AFL-CIO’s Post

Transcript

Our voice. Our ballot. Our future. No. And I got a lot more energy than you spoke to the Chamber of Commerce, our voice, our ballot. Most of this is going. There is nowhere else I would rather be to honor the legacy of Doctor King than here in Montgomery, the birthplace of the nation's civil rights movement. With all of you, we are 12 days into a year that is going to be a huge turning point for our country, and our voices are going to make the difference in how it all turns out. I can tell you, unfortunately, story after story in just my 100 days, about how the voices of women, and in particular. Women of color are missing and so needed in the halls of Congress and frankly at every level of government, John Lewis said. Voting is the is the nonviolent revolution. From the closing of polling locations to purging of voter rolls, one thing has become clear. The fight for voting rights is as urgent today as it was decades ago. What's going on in our country right now, you know, calls for this moment for us all. Be here getting fired up and ready to go. This afternoon, we're going to be honoring Dr. King's legacy. His legacy of social action by dedicating some of our time and energy and giving back to the Montgomery community. I'm gonna get these boxes up into the attic. OK, and what we want to do is build a society where people. Who stay at a place like this, OK, know that there's hope in the future that one day you could work for one of these unions. OK, So what we want to do every weekend during this weekend of my Luther King birthday is to come out and spend time with folks like y'all. I see y'all now. Come on, everybody. Here, put your hand. What's an unqualified Abraham said yes and birthed a nation. Moses said yes and let our people. Rahab said yes and save the nation. Mary said yes and birth the Savior. Harriet said yes and freedom people. Malcolm and Martin said yes and change. The nation says our said yes and built a movement. Wilma and Patsy said yes and gave women voice. Frederick Douglass said again. And called us to consciousness. What can God do with your, yes, our voice, our ballot, our future? Tonight we will be recognizing a few individuals whose work uplifts the spirit and legacy of Reverend Doctor King. I dream of a future where workers of all ages, backgrounds, race, gender have joined together to organize and mobilize to improve working conditions, their lives, their communities across this country they're trying to take away. The rights for us to read the books that we wanna read. A woman's right to choose. Who we worship. All of this stuff is on the ballot, and they're trying to take our vote away, too. What you do should never be about you. It should be about the people that you have an obligation to, and if every word that comes out of your mouth is I and me, then you got a problem. It's asking them all of you who take the courageous step, any kind, to support anyone who's in the fight and the struggle for freedom, justice and dignity. I salute you tonight because that's what civil rights, human rights are all about. That's our job. Thank you for spending your weekend with us and we hope to see you all again next year. Safe travels home. Let's drink and dance.