2020 March on Washington Event Transcript

Speaker 1: (00:00)
Ken Rigmaiden, from IUPAT.

Ken Rigmaiden: (00:05)
IUPAT’s in the house, where you at? Somebody say something. I’m Ken Rigmaiden, general president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. We’re a building trades union. You may think it’s unusual for us to be here, but with me, growing up with a father, with a mother who looked like me, Black lives matter, don’t they? Black lives matter. Black lives matter. I stand on the shoulders of my father and all Black tradesman who fought for better wages and conditions. Without their fight, I wouldn’t be here today.

Ken Rigmaiden: (00:44)
Recently, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of IUPAT Local 1332. You may not think nothing much about that. That’s one of our unions that was a traditional African-American union, formed over a hundred years ago because they couldn’t be in the regular union. But a hundred years later, still up and fighting in a part of our organization. This is an opportunity for us because when I see the street, I don’t just see people who look like me, I see America, and this is our opportunity to go forward and our opportunity to grow, and our opportunity have the country that has the vision that we have, all lives matter. But Black lives matter on top, Black lives matter first. Somebody said it’s easy, Black lives matter.

Speaker 1: (01:50)
Seven bullets in a man’s back at point range, a knee pressed into a man’s neck for eight minutes. How much pain must Black people endure? When will justice prevail? When is enough, enough? There is pain in this country, in Louisiana and Texas, after another hurricane. In California, in the midst of raging fires across the country. Donald Trump with 180,000 people dead from COVID. And in so many families hearts, over the shouting of Jacob Blake, there is pain. So Reverend Sharpton, how many times over how many decades have I and my union, joined in this journey for justice? The ’63 march started as a labor march for jobs and justice. A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin invited Martin Luther King jr., to speak that day. And King said, “We’ve come to dramatize a shameful condition.”

Speaker 1: (03:09)
That shameful condition, prejudice, discrimination, economic inequality has not been cured, it’s been metastasized. Underfunded schools, voter suppression, substandard housing, healthcare and transportation, insufficient wages, high unemployment, discriminatory policing, mass incarceration. Black Americans, who whether from their higher rate of deaths from asthma or from COVID, have been struggling to breathe long before Eric Garner and George Floyd were suffocated at the hands of authorities.

Speaker 1: (03:51)
Justice and freedom must apply to all. The fight for opportunity and freedom must be all of our fights. And those of us who are White, we need to be real allies, real listeners and real supporters. My synagogue’s credo is the sum, and I quote, “That the stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” There is room for all of us, but we must call out those who cling so tightly to their privilege. That is an oppressive tool against equality.

Speaker 1: (04:36)
So, my friends, my colleagues, November 3rd is coming, we need to get in good trouble. We need to vote. We need to have hope. We need a president who will sign the bills that the house has passed, to make this country more fair, more just, more equal. That is our job this day and every day. Thank you.

Speaker 2: (05:08)
Will you recognize the postal union.

Speaker 3: (05:11)
Just acknowledge, don’t even speak [inaudible 00:05:12].

Speaker 1: (05:13)
And then. I also, as you all know, need to recognize the postal workers union.

Speaker 3: (05:21)
All right. All right. No time, no time.

Speaker 4: (05:23)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Let’s hear it for organized labor. Give them a round of applause. No time for them to speak, but the postal workers union is in the house, pray for postal workers. Our next speaker, in Obama administration served as assistant attorney general for civil rights, secretary of labor and now today, he is the chair of the democratic national committee, our friend and brother, please welcome Tom Perez.

Tom Perez: (06:05)
All right. Good afternoon! Thank you, reverend Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, for your extraordinary leadership. Thank you to the National Action Network.

Tom Perez: (06:16)
Folks, I live in Maryland, we lost a remarkable person last year, when my fellow Marylander and mentor Elijah Cummings passed away. And before he passed away, he reminded us all of our civic duty. He said, “When we’re dancing with the angels, the question will be asked, What did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact? Did we stand on the sidelines and say nothing or did we fight back? Did we fight back for justice? Did we fight back for equality? Did we fight back for Black lives?” By being here today, you’re answering all those questions, with a resounding yes. We are all fighting back, but our fight cannot end here, just as we marched to this mall, we must march to Congress, to the United States Senate in particular, to demand passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act.

Tom Perez: (07:26)
Just as we march to this mall, we must march to the ballot box or the mailbox to demand the leadership we deserve. And we must exercise the right that protects all others, the right to vote. As you well know, our nation is hurting right now. Our African-American communities are hurting. We’re hurting from a pandemic that has taken 180,000 lives. Hurting from an economic crisis that has cost millions of jobs, from a climate emergency that threatens the air we breathe and the water we drink. Hurting from an epidemic of violence and racism, a cancer of the soul. We’re hurting from a knee on their neck, a bullet in their back, hurting from leadership that treats them like their lives don’t matter.

Tom Perez: (08:19)
President Lincoln, you would not recognize today’s Republican party. Our African-American brothers and sisters are not alone. Dr. King spoke of the inescapable network of mutuality. In this moment of crisis, so many Americans are bound together in the mutual struggle for justice, dignity and opportunity from the Native American-tribes confronting the scourge of COVID and the delay of their stimulus funding, to Latin X children being separated from their parents at the border, to Asian-Americans facing hate fueled attacks, to working families across this country, struggling with poverty.

Tom Perez: (09:02)
We can change all of this, with the right leadership, we can heal our wounds. We can turn hardship into hope, despair into dreams. We can advance racial equality and restore the soul of our nation, but only if we do it together. Movements are built by the many, not the few. They’re built by the hard and unglamorous work of glass roots organizing. They’re built in the words of the late great Julian Bond, “By the marchers whose feet have grown tired, whose voices have gone hoarse, whose shirts have stained with sweat and dirt and blood.” John Lewis, as you know, left us with these marching orders. So go to iwillvote.com. Iwillvote.com, check your registration status. Tell your friends, family, and neighbors to make a plan to vote.

Tom Perez: (09:53)
Remember, November 3rd is the last day to vote, but it’s not the first day to vote. Make a plan, get out there, do not let your voice go unheard. Do not let your voice go uncounted. This is the most important election of our lifetime. And make no mistake, you have the power to decide the outcome. Thank you very much.

Kamala Harris: (10:19)
Today, we commemorate the 57th anniversary of the historic March on Washington for jobs and freedom. I was born into an activist family, with my parents, my aunts and uncles pushing me in a stroller through Bay Area streets, marching for justice, in the years following the March on Washington. This moment is a reminder, that we must always honor the sacrifice of the leaders who made that march happen. From the names we know like Randolph and Farmer, Young, and King. To everyone who worked behind the scenes and sacrificed quietly, but profoundly, far from the lights of history. I have to believe that if they were with us today, they would share in our anger and frustration, as we continue to see Black men and women slain in our streets and left behind by an economy and justice system that have too often denied Black folks our dignity and rights. They would share our anger and pain, but no doubt, they would turn it into fuel. They would be lacing up their shoes, locking arms and continuing right alongside us to continue in this ongoing fight for justice.

Thankfully, we don’t have to wonder if we are making them proud because a giant from that march and the civil rights era of that day, John Lewis, he lived to tell us how we’re doing. In his parting essay, he wrote to all of us who hoped to carry his legacy, “In the last days and hours of my life, you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story, when you used your power to make a difference in our society.” For Congressman Lewis, the brutal murder of Emmett Till is what shook loose the activist inside him. It was the start of a lifelong journey towards service and driving change. The same journey that countless young leaders are building upon as we speak. As John put it, “Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland, and Breonna Taylor.”

The road ahead, it is not going to be easy, but if we work together to challenge every instinct our nation has to return to the status quo, and combine the wisdom of long time warriors for justice, with the creative energy of the young leaders today, we have an opportunity to make history, right here and right now. So thank you so much for inviting me to celebrate with you. Let’s march on, in the name of our ancestors and in the name of our children and grandchildren. Thank you.

Speaker 4: (13:25)
Let’s hear it for Senator Kamala Harris. Our next speaker, is one of the legacy original organizations that was here in 1963, in the person of Whitney Young. Please welcome the former mayor of New Orleans, the president and CEO of the National Urban league, Mark Morial.

Mark Morial: (13:48)
Black lives matter. I want to thank Reverend Al Sharpton and the National Action Network, my friend and brother, as well as Martin Luther King III, for assembling us here on August 28th, in the year 2020.

