[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.89,0:00:04.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What is up with us white people?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.05,0:00:07.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.88,0:00:10.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've been thinking about that a lot\Nthe last few years,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.37,0:00:12.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I know I have company.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.60,0:00:14.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Look, I get it, people of color
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.68,0:00:17.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have been asking\Nthat question for centuries,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.18,0:00:21.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I think a growing number\Nof white folks are too,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.69,0:00:24.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,given what's been going on out there
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.90,0:00:26.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in our country.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.68,0:00:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And notice I said,\N"What's up with us white people?"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.00,0:00:34.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because right now I'm not talking\Nabout those white people,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.48,0:00:38.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the ones with the swastikas\Nand the hoods and the tiki torches.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.95,0:00:42.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are a problem, and a threat.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.82,0:00:45.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They perpetrate most of\Nthe terrorism in our country,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.51,0:00:48.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as you all in Charlottesville\Nknow better than most.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.63,0:00:53.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I'm talking about something bigger,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.25,0:00:53.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more pervasive.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.90,0:00:55.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm talking about all of us,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.73,0:00:57.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,white folks writ large.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.11,0:01:01.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And maybe, especially,\Npeople sort of like me,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.02,0:01:03.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,self-described progressive,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.57,0:01:06.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,don't want to be racist,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.13,0:01:07.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"good" white people.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.43,0:01:09.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.48,0:01:12.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Any good white people in the room?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.33,0:01:13.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.30,0:01:15.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was raised to be that sort of person.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.19,0:01:18.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was a little kid in the '60s and '70s,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.45,0:01:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to give you some sense of my parents,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.00,0:01:23.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,actual public opinion polls at the time
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.77,0:01:26.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,showed that only a small minority,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.51,0:01:28.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about 20 percent of white Americans,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.74,0:01:30.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,approved and supported
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.66,0:01:34.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Martin Luther King and his work\Nwith the Civil Rights Movement
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.61,0:01:37.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while Dr. King was still alive.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.38,0:01:40.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm proud to say my parents\Nwere in that group.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.53,0:01:44.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Race got talked about in our house,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.79,0:01:48.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and when the shows that dealt\Nwith race would come on the television,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.99,0:01:51.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they would sit us kids down,\Nmake sure we watch:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.15,0:01:52.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Sidney Poitier movies, "Roots."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.43,0:01:58.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The message was loud and clear,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.23,0:02:00.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I got it.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.18,0:02:04.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Racism is wrong. Racists are bad people.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.87,0:02:08.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At the same time,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.28,0:02:10.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we lived in a very\Nwhite place in Minnesota,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.03,0:02:12.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I'll just speak for myself,\NI think that allowed me to believe
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.01,0:02:14.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that those white racists on the TV screen
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.90,0:02:15.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were being beamed in\Nfrom some other place.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.62,0:02:20.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It wasn't about us, really.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.21,0:02:26.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I did not feel implicated.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.46,0:02:31.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I would say I'm still in recovery\Nfrom that early impression.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.48,0:02:35.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I got into journalism
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.25,0:02:39.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in part because I cared about things\Nlike equality and justice.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.84,0:02:45.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For a long time, racism was just\Nsuch a puzzle to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.16,0:02:49.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why is it still with us\Nwhen it's so clearly wrong?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.81,0:02:53.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why such a persistent force?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.44,0:02:58.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe I was puzzled because\NI wasn't yet looking in the right place
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.32,0:03:01.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or asking the right questions.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.07,0:03:03.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Have you noticed
