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Centuries Collide

Cody Crouch: Drop The Mic | Centuries Collide

February 1, 2025 | S2:E12

Cody Crouch: Drop The Mic | Centuries Collide
Host Cody Crouch takes us on an unforgettable ride through the moments that made the U.S.A. the country it is today.
#Faith #Freedom #Slavery #AmericanHistory #History #Culture #Education #Government #CivilRights #inActive #CodyCrouch #Leaders #Documentary

Closed captions

Show Timecode
Centuries Collide | Cody Crouch: Drop The Mic | Centuries Collide | February 1, 2025
  • Cody crouch: i'm cody crouch, and this is the craziest crash
  • 00:00:00.857 --> 00:00:03.460
  • Course on american history you'll ever see.
  • 00:00:03.460 --> 00:00:07.130
  • Cody: buckle up, it's time for "centuries collide."
  • 00:00:07.130 --> 00:00:09.933
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:00:09.933 --> 00:00:13.803
  • Cody: the verbal smackdown, the clapback, the diss, the slam.
  • 00:00:13.803 --> 00:00:19.075
  • When it happens, you know the show is over.
  • 00:00:19.075 --> 00:00:22.812
  • It's the mic drop.
  • 00:00:22.812 --> 00:00:26.483
  • Mic drops have been around for a long time, even before they were
  • 00:00:26.483 --> 00:00:30.053
  • Even mics to drop.
  • 00:00:30.053 --> 00:00:31.855
  • America has always been about liberty and equality, it's right
  • 00:00:31.855 --> 00:00:35.725
  • There in our declaration of independence.
  • 00:00:35.725 --> 00:00:38.061
  • Yet somehow 25 years after, "all men are created equal," was
  • 00:00:38.061 --> 00:00:42.365
  • Written into parchment, some people did not have the same
  • 00:00:42.365 --> 00:00:45.802
  • Rights as white dudes.
  • 00:00:45.802 --> 00:00:47.871
  • And that's not right, right?
  • 00:00:47.871 --> 00:00:54.310
  • After we won our independence from britain, a lot of americans
  • 00:00:54.310 --> 00:00:57.747
  • Risked their lives to change that, including a few masters of
  • 00:00:57.747 --> 00:01:01.384
  • The microphone who used their words as weapons.
  • 00:01:01.384 --> 00:01:05.121
  • Male: give me liberty or give me death.
  • 00:01:05.121 --> 00:01:08.791
  • Cody: tonight, we're revisiting some of the greatest mic drops
  • 00:01:08.791 --> 00:01:11.461
  • In civil rights history.
  • 00:01:11.461 --> 00:01:13.296
  • Buckle up, it's time for "centuries collide."
  • 00:01:13.296 --> 00:01:21.204
  • Civil rights in america is about everyone having equal rights
  • 00:01:21.204 --> 00:01:25.175
  • By law.
  • 00:01:25.175 --> 00:01:26.509
  • Equal value, equal freedoms, and an equal voice.
  • 00:01:26.509 --> 00:01:29.812
  • It sounds like a no brainer, right?
  • 00:01:29.812 --> 00:01:32.682
  • But shocker, throughout history the idea of everyone having the
  • 00:01:32.682 --> 00:01:37.754
  • Same rights would sound completely crazy.
  • 00:01:37.754 --> 00:01:44.294
  • Pharaoh: there's too many israelites in egypt, brother.
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  • Let's put 'em to work!
  • 00:01:47.564 --> 00:01:48.932
  • Time to build a couple of pyramids.
  • 00:01:48.932 --> 00:01:50.667
  • The throne is sphincter-- sphinx.
  • 00:01:50.667 --> 00:01:53.102
  • Cody: turns out most rulers throughout history had a bit of
  • 00:01:53.102 --> 00:01:57.140
  • A god complex.
  • 00:01:57.140 --> 00:01:58.975
  • Rulers and peasants alike believe that if you were
  • 00:01:58.975 --> 00:02:01.778
  • Emperor, king, or chief, you could basically do whatever you
  • 00:02:01.778 --> 00:02:06.316
  • Wanted with whomever you wanted.
  • 00:02:06.316 --> 00:02:09.786
  • Pharaoh: oscillate that thing, baby.
  • 00:02:09.786 --> 00:02:11.921
  • Cody: which brings us to what might be the oldest mic drop
  • 00:02:11.921 --> 00:02:15.391
  • In history.
  • 00:02:15.391 --> 00:02:17.961
  • Moses: let my people go.
  • 00:02:17.961 --> 00:02:20.730
  • Pharaoh: what?
  • 00:02:20.730 --> 00:02:22.065
  • Cody: slavery was everywhere, which meant equal rights
  • 00:02:22.065 --> 00:02:25.468
  • Were nowhere.
