TEDWomen 2017
Leah Chase and Pat Mitchell: An interview with the Queen of Creole Cuisine
Filmed:
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1,572,686 views
Leah Chase's New Orleans restaurant Dooky Chase changed the course of American history over gumbo and fried chicken. During the civil rights movement, it was a place where white and black people came together, where activists planned protests and where the police entered but did not disturb -- and it continues to operate in the same spirit today. In conversation with TEDWomen Curator Pat Mitchell, the 94-year old Queen of Creole Cuisine (who still runs the Dooky Chase kitchen) shares her wisdom from a lifetime of activism, speaking up and cooking.
Leah Chase - Restaurateur
Leah Chase has spent the last seven decades serving her signature gumbo and hospitality to everyone from Martin Luther King Jr. to James Baldwin to Barack Obama. Full bioPat Mitchell - Curator, connector, convener and advocate for women's leadership
Pat Mitchell is a lifelong advocate for women and girls, known for her work as a journalist, producer, television executive and curator. Full bio
Leah Chase has spent the last seven decades serving her signature gumbo and hospitality to everyone from Martin Luther King Jr. to James Baldwin to Barack Obama. Full bioPat Mitchell - Curator, connector, convener and advocate for women's leadership
Pat Mitchell is a lifelong advocate for women and girls, known for her work as a journalist, producer, television executive and curator. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Leah Chase: Oh, this is beautiful.
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Oh, gosh, I never saw such a room
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and beauty and strength
like I'm looking at.
like I'm looking at.
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That's gorgeous. It is.
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It is a beautiful room.
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Pat Mitchell: I almost said your age,
because you gave me permission,
because you gave me permission,
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but I realized that I was
about to make you a year older.
about to make you a year older.
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You're only 94.
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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LC: Yeah, I'm only 94.
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(Applause)
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I mean, you get this old
and parts start wearing out.
and parts start wearing out.
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Your legs start wearing out.
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The one thing that my children always say:
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"But nothing happened to your mouth."
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(Laughter)
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So you've got to have something going,
so I've got my mouth going.
so I've got my mouth going.
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(Laughter)
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PM: So Mrs. Chase,
the first time we were there,
the first time we were there,
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I brought a group of young women,
who work with us at TED,
who work with us at TED,
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into the kitchen,
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and we were all standing around
and you had already cooked lunch
and you had already cooked lunch
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for hundreds of people,
as you do every day,
as you do every day,
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and you looked up at them.
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You have to share with this audience
what you said to those young women.
what you said to those young women.
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LC: Well, you know,
I talk to young women all the time,
I talk to young women all the time,
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and it's beginning to bother me,
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because look how far I came.
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I'd come with women
that had to really hustle and work hard,
that had to really hustle and work hard,
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and they knew how to be women.
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They didn't play that man down.
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And, well, we didn't have
the education you have today,
the education you have today,
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and God, I'm so proud
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when I see those women
with all that education under their belt.
with all that education under their belt.
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That's why I worked hard,
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tried to get everybody
to use those resources.
to use those resources.
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So they just don't know their power,
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and I always tell them,
just look at my mother,
just look at my mother,
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had 12 girls before she had a boy.
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(Laughter)
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So you know how I came out.
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(Laughter)
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Now, she had 14 children.
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She raised 11 of us out of that 14,
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and up until last year,
we were all still living,
we were all still living,
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a bunch of old biddies,
but we're still here.
but we're still here.
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(Laughter)
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And sometimes we can be just cantankerous
and blah blah blah blah blah,
and blah blah blah blah blah,
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but we still go.
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And I love to see women.
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You don't know what it does for me
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to see women in the position
that you're in today.
that you're in today.
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I never thought I'd see that.
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I never thought I'd see women
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be able to take places
and positions that we have today.
and positions that we have today.
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It is just a powerful thing.
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I had a young woman come to me.
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She was an African-American woman.
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And I said, "Well, what do you do, honey?"
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She said, "I am a retired Navy pilot."
