housekeepers who cleaned up after, you know, he did these incidents and the pilots who flew the jets where he had two private planes, the driver, he had drivers, you know, that picked up the girls, so it was a whole ecosystem around him of -- >> to watch the rest of the program visit book tv.org and use the search box to look for julie cay brown or the title of her book, proversion of justice. >> good afternoon, i'm carla hayden and i'm delighted to be with sharice davids. welcome to the 2021 national book festival. we are here to talk about your new book for the young and young

at heart sharice's big voice, a native kid becomes a congresswoman. this is one of the books that i was sharing stories and inspirational things with young people, so you made history in 2018 as one of the first of two native women to be elected to congress. just share with us what that meant to you. >> well, first of all, i have to tell you how excited i am to get the chance to be here with you particularly dr. hayden, i think you're an amazing person and inspiration yourself. thank you so much for doing this.

you know, when then congresswoman deb holaand there was joy that so many people across the country felt because native women have been certainly amazing leaders for so long and to know that it was 2018 and we hadn't seen a native woman in the u.s. congress and to be a chance to be start of that was pretty surreal actually and i'm just so fortunate and glad to have had the chance to be able to do this. >> and your book is called sharice's big voice so you must have had a big voice. could you tell us about that? >> yeah, so it's really -- i'm

glad to work on this voice. sharice's big voice is honoring and if you haven't read the book, dr. hayden, i know that you have. for the folks that are watching, you'll see that attacked a lot, like a lot when i was growing up and sometimes i got i in trouble for it but it also helped mefo learn a lot of skills and helped me how to will be actually and in some way sharice's big voice was part of nation and the hotong language. we are known as people of the sacred voice and also people of the big voice and i felt like it was just a really great way to

honor that and be able to share that in a lot of ways with others. >> now, you saidth that even though you talked a lot and you sometimes get in a little trouble, it also helped you listen. how did those two things work? >> yeah, you know, i think that one of the things i think a lot about and particularly as i moved through my own path and my own journey is that there are a lot of times where we might feel invisible or not seen and not heard and i think some of that is when you're speaking, right? like you have something to say, you want to share something especially as a child, you know, maybe -- you want to share how you're feeling or ask questions and i think that growing up i got to see that you can ask

questions of other people and really learn a lot. it's a way to connect but to be able to do that, you also have to listen to people and so i think that it'se a way to -- to help learn how to -- to not only be seen but to see others and makeke sure that other folks dot feel unseen or invisible sometimes. >> you also write about people who, i think, the young people call them doubters who doubted you and didn't think that you would get elected and some people who faced that daily, so you have any advice for them of how to keep pursuing what you want to do or feeling good about yourself with the doubters and people around you? >> yeah, so i think there's

something -- in a lot of ways there's something universal about feeling like you're kind of all alone in this experience and one of the things that i wanted to make sure when i was sharing, you know, my path and my journey was that particularly y for young people or even, you know, when we are moving through this, oh, man that person has it figured out or grown-ups have all of the answers, they know everything and then you realize as you get older, for any of the kids that are watching, you realize when you get older that's not true. you know, we are all just trying to figure it out and we are all trying to figure out how to move through this and being able to share that, you know, not only sometimes people doubt thatre i could do reach my goals or, you

know, particularly when i ran for congress not necessarily believe that i could do it but also sometimes we doubt ourselves because we aren't sure if we have, if we are on the right path or we are making the right choices and i think that it's important for people to see that you're not alone in that. a lot of us feel that way and that's why a i wanted to share that piece of my journey so that other -- maybe some of us can feel a little less lonely in that experience. >> and it can continue no matter how old. you had one person that you talk about in your book who played an important role that didn't doubt you and was a role model and that's your mom, your mother. >> yeah. >> can you talk about herca a little bit because it's wonderful to have that? show mya

