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

Tradutor: Margarida Ferreira Revisora: Norberto Amaral

I am the proud father of two beautiful children,

Sou o pai orgulhoso de dois belos filhos

Elijah, 15, and Octavia, 12.

Elijah, de 15 anos, e Octavia, de 12.

When Elijah was in the fourth grade,

Quando Elijah estava no 4.º ano,

he came to me,

veio ter comigo,

came home from school bubbling over with excitement

chegou da escola, muito entusiasmado

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

com o que tinha aprendido nesse dia sobre história africana-americana.

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

Eu sou professor de estudos africano-americanos e culturais

and so, as you can imagine,

e por isso, como podem imaginar,

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

a cultura africana-americana é um assunto sério em minha casa.

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

Assim, fiquei orgulhoso por o meu filho estar entusiasmado

com o que tinha aprendido naquele dia, na escola.

that day in school.

So I said, "What did you learn?"

E disse: "O que é que aprendeste?"

He said, "I learned about Rosa Parks."

Ele disse: "Aprendi sobre Rosa Parks."

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

E eu: "Ok, o que é que aprendeste sobre Rosa Parks?"

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

E ele: "Aprendi que Rosa Parks foi uma mulher negra, frágil e idosa,

in the 1950s

"nos anos 50,

in Montgomery, Alabama.

"em Montgomery, no Alabama.

And she sat down on this bus,

"Sentou-se no autocarro,

and she had tired feet,

"sentia os pés doridos

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

"e, quando o motorista lhe disse para dar o lugar a um patrão branco,

she refused because she had tired feet.

"ela recusou-se porque sentia os pés doridos.

It had been a long day,

"Tinha sido um dia cansativo

and she was tired of oppression,

"e ela estava farta da opressão

and she didn't give up her seat.

"e não cedeu o seu lugar.

And she marched with Martin Luther King,

"Desfilou com Martin Luther King

and she believed in nonviolence."

"e acreditava na não violência".

And I guess he must have looked at my face

Penso que ele deve ter olhado para a minha cara

and saw that I was a little less than impressed

e viu que eu não estava muito impressionado

by his

por aquela...

... um ...

history lesson.

lição de história.

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

E perguntou: "Pai, o que é que foi? Disse alguma coisa errada?"

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

E eu: "Filho, não disseste nada errado,

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

"mas penso que a tua professora disse muitas coisas erradas".

(Laughter)

(Risos)

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

E ele: "O que é que queres dizer?"

I said, "Rosa Parks was not tired.

E eu: "Rosa Parks não estava cansada.

She was not old.

"Não era idosa.

And she certainly didn't have tired feet."

"E certamente não tinha os pés doridos."

He said, "What?"

E ele: "O quê?" E eu: "Sim!

I said, "Yes!

Rosa Parks was only 42 years old" --

"Rosa Parks só tinha 42 anos".

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

Ficaram chocados, não é? Nunca ouviram dizer isto.

"Rosa Parks was only 42 years old,

"Rosa Parks só tinha 42 anos,

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

"só tinha trabalhado seis horas naquele dia, era costureira

and her feet were just fine.

"e os pés estavam ótimos."

(Laughter)

(Risos)

The only thing that she was tired of

"A única coisa de que estava farta

was she was tired of inequality.

"era estar farta da injustiça.

She was tired of oppression."

"Estava farta da opressão."

And my son said,

O meu filho disse:

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

"Bom, porque é que a professora me contou essas coisas?

This is confusing for me."

"Não percebo."

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

Porque ele adorava a professora, ela era uma boa professora,

a young-ish, 20-something white woman,

uma jovem branca de 20 e poucos anos,

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

muito esperta, puxava por ele, e eu também gostava dela.

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

Mas ele não percebia: "Porque é que ela contou assim?"

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

E disse: "Pai, conta-me mais sobre Rosa Parks."

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

E eu disse: "Filho, vou fazer uma coisa melhor."

He was like, "What?"

