The real story of Rosa Parks -- and why we need to confront myths about Black history | David Ikard

Traductor: Sonia Escudero Sánchez Revisor: Lidia Cámara de la Fuente

I am the proud father of two beautiful children,

Soy el orgullos padre de dos preciosos hijos:

Elijah, 15, and Octavia, 12.

Elijah de 15 y Octavia de 12.

When Elijah was in the fourth grade,

Cuando Elijah iba a cuarto grado,

he came to me,

vino a mí,

came home from school bubbling over with excitement

vino a casa desde el colegio rebosante de emoción

about what he had learned that day about African-American history.

por lo que aprendió ese día sobre la historia afroamericana.

Now, I'm an African-American and cultural studies professor,

Bueno, soy afroamericano y profesor de estudios culturales

and so, as you can imagine,

y entonces, como pueden imaginar

African-American culture is kind of serious around my home.

la cultura afroamericana es algo bastante serio en mi casa.

So I was very proud that my son was excited about what he had learned

Así que estaba muy orgulloso de que mi hijo estuviera entusiasmado

por lo que aprendió

that day in school.

ese día en el colegio.

So I said, "What did you learn?"

Dije: "¿Qué aprendiste?"

He said, "I learned about Rosa Parks."

Él dijo: "Aprendí sobre Rosa Parks"

I said, "OK, what did you learn about Rosa Parks?"

Dije: "Bien, ¿qué aprendiste sobre Rosa Parks?"

He said, "I learned that Rosa Parks was this frail, old black woman

Él dijo: "Aprendí que Rosa Parks era esta mujer frágil y vieja

in the 1950s

en la década de 1950

in Montgomery, Alabama.

en Montgomery, Alabama.

And she sat down on this bus,

Y se sentó en este autobus,

and she had tired feet,

y tenía los pies cansados,

and when the bus driver told her to give up her seat to a white patron,

y cuando el conductor le dijo que cediera su asiento a un cliente blanco

she refused because she had tired feet.

se negó porque tenía los pies cansados.

It had been a long day,

Había sido un día largo,

and she was tired of oppression,

estaba cansada de la opresión,

and she didn't give up her seat.

y no cedió su asiento.

And she marched with Martin Luther King,

Y marchó con Martin Luther King

and she believed in nonviolence."

y creyó en la no violencia".

And I guess he must have looked at my face

Y supongo que debió ver mi cara

and saw that I was a little less than impressed

y vio que estaba poco menos que impresionado

by his

por su...

... um ...

...um...

history lesson.

lección de historia.

And so he stopped, and he was like, "Dad, what's wrong? What did I get wrong?"

Y paró, y estaba como: "Papá, ¿qué pasa? ¿en qué me equivoqué?

I said, "Son, you didn't get anything wrong,

Dije: "Hijo, no te equivocaste en nada

but I think your teacher got a whole lot of things wrong."

pero creo que tu maestro se equivocó en un montón de cosas"

(Laughter)

(Risas)

He said, "Well, what do you mean?"

Dijo: "Bien, ¿a qué te refieres?"

I said, "Rosa Parks was not tired.

Dije: "Rosa Parks no estaba cansada"

She was not old.

No era anciana.

And she certainly didn't have tired feet."

Y desde luego no tenía los pies cansados".

He said, "What?"

Él dijo: "¿Qué?

I said, "Yes!

Dije: "¡Sí!

Rosa Parks was only 42 years old" --

Rosa Parks solo tenía 42 años".

Yeah, you're shocked, right? Never heard that.

Sí, están sorprendidos, ¿verdad? Nunca escucharon eso.

"Rosa Parks was only 42 years old,

Rosa Parks solo tenía 42 años,

she had only worked six hours that day, and she was a seamstress

solo trabajó seis horas ese día y era costurera

and her feet were just fine.

y sus pies estaban bien.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

The only thing that she was tired of

De lo único de lo que estaba cansada,

was she was tired of inequality.

muy cansada era de la desigualdad.

She was tired of oppression."

Estaba cansada de la opresión".

And my son said,

Y mi hijo dijo:

"Well, why would my teacher tell me this thing?

