♪

> THIS IS ‘METROFOCUS’ WITH RAFAEL PI ROMAN, JACK FORD AND JENNA FLANAGAN.

‘METROFOCUS’ IS MADE POSSIBLE BY —

> WHITE AMERICANS OR BLACK AMERICANS, WHAT EVERYBODY WANTS IS AN EQUAL CHANCE TO HAVE A PIECE OF THE ACTION.

IT MEANS FREEDOM.

IT’S THE BACKBONE OF AMERICA.

BLACK AMERICANS, IT DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY.

I DIDN’T REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW SEGREGATED THE CITY WAS.

IT’S NOW TRAPPED.

FOR WHITE PEOPLE THE STRUGGLES ARE SHARED.

THE LAST GENERATION STANDING IS THE ONE THAT’S GOING TO HAVE TO PICK UP THE BILL.

♪

GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO ‘METROFOCUS.’

I’M JENNA FLANAGAN.

WHAT YOU SAW WAS A PREVIEW OF ‘OWNED A TALE OF TWO AMERICAS,’ A DOCUMENTARY AIRING ON PBS.

THE FILM IS AN ENTERTAINING YET THOUGHT PROVOKING LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF HOUSING POLICY IN AMERICA FROM THE SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENTS OF LEVITTOWN TO THE RED LINING POLICIES IN BALTIMORE AND IN NEW YORK.

THE FILM EXPLORES THE MANY WAYS IN WHICH HOUSING POLICY HAS BEEN MANIPULATED OVER THE YEARS TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST PEOPLE OF COLOR.

THE FILM ALSO TAKES A CRITICAL LOOK AT THE BOOM AND BUST CYCLE OF THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY.

A CYCLE THAT LEFT MANY WHITE AMERICANS ALSO TRAPPED IN DECAYING COMMUNITIES.

JOINING ME NOW TO TELL BUS ABOU HIS FILM IS THE DIRECTOR, GIORGIO ANGELINI.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

FIRST OFF, THE QUESTION WOULD BE, HOW DID A FILM LIKE THIS COME TOGETHER FOR YOU?

DID YOU HAVE AN INTENDED AUDIENCE WHEN YOU BEGAN PUTTING THIS TOGETHER?

YEAH, SO, I WAS IN GRADUATE SCHOOL FOR ARCHITECTURE AT RICE UNIVERSITY IN HOUSTON DURING THE WAKE OF THE HOUSING CRISIS.

AT THAT POINT, 2011, 2012 WE WERE TALKING ABOUT BEING IN SOMEWHAT OF A RECOVERY.

IT STRUCK ME AS KIND OF — I DON’T KNOW — CURIOUS TERMINOLOGY.

I KEPT ON ASKING MYSELF WHAT ARE WE ACTUALLY RECOVERING?

WHAT ARE WE ACTUALLY PROMOTING AS A SYSTEM?

IS IT PRODUCING THE THINGS THAT WE WANT IT TO?

I HAD READ THIS ARTICLE ABOUT THIS ABANDONED McMANSION DEVELOPMENT SITE IN CALIFORNIA, WHICH IS AN AREA OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THAT YOU WOULDN’T NORMALLY VISIT UNLESS YOU LIVED TH THERE.

NOTHING AGAINST THE AREA.

IT’S AN EXECERPTEXCERPT.

THE WRITING CAPTIVATED ME.

BUT THERE WERE NO IMAGES.

SO I APPLIED FOR A GRANT TO PHOTOGRAPH THIS DEVELOPMENT SITE.

WHEN I GOT THERE, I WAS STRUCK BY A CONDITION I WASN’T PREPARED TO SEE, WHICH WAS THIS COMMODITY LIMBO.

YOU HAD THESE HALF BUILT McMANSIONS THAT HAD BEEN AB ABANDONED SITTING NEXT TO ABANDONED ORANGE GROVES.

