>>> WELL, WE TURN NOW TO RACE AND IDENTITY IN AMERICA, WHICH OUR NEXT GUEST HAS BEEN EXPLORING FOR OVER A DECADE.

THE AWARD-WINNING JOURNALIST MICHELE NORRIS WAS ON HER FIRST BOOK TOUR IN 2010 WHEN SHE BEGAN INVITING STRANGERS TO SEND HER SIX WORDS ABOUT RACE ON A POSTCARD.

WELL, SHE ENDED UP COLLECTING MORE THAN HALF A MILLION PERSONAL STORIES.

IT'S THE BASIS FOR HER LATEST BOOK, "OUR HIDDEN CONVERSATIONS, KWS AND SHE JOINED WALTER ISAACSON.

>> THANK YOU, BIANNA.

AND MICHELE NORRIS, WELCOME TO THE SHOW.

>> SO GOOD TO BE WITH YOU, WALTER.

>> YOU'VE GOT THIS WONDERFUL BEST SELLER OF A BOOK AND IT'S BASED ON A PROJECT CALLED "THE RACE CARD PROJECT."

EXPLAIN WHAT THAT IS.

>> IT STARTED WITH POSTCARDS.

I WROTE A BOOK ABOUT MY FAMILY'S VERY COMPLEX RACIAL LEGACY IN 2010, AND WHEN I WENT OUT IN THE WORLD TO TALK ABOUT THAT BOOK, I KNEW I WOULD BE TALKING TO AUDIENCES ABOUT RACE.

I WAS HOSTING A SHOW AT THAT TIME CALLED "ALL THINGS CONSIDERED" AND IT WAS A CHANCE FOR ME TO LEAVE THE STUDIO AND TO GET OUT INTO AMERICA.

A BLACK FAMILY HAD JUST MOVED INTO THE WHITE HOUSE THEN.

BUT I THOUGHT NO ONE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT RACE, AND SO, I THOUGHT THEY NEEDED AN INVITATION, AN ON-RAMP, AND SO, I PRINTED POSTCARDS AT A KINKOS ON WISCONSIN AVENUE IN WASHINGTON, D.C., AND THE POSTCARDS WERE SIMPLE.

I HAVE ONE WITH ME.

THIS IS WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE.

AND THEY SAID, "RACE YOUR THOUGHTS, SIX WORDS, PLEASE SEND."

AND THE IDEA IS PEOPLE WOULD TAKE THIS BIG TOXIC SUBJECT AND TRY TO DISTILL IT INTO THE THING THAT WAS MOST IMPORTANT TO THEM.

THEIR MEMORY, THEIR LAMENT, THEIR QUESTION, THEIR ANTHEM.

AND I HAD NO IDEA IF PEOPLE WOULD ACTUALLY SEND THE CARDS BACK, AND OF THE 200 CARDS THAT I PRINTED INITIALLY, ABOUT 30% OF THEM CAME BACK TO ME.

SOME OF THEM HANDED TO ME AT BOOK EVENTS, BUT MANY OF THEM, PEOPLE WOULD FIND A STAMP, THEY WOULD WRITE THEIR SIX WORDS, THEY WOULD FIND A STAMP, THEY WOULD FIND A MAILBOX AND THEY WOULD SEND THEM TO ME.

AND BECAUSE SO MANY OF THOSE CARDS WERE SO INTERESTING FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, I -- I NEED TO KEEP GOING WITH THIS.

>> AND IT BECAME WHAT WAS KNOWN AS "THE RACE CARD PROJECT."

YOU MADE IT LARGER THAN THAT, RIGHT?

>> YEAH, WELL, I CALLED IT "THE RACE CARD PROJECT" FROM THE VERY BEGINNING AND MAYBE -- I DIDN'T KNOW IT WOULD TURN INTO, BUT MAYBE IN MY THOUGHT PROCESS I WAS THINKING, IF I CALL IT A PROJECT, THEN IT'S AN ACTUAL THING.

AND I HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, GO THROUGH WITH IT.