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Oh God, that just melted me,
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because I knew how hard it was
to integrate that Navy.
to integrate that Navy.
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You know, the Navy was the last thing
to really be integrated,
to really be integrated,
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and that was done by Franklin Roosevelt
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as a favor to an African-American man,
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Lester Granger, that I knew very well.
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He was the head of the National
Urban League back there,
Urban League back there,
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and when Roosevelt asked him,
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he wanted to appoint Lester
as maybe one of his cabinet members.
as maybe one of his cabinet members.
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Lester said, "No, I don't want that.
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All I want you to do
is integrate that Navy."
is integrate that Navy."
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And that was what Franklin did.
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Well, Franklin didn't live to do it,
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but Truman did it.
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But when this woman told me,
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"I have flown everything there is to fly,"
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bombers, just all kinds of planes,
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it just melted me, you know,
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just to see how far women have come.
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And I told her, I said,
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"Well, you could get
into the space program."
into the space program."
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She said, "But Ms. Chase, I'm too old."
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She was already 60-some years old,
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and, you know, you're over the hill then.
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(Laughter)
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They don't want you flying
up in the sky at 60-something years old.
up in the sky at 60-something years old.
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Stay on the ground.
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When I meet women,
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and today everybody comes to my kitchen,
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and you know that,
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and it upsets Stella, my daughter.
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She doesn't like people
coming in the kitchen.
coming in the kitchen.
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But that's where I am,
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and that's where you're going
to see me, in the kitchen.
to see me, in the kitchen.
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So when they come there,
I meet all kinds of people.
I meet all kinds of people.
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And that is the thing
that really uplifts me,
that really uplifts me,
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is when I meet women on the move.
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When I meet women on the move,
it is good for me.
it is good for me.
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Now, I'm not one of these
flag-waving women.
flag-waving women.
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You're not going to see me
out there waving.
out there waving.
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No, I don't do that.
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(Laughter)
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No, I don't do that, and I don't want
any of you to do that.
any of you to do that.
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Just be good women.
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And you know, my mother taught us ...
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she was tough on us,
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and she said, "You know, Leah,"
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she gave us all this plaque,
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"to be a good woman,
you have to first look like a girl."
you have to first look like a girl."
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Well, I thought I looked like a girl.
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"Act like a lady."
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That, I never learned to do.
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(Laughter)
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"Think like a man."
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Now don't act like that man;
think like a man.
think like a man.
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And "work like a dog."
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(Laughter)
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So we learned that the hard way.
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And they taught you that.
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They taught you what women had to do.
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We were taught that women
controlled the behavior of men.
controlled the behavior of men.
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How you act, they will act.
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So you've got to do that,
and I tell you all the time.
and I tell you all the time.
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You know, don't play this man down.
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It upsets me when you may have a husband
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that maybe he doesn't have as much
education under his belt as you have,
education under his belt as you have,
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but still you can't play him down.
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You've got to keep lifting him up,
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because you don't want
to live with a mouse.
to live with a mouse.
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So you want that man to be a man,
and do what he has to do.
and do what he has to do.
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And anyway, always remember,
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he runs on cheap gas.
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(Laughter)
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So fill him up with cheap gas --
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(Laughter)
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and then, you got him.
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It's just so --
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(Laughter)
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It's just --
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PM: You have to give us
a minute to take that in.
a minute to take that in.
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(Laughter)
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LC: When I heard this young lady
speak before I came out --
speak before I came out --
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she was so beautiful,
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and I wished I could be like that,
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and my husband, poor darling --
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I lost him after
we were married 70 years --
we were married 70 years --
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didn't agree on one thing,
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never did, nothing,
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but we got along together
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because he learned to understand me,
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and that was just hard,
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because he was so different.
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And that lady reminded me.
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I said, "If I would have
just been like her,
just been like her,
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Dooky would have really loved it."
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(Laughter)
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But I wasn't.
