FOLKS, MY NEXT GUEST IS AN EMMY AND PEABODY AWARD- WINNING
DOCUMENTARIAN AND THE DIRECTOR OF THE HUTCHINS CENTER FOR
AFRICAN AND AFRICAN AMERICAN RESEARCH AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY.
PLEASE WELCOME OUR FRIEND, HENRY LOUIS GATES!
♪ ♪ ♪
( CHEERS ).
>> THANK YOU.
THANK YOU.
>> Stephen: PLEASE.
PLEASE, SIR.
>> THANK YOU.
>> Stephen: GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
>> NICE TO SEE YOU.
>> Stephen: YOU HAVE BEEN-- MANY PEOPLE MAY KNOW YOU OUT
THERE ARE FOR "FACES OF AMERICA," "FINDING YOUR ROOTS,"
TWO JUST ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, POPULAR SHOWS.
( APPLAUSE ).
>> THANK YOU.
>> Stephen: YOU'VE DONE FOR 10-PLUS YEARS, SOMETHING LIKE
THAT, TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE'S ROOTS.
I WAS HONORED TO BE ONE OF THE FACES OF AMERICA.
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
>> Stephen: I THINK YOU INTERVIEWED ME ALMOST NINE, 10
YEARS AGO, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
>> YOU WERE ONE OF THE FIRST WHITE PEOPLE I EVER ANALYZED.
( LAUGHTER ).
>> Stephen: YES.
AND I REMEMBER WHEN YOU ACTUALLY DID ALL THE D.N.A., YOU KNOW,
TESTING ON ME AND FOLLOWED MY FAMILY'S ROOTS ALL THE WAY BACK
TO IRELAND, I REMEMBER ASKING YOU, "WELL, WHAT'S MY MAKEUP?"
AND DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT YOU SAID?
>> "100% WHITE MAN."
( LAUGHTER ).
>> Stephen: YOU SAID, "YOU'RE WHITE, BAB.
YOU'RE THE WHITEST MAN I EVER MET."
>> THE WHITEST MAN.
AND GUESS WHAT?
YOU ARE PURER THAN IVORY SOAP.
>> Stephen: OH, YEAH, THAT'S 99.9, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
>> YEAH, EXCEPT-- I HAVE GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT YOU'RE STILL PURER THAN IVORY SOAP.
THE BAD NEWS IS THAT CONAN IS MORE IRISH THAN YOU ARE.
>> Stephen: YEAH, HE TOLD ME.
HE TOLD ME.
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: HE SAID-- HE SAID THAT HE'S 100% IRISH TO THE
POINT THAT HIS DOCTOR TOLD HIM THERE'S A VERY GOOD CHANCE HE'S
INBRED.
SO I'VE GOT THAT ON HIM.
I'VE GOT THAT ON HIM.
>> YOU KNOW WHAT?
WE HAVEN'T TESTED HIM.
SO WHEN YOU SEE HIM, TELL HIM OPEN DOOR.
WE'D LOVE TO HAVE HIM AS A GUEST.
>> Stephen: YOU WENT TO HARVARD, HE'S AT HARVARD.
WHAT'S HOLDING YOU BACK?
>> BUT WE DID TEST PRINCE.
SOMEONE YOU KNOW.
>> Stephen: YES.
AND THE RESULTS?
>> HE'S A-- HE'S NOT FROM IRELAND, LET ME PUT IT LIKE
THAT.
>> Stephen: YOU'VE GOT A NEW PBS DOCU-SERIES "RECONSTRUCTION:
AMERICA AFTER THE CIVIL WAR."
AND A BOOK ON THE SAME SUBJECT "STONY THE ROAD:
RECONSTRUCTION, WHITE SUPREMACY, AND THE RISE OF JIM CROW."
AMERICANS ALL HEAR THE TERM "RECONSTRUCTION."
WE'RE TAUGHT ABOUT IT IN SCHOOL, MOST OF US.
WHAT-- WHAT IS IT REALLY?
LIKE, BECAUSE I THINK WE HAVE A MISUNDERSTANDING OF WHAT
RECRIEWKS WHAT WAS ITS GOAL?
>> BUT I BET MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS AUDIENCE NEVER TOOK A
COURSE LONGER THAN A DAY ON RECONSTRUCTION.
LET'S ASK THEM.
DID YOU?
NO.