BUT I REALLY STARTED TO SEE IT AS A PROJECT VERY QUICKLY, WALTER, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE CARDS CAME BACK, VIEWERS MAY BE THINKING, WHAT CAN YOU SAY IN JUST SIX WORDS?

PEOPLE WERE REALLY UNBURDENING THEMSELVES.

REASON I ENDED A SWEET RELATIONSHIP.

WHITE, NOT ALLOWED TO BE PROUD.

I'M ONLY ASIAN WHEN IT'S CONVENIENT.

LAST NIGHT, THEY BURNED ROSCOE'S HOUSE.

VERY INTIMATE STORIES, VERY OPEN STORIES, AND THEN EVENTUALLY WE CREATED A WEBSITE, BECAUSE WE WANTED TO SHARE THE STORIES WITH OTHER PEOPLE AND THAT'S WHEN THINGS GOT INTERESTING.

AS MUCH AS I LOVE THE POSTCARDS AND THE HANDWRITING ON THE POSTCARDS, AND WE HAVE TENS OF THOUSANDS WAITING TO BE ARCHIVED, ONCE PEOPLE STARTED SENDING IN THE SUBMISSIONS DIGITALLY, THEY COULD SEND A BACK STORY.

THEY COULD EXPLAIN WHAT THEY MEANT BY THEIR SIX WORDS.

AND THAT'S WHEN THINGS GOT DEEP AND INTERESTING AND THEY WOULD LEAVE ABOUT EMAIL ADDRESS AND THEIR NAME, THIS IS THE OTHER THING THAT WAS AMAZING ABOUT THIS, PEOPLE WEREN'T SENDING THESE STORIES IN ANONYMOUSLY.

THEY WERE SIGNING THEIR NAMES, ONCE THEY STARTED SENDING THEM IN DIGITALLY, LEAVING THEIR CONTACT INFORMATION SO I COULD CALL THEM AND DO ORAL HISTORIES WITH THEM.

>> LET ME WRITE YOU SOMETHING FROM THE INTRODUCTION.

YOU SAID, THESE STORIES REVEALED AN OBSCURED TRUTH.

PEOPLE WEREN'T RUNNING AWAY FROM TALKING ABOUT RACE.

A LOT OF THEM WERE DESPERATE TO DISCUSS IT THROUGH THE PRISM OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.

>> YEAH.

YEAH.

THE CARDS ARE VERY INTIMATE.

YOU WILL SEE THAT, IF YOU GO TO THE WEBSITE, YOU WILL SEE THAT IF YOU READ THE BOOK.

PEOPLE ARE WRITING ABOUT THEIR CHILDREN.

THEIR MARRIAGE.

THEIR COWORKERS.

THEIR COMMUTE.

THE VISIT THEY MADE TO THE HOSPITAL AND HOW THEY WERE TREATED WHEN THEY TRIED TO CHECK IN.

THEIR STORIES THAT ARE SO MUCH CLOSER TO THE GROUND, AND AS A JOURNALIST, IT WAS VERY HUMBLING FOR ME, BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN WRITING ABOUT RACE FOR YEARS, BUT I REALIZE THAT I DIDN'T HAVE ACCESS TO CERTAIN PARTS OF PEOPLE'S LIVES.

WHEN WE WRITE ABOUT RACE AS JOURNALISTS, WE'RE USUALLY DOING IT BECAUSE SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED THAT MERITS OUR ATTENTION.

AND SO, WE'RE WRITING ABOUT SOMEONE CROSSING A MILESTONE.

SOMEONE SAYING SOMETHING THAT MAYBE THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE SAID.

SOMETHING BAD HAPPENING SOMEWHERE.

IN THIS CASE, PEOPLE ARE SETTING THE -- THEIR OWN AGENDA, AND THEY'RE TELLING US, THIS IS WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO ME.

AND MANY OF THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE WRITE ABOUT, ADOPTION, BLENDED FAMILIES, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT FELT LIKE TO BE IN AMERICA AFTER 9/11 IF YOU WERE MUSLIM OR NORTH AFRICAN, OR PART OF THE ARAB DIASPARA.