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I was always pushy, always moving,
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always doing this,
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and he used to come to me
all the time, and he said,
all the time, and he said,
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"Honey, God's going to punish you."
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(Laughter)
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"You -- you're just not grateful."
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But it isn't that I'm not grateful,
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but I think, as long as you're living,
you've got to keep moving,
you've got to keep moving,
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you've got to keep trying to get up
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and do what you've got to do.
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(Applause)
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You cannot sit down.
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You have to keep going,
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keep trying to do a little bit every day.
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Every day, you do a little bit,
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try to make it better.
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And that's been my whole life.
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Well, I came up
in the country, small town,
in the country, small town,
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had to do everything,
had to haul the water,
had to haul the water,
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had to wash the clothes, do this, do that,
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pick the dumb strawberries,
all that kind of stuff.
all that kind of stuff.
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(Laughter)
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But still, my daddy insisted
that we act nice,
that we act nice,
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we be kind.
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And that's all.
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When I heard this young woman --
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oh, she sounds so beautiful --
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I said, "I wish I could be like that."
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PM: Mrs. Chase, we don't want you
to be any different than you are.
to be any different than you are.
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There is no question about that.
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Let me ask you.
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This is why it's so wonderful
to have a conversation
to have a conversation
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with someone who has such a long view --
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LC: A long time.
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PM: to remembering Roosevelt
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and the person he did that favor for.
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What is in your head and your mind
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and what you have seen and witnessed ...
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One of the things that it's good
to remember, always,
to remember, always,
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is that when you opened that restaurant,
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whites and blacks could not
eat together in this city.
eat together in this city.
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It was against the law.
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And yet they did, at Dooky Chase.
Tell me about that.
Tell me about that.
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LC: They did, there.
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Well, my mother-in-law first started this,
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and the reason she started is,
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because her husband was sickly,
and he would go out --
and he would go out --
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and people from Chicago
and all the places,
and all the places,
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you would call his job a numbers runner.
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But in New Orleans,
we are very sophisticated --
we are very sophisticated --
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(Laughter)
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so it wasn't a numbers runner,
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it was a lottery vendor.
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(Laughter)
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So you see, we put class to that.
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But that's how he did it.
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And he couldn't go from house to house
to get his clients and all that,
to get his clients and all that,
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because he was sick,
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so she opened up
this little sandwich shop,
this little sandwich shop,
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so she was going to take down the numbers,
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because he was sick a lot.
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He had ulcers. He was really bad
for a long a time.
for a long a time.
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So she did that --
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and not knowing anything,
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but she knew she could make a sandwich.
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She knew she could cook,
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and she borrowed 600 dollars
from a brewery.
from a brewery.
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Can you imagine starting
a business today with 600 dollars
a business today with 600 dollars
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and no knowledge of what you're doing?
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And it always just amazed me
what she could do.
what she could do.
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She was a good money manager.
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That, I am not.
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My husband used to call me
a bankrupt sister.
a bankrupt sister.
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(Laughter)
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"She'll spend everything you got."
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And I would, you know.
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PM: But you kept
the restaurant open, though,
the restaurant open, though,
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even in those times of controversy,
when people were protesting
when people were protesting
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and almost boycotting.
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I mean, it was a controversial move
that you and your husband made.
that you and your husband made.
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LC: It was, and I don't
know how we did it,
know how we did it,
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but as I said, my mother-in-law
was a kind, kind person,
was a kind, kind person,
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and you didn't have any African-Americans
on the police force at that time.
on the police force at that time.
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They were all white.
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But they would come around,
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and she would say,
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"Bebe, I'm gonna fix you
a little sandwich."
a little sandwich."
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So she would fix them a sandwich.
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Today they would call that bribery.
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(Laughter)
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But she was just that kind of person.
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She liked to do things for you.
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She liked to give.
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So she would do that,
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and maybe that helped us out,
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because nobody ever bothered us.
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We had Jim Dombrowski, Albert Ben Smith,
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who started all kinds of things
right in that restaurant,
right in that restaurant,
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and nobody ever bothered us.
