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

Revisore: Gabriella Patricola

Sono fiero di essere il padre di due bellissimi bambini,

Elijah di 15 anni e Octavia di 12.

I am the proud father of two beautiful children,

Quando Elijah era in quarta elementare

Elijah, 15, and Octavia, 12.

è venuto da me,

appena tornato da scuola, tutto contento

per quello che aveva imparato quel giorno sulla storia afroamericana.

When Elijah was in the fourth grade,

he came to me,

Vedete, sono un professore di studi culturali e afroamericani

came home from school bubbling over with excitement

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

perciò, come potete immaginare,

la storia afroamericana è un argomento serio a casa mia.

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

Quindi ero orgoglioso che mio figlio fosse entusiasta

della lezione appresa a scuola.

and so, as you can imagine,

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

Gli ho chiesto: "Cosa hai imparato?"

E lui ha risposto: “Ho studiato Rosa Parks”.

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

Ed io: "Cosa hai imparato su di lei?"

that day in school.

So I said, "What did you learn?"

“Ho imparato che era un’anziana e fragile donna nera

He said, "I learned about Rosa Parks."

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

negli anni '50,

a Montgomery, in Alabama.

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

Si sedette su un autobus,

aveva i piedi stanchi,

in the 1950s

e quando l’autista le disse di lasciare il posto libero per un bianco

in Montgomery, Alabama.

And she sat down on this bus,

si rifiutò perché aveva i piedi stanchi.

and she had tired feet,

Era stata una giornataccia ed era stufa della prepotenza,

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

così non lasciò libero il posto.

Marciò con Martin Luther King e credeva nella non violenza.”

she refused because she had tired feet.

It had been a long day,

Credo abbia guardato la mia faccia

and she was tired of oppression,

and she didn't give up her seat.

e abbia notato che non ero proprio impressionato

And she marched with Martin Luther King,

and she believed in nonviolence."

And I guess he must have looked at my face

dalla sua, diciamo,

lezione di storia.

and saw that I was a little less than impressed

Quindi si fermò, e disse: “Papà, cosa c’è? Ho sbagliato qualcosa?”

by his

Risposi: "No, caro, non hai sbagliato.

... um ...

history lesson.

Credo che la tua insegnante abbia sbagliato un po’ tutto.”

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

(Risate)

Allora mi chiese: "Cosa intendi?"

E io: "Rosa Parks non era stanca.

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

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

Non era vecchia.

(Laughter)

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

E di sicuro, non aveva i piedi stanchi.

I said, "Rosa Parks was not tired.

Disse: "Cosa?"

E io dissi: "Sì!

She was not old.

Rosa Parks aveva solo 42 anni."

And she certainly didn't have tired feet."

Sorprendente, no? Non lo sapevate.

He said, "What?"

"Rosa Parks aveva solo 42 anni,

I said, "Yes!

Rosa Parks was only 42 years old" --

aveva lavorato solo sei ore quel giorno, era una sarta

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

e i suoi piedi stavano benone."

"Rosa Parks was only 42 years old,

(Risate)

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

L’unica cosa di cui era stanca era l’ingiustizia.

and her feet were just fine.

Era stanca dell'oppressione."

(Laughter)

E mio figlio disse:

The only thing that she was tired of

“Allora perché l’insegnante mi ha detto quelle cose?

was she was tired of inequality.

Sono confuso."

She was tired of oppression."

Lui adorava la sua insegnante, era un’ottima insegnante,

And my son said,

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

una giovane donna bianca sui 20 anni,

This is confusing for me."

estremamente intelligente, lo motivava, quindi piaceva anche a me.

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

Ma era confuso. “Perché ha detto così?” mi chiese.

a young-ish, 20-something white woman,

Aggiunse: “Papà, dimmi di più. Raccontami di Rosa Parks.”

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

Io risposi: "Farò di meglio".

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

Lui: "Cioè?"