THIS PROJECT WAS LIKE FINDING A TAP ROOT INTO AN AMERICA THAT EVEN THOUGH I HAVE BEEN PRACTICING THE CRAFT OF JOURNALISM FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES, THIS WAS A TAP ROOT INTO AN AMERICA THAT I DIDN'T PREVIOUSLY HAVE ACCESS TO.

>> DO YOU THINK THAT AMERICANS WANT TO TALK MORE ABOUT RACE, BUT THEY'RE INHIBITED ON BOTH SIDES?

>> YES.

I DO.

AND I -- IT'S INTERESTING, BECAUSE WE SAY WE DON'T TALK ABOUT RACE, BUT ACTUALLY, IF YOU WATCH THE NEWS, IF YOU LISTEN TO PEOPLE, WE'RE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT RACE AND WE'RE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT IDENTITY.

IT'S A CONTINUE YUM.

PEOPLE DON'T TALK ABOUT IT ACROSS DIFFERENCE, THOUGH, AND THAT'S THE THING THAT I HOPE THAT THIS BOOK WILL ALLOW PEOPLE TO DO, IS TO KIND OF PEER OVER THE FENCE.

PEOPLE TALK AMONGST THEMSELVES ABOUT RACE AND IDENTITY IN THEIR TRIBE IN THEIR COHORT, IN THEIR COMFORTABLE CIRCLE, IN THEIR FAMILY, BUT THEY DON'T ALWAYS REACH ACROSS THAT, YOU KNOW, REACH ACROSS SOME SORT OF CULTURAL BRIDGE TO TALK TO SOMEONE ELSE.

>> SUDDENLY, IT FEELS THERE'S A BACKLASH AGAINST THAT, THAT PEOPLE JUST DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT.

WHAT'S CAUSING THAT BACKLASH, OR -- AND WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

>> THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS CAUSING THE BACKLASH.

WE SAW AMERICA GO THROUGH AN INTERESTING MOMENT AFTER THE KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD.

AND IT WAS AN AWAKENING FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE.

A LOT OF PEOPLE STARTED TO PUT BLACK LIVES MATTER SIGNS ON THEIR CARS AND THEIR WINDOWS.

A LOT OF COMPANIES WERE MAKING COMMITMENTS AND INVESTMENTS IN TRYING TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER TO TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THESE ISSUES THAT DIVIDE US.

AND THEN THERE WAS A BACKLASH OR PERHAPS ALSO A LEVEL OF EXHAUSTION.

AND I'M REALLY HONEST ABOUT THIS, AND I DON'T -- IT IS EXHAUSTING.

I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE EXHAUSTED BY THE TOPIC.

RACIAL EXHAUSTION IS A REAL THING.

AND A LOT OF PEOPLE FEEL LIKE WE'RE NOT SOLVING THE PROBLEM, A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE WHITE FEEL LIKE WHEN WE DO DISCUSS THE PROBLEM, THE FINGERS ARE ALWAYS POINTED AT THEM.

AND THERE'S NO WAY FOR THEM TO ENTER THE CONVERSATION WITHOUT FEELING SHAME, GUILT, ANGER.

SO, THEY'RE LIKE, I DON'T EVEN WANT TO BE PART OF THIS.

>> LET'S DRILL DOWN ON THAT WITH WHITE PEOPLE FEELING UNCOMFORTABLE THAT THEY'RE BEING BLAMED, AND DO YOU THINK THAT THEY HAVE FELT THAT -- A LOT OF PEOPLE FELT THAT THEY CAN'T TALK ABOUT RACE HONESTLY, AND THAT MAYBE WE REALLY NEED TO LANCE THE BOIL, I MEAN, GO EVEN DEEPER ON THIS CONVERSATION.

>> WELL, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S -- I'M NOT SPEAKING IN GENERALIZATIONS, I'M NOT TRYING TO SPEAK FOR ALL WHITE PEOPLE, I WANT TO BE CLEAR ON THAT, BUT THE -- THE THING THAT I'VE LEARNED IN THIS PROJECT CAME OUT OF A SURPRISING RESULT.

