Does not fix itself. We must read resolve to do it together. Thank you. Please welcome chair of the Congressional Black Caucused joined by some of its esteemed members. And i say democracy, you say for the people. Democracy. For the people. Democracy. For the people. I am the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus honored to be here with members of the caucus. It is our 51st year of existence , 58 members, the largest in our history. I want to thank reverend al sharpton and the king family foregathered us here at the Lincoln Memorial for 60 years ago Martin Luther king junior spoke of his dream of more just and equitable america. Today i am reminded not only of the famous words of dr. King, the words that have been a beacon of light for our country in some of its darkest moments, but also those of the conscious of our caucus, our beloved congressman, the late congressman john lewis. [applause] here in 1963 congressman lewis said to those who have said be patient and wait, we have long said we cannot be patient. We do not want our freedom gradually but we want to be free now. These words speak directly to the moment in which we find ourselves today. How can we be patient when conservative state legislatures are hellbent on suppressing the black votes and threatening the cornerstones of our democracy and when efforts are underway to deny black history in the preexistence of black lives who need to be protected from gun violence, Police Brutality and poor Economic Conditions . How can we wait when our fundamental freedoms are under attack and the Supreme Court overturned decades of precedent in roe v. Wade and allowed it to screw in asia and to be upheld against the Lgbtq Community. This is the charge of the Congressional Black Caucus. Today we are impatient. Today we refuse to wait because black people are under attack in america and the attacks against lack people and blackness are coordinated, wellfunded and coming from every side. These are the challenges we face but we are not victims and we are by no means powerless to fight back. The Congressional Black Caucus has been fighting to preserve our democracy and Voting Rights and working rights and fighting to create fairer districts, fighting for Public Safety and police accountability, fighting to protect a womans right to choose, fighting against the expulsion of a black officials and fighting the traditions that block block progress and a judiciary who would you work from a mental rights. For the past several months, the Congressional Black Caucus has been on the ground in cities and states around the country for our summer of action to fight back against the erosion of our rights, threats to our democracy and attacks on laxness from South Carolina to ohio, nevada to new orleans, alabama to georgia and right here in the nations capitol, we stand with you to say democracy for the people. Democracy for the people. Democracy for the people. God bless you. Representing new york state congressional district, the House Minority leader speaker hakim jeffries. 50 60 years ago people from all across the land, blacks, whites, students, jews, young and old, they came by training and plane and bus and automobile. Some even walked so they could march on washington for jobs and freedom. 50 years later in this great country, we have come a long wait but we still have some things that have to be worked out. We are here today to continue our march two a more perfect union, to fight racism, antisemitism, hatred in any form, or Voting Rights, for civil rights, reproductive rights, workers rights, lgbtq rights, Racial Justice, social justice, Economic Justice, climate justice, free and fair elections, equal protection under the law, to make america the best version of herself. Thats why were here. [applause] years later, america is at a crossroads. An existential struggle between enlightened people and extreme people. We want to move the country forward, they want to turn back the clock. We are working hard to bring people together and they are trying to tear us apart. We believe in hope over hatred. They believe in privilege over progress. We believe that complaints and see is complexity. They believe selfishness is a superpower. We believe in truth and reconciliation, some of them want us to believe that slavery was a job training program. And. Extreme people. We are not going backward in we are going to keep moving forward and show up and continue to speak up and stand up and keep fighting and battling. We are going to keep pushing and advocating and demonstrating peer we will not rest until we reach the Promised Land of liberty and justice for all. Currently serving in his 16th term in South Carolina, please welcome u. S. House of representatives jim clyburn. Thank you, thank you very much. I dont know who put me behind hakim, but i will visit with you shortly. 60 years ago Martin Luther king junior and others stood at the podium, they followed an event that took place four months earlier when king was sitting in the Birmingham City jail. He received a letter from his clergyman asking him to leave birmingham because a he was a disruptive force. They told him that they thought is caused with right but his timing was wrong. King answered them saying, time is never right, time is never wrong,. Then king said these words that i want you to think about today. He said he was coming to the conclusion that the people of ill will and are society were making a much better time than those of goodwill. People of ill will using their time to depress votes and to deny women and using their time to deny justice and history to blacks. King said to us on that day that we are going to repent for the people. We come today to break our silence. We come today to let the governor of florida no he will not erase our history. We want to put the governor of texas know he will not overturn our votes. We come today to let the people of ohio known that we stand in solidarity with them to make sure women have the right to govern their own bodies. We come today to rededicate ourselves to the proposition that we will not be silenced. Please welcome the cochairs of the congressional caucus on blackjewish relations. Good afternoon. I am congresswoman Deborah Wasserman schultz. I am proud to stand today where those who 60 years ago stood. We must reply with designs for truth justice and Economic Opportunity for all. After king and the movement can be proud of how far they have come. Just like they did, were in to make this you need more perfect for everyone. The dream has not yet arrived for many. We are here today to keep marching on until the victory is one, and that includes people from every race, color and greed. That is why i came to reaffirm the unbreakable bonds that exist between the black and jewish communities and we shared ties that bound us that can never be broken. With my professional caucus cochair, and Brenda Lawrence our founding cochair here with us today. Im here to represent and celebrate this Historic Union with wax and jews just more important now than with black and jews which is just as important now as then. We have been through too much and seen what happens when they try to divide us. We know that we are stronger together. I believe caretta scott king put it best when she said because blacks and jews share a common bond and any viable coalitions and progress in america must