E ele: "O que é?"

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

E eu: "Vou comprar a autobiografia dela

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

"e vais ser tu a lê-la."

(Laughter)

(Risos)

So as you can imagine,

Como podem imaginar,

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

Elijah não ficou muito entusiasmado com mais este trabalho de casa,

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

que o pai lhe tinha atribuído, mas aceitou o desafio.

And he came back after he had read it,

Depois de o ter lido, foi ter comigo de novo.

and he was excited about what he had learned.

Estava entusiasmado com o que tinha aprendido.

Disse: "Pai, a Rosa Parks inicialmente era contra a violência,

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

but Rosa Parks's grandfather, who basically raised her

"mas o avô da Rosa Parks que praticamente a criou,

and was light enough to pass as white,

"e que era tão claro que passava por branco,

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

"costumava andar pela cidade com a arma no coldre,

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

"e as pessoas sabiam que quem se metesse

com os filhos ou os netos de Mr. Parks,

he would put a cap in your proverbial bottom."

"apanhava com um balázio no traseiro."

(Laughter)

(Risos)

Right?

Certo?

He was not someone to mess with.

Não era pessoa para brincadeiras.

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

E ele disse: "Também aprendi

"que Rosa Parks casou com um homem em Raymond

who was a lot like her grandfather."

"que era muito parecido com o avô dela."

He would organize.

Organizava

He was a civil rights activist.

— era um ativista dos direitos civis —

He would organize events

organizava reuniões

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

e, por vezes, as reuniões eram em casa de Rosa Parks.

And one time Rosa Parks remarked

Uma vez, Rosa Parks reparou

that there were so many guns on the table,

que havia muitas armas em cima da mesa,

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

porque eles estavam preparados no caso de alguém bater à porta

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

e eles estavam preparados para o que desse e viesse.

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

E Rosa Parks disse: "Havia tantas armas em cima da mesa

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

"que até me esqueci de oferecer café ou qualquer coisa para comer."

This is who Rosa Parks was.

Rosa Parks era assim.

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

Com efeito, Rosa Parks, quando ia naquele autocarro, naquele dia,

waiting for those police officers to arrive

à espera que chegassem os agentes da polícia,

and not knowing what was going to happen to her,

sem saber o que lhe ia acontecer,

she was not thinking about Martin Luther King,

não estava a pensar em Martin Luther King,

who she barely knew.

que ela mal conhecia.

She was not thinking about nonviolence or Gandhi.

Não estava a pensar na não violência ou em Gandhi.

She was thinking about her grandfather,

Estava a pensar no avô,

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

um avô com uma arma, não se metam comigo.

That's who Rosa Parks was thinking about.

Era nisso que Rosa Parks estava a pensar.

My son was mesmerized by Rosa Parks,

O meu filho ficou apaixonado pela Rosa Parks,

and I was proud of him to see this excitement.

e eu fiquei orgulhoso por ele sentir esse entusiasmo.

But then I still had a problem.

Mas eu ainda tinha um problema,

Because I still had to go his school

porque tinha de ir à escola dele

and address the issue with his teacher,

e tratar dessa questão com a professora,

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

porque não queria que ela continuasse a ensinar os miúdos

obviously false history.

aquela história falsa.

So I'm agonizing over this,

Estava a custar-me fazer isso,

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

porque compreendo, enquanto africano-americano,

that whenever you talk to whites about racism

que, sempre que falamos de racismo com os brancos,

or anything that's racially sensitive,

ou de qualquer coisa sensível nessa área,

there's usually going to be a challenge.

isso acaba por ser um problema.

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

É aquilo a que a socióloga branca Robin DiAngelo chama "fragilidade branca."

She argues that, in fact,

Ela afirma que,

because whites have so little experience being challenged

como os brancos têm pouca experiência de serem confrontados

com os seus privilégios de brancos,

about their white privilege

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

como, sempre que lhes apresentamos o problema, por mais pequeno que seja,

they usually cry,

eles normalmente gritam,

get angry

ficam irritados,

or run.

ou fogem.