"Bien, ¿por qué mi maestra me contó eso?

This is confusing for me."

Es confuso para mí".

Because he loved his teacher, and she was a good teacher,

Porque amaba a su maestra y era una buena maestra

a young-ish, 20-something white woman,

una mujer blanca joven de un veintitantos

really, really smart, pushed him, so I liked her as well.

muy, muy inteligente, lo motivaba, por lo que me gustaba también.

But he was confused. "Why would she tell me this?" he said.

Pero él estaba confuso. Dijo: "¿Por qué me contó eso?"

He said, "Dad, tell me more. Tell me more. Tell me more about Rosa Parks."

"Papá, cuéntame más. Cuéntame más. Cuéntame más sobre Rosa Parks"

And I said, "Son, I'll do you one better."

Y dije: "Hijo, haré algo mejor".

He was like, "What?"

Él dijo: "¿Qué?"

I said, "I'm going to buy her autobiography,

Dije: "Voy a comprarte su autobiografía,

and I'm going to let you read it yourself."

y voy a dejar que la leas".

(Laughter)

(Risas)

So as you can imagine,

Como pueden imaginar,

Elijah wasn't too excited about this new, lengthy homework assignment

Elijah no estaba muy emocionado con esta nueva y larga tarea

that his dad had just given him, but he took it in stride.

que su padre le había dado, pero la tomó con calma.

And he came back after he had read it,

Y volvió después de haberla leído,

and he was excited about what he had learned.

y estaba emocionado sobre lo que había aprendido.

Dijo: "Papá, no solo Rosa Parks no estaba inicialmente con la no violencia,

He said, "Dad, not only was Rosa Parks not initially into nonviolence,

but Rosa Parks's grandfather, who basically raised her

sino que el abuelo de Rosa Parks, que básicamente la crió

and was light enough to pass as white,

y era suficiente claro para pasar por blanco,

used to walk around town with his gun in his holster,

solía caminar por la ciudad con su arma en su funda

and people knew if you messed with Mr. Parks's children or grandchildren,

y la gente sabía que si te metías con los hijos o nietos de Mr. Parks

he would put a cap in your proverbial bottom."

te metería una bala donde la espalda pierde su nombre".

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Right?

¿De acuerdo?

No era alguien con quien meterse.

He was not someone to mess with.

And he said, "I also learned that Rosa Parks married a man in Raymond

Y me dijo: "También aprendí que Rosa Parks se casó con un hombre

en Raymond

who was a lot like her grandfather."

que se parecía mucho a su abuelo".

He would organize.

Se organizó.

He was a civil rights activist.

Era un activista por los derechos civiles.

He would organize events

Organizaba eventos

and sometimes the events would be at Rosa Parks's home.

y a veces los eventos eran en la casa de Rosa Parks.

And one time Rosa Parks remarked

Y una vez Rosa Parks comentó

that there were so many guns on the table,

que había tantas armas sobre la mesa

because they were prepared for somebody to come busting into the door

porque estaban preparados para que alguien tirara la puerta abajo

that they were prepared for whatever was going to go down,

y estaban preparados para lo que pidiera pasar,

that Rosa Parks said, "There were so many guns on the table

que Rosa Parks dijo: "Había tantas pistolas sobre la mesa

that I forgot to even offer them coffee or food."

que incluso se me olvidó ofrecerles café o comida".

This is who Rosa Parks was.

Esta era Rosa Parks.

And in fact, Rosa Parks, when she was sitting on that bus that day,

Y de hecho, Rosa Parks, cuando estaba sentada en el bus ese día,

waiting for those police officers to arrive

esperando que esos oficiales de policía llegaran

and not knowing what was going to happen to her,

y no sabiendo qué iba a pasar con ella,

she was not thinking about Martin Luther King,

no estaba pensando en Martin Luther King,

who she barely knew.

a quien apenas conocía.

She was not thinking about nonviolence or Gandhi.

No estaba pensando en la no violencia de Gandhi.

She was thinking about her grandfather,

Estaba pensando en su abuelo,

a gun-toting, take-no-mess grandfather.

un abuelo pistolero con el que no meterse.