In 1963, courageous men and women descended on this site, led by six legacy civil rights organizations, including the National Urban League. At that time, the National Urban League was led by one of the great Americans of the 20th century, Whitney M. Young, jr. He stated from this very place, at that time and on that day, on August 28th, 1963, that our civil rights, our voting rights, our rights to human dignity were not negotiable. We have come back on August 28th, in the year of 2020, in this 21st century, to say today, that our fight for racial justice is not negotiable. We are here today to say, that transforming our criminal justice system and purging it of mass incarceration and systemic racism, is not negotiable. That protecting our sacred right to vote from suppressors, be they legislators, be they presidents, be they Russians, is not negotiable. That defending our right to a living wage, so that every American can live in dignity, is not negotiable. That dislodging structural racism that infects every institution in American life, is not negotiable.

That equitably funding all of our schools, so all of our children can learn and providing them with computers and broadband connectivity and they can live and thrive with their God given talent, is not negotiable. That a fair and accurate census, so that all of us are counted in accordance with the Constitution, is not in 2020 negotiable. That eliminating the structural and shameful disparate impact of COVID-19 in 2020, is not negotiable. That reforming police, both police policies and police culture and reallocating funding to summer jobs for youth to mental health services, to homeless services and to end the violence against our Black men, is not negotiable.

Hands up. I can’t breathe. Hands up. Don’t shoot. In 1963, when they gathered on this site, brothers and sisters, just a few weeks before they gathered, that great Civil Rights leader, Medgar Evers was assassinated on the front lawn of his home in Jackson, Mississippi. At that time, they were fighting a poll tax, a literacy test, I should say, that did everything possible to prevent us from voting. In 2020, we come here when the very success of 1963, the Voting Rights Act has been gutted by the Supreme Court. We come in 2020, where Jacob Blake and George Floyd and Eric Garner and Tamir Rice and Trayvon Martin and Sandra Bland, and too many Black men and women, Breonna Taylor, have died or been disabled at the hands of the police.

So, we’re here to make some demands. Number one, we want the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act to pass now, not tomorrow, not next week, not next year, Say it, pass the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act. Number two, we want to pass the Heroes Act. Number three, we want to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. And number four, we want to pass HR-40 to look at reparations in this country. November 3rd, we will vote, we will vote. So, we will vote, if we have to go by bike [inaudible 00:18:52]. If we have to walk, if we have to run if we have to, we will vote.

Speaker 4: (18:55)
Let’s hear it for our brother Mark Morial, with the Urban League, nul.org. All right, here to introduce the man who is the namesake of the person who spoke here August 28th, 1963, here to introduce one of our men of the hour, Martin Luther King III, is none other than the Congressman representing the ninth congressional district of Texas, Congressman Al Green.

Congressman Al Green: (19:48)
Thank you everyone. It is now my honor to introduce a man whose name is synonymous with the civil rights, human rights movement. A man whose father stood here 57 years ago, a man who followed his father’s footsteps and I was there with him to India, where he traced the steps of Gandhi. A man who understands that this is a full-time job, he’s not a part-time freedom fighter. He’s not a every day freedom fighter, he’s an all the time freedom fighter. I’m here to introduce a man who’s a Morehouse graduate. A man who knows what it feels like to suffer the pains associated with the human rights movement.

Congressman Al Green: (20:38)
When he lost his father at the age of 10, he could have given up, but he didn’t. He stayed in and he has fought the good fight. I’m here to introduce the honorable Martin Luther King III, would you show him some love, please. If you believe in liberty and justice for all, stand up and show him some love. If you believe in government of the people by the people, stand up and show him some love. Show Martin some love. Show his father some love, his mother some love, his wife Arndrea some love, his daughter Yolanda, some love. Show them some love. God bless you. God bless the King family.

Martin Luther King III: (21:38)
Good afternoon. I am so honored to be here, but before I say something, I want you to hear from the future of our nation. The only granddaughter of Martin Luther King jr. and Coretta Scott King, my daughter and Arndrea’s daughter, Yolanda Renee King.

Yolanda Renee King: (22:05)
Should I move this? Okay. Some of you may remember, that two years, at the March for our Lives, I said, “Spread the word! Have you heard all across the nation, we are going to a great generation.” That was in 2018. I didn’t know what would hit us in 2020. A pandemic that shut our schools and put our young lives on hold. More killings of unarmed Black people by police. Attacks on our right to vote. The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression that we learned about in school. And more extreme weather than ever before. But great challenges produce great leaders. We have mastered the selfie and TikToks, now we must master ourselves. Less than a year before he was assassinated, my grandfather predicted this moment. He said that, “We were moving into a new phase of the struggle. The first phase was the civil rights, and the new phase is genuine equality.” Genuine equality, is why we are here today and why people are coming together all across the world, from New Zealand to New Jersey. He said, “That we must not forget the days of Montgomery. We must not forget the sit-in movement. We must not forget the freedom rides, the Birmingham movement and Selma.” Papa King, we won’t!

My generation has already taken to the streets peacefully and with masks and socially distance to protest racism. And I want to ask the young people here to join me in pledging that we have only just begun to fight. And that will be the generation that moves from me to we. We are going to be the generation that dismantles systemic racism once and for all, now and forever. We are going to be the generation that calls a halt to police brutality and gun violence, once and for all, now and forever. We are going to be the generation that reserves climate change and saves our planet, once and for all, now and forever. And we are going to be the generation that ends poverty here in America, the wealthiest nation on earth, once and for all, now and forever.

We are the great gems of our grandparents, great-grandparents and all our ancestors. We stand and march for love, and we will fulfill my grandfather’s dream. So, show me what democracy looks like, this is what democracy looks. Show me what democracy looks like.

Crowd: (25:39)
This is what democracy looks like.

Show me what democracy looks like.

Crowd: (25:39)

One last time. Show me what democracy looks like.

Crowd: (25:39)

Okay then, let’s show them.

I’m so proud of you. A proud dad. Let me thank God that we’ve been able to assemble today. And to thank Reverend Sharpton and the National Action Network, and all the [conveners 00:26:35] that actually are here today. And most of all, these families that have been impacted by police brutality and misconduct.

So, we’ve come to bear witness, to remain awake, to remember, from where we’ve come and to carefully consider where we are going. Whether you are here in person, online or watching on MSNBC and other networks. Thank you for joining us for this March on Washington. Together, we are taking a stand and we’re taking a giant step forward. Let me also thank Al Green for the very warm introduction, my dear friend. But we’re taking a step forward on America’s rocky but righteous journey towards justice. August 28th is the day to remember the triumphs and tragedies that have taken place in our historic struggle for racial justice. Today, we commemorate the March on Washington to jobs and freedom in 1963, where my father declared his dream. But we must never forget the American nightmare of racist violence exemplified when Emmett Till was murdered on this day in 1955 and the criminal justice system failed to convict his killers.

65 years later, we still struggle for justice, demilitarizing the police, dismantling mass incarceration and declaring indeterminately as we can that Black lives matter. In our struggle for justice, there are no permanent victories. For on this day 12 years ago, I was honored to address the democratic national convention in Denver. And on that night, in that evening in the Mile High City, our spirits were soaring as the Democrats nominated Barack Obama, who would go on to become the first African-American president of these United States. But the progress we celebrated then, is imperiled yet again. And now, we must march to the ballot box and the mailboxes, to defend the freedoms that earlier generations worked so hard to win. In so many ways, we stand together today in the symbolic shadow of history, but we are making history together right now.

We’re marching with the largest and most active multi generational multiracial movement for civil rights since the 1960s. From high school students to senior citizens, Black as well as White, Latino, Asian-American, Native-American, Pacific-Islanders. Americas are marching together, many for the first time and we’re demanding real lasting structural change. We are marching together for time honored goals and in timely ways. We are courageous, but conscious of our health, we are socially distant, but spiritually united. We are masking our faces, but not our faith and freedom. And we’re taking our struggle to the streets and to social media. The nation has never seen such a mighty movement of modern day inclination of what my father called the coalition of conscience. And if we move forward with purpose and passion, we will complete the work so boldly began in the 1960s.

We’re marching to overcome what my father called, were the triple evils of poverty, racism, and violence. And today, those evils have exacerbated four major challenges that currently face our country. First COVID-19, tragically has killed more than 175,000 Americans, disproportionately African-American and Latino and low-income people in every background. Second, more than 30 million Americans are unemployed, again, disproportionately people of color. COVID-19 has laid bare the structural and racial inequalities in our economy, that kept too many people trapped in the debt and poverty. Third, police brutality and gun violence are killing so many unarmed African-Americans.