THERE WAS THIS PALPABLE SENSE OF ALIENATION THAT YOU FELT LIKE AN INHUMAN QUALITY THAT AT SOME POINT SOMEONE THOUGHT WE COULD MAKE MORE MONEY ON THIS LAND BY PRODUCING AIR CONDITIONED SQUARE FEET VERSUS ORANGES.

THE SYSTEM KIND OF CARPETED THE LANDSCAPE WITH HOMES.

THAT’S WHEN I FELT LIKE, THERE’S A BIGGER STORY HERE THAN JUST TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OF THESE SPACES.

OF COURSE.

OF COURSE.

NOW THE FILM IS TITLED ‘OWNED, A TALE OF TWO AMERICAS.’

WHILE WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THIS SPACE OF PERHAPS REASSESSING SOME OF THE HISTORICAL DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE, WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THE WAY AMERICA ACTUALLY CONSCIOUSLY AND INTENTIONALLY MANIPULATED HOUSING — NOT ONLY HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS AND WHERE PEOPLE COULD LIVE BUT THE WAY THAT THE REAL ESTATE MARKET WOULD WORK AND HOW THAT SHAPED THE AMERICA THAT WE ARE IN TODAY?

ABSOLUTELY.

YEAH, I MEAN, MAKING A DOCUMENTARY FILM IS AS MUCH AN EDUCATION FOR THE FILMMAKER AS IT IS FOR THE INTENDED AUDIENCE.

FOR ME, THAT WAS DEFINITELY NO DIFFERENT.

I STARTED THE PROJECT REALLY AS KIND OF — MAYBE MORE POETIC EXPLORATION OF THE CONCEPT OF WHAT IT MEANT TO COMMODIFY THIS.

EVENTS IN PLACES LIKE MICHAEL BROWN’S MURDER IN FERGUSON AND THE UPRISING IN BALTIMORE MADE ME MORE AWARE THAT I COULDN’T TALK ABOUT A CRITIQUE OF SU SUBURBIA WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT THE OTHER SIDE OF IT.

ONE CAME AT THE EXPENSE OF THE OTHER.

WE BUILT THE SUBURBS AT THE EXPENSE OF INVESTING IN INNER CITY AMERICA.

I THINK WHAT WE ARE CONTENDING WITH TODAY IS REALLY THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THOSE DECISIONS AND SPECIFICALLY THE DECISIONS TO NOT EXPLICITLY FIX THE PROBLEMS WE SET INTO MOTION DECADES AGO.

THE FILM GIVES YOU A DEEP SENSE OF NOTHING IN WHAT YOU SEE AROUND YOU IS AN ACCIDENT.

I’M WONDERING, IN YOUR UNRAVELING, WHAT WERE SOME OF THE, I GUESS, BIGGEST THINGS THAT STOOD OUT TO YOU IN THE DECISION THAT WERE MADE?

WELL, I MEAN, I THINK PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO KNOW JUST HOW EXPLICITLY THE SEGREGATION WAS IN THE SYSTEM.

YOU HAVE A SITUATION WHERE THERE’S A HUGE DEMAND FOR HOUSING COMING OUT OF WORLD WAR II.

THE GOVERNMENT CREATES A SERIES OF AMBITIOUS PROPOSALS TO INVIGORATE THE ECONOMY, WHICH AT THAT POINT PEOPLE FORGET, WE WERE — WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO GO BACK INTO A GREAT DEPRESSION.

THEY HAD TO PUMP UP THE ECONOMY IN A WAY TO PROP IT UP.

THEY DID THAT THROUGH HOUSING.

WE’RE GOING TO MAKE THIS GRAND BARGAIN WITH THE AMERICAN CITIZEN THAT WE’RE GOING TO GIVE YOU ACCESS TO BASICALLY FREE LOANS AND YOU ARE GOING TO WORK A 30-YEAR JOB THAT’S WITH A 30-YEAR MORTGAGE.

WE WILL BUILD THE AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS.

IT REALLY, REALLY WORKED, BUT ALSO FOR ONLY A PARTICULAR GROUP OF PEOPLE.

IN LEVITTOWN IN THE LEASE TO OWN CONTRACTS, THEY EXCLUDED NON-WHITES FROM LIVING THERE.