include both groups if it is to be successful. That may be clear to all of the haters and dividers, the black and jewish communities are united and strong together we created the civil rights and social Justice Movements forward. When students were turned away in the 1930s and 40s, and an overwhelming students came together, most of them were jewish. Our bonds have been tested in both communities in recent years. Jews being attacked on the streets, our synagogues vandalized, we have live in fear and the blacks are accosted by in parks and schools every day. Nothing we must keep our voices lifted up and call of the haters. We are here together to build on the dream and make it a reality. Thank you very much. Good afternoon, i probably represent the fourth and fifth congressional districts. The birthplace of dr. Martin luther king junior and the district represented by the late john lewis lewis. I am reminded of the seeds planted by dr. King, congressman lewis and those who marched before us and their courage and power in the unwavering fight for freedom, equality and justice. The principle of collective power is part of the black and jewish caucus period and proud to serve as a cochair with Debbie Wasserman schultz. I lead in the spirit of congressman john lewis who understood the deeply interconnected fight for justice shared by black and jewish communities. The interconnectedness remains strong as we face rising hate speech and antisemitism, attacks on freedom and attempts to erase our history. We know we fight together, victory is ours. It is a reminder for congress that we are stronger together and stronger when we build bridges to respect one another and take care to one of understand one another and stronger when we come together to move our nation forward. The caucused strengthens Mutual Respect and understanding for the good of the whole, to reflect the light we wish to see among all people. We do this work because the People United will never be divided. This is our Civil Rights Movement. It is a continuation for many generations to calm. Our future is counting on us. Thank you and lets march on. The assistant attorney general for civil rights and the United States department of justice. Good afternoon. The need for all of us to fight to protect civil rights is urgent. It matters now more than ever. The cancer of White Supremacy and racially motivation is the scourge of voter suppression, Unlawful Police use to fester. Ladies and gentlemen, no this, the Justice Department civil rights will continue to defend the civil rights of all people in our country. We will fight for Racial Justice and equity. Right now we are prosecuting Law Enforcement officials when they violate our civil and constitutional rights, including Derek Chauvin and the three officers who failed to intervene in the killing of george floyd. We charged for officers tied to the death of breonna taylor. We secured guilty pleas from six former Police Officers for torturing and abusing to black men in mississippi. This work is one simple principle, no one is above the law in our country. We are prosecuting perpetrators of hate crimes, including the defendant who killed 10 black people at a Grocery Store in buffalo new york. We secured convictions to get all three men responsible for the tragic killing of Ahmaud Arbery and the defendant who massacred 23 latinos at a walmart in el paso, texas, and the defendant who killed 11 jewish people at the tree of life synagogue in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. We are challenging discriminatory voting laws to ensure that every american has a voice in our democracy and we are taking on modern day redlining by thanks banks and financial institutions. We are fighting to ensure equal access to jobs, housing and more. That cause is a righteous one, it benefits all americans, black, white, latino, aapi. Thank you. I promise you the Civil Rights Division will stand with you, fight and stand for justice. Please welcome the culture of the National Civics participation, melanie campbell. Good afternoon. I bring you greetings on behalf of the National Coalition round table in my hometown in florida. At 60 years ago we marched for jobs and freedom. Today we marched for power, rights, freedom, justice. Today we march as a message white nationalists that black people, brown and Indigenous People will not to be erased. 60 years ago black Women Leaders were recognized but did not have a speaking role. Today we sit on the shoulders of those and we are not only speaking today, we are Standing Shoulder to shoulder with our brothers leading this march and the movement. I will remind you that you are the leaders. Tell your neighbor you have the power. Tell your neighbor you have the power. You have the power to fight and win. Please join me in solidarity and repeat after me. Together we have the power to fight and win back our rights together. We have the power to fight and win our freedoms. Together we have the power to fight for democracy for all of us. Together we will vote for high quality jobs, reproductive rights, lgbtq rights, affirmative action. Together we will fight and we will win. Peace and power. Lets welcome damien hewitt. Civil rights america, how are you doing . President kennedy convened the leading lawyers at a private bar to get into the game of double rights. That meeting created the organization i now lead. Whole. We have more organizations. What we need is collective vision. So i ask you, what is your vision. If you feel comfortable i would like you to close your eyes and think about what you want for your children, for yourself, for your community, neighbors those are not wishes and handouts, that is what you deserve. We know that what we deserve we dont always get so now we have to decide, what are you willing to put on the line and do to claim the future we deserve . What open make a list of the things that you thought about. If you have registered to vote, do it. The third thing you should do is put this in your phone, the Election Protection hotline. 866hour vote. 866ourvote. Do it before next years elections. Also join us online at the future we deserve. Org we can do this together because your vision is our vision too. Enqueue. Thank you. We will be lest by the presence of the king family and reverend dr. Al sharpton. Please welcome to the stage the president of the council of the naacp Legal Defense fund. Good afternoon, mergers. Thanke r marchs marchers. It is said to protest is the foundation of all american democracy. Her being here today is building on that foundation that was laid by the very first people to protest injustice in this country, our indigenous brothers and sisters, enslaved africans and every group of people who have suffered at the hands of injustice in this country. I am proud to lead the Legal Defense fund. We have been fighting for Racial Justice for 83 years. And a young person said to me yesterday they marched so we dont have to. They marched so we dont have to. I said, the job is not done. We will march and we march because we must. We march because it is our mandate as people who have always seen the best this country can be, who have made this democracy as good as it is today, who have always held this country accountable to ideals. And we stand in a moment. It is our job. We are fortunate to be called upon in this moment to answer and make sure the next