Chelsea Does (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - Chelsea Does Racism - full transcript

[Chelsea] When I was
really, really small,

my parents took me to a swimming lesson,
and there was a big, black swim teacher.

And I... They said...

I don't remember this,
but they said I screamed.

I was, like, two or three, and I
screamed, and I ran in the other way.

- [chuckles]
- And my dad's like, "You know what?"

You saw a shvartze and you
didn't like it, and then you ran."

And immediately, when he
said that, I was like...

When they would tell me that
story, I'm like, "That's so awful."

And that gets embedded into
your psyche in such a deep way

that you spend your whole life



trying to show black
people that you like them.

- You're like, "Hey!"
- [all laugh]

I mean, it's awful! I'm embarrassed

of the things I've done
to overcompensate for that.

Listen, I hate the smell of boiled
potatoes whenever I go into my...

So you hate Polish people

- or people from Idaho?
- And Irish. The Irish must be terrible.

I can't stand it. Or... or dog.

- That's a direct hit at you.
- [Aasif Mandvi laughs]

That's me, sorry.

But I do think it's interesting

because I grew up with a father who
was really racist but towards everyone.

[Michael McDonald] That
was mine, too. The same.

Yeah, right?



It wasn't just like,
black, white. It was like...

The Dutch got it.

- You know, everybody.
- [Margaret Cho] I think a lot of comedians

use that as their
justification for whatever...

You know, they say, "Oh, I hit everyone."

But do you feel like that's
valid? You feel like that's okay?

I hope so, 'cause that's
been my excuse for years.

If you're attacking everyone,
then you should... [stutters]

Like, you are illuminating
the absurdity of racism, right?

That's how I feel.

That's the idea. Unless
you're just really a racist.

[laughs]

I come from the school of making
fun of as many people as possible,

all the times, no political
correctness, and I think that's helpful.

- Yeah.
- [Michael] Human beings are assholes.

- All of us.
- [Chelsea] Yeah, exactly.

Political correctness is, like,

- the handicap of any real conversation...
- [Michael] Yes.

And I hate it.

Especially, now, racially,
everything is so difficult.

I mean, I'm actually wearing
a body camera right now.

Is that because you're
Asian and they love cameras?

Yes. [Laughs]

When you look at me, when
you would come on my show,

do you think, "Oh, here's some
white girl who just landed..."

You know, she's got this great career
just because she's a loudmouth bitch"?

Do you ever think that? I mean, honestly.

- That's what I thought.
- [laughs]

Some white chick wants
to talk about race. Great.

[all laughing]

[Chelsea] I'm doing this thing
on racism, throughout the world.

Like global racism,

and then racism that I grew up
with, which I learned from you.

- So...
- I'm not a racist.

- You're not?
- No.

I get in trouble all the
time for stuff I say publicly.

Or, like, on my show, my old
show, I would get in trouble.

And I'm not racist. I
don't think I'm racist.

Do you feel like when you used to sell
cars and stuff and have people call,

and you'd be like, "Oh,
it's an Arab on the phone,"

or you'd ask them where they were from...

You had a lot of opinions about
different races throughout the world.

Yes, I did.

And what are they? Like, what about Arabs?

What about 'em?

- What do you think about Arabs?
- Not much.

What are their qualities?

Well, I just don't get
along with them that well.

Because?

Different... uh, culture.

You think they're cheap? Do you
think they're like, uh, liars?

I mean, what do you think
about them that you don't like?

I'd say cheap and liars.

And what about Jewish people?

- Same.
- Cheap and liars?

Okay, what about black people?

Mostly lying.

[chuckles] But everyone
you're talking about is a liar.

You're saying everyone lies?

Pretty much.

Uh-huh.

- That's racism?
- We just had to touch on it.

I don't think you covered
the subject at all.

[Chelsea laughs]

[Chelsea] Sometimes it feels like
the point of political correctness

goes so far that you're ignoring
being an actual, real person.

And I know that I'm wrong because everyone
keeps telling me that I'm way off-base.

So, what do you think about
prejudice being hardwired

or learned or are people born racist?

I think people are born...

maybe noticing differences.

I may know I'm different
than the guy next to me.

But someone has to tell me

that I'm better than him and that
he shouldn't have the same life.

What's offensive to you?

What's acceptable for, like,
a comedian? I'm a comedian.

What am I allowed to say?
What am I not allowed to say?

Like, "Black people like fried chicken."

Is that offensive to you?

That black people like
watermelon and fried chicken?

Yeah, 'cause I'm a vegetarian

and I don't like watermelon
and fried chicken.

You can have watermelon
as a vegetarian, FYI.

- You can.
- Yes.

- There's too much sugar in it for me.
- Oh.

But I think you have to be
able to laugh at yourself

without making your culture the joke.

And there's a fine line there.

And I think that people ought to
be sensitive to where that line is.

And where do people start
to become better educated?

You are not a well-rounded,
well-educated person

if you only look at and around
something that reflects and mirrors you.

And I think the only way
we break down barriers

is we've got to break them
down in our individual lives

and not self-segregate and not
just live in a polarized colony.

- [Loni Love] How long have you been here?
- [Chelsea] Bel Air?

- [Loni] Mmm-hmm.
- [Chelsea] Like, four years.

LA is set up in a way that it's so
many white people on one side of town.

- [laughs]
- The Palisades, Brentwood, Santa Monica.

- 'Cause they can afford it, that's why.
- Right.

[Loni] What I do like
about living in LA

is that there are so many
different races and ethnicities.

You have Little Korea, Little
Ethiopia. You have Compton.

The Eastside is known
as "Little Mexico."

You can learn something
of a different culture

without even traveling around the world.

I had no idea that they have

- these little sub-communities everywhere.
- Mmm-hmm.

I mean, I feel like I actually have,
like, self-segregated. [Chuckles]

[Chelsea] Nobody wants to say on
camera how they feel about other races.

People don't wanna be honest about it.

- [Loni] Right.
- [Chelsea] Who cares?

Let's all just have a discussion about it.
It's almost racist not to discuss it.

[Loni] It's just the way we ask the questions.

You are a little direct.

This is a beautiful part of town.

[Loni laughing]

I mean, this is fucking depressing.

[Loni laughing]

- [Loni] Hi, ladies.
- [Chelsea] Hi.

Hi, how can we help you guys?

- I'm learning Spanish right now.
- [Claudia] Oh, cool.

- Soy de Bel Air.
- That's perfect.

[Chelsea] So is this, like,
the heart of Little El Salvador?

- Is that what you call...
- [Claudia] Yeah,

MacArthur Park is pretty known for that.
I mean...

There's a lot of Central American,
a lot of Guatemalans, too,

which also love pupusas,
'cause we're neighboring countries.

And then is this considered, like,
a safe part of town?

- We feel pretty safe. [Laughs]
- I feel safe.

Because MacArthur Park
is supposed to be crime-ridden, right?

Yeah. That's why... Yeah.

She told me there were bodies in that lake.

- Is that true?
- [Norma] Yeah, there was a body.

I think on our first week,
there was a body floating.

Okay.

But, you know,
if you just stay out of the...

- Out of the lake?
- Yeah, out of the lake, you'll be fine.

Have you felt prejudice against you
a lot of times being in the States or...

Many people view you differently.

'Cause if you're, like,
more fair-skinned...

I mean, you're not treated better,
but they see you a little differently.

- Uh-huh.
- They mistake you for a cleaning lady

if you go on the Westside?

That has happened, and I'm like,
"I'm just here delivering your food."

Yeah, they look at you more like the help.

- Yeah.
- They see you as the help.

- Really?
- [Norma] Yeah.

[Chelsea] So what kind of guys do you like?

- I like a lot of guys.
- Yeah, girl.

- And do you date...
- What do you like?

I like a lot of
different kind of guys, too.