  • 00:02:25.468 --> 00:02:26.803
  • Pharaoh: oh, whoa, whoa, whoa.
  • 00:02:26.803 --> 00:02:28.171
  • Moses, moses, moses.
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  • Baby, listen, there's nothing wrong with slavery, i mean
  • 00:02:30.039 --> 00:02:34.143
  • Everybody's doing it.
  • 00:02:34.143 --> 00:02:35.678
  • Tell him, baby.
  • 00:02:35.678 --> 00:02:37.013
  • She's a total fan girl.
  • 00:02:37.013 --> 00:02:39.582
  • Cody: from the roman empire to the mayan civilization.
  • 00:02:39.582 --> 00:02:43.253
  • From asians to africans, indians, and american indians,
  • 00:02:43.253 --> 00:02:48.057
  • Which brings us back to america.
  • 00:02:48.057 --> 00:02:50.560
  • After ditching king george iii in the revolutionary war, our
  • 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:54.130
  • Founding fathers decided not to keep doing what everybody else
  • 00:02:54.130 --> 00:02:58.901
  • Had been doing.
  • 00:02:58.901 --> 00:03:00.270
  • They were inspired by great thinkers like john locke and
  • 00:03:00.270 --> 00:03:03.740
  • Algernon sidney, who said revolutionary things like, "no
  • 00:03:03.740 --> 00:03:07.944
  • One has god-given power over anyone else."
  • 00:03:07.944 --> 00:03:10.913
  • And, "the king of england is not the direct heir of adam."
  • 00:03:10.913 --> 00:03:15.218
  • These guys inspired thomas jefferson to add some pretty
  • 00:03:15.218 --> 00:03:18.855
  • Bold language to the declaration of independence.
  • 00:03:18.855 --> 00:03:24.427
  • Male: whenever any form of government becomes destructive
  • 00:03:24.427 --> 00:03:28.097
  • Of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or
  • 00:03:28.097 --> 00:03:32.168
  • Abolish it, and to institute a new government.
  • 00:03:32.168 --> 00:03:46.316
  • Cody: the declaration of independence written by this guy
  • 00:03:47.383 --> 00:03:49.686
  • Right here, thomas jefferson, was a mic drop heard around
  • 00:03:49.686 --> 00:03:53.022
  • The world.
  • 00:03:53.022 --> 00:03:54.357
  • And the world wasn't quite ready for it.
  • 00:03:54.357 --> 00:03:55.858
  • Pharaoh:: a nation without a pharaoh?
  • 00:03:55.858 --> 00:03:58.127
  • King george: or a king?
  • 00:03:58.127 --> 00:03:59.462
  • That'll never work.
  • 00:03:59.462 --> 00:04:00.930
  • Pharaoh: i'm with georgie on this one brother.
  • 00:04:00.930 --> 00:04:03.733
  • Male 3: we'll call it the united states of america.
  • 00:04:03.733 --> 00:04:09.305
  • Cody: forty-two years after john hancock put his john hancock on
  • 00:04:09.305 --> 00:04:12.909
  • The declaration of independence, the biggest civil rights
  • 00:04:12.909 --> 00:04:15.912
  • Influencer of the century was born into slavery.
  • 00:04:15.912 --> 00:04:19.816
  • Would you believe that our first mic dropper hadn't even heard
  • 00:04:19.816 --> 00:04:22.919
  • The word abolitionist until he was 13 years old?
  • 00:04:22.919 --> 00:04:26.856
  • He was shocked.
  • 00:04:26.856 --> 00:04:28.191
  • He had no idea that there were any white people
  • 00:04:28.191 --> 00:04:31.327
  • Against slavery.
  • 00:04:31.327 --> 00:04:33.262
  • Born right here in talbot county, maryland, his mother was
  • 00:04:33.262 --> 00:04:37.033
  • Harriet bailey.
  • 00:04:37.033 --> 00:04:38.401
  • His father was most likely his slave owner, captain aaron
  • 00:04:38.401 --> 00:04:41.437
  • Anthony, and he was the great frederick douglass.
  • 00:04:41.437 --> 00:04:50.012
  • Which brings up an important question: what is in a name?
  • 00:04:50.012 --> 00:04:53.983
  • His full name was frederick augustus washington bailey.
  • 00:04:53.983 --> 00:04:58.488
  • His mom gave him the name of an emperor, a king, and a
  • 00:04:58.488 --> 00:05:02.925
  • President, which is awesome.
  • 00:05:02.925 --> 00:05:06.262
  • But by the age of 21, frederick was leased or transferred eight
  • 00:05:06.262 --> 00:05:10.700
  • Times as a slave.
  • 00:05:10.700 --> 00:05:13.202
  • Pharaoh: good.