(Laughter)

(Risos)

And I have experienced them all.

Já enfrentei estas situações todas.

And so, when I was contemplating confronting his teacher,

Assim, quando estava a pensar em confrontar a professora,

I wasn't happy about it,

não me sentia nada feliz,

but I was like, this is a necessary evil

mas achava que era um mal necessário

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

para um pai negro que tenta educar filhos negros conscientes.

So I called Elijah to me and said,

Assim, chamei Elijah e disse:

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

"Elijah, vou marcar uma reunião com a tua professora

and try and correct this

"e tentar corrigir isto.

and maybe your principal.

"E talvez com o diretor.

What do you think?"

"O que é que pensas?"

And Elijah said,

Elijah disse:

"Dad, I have a better idea."

"Pai, tenho uma ideia melhor".

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

E eu: "A sério? Que ideia é essa?"

He said, "We have a public speaking assignment,

E ele: "Vamos fazer uma apresentação em público.

and why don't I use that public speaking assignment

"Porque é que eu não aproveito essa ocasião de falar em público,

to talk about debunking the myths of Rosa Parks?"

"para desmascarar os mitos sobre Rosa Parks?"

And I was like,

E eu, claro:

"Well, that is a good idea."

"Bom, é uma boa ideia".

So Elijah goes to school,

Elijah vai para a escola,

he does his presentation,

faz a apresentação,

he comes back home,

volta para casa

and I could see something positive happened.

e eu percebi que a coisa tinha corrido bem.

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

Disse: "Então, filho, o que é que aconteceu?"

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

E ele: "No final do dia,

the teacher pulled me aside,

"a professora chamou-me de parte

and she apologized to me for giving that misinformation."

"e pediu-me desculpa por ter dado aquelas informações deturpadas".

And then something else miraculous happened the next day.

Então, aconteceu uma coisa milagrosa no dia seguinte.

She actually taught a new lesson on Rosa Parks,

Ela deu uma lição nova sobre Rosa Parks,

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

preenchendo as lacunas que tinham ficado

e corrigindo os erros que ela tinha feito.

And I was so, so proud of my son.

Fiquei muito orgulhoso do meu filho.

But then I thought about it.

Mas depois, pensando naquilo,

And I got angry.

fiquei zangado,

And I got real angry.

muito zangado mesmo.

Why? Why would I get angry?

Porquê? Porque é que eu fiquei zangado?

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

Porque o meu filho de nove anos teve de educar a professora

about his history,

sobre a história dele.

had to educate his teacher about his own humanity.

Teve de educar a professora sobre a sua humanidade.

He's nine years old.

Ele só tem nove anos.

He should be thinking about basketball or soccer

Devia estar a pensar no basquetebol ou no futebol,

or the latest movie.

ou no último filme.

He should not be thinking about having to take the responsibility

Não devia estar a pensar em assumir a responsabilidade

of educating his teacher,

de educar a professora,

his students,

os seus colegas,

about himself, about his history.

a si mesmo, sobre a sua história.

That was a burden that I carried.

Era um peso que eu transportava.

That was a burden that my parents carried

Era um peso que os meus pais

and generations before them carried.

e gerações antes deles tinham transportado.

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

Agora eu estava a ver o meu filho também a transportar esse peso.

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

Foi por isso que Rosa Parks escreveu a sua autobiografia.

Because during her lifetime,

Porque, durante a vida dela

if you can imagine,

como imaginam,

you do this amazing thing,

fazemos esta coisa espantosa.

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

Estamos vivos e falamos do ativismo pelos direitos civis

and a story emerges

e surge uma história

in which somebody is telling the world

em que alguém diz ao mundo

que éramos velhos e tínhamos os pés doridos

that you were old and you had tired feet

and you just were an accidental activist,

e fomos apenas ativistas por acaso

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

e não um ativista durante 20 anos,

not that the boycott had been planned for months,

nem que o boicote tivesse sido planeado durante meses,

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

nem que nem sequer fomos a primeira, a segunda ou mesmo a terceira mulher

to be arrested for doing that.

a sermos presos por fazer isso.