- Black guys.
- I don't like Asian guys.

- I've never dated an Asian.
- [Norma] I haven't, either.

- [Chelsea] Nobody really does.
- I actually met one two weeks ago

and I was shocked
that I thought he was attractive.

Not in a bad way!

I'm not really attracted to them, you know?

No, I feel bad for Asian men,
because who is?

[laughs]

[Chelsea] Are you on a diet?

No, I just... Oh, wait a minute.

Oh, it probably won't shut
since you're sitting down.

[Chelsea] You like
dating white guys, right?

I like white guys, but they have
to have some type of soulfulness.

You know, sometimes they don't have that.

It's just, that's why I think
a lot of women tend to like black guys,

because they have this coolness about 'em.

Yeah, I like... I had a black lawyer
that I was really attracted to.

There's a definite
masculinity factor to it.

Like, black guys will take care of you.

They can beat the shit out of somebody
if you need that,

which is, like, a silly thing
to think about as an adult...

- Mmm-hmm.
- But it's true.

[Loni] I think a lot of people
consider Asian guys cute.

But, you know, because of the rumor
about Asians having small penises,

I think that kind of ruins it for them.

But I don't believe that.

Do you believe that
all Asian guys have small penises?

It's like saying all black...

And we talked about this.
Black guys all don't have big penises.

Oh, definitely.

Kim Bang Ah? Tell me how to say that.

Kim Bang Ah.

Kim Bang Ah.

All right, so we are...
I've never been to Koreatown at all.

- What's your name?
- My name's James.

- And what's your name? Okay.
- Chelsea.

How do you say your name in Korean?

James.

- Is it?
- Yeah.

No, what's your Korean name?

Young is one of my Korean names.

- [Chelsea] Young.
- Young.

Y-O-U-N-G. Young.

You know, there's been this history
between Koreans and blacks. You know...

That they say that we don't get along.

Well, I get along fine.

- You do? [Laughs]
- Uh-huh. [Laughing]

Are you married?

- Are you? No?
- No.

We're both looking for somebody to share.

"Share." [laughs]

Ooh, am I blushing?

- [Loni chuckles]
- No, but Loni is.

- [laughs]
- Who's your biggest customer here?

- Korean people?
- Of course.

And what about Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai?
What about that?

No, not even one percent.

- Really?
- No.

Why don't you think other people come here?

Because both have broken English.

Don't really understand

because they're both speaking with
the broken English. It sounds rude.

- Hmm.
- Well...

That's why I think during the LA riot,
the Korean community got hit hardest.

- Because of that language barrier?
- Language barrier.

[Chelsea] What's good for women?
Like, what's good for youth, pretty?

You gotta go with this.

- This will...
- Here we go with the black bean.

Yeah, this has three times more protein
than beef, but it has zero fat.

Okay.

It could be used it as a meal replacement.

And you do this
for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

- And you put any fruits you want with it.
- Does it taste good?

You could make it taste good.
I'll make you some.

No, it's okay. I took some.
I'm gonna make some when I get home.

- [chuckles]
- And what about this stuff?

- Isn't that shoplifting?
- No.

No, it's not.
Just pretend you're being looted again,

- but by white people.
- [Loni and James laugh]

[Loni] What's a habibi?

- Do you allow black people?
- Yeah, we do.

- Okay, cool.
- Hey, I'm Loni. [Laughs]

- I'm half black myself.
- Oh, you are?

- Oh, really?
- I'm Egyptian.

- Oh, you are? All right!
- Yeah, I'm Mickey.

- Chelsea. Nice to meet you.
- Right on.

Would you like some hookah?

Now, what is hookah?

- She doesn't know what it is.
- Hookah is a water pipe.

You get high?

- I can get you high.
- Yeah?

She's a big girl, though,
so you need a lot of hookah.

- [laughs]
- No. We'll get you going.

[inhales, coughing]

[Mickey] You all right? [Loni] Ow.

- Don't you smoke pot or anything?
- No, I don't. I drink. Oh, God!

Why do people start doing this?

It seems complicated.

Like, why not just have a glass of wine

than heating up an apple
and throwing charcoal on it, you know?

Well, culturally,
in the Middle East and in Iran...

- Yeah.
- They don't drink alcohol.

Well, that's the problem.

That's why everybody's
all pissed off all the time.

That's why they smoke the hookah,
to calm them down.

[holding breath] Does this calm you...

[exhales] Does it calm you down?

Yeah, it's relaxing. It's a social thing.

- Now, are you Persian at all?
- No, Egyptian.

- You have no Persian in you? No?
- No.

- Never had it?
- I've had some.

- Have you?
- Yeah.

[Chelsea] I'm a Jew, by the way.

- Yeah?
- Is that a problem?

- No.
- [Chelsea] Good.

- I didn't think it was.
- Yeah, no.

Loni?

What about stereotypes
you may have heard about Jewish people?

- Being stingy.
- Yeah.

Uptight, a little bit.

Yeah. What about black people?

- Cheap.
- Jews and blacks have a lot in common.

- They do, yeah.
- [chuckles] This is great.

Should we take a check?

- Yeah, give it to her.
- Should I charge her double?

- [Loni] Yes, do that.
- Okay.

- We'll do that.
- Okay.

[Loni] You can afford it.

- You're flirting with him.
- [laughs] I'm not.

I'm sitting here enjoying my...
Whatever this is.

I would love to see that go down,
you and him.

- Rock his world, baby. I will rock that.
- Yeah.

[grunting]

[Loni] Yeah, when I first moved to LA,
we stayed in Compton,

and it was right during the riot.

And then they had a earfquake after that.

An "earfquake" or an "earthquake"?

A earthquake! You know how to say it.

[Chelsea] What was that like when
you moved, when the riots happened?

What did you do?

I can remember it was a traffic light
and there were some kids,

and they got out the car
and they put a gun to this man's face.

And I was so scared, you know,
and I shouted, "Hey!"

And they got back in the car
and they left the man alone.

- I mean, it was just pure chaos.
- Oh, my God.

If you've never been in a riot,
you never...

That was my first introduction to...

But as a black person,
when they're rioting,

do you feel like you're gonna be...

I mean, don't you feel like
you're on the right side?

'Cause they're not gonna
come after you, right?

- Or are they?
- Well, when people say,

"Why is it that when people riot,
they tear up their own neighborhoods?"

Well, you have to understand, in Compton,
none of the blacks owned anything,

so they didn't feel like
it was theirs, anyway.

[Margaret] Whenever there's a sort
of a race uprising in the community,

the only people that are really victimized
are Korean liquor store owners.

- [all chuckle]
- Because that's who everybody loots.

They're like,
"We have nothing to do with any of this."

You know, they're, like, there.

[Chelsea] So, Margaret,
have you ever publicly apologized

for any of your stand-up
or jokes that you've made?

[Margaret] No, I don't think so.

- But have you been asked to?
- I've been asked to.

I would never ever apologize publicly.

On my show and stuff,
I'd make jokes about people,

but I never got complaints
from black people.

I never got complaints from Jewish people.
I get... Actually, no. I am Jewish,

and that was one of the only groups
of people I got complaints from.

[all laugh]

I did the Golden Globes in January,
and I played a North Korean, um, spy.

You know, my family
is actually from North Korea,

and so a lot of people complained

and said that my performance was racist
and that it was yellowface,

- but I actually have a yellow face.
- [Aasif] Yes, right.

So I was really confused by it.

And the people that were really against it
were mostly white people.

So I think that what it is,

is that white people like to
tell Asian people how to feel about race

because they're too scared
to tell black people.

[all laugh]

I don't entirely disagree
with that assessment.

I think you might be on to something.

On the Sunday wrap-up political shows,

that's all white people talking about race.

It's usually white people
talking about race.