THE MAJORITY OF THE YEARS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS, 14 YEARS, THE MAJORITY OF THE SUBMISSIONS HAVE COME FROM WHITE AMERICANS, SO, I HAVE HAD A RATHER UNIQUE PERCH HERE IN LISTENING TO WHITE PEOPLE TALK ABOUT RACE.

THAT WAS NOT SOMETHING I ANTICIPATED.

SO, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT DEMENTIONS TO THIS.

FEAR AROUND RACE IS ONE OF THEM.

THE FEAR THAT YOU'LL SAY THE WRONG THING.

THAT IS A JUSTIFIABLE FEAR, BECAUSE IF YOU TRY TO EXPRESS YOURSELF AND YOU DON'T SAY SOMETHING -- IF YOU SAY SOMETHING THAT'S -- YOU CAN GET CANCELED.

YOU CAN FACE A LEVEL OF REJECTION.

YOU WILL BE LABELED.

AND SO, SOME PEOPLE THINK, I DON'T EVEN WANT TO BE PART OF THAT.

SOMETIMES PEOPLE DO PARTICIPATE AND THEY FEEL LIKE THERE ARE NO ANSWERS.

THAT PEOPLE WANT THIS TO BE SOLVED.

THAT'S WHERE THE NOTION OF AMERICA BEING POST-RACIAL, PERHAPS, CAME FROM.

THEY WANT TO JUST GET OVER THIS HILL.

AND THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT'S EASY TO DO.

SO, SINCE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN QUICKLY, PEOPLE PULL AWAY.

WE SHOULD BE HONEST THAT THERE'S ANOTHER CATEGORY OF PEOPLE IN THAT BACKLASH, THAT FEEL COMPLETELY DIFFERENTLY.

THAT ARE ACTUALLY INVESTED IN A DIVIDED AMERICA.

AND SO, THEY DON'T WANT PEOPLE NECESSARILY TO COME TOGETHER TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO WORK TOGETHER.

THEY DON'T WANT TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE.

AND THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THAT CATEGORY WHO ARE INVESTED IN A DIVIDED AMERICA ARE BUSY AT WORK.

THEY'RE SPENDING A LOT OF MONEY.

THEY'RE DOING FOCUS GROUPS.

THEY'RE FIGURING OUT HOW TO MESSAGE TO GIN UP PEOPLE'S FEARS, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE REMAIN DIVIDED.

AND THE PEOPLE WHO ARE INVESTED IN A DIVIDED AMERICA ARE USUALLY DOING THAT BECAUSE IT BENEFITS THEM.

AND I -- IT CAN BE EASY TO PREY UPON PEOPLE'S FEARS ON THESE ISSUES.

I WRITE HONESTLY ABOUT THIS IN THE BOOK.

IF YOU HAVE -- IF YOU HAVE SPENT TIME IN AMERICA, IN OUR WONDERFUL COUNTRY, IF YOU HAVE UNDERSTOOD ITS HISTORY AND ITS REALITY THROUGH THE '40s, '50s, UP UNTIL NOW, AND YOU HAVE LOOKED AT HOW MINORITIES IN THIS COUNTRY HAVE BEEN TREATED OVER TIME, YOU MIGHT REASONABLY BE CONCERNED ABOUT BECOMING ONE.

AND THAT FEAR IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE FERTILIZED.

AND CAN ALSO BE EXPLOITED.

AND IN SOME OF THOSE CASES, WHEN YOU ACTUALLY TALK TO THEM, WHEN THEY ACTUALLY FACE THEIR FEAR AND YOU TALK TO THEM ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE AFRAID OF, IT'S INTERESTING, THEY'RE AFRAID OF PAYBACK IN SOME CASES.

HOW WILL I WILL TREATED IF I'M IN THE MINORITY STATUS?

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MY KIDS?

