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Live From...
Martha Stewart Speaks to Employees at Manhattan Offices
Aired March 07, 2005 - 13:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures now, Manhattan. We expect to come to that door just a moment from now -- there she is. Martha Stewart, before a few hundred of her employees. Is that her? That's not Martha. That isn't Martha. I knew she looked good and trim, and so I wasn't sure. There she -- that is obviously someone else affiliated with Martha Stewart Omniliving, and we will...
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Wow, looks just like her.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I guess we'll keep moving as she addresses the crowd, and Martha Stewart's body double is out there for security purposes or something. And as soon as she comes out, we'll bring her to you.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Susan Line (ph), who is the current CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has introduced the person who looks just like her, Martha Stewart, who is back in Manhattan, there to see some of her employees, part of her 48-hour stint per week, where she can actually do some business, while she is in the midst of her house arrest. Let's listen to the scene there as Martha Stewart basks in the glory of her -- I guess you could call it triumphant return to Manhattan.
(APPLAUSE)
MARTHA STEWART, ENTREPRENEUR: Thank you. I hope my -- thank you all very much. Well, you two are my really great friends. You're also my heroes. But all of you are my heroes, too, all of you, and thank you very, very much.
(APPLAUSE)
I had so many things to say and I wanted to kind of do it in an impromptu fashion. But we wrote down a lot of stuff, because there is just so much to cover, and having not seen you all for five months, I wanted to cover the ground in as thorough a fashion as possible. I'm so proud that you're all here, and I've tried over the last 12 years to assemble the greatest group of people for this company that I could find, and you're it. You're it, all of you. And thank you again.
(APPLAUSE)
It's really wonderful to be back. I've missed you, as you can imagine, thought about you every single day, and I am just overwhelmed at seeing all of you gathered in this one beautiful space, with a new wall. I was a little nervous about the wall, but the wall looks good.
(LAUGHTER)
And during the last few months, I've had the tremendous privilege of meeting an incredible cross-section of people, as you can imagine, from all walks of life. I've had the opportunity also to do a tremendous amount of thinking. I've read. I've reflected upon the past on my own life, and to consider what's really and truly important to me. And I've also learned a great deal about our country and about the challenges faced by all the American families.
And I'm convinced from all of this that we at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia have gust begun to scratch the surface of a really great opportunity. I sense that in the American public there is a growing need to preserve human connections in a time of rapid social change. The need to preserve meaningful tradition in a world that is often threatening. The need for the comforts of home. The need to honor our many, many kinds of families.
It's not just mom and dad and the kids any longer. I've seen that, and I've talked to those people. These values have always been the motivation for everything I do, and I know everything that all of you have done with me. But, starting now, we're going to bring them into the forefront.
And I wanted to tell you a little story, because it's made the news. Here is my poncho!
(APPLAUSE)
And so we've been getting e-mail and all kinds of messages -- you know, where is the pattern? How is it done? Well, this was not from a fancy store. This was from Alderson, and it was made by a friend of mine there, a wonderful lady. She crochets about 12 hours a day. It's her thing. And the yarn comes from the commissary. When this yarn came in -- I mean they wait for something new and something different, just like we look for something new and something different. These talented ladies -- and not everybody is talented. It's like the world. But some are very talented. And the night before I left, she handed me this, not wrapped, because there is no wrapping paper, no ribbons. But she handed me this and said, wear it in good health. And I wore it to the plane, never guessing that it would look so good. And never guessing that it would be -- become the famous poncho. I hope she is reading the news and looking at television, because I'm so proud of her. But this is a beautiful thing.
Thanks, Julia.
(APPLAUSE)
And we'll try to get the pattern from her.
Do all of you know how many thousands of letters I've received in the last few months? So many. Boxes and boxes and boxes of those wonderful, wonderful letters. So much support from everywhere in the country, from Canada, from Europe, from Iraq. I got some fabulous letters from Iraq. I got letters from all over the world, all extremely supportive. They made me cry. They made me laugh.
One letter came from -- here I am wandering away, but I have to tell you this one letter from a captain in the Army, American Army, and he sent me pictures of his cell, he called it, that -- a metal box buried in the sand where he lived with four other people, and he said he guessed that my cell was better than his cell. I wrote back to him. He sounded like a really nice guy. But it was just incredible, incredible, the misery that exists around the world.