[Michael] The only thing worse
is those talk shows

when they're talking about
some joke has gone awry,

and then you have
all those unfunny motherfuckers

sitting around the news
discussing what is funny,

and that's really worse to me than racism.

[all laughing]

["Why Can't We Be Friends?" playing]

- [Chelsea] Hello.
- Hi!

- [Chelsea] Hi, everybody.
- [all] Hello.

Hi! How are you?

So everybody's kind of involved
in the media, right?

It's very media-related

and about representing
in a thoughtful and responsible manner.

Let's talk about the climate now.

Because comedians...

I think it is so important
to be able to make fun of stereotypes,

and I make it a rule never to apologize
for anything I've said publicly,

'cause I really don't think anything
I've ever said came out of a really...

Chelsea, I watch your show,
and you know what strikes me about it?

- That you're outrageous.
- Right.

- You have a dwarf on your show.
- A Latino dwarf.

When I first saw you going after him,

I said, "Goddamn,
I'm gonna write a letter of this."

[Chelsea] Mmm-hmm.

But then I see how you treat him
on other occasions,

and I say, "There's that balance."

Speaking of Chuy, when I got into trouble
with the Anti-Defamation League,

it was because I put Chuy...
Chuy dressed up as Hitler.

It was Hanukkah, in my defense,

and I'm a Jewish person,
and I was called by

the Jewish Defamation League,
the Anti-Defamation League,

and there was another Jewish society
that gets excited when I get a dog

and then gets upset
when I do something the next day.

It's almost like dealing with PETA,
in my opinion.

But I don't think Hitler was a good man.

That wasn't what I was trying to say.

Chuy dressed up as Hitler,
I thought, was very funny.

Obviously, there's a whole lot
of comedy that's just comedy.

But usually when it's a Hitler reference,
it's already getting in our sweet spot.

Hitler being your sweet spot?

I do think there are times
when comedy does cross,

and I think it's our role to say,
"Wait, wait, wait," in those moments.

And who decides what...

How many phone calls does it take for you...

It's very, very subjective.
I'm gonna be totally honest.

And sometimes it is
how big the celebrity is.

One great example of this was when you
were on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

and you went on
and you were all guns-a-blazing,

putting down Angelina Jolie.

"It's like, why is she always
adopting kids from foreign countries?

Why can't she adopt kids in this country?
Is she anti-American?"

And then you started to pick on Pax,

who was this three-year-old
Vietnamese boy...

- [Chelsea] Mmm-hmm.
- That she had just adopted,

"and you said," He probably doesn't
even realize he's Asian yet.

He certainly doesn't know he's
going to be a horrible driver

"or that he's gonna be
amazing at doing nails."

- [chuckles]
- Angelina Jolie also adopted

- a girl from Ethiopia, Zahara.
- [Chelsea] Yeah. Mmm-hmm.

You did not go after her
because the NAACP would've been

protesting outside the E! Channel
the next day asking for your head.

- I didn't do it for that reason. I don't...
- Okay. Why did you do it?

I thought it was a really funny joke.

I still think it was funny. When
you told me, I almost laughed.

- And I...
- You did laugh, actually.

But I didn't actively not do it about...

I make jokes about black
people all the time.

I make jokes about everybody.

I've never chosen one race and
focused on them. I've always...

A three-year-old
kid?

He's a very public kid and it was
more about him being a public...

He didn't ask to be a public kid.

I would say I'd write him a
letter of apology, but I won't.

- Well, I'm just bringing it up, you know...
- Okay.

- I'm just bringing... 'Cause you asked.
- [panelists chattering]

No, no, 'cause you asked.

- [Amanda] I'll go to the positive.
- Let me finish.

- 'Cause you asked.
- Right! No, no, I appreciate it.

- This is an open discussion.
- You asked,

"Is it that big a deal, comedians
making jokes on television?"

Well, it does, 'cause it
affects people watching it.

You basically told the
audience watching at home

you can make fun of this kid,
even if it's a three-year-old kid.

I make fun of everyone. I've
been an egalitarian that way.

My whole career is based
on making fun of everybody.

Some stereotypes are
compliments... and I...

People seem to even get upset about that.

Saying an Asian person is good at math.
Is that something that would offend you?

I mean, that's a compliment. I
would like to be better at math.

The problem with stereotypes
is that you don't have a choice

if it's gonna be a bad
one or a positive one.

If you accept the positive one,
you have to accept the negative one.

If you say that blacks
are very good at sports,

- you know?
- [Chelsea] Or... Yeah.

If you're black, then you
must be a basketball player.

I mean, that's a good... It's a good thing.

It's not a compliment,
and I'll tell you why.

Stereotypes are created for a
purpose. They don't fall from the sky.

They always are attached
to a political agenda.

It's about certain groups being
able to dominate other groups.

So when African-Americans
are good at basketball,

it means they're not good at mental things.

It means that they're not suited for
other types of work that involve intellect

and other types of abilities more aligned
with being affluent in this society.

What about black men being well-endowed?
Is that something you'd take offense to?

Well, I mean, that's
something that people...

That doesn't mean you're
not good at something else.

Black men being well-endowed is...

Well, I can speak from experience, true.

Well, again, that's the body.
It's physical versus intellectual.

- [Chelsea] Okay.
- So that's the purpose it serves.

And it also harkens back to
slavery and breeding slaves,

- and it's all... Yeah.
- Connected to big penises?

Well, yeah. It dehumanizes the whole...

I think it's really... I
mean, it's not a bad thing.

Well, it's better than
having a small penis,

but it's still dehumanizing.

- Well, thank you for saying that. Sorry.
- [all laughing]

[Dr. Steven David] Do
you think, on some level,

everybody's engaging in stereotyping?

Do we treat different people differently
based on that innate prejudice?

I think most people probably do
without realizing that they do.

Like, my driver's black.

My driver, Billy, who
drives me, not every day,

but when I'm going out
drinking, I have a driver.

And I have a black friend who
was coming over to my house,

and I thought, "Oh, I don't
want Billy to drive us,

because I don't want her to think
I have a black man for a driver."

And then I was like, "That's
totally racist." [chuckles]

- "Like, why am I lying about
my life?" - Uh-huh. Okay.

But I'm super-nice to my cleaning lady
and the people that work at my house.

I have... 'Cause they're Mexican, and
I don't want them to think I'm racist.

So I'm overly ridiculous and
generous with them, you know?

I bought one of them a car,
'cause I want them to like me

and I want them to think
that I'm not racist.

Yes, that's racist.

But is that out of some
sense of white guilt?

Yes. I buy a lot of people
cars when I feel racist.

Do you ever cross the line with any
of your ethnically-diverse friends?

Yeah, all the time. I mean, on my old show,

all I did was make fun of
whoever was on the round table.

You know, I would confuse all
the Asian races with each other.

I mean, sometimes I probably joke
too much and people are offended.

Like, I go over the top to a
point where it's a little like,

- "That's pretty transparent."
- Mmm-hmm.

But they've never mentioned it?

Yeah, sometimes people get mad at me,

but, you know, people are
always kind of mad at me.

[Reverend Al Sharpton]
My grandfather's daddy,

and I knew my grandfather,

was a slave in South Carolina,

owned by the family of Strom
Thurmond, the famous segregationist,

and we end up going down there.

- Who? You and Strom?
- No.

Strom and I didn't exactly
hang out together, Chelsea.

But there's the First Baptist Church there,

which is a white church
in the middle of town.

And half the cemetery were
Thurmonds and Sharptons,

which were, of course, the white
Sharptons that we were named after,

'cause my great-grandfather
was their property.

And every time I write "Al
Sharpton" on a piece of paper,

since finding that out,

I realize that I'm writing the name
of my great-grandfather's owners,

not my heritage.

So, can you tell me a little bit about
what your life was like growing up?

