In terms of her powers and making an observation he couldnt have chosen a better friend of the 20th century. Maybe one of the 20th now. Big sur conversation. This has been terrific. I am looking forward to the boat. Im looking forward to going back and look unite viewers to see if the reallife ties between her life. Guest good thank you so much. Host and booktv will want to introduce you to northwestern Professor John marquez come assistant professor of africanamerican studies and the author of this vote, blackbrown solidarity racial politics in the new gulf south. Professor marquez before we get started on the specifics, what is your goal . What are you to accomplish . Guest i think there were a series of holes that i try to accomplish. The book begins my interest in the book begins around 2002. There is an incident of Police Brutality in my hometown, which is a bluecollar suburb in the houston metropolitan area. The 45yearold mexican immigrant was beaten and choked to death by four white police officers. It was caught on videotape. The grand jury was convened to decide whether or not charges to be pressed against the officers. The videotape revealed it was a clear act of police aggression. The medical examiners report released by them medical county Examiners Office ruled it a homicide. Repeated blunt impact trauma. As a result of the ruling and an activist awakening transpired in my home community. I consider that a weakening for a variety of reasons rather than my hometown. It was the first monumental that people of color African American and latino people organize themselves against the judicial system and against police. Secondly, it involved a coalition of africanamericans and latinos working together spearheaded largely by africanamerican leadership. I found for affirmative reason they all covered our conversation as well. The third thing i found interesting about it was the strong world women played in establishing coalitions in maintaining the community when in fact the condition they were organizing against disproportionately affected by segments of color, specifically black and brown boys and men. I found that to be an interesting and unique opportunity. Host who is Luis Alfonso Torres . Guest Luis Alfonso Torres was the victim, the 45yearold immigrant from mexico that lost his life and became a celeb in the community for residents to organize for the first time in their history in a protest against what they felt was systemic injustice. It is a blue collar suburb around the world refining industry. Made home to the exxonmobil refinery which was throughout its history the largest refinery of its kind in the world. It has a complex history industrial boomtown history behind it as well. Africanamericans and latinos have grown in the number that community over the years in relationship to the expanding oil industry and so there is a global local dimension to the community as well as u. S. Interest in access to oil reserves across the world have grown since world war ii, so fus refineries grown as a way to process oil. So some of these corporations have moved more towards seasonal contract. Africanamericans, latinos and other minority groups have moved into his doom their jobs and their largely responsible for the booming population up until this day. Host has there been tension between africanamericans and latinos in the past . Guest yes absolutely. Americans and latinos in every space where they coexist across the nation one of things i want to capture in the book was solidarity between groups and with regard to political solidarity is much more of her than it is a noun. It is not something that one accomplishes. It is not a milestone or Condition One reaches. It is something practice in our everyday experiences within just a sense of into social relations our communities. As there is not a comprehensive monolithic solidarity within the black or brown population, across those two populations either. One of the things i want to point out in the book however was to shut the lead in the dynamism and complexity to which those two groups relate to one another and the reasons why theyre able to come together. One of the things that was bothered by a social movement historian. Who kind of lucked into archives of social organizations, activist organizations and political organizations and are able to pinpoint where the groups do not get along and were they fail to act in solidarity with one another. Everything they say is true. There has been tension between the two groups. Having come from one of the command is from a workingclass background and understanding the dynamic nature through which we understand and respond to it i knew there was a much more complicated story to be told. The graphic data, oral histories i began to literally read the writing on the wall. Graffiti art, murals, and see what the history is in subject to the days of africanamericans and latinos came together. The activist struggle which is one against lung on trade in many instances that he and his gang culture an expressive medium such as ipod music from the south to design and visual mediums i mentioned as well. In an interdisciplinary way of map out the terrain there is a different kind of attention with regard to what constitutes the black round solidarity. Host in this case what was the commonality that brought these two groups together generally and how did it manifest itself . Guest experiences with peers and awareness of state sanctioned racial violence. One of the things i tried to do in the book was to validate the struggle that emerged in 2002 at a time when it is being vilified by creating a decision rather than raising an awareness about a commission is far more pervasive. What i do is trace back to a much more extensive history of disciplinary colonial racial violence deriving from when the community began to take shape. African American