Homemakers, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles who feel understood and proud of their contributions. And I can't tell you what it's meant to me that's last few months, all those wonderful messages. But everyone here, every single person in this room should be very proud that we've had such an impact on so many people. And you can tell from the press coverage that impact. But we may not have always been clear in our message. Perhaps we focused too much on the how-to, and not enough on the why, and what we do.
We must now take more time to explain why these skills and interests that we value are so important. It's kind of confusing. And maybe we can make it clearer in our very, very precise way.
Every parent who has made cookies for their children, and has seen that child -- or children's gratitude in their faces knows that connection, the connection between doing and loving. Friendship, the sense of family that we all cherish, these are nourished and supported by working in the kitchen, working in the garden side by side with our children, with our family members, with our friends. It's also evidenced by celebrations and by all kinds of traditions. Pride in home-keeping creates serenity and pleasure and warmth that nourishes and that dignifies family relationships. I even experienced it hanging around the microwave in the place where I was staying.
So, starting now, we must communicate not only the how-to that we've been so proud of, but also the why in our editorial content, and I hope you all agree.
(APPLAUSE)
We're going to deepen our bond with the millions who read our publications and watch our television programs. And we're going to engage and inspire new readers and new viewers for whom these topics may have seemed alien, unfamiliar, or even, believe it or not, superficial.
I know now more than ever how important these values are for happiness, as an antidote for alienation and as for the deep experience of just being alive. This is what truly interests us, why we all come to work every day. Our passion is, and always should be, to make life better. Today I also want to --- thanks.
(APPLAUSE)
Today I also want to talk about some other changes in the editorial direction that will shape Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. You are, every single one of you, perfectionists. In the past, in our magazines and television shows, the world has seen me surrounded by your incredible productions and your incredible achievements. But I gather that this has inadvertently given the impression that I am able to bake and cook and entertain every day all by myself, while appearing on television, organizing this wonderful large company, and managing a number of magazines, all while doing my ironing and my vacuuming.
And I have reflected long and hard on all of these facts. Well, you know, I don't always do all of my own ironing, even though I wish I could. I love ironing. I don't always do my own vacuuming, although, even my daughter Alexis here in the front row, knows I love to vacuum. I really -- I'll vacuum during a party if I could get a vacuum out.
What I want everybody to know is that I have been supported all these years by all of you, 600 or so supremely talented and creative writers and chefs and editors and stylists and art directors and marketers and advertising executives and business associates. I am extremely proud of each and every one of you. And it's time for all of you to receive your due.
(APPLAUSE)
I have another story to tell. Now this was in my mail. I actually got it about a day before Christmas. And you'll all recognize this. This is all of you, right in this clear story. And it's Martha, happy holidays. And -- or it says Happy Holidays, Martha. And it's all of you photographed from way up there with some special camera. It's a beautiful picture. I could recognize each and every face, which really made me cry. And, when I looked at this picture, I said, you know what? I am Martha Stewart, but you are Martha Stewart. Right?
(APPLAUSE)
And I also felt that now it really is important for us to show the world our great company from top to bottom, from inside out. The value of our brand comes from all of you hard-working and very talented people. The more the world knows about all of you, the more they will value our wonderful high-quality products.
Finally, today I want to talk about another subject that's on my mind, innovation. We've always been tremendously innovative as a company. We've changed American living with our wonderful products. We've created synergies that others have tried to imitate. We've accomplished a great deal. But, our adventure is just beginning. I have begun to hear about the ideas that all of have you been working on during the last few months. I can see that you've been very busy, as I walk around the halls. I, as you can imagine, have a few ideas of my own, too.
And I see, for example, a grand opportunity to transform daily living through integration and computing, the Internet and mobile communications. That's one thing that is very interesting to me now. Technologies that have transformed the office can transform the home and daily living to make life simpler, more manageable, and more rewarding. You don't know how many times I just wished I had a computer in the last five months. It really has changed the way we think and the way we do. And this is all about saving time to make time for other things, such as family.