generation has the foundation that you are building upon today. So i ask you to do one thing, because this is all about power. That is what this entire enterprise is, dealing and depressing the power of people who want justice and equality. So i ask you to do one thing, and that is to position your power. You all have power and we must demonstrate it by positioning it and wait where we can maximize it and use it. We are doing that in the courts and we have fought for 83 years in federal, state, local court in when we fight hard we win we just one a redistricting lawsuit in the Supreme Court and the state of alabama, forcing them to create a Second District or black people can elect the candidate of their choice. We will be back in october fighting for another district where black people can elect candidate of their choice in South Carolina. We are positioning our power and we ask you to join us in this fight. Register to vote and become opal worker and run for office and be part of the solution and thank you for being here today. She is the ceo of the Leadership Conference on civil and human rights. Please welcome her to the stage. My people. My people. My people. We are here today because we march on. We march on because they are trying to tell us we dont have the freedom to learn our history and we say we march on. We arent here because they try to tell us we cant invest in our own black companies and expect the private sector to look like america and are community and we march on because we say you will not turn us back. We march on because in this country, freedom is supposed to mean the freedom to vote and it is supposed to mean the freedom to choose our leaders and supposed to mean the freedom that tells the truth, speaks the facts and not believe the lies of a powerful few who would try to tell us that by voting we have stolen elections. We march on because we say that rule of law our children get Mental Health care and not a jail cell. On because say our school deserve to be funded our teachers deserve respect and we deserve to be able to question leaders about what we need. I say to you today that as dish if everyone tells you you cant lack, woke, asian, and lgbtq person want to marry the person you love for you cant meet black women talking about how you are going to have your baby and how to get the care you need, saying freedom is what we march on for when i say we fight, you say we win. We fight. We win we are marching to say we are the country and wont stop merging until we are free. Thank you. These welcome to the stage the president to the National Council of negro league women. Women. Good afternoon. I am the president and ceo of the National Council. This black girl from camden new jersey is humbled to sit 60 years later in front of you. In 2023, the black woman i am looking at a nightmare. Those that are trying to decimate democracy in turn back the power and those in the government hide behind the law. I have rights in spades that ash righteous rage where white women still make six five cents in righteous rage where black women still make . 65 to a white male. Our brothers and sisters we will galvanize voters and black women will save macro see again and we will continue to preach the gospel. We will take back our constitutional freedom. Thank you. As i close, if she was here she would close by saying dont ever get weary. All things Work Together for good of the people who love god and are called to according to a purpose and we have more to do. Ladies and gentlemen we have a few more speakers to go and reverend sharpton and the king family will join us on the stage as we will lead the line into emerging. We ask that you stay in your seats and be ready to march once reverend sharpton and the king family bring their remarks. I probably serve as the director for the Houston College division of the naacp. When i say it fired up. You state ready to go. Fired up. Ready to go. That is what i am talking about. I want to shout out to the amazing speeches and for housing young people yesterday and to my members of the divine nine and the Lgbtq Community and allies and advocates. 60 years ago thousands of americans stood on the same soil we stand on today and marched demanding an opportunity to achieve the American Dream and fulfillment of the promises made by the constitution here we march because the promises have yet to be fulfilled and the dream has become a reality for a few and a nightmare for many. There are committees and icons like john lewis and countless warriors who marched before us. I want to give it up for the amazing black women who on this march. In these 60 years black america has risen to heights we could not have imagined in 1963 here we have become president , Vice President and Supreme Court justices and have developed a lifesaving vaccine and led not only our nation but the world out of a global pandemic. We march today because there is an epidemic that continues to plague our country, the epidemic of racism. As a new generation of civil rights advocates, it is our turn to carry for the beacon. The sad reality is we are celebrating the inauguration of the nations first black president while others try to undermine our power at the ballot box. Others were making plans to ban books. Lets be clear, black america will always find a way to thrive. We are done asking permission to do so. As we stand here today, we dont commemorate the march we continue it. We are the torchbearers who will carry the nation forward. We will continue to forge our own freedom no matter what it takes. As we stand here today i urge you to think about the local elections. I want to make sure you are engaged in the fight for civil rights the naacp is determined to recruit 300,000 volunteers across the country. The staff is here in the yellow shirts. Please connect with them and sign up to volunteer, organizers and activists, we are the architects of today and tomorrow. Wheat must channel that energy. It is up to must us to make sure democracy works for us all. Thank you very much. President of Asian Americans advancing justice. Welcome john yang. John that afternoon. I am the president and executive director. It is an honor to be a cosponsor with leaders and individuals. 60 years ago. The Martin Luther had a dream to end oppression for all black immunities. Although the moral arc bends toward justice, we know there are those who want to return us to the status quo. I am here to say that will not happen. Asian americans know we cannot achieve equality without being alongside the black community. The seeds of racism has many strands. We know we are in the fight one and the same. Walking in your neighborhood because of covid and the antichina sentiment has caused violence with the asianamerican community. Asian immigrants are seen as potential foreigners that are somehow disloyal to this country for which we contribute or we cant own land or hold a job we seek. They use the model minority myth to suggest Asian Americans dont suffer this termination and that racism somehow doesnt exist. They tried to exploit us us against black and brown communities. We all know that us as marginalized communities are being pitted against each other against the white power and privilege that exists. We cannot acknowledge history without recognizing the erasure of history. Asian americans are used as a wedged wedge in this fight and we will