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

Tornamo-nos ativistas por acaso, mesmo durante a vida dela.

So she wrote that autobiography to correct the record,

Por isso, ela escreveu a autobiografia, para corrigir o registo,

because what she wanted to remind people of

porque ela queria que as pessoas recordassem

was that this

como era aquilo,

is what it was like

como eram as coisas

in the 1950s

nos anos 50,

trying to be black in America

tentando ser negros nos EUA

and fight for your rights.

e lutando pelos nossos direitos.

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

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

there were over four church bombings.

houve mais de quatro bombas em 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.

As casas de outros líderes dos direitos civis

foram atacadas à bomba em Birmingham.

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

O marido de Rosa Parks dormia à noite com uma caçadeira,

because they would get constant death threats.

porque estavam sempre a receber ameaças de morte.

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

A mãe de Rosa Parks vivia com eles,

and sometimes she would stay on the phone for hours

e, por vezes, ficava a falar ao telefone, durante horas,

so that nobody would call in with death threats,

para ninguém poder ligar-lhe com ameaças de morte,

because it was constant and persistent.

porque era uma coisa constante e persistente.

In fact, there was so much tension,

Na verdade, havia tanta tensão,

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

havia tanta pressão, havia tanto terrorismo,

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

que Rosa Parks e o marido perderam os empregos,

and they became unemployable

e ficaram desempregados

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

e acabaram por ter de se mudarem e afastarem-se do Sul.

This is a civil rights reality

Esta é uma realidade dos direitos civis

that Rosa Parks wanted to make sure that people understood.

que Rosa Parks quis garantir que as pessoas compreendessem.

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

Vocês dirão: "David, mas o que é que isso tem a ver comigo?

I'm a well-meaning person.

"Eu sou uma pessoa bem intencionada,

I didn't own slaves.

"não tenho escravos,

I'm not trying to whitewash history.

"não tento branquear a História.

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

"Sou uma pessoa boa."

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

Eu digo-vos o que é que isto tem a ver convosco

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

e vou dizer-vos isso, contando uma história

about a professor of mine, a white professor,

sobre um professor meu, um professor branco,

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

quando eu estava na faculdade e que era um indivíduo brilhante.

We'll call him "Fred."

Vou chamar-lhe Fred.

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

Fred estava a escrever a história do movimento dos direitos civis,

but he was writing specifically about a moment

estava a escrever especificamente sobre uma situação

that happened to him in North Carolina

que vivera na Carolina do Norte

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

quando um homem branco atirou sobre um negro,

a sangue frio, à vista de todos

and was never convicted.

e nunca foi condenado.

And so it was this great book,

Escreveu um livro ótimo

and he called together a couple of his professor friends

e reuniu alguns professores amigos

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

e pediu-me para ler um esboço dele antes da aprovação final.

And I was flattered that he called me;

Eu fiquei lisonjeado com aquele pedido,

I was only a graduate student then.

eu era um mero estudante universitário.

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

Senti-me um pouco "Ok".

I'm sitting around amongst intellectuals,

Estou no meio de intelectuais

and I read the draft of the book.

e leio o esboço do livro.

And there was a moment in the book

Havia um momento no livro

that struck me as being deeply problematic,

que me chocou por ser profundamente problemático

and so I said,

e, por isso, disse:

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

"Fred," quando estávamos reunidos a falar sobre o esboço,

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

"Fred, tenho problemas com esta passagem

"em que falas da tua criada, no livro".

about your maid in your book."

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

Pude ver que Fred ficou um pouco "tenso", como dizemos.

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

Ele disse: "O que é que queres dizer? É uma boa história.

It happened just like I said."

"Aconteceu tal como eu digo".

