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

Tradutor: Bernardo Courrege Revisor: Maricene Crus

I am the proud father of two beautiful children,

Sou o pai orgulhoso de dois filhos lindos,

Elijah, 15, and Octavia, 12.

Elijah, de 15, e Octavia, de 12.

When Elijah was in the fourth grade,

Quando Elijah estava no quarto ano,

he came to me,

um dia chegou todo entusiasmado da escola

came home from school bubbling over with excitement

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

me contando o que havia aprendido sobre história afro-americana na aula.

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

Sou professor de estudos culturais e afro-americanos,

and so, as you can imagine,

então, como podem imaginar, isso é assunto sério lá em casa.

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

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

Fiquei muito orgulhoso por meu filho estar animado

com o que havia aprendido naquele dia na escola.

that day in school.

So I said, "What did you learn?"

Logo perguntei: "O que você aprendeu?"

He said, "I learned about Rosa Parks."

Ele disse: "Aprendi sobre Rosa Parks".

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

Eu disse: "Certo, mas o que aprendeu sobre ela?"

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

Ele disse: "Aprendi que Rosa Parks era uma senhora negra velha e frágil,

in the 1950s

nos anos 1950,

in Montgomery, Alabama.

em Montgomery, Alabama.

And she sat down on this bus,

E se sentou no ônibus,

seus pés cansados,

and she had tired feet,

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

e quando o motorista pediu que cedesse seu lugar para um branco,

she refused because she had tired feet.

ela se recusou, pois estava com pés cansados,

It had been a long day,

tinha sido um dia longo,

and she was tired of oppression,

e estava cansada da opressão, e ela não cedeu.

and she didn't give up her seat.

And she marched with Martin Luther King,

E marchou com Martin Luther King,

and she believed in nonviolence."

e acreditava na não violência".

And I guess he must have looked at my face

Acho que ele deve ter olhado para meu rosto

and saw that I was a little less than impressed

e percebido que eu não estava nem um pouco impressionado

by his

com sua...

... um ...

history lesson.

aula de história,

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

então parou e perguntou: "Pai, o que houve? Entendi algo errado?"

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

Eu disse: "Filho, você não entendeu nada errado,

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

mas acho que sua professora errou muitas coisas".

(Laughter)

(Risos)

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

Ele perguntou: "Como assim?"

I said, "Rosa Parks was not tired.

Eu disse: "Rosa Parks não estava cansada,

She was not old.

não era velha,

And she certainly didn't have tired feet."

e certamente não tinha pés cansados".

He said, "What?"

Ele perguntou: "O quê?"

I said, "Yes!

E eu disse: "Rosa Parks tinha apenas 42 anos".

Rosa Parks was only 42 years old" --

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

Ficaram chocados, não? Nunca ouviram isso.

"Rosa Parks was only 42 years old,

Ela tinha apenas 42 anos,

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

havia trabalhado naquele dia por apenas seis horas,

era costureira, e seus pés estavam ótimos.

and her feet were just fine.

(Laughter)

(Risos)

The only thing that she was tired of

A única coisa de que estava cansada era a desigualdade, a opressão".

was she was tired of inequality.

She was tired of oppression."

And my son said,

Meu filho disse: "Estou confuso, por que minha professora diria isso?"

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

This is confusing for me."

Ele adorava essa professora e ela era muito boa.

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

a young-ish, 20-something white woman,

Era uma jovem branca, de 20 e poucos anos, muito inteligente e ainda o estimulava,

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

por isso eu também gostava dela.

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

Mas ele estava confuso com o que havia aprendido.

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

Ele disse: "Pai, me conte mais sobre Rosa Parks".

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

Eu disse: "Filho, vou fazer até melhor".

He was like, "What?"

Ele disse: "O quê?"

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

Eu disse: "Vou comprar a autobiografia dela e deixar que você a leia sozinho.

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

(Laughter)

(Risos)

So as you can imagine,

Então como podem imaginar,

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

Elijah não ficou muito animado com esse novo e longo dever de casa

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

que seu pai acabara de lhe passar, mas levou numa boa.

And he came back after he had read it,

Voltou depois de ler tudo, animado com o que havia aprendido.

and he was excited about what he had learned.

