Maulana Karenga

Transcription

>>MY NAME IS DR. MAULANA KARENGA. I AM PROFESSOR OF AFRICAN STUDIES AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LONG BEACH. I AM ALSO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE CENTER AT WHICH WE ARE NOW. >> COULD YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHO YOU ARE, WHAT YOUR HISTORY IS, WHAT THE EVOLUTION OF YOUR IDEAS AND THOUGHTS ARE. >>WELL, I WAS BORN IN MARYLAND, ON THE EASTERN SHORE. AND THAT WAS ALWAYS A POINT OF IMPORTANCE TO MY TEACHERS, MY MOTHER AND FATHER, IN TEACHING ME THE HISTORY THAT I HAD TO, IN FACT, HONOR AND RESPECT. THAT'S THE SAME PLACE THE ORIGIN OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS AND HARRY TUBMAN. SO THERE IS A HISTORY OF STRUGGLE AND RESISTANCE THERE, AND DOING THINGS THAT ARE CONSCIOUS OF COMMUNITY. SO I WAS BORN IN THE FAMILY OF 14. I AM THE 14TH CHILD AND THE SEVENTH SON. THAT, TOO, TOOK ON A SIGNIFICANCE FOR MY MOTHER AND FATHER AND THE ELDERS THAT WERE AROUND ME WHO EXPECTED ME TO DO THINGS OF IMPORTANCE FOR WHAT THEY CALL THE RACE. THEY WERE RACE CONSCIOUS, AND THEY BELIEVED YOU HAD TO ACT IN A CERTAIN WAY, THAT YOU WOULD BRING HONOR TO THE RACE AND YOU HAD TO ADVANCE THE CAUSE OF AFRICAN PEOPLE. WE SAY BLACK PEOPLE THEN. SAY AFRICAN PEOPLE NOW. I GREW UP IN PARSONBURG, SALISBURY, MARYLAND, THAT'S WHERE I WENT TO SCHOOL FOR MOST OF MY EDUCATION. HOWEVER, IN THE LAST YEAR OF MY -- IN JUNIOR HIGH, I CAME OUT TO LOS ANGELES AND WENT TO JAMES FOSHAY SCHOOL. AND I WENT BACK TO MARYLAND, AND I CAME BACK TO CALIFORNIA BY WAY OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, WHERE I FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL. I FINISHED AT AN EARLY AGE BECAUSE I WAS ADVANCED. I STARTED SCHOOL WHEN I WAS FIVE. SO I FINISHED AT 16, HIGH SCHOOL, AND I BEGAN TO WORK MY WAY BACK TO CALIFORNIA BECAUSE I WANTED TO GO TO U.C.L.A. WHEN I GOT OUT HERE, I WENT TO LOS ANGELES CITY COLLEGE BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE RESIDENCE ESTABLISHED. SO THERE YOU CAN GO FOR SEVEN, ABOUT SEVEN OR $12 IF YOU WANTED INSURANCE. IF YOU DIDN'T, IT WAS EVEN LESS EXPENSIVE. IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL TIME AND A BEAUTIFUL PLACE BECAUSE IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT INTELLECTUAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE COUNTRY OF THE DAY, AND ALL KINDS OF PROFESSORS WERE THERE FROM RADICAL TO RIGHT WING. WE WERE VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN LEARNING AND ACTIVISM. I BEGAN TO BECOME VERY ACTIVE. I PARTICIPATED IN, OF COURSE, THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WHEN IT WAS THERE, THE ANTI DEATH PENALTY MOVEMENT, OR ANTI-CAPITAL PUNISHMENT WE CALLED IT. THEN I PARTICIPATED IN THE PEACE MOVEMENT AND I BEGAN TO GET ACTIVE IN CAMPUS POLITICS. I BECAME THE FIRST BLACK, STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT AT LACC, OR LOS ANGELES CITY COLLEGE. FROM THERE, I TRANSFERRED TO U.C.L.A. WHERE I GOT MY MASTER'S, MY BA AND MY MASTER AND WORKING ON THE DOCTORATE WHEN THE MOVEMENT CAME. I DROPPED OUT -- I SHOULDN'T SAY DROPPED OUT, I LEFT SCHOOL AND DIDN'T RETURN UNTIL LATER AFTER THE MOVEMENT TO FINISH MY DOCTORATE AND THE TO GET A SECOND DOCTORATE. WHEN I GOT OUT OF SCHOOL, ONE OF THE REASONS I LEFT SCHOOL BECAUSE THE MOVEMENT RAISED A QUESTION THAT MARY McLEOD BETHUNE RAISED. MARY MC LEOD BETHUNE WAS ONE OF OUR GREAT EDUCATORS SAID KNOWLEDGE IS THE PRIME NEED OF THE HOUR BUT PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO ASK YOU WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH YOUR KNOWLEDGE. SHE SAID, WE, WHO ARE EDUCATED, MUST DISCOVER THE DAWN AND THEN SHARE IT WITH THE MASSES AND OUR CHILDREN WHO NEED IT MOST. SO THE WHOLE QUESTION WAS AFRICAN EPISTEMOLOGY SAID KNOWLEDGE IS NEVER KNOWLEDGE FOR KNOWLEDGE SAKE ALONE. KNOWLEDGE IS FOR HUMAN SAKE, AND WE HAVE TO ASK OURSELF HOW DO WE USE IT, AND WE SAY TO IMPROVE THE PRESENT AND TO ENHANCE THE FUTURE OF OUR PEOPLE AND HUMANKIND. SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT TRANSPIRED IN MY DEVELOPMENT. >>EXCELLENT. DR. KARENGA, CAN YOU GIVE US SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE MOVEMENT. MANY OF OUR YOUNG TEACHERS WILL NOT HAVE A HISTORICAL CONTEXT FOR THIS TIME PERIOD. COULD YOU HELP GIVE THEM SOMETHING OF THE ENERGY THAT TOOK PLACE THEN AND HOW IT AFFECTED YOU. >>THE MOVEMENT EVOLVED OUT OF THE CONSTANT STRUGGLE OF AFRICAN PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY TO EXPAND THE REALM OF FREEDOM AND TO COMPEL AMERICAN SOCIETY TO LIVE UP TO AND IN SOME CASES EVEN GO BEYOND ITS ORIGINAL IDEA BECAUSE IF YOU TAKE AMERICA FROM ITS ORIGINAL IDEA, THEY WERE VERY LIMITED. THEY HAD SOME GOOD IN IT, YOU KNOW, BUT AT THE SAME TIME THEY ENSLAVED THE PEOPLE COMMITTED HOLOCAUST AGAINST ANOTHER PEOPLE, LIMITED WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS. OKAY, SO THAT WAS NOT THE KIND OF AMERICA WE WANTED. WE WANTED OPEN SOCIETY, A FREE SOCIETY. AND BLACK PEOPLE, BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF RACISM IN THIS COUNTRY, PROVED TO BE THE KEY VANGUARD, THE KEY SOCIAL AND MORAL VANGUARD IN TRANSFORMING THIS COUNTRY SO THE ORIGINAL FOUNDERS COULD NOT EVEN RECOGNIZE, LET ALONE ACCEPT IT. SO THE MOVEMENT EVOLVED FROM THE TIME WE HIT THE BEACH UNTIL THE 60'S. IT DID A TAKE OFF IN 1954 AND '55 WITH THE SUPREME COURT DECISION WON BY THURGOOD MARSHAL AND THE N.A.A.C.P. WHICH REAFFIRMED THE RIGHTNESS OF OUR STRUGGLE, GAVE US A LEGAL FRAMEWORK WITH WHICH TO ARGUE OUR CASE MORE EFFECTIVELY AND INSPIRE OTHER PEOPLE TO JOIN AND CREATE WHAT WE CALL THE 60'S MOVEMENT WHICH IS THE DEFINITIVE MOVEMENT IN AFRICAN AND AMERICAN HISTORY. NOW WHY I AM SAYING THIS, IS NOT THAT I DISCREDIT ANYTHING OF THE THINGS THAT WENT BEFORE IT, BUT IT KIND OF CULMINATED THIS IN THE 60'S TO PRODUCE A WHOLE DIFFERENT KIND OF SOCIETY. IN FACT, IT BECAME A MODEL FOR PEOPLES AROUND THE WORLD. IN '54, THEN WE WENT TO '55 WITH MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE LEADERSHIP OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING. BUT AT THE SAME TIME THE LEADERSHIP OF THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD AND MALCOM X, HIS STUDENT, BECAME CENTRAL TO FORMING TWO PHASES OF THE BLACK FREEDOM MOVEMENT. THERE ARE TWO PHASES FROM 1955 TO '65 IS THE CIVIL RIGHTS PHASE. USUALLY THAT'S THE ONLY WAY PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE MOVEMENT. BUT THEN FROM '65 TO '75 IS THE BLACK POWER MOVEMENT. I PARTICIPATED IN BOTH OF THEM. BUT I EVOLVED IN MY OWN IN THE BLACK POWER PERIOD. WHAT THIS STRUGGLE DID WAS, OF