I grew up in Brooklyn, New York.

In the North, the racism was more subtle.

Nobody put a sign out saying "No blacks."

They just didn't hire you.

As opposed to the Southern,

which was a lot more institutional
and a lot more powerful.

I think the thing I hear the
most that I find offensive...

But I'm, you know, a white, Jewish
woman. I don't know if it's offensive.

When people talk about
how Jewish people, um...

kind of recovered from their Holocaust...

You know, Jewish people are successful.

They're all doctors and lawyers
and dentists or whatever,

you know, working on Wall
Street, whereas black people...

The argument is, or the
point that people make,

is that it's harder for them to recover.

Well, what are we comparing?

Millions dying in the
African slave trade? Wrong.

Millions dying in Hitler's ovens? Wrong.

But we're recovering

from what the United States
did and enforced by law.

This didn't happen to us in Germany.

This happened to us in Georgia,
in Mississippi. Right here.

People don't wanna
admit how vicious it was.

And if they did,

then they would understand how
the process coming out of that

is so... difficult

and, in some cases, impossible.

[country music playing]

"Chapter 8, Plantation Life."

Now, we have come to one of the
happiest ways of life in Alabama

before the War Between the States.

Suppose you were a little boy or a girl
and lived in one of the plantation homes.

You wake up early in the morning,

run down the long stairs to
have breakfast with your family.

The Negro cook, whom you call 'Mammy...'

comes in, bringing a great tray of food.

"She was your nurse when you were a
baby, and then when you had a baby."

When you were probably 15 or 16...

because we're in Alabama.

I've never been to any plantation before,
so this is the first one I'm seeing.

Were the gardens
all built by slaves?

[Charles Duell] They built these
gardens, they built the houses.

They took care of everything
that happened here.

When I inherited this property,
you couldn't talk about slavery.

People weren't comfortable talking about...

My thoughts about slavery, of
course, is that it was not something

that I was involved with or that I started
or that I can take responsibility for.

What we're interested in
doing is learning the facts,

not romanticizing it or, you know,

making it more horrific
than it may have been.

- So you can take a vacation here,
kind of? - [Charles] Yeah.

[Charles] And people
come here for day visits,

and they get married in the garden

and have their wedding
party stay at the inn.

- There are all kinds of uses.
- I see.

And there are massages available.
People come in and do stuff like that.

[Chelsea] That's amazing.

[Charles] We're going to
the plantation stable yards,

which was, really, the birthplace

of all of our African-American research
and interpretation.

So, this is a room that's devoted
to making quilts and boutonnieres.

And then... So there would have been
a slave working here.

Sure.

All of these exhibits
would have been performed by slave labor.

Got it.

- [Chelsea] Oh, hi!
- [Charles] Chelsea,

- this is Doug Nesbit.
- Hi. How you doing there?

- You remind me of Rumpelstiltskin.
- [laughs] Well, thank you.

Can you tell Chelsea about what you
do here as a carpenter and a cooper?

Coopering is the making of
barrels and buckets and kegs,

all of it done by enslaved Africans.

They brought their wood-carving
skills over with them.

So, they were making barrels at a
rate of three barrels a day per person,

as the task requirement for the individual,

a job that would take the
average person about 12 hours.

Is there a reason there aren't actual
African-Americans recreating these?

Uh, well, we don't happen to have any
African-Americans on staff now who are...

Well, we do. We have Jamie.

We have Jamie Green... who's
an African-American. But, uh...

[stammers] we have them coming and going,

and it would be more verisimilitude, if
you will, to have an African-American.

But Doug is very good at explaining
everything that happens here.

Do you want to show her how the
great wheel lathe works, Doug?

- It's out of order.
- It's out of order?

How about your shaving horse?

Oh, the shaving horse! Oh, yes,
that's a wonderful thing to show.

The African-American who
works here, what does he do?

Well, he would... [clears throat]

We've had different ones.
This guy is... [stammers]

Something happened to Jamie. I don't know.
He got sick or something. But he's just...

Oh, I saw a black man in
the kitchen. Is that him?

- No.
- Oh.

On this plantation, historically,

do you know what kind of conditions the
slaves would have been working under?

- What would this have looked like?
- This building

- is a fairly recently-built...
- [Chelsea] Right.

I explained to her that no,
we don't know what, uh...

- No idea?
- And we know that they were making barrels

and doing carpentry and blacksmithing

- and all of those chores.
- Mmm-hmm.

It seems like it's a very
upbeat kind of environment.

- Well, it is. It's very creative.
- [chuckles]

[Chelsea] The contributions of
African-Americans is one thing,

but they weren't contributing, like,
of their own volition.

They were here as slaves.

There should be more
acknowledgment of the past,

but I guess that's what anybody
coming here would probably think,

unless you're a fucking moron.

If you come on this land, you should know
right away what this land was used for.

I don't think you should be roaming
around and being like, "Let's get married,"

and then two years later, you're like,
"Oh, my God. That was a plantation."

♪ In Dixie Land,
where I was born in ♪

♪ Early on one frosty mornin' ♪

♪ Look away, look away ♪

♪ Look away, Dixie Land ♪

The goal of the Sons
of Confederate Veterans

is to honor the heritage
of the Confederacy.

A lot of people in this nation

still stand for the very ideals
that the Confederacy fought for.

It was not about slavery.
Never was about slavery.

It was about the Tenth
Amendment of the Constitution,

that every state has the
right to govern its own.

I understand what
the South fought for

and, uh, I agree with
what the South fought for.

- [bell clangs]
- [people cheering]

So, what do you guys think is the
biggest misconception of the South?

The biggest misconception of the South

is that everybody's
just dumb white trash...

The South is about
barbecue and drinking beer!

- Whoo!
- Yeah.

You're saying it's all about
drinking beer and barbecuing?

- No, no, no, no! I'm saying...
- [all laughing]

I'm saying everybody thinks

that it's just a bunch of dumb hillbillies,

and that's not the way it is.

Right.

We're tired of the stereotypical
idea of Southern people.

We're not... We're gracious,

- we're kind, we're...
- What is that? What do you think that is?

That we're backwards, we're ignorant,
that we're racist. We're not racist.

I'm involved in a church, and we have
blacks and whites that worship together.

- Are they allowed to sit together?
- Oh, yeah, we all mix.

- [laughing]
- Of course.

- Just checking.
- We have a black lady,

a member of our church,

and she wants to be known to
the congregation as "Big Momma."

Oh, Big Momma's wonderful.
Everybody knows Big Momma.

We have two minorities right
there on the police force.

There's two women. One's a black one.

But that says a lot for
what Tallassee represents.

Yeah, it seems like a
very progressive city.

[stammers] What are you doing here?

We're reenactors. Perry and I both are.

So you're reenacting Confederate
soldiers in the Civil War.

- Yes, ma'am.
- Can you tell us a little bit

about what the war was about?

States' rights.

The North and the South
was dividing too much.

Power, control, states' rights.

But do you think they were
fighting for a just cause?

The people in the South
and the people in the North

both felt that they was
fighting for a just cause.

But now, looking back, they
were trying to abolish slavery.

Was that a bad thing,
or is that a good thing?

Sometimes I think the bad things are
portrayed more than the good things.

What were some of the
good things you feel like

- aren't portrayed?
- People were taken care of.

Would you take a tractor
that you just bought brand new

and tear it up, misuse it?

No, you gonna take care of it,

'cause you just spent
a pile of money on that.

Those people produced their
crops, worked their fields,

so you're not gonna
mistreat something like that.

Interesting.

What do you think
Hollywood has gotten wrong

in the way the South is
depicted regarding slavery?

I would think one would
be the beating of people.

There may have been one that
would do that to their slave,

just because they're a mean, bad person,

but the majority of 'em would not do that.