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.64,0:03:07.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that when people in our mostly white media
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.79,0:03:10.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,report on what they consider\Nto be racial issues,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.69,0:03:13.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what we consider to be racial issues,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.08,0:03:15.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what that usually means\Nis that we're pointing our cameras
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.65,0:03:19.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and our microphones and our gaze
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.10,0:03:22.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at people of color, asking questions like,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.22,0:03:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"How are Black folks or Native Americans,\NLatino, or Asian Americans,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.00,0:03:29.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how are they doing?"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.08,0:03:32.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a given community,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.59,0:03:34.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or with respect to some issue:
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.69,0:03:39.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the economy, education.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.10,0:03:40.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've done my share\Nof that kind of journalism
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.09,0:03:41.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,over many years.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.91,0:03:45.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But then George Zimmerman\Nkilled Trayvon Martin,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.81,0:03:51.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,followed by this unending string\Nof high-profile police shootings
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.47,0:03:53.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of unarmed Black people, the rise\Nof the Black Lives Matter movement,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.50,0:03:58.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dylann Roof and the Charleston Massacre,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.77,0:04:00.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,#OscarsSoWhite,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.92,0:04:06.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all the incidents from the day to day
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.29,0:04:08.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of American life,\Nthese overtly racist incidents
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.53,0:04:14.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we now get to see\Nbecause they're captured on smartphones
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.74,0:04:15.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sent across the internet.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.29,0:04:17.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And beneath those visible events,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.05,0:04:19.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the stubborn data,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.47,0:04:24.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the studies showing systemic racism\Nin every institution we have:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.12,0:04:27.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,housing segregation, job discrimination,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.28,0:04:32.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the deeply racialized inequities in\Nour schools and criminal justice system.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.20,0:04:34.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what really did it for me,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.94,0:04:37.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I know I'm not alone in this either,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.65,0:04:39.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the rise of Donald Trump
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.65,0:04:44.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the discovery that\Na solid majority of white Americans
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.95,0:04:47.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would embrace or at least accept
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.73,0:04:52.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such a raw, bitter kind\Nof white identity politics.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.35,0:04:59.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was all disturbing to me\Nas a human being.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.40,0:05:04.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As a journalist, I found myself\Nturning the lens around,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.77,0:05:07.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thinking,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.25,0:05:09.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wow, white folks are the story.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.28,0:05:11.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Whiteness is a story.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.75,0:05:13.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And also thinking,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.68,0:05:16.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can I do that?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.69,0:05:21.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What would a podcast series\Nabout whiteness sound like?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:21.01,0:05:24.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And oh, by the way,\Nthis could get uncomfortable.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.18,0:05:31.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had seen almost no journalism\Nthat looked deeply at whiteness,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.70,0:05:35.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but of course people of color\Nand especially Black intellectuals
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.77,0:05:39.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have made sharp critiques of\Nwhite supremacist culture for centuries,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.86,0:05:42.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I knew that in the last\Ntwo or three decades,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.46,0:05:45.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,scholars had done interesting work
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.06,0:05:48.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,looking at race through\Nthe frame of whiteness,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.51,0:05:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what it is, how we got it,\Nhow it works in the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.00,0:05:54.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I started reading,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.90,0:06:00.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I reached out to some leading experts\Non race and the history of race.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.84,0:06:04.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the first questions I asked was,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.52,0:06:08.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where did this idea\Nof being a white person
