Developments from russia and ukraine and how they impact the u. S. Watch washington journal, live at 7 00 eastern saturday morning. Join the discussion. Next, a book to be exclusive. Our cities tour visits indianapolis to learn more about its unique history and literary life. For nine years now, we have traveled to u. S. Cities, bringing the book scene to our viewers. You can watch more of our visits at cspan. Org citiestour. [indiscernible] could you lower those signs, please . I have some very sad news for all of you, and that is that Martin Luther king was shot and was killed tonight. [screaming] Martin Luther king dedicated and to justicee between fellow human beings. You are actually standing at the intersection of 17th street in indianapolis, indiana. On aprilhe spot where 4, Robert Kennedy gave his impromptu speech, so to speak informing the crowd of Martin Luther kings assassination. I was in a position on this side. If you look at the picture up there of Robert Kennedy at the time he gave his speech, that is a collage. That was the angle from which i was looking. Away. No more than 25 feet , 24 years here early old at the time. And indianapolis had changed somewhat. This was still a predominantly black neighborhood. I had spent four years in the neighbor and became a journeyman printer. I came home and i couldnt get a becaused on experience it was 1968 and i was a young black man. Group of young a kids. I wanted to see for myself and hear for myself what he had to say. Kennedy was in indiana to enter the indiana democratic president ial primary. On marchmonth before 16th, kennedy in washington dc had announced he would be trying to win the nomination for the democratic president ial race. It was a pretty crowded field at that time. The incumbent president , lyndon johnson, was still in the race, and another senator, this one from minnesota, eugene mccarthy, had also thrown his hat into the ring for the nomination. The indiana primary was the first opportunity for him to test out his message and his campaign with voters. Although it was a long shot, indiana, which is a more conservative state even among democrats, didnt seem like the right state for kennedy to start his campaign in, and it was a bit of a gamble. But kennedy himself said, my whole campaign is a gamble, so we are going to give it a try in indiana. Following his speeches in south bend at the university of notre dame on april 4 and his subsequent talk at ball state university, kennedy was supposed to, according to his schedule, go toindianapolis downtown indianapolis to open up his new campaign headquarters. After that event, he was supposed to come out here to Broadway Christian center, 17th and broadway streets, which was in the heart of an africanamerican neighborhood, give his Standard Campaign speech, talk about what he was going to do if you won the nomination, and they were also signing up voters, registering people to vote, because they would need every vote they could the may 7 primary came around. On the way to indianapolis when he was at the airport, a couple reports said kennedy heard the news that king had been shot. Not the news that he had died yet, just the news that he had been shot. When he arrived in indianapolis at the airport, kennedy finally learned that king had died. There was a lot of confusion about what the Kennedy Campaign should do. Should they cancel the speech . Should they go ahead with it . They knew they were going to cancel their appearance of the campaign headquarters. That was a given. But they didnt know what to do. And there were people here at the site who got word back at airport that the youre going to have to come out here and say something. If you dont, there might be some trouble. Already, news was filtering out that a lot of major American Cities had violence occurring when people heard about kings death. Kennedy was someone who could speak to people directly and give them bad news and be counted on to do the right thing. So it was decided that kennedy would come to 17th and broadway street to address the crowd that had gathered there. Kennedy had no prepared text from his Campaign Speech writers. He was with his key Campaign Aide fred dutton. And there was kind of a, what am i going to say here, in that car. And they talked about what is going to say. Kennedy didnt know what to say and dutton didnt have advice to give him. Abie the street that we are standing on, 17th street, it did actually did not end the way it is now. It actually continued all the way through. The sidewalk would be just about where you are standing. The flatbed truck was maybe 10, 20 feet beyond the sidewalk. Actually, i dont think i could tell anything. It just seemed like the normal hustle and bustle of getting something together, except for the fact that you could hear him say, do they know . Do they know about Martin Luther king . And of course, the answer was no because the majority of the people here had not heard it. First thing was his i could hear him saying. Mr. Kennedy do they know about Martin Luther king . [indiscernible] mr. Kennedy could you lower those signs, please . I have some very sad news for all of you, and that is that Martin Luther king was shot and was