood up to the politics of fear. Miss shirley sherrod. [applause] [cheers and applause] paul sun, senator rand paul. Its an hour and 10 minutes. Good afternoon. Welcome to the Cato Institute. Im david boaz of the institute of her trying Something Different you are doing an event after work hours. Well see how that works out, but hopefully its good for people who have jobs and cant come to the events we do usually at noon. Required to have a very interesting discussion of ron pauls revolution. About 30 years ago there was a book published about the early years of the Libertarian Movement called it usually begins a timer and unless we found a cato, that most of our interns and students who came to her seminaries had first read the fountainhead. Not all of him, but more than anything else. I think you can say over the past six years, it usually begins with ron paul. As we get more people hitting their first taste of libertarian ideas and maybe then they move on to read ayn rand and cato policy studies, whatever. But a lot of people being brought to the concept of liberty and limited government by his campaign and to me it is clear that he got more attention and more success and boats in this cycle, 2011, 12 in 2007 into destiny. I had a lot of reporters ask me, why is that . To me, the clear answer isnt because he he did anything different. He hasnt changed his views, even much of the way he presents them. What did change a think as a Public Policy environment in which she was talking. Back in 2007, ron paul warned that an cheap money from the Federal Reserve was not sustainable, that the economy was booming and nobody wanted to listen. After the financial crisis, when he came back around 2011 to campaign again, they were listening. In 2007, 80, he talked about some money and 90 i knew the pretenses of this problem the Federal Reserve . Havent they been maintaining the great moderation . Attorney but then, everyone is going to listen to criticisms of the board. He talked about overspending, how the Republican Party has got more than any republican in history. By 2011, perhaps because he was a democratic president , republicans were about ready to hear that in a 2007, ron paul talked about the most military intervention and at that time, republicans were determined to stand in lockstep, say the surge is working and refused to any criticism. The 2011, republicans are getting tired of endless wars. All of that changed th that chan all of that changed the context in which the second Ron Paul Campaign took place in cost him to get more attention and voters than before. Many of you know theres headlines today saying ron paul and his campaign or ron paul suspends campaign. Its clear to me if you read beyond the headlines that the campaign is not over. What he said it is not going to run Expensive Television ads and the lingering primaries that nobodys paying much attention to. To continue doing the kind names hes been doing, talking about issues, giving speeches to College Students and his volunteers working hard and caucuses and the other places that delegates are selected. So thats an interesting story still going on. How many delegates can ron paul get . But that doesnt really matter to us today because this book is not about ron pauls campaign. This book is about ron pauls revolution, which is a broader topic. Brian doherty is becoming a historian of the Libertarian Movement. Hes written books on the burning man festival and on the Supreme Court battle over the Second Amendment, both of whom have some libertarian content. Kumar particularly wrote the book radicals for capitalism, a freewheeling history of the modern american Libertarian Movement which i declared it the Encyclopedia Britannica blog is going to be the standard history of the Libertarian Movement for a long time. Its a massive work that will be the standard source for people studying this movement. Ryan dougherty is Senior Editor of reason. Hes been there for market a decade. Hes a fellow at the competitive enterprise institute, but most importantly, started his career as an intern at the Cato Institute. In fact, we had five interns that semester and one was trying in one was fine kaplan has here in the front row. Brian doherty returned is the editor of regulation magazine before moving onto other editorial projects. Hes been covering ron paul since 1999, which is in essence i floodwalls research boat. So please look on the author of ron pauls revolution, brian doherty. [applause] thank you all very much. The mac is projected well. Im going to talk for a think 20 minutes up front and then there will be some questions later. Im going to start with what i think was a very interesting frame from a history with the topic of my book. Unfortunately, the endpoint extended beyond the book itself, so its not reflected in the book and as of this when is the first time i met ron paul into the state the last time. Both of them were events that large state universities. The first is that the university of florida when i was a College Student in january 1988. He ran for president than with the libertarian party. I was a member of the university of florida libertarian and we had engaged a speaking engagement for ron paul at our campus of nature around 100 people which was an amazing success. 