Today, we march with their families and we say their names, George Floyd, Boreham Jean, Breonna Taylor, Eric Ghana, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Yousef Richardson, Terence Crutcher, Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, Elijah McLean, and so many of us. And fourth, our voting rights are under attack. We must vigorously defend our right to vote. because goes those rights were-

[inaudible 00:32:00] defend our right to vote because those rights were paid for with the blood of those lynched for seeking to exercise their constitutional rights. They were paid for with the blood of Civil Rights workers, such as Sammy Younge, Jr., Goodman, [inaudible 00:32:18] and Cheney, Jimmie Lee Jackson, Viola Luizzo, James Reeb. Those rights were paid for through the sacrifices made by heroes such as CT Vivian, Fannie Lou Hamer, Hosea Williams and John Lewis. But since the United States Senate has failed to renew the Voting Rights Act, we have had to overcome a whole new trick bags of tactics to suppress our votes, discriminatory voter ID requirements, cut backs in early voting and vote by mail, voter purges, targeting those who have missed several elections and disenfranchising those who have served their time and paid their debt to the society.

And now COVID-19 is making it dangerous, even deadly, to stand in line at polling places. We shouldn’t have to risk our lives to cast our votes. We need to be able to do what President Trump does, vote safely by mail. But now we are struggling to overcome the dismantling of the US Postal Service for the express purpose of suppressing our vote. With all these threats to our lives and liberties, our challenge is to use this moment to expand this movement. A movement that not only raises its voice, but cast its votes, pursues its vision and makes lasting change. The scripture says, “Where there’s no vision, the people perish.” Our vision as best expressed by a phrase we must never forget, that is the “beloved community.” With those words, my father, John Lewis, Ella Baker, Rosa Parks, and so many other historic women and men envision in America, whose dramatic practice is as good as its promise, as America where the triple evils of poverty, racism and violence will be replaced by peace, justice and shared abundance. And where hate and fear finally give way to help and love.

To achieve at America, we need to raise our voices and cast our votes over the weeks ahead, culminating on election day. We need to vote as if our lives and our livelihoods, our liberties depend on it because they do. No person, no people are more keenly aware of the risk of disenfranchisement than those who have suffered from it. There’s a knee upon the neck of democracy and our nation can only live so long without the oxygen of freedom. The strength must be exercised by more than [and 00:35:06] and more than marching. The simple challenge before us is that everyone can cast a ballot and everyone who can must cast a ballot. And that ballot that is cast must be counted and the result must be transparent and known to the whole world.

And so today I can call on everyone with the means to drive people to the polls, to make a plan for yourself, for your family and your neighbor, for those organizations and companies that care about democracy. I call on you today to offer your resources and your capacity to make sure every ballot is counted. If our forefathers were willing to die for the right to vote, we can work for the right to vote and I will continue to call on you to act in the coming days.

My father was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, while standing in solidarity with poor working people, sanitation workers who slogan, “I am a man,” was a statement that they were human beings with rights that should be respected and acknowledged. They were asking for safe working conditions, for a living wage, for recognition of their union and for human dignity. They summed up their struggle with those four words, “I am a man.” That simple, but powerful slogan empowers movements today from Black Lives Matter to Fight for 15 and to the Me Too struggle against sexual harassment and abuse.

Movements of marginalized Americans are still trying to claim the dignity they’ve been denied. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for the dignity of work. And that fight is never ending. In 1963, the March on Washington demanded jobs and freedoms. In 1968, the Memphis Sanitation Strike workers demanded, and the Poor People’s Campaign, insisted that working people should not live and labor in poverty. Those fights foreshadowed our struggle today to make the minimum wage, a living wage, not a poverty wage. And we are fighting alongside the frontline workers, sanitation workers, healthcare workers, grocery workers, transport workers, food service workers, and so many more. They are praised for being essential, but they are treated as if they’re expendable. While standing with sanitation workers in Memphis, dad said, “So often we overlook the work and the significance of those who are not in professional jobs, of those who are not in the so-called good jobs, but let me to say to you tonight, that whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and worth.” Now we have a president who confesses greatness with grandiosity, but my father knew better. “Everyone,” he said, “can be great because everyone can serve.” He understood the human yearning for recognition and in his famous speech, he explained that everyone wants to be a drum major, the leader of the marching band. And he challenged us to channel our drum major instinct into becoming drum majors for justice.

While we honor our history, we must be a living movement, not a monument. If dad were here today, I’m sure he would implore us not to deify him or selectively quote him when convenient. He would want us to be drama majors for justice, to champion ideals he promoted, racial justice, social equality, and peace. And he would gently, but intently challenge us not to dwell upon the past, but to live in labor and what he called the “fierce urgency of now.” If you’re looking for a savior, get up and find a mirror, we must become the heroes of the history we are making. And us means all of us.

In 1963, after my father spoke, Bayard Rustin, architect of the March, asked the participants to join the demand that Congress pass strong Civil rights and voting rights laws. One and half a century later, we must demand that the United States Senate stop blocking passage of the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Restoration Act. And so when we conclude today, let’s remember that this is the Commitment March.

In the spirit of 1963, I ask you to join me and pledging to act in three ways. First, because our civil and human rights are at stake in this election. I ask you not only to register and vote, to make sure that at least one other person registers and votes. Second, I ask you to commit to service and struggle in your community, from voter registration, to raising the minimum wage, to demilitarizing the police, get involved with one or more of many worthwhile struggles in your community. And third, I ask you to pledge as my father and John Lewis did to get into good trouble and do it nonviolently.

Remember, that in the fight against injustice, nonviolence doesn’t mean passive acceptance, it means peaceful resistance. We must come together and join with the Black Lives Movement to raise our voices and say, “Enough is enough.” We must come with the Poor People’s Campaign, the climate change and environmental justice movement, the Women’s March and Me Too movement, the Parkland students and a March For Our Lives and say, “Enough is enough.” Martin Luther King Jr. famously said that “The moral arc of the universe is long, but bends toward justice. But he was also the first to say that “It doesn’t bend in on it on its own.” We must do some work ourselves. In the final year of his life, he wrote in his last book, “Where do we go from here: chaos or community?” Well, my sisters and brothers and dear friends, in this defining moment for our history and our country, we must answer Dr. King’s question. Will our answer be chaos or community? I believe some have chosen the answer with chaos, including the current occupant in the White House today.

But we who believe must choose community because if we choose community, we can avoid watching the dream turn into a permanent nightmare. If we choose community 50 years from now, people will say that we were able to redeem the soul of America and began to fulfill the promise of democracy by systematically eliminating systematic racism and exploitation. My friends, if we choose community, we will be able to answer in the affirmative to the scripture, “Here comes that dreamer, come, let’s slay him, and we shall see what will become of his dream.”

Finally, this afternoon, I want to say to you, not only do I come as a protester, but I come as a victim. My daddy was killed when I was 10 years old. Gunned down, you know that, by an assassin’s bullet. Some of you know, but may not know, six years later, my daddy’s mother, my grandmother was gunned down in the church while player the Lord’s prayer. I understand what it means to lose a loved one, but I was so thankful that my grandfather and my mother and my aunts and uncles taught me about love. Because granddaddy used to say, “I refuse to allow any person to reduce me to hatred. The man that killed my lovely wife and the man that killed my son. I refuse to allow them even to reduce me to hatred. I love everybody. I’m every man’s brother.”

If we’re going to resolve these issues in America, we’ve got to come together. Dad talked about it in that sermon, Levels of Love. He talked about all of them. I’m only going to talk about the highest level of love. That love that seeks nothing in return. That love that is totally unselfish. You love someone if they’re young, you love them if they’re old, you love them if they’re black, you them if they’re white. You love them if they’re Native American, you love them if they are Hispanic or Latino American, you love them if they’re African, you love them if they’re Asian, you love them because you know that God calls you to do that. And if we’re going to resolve all of these conflicts and crises in America, we got to find the way to do it in love. Thank you and God bless you and let’s keep on keeping on.

