[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.52,0:00:04.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What is up with us white people?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.74,0:00:06.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.68,0:00:10.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've been thinking about that a lot\Nthe last few years,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.31,0:00:11.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I know I have company.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.27,0:00:13.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Look, I get it --
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.60,0:00:16.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people of color have been asking\Nthat question for centuries.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.34,0:00:21.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I think a growing number\Nof white folks are too,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.69,0:00:24.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,given what's been going on out there
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.70,0:00:25.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in our country.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.54,0:00:30.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And notice I said,\N"What's up with us white people?"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.91,0:00:34.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because right now, I'm not talking\Nabout those white people,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.89,0:00:38.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the ones with the swastikas\Nand the hoods and the tiki torches.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.40,0:00:42.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are a problem and a threat.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.51,0:00:45.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They perpetrate most of\Nthe terrorism in our country,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.04,0:00:48.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as you all in Charlottesville\Nknow better than most.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.33,0:00:53.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I'm talking about something bigger\Nand more pervasive.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.07,0:00:55.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm talking about all of us,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.38,0:00:57.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,white folks writ large.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.80,0:01:00.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And maybe, especially,\Npeople sort of like me,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.71,0:01:03.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,self-described progressive,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.31,0:01:05.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,don't want to be racist.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.88,0:01:07.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Good white people.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.82,0:01:09.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.12,0:01:11.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Any good white people in the room?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.05,0:01:12.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.15,0:01:15.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was raised to be that sort of person.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.73,0:01:18.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was a little kid in the '60s and '70s,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.22,0:01:21.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to give you some sense of my parents:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.08,0:01:23.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,actual public opinion polls at the time
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.72,0:01:28.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,showed that only a small minority,\Nabout 20 percent of white Americans,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.67,0:01:31.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,approved and supported
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.05,0:01:34.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Martin Luther King and his work\Nwith the civil rights movement
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.32,0:01:36.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while Dr. King was still alive.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.00,0:01:40.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm proud to say my parents\Nwere in that group.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.21,0:01:44.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Race got talked about in our house.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.58,0:01:48.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when the shows that dealt with race\Nwould come on the television,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.78,0:01:51.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they would sit us kids down,\Nmade sure we watched:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.98,0:01:54.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Sidney Poitier movies, "Roots" ...
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.24,0:01:57.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The message was loud and clear,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.95,0:01:59.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I got it:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.91,0:02:03.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,racism is wrong; racists are bad people.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.60,0:02:05.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At the same time,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.02,0:02:09.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we lived in a very\Nwhite place in Minnesota.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.85,0:02:11.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'll just speak for myself,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.48,0:02:17.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think that allowed me to believe\Nthat those white racists on the TV screen
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.46,0:02:20.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were being beamed in\Nfrom some other place.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.87,0:02:22.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It wasn't about us, really.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.58,0:02:25.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I did not feel implicated.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.25,0:02:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I would say, I'm still in recovery\Nfrom that early impression.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.26,0:02:33.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I got into journalism
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.96,0:02:39.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in part because I cared about things\Nlike equality and justice.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.56,0:02:44.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For a long time, racism\Nwas just such a puzzle to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.89,0:02:48.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why is it still with us\Nwhen it's so clearly wrong?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.42,0:02:52.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why such a persistent force?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.74,0:02:57.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe I was puzzled because\NI wasn't yet looking in the right place
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.17,0:02:59.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or asking the right questions.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.62,0:03:02.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Have you noticed
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.05,0:03:07.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that when people in our mostly white media
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.53,0:03:10.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,report on what they consider\Nto be racial issues,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.24,0:03:12.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what we consider to be racial issues,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.78,0:03:15.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what that usually means\Nis that we're pointing our cameras
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.61,0:03:17.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and our microphones and our gaze
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.50,0:03:19.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at people of color,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.54,0:03:21.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,asking questions like,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.72,0:03:26.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"How are Black folks or Native Americans,\NLatino or Asian Americans?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.69,0:03:28.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How are they doing?"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.81,0:03:32.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a given community\Nor with respect to some issue --
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.09,0:03:33.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the economy, education.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.54,0:03:39.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've done my share\Nof that kind of journalism
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.49,0:03:40.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,over many years.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.52,0:03:45.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But then George Zimmerman\Nkilled Trayvon Martin,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.62,0:03:51.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,followed by this unending string\Nof high-profile police shootings
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.26,0:03:52.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of unarmed Black people,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.00,0:03:55.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the rise of the Black\NLives Matter movement,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.54,0:03:58.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dylann Roof and the Charleston massacre,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.63,0:04:00.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,#OscarsSoWhite --
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.33,0:04:06.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all the incidents from\Nthe day-to-day of American life,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.48,0:04:08.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these overtly racist incidents
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.23,0:04:11.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we now get to see\Nbecause they're captured on smartphones
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.18,0:04:12.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sent across the internet.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.02,0:04:16.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And beneath those visible events,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.70,0:04:18.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the stubborn data,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.43,0:04:22.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the studies showing systemic racism\Nin every institution we have:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.69,0:04:26.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,housing segregation, job discrimination,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.97,0:04:29.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the deeply racialized\Ninequities in our schools
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.81,0:04:31.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and criminal justice system.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.72,0:04:34.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what really did it for me,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.31,0:04:36.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I know I'm not alone in this, either:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.38,0:04:39.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the rise of Donald Trump
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.38,0:04:44.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the discovery that\Na solid majority of white Americans
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.84,0:04:47.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would embrace or at least accept
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.93,0:04:52.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such a raw, bitter kind\Nof white identity politics.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.40,0:04:58.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was all disturbing to me\Nas a human being.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.78,0:05:04.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As a journalist, I found myself\Nturning the lens around,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.33,0:05:06.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thinking,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.08,0:05:08.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Wow, white folks are the story.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.87,0:05:11.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Whiteness is a story,"
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.56,0:05:15.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And also thinking, "Can I do that?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.21,0:05:19.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What would a podcast series\Nabout whiteness sound like?"
Dialogue: 0,0:05:19.44,0:05:20.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.86,0:05:23.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"And oh, by the way --\Nthis could get uncomfortable."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.40,0:05:31.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had seen almost no journalism\Nthat looked deeply at whiteness,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.36,0:05:35.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but, of course, people of color\Nand especially Black intellectuals
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.34,0:05:37.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have made sharp critiques\Nof white supremacist culture
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.01,0:05:39.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for centuries,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.49,0:05:41.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I knew that in the last\Ntwo or three decades,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.86,0:05:44.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,scholars had done interesting work
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.46,0:05:47.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,looking at race\Nthrough the frame of whiteness,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.98,0:05:51.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what it is, how we got it,\Nhow it works in the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.03,0:05:54.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I started reading,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.90,0:05:59.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I reached out to some leading experts\Non race and the history of race.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.75,0:06:04.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the first questions I asked was,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.22,0:06:07.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Where did this idea\Nof being a white person
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.89,0:06:09.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,come from in the first place?"
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.59,0:06:12.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Science is clear.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.01,0:06:15.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are one human race.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:15.73,0:06:16.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're all related,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.100,0:06:19.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all descended from\Na common ancestor in Africa.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.77,0:06:24.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some people walked out of Africa\Ninto colder, darker places
Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.54,0:06:27.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and lost a lot of their melanin,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.12,0:06:28.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some of us more than others.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.89,0:06:30.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.04,0:06:36.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But genetically, we are all\N99.9 percent the same.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.16,0:06:41.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's more genetic diversity\Nwithin what we call racial groups
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.38,0:06:44.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than there is between racial groups.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:44.04,0:06:47.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's no gene for whiteness\Nor blackness or Asian-ness
Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.01,0:06:49.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or what have you.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.41,0:06:52.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So how did this happen?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:52.43,0:06:54.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How did we get this thing?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:54.41,0:06:56.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How did racism start?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:57.80,0:07:01.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think if you had asked me\Nto speculate on that,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.33,0:07:04.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in my ignorance, some years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:04.37,0:07:06.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I probably would have said,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.32,0:07:10.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Well, I guess somewhere\Nback in deep history,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.95,0:07:12.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people encountered one another,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.94,0:07:15.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they found each other strange.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.33,0:07:17.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,'Your skin is a different color,\Nyour hair is different,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.100,0:07:19.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you dress funny.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.56,0:07:22.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I guess I'll just go ahead\Nand jump to the conclusion
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.14,0:07:23.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that since you're different
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.47,0:07:25.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you're somehow less than me,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.62,0:07:28.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and maybe that makes it OK\Nfor me to mistreat you.'"
Dialogue: 0,0:07:29.28,0:07:30.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:30.46,0:07:33.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Is that something like\Nwhat we imagine or assume?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.61,0:07:36.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And under that kind of scenario,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.24,0:07:39.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's all a big, tragic misunderstanding.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:41.33,0:07:43.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it seems that's wrong.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.40,0:07:47.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,First of all, race is a recent invention.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.28,0:07:49.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's just a few hundred years old.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.89,0:07:53.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Before that, yes,\Npeople divided themselves
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.54,0:07:57.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by religion, tribal group, language,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.46,0:07:58.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,things like that.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.66,0:08:00.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But for most of human history,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.13,0:08:02.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people had no notion of race.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.66,0:08:05.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In Ancient Greece, for example --
Dialogue: 0,0:08:05.35,0:08:09.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I learned this from\Nthe historian Nell Irvin Painter --
Dialogue: 0,0:08:09.16,0:08:13.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Greeks thought they were better\Nthan the other people they knew about,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.61,0:08:17.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but not because of some idea\Nthat they were innately superior.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:17.55,0:08:21.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They just thought that they'd developed\Nthe most advanced culture.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:22.37,0:08:25.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So they looked around at the Ethiopians,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.74,0:08:27.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also the Persians and the Celts,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:27.86,0:08:30.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they said, "They're all\Nkind of barbaric compared to us.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.48,0:08:34.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Culturally, they're just not Greek."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:35.94,0:08:39.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And yes, in the ancient world,\Nthere was lots of slavery,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:39.96,0:08:42.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but people enslaved people\Nwho didn't look like them,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.77,0:08:45.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they often enslaved people who did.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:45.69,0:08:50.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Did you know that the English word "slave"\Nis derived from the word "Slav"?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:51.92,0:08:55.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because Slavic people were enslaved\Nby all kinds of folks,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:55.96,0:08:57.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,including Western Europeans,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:57.67,0:09:00.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for centuries.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:00.68,0:09:02.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Slavery wasn't about race,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:02.86,0:09:05.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,either because no one\Nhad thought up race yet.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:07.42,0:09:08.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So who did?