Dialogue: 0,0:06:08.46,0:06:10.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,come from in the first place?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.79,0:06:13.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Science is clear.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.56,0:06:15.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are one human race.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:15.73,0:06:19.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're all related,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.69,0:06:21.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all descended from\Na common ancestor in Africa.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.18,0:06:24.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some people walked out of Africa\Ninto colder, darker places
Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.78,0:06:27.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and lost a lot of their melanin,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.42,0:06:29.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some of us more than others.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.32,0:06:36.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But genetically we are all\N99.9 percent the same.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.63,0:06:41.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's more genetic diversity\Nwithin what we call racial groups
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.78,0:06:44.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than there is between racial groups.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:44.39,0:06:48.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's no gene for whiteness\Nor blackness or Asian-ness
Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.34,0:06:50.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or what half you.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.84,0:06:53.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So how did this happen?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.09,0:06:54.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How did we get this thing?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:54.100,0:06:57.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How did racism start?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:57.100,0:07:01.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think if you had asked me\Nto speculate on that,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.61,0:07:04.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in my ignorance, some years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:04.50,0:07:06.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I probably would have said,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.71,0:07:11.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,well, I guess somewhere\Nback in deep history,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.30,0:07:15.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people encountered one another,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.41,0:07:16.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they found each other strange,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:16.21,0:07:18.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,your skin is a different color,\Nyour hair is different,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:18.20,0:07:19.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you dress funny.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.89,0:07:22.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I guess I'll just go ahead\Nand jump to the conclusion
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.31,0:07:23.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that since you're different
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.72,0:07:26.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you're somehow less than me,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.15,0:07:29.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and maybe that makes it OK\Nfor me to mistreat you.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:29.75,0:07:31.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.34,0:07:34.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Is that something like\Nwhat we imagine or assume?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.98,0:07:36.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And under that kind of scenario,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.71,0:07:39.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's all a big tragic misunderstanding.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:41.66,0:07:43.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it seems that's wrong.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.79,0:07:48.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,First of all, race is a recent invention.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:48.12,0:07:50.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's just a few hundred years old.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.59,0:07:53.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Before that, yes,\Npeople divided themselves
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.76,0:07:56.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by religion, tribal group,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:56.85,0:07:59.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,language, things like that,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:59.12,0:08:02.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but for most of human history,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.04,0:08:04.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people had no notion of race.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:04.02,0:08:06.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In Ancient Greece, for example,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.29,0:08:08.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I learned this from\Nthe historian Nell Irvin Painter,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.98,0:08:13.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Greeks thought they were better\Nthan the other people they knew about,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.90,0:08:15.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but not because of some idea\Nthat they were innately superior.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:15.82,0:08:22.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They just thought that they'd developed\Nthe most advanced culture.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:22.37,0:08:25.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So they looked around at the Ethiopians,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.98,0:08:28.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also the Persians and the Celts,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:28.18,0:08:31.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they said, "They're all\Nkind of barbaric compared to us.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.68,0:08:33.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Culturally, they're\Njust not Greek, right?"
Dialogue: 0,0:08:33.67,0:08:38.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And yes, in the ancient world,\Nthere was lots of slavery,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.26,0:08:40.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but people enslaved people\Nwho didn't look like them
Dialogue: 0,0:08:40.65,0:08:45.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they often enslaved people who did.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.00,0:08:48.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Did you know that the English word "slave"
Dialogue: 0,0:08:48.100,0:08:51.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is derived from the word "Slav"?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.18,0:08:56.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because Slavic people were enslaved\Nby all kinds of folks,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:56.65,0:08:57.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,including Western Europeans,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:57.90,0:09:00.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for centuries.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:00.20,0:09:02.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Slavery wasn't about race,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:02.80,0:09:07.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,either because no one\Nhad thought up race yet.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:07.01,0:09:09.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So who did?