WILL IT BE HARDER FOR THEM TO MOVE THROUGH LIFE?

AND ON THE OTHER SIDE, YOU KNOW, THESE CARDS ARE -- THE STORIES FEEL LIKE THEY'RE A CONVERSATION WITH EACH OTHER.

ON THE OTHER SIDE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO ARE PART OF AN AT-PRESENT MINORITY, WHO ARE PART OF, YOU KNOW, ARE BLACK, LATINO, ASIAN, PARTICULARLY PEOPLE WHO ARE BLACK, WHO WILL RESPOND IN A WAY THAT SUGGEST, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR PAYBACK.

WE'RE LOOKING FOR PAYCHECKS.

WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD.

AND IN ORDER TO MOVE FORWARD, YOU CAN'T HOLD SOMEONE ELSE BACK.

>> YOU START THIS BOOK WITH A QUOTE FROM THE POET LUCILLE CLIFTON, SORT OF A PERSONAL THING, IT SAYS, THEY ASKED ME TO REMEMBER THEIR MEMORIES, AND I KEEP ON REMEMBERING MINE.

I'M GOING TO TURN IT BACK TO YOU, PERSONALLY, HOW DID YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS, YOUR FATHER, YOUR GRANDMOTHER, PROVOKE THIS PROJECT?

>> THERE WERE THINGS IN MY FAMILY THAT WERE NOT TALKED ABOUT.

I LEARNED THAT MY FATHER WAS TRYING TO ENTER A BUILDING WHERE RETURNING VETERANS, AND HE WAS ONE OF THEM, HE SERVED IN THE NAVY, WERE ENTERING A BUILDING IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, TO LEARN ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION IN ORDER TO PASS POLL TESTS.

AND WHEN HE WAS TRYING TO ENTER THAT BUILDING, POLICE OFFICERS TRIED TO STOP HIM AND A SCUFFLE ENSUED AND MY FATHER WAS WOUNDED WHEN A BULLET GRAZED THE SIDE OF HIS LEG.

HE HAD A SCAR ON HIS LEG, KNEW THAT.

BUT HE NEVER TALKED ABOUT THAT.

HE NEVER, EVER TALKED ABOUT THAT INCIDENT.

AND I FOUND OUT ABOUT IT FROM ONE CAN WHO SHARED IT WITH ME.

A LOT OF PEOPLE WHOSE FAMILIES EXPERIENCED THE HORRORS OF LIFE IN JIM CROW AMERICA DIDN'T ALWAYS TELL THEIR CHILDREN ABOUT EVERY SINGLE ASPECT OF THAT, BECAUSE THEY WANTED THE NEXT GENERATION TO SOAR.

AND I REALIZED, I BENEFITED FROM THAT IN SOME WAYS, BECAUSE MY PARENTS DIDN'T WANT ME TO CARRY THAT ANGER FORWARD.

THEY WANTED ME TO SEE THE POSSIBILITIES IN AMERICA.

BUT I ALSO HAVE BENEFITED FROM UNDERSTANDING THE STORIES NOW AND BEING ABLE TO SHARE THEM WITH MY OWN CHILDREN, NOT SO THEY WILL BE ANGRY, BUT SO THEY UNDERSTAND THE PATH THAT WE HAVE TRAVELED AS A COUNTRY, AND THE PATH THAT WE HAVE TRAVELED AS A NATION.

AND THAT SPEAKS TO THIS MOMENT WE'RE IN WHERE SO MANY PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE WORST PARTS OF OUR HISTORY.

>> YOU TALK ABOUT THE NEED TO LOOK BACK IN HISTORY AND TO SEE AND TALK ABOUT AND THINK ABOUT WHERE WE FAILED, AND THERE'S A CHAPTER IN YOUR BOOK WHICH I LOVE, WHICH IS CALLED "MEMORY WARS."

AND IT'S REALLY ABOUT, HOW DO WE TEACH THE CIVIL WAR, HOW DO WE TEACH, MORE IMPORTANTLY, SLAVERY?