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.40,0:09:12.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I put that question\Nto another leading historian,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:12.64,0:09:14.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ibram Kendi.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:14.56,0:09:16.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I didn't expect\Nhe would answer the question
Dialogue: 0,0:09:16.88,0:09:19.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the form of one person's\Nname and a date,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.44,0:09:21.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as if we were talking\Nabout the light bulb.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:21.57,0:09:22.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:09:23.04,0:09:24.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But he did.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:24.34,0:09:25.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:09:26.52,0:09:29.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said, in his exhaustive research,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:29.03,0:09:33.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he found what he believed to be\Nthe first articulation of racist ideas.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:33.97,0:09:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he named the culprit.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.02,0:09:37.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This guy should be more famous,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:37.53,0:09:38.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or infamous.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.74,0:09:41.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,His name is Gomes de Zurara.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:41.99,0:09:43.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Portuguese man.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:43.20,0:09:46.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Wrote a book in the 1450s
Dialogue: 0,0:09:46.13,0:09:48.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in which he did something\Nthat no one had ever done before,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.96,0:09:50.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,according to Dr. Kendi.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:50.89,0:09:54.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He lumped together\Nall the people of Africa --
Dialogue: 0,0:09:54.43,0:09:56.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a vast, diverse continent --
Dialogue: 0,0:09:57.41,0:10:00.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he described them as a distinct group,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:00.52,0:10:02.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,inferior and beastly.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.39,0:10:06.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Never mind that in that precolonial time
Dialogue: 0,0:10:06.79,0:10:10.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some of the most sophisticated cultures\Nin the world were in Africa.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:12.18,0:10:15.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why would this guy make this claim?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.78,0:10:19.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Turns out, it helps to follow the money.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:19.86,0:10:22.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,First of all, Zurara was hired\Nto write that book
Dialogue: 0,0:10:22.83,0:10:25.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the Portuguese king,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.11,0:10:26.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and just a few years before,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:26.97,0:10:29.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,slave traders --
Dialogue: 0,0:10:29.10,0:10:30.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,here we go --
Dialogue: 0,0:10:30.43,0:10:33.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,slave traders tied to the Portuguese crown
Dialogue: 0,0:10:34.13,0:10:37.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had effectively pioneered\Nthe Atlantic slave trade.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:37.51,0:10:41.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were the first Europeans\Nto sail directly to sub-Saharan Africa
Dialogue: 0,0:10:41.56,0:10:44.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to kidnap and enslave African people.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.04,0:10:47.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it was suddenly really helpful
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.55,0:10:52.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to have a story about\Nthe inferiority of African people
Dialogue: 0,0:10:52.08,0:10:54.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to justify this new trade
Dialogue: 0,0:10:55.21,0:10:56.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to other people, to the church,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:56.90,0:10:58.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to themselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.10,0:11:02.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And with the stroke of a pen,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.56,0:11:05.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Zurara invented both\Nblackness and whiteness,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:05.53,0:11:09.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because he basically created\Nthe notion of blackness
Dialogue: 0,0:11:09.70,0:11:12.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through this description of Africans,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:12.76,0:11:15.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as Dr. Kendi says,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:15.22,0:11:17.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,blackness has no meaning\Nwithout whiteness.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:18.73,0:11:22.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Other European countries followed\Nthe Portuguese lead
Dialogue: 0,0:11:24.06,0:11:28.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in looking to Africa\Nfor human property and free labor
Dialogue: 0,0:11:28.37,0:11:31.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in adopting this fiction
Dialogue: 0,0:11:31.32,0:11:33.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about the inferiority of African people.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:35.55,0:11:37.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I found this clarifying.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:39.22,0:11:41.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Racism didn't start\Nwith a misunderstanding,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:41.42,0:11:43.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it started with a lie.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.11,0:11:47.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Meanwhile, over here in colonial America,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:47.85,0:11:54.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the people now calling themselves white\Ngot busy taking these racist ideas
Dialogue: 0,0:11:54.18,0:11:55.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and turning them into law,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:56.87,0:12:02.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,laws that stripped all human rights\Nfrom the people they were calling Black
Dialogue: 0,0:12:02.90,0:12:07.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and locking them into our particularly\Nvicious brand of chattel slavery,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:07.41,0:12:11.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and laws that gave even\Nthe poorest white people benefits,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:11.80,0:12:15.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not big benefits in material terms
Dialogue: 0,0:12:15.34,0:12:17.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the right to not be enslaved for life,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:18.78,0:12:22.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the right to not have your loved ones\Ntorn from your arms and sold,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:22.78,0:12:25.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sometimes real goodies.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:25.15,0:12:30.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The handouts of free land\Nin places like Virginia
Dialogue: 0,0:12:30.11,0:12:31.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to white people only
Dialogue: 0,0:12:31.82,0:12:35.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,started long before\Nthe American Revolution
Dialogue: 0,0:12:35.83,0:12:37.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and continued long after.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:40.03,0:12:42.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I can imagine
Dialogue: 0,0:12:42.32,0:12:46.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there would be people listening to me --\Nif they're still listening --
Dialogue: 0,0:12:46.69,0:12:48.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who might be thinking,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:48.09,0:12:52.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Come on, this is all ancient history.\NWhy does this matter?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:52.48,0:12:53.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Things have changed.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:53.77,0:12:55.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Can't we just get over it and move on?"