But there are many other new things we're going to be talking about in the months to come and we're just getting started. I think that most of you know that I've always felt that life should be an adventure, that every day should be important. There can be no doubt that the last three years have certainly been an adventure for me and for all of you.
But, though it was stressful, very stressful, I can say that I don't regret everything. I've had profound life experiences. I've met extraordinary people. I felt deeply loved by my family, led by my gorgeous daughter Alexis, who visited me more often than she wishes to recount. And I felt deeply loved by my friends and I have surely learned what all of you have meant to me. I've tried to represent the values of dignity and grace that I cherish so deeply, even when it was really difficult. I hope I succeeded.
And I've come away from all of this with a heightened sense of something that I've always known, but which is even now more important to me. Each of us, every person in every walk of life, and in every station of life, is unique and special. Every person deserves dignity. Every person deserves opportunity. Every person deserves the joys of family and loving friends. And every person deserves the comforts of a good home. That's what life is all about, in a very uncertain world.
I want to work hard to preserve and help others connect with these deep human values. That's all that matters, making life better. I've always tried to inspire every person I work with, all of you, and every young entrepreneur that I've mentored. I've tried to inspire them to be curious, to set aside convention, to fight negativism. And though it is often very difficult to conquer fear. I tried to encourage each and every one of you and them to do something important with their lives. I've tried to encourage them to go for greatness.
I want to tell each and every one of you today that I believe wholeheartedly in this company, in all of you, in our mission, in our potential, now more than ever before. We have great ideas for the months and years to come. We've made a huge impact in 20 years. But that's only the beginning. We have a lot more time to do a lot more things. We are, all of us, in this next chapter, going for greatness. I love all of you from the bottom of my heart and I'm really glad to be home.
O'BRIEN: Martha Stewart, live there. And just to make it clear to our audience, our photographer there doesn't have a shoe fetish. Clearly he didn't know he was live. He was trying to show the point there that she is not wearing the electronic ankle bracelet, which are part of the terms of her house arrest over the coming months. That will be affixed later and no doubt, will be well-appointed. Nevertheless, it was obviously a pep rally for her employees and a few words to the people back in Alderson and specifically to the maker of the now-famous Alderson poncho. I expect we'll be seeing knock-offs on the Web very shortly.
Back with more LIVE FROM in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember my dad and my mom coming back, hurt and injured. My mom was bleeding, and my dad had been bitten by dogs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And that's just one of many horrific stories told about a day that is known as Bloody Sunday. Forty years ago today, civil rights activists in Selma, Alabama braved police dogs, tear gas, and being trampled by horses. Their bloody march over this Edmund Pettus (ph) Bridge is a milestone in the civil rights movement, and our guest today endured the brutality of that day.
Reverend Bernard Lafayette is a cofounder of the Student Non- Violent Coordinating Committee. He joins us live today from Montgomery, Alabama. It's a pleasure to have you, sir.
BERNARD LAFAYETTE, COFOUNDER, SNCC: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, tell me what it was like yesterday as you look back 40 years, but then walked yesterday that same route. What stood out the most to you? Biggest difference.
LAFAYETTE: Well, the biggest difference is that we had large numbers of people who were leaders in our government participating in the March, elected officials from around the country, and we also had people from around the world. We had people from Israel there, and we had people from South Africa who were part of that delegation. And this was something that was very important in terms of our expression of freedom and liberty for all people. And the other thing that was important was that we had lots of children on that march. It was heartwarming to see them, because they represent our future.
PHILLIPS: Now I can just imagine what it was like 40 years ago. I know you spent time with Martin Luther King. Take us back to that time period when the two of you were friends and what was on your mind and everything you were doing to promote what you're seeing today.
LAFAYETTE: Well, one of the things that we recognize is that in order to get social change, you had to get the majority of the people involved in making the change, and Montgomery represents that model. The bus boycott of 1955 was a way of getting masses of people involved. Although they were in a withdrawal campaign, nevertheless, the masses of people participated. The Selma march represented a nonviolent expression to a very violent act.