  • 00:05:13.569 --> 00:05:14.971
  • Slavery good.
  • 00:05:14.971 --> 00:05:17.273
  • Cody: on september 3, 1838, frederick finally escaped
  • 00:05:17.273 --> 00:05:21.244
  • Slavery with the help of his fiance, anna.
  • 00:05:21.244 --> 00:05:24.480
  • Two days later, they were married, but frederick's freedom
  • 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:28.151
  • Wasn't enough.
  • 00:05:28.151 --> 00:05:29.519
  • Frederick: my freedom isn't enough.
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  • I want everyone to be free.
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  • Cody: the fire that had been building his entire life
  • 00:05:33.623 --> 00:05:36.025
  • Exploded into action.
  • 00:05:36.025 --> 00:05:38.294
  • At just 25 years old frederick douglass was the face of the
  • 00:05:38.294 --> 00:05:42.231
  • Abolitionist movement.
  • 00:05:42.231 --> 00:05:43.666
  • When slave owners warned how dangerous it would be for slaves
  • 00:05:43.666 --> 00:05:47.069
  • To read, douglass learned to read and write.
  • 00:05:47.069 --> 00:05:50.907
  • Douglass wrote his worldwide best seller.
  • 00:05:50.907 --> 00:05:54.310
  • The "narrative of the life of frederick douglass" is
  • 00:05:54.310 --> 00:05:57.346
  • Considered one of the most influential pieces of literature
  • 00:05:57.346 --> 00:06:01.551
  • To fuel the abolitionist movement.
  • 00:06:01.551 --> 00:06:03.953
  • Douglass was asked to speak at an independence day celebration,
  • 00:06:03.953 --> 00:06:07.390
  • Where he delivered one of the greatest anti-slavery mic drops
  • 00:06:07.390 --> 00:06:12.028
  • Of all time.
  • 00:06:12.028 --> 00:06:13.963
  • Frederick: this fourth of july is yours, not mine.
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  • You may rejoice, i must mourn.
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  • To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of
  • 00:06:22.605 --> 00:06:27.043
  • Liberty and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems is
  • 00:06:27.043 --> 00:06:31.948
  • Inhuman mockery.
  • 00:06:31.948 --> 00:06:35.051
  • Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak today?
  • 00:06:35.051 --> 00:06:39.155
  • Cody: his speech was controversially known as, "what
  • 00:06:39.155 --> 00:06:41.858
  • To the slave is the fourth of july?"
  • 00:06:41.858 --> 00:06:44.827
  • And it couldn't be ignored.
  • 00:06:44.827 --> 00:06:46.329
  • It exploded into history like a fireworks finale.
  • 00:06:46.329 --> 00:06:50.900
  • Frederick: what to the american slave, is your fourth of july?
  • 00:06:50.900 --> 00:06:54.370
  • I'll answer.
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  • A day that reveals to him more
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  • Than all of the days in the year
  • 00:06:58.474 --> 00:07:00.710
  • The gross injustice and cruelty
  • 00:07:00.710 --> 00:07:04.714
  • To which he is the constant victim.
  • 00:07:04.714 --> 00:07:10.686
  • Cody: so to avoid being recaptured, he spent two years
  • 00:07:10.686 --> 00:07:14.457
  • Dropping the mic over in england and ireland, and eventually his
  • 00:07:14.457 --> 00:07:18.761
  • Friends from across the pond raised enough support to
  • 00:07:18.761 --> 00:07:21.831
  • Permanently buy back his freedom.
  • 00:07:21.831 --> 00:07:24.200
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:07:24.200 --> 00:07:31.002
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:07:31.002 --> 00:07:31.007
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:07:31.274 --> 00:07:40.349
  • Cody: before his death in 1895, douglass got to see america use
  • 00:07:40.349 --> 00:07:44.186
  • Her voice with the passing of three constitutional amendments.
  • 00:07:44.186 --> 00:07:49.158
  • The 13th amendment, slavery was finally abolished.
  • 00:07:49.158 --> 00:07:53.095
  • The 14th amendment, all former slaves and their children are
  • 00:07:53.095 --> 00:07:57.033
  • Now us citizens with rights.
  • 00:07:57.033 --> 00:07:59.535
  • And the 15th amendment, all black men have the right
  • 00:07:59.535 --> 00:08:03.306
  • To vote.
  • 00:08:03.306 --> 00:08:07.810
  • Frederick douglass was one of the many instigators for the
  • 00:08:07.810 --> 00:08:10.479
  • Abolition of slavery in the mid 1800s.
  • 00:08:10.479 --> 00:08:13.749
  • The second was, well, the second great awakening.
  • 00:08:13.749 --> 00:08:17.053
  • A huge spiritual revival throughout the united states.