second. my mom, somehow she has been the nicest and also the toughest person that i know. she would always listen to me even though i talked a lot and would answer my questions and encourage me when i would ring things up and different ideas that i had. she never told me i couldn't do something if i had some wild idea. she would just make sure that i was being realistic about it. oakley want to do that? it's going to take a lot of work preview will have to work really hard and that sort of thing but she never does search the --

from trying things and not help you become a person that is willing to try things even if i don't know what the outcome is going to be in if you don't mind i would love to show. >> i would love for you to. i want everybody to see the cover. the illustrations and your book, you did a wonderful collaboration. >> this picture right here was a picture of basically me talking a whole bunch and my mom. this feels like it embodies what it was like for me as little charisse just talking and talking and talking and when i was young i talked a lot, like a

lot. i talked to my family and my friends and my friends families and neighbors and people shopping and working in the stores. i wanted to know things about people and i think this picture embodies how much my mom let me embrace who i was growing up and for that i'm so grateful because i think sometimes we can feel stifled in our experience and to get the chance to have a mom that embrace who i was. >> he's said you have a lot of interested people and she let you talk to people and it translated and evolved into your wanting to represent people and help them and know them.

it seems like a direct line to that. >> i definitely think that's absolutely a piece of it for sure. learning to connect with people at a young age and also the fact that my mom was in the army when i was growing up. my mom was in the army for 20 years from before i was born until after i got her of high school. because we moved a lot while she was being stationed at different places i ended up making friends quite a bit. all of us want to be able to connect with people when we get to a new place. so i learned how to get comfortable with that and then also saying that my mom had a career of service. when she got done in the army she ended up working at the post office for 20 years.

my mom has dedicated her career to service and that is definitely played a role in just my view of how we can help move things along and participate. my way is by participating in the government but i think there are lots of ways we can be of service to our community. >> well at your service has a twist because you mentioned martial arts and i have to tell you and i hope you can show somebody illustrations. three or four pages are just wow. >> this is a very busy job just so everybody knows and so now i haven't been doing as much

martial arts training and just regular working out but some of that is also because of the pandemic and just trying to be as safe as possible but absolutely martial arts will be a part of my life for the rest of my life. particularly jujitsu for anyone watching and also martial arts. yeah so when i was i started learning a little bit of tae kwon do and then martial arts and then i started to learn brazilian jujitsu. >> don't try this unless you are in class.

[laughter] but such cool pictures. >> and then i got the chance -- so i'm a person who just loves, loves the process of learning and in jujitsu and martial arts in a lot of ways i can start didn't start learning martial arts until i was adult. in a lot of ways you have to open yourself up to learning like a child again because you are moving your body in new ways that you have never tried before. you have to be ready to do something over and over and get it wrong. when you're first learning how to walk we fall over a lot. i think being in a mindset of being willing to try and try and try you might not see the

benefit or you won't see it exactly what you are learning in a moment but over time you really get to see all those steps that you've been taking just like when you were a little kid and when you watch a kid that's starting to first walk in the next thing you know they are running and you are running after them. it's so interesting to be kind of back in that mindset. that's what martial arts is done in my life, a willingness to learn in a way that i don't know if i would have had that if i hadn't learned martial arts. >> do you remember how old you are when you first started to do martial arts? >> i must have been about seven

or so, seven or eight when i first learned. i just remember just absorbing everything i could about martial art when i was growing up and actually my mom when she was stationed in germany one of the other servicemembers there was teaching at tae kwon do class but she ended up moving so when she moved there wasn't another martial arts class for kids to take. when we moved back to united states when she was done in germany it was just so expensive. when i was an adult and i started working while i was in college it donned on me, wait a minute i can pay for martial arts classes now so i started taking classes when i was 19. >> why o.