When it happened, actually in Marion, Alabama, where Jimmy Lee Jackson was shot, as a result of trying to come to the aid of his mother on a night march in Marion, Alabama, it was the first time someone had been shot down who participated in the march itself, and the State Troopers did this. So the response was that we needed a stronger march, a larger march, and a longer march to Montgomery, so we could address -- redress our grievances to the state government, and that march came as a result of that.
It was unfortunate that some people were killed in that march. For example, Reverend Reed (ph), Unitarian minister, who answered the call of Martin Luther King. And of course, Martin Luther King's whole goal was getting the masses of people around the country involved.
PHILLIPS: Well, Dr. Lafayette, that's what I want to ask you. I want to ask you if your relationship with him, what do you remember -- what did he tell you that has stuck in your mind since this picture we're looking at when you were with him 40 years ago yesterday. What was it that was ringing throughout your mind that you remember from Martin Luther King and what he told you?
LAFAYETTE: Well, one of the things that Martin Luther King told me ultimately, as I was his national program administrator, and also the national coordinator for the poor people's campaign, which came later. And it was a theme that Martin Luther King had all along, and that is people must learn the strategies of nonviolence as a skill. They're useful in your home, your job, as well as social change. He was really committed to this. And one of the things he told me he wanted me to do was to institutionalize nonviolence, and internationalize nonviolence. He thought that would be the way for people to learn to change society.
So, SCLC, for an example, under the leadership of Mr. Charles Steele (ph), has launched a new campaign, and this mission is to establish nonviolent institutions on a global level. The one that we have just finished last week, we established our first global nonviolent center in Israel, because that's going to be the place where we're going to launch all the other campaigns. And we have been called upon to go to Italy and some people have said they wanted us to come to Cuba and other places around the world, because they realize that unless we learn to live together as brothers and sisters, we're going to die separately as fools.
Nonviolence is an alternative to violence because violence is a language of the inarticulate. We must learn how to talk and negotiate, our differences. This way we can reduce violence in the world.
PHILLIPS: And you're doing it. You're doing it. We're seeing you do it through your organizations, and we saw it yesterday.
Reverend Bernard Lafayette, thank you so much for your time today, sir.
LAFAYETTE: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Got to take a break. We'll be right back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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Aired March 7, 2005 - 13:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures now, Manhattan. We expect to come to that door just a moment from now -- there she is. Martha Stewart, before a few hundred of her employees. Is that her? That's not Martha. That isn't Martha. I knew she looked good and trim, and so I wasn't sure. There she -- that is obviously someone else affiliated with Martha Stewart Omniliving, and we will...
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Wow, looks just like her.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I guess we'll keep moving as she addresses the crowd, and Martha Stewart's body double is out there for security purposes or something. And as soon as she comes out, we'll bring her to you.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Susan Line (ph), who is the current CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has introduced the person who looks just like her, Martha Stewart, who is back in Manhattan, there to see some of her employees, part of her 48-hour stint per week, where she can actually do some business, while she is in the midst of her house arrest. Let's listen to the scene there as Martha Stewart basks in the glory of her -- I guess you could call it triumphant return to Manhattan.
(APPLAUSE)
MARTHA STEWART, ENTREPRENEUR: Thank you. I hope my -- thank you all very much. Well, you two are my really great friends. You're also my heroes. But all of you are my heroes, too, all of you, and thank you very, very much.
(APPLAUSE)
I had so many things to say and I wanted to kind of do it in an impromptu fashion. But we wrote down a lot of stuff, because there is just so much to cover, and having not seen you all for five months, I wanted to cover the ground in as thorough a fashion as possible. I'm so proud that you're all here, and I've tried over the last 12 years to assemble the greatest group of people for this company that I could find, and you're it. You're it, all of you. And thank you again.
(APPLAUSE)
It's really wonderful to be back. I've missed you, as you can imagine, thought about you every single day, and I am just overwhelmed at seeing all of you gathered in this one beautiful space, with a new wall. I was a little nervous about the wall, but the wall looks good.
(LAUGHTER)
And during the last few months, I've had the tremendous privilege of meeting an incredible cross-section of people, as you can imagine, from all walks of life. I've had the opportunity also to do a tremendous amount of thinking. I've read. I've reflected upon the past on my own life, and to consider what's really and truly important to me. And I've also learned a great deal about our country and about the challenges faced by all the American families.