  • 00:08:17.053 --> 00:08:21.190
  • Everyone worshiping together equally and hundreds of
  • 00:08:21.190 --> 00:08:23.893
  • Thousands of new christians wanting to serve god inspired
  • 00:08:23.893 --> 00:08:27.263
  • Major social change.
  • 00:08:27.263 --> 00:08:29.365
  • At the beginning of this movement our next mic
  • 00:08:29.365 --> 00:08:32.368
  • Dropper arrived.
  • 00:08:32.368 --> 00:08:33.936
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:08:33.936 --> 00:08:37.506
  • Isabella baumfree, a name you're probably not familiar with yet.
  • 00:08:37.506 --> 00:08:43.045
  • She was like the wonder woman of abolitionists, but she had been
  • 00:08:43.045 --> 00:08:47.950
  • Brainwashed to believe that her captor's control over her was a
  • 00:08:47.950 --> 00:08:51.988
  • Good thing.
  • 00:08:51.988 --> 00:08:53.356
  • Pharaoh: i don't know what they're complaining about, all i
  • 00:08:53.356 --> 00:08:55.358
  • Wanna do is go 1,000 miles in that direction while seven
  • 00:08:55.358 --> 00:08:59.095
  • People carry me, fan me, feed me, and change my diaper.
  • 00:08:59.095 --> 00:09:04.166
  • Cody: isabella's parents knew the bible and raised her until
  • 00:09:05.368 --> 00:09:08.571
  • The age of nine, when she was sold along with a flock of sheep
  • 00:09:08.571 --> 00:09:12.708
  • For $100.
  • 00:09:12.708 --> 00:09:15.211
  • Think about that for a second.
  • 00:09:15.211 --> 00:09:16.746
  • A human being was sold like livestock.
  • 00:09:16.746 --> 00:09:20.249
  • That's the reality of the horrors that was happening only
  • 00:09:20.249 --> 00:09:23.019
  • 200 years ago.
  • 00:09:23.019 --> 00:09:24.954
  • Finally, in 1817 abolitionists helped pass the new york
  • 00:09:24.954 --> 00:09:29.425
  • Anti-slavery law, but the law didn't go into effect for
  • 00:09:29.425 --> 00:09:33.362
  • 10 years.
  • 00:09:33.362 --> 00:09:34.864
  • So early in the morning, she picked up her infant sophia, and
  • 00:09:34.864 --> 00:09:38.768
  • Calmly walked away from her captors.
  • 00:09:38.768 --> 00:09:41.737
  • Isabella: i did not run off, but i did walk off, believing that
  • 00:09:41.737 --> 00:09:47.376
  • To be all right.
  • 00:09:47.376 --> 00:09:48.778
  • Cody: at 27 years old isabella was a free woman.
  • 00:09:48.778 --> 00:09:57.453
  • Then one day like in 19th century joan of arc, isabella
  • 00:09:57.453 --> 00:10:01.924
  • Had an encounter with god that changed her life and the way we
  • 00:10:01.924 --> 00:10:06.228
  • Know her.
  • 00:10:06.228 --> 00:10:07.596
  • She believed god gave her a new name.
  • 00:10:07.596 --> 00:10:11.200
  • Isabella: dear lord, please give me a vision for my new life as a
  • 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:14.236
  • Free woman.
  • 00:10:14.236 --> 00:10:18.307
  • Oh, that was quick.
  • 00:10:18.307 --> 00:10:19.875
  • Cody: with her heart set on truth, isabella baumfree changed
  • 00:10:19.875 --> 00:10:23.479
  • Her name to sojourner truth.
  • 00:10:23.479 --> 00:10:25.381
  • So what's in her name?
  • 00:10:25.381 --> 00:10:27.883
  • Well, sojourner, because god had given her a new vision.
  • 00:10:27.883 --> 00:10:31.721
  • Sojourner: and the lord gave me sojourner because i was to
  • 00:10:31.721 --> 00:10:35.091
  • Travel up and down the lands, showing the people their sins
  • 00:10:35.091 --> 00:10:38.894
  • And being a sign unto them.
  • 00:10:38.894 --> 00:10:40.963
  • Cody: and truth because, well, she needed to speak it.
  • 00:10:40.963 --> 00:10:44.667
  • Sojourner: and because i was to declare truth unto the people.
  • 00:10:44.667 --> 00:10:48.337
  • Cody: her speeches started drawing massive crowds and her
  • 00:10:48.337 --> 00:10:51.640
  • Singing, yes, her legendary singing commanded some
  • 00:10:51.640 --> 00:10:55.745
  • Serious r-e-s-p-e-c-t.
  • 00:10:55.745 --> 00:10:57.847
  • There's even stories of her silencing an entire crowd with
  • 00:10:57.847 --> 00:11:02.017
  • A song.