Joy-Ann Reid: (44:22)
Hello, 57th March on Washington. I’m Joy-Ann Reid for MSNBC and I wish that I could be there with you today as Reverend Al Sharpton is my colleague, my friend, my off the record pastor and my big brother. I arrived in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York in 1986 at age 18, having left when I was two, it was an era when Black Lives Matter meant Michael Griffith, Yusef Hawkins, Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, Patrick Dorismond and Gavin Cato. It meant the Central Park Five and the replacement of New York City’s first black mayor, David Dinkins, with Giuliani time, a stay away if you’re black Bensonhurst and Howard Beach and Reverend Al Sharpton, who was the only one who seemed to know what to do and who cared enough to do it. A generation earlier, it was Jesse Jackson and before him, Dr. King, but for my generation, it was Reverend Al. Little did I know that many years later, I would get to know Rev as a local producer and host on Radio One when he was our big national host and that he would become my colleague at MSNBC and a great mentor, supporter and friend.

Joy-Ann Reid: (45:27)
Meanwhile, the National Action Network has never stopped working. Even has the names have changed to Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Tamir, Rice, Freddie Gray, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Jacob Blake. I marched with Rev in Selma when he pulled me to the front of the line so that I could be there to witness history and John Lewis’ second to last public appearance. And I’ve watched him nurture grieving families as they cry out for justice. He has marched on presidents and had presidents confide in him. He has inspired me to use my gifts to make real change and he has been our backstop and our defender in dark times. We know that when we call him, he will be there and he will do something and cause something to be done. 57th anniversary March on Washington, please join me in saluting our defender and my big brother, Reverend Al Sharpton.

Reverend Al Sharpton: (46:39)
No justice!

Crowd: (46:42)
No peace!

No justice!

Crowd: (46:46)
No peace!

No justice!

Crowd: (46:46)
No peace!

No justice!

Crowd: (46:47)
No peace!

What do we want?

Crowd: (46:47)
Justice.

Why do we want?

Crowd: (46:50)
Justice!

What do we want?

Crowd: (46:54)
Justice!

When do we want it?

Crowd: (46:57)
Now!

When do we want it?

Crowd: (46:58)
Now!

When do we want it?

Crowd: (47:00)
Now!

When do we want it?

Crowd: (47:02)
Now!

All right. 57 years ago in 1963, there was a struggle in Birmingham, Alabama. There was the assassination of Medgar Evers, the head of the Mississippi NAACP. In the middle of struggle and murder, they came to Washington to demand that the federal government give them a Civil Rights Act and voting rights. They marched that day in a hot blistering day like today, saying that as we struggle, we need legislation. And they stayed on that movement until they got the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. They came young and old. They came from the South. Many of them couldn’t stop on the road to use the bathroom because it was against the law, but they came anyhow. Many of them couldn’t stop and eat in a restaurant. They had to put sandwiches in a paper bag because no restaurant would serve down because he was against the law, but they came anyhow. Many of them couldn’t rest in a motel overnight, but they came anyway because it was against the law for them to stop. Because they came in ’63, we were able to come back in 2020, riding whatever we wanted to ride, stay in whatever hotels was available. They opened the door for us, but there are still some doors we have to open and some people we’ve got to straighten out. 2020… 2020, we must deal with those that want to rob our right to vote. And even though we are here in the midst of a pandemic, socially distancing, telling y’all to distance and keep saying spread out, we wanted to come to show what our bodies that enough is enough. When I was headed to George Floyd’s funeral, I talked with Martin III and I said, “Maybe we need to go back to Washington.” He said, “Well, let’s talk it out, Reverend Al.” As I was giving the eulogy I announced this march. We didn’t know how we were going to do it, how we were going to plan it, how many would come, but we did it.

Why are we in Washington? I’ve talked with one of the leading minds of our nation, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson. And he told me that, “Reverend Al, you’ve got to understand that until there’s federal legislation, every state will do what it wants to do.” We have passed in the House of Representatives the George Floyd Policing and Justice Act. Now, we need to pass that act in the Senate. We need Mitch McConnell and the US Senate to meet on the George Floyd Policing and Justice Act or we going to meet you senators at the polls in November 3rd, whether we’ve got the mail in, walk in, ride in, crawl in, we want our bill passed.

Several weeks ago, John Lewis, an outstanding Congressman, made his transition. Last time Martin and I were here, he was with us, John Lewis. He and Reverend Hosea Williams and Amelia Boynton were beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, teargassed. That led to the Selma to Montgomery March that got us the right to vote. And that right lasted until 2013, when they took and gutted out the middle of that bill taken away. The [inaudible 00:52:44]. When we come to Washington saying, “How do you memorialize John Lewis and allow the bill that he stood for us to die? We want the John Lewis Voting Rights Bill for the Congress.”

We didn’t just come today to have a show. Demonstration without legislation will not lead to change. We didn’t come out and stand in this heat because we didn’t have nothing to do. We come to let you know, if we will come out by these numbers in the heat and stand in the heat that we will stand in the polls all day long. They keep telling me about how it’s a shame that black parents have to have the conversation with our children. How we have to explain if a cop stops you, don’t reach for the glove compartment, don’t talk back. The conversation. Well, we’ve had the conversation for decades, it’s time we have a conversation with America. We need to have a conversation about your racism, about your bigotry, about your hate, about how you would put your knee on our neck while we cry for lives, we need a new conversation.

Oh, we didn’t come to start trouble. We came to stop trouble. You act like it’s no trouble to shoot us in the back. You act like it’s no trouble to put a choke hold on us while we scream, ” I can’t breathe,” 11 times. You act like it’s no trouble to hold a man down on the ground until you squeeze the life out of him. It’s time for a new conversation. I wondered why. I asked Dr. Dyson, “Why did they have the March at Lincoln’s Memorial? Why didn’t they go to the Jefferson Memorial? Why didn’t they go to the Washington Monument?” And he told me, “You got to understand, Reverend Al, 100 years before ’63, 1963, was 1863. 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” He promised us full citizenship if we fought to save the union. He promised us 40 acres and a mule. We never got the full citizenship. We never got the reparations. We come to Lincoln because you promised Mr. Lincoln and the promise has been broken. And we’ve come like Dr. King came 57 years ago to say, “We are tired of broken promises.”

Crowd: (56:30)
Tell it, tell it. [crosstalk 00:56:34] Tell it. Tell it.

Some say to me, “Reverend Al, y’all are to denounce those that get violent. Those that are looting.” All of the families have denounced looting. What we haven’t heard is you denounce shooting.

Crowd: (56:55)
Tell it, tell it. Tell them, Rev.

We will speak against the looting, but when will you speak against wrong police shooting?

Crowd: (57:11)
[inaudible 00:57:11] tell them, Rev.

I remember Reverend Dr. Wyatt T. Walker, Reverend W. Franklyn Richardson who spoke today and sat us down and said that after the Montgomery Boycott and they had gone to Albany, Georgia and the movement stalled because in Albany, they treated them with a certain kindness. They said they wanted to find someone that would demonstrate the raw disregard for rights. And as they did, they went all over the South. And Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth told them to come to Birmingham because there was a police chief there named Bull Connor and Bull Connor would act in am insensitive and brutal way. Well, in 1963 and 1964, they fought Bull Connor. Here we are in 2020, we’ve gone from Bull Connor to Bull Trump. We’ve gone from a mean spirited sheriff to a mean spirited president whose lips drink with the words of interposition and nullification.

We do not want to be disrespected. How do you speak while this young man, Jacob, lies in a hospital and you won’t call his name? How do you sit while Breonna Taylor’s in a grave and you won’t call her name? How do you sit while Eric Garner’s in the grave and you won’t call his name? How do you sit while George Floyd is laying in a grave and you won’t call his name? Well, Mr. Trump look right down the block from the White House. We’ve come to Washington by the thousands. We going to call their name. We going to call their name. We’ll never let America forget what you done. Call their names.

Crowd: (59:51)
Tell it Rev. Get it Rev. Tell it. My man, my man [crosstalk 01:00:01].

Reverend Al Sharpton: (01:00:07)
This is the time. This is the time for legislative change. This is the time for us to vote like we never voted before and don’t just vote for the top of the ticket, vote all the way down. Go down from the top to the bottom. Vote all the way to the dog catcher. We want to get rid of anybody that’s in our way because our parents died to give us the right to vote. You can mess with the mail, but it ain’t the sacrifice that Goodman and Chaney and Schwerner gave. Our vote is dipped in blood. Our vote is dipped in those that went to their grave. We don’t care how long the line. We don’t care what you do. We’re going to vote not for one candidate or the other, but we going to vote for a nation that will stop the George Floyds, that’ll stop the Breonna Taylors.