That's who Rosa Parks was thinking about.

En eso estaba pensando Rosa Parks

My son was mesmerized by Rosa Parks,

Mi hijo quedó hipnotizado por Rosa Parks.

and I was proud of him to see this excitement.

y yo me sentía orgulloso de él, de ver su emoción.

But then I still had a problem.

Pero aún tenía un problema.

Because I still had to go his school

Porque aún tenía que ir a la escuela

and address the issue with his teacher,

y abordar el problema con su maestra,

because I didn't want her to continue to teach the kids

porque no quería que continuara enseñando a los niños

obviously false history.

una historia obviamente falsa.

So I'm agonizing over this,

Esto me angustia

primarily because I understand, as an African-American man,

principalmente porque entiendo, como hombre afroamericano,

that whenever you talk to whites about racism

que cada vez que uno habla a los blancos de racismo

or anything that's racially sensitive,

o cualquier cosa racialmente sensible,

there's usually going to be a challenge.

generalmente es un desafío.

This is what white sociologist Robin DiAngelo calls "white fragility."

Esto es lo que la socióloga blanca Robin DiAngelo llama "fragilidad blanca".

She argues that, in fact,

Ella argumenta que, de hecho,

because whites have so little experience being challenged

porque los blancos tienen poca experiencia a ser desafiados

en relación a su privilegio blanco.

about their white privilege

that whenever even the most minute challenge is brought before them,

Cada vez que se les presenta el desafío más minucioso

they usually cry,

normalmente lloran,

get angry

se enfadan

or run.

o corren.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And I have experienced them all.

Y he experimentado todos.

And so, when I was contemplating confronting his teacher,

Y así, cuando contemplaba confrontar a su maestra,

I wasn't happy about it,

no me sentía feliz,

but I was like, this is a necessary evil

pero pensé: este es un mal necesario

of being a black parent trying to raise self-actualized black children.

por ser un padre negro que quiere criar hijos negros autorrealizados.

So I called Elijah to me and said,

Entonces llamé a Elijah y dije:

"Elijah, I'm going to set up an appointment with your teacher

"Elijah, voy a concertar una cita con tu maestra

and try and correct this

e intentar corregir esto

o quizás con el director del colegio.

and maybe your principal.

What do you think?"

¿Qué opinas?"

And Elijah said,

Y Elijah dijo:

"Dad, I have a better idea."

"Papá, tengo una idea mejor".

And I said, "Really? What's your idea?"

Y dije: "¿De verdad?, ¿Cuál es tu idea?"

He said, "We have a public speaking assignment,

Dijo: "Tenemos una tarea para hablar en público,

and why don't I use that public speaking assignment

y por qué no usamos esa tarea de discurso en público

to talk about debunking the myths of Rosa Parks?"

para desmentir los mitos sobre Rosa Parks?"

And I was like,

Y me dije:

"Well, that is a good idea."

"Bueno, es una buena idea"

So Elijah goes to school,

Así que Elijah fue al colegio,

he does his presentation,

hizo su presentación,

he comes back home,

regresó a casa,

and I could see something positive happened.

y pude ver que algo positivo ocurrió.

I said, "Well, what happened, son?"

Dije: "Bueno, ¿qué pasó, hijo?"

He said, "Well, later on in that day,

Él dijo: "Bueno, más tarde ese día,

the teacher pulled me aside,

la maestra me llevó a parte,

and she apologized to me for giving that misinformation."

y se disculpó conmigo por dar esa información errónea".

And then something else miraculous happened the next day.

Y entonces sucedió algo más milagroso al día siguiente.

She actually taught a new lesson on Rosa Parks,

Ella realmente impartió una nueva lección sobre Rosa Parks,

filling in the gaps that she had left and correcting the mistakes that she made.

rellenando las lagunas que había omitido y corrigiendo errores que había cometido.

And I was so, so proud of my son.

Y yo estaba muy, muy orgulloso de mi hijo.

But then I thought about it.

Pero luego lo pensé.

And I got angry.

Y me enojé.

And I got real angry.

Y me enojé mucho.

Why? Why would I get angry?

¿Por qué? ¿Por qué me enojé?