- Would not beat their slaves?
- They were part of the family.

They were like Big Momma, you
know. [chuckles] We just love...

They were just all a big family.

How do you know that to be true?

Because I have family heritage,

and I've been told the stories
since I was a little girl

from people whose grandparents lived it.

The guy here, whose family owned slaves...

Somebody came down from the
"North" in the early 1900s,

and he was still living on the farm,

and they told him, "You've been
freed. You can go somewhere else."

And he said, "Well, why
would I wanna do that?"

Have you ever heard of the phrase
"Stockholm Syndrome"?

- Well, I have.
- Yes.

- Yeah.
- I have, yeah.

I don't know where that would
apply, but I have heard...

Well, sometimes, people are, let's
say, safer in an environment...

- [man] In a secure environment.
- Yeah, that isn't that fun to be in

just because they don't know anything else.

Now, I find your questions
antagonizing a little bit,

and I think that you're bringing
in some of those stereotypes, and...

Well, that's what I'm here
to do. I want you to...

[woman] You want to argue with
us about what went on here.

I never know of any direct story of abuse.

And, um... So it's
hurtful. It's very hurtful.

Wow.

[meat sizzling]

- I just figured out who you were.
- Oh, you did?

I just knew... Yeah, I just
figured out who you were!

- Oh, hey.
- Yeah. I watch your show every night.

- Late night! Yeah, yeah, yeah, I do!
- Oh, really?

- That's funny. [Laughs]
- Yeah, yeah.

- Can I ask you a question?
- Yeah, go ahead.

Did you really date 50 Cent?

- Yeah, I did. I did date 50 Cent, yeah.
- You did?

- Okay, okay.
- It was short, brief.

- I had to ask that question.
- That's right.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Is that why you watched
me? Because I dated 50 Cent?

No, I like you because you are cute.

- That's why I watch.
- Oh, thank you!

Yeah, I watch that show.

That's the first compliment I've
gotten since I've come down here.

- There you go.
- Thank you.

So I wanted to talk to you
guys about the South a little.

Do you feel like there is a lot
of racism that still happens?

You see little pockets everywhere, but
it's not as rampant as it used to be.

Now, I'm saying that you're cute.

Back in the days, I would probably ran
and thrown in that river over there.

- If you said I was cute? Okay.
- If I said you was cute

and I made any advance
toward a white lady, yeah.

Like, the people across the street say
slavery wasn't as bad as we think it was.

There were certain instances
where slaves were really abused,

but other than that, you know,
there were some really nice stories.

Have you ever heard from
your relatives or descendants

any, like, nice stories about slavery?

I don't think there is
a good slavery story.

- Any time you're held in bondage, no.
- [man] Me neither.

No, I don't think there's a good slavery...

But at the time, I guess you could
say that's what our people knew.

That's all we knew, so we made the best
of what we had to work with at that time.

But no, I don't think
there's a good slavery story.

[Chelsea] The feeling I'm
getting from being here

is that, I mean, if
that's what they're like

50 or 100 years after, you know,
real segregation has stopped,

can you imagine what they
were like when it wasn't?

But what I find the
most alarming is that

the fact that he's allowed
to tell me I'm cute

is an indicator of the
progression that they've made.

I want to live in a place where a person
of every color is able to hit on me.

[soul music playing]

[Chelsea] We were looking
for slavery museums in the South,

and there aren't many.

[Gene Peters] This is the
only one in the area.

[Chelsea] Uh-huh.

We tried to set the museum up where
people will get an appreciation

of the subject and of the subject matter.

We try to maintain that
it's people and not slaves.

Do you know who the first
people were, historically,

who came over to Africa and said,

"Oh, these people look different.
Let's make them slaves"?

It is said the Portuguese,
actually, had major complaints...

I've never trusted Portuguese people, FYI.

I don't like the language...

- I don't know many.
- And I don't like the people.

Okay. I don't know many personally,

- but also, you had the Catholic Church.
- Right. Yeah.

But certain countries
obviously had the lead

and this great opportunity to pilfer.

So can you explain to me
what all this stuff is?

These are the slave shackles.

You can feel the weight
of this kind of a device.

- And this would be to their feet or...
- To the feet.

Usually, that would be
from ankle to ankle to ankle

while they're being marched,

because, again, if you just imagine
that you're transporting cattle...

That's what human society can
do if left to its evil devices.

- This is a slave ship.
- This was a slave ship

with the bodies actually
strewn next to each other.

And are they lying down
or are they standing up?

They're lying down. They're lying down.

- For the whole voyage?
- For the whole voyage.

They would occasionally then
have them come out just to move,

but sometimes they did not.

And so they would just go
to the bathroom lying down?

Right where they are,

and you had to then do your defecation,
if you will, where then you lay.

Many times, they were called
either "loose pack" or "tight pack."

If you have a tight pack,

you've over-packed a 300-capacity ship
with 400, 500 people,

knowing that you're gonna lose "cargo,"
again, people, along the way,

but you're doing your cost-benefit.

Loss during the Middle Passage
would have been about 20 million.

[Chelsea] So you live here with your wife?

- [Danny Drain] Yes.
- [Chelsea] Okay, you live upstairs?

On the second floor. Right. Exactly.

Okay. After you opened, was there
ever any retaliation of any sort?

No, we've never had no problems.

We never got
a cross burned in front of the house.

So, you know, I mean,
I think we're doing very well down here.

Not getting a cross burned
in your front yard is doing well?

Yes, yes. I think so.

- The State of South Carolina...
- [Danny] Mmm-hmm.

Is kind of leading the country
in police brutality,

and obviously,
with a climate where it is now,

don't you think,
"Fuck these white people already"?

- I mean, enough is enough.
- Well...

Maybe you don't think like that,
but come on, you've gotta be feeling that.

Right. You know what? You have to
know how to channel your energy.

That's why you need both races
to stand up together and to protest

and do whatever we gotta do to make sure
this doesn't happen again in any state.

[Loni] I know my mom, growing up,

she would have conversations
with me and my brother.

But her conversation with my brother,
I could remember,

was totally different
than the conversation she had with me.

You know, it was basically like,
"Bitch, don't get pregnant." Okay?

[chuckles] But with my brother, it was,

"If you get stopped by the authorities,
you know, things would happen."

The police stop you... "Yes, Officer."

It's a total different type
of thinking right now.

But people are getting fed up,
and they're getting tired of it.

And it's true.
These officers, they're out of control.

[police siren wailing in distance]

[gun firing]

[Judy Scott] The phone rang and he told me,

"Mom, the police just stopped me.
I don't know why."

And I heard a lot of noise
and a lot of traffic,

and... we found out later
that they shot him.

What kind of person was your son?

Very good boy...

and he was easy to get along with,
you know?

Funny guy. Real nice fella
that always liked to laugh.

Every morning he'd go to work,
he would always go on the computer

and he would send me a joke on the computer

and then he'd say, "Hey, Dad!"

And we'd always have a laugh about that.

Every time he came by, we'd hug each other.

He'd squeeze me real tight,
let me know... [grunts]

He's a bear, you know.

- He's stronger than I am. [Laughs]
- [Chelsea chuckles]

That was something, man.

It's nice to see you laughing,
being able to laugh.

Is that new? Is that recent?

- Yes.
- Yes, that's the first time

- that happened in quite a while.
- Yes.

Today, you just made me
think about all that stuff.

Why do you think he ran
from the police officer that day?

I really... don't know why he ran.

Did you ever think that anything like that
would ever happen to one of your children?

Never, 'cause I never...

I've never been to the jailhouse for them.

They never got in trouble
with the law or anything.

Do you feel like you've experienced, um,
prejudice, discrimination living here?

Police officers are...
Um, they abuse their authority.

And I'm not just saying this.

I really... I know it's a fact
because it happened to me.