They say when George Zimmerman was acquitted for the murder-

Crowd: (01:01:28)
Please, take three steps back. Three steps back.

When he was acquitted for the murder of Trayvon Martin, three young genius sisters wrote the slogan, Black Lives Matter and it resonated. Why did it resonate? Because too long you acted like we didn’t matter. They said, “Well, everybody matters,” but everybody hasn’t mattered the same in America. Reason we had and still have to say Black Lives Matter is because we get less healthcare like we don’t matter. We go to jail longer for the same crime like we don’t matter.

Crowd: (01:02:22)
That’s right, tell it.

We get poverty, unemployment, double the others like we don’t matter. We’re treated with disrespect by policemen that we pay their salaries like we don’t matter. We figured we’d let you know whether tall or short, fat or skinny, light skin to dark skin, Black Lives Matter and we won’t stop until it matters to everybody.

Crowd: (01:02:55)
Tell it. [crosstalk 01:03:05].

Let the sister, if she want to hold up her fist, leave her alone.

Crowd: (01:03:20)
Beautiful.

Let me say, as we hear from some of the victims and as we get ready to march over to the King Memorial, 1963, Dr. King talked about he had a dream. Today, we heard from his heir and his son, Martin Luther King III, his beautiful wife, Arndrea-

… King, the third, his beautiful wife, Andrea, and his granddaughter Yolanda, and they are in their bloodline, the children and grandchildren of the dreamer. But we come in the same spiritual lineage because I want this country to know that even with your brutality, you can’t rob us of our dreams. Your bigotry can’t rob us of our dreams because we’ve always had the dream beyond our circumstance. We always had the dream of being what we were not allowed to be. We are the dream keepers, which is why come today black and white and all races and religions and sexual orientations to say this dream is still alive. You might’ve killed the dreamer, but you can’t kill the dream because truth crushed to earth shall rise again. We going to rise, never to fall again. We going to stand up even when our legs are tired. We going to make this dream come true. [crosstalk 01:05:29]

Let me say this. Let me say this as we close. [crosstalk 01:05:45] Shh, I want everybody to be orderly. Let me say this. [crosstalk 01:05:56] We all should leave here committed to keeping this dream alive. I want everybody that went to the website of Nationalactionnetwork.net, that wants to help us on election day, be poll Watchers to protect our vote, I want you that we’ll be signing up, early voting starts in two weeks. We on a non-partisan way, want to put people all over this country. They want to suppress our vote. We’ve got to have foot soldiers that will protect the vote, and that will be out there. And I want you to say to yourself that you could have been so much more. You had ideas and dreams, not only as a race, but as a person, but society had their knee on your neck.

We could have developed and been as successful as others, but society had their knee on our neck, but we not going to lay and submit no more. We’re not going to take it. Some have different tactics, but we all are rising up. You going to get your knee off our neck. If we got to March every day, if we got a vote every day, we will get your knee off our neck. Enough is enough. Enough is enough. Enough is enough. No justice…

Audience: (01:07:36)
No peace.

No justice.

No peace.

No justice.

No peace.

No justice.

No peace.

All right. I want y’all to back up. I want y’all to bring to my left is the mother of Breonna Taylor. [crosstalk 01:08:01] Where the other families? [crosstalk 01:08:02] Where they at? [crosstalk 01:08:06] Say her name. [crosstalk 01:08:14] Say her name. [crosstalk 01:08:16] Say her name. [crosstalk 01:08:18] Say her name. [crosstalk 01:08:21] Let us hear from Tamika, the mother of Breonna Taylor.

Tamika: (01:08:27)
[crosstalk 01:08:27] Hi, everybody. [crosstalk 01:08:44] First, I just want to thank everybody who’s been in support of getting justice for Breonna Taylor. [crosstalk 01:08:56] Second, I got to thank Louisville, Until Freedom, my family, and most importantly, Kenneth Walker for coming out here and continuing to say her name louder. [crosstalk 01:09:18] What we need is change, and we’re at a point where we can get that change, but we have to stand together. We have to vote. [crosstalk 01:09:27] I’m good. [crosstalk 01:09:35] Yeah. [crosstalk 01:09:43] That’s right.

Speaker 5: (01:09:45)
[crosstalk 01:09:45] Say her name.

Breonna Taylor.

Speaker 5: (01:09:45)
Say her name.

Breonna Taylor. [crosstalk 01:09:56] Breonna Taylor.

[crosstalk 01:10:03] Say her name. [crosstalk 01:10:12] Say her name.

Breonna Taylor.

Say her name.

Breonna Taylor.

All right, wait a minute. Shh. I brought Mr. Lincoln all of the broken promises. We all stopped. When a man was killed with a knee on his neck, narrated his own death on videotape and didn’t know they were recording, but his death has been the impetus of a global movement. I bring you his brother, the brother of George Floyd, Philonise Floyd.

[crosstalk 01:11:04] George Floyd, George Floyd, George Floyd.

Philonise Floyd: (01:11:16)
[crosstalk 01:11:16] George Floyd.

[crosstalk 01:11:19] George Floyd, George Floyd, George Floyd.

[crosstalk 01:11:27] All right, thank y’all. [crosstalk 01:11:33] My sister, Bridgett, my attorney, Tony Romanucci, my wife, [Kita 00:07:44], my sister, Tanya, my nephew, Brandon.

Speaker 6: (01:11:53)
Your brother, Terrence.

Okay. [crosstalk 01:11:55] All right. I’m so overwhelmed right now with everybody’s here right now. [crosstalk 01:12:03] Hey, I wish George was here to see this right now. [crosstalk 01:12:16] That’s what we’re marching for. I’m marching for George, for Breonna, for Ahmad, for Jacob, for Pamela Turner, for Michael Brown, Trayvon and anybody else who lost their lives or to evil. Man. [crosstalk 01:12:50] All right, man. [crosstalk 01:12:52].

George Floyd.

[crosstalk 01:12:58] I got you. [crosstalk 01:13:04] It’s never been more clear than change right now is happening right now because we demand it.

[crosstalk 01:13:18] No justice. No peace.

[crosstalk 01:13:22] Everyone here has made a commitment because they wouldn’t be here for no other reason right now. It’s hot, and I know it’s hot, but as of now, we here because we have been fried right now, man. [crosstalk 01:13:39] Man, [inaudible 01:13:48], I’m trying. [crosstalk 01:13:52] I’m good. [crosstalk 01:13:52] I got it. [crosstalk 01:13:55] I got it. [crosstalk 01:14:07].

I can’t breathe; I can’t breathe.

[crosstalk 01:14:07] As of now, everybody out here right now, our leaders, they need to follow us while we’re marching to enact laws to protect us. Man, it’s hard, man. It’s really hard. I’m so sorry, man. [crosstalk 01:14:35].

We got y’all back, man. We got y’all back.

[crosstalk 01:14:46] I can’t, man. [crosstalk 01:14:49] My brother, George, he’s looking down right now. He’s thankful for everything that everybody is doing right now. Y’all showing a lot of empathy and passion and I’m enjoying every last bit of it right now. If it weren’t for y’all, I don’t know where I’d be right now because y’all are keeping me running. I have to advocate for everybody, man, because right now, Jacob Blake, it’s hard just to talk right now. Shot seven times, man, with his kids, that’s painful. [crosstalk 01:15:32] I’m done.

[crosstalk 01:15:37] No peace. No justice. No peace.

Bridgett Floyd: (01:15:41)
[crosstalk 01:15:41] I’m Bridgett Floyd, George Floyd’s sister. [crosstalk 01:15:54] I want you guys to ask yourself right now, how will the history books remember you? What will be your legacy? Will your future generations remember you for your complacency, you’re inaction, or will they remember you for your empathy, your leadership, your passion, for weeding out the injustices and evil in our world? You know, Martin Luther King stood here 57 years ago.

Tell it.

And he told the world his dream, but I don’t think y’all know that we’re here right now and have the power to make it happen. I don’t think y’all hear me, but we have to do it together. We have to do it together for our generations to come, our children. My brother cannot be a voice today. We have to be that voice. We have to be the change and we have to be his legacy. Thank you from the Floyd family.

[crosstalk 01:17:29] George Floyd. George Floyd. George Floyd. [crosstalk 01:17:41]

Say his name.

George Floyd.

[crosstalk 01:18:11] You got your phone? Let’s go. [crosstalk 01:18:20] We going this way? Oh, okay. [crosstalk 01:18:27].