10 times as many people that i come to any event. But they were all there to examine a curiosity. It was an even 100 libertarians. These thirdparty president ial candidate. Our greatest triumph was getting a 16 word article in the newspaper the next day and afterwards we took dr. Paul to an ihop. We thought it was the height of radical scruffy political act was from. A few weeks ago, the last time so far was also at ucla in los angeles, where i now live. 7000 people showed up to see ron paul running for president again with one of the major parties. They were not curiosity seekers. They were not there to learn. They knew they had to say right and left. Daily were booing. The word ben bernanke, they were doing. Afterward, rather than retreating to an ihop, i was watching groups gather to talk about their congressional runs for the l. A. County Gop Central Committee were so well attended event at the College Campus about to throw for what they were going to write every day. The ark of the story from the first appearance to this latest one was truly dreamlike and a really weird way if youve been watching this story as long as i have. It made me think a little bit about the best way to frame how ron paul did this. One of the things you hear that about his rocksolid consistency, which is very true, but i realize in a certain extent the ron paul phenomenon works as well as it does because the four different almost paradoxical divisions that ron paul bridges, not to get all english major re. I will talk about for them quickly tonight. When ac is a phenomenon of rio and impressive realworld political success, yet one his greatest achievements are to a large extent irrelevant to that political success. Especially in the wake of the socalled drop out or pull, its worthwhile reminding people of some objective measures of that political success, especially from 2008 to 2012. Of course success as a congressman, a guy believing things than his other colleagues believed, which leads to the dismissive comment here about his congressional career. How many bills has he passed . If you believe in the congress, the 2012 youre understandably not going to go out of bills passed. It doesnt mean youre not a great congressman. As a president and the 2008 run to the 2012 run, he managed to pretty much double his total and managed more than double his percentage of the gop primary vote from 4 to 10 and in the end the figure will be even higher with the other candidates have and even though he might not be running in texas or california, expects his people will come vote for him in great numbers anyway. He raised 35 million last time around and bystander clinical terms, didnt do anything with it. You think you might have burned out he stands. He did not bring out his fans. They get that much and more this time, which is interesting, but compared its giving us even more interesting. He gathered nearly twice as much as combined. Paltry 36 million so far this go around. Santorum around 14 million. This guy has a base was willing to give them that is something very important in politics, something the gop is having real. Theyre able and willing to do the nittygritty politics. They are able and willing to run for central committee. They are able and willing to achieve positions of total power is that the river, but High Authority from alaska to iowa. Theyre able to in delegations in caucus states like ron paul said he would and everyone else that he wouldnt. They can do that reach of politics says. This is a story of realworld political success and the analogy of the gop powers should keep in mind about the goldwater kids in 1860, similar youthbased movement that gathered around and heroic, strongly antigovernment figure who had written a bestselling book and managed to surprise the establishment of the time with what they could achieve in the future. The more recent analogy is a religious right. The libertarian wing of paul represents that was outmanned and a majority way. Theyre going to be overdosing their weight in the gop beyond their apparent numbers. Its true importance is not about that political success. His son about the gaming and gop precincts and the like. It was a continuation of the Libertarian Movement about which ron paul rose. He was educated to become the political thinker by the works of the rakes of hayek and they always embraced leonard read of the foundation about what change was about, on educating one mind at a time. Ron paul has used politics is the tool for that libertarian goal and if you asked me 10 years ago, i wouldve said maybe with the best tool because he was merely describes your outlier in congress, but hes proven me 100 wrong using the tool of major party politics. Hes been one of the greatest educators for libertarianism of our time as david said. Its not just about politics. The other sort of gap that ron paul bridges is key to his appeal is the apocalyptic ron paul who was at the same time to very hopeful ron paul. Ron paul is one of the other politicians around who is willing to say, america is not necessarily the greatest khmer riches come of this wonderful nation in the world that can only do rate overseas and if theres anything wrong, for the other guy. In Foreign Policy terms, behavior overseas is actually in some ways a criminal empire and we might want to consider we are burning enemies overseas buyer behavior. Hes willing to say that constant series in decades of alien, naturally dollars deficit spending is impoverishing us. Its not something we can continue. We cant just behave as we have behaved. Hes going to point out we are facing serious, Serious Problems with our debt and fiscal crises that are not going to go away by saying, as mitt romney recently said, we cant have a trillion dollar spending cut it when youre like ron paul once. By that which ranked the economy. We cant keep thinking that way and pretending its okay that armed government agents will not have our doors of the raw milk or medical marijuana. Hes a true prophet in that sense, willing to decry what america has become. That doesnt usually work well in politics and i think it does scare people about ron paul. At the same time, when i asked him, how do you succeed with this message that seems so full of doom and gloom . He pointed out, the young people i talked to see the hope in it because im not just saying everything is doomed and we dont know what to do about it. We do know what to do. We know we can try to return our government to its constitution limits. We actually