stand with our others and sisters. We will not be complicit to the erasure of the black and brown community. We need to show up not just today but every day in this fight for justice. We know that dr. Martin luther king gave us through this march and many other efforts the rights that all of us enjoy today. Today we march in continuation of that dream and today we will always continue that fight to ensure justice for all. Thank you very much. She is the president of unitas. In 1966, the great leader we remember and celebrate today, dr. Martin luther king junior, sent a telegram to latino civil rights icons cesar chavez stating our separate struggles are really one. A struggle for freedom, dignity and humanity. What dr. King was saying in short was your struggle is my struggle and i am here again to reaffirm that your fights is my fights. It is Crystal Clear that our movement and the progress we have made are being threatened by many who are driven by hate and anger and fear. They seek to divide us because they know that united are stronger. In unity there is strength in that strength there is power. We will fight for forces that seek to change this country back to a darker time. If we Work Together we are united, we will never owe back and i know that because they know will never give up. We had been by the young people are here today and those young people who have made their voices heard across the country. They represent and embrace diversity of this country which has always been our superpower. Through them we see that dr. Kings dream is still alive. For them, for us, and for those whose shoulders we stand on today, we must continue our fight. They are depending on us and united we are unstoppable. [c speaking in spanish] please welcome the executive director of National Congress of American Indians, larry wright junior. Welcome. [speaking another language] i am a citizen of the ponca tribe in oklahoma. We are stewards of a shared vision of a more inclusive society. In this work, it is critical to acknowledge the unique journey of travel nations. Our story is one of perseverance, resistance and resurgence aired as a native veteran, informal travel chairman, i have witnessed the impact of historical injustices resurgence. As a native american, travel chairman, i have witnessed the impact of historical injustices. They are rooted in the same systems of dissemination, president prejudice and oppression that affect other marginalized groups. This ongoing fight is a call to recognize the Common Ground we share with one another and reflecting on this historic day, i share the words of one of our chiefs, chief standing bear, who stated in a federal court case in 1870 nine that determined American Indians were now humans in the eyes of the United States law. He extended his hand to the judge and he said, my hand is not the color of yours but if i pinched it i shall feel pain. The blood that will flow from my hand and the lead that will flow from yours is the same color. I am a man. The same god made us both. Not only native people as we strive for recognition, sovereignty and the right to determine our own destinies, his words echo the essence of dr. Kings speech which has become synonymous with the fight for shared justice and equality. By amplifying each others voices we will have a more powerful influence on policies, legislation and more equitable future for generations to come, today and beyond. Thats march onward together. Thank you. Is welcome to the stage kelly robinson, president of the human rights campaign. Out are you doing . How are you doing . I am the president of the largest civil rights pride organization. I am honored to be here and especially for the lead organizer of the first march on washington and he led proudly and loudly as a gay man. The truth is, we are here today and we have always been here. We have always been here as leaders, organizers, strategists. I am here with my friend diane ballard. She is 18 years old, proudly lack and proudly trans. When she came out to parents, they reacted like every parent should with unconditional love. Ultimately i have to believe that is why we are here here we are here because this fight is and has always been about loving each other enough to demand freedom and look authentically at who we are. The freedom to waive our pride flags without being shot. The freedom to send our kids to School Without worrying about what they will be taught and if they will make it home, the freedom to live in america where the color of your skin and you are never tates the light never dictates the lamp of your light. If you have a queer or trans child, love them and love them completely. If you have a pride flag, waive it proudly. Thank you so much. Continue to fight. Please welcome the president of the National Urban league. That afternoon, brothers and sisters. I stand here today as the successor to one of the original architects and it is my honor to stand here and echo the call he made 60 years ago to support the strong, give courage, wait march today not a commemoration but a continuation of the mission, a mission, the first is defended first. We demand the full restoration of the Voting Rights act, fair representation in congress, state legislatures and City Councils and and and to gerrymandering and an end to gerrymandering. It states our purging and putting up barriers we call for the passage of the freedom to vote at and the john lewis writes act. We must demand diversity, equity and inclusion in courtrooms and classrooms, on campuses, construction sites and every workplace in america. We will and must level the Playing Field so our children and childrens children have equal opportunities to succeed. We call on every American Institution to commit to equal opportunity and reaffirming their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. We must feed to poverty. In 1963, the organizer for the march called for the National Minimum wage act. At that time, the minimum wage was 1. 15 per hour. If you ingested it for inflation, today that wage would be 11. 45 an hour when the National Minimum wage is 7. 25. We call for a living wage, passions of the Child Tax Credit and ending redline gentrification. I come today to say that we will continue to work and continue to fight here and we will continue to fight and then we will fight. God bless you and let us continue our work and struggles. He is the attorney for black america. Lets welcome attorney benjamin crump. Benjamin as the enemies of equality attack black america and other people of color bypassing legislation to ban our black history in the classrooms, to ban our black books, to ban authors, to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs and have the identity to try to mandate that they slavery had positive benefits for our ancestors. As your attorney general, i declare now more than ever that we must be unapologetic defenders of the black life, liberty and umana t. Humanity. And just like they tried to ban our black history, we must tell them without black history, you wouldnt have american street. And just like we fought for justice for the families of trayvon martin, eric garner, george floyd, oscar grant, ajay owens, also in jones, and the family of tyre nichols, we must also fight to protect our black culture, and our black history for all of our children. Our black children, white children, brown