I was walking down the street, coming home,

and I came through the project,

and the policeman stopped me.

He said, "Where you going, boy?"

And I said, "I'm going home."

And he grabbed me,
pushed me up against the car,

kicked my legs apart,

put handcuffs on me.

And I said, "Why are you doing this?"

"Shut up!"

Slammed me in the car, took me downtown.

I spent the night in jail... for nothin'.

How do you feel about living in a country

where you're supposed to have your freedom
and you're supposed to have your rights

and this kind of thing is still happening?

- I think racism is all over our country...
- [Chelsea] Mmm-hmm.

From the north to the south,
from the east to the west.

And I think that if an individual
can serve their country...

and come home and be faced with violence

to the extent that we're facing these days,

uh, we have something wrong
with our system.

What would you say if you could
say anything to that police officer?

Well, you know what?
I feel sorry for him...

because he's got a real huge problem.

First thing that he needs to do

is repent and ask God
to forgive him for his sins.

We're hurting deep inside

because it's a tragic thing
to watch something like that.

And when I see that,
when I look at that tape,

I'm thinking in the back of my mind,
my brother's running for his life.

And then to see him drop to his knees,
and then to go down... dead.

No human being should do that to anyone,

no matter what the race is.

[Barack Obama]
To the families of the fallen,

the nation shares in your grief.

Our pain cuts that much deeper
because it happened in a church.

[crowd] Right.

A sacred place, not just for blacks,

but for every American who cares about

the steady expansion of human rights
and human dignity in this country.

A foundation stone for
liberty and justice for all,

that's what the church meant.

[crowd applauding]

♪ Amazing grace ♪

- ♪ How sweet the sound ♪
- [crowd singing along]

♪ That saved ♪

♪ A wretch like me ♪

No words can bring comfort to a
mother seeing her son in a casket.

[Jordan Davis' father]
That's our only child,

and this gentleman has just torn
the fabric of our family apart.

[Trayvon Martin's mother]
I just wanna speak

from my heart to your heart

because a heart has no color.

It's not black. It's not white.

It's red.

♪ But now I see ♪

[Chelsea] I'd love
to hear your thoughts

on everything that's happening
in the current climate here.

We can't change attitudes,

but we can have laws that
make everything fair and equal.

The problem that the Walter
Scott case brings about

is that if it had not
been for that video...

no one probably would've
believed if someone said,

"He shot this man in the back."

We still have the problem of racism
in the country, there's no doubt.

And I think that we, at the same
time, made a lot of progress.

So, when you look at in the
span of the last half century,

we've gone from African-Americans

in major parts of the
country not being able to vote

to an African-American president.

But we still have a long way to go.

As long as there's this inequality,

and as long as there's this
stuff under the surface,

it can just come to
the surface at any time.

[Aasif] You know, it's
funny 'cause we talk about...

what we were talking about
earlier, which is America.

It's very black and white. You're
either black or you're white.

When I got to America,
nobody knew who I was.

Like, they were just
like, "You're... Mexican?"

It was kind of... They didn't know
what an Indian, like, a brown person...

They were just confused.

Now, of course, the whole new thing
that America is really excited about

is Islamophobia.

- And how do you feel about Islamophobia?
- It is something that

the media and politicians
use right now, uh, as a tool.

How does it affect you personally?
I mean, have you been profiled?

I haven't been profiled
because, you know, uh, whatever.

I guess, maybe I'm on television.
So, you know, people kind of...

Most TSA agents sort of are fans.

- [laughs] So...
- Do they recognize you?

Well, you don't have
to be so cocky about it.

No, but I'm just... It's
only TSA agents are fans.

This is not gonna be
a popular thing to say,

but honestly, if Muslims are primarily
the people that are blowing up planes,

then I would like them to be searching
Muslims before I get on a plane.

Yeah, but white people have
done more damage to the world

than any other group
of humans on the planet.

So should we hold all white
people accountable and responsible

for the fact that we have slavery,
that we've had, you know, genocide,

- that we've had...
- No, but I'm saying

- specifically to planes and bombings...
- Right.

I don't think white people are
the front-runners in that category.

I understand what you're saying as a whole.

- What I'm saying...
- My only question is where does that...

I mean, this is America,
so where does that stop?

If a group of white men came
together and were a gang,

- let's say 5,000 of a gang...
- I don't know.

And they went around bombing,
would we then profile white men?

- [Chelsea] You're talking, like, the KKK?
- Yeah, like, if the Ku Klux Klan

uses Christianity to do what they
do and preach what they preach,

Christianity is not held accountable.

When Jihadists do that

and "use Islam as a tool" to
carry out horrendous things,

all Muslims get held accountable for that.

That doesn't mean that
it's not about religion.

In their fucked-up minds, it
could be about religion, the KKK.

If a guy walks through, like, a TSA,

with a big white hood
on and a fucking white...

I would like somebody to pull his ass over.

[all laughing]

[Matthew Heimbach] The idea of
staying with your own ethnic group

is a long-held tradition. And
I do feel, as a Christian,

that taking care of your
people, uh, is scriptural,

both in the Old and the New
Testament and in church tradition.

It's what Christians are supposed to do.

So, I would consider myself an advocate

for the best day-to-day
interests of normal white people.

So you feel like white
people are getting a bad deal?

Sure. The majority of white Americans,

they don't feel represented
by the political system.

Do you consider yourself
a white supremacist?

No, not at all.

- I mean... [laughs]
- They never do, though.

I would rather be able to
have voluntary separation.

You just want everybody to kind
of voluntarily come together

and say, "Let's separate"?

- Yes.
- So it's not forcing anybody,

but you want to have
like-minded people saying,

- "Yeah, that's a great idea."
- Yeah.

How would that look if
we were looking at a map?

The first step is to
create local communities,

specifically, Appalachia,
um, and the Midwest.

- There's enough...
- Dolly Parton's from Appalachia.

- That's great.
- Yeah, she's great.

We could have a combined state

because we share a very
similar culture and economy.

Different areas, especially
in the Deep South,

with high black populations,

would do exactly what the
Nation of Islam has said

and create a black homeland in the South.

Are there any white people that you
wouldn't take into your community?

It would be insane to
have a small community

that is very conservative and Christian,

and then import a bunch
of, uh, people from Seattle,

you know, white hipsters who are
atheist-communists, into your commune.

What about, like, Paris Hilton?

I think she... You guys can keep her.
The LA Commune can keep her. [Laughs]

All right. What do you say to people
who would say that you're racist?

The current definition of racist is if
you're a white person who's breathing.

[chuckles] So, of course, I am.

But what is a racist?

It's always an insidious white person

who has some true conspiracy to infringe
upon other people and make them sad.

I don't want to infringe on
any other group of people.

You're not like a Confederate
soldier, is what you're referring to.

I will not insult my Confederate ancestors.

I love my Confederate ancestors.

Good for them and you.

Do you feel like you're
a pretty open-minded guy?

I'd like to think I'm pretty open-minded.

So, say, you know, teenagers are crazy,

and one of your daughters
is sneaking out after school.

You know, that happens.

And you find out that she is pregnant

- with a black person's
baby. - Mmm-hmm.

What do you do in that situation?

I would still love and support my daughter.

But if we had these ethnically
separate communities,

it would truly break my heart to say

that she would not have
a place in that community.

At the end of the day, it's not wrong that
I want my grandchildren to look like me.

A lot of people would say, "Oh, this is...
These were Hitler's initial thoughts."

Like, he wanted to ethnically cleanse.

He wanted only white, you
know, the Aryan race to succeed,

and he wanted to get rid of everybody else.

I don't think that's true.

That was his whole thing, an Aryan nation.

- That's not true?
- Come on, Chelsea.

- No. I mean, you can't argue that.
- Come on, Chelsea.