can spend less than we are spending. We can bring the troops home. We sent them over, we bring them back. He paints an intellectually vote and we had of the apocalypse, which allows him to win hopeful enthusiasm, even as he rightfully paints a very dark picture of where overreaching government has led us. Together interesting bridge that ron paul devices hes a Major Political figure who is at the same time greater than write more progressive than progressive. He actually says will still be increasing our debt for decades. We could actually achieve a balanced budget and we dont have to raise taxes to do it. Hes the guy saying we talk about big government. We tack about government interfering in a vise grip but stop interfering in people who want to smoke the marijuana. We can do this. We can have a government that is a government that conservatives say they want and when confronted with ron paul seems a little bit afraid of it. It was cleared to me that ron paul out to have been the Tea Party Candidate by acclamation in the 2012 race and that it didnt turn out that way is not so much a fault of ron paul as a failure of will to be as conservative as they say they are. Clearly the most conservatives consistently conservative candidate out there. At the same time hes in many ways a more progressive than president obama who is unfortunately the favorite politician of the progressive left, such as it is. I mean, your president obama who has expanded the president s powers to unilaterally imprison beyond even george bush is a time. Ron paul is a guy who gave 7000 College Students to boo a mere mention of the bill signed by president obama. Your president too, who has started new unauthorized wars with the drug program and presided over continuing gigantic Defense Budget bigger than any in World History and Ron Paul Campaign some the other hand for peace and withdraw the u. S. Military from the world. Youve got obama who wants to expand every aspect of the war on drugs, including state legal medical marijuana. Ron paul thinks government attempts to arrest people for actions that harm them at themselves are inherently less legitimate. The Obama Administration has set records in deportations. Ron paul is saying to a Republican Debate the border walls are essentially unamerican. On this wide range of issue in protecting people from concentration of power, more progressive were merely any other National Political figure. I dont want to glide over that one point that makes progressives is that they love Income Redistribution and in fact, ron paul is sort of a living sort of rebuke than in a sense that it sort of proves they only care about Income Redistribution and they dont actually care about peace, Civil Liberties and saving people from oppressive concentrations of power. The fault lies in progressives, not ron paul. The fork divide that ron paul bridges that i think contributes to success as he is both incredibly intellectual politician with an incredibly emotional hold on his audience that they discovered us and that hundreds researching this book. He is as they heard various people say the only politician of herm jose i hear it and went out and read a bunch of books. Ron paul, not only does the right books commended them have bibliographies that point you in the direction of where his ideas came from. He will leave you to chalmers johnson. Hes actually a genuine, intellectual leader in modern america, even though i dont than he is himself a great intellectual, but hes a great student of great thinkers and has been a diligent and passion transmitter of their ideas across the generations. At the same time for being as intellectual as he is ending his demeanor as he presents his ideas, hes not a podium thumper. The guy is not selling emotion, though there is a great emotional context to what he says about the richness of the liberty. Its especially interesting to note in more recent talks. He is extempore same. It might be of use to your talk. Its more obvious if you hear them talk a lot. He does not note. He has ideas about Liberty Peddie wings its way through and more recently has been talking in a sophisticated way of about the sheer richness of a human life lived according to his own desires and choices. Theres something philosophically important mind about what specific thing you may choose to do tonight, but by the fact you are allowed to choose your identity and how you move through the world and i see this movie and his audience on a very sophisticated level and by being so thoughtful and bookish in this way, hes managed to imbue these tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands now fans of the emotional attachment that is a little bit to him, though i do want to stress it is to him because he is the embodiment time in public life, of the ideas that have moved him. Ron paul is not a leader in the sense that he could tell his troops what to do. Ron paul is only a leader committees introduce people to a set of ideas that they have grown to hold two. If ron paul told his people to reject his ideas, theyre going to reject ron paul. They are not going to reject those ideas. That emotion is going to carry this movement long beyond the 2012 election cycle, long beyond whether he is dropped out or withdrawn or whatever we want to say about his most recent actions. They are going to continue to work within politics. Theyre going to continue to work with the media, both distributed and not distributed. It is a point worth noting that the single most heard answer when i asked rob told people the question, how did you get into all of this was a Youtube Video and they wouldnt necessarily remember what it ways, at that point it seemed 200 made 100. It is that distributed noncontrolled means making art and culture and distributed amongst themselves is the key to read the revolution has been able to succeed. The idea say the same. Ron paul has been saying the same thing for 30 years. As david said, part of why they returned out the subjective commissions of reality make it more obvious ron paul is right about things that the Federal Reserve and blowback and the like. Another reason is the means of communicating ideas are so much more decentralized and white bread and while this may be the last year for ron paul is a National Political figure, the reason why he wrote this book is because im convinced its true that 15, 20, 30 or sidelined if you look at elections of 2008 in 2012, the most important in about and any historian recognizes ron hogan for president in the ron paul revolution was launched. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you, brian. We have an excellent commentor on the boat and on ron pauls revolution. I published evidence at the Cato Institute blog to my native state of kentucky is the least libertarian state in the country. So imagine my surprise when the grand paul emerged from an ophthalmology at this in littletown of Bowling Green to defeat first the secretary of state and then the attorney general and win a seat in the United States senate. Both his republican and democratic opponents ran pretty negative campaigns against him, accusing him and all manner of extreme libertarian views. Some accusations were actually true. I never admitted to any of that. [laughter] voters wanted a change in washington and they elected him by a comfortable margin. He was perhaps the most authentic tea party winner of 2010, which is why he then read a book called the Tea Party Goes to washington. Since he got to washington, he is ttango that the tsa, proposed a budget that balanced, drawn rave reviews for its efforts to rein in the pastry attacked and then denounced as a libertarian extremist by her national review. So what is new . We couldnt have found a commentor who knows more about ron paul or has more of a stake in the future of ron pauls revolution. Please welcome the junior senator from the commonwealth of kentucky, the home of the eight Time National Champion University of kentucky wildcats, senator rand paul. [applause] i want to congratulate brian on his boat, the ron paul ron pauls revolution. Hes got it right. Its more than just ron paul. Its a movement as part of the Libertarian Movement, but its something bigger than one person. I doubt be the first to admit that the movement is not just him. He realizes theres something bigger and hes fun to sing in the crowd, freedom is popular. It brings people together to matter what walk of life youre from, what you do complete personal background is, brings people together and stays out of peoples affairs. This is kind of a young crowd. Anybody ever go see the grateful dead . Virago. They figured ryan have probably seen the grateful dead. I never got to a concert that i got in the parking lot. They used to say about three in cincinnati for two in detroit. Guess theyre planning on going to the next concert. What reminds me in many different ways as i would see people in orlando so yeah, i met you in iowa in ankeny at the ron paul headquarters. Brian was there and it would be 250 have people from all walks of life, all over the country, all working together and headquarters. It always struck me when you go to a ron paul rally, it was in everybodys suits and ties. It wasnt the chamber of commerce. You may see somebody with a tattoo, somebody with a grateful dead tshirt. But he was different. It was different in a better way. People from all different walks of life what they are and they think he did make a message of freedom popular. David talked about how people came in to the movement by reading ayn rand. I started it, but i had major and nurture, so i probably was born a libertarian, but also read the ayn rand novels. Some are afraid now, but because he likes someone, doesnt mean ive endorsed every word in every book you people are now afraid. One of the funniest bloglines has recently was Paul Ryan Ali said he was a fan and now theres a line that says ryan shrugged because hes backing away from that. But when you go to the ron paul, theres so many cool things have been direct to campaigns. Anyone see the Amy Allen Ron Paul revolution . If you havent seen it, look at it. She came and performed live when they did the minneapolis rally at the same time as the republican convention. She came and performed one of my Campaign Events and my dad came and campaigned for me at january january 2010. But just bringing a certain sense of coolness to it that you werent seen anywhere else. You didnt have any candidates get on the page. You may not have anything who when asked about the war and how to end it said we just marched in, we can just march out. Couldnt be any simpler than that for any less fearful than to say Something Like that. You have a guy who would go to the debate in miami that the latin american sponsored debate and say we need to end the trade embargo. Hes not going away. When he first stood up and talked about blowback him i believed the South Carolina primary in 2008 he said that to booze and he wasnt sure how people would respond. Interestingly with a lot of negative response, but there is a whole new positive response of all these new people. I keep trying to convince the Republican Party come you may not like everything hes presented, but at least appreciate your electorate is getting bigger, your partys getting bigger. You need to welcome the ron paul people because theyve been may be unhappy with both parties were banned libertarians or Constitution Party or independent party. But theyre coming in and you need a bigger party. One thing you may also never hear again any Republican Debate as i think he said at one point that it doesnt say blessed are the war makers. If it listed are the peacemakers. If you ever hear another president ial candidate say that i dont know. But that was pretty impressive to