IT WAS SPECIFICALLY FOR KAU INDI — KAU INDI CAUCASIANS IN THE LAWS.

THEY WERE BUILDING A SIMILAR DEVELOPMENT, SIMILAR-SIZE HOMES, SIMILAR CONSTRUCTION, BUT WAY DIFFERENT AMBITION.

HE WANTED AN INTEGRATED NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE SAME YEAR, 1947, THE FHA, TOLD HIM THAT WE’RE NOT GOING TO UNDERWRITE YOUR LOANS, ENSURE THOSE LOANS IF YOU CAN’T COMMIT TO HAVING A DESEGREGATED NEIGHBORHOOD.

TO HIS CREDIT, AND UNFORTUNATELY MUCH TO THE LACK OF SUCCESS OF THE DEVELOPMENT, HE SAID, IT’S MORE IMPORTANT TO HAVE AN INTEGRATED NEIGHBORHOOD.

HE HAD TO FIND FINANCING PRIVATELY.

AS A RESULT, THE DEVELOPMENT COULD ONLY GROW SO BIG.

IT SHOWS YOU JUST HOW EXPLICIT THE — HOW PBLACK FAMILIES MOVIG INTO WHITE NEIGHBORHOODS WOULD BRING DOWN PROPERTY VALUES WHICH IS NOT —

I WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU SAID WHAT YOU INTENDED TO SAY.

AT THE TIME FOR THE DEVELOPMENT IN CALIFORNIA, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SAID WE ARE NOT GOING TO INSURE THIS IF IT’S SEGREGATED.

MAKE IT CLEAR.

SORRY.

WITH ALL OF THAT, THAT YOU SORT OF DISCOVER — YOU TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT UNDERSTOOD OF BUILDING THIS ECONOMY AND USING REAL ESTATE TO DO IT.

HOW DOES THAT JUST LEAN RIGHT INTO WHAT BECAME WHAT I’M SURE HISTORY WILL LOOK BACK AT THIS INFAMOUS HOUSING CRISIS AROUND 2008?

IN GENERAL, THE FILM IS REALLY A KIND OF STUDY ON OUR BELIEF SYSTEMS AND WHAT WE BELIEF TO BE THE IMPORTANCE AND ROLE THAT HOMEOWNERSHIP PLAYS IN A SOCIETY.

INCREASINGLY SO, SINCE THE ADVENT OF THE 30-YEAR MORTGAGE AND TODAY SHOWS LIKE ‘FLIP OR FLOP,’ WE CONSIDER A HOME NOW MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE A WEALTH ACCUMULATOR.

IT’S THE PLACE WHERE YOU BUILD YOUR WEALTH AS A FAMILY.

AS SUCH, IT ENDS UP TEASING OUT A LOT OF THE WORST ASPECTS IN US.

ON THE FINANCIAL SIDE, IT EXPOSES PEOPLE TO A VERY EXPLOY — EXPLOITATIVE PRACTICE WITH NO ASSET LOANS WHICH IS WHAT CREATED THE HOUSING CRISIS IN MANY WAYS OR OTHER KIND OF SCHEMES.

THEN ON THE OTHER SIDE, IF YOU THINK THAT THE HOME IS THERE TO INCREASE VALUE AND ITS ONLY PURPOSE IS TO MAKE YOU MORE WEALTHY, AND YOU ARE ALSO A RACIST PERSON AND YOU BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE OF COLOR MOVING INTO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS GOING TO BRING YOUR PROPERTY VALUE DOWN, YOU WILL DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO MAINTAIN WHITE AND PREVENT BLACK AND BROWN FAMILIES HAVE MOVING IN BECAUSE YOU SEE IT AS A THREAT TO YOUR WEALTH ACCUMULATION.

THERE’S SO MUCH THAT THIS FILM ADDRESSES AND DOES QUITE WELL.

SOMETIMES IN A SURPRISINGLY ENTERTAINING WAY.