AMERICA'S NEVER HAD A COMPREHENSIVE AND WIDELY EMBRACED VIEW OF SLAVERY AND THE LASTING IMPACT.

THERE'S A SIMPLE REASON.

THE UNITED STATES DOES NOT YET HAVE THE STOMACH TO STARE DIRECTLY AT THE EVIL ON WHICH THIS GREAT COUNTRY STANDS.

EXPLAIN THAT TO ME, AND AS WRESTLE WITH THE FACT THAT EVEN THOUGH A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD AGREE WITH YOU, THAT COULD ALSO BECOME SOMETHING THAT HAS NOW BEEN VERY DIVISIVE TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE'RE ALL BUILT ON AN EVIL FOUNDATION?

>> IT'S A VERY DIFFICULT MOMENT TO DO IT RIGHT NOW, IN PARTICULAR, BECAUSE THERE ARE THESE WARS OVER THE TEACHING OF HISTORY, BECAUSE THERE IS A CONCERTED EFFORT TO ERASE THAT HISTORY OR SUPPRESS THAT HISTORY.

THERE HAVE BEEN MOMENTS OF POSSIBILITY THAT HAVE BEEN PERHAPS MISSED OPPORTUNITIES.

AND I HOPE THAT WE FACE ONE OF THESE MOMENTS AGAIN, AND SOON, SO THAT WE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO LOOK AT A HISTORY THAT WE CAN'T ERASE.

YOU KNOW, OTHER COUNTRIES THAT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MOVE PAST THIS, AND I COMPARE AMERICA TO GERMANY, NOT TO COMPARE THE HOLOCAUST AND SLAVERY.

I'M NOT TRYING TO SET UP COMPARATIVE EVILS, BUT CONTRASTING -- CONTRASTING RESPONSES TO HISTORICAL FISSURE.

AND AMERICA IS VERY DIFFERENT THAN GERMANY.

GERMANY DECIDED, AND IN SOME WAYS, THEY DID IT BECAUSE THE REST OF THE WORLD WAS STANDING OVER THEIR SHOULDER AND POINTING A FINGER AT THEM, BUT THEY DECIDED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MOVE FORWARD BY LOOKING AT A DIFFICULT PATH THROUGH A LENS OF HONOR AND ATONEMENT FOR PEOPLE -- FOR THE VICTIMS, PEOPLE WHO WERE JEWISH, WHO WERE ROMA, WHO WERE QUEER, WHO WE NOW CALL TRANS, WHO WERE MARGINALIZED, IN SOME CASES WERE DISABLED, AND THEY HONOR THEM AND THEY TEACH THAT HISTORY IN SCHOOLS.

IF YOU BECOME A POLICE OFFICER, YOU LEARN ABOUT THIS HISTORY.

IF YOU ENTER THE MILITARY, YOU LEARN ABOUT THIS HISTORY.

WE HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO DO THAT, AND, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE HEARD ME SAY THIS, WALTER, IN AMERICA, IT FEELS LIKE WE ARE THE LAND OF THE FREE AND THE HOME OF AMNESIA.

WE HAVE GONE THROUGH A WILLFUL AMNESIA, BECAUSE THAT IS A VERY DIFFICULT STORY TO TELL, UNDERSTANDABLY DIFFICULT STORY TO TELL.

BUT UNLESS WE DO TELL THAT STORY, IT IS HARD FOR US TO REACH ANY KIND OF RECONCILIATION WITH THE PAST AND VERY HARD FOR US TO UNDERSTAND THE LINGERING IMPACTS OF SLAVERY, THE LINGERING IMPACTS OF BONDAGE, THE LINGERS IMPACTS OF THE PERIOD AFTER SLAVERY, THROUGH RECONSTRUCTION AND THROUGH JIM CROW AMERICA.

PEOPLE OFTEN WANT TO SUPPRESS THIS HISTORY, BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT SOMEONE ELSE TO FEEL BAD.

THEY DON'T WANT TO FEEL BAD THEMSELVES.

THEY DON'T WANT THEIR CHILDREN TO FEEL BAD.