killed tonight in memphis, tennessee. Abie when i was here and listened to his speech, the pendulum of my emotions, i could see it swinging. And it was in a matter of minutes because i think the speech lasted no more than six or seven minutes. But it went from when he first made the announcement, one of anger and revenge and the sound of that the collective moans and the sighs. It could not only be heard, but to me, it could be felt. I felt the wave of emotion that came through that crowd. Mr. Kennedy for those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act against all white people, i would only say that i can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man. But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond or go beyond these rather difficult times. Abie the speech didnt last for six minutes. But i could feel my emotions move from one of anger and revenge to remorse. Feeling sorry for the country in and the family and his kids, to one finally when he got to the end of the speech, the words that he spoke brought me to another level of understanding. Ray after his talk here, kennedy went back to the hotel. He was scheduled to meet with a group of africanamerican leaders. After his speech, that meeting went on. It was highly charged atmosphere, as you can imagine, with kings death. But kennedy kind of smoothed things over and made sure they knew they had a friend in him and his Campaign Aide. They could always call on him if they had any questions or problems while he was going to be in indiana. I think they were mainly upset that they had lost a beloved leader. They were upset about that. And here is an establishment figure in Robert Kennedy. I think they took out a lot of their anger on him because he was there at the time. Kennedy took it with good grace. He did point out, he didnt have to be there. He was wealthy, he was an established person. He had his own family to worry about. He could have stayed home at his estate in virginia. But no, he was out here talking to them late in the evening and listening to their concerns. I think that really mollified most of their concerns at the time. Robert kennedy wins the indiana primary. He goes around the state. He is very happy with the way he is treated by indiana voters. Felt that they gave him a chance. They listened to what he had to say and they resonated with his message. From there, kennedy went on to win primaries in nebraska. They go on, mccarthy and kennedy, after the western primaries. Mccarthy actually defeats kennedy in the oregon primary, the first time any candidate had lost an election. It comes down to the california primary, the most delegates. Kennedy ekes out a narrow victory in early june. The evening after he wins the california primary in a hotel at los angeles, he takes a shortcut through the kitchen and is shot and assassinated and dies a few hours later. Kennedys coming to indianapolis shows you the part that chance played in history. You have all these things that had to come together to bring kennedy to indianapolis on april 4 to make those remarks to the crowd following Martin Luther king jr. s death. Words have power. If word is spoken sincerely and with meaning, people get it. The he had a way impromptu speech was weaved together so well. Like a needle, it pierced the heart and minds, and, speaking personally, the soul, to make me think deeper about what this was. It was easy for me to see the change of my emotions from anger and revenge move to remorse, to then finally come to an understanding. Theking realized that message he was bringing was one that calls for the ultimate sacrifice. He understood that. He also understood it had to be done. Mr. Kennedy let us dedicate ourselves to what the greeks wrote, to tame the savages of savageness of man and make gentle this world. Let us say a prayer for our country and people. Thank you very much. [applause] james riley was one of the most famous offers authors to come out of indianapolis after Kurt Vonnegut. He became known as the hoosier poet, because he wrote so much about indianas people. Describe what a hoosier was. Indiana was a frontier state. He introduced indiana to the rest of the country. Be most famous poems would little orphan annie, which became the inspiration for a lot of other popular works. Orphan annie, the comic strip and musical. Little orphan any has come to our house to say, brush the crumbs away, dust the hearth and make the fire and earn her board and keep. We sit around the kitchen fire. I listen to the which the w itchs tales. The goblins will get you if you dont get out. He became famous for writing the hoosier dialect, the vernacular of the people he grew up with in indiana. The farmers, the merchants, people like that. They would read his poetry which got published in newspapers. He became known when he joined the lecture circuit, when a poet would go out and read their works in front of an audience. He started out small around the indianapolis. They loved to hear him read his poetry in those dialects. He wasnt the only one who wrote like that. Mosttwain is probably the famous dialect writer today. Hek finn and tom sawyer considered himself a dialect writer as well. Anduse of that, mark