the former Congressional Black Caucus executive director, the CEO of Impact Strategies, and NPR and CNN political commentator , Angela Ry.And former White House director of black outreach for President George W. Bush and NPR and CNN political commentator ,
commentator : Leonard Mlodinow, bestselling author of the The Drunkard's Walk has a new book called SUBLIMINAL: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior, a fascinating andenlightening look at the profound ways that the unconscious affects our experiences and our lives.
commentator : Good afternoon everyone, thank you all for coming.Today we are honored to have Joshua Foer with us.
is like a huge growth area. You look an Ebay there's all these things that are worth hundreds of pounds is I sought this item here which looks like a hand grenade or a pepper grinder. commentator : Thank you very much Alex or maybe I should call you Alexander. I think
and kind of figure out what's going on. commentator : I think we have time for just one more question.Michael Spence: Okay. Male #6: So it's good to talk about India and China but I think most of the world is
Egypt and North Africa, Brazil in South America, India in South Asia, and then China in Asia commentator : Okay. How about a round of applause for Michael Spence?
Commentator : So this is a little bit of background in, some of it's to entice you to read this book. I got really engrossed in your story ?Belva Davis: Um. Commentator : and you were born in Louisiana, Monroe, Louisiana which is not New Orleans and yes there's more to Louisiana than New Orleans --
Belva Davis: Commentator : and you were born to a teen mom and you were, you called it "farmed out" but -- Belva Davis: Yeah. Commentator : kind of moved around to different families over the course of your life and somehow made your way to the West Coast and to Oakland. And in the face of lots of discriminationaccomplished what most people would never dream of accomplishing in their life. At some point you were a single mom.
Belva Davis: Um-hum. Commentator : You were black. You're a woman -- Belva Davis: Commentator : and you managed to become -- Belva Davis: Commentator : a news reporter.Belva Davis: Commentator : The first black, female news reporter on the West Coast. Part of your journey has really been involved in just transcending all different mediums from being on the radio,
And your story is so rich and I'm not gonna let every, I'll let you tell some of it -- Belva Davis: Commentator : but your story is so rich in purpose and just a purpose driven life that you've led. And you've managed to interview everyone from Frank Sinatra to Fidel Castro.And I would say that really describes the gamut of ?
a Bay Area legend, Belva Davis: Um-hum. Commentator : winner of six local Emmys and we're just happy to have you here. 'Never In Your Wildest Dreams' is your story and you had the courage to tell it. So thank youfor being here and thank you for sharing your story.
Belva Davis: A wonderful introduction. Commentator : Why don't you start by just telling us what inspired you to tell your story, to write your story, and share it with the world?Belva Davis: I think it's because we live in a time when so many young people are giving up. All you need do is look at the national dropout rate for minority youngsters ?
Belva Davis: I think it's because we live in a time when so many young people are giving up. All you need do is look at the national dropout rate for minority youngsters ? Commentator : Hum. Belva Davis: and you know that we are living in perilous times.Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: And many of the excuses that I would hear from young people as I do stories about how to get people back on track, how to bring, keep kids in school longer, were
Commentator : Hum. Belva Davis: and you know that we are living in perilous times.Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: And many of the excuses that I would hear from young people as I do stories about how to get people back on track, how to bring, keep kids in school longer, werea list of stereotypical things that can happen in a life. And if we give up on those points, then we are cut adrift from the major society. And I just wanted to chronicle for any younger
different from today's world. Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: And I saw it through the eyes of a woman who came not from a career as aprepared journalist but just an ordinary citizen who happened to be black. Until my face was known on television, I experienced every, not every, but I experienced the kinds of
tough life it is to be black in America. Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: And I thought there are stories to be told even after you break the color bar that the, these incidents don't stop --Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: and they become a little harder to maneuver, to get around, and to keep your self-respect. And so even in writing the stories I thought, "Well I have a different view than
Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: And I thought there are stories to be told even after you break the color bar that the, these incidents don't stop --Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: and they become a little harder to maneuver, to get around, and to keep your self-respect. And so even in writing the stories I thought, "Well I have a different view thanmy fellow male reporters." And when I started, I was not just the first black woman. I was the first woman street reporter.
my fellow male reporters." And when I started, I was not just the first black woman. I was the first woman street reporter. Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: And it was a place where the standup guys back then were not all welcoming.Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: So it just seemed that if for nothing else than the fact that I'm a grandmother now, that my granddaughter should know what her grandma's life was like. And if she ever,
Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: And it was a place where the standup guys back then were not all welcoming.Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: So it just seemed that if for nothing else than the fact that I'm a grandmother now, that my granddaughter should know what her grandma's life was like. And if she ever,ever thought of giving up on herself she would know that she had the muscle to do it if she just put her mind to it.
ever thought of giving up on herself she would know that she had the muscle to do it if she just put her mind to it. Commentator : I think that's wonderful.I was -- when I was reading the book there were certainly moments for me, while I didn't live in that generation, where I drew parallels to my own life and people who came before
me and I saw a lot of teachings from my own family about how to be resilient -- Belva Davis: Um-hum. Commentator : and I can think back to the 1964 Republican National Convention where in the story, you talk about -- I want you to share with this group kind of what thatexperience was like, where you had to show a tremendous amount of resilience and courage in order to tell a story ?
Belva Davis: Um-hum. Commentator : and share with the public. So why don't you share with us -- Belva Davis: Yeah. Commentator : a little bit about that.Belva Davis: Yesterday I listened to Tavis Smiley talk about his life story ?
Belva Davis: Yesterday I listened to Tavis Smiley talk about his life story ? Commentator : Um-hum. Belva Davis: in a book called 'Fail Up'. Well I think of the Republican Convention like that. It was a bad, terrible incident but it inspired me to do something that Imay -- might not have ever done had that been a pleasant, ordinary, normal convention.
get press passes because they were not available. We were minority media. But we were in the rafters sitting quietly, trying to make sure nobody found us when a mob did find us. Commentator : Hum. Belva Davis: And from that point on life was hell there. And eventually we were driven out of that hall as people threw debris at my news director and I. And he was a proudman who'd been told that he would never be able to be a radio announcer because Negro lips were too thick to pronounce words properly. But he persevered working in black radio and
happens to us. Nobody's truly interested in what happens to us if we don't tell our own story." So anyway it convinced me that I could do this job -- Commentator : Belva Davis: or I should try to do this job. That's it. And started me on a path that turned out to be my life's work.Commentator : Well we're all glad you did -- Belva Davis: Commentator : and we're all glad you didn't get your legs broken --
Commentator : Belva Davis: or I should try to do this job. That's it. And started me on a path that turned out to be my life's work.Commentator : Well we're all glad you did -- Belva Davis: Commentator : and we're all glad you didn't get your legs broken --Belva Davis: Commentator : in the process.
real legitimate reporter. So today the President of the country is black so . Commentator : Belva Davis: At least they can imagine it.Commentator : That's great. I was thinking about what other parts of your story I should ask you about. I said, "I'll
Commentator : Belva Davis: At least they can imagine it.Commentator : That's great. I was thinking about what other parts of your story I should ask you about. I said, "I'llflip the question and say, 'What were the other defining moments in your life that sort of helped to shape the person that you became?'"
what he said, the bottom line was, "Could you please sound a little more black.? Commentator : Hum. Belva Davis: Nobody will know you're there.' Commentator : Hum.Belva Davis: And I, I think made one of the smartest moves in my career. I simply ignored it, -- Commentator : Hum.
Belva Davis: the question. So that was my realization that no matter how good I was, I knew, or how good I thought I was, I knew why he had hired me. Commentator : Hum. Belva Davis: And then I pursued again a different career because radio was not what I wanted to be in anymore.Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: So I started, after one review of a PSA that I did or a Public Service Program, got a great review that said there should be a place for me in television. It became
Commentator : Hum. Belva Davis: And then I pursued again a different career because radio was not what I wanted to be in anymore.Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: So I started, after one review of a PSA that I did or a Public Service Program, got a great review that said there should be a place for me in television. It becamemy mantra and I started banging on any door and every door I could until one day I hit a concrete wall. And that was the day I applied at the ABC station here in town for a job,
to that because I realized he didn't know he'd even insulted me. Commentator : Hum. Belva Davis: And so those were, that was another defining point. But again I just knew I was gonna find some way some how to get into this business if for no more reason tolet him know that if he wasn't hiring Negresses, somebody would.
let him know that if he wasn't hiring Negresses, somebody would. Commentator : Hum. Belva Davis: Commentator : That's great.Belva Davis: So those were, those were big developmental points as I moved forward and eventually did land a job over at the CBS owned station.