- No, we're... [stammers]
- How can you argue that?

Because what we're dealing
with is post-war propaganda.

They have speeches of his recorded.
I mean, it's not post-war propaganda.

- His speeches, you can listen to and read.
- [Matthew stammering]

We're dealing with post-war propaganda,

because I think that there's
a lot more truth out there

that people are not shown
and are walled-off from.

Okay.

All right, well, I'm glad we
touched on Hitler and Paris Hilton.

I think it's important
to see intelligent people

being that stupid about race,

I mean, because that just shows you

it's not just the hillbillies and
people with, like, three teeth.

[Loni] I'm coming into your neighborhood.

- Do you mean the Jew neighborhood?
- Mmm-hmm. [Chuckles]

[Chelsea] I never really
hang out around here.

- But there is a good deli.
- I like Manischewitz. Mmm.

Yeah, you do like Manischewitz.

- I've seen you on Manischewitz.
- They're great.

[Chelsea] That is the Jewish museum.

We should go there together one day
so I can teach you about my history.

Yeah, I wanna see that one day.

- I don't think you respect the Jews.
- Oh. [Scoffs]

Yeah, I do, believe me.

[Chelsea] What do you respect about them?

[Loni] You know, I like
their sense of family.

They teach their kids to have pride.

That's what I like about the Jewish people.

They do teach their history

'cause you don't know where you're
going unless you understand your history.

[Dr. David] Tell me about your
experience of being Jewish.

[Chelsea] That's the only
religion I identify with.

And every time I read anything about
what's going on in Europe or the...

You know, about Israel
and the anti-Semitism...

It's heart-breaking, but I do feel like...

I mean, that happened to
black people for so long.

And I think now we're in a time
where people actually think that

that kind of thing could
happen to Jewish people again...

- Mmm-hmm. - Which
is really scary.

Because if it can happen
to Jewish people again,

then it can happen to black people again,

and it can happen to all the people
that've been oppressed all over the world.

Right. Does that touch
you? Does that make...

Yeah, of course it touches me.

I feel guilty 'cause I feel
like I should be doing more,

instead of just being conscientious
about people in your own country.

'Cause people always say,

- "Think globally, act locally."
- Right.

- Mmm-hmm. - I should think
globally and act globally,

'cause you can't just
worry about where you live,

and I think I'm guilty of that.

[Chelsea] Jerusalem is such a magnificent
place because you're looking at,

you know, rocks and stones and steps
that are thousands of years old,

and you can't believe
you're seeing it.

Yeah, I was moved by it.

- [Chelsea] Oh, hello.
- Oh, hello. You are Chelsea?

Oh, why, thank you. It's
an honor to meet you.

Hi.

It's not only an honor
for me, it's a pleasure.

Oh, that's very sweet. [Kisses]

I like seeing all the women
that work here in your office.

There's women everywhere.

Yes. I think they are the better...

side of humanity.

[laughs] The better side
of... I agree with you.

Those are some of my books.

Who are your favorite authors?

Yes, one of them is myself,
because I wrote 17 books.

I've written some books, too,
but they're not quite like yours.

How will you know? Maybe they are better.

- They're definitely a different tone.
- [both chuckle]

I wanna talk a little bit about racism.

Why do you think that Jewish people
are so persecuted throughout history?

What is it about Jews?

I'll tell you.

One, because that was
the choice of the Jews.

You know, many nations
choose different attractions.

You can choose power,
wealth, beauty, happiness.

Our father, Moses, he chooses
the greatest attraction...

the moral code.

And our moral code is not popular.

And since the Jews were in exile,

they didn't have land to cultivate.

So from the very beginning they
have had to live on their talents,

not on their land.

It created jealousy.

It's a very powerful place to be, Israel.

Yes, Israel really was a dream.

The Jewish people have had
more history than geography.

The place is tiny, the dream is great.

[male officer] You can
see here inside Jerusalem.

Behind us is the Bethlehem side,

and you can see the
houses inside Bethlehem.

And regular security activities
are carried out in this area.

This is all Bethlehem?

This is all Bethlehem.

You can see that inside Jerusalem,
it's very claustrophobic.

You can see how many apartments
there are within 500 square meters.

On the other hand, if we take a
look and we see the Bethlehem side,

they have a much larger
area of land in comparison.

Yeah, but they're surrounded by a wall.

So, if you live in Bethlehem, and you're
just a young kid growing up like this,

because your parents wanted
to stay in the West Bank,

when you were being surrounded by the wall,

and you're not an extremist
and you're not a terrorist,

how are you supposed to
make a life for yourself

if you want something
better than Bethlehem?

- No, that... that won't happen, I think.
- Ever?

I don't know whether it's a
question of ever. I can only...

They have no hope for moving
out of Bethlehem or leaving?

Uh, at the moment, no.

Did you think, at the time, the
separation wall was a good idea?

No.

I am against impositions.

What about the wall around Bethlehem?

I want Bethlehem, if we should stop terror.

And if we should have two
states, we don't need the walls.

So walls are not permanent.

Walls are an answer for a given period.

We were not born to live in walls.

We were born to live in freedom.

[helicopters whirring]

[Jim Gilchrist] This is the
famous Mexican-American border.

You're a minuteman,
right? Is that what you...

Yeah, the founder of the Minuteman Project.

It's one of many minuteman-like
groups around the country.

Okay.

The border fence, this has
been here for about 15 years.

Unfortunately, it only
extends for 14 miles.

It is used to protect
San Diego, California.

- From Mexicans?
- From...

illegal alien, uh, invasion.

- That's the term I use.
- Mexicans.

What do you think should happen?
What do you think is justifiable

in terms of people who do
cross the border illegally?

Somewhere between 11 million and 33 million

illegal aliens currently
occupying U.S. territory

would be asked to repatriate
themselves back to their homelands.

If we do not do that,

English will no longer be
the common bond of language.

- Do you speak any Spanish?
- Uh, no.

I studied Spanish for
five years. I never use it.

Because? Why?

Well, I don't wanna speak Spanish.

You want me to speak Chinese or Vietnamese?

I don't want to.

I want to use the common bond of English.

We have so many whiners who say,

"Oh, you can't have a
fence. That's so mean."

I think that I'm going to take
the devil's point of view here,

if we wanna call it that.

I don't think you should have a fence.

That's discriminatory.
That's mean-spirited.

Mmm-hmm.

I think you shouldn't
have your doors locked.

I should be able to come into your yard

and come into your
neighborhood, in your house,

and take anything I want
from your refrigerator,

and maybe even have my
way with your furniture.

Wow.

- I might wanna take that, too.
- Oh.

That is the kind of rhetoric we get.

[Chelsea] Do you have a
lot of Mexican friends?

[Jim] My son-in-law...
is Mexican.

Two of my three grandchildren
are half-Mexican.

[Chelsea] Wow.

So those are Mexican children

- over there, playing?
- Yes.

Hola.

Okay, so down here, what's
up with this part of the wall?

Does it go into the ocean?

[Jim] It goes about 150
yards into the Pacific Ocean.

- Oh, look, there's a dolphin!
- Two million...

- You see a dolphin out there?
- Yes, they're all...

- Hope he's not Mexican.
- [chuckles]

How does this make you
feel when you see this?

I feel the same way

when I see my neighbors across
my fence in the backyard.

[Jim] Hola!

[man] We're shooting a film
called Soy Negro.

- Soy... "I
am black"? - Yeah.

- In skin color? Or...
- Kind of, yes.

We've got to get shooting.
So it was nice meeting you.

- Okay, yeah. Good luck to you.
- Take care.

Gracias, amigo.

- [laughs]
- Thank you. Take care. Bye!

- Thank you for speaking English.
- No worries.

Seems like you have a really
good rapport with them.

I can talk to anybody.

Does anybody ever get caught
going over to the Mexican side?