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So we just did it.
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PM: Excuse me.
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11:34
You talked to me that day
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11:36
about the fact that people considered
the restaurant a safe haven
the restaurant a safe haven
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11:40
where they could come together,
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11:42
particularly if they were working
on civil rights,
on civil rights,
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3308
11:45
human rights,
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11:46
working to change the laws.
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11:49
LC: Well, because once
you got inside those doors,
you got inside those doors,
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11:52
nobody ever, ever bothered you.
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11:55
The police would never come in
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11:58
and bother our customers, never.
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12:01
So they felt safe to come there.
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12:03
They could eat, they could plan.
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12:05
All the Freedom Riders,
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12:07
that's where they planned
all their meetings.
all their meetings.
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12:11
They would come and we would
serve them a bowl of gumbo
serve them a bowl of gumbo
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12:14
and fried chicken.
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12:15
(Laughter)
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12:16
So I said, we'd changed
the course of America
the course of America
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12:19
over a bowl of gumbo
and some fried chicken.
and some fried chicken.
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12:22
(Applause)
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12:27
I would like to invite the leaders, now,
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3007
12:30
just come have a bowl of gumbo
and some fried chicken,
and some fried chicken,
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2855
12:32
talk it over and we'd go
and we'd do what we have to do.
and we'd do what we have to do.
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12:35
(Applause)
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12:37
And that's all we did.
283
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12:39
PM: Could we send you a list
to invite to lunch?
to invite to lunch?
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12:42
(Laughter)
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12:43
LC: Yeah, invite.
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12:44
Because that's what we're not doing.
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12:47
We're not talking.
288
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12:48
Come together.
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12:50
I don't care if you're a Republican
or what you are -- come together.
or what you are -- come together.
290
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3357
12:53
Talk.
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12:54
And I know those old guys.
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12:56
I was friends with those old guys,
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12:57
like Tip O'Neill and all of those people.
294
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13:00
They knew how to come together and talk,
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13:03
and you would disagree maybe.
296
771257
3576
13:06
That's OK.
297
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1277
13:08
But you would talk, and we would come
to a good thing and meet.
to a good thing and meet.
298
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2980
13:11
And so that's what we did
in that restaurant.
in that restaurant.
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2855
13:14
They would plan the meeting,
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3110
13:17
Oretha's mother, Oretha Haley's mother.
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13:20
She was big in CORE.
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13:21
Her mother worked for me for 42 years.
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13:25
And she was like me.
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793306
2000
13:27
We didn't understand the program.
305
795330
2585
13:29
Nobody our age understood this program,
306
797939
3658
13:33
and we sure didn't want
our children to go to jail.
our children to go to jail.
307
801621
4244
13:37
Oh, that was ... oh God.
308
805889
1794
13:39
But these young people
were willing to go to jail
were willing to go to jail
309
807707
2789
13:42
for what they believed.
310
810520
1242
13:43
We were working with Thurgood
and A.P. Tureaud and all those people
and A.P. Tureaud and all those people
311
811786
4509
13:48
with the NAACP.
312
816319
1850
13:50
But that was a slow move.
313
818193
1979
13:52
We would still be out here trying
to get in the door, waiting for them.
to get in the door, waiting for them.
314
820196
3563
13:55
(Laughter)
315
823783
2030
13:57
PM: Is that Thurgood Marshall
you're talking about?
you're talking about?
316
825837
2415
14:00
LC: Thurgood Marshall.
But I loved Thurgood.
But I loved Thurgood.
317
828276
2106
14:02
He was a good movement.
318
830406
1486
14:03
They wanted to do this
without offending anybody.
without offending anybody.
319
831916
4516
14:08
I'll never forget A.P. Tureaud:
320
836456
1753
14:10
"But you can't offend the white people.
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1895
14:12
Don't offend them."
322
840152
2120
14:14
But these young people didn't care.
323
842813
1865
14:16
They said, "We're going.