COURSE, FIRST, EXPANDED THE REALM OF FREEDOM, KNOCKING DOWN SEGREGATION APARTHEID LAWS AND COMPELLING AMERICA TO INTERROGATE ITSELF AND TO ASK ITSELF HOW COULD IT CLAIM TO BE A FREE SOCIETY WITH THE KIND OF LAWS THAT IT HAD, THE KIND OF SOCIAL PRACTICES THAT IT WAS ENGAGING IN. WE KNOCKED DOWN BARRIERS THAT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THERE. BUT IN THIS STRUGGLE, WE ACTUALLY PROVIDED A MODEL FOR, NOT ONLY PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY, BUT AROUND THE WORLD. IN FACT, PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY, FOR EXAMPLE, OTHER PEOPLE OF COLOR, NATIVE AMERICANS, LATINOS, ASIANS, AS WELL AS WOMEN, DISABLED, SENIOR CITIZENS, PEOPLE, BORROWED OUR MORAL VOCABULARY AND MORAL VISION AND POSED OUR STRUGGLE AS A MODEL TO EMULATE. EVEN ON THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL, IN AFRICA, ASIA, AND DEMOCRATIC WALL, THEY SANG OUR SONGS, THEY POSE OUR STRUGGLE AS A MODEL, IN PALESTINE, IN EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES STRUGGLING FOR DEMOCRACY AND LIBERATION. THEY BORROWED, I REPEAT, THEY BORROWED OUR MORAL VOCABULARY AND OUR MORAL VISION AND ADDED THEIR OWN TO IT BECAUSE EVERYBODY IS UNIQUE. BUT THEY CONSTANTLY REFER TO THIS AS A MODEL OF HUMAN LIBERATION WE SHOULD ALL EMULATE. WE HAD A PROFOUND IMPACT, NOT ONLY ON THE WAY U.S. UNDERSTOOD ITSELF AND CONDUCTED ITS BUSINESS, BUT ALSO ON THE LIBERATION MOVEMENTS AROUND THE WORLD, AND IN TURN, WE WERE, AS MALCOLM TAUGHT US, WE WERE ALSO AFFECTED BY THE STRUGGLES IN AFRICA AND ASIA THAT BECAME MODELS FOR US ESPECIALLY DURING THE BLACK POWER MOVEMENT. >>RECENTLY, I WATCHED A FILM BY HENRY LEWIS GATES OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY IN WHICH THERE WAS FOOTAGE OF YOU SPEAKING TO A COLLEGE AUDIENCE IN THE 60'S. IT WAS VERY POWERFUL FOOTAGE. I AM WONDERING WHAT HAS CHANGED IN YOUR PHILOSOPHY FROM THAT TIME PERIOD TO NOW IN THE 21ST CENTURY WHEN YOU ADDRESS THESE ISSUES OF MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION. >>I AM APPRECIATING WHAT YOU SAID IF I AM UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY. I AM STILL A CULTURAL NATIONALIST. I BELIEVE CULTURE DEFINES AND GIVES LIFE AND MOTION TO HUMAN BEING. BY CULTURAL, I MEAN THE TOTALITY OF THOUGHT AND PRACTICE BY WHICH A PEOPLE CREATES ITSELF, CELEBRATES, SUSTAINS AND DEVELOPS ITSELF AND INTRODUCES ITSELF TO HISTORY AND HUMANITY, AND THAT IT CARES ON AT LEAST SEVEN BASIC LEVELS. RELIGION, OR SPIRITUALITY AND ETHICS, HISTORY, SOCIAL ORGANIZATION, ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION, POLITICAL ORGANIZATION, CREATIVE PRODUCTION, WHICH IS YOUR ART, MUSIC, LITERATURE, AND ETHOS, COLLECTIVE PSYCHOLOGY THAT PEOPLE ACHIEVES AS A RESULT OF PRACTICE IN THOSE OTHER AREAS. SO I STILL HOLD TO THAT, AND I BELIEVE THAT THE STRUGGLE WE ARE WAGING FOR FREEDOM JUSTICE, FOR SELF-DETERMINATION BEGINS AS A CULTURE STRUGGLE, AND IT LAYS THE BASIS FOR US, RETURNING TO OUR OWN HISTORY AS CABRAL SAID. YOU SEE I STRUGGLE, RETURN TO OUR HISTORY. DURING THE HOLOCAUST OF ENSLAVEMENT, WE ARE LIFTED OUT OF OUR OWN HISTORY, MADE A FOOTNOTE AND FORGOTTEN CASUALTY IN OTHER PEOPLE'S HISTORY AND CULTURE. SO OUR STRUGGLE HAS BEEN TO RETURN TO THAT. MY LIFE'S WORK HAS BEEN BY MY NAME, KARENGA, WHICH MEANS KEEPER OF THE TRADITION IS TO RECOVER, GO BACK, SANKOFA IS THE WORD WE USE NOW, TO GO BACK, RETRIEVE AND RECONSTRUCT THE BEST OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AFRICAN AND HUMAN AND USE THAT TO NOT ONLY UNDERSTAND OURSELVES IN THE WORLD, BUT TO ASSERT OURSELVES IN THE WORLD IN THE MOST ETHICAL AND MEANINGFUL WAY. SO THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT THING FOR ME. AND THAT WAS ALWAYS THE CORE VALUE IN THAT. I CONCENTRATED MAINLY ON BLACK POWER DURING THE BLACK POWER ERA BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE NEED. WE STILL NEED THAT BECAUSE THE MOVEMENT DEMANDED THAT, AND BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO STRUGGLE AGAINST VICIOUS RACISM. I MEAN YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE ERA OF LYNCHING. THIS IS THE ERA OF MASSIVE POLICE OPPRESSION, FBI, COINTEL PROGRAM, WE ALL BECAME VICTIMS OF THAT. SO YOU SEE, WE HAD TO TAKE A HARD LINE. I DON'T REGRET THE LINE. I DON'T REGRET TAKING THAT LINE, REAFFIRMING BLACK PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO EXIST AS A PEOPLE. PEOPLE USED TO TELL US, WHY DON'T YOU GO OUT OF EXISTENCE. EVEN NOW PEOPLE SAY THAT. WHY WE NEED BLACK NOW. WE HAVE A BLACK PRESIDENT. WELL, ACTUALLY, THAT'S A CONTRADICTION. IF BLACK SUPPOSED TO GO OUT, DON'T EVEN MENTION THE BLACK PRESIDENT. HE IS JUST THERE. THE REALITY IS THAT WE KNOW AND EVERYBODY ELSE KNOW THAT IT IS GENOCIDE TO PROPOSE AND TRY TO CULTIVATE THE NON-EXISTENCE OF A PEOPLE, AND, YET, PEOPLE DO IT SO CAVALIERLY WHEN THEY TALK TO BLACK PEOPLE. NO ONE WOULD EVEN DARE, EVEN CONSIDER, LET ALONE SPEAK THE NON-EXISTENCE OF JEWISH PEOPLE. BUT NOBODY SAID YOU HAVE BEEN HERE LONG ENOUGH. LOSE YOUR ACCENT, ALL OF THOSE THINGS YOU BE DOING, AND JUST GO AND BE REGULAR AMERICAN. ACTUALLY, THAT'S WHAT MAKES AMERICA IS THE MULTIPLICITY OF CULTURES THAT COMPOSE AMERICA WITHOUT THE MULTIPLICITY OF CULTURE, THERE IS NO AMERICA. THAT'S SOMETHING PEOPLE TALK ABOUT AS AN ACADEMIC REFERENCE, TO GIVE CONCRETENESS TO IT. CONCRETE OF ACTUAL PEOPLE LIVING THEIR LIVES, FINDING MEANING IN THE MIDST OF THE MOST CHAOTIC SITUATION AND MOST OPPRESSIVE SITUATION AND RAISES IMAGES ABOVE THE EARTH THAT REFLECT THEIR CAPACITY FOR HUMAN GREATNESS AND VISION. THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ABOUT. NOW, WHAT HAPPENS IS THIS, AS I DEVELOP, YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO DO SELF-INTERROGATION, YOU KNOW. WHEN WE DID IT AT FIRST, WE STRESSED BLACKNESS IN THE THIRD WORLD. WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS, AND I REALLY HAVE TO CREDIT MALCOLM X FOR THIS. BECAUSE I AM A STUDENT OF HIM. HE IS ONE OF MY MAJOR INFLUENCES, IF YOU LOOK AT MY HISTORY. ONE OF THE THINGS I NOTICED IS THAT MALCOLM X FOLLOWING THE TEACHINGS OF HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD TAUGHT THAT PEOPLE OF COLOR WERE A SPECIAL PEOPLE, AND THAT THEY DESERVED A SPECIAL RESPECT. BUT THEY CRITICIZE WHITE PEOPLE. AND THAT'S HOW THEY WOULD JUDGE. NOW, HERE THEY ARE SUPPORTING THE RIGHTS OF THE OPPRESSED SEVEN-EIGHTHS OF THE WORLD, BUT BECAUSE THEY WOULDN'T GIVE WHAT PEOPLE CONSIDER DUE RESPECT TO WHITE PEOPLE, ONE-EIGHTH THE WORLD, THEY ARE CONSIDERED HATEMONGERS. THAT'S AMAZING. YOU CAN CONSIDER TALK ABOUT MEXICANS AND KOREANS ALL DAY, AND SOMEBODY MIGHT SAY, I KNOW SOME LIKE THAT. YOU SAY THAT ABOUT WHITE PEOPLE. THEY SAY, OH, I WONDER WHY HE IS RACIST. YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN? I THINK IT IS UNDERSTANDING THE PRIVILEGE OF WHITENESS, AND THE TENDENCY TO BELIEVE IF YOU DON'T INCLUDE WHITE PEOPLE IN YOUR CONVERSATION, AND DO IT IN A RESPECTFUL AND DEFERENTIAL AND GRATEFUL WAY, THAT SOMEHOW THERE IS SOMETHING AMISS, OKAY. I AM SAYING THAT-- I TELL MY STUDENTS THIS ALL THE TIME. WHEN I AM MAKING THIS CRITIQUE OF WHITE SOCIETY, I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT YOU. OBVIOUSLY, YOU DON'T HAVE ANY AFFECT ON ME. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? YOU CAN GIVE AN EVALUATION, BUT THAT'S JUST YOU. BUT TO AFFECT MY LIFE, YOU DON'T IDENTIFY WITH THE PEOPLE I AM TALKING ABOUT. I AM TALKING ABOUT OPPRESSORS. SO WHEN I TEACH ETHNIC STUDIES AND THE I TALK ABOUT THE OPPRESSION OF ETHNIC PEOPLES OF NATIVE AMERICANS FIRST, OF AFRICANS, OF LATINOS AND ASIAN, I DON'T HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE. I DON'T THINK YOU DID THAT. NOW, IF YOU COLLABORATE IN IT, IT IF YOU APPROVE THAT, IF YOU FAIL TO INTERROGATE AND CRITICIZE THAT, THEN YOU HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. BUT, OTHERWISE, DON'T THINK I AM TALKING ABOUT YOU. AND THAT'S WHAT I THINK IS IMPORTANT. IN THE 60'S, I DIDN'T EVEN MAKE THOSE DISTINCTIONS. I JUST WENT ON AND MADE GENERAL CRITICISM. TO BE HONEST. MALCOLM DID IT. EVERYBODY DID IT. WE UNDERSTOOD, ESPECIALLY THE AFRICAN WRITERS, BUT ALSO MALCOLM, ASKED US TO RECONSIDER THAT AND TO STAY ON CRITIQUE OF BEHAVIOR RATHER THAN THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES. AND IF YOU ARE GOING TO CRITICIZE THE PEOPLE, CRITICIZE THEIR BEHAVIOR, AND NOT MAKE IT LOOK LIKE YOU ARE CRITICIZING THEIR GENES, THE GENETIC DISORIENTATION AND DEFORMATION. SO THAT WAS ALSO IMPORTANT. ALSO, WE ADDED, AS EVERYBODY DID, WE ADDED AGENDA DIMENSION TO THE PHILOSOPHY. MY PHILOSOPHY I CREATED IN THE 60'S WHEN I BEGAN TO CREATE IT AT U.C.L.A., THIS PHILOSOPHY CALLED KAWAIDA, AND, OF COURSE, IT HAD IMPACT ON THE MOVEMENT, BUT ALSO ON THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL. ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL THINGS THAT WE HAD TO DO WAS TO INTERROGATE OURSELVES IN THE MIDST OF THE STRUGGLE AND ASK WHAT ARE WE NOT DOING THAT REPRESENTS THE BEST OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BOTH AFRICAN AND HUMAN IN THE FULLEST SENSE. IN OTHER WORDS, WE WANTED TO JUDGE OURSELVES IN SUCH A WAY THAT WE MET THE STRICTEST CRITERIA OF HUMANKIND, NOT JUST ISOLATED IN SAYING WE ARE RIGHT WITHOUT CHECKING WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING. SO AS THE WORLD BEGAN TO CRITICIZE ITSELF ABOUT GENDER RELATIONS, WE LOOKED AND ASKED IS THERE THINGS IN OUR PHILOSOPHY THAT ARE NEGATIVE TO THE BEST OF AFRICAN THOUGHT ALSO. OF COURSE, WE FOUND IT BECAUSE EVERYBODY WAS SEXIST IN THE 60'S. I MEAN WHETHER YOU TALK ABOUT RELIGIOUS GROUPS, CHRISTIAN, JEWS, MUSLIMS, OR POLITICAL GROUPS, MARXIST, NATIONALISTS, YOU NAME IT, RIGHT WING, CONSERVATIVE, THEY ALL HAD SEXISM. WE ARE STRUGGLING AGAINST THAT. ALSO WE DIDN'T HAVE CLASS THEN. WE DIDN'T TALK CLASS. WE SAID WE ALL BELONG TO THE SAME CLASS, THE CLASS OF THE DISPOSSESSED. IF WE HAVE TO MAKE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS, WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND EVEN WITHIN DISPOSSESSED PEOPLE, THAT THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE WHO HAD MORE COMFORTABLE CIRCUMSTANCES AND OPPRESSION. BUT STILL OPPRESSED, BUT THEY HAVE MORE COMFORTABLE CIRCUMSTANCES. SO THIS IS EVEN MORE CLEAR TODAY WHEN YOU SEE THE GAP BETWEEN THE MASSES OF PEOPLE AND SOME OF THE UPPER MIDDLE CLASS. THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE BEGAN. THE FINAL CHANGE I THINK THAT I SHOULD NOTE IS THAT EVEN THOUGH WE STRESS VALUES, AND VALUES IS EVERYTHING, WE DID NOT SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFY ETHICAL VALUES. SINCE THE 80'S, WE HAVE SELF- CONSCIOUSLY STRESSED ETHICAL VALUES. IN FACT, I WENT BACK TO SCHOOL BOTH AS IN AFRICANA STUDIES SENIOR SCHOLAR AS WELL AS THE ARCHITECT OF KAWAIDA PHILOSOPHY. I WENT BACK TO SCHOOL TO ENRICH AND EXPAND MY PHILOSOPHY AND BLACK STUDIES WITH THIS ETHICAL EMPHASIS. I ARGUED THAT ETHICS AND ETHICAL DISCOURSE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DISCOURSES WE CAN ENGAGE IN AS EDUCATORS AND AS CITIZENS OF THE WORLD, THAT WE HAVE, AS HUMAN BEINGS, THAT WE HAVE TO FRAME EVERYTHING IN TERMS OF ITS ETHICAL IMPORTANCE, ITS FOUNDATION, ITS FRAMEWORK. SO WHAT HAPPENED IS I WENT BACK TO GET A SECOND DOCTORATE IN SOCIAL ETHICS. IF YOU LOOK AT THE WAY THE WORLD IS DOING, MOST OF THE QUESTIONS THAT COME UP, I WOULD SAY MAJORITY OF THE QUESTIONS THAT COME UP THAT ARE CENTRAL TO THIS COUNTRY AND THE WORLD ARE ETHICALLY BASED QUESTIONS. BIOMEDICAL ETHICS, ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS, POLITICAL ETHICS, COMPUTER ETHICS, BUSINESS ETHICS, YOU NAME IT, ETHICS FORMS A DISTINCT PART. WHAT MADE THIS ALSO IMPORTANT IS THAT THAT'S A CORE AREA IN AFRICANA STUDIES BUT WAS UNRECOGNIZED AND UNTAUGHT ON A LARGER SCALE. IN OTHER WORDS, WE HAVE THE OLDEST TEXT IN ETHICS AND RELIGION. SO WHAT I DID WITH MY SECOND DISSERTATION IS WENT BACK TO THE EARLY TEXT, TRANSLATED THEM, AND WROTE A DISSERTATION CALLED "MAAT, THE MORAL IDEAL IN ANCIENT EGYPT: A STUDY IN CLASSICAL AFRICAN ETHICS" WHICH WAS 800 PAGE DISCUSSION -- CRITICAL DISCUSSION OF OUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE ETHICAL DEVELOPMENT -- TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ETHICAL THOUGHT OF HUMANITY. THAT WAS WHAT I WANTED TO DO. SO I BEGAN TO INTEGRATE THAT INTO BLACK STUDIES OR AFRICANA STUDIES, AND IT HAS ALSO BEEN INFLUENTIAL IN THE MOVEMENT ITSELF. MY CHANGE ALSO COMES FROM MY COMMITMENT AS A SCHOLAR TO CONSTANTLY LEARN, TO CONSTANTLY GROW, TO ACTUALLY ENGAGE EVEN MY OPPOSITION, AND TO DO RIGOROUS SCHOLARSHIP AT SUCH A LEVEL TO EVEN THOSE WHO DISAGREE WITH MY CONCLUSION CANNOT DENY THE RIGOR OF MY SCHOLARSHIP. SO THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT THING TO ME TO READ. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT WHEN WE WERE DOING MULTICULTURALISM AT OUR SCHOOL, AND WE WERE IN THESE COMMITTEES ON WHAT YOU CALL CURRICULA INTEGRATION. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE FOUND IS THAT WE HAD RELUCTANCE FROM PEOPLE TO TEACH MULTICULTURALLY BECAUSE THEY HADN'T RETOOLED, AND I WAS ASKING THE PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATION TO GIVE MONIES, INCENTIVE FOR PEOPLE TO RETOOL SO THEY CAN LEARN BECAUSE WE CAN'T DO THESE THINGS WITHOUT PEOPLE CONTINUING TO GROW, TO STUDY, TO LEARN, TO INTERROGATE THEMSELVES TO RETHINK THINGS AND TO LOOK AT THE WORLD IN A WHOLE DIFFERENT WAY WHICH BRINGS US TO THE -- AND THIS, TO ME, IS NOT ONLY BECAUSE I SEE MYSELF. MY FIRST NAME IS MAULANA, WHICH MEANS MASTER TEACHER, A NAME GIVEN ME DURING THE MOVEMENT. I SEE MY ROLE AS A TEACHER TO CONSTANTLY LEARN, OKAY, TO CONSTANTLY STUDY. THERE IS NO TIME THAT WE SHOULDN'T STUDY. THAT'S WHY I LEARNED MANY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES AND WHY I READ, NOT ONLY ARTICLES IN BOOKS THAT ARE SIMILAR TO MY POSITION, BUT I ESPECIALLY STUDY THOSE THAT ARE IN CONFLICT WITH MY POSITION. I DO THAT NOT ONLY TO SHARPEN MY ARGUMENT WHEN I MEET MY OPPONENT, BUT ALSO TO SEE THE WORTH OR VALUE OF ANYTHING THAT THEY MIGHT BE SAYING THAT I MISSED. I THINK WE HAVE TO HAVE AN OPEN TEXTURED LEARNING PROCESS, ONE THAT SAYS NO MATTER WHAT WE LEARN, THERE IS STILL SOMETHING OUT THERE THAT THE GREATEST PART OF TRUTH IS THAT WHICH IS HIDDEN, AND THAT WE MUST DISCOVER IT AS MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE SAY, DISCOVER THIS DAWN, AND THEN SHARE IT WITH THE MASSES OF OUR PEOPLE AND OUR CHILDREN. >>DR. KARENGA, WHAT IS NECESSARY TO BE AN EFFECTIVE MULTICULTURAL TEACHER? >> FIRST THING WE HAVE TO DO IS HAVE A CONCEPT OF MULTICULTURISM THAT REACHES BEYOND SHARED FOOD FESTIVAL AND FASHION, SPECIAL DAYS, MAKING BLACK PEOPLE, BROWN PEOPLE, RED PEOPLE, YELLOW PEOPLE, OR AFRICANS, NATIVE AMERICANS, LATINOS AND ASIANS, MAKING THEM A TOPIC RATHER THAN SEEING THEM AS A SUBJECT. SO THAT'S THE FIRST THING WE HAVE TO DO IS TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE A MORE COMPLEX CONCEPTION OF MULTICULTURALISM. MULTICULTURALISM IS THOUGHT AND PRACTICE ORGANIZED AROUND FOUR FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AT A MINIMUM. THE FIRST IS MUTUAL RESPECT FOR EACH PEOPLE AND CULTURE AS A UNIQUE AND EQUALLY VALUABLE WAY OF BEING HUMAN IN THE WORLD. NO SUPERIOR OR INFERIOR PEOPLE. EACH PEOPLE ARE UNIQUE IN EQUALLY VALUABLE WAY OF BEING HUMAN IN THE WORLD. THAT MEANS YOU RESPECT THEIR HISTORY AS YOU WOULD WANT US TO RESPECT YOUR HISTORY. YOU RESPECT THEIR CULTURE. YOU RESPECT THEIR LANGUAGE. OKAY. SO THAT WHAT WE HAVE THEN IS A MEETING OF EQUALS. SO WE DON'T HAVE TO GET IN THE WORD, THESE PEOPLE ARE DEFICIENT, THEY HAVE ACHIEVEMENT GAPS, ALL THAT. WE FIRST RESPECT THEM THEY ARE HUMAN BEINGS, WORTHY OF THE HIGHEST RESPECT. THE SECOND CRITERIA FOR MULTICULTURISM IS MUTUAL RESPECT FOR EACH PEOPLE'S RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY TO SPEAK THEIR ONLY SPECIAL CULTURAL TRUTHS AND MAKE THEIR OWN UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION TO THE FORWARD FLOW OF HUMAN HISTORY. WHEN WE ARE IN A CLASSROOM, THAT TRANSLATES AS SAYING WHAT IS YOUR LIFE AND PUTTING IT ON THE LEVEL WITH THE HIGHS OF LIFE YOU KNOW. USING EACH PEOPLE'S CULTURE AS A SOURCE OF WHAT WE CALL REFLECTIVE PROBLEMATICS, POINTS FOR THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT THE FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES OF HUMAN KIND. WE CAN'T SEE YOU AS THE ONLY PLACE WE CAN GET PHILOSOPHICAL, SCIENTIFIC, SOCIOLOGICAL, ANTHROPOLOGICAL IDEA. WE HAVE TO BELIEVE AND KNOW THAT EVERY CULTURE HAS A SPECIAL TRUTH TO SPEAK, AND WE HAVE TO LET THE STUDENTS SPEAK IT, AND WE HAVE TO HELP THE STUDENTS FIND IT, AND DEVELOP IT SO THEY ARE -- THEY ARE REAFFIRMED IN THE FIRST PRINCIPLE, THAT THEY ARE UNIQUE AND EQUALLY VALUABLE WAYS OF BEING HUMAN IN THE WORLD. THAT'S THE WHOLE DIFFERENT KIND -- THIS IS AN ETHICAL REQUIREMENT FOR EDUCATION. IT IS PEDAGOGY THAT STARTS WITH RESPECT. THEN WE GET TO THE OTHER THINGS. WE HAVE TO HAVE RESPECT. THE THIRD THING IS MUTUAL COMMITMENT TO THE CONSTANT SEARCH FOR COMMON GROUND IN THE MIDST OF OUR DIVERSITY. OKAY, SO I AM ARGUING WITH DIVERSE, BUT I AM ALSO ARGUING AS HUMAN BEINGS, AS FELLOW AMERICANS, WE ARE, WHAT? SIMILAR ALSO. WE HAVE COMMON INTERESTS. AND WE HAVE TO SEARCH FOR THOSE COMMON INTERESTS, AND WE HAVE TO BUILD ON THOSE COMMON INTERESTS. WE HAVE COMMON GROUND. WE HAVE TO BUILD ON THOSE COMMON GROUND. YOU SEE, OTHERWISE YOU CAN'T HAVE A GOOD CLASS. YOU SEE? WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT MAKE US ALIKE? NOW WE ARE NOT GOING TO ERASE OUR DIFFERENCES, OKAY. MARTIN LUTHER KING IS AN AFRICAN AMERICAN, RIGHT, BUT HE IS A GREAT RELIGIOUS TEACHER. HE IS A PROPHET OF A SORT. OKAY. SO HOW DO WE COMPARE HIM TO OTHER PROPHETS, OTHER GREAT RELIGIOUS TEACHERS? YOU SEE, THAT'S WHAT WE DO. WE HAVE SACRED TEXTS. OKAY, WE KNOW THE BIBLE IS A SACRED TEXT, BUT DO YOU KNOW THE POPOL VUH, THE MAYAN SACRED TEXT? DO YOU KNOW THE BHAGAVAD GITA, THE HINDU? DO YOU KNOW MAAT, THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SACRED TEXT? DO YOU KNOW ODU IFA, THE YORUBA SACRED TEXT? HOW DO YOU ENRICH YOUR CLASSROOM WITH THESE OTHER SACRED TEXTS. ARE YOU GOING TO BE THE ONLY SUBJECT OF EVERY SENTENCE. THAT'S THE PROBLEM SOMETIMES. THE TEACHERS BECOME -- THEY WANT THEIR CULTURE TO BE THE SUBJECT OF EVERY SENTENCE. THEY DON'T WANT TO DISCUSS IN DIGNITY AFFIRMING. THIS IS A KEY THING FOR ME. WE MUST DISCUSS THINGS ALWAYS IN DIGNITY AFFIRMING WAYS. THIS SEARCH FOR COMMON GROUND MEANS THAT YOU FIND DIGNITY OF AFFIRMING COMMON GROUND, NOT WHERE YOU ARE ALWAYS SUPERIOR, AND, YES, WE DO THESE THINGS, BUT OUR'S IS BETTER. YOU SEE. THE FOURTH THING FOR MULTICULTURALISM, AFTER THESE FIRST THREE PRINCIPLES IS MUTUAL COMMITMENT TO AN ETHICS OF SHARING THAT RESULTS IN A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY FOR BUILDING THE WORLD WE WANT AND DESERVE TO LIVE IN. THAT ETHICS OF SHARING IS BASED ON THE CONCEPT THAT THE GREATEST GOOD, ACCORDING TO AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY, KAWAIDA, ESPECIALLY, THE GREATEST GOOD IS SHARED GOOD. THE GREAT GOODS OF HUMANITY IN THE WORLD ARE SHARED GOOD. FREEDOM, JUSTICE, SISTERHOOD, BROTHERHOOD, PEACE, ALL THESE ARE SHARED GOODS. SO WHAT WE HAVE TO ASK OURSELVES, WHAT ARE THE FUNDAMENTAL SHARED GOODS THAT WE MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR PRESERVING, SHARING AND PROMOTING IN THE WORLD? AND I THINK THERE ARE SEVERAL. THE FIRST IS SHARED STATUS. I ALWAYS GO BACK TO THIS. SHARED STATUS MEANS MUTUAL RESPECT FOR EACH PEOPLE AND CULTURE. NO SUPERIOR INFERIOR RACE, YOU SEE. IF A TEACHER DOESN'T ACCEPT THAT AS THE FIRST PRINCIPLE OF EDUCATION, THEY GOT A BAD PEDAGOGY RIGHT AWAY, AND THE RESULT IS GOING TO BE NEGATIVE AND DEFICIENT, OKAY. TO BE A FULL HUMAN BEING LEARNING, TO BE RESPECTED AS THAT, IS KEY. ANCIENT EGYPT TAUGHT THAT ONE OF THE WAYS TO SHOW THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN IS ANCIENT EGYPTIAN INTRODUCED TO THE WORLD THE CONCEPT AS EARLY AS 2140 BC, THE CONCEPT OF SHEPESU, THAT IS THE DIGNITY, INHERENT DIGNITY OF HUMAN BEINGS. IT STARTED WITH THE CONCEPT THAT HUMAN IS IN THE IMAGE OF GOD. BUT IT DEVELOPED BY THE MIDDLE KINGDOM INTO THIS CONCEPT OF SHEPESU WHICH MEANS DIGNITY, THAT MEANS AN INHERIT WORD DEFINED BY ITS BEING TRANSCENDENT BEYOND ALL SOCIAL BIOLOGICAL STATUSES OR CATEGORY, THAT IT IS EQUAL IN EVERYBODY. AND, THIRD, THAT IT IS INALIENABLE, NO ONE CAN TAKE FROM YOU. IN FACT, IT IS REFLECTED IN JEFFERSON'S CONVERSATION, WHICH HYPOCRITICAL OF COURSE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, PEOPLE CREATED EQUAL ARE ENDOWED WITH -- CREATED WITH CERTAIN INALIENABLE RIGHTS. WE KNOW SHARED STATUS. THE SECOND IS SHARED KNOWLEDGE. KNOWLEDGE IS KEY. YOU SEE, WHEN WE ARE TEACHERS, AND WE TALK ABOUT SHARING KNOWLEDGE, WE MUST SEE IT AS AN ETHICAL REQUIREMENT. ITS NOT JUST SOMETHING PEOPLE DO TO KEEP CHILDREN OUT OF TROUBLE OR EVEN TO JUST GET A JOB. THAT'S WHAT DUBOIS SAID. IF YOU TEACH THEM TO MAKE MONEY, ALL YOU HAVE DONE IS MADE MONEY. YOU MUST TEACH THEM TO BE FULL HUMAN BEINGS, MEN AND WOMEN WHO SERVE, WHO WANT THE WORLD TO BE A BETTER PLACE AND INVEST IN IT, AND USE THEIR KNOWLEDGE TO ADVANCE THE HUMAN CAUSE. THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT POINT HERE. SO WE HAVE A RIGHT. WE MUST ESTABLISH THE KNOWLEDGE AND APPROACH IT AS A HUMAN RIGHT. NOT SOME COURTESY YOU ARE GIVING THE STUDENT, BUT AS A HUMAN RIGHT AND ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THOSE WHO CALL THEMSELVES TEACHERS. THE THIRD ONE IS SHARED SPACE WHICH LEARN TO SHARE THE COUNTRY, OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, AND ENVIRONMENT. WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY, NOT TO FEAR AND TO FEAR MONGER AND FEAR PEDAL AGAINST IMMIGRANTS. BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE EQUAL IMMIGRATION POLICY. WE HAVE TO TALK NOT JUST ABOUT LATINOS, BUT ALSO ABOUT HAITIANS, AND ASIANS, AND EVERYONE ELSE THAT COMES IN HERE, AND THEY ARE DENIED ACCESS UNJUSTLY AND UNETHICALLY. SO I THINK IT IS VERY IMPORTANT, ALSO, FOR US TO LEARN TO SHARE THE ENVIRONMENT. THIS IS A COMMON HUMAN HERITAGE, CORPORATIONS HAVE NO RIGHT TO POLLUTE AND DEPLETE THE WORLD. WE HAVE TO TAKE THAT AS A RESPONSIBILITY. I THINK ALL EDUCATION TODAY HAS TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE PLANET AND SHOULD HAVE AN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICAL COMPONENT TO IT. OKAY. SO SHARED SPACE. THE OTHER IS SHARED WEALTH. OKAY. I KNOW THIS SOUNDS KIND OF SCARY TO SOME PEOPLE, BUT YOU KNOW THE WORLD BELONGS TO EVERYBODY. AND CERTAINLY THE WEALTH AND PEOPLE'S LAND BELONGS TO THEM. WE DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO TAKE OTHER PEOPLE'S OIL AND WATER. WE DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE JUST 20% OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION AND CONSUME 80% OF THE WORLD'S RESOURCES AND ASK WHY PEOPLE HAVE PROBLEMS WITH US. WE HAVE TO SHARE THE WEALTH OF THE WORLD. THE WEALTH OF THE WORLD IS GOOD, AND IT BELONGS TO EVERYBODY. PEOPLE AS PRESIDENT OBAMA SAID RECENTLY, PEOPLE CAN HAVE JUSTICE AND PROSPERITY IF THEY SHARE AND WORK. WHETHER HE COULD DO THAT, GIVEN THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY IS ANOTHER THING. BUT AT LEAST IT IS A PRINCIPLE THAT WE SHOULD SUBSCRIBE TO. AND THEN SHARED POWER. PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO CONTROL THEIR DESTINY AND DAILY LIVES. WE CAN'T SAY ONE STATE HAS A RIGHT TO EXIST AND ANOTHER STATE DON'T HAVE A RIGHT TO EXIST. WE CAN'T SAY. PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO LIVE A LIFE IN SECURITY, AND SAY THE OTHER PEOPLE DON'T HAVE IT. WE HAVE TO BE CONSISTENT ON THESE THINGS. PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO SELF- DETERMINATION, TO DEFINE THEMSELF, TO BUILD A LIFE TO CONTROL THEIR DESTINY AND DAILY LIVES, SPEAK THEIR OWN SPECIAL CULTURAL TRUTH AND MAKE THEIR OWN UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION TO THE FORWARD FLOW OF HUMAN HISTORY. SHARED INTEREST, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SHARED INTEREST. I THINK THESE ARE THE MINIMUM. MUTUAL RESPECT FOR THE RIGHTS AND DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON. THE WELL-BEING AND FLOURISHING OF FAMILY AND COMMUNITY, THE INTEGRITY AND VALUE OF THE ENVIRONMENT, AND AND THE RECIPROCAL OF SOLIDARITY OF HUMANITY AND ITS COOPERATION FOR COMMON GOOD. AND FINALLY, MUTUAL COMMITMENT, - A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY IS THE LAST ONE THAT WE TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WORLD WE WANT AND DESERVE TO LIVE IN. JUST THIS NICE QUOTE TO END THERE, FROM THE HUSIA, SACRED TEXT OF ANCIENT EGYPT, SAID, DOING GOOD, DOING GOOD IS NOT DIFFICULT. JUST SPEAKING GOOD IS MONUMENT FOR THOSE WHO DO IT. FOR THOSE WHO DO GOOD FOR OTHERS, ALSO, AT THE SAME TIME, DOING IT FOR THEMSELF FOR THEY ARE BUILDING THE GOOD WORLD THEY ALL WANT AND DESERVE TO LIVE IN. >>DR. KARENGA, CAN YOU HELP US UNDERSTAND WHY THERE IS SO LITTLE ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN PEOPLE IN AMERICAN HISTORY AND WHAT IMPACT DOES THAT HAVE ON US AS CITIZENS? >> ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENTS WE MADE WAS NOT ONLY KNOCKING DOWN LEGAL BARRIERS, CREATING DIFFERENT DIALOGUE ABOUT AMERICA AND ITSELF INTERROGATED. BUT WE INTRODUCED A WHOLE CONCEPT OF CULTURE PLURALISM AS A PRACTICE RATHER THAN SIMPLY A THEORY. IT IS THEN WHEN WE DEMANDED BLACK STUDIES AND THROUGH THAT, CHICANO, AND LATINO, AND ASIAN, AND NATIVE AMERICAN STUDY AND OPENED THE REALM FOR WOMEN STUDIES. BECAUSE WHAT WE DID WAS CHALLENGE THE UNIVERSITY AS THE BRAIN OF SOCIETY, AND AS A SPACE THAT REFLECTED SOCIETY AND THAT SHOULD, IN FACT, CORRECT ITSELF AS WE WERE CORRECTING SOCIETY. SO THAT WAS A VERY IMPORTANT THING. AND IT IS AN UNFINISHED STRUGGLE. WHEN YOU ASK THE QUESTION, WHY PEOPLE DON'T REALLY RECOGNIZE THIS, THERE ARE SEVERAL REASONS. FIRST, THE STRUGGLE IS NOT OVER. THE FIGHT IS NOT FINISHED. THERE IS AN ONGOING STRUGGLE TO, IN FACT, MAKE THIS COUNTRY RECOGNIZE THAT IT IS NOT A WHITE FINISHED PRODUCT, BUT AN UNFINISHED ONGOING MULTICULTURAL PROJECT, AND THAT EACH PEOPLE BOTH HAVE THE RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE THEIR OWN UNIQUE CULTURAL CONTRIBUTION, TO SPEAK THEIR OWN SPECIAL CULTURE TRUTH AND TO MAKE OWN UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION HOW THIS SOCIETY IS RECONCEIVED AND RECONSTRUCTED. THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT POINT THERE. EACH PEOPLE HAVE BOTH THE RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY TO SPEAK ITS OWN SPECIAL CULTURE TRUTH, AND TO MAKE HIS OWN UNIQUE CULTURE CONTRIBUTION TO HOW THIS SOCIETY IS CONCEIVED AND RECONSTRUCTED, RECONCEIVED AND RECONSTRUCTED. THE OTHER REASON THAT IT IS NOT IS THAT IT IS VERY DIFFICULT FROM A DOMINANT SOCIETY PERSPECTIVE TO GIVE CREDENCE AND VALUE, ESPECIALLY EQUAL VALUE TO THE HISTORY OF ONE OF ITS DOMINATED AND SUBORDINATED PEOPLE. AND SO THERE IS THIS CONCEPTUAL IMPRISONMENT THAT AMERICA IS IN, IN THAT YOU CANNOT BE BLACK AND GREAT AT THE SAME TIME. SO EVEN IF YOU MAKE A GREAT HISTORY, IT HAS BEEN TO BE REINTERPRETED SO IT IS DILUTED AND MADE TO BE GENERALLY AMERICAN RATHER THAN AFRICAN AMERICAN. YOU SEE, IT IS ALL RIGHT TO BE AMERICAN, BUT YOU CAN'T BE AFRICAN, YOU GOT TO BE, YOU KNOW, AMERICAN BECAUSE BLACK AND GREATNESS DON'T GO TOGETHER. YOU CAN TELL THAT WITH OUR HEROES AND HEROINES. IF WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT MARTIN LUTHER KING, WE HAVE TO KEEP SAYING, HE IS NOT JUST A BLACK PERSON. HE DIDN'T JUST SPEAK TO BLACK PEOPLE. JEWS DON'T SAY THIS IS JUST A JEWISH PERSON. YOU KNOW, ITALIANS DON'T STEP UP, SAY THIS IS NOT JUST ITALIAN. WHY ARE WE ALWAYS TRYING TO REASSURE PEOPLE WE ARE NOT TAKING CREDIT FOR WHAT WE HAVE DONE. BECAUSE WE DON'T DO THAT, WE TEND TO GO ALONG WITH THESE DILUTED AND SUPERFICIAL HISTORIES AND INTERPRETATIONS OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AFRICAN IN THE WORLD. SO THAT WHEN WE TALK FOR -- I WILL GIVE ANOTHER EXAMPLE, NOT ONLY HOW WE DO OUR HEROES AND HEROINES HOW WE REFUSE TO LET MARTIN LUTHER KING, BE A BLACK PERSON, AFRICAN PERSON, IN AN AMERICAN CONTEXT, THAT CREATES BOTH OUT OF HIS OWN COMMUNAL HISTORY AS WELL AS THE LARGER AMERICAN HISTORY. THAT'S THE WAY WE HAVE TO TALK. I DON'T JUST DROP FROM THE SKY. THEY DON'T GROW FROM THE GROUND. THEY DON'T FLOW IN FROM THE SEA. THEY COME FROM THE SOCIAL CONTEXT. PART THAT HAVE SOCIAL CONTEXT IS BOTH AFRICAN AND AMERICAN. THAT'S HOW HE DID. WITHOUT KING BEING ROOTED IN AFRICAN AMERICAN RELIGIOUS CULTURE, THERE WOULD BE NO KING. NO MATTER HOW MANY BOOKS HE READS AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY. WITHOUT HIM ROOTING HIMSELF IN THE BLACK RELIGIOUS HISTORY AND CULTURE OF HIS PEOPLE, IT IS SOCIAL ETHICS. IT IS LOVE FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE. IT IS APPRECIATION OF PEACE AND OF NON-VIOLENCE. THERE IS NO -- THERE IS NO WAY HE COULD HAVE BEEN WHO HE WAS BECAUSE, ACTUALLY, THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY THEY DIDN'T INVOLVE THIS. AND HE DIDN'T LEARN THIS FROM HAGAR OR ANY OTHER PEOPLE. PEOPLE LIKE THE CITE HE READ. EVEN GANDHI, HE TAKES IT AND BUILDS ON IT AND, WHAT, AFRICAN CONTEXT, RIGHT, AND GANDHI SHOULD BE GIVEN CREDIT. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THOREAU, THE REST OF THEM, THE PEOPLE THAT HE LISTS THAT HE READ. THAT IS TO SHOW THE BREADTH OF HIS LEARNING, BUT THE DEPTH OF HIS COMMITMENT AND UNDERSTANDING COMES OUT OF THE MOST ANCIENT, EVEN IF HE IS UNAWARE, THE MOST ANCIENT AND RELIGIOUS ETHICAL TRADITION IN THE WORLD, THAT'S THE AFRICAN. THE OLDEST TEXT IN THE WORLD, AND OLDEST TRADITION IN THE WORLD IS IN AFRICA. I WANT US TO DO THAT. NOW ANOTHER THING IS THE INTERPRETIVE PROBLEMS THAT WE HAVE. TAKE FOR EXAMPLE, THE HOLOCAUST OF ENSLAVEMENT, A LOT OF TIMES WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ENSLAVEMENT, WE TALK ABOUT SLAVERY. WHAT THAT DOES IS, AND WE TALK ABOUT SLAVES, ANONYMOUS SLAVES. WE DON'T EVEN CALL AFRICANS BY THEIR NAME. WE LIFT THEM OUT OF THEIR HISTORICAL CONTEXT. WE ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE IN THE WORLD WHERE YOU CAN SAY SLAVE, AND PEOPLE WILL SAY, OH, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT AFRICAN. THEY DON'T SAY, GREEK, ROMAN, JEW, GENTILE. THEY WILL SAY, THAT'S AFRICAN. BOOKS, THE WORLD THE SLAVES MADE, SLAVE COMMUNITY, SLAVERY VOTES, ANYTHING, PEOPLE ASSUME THAT'S AFRICAN. AND WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IF WE ARE GOING TO INTERPRET HISTORY CORRECTLY, WE FIRST OF ALL HAVE TO GIVE THE PEOPLE THEIR NAME. THE AFRICANS. OKAY. THEY COME HERE AS AFRICANS. OKAY. OH, THEY GOT DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES, BUT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT AFRICANS AT THIS POINT. OKAY. AND THE SECOND, WE HAVE GOT TO GIVE CONCEDE THE DIGNITY OF THEIR LIVES AND THE MEANING OF THEIR STRUGGLE. SO WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT KILLING TEN TO A HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE AS TRADE. WE CAN'T SAY SLAVE TRADE. THAT CREATES A COMMERCIAL CONCEPT OF BUSINESS GONE BAD WITH COLLATERAL DAMAGE. WE HAVE TO CALL IT BY THE NAME THAT U.N. AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL BODIES USE WHEN THEY REFER TO THE MOST HORRIBLE OF GENOCIDE, AND THAT'S HOLOCAUST. BY HOLOCAUST, I MEAN A MORALLY MONSTROUS ACT OF GENOCIDE NOT ONLY AGAINST THE TARGETED PEOPLE, BUT ACTUALLY IS ALSO A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY. IT EXPRESSES ITSELF IN THREE BASIC WAYS, MORALLY MONSTER DESTRUCTION OF HUMAN LIFE, HUMAN CULTURE AND HUMAN POSSIBILITY. SO THAT BRINGS IN A WHOLE DIFFERENT KIND OF CONVERSATION. WHAT IS THIS DESTRUCTION OF HUMAN LIFE? WHY DON'T WE KNOW HOW MANY BLACK PEOPLE, AFRICAN PEOPLE ARE KILLED? WHY DON'T WE KNOW THAT? WHY DO WE TALK ABOUT BUSINESS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT MILLIONS DEAD? YOU SEE, MILLIONS, NOT JUST A THOUSAND. THE LOSS OF ONE HUMAN LIFE IS A TRAGEDY. HOW MUCH MORE SERIOUSLY TRAGIC IS THE LOSS OF MILLIONS AND MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF AFRICAN PEOPLE? THE LOSS AND DESTRUCTION OF HUMAN CULTURE, NOT JUST THE BURNING OF SOME THATCH ROOFED HOUSES, BUT THE DESTRUCTION OF GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS, EVEN VILLAGES. CIVILIZATIONS, OKAY, GREAT WORKS OF ART AND LITERATURE, AND THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THEM. WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THAT. WE CAN'T JUST SUM THAT UP AS TRADE AS IF TRADE IS SOME KIND OF NICE BUSINESS WE ENGAGED IN, AND THERE WAS NO MASS MURDER AND SLAUGHTER IN THIS PROCESS. WE DESTROYED THINGS THAT WERE NOT ONLY IMPORTANT TO US, I SHOULD SAY THIS PROCESS DESTROYED THINGS, THAT NOT ONLY WERE IMPORTANT TO AFRICANS, BUT WERE IMPORTANT TO HUMANITY. AND, FINALLY, OF COURSE, THE MORAL MONSTER DESTRUCTION OF HUMAN POSSIBILITY, TO LIFT PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR OWN HISTORY AND MAKE THEM A FOOTNOTE AND FORGOTTEN CASUALTY, AND TO