I DO WANT TO ASK, HOW THEN DOES — THE FILM TOUCHES ON THE RE-INTEREST IN URBAN AREAS FROM SUBURBAN AREAS.

WE HAVE SEEN A LARGE MOVE OF PEOPLE WHO WANT TO LIVE IN A WALKABLE URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD OR WHATEVER.

THEN THAT SORT OF RECREATES THE PROCESS ALL OVER AGAIN, CORRECT?

ABSOLUTELY.

WE FOLLOWED A RETIRED POLICE OFFICER NAMED JIMMY WHO INTERESTINGLY GREW UP RIGHT AFTER THE WORLD WAR — AFTER WORLD WAR II ENDED, HE WAS LIVING IN INNER CITY NEW YORK IN AN AREA WE CONSIDER TO BE BLACK BUT WAS INTEGRATED BACK THEN.

BECAUSE OF THE G.I. BILL AND FHA POLICIES, HIS FAMILY WAS ABLE TO MOVE TO LEVITTOWN.

IN A SAD IRONY, AS AN ADULTS COMES BACK TO THE SAME NEIGHBORHOODS WHICH HAVE BEEN DIVESTED AND FALLING INTO DISREPAIR, HE COMES BACK AS A POLICE OFFICER TO POLICE THIS COMMUNITY THAT USED TO BE HIS OWN.

IN THE FILM, HE GOES BACK TO THE BLOCK WHERE HE USED TO LIVE WHERE THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMPLEX THAT HAS BEEN DEMOLISHED AND IS A VACANT LOT.

THERE’S A TOUCHING MOMENT WHERE HE KIND OF MEDITATES ON THE IDEA OF WHERE THOSE FAMILIES WENT.

OF COURSE, AROUND HIM IS JUST THE ADVENT OF ALL THIS RAPID DEVELOPMENT AND GENTRIFICATION.

HE IS CONTENDING WITH THIS COGNITIVE DIS — IT DOESN’T ACCOUNT FOR PAIN THAT IT CAUSED TO RESIDENTS THAT HAD TO MOVE OUT.

IN THAT SENSE, I THINK IT CAPTURES A FEELING THAT A LOT OF US ARE DEALING WITH, A SENSE OF HELPLESSNESS, RECOGNITION THAT MAYBE YOU WEREN’T THE CAUSE OF ALL THESE PROBLEMS, BUT YOU WERE THE BENEFICIARY IN SOME WAY.

WHAT YOU DO WITH THAT GUILT I THINK IS THE CENTRAL DILEMMA THAT AMERICA IS FACING RIGHT NOW.

OF COURSE.

THE FILM IS ‘OWNED, A TALE OF TWO AMERICAS.’

WE WERE JOINED BY G ED BY THE D.

THIS IS PART OF OUR CHASING THE DREAM INITIATIVE ON POVERTY, JUSTICE AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

THANK YOU FOR THIS FILM.

THIS WAS REALLY — IT WAS AN ENTERTAINING AND YET VERY EYE-OPENING WATCH.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I FIGURED IF I WAS GOING TO HAVE PEOPLE SPEND 83 MINUTES WATCHIN A MOVIE ABOUT HOUSING POLICY, YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT ENGAGING AND ENJOYABLE IN SOME WAY.

ABSOLUTELY.

THANK U.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

HELLO, I’M JENNA FLANAGAN.

COMING OF AGE IS A DIFFICULT JOURNEY FOR MOST YOUNG PEOPLE, AS THEY LEARN TO NAVIGATE THE WORLD FOR THEMSELVES.

THIS JOURNEY CAN BECOME MORE FRAUGHT WHEN ISSUES LIKE GENDER, CLASS AND RACE ARE ADDED INTO THE MIX.

THESE ARE OFTEN SUBJECTS PARENTS HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME DISCUSSING OPENLY AND FRANKLY WITH THEIR KIDS.