Dialogue: 0,0:09:10.06,0:09:13.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I put that question\Nto another leading historian,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.20,0:09:14.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ibram Kendi.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:14.67,0:09:18.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I didn't expect he would answer\Nthe question in the form
Dialogue: 0,0:09:18.94,0:09:20.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of one person's name and a date,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:20.41,0:09:22.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as if we were talking\Nabout the light bulb.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:22.25,0:09:23.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:09:23.48,0:09:24.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But he did.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:24.80,0:09:26.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:09:26.74,0:09:30.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said, in his exhaustive research\Nhe found what he believed to be
Dialogue: 0,0:09:30.80,0:09:33.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the first articulation of racist ideas,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.32,0:09:36.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he named the culprit.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.18,0:09:37.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This guy should be more famous,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:37.69,0:09:38.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or infamous.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.94,0:09:42.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,His name is Gomes de Zurara.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:42.28,0:09:44.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Portuguese man.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:44.50,0:09:46.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Wrote a book in the 1450s
Dialogue: 0,0:09:46.62,0:09:49.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in which he did something\Nthat no one had ever done before,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:49.01,0:09:50.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,according to Dr. Kendi.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:50.59,0:09:54.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He lumped together\Nall the people of Africa,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:54.98,0:09:58.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a vast, diverse continent,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.18,0:10:00.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he described them as a distinct group,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:00.98,0:10:03.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,inferior and beastly.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.82,0:10:07.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Never mind that in that precolonial time
Dialogue: 0,0:10:07.22,0:10:13.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some of the most sophisticated cultures\Nin the world were in Africa.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:13.14,0:10:16.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why would this guy make this claim?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.30,0:10:18.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Turns out, it helps to follow the money.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:20.10,0:10:23.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,First of all, Zurara was hired\Nto write that book
Dialogue: 0,0:10:23.18,0:10:25.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the Portuguese king,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.39,0:10:27.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and just a few years before,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:27.45,0:10:29.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,slave traders,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:29.35,0:10:30.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,here we go,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:30.91,0:10:34.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,slave traders tied to the Portuguese crown
Dialogue: 0,0:10:34.46,0:10:37.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had effectively pioneered\Nthe Atlantic slave trade.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:37.84,0:10:41.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were the first Europeans\Nto sail directly to sub-Saharan Africa
Dialogue: 0,0:10:41.79,0:10:45.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to kidnap and enslave African people.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.38,0:10:47.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it was suddenly really helpful
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.70,0:10:50.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to have a story about the inferiority
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.80,0:10:52.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of African people
Dialogue: 0,0:10:52.59,0:10:54.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to justify this new trade
Dialogue: 0,0:10:55.82,0:10:57.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to other people, to the church,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.52,0:11:00.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to themselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:01.24,0:11:02.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And with the stroke of a pen,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.92,0:11:05.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Zurara invented both\Nblackness and whiteness,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:05.89,0:11:08.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because he basically created\Nthe notion of blackness
Dialogue: 0,0:11:08.95,0:11:13.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through this description of Africans,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:13.17,0:11:15.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as Dr. Kendi says,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:15.54,0:11:18.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,blackness has no meaning\Nwithout whiteness.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:18.95,0:11:21.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Other European countries followed
Dialogue: 0,0:11:21.15,0:11:24.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Portuguese lead
Dialogue: 0,0:11:24.19,0:11:27.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in looking to Africa for human property
Dialogue: 0,0:11:27.14,0:11:28.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and free labor
Dialogue: 0,0:11:28.62,0:11:31.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in adopting this fiction
Dialogue: 0,0:11:31.62,0:11:34.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about the inferiority of African people.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:35.84,0:11:38.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I found this clarifying.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:39.52,0:11:41.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Racism didn't start\Nwith a misunderstanding,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:41.82,0:11:43.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it started with a lie.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:44.12,0:11:48.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Meanwhile, over here in colonial America,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:48.50,0:11:50.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the people now calling themselves white
Dialogue: 0,0:11:50.32,0:11:53.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,got busy taking these racist ideas
Dialogue: 0,0:11:53.38,0:11:57.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and turning them into law,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:57.07,0:12:01.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,laws that stripped all human rights\Nfrom the people they were calling Black
Dialogue: 0,0:12:01.47,0:12:07.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and locking them into our particularly\Nvicious brand of chattel slavery,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:07.84,0:12:13.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and laws that gave even\Nthe poorest white people benefits,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:13.43,0:12:15.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not big benefits in material terms
Dialogue: 0,0:12:15.71,0:12:19.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the right to not be enslaved for life,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:19.02,0:12:23.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the right to not have your loved ones\Ntorn from your arms and sold,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:23.21,0:12:25.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sometimes real goodies.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:25.68,0:12:27.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The handouts of free land
Dialogue: 0,0:12:27.57,0:12:30.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to white places like Virginia
Dialogue: 0,0:12:30.37,0:12:32.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to white people only
Dialogue: 0,0:12:32.24,0:12:36.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,started long before\Nthe American Revolution
Dialogue: 0,0:12:36.15,0:12:38.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and continued long after.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:40.11,0:12:41.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now I can imagine
Dialogue: 0,0:12:41.64,0:12:45.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there would be people listening to me,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:45.56,0:12:47.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if they're still listening,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:47.29,0:12:49.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who might be thinking,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:49.31,0:12:52.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"C'mon, this is all ancient history.\NWhy does this matter?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:52.60,0:12:54.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Things have changed.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:54.12,0:12:57.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Can't we just get over it and move on?"