Because we’re going to line up for the march. [crosstalk 01:18:39] Now, shh, wait a minute. Y’all are too close to each other. Y’all stretch your arms out and stretch out now. I know we outside and you got on a mask, but don’t get that close. Y’all spread your arms and social distance. Y’all too tight up here. [crosstalk 01:18:58]

Male: (01:19:01)
Bring up the next family.

Male: (01:19:03)
Next family, let’s go. [Crosstalk 01:19:03] They’re telling me to bring up the next family so we need to move. [crosstalk 01:19:09]

A few days ago, [crosstalk 01:19:19]. Okay. All right, go ahead. Go ahead. [Crosstalk 01:19:24] Yeah, go ahead, follow me. [crosstalk 01:19:24] Okay, go ahead, Quincy. [crosstalk 01:19:32] Come on, sisters. [crosstalk 01:19:33] Give a hand, the Floyd family, as we get ready. [crosstalk 01:19:45] Please, have one speaker. [crosstalk 01:19:49] Shh. [crosstalk 01:19:59] Y’all are too loud. Why are you screaming? [crosstalk 01:20:09] Now, a few days ago I got a call and talked to a father whose son was shot in Kenosha, Wisconsin, seven times in the back. While he was running into his car, policemen had the edge of his tee shirt. There was no weapon in his hand. There was no threat to the policemen. By law, a policeman should only use deadly force when they are under life extenuating circumstance. What could have been the circumstance when a man’s running away from you? What could have been the circumstance when a man is trying to get in his car?

Now they say they may have found a knife in his car. Well, did they examine the police to see if they had x-ray vision to see through the car door? When he shot him, he didn’t know what was in the car. What he knew was that a black man seems to be expendable. And we come to say, “We are no longer expendable. We are going to demand justice.” [crosstalk 01:21:55] His mother and father are both here. His mother got a little heat exhaustion and is sitting in the tent, but I bring you the father of this young man who we are all rallying for. This is Jacob’s daddy, who said to me, “I’m going to fight for my son. I’m going to fight for justice.” Let’s welcome to the platform Jacob Sr.

Male: (01:22:28)
Hey, we need to make way. [ crosstalk 00:01:22:32].

Jacob Blake, say his name.

Jacob Blake.

Say his name.

Jacob Blake.

Say his name.

Jacob Blake.

Say his name.

Jacob Blake.

Male: (01:22:45)
[crosstalk 01:22:45] She’s going to say something for her mother.

His sister’s going to first speak for the mother who’s here in the tent.

Speaker 7: (01:23:00)
America, unapologetically, I am here to tell you in front of the world that you got the right one. God has been prepared me. America, your reality is not real. Catering to your delusions is no longer an option. We will not pretend. We will not be your docile slave. We will not be a footstool to oppression. Most of all, we will not dress up this genocide and boo and call it police brutality. We will only pledge allegiance to the truth. Black America, I hold you accountable. You must stand. You must fight, but not with violence and chaos, with self-love. Learn to love yourself, Black people. Unify. Group economics. Black women, you are your brother’s keeper. I know it’s heavy, but forgive him and heal. His manhood was taken from him a long time ago. Build him up. Black children, read, learn, grow, and live and question everything. Black men, stand up. Stand up, Black men. Educate yourself and protect the Black family unit. Period.

Jacob Blake, Sr.: (01:25:01)
[crosstalk 01:25:01] No justice.

No peace.

No justice.

No peace.

No justice.

No peace.

Jacob Blake.

Jacob Blake.

Jacob Blake.

Jacob Blake.

Jacob Blake.

Jacob Blake.

There are two systems of justice in the United States. There’s a white system and there’s a black system. The black system ain’t doing so well, but we’re going to stand up. Every black person in the United States is going to stand up. We’re tired. I’m tired of looking at cameras and seeing these young black and brown people suffer. We’re going to hold court today. We’re going to hold court on systematic racism. We’re going to have court right now. Guilty.

Yeah.

Guilty.

Guilty.

Guilty.

Guilty.

Racism against all of us. Guilty.

Guilty.

Guilty.

Guilty.

Racism against Trayvon Martin. We find them guilty.

Guilty.

Racism against George Floyd. We find them guilty.

Guilty.

Racism against Jacob Blake, Abdul Dwolla. If I said the name wrong, Allah, forgive me. Guilty.

Guilty.

And we’re not taking it anymore. I ask everyone to stand up. No justice.

No peace.

No justice.

No peace.

I met this man when I was seven years old. How did I know I was going to meet this man again in these circumstances? I truly did not want to come and see y’all today for these reasons. My father was in town for the first march on DC.

That’s right.

I have a duty. I have a duty to support and understand each one. I love everybody in this crowd. I love you. If nobody told you today, big Jake loves you.

Male: (01:27:35)
We love you too.

But we going to stand up, baby. We’re going to stand up together. I need your strength. Big daddy’s legs ain’t that good anymore. I need your strength. No justice.

No peace.

No justice.

No peace.

I love y’all. [crosstalk 01:27:58]

I want to bring Attorney B’Ivory LaMarr who represents these families. Then I want Attorney Stuart to come, who represents others. There are many families here, and I think we should hear from a few more before we march to the King Memorial. [crosstalk 01:28:24]

B’Ivory LaMarr: (01:28:28)
Good afternoon, DC. I’m attorney B’Ivory LaMarr. I represent the Joel Acevedo family who was killed in the city of Milwaukee by a off duty officer, before George Floyd, and was strangled for 10 minutes. I also represent the family of Jacob Blake, who was unhumanly just killed, shot seven times, but he lives today. At this time, I want to just thank Reverend Al Sharpton and the National Action Network for having this event here today, because action is what we’re here for. I’m going to tell you right now, we tired of talking. We tired of talking. We tired of playing games. 2020 is the year that America is going to be put on timeout. We thank the Milwaukee Bucks [crosstalk 01:29:36] and all the NBA teams who sacrificed their game for this special cause. We thank the Major League Baseball, we think all the actors, entertainers, celebrities across this country who utilize their platform for justice.

Today, I just want to let you know, this is the last season of the police version of How to Get Away With Murder. [crosstalk 01:30:05] We know your playbook; we know your plays. Step one, claim that you in fear. Find an object or an action to say that you in fear, so you can justify killing a black or brown person. Step two, assassinate that black or brown person, and then step three, you assassinate his character. Then after, you get to step four. You delay your investigation. You exaggerate it. You got the video that takes 20 seconds to watch, but you’ll take two, three, four, five, six months to say you’re still investigating. And then when you call it uproar around our community, then you attack our protesters that are gathering peacefully, and take any extreme and use tear gas against them.

I want to let you know we here today because game is over. This time out is not in vain. We know your plays and it’s over. It is training day for police officers and law enforcement agencies across the country. It is training day. If you don’t train your officers on the standard operating procedures and get them racial bias training, the great civil rights lawyers in this country will hold you accountable and I’m going to let you know right now, it’s not going to be cheap because Black lives matter. I want to thank you right now all across this country for standing up for justice, standing up for this very important cause. The time is now to take change and we not going to stop until we get it. And we going to shut it down if we don’t get it. If we don’t get it…

Shut it down.

If we don’t get it…

Shut it down.

Thank you. [crosstalk 01:32:08].

Two minutes. Two minutes [crosstalk 01:32:11].

Now I’m going to bring up the family of Joel Acevedo, another case in the state of Wisconsin when an officer strangled a innocent man for 10 minutes.

Speaker 8: (01:32:21)
Set us free. We need to be free. We are free people. I come down here to let everyone know that these governments know as well, that we have rights. And if there’s not going to be no justice, there’s never going to be no peace. I love that this is what God wants our brothers and sisters to stand in one and unity with the Hispanics, Asians, every different nationality that is standing for right. Joel Acevedo did not deserve to die. He was my son invited to a police party where there was drugs and alcohol. The city of Milwaukee’s been hiding this case. They choked him for over 10 minutes and at the officer’s house, Michael [Malleoli 00:29:27], along with his two accomplishes that they want to use as witnesses, Andrew Jakosky and Eric… Mr. Peterson, I tell you right now, America, wake up because you’re going to get a rude awakening and we come against you, Satan, in the name of Jesus Christ. We stand for what’s right. Thank you. I love you all.