History in the structuring of the entire houston area. And as they have to have been subjected to the same social order ignorance of the old south and once targeted africanamericans exclusively. Targets africanamericans and latinos so i traced the history of lynching to the advent of Police Brutality as a way to map out a barbaric continuum of violence of those two groups in particular. Back to the case. What did these two groups do to combat what they saw as injustice . Its more of a question of what they have been doing. One of the things they do in the book is validate the much more extensive history that is often unseen and undetectable. She got into was quite pivotal. Africanamericans saw as an opportunity to raise awareness about a condition they been suffering from for quite some time. Smothers sporadic acts of resistance in the past but the fact he is part of a mexican immigrant to galvanize there at that moment a protest was quite telling in terms of history but also the complexity these populations attain. A coalition was formed and africanamerican latino leaders in the community, my whole family involved with it. I felt sympathetic to the cause as well because my scholarly evolution began an activist oriented realm against conditions like Police Brutality. It was something i felt compelled to write about. Besides the awakening the commodities have pop culture and see similar critiques mits emerging shedding a critical life on these issues of violence and understanding and resistance against it. Host and yearbook blackbrown solidarity you describe yourself as marginally chacon. What does that mean and why is it important . Guest this is one of the many ways they try to honor the significance of African American history within that community. Houston has one of the largest latino populations in the country now and yet the latino population didnt begin to grow until after the 1970s. For different from other cities who have a millennial population as well. Having been born and raised in the region africanAmerican History in spite of important for the understanding race and colonialism and the frameworks through which i learned how to critique. Black nationalist and was the language i began my career as an activist as well. That particularly in relevance to the south is vitally influential in terms of how i understand my place in the world. When i moved out of houston to go to college i begin to understand there is an equally complex history and tradition amongst mexicanamericans deriving from the chicano movement. I learned much through school through courses have a tape for my understanding of blackness and black power and politics survive from my variances from what i was five years old i could remember thinking about these things. That is something that came later in my life in terms of understanding the way that connects to the experience i have growing up in the old south. Is there a real split in the houston area between whites, africanamericans from latin america . The splits between and among all of those groups. Class dynamics are important to Pay Attention to as well. Middleclass africanamericans and latinos try to distance themselves from workingclass blacks and latinos as we see across the United States. I see solidarity between workingclass life and latinos and africanamericans in parts of the city as well. And then i see this old guy dedication to confederacy does the wake of the old south and social climate of straw outline between whites and what i see is the nexus of the conglomeration of black and brown. You see that play out in a variety of ways. Yesterday we saw footage. Subways have been fortunate the book i published is quite pathetic and useful as a tool to understand things that have happened in ferguson missouri or things that happen in other places in baltimore as all in baltimore i fell asleep of reaching the threshold of frustration. Against the division between black, brown and white and engaging in protest. It is quite telling to the fact that these protests are often created a problem coming at a time that is considered the postcivil rights era through which we are often indoctrinated to think these are problems of the past and they move beyond and reform our society and the people protesting are rational or emotional volatile people appeared as a scholar is one of my missions to validate experience of my people know not only are those assessments of social protest in understanding in our world because they have to survive conditions on a daytoday basis. You mentioned a couple times your awareness of scholarly aptitude developed early. Was there a galvanizing moment in your history . You know, i think there was a series of them and a lot of black and brown workingclass communities. Our entire history is galvanizing moments. One of the problems repetition of the moments i brutality in my brutality and my sister number cells did not as a way to survive them and what you see such is what happened in ferguson in baltimore what we will continue to see in cities across the United States dispute reaching threshold for paddington on themselves to a daytoday reality of exposure to these conditions. Theres not any one particular case i think i can draw back on. There are some personal stories i shot in the involving family members. In particular my father was some of these conditions with lawenforcement racial profiling in particular. Is quite emblematic in the torres case in 2002. I try to lay out the genealogy of these types of clark as mac or transformative moments as a way to offer a tool for people to read and understand that it is okay to express ourselves against these types of things. If we numb ourselves that is one thing we need to do to survive but if we dont advocate resistance and we begin to participate. Host you read about the fact women played a relatively outsized role in the