Because my nine-year-old son had to educate his teacher

Porque mi hijo de nueve años tuvo que instruir a su maestra

about his history,

sobre su historia,

had to educate his teacher about his own humanity.

tuvo que educar a su maestra sobre su propia humanidad.

He's nine years old.

Tiene nueve años.

He should be thinking about basketball or soccer

Debería estar pensando en baloncesto o fútbol

or the latest movie.

o en la última película.

He should not be thinking about having to take the responsibility

No debería estar pensando en tener que responsabilizarse

of educating his teacher,

de educar a su profesora,

his students,

a sus estudiantes,

about himself, about his history.

a sí mismo, sobre su historia.

That was a burden that I carried.

Esa fue una carga que llevé.

That was a burden that my parents carried

Esa fue la carga que llevaron mis padres

and generations before them carried.

y llevaron generaciones anteriores.

And now I was seeing my son take on that burden, too.

Y ahora veía a mi hijo llevar también la carga.

You see, that's why Rosa Parks wrote her autobiography.

Verán, esto es por lo que Rosa Parks escribió su autobiografía.

Because during her lifetime,

Porque durante su vida,

if you can imagine,

si pueden imaginarlo,

you do this amazing thing,

hacen esta cosa asombrosa,

you're alive and you're talking about your civil rights activism,

están vivos y hablan sobre su activismo en derechos civiles

and a story emerges

y surge una historia

in which somebody is telling the world

en la que alguien cuenta al mundo

that you were old and you had tired feet

que eran ancianos y tenían los pies cansados

and you just were an accidental activist,

y solo eran activistas accidentales.

not that you had been activist by then for 20 years,

Y no que habían sido activistas para entonces durante 20 años,

not that the boycott had been planned for months,

no es que el boicot hubiera sido preparado durante meses

not that you were not even the first or the second or even the third woman

no es que fuera la primera o segunda o incluso tercera mujer

to be arrested for doing that.

arrestada por hacer eso.

You become an accidental activist, even in her own lifetime.

Así se convierte en activista accidental, finalmente en su propia vida.

So she wrote that autobiography to correct the record,

Así que escribió esa autobiografía para corregir ese testimonio,

because what she wanted to remind people of

porque lo que quería recordar a la gente

was that this

que esto es lo que era

is what it was like

así

in the 1950s

en la década de 1950

trying to be black in America

siendo negro en EE.UU

and fight for your rights.

luchando por sus derechos.

During the year, a little over a year, that the boycott lasted,

Durante el año, poco más del año que duró el boicot,

there were over four church bombings.

hubo más de cuatro bombardeos de iglesias.

Martin Luther King's house was bombed twice.

La casa de Martin Luther King fue bombardeada dos veces.

Other civil rights leaders' houses were bombed in Birmingham.

Las casas de otros líderes de los derechos civiles en Birmingham.

Rosa Parks's husband slept at night with a shotgun,

El marido de Rosa Parks dormía por la noche con una pistola,

because they would get constant death threats.

porque recibían amenazas de muerte constantes.

In fact, Rosa Parks's mother lived with them,

De hecho, la madre de Rosa Parks vivía con ellos,

and sometimes she would stay on the phone for hours

y a veces estaba al teléfono horas

so that nobody would call in with death threats,

para que nadie llamara con amenazas de muerte,

because it was constant and persistent.

porque era algo constante y persistente.

In fact, there was so much tension,

De hecho, había tanta tensión,

there was so much pressure, there was so much terrorism,

había tanta presión, había tanto terrorismo,

that Rosa Parks and her husband, they lost their jobs,

que Rosa Parks y su marido perdieron sus empleos

and they became unemployable

y se convirtieron en desempleados

and eventually had to leave and move out of the South.

y finalmente tuvieron que marcharse y mudarse al Sur.

This is a civil rights reality

Esta era una realidad de los derechos civiles

that Rosa Parks wanted to make sure that people understood.

que Rosa quería asegurar que la gente comprendiera.

So you say, "Well, David, what does that have to do with me?

Quizá digan: "Bueno, David, qué tiene eso que ver conmigo?

I'm a well-meaning person.