Dialogue: 0,0:12:58.36,0:13:00.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I would argue,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:00.53,0:13:02.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for me certainly,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:02.46,0:13:05.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,learning this history has brought\Na real shift in the way
Dialogue: 0,0:13:05.71,0:13:09.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I understand racism today.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:09.23,0:13:12.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To review, two quick takeaways\Nfrom what I've said so far.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:12.73,0:13:16.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One: race is not a thing biologically,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:16.33,0:13:19.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's a story some people decided to tell.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:19.86,0:13:22.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And two: people told that story\Nto justify the brutal exploitation
Dialogue: 0,0:13:22.84,0:13:28.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of other human beings for profit.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:28.67,0:13:31.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I didn't learn those two facts in school.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:31.13,0:13:32.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I suspect most of us didn't.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:32.58,0:13:35.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you did, you had a special teacher.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:35.89,0:13:36.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:36.72,0:13:38.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But once they sink in,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:38.71,0:13:42.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for one thing, it becomes clear
Dialogue: 0,0:13:42.28,0:13:46.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that racism is not mainly\Na problem of attitudes,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:46.05,0:13:48.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of individual bigotry.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:48.31,0:13:50.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No, it's a tool.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:50.86,0:13:53.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a tool to divide us
Dialogue: 0,0:13:53.48,0:13:55.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to prop up systems,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:55.34,0:13:57.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,economic, political and social systems
Dialogue: 0,0:13:57.75,0:14:01.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that advantage some people\Nand disadvantage others.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.91,0:14:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's a tool to convince\Na lot of white folks
Dialogue: 0,0:14:07.00,0:14:08.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who may or may not be getting a great deal
Dialogue: 0,0:14:08.30,0:14:11.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,out of our highly stratified society
Dialogue: 0,0:14:11.16,0:14:13.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to support the status quo.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:13.42,0:14:16.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Could be worse. At least I'm white."
Dialogue: 0,0:14:17.58,0:14:22.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Once I grasped the origins of racism,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:22.11,0:14:25.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I stopped being mystified by the fact\Nthat it's still with us.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:26.70,0:14:29.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I guess looking back\NI thought about racism
Dialogue: 0,0:14:29.45,0:14:32.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as being sort of like the flat Earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:32.36,0:14:35.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just bad, outdated thinking\Nthat would fade away on its own
Dialogue: 0,0:14:35.40,0:14:37.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before long.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:38.34,0:14:41.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But no, this tool of whiteness
Dialogue: 0,0:14:41.47,0:14:43.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is still doing the job\Nit was invented to do.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:43.77,0:14:46.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Powerful people go to work every day,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:46.02,0:14:50.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,leveraging and reinforcing\Nthis old weapon,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:50.37,0:14:52.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the halls of power,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:52.25,0:14:55.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in some broadcast studios\Nwe could mention,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:56.22,0:14:58.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we don't need to fuss\Nover whether these people
Dialogue: 0,0:14:58.38,0:15:00.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,believe what they're saying,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:00.28,0:15:02.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether they're really racist.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:02.45,0:15:05.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's not what it's about.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:05.10,0:15:08.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's about pocketbooks and power.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:10.00,0:15:13.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Finally, I think\Nthe biggest lesson of all,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:13.42,0:15:17.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and let me talk in particular\Nto the white folks for a minute,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:17.90,0:15:22.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,once we understand that people\Nwho look like us
Dialogue: 0,0:15:22.55,0:15:26.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,invented the very notion of race
Dialogue: 0,0:15:26.01,0:15:29.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in order to advantage themselves and us,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:30.22,0:15:34.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,isn't it easier to see that\Nit's our problem to solve?
