Good afternoon everyone. It is an honor to be here today.
As we honor the great labor and civil rights leader Bill Lucy…and the leaders who will be honored with the Benjamin Hooks Legacy Award. Their contributions have made both movements—the civil rights movement and the labor movement—more powerful.
And so too has President Johnson and Chairman Russell and the entire executive board of this great organization…The NAACP is leading the way to protect and expand our rights and access to the ballot box…defending those whose rights have been abused…and continuing the fight against racism and discrimination.
Sixty years ago another President Johnson—President Lyndon Baines Johnson—signed the Civil Rights Act.
Historic legislation that outlawed discrimination in public places and schools and workplaces.
Historic legislation achieved through nonviolence and moral force and political will.
Our forefathers and foremothers marched and fought for this legislation and bled and died for social transformation.
Faced with injustice, they stepped up so our nation could take a giant step toward justice.
And we are who we are today because of the efforts of the men and women of the civil rights movement…and the American labor movement…and social justice reformers and faith leaders.
This solidarity was powerful. It could not be ignored or denied. And it ushered in a new era of social and economic justice.
The kind of progress that helped lift marginalized groups from poverty, expanded our human and civil rights and helped build the Black middle class.
The kind of progress that has been rekindled. The kind of progress we need to carry forward together.
The NAACP and the labor movement have been great partners…pretty much since day one.
Our alliance was forged through shared values…that all people deserved political and social freedom, and economic justice.
And a shared mission to fight discrimination and vanquish oppression in all its forms. And to realize an equitable society, where everyone has the right and opportunity to achieve the American dream.
And this alliance helped the civil rights movement achieve some of its greatest victories…and defend against some of its greatest threats.
This is a critical moment in our history and we need to make sure our bond is stronger than ever.
Because we all know that the march of progress is not inevitable…We have earned every victory…every inch of ground…And all that we have gained…the strides we’ve made organizing and at the bargaining table…the strides we’ve made toward achieving racial and economic justice…can be wiped out in the blink of an eye.
We cannot…and we will not…allow that to happen.
Our solidarity…our efforts…working together in 2020…got out that vote and we were able to elect people who believe in political and social freedom…who believe in racial and economic justice…to lead our country.
And we need to have the same solidarity…and put in that same effort…this year.
It's time for us to roll up our sleeves and get to work.
Let’s communicate with our family and friends and members of our community about our vision for the future.
About the progress we can continue to make by using our voice and exercising our hard-earned right…
Let us strengthen our bond and be a true progressive force in our places of work, in our places of worship, and in town squares and city halls all across this nation.
Let us join together to protect our democracy, and advance our rights and our freedoms.
And let us continue our march toward progress.
Because when our movements come together, there is nothing – nothing – that we can’t do. Thank you.