TO HELP FACILITATE THE CONVERSATIONS WITHIN FAMILIES AND GIVE CHILDREN OF COLOR A VARIETY OF NARRATIVES THAT REFLECT THEIR EXPERIENCES IN AN HONEST MANNER ARE AUTHOR AND PUBLISHER WADE HUDSON AND PUBLISHER AND EDITOR SHERYL WILLIS.

WHOSE NEW BOOK ‘THE TALK, CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE, LOVE AND TRUTH’ AIMS TO SPARK THE VERY CONVERSATIONS WITH FAMILIES.

WELCOME TO ‘METROFOCUS.’

GOOD TO BE HERE.

THANK YOU.

ABSOLUTELY.

FIRST I GUESS, EVEN THOUGH IT SEEMS INTUITIVE CONSIDERING EVERYTHING THE COUNTRY IS DEALING WITH RIGHT NOW, BUT WHY THIS BOOK?

WHEN DID IT COME INTO — WHEN, I GUESS, WAS THE GENESIS OF THIS BOOK?

WHY DID YOU FEEL IT WAS NECESSARY?

ACTUALLY, THE IDEA FOR THIS BOOK WAS BORN IN 2018.

WE WERE WORKING ON ANOTHER ANTHOLOGY, A RESPONSE TO THE POLITICAL CULTURE AT THE TIME, THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

WE FELT THAT BECAUSE OF THE TOXIC ENVIRONMENT THAT WAS HAPPENING AT THE TIME THAT CHILDREN NEEDED TO BE ENCOURAGED, THEY NEEDED TO KNOW THEY ARE LOVED, SUPPORTED.

BECAUSE WITH RESPEWE WERE READI ABOUT KIDS BULLYING OTHER KIDS BECAUSE THEY WERE DIFFERENT.

WE WANTED TO LET THEM KNOW WE LOVE THEM AND THAT IN SPITE OF WHAT’S HAPPENING, WE COULD GET THROUGH THIS.

WHEN THAT WAS RELEASED, IT BECAME REALLY EVIDENT THAT WE NEEDED TO EXPAND THE CONVERSATION AND TO DEAL WITH OTHER TOPICS THAT THAT ANTHOLOGY DIDN’T DEAL WITH.

IT’S AN EXTENSION OF SEVERAL BOOKS WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON.

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH IN OUR PUBLISHING IING PROGRAM THE LAST 30 YEARS.

THAT’S AFFIRMATION OF BLACK LIVES AND MULTICULTURAL LIVES OF KIDS IN THIS COUNTRY.

THE TALK IS NOT ONE TALK WITH BLACK KIDS ABOUT AVOIDING THE POLICE OR WHAT YOU CAN DO WHEN YOU HAVE AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE, BUT IT’S A TALK THAT MANY PARENTS NEED TO HAVE WITH THEIR CHILDREN WHETHER IT’S ABOUT BODY IMAGE OR SELF-ESTEEM OR BULLYING OR BEING DIFFERENT OR STEREOTYPES OF NATIVE CULTURE OR BECAUSE YOU SPEAK A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE OR YOU ARE AN IMMIGRANT.

OF COURSE.

OF COURSE.

SO THIS, OF COURSE, IS AN ANTHOLOGY.

THERE’S SO MANY DIFFERENT YOUNG UP AND COMING AUING AUTHORS.

I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD HIGHLIGHT SOME.

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF AUTHORS, ILLUSTRATORS.

THEY ARE FRIENDS.

DEREK BARNS, A WINNER OF THE NEWBERRY AWARD.

THERE’S A LIST.

THESE ARE FAMILIAR VOICES IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE AS WELL AS WADE HUDSON AS WELL AS SOME AUTHORS WHO ARE MAYBE NOT SO WELL-KNOWN OR SO MUCH HIGH PROFILE, BUT THEY ARE WONDERFUL WRITERS WHO SPEAK TO A NUMBER AND VARIETY OF EXPERIENCES.

THEY ARE MEMBERS OF OUR WRITING COMMUNITY.

THESE ARE PEOPLE WE KNOW.

THESE ARE WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS WE KNOW.

SOME OF THEM WE HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH AS WELL.

IT’S A FAMILY KIND OF APPROACH.

THAT’S THE WAY IT WAS WITH THE FIRST.

AND IT WAS THAT WAY WITH ‘THE TALK’ AS WELL.

WADE, BECAUSE YOU ARE ONE OF THE CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS, I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD GIVE THE AUDIENCE AN IDEA OF WHAT KIND OF NARRATIVES ARE IN THIS BOOK.

YOU TELL A VERY PERSONAL STORY.

YES.

IN FACT, WELL, MY SELECTION IS CALLED, THE BIKE.

I’M RECALLING AN EXPERIENCE THAT I HAD WHEN I WAS 8 YEARS OF AGE.

I GREW UP IN THE SOUTH.

MY FAMILY WAS VERY POOR.

THERE WERE EIGHT CHILDREN IN THE FAMILY.

I WANTED A BIKE FOR CHRISTMAS.

I STARTED SELECTING THE BIKE THAT I WANTED TO GET.

MY BROTHER, WHO WAS A YEAR YOUNGER THAN I, ALSO WANTED THE SAME BIKE.

WE JUST KNEW WE WERE GOING TO GET THIS BIKE.

AS CHRISTMAS CAME, STARTED TO COME CLOSER, OUR PARENTS DIDN’T SAY THEY WEREN’T GOING TO GET THE BIKE OR THEY WERE GOING TO GET THE BIKE.

THEY JUST AVOIDED THE CONVERSATION ABOUT IT.

ON CHRISTMAS DAY, MY BROTHER AND I RAN TO THE CHRISTMAS TREE LOOKING FOR THE BIKE.

THE BIKE WASN’T THERE.

I WAS REALLY DISTRAUGHT.

MY CHRISTMAS WAS RUINED.

I WENT TO THE BEDROOM AND I LAID IN BED.

MY FATHER CAME IN.

HE HAD THIS REALLY DIFFICULT CONVERSATION WITH ME EXPLAINING THAT WE WERE TOO POOR TO BUY THE BIKE.

I HAD NEVER HEARD THE WORD POOR BEFORE OR STRUGGLING BEFORE.

SO THAT REALLY HELPED TO OPEN MY EYES ABOUT MY FAMILY CONDITION.

YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS I FIND SO INTERESTING IS THAT — BECAUSE I BELIEVE YOU GUYS ARE PUBLISHING UNDER JUST US BOOKS, IF I’M CORRECT.

THAT’S THE NAME OF THE INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING COMPANY IN.

YES.

SO THERE SEEMS TO BE THAT YOU WERE DEFINITELY LOOKING TO FILL A NEED THAT WAS IN THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY.

WE HAVE HEARD FROM VARIOUS DIFFERENT RESOURCES AND OTHER NEWS OUTLETS THAT PUBLISHING CAN LEAN TOWARDS VERY WHITE AND VERY SORT OF UPPER MIDDLE CLASS MAINSTREAM.

WHY WAS IT SO IMPORTANT TO CREATE A SPACE FOR KIDS WHO WEREN’T WHITE, WHO WEREN’T EVEN MIDDLE CLASS WHO WERE STRUGGLING WITH SOME OF THESE ISSUES TO HAVE A PLACE WHERE THEY COULD BE REFLECTED IN AN HONEST MANNER?

YOU KNOW, WE STARTED OUR COMPANY OVER 30 YEARS AGO.

WE HAVE TWO CHILDREN.

WHEN THEY WERE GROWING UP, WE WANTED TO HAVE BOOKS AND LEARNING MATERIALS FOR THEM THAT REFLECTED WHO THEY WERE.

IT WAS VERY HARD TO FIND THEM IN THE RETAIL MARKET AND EVEN IN SCHOOLS WHERE MINORITIES, AS WE WERE CALLED AT THAT TIME, WERE NOT NECESSARILY PORTRAYED.

SO WE REALLY STARTED OUR COMPANY FOR OUR CHILDREN AND TO PROVIDE MATERIALS THAT REFLECTED THEM IN A POSITIVE LIGHT.

WE HAD EXPERIENCE IN PUBLISHING.

BOTH WADE AND I WORKED IN PUBLISHING AND WRITING FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.

A LOT OF OUR PROJECTS WERE TURNED DOWN BY THE MAJOR PUBLISHING COMPANIES.

SO WE KNEW HOW TO DO THIS WORK.

WE DID IT AND BIT THE BULLET AND LEAPT OUT ON FAITH AND STARTED OUR OWN PUBLISHING COMPANY.

ACTUALLY, WE STARTED AS A SELF-PUBLISHER WITH ONE TITLE BUT THEN EXPANDED OUR LIST.

BEFORE WE STARTED JUST US BOOKS, WE HAD GONE TO SEVERAL PUBLISHING HOUSES WITH MANUSCRIPTS WE HAD WRITTEN.

WE WERE TOLD THERE WAS NO MARKET FOR THESE KINDS OF MANUSCRIPTS.

ONE EDITOR SAID, BLACK PEOPLE DON’T BUY BOOKS.

WE KNEW THAT WASN’T TRUE.

THE PROBLEM WAS THAT THESE BOOKS WERE NOT AVAILABLE IN THE MARKETPLACE.

ALSO, BOOKS FOR OUR CHILDREN NEED TO BE DIVERSE.

AFRICAN AMERICAN, THERE’S A DIVERSITY THROUGHOUT OUR CULTURE.

THAT SHOULD BE REFLECTED IN THE BOOKS AND LEARNING ING MATERIALR KIDS HAVE.

SPEAKING ABOUT THE DIVERSITY WITHIN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, SO MANY OF THE OTHER EXPERIENCES OF PEOPLE OF COLOR IN AMERICA, I WAS WONDERING HOW — WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT FOR NOT JUST ‘THE TALK’ TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE ISSUES BUT TO ALSO TALK ABOUT HOW THEY FREQUENTLY OVERLAP?

SOMETIMES WHEN A STORY ABOUT RACE OR ABOUT CLASS OR ABOUT BODY IMAGE IS PRESENTED TO A YOUNG PERSON, IT’S PRESENTED IN A LINEAR FASHION.

THIS WAS A SERIES OF STORIES WHERE ACTUALLY THESE ISSUES COMPOUND ON ONE ANOTHER.

ABSOLUTELY.

THE TALKS ARE INTER-GENERATIONAL, MULTI-LAYERED.

THEY DON’T EXIST IN SILOS.

ALTHOUGH WE ARE BLACK 365 DAYS A YEAR, WE ARE ALSO PUBLISHERS.

WE ARE PARENTS.

OUR CHILDREN BRUSH THEIR TEETH.

THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE COMMON AND UNIVERSAL WITHIN ALL CULTURES.

THERE’S A LOT OF INTERSECTION HERE.

THERE’S A VIETNAMESE AMERICAN, A MEXICAN AMERICAN, THEY ARE BLACK.

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE BIRACIAL IN THIS COLLECTION.

NATIVE STORIES ARE IN THE COLLECTION AS WELL.

WE THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO HAVE A WHITE VOICE IN THIS COLLECTION.

WE INVITED ADAM GIBWITZ, WHO SAY WELL-ESTABLISHED WRITER.

HE HAS WRITTEN A PIECE ABOUT WHITE PRIVILEGE AND EXPLAINING IT TO HIS DAUGHTER IN THE PIECE.

IN HAVING TO TALK — THE TALKS, BECAUSE THERE ARE A VARIETY OF TALKS, I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US TO COME TO THE TABLE, NOT JUST PEOPLE OF COLOR.

BECAUSE IF WE COULD HAVE SOLVED THE PROBLEMS OF THE WORLD — RACIAL PROBLEMS, WE WOULD HAVE DONE IT YEARS AGO.

WE NEED EVERYBODY TO THE TABLE, INCLUDING WHITE PEOPLE.

THESE IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS MUST BE HAD BY ALL OF US.

AFTER THE CONVERSATIONS, WE HAVE TO GET UP AND DO THE WORK TO MAKE THIS A BETTER PLACE FOR EVERYBODY.

YES.

I DID THINK THAT WAS SO UNIQUE AND INTERESTING THAT THIS DID INTENTIONALLY INCLUDE A TALK OR A NARRATIVE WRITTEN BY A WHITE AUTHOR AS WELL.

CLEARLY, THIS BOOK IS FOR EVERYONE.

IT’S NOT, SCERTAINLY, JUST SOMETHING FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN SECTION OF THE BOOK TOUR.

IT’S FOR EVERYONE.

EXACTLY RIGHT.

IT’S LITERATURE.

THERE’S A COMBINATION — IT’S VERY CAREFULLY CURATED SO THERE ARE ESSAYS, POEMS, LETTERS, LISTS.

THERE’S RESOURCES IN THE BACK OF THE BOOK.

THEY THERE ARE BLACK AND WHILE ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PEOPLE OF VARIOUS CULTURES.

ACTUALLY, IT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN RELEASED AT A MORE IMPORTANT TIME.

AGAIN, WE STARTED WORKING ON THIS COLLECTION TWO YEARS AGO.

NOW THE SOCIAL JUSTICE THRUST IS RIGHT IN OUR FACE NOW.

SO THE BOOK IS JUST SO IMPORTANT FOR THIS PARTICULAR TIME.

IT IS.

OF COURSE, TIMING IS EVERYTHING.

ESPECIALLY FOR THE RELEASE OF AN ARTISTIC PIECE.

WE ARE SLOWLY COMING UP ON THE END OF OUR TIME.

I DO WANT TO ASK ABOUT SOME OF THE OTHER BOOKS THAT ARE PUBLISHED FROM JUST US BOOKS.

I ASK BECAUSE SO OFTEN — THIS IS TAPPING INTO MY OWN EXPERIENCE.

AS AN AFRICAN-AME AMERICAN CHIL IT’S YOU’LL USUALLY ABOUT HEAVI SUBJECTS.

AS I WAS GOING THROUGH SOME OF THE TITLES, I THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT, THERE’S JUST BOOKS THAT HAPPEN TO BE ABOUT CHILDREN OF COLOR.

ABSOLUTELY.

THERE’S ‘JAMAL’S BUSY DAY.’

A LITTLE BOY WHO LOVES TO GO TO SCHOOL.

THERE’S ‘WHEN I WAS LITTLE’ ABOUT A GRANDFATHER AND A GRANDSON WHO GO FISHING TOGETHER.

THERE’S ONE ABOUT A LITTLE GIRL WHO LOVES TO LISTEN TO THE RADIO AND PAINT.

A LITTLE GIRL AND HER GRANDMOTHER VISITING DOWN SOUTH.

EXPERIENCES OF KIDS BEING KIDS AND THEY HAPPEN TO BE BLACK KIDS.

ALSO, WE FOCUS ON BOOKS FOR BOYS.

BLACK BOYS ARE OFTEN LEFT OUT OF A LOT OF THE BOOKS THAT ARE PUBLISHED.

THERE’S A SERIES CALLED ‘KID CARAMEL.’

IT’S ABOUT A LITTLE BLACK BOY WHO CONSIDERS HIMSELF A DETECTIVE.

HE TRIES TO SOLVE CASES THERE ARE FOUR BOOKS IN THAT SERIES.

WE HAVE A SERIES CALLED ‘NEAT.’

THE BOOKS REVOLVE AROUND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND THE THINGS THEY DO.

I ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT WE DO HAVE BOOKS LIKE ‘BOOK OF BLACK HEROES FROM A TO Z.’

THERE ARE BIOGRAPHIES AS WELL.

UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAVE RUN OUT OF TIME.

I WANT TO THANK YOU BOTH FOR JOINING ME.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THE BOOK IS CALLED ‘THE TALK, CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE, LOVE AND TRUTH.’

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ABSOLUTELY.

BYE-BYE.

‘METROFOCUS’ IS MADE POSSIBLE BY —