Dialogue: 0,0:15:34.66,0:15:37.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a white people problem.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:37.32,0:15:40.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm embarrassed to say that\Nfor a long time I thought of racism
Dialogue: 0,0:15:40.43,0:15:44.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as being mainly a struggle\Nfor people of color to fight,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:44.62,0:15:47.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sort of like the people\Non the TV screen when I was a kid.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:48.90,0:15:52.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or, as if I was on the sidelines\Nat a sports contest,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:53.34,0:15:55.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on one side people of color,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:55.74,0:15:58.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the other those real racists,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:58.36,0:15:59.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Southern sheriff,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:59.50,0:16:01.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the people in hoods.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:01.20,0:16:04.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I was sincerely rooting\Nfor people of color to win the struggle.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:05.68,0:16:07.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But no.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:07.18,0:16:10.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are no sidelines.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:10.21,0:16:11.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're all in it.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:11.78,0:16:14.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are implicated.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:14.74,0:16:17.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if I'm not joining the struggle\Nto dismantle the system
Dialogue: 0,0:16:17.51,0:16:19.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that advantages me,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:19.71,0:16:21.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I am complicit.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:23.25,0:16:25.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This isn't about shame or guilt.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:25.89,0:16:29.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,White guilt doesn't get anything done,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:29.45,0:16:31.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and honestly I don't feel a lot of guilt.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:31.68,0:16:34.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,History isn't my fault or yours.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:34.89,0:16:41.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I do feel is a stronger sense\Nof responsibility to do something.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:41.43,0:16:46.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All this has altered the way\Nthat I think about and approach my work
Dialogue: 0,0:16:46.99,0:16:49.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a documentary storyteller
Dialogue: 0,0:16:49.100,0:16:51.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as a teacher,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:51.66,0:16:54.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but beyond that, besides that,\Nwhat does it mean,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:54.43,0:16:56.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what does it mean for any of us?
Dialogue: 0,0:16:57.35,0:17:00.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Does it mean that we support leaders
Dialogue: 0,0:17:00.90,0:17:03.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who want to push ahead with\Na conversation about reparations?
Dialogue: 0,0:17:04.03,0:17:07.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In our communities, are we finding
Dialogue: 0,0:17:07.64,0:17:10.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people who are working to transform\Nunjust institutions
Dialogue: 0,0:17:10.18,0:17:12.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and supporting that work?
Dialogue: 0,0:17:12.63,0:17:14.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At my job, am I the white person
Dialogue: 0,0:17:14.33,0:17:19.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who shows up grudgingly\Nfor the diversity and equity meeting
Dialogue: 0,0:17:19.36,0:17:23.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or am I trying to figure\Nout how to be a real accomplice
Dialogue: 0,0:17:24.92,0:17:25.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to my colleagues of color?
Dialogue: 0,0:17:25.88,0:17:27.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Seems to me wherever we show up
Dialogue: 0,0:17:27.82,0:17:31.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we need to show up with humility
Dialogue: 0,0:17:31.39,0:17:32.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and vulnerability
Dialogue: 0,0:17:32.94,0:17:38.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a willingness to put down\Nthis power that we did not earn.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:38.72,0:17:42.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I believe we also stand to benefit
Dialogue: 0,0:17:42.76,0:17:45.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if we could create a society
Dialogue: 0,0:17:45.85,0:17:51.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's not built on the exploitation\Nor oppression of anyone.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:51.66,0:17:53.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in the end we should do this,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:53.51,0:17:57.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we should show up,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:57.10,0:17:58.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,figure out how to take action,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:58.85,0:18:01.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it's right.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:02.100,0:18:04.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:04.80,0:18:07.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)