you seem to have had a lot of things going on at the same time do you give yourself a break sometimes and say you know what, it's okay if it's not perfect. >> yes, that's a really good question. there is something about learning how to recognize that things are not going to be perfect. because we can't be good at every single thing you know and i think that it really helped me when i started to see that when i realized you know like martial arts is a good example actually where at different times in my life i was able to dedicate more time to martial arts because of

things like my work schedule. i wasn't able to dedicate as much time to martial arts and that's okay. i remember getting upset with myself sometimes for are not going to class as often as i wanted to or felt like they needed to but over time i got to see i'm learning. even if i go to times a week two times a week instead of three times a week i'm still learning and putting in the effort in getting to do something that i love. now is a member of congress this is the most busy i've ever been for sure. and i was excited to work on this book on a native kid becomes a congresswoman but it took longer than i would have liked. but that's okay. but it's important to me that i

take care of myself as much as i can and eating and working out when i can and that sort of stuff and making time for my family and doing those things because i can't always get all the work done unless i do that. so i think it's important for us to recognize that the standards can't be perfection with everything. >> yes it's hard and you had to be so flexible. some young people have difficulty making friends and you had to learn how to make friends and moving different places and even different continents. >> yeah you know what's so

interesting even when i was older it took me a year to get my bachelor's degree. i took four years to get my associates to get her a hand for years to get my bachelor's degree. when i got to law school i was already you know 27 and i remember walking around the first couple of days of school and feeling very awkward. and i think a lot of folks know what this feels like. and you stay in the room with someone you might build go and say hi and/or just annex two. i remember thinking you know what all of us feel this way right now. i decided i was just going to go and find somebody and try to make sure they felt welcome and

they felt good about being at this new school. once i started thinking about how we can help each other feel welcome and in the right place it helps me feel welcomed in the right place. i try to remember that when i go to new places. also when i'm doing things like public speaking. >> you've got questions coming in now. you have a question right away from julie. julie wants to know for kids just getting started on their journey and just thinking about what they want to do when i grow up do you have any advice for them? >> yes. i'm going to reference my books one more time.

actually don't think it's going to be in here. there's one that's not in here that i will give you after i tell you what this is. this page says wherever your path takes you may be the lessons i've learned along the way can be helpful. be open to challenges. work hard and learn a lot. work for the -- and not the doubters. you should big voice to fight for your beliefs and always remember that you deserve to be seen and heard. i feel like those lessons that i learned are probably the best advice that i can give is you know things aren't always going to turn out perfectly and they are going to be hard and for some people their obstacles that

get in peoples way and people have more obstacles than others. but at the end of the day keep in mind that you deserve to be seen and heard and if you're open to challenges, if you're working hard you are going to be learning the whole time and the piece of advice that i also would give that is not in the book and i don't know why. i think it's in a letter but if you read the letter it will be there. especially for the young people i know it feels like you might miss out on something but if you were sitting there with an adult they would say yeah take the nap. it takes a lot of energy when you are learning to be u.n. changing the world. >> right. people want to hear it.

there's a question from trees about she also has a comment. you are such an inspiration for my daughters. thank you. and what advice do you have for children who are afraid to use their voices? >> oh, i think i don't know if it helps to know this but you are not the only one who feels nervous or you get that not in your stomach or sometimes it can be like almost like a little ball in your throat where you want to say something but you don't know if you should or you don't know how someone will react and respond in its getting to be really scary. that happens to me even now and i'm 41. i think, i hope it helps to know

that you are not alone in that experience and more often than not, people want you to do well and want you to be successful and want to be supportive and i think that you know, sometimes staying i'm kind of scared to say this or i'm kind of scared to speak in public, but i want to try it and i think you will be surprised how many people really deep down want you to succeed. >> a well, maria has a comment to and then a question. my daughter picked out your book out of the local library and didn't want to return it because she loved it so much.