Io: "Comprerò la sua autobiografia,

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

così potrai leggerla da te".

(Risate)

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

He was like, "What?"

Come potete immaginare,

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

Elijah non era troppo entusiasta di questo nuovo gravoso lavoro,

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

(Laughter)

che suo padre gli aveva appena assegnato, ma ci si mise di buon grado.

So as you can imagine,

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

Dopo aver letto il libro venne da me,

soddisfatto di quello che aveva imparato.

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

Mi disse: “Papà, non solo Rosa Parks all’inizio non proclamava la non violenza

And he came back after he had read it,

and he was excited about what he had learned.

ma suo nonno, che praticamente la crebbe,

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

che aveva la carnagione così chiara da sembrare bianco,

girava per la città con la pistola nella fondina,

but Rosa Parks's grandfather, who basically raised her

e la gente sapeva che se molestavi i figli o i nipoti del signor Parks,

and was light enough to pass as white,

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

lui avrebbe messo un proiettile nel tuo proverbiale fondo schiena.”

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

(Risate)

Vero?

Non era qualcuno a cui fare sgarri.

he would put a cap in your proverbial bottom."

Aggiunse: “Ho anche imparato che Rosa ha sposato un uomo, Raymond,

(Laughter)

Right?

He was not someone to mess with.

che era molto simile a suo nonno".

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

Lui organizzava.

Era un attivista per i diritti civili.

who was a lot like her grandfather."

Organizzava eventi

He would organize.

che a volte si svolgevano a casa di Rosa Parks.

He was a civil rights activist.

He would organize events

Una volta Rosa Parks osservò

che sul tavolo c'erano tante pistole

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

per essere preparati nel caso qualcuno irrompesse dalla porta,

pronti per qualsiasi cosa potesse succedere

And one time Rosa Parks remarked

that there were so many guns on the table,

e Rosa Parks disse: “C’erano così tante pistole sul tavolo

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

che dimenticai di offrire caffè o cibo”.

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

Ecco che tipo era Rosa Parks.

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

Infatti, mentre Rosa era seduta sull’autobus quel giorno,

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

aspettando che arrivassero i poliziotti,

This is who Rosa Parks was.

senza sapere che cosa le sarebbe successo

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

non pensava a Martin Luther King,

che a malapena conosceva.

waiting for those police officers to arrive

Non pensava alla nonviolenza, o a Gandhi.

and not knowing what was going to happen to her,

Pensava a suo nonno,

she was not thinking about Martin Luther King,

un pistolero che non tollerava seccature.

who she barely knew.

She was not thinking about nonviolence or Gandhi.

Ecco a chi pensò Rosa Parks.

She was thinking about her grandfather,

Mio figlio era affascinato da Rosa Parks,

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

ed ero fiero di vederlo così entusiasta.

That's who Rosa Parks was thinking about.

Ma avevo ancora un problema.

My son was mesmerized by Rosa Parks,

Perché dovevo comunque andare a scuola

and I was proud of him to see this excitement.

e discuterne con la sua maestra,

perché non volevo continuasse a insegnare ai ragazzi

But then I still had a problem.

una storia chiaramente falsa.

Because I still had to go his school

and address the issue with his teacher,

Questo mi tormentava,

innanzitutto perché capivo, in quanto afroamericano,

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

che quando parli di razzismo ai bianchi

obviously false history.

o di qualsiasi cosa riguardante la razza,

So I'm agonizing over this,

di solito si crea un confronto.

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

È quello che la sociologa bianca Robin DiAngelo chiama “fragilità bianca”.

that whenever you talk to whites about racism

or anything that's racially sensitive,

Sostiene che, di fatto,

there's usually going to be a challenge.

visto che i bianchi non sono abituati a confrontarsi

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

sul loro privilegio bianco,

quando si trovano davanti la più piccola delle sfide

She argues that, in fact,

because whites have so little experience being challenged

di solito piangono, si arrabbiano o scappano.

about their white privilege

(Risate)

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

Io le ho sperimentate tutte.