twain james riley became good friends. They performed in new york city. He sold out theaters. At the peak of his speaking he was burning in the modern equivalent of 25,000 a night for one of his performances. He became known as one of the best entertainers in the country. The james riley museum is built in 1872. He never owned the home. By a man for his family. In 1890. James riley they became close friends. Inee years after they met 1893, they invited him to live in the home with him. A was touring so much, he had permanent hotel room in downtown indianapolis. This is the parlor of the James Whitcomb riley museum home. This is where they do entertaining. You will see a lot of musical instruments. Riley was a multitalented individual. He could also perform music. Thisis his violin on chair. Folks, who, for all the most important people in indianapolis, would visit james authors,riley here, starting to a lot of indianapolis notables, the biggestbusinessm businessmen. They would want to meet mr. Riley. By theso famous that time he moved into the home, they produced postcards with the home of James Whitcomb riley in background. In the background. James Whitcomb Riley moved here in 1893. By that time he was an established poet. He brought some of his furniture with him. This is his original writing desk. This is where he composed over 1000 works of poetry. He also liked to write in bed. They would find him sitting in bed, surrounded by scraps of paper where he had been writing deep into the Early Morning hours. There is his cane on the bed. He commissioned one of his best a painting of a poodle he loved so much. James Whitcomb Riley became one of the most popular authors and entertainers in the country. By selling his poetry anthologies and tours, he made 3 million during his lifetime. Oft is the modern equivalent 70 billion. He was exceptionally wealthy, which makes it interesting why he stayed in this home here. Thatally loved this family invited him to live here. He really loved this neighborhood. In 1880, before meeting the about, he wrote a poem how much he liked to leave his Office Working at a newspaper in downtown indianapolis and come througha relaxing walk lockerbie square. He found his desk covered in flowers sent by people in lockerbie square. Breeze in all of its wanderings may never meet restingplace on lockerbie street. He was excited to live in this neighborhood that he loved. That is why he stayed here in the last years of his life, even though he could afford to build a mention in indianapolis. James Whitcomb Riley is one of the most important authors to come out of indiana. In modern times, that has been forgotten slightly. What we are trying to do at the James Whitcomb riley museum home putexpand on what he did to indiana on the map. James Whitcomb Riley made the conscious decision not to move out to the east coast where all of the big publishers were. He felt so strongly connected to indianapolis. He felt that was the heart of his writing. I think he is due for a renaissance in his recognition. People have started to appreciate him more for what he did for the state of indiana. All my jokes are indianapolis. My attitudes are indianapolis. What people like about me is indianapolis. When we think about Great American writers, vonnegut is one of those. John steinbeck, mark twain, so many others. He is the Great American writer that will continued to be recognized for years to come. We are on the first floor of our new building in downtown indianapolis. Of our Vonnegut Museum and library is not only to celebrate the life of Kurt Vonnegut. We do that with Vonnegut Fest and other things throughout the year, to display his artifacts and give that type of experience to visitors. We think what matters the most is we are doing programs that will benefit people. They are having not only a cultural and educational experience, but a Community Gathering place. We are representing not just Kurt Vonnegut, but other poets, musicians, and artists whose work has been censored in our country. Indianapolis meant so much to Kurt Vonnegut. He was born here in 1922. Indianapolis was a bustling city in 1922. His parents were pretty wealthy. They were from wealthy families in the city. They knew a lot of the notable artists and writers. Ae poet James Whitcomb riley, famous poet at the time, was someone his family knew. He is considered a postmodern writer. What is different about vonnegut that may not have been done at the time was he would sometimes stop a story and interject his own opinion about something, then go on with the story, then stop again, say what he thought about that. Some people dont like that, but other people love it. They think, wow, the writer is having a conversation with me. He is best known as the author of the books waterhouse five. That is based on his experience as a prisoner of war held by nazis during world war ii. Write othero essays. When slaughterhouse five came by in 1969, it was embraced the antivietnam war crowd. Vonnegut appreciated that, but he told such an honest story about the war experience that people did not like it because it was so honest. Those individuals were frustrated that there wasnt more of a nationalistic approach to war