And I'm convinced from all of this that we at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia have gust begun to scratch the surface of a really great opportunity. I sense that in the American public there is a growing need to preserve human connections in a time of rapid social change. The need to preserve meaningful tradition in a world that is often threatening. The need for the comforts of home. The need to honor our many, many kinds of families.
It's not just mom and dad and the kids any longer. I've seen that, and I've talked to those people. These values have always been the motivation for everything I do, and I know everything that all of you have done with me. But, starting now, we're going to bring them into the forefront.
And I wanted to tell you a little story, because it's made the news. Here is my poncho!
(APPLAUSE)
And so we've been getting e-mail and all kinds of messages -- you know, where is the pattern? How is it done? Well, this was not from a fancy store. This was from Alderson, and it was made by a friend of mine there, a wonderful lady. She crochets about 12 hours a day. It's her thing. And the yarn comes from the commissary. When this yarn came in -- I mean they wait for something new and something different, just like we look for something new and something different. These talented ladies -- and not everybody is talented. It's like the world. But some are very talented. And the night before I left, she handed me this, not wrapped, because there is no wrapping paper, no ribbons. But she handed me this and said, wear it in good health. And I wore it to the plane, never guessing that it would look so good. And never guessing that it would be -- become the famous poncho. I hope she is reading the news and looking at television, because I'm so proud of her. But this is a beautiful thing.
Thanks, Julia.
(APPLAUSE)
And we'll try to get the pattern from her.
Do all of you know how many thousands of letters I've received in the last few months? So many. Boxes and boxes and boxes of those wonderful, wonderful letters. So much support from everywhere in the country, from Canada, from Europe, from Iraq. I got some fabulous letters from Iraq. I got letters from all over the world, all extremely supportive. They made me cry. They made me laugh.
One letter came from -- here I am wandering away, but I have to tell you this one letter from a captain in the Army, American Army, and he sent me pictures of his cell, he called it, that -- a metal box buried in the sand where he lived with four other people, and he said he guessed that my cell was better than his cell. I wrote back to him. He sounded like a really nice guy. But it was just incredible, incredible, the misery that exists around the world.
Homemakers, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles who feel understood and proud of their contributions. And I can't tell you what it's meant to me that's last few months, all those wonderful messages. But everyone here, every single person in this room should be very proud that we've had such an impact on so many people. And you can tell from the press coverage that impact. But we may not have always been clear in our message. Perhaps we focused too much on the how-to, and not enough on the why, and what we do.
We must now take more time to explain why these skills and interests that we value are so important. It's kind of confusing. And maybe we can make it clearer in our very, very precise way.
Every parent who has made cookies for their children, and has seen that child -- or children's gratitude in their faces knows that connection, the connection between doing and loving. Friendship, the sense of family that we all cherish, these are nourished and supported by working in the kitchen, working in the garden side by side with our children, with our family members, with our friends. It's also evidenced by celebrations and by all kinds of traditions. Pride in home-keeping creates serenity and pleasure and warmth that nourishes and that dignifies family relationships. I even experienced it hanging around the microwave in the place where I was staying.
So, starting now, we must communicate not only the how-to that we've been so proud of, but also the why in our editorial content, and I hope you all agree.
(APPLAUSE)
We're going to deepen our bond with the millions who read our publications and watch our television programs. And we're going to engage and inspire new readers and new viewers for whom these topics may have seemed alien, unfamiliar, or even, believe it or not, superficial.
I know now more than ever how important these values are for happiness, as an antidote for alienation and as for the deep experience of just being alive. This is what truly interests us, why we all come to work every day. Our passion is, and always should be, to make life better. Today I also want to --- thanks.
(APPLAUSE)
Today I also want to talk about some other changes in the editorial direction that will shape Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. You are, every single one of you, perfectionists. In the past, in our magazines and television shows, the world has seen me surrounded by your incredible productions and your incredible achievements. But I gather that this has inadvertently given the impression that I am able to bake and cook and entertain every day all by myself, while appearing on television, organizing this wonderful large company, and managing a number of magazines, all while doing my ironing and my vacuuming.