YOU KNOW, WE SKIP FROM LEE'S SURRENDER, RIGHT, SOMEHOW TO
MARTIN LUTHER KING AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
AND PEOPLE GO, "IF LINCOLN FREED THE SLAVES YDID WE NEED A CIVIL
RIGHTS MOVEMENT?" AND THE ANSWER IS BECAUSE OF THE
ROLL BACK TO RECONSTRUCTION.
RECONSTRUCTION IS THE PERIOD BETWEEN 1865 AND 1877.
THE MAXIMUM PERIOD OF BLACK FREEDOM IN THE HISTORY OF THIS
COUNTRY.
IT'S WHEN WE AMENDED THE CONSTITUTION, 13th
AMENDMENT, TO TREAT SLAVES, AND THE 14th AMENDMENT TO
ESTABLISH BIRTH RIGHT CITIZENSHIP, AND EQUAL
PROTECTION OF THE LAWS, REGARDLESS OF RACE.
AND THE 15th AMENDMENT TO GIVE BLACK MEN THE RIGHT TO
VOTE.
AND YOUR STATE, SOUTH CAROLINA, WAS PIVOTAL.
DID YOU KNOW THAT SOUTH CAROLINA WAS A MAJORITY BLACK STATE?
THERE WERE THREE MAJORITY BLACK STATES, MIS, LOUISIANA, AND
SOUTH CAROLINA.
AND SOUTH CAROLINA WAS GROUND ZERO FOR THIS REVOLUTION, THIS
NEW EXPERIMENT WITH INTERRACIAL DEMOCRACY THAT IMMEDIATELY
FOLLOWED THE CIVIL WAR.
AND -- >> Stephen: TALK ABOUT WHO
THESE GENTLEMEN ARE.
"FIRST COLORED SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN THE 41st
AND 42nd CONGRESS.
WHAT YEAR ARE WE TALKING ABOUT.
>> THAT'S 1872.
AND THERE WERE, BY 1877, 16 BLACK MEN ELECTED, TWO TO THE
SENATE, AND 14 TO THE HOUSE.
AND WHEN THAT LITHOGRAPH WAS DONE, THREE OF THOSE MEN WERE
FROM SOUTH CAROLINA.
IN THE-- IN 1867, BLACK MEN GOT THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
STEPHEN, EIGHTEE NOW, REMEMBER THERE ARE 3.9 MILLION SLAVES IN
1860, RIGHT?
AND IT WAS ILLEGAL TO TEACH THEM TO READ AND WRITE.
SO THEY'RE LIBERATED BY THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR.
IN 1867, THEY'RE GIVEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE IN 10 OF THE 11
CONFEDERATE STATES.
80.5% OF THESE BROTHERS REGISTERED TO VOTE-- 80.5%.
( APPLAUSE )
>> AND, AND IN 1868, THEY CAST THEIR VOTES IN THE FIRST
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, 500,000 BLACK MEN, OVERWHELMINGLY VOTED
FOR U.S. GRANT.
GRANT ONLY WON BY 300,000 VOTES.
BLACK MEN HAD ELECTED A WHITE MAN PRESIDENCY OF THE UNITED
STATES.
IT'S UNPRECEDENT GLD HOW-- IF IT ENDED IN 1877, HOW MANY OF THE
GOALS OF RECONSTRUCTION WERE ACTUAL LIE ACHIEVED?
>> YOU KNOW, AFTER SO MANY BLACK MEN REGISTERED TO VOTE AND THEN
DID VOTE, LET'S JUST SAY, NOT EVERYBODY WAS PLEASED IN THE
FORMER SOUTH.
SO AS QUICKLY AS THEY COULD, THEY BEGAN TO DISMANTLE THE
GAINS OF RECONSTRUCTION.
AND IT ENDED WITH THE HAYES-TILING COMPROMISE OF 1877.
AND IT WAS SANCTIONED BY A VERY CONSERVATIVE UNITED STATES
SUPREME COURT.
SO IMAGINE THIS: 12 YEARS OF BLACK FREEDOM FOLLOWED BY AN
ALT-RIGHT ROLL BACK WITH A CONSERVATIVE SUPREME COURT.
AND THE PRESIDENT, ANDREW JOHNSON, WHO REFUSED TO DENOUNCE
WHITE SUPREMACY.
WHAT DOES THAT REMIND YOU OF.
>> Stephen: WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
LOOK FORWARD TO IT.
THE BOOK IS "STONY THE ROAD."
"RECONSTRUCTION" PREMIERES TUESDAY ON PBS
HENRY LOUIS GATES, EVERYBODY!
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK.