robbiethompson's MyC-SPAN

Photojournalists talked about covering the late Senator John McCain (R-AZ) when he ran for president in 2008, as well as photographing other presidential candidates during the past decade. Panelists included Damon Winter from the New York Times, Carolyn Kaster from the Associated Press and Chip Somodevilla from Getty Images. President Obama’s former campaign press secretary, Ben LaBolt, moderated the discussion.

Three former White House photographers talked about their work with former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. Sharon Farmer, Eric Draper, and Lawrence Jackson shared photographs showing these presidents in their public and private moments. They also showed pictures of first families and White House staff, and told the stories behind each scene. The Annenberg Space for Photography hosted the event.

Panelists looked at the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery, and examined its relationship to issues of today’s criminal justice system. They discussed policing, incarceration, the fight against drugs, and the role of prosecutors and grand juries. Speakers included an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the chair of Howard University’s Afro-American Studies Department. The forum was part of the annual Benjamin Drummond Emancipation Day Celebration.

Professor Michael Eric Dyson talked about his book Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America, in which he looks at the racial divide in America. Professor Dyson argued that racial progress could only be achieved by examining the hard truths about race in America.

This program contains language some viewers may find offensive.

Daryl Scott talked about the evolution of how African Americans have viewed the Civil War and offered his own perspective on why more African Americans don’t study the topic. He described differences between generations and how the Civil Rights movement made an impact on how African Americans think of the war and its legacy. He spoke with Yoni Appelbaum, historian and senior editor at The Atlantic.

Professor Sharita Thompson of Gettysburg College is a historian of the black experience during the Civil War and Reconstruction. She teaches a course on sex and the Civil War, and in this class she focused on prostitution in the North and South.

Panelists talked about media and popular culture.
This program was part of an Aspen Institute symposium on the state of race in the United States.