Ready or not, we're going to do this."
Ready or not, we're going to do this."
324
844702
4341
14:21
And so we had to support them.
325
849455
2111
14:23
These were the children we knew,
righteous children.
righteous children.
326
851590
3314
14:26
We had to help them.
327
854928
1626
14:28
PM: And they brought the change.
LC: And they brought the change.
LC: And they brought the change.
328
856578
3076
14:31
You know, it was hard,
329
859678
1896
14:33
but sometimes you do
hard things to make changes.
hard things to make changes.
330
861598
3159
14:36
PM: And you've seen
so many of those changes.
so many of those changes.
331
864781
2531
14:39
The restaurant has been a bridge.
332
867336
1809
14:41
You have been a bridge
between the past and now,
between the past and now,
333
869169
4454
14:45
but you don't live in the past, do you?
334
873647
2484
14:48
You live very much in the present.
335
876155
3009
14:51
LC: And that's what you have to tell
young people today.
young people today.
336
879188
3201
14:54
OK, you can protest,
337
882413
1985
14:56
but put the past behind you.
338
884422
1784
14:58
I can't make you responsible
for what your grandfather did.
for what your grandfather did.
339
886601
4643
15:03
That's your grandfather.
340
891268
1547
15:04
I have to build on that.
341
892839
1945
15:06
I have to make changes.
342
894808
1254
15:08
I can't stay there and say,
343
896086
2428
15:10
"Oh, well, look what they did to us then.
344
898538
1999
15:12
Look what they do to us now."
345
900561
1383
15:13
No, you remember that,
346
901968
1687
15:15
but that makes you keep going on,
347
903679
2285
15:17
but you don't harp on it every day.
348
905988
2448
15:20
You move,
349
908460
1164
15:21
and you move to make a difference,
350
909648
1864
15:23
and everybody should be involved.
351
911536
3798
15:27
My children said,
352
915358
1215
15:28
"Mother, don't get political," you know.
353
916597
2106
15:30
(Laughter)
354
918727
1991
15:32
"Don't get political, because you know
we don't like that."
we don't like that."
355
920742
3056
15:35
But you have to be political today.
356
923822
2699
15:38
You have to be involved.
357
926545
2364
15:40
Be a part of the system.
358
928933
1780
15:42
Look how it was when we couldn't be
a part of the system.
a part of the system.
359
930737
3294
15:46
When Dutch Morial became the mayor,
360
934055
3666
15:49
it was a different feeling
in the African-American community.
in the African-American community.
361
937745
3880
15:54
We felt a part of things.
362
942340
2524
15:56
Now we've got a mayor.
363
944888
1510
15:58
We feel like we belong.
364
946752
2230
16:01
Moon tried before Dutch came.
365
949006
3281
16:04
PM: Mayor Landrieu's father,
Moon Landrieu.
Moon Landrieu.
366
952311
2015
16:06
LC: Mayor Landrieu's father,
he took great, great risks
he took great, great risks
367
954350
2883
16:09
by putting African-Americans in city hall.
368
957257
4204
16:13
He took a whipping for that
for a long time,
for a long time,
369
961485
3484
16:16
but he was a visionary,
370
964993
2255
16:19
and he did those things that he knew
was going to help the city.
was going to help the city.
371
967272
5071
16:24
He knew we had to get involved.
372
972367
2285
16:26
So that's what we have to do.
373
974676
1983
16:28
We don't harp on that.
374
976683
1282
16:29
We just keep moving,
375
977989
1584
16:31
and Mitch, you know,
I tell Moon all the time,
I tell Moon all the time,
376
979597
3356
16:34
"You did a good thing,"
377
982977
1687
16:36
but Mitch did one bigger than you
and better than you.
and better than you.
378
984688
3817
16:40
When he pulled those statues down,
379
988529
1728
16:42
I said, "Boy, you're crazy!"
380
990281
1423
16:43
(Applause)
381
991728
2691
16:46
You're crazy.
382
994443
1521
16:47
But it was a good political move.