  • 00:11:02.017 --> 00:11:09.725
  • [man arguing]
  • 00:11:09.725 --> 00:11:13.262
  • ♪ amazing grace, how sweet the sound. ♪♪
  • 00:11:13.262 --> 00:11:20.035
  • Cody: at one point, sojourner truth met
  • 00:11:20.035 --> 00:11:22.138
  • Frederick douglass and his pal william lloyd garrison
  • 00:11:22.138 --> 00:11:25.107
  • At an abolitionist community in north hampton.
  • 00:11:25.107 --> 00:11:28.511
  • Garrison soon had sojourner on her own speaking tour, and even
  • 00:11:28.511 --> 00:11:32.248
  • Encouraged her to write a book.
  • 00:11:32.248 --> 00:11:33.983
  • Frederick: you know, miss truth, you should write a book.
  • 00:11:33.983 --> 00:11:36.252
  • Sojourner: oh, well about that, i can't read or write.
  • 00:11:36.252 --> 00:11:39.822
  • Olive: i can read and write.
  • 00:11:39.822 --> 00:11:41.223
  • I'll write everything down.
  • 00:11:41.223 --> 00:11:42.625
  • Why, i'm writing everything down right now!
  • 00:11:42.625 --> 00:11:44.827
  • Male 2: who are you?
  • 00:11:44.827 --> 00:11:46.195
  • Olive: olive gilbert, sojourner's friend.
  • 00:11:46.195 --> 00:11:48.531
  • Male 2: nice to meet you.
  • 00:11:48.531 --> 00:11:49.865
  • Cody: olive gilbert wrote down every word sojourner truth said
  • 00:11:49.865 --> 00:11:53.269
  • About her life.
  • 00:11:53.269 --> 00:11:54.637
  • "the narrative of sojourner truth" was published in 1850,
  • 00:11:54.637 --> 00:11:57.006
  • And like douglass's book, it was a wake-up call to the horrors of
  • 00:11:57.006 --> 00:12:01.844
  • Slavery that gave momentum to the abolitionist movement.
  • 00:12:01.844 --> 00:12:06.115
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:12:06.115 --> 00:12:10.009
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:12:10.031 --> 00:12:15.570
  • Cody: sojourner's life was full of mic drops,
  • 00:12:15.570 --> 00:12:18.840
  • But by far her most famous was delivered at
  • 00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:21.409
  • The 1851 ohio women's rights convention.
  • 00:12:21.409 --> 00:12:25.046
  • Sojourner: that man right there said that women need to be
  • 00:12:25.046 --> 00:12:27.415
  • Helped into carriages, lifted over ditches, and given the best
  • 00:12:27.415 --> 00:12:31.452
  • Of everything.
  • 00:12:31.452 --> 00:12:32.820
  • Well, nobody's ever helped me into a carriage or lifted me
  • 00:12:32.820 --> 00:12:35.223
  • Over a mud puddle or giving me the best of anything.
  • 00:12:35.223 --> 00:12:37.758
  • And ain't i a woman?
  • 00:12:37.758 --> 00:12:39.660
  • And that man in black right there says that women can't have
  • 00:12:39.660 --> 00:12:42.864
  • The same rights as men because christ wasn't a woman.
  • 00:12:42.864 --> 00:12:46.868
  • Well, where did your christ come from?
  • 00:12:46.868 --> 00:12:49.270
  • From god and a woman.
  • 00:12:49.270 --> 00:12:52.139
  • Man didn't have no part in that.
  • 00:12:52.139 --> 00:12:54.175
  • And if the first creature god ever created was a woman and she
  • 00:12:54.175 --> 00:12:57.411
  • Was strong enough to turn this world upside down all on her
  • 00:12:57.411 --> 00:13:00.214
  • Own, don't you think they ought to have enough strength to turn
  • 00:13:00.214 --> 00:13:03.484
  • It right side up again?
  • 00:13:03.484 --> 00:13:05.219
  • And now that they asking to the men better let them.
  • 00:13:05.219 --> 00:13:12.426
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:13:12.426 --> 00:13:14.395
  • Cody: sojourner truth earned the respect of crowds all across the
  • 00:13:14.395 --> 00:13:17.231
  • United states, as well as three presidents, and she never
  • 00:13:17.231 --> 00:13:21.969
  • Stopped fighting for social justice.
  • 00:13:21.969 --> 00:13:24.472
  • Sojourner truth passed away on november 26, 1883.
  • 00:13:24.472 --> 00:13:28.876
  • And guess who gave her eulogy?
  • 00:13:28.876 --> 00:13:30.811
  • Frederick: she has been for the last 40 years an object of
  • 00:13:30.811 --> 00:13:35.883
  • Respect and admiration to social reformers everywhere.