Quindi, mentre pensavo al confronto con l’insegnante,

they usually cry,

get angry

or run.

(Laughter)

And I have experienced them all.

non mi faceva piacere,

ma capivo che era un male necessario

And so, when I was contemplating confronting his teacher,

per un genitore nero che aspirava alla realizzazione dei propri figli.

Allora chiamai Elijah e gli dissi:

I wasn't happy about it,

but I was like, this is a necessary evil

“Elijah, fisserò un appuntamento con la tua insegnante

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

per correggere la cosa,

e forse anche col preside.

So I called Elijah to me and said,

Che ne pensi?"

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

Ed Elijah disse:

"Papà, ho un'idea migliore".

and try and correct this

Gli chiesi: "Davvero? Che idea?"

and maybe your principal.

Mi disse: “Abbiamo il compito di fare una presentazione,

What do you think?"

And Elijah said,

"Dad, I have a better idea."

quindi perché non approfittarne

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

per sfatare alcuni miti su Rosa Parks?"

He said, "We have a public speaking assignment,

Dissi:

and why don't I use that public speaking assignment

"È un'ottima idea!"

to talk about debunking the myths of Rosa Parks?"

Quindi Elijah andò a scuola,

And I was like,

fece la presentazione.

"Well, that is a good idea."

Quando tornò a casa.

si vedeva che era successo qualcosa di positivo.

So Elijah goes to school,

Gli chiesi: "Figliolo, com'è andata?"

Rispose: “Più tardi quel giorno, l’insegnante mi ha preso da parte,

he does his presentation,

he comes back home,

and I could see something positive happened.

e si è scusata per avermi dato informazioni sbagliate”.

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

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

Poi è successo un altro miracolo il giorno dopo.

the teacher pulled me aside,

and she apologized to me for giving that misinformation."

L’insegnate ha tenuto una nuova lezione su Rosa Parks,

completando le informazioni mancanti e correggendo gli errori fatti.

And then something else miraculous happened the next day.

Ero davvero tanto orgoglioso di mio figlio.

She actually taught a new lesson on Rosa Parks,

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

Però poi ci ripensai.

And I was so, so proud of my son.

E mi arrabbiai.

Per davvero.

But then I thought about it.

Perché? Perché arrabbiarsi?

Perché mio figlio, di nove anni, aveva dovuto istruire la sua insegnante

And I got angry.

And I got real angry.

riguardo la sua storia,

Why? Why would I get angry?

aveva dovuto istruirla sulla sua umanità.

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

Ha nove anni.

Dovrebbe pensare al basket, o al calcio,

about his history,

had to educate his teacher about his own humanity.

o all'ultimo film uscito al cinema.

He's nine years old.

Non dovrebbe pensare a prendersi la responsabilità

He should be thinking about basketball or soccer

di istruire la sua insegnante e i suoi studenti,

or the latest movie.

He should not be thinking about having to take the responsibility

riguardo se stesso e la sua storia.

of educating his teacher,

Era un peso che portavo io.

Un peso che i miei genitori portarono

his students,

e le generazioni prima di loro.

Ora guardavo anche mio figlio accettare di portare quel peso.

about himself, about his history.

That was a burden that I carried.

That was a burden that my parents carried

Ecco perché Rosa Parks scrisse la sua autobiografia.

and generations before them carried.

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

Perché nel corso della sua vita,

se riuscite a immaginarla,

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

intraprendete questa strada incredibile,

siete animati e state parlando del vostro attivismo per i diritti civili,

Because during her lifetime,

if you can imagine,

you do this amazing thing,

e viene fuori una storia

in cui qualcuno sta dicendo al mondo

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

che tu eri vecchia e avevi i piedi stanchi

e che eri un'attivista solo per caso,

and a story emerges

non che lo eri stata per 20 anni

in which somebody is telling the world

that you were old and you had tired feet

non che il boicottaggio era pianificato da mesi

and you just were an accidental activist,

e neanche che non era la prima, la seconda o la terza donna

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

che veniva arrestata per quel motivo.

not that the boycott had been planned for months,

Diventa un’attivista per caso, anche per i suoi contemporanei.