383
995988
3994
16:52
You know, when I saw
P.T. Beauregard come down,
P.T. Beauregard come down,
384
1000006
2972
16:55
I was sitting looking at the news,
385
1003002
3024
16:58
and it just hit me
what this was all about.
what this was all about.
386
1006050
3567
17:02
To me, it wasn't about race;
it was a political move.
it was a political move.
387
1010527
4205
17:07
And I got so furious,
388
1015639
1308
17:08
I got back on that kitchen
the next morning,
the next morning,
389
1016971
2056
17:11
and I said, come on, pick up
your pants, and let's go to work,
your pants, and let's go to work,
390
1019051
3088
17:14
because you're going to get left behind.
391
1022163
2056
17:16
And that's what you have to do.
392
1024243
1509
17:17
You have to move on people,
393
1025776
1730
17:19
move on what they do.
394
1027530
1738
17:21
It was going to bring
visibility to the city.
visibility to the city.
395
1029292
3415
17:24
So you got that visibility --
move on it, uplift yourself,
move on it, uplift yourself,
396
1032731
3917
17:28
do what you have to do,
397
1036672
1634
17:30
and do it well.
398
1038330
1841
17:32
And that's all we do.
399
1040195
1242
17:33
That's all I try to do.
400
1041461
1303
17:34
PM: But you just gave
the formula for resilience. Right?
the formula for resilience. Right?
401
1042788
4162
17:38
So you are clearly the best example
we could find anywhere of resilience,
we could find anywhere of resilience,
402
1046974
5378
17:44
so there must be something you think --
403
1052376
2239
17:46
LC: I like emotional strength.
404
1054639
1595
17:48
I like people with emotional
and physical strength,
and physical strength,
405
1056258
3799
17:52
and maybe that's bad for me.
406
1060081
2642
17:55
My favorite all-time general
was George Patton.
was George Patton.
407
1063910
4192
18:00
You know, that wasn't too cool.
408
1068752
2184
18:02
(Laughter)
409
1070960
2244
18:05
PM: It's surprising.
410
1073228
1192
18:06
LC: I've got George Patton
hanging in my dining room
hanging in my dining room
411
1074444
3529
18:09
because I want to remember.
412
1077997
2462
18:12
He set goals for himself,
413
1080483
1875
18:14
and he was going to set out
to reach those goals.
to reach those goals.
414
1082382
3661
18:18
He never stopped.
415
1086067
1663
18:19
And I always remember his words:
416
1087754
2297
18:22
"Lead, follow, or get out of the way."
417
1090075
2595
18:25
Now, I can't lead --
418
1093203
1506
18:26
(Applause)
419
1094733
1142
18:27
I can't be a leader,
420
1095899
1782
18:29
but I can follow a good leader,
421
1097705
2055
18:31
but I am not getting out of the way.
422
1099784
2318
18:34
(Applause)
423
1102126
1459
18:35
But that's just what you have to do.
424
1103609
2413
18:38
(Applause)
425
1106046
2416
18:40
If you can't lead --
426
1108486
2077
18:42
leaders need followers,
427
1110587
2247
18:44
so if I help you up there,
I'm going to ride on your coattails,
I'm going to ride on your coattails,
428
1112858
5010
18:49
and I can't count
the coattails I've ridden upon.
the coattails I've ridden upon.
429
1117892
2850
18:52
(Laughter)
430
1120766
1578
18:54
Feed you good. You'll help me out.
431
1122368
1650
18:56
(Laughter)
432
1124042
1090
18:57
And that's what life is all about.
433
1125156
2460
18:59
Everybody can do something,
434
1127640
3039
19:02
but please get involved.
435
1130703
2297
19:05
Do something.
436
1133024
1182
19:06
The thing we have to do
in this city, in all cities --
in this city, in all cities --
437
1134230
4515
19:10
mommas have to start being mommas today.
438
1138769
3651
19:14
You know?