.. i found out while we were talking about me writing a children's book there's only native characters represent 1% of the characters and native's s

i'm sorry and children's books and i think that i can't say for certain, but i might have spent a little bit more time connecting with books if i'd had kind of a wider variety of books growing up. i don't know that for sure but now that we are seeing a lot more, a lot bigger variety of books, i am hoping that that is the case. i didn't spend as much time in the library growing up as my current self probably would like. [laughter] i'm so glad that she asked that question and you had that answer because i hope that you plan to write more books and share it because books can be windows to the world but they also need to be mirrors and if we say they are so important and you never see yourself in a book that is

sending a message. so, thank you. the last question was what is your advice to women of color in spaces that feel discouraged and this can be women and children from expressing their voice, being the only person of color and reluctant to speak up. >> that's hard. there's probably a lot of folks who are watching who know what it's like to be and i'm sure both of us knowing what it's like to be the only person with your experience in a room can be really hard. it feels lonely and isolating and can sometimes feel

disempowering but it also can feel empowering and i think that for me, one of the things that i do when i feel that twinge of doubt is something that sneaks up on you like should i say something, do i ask a question or make my point? that sort of thing i try to look at as i have the opportunity to share a perspective that other people might not have thought of and that is a really powerful. you get to be the person in the room who's an expert on something, but no one else is an expert and you get to share stuff that no one else might have thought of before. that is so valuable and you should know that that's valuable. even if other people in the room might not recognize that moment

in it. >> well, congresswoman, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to your readers. i see that you've got a fan base already. you helped inspire young people and older people also to overcome obstacles to become who they want to be. and thank you to the audience. we had many more great questions and i wish we had time for them all. thank you for being part of the 2021 library of congress national book festival. you've been listening to representative davis of kansas talk about her new book big voice a native kid becomes a congresswoman. please continue t

>> download c-span's mobile app. key congressional hearings, the white house events and supreme court oral arguments even our live interactive morning program washington journal where we hear your voices every day. c-span now has you covered. download the app free today. >> washington, d.c. politics and prose hosted event who discuss legal battle over abortion and offer their strategy to protect reproductive rights. >> we had been saying, save row, save row. bumper stickers and it's just been the mantra for so many, many years and we need to stop doing that. we need to stop depending on the courts. what we need to do is build political power and that we need to do both in congress and in the state legislatures because

when roe is overturned, the question then goes back to the state and each state will have the power to eliminate women's ability right to obtain procedures. 23 states that are trifecta republican, meaning legislature and gubernatorial seats by republicans that oppose abortion and 17 states that are trifecta blue, so that means that we have a lot of work to do to preserve the right for those women who live either in the bad places or the places where we don't have power and places that are purple and could ship away at their rights as well and the only way we can do that is to get organized. politically and to help the women who need services. >> can i just add to that? i think we've been saying save roe for a long time and you're

right, your access to abortion depends on your zip code and your age and it really depends on your access to health care and we know in america that what your race, ethnicity and economic status is affects how you access health care. so while it has been in effective and we talk a lot about the book about casey and legal strategy that kitty saved roe and opened the doors to restrictions that have had disproportionate impact on women in this country so even if we have stat quo. in our view status quo isn't good enough. we don't have funding for abortion in this country for women who are on medicaid, we don't have access for a lot of minors, you know, your experiences with planned parenthood keeping clinic doors open in places and letting women have access to later abortion has been a tremendous struggle

for decades now and so part of what we want to say is not just about preserving what we have now but it's about really having true equity and access to reproductive healthcare services whether it's an abortion, whether it's carrying a pregnancy to term, prenatal care, contraceptive access as well as race equity issues and overall socioeconomic play at the really vital decisions that people make in their lives. >> visit book tv.org to watch program and its entirety, use the search box at the top of the page to look for katherine colbert or title of the book controlling women. >> here is a look at some books being published this week. in two famous author and investigative journalist michael wolf profiles politicians, media figures and argues that being famous is corruptive. eric argues against the idea of

a creator less universe in atheism dead. calls for compromise in politics. also being published this week journalist will examines the history of black american cinema in colorization and in trump shadow, david discovers the future of the republican party and in liberty is sweet, historian woody holton suggest that the founding fathers were influenced by marginalized americans. find these titles coming this week wherever books are sold and watch for many of these authors to appear in the near future on book tv. >> mitch mcconnell, what's on your reading listll these days? >> well, not surprisingly i tend to tilt toward american hisry