And I have reflected long and hard on all of these facts. Well, you know, I don't always do all of my own ironing, even though I wish I could. I love ironing. I don't always do my own vacuuming, although, even my daughter Alexis here in the front row, knows I love to vacuum. I really -- I'll vacuum during a party if I could get a vacuum out.
What I want everybody to know is that I have been supported all these years by all of you, 600 or so supremely talented and creative writers and chefs and editors and stylists and art directors and marketers and advertising executives and business associates. I am extremely proud of each and every one of you. And it's time for all of you to receive your due.
(APPLAUSE)
I have another story to tell. Now this was in my mail. I actually got it about a day before Christmas. And you'll all recognize this. This is all of you, right in this clear story. And it's Martha, happy holidays. And -- or it says Happy Holidays, Martha. And it's all of you photographed from way up there with some special camera. It's a beautiful picture. I could recognize each and every face, which really made me cry. And, when I looked at this picture, I said, you know what? I am Martha Stewart, but you are Martha Stewart. Right?
(APPLAUSE)
And I also felt that now it really is important for us to show the world our great company from top to bottom, from inside out. The value of our brand comes from all of you hard-working and very talented people. The more the world knows about all of you, the more they will value our wonderful high-quality products.
Finally, today I want to talk about another subject that's on my mind, innovation. We've always been tremendously innovative as a company. We've changed American living with our wonderful products. We've created synergies that others have tried to imitate. We've accomplished a great deal. But, our adventure is just beginning. I have begun to hear about the ideas that all of have you been working on during the last few months. I can see that you've been very busy, as I walk around the halls. I, as you can imagine, have a few ideas of my own, too.
And I see, for example, a grand opportunity to transform daily living through integration and computing, the Internet and mobile communications. That's one thing that is very interesting to me now. Technologies that have transformed the office can transform the home and daily living to make life simpler, more manageable, and more rewarding. You don't know how many times I just wished I had a computer in the last five months. It really has changed the way we think and the way we do. And this is all about saving time to make time for other things, such as family.
But there are many other new things we're going to be talking about in the months to come and we're just getting started. I think that most of you know that I've always felt that life should be an adventure, that every day should be important. There can be no doubt that the last three years have certainly been an adventure for me and for all of you.
But, though it was stressful, very stressful, I can say that I don't regret everything. I've had profound life experiences. I've met extraordinary people. I felt deeply loved by my family, led by my gorgeous daughter Alexis, who visited me more often than she wishes to recount. And I felt deeply loved by my friends and I have surely learned what all of you have meant to me. I've tried to represent the values of dignity and grace that I cherish so deeply, even when it was really difficult. I hope I succeeded.
And I've come away from all of this with a heightened sense of something that I've always known, but which is even now more important to me. Each of us, every person in every walk of life, and in every station of life, is unique and special. Every person deserves dignity. Every person deserves opportunity. Every person deserves the joys of family and loving friends. And every person deserves the comforts of a good home. That's what life is all about, in a very uncertain world.
I want to work hard to preserve and help others connect with these deep human values. That's all that matters, making life better. I've always tried to inspire every person I work with, all of you, and every young entrepreneur that I've mentored. I've tried to inspire them to be curious, to set aside convention, to fight negativism. And though it is often very difficult to conquer fear. I tried to encourage each and every one of you and them to do something important with their lives. I've tried to encourage them to go for greatness.
I want to tell each and every one of you today that I believe wholeheartedly in this company, in all of you, in our mission, in our potential, now more than ever before. We have great ideas for the months and years to come. We've made a huge impact in 20 years. But that's only the beginning. We have a lot more time to do a lot more things. We are, all of us, in this next chapter, going for greatness. I love all of you from the bottom of my heart and I'm really glad to be home.
O'BRIEN: Martha Stewart, live there. And just to make it clear to our audience, our photographer there doesn't have a shoe fetish. Clearly he didn't know he was live. He was trying to show the point there that she is not wearing the electronic ankle bracelet, which are part of the terms of her house arrest over the coming months. That will be affixed later and no doubt, will be well-appointed. Nevertheless, it was obviously a pep rally for her employees and a few words to the people back in Alderson and specifically to the maker of the now-famous Alderson poncho. I expect we'll be seeing knock-offs on the Web very shortly.