children, red children, they all have to know that all of their history and cultures contributed to american history. And we have to be ready to fight. We have to be ready to fight. All of our children can never ask the question do they really mean it when they say black lives matter . Our children have to know that we are willing to fight for them and if need be we are willing to die for them. God bless you. Protect black history at all costs. Please welcome to the stage the founder and chairman of the classroom. Good afternoon. Standing on these steps 60 years after Martin Luther king gave his speech, it is a very emotional moment for me. At the time, believe it or not, i was 22 years old and i watched the speech live on television. The clarity, power and cadence of dr. Kings words and his delivery was like nothing i had ever heard before. His speech truly moved me and moved the nation. I had just graduated from college. I was a newlywed and the Civil Rights Movement was allconsuming. My wife, a blessed memory, i come to events in washington herself to stand up for change but was so needed then and unfortunately is still needed now. As a young jewish couple in, the holocaust was still in our hearts. Having lost family members in the horrific atrocities that had occurred only 20 years before in the 40s. Seeing that same kind of hate and discrimination taking place in u. S. That had taken place in nazi germany was a such uncomfortable. Against this backdrop, we were so proud to know jewish people were among the most active of nonblack groups participating in the Civil Rights Movement. Jews stood together with black leaders in mississippi. Date marched with demonstrators in birmingham. They let their advice and counsel throughout the south. They were arrested with dr. King in florida fighting against segregation. I was so pleased to see one of my personal heroes rabbi johnson marched on and on with the marginal selma and theyre so much jewish people who stood shoulder to shoulder with dr. King. Right here on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, fighting against hate and for equality on that day six years ago. Shortly after that 1963 march on washington, as jews continue to work sidebyside with the black americans in the Civil Rights Movement, two young jewish man, michael and andrew, worked as volunteers registering blacks to vote in meridian, mississippi. They worked together with a young black man named james chaney. Tragically, all three men were murdered together by klansmen with their bodies discarded into a secret grave. Discovery of their bodies received nationwide attention and ultimately, it treated the passage of the Voting Rights acts of 1965. That bond between blacks and jews in america is a bond that has existed for over a century as we stood together to fight against intolerance and bigotry then, we stand together with you now. The hatred dr. King stood against is the same hatred we are seeing in communities across the nation more and more today. We saw with that kind of hate in germany in the 1930s and 1940s that we saw the way it ripped the fabric of the country apart in 1960s. Today, it is our job to fight all hate. Hate against blacks, jews, asians, hispanics, and members of the lgbtq plus community so history does not repeat itself. The advent of social media entity hate it spreads makes and that hate it spreads makes this fight more complicated but i believe the power of our communities bonded together is more powerful than this most vicious hate. I know dr. King would agree, and knowing that it will inspire me to keep trying to build bridges between people and fight hate for as long as the good lord lets meet be on this earth. Thank you very much. [applause] founder, ceo and pastor of the christian cultural center, please welcome to the stage lets welcome robert f smith. Robert that the steps in the shadow of the great emancipator and said america has not lived up to his promise. That this country had given black people a bad check and came back marked insufficient funds. Brother king never lost his faith in the bank of justice. I was in the crowd that day. I was just a baby but my mother drove me and my brother from denver to d. C. To witness history and feel the power of the moment and the movement. That movement has driven remarkable progress allowing black americans to break barriers and build businesses, go to space, and even occupy the oval office. We have done the quiet work that is just as important. For business owners, entrepreneurs, teachers and preachers, farmers and firefighters, all ship in this country and his features shaping this country and its features but the truth is black americans are still held back, marginalized by private constitutions and public corporations alike. We elected a president but will happened to our Voting Rights . Yes, there black millionaires if you like millionaires but our economy is still structure to keep profit in the power out of the hands of black folks. The average white family has 12 times more wealth than the average black family, a gap widened over the last 30 years and will take us over 500 years to close that gap at this current rate. That is not an American Dream. It is an american nightmare. The result of centuries of discrimination. Yet since the first kidnapped africans brought here edit note not we have saw to forge our servitude into a relevance belonging and ownership of america. Dedicating new economic rights or the key to true equality. And he was asked what does it profit a man to eat an integrated lunch counter if he does not earn enough money to buy a hamburger and a cup of coffee. His moral calls for Economic Justice are what i want to talk about today. As we stand here, the war on diversity and inclusion there is all the progress we have made to the sacrifices of our ancestors. As we honor the legacies of dr. King, we must expand our focus to include Economic Justice. That is why i paid off the student and parent plus loans of the morehouse graduates in 2019. To invest in limitless potential of our next generation. You know what . It is working. Overcoming systemic oppression requires systemic investment. It takes more than a paycheck. It takes power and ownership. Growing up my neighborhood did not have a single bank and that is true for most black people, limiting their ability to buy homes and start businesses. Four out of 10 black homes do not have reliable and affordable highspeed internet. Without access to Critical Infrastructure of american capitalism, by people will always be symbolic sharecroppers, impoverished and is working somewhere else land. Progress depends on everyone elses dreams. With our jewish brothers and sisters, and latinos members, prosperity for all to overcome for opportunity for all. Business committee must also step up and build the best Talent Pipeline and invest in education for all americans. Stand strong in the face of racist backlash. We cannot abandon actions to promote diversity. It is time to fully embrace it not only because it is the right thing to do, but because the data proves that diversity boosts innovation, productivity, and profits. Closing the racial wealth gap will increase Economic Activity in this country by more than 1. 