me. There is a continual battle in the battle goes on in their paintings we continue to fight. But without the patriot act is to make up more no votes than ever before. Thats still a growing movement of people who are concerned about the fourth amendment. I said over and over to people in my came came as well as when it got here is you have to believe all the bill of rights, so many conservatives bug the Second Amendment rallies in groups, theres not enough for them and at rallies and groups, but she cant have the Second Amendment if you dont believe in the first amendment. You cant have the Second Amendment if you dont believe in the first amendment. So there is a growing movement within the Republican Caucus that i have lunch with every day is becoming more libertarian. Theres people no longer afraid of it. I say the term conservative got kind of used by people people who were conservative. So in a conservative president who doubled the depth of the republican congress. Its obviously worse now, but it is going in the wrong direction and Republican Administration or the term conservative became of less value in libertarian became more value. We had to fight and the Defense Authorization act. We didnt need, but we got close to some victories. One amendment Dianne Feinstein introduced was to say that citizens would not be able to be held indefinitely were sent from the United States to guantanamo bay. At one point in time she actually was going to withdraw the amendment. Likely and i sat there and said no. Whats an amendment introduced communicating as consent to pull it back. Thats pretty unusual. Usually if an author wants to pull an amendment, you let them out of courtesy. He said that god is out there weve got a vote for me still almost won, but the introduced a watereddown version of it and so the last 5545. 45 people believe you should be a citizen from here to guantanamo bay. Interestingly, two hours later we had another vote under her voice setting everything. About 9 00 the Senate Starts thinking they need to get back on oxygen or whatever, but its bedtime. Its about 9 00 in their voice setting everything in it though comes up and ive been watching in this amendment does if youre found innocent and article iii courts in the United States have been accused of terrorism and found an essay that you could still be send indefinitely to guantanamo bay. You could have a jury trial be found innocent and still sent to guantanamo bay. They were trying to convince me, but the democrat leader, republican leader with mccain. They both told me they didnt play like it. But sort of like just get along. I was like wow, and the akamai staff and i went back inside we got to have it though. So i asked for a voice vote. On the voiceover is the voiceovers for firsttimers actually time its actually surprising sobriquet. Carl levin with me. 51 democrats voted no on this in eight or nine republicans. The 59 costa mesa absent pain horrendous. Carl levin said to me, its the law. Its awful that she could be found innocent in our country and kept in prison forever. Thats the law . Thats awful. For goodness sake, at least have a recorded vote. We did and we won. Out of the revolution have you people been elected over time. I think a lot of principles of ron paul. Where the guy tie in Northern Kentucky who could be one of the top five appeared he wins. Hes in a subway primary. Three leading republicans in a republican seat in a theater close to her at the top. Interestingly, a young man who i dont think ive ever met and i dont think thomas thinks his upper back. Thomas massie is a good chance of winning. The young man his 20 when your soldiers put a half a Million Dollars into super packed and hes supporting thomas massie, but its a Liberty Young man who had been to the ron paul rally. He just got involved in the race in a big way. That race would be a week from today and if we win that coming out of another libertarian appear. I think within our caucus a season change. The ron paul revolution is having an effect on people who wouldve only say that conservatives now sometimes say their libertarian. Enterococcus we debate and some rather maintain that some of us are so gung ho to put boots on the ground everywhere. Some of us are so gung ho to go to war without a declaration of war or the very least a vote in congress. We still dont have enough, but when i introduced the president s words. President obama in 2007 said no president should unilaterally go to war without the authority of congress. Sounds pretty basic it is basically what the constitution says. I should use see how people vote, to attend this for his words, 10 republicans. Not one democrat voted for saying congress should have anything to do. Recently the state Committee Hearing nes banana, you know, what about going to war with syria or iran are both of them . He said if we do, well get permission from the United Nations. And he said google consult with nato. And they said well, were probably inform congress what were doing. But there is no definite, no act that is going to occur before the action occurred but congress is very peripheral. Thats around five in the biggest problem we have. As far as being almost of no value and navigation on Foreign Policy are the same with regulatory policy runs this place and the executive runs this place. No one attempts to insert themselves. Thats the biggest challenge we have. The ron paul revolution is helping us go the right direction. It will be a great and i hope the revolution becomes a bestseller. [applause] thank you, senator paul. The speakers are very concise, so we have time for questions. Lets open the floor up to questions. Please rate to be called on it this way for a microphone to come so we cannot hear you would please give us your name and any affiliation you have. Are there any questions . Over here. Tanks. John aptly with the american conservative. What