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

Quindi ha scritto un’autobiografia per correggere la versione ufficiale,

to be arrested for doing that.

perché voleva ricordare alle persone

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

che è questo che significava

So she wrote that autobiography to correct the record,

because what she wanted to remind people of

negli anni Cinquanta

essere neri in America

was that this

is what it was like

e lottare per i propri diritti.

in the 1950s

Nell’arco di un anno o poco più, durante il boicottaggio

trying to be black in America

quattro chiese furono fatte esplodere.

and fight for your rights.

La casa di Martin Luther King venne bombardata due volte.

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

Le case di altri leader dei diritti civili vennero bombardate a Birmingham.

there were over four church bombings.

Martin Luther King's house was bombed twice.

Il marito di Rosa dormiva con un fucile,

Other civil rights leaders' houses were bombed in Birmingham.

perché ricevevano continuamente minacce di morte.

Per questo la madre di Rosa viveva con loro

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

e a volte stava ore al telefono,

così nessuno poteva chiamare per minacciarli

because they would get constant death threats.

perché era una cosa costante e insistente.

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

and sometimes she would stay on the phone for hours

In effetti, c'era talmente tanta tensione,

so that nobody would call in with death threats,

pressione e terrorismo,

che Rosa e suo marito persero il lavoro,

because it was constant and persistent.

nessuno li voleva più assumere,

In fact, there was so much tension,

e alla fine dovettero andarsene e lasciare il sud.

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

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

and they became unemployable

Questa è la realtà dei diritti civili

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

che Rosa Parks voleva far capire alla gente.

This is a civil rights reality

Direte: "Allora, David cosa c'entro io?

that Rosa Parks wanted to make sure that people understood.

Sono una brava persona,

Non possedevo schiavi,

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

non nascondo il malfatto dei bianchi.

Son un bravo ragazzo, una brava persona."

I'm a well-meaning person.

Lasciate che vi spieghi cosa ha a che fare con voi.

I didn't own slaves.

Ve lo spiego raccontandovi la storia

I'm not trying to whitewash history.

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

di un mio professore, bianco.

Mentre facevo la specializzazione, era un individuo brillante.

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

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

about a professor of mine, a white professor,

Lo chiameremo "Fred".

Fred stava scrivendo la storia del movimento dei diritti civili

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

e in particolare di un episodio

We'll call him "Fred."

che era successo a lui, nella Carolina del Nord,

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

quando un bianco bianco sparò a sangue freddo a un uomo di colore

but he was writing specifically about a moment

e non fu mai incriminato.

that happened to him in North Carolina

Dunque scrisse questo magnifico libro,

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

riunì alcuni dei suoi amici professori

e chiamò me per leggere la bozza prima della consegna.

and was never convicted.

And so it was this great book,

Ero lusingato che mi avesse interpellato, ero solo uno studente all’epoca.

and he called together a couple of his professor friends

Facevo un po’ il presuntuoso, tipo: “Sì, certamente”.

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

And I was flattered that he called me;

Ero seduto in mezzo a intellettuali

I was only a graduate student then.

e leggevo la bozza del libro.

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

A un certo punto del libro un passaggio mi colpì

I'm sitting around amongst intellectuals,

per quanto era problematico.

and I read the draft of the book.

Così dissi:

"Fred" mentre parlavamo della bozza,

And there was a moment in the book

dissi: “Fred, ho un dubbio su questo passaggio in cui parli

that struck me as being deeply problematic,

and so I said,

della tua cameriera, nel tuo libro".

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

Notai che Fred, come dire, si irrigidì.

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

about your maid in your book."

Disse: "In che senso? È una bella storia.

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

È andata proprio come racconto.”