[chuckles]

You mean, illegally
trespassing into Mexico?

- Yeah.
- Only criminals.

[Chelsea] People like
that make me wanna

just get a bunch of Mexicans
and bring them over.

Like, in a hot air balloon or whatever,
however many I can get together.

He has a Mexican son-in-law
and half-Mexican grandchildren.

I think people should not be
allowed to say that anymore.

If we're gonna be in this
zone of political correctness,

people shouldn't be allowed to
say, "I have a black friend,"

or, "I have an Arab
friend," or, "My friend..."

You know, "I have a friend in ISIS."

[Guy] When we meet with
the networks, we say,

"We're not looking for a handout. We're
looking for you to reflect reality."

Eighty percent of all motion
pictures are written by white men.

It's not to say white men
can't write enlightened roles.

They have and we thank them for it.

But there are a lot of
blank spots because of that.

What about Long Duk Dong?

Sixteen Candles. Uh,
Gedde Watanabe played him.

[gong sounding]

What's happening, hot stuff?

You ask any Asian-American
male, 40 years or above,

and they'll tell you how
much that portrayal irks them,

because that came to symbolize
all Asian-American men.

Awkward immigrants speaking with accents.

Have you ever met anyone
named Long, Duk or Dong?

No. No.

When our young Indian
people watch television,

they don't see themselves
reflected on that screen.

So consequently, they become non-people.

So when I go out and speak to
colleges and elementary schools

and say, "Jeez! You guys, you
really got to get good grades,"

they're going, "Why should we?
We are not part of this society."

So what can I do? As a public
person, what can I do to change that?

I think reach out to
Muslims like me now and...

- Sharing stories that are positive.
- [Samy] Right.

Sharing stories that are positive. Right.

But I need to hear some
positive stories to share.

You can't find any? Who are you asking?

Well, where do I go? On Tinder?
And look for Muslim people?

Hire someone to consult with, so that,
in fact, they can help you with that.

Tell me when the last time is that you
visited an American Indian reservation?

- Probably the last time I was at a casino.
- [chuckling]

- [Samy] See, there you go.
- Okay.

I mean, seriously. Every time
I go to a casino in Connecticut,

or where I perform, I do stand-up,

and they're always on Indian
reservations in the casinos.

I don't know a lot about American Indians.

I would love to see what that life
is like and what goes on there.

It's pretty modernized from
what I understand, now, right?

- They're not...
- No.

[Chelsea] You've got a
lot of oak trees here.

It's very important to our people.

- Is it?
- Yeah, we eat the acorns.

You know, when I got married, I
got married under this oak tree.

- Oh.
- And a lot of our people were like,

"Why are you getting married under
the tree, and not in the church?"

And I said, "Well, because the oak
tree, you know what it means to us."

It shades us in the
summer. Acorns feed us."

And then, right here, because
my whole family is here.

They could be here to witness it.

Can you tell me about some of
your morals and values as a people?

If we look at today
compared to a long time ago,

and even with America
itself, it's about "me."

Our philosophy was always about "us."
That, "How do we survive with each other?"

You know, this whole resource,
this whole area, we utilized.

And today, we're just stuck here.

And so, if you look at our reservation
as you go... With a lot of rocks, right?

It's hard to do any kind
of economic development.

Isn't there a lot of anger from that?

That kind of marginalization?

We've been here 10,000 years,
'cause we know how to survive.

And yet, somebody is in
here trying to tell us,

"This is what you've got to do to survive."

It's like, "Wait, now,
isn't that kind of foolish?"

You look at the media and how
media has portrayed American Indians

and how they continue to portray us.

- How do you feel that that's portrayed?
- In the past, dead, or stereotyped.

If we don't fit the stereotype,
then we're non-existent.

- And what is the stereotype?
- The Dances with Wolves look.

We're all riding horses, and, you
know, we left, um, in the 1850s.

And we've all heard the rumor

that we have some kind of
gene that makes us alcoholics.

That's not true.

I can tell you that
neither of my parents drink,

and I love alcohol more
than anybody I know.

- [laughing]
- So it's not a gene.

It's just an interest.

- Well, there you go. So, you know what...
- Yeah.

- So we just debunked that.
- That's right. Well, that's good.

Yeah, if anything gets
done today, at least that...

- Making progress slowly.
- That's right.

On the wrong track...

- [laughs]
- but progress, nonetheless.

- We fucked you over pretty badly.
- Yeah, yeah.

So, how do you, kind of, coexist in
a world where you have that feeling?

Right. We're the first
peoples of this country.

And as the first peoples, we have
certain rights and privileges.

But you wouldn't know it coming
to many of our communities,

seeing all the inequities.

American Indian high school students
have the worst drop-out rates.

We have the worst college-retention rates.

So, to be left standing alone

and having your native students
say, "Why aren't we valued?"

That is frustrating. That is racism.

And we see it a lot, and our kids see it.

Why is it that we still have to
struggle with all these mascots?

Did you know there are 147 public
K-12s in the state of California

with Indian mascots?

In California.

Keeping us as those stereotypical
cartoon figures is so damaging.

If we're not seen as human
beings, then what are we seen as?

- [Chelsea] So you're a bird singer?
- [Harry] Yeah.

- Am I saying that right? Uh-huh.
- [Harry] Yeah.

In our language, we call it Takuk.

And Takuk is four birds that
are telling the story of a journey.

For us, it's kind of like
these metaphors for life.

[rhythmic rattling]

[singing in Kumeyaay]

[R&B music playing]

[Chelsea] I think it's important to think
about things that you haven't experienced

and that have never affected you directly,

because, in some way or another, they have.

[music continues]

The reality is, I know, right now, if
I go to a maternity ward at a hospital

and there's a black baby, a white
baby, a Latino baby, and an Asian baby,

they're gonna live
different lives, even now.

Don't put your head down.

Put your head up and scream and yell,

especially if you can
help somebody else.

You kind of have to
take the piss out of it.

So you've got to be able to
take some of the air out of it.

Because it feels like everybody gets
so tightly wound and so wrapped up,

and you just wanna say,

"Everybody, don't take
yourself so seriously.

There are many serious issues."

But in every way of life, we can't
be so serious about everything,

because then, we sometimes forget
where all, like, the happiness is.

[music continues playing]

Do you think we've learned anything today?

- A little bit.
- Like what?

I think that everybody has the
same stereotypes about everybody.

[laughing]

It's just...

It never changes.

- So, when you were selling cars...
- Yeah?

What nationality was the best customer?

- Black.
- Why?

When they have the money, they spend it.

They don't ask a lot of questions?

Generally speaking, they don't.

Well, what was your worst customer?

Jewish customers were very difficult.

Because?

They ask a lot of questions.

Margaret, what is the hierarchy
within the Asian community?

It's usually, the worse your house
smells, the more Asian you are.

So... [laughing]

If it smells like something died,
then they're actually really Asian.

[all laugh]

[Chelsea] I think there was one
Asian guy that I've been attracted to.

I like Jackie Chan. I
thought... I think he's cute.

I like that other Asian guy,
remember? Like, the samurai?

- Yeah. Um...
- What's his name?

He's not in a lot. I think he was in
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Asian. Hidden...

A lot of customer, there are...
has a constipation problem.

Ooh.

I take care of that.

- They're full of shit.
- Because constipation

will lead to bleeding.

- Okay. Well, it was nice to meet you.
- Yeah. And then...

And then diagnosed as a cancer.

[Chelsea] Great.

So when you have this cancer,
and you eat this thing, right?

We're done with that conversation.

Bloody asshole. I copy you
on bloody asshole and cancer.

I'm getting a headache.

I'm gonna be honest, Chelsea.

When you first told me that you
wanted to have people talk about race,

I thought this would be the
perfect way to end my career.

[all laugh]