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

E eu: "Hum... posso dar-te outra visão?"

Now, what's the story?

Qual era essa história?

It was 1968.

Passava-se em 1968.

Martin Luther King had just been assassinated.

Martin Luther King acabava de ser assassinado.

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

A criada dele, "doméstica" — vou chamar-lhe Mabel —

was in the kitchen.

estava na cozinha.

Little Fred is eight years old.

Fred tinha oito anos.

Little Fred comes into the kitchen,

Fred entra na cozinha.

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

Mabel, que ele sempre tinha visto sorridente, prestativa e feliz,

is bent over the sink,

está debruçada sobre o lava-loiças,

and she's crying,

e está a chorar,

and she's sobbing

está a soluçar,

inconsolably.

inconsolável.

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

Fred chega-se ao pé dela e diz: "Mabel, o que é que se passa?"

Mabel turns, and she says,

Mabel vira-se e diz:

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

"Mataram-no! Mataram o nosso líder! Mataram Martin Luther King!

He's dead! They are monsters."

"Está morto! São monstros!"

And little Fred says,

E o pequeno Fred diz:

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

"Vai ficar tudo bem, Mabel. Vai ficar tudo bem".

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

Ela olha para ele e diz: "Não, não vai ficar tudo bem.

Did you not hear what I just said?

"Não ouviste o que eu disse?

They killed Martin Luther King."

"Mataram Martin Luther King!"

And Fred,

E Fred,

son of a preacher,

filho de um pregador,

looks up at Mabel, and he says,

olha para Mabel e diz:

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

"Mas, Mabel, Jesus não morreu na cruz pelos nossos pecados?

Wasn't that a good outcome?

"Não valeu a pena?

Maybe this will be a good outcome.

"Talvez isto também valha a pena.

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

"Talvez a morte de Martin Luther King dê um bom resultado."

And as Fred tells the story,

Tal como Fred conta a história,

he says that Mabel put her hand over her mouth,

ele diz que Mabel tapou a boca com a mão,

she reached down and she gave little Fred a hug,

aproximou-se e abraçou Fred

and then she reached into the icebox,

e depois foi ao frigorífico,

and took out a couple Pepsis,

tirou umas Pepsis,

gave him some Pepsis

deu-lhe umas Pepsis

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

e mandou-o brincar com os irmãos.

And he said,

E ele disse:

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

"Isto é uma prova de que, mesmo na época dolorosa da luta racista

that two people could come together across racial lines

"duas pessoas podiam ultrapassar as linhas raciais

and find human commonality

"e encontrar uma convergência humana

along the lines of love and affection."

"através do amor e do afeto."

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

E eu disse: "Fred, isto é uma treta."

(Laughter)

(Risos)

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

Fred was like,

Fred respondeu:

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

"Não percebo, David. A história é essa."

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

Eu disse: "Vou fazer-te uma pergunta.

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

"Tu estavas na Carolina do Norte, em 1968.

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

"Se Mabel estivesse na comunidade dela — tu tinhas oito anos —

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

"como é que as crianças africanas-americanas de oito anos

were calling her?

"lhe chamariam?

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

"Achas que a tratariam pelo primeiro nome?

No, they called her "Miss Mabel,"

"Não. Tratá-la-iam por Miss Mabel,

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

"ou por Miss Johnson ou chamar-lhe-iam Tia Johnson.

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

"Nunca ousariam tratá-la pelo primeiro nome,

because that would have been the height of disrespect.

"porque isso teria sido uma enorme falta de respeito.

And yet, you were calling her by her first name

"Mas tu tratava-la pelo primeiro nome

every single day that she worked,

"todos os dias em que ela trabalhava

and you never thought about it."

"e nunca pensaste nisso.

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

"Vou fazer-te outra pergunta: Mabel era casada?

Did she have children?

"Tinha filhos?

What church did she go to?

"Que igreja frequentava?

What was her favorite dessert?"

"Qual era a sua sobremesa preferida?"