Dissi: "Posso darti un altro scenario?"

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

Dunque, qual'è la storia?

Era il 1968 e Martin Luther King era appena stato assassinato.

It happened just like I said."

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

La sua cameriera “domestica” che chiameremo “Mabel”, era in cucina.

Now, what's the story?

It was 1968.

Martin Luther King had just been assassinated.

Il piccolo Fred aveva otto anni, ed entrò in cucina.

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

Mabel che è sempre sorridente, disponibile e felice,

was in the kitchen.

Little Fred is eight years old.

Little Fred comes into the kitchen,

era chinata sul lavandino e stava piangendo.

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

E stava singhiozzando in modo inconsolabile.

is bent over the sink,

Allora il piccolo Fred si avvicinò e chiese: “Mabel, cosa c’è?”

and she's crying,

and she's sobbing

Mabel si voltò e disse:

inconsolably.

“Lo hanno ucciso! Hanno ucciso il nostro leader Martin Luther King”

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

È morto! Sono dei mostri."

Mabel turns, and she says,

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

Allora il piccolo Fred disse:

“Andrà tutto bene, Mabel, andrà tutto bene”.

He's dead! They are monsters."

Lei lo guardò e disse: “No, non andrà bene.

Hai sentito cosa ho appena detto?

And little Fred says,

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

Hanno ucciso Martin Luther King."

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

E Fred, figlio di un predicatore,

Did you not hear what I just said?

They killed Martin Luther King."

guardò Mabel e disse:

“Mabel, Gesù non è forse morto sulla croce per i nostri peccati?

And Fred,

son of a preacher,

looks up at Mabel, and he says,

Non è stato un buon risultato?

Forse anche questo lo sarà.

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

Forse la morte di Martin Luther King porterà a qualcosa di positivo.”

Wasn't that a good outcome?

Maybe this will be a good outcome.

Mentre Fred raccontava la storia,

disse che Mabel si coprì la bocca con la mano,

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

si chinò e abbracciò Fred.

And as Fred tells the story,

he says that Mabel put her hand over her mouth,

Poi aprì il congelatore e ne tirò fuori un paio di Pepsi,

she reached down and she gave little Fred a hug,

gliele diede e lo invitò ad andare a giocare coi fratelli.

and then she reached into the icebox,

Fred disse:

and took out a couple Pepsis,

“Era la prova che anche nelle situazioni più difficili della lotta razziale

gave him some Pepsis

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

due individui possono superare le differenze razziali

And he said,

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

e trovare la comunanza umana

guidati dall'amore e dall'affetto".

E io dissi "Fred, queste sono scemenze".

that two people could come together across racial lines

and find human commonality

(Risate)

along the lines of love and affection."

(Applausi)

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

E Fred disse: “Non capisco David, andò davvero così“.

(Laughter)

(Applause)

Dissi: "Fred, ti faccio una domanda".

Fred was like,

Gli dissi: “Nel 1968 eri nella Carolina del Nord.

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

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

Se Mabel fosse stata nella sua comunità, e tu avevi otto anni all’epoca

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

come pensi che i bambini afroamericani di otto anni la chiamassero?

Credi che la chiamassero per nome?

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

No, la chiamavano Miss Mabel, oppure Miss Johnson o Zia Johnson.

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

Non avrebbero mai osato chiamarla per nome

were calling her?

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

perché sarebbe stato irrispettoso.

No, they called her "Miss Mabel,"

Eppure tu la chiamavi per nome ogni giorno che lavorava

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

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

e non ci hai mai fatto caso."

because that would have been the height of disrespect.

Aggiunsi: “Ti faccio un’altra domanda: era sposata?

And yet, you were calling her by her first name

Aveva figli? Quale chiesa frequentava?

every single day that she worked,

and you never thought about it."

Qual era il suo dolce preferito?"

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

Fred non sapeva rispondere a nessuna delle domande.

Did she have children?

What church did she go to?