Ele disse: "Pai, além de Rosa Parks

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

não ser inicialmente adepta da não violência,

seu avô, que praticamente a havia criado,

but Rosa Parks's grandfather, who basically raised her

and was light enough to pass as white,

e que era claro o suficiente para se passar por branco,

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

costumava andar pela cidade com uma arma no coldre,

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

e as pessoas sabiam que se mexessem com os filhos ou netos dele,

he would put a cap in your proverbial bottom."

virariam peneira".

(Laughter)

(Risos)

Right?

Era bom ninguém arrumar confusão com ele.

He was not someone to mess with.

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

Ele disse: "Também fiquei sabendo que ela se casou com um homem em Raymond,

who was a lot like her grandfather."

que era muito parecido com o avô dela.

He would organize.

Ele era um ativista dos direitos civis e organizava eventos,

He was a civil rights activist.

He would organize events

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

que muitas vezes aconteciam na casa de Rosa Parks.

And one time Rosa Parks remarked

Ela comentou que numa dessas vezes havia muitas armas sobre a mesa,

that there were so many guns on the table,

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

pois, caso alguém chegasse arrombando a porta,

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

eles estariam preparados para se defender de qualquer coisa.

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

Rosa Parks disse que havia tantas armas na mesa,

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

que ela até se esqueceu de servir comida e café.

This is who Rosa Parks was.

Essa era a verdadeira Rosa Parks.

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

E na verdade, naquele dia em que estava sentada no ônibus

waiting for those police officers to arrive

esperando os policiais chegarem, sem saber o que aconteceria,

and not knowing what was going to happen to her,

she was not thinking about Martin Luther King,

ela não pensava em Martin Luther King, que ela mal conhecia,

who she barely knew.

She was not thinking about nonviolence or Gandhi.

nem no movimento não violência ou Gandhi.

She was thinking about her grandfather,

Ela estava pensando em seu avô:

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

um sujeito durão e armado até aos dentes.

That's who Rosa Parks was thinking about.

Era nele que ela estava pensando.

My son was mesmerized by Rosa Parks,

Meu filho estava fascinado por Rosa Parks, e eu, orgulhoso de ver seu entusiamo.

and I was proud of him to see this excitement.

But then I still had a problem.

Mas ainda havia uma questão:

Because I still had to go his school

eu ainda tinha que ir à escola dele para resolver o problema com a professora,

and address the issue with his teacher,

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

pois não queria que ela continuasse falando bobagem para eles.

obviously false history.

So I'm agonizing over this,

Fiquei angustiado com isso,

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

principalmente porque sei, como afro-americano,

that whenever you talk to whites about racism

que quando falamos de racismo com pessoas brancas,

or anything that's racially sensitive,

there's usually going to be a challenge.

geralmente haverá uma discussão.

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

A socióloga branca Robin DiAngelo chama isso de "fragilidade branca".

She argues that, in fact,

Ela ainda afirma

que por serem tão pouco confrontados por causa do privilégio branco,

because whites have so little experience being challenged

about their white privilege

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

a mais insignificante contestação geralmente lhes faz chorar,

they usually cry,

ficar com raiva ou correr.

get angry

or run.

(Laughter)

(Risos)

And I have experienced them all.

Eu já vivenciei tudo isso.

And so, when I was contemplating confronting his teacher,

Então quando estava contemplando confrontar a professora de meu filho,

I wasn't happy about it,

não estava muito animado, mas sabia que era um mal necessário

but I was like, this is a necessary evil

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

de um pai negro tentando criar filhos atualizados.

So I called Elijah to me and said,

Chamei Elijah e disse:

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

"Vou marcar uma reunião com sua professora e talvez com o diretor

and try and correct this

para tentar corrigir isso.

and maybe your principal.

What do you think?"

O que acha?"

And Elijah said,

Ele disse: "Pai, tenho uma ideia melhor".

"Dad, I have a better idea."

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

Eu perguntei: "É? Qual é sua ideia?"

He said, "We have a public speaking assignment,

Ele disse: "Temos um trabalho que é uma apresentação em público.

and why don't I use that public speaking assignment

Por que não o aproveito

to talk about debunking the myths of Rosa Parks?"

para desmistificar e falar dos mitos sobre Rosa Parks?"

And I was like,

Respondi: "É uma boa ideia mesmo".

"Well, that is a good idea."

(Risos)

So Elijah goes to school,

Elijah então vai para a escola, faz sua apresentação e volta para casa.

he does his presentation,

he comes back home,

Eu já conseguia perceber que algo positivo havia acontecido.

and I could see something positive happened.