writing. He thought it was important to be honest about the war experience. After slaughterhouse five came out in 1969, even up to present day, it is being banned somewhere in the country. Vonnegut personally experienced that in the 1970s when a school in north dakota banned the book. They went so far as to take copies of the book and put them in the school furnace. Vonnegut wrote a response letter about what that meant to do that, and how he fought a war against fascism and that kind of oppression of people and thought and ideas, and how damaging it is to do that, even if you dont agree with what someone said. We have to protect our First Amendment right to speak. We want that dialogue. Even if people disagree with what Kurt Vonnegut said, the dialogue is where we can think about each other as humans and understand why someone might have an opinion a certain way. We think kurt would really love that. Mascots serve as commercial figures. They are brands for universities. It allows them to sell what they are doing to potential fans and students. Historically, mascots were not that sort of role. Some of the first mascots were designed to be like cheerleaders. They would lead cheers and help students engage on the field and make things understandable to the audience. The transition happened between mascots there for fans and mascots there for brands in the early 20th century. When colleges began to expand, they thought about how to get alumni to donate. Part of their message is to take on modern ways of advertising. To makeate team brands that transition. It is something people can buy every day. Mascotsthink about how became something interesting, mascots always started as people. They started as bat boys and bat girls for professional sports. In nearly 20th century, american toture views them as a way advertised. Advertise. A high school in illinois had a mascot that was a racist caricature of an asianamerican. They still defend that mascot. A colleague of mine writes about mascot africanamerican for the chicago cubs goes to egypt and performs as a mascot as part of their traveling baseball team. He talks about that, as part of the performance, teammates would put a chain around his neck and lead him through the train station in egypt. That is what people accepted about africanamericans in the 20th century. We started to see native mascots in the early 1930s. What allows them to do this is americans invested in the idea that indians had been eradicated from the continental United States. When they created mascots, they do it in a rubric of remembering the past, embodying what they thought were the best characteristics of an indian person. They thought they were honorable and savage, and they thought they were close to nature. As we know from historical studies, natives were all types of tribes and communities. Toy take on native mascotry hundred people that were disappearing. Honor people that were disappearing. That is a falsehood that allows them to feel better that they were taking land from native americans. They are a stereotype of a stereotype. They are created to be generic. That is what makes it so problematic. They dont benefit native people. That is where their complaint comes from. Mascotry,sk a fan of what can you tell me about the p agans in indiana . What does it mean if it is not achieving those goals for the communities they come from . A lot of people recognize there is a difference between a character of an indian and contemporary peoples. That is what my work is trying to show. If you engage with native peoples, they are clear this is not representing them in a way they think is positive. That is one of the conflicts, peoples notion of what native history is and actual native people today. They dont put the two together. They think it is fine you have a character of a sioux indian performing on illinois land, or a white man at Stanford University pretending to be a type of indian he really wasnt. That is where the conflict is. What we know historically and what plays out contemporarily does not relate to native people today. We need to think about why we er ase native peoples. Ago createdw years a set of rules about whether you could have mascotry or not. They created an exception. If a tried tribe says it supports your mascotry, you can keep it. The problem is just because one tribe says it is ok does not mean another community thinks it is ok. They are not doing away with mascots to do away with indianness. They want depictions that are tribally and historically accurate. The rule is whatever the law says works. We are seeing a shift , among nfl owners in particular, where they are concerned about the Washington Team brand hurting the franchise. The change will be from those team owners, not those activists pressuring the Cleveland Team to do away with their mascot. It will be the owners themselves that say we feel like this hurts the brand overall. Ground. Not settled how we talk about ourselves are as ethnicities and people matters. A guy tensing on the field at halftime to somebody else is an a front to who they are as affront to who they are as a person. People say you should never talk about politics and religion. Discussion would be a good