Belva Davis: So those were, those were big developmental points as I moved forward and eventually did land a job over at the CBS owned station. Commentator : That's great. Belva Davis: Yeah.Commentator : I think the things that you did around pageants -- Belva Davis: Commentator : and beauty pageants was also an interesting story about how do you get
Commentator : That's great. Belva Davis: Yeah.Commentator : I think the things that you did around pageants -- Belva Davis: Commentator : and beauty pageants was also an interesting story about how do you getmore black women on TV.
of anything other than a white woman. Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: And it was so insulting that the local Chamber of Commerce, Junior Chamber of Commerce, fighting against this in liberal San Francisco aided me in putting togethera beauty pageant just for black women. And it was part of a thing from Los Angeles that had been quite successful. I took on the Northern California part of it, ended up through the
process the young women, the big prize was a screen test in Hollywood. Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: And we did well. I mean, one of the winners ended up being nominated for an Academy Award, Margaret Avery in 'The Color Purple'. And some of the singers formed agroup called The Fifth Dimension and went on, had many hit records. One of the models became one of the top models. So it wasn't a waste of time. But I think for the young
women who took part and I still hear from and am friends with many of them now, there was more to it than that. They had to take charm lessons. Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: They had to go to, to class to learn to sit, to stand, even how to get in and out of a car. And then there was the talent competition and then we had questionsthat were truly based in modern news of the day. So it was a good experience for them.
Belva Davis: kind of lesson and he loaned us the crown for the Miss Universe Pageant for our first Miss Bronze. Commentator : Oh wow! Belva Davis: So we're always proud of that. We have pictures of her with this huge, wonderful Commentator : Belva Davis: multi-whatever crown on her head.Commentator : Belva Davis: Commentator : That's great.
Commentator : Oh wow! Belva Davis: So we're always proud of that. We have pictures of her with this huge, wonderful Commentator : Belva Davis: multi-whatever crown on her head.Commentator : Belva Davis: Commentator : That's great.Belva Davis: Yeah, so that was just one of my diversions, a totally volunteer effort.
Belva Davis: Yeah, so that was just one of my diversions, a totally volunteer effort. Commentator : Belva Davis: But one thing that I know did change lives and it makes me proud.Commentator : Thanks for sharing.
Commentator : Belva Davis: But one thing that I know did change lives and it makes me proud.Commentator : Thanks for sharing.Belva Davis: Um-hum. Commentator : So you have a favorite quote about dreams.
Belva Davis: Well the story of how -- I wrote it during those days of looking for a job in television -- Commentator : Um-hum. Belva Davis: because it was such a discouraging scene. You can imagine I had -- there was no woman of color on television and yet I thought I belonged there. And why did I thinkI belonged there was another thing 'cause I said before not a trained journalist just thought it was something that was destined for me.
you dream it, you can make it so." I added that second line as I moved along, but it was to get over my fear of the space that I didn't know about. Commentator : Hum. Belva Davis: That I could find no directional book I could read to tell me how to get overthat hesitation of going for what you want and that was it.
that hesitation of going for what you want and that was it. Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: In fact that's the one place where Google's in the book. 'Cause I Googled that one day just for the fun of it. I don't know some years back. I reallyshould have updated it -- Commentator : Belva Davis: but there was at least 60,000 hits on that line.
should have updated it -- Commentator : Belva Davis: but there was at least 60,000 hits on that line. Commentator : Oh good! Belva Davis: Commentator : We are glad to contribute to -- Belva Davis: Right.Commentator : the propagation of the use for your mantra. That's great.
Commentator : Oh good! Belva Davis: Commentator : We are glad to contribute to -- Belva Davis: Right.Commentator : the propagation of the use for your mantra. That's great.Belva Davis: Yeah. Commentator : Here at Google, we call ourselves Googlers here. I don't know if they, they taught you that term in your lunch or in your tour. And a lot of us work in different functions.
Belva Davis: Um. Commentator : Tell us what you think or kind of embellishing or helping things that you do in -- Belva Davis: Um-hum. Commentator : journalism today. Belva Davis: Well I think they're two different worlds and I'm glad that one has one name and it's not called journalism.Commentator : Okay. Belva Davis: On the other one, I think it is, it's a spreading of the word and that's traditional going back to the earliest of time when people beated on a drum. ?
Commentator : journalism today. Belva Davis: Well I think they're two different worlds and I'm glad that one has one name and it's not called journalism.Commentator : Okay. Belva Davis: On the other one, I think it is, it's a spreading of the word and that's traditional going back to the earliest of time when people beated on a drum. ?Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: It's the way we communicate one on one with each other.
Commentator : Okay. Belva Davis: On the other one, I think it is, it's a spreading of the word and that's traditional going back to the earliest of time when people beated on a drum. ?Commentator : Um. Belva Davis: It's the way we communicate one on one with each other.What we journalists have to do is educate people to the fact that if you're reading an article by a person who calls themself a 'journalist', you should expect more from