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

Perguntei: "Então filho, como foi?"

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

Ele disse: "Mais tarde naquele dia

the teacher pulled me aside,

a professora me pediu desculpas por ter nos dado informação errada".

and she apologized to me for giving that misinformation."

And then something else miraculous happened the next day.

Outra coisa milagrosa aconteceu no dia seguinte:

She actually taught a new lesson on Rosa Parks,

ela deu uma outra aula sobre Rosa Parks,

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

completando o que havia deixado de fora e corrigindo o que estava errado.

And I was so, so proud of my son.

E fiquei superorgulhoso do meu filho!

But then I thought about it.

Mas depois pensei nisso

And I got angry.

e fiquei com muita raiva.

And I got real angry.

Why? Why would I get angry?

Por quê?

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

Porque meu filho de apenas nove anos

teve que educar a professora sobre a própria história

about his history,

had to educate his teacher about his own humanity.

e sobre a humanidade dele.

He's nine years old.

Ele tem nove anos!

He should be thinking about basketball or soccer

Deveria estar pensando em basquete, em futebol ou no filme que acabou de sair,

or the latest movie.

He should not be thinking about having to take the responsibility

não em ter que assumir a responsabilidade de educar sua professora

of educating his teacher,

his students,

e seus colegas sobre sua própria história.

about himself, about his history.

That was a burden that I carried.

Esse foi o fardo que eu, meus pais e as gerações anteriores carregaram,

That was a burden that my parents carried

and generations before them carried.

e agora estava vendo meu filho carregando-o também.

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

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

Foi por isso que Rosa Parks escreveu sua autobiografia.

Because during her lifetime,

Porque, durante a vida dela...

if you can imagine,

Se puderem se imaginar fazendo algo incrível,

you do this amazing thing,

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

você está viva e passou a vida inteira lutando pelos direitos civis,

and a story emerges

e depois ouve alguém contando uma história sobre você ao mundo

in which somebody is telling the world

that you were old and you had tired feet

que você era uma velha, de pés cansados, e que foi apenas uma ativista casual,

and you just were an accidental activist,

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

quando, na verdade, já era ativista há mais de 20 anos naquela época,

not that the boycott had been planned for months,

E não conta que o boicote havia sido planejado durante meses,

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

e que você não havia sido a primeira, segunda ou até terceira mulher

to be arrested for doing that.

a ser presa por fazer isso.

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

Você se torna uma ativista casual enquanto ainda está viva.

Ela escreveu essa autobiografia para esclarecer todas essas coisas,

So she wrote that autobiography to correct the record,

because what she wanted to remind people of

pois ela queria lembrar as pessoas

was that this

como eram as coisas

is what it was like

in the 1950s

nos anos de 1950

tentando ser negra nos EUA e lutar por seus direitos.

trying to be black in America

and fight for your rights.

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

Durante pouco mais de um ano, tempo que o boicote durou,

there were over four church bombings.

houve mais de quatro atentados a igrejas.

Martin Luther King's house was bombed twice.

A casa de Martin Luther King foi bombardeada duas vezes.

Other civil rights leaders' houses were bombed in Birmingham.

A casa de outros líderes de direitos civis foram bombardeadas em Birmingham.

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

O marido de Rosa Parks dormia com uma espingarda ao lado da cama,

because they would get constant death threats.

pois recebiam constantes ameaças de morte.

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

Até a mãe dela, que morava com eles, às vezes ficava horas ao telefone

and sometimes she would stay on the phone for hours

so that nobody would call in with death threats,

só para que ninguém conseguisse ligar com novas ameaças.

because it was constant and persistent.

In fact, there was so much tension,

Havia tanta tensão, pressão e terrorismo,

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

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

que Rosa Parks e seu marido perderam o emprego

and they became unemployable

não conseguiam mais trabalho, por fim, tiveram que se mudar do sul.

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

This is a civil rights reality

Esta é a realidade dos direitos civis

that Rosa Parks wanted to make sure that people understood.

que Rosa Parks queria ter certeza que as pessoas entendessem.

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

Aí vocês perguntam: "David, e o que isso tem a ver comigo?

I'm a well-meaning person.

Sou uma pessoa do bem, nunca possui escravos

I didn't own slaves.

I'm not trying to whitewash history.

e não estou tentando calar a história".

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

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

Vou dizer o que tem a ver,

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

contando-lhes a história de um professor branco

about a professor of mine, a white professor,

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

que tive na pós-graduação, e ele era simplesmente genial.