What was her favorite dessert?"

"Fred, questa storia non riguarda Mabel.

Fred could not answer any of those questions.

Questa storia riguarda te."

Dissi: “Ti faceva sentire bene, ma non riguardava Mabel.

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

La verità è che Mabel probabilmente piangeva,

This story is about you."

I said, "This story made you feel good,

cosa che non succedeva normalmente, quindi aveva la guardia abbassata.

but this story is not about Mabel.

The reality is,

Tu sei arrivato in cucina

what probably happened was, Mabel was crying,

e l’hai colta in un attimo di debolezza, mentre era più esposta

which was not something she customarily did,

so she was letting her guard down.

e siccome ti consideravi come uno dei suoi figli

And you came into the kitchen,

non capivi che in realtà eri il figlio del suo datore di lavoro.

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

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

Lei ti aveva sgridato ma poi si ricompose

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

realizzando che se ti avesse sgridato e tu fossi andato a dirlo ai tuoi genitori

And she'd found herself yelling at you.

avrebbe potuto perdere il lavoro.

And then she caught herself,

realizing that, 'If I'm yelling at him

Quindi si controllò

e finì col consolare te, anche se era lei ad averne bisogno.

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

I could lose my job.'

Così ti mandò via

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

forse per restare sola col suo dolore."

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

Fred era sbalordito.

and sending you on your way,

Realizzò che aveva frainteso quel momento.

perhaps so she could finish mourning in peace."

Vedete, accadde lo stesso con Rosa Parks.

And Fred was stunned.

And he realized that he had actually misread that moment.

È più facile accettare che un’anziana con i piedi stanchi

non si alzi per opporsi alla disuguaglianza

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

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

a causa dei suoi piedi stanchi e per il mal di schiena

e perché ha lavorato tutto il giorno.

Vedete, le anziane non fanno paura.

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

Ma una giovane donna nera radicale

but because her feet and her back are tired,

che non si fa mettere i piedi in testa

and she's worked all day.

fa molta paura,

See, old grandmothers are not scary.

perché contrasta il potere

ed è pronta a morire per quello in cui crede.

But young, radical black women

who don't take any stuff from anybody

Questo non è il tipo di persone che ci mettono a nostro agio.

are very scary,

who stand up to power

and are willing to die for that --

those are not the kind of people

Mi dirai: "Cosa vuoi che faccia David?

that make us comfortable.

Non so cosa fare."

Quello che ti direi è che c’è stato un tempo

So you say,

"What do you want me to do, David?

I don't know what to do."

in cui se eri ebreo non eri bianco,

se eri italiano non eri bianco,

Well, what I would say to you is,

se eri irlandese non eri bianco

there was a time in which,

in questa nazione.

Ci volle del tempo prima che gli irlandesi

if you were Jewish, you were not white,

if you were Italian, you were not white,

gli ebrei e gli italiani diventassero bianchi.

if you were Irish, you were not white

Giusto?

in this country.

Ci fu un tempo in cui eri "l'altro"

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

quando eri fuori dal gruppo.

Right?

Toni Morrison disse:

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

“Se devo inginocchiarmi per farvi sentire alti

when you were the people on the outside.

avete un grosso problema".

Disse: “L’America bianca ha un problema molto, ma molto serio.”

Toni Morrison said,

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

Onestamente, non so se le relazioni interrazziali miglioreranno in America.

you have a serious problem."

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

Ma so che se miglioreranno,

dovremo prendere il toro per le corna.

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

Il futuro dei miei figli dipende da questo.

But I know that if they will improve,

il futuro dei figli dei miei figli dipende da questo.

we have to take these challenges on head on.

Che ne siate consapevoli o meno,

anche il futuro dei vostri figli e dei figli dei vostri figli

The future of my children depends on it.

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

dipende da questo.

And, whether you know it or not,

Grazie.

(Applausi)

the future of your children and your children's children

depends on it, too.

Thank you.

(Applause)