439
1142988
1151
19:16
They have to start understanding --
440
1144163
2004
19:18
when you bring this child in the world,
441
1146191
2501
19:20
you have to make a man out of it,
442
1148716
1776
19:22
you have to make a woman out of it,
443
1150516
2050
19:24
and it takes some doing.
444
1152590
1413
19:26
It takes sacrifice.
445
1154027
1938
19:27
Maybe you won't have the long fingernails,
maybe you won't have the pretty hair.
maybe you won't have the pretty hair.
446
1155989
3960
19:32
But that child will be on the move,
447
1160419
2977
19:35
and that's what you have to do.
448
1163420
1524
19:36
We have to concentrate on educating
449
1164968
2162
19:39
and making these children understand
what it's all about.
what it's all about.
450
1167154
4989
19:44
And I hate to tell you, gentlemen,
451
1172167
2096
19:46
it's going to take
a good woman to do that.
a good woman to do that.
452
1174287
2594
19:49
It's going to take
a good woman to do that.
a good woman to do that.
453
1177809
3179
19:53
(Applause)
454
1181012
1007
19:54
Men can do their part.
455
1182043
1810
19:55
The other part is to just do
what you have to do
what you have to do
456
1183877
2278
19:58
and bring it home,
457
1186179
1173
19:59
but we can handle the rest,
458
1187376
1691
20:01
and we will handle the rest.
459
1189091
1809
20:03
If you're a good woman, you can do that.
460
1191229
2128
20:05
PM: You heard that first here.
461
1193381
1514
20:06
We can handle the rest.
462
1194919
1368
20:08
LC: We can handle the rest.
463
1196311
1735
20:10
Mrs. Chase, thank you so much --
464
1198070
1984
20:12
LC: Thank you.
465
1200078
1158
20:13
PM: for taking time out from the work
you do every day in this community.
you do every day in this community.
466
1201260
4159
20:17
LC: But you don't know
what this does for me.
what this does for me.
467
1205443
2158
20:19
When I see all of these people,
and come together --
and come together --
468
1207625
2682
20:22
people come to my kitchen
from all over the world.
from all over the world.
469
1210331
2858
20:25
I had people come from London,
470
1213751
2531
20:28
now twice this happened to me.
471
1216306
2307
20:30
First a man came, and I don't know
why he came to this --
why he came to this --
472
1218637
4016
20:34
Every year, the chefs do something
called "Chef's Charity."
called "Chef's Charity."
473
1222677
4682
20:40
Well, it so happened
I was the only woman there,
I was the only woman there,
474
1228041
4691
20:44
and the only African-American there
475
1232756
2520
20:47
on that stage doing these demonstrations,
476
1235300
2895
20:50
and I would not leave until I saw
another woman come up there, too.
another woman come up there, too.
477
1238219
3594
20:53
I'm not going up -- they're going
to carry me up there
to carry me up there
478
1241837
2603
20:56
until you bring another woman up here.
479
1244464
1848
20:58
(Laughter)
480
1246336
1730
21:00
So they have another one now,
so I could step down.
so I could step down.
481
1248090
3047
21:03
But this man was from London.
482
1251161
2833
21:06
So after that, I found the man
in my kitchen.
in my kitchen.
483
1254018
2921
21:08
He came to my kitchen,
484
1256963
1875
21:10
and he said, "I want
to ask you one question."
to ask you one question."
485
1258862
2286
21:13
OK, I thought I was going to ask
something about food.
something about food.
486
1261172
3102
21:16
"Why do all these white men
hang around you?"
hang around you?"
487
1264298
4016
21:20
(Laughter)
488
1268338
2119
21:22
What?
489
1270481
1151
21:23
(Laughter)
490
1271656
1801
21:25
I couldn't understand.
491
1273481
1603
21:27
He couldn't understand that.
492
1275108
2024
21:29
I said, "We work together.
493
1277156
1786
21:30
This is the way we live in this city.
494
1278966
2579
21:33
I may never go to your house,
you may never come to my house.
you may never come to my house.