We'll call him "Fred."

Vou chamá-lo de Fred.

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

Ele estava escrevendo uma história

sobre algo ocorrido na Carolina do Norte durante o movimento dos direitos civis:

but he was writing specifically about a moment

that happened to him in North Carolina

um branco atirou em um negro, a sangue frio e em espaço aberto,

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

and was never convicted.

e nunca foi condenado.

And so it was this great book,

O livro era muito bom, então ele reuniu alguns amigos professores

and he called together a couple of his professor friends

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

e me pediu para ler um rascunho antes da enviar a versão final.

And I was flattered that he called me;

Fiquei lisonjeado por ele ter me chamado

I was only a graduate student then.

pois na época era apenas um estudante, mas aceitei mesmo assim.

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

I'm sitting around amongst intellectuals,

Me sentei com os intelectuais,

e ali estava eu, lendo o rascunho do livro

and I read the draft of the book.

And there was a moment in the book

e vi uma parte problemática, e eu disse,

that struck me as being deeply problematic,

and so I said,

enquanto estávamos sentados falando sobre esse rascunho:

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

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

"Fred, tenho um problema sério com a parte em que fala de sua empregada".

about your maid in your book."

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

Reparei que ele ficou um pouco surpreso e disse:

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

"Como assim? É uma ótima história, aconteceu exatamente assim".

It happened just like I said."

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

Eu disse: "Posso lhe mostrar outro ponto de vista?"

Now, what's the story?

A história era assim:

It was 1968.

era 1968 e Martin Luther King acabara de ser assassinado.

Martin Luther King had just been assassinated.

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

A empregada dele, vou chamá-la de Mabel,

was in the kitchen.

estava na cozinha.

Little Fred is eight years old.

O pequeno Fred, de 8 anos, entra na cozinha

Little Fred comes into the kitchen,

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

e vê sua empregada, que era sempre sorridente e prestativa,

is bent over the sink,

chorando sobre na pia,

and she's crying,

and she's sobbing

aos prantos.

inconsolably.

Ela estava inconsolável.

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

Ele vai até ela e pergunta: "Mabel, o que houve?"

Mabel turns, and she says,

Ela se vira e responde: "Eles o mataram! Mataram nosso líder, Martin Luther King.

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

He's dead! They are monsters."

Ele está morto!

São uns monstros!"

Fred diz: "Ficará tudo bem, Mabel".

And little Fred says,

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

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

Ela olha para ele e responde: "Não ficará não. Não ouviu o que disse?

Did you not hear what I just said?

They killed Martin Luther King."

Mataram Martin Luther King!"

And Fred,

E Fred,

filho de um pastor,

son of a preacher,

looks up at Mabel, and he says,

olha para Mabel e diz:

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

"Jesus morreu na cruz por nossos pecados e não foi aquilo uma causa justa?

Wasn't that a good outcome?

Maybe this will be a good outcome.

Talvez a morte de Martin Luther King

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

terá sido por uma causa justa também".

And as Fred tells the story,

E conforme Fred conta na história, ele disse que Mabel cobriu a boca,

he says that Mabel put her hand over her mouth,

she reached down and she gave little Fred a hug,

se abaixou e deu um abraço no Fred,

abriu a geladeira pegou duas garrafas de Pepsi,

and then she reached into the icebox,

and took out a couple Pepsis,

gave him some Pepsis

entregou as garrafas para ele,

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

e em seguida o despachou para ir brincar com seus irmãos.

And he said,

E ele disse:

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

"Isso prova que até na época mais dura da luta racial,

that two people could come together across racial lines

duas pessoas de raças diferentes

and find human commonality

conseguem conviver com amor e carinho".

along the lines of love and affection."

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

Eu disse: "Fred, isso é uma grande asneira".

(Laughter)

(Risos)

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

Fred was like,

Ele disse: "Não entendi, David. Essa é a história".

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

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

Eu disse: "Fred, me responda uma coisa.

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

Você acha que nessa época, na Carolina do Norte em 1968,

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

se Mabel tivesse ido à comunidade dela, você tinha oito anos de idade,

como acha que as crianças afro-americanas de oito anos a chamariam?

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

were calling her?

Pelo primeiro nome dela?"

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

No, they called her "Miss Mabel,"

Não, eles a chamariam de "Srta. Mabel", "Srta. Johnson" ou "tia Johnson.