TEACH THE WORLD TO HATE THEM AND SUSPECT THEM AND DEVALUE THEM AND TO DEGRADE THEM AND TO DESTROY NORMAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMANS SO THAT YOU ASK, IT IS A COUNTRY READY FOR A BLACK? WHY WOULDN'T THEY? WHY WOULDN'T THEY BE READY FOR AN AFRICAN? WHY WOULDN'T THEY BE READY FOR AN AFRICAN AMERICAN? YOU SEE, IT IS BECAUSE OF RACISM WHICH DEVALUES AND DEGRADES AND ASSIGNS PEOPLE HUMAN WORTH AND SOCIAL STATUS DEPENDING UPON HOW CLOSE THEY ARE TO WHITE PEOPLE. SO THAT CONVERSATION IS MISSING, YOU SEE, AND IT IS MISSING BECAUSE IT CREATES A WHOLE DIFFERENT INTELLECTUAL CHALLENGE TO PEOPLE WITH OLD NOTES AND OLD IDEAS THAT NEED TO BE RETOOLED, YOU SEE. >> DR. KARENGA, WHEN WE CONSIDER THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT GAP THAT IS TAKING PLACE ESPECIALLY AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS AND LATINO STUDENTS, HOW MUCH OF THAT IS CONNECTED TO THIS DISCONNECTION THAT THESE STUDENTS HAVE WITH THEIR OWN PAST? >> WELL, AGAIN, WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS MAKE SURE WE ARE NOT CONCEPTUALLY IN PRISON. WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IN ACHIEVEMENT GAP BASED ON PEOPLE NOT KNOWING WHO THEY ARE AND WHERE THEY CAME FROM, IT IS A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPLEX THAN THAT. EVEN THOSE THAT'S A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF IT. LIKE WHEN I START OUT MY INTRODUCTION OF BLACK STUDIES CLASS. THE FIRST THING I TELL PEOPLE, IS BLACK STUDIES IS INTELLECTUAL DISCIPLINE. ITS NOT ABOUT PRIDE. PRIDE WILL COME OF ITSELF. ITS ABOUT KNOWLEDGE, ACQUISITION. IT IS ABOUT CRITICAL THINKING. IT IS ABOUT BELOW THE SURFACE THINKING ABOUT THE WORLD AND AFRICA'S RELATIONSHIP TO THE REST OF THE WORLD AND INTERNALLY WITH ITSELF. SO I THINK IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND IF WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ACHIEVEMENT GAP, WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT RACISM AND SOCIAL CONTEXT. IDEAS, AGAIN, DON'T DROP FROM THE SKY, GROW FROM THE GROUND OR FLOATING FROM THE SEA. THEY COME FROM THE SOCIAL CONTEXT. SO IF PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING AN ACHIEVEMENT GAP, WE HAVE TO LOOK FOR SOURCES FIRST IN SOCIETY BECAUSE EVEN WHEN THEY HAVE PERSONAL PROBLEMS, UNLESS YOU BELIEVE IN GENETIC DISORIENTATION, YOU MUST FIND A SOCIAL REASON FOR IT. HUMAN BEINGS ARE SOCIAL BEINGS FIRST. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? UNLESS WE HAVE BACKWARD CONCEPT THAT THEY ARE SUPERIOR RACES, THEN WE HAVE TO ASK OURSELF, WHAT IN SOCIETY IS NEGATIVE TO SOME PEOPLE, MAKING CERTAIN ACHIEVEMENT. POOR PEOPLE DON'T ACHIEVE AS MUCH AS PEOPLE THAT ARE CULTIVATED FROM BIRTH TO STUDY AND TO GO TO SCHOOL AND TO VALUE EDUCATION AND TO FEEL PROUD OF THEMSELVES AND TO BE TOLD THEY WILL RULE THE WORLD. TAKE FOR EXAMPLE, ME, I WAS BORN POOR. BUT MY MOTHER AND FATHER, PUT A GREAT EMPHASIS ON EDUCATION. IN FACT, I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS BORN UNTIL SOMEBODY TOLD ME. WE PUT EMPHASIS ON LOVING EACH OTHER ON THE QUALITY OF HUMAN RELATION, ON ACHIEVEMENT, ON KNOWING. KNOWLEDGE IS JUST A BEAUTIFUL THING. IT OPENS ONE'S MIND. IT GIVES ONE THE CAPACITY THAT ONE WOULDN'T ORDINARILY HAVE. THAT IS DIFFERENT FOR ME. I LOVING LEARNING YOU CAN AND MY FAMILY LOVE LEARNING. IMAGINE A SOCIAL CONTEXT IN WHICH THAT IS NOT STRESSED, AND WHICH THE ONLY STRESS YOU GET IS TO MAKE IT ACCORDING TO LUMPEN LIFE OR STREET LIFE, AND THAT YOU HAVE BEEN INCARCERATED IN A GHETTO, AND THAT YOUR CHANCES OF IMAGINING A NEW WORLD ARE ALMOST NIL. WHAT ARE YOUR STANDARDS? AND WHAT DO YOU STRIVE FOR? I SUPPOSE YOU GO TO SCHOOL, AND THE TEACHERS THAT TALK TO YOU, TALKED TO YOU AS IF YOU WERE A NON-BEING OR AS A FAILURE ALREADY. THEY KIND OF PREDISPOSE YOU TOWARD FAILURE BECAUSE THEY HAVE ALREADY -- IMAGINED THAT YOU CANNOT DO WHAT NORMAL QUOTE UNQUOTE PEOPLE DO. SO WHAT I WANT TO SEE IS TO ASK OURSELVES WHAT DOES THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN SOCIETY OFFER THE PEOPLE WHO ACHIEVE LESS THAN OTHERS. WHAT ARE THEY SAYING TO THESE PEOPLE? WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO THESE PEOPLE? WHAT ENABLING CAPACITIES DO THEY OFFER THESE PEOPLE? IF THESE PEOPLE COME WITH CERTAIN DEFICIENCIES, HOW DO WE COMPENSATE FOR THAT? HOW DO WE CORRECT THAT? HOW DO WE GIVE THEM MORE ATTENTION, GIVEN THAT THEY COME WITH LESS TO WORK WITH? WHAT IS OUR ATTITUDE? A WHOLE QUESTION OF PEDAGOGY, ALSO. BUT I WANT TO GET BACK TO THE WHOLE CONTEXT OF RACISM. I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THAT. BECAUSE IF WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THAT, WE MISSED A MAJOR POINT HERE. WHEN I AM TALKING ABOUT RACISM, I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND, I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT PREJUDICE. AGAIN, GETTING AWAY FROM JUST ATTITUDE. ATTITUDE, SOMEBODY GOT ALTITUDE, WE SAY GET SOME THERAPY. THEY DON'T LIKE YOU, HEY, GET THERAPY. IF THOSE PEOPLE CAN TURN THAT ATTITUDE INTO PUBLIC POLICY AND INTO EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES, THEN THAT'S A PROBLEM FOR ME. OKAY. AND SO RACISM IS A SYSTEM OF DENIAL, DEFAMATION AND DESTRUCTION OF A PEOPLE'S HISTORY, HUMANITY, AND RIGHT TO FREEDOM BASED EXCLUSIVELY OR PRIMARILY ON THE SPECIOUS, FALSE CONCEPT OF RACE. WHEN I SAY RACE US SPECIOUS, SEEMING TO BE REAL BUT NOT. I MEAN STRIPPED OF ALL PSEUDO SCIENTIFIC MYSTIFICATION. IT'S NOTHING BUT A SOCIO BIOLOGICAL CATEGORY USED TO ASSIGN HUMAN WORTH AND SOCIAL STATUS USING WHITE PEOPLE AS THE MODEL. IN OTHER WORDS, THE CLOSER YOU ARE TO WHITE, THE HIGHER YOUR HUMAN WORTH AND HIGHER YOUR SOCIAL STATUS. FURTHER YOU ARE AWAY FROM WHITE, THE LOWER YOUR HUMAN WORTH AND LOWER YOUR SOCIAL STATUS. THAT HAPPENS NOT ONLY IN QUESTIONS OF BLACK PEOPLE IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE POLICE AND HOW THEY TREAT THEM, BUT ALSO IN EMPLOYMENT, IN EDUCATION, AND OTHER AREAS OF LIFE WHAT WE CALL CRITICAL SPACE. IN THESE CRITICAL SPACES, PEOPLE ARE EITHER ENCOURAGED OR DISCOURAGED. THEY ARE ADVANCED OR PUSHED BACK OR PREVENTED FROM REALIZING THE INHERIT CAPACITY THAT ALL HUMAN BEINGS HAVE. SO WHAT I WANT US TO DO IS SEE THAT ACHIEVEMENT GAP IS A SOCIAL PROBLEM, NOT A RACIAL PROBLEM. IT IS JUST LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, CRIME. YOU SEE, THEY CALL CRIME A RACIAL PROBLEM. THEY SAY BLACK CRIME, BUT THEY DON'T EVER SAY WHITE CRIME. WHITE PEOPLE FOUGHT ALL THE WORLD WARS WE KNOW, AND KILLED JUST WORLD WAR II ALONE, OVER 40 MILLION. PEOPLE DON'T SAY, WHAT IS WRONG WITH WHITE CRIME, WHY WHITE