5 trillion each year. Equality is good for the american economy. Higher principles of Racial Equity is great for bottom line and tackle quincy jones and ray charles, our selfworth must not depend on the acceptance of others. We are enough to make our vote count, to hold our politicians accountable, to represent our interests come and make sure Public Resources are equitably distributed. We are enough to assure water is safe to drink. We are enough to grow, harvest, distribute nutritious food for our children and elders. We are enough to enhance black maternal health, diagnose and treat are sick, and bring mental oneness to those who need it and not just let the Justice System treat them as criminals. We are enough to educate our children in the truth of the past and enabled them to embrace the opportunities of the future. We are enough to make our communities safe. Beautify our neighborhoods and create wealth to the ownership of her homes and businesses. We are enough to teach our children they can live in ways that make gods glorious planet thrives with our presence. Even in the face of massive injustice, we have proven over and over again that the conscious divine intelligence has enabled us to be resilient, resourceful, and we are bound only by the limits of our own convictions. We are enough to build the future, to go i will make sure black americans thrive to make sure black americans thrives and americans thrive. To fulfill the dreams that is the idea and promise of america. Yes, we are enough. It is up to us to build the economic infrastructure that is the racial wealth gap, speaking with the dollars, voices, and our votes. We owe it to our kids. We owe it to the memory of those who came before and the dreams of those who come next. We owe it to the movement we continue today. May god bless the shared future that we build tomorrow. [applause] founding pastor of Christian Culture center in new york, please welcome dr. A. R. Benard. Someone told me on the way up, blessed are the brief and they will be invited back. I will be brief. Dr. King stood on these very steps in the spoke of a dream. It was an American Dream. The last 60 years that brought us new reality. African have experienced unprecedented wealth, education, upward mobility. Blacks in positions of power more now than at any time in the history of this nation. The number of american like millionaires and billionaires continue to increase. According to the u. S. Census bureau, their estimated 3. 1 one million africanamerican or black owned businesses in u. S. These businesses account for 72. 5 billion dollars in receipts. The new reality is because we have taken responsibility for our future. We have picked ourselves up bu are by out boot straps. We have just waited our gift, talented, and abilities to value in the marketplace here in america and bubbly. However, somebody say, however. Black still have the highest poverty rate in the country at 19. 5 . Compared to nonhispanic whites and 8. 1 . We are still dealing with Racial Disparities in our criminal Justice System. Our policing system, education system, health care system, and in Economic Opportunity. We have not arrived. It means there is more work to be done. It means the systems and structures, policies and practices, that continue to marginalize still need to be challenge. It is going to take all of us working together for a better america. Not in america of extremes, but a wellbalanced america. In america founded in faith of god because only our faith in god draws boundaries and protects us from when our humanity runs out. Are we there yet . No. Can we get there . Yes. How do we get there . If my people shall humble themselves and pray, seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then i will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land. Is going to take prayer and work. God bless. [applause] please welcome reverend michael blackwell. Peace and blessings to all of you. Inspired by the words of dr. King. To date where youre not waiting for a dream to come true, but to come true for the dream. We are where the vision without action is a fantasy and an action without vision is what you call chaos. Today we are compelled to articulate a vision with the highest and best in highs invest in us all. We are here today because we love our children. We are here today because we love our grandchildren. We are here today because we love the innate freedom given to us by the source of all creation called by my of names, love intelligence that governs the universe, got itself. Theres a call in upon our souls to anchor the good of beloved 20 on earth. In this time in history as it is in the heart and mind of the infinite. We are aware even as we are the lovers of humanity that there are haters on this planet. Those that would try to roll back the hands of time. Those that would support democracy, thought our freedom thwart our democracy and our freedom and they have to come to a realization that if they are thwarting democracy, hating, and thwarting freedom and inclusivity of a nation that is a melting pot of all individuals, they do not realize their mind is being hijacked by a sense of separation by an elite group of people that love to divide and conquer. The haters are sick. Their minds have been hijacked by sense of a separation. Today we are saying in substance, let us wake up. Let us wake up to the spiritual realization that there is a deep and abiding unity and if you are a hater, your mind has been hijacked. If you are a lover, you are on the right side of history. Something is trying to unfold through as. We will continue the work until we become true to the dream and become a coalescing community knowing that spiritual Authentic Community ultimately grants us immunity from the lower efficacy of life and we discover we are compelled and to write thought. Compelled to write speech. Compelled into right action. The beloved Community Begins within us. Marching for the right to be free. Peace and riches blessings to all of you. Please welcome Senior Advisor and director of the office of Public Engagement at the white house, stephen k benjamin. Im going to be brief because i want to hear from reverend sharpton and the kings. It is my privilege to be here on behalf of the president of the u. S. And Vice President. When americans came to this very place to demand our nation live up to the promise of justice and equality for all people, the moment change the trajectory of our country. We have never walked away from that found in promise. It continues to the work of you. Every day people who do extraordinary things and we thank you for your continued leadership. The work continues. President biden and Vice President harris work everyday to bring us closer to equal opportunity for all americans. The president signed two executive orders for just across the entire federal government and another exhibit of executive order to expand access to the right to vote. Last month, president decided a monument to honor the life of emmett till. This designation reflects the commitment to protect places that tell a more complete of our nations history and will fight any effort to try to rewrite it. Theyre not just talking, they are leading and doing the work to make sure all families can live the American Dream. Rebuild the american economy. Closing the racial wealth gap. No made it more black women to federal court the every other president we nominated more black women to the federal court than every other president combined. He has pardoned all federal offenses related to the simple possession of marijuana. He is lowered because it is lower the cost an excellent 235 the cost of insulin to 35. Lets think i will say and i will take my seed, those that gather here new for this country to reach its potential, we would have to do it together. All of us standing up for the best in us and in the face of these attacks, this pushback we are seeing to Human Dignity will take all of us choosing love or hate, unity over disunion, all of us must stand and lead at this moment. President biden, Vice President dedicated the last three years of being with every one of you here. There are so much to be done and we will do it together. God bless you. I didnt get the music yall. Please welcome Antidefamation League chief executive officer and national director. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. What a pleasure it is to see all of you here at the mall standing out for justice. I stand here on behalf of adl, a century old antihate organization that fights bigotry, that fights racism, that fights antisemitism of all types. From the very start of the modern Civil Rights Movement, adl leadership stood shoulder to shoulder with our friends in the black community. In 1963, we came here to this place, alongside other king, and so many other leaders to demand equal rights. Justice and fair treatment to all. Today, we have come here once again to demand equal rights, justice, and fair treatment to all. Because we know that hate still exists and the work of fighting hate together continues. In 2023, that should not be a controversial opinion, but we know there are some who think it is. We all know family and friends, colleagues and neighbors, elected officials who look at the relationship between the black and jewish communities, and all they see our tense times and the differences of opinion. It would not be honest if we did not recognize there are some differences. But it would not be true to our faiths if we do not confront them and help those who are stubborn in their stereotypes and loose with their tongues, to understand when and why they are wrong. Too often, in our society, when someone makes a mistake or speaks out of turn, we push them away when we got to put them in. We eject them. Rather than embrace them. Too often we engage in ache counsel culture engage in a cancel culture we need a counsil culture and we hold them close, will be embrace them, when we counsel them, we have to educate them about our history. The history of how blacks and jews struggled alongside one another to make america a more fair, more just, more tolerant country. Because they do not know the work of booker t. Washington. They do not remember the sacrifices of cheney and goodman. They do not appreciate the bond that united rabbi henschel and river and reverend king. They do not see the truth of our world today. That jewish activists are on the front of fighting for civil rights of africanamericans and black leaders are standing side by side with jewish americans. We stand together because we know that in the very same breath, those who spew ugly antiblack racism on our airwaves, in our newsfeeds, in our communities, so often spew vicious violent antisemitism, and make no mistake that goes both ways. You see the bigotry that fueled the shooting at the Mother Emmanuel Church in charleston. It also fueled the shooting at the tree of life synagogue again in pittsburgh. The massacre at the top supermarket in buffalo. Was preceded by a slaughter at a kosher supermarket in jersey city. In 2017, when there were no very fine people. The races as they march to protest the longoverdue removal of robert e. Lee statue in charlottesville, they screamed jews will not replace us. So you see, the fates a black and jewish communities in america they are intertwined. They are indivisible. That is why for more than a century, adl has believed fiercely you can not fight antisemitism without countering antiblack racism. We do so because we know communities will never be safe unless we are all safe. Our country will never live up to his promise. If anyone group is denigrated or dehumanize, we are made to live in fear. 60 years ago, right before dr. King spoke here on these steps in this place, a leader in our Community Rabbi prince said a few important words. He said when god created man, he created him as everybodys neighbor. That neighbor is not a geographic term. It is a moral concept. It means our collective responsibility for the preservation of our dignity. 60 years later my friends these words still resonate. They still tell us to stand up and speak out in the place of hate. It is our duty, our responsibility, so please keep up your work. Never back down. And know adl will be with you every step of the way. Thank you. Board chairman, president , and granddaughter of the drum major institute, please welcome martin luthre luther king the third, andrea. Good afternoon. I know it has been a long, hot day so lets get right to it. It has been a long, hot day even longer hot summer. It has been a difficult road to get here and there have been times when i am sure, everyone has felt this, it felt too big. The forces felt too daunting. In these moments, you felt like giving up or sitting down for a bit. I was talking to a friend who had eyes need to get back to my life. I thought of the voice in the poem crystal stair, which reminds me of my own mother. Life has not been a crystal stair, it has had tax and places with the boards cut up, and for all this time i have been turning corners and reaching landings and sometimes going in the dark where there has not been any light. Do not turn back and sit back when the times are hard. Do not fall for i am still going, i am still climbing. Life for me aint been no crystal stair. I thought about the freedom writers, burnedout out houses and bombed out homes. I thought about all those before us and all they endured and knew i could not stop. I thought about our daughter and our children who now have fewer rights than their parents at their age. If rights than their parents and grandparents fought for. I thought about my friend dr. Frieden milhouse jones and how her medical practice in my home city of atlanta was devastated by gun violence. How patient sitting in the a patient sitting in the waiting room lost her life. That her two Young Children experience their first mothers day without their mother, the beginning of a new school year without their mother. I knew i had to keep climbing. I thought about ajay owens being soldered in front of her children, murdered doing what mothers do, defending them, and knew i must keep climbing. I thought about neonazi standing at the gates of disney world, greeting families, for a long day of hate. I thought about carlsen, a mother of nine, 25 years after the brutal murder of matthew shepard, shot and killed for hanging a pride flag outside her own business. I knew we must all keep climbing. We will keep climbing. We are here to liberate the soul of the nation, the soul of democracy from the forces that would have us all go backward and parents rather than go forward as sisters and brothers. You will never betray those who marched for us, fought for us, lived for us, died for us. We are the children of the grandchildren of their struggles and we will be worthy of their sacrifices. This is about freedom, peace, love, and our children. We are not