coalition of solidarity. Guest i find it important for one because im in a particular and africanamerican women and chacon is are often not getting a social movement literature with regard to their vital role in something we account for more scholars with latino studies are African American studies of late. I wanted to participate by shedding a critical light on the import will africanamerican women and latinos many ive known all my life and the roles they played and the courage and sacrifice they made as well and give them credit for that and make their to struggles across the United States and beyond the United States where you see women in import roles but the struggle of the missing 43 in mexico. You see mothers and women played an Important Role there another protest against Police Brutality and the women of color organizing and spearheading initiatives. None of color often speak about these things and perhaps part of the dynamic as well today. Women do the Important Role of organizing and sustaining communities than they deserve all the credit. Host professor marquez what is your path to Northwestern University . Guest and in the African American studies now and the Latino Latino studies program. My pastor. My pass a given activism. I became interested in colleges and universities and coursework and scholarly dialogue as a way to become a better of it and have better tools to organize against condition is not only in houston and other cities across the United States. Here in chicago have been involved in antiviolent struggles and tried to place out in the proper context. In my role at northwestern i try to merge the worlds together specifically for a student interns have been able to understand there is a vast disconnect between university and community that are vitally important for making linkages and maintaining bridges. In a nutshell that is how i got to where i yam. Host what is the importance of ethnic studies programs like latino studies africanamerican studies. Why are they necessary . Guest they are necessary because they offer a different critique than what you can see happening in traditional disciplinary methods. For example my critique of social Movement Comes from a black studies. If we map out and theorize was political solidarity, we cant go looking and archives to find the information. We have to look at expressive cultures and blend all of the data and factual matters together to have a complex reading of black indigenous flies because what we do scholars is invoke a relationship that we go and study and analyze them and publish the scholarly reports that are almost a set of instructions of how to combat depression. Black studies emerged as a result of black protests in our community that they need to a more solid bridge between those two spaces so they cannot be denigrated and we can understand the complex and dynamism and not give them instructions in terms of what they need to do with their lives. Thats one of the many Important Roles they play at universities. Host we been tied with northwestern Professor John marquez. Blackbrown solidarity racial politics in the new gulf south is the book. Thanks for being on booktv. Guest thank you for having me. Postcode now from last month rose about reading festival in hyde park, new york Christopher Osullivan discusses his vote Harry Hopkins fdrs envoy to churchill and stalin. It is my honor to introduce my good friend, Christopher Osullivan. He is connected research for more than two decades and is the author of several books about the roosevelt era including the forthcoming as well as his most recent Harry Hopkins fdr signed way church hill and stalin fdr at the end of the empire which won the American Historical Association gutenberg prize. He teaches history at the history at the universitys campus the university santa cisco has lectured in europe china and the middle east and delivered fdr and his vision at the uns 60th anniversary and is also married to the amazing they osullivan has a great friend of the library as well. Ladies and gentlemen, chris osullivan. [applause] thank you, bob. What a pleasure to be back. Thank you for being here this morning. It is a great tradition this rating possible. I try to coordinate my visits to the library with the reading festival whether in speaking or not because it is an enjoyable time. I want to thank bob and the staff at the Franklin Roosevelt president ial library. Its been a great two decades and my motto is looking forward to the next two. For creating a wonderful environment, a great place to work, when i was casting about for a topic for my doctoral dissertation i visited other president ial libraries which existed at that time in the 90s and it was no contest. I have to do something. Wish i had a more inspirational story about where i chose but had a lot to do with this facility of the people that work here and the wonderful head and valley environment of National Park and everything else. Also for helping to organize the event and i would like to start off by thanking the authors who came before me. If you write about harry caulkins come you try to climb on the shoulders of a lot of great writers. First of all it is very intimidating to write a book 60 years after Robert Sherwoods classic. Rather shared is one of the great writers of the 21st century. He was ultimately for pulitzer prizes, three for drama. He also won an Academy Award for his screen play for the best years of our lives by william wyler. This is quite a talent. You start off wondering what to share with leaf out of 1200 page book . You do have to remember he was writing right after the war and many people he was writing about were still alive. Sure would serve as those people. Very sensitive to not offending people. My wife and i did research at Harvard University were sure was papers are and one thing we found that was remarkable were