495
1281569
3047
21:36
But when it comes to working,
496
1284640
1634
21:38
like raising money
for this special school,
for this special school,
497
1286298
2761
21:41
we come together.
498
1289083
1810
21:42
That's what we do.
499
1290917
1278
21:44
And still here comes another, a woman,
500
1292219
2968
21:47
elegantly dressed,
501
1295211
1579
21:48
about a month ago in my kitchen.
502
1296814
2367
21:51
She said, "I don't understand
what I see in your dining room."
what I see in your dining room."
503
1299829
3889
21:56
I said, "What do you see?"
504
1304269
1667
21:57
She saw whites and blacks together.
505
1305960
2751
22:00
That's what we do.
506
1308735
1565
22:02
We meet. We talk.
507
1310324
1722
22:04
And we work together,
508
1312571
1706
22:06
and that's what we have to do.
509
1314301
1894
22:08
You don't have to be my best friend
to work to better your city,
to work to better your city,
510
1316219
3714
22:11
to better your country.
511
1319957
1681
22:13
We just have to come together and work,
and that's what we do in this city.
and that's what we do in this city.
512
1321662
3968
22:17
We're a weird bunch down here.
513
1325654
2198
22:19
(Laughter)
514
1327876
1222
22:21
Nobody understands us,
515
1329122
2357
22:23
but we feed you well.
516
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1587
22:25
(Laughter)
517
1333114
2247
22:27
(Applause)
518
1335385
4372
22:31
(Cheering)
519
1339781
1012
22:32
Thank you.
520
1340817
1163
22:34
(Applause)
521
1342004
5400
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Leah Chase - RestaurateurLeah Chase has spent the last seven decades serving her signature gumbo and hospitality to everyone from Martin Luther King Jr. to James Baldwin to Barack Obama.
Why you should listen
Leah Chase, named the "Queen of Creole Cuisine," has been the executive chef at Dooky Chase Restaurant in New Orleans since the 1940's. A longtime advocate for civil rights, her restaurant was a meeting place for the Freedom Riders and prominent civil rights activists, and one of the first places in the segregated south where blacks and whites could dine together. A lifelong resident of Louisiana, she is a patron of local artists, amassing a distinguished collection of African-American art displayed at Dooky Chase. The chef is widely considered to be a pioneer of soul food and an icon of American cooking.
Leah Chase | Speaker | TED.com
Pat Mitchell - Curator, connector, convener and advocate for women's leadership
Pat Mitchell is a lifelong advocate for women and girls, known for her work as a journalist, producer, television executive and curator.
Why you should listen
Pat Mitchell began her media career in print (at LOOK) and transitioned to television as opportunities opened up for women in the early 1970s. She was among the first women to anchor the news (WBZ-TV Boston) and host a morning talk show (Woman 74). She was the first woman to own, produce and host a national talk show, the Emmy-winning Woman to Woman, which also became the first television series to be placed in the archives of the Harvard-Radcliffe Schlesinger Library on the History of Women.
As the head of Ted Turner's documentary division, the programs she commissioned garnered 37 Emmys, five Peabodys and two Academy Award nominations. In 2000, she became the first woman President and CEO of the Public Broadcasting System. She led PBS through the transition to digital broadcasting, sustained government funding and added many new original series to the national schedule. As head of the Paley Center for Media in New York and Los Angeles, she guided an institution that leads discussion about the cultural, creative and social significance of media. Now as an independent consultant and curator, Mitchell advises foundations and corporations on issues of women’s empowerment and leadership development as well as media relations and governance. Mitchell is a trustee of the Skoll Foundation and Participant Media; chair of the Sundance Institute Board and Women's Media Center and a board member of the Acumen Fund.
In 2010, Mitchell launched and co-hosted the first TEDWomen and for the succeeding seven years, in partnership with the TED organization, Mitchell has curated and hosted TEDxWomen and TEDWomen conferences.
Pat Mitchell | Speaker | TED.com