Dialogue: 0,0:12:56.90,0:12:58.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:58.42,0:13:01.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I would argue, for me certainly,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:02.90,0:13:05.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,learning this history\Nhas brought a real shift
Dialogue: 0,0:13:05.14,0:13:07.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the way that I understand racism today.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:08.93,0:13:12.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To review, two quick takeaways\Nfrom what I've said so far:
Dialogue: 0,0:13:12.44,0:13:15.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one, race is not a thing biologically,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:15.94,0:13:19.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's a story some people decided to tell;
Dialogue: 0,0:13:19.56,0:13:21.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and two, people told that story
Dialogue: 0,0:13:21.54,0:13:27.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to justify the brutal exploitation\Nof other human beings for profit.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:28.38,0:13:30.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I didn't learn those two facts in school.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:30.42,0:13:32.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I suspect most of us didn't.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:32.22,0:13:34.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you did, you had a special teacher.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:35.32,0:13:36.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:36.50,0:13:37.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But once they sink in,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:38.84,0:13:41.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for one thing, it becomes clear
Dialogue: 0,0:13:41.57,0:13:45.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that racism is not mainly\Na problem of attitudes,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:45.57,0:13:47.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of individual bigotry.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:48.63,0:13:50.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No, it's a tool.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:50.56,0:13:54.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a tool to divide us\Nand to prop up systems --
Dialogue: 0,0:13:54.82,0:13:57.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,economic, political and social systems
Dialogue: 0,0:13:57.63,0:14:00.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that advantage some people\Nand disadvantage others.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.51,0:14:03.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's a tool to convince\Na lot of white folks
Dialogue: 0,0:14:03.79,0:14:09.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who may or may not be getting a great deal\Nout of our highly stratified society
Dialogue: 0,0:14:09.100,0:14:11.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to support the status quo.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:12.97,0:14:15.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Could be worse. At least I'm white."
Dialogue: 0,0:14:17.58,0:14:20.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Once I grasped the origins of racism,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:20.96,0:14:24.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I stopped being mystified by the fact\Nthat it's still with us.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:26.25,0:14:27.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I guess, you know, looking back,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:27.84,0:14:31.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I thought about racism\Nas being sort of like the flat Earth --
Dialogue: 0,0:14:31.71,0:14:34.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just bad, outdated thinking\Nthat would fade away on its own
Dialogue: 0,0:14:34.73,0:14:35.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before long.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:37.96,0:14:39.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But no, this tool of whiteness
Dialogue: 0,0:14:39.91,0:14:42.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is still doing the job\Nit was invented to do.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:43.30,0:14:45.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Powerful people go to work every day,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:45.63,0:14:49.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,leveraging and reinforcing\Nthis old weapon
Dialogue: 0,0:14:49.92,0:14:51.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the halls of power,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:51.85,0:14:54.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in some broadcast studios\Nwe could mention ...
Dialogue: 0,0:14:55.60,0:14:57.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we don't need to fuss over
Dialogue: 0,0:14:57.08,0:14:59.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether these people\Nbelieve what they're saying,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:59.46,0:15:01.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether they're really racist.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:01.91,0:15:03.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's not what it's about.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:03.57,0:15:06.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's about pocketbooks and power.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:09.03,0:15:12.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Finally, I think\Nthe biggest lesson of all --
Dialogue: 0,0:15:12.89,0:15:16.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and let me talk in particular\Nto the white folks for a minute:
Dialogue: 0,0:15:19.19,0:15:22.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,once we understand that people\Nwho look like us
Dialogue: 0,0:15:22.37,0:15:25.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,invented the very notion of race
Dialogue: 0,0:15:26.42,0:15:29.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in order to advantage themselves and us,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:29.54,0:15:33.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,isn't it easier to see\Nthat it's our problem to solve?