  • 00:13:35.883 --> 00:13:39.887
  • Cody: frederick douglass and sojourner truth had been on the
  • 00:13:39.887 --> 00:13:42.723
  • Front lines of the abolitionist movement leading up to the
  • 00:13:42.723 --> 00:13:46.527
  • Civil war.
  • 00:13:46.527 --> 00:13:47.862
  • But our next mic dropper built upon their legacy.
  • 00:13:47.862 --> 00:13:52.166
  • He was known for being a little nutty, and would one day be
  • 00:13:52.166 --> 00:13:55.670
  • Affectionately called mr. peanut.
  • 00:13:55.670 --> 00:13:58.539
  • Ladies and gentlemen, george washington carver.
  • 00:13:58.539 --> 00:14:05.513
  • Born toward the end of the civil war in diamond, missouri, this
  • 00:14:05.513 --> 00:14:08.816
  • Young man was considered legally owned by moses and susan carver.
  • 00:14:08.816 --> 00:14:14.055
  • When he was just a few weeks old, he was kidnapped by
  • 00:14:14.055 --> 00:14:16.757
  • Confederate raiders, along with his mother and his sister.
  • 00:14:16.757 --> 00:14:20.861
  • He was the only one found.
  • 00:14:20.861 --> 00:14:22.964
  • After the war, the carver family took him in and raised him and
  • 00:14:22.964 --> 00:14:26.667
  • Taught him to read and write.
  • 00:14:26.667 --> 00:14:28.202
  • So, what's in his name?
  • 00:14:28.202 --> 00:14:30.938
  • Well, he was simply george carver, until as an adult, he
  • 00:14:30.938 --> 00:14:35.476
  • Added the middle initial w for washington to seem
  • 00:14:35.476 --> 00:14:39.613
  • More dignified.
  • 00:14:39.613 --> 00:14:43.284
  • Here in this house, george washington carver grew up a
  • 00:14:43.284 --> 00:14:46.354
  • Rather sickly child.
  • 00:14:46.354 --> 00:14:47.822
  • After his adopted mother, susan carver, taught him to make
  • 00:14:47.822 --> 00:14:51.058
  • Herbal medicines, george was hooked.
  • 00:14:51.058 --> 00:14:53.995
  • He started making his own natural pesticides, herbicides,
  • 00:14:53.995 --> 00:14:57.898
  • And soil conditioner.
  • 00:14:57.898 --> 00:15:00.468
  • It was here where his love for plants began to grow.
  • 00:15:00.468 --> 00:15:03.371
  • Even as a kid, carver collected plants, and his neighbors would
  • 00:15:03.371 --> 00:15:07.274
  • Soon start calling him the plant doctor.
  • 00:15:07.274 --> 00:15:10.544
  • Carver accomplished a lot of firsts.
  • 00:15:10.544 --> 00:15:13.247
  • In 1888, he was the first black student accepted at simpson's
  • 00:15:13.247 --> 00:15:17.451
  • College in indianola, iowa.
  • 00:15:17.451 --> 00:15:19.620
  • And at iowa state university, he was the first african american
  • 00:15:19.620 --> 00:15:23.491
  • Student to earn his bachelor of science degree in 1894.
  • 00:15:23.491 --> 00:15:31.432
  • His professors were so impressed by his work that they asked him
  • 00:15:31.432 --> 00:15:35.069
  • To stay and teach.
  • 00:15:35.069 --> 00:15:36.637
  • So he became the first black professor while he worked on his
  • 00:15:36.637 --> 00:15:40.474
  • Master's degree.
  • 00:15:40.474 --> 00:15:42.209
  • But carver had a bigger goal.
  • 00:15:42.209 --> 00:15:44.412
  • In 1896 he was appointed the agricultural director here at
  • 00:15:44.412 --> 00:15:48.115
  • Tuskegee university.
  • 00:15:48.115 --> 00:15:49.817
  • He wanted to help southern farmers not be so dependent
  • 00:15:49.817 --> 00:15:53.354
  • On cotton.
  • 00:15:53.354 --> 00:15:54.789
  • Farmers were thrilled when his crop rotation practices yielded
  • 00:15:54.789 --> 00:15:59.060
  • Huge crops for them, but not thrilled that they had all these
  • 00:15:59.060 --> 00:16:03.364
  • Peanuts lying around, to which carver got to thinking
  • 00:16:03.364 --> 00:16:06.867
  • And praying.
  • 00:16:06.867 --> 00:16:08.569
  • Carver: all my life i've risen regularly in the morning at 4 to
  • 00:16:08.569 --> 00:16:11.705
  • Talk with god.
  • 00:16:11.705 --> 00:16:13.808
  • That's where he reveals his secrets to me.