about the last . Are the younger people on the left a comment to this, can you reach the last . Everything you type that is great, but is very future of bringing in a new party your new movement, what about the left, et cetera. All given individualist answer to that. Yes, i know for a fact that the Ron Paul Movement revolution has succeeded in winning over many people from the last. I met and talked to many of them. There is of yet no hardcore social Science Research on the ron paul ms. , so i can only say that i met a bunch of them. A bunch of them say they have friends, so it is possible in the antiwar wedge, you know, was always the pulled them in. By being the guy who is consistently and radically antiwar, he was able to win them over from the Income Redistribution issues come which i mentioned earlier, which are still an enormous barrier for many. In the occupied wall street and that was going hot and heavy, congressman paul was the only candidate who actually was willing to grant the grievances that were real. The problems of crony capitalism by rail and he likes the idea of engaging about the fans try to engage and they were usually well received. In one case i shouldnt even tell the story, but a rather gross act of violation of personal space occurred on the ron paul people stents involving human excrement being left behind. Thats symbolic of the worst edge of what youre occupied wall street lefties think of the ron paul people in their midst. The ron paul people were ready, willing and able to engage them where they lived. Im trying to expand the difference between actual free markets and what weve seen with the bailout from tariq and try to expand the connection from peace and small government. I know is one of her many individuals. I dont see much sign of flipping over the left is an organized entity and obviously to the extent the left is an organized entity feels connected to the democratic party. Its going to be even trickier, but oneonone, drip by drip, ron pauls message can succeed in winning over leftists. A little bit about what david said about secretary of state together and say i came to it because i read ayn rand. When you talk to the ron paul people, they say how did you get there . Them available via came from the left or right. You hear people ask that question. You come from a vast array . The vast majority are probably from the right because were obviously in a republican primary. But new people coming in from the left also consummate them are converted on some of the other issues, but they came in primarily on the war issue. It also gets back to whether romney can hold this people and get them to vote. It would be enough for ron paul to endorse them. They will vote for romney if they heard romney is wanting to audit the side or if they heard romney is relaxing or have some restraint with regard to war or if hes continuing to draw down with thee into the afghan war, which a lot of conservatives are now in favor of. They could vote for republicans to figure those things. I have noticed writing an article on the future issue of reason about this at the way ron paul himself has delivered his message particularly this go around has been in a way to do it deliberately, but in a real way should appeal to a progressive leftists for various reasons i will explain in a later piece of writing. And i know hes mindful of it. I heard him wondering aloud, but its interesting, lefty progressives interested in what i have to say right now. In the same indentures him come if youre interested in Libertarian Movement at large, you should be thinking about that question. Okay, take a microphone right here. My name is erica jamie. Im here in my own accord. The question has to do with this morning with Barry Goldwater and his efforts in the 60s. It took 40 years for his efforts in the 60s to turn into the reagan revolution of the 80s. I question specifically would be ron pauls effect nowadays can i do think republicans can learn anything quickly . And if so, how . Not super quick way. Like i dont think this go around. The resistivity followed the Gop State Convention said oklahoma over the weekend where the resistance is real in some cases very physical. You have romney people hating romney people. Ron paul. This is rooted in the notion that i tend to think ron paul is factually correct about a lot of the things about fiscal crises. So i have to think of some Political Party has to come around on this worthy alternative is a little bit too terrible to contemplate. And i do think that the forces of object of history and started changing attitudes are more in the libertarian wing of the Republican Party site than the Rick Santorum wing. The value issues are becoming less popular. The libertarian issues are becoming more popular, so i do believe for a tumble to be be seen in local republican parties for new candidates, some of which senator paul just mentioned, it does seem clear to me the Republican Party will be a more ron paul like party down the line and i think it needs to happen pretty fast, but its only beginning this year. My comments with the indies to be much more quicker than from goldwater to reagan or two down because we face a much more serious and imminent crisis. The banking crisis occurred in 2008, i was told people, i think of that crisis is too close to did an equal. Two plus two equaled a million. When things get out of control. Ive been talking to people lately who are concerned to get to fascinate on steroids coming out of europe basically, that he contagion throughout the world. You may say thats too dire. I dont have the feature, but a think its important that if we believe in limited government that we have people in place should a crisis occur, should the destruction of currency have been in a more rapid fashion that we have people preaching that. The example does one say youre trying to scare people. If this h