On a conference call with members of the Republican National Committee last night, Michael Steele ended several months of speculation and announced he will run again for chair of the RNC. His term as chairman has been marked by personal gaffes, attacks from prominent Republicans calling for his head, but also significant GOP pickups in both houses of Congress. Ron Christie, Republican political strategist, CEO of Christie Strategies, and author of Acting White: The Curious History of a Racial Slur, has been one of Steele's many critics, and he shares with us what he thinks the future holds for the RNC, GOP and Steele himself.
"You can no longer talk about what black America thinks or feels," writes Eugene Robinson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist, in a new book about the increasing disconnect between America's African-American communities. In Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America, Robinson argues that America's African-American population can now be divided into four distinct groups: the abandoned poor; immigrants and people of mixed race; the mainstream middle class; and the small but powerful elite. He describes how each group has a different 'black experience' and largely remains detached from the others.
We should have known about Juan Williams long ago. The signs of a simmering bigotry were always there. The political commentator wrote the book "Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965." He followed that up with an admiring biography of Thurgood Marshall. Then, more books on the African-American religious experience, historically black colleges and black farmers. If there was anyone clearly on the verge of exploding in a venomous rant against a minority group, it was Williams. And then, inevitably, it happened. At least that's what National Public Radio must believe. The government-funded media outfit fired Williams for comments on the Fox News program "The O'Reilly Factor" that wouldn't even be considered particularly controversial outside the hothouse of NPR.
The telling of history is a monumental task and responsibility that all historians hold sacred. Historian Thomas C. Holt has gained prominence as the one of the foremost respected historians of American and African-American History. Holt says in his new book, "Children of Fire: A History of Afircan Americans," he tried to build the history around a number of critical historical figures, begining with a 17th century slave who managed to gain freedom from slavery all the way through to the 21st century. He says the common thread throughout the book is following individulas who belonged and claimed their belonging in America.
We believe that all Black natural hair is good hair! Loving and accepting your hair is a key factor when deciding to wear your natural hair. In fact, adopting a "natural hair mentality" is an important part of going natural, both before and after the transition. Join us as we interview Stacy Gilbert, author of the book "Black Is Beautiful: A Guide to Loving Your God-Given Hair", and ask her what we can do to cultivate true love, appreciation, and acceptance of our curly/coily tresses.
CHARLIE ROSE: Isabel Wilkerson is here. In 1994 she became the first
African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in journalism. Her new book
"The Warmth of Other Suns," was 15 years in the making. It chronicles one
of the great untold stories of American history, the decades-long migration
of black citizens who fled the south for northern and western cities in
search of a better life.
I am very pleased to have Isabel Wilkerson at this table to talk about
this extraordinary, epic story. It is almost like if there’s a great story
waiting to be told, sometimes there’s a convergence with the perfect author
to write that story, and here it is in this book, "The Warmth of Other
Suns." So, welcome.
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