  • 00:16:13.808 --> 00:16:16.911
  • When everybody's asleep, i hear from god, and learn my plan.
  • 00:16:16.911 --> 00:16:25.519
  • Cody: fast forward 10 years, and carver had developed so many
  • 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:28.689
  • Products from peanuts that he distributed brochures to the
  • 00:16:28.689 --> 00:16:32.493
  • Public listing all of their uses.
  • 00:16:32.493 --> 00:16:35.162
  • Male: you can salt them, roast them, crack 'em, grind 'em
  • 00:16:35.162 --> 00:16:39.266
  • Into flour.
  • 00:16:39.266 --> 00:16:40.601
  • Male 2: oh, let me see this.
  • 00:16:40.601 --> 00:16:42.636
  • Cody: the market for peanuts skyrocketed.
  • 00:16:42.636 --> 00:16:45.639
  • But how did he do it, people wondered.
  • 00:16:45.639 --> 00:16:48.275
  • Well, he had an answer.
  • 00:16:48.275 --> 00:16:50.578
  • Carver: god told me, "separate the peanut into water, fats,
  • 00:16:50.578 --> 00:16:57.451
  • Oils, gum, resin, starches, sugar, and amino acids."
  • 00:16:57.451 --> 00:17:03.591
  • Then the lord said, "you will know why i made the peanut."
  • 00:17:03.591 --> 00:17:13.200
  • Cody: by 1938, largely due to carver's influence, peanuts had
  • 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:17.738
  • Grown to be a $200 million per year crop in the united states,
  • 00:17:17.738 --> 00:17:22.776
  • And was the chief agricultural product grown in the state
  • 00:17:22.776 --> 00:17:27.148
  • Of alabama.
  • 00:17:27.148 --> 00:17:28.516
  • Male: peanut paste, peanut paper, peanut soap, what about
  • 00:17:28.516 --> 00:17:34.989
  • Peanut butter?
  • 00:17:34.989 --> 00:17:37.791
  • Male 2: don't be ridiculous.
  • 00:17:37.791 --> 00:17:39.393
  • Cody: why did he give away all of this information for free?
  • 00:17:39.393 --> 00:17:43.130
  • Well, he wanted the poorest of farmers to have the same
  • 00:17:43.130 --> 00:17:46.233
  • Information as a college student.
  • 00:17:46.233 --> 00:17:49.603
  • Male: they were just giving these away for free.
  • 00:17:49.603 --> 00:17:53.374
  • Cody: can a brochure count as a mic drop?
  • 00:17:53.374 --> 00:17:55.843
  • Well, if so, he's got at least 43 silent mic drops.
  • 00:17:55.843 --> 00:18:00.781
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:18:00.781 --> 00:18:04.016
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:18:04.224 --> 00:18:09.162
  • Cody: george washington carver wasn't known for a singular
  • 00:18:09.162 --> 00:18:12.299
  • Mic drop moment, he lived his life as a mic drop.
  • 00:18:12.299 --> 00:18:16.203
  • Carver: when you do common things in life in an uncommon
  • 00:18:16.203 --> 00:18:19.673
  • Way, you command the attention of the world.
  • 00:18:19.673 --> 00:18:26.112
  • Cody: that quote could sum up the life of our last
  • 00:18:26.112 --> 00:18:29.349
  • Mic dropper.
  • 00:18:29.349 --> 00:18:30.684
  • He led the modern american civil rights movement for just under
  • 00:18:30.684 --> 00:18:33.186
  • 13 years, from december 1955 to april 4, 1968.
  • 00:18:33.186 --> 00:18:38.892
  • And yes, i am talking about the man, the wordsmith, the absolute
  • 00:18:38.892 --> 00:18:43.997
  • Legend, doctor martin luther king junior.
  • 00:18:43.997 --> 00:18:48.001
  • His leadership was pivotal to ending segregation for african
  • 00:18:48.001 --> 00:18:51.738
  • Americans and to the creation of the civil rights act of 1964,
  • 00:18:51.738 --> 00:18:56.042
  • One of the most significant legislative achievements in
  • 00:18:56.042 --> 00:18:59.946
  • Us history.
  • 00:18:59.946 --> 00:19:01.281
  • Pharaoh: civil rights?
  • 00:19:01.281 --> 00:19:02.649
  • I don't know her.
  • 00:19:02.649 --> 00:19:04.985
  • Cody: though dr. king's leadership was abruptly ended on
  • 00:19:04.985 --> 00:19:07.454
  • April 4, 1968, his legacy will never be silenced.
  • 00:19:07.454 --> 00:19:12.525
  • The impact of his life lives on.
  • 00:19:12.525 --> 00:19:15.262
  • So, what's in this king's name?
  • 00:19:15.262 --> 00:19:17.330
  • Did you know that this legend was named michael king at birth?