Soy una persona con buenas intenciones.

I didn't own slaves.

No tuve esclavos.

I'm not trying to whitewash history.

No trato de blanquear la historia.

I'm a good guy. I'm a good person."

Soy un buen tipo. Soy una buena persona".

Déjenme decirles lo que tiene que ver con Uds.,

Let me tell you what it has to do with you,

and I'll tell it to you by telling you a story

se lo voy a explicar contando una historia

about a professor of mine, a white professor,

sobre uno de mis profesores, un profesor blanco

when I was in graduate school, who was a brilliant, brilliant individual.

que tuve en el postgrado, y que era un individuo brillante.

We'll call him "Fred."

Lo llamaremos "Fred".

And Fred was writing this history of the civil rights movement,

Y Fred estaba escribiendo esa historia sobre el movimiento de derechos civiles

but he was writing specifically about a moment

pero escribía específicamente sobre un momento

that happened to him in North Carolina

que ocurrió en Carolina del Norte

when this white man shot this black man in cold blood in a wide-open space

en que este hombre blanco disparó a este hombre negro a sangre fría

en un espacio público

and was never convicted.

y nunca fue condenado.

And so it was this great book,

Y como este era un gran libro,

and he called together a couple of his professor friends

reunió a un par de amigos profesores

and he called me to read a draft of it before the final submission.

y me llamó para leer el borrador antes de la entrega final.

And I was flattered that he called me;

Y me halagó que me llamaran.

I was only a graduate student then.

Solo era un estudiante de grado.

I was kind of feeling myself a little bit. I was like, "OK, yeah."

Me estaba sintiendo grande. Estaba como: "Está bien, sí"

I'm sitting around amongst intellectuals,

Estoy sentado entre intelectuales

and I read the draft of the book.

y leo el borrador del libro.

And there was a moment in the book

Y había un momento en el libro

that struck me as being deeply problematic,

que me pareció profundamente problemático

and so I said,

y dije:

"Fred," as we were sitting around talking about this draft,

"Fred" mientras estábamos hablando sobre este borrador,

I said, "Fred, I've got a real problem with this moment that you talk

Dije: "Fred, tuve un serio problema con el momento en que hablaste

about your maid in your book."

sobre tu criada en tu libro".

And I could see Fred get a little "tight," as we say.

Y pude ver a Fred ponerse un poco "tenso, como decimos.

He said, "What do you mean? That's a great story.

Él dijo: "¿A qué te refieres? Esa es una gran historia.

It happened just like I said."

Sucedió justo como dije".

I said, "Mmm ... can I give you another scenario?"

Dije: "Mmm...¿puede darte otra posibilidad?

Now, what's the story?

Bien, ¿cuál es la historia?

It was 1968.

Era en 1968.

Martin Luther King had just been assassinated.

Martin Luther King acababa de ser asesinado.

His maid, "domestic" -- we'll call her "Mabel,"

Su criada, "empleada doméstica", la llamaremos "Mabel"

was in the kitchen.

estaba en la cocina.

Little Fred is eight years old.

El pequeño Fred tenía 8 años.

Little Fred comes into the kitchen,

El pequeño Fred entra en la cocina

and Mabel, who he has only seen as smiling and helpful and happy,

y Mabel, a quien solo ha visto sonriendo y servicial y feliz,

is bent over the sink,

está inclinada sobre el fregadero,

and she's crying,

y está llorando,

and she's sobbing

y está sollozando

inconsolably.

inconsolablemente.

And little Fred comes over to her and says, "Mabel, what is wrong?"

Y el pequeño Fred se acerca a ella y dice: "Mabel, ¿qué pasa?"

Mabel turns, and she says,

Mabel se vuelve y dice:

"They killed him! They killed our leader. They killed Martin Luther King.

"¡Lo han matado! ¡Han matado a nuestro líder! ¡Han matado a Martin Luther King!

He's dead! They are monsters."

¡Está muerto! Son unos monstruos".

And little Fred says,

Y el pequeño Fred dice:

"It'll be OK, Mabel. It'll be OK. It'll be OK."

"Todo irá bien, Mabel. Todo irá bien, todo irá bien".