As we bring on Attorney Stewart and the family of Ahmaud Arbery, hold it. We trying to get everybody in, as we get the next set of family members to come forward and then prepare to march to the King Memorial. Many athletes and artists have stood for justice. One of them said, “I’m coming to sing for the family.” May we hear from internationally acclaimed artist, BeBe Winans.

Male: (01:34:50)
[crosstalk 01:34:50] I’ve been watching though for a half hour. Y’all think I’m blind? [crosstalk 01:34:53].

Speaker 9: (01:34:52)
No justice.

No peace. [crosstalk 01:35:06] No justice. No peace. No justice. No peace.

Speaker 9: (01:35:21)
This song I wrote after the death of Freddie Gray. My son at the time was 15 years old, and all I remember was seeing my son eyes in Freddie’s eyes. And I went to the piano and I wrote a song, not just for my son, but for every son and every daughter that’s represented. Black lives matter. I said black lives matter. Black lives…

Matter. [crosstalk 01:36:01]

[crosstalk 01:36:05] Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter.

Bebe Winans: (01:38:03)
(singing)

Chris Stewart: (01:42:14)
I’m attorney Chris Stewart with attorney Justin Miller, and I bring you words and thanks for the support that y’all have given us in all of our cases. On behalf of Gianna Floyd, the daughter of George Floyd, on behalf of Rayshard Brooks, and Tamika Brooks is in the crowd, on behalf of Walter Scott and Alton Sterling and all of the other names. The support is because of the community here, because of Rev, because of Lee Merritt, because of Ben Crump, because of all of the people that are standing up and fighting.

57 years ago, we were standing right here trying to fight poverty and oppression. That illness has not changed. There have been no vaccine for racism. There’s been no quarantine for police brutality. And that’s what we’re here for today, because we are all the cure. All of these families up here, their children are not victims. They’re the vaccine. Thank you for your support. Continue to fight, because without you we’re nothing.

Let us hear. Attorney Meritt is bringing the sister of Botham Jean, killed by a police woman who says she thought it was her house. Let us hear from his sister. [crosstalk 01:43:41]

Alissa Findley: (01:43:45)
Hello, everyone. My name is Alissa Findley. I first wanted to thank the National Action Network.

Louder.

I would like to thank the National Action Network, Reverend Al Sharpton, and Martin Luther King the 3rd for organizing and convening this march. Both Botham Jean is my brother. September 6th marks two years since I last heard his voice, heard his laugh, two years since my family has felt whole, because September 6th will be two years since Amber Guyger shot my brother through his heart.

Botham died while I was sitting at his home eating ice cream and watching football. He was minding his own business. Since then, I have been on a mission to seek reform to the severely broken justice system because both of them would still be alive today. Instead, we are nine days away from the second anniversary of his murder. Two years of saying his name and Antoine Rose’s name, 10 years of seeking justice for DJ Henry, four years of saying Terence Crutcher’s name, saying Shantel Davis, Delron Small, Sandra Bland, Atatiana Jefferson, and so many others.

I am tired of learning new names, adding two hashtags to an already long list of victims of police terror. We cannot allow our brothers and sisters to only be remembered for how they died. We need to continue to push for change so that their lives were not taken in vain. We are all in this together. We are our brothers and sisters keeper. Thank you.

[crosstalk 01:45:40] wanted to hear. [crosstalk 01:45:41]

Speaker 10: (01:45:40)
Go ahead and give a little introduction there. This is her right here.

The mother of Ahmaud Arbery, young man jogging shot down in cold blood in Georgia, Brunswick, Georgia. Give Wanda a big hand.

Wanda: (01:46:03)
I stand before you as the proud mother of Ahmaud Arbery. I’m carrying a very broken heart, but also a grateful heart that God chose my son, Ahmaud Aubrey, to be a part of this most huge movement. I do believe if we continue to stand and fight together that we will get change.

That’s right.

Wanda: (01:46:39)
Sadly, we have these type of tragic events far too often, but I want each of you to, please, don’t forget their names. Please let their names live forever. I want to share three words with you that I know Ahmaud would want me to share with you as well. And that is, I love you. I love you all for standing with us.

We love you.

Wanda: (01:47:16)
I also want you guys to help me chant his name and maybe he’ll hear it in the heavens. Say his name.

Ahmaud Arbery.

Wanda: (01:47:28)
Say his name.

Ahmaud Arbery.

Wanda: (01:47:30)
Thank you, and I love you.

Ahmaud Arbery. Say his name. Ahmaud Arbery. Say his name. Ahmaud Arbery. Say his name. Ahmaud Arbery. Say his name. Ahmaud Arbery. [crosstalk 01:47:31]

I’ve got to move [crosstalk 01:47:37].

Lee Meritt: (01:47:37)
I can skip. I can skip. [crosstalk 01:47:38] yeah. You don’t have to do me. [crosstalk 01:47:40].

You spoke, man.

No.

Oh, go ahead.

One minute.

Bebe Winans: (01:47:46)
Let us hear from attorney Lee Meritt.

Black power.

Black power.

I said, black power.

Black power.

Black power.

Black power.

Look, we can not be afraid to say, black power. You cannot say that black lives matter if you don’t believe in black power. Black power.

Black power.

The only way we stop this from happening is when we begin to exercise our own power. I’ve been hearing a lot from the Republican National Convention all week, and they keep telling me that this man freed the slaves. Let me tell you something. Lincoln didn’t free no slaves, we freed the slaves. We free ourselves when we fight for ourselves and we fight for ourselves through black power. Say it with me, black power.

Black power.

Black power.

Black power.

Say their names. Atatiana Jefferson.

Atatiana Jefferson.

Jamelle Roberson.

Jamelle Roberson.

Ahmaud Arbery.

Ahmaud Arbery.

Botham Jean.

Botham Jean.

Oscar Grant.

Oscar Grant.

Sylville Smith.

Sylville Smith.

Deandre [inaudible 01:49:06].

Deandre [inaudible 01:49:10].

Terence Crutcher.

Terence Crutcher.

It’s so many names, we can’t say them all. But listen, when we say black power, that means it all. So, one more time so they hear you in the White House, black power.

Black power.

Let us hear from the father of Ahmaud Arbery.

No, I’m not.

[crosstalk 01:49:36] y’all ask one more time.

Marcus Arbery Sr: (01:49:41)
One thing, I just want to thank God for all support for my son and his mother. I just want to say, it’s been a hard road, because my boy been lynched by three white man, and it been a hard road for me and my family. And I sometime find myself saying, “I can’t believe it,” but it’s real, because I sit back. I’m used to my boy calling me very day and telling me he love me, and sometime I be like, “Wow, he forgot to call me.” And it just ain’t’ real. I can’t believe it. So I sit back and say, “My boy gone. He’s not coming back.” So me and this family got to be his voice now. And we got to keep on fighting, and I’m going to fight. Because, I’m able to fight them. I’m not going to stop, because God called me home. Right. More power to the people, and thank y’all

Ahmaud Arbery.

Speaker 11: (01:50:59)
Can we also say the name, Trayvon Martin?

Trayvon Martin.

Speaker 11: (01:51:01)
Trayvon Martin.

Trayvon Martin.

Speaker 11: (01:51:04)
Trayvon Martin.

Trayvon Martin.

Speaker 11: (01:51:08)
Please welcome Trayvon Martin’s mother, our hero, our she-ro, Sybrina Fulton. Here she comes, Trayvon Martin, Trayvon Martin.

Trayvon Martin.

Speaker 11: (01:51:32)
Trayvon Martin

Trayvon Martin.

Speaker 11: (01:51:32)
Trayvon Martin.

Trayvon Martin

Speaker 11: (01:51:32)
Sybrina Fulton.

Sybrina Fulton: (01:51:38)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I just want to say, even though we’re going through a crisis, even though it looks dark, I want to tell you to be encouraged. I want to tell you in spite of what we go through, be strong, stand tall, be encouraged. Don’t stop saying Black Lives Matter. Don’t stop peaceful protesting. Don’t stop praying. Don’t stop you uniting, stand together.

Sybrina Fulton: (01:52:11)
This is what this is about. We was built for this, and last but not least, I want to leave with you my favorite Bible verse. It’s proverbs 3:5-6, and it says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean, not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct your path. So regardless of what you’ve gone through, trust in God. He’s the only thing that matters. Stand up, people. Stand up. We was built for this. Keep fighting.

Speaker 11: (01:52:50)
Amen. Trayvon Martin.

Trayvon Martin.

Speaker 11: (01:52:54)
Trayvon Martin.