Dialogue: 0,0:15:34.30,0:15:36.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a white people problem.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:36.97,0:15:39.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm embarrassed to say\Nthat for a long time,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:39.20,0:15:44.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I thought of racism as being mainly\Na struggle for people of color to fight,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:44.40,0:15:47.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sort of like the people\Non the TV screen when I was a kid.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:48.62,0:15:52.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or, as if I was on the sidelines\Nat a sports contest,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:52.79,0:15:54.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on one side people of color,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:54.60,0:15:57.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the other those real racists,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:57.46,0:15:58.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Southern sheriff,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:58.84,0:16:00.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the people in hoods.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:00.64,0:16:03.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I was sincerely rooting\Nfor people of color to win the struggle.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:05.41,0:16:06.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But no.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:06.91,0:16:08.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are no sidelines.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:09.56,0:16:10.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're all in it.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:11.25,0:16:12.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are implicated.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:14.12,0:16:17.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if I'm not joining the struggle\Nto dismantle a system
Dialogue: 0,0:16:17.04,0:16:19.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that advantages me,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:19.39,0:16:20.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I am complicit.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:22.68,0:16:24.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This isn't about shame or guilt.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:25.41,0:16:27.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,White guilt doesn't get anything done,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:27.46,0:16:30.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and honestly, I don't feel a lot of guilt.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:30.70,0:16:33.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,History isn't my fault or yours.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:34.41,0:16:38.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I do feel is a stronger sense\Nof responsibility
Dialogue: 0,0:16:39.45,0:16:40.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to do something.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:42.60,0:16:47.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All this has altered the way\Nthat I think about and approach my work
Dialogue: 0,0:16:47.19,0:16:49.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a documentary storyteller
Dialogue: 0,0:16:49.42,0:16:50.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as a teacher.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:51.56,0:16:53.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But beyond that, besides that,\Nwhat does it mean?
Dialogue: 0,0:16:53.97,0:16:55.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What does it mean for any of us?
Dialogue: 0,0:16:56.99,0:16:59.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Does it mean that we support leaders
Dialogue: 0,0:16:59.74,0:17:02.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who want to push ahead\Nwith a conversation about reparations?
Dialogue: 0,0:17:03.68,0:17:04.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In our communities,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:04.86,0:17:09.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are we finding people who are working\Nto transform unjust institutions
Dialogue: 0,0:17:09.91,0:17:11.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and supporting that work?
Dialogue: 0,0:17:12.31,0:17:13.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At my job,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:13.79,0:17:16.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,am I the white person\Nwho shows up grudgingly
Dialogue: 0,0:17:16.16,0:17:18.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the diversity and equity meeting,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:19.00,0:17:21.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or am I trying to figure out\Nhow to be a real accomplice
Dialogue: 0,0:17:21.78,0:17:23.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to my colleagues of color?
Dialogue: 0,0:17:24.69,0:17:27.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Seems to me wherever we show up,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:28.27,0:17:32.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we need to show up with humility\Nand vulnerability
Dialogue: 0,0:17:32.65,0:17:37.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a willingness to put down\Nthis power that we did not earn.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:40.88,0:17:43.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I believe we also stand to benefit
Dialogue: 0,0:17:43.71,0:17:45.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if we could create a society
Dialogue: 0,0:17:45.85,0:17:49.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's not built on the exploitation\Nor oppression of anyone.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:50.68,0:17:53.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in the end we should do this,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:53.86,0:17:55.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we should show up,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:55.19,0:17:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,figure out how to take action.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:58.10,0:17:59.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because it's right.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:02.25,0:18:03.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:03.48,0:18:06.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)