And she looked at him, and she says, "No, it's not going to be OK.

Y ella lo miró y dijo: "No, no va a estar bien"

Did you not hear what I just said?

¿No has escuchado lo que acabo de decir?

They killed Martin Luther King."

Mataron a Martin Luther King".

And Fred,

Y Fred,

son of a preacher,

hijo de un predicador,

looks up at Mabel, and he says,

mira a Mabel y dice:

"But Mabel, didn't Jesus die on the cross for our sins?

"Pero Mabel, ¿no murió Jesús por nuestros pecados?

Wasn't that a good outcome?

¿No fue un buen desenlace?

Maybe this will be a good outcome.

Tal vez esto sea un buen desenlace.

Maybe the death of Martin Luther King will lead to a good outcome."

Quizás la muerte de Martin Luther King lleve a un buen desenlace".

And as Fred tells the story,

Y cuando Fred cuenta la historia,

he says that Mabel put her hand over her mouth,

dice que Mabel puso su mano sobre su boca,

she reached down and she gave little Fred a hug,

se agachó y dio al pequeño Fred un abrazo,

and then she reached into the icebox,

y luego metió la mano en la nevera,

and took out a couple Pepsis,

sacó un par de Pepsis,

gave him some Pepsis

le dio algunas Pepsis

and sent him on his way to play with his siblings.

y lo envió a jugar con sus hermanos.

And he said,

Y él dijo:

"This was proof that even in the most harrowing times of race struggle

"Esta fue la prueba de que incluso en los momentos más terribles

de lucha racial

that two people could come together across racial lines

dos personas podían unirse a través de líneas raciales

and find human commonality

y encontrar la comunidad humana

along the lines of love and affection."

en las líneas del amor y el afecto".

And I said, "Fred, that is some BS."

Y dije: "Fred, eso son idioteces"

(Laughter)

(Risas)

(Applause)

(Aplauso)

Fred was like,

Fred se quedó como:

"But I don't understand, David. That's the story."

"Pero no entiendo, David. Esa es la historia"

I said, "Fred, let me ask you a question."

Dije: "Fred, déjame hacerte una pregunta.

I said, "You were in North Carolina in 1968.

"Estuviste en Carolina del Norte en 1968.

If Mabel would've went to her community -- you were eight years old --

Si Mabel hubiera ido a su comunidad, tú tenías ochos años,

what do you think the eight-year-old African-American children

¿cómo crees que los niños afroamericanos de ocho años

la llamaban?

were calling her?

¿Crees que ellos la llamaban por su nombre?

Do you think they called her by her first name?"

No, they called her "Miss Mabel,"

No, la llamaban "Miss Mabel"

or they called her "Miss Johnson," or they called her "Auntie Johnson."

o la llamaban "Miss Johnson" o la llamaban "Tía Johnson"

They would have never dared call her by her first name,

Nunca se hubieran atrevido a llamarla por su nombre

because that would have been the height of disrespect.

porque eso habría sido el colmo de la falta de respeto

And yet, you were calling her by her first name

Y sin embargo, tú la estabas llamando por su nombre

every single day that she worked,

cada día que trabajaba,

and you never thought about it."

y nunca lo pensaste".

I said, "Let me ask you another question: Was Mabel married?

Dije: "Déjame hacerte otra pregunta: ¿Estaba casada Mabel?

Did she have children?

¿Tenía hijos?

What church did she go to?

¿A qué iglesia iba?

What was her favorite dessert?"

¿Cuál era su postre favorito?

Fred could not answer any of those questions.

Fred no podía responder ninguna de esas preguntas.

I said, "Fred, this story is not about Mabel.

Dije: "Fred, esta historia no es sobre Mabel.

This story is about you."

Esta historia es sobre tí".

I said, "This story made you feel good,

Dije: "Esta historia te hace sentir bien,

but this story is not about Mabel.

pero esta historia no es sobre Mabel.

The reality is,

La realidad es

what probably happened was, Mabel was crying,

que lo que probablemente pasó era que Mabel lloraba

which was not something she customarily did,

que era algo que no solía hacer,

so she was letting her guard down.

así que estaba con la guardia baja.