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

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

Jamais teriam ousado chamá-la pelo primeiro nome,

because that would have been the height of disrespect.

pois isso seria um desrespeito total.

And yet, you were calling her by her first name

Mas ainda assim, todos os dias você a chamava pelo seu primeiro nome

every single day that she worked,

and you never thought about it."

e nunca pensou nisso".

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

Eu disse: "Mais uma pergunta: Mabel era casada?

Tinha filhos? Que igreja frequentava?

Did she have children?

What church did she go to?

What was her favorite dessert?"

Qual era a sobremesa preferida dela?"

Fred could not answer any of those questions.

Fred não conseguiu responder nenhuma dessas perguntas.

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

Eu disse: "Fred, essa história não é sobre Mabel, mas sim sobre você.

This story is about you."

I said, "This story made you feel good,

Ela te fez sentir bem, mas não tem nada a ver com Mabel.

but this story is not about Mabel.

The reality is,

O que deve ter mesmo acontecido foi isso:

what probably happened was, Mabel was crying,

Mabel estava chorando, coisa que não costumava fazer,

which was not something she customarily did,

so she was letting her guard down.

então já estava baixando a guarda.

And you came into the kitchen,

Logo em seguida você entrou na cozinha e a pegou num momento de fraqueza.

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,

E por se considerar um dos filhos dela,

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

você não lembrou que na verdade era filho do patrão dela.

And she'd found herself yelling at you.

E ela se viu gritando com você,

And then she caught herself,

percebeu o que estava fazendo e pensou:

realizing that, 'If I'm yelling at him

"Se eu gritar com ele e ele contar para os pais dele,

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

I could lose my job.'

posso perder meu emprego".

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

Ela então se acalmou, te consolou,

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

enquanto era ela mesma que deveria ser consolada,

and sending you on your way,

e te mandou ir brincar,

perhaps so she could finish mourning in peace."

para que pudesse terminar as tarefas da manhã em paz.

And Fred was stunned.

Fred ficou surpreso.

And he realized that he had actually misread that moment.

E percebeu que na verdade tinha interpretado mal aquele momento.

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

E foi exatamente isso que fizeram com Rosa Parks.

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

Pois é muito mais fácil digerir uma vovó com os pés cansados,

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

que deixa de se levantar, não porque quer lutar pela desigualdade,

but because her feet and her back are tired,

e sim porque está com os pés e as costas cansadas

and she's worked all day.

porque trabalhou o dia inteiro.

See, old grandmothers are not scary.

Vovozinhas não colocam medo em ninguém.

But young, radical black women

Mas negras jovens e radicais

who don't take any stuff from anybody

que não levam desaforo para casa

are very scary,

são assustadores pra caramba,

who stand up to power

pois enfrentam o poder e estão dispostas a morrer por isso;

and are willing to die for that --

those are not the kind of people

esse não é o tipo de gente

that make us comfortable.

que nos faz sentir confortáveis.

So you say,

Aí você diz:

"What do you want me to do, David?

"O que você quer que eu faça, David?

I don't know what to do."

Não sei o que fazer".

Well, what I would say to you is,

O que diria para você é:

there was a time in which,

"Houve um tempo em que,

if you were Jewish, you were not white,

se você fosse judeu,

if you were Italian, you were not white,

italiano,

ou irlandês,

if you were Irish, you were not white

você não era considerado branco, aqui neste país.

in this country.

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

Levou um tempo para que irlandeses, judeus e italianos fossem considerados brancos.

Right?

Houve um tempo em que você era "diferente"

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

when you were the people on the outside.

quando era a pessoa de fora.

Toni Morrison said,

Toni Morrison disse:

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

"Se tenho que me ajoelhar para que você se pareça mais alto,

you have a serious problem."

você tem um sério problema".

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

Ela disse: "Os Estados Unidos da América branco têm um problema muito sério".

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

Honestamente, não sei se os laços raciais melhorarão nos Estados Unidos,

But I know that if they will improve,

mas sei que se eles melhorarem,

we have to take these challenges on head on.

temos que enfrentar esses desafios.

The future of my children depends on it.

O futuro dos meus filhos depende disso.

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

O futuro dos meus netos depende disso.

And, whether you know it or not,

E, se você sabe disso ou não,

the future of your children and your children's children

o futuro dos seus filhos e dos seus netos

depends on it, too.

também depende disso.

Thank you.

Obrigado.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)