IT ROBS OTHER PEOPLE OF THE OPPORTUNITY, THOUGH, TO UNDERSTAND THEIR HISTORY, AND TO UNDERSTAND THE TRIUMPH OVER THOSE THINGS.

FOR INSTANCE, AS AN AFRICAN AMERICAN, YOU ROB PEOPLE OF THE TRIUMPH OF UNDERSTANDING HOW THEY OVERCAME THAT HISTORY, IF YOU LOOK AT LITERACY IN AMERICA, BLACK PEOPLE WHO CAME TO AMERICA AS THE ENSLAVED WERE NOT ALLOWED TO LEARN HOW TO READ AND WRITE.

AFTER SLAVERY, THERE WAS AN ALMOST 7,000% INCREASE IN LITERACY, BECAUSE THERE WAS A BARN BURNING EFFORT ACROSS THE COUNTRY, PEOPLE WERE HUNGRY TO LEARN, TO EDUCATE THEMSELVES.

THAT IS AN INCREDIBLE STORY TO TELL.

SO, YOU CAN BALANCE, YES, YOU HAVE TO BE CLEAR-EYED AND TALK ABOUT THE HORRORS OF SLAVERY, BUT YOU CAN ALSO TALK ABOUT THE MORAL TRIUMPHS, THE HUMAN TRIUMPHS, AND YOU CAN ALSO, IN LOOKING BACK AT THE HORRORS, UNDERSTAND WHERE WE HAVE COME AS A COUNTRY.

AND YOU -- IF YOU UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU STARTED AND WHERE WE HAVE LANDED, AND WHERE WE CAN GO, IF WE ARE WILLING TO LOOK AT THIS HISTORY HONESTLY, IT IS A BENCHMARK THAT HELPS YOU APPRECIATE WHERE YOU ARE NOW, AND SET YOUR STEPS, ORDER YOUR STEPS SO YOU CAN GET TO SOMEWHERE BETTER AND DO THAT IN A WAY THAT PERHAPS DOES NOT MARGINALIZE PEOPLE IN THE SAME WAY, IT DOES NOT DEMONIZE PEOPLE IN THE SAME WAY.

AND ALLOWS PEOPLE TO WORK TOGETHER, EVEN IF THEY DON'T AGREE, AND IN A DIVIDED AMERICA, WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER, EVEN WITH -- IF WE DON'T AGREE.

>> SO, AFTER ALL OF THIS, WHAT SIX WORDS WOULD YOU OFFER UP TODAY FOR YOU?

>> WELL, YOU KNOW, WE DO WANT IT TO BE OVER.

THAT'S WHERE THE POST-RACIAL, THE IDEA OF A POST-RACIAL AMERICA COMES FROM, THAT'S WHERE THE FIGHTS OVER SO-CALLED CRITICAL RACE THEORY COME FROM, WE WANT IT TO BE OVER, BUT THERE'S STILL MORE WORK TO BE DONE.

THAT'S MY SIX WORDS.

STILL MORE WORK TO BE DONE.

>> LET'S TALK ABOUT IT HONESTLY WOULD BE MINE, AND THANK YOU FOR DOING SO.

THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.

>> STILL MORE WORK TO BE DONE.

REALLY FASCINATING AND INTERESTING CONVERSATION.

>>> AND FINALLY FOR US, POTENTIALLY LIFE-CHANGING NEWS FOR CHILDREN WITH FOOD ALLERGIES.

NEW DATA SHOWS REGULARLY INJECTING A KNOWN MEDICINE MAY HELP PREVENT SEVERE REACTIONS AFTER ACCIDENTAL INGESTION.

AS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WITH FOOD ALLERGIES CONTINUES TO CLIMB, THIS DRUG COULD EASE THE ANXIETY OF SO MANY WHO GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO AVOID THEIR ALLERGEN, LIKE NEVER EATING IN RESTAURANTS.

ONE OF THE LEADING DOCTORS CALLED IT AN AMAZING STEP FORWARD IN OUR FIELD.