Back with more LIVE FROM in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember my dad and my mom coming back, hurt and injured. My mom was bleeding, and my dad had been bitten by dogs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And that's just one of many horrific stories told about a day that is known as Bloody Sunday. Forty years ago today, civil rights activists in Selma, Alabama braved police dogs, tear gas, and being trampled by horses. Their bloody march over this Edmund Pettus (ph) Bridge is a milestone in the civil rights movement, and our guest today endured the brutality of that day.
Reverend Bernard Lafayette is a cofounder of the Student Non- Violent Coordinating Committee. He joins us live today from Montgomery, Alabama. It's a pleasure to have you, sir.
BERNARD LAFAYETTE, COFOUNDER, SNCC: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, tell me what it was like yesterday as you look back 40 years, but then walked yesterday that same route. What stood out the most to you? Biggest difference.
LAFAYETTE: Well, the biggest difference is that we had large numbers of people who were leaders in our government participating in the March, elected officials from around the country, and we also had people from around the world. We had people from Israel there, and we had people from South Africa who were part of that delegation. And this was something that was very important in terms of our expression of freedom and liberty for all people. And the other thing that was important was that we had lots of children on that march. It was heartwarming to see them, because they represent our future.
PHILLIPS: Now I can just imagine what it was like 40 years ago. I know you spent time with Martin Luther King. Take us back to that time period when the two of you were friends and what was on your mind and everything you were doing to promote what you're seeing today.
LAFAYETTE: Well, one of the things that we recognize is that in order to get social change, you had to get the majority of the people involved in making the change, and Montgomery represents that model. The bus boycott of 1955 was a way of getting masses of people involved. Although they were in a withdrawal campaign, nevertheless, the masses of people participated. The Selma march represented a nonviolent expression to a very violent act.
When it happened, actually in Marion, Alabama, where Jimmy Lee Jackson was shot, as a result of trying to come to the aid of his mother on a night march in Marion, Alabama, it was the first time someone had been shot down who participated in the march itself, and the State Troopers did this. So the response was that we needed a stronger march, a larger march, and a longer march to Montgomery, so we could address -- redress our grievances to the state government, and that march came as a result of that.
It was unfortunate that some people were killed in that march. For example, Reverend Reed (ph), Unitarian minister, who answered the call of Martin Luther King. And of course, Martin Luther King's whole goal was getting the masses of people around the country involved.
PHILLIPS: Well, Dr. Lafayette, that's what I want to ask you. I want to ask you if your relationship with him, what do you remember -- what did he tell you that has stuck in your mind since this picture we're looking at when you were with him 40 years ago yesterday. What was it that was ringing throughout your mind that you remember from Martin Luther King and what he told you?
LAFAYETTE: Well, one of the things that Martin Luther King told me ultimately, as I was his national program administrator, and also the national coordinator for the poor people's campaign, which came later. And it was a theme that Martin Luther King had all along, and that is people must learn the strategies of nonviolence as a skill. They're useful in your home, your job, as well as social change. He was really committed to this. And one of the things he told me he wanted me to do was to institutionalize nonviolence, and internationalize nonviolence. He thought that would be the way for people to learn to change society.
So, SCLC, for an example, under the leadership of Mr. Charles Steele (ph), has launched a new campaign, and this mission is to establish nonviolent institutions on a global level. The one that we have just finished last week, we established our first global nonviolent center in Israel, because that's going to be the place where we're going to launch all the other campaigns. And we have been called upon to go to Italy and some people have said they wanted us to come to Cuba and other places around the world, because they realize that unless we learn to live together as brothers and sisters, we're going to die separately as fools.
Nonviolence is an alternative to violence because violence is a language of the inarticulate. We must learn how to talk and negotiate, our differences. This way we can reduce violence in the world.
PHILLIPS: And you're doing it. You're doing it. We're seeing you do it through your organizations, and we saw it yesterday.
Reverend Bernard Lafayette, thank you so much for your time today, sir.
LAFAYETTE: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Got to take a break. We'll be right back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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