And you came into the kitchen,

Y tú entraste a la cocina

and you caught her at a weak moment where she was letting her guard down.

y la encontraste en un momento débil donde estaba con la guardia baja.

And see, because you thought of yourself as just like one of her children,

Y mira, como pensabas en ti mismo como uno de sus hijos,

you didn't recognize that you were in fact the child of her employer.

no reconocías que de hecho eras el hijo de su empleador

And she'd found herself yelling at you.

y empezó a gritarte.

And then she caught herself,

Y se sorprendió a sí misma,

realizing that, 'If I'm yelling at him

dándose cuenta de que "Si le estoy gritando a él

and he goes back and he tells his dad or he tells mom,

y regresa y le cuenta a su padre o le cuenta a su madre

I could lose my job.'

podría perder mi empleo".

And so she tempered herself, and she ended up --

Y así se calmó, y acabó...

even though she needed consoling -- she ended up consoling you

a pesar de que ella necesitaba consuelo, acabó consolándote a ti

and sending you on your way,

y enviándote fuera

perhaps so she could finish mourning in peace."

para quizás poder terminar de llorar en paz"

And Fred was stunned.

Y Fred estaba aturdido.

And he realized that he had actually misread that moment.

Y se dio cuenta de que había interpretado mal ese momento.

And see, this is what they did to Rosa Parks.

Y verán, esto es lo que hicieron con Rosa Parks.

Because it's a lot easier to digest an old grandmother with tired feet

Porque era mucho más fácil de digerir una anciana con pies cansados

who doesn't stand up because she wants to fight for inequality,

que una que no se quiere levantar porque lucha contra la desigualdad,

but because her feet and her back are tired,

mejor una con pies y espalda cansados,

and she's worked all day.

que trabajó todo el día.

See, old grandmothers are not scary.

Verán, las ancianas no dan miedo.

But young, radical black women

Pero mujeres jóves negras radicales

who don't take any stuff from anybody

quienes no toman nada de nadie

are very scary,

son muy aterradoras.

who stand up to power

Aquellas que hacen frente al poder

and are willing to die for that --

y que están dispuestas a morir por eso,

those are not the kind of people

no son el tipo de persona,

that make us comfortable.

que nos hace sentir cómodos.

So you say,

Así que dicen:

"What do you want me to do, David?

"¿Qué quieres de mí, David?

I don't know what to do."

No sé qué hacer",

Well, what I would say to you is,

Bueno, lo que le dije es que

there was a time in which,

hubo un tiempo en el que

if you were Jewish, you were not white,

si eras judío, no eras blanco,

if you were Italian, you were not white,

si eras italiano, no eras blanco,

if you were Irish, you were not white

si eras irlandés, no eras blanco,

in this country.

en este país.

It took a while before the Irish, the Jews and the Italians became white.

Tomó un tiempo hasta que irlandeses, judíos e italianos se hicieran blancos,

Right?

¿cierto?

There was a time in which you were "othered,"

Hubo un tiempo en el que Uds. fueron "otro",

when you were the people on the outside.

cuando eran la gente de fuera.

Toni Morrison said,

Toni Morrison dijo:

"If, in order for you to be tall, I have to be on my knees,

"Si para que tú seas alto tengo que arrodillarme,

you have a serious problem."

tienes un serio problema".

She says, "White America has a serious, serious problem."

Ella dice: "La América blanca tiene un serio, serio problema"

To be honest, I don't know if race relations will improve in America.

Para ser honesto, no sé si las relaciones raciales mejorán en EE.UU.

But I know that if they will improve,

Pero sé que si mejoran

we have to take these challenges on head on.

tenemos que enfrentarnos a estos desafíos.

The future of my children depends on it.

El futuro de mis hijos depende de esto.

The future of my children's children depends on it.

El futuro de los hijos de mis hijos depende de esto.

And, whether you know it or not,

Y, tanto si lo sabe como si no,

the future of your children and your children's children

el futuro de nuestros hijos y los hijos de nuestros hijos

depends on it, too.

depende de esto también.

Thank you.

Gracias.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)