thing for the country right now. But that discussion has to be grounded in reality. It has to be if you say this is a desk and i say it is a chair, we can talk about how to use it. If you want to disagree about something, you need to know what that something is. One of the reasons i wrote this aok is to give People Foundation on which to disagree. Think a of the letter lot of the toxic conversations in this country are an outgrowth of not just partisanship, but the fragmented nature of the media environment we live in. When you have Media Outlets that engage on both sides of the political spectrum in what is really propaganda, it is one thing to spin on behalf of of your site your side, but we have gotten to the point where we dont even see or occupy the same reality. Students i teach a course in law and Public Policy if you really believe the aliens landed in roswell, i can find you five internet sites that have pictures of the aliens bodies. We are so good technologically at creating the realities we believe in, or want to believe in, that it is difficult for people to make a determination about what israel, is real, what is credible, and what is not. If you do not have civic literacy, if you dont understand what our the way in which our system is intended to operate, you dont have the tools to determine what is real and what isnt. We have terrible civic ignorance in this country. The last time there was a National Survey taken by a credible source, 26 of americans know that we have three branches of government. People thatder how dont understand that and federalism, which is the division of jurisdictions between local, state, and federal government where do they take their zoning problem . To their congressman . You need to begin with a foundation of American History and American Government so that when some website says congressman x didnt to y, didnt do y, you know congressmen are not supposed to do y. If you come out of this with at least a foundation, you have no tools with which to determine the credibility of the source. Atctually began a center produce university in indianapolis called the center for civic literacy. I started it eight years ago, maybe 10. Time flies. The impetus for starting that was that, in my undergraduate class in law and policy, i teach through a constitutional lens. When we come to the notion of original intent, i ask by students, what do you think James Madison thought about porn on the internet . The proper answer is to laugh, because James Madison did not think about that. We launch into a discussion about what James Madison did what got did think and into our constitution. I asked a young woman what James Madison thought about porn on the internet and she said, who is James Madison . I went home and drank. [laughter] this book was part of the work for the center for civic literacy. What an effort to compile every single citizen needs to understand about our government and our economy, and the difference between science and religion. One of the things i am hopeful inut is we will reinvest civic education. If we know what our constitution says, if we know what our history was, i am confident we can come to a lot of agreement and put this country back on a path towards at least amity. Oure are going to huddle in bubbles and only believe what go on to the internet and have confirmation bias tell us where we are going, then the american experiment doesnt work. Then we are this collection of constituencies trying to contend for power, and we are not really american anymore. To indianapolis is a book tv exclusive, and we showed it today to introduce you to cspan cities tour. For nine years, we have traveled u. S. Cities, bringing the book scene to our viewers. You can watch more visits on cspan. Org citiestour. Here is a look at tonights schedule. Cnns president ial debate held in des moines, iowa tuesday. After that, newsmakers with senator ben cardin on u. S. Iran relations, ukraine, and the impeachment of president trump. Then on the communicators, a freshman lawmaker discusses the need for Security Strategy as u. S. Companies implement 5g wireless systems. Journal,s washington live every day with news and policy issues that impacting. Coming up saturday morning, chief operating officer of the 2020 womens march discusses the role of women voters in campaign 2020. And the Walk Away Campaign founder talks about his movement to persuade democrats to leave their party. A Wilson Institute director discusses recent developments from russia and ukraine, and how they impact the u. S. Watch cspans washington journal, live 7 00 a. M. Eastern saturday morning. Announcer 1 for the third time in history, a president is on trial in the u. S. Senate. Watch tuesday 1 00 eastern as the Senate Begins a trial with the vote on rules. The Senate Impeachment trial of president trump, unfiltered coverage on cspan 2, on demand at cspan. Org impeachment and listen with the radio app. [applause] wolf live from Drake University in iowa, this is the cnn democratic president ial debate, in partnership with the des moines register. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Im wolf blitzer, along with
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