  • 00:19:17.330 --> 00:19:20.934
  • When he was five years old, his father took a trip to europe and
  • 00:19:20.934 --> 00:19:23.937
  • Was inspired by the reformation movement led by martin luther.
  • 00:19:23.937 --> 00:19:28.108
  • His father, pastor michael king senior, changed both his name
  • 00:19:28.108 --> 00:19:32.379
  • And that of his son to martin luther king.
  • 00:19:32.379 --> 00:19:36.082
  • And just like his namesake, he upset the establishment in the
  • 00:19:36.082 --> 00:19:39.886
  • Name of truth.
  • 00:19:39.886 --> 00:19:43.957
  • Frederick: in 1955, dr. king was recruited to serve
  • 00:19:43.957 --> 00:19:47.961
  • As spokesman for the montgomery bus boycotts, and it worked.
  • 00:19:47.961 --> 00:19:51.431
  • The united states supreme court ruled that racial segregation in
  • 00:19:51.431 --> 00:19:55.468
  • Transportation is unconstitutional.
  • 00:19:55.468 --> 00:19:59.639
  • Sojourner: in 1963, he was in the center of it all
  • 00:19:59.639 --> 00:20:02.609
  • In birmingham, alabama,
  • 00:20:02.609 --> 00:20:04.244
  • When the news was filled with horrific images of
  • 00:20:04.244 --> 00:20:07.147
  • Young blacks being assaulted by fire hoses and dogs.
  • 00:20:07.147 --> 00:20:12.018
  • Carver: he wrote his famous letter from a birmingham jail.
  • 00:20:12.018 --> 00:20:15.088
  • It was more like a manifesto, and it hit like a hurricane.
  • 00:20:15.088 --> 00:20:19.025
  • Ladies and gentlemen, martin luther king junior.
  • 00:20:19.025 --> 00:20:24.164
  • [applauding]
  • 00:20:24.164 --> 00:20:29.836
  • Martin: injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
  • 00:20:29.836 --> 00:20:33.973
  • Whichever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.
  • 00:20:33.973 --> 00:20:38.712
  • Cody: when it comes to mic drops, no one hits harder
  • 00:20:38.712 --> 00:20:41.581
  • Than mlk.
  • 00:20:41.581 --> 00:20:42.949
  • Martin: i still believe that one day mankind will bow down before
  • 00:20:42.949 --> 00:20:47.120
  • The altars of god, and be crowned triumphant over war
  • 00:20:47.120 --> 00:20:50.657
  • And bloodshed.
  • 00:20:50.657 --> 00:20:52.025
  • And nonviolent, redemptive good will proclaim the rule of the
  • 00:20:52.025 --> 00:20:55.295
  • Land, and the lion and the lamb shall lie down together, and
  • 00:20:55.295 --> 00:20:59.065
  • Mankind shall sit under their own vine and fig tree, and none
  • 00:20:59.065 --> 00:21:03.236
  • Shall be afraid.
  • 00:21:03.236 --> 00:21:04.604
  • I still believe we shall overcome.
  • 00:21:04.604 --> 00:21:07.540
  • Cody: there's so much i could say to close this show, but i
  • 00:21:07.540 --> 00:21:10.744
  • Couldn't say it any better than doctor king himself.
  • 00:21:10.744 --> 00:21:13.980
  • So, i'm gonna pass the mic one last time for what might be the
  • 00:21:13.980 --> 00:21:18.918
  • Greatest mic drop of all time.
  • 00:21:18.918 --> 00:21:23.490
  • Dr. martin luther king jr.: i have a dream that my
  • 00:21:24.524 --> 00:21:26.926
  • Four little children will one day live in a nation where they
  • 00:21:26.926 --> 00:21:31.598
  • Will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content
  • 00:21:31.598 --> 00:21:35.335
  • Of their character.
  • 00:21:35.335 --> 00:21:36.669
  • I have a dream today.
  • 00:21:36.669 --> 00:21:45.879
  • I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted.
  • 00:21:45.879 --> 00:21:50.583
  • Every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places would
  • 00:21:50.583 --> 00:21:54.087
  • Be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight,
  • 00:21:54.087 --> 00:21:57.757
  • And the glory of the lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall
  • 00:21:57.757 --> 00:22:01.528
  • See it together.
  • 00:22:01.528 --> 00:22:03.129
  • We'll be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old
  • 00:22:03.129 --> 00:22:06.866
  • Negro spiritual, "free at last, free at last.
  • 00:22:06.866 --> 00:22:09.702
  • Thank god almighty, we are free at last."
  • 00:22:09.702 --> 00:22:14.574
  • [applauding]
  • 00:22:14.908 --> 00:22:19.345
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:22:19.612 --> 00:22:19.612