PEOPLE KILLING EACH OTHER. >>WHAT THEY DO WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT BLACK CRIME, THEY RACIALIZE CRIME AND CRIMINALIZE THE RACE. WHEN YOU RACIALIZE THE DEFICIENCY OR LACK OF ACHIEVEMENT, YOU, IN FACT, INDICT THE PEOPLE WITH THAT, AND YOU INDICT THEM RACIALLY, I.E., GENETICALLY, AND YOU BUILD IN A SYSTEM OF DEPRIVATION AND DEGRADATION AND EVEN DOMINATION OF THESE PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE THEY NEED DISCIPLINE RATHER THAN KNOWLEDGE. SO THE TEACHERS SPEND MOST OF THE TIME DISCIPLINING THEM OR HOLDING THEM IN CHECK OR FINDING WAYS TO CHECK THEM RATHER THAN TEACH THEM. SO THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH, THIS CONCEPT OF RACISM AND PRACTICE. JUST THIS LAST POINT, RACISM EXPRESSES ITSELF IN THREE BASIC WAYS SO THAT THE TEACHER KNOWS THAT WHEN SHE OR HE IS TEACHING, THAT THEY BECOME AN AGENT OF THE SYSTEM. BECAUSE RACISM IN THE SYSTEM, IT IS NOT JUST AN ATTITUDE. IT IS FIRST AN IMPOSITION. SECOND IT IS IDEOLOGY, AND THIRD, INSTITUTION ARRANGEMENT. IT IS IMPOSITION BECAUSE IT IS AN ACT OF FORCE AND VIOLENCE. THERE IS A CONQUEST INVOLVED, THERE IS A DOMINATION INVOLVED. SOMEONE RULES THIS SOCIETY, AND ITS NOT US. SO THOSE PEOPLE THAT RULE TEND TO PREFER THEIR OWN COMMUNITY, TEND TO GIVE PRIVILEGE TO THEIR OWN HISTORY AND CULTURE AND TEND TO DOMINATE, DEVALUE AND DEGRADE PEOPLE FROM THESE OTHER CULTURES, AND IN VARIOUS WAYS, PRACTICAL WAY. SECOND, IT IS IDEOLOGY. IT IS INFORMAL IDEOLOGY, WHAT THE AVERAGE RACIST MIGHT BELIEVE ABOUT INFERIORITY, BUT IT IS OFFICIAL IDEOLOGY THAT IS BACKED UP WITH STATISTICS AND PSEUDO SCIENCE THAT THESE PEOPLE NOT ONLY ARE DOMINATED, THEY DESERVE TO BE DOMINATED. THEY DESERVE TO BE DEPRIVED. THEY DESERVE TO BE CONTROLLED. THEY DESERVE WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE THEIR WORST ENEMY, AND IT IS NOT OUR FAULT. IT IS NOT THAT WE ENSLAVED THEM. IT IS NOT THAT WE PRACTICE HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF SEGREGATION AND DEPRIVATION, IT IS THEIR PROBLEM. WE MUST START LOOKING INTO SOCIO BIOLOGY AND SEE HOW BIOLOGY, OF COURSE, DETERMINES WHAT REALLY HAPPENS IN SOCIETY. I MEAN ALL KINDS OF THEORIES ARE DEVELOPED. THIS IDEOLOGY IS PSEUDO SCIENTIFIC, BUT IT SOUNDS STRONG WHEN INTELLECTUALS FROM THE ACADEMIES PUT IT FORTH. BUT IT IS STILL FAKE BECAUSE ANY TIME YOU LINK GENES AND CULTURE, YOU MAKE A PROBLEM. YOU MAKE A PROBLEM FOR YOURSELF. WE HAVE TO AVOID THAT. THE THIRD THING, OF COURSE, IS INSTITUTION ARRANGEMENT. A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THIS FIRST, BUT I ALSO WANT TO NEVER FORGET THE IMPOSITION THAT IS A FORCE AND VIOLENCE, THE CONQUEST OF THIS COUNTRY, THEN ENSLAVEMENT OF AFRICANS, THE DISPOSSESSION OF THE LATINO, THE BRUTAL LABOR EXPLOITATION OF ASIAN, ALL OF THIS SET THE PACE AND POINT FOR WHERE WE ARE NOW. OKAY. SO THIS INSTITUTION ARRAIGNMENT MEANS STRUCTURES AND PROCESSES, INSTITUTED TO MAINTAIN THE IMPOSITION, THAT'S DOMINANCE. IMPOSITION MEANS DOMINATION. YOU ARE A DOMINANT PEOPLE. THAT'S WHY DOMINATE AND SUBORDINATE GROUP. TO MAINTAIN DOMINANCE AND TO PERPETUATE THE IDEOLOGY, OKAY. SO WHAT HAPPENS IS INSTITUTION ARRANGEMENT HAPPENS IN THE SCHOOLS, IN THE CHURCH, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM, CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, HOWEVER YOU WANT, IN THE MEDIA, EVERY CRITICAL SPACE, THIS IDEOLOGY AND THIS DOMINANCE OBTAIN. AND IT IS THROUGH THESE STRUCTURES, THESE PROCESSES THAT THIS IDEOLOGY IS TAUGHT. >>GIVEN THE UNITED STATES' ROLE IN A GLOBAL SOCIETY, WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO AS AMERICANS TO BETTER PREPARE OURSELVES TO DEAL WITH THIS GLOBAL VILLAGE THAT WE NOW LIVE IN? >> WELL, I AM HOPING OUR PRESIDENT IS TRYING TO MOVE THE COUNTRY PAST THAT. BUT IT WOULD TAKE A LOT, AND I THINK THAT THIS ETHICS OF SHARING IS KEY TO THAT. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SHARING THE WORLD, YOU SEE, IT MEANS NOT DOMINATING IT, NOT DICTATING TO THE WORLD, NOT BELIEVING WE CAN BRING THEM DEMOCRACY THROUGH A MILITARY DICTATORSHIP. WE ARE GOING TO FORCE THEM TO BE FREE. YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THIS? OR TO BELIEVE THAT WE ARE THE BEST AT EVERYTHING. KIND OF RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS SUPERIORITY COMPLEXES. I THINK WE HAVE TO BACK UP AND, I THINK WE NEED A MOVEMENT. I REALLY BELIEVE UNLESS THERE IS A MOVEMENT, WHERE THE MASSES OF AMERICAN PEOPLE CERTAINLY BLACK PEOPLE PLAY AGAIN, A KEY ROLE IN THIS, BUT ALSO NATIVE AMERICANS, LATINOS, ASIANS, AND EUROPEAN, WILL COME TOGETHER AND SAY HOW DO WE SHARE THE WORLD. THAT'S THE QUESTION. HOW DO WE SHARE THE WORLD? IT HAS TO BE AN ETHICAL ISSUE. SEE A LOT OF TIMES, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, THEY INVADE THE COUNTRY, THEY DON'T SAY IT WAS ETHICALLY WRONG. THEY SAY IT WAS A WAR OF CHOICE. WE MADE A MISTAKE. ABOUT WHAT? YOU KILLED MILLIONS OF PEOPLE. THAT'S ALL YOU ARE GOING TO SAY, WE MADE A MISTAKE. IT WASN'T WISE? NO, IT WASN'T ETHICAL. IT WASN'T RIGHT, A IT WAS ILLEGAL. IT WAS IMMORAL. IT WAS UNJUSTIFIABLE. WE HAVE TO HAVE ETHICAL DISCOURSE. WE HAVE A PROCEDURAL DEMOCRACY, RIGHT. YOU KNOW, YOU -- IF YOU VOTE, BUT YOU KNOW WE MIGHT GET BAD CHOICES, EVEN WHEN WE VOTE. SAME WAY GOING TO COURT. I MEAN WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN PROFILING, BROUGHT TO COURT, WE DON'T HAVE A JURY OF OUR PEERS, A GOOD TRIAL OR FAIR TRIAL, MIGHT BE NO TRIAL AT ALL BECAUSE THE CIRCUMSTANCE THAT BROUGHT YOU TO COURT WAS WRONG. SO WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG, EVEN THOUGH I KNOW THESE ARE DIFFICULT QUESTIONS. WE AT LEAST MUST ENGAGE THEM. WE MUST THINK DEEPLY ABOUT THEM. IF WE THINK DEEPLY ABOUT THEM, THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE TO SHARING THE WORLD WE ALL LIVE IN AND LOVE. AND THAT SHARING AS AN ETHICS OF SHARING BEGINS, AS I SAID BEFORE, WITH THESE FOUR POINTS QUICKLY, MUTUAL RESPECT FOR EACH PEOPLE AND CULTURE AS UNIQUE AND EQUALLY VALUABLE WAY OF BEING HUMAN IN THE WORLD. SECOND, MUTUAL RESPECT FOR EACH PEOPLE'S RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY TO SPEAK THEIR OWN SPECIAL CULTURAL TRUTH, AND MAKE OWN UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION TO THE FLOW OF HUMAN HISTORY. THIRD, MUTUAL COMMITMENT TO THE CONSTANT SEARCH FOR COMMON GROUND IN MIDST OF OUR DIVERSITY. AND, FINALLY, MUTUAL COMMITMENT TO MANY TO THE ETHICS OF SHARING WHICH IS A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY FOR BUILDING THE GOOD WORLD WE ALL WANT AND DESERVE TO LIVE IN. BUT ALL OF IT, YOU WILL NOTICE BEGINS WITH RESPECT FOR THE OTHER.