Trayvon Martin.

Speaker 11: (01:52:59)
Let’s give a round of applause to Sybrina Fulton, all of these families for their strength and their courage. Another brother who the NYPD killed, Eric Garner. I can’t breathe.

I can’t breathe.

Speaker 11: (01:53:12)
I can’t breathe.

I can’t breathe.

Speaker 11: (01:53:16)
I can’t breathe.

I can’t breathe.

Speaker 11: (01:53:21)
We have now, Eric Garner jr. And if you all would let her make her way to the rostrum, Eric Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr. Come on, Eric Garner jr., give him a round of applause. I can’t breathe.

I can’t breathe.

Speaker 11: (01:53:41)
I can’t breathe.

I can’t breathe.

Eric Garner jr.: (01:53:43)
It’s been six years since my father words became our words. We have to make a change. I’m challenging the young people to go out and vote. It’s possible for a change. We just have to put in the work, go out and find out what we have to do and what people we have to vote in to make a change. We’re here to march peacefully. I don’t want to see no looting. I don’t want to see no nothing. Just march peacefully. I’m Eric Garner jr. That’s my message.

Speaker 11: (01:54:26)
Hold on.

Speaker 12: (01:54:26)
Stefan [crosstalk 01:54:28].

Speaker 11: (01:54:28)
We have the mother of Oscar Grant, ladies and gentlemen, just a word quickly, please. What’s your name? [crosstalk 01:54:38] Wanda Johnson, ladies and gentleman.

Wanda Johnson.

Wanda Johnson: (01:54:40)
Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

I want you to know that this race is not given to the swift nor to the strong, but to the one who endures . And we are a fighting people. Michael 6:8 says, ” What does the Lord require of you? To walk humbly and justly.” And when we think about justice, as a people, we have not received the justice that we deserve, and it’s going to require each and every one of us to continue to band together, to continue to march, to continue to protest, to continue to call the unjustices unjust.

And you as a people, we as a people can make it happen. We can change some of the laws that are before us. If we band together, I have with me, my brothers, Cephus Johnson, uncle Bobby, and we are here to fight till the end, because we know from Oscar’s case, only 11 months in the County jail. Where is the justice? Where is the justice? We look at Liberty, and Liberty is imbalanced. And until we as a people begin to fight like we’re fighting on today, like Martin Luther King had that dream. So, we must have the dream that we’re going to see equality of all people, I am Oscar Grant.

Cephus Johnson: (01:56:15)
Say his name.

Oscar Grant.

Say his name.

Oscar Grant.

Say his name.

Oscar Grant.

Say his name.

Oscar Grant.

Louder, say his name.

Oscar Grant.

All right, we love y’all.

Speaker 11: (01:56:31)
We got a couple more out of respect. We just need everyone to bring very grief greetings so we can line up to march. The mother of Dontre Hamilton, give her a round of applause.

Speaker 13: (01:56:49)
The people have the power. [crosstalk 01:56:53] We will show up on November the 3rd to take our country back. We will show up November the 3rd to take our family back. I am Dontre Hamilton’s mother. He was shot 14 times for sleeping in a park. I will never stop fighting for you. Let’s fight together. Vote. [crosstalk 01:57:41]

Speaker 11: (01:57:35)
Sisters and brothers.

Speaker 13: (01:57:43)
My grandmother is here.

Speaker 11: (01:57:45)
Where is she? Sisters and brothers, let me just say this. The problem is the police have killed so many of us there’s not even enough time for us to hear from every family, but I’m going to acknowledge the families that are around me, just acknowledge who’s here. The family of Stephon Clark is here. Hold your fist up, brother. The family of Michael Brown is here.

Speaker 14: (01:58:14)
Leslie.

Speaker 11: (01:58:15)
There’s Leslie. Come stand next to me, just so people can see you. The family of Seville Smith is here.

Speaker 14: (01:58:23)
Terence Crutcher.

Speaker 11: (01:58:24)
The family, Terence Crutcher’s twin sister is here. Who am I leaving out?

David Jones.

Speaker 11: (01:58:34)
David Jones is here. [crosstalk 01:58:36] Am I leaving anybody out? [crosstalk 01:58:40] Who? Phillip Pannell, the family of Phillip Pannell.

Antwon Rhodes.

Speaker 11: (01:58:48)
Antwon Rhodes, [crosstalk 01:58:53].

Montez [inaudible 01:58:53].

Speaker 11: (01:58:53)
Montez [inaudible 01:58:54] Are you his mother? The mother of Montez [inaudible 01:58:59]. [crosstalk 01:58:59]

Emmanuel Lee from [crosstalk 01:59:00] Washington.

Speaker 11: (01:59:00)
Emmanuel Lee. You see all the names that are being called. [crosstalk 01:59:08]

Stephon Clark. Yeah, there you go.

Speaker 11: (01:59:10)
We want to pray for all of these families.

Pamela Turner.

Speaker 11: (01:59:14)
Pamela Turner.

Tamir Rice.

Speaker 11: (01:59:17)
Tamir Rice. Please. Niles Arrington. Please. Please follow the instructions of the marshals and begin to line up to my right [crosstalk 01:59:32]-

Stephon Clark: (01:59:32)
Leslie’s going to speak.

Speaker 11: (01:59:32)
As we begin to march. You all right with one more, Leslie? Everybody good?

Leslie’s going to speak. Yeah, then Stephon Clark going to speak.

Speaker 11: (01:59:38)
Nope, I’m not doing all that.

We doing too.

Speaker 11: (01:59:40)
No we’re not. We’re not going to do any …

Yes we is.

Speaker 11: (01:59:43)
No, no. We can’t do it, brother. There’s no time. We got to March. We got to March. You’re on TV, though, brother Stephon. You’re on TV.

[crosstalk 01:59:50] more than once.

Speaker 11: (01:59:53)
I know. You’re on camera.

[crosstalk 01:59:56] California now.

Speaker 11: (01:59:58)
All right.

[crosstalk 02:00:00] all my momma kids.

Speaker 11: (02:00:01)
You need to … so let’s let everybody line up. You could see the crowd shifting to the right. Let’s make way for these families to lead the march. You over there and maybe you can jump on the mic over there. All right? I’m sorry. It’s one person after another. It’s coming, brother. [crosstalk 02:00:26] Who? Tony Robinson. [crosstalk 02:00:38].

Speaker 15: (02:00:39)
[crosstalk 02:00:39] mother to speak.

Speaker 11: (02:00:39)
I want everyone to speak, but we don’t have time. [crosstalk 02:00:42]

Speaker 15: (02:00:43)
Speaking right now. She’s been here since this morning.

Speaker 11: (02:00:43)
That’s Reverend Sharpton’s decision.

Speaker 15: (02:00:48)
I know. He flew us in for that [crosstalk 02:00:53].

Speaker 11: (02:00:55)
All right.

Joseph Richardson.

Speaker 11: (02:00:59)
Joseph Richardson. [crosstalk 02:01:04] We’re marching, y’all.

My brother was alive. Oh, you’re so lucky my brother dead.

Speaker 11: (02:01:14)
You know this mic is hot on television?

I don’t give a fuck if it’s hot or not. I’m Stephon Clark. I’m Stephon Clark. I’m [crosstalk 02:01:19].

Speaker 11: (02:01:19)
Stephanie Clark.

Stephon Clark, get it right.

Speaker 11: (02:01:22)
Steph … I didn’t hear you, brother.

Stephon Clark.

Speaker 11: (02:01:24)
Are you threatening me?

Yeah. Yeah, I’m definitely [crosstalk 02:01:27].

Speaker 11: (02:01:27)
You don’t want to do that on TV. Y’all talk to the brother. You don’t want threaten me on TV.

They don’t want to talk to me.

Speaker 16: (02:01:29)
Allow Mike Brown’s mother to speak?

Speaker 11: (02:01:32)
No, I’m not going to be threatened up here with this.

Speaker 16: (02:01:34)
WHo’s threatening you?

Speaker 11: (02:01:35)
This brother here.

Speaker 16: (02:01:36)
I’m not threatening you.

Speaker 11: (02:01:36)
I know.

Speaker 16: (02:01:37)
[crosstalk 02:01:37] you asked me to come and stand here.

Speaker 11: (02:01:37)
I know. I acknowledge that’s what I did. [crosstalk 02:01:42]

2020 March on Washington Event Transcript

Other Related Transcripts

Stay updated.