Fred could not answer any of those questions.

Fred não pôde responder a nenhuma destas perguntas.

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

Eu disse: "Fred, esta história não é sobre Mabel.

This story is about you."

"Esta história é sobre ti.

I said, "This story made you feel good,

"Esta história faz-te sentir bem,

but this story is not about Mabel.

"mas não é uma história sobre a Mabel.

The reality is,

"A realidade é que, provavelmente,

what probably happened was, Mabel was crying,

"quando Mabel estava a chorar

"o que era uma coisa que ela não costumava fazer,

which was not something she customarily did,

so she was letting her guard down.

"baixou a guarda.

And you came into the kitchen,

"Tu entraste na cozinha

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

"e apanhaste-a num momento de fraqueza em que ela tinha baixado a guarda.

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

"Como pensavas que eras como um dos filhos dela,

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

"não percebias que, de facto, eras filho do patrão dela.

And she'd found herself yelling at you.

"Ela começou a gritar contigo.

And then she caught herself,

"Depois, recompôs-se e pensou:

realizing that, 'If I'm yelling at him

" 'Se grito com ele e ele vai contar ao pai ou à mãe,

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

I could lose my job.'

"posso ser despedida.'

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

"Por isso, recompôs-se e acabou — apesar de precisar de consolo —

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

"acabou por te consolar

and sending you on your way,

"e a mandar-te ir brincar,

perhaps so she could finish mourning in peace."

"para poder acabar de chorar em paz".

And Fred was stunned.

Fred ficou estupefacto.

And he realized that he had actually misread that moment.

Percebeu que tinha interpretado mal aquele momento.

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

Foi isto que foi feito a Rosa Parks.

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

Porque é muito mais fácil digerir uma avozinha de pés doridos

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

que não cede o lugar, não porque queira lutar contra a injustiça

but because her feet and her back are tired,

mas porque tem os pés doridos e dores nas costas

and she's worked all day.

e esteve a trabalhar o dia inteiro.

See, old grandmothers are not scary.

Sabem, as avós não são assustadoras.

But young, radical black women

Mas as mulheres negras, radicais,

who don't take any stuff from anybody

que não se sujeitam a ninguém,

are very scary,

essas sim, são muito assustadoras.

who stand up to power

As que aspiram a ter poder

and are willing to die for that --

e estão dispostas a morrer por isso

those are not the kind of people

— não são o tipo de pessoas

that make us comfortable.

com que nos sintamos à vontade.

So you say,

E agora vocês perguntam:

"What do you want me to do, David?

"David, o que é que queres que eu faça?

I don't know what to do."

"Não sei o que fazer".

Well, what I would say to you is,

Vou dizer-vos uma coisa.

there was a time in which,

Houve uma época

if you were Jewish, you were not white,

em que quem era judeu não era branco,

if you were Italian, you were not white,

quem era italiano não era branco,

if you were Irish, you were not white

quem era irlandês não era branco,

in this country.

neste país.

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

Demorou bastante até os irlandeses, os judeus e os italianos serem brancos.

Right?

Verdade?

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

Houve um tempo em que eram "os outros,"

when you were the people on the outside.

quando eram as pessoas do exterior.

Toni Morrison said,

Toni Morrison disse:

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

"Se, para vocês serem altos, eu tiver de me ajoelhar,

you have a serious problem."

"vocês têm um problema grave."

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

Ela disse: "A América branca tem um problema muito grave".

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

Para ser sincero, não sei

se as relações racistas vão melhorar nos EUA.

But I know that if they will improve,

Mas sei que, se melhorarem,

we have to take these challenges on head on.

temos de assumir estes problemas.

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 filhos dos meus filhos depende disso.

And, whether you know it or not,

E quer vocês saibam, quer não,

the future of your children and your children's children

o futuro dos vossos filhos e dos filhos dos vossos filhos

depends on it, too.

também depende disso.

Thank you.

Obrigado.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)