here for commemoration, we are here for a readdedication for a re dedication. Today, hate is being shaken to its core. Walls of racism, bigotry, intolerance, antisemitism, and xenophobia are being broken down. As they fall, you will hear the sounds of love. That happens when we stand and climb together. Lets not look back in anger or fear but around us in awareness. Let me say to the women, we were not able to speak in 1963, but we are here in 2023. [cheering] women are unwavering warriors. I know we stand in different faiths but lets go to the bible. Moses was able to tell the pharaoh to let my people go only because he was saved by miriam. Deborah helped lead the israelites to victory out of bondage. Lets go to the story of esther. After all the disciples had fled, it was women who stood at the foot of the cross. Jesuss body was released to a mother. Women prepared his body for burial, women stood outside his tomb, and it was to a woman that he first appeared after the resurrection. Women are unwavering warriors and today will no longer be silent. Thank you very much. Yolanda renee king. Good afternoon. How am i supposed to go after that . These give my mother a round of applause. [applause] if i could speak to my grandfather today, i would say, i am sorry that we still have to be here to rededicate ourselves to finishing your work and ultimately realizing your head injury your hidden dreams. 60 years ago, dr. King urged us to fight against the trouble the triple bigotrys of poverty, bigotry and doubts the triple evils of poverty, bigotry and violence. This is not the only problem earlier generations did not expect but my generation cannot escape. We have been warned about air pollution and water pollution. We have been warned about global warming. Now, all my life, we have worried about Environmental Justice for communities of color and under resourced people everywhere. But this summer and for the rest of our lives, my generation will be worrying about global boiling. We need to do more than end racism. We need to do more than and poverty on our planet. We need to save our planet. [cheering] [applause] when people say my generation is cynical, we say that cynicism is a luxury we cannot afford. If you look like me, you could have fewer Voting Rights on your 18th birthday that america promised you on the day you were born. Lets think about that for a second. Fewer rights than we were promised. If you are a young woman like me, you can have fewer personal rights. A matter who you are, you can be less safe from random gun violence and irreversible climate change. That is why i believe that my generation will be defined by action, not apathy. The next piece i will be sharing with you all will be various, and interactive. I want you to repeat this chant that some of you may have heard. I have done this throughout the years and shared it with people. I think we really need this during this critical moment in history. I encourage everyone to stand up and repeat these words after me. Spread the word spread the word have you heard . Have you heard . All across the nation all across the nation we are going to be a great generation i know we have so much power so i want you to fight the heat and we are going to put more energy into it. Spread the word spread the word have you heard . Have you heard . All across the nation all across the nation we are going to be we are going to be a great generation. They say third times the charm. If we are going to really affect the nation, say it in your loudest voice. Spread the word spread the word have you heard . Have you heard . All across the nation all across the nation we are going to be we are going to be a great generation now, let me introduce my father. As i stand here this afternoon on the representation of these it is actually monday. But i will do something a little different because our time has been cut to around less than five minutes and reverend sharpton must come up. I want to let you know how i am feeling today. I am very concerned about the direction our country is going in. It is because, instead of moving forward, it feels as if we are moving backward. The question is, what are we going to do . Do we realize it is we the people who can make changes . Represent history in the right way . And sure hatred and hostility is not espoused all over our nation . My mother and father dedicated their lives to embracing love and lifting of the dennis in people lifting up the goodnes in people. If a person was 90 bad, dad would focus on the 10 in people and focusing on pulling that out of them. Yolanda and andrea said a lot. I do not have to say a lot but we need to all be engaged. Dad would say now is the time. We must preserve, protect, and expand democracy. You must ensure Voting Rights are expanded for all people. We must inshore our women and children archery must ensure our women and children are treated fairly. We must and gun violence. End gun violence. Then maybe one day, we will be a great nation. Dad and mom taught us it takes a few good women and men to bring about change. As i get ready to close, you may ask, brother cain, we understand what happened was history. We do not like it or accept it. You may understand what happens with Voting Rights. We do not like it. We must change it. But you must be asking the question my father asked in the late 50s, how long will it be . I dont know but how long you may ask forever . How long may you ask before we get our freedom . I dont know. How long . Not long because the art of the universe is long but it bends toward justice. How long . Not long because god almighty is still on the throne. Lets not give up, lets not give in, lets not give out. You must move forward to make this nation the nation it ought to be for all of gods children. Thank you and god bless you. [applause] announcer reverend angela clement, ladies and gentlemen, lets welcome the president and founder of the National Action network, the reverend dr. , al sharpton. Rev. Sharpton no justice no peace rev. Sharpton no justice no peace rev. Sharpton we are not going to take long because we have to move out for the march. All of you under the trees, come out because we are going to line up. Today was the day to show our strength. Thousands of you came here 60 years later to say that we are the continuation of a movement. 60 years later, we are facing affirmative action being suspended and there are people that are trying to go after businesses. You heard. They are going after diversity in large corporations. I want to announce today that we are going to fight back. We are not going to let you take affirmative action and diversity. I am like a doctor. I will make house calls. We will march on homes and companies that if you think you can take money out our community and cut us off, you will not allow that. You will have a fall of economic sanctions against those that vowed to this. Secondly, we are building unity. When you see blacks, jews, latinos and asians come together, they are trying to separate us. Dr. King stood for unity that we will not take this. We are going to march and show thousands of us in the streets going together. They will not be able to turn back the clock. They want to stop blacks from voting . You will go anyhow. No matter how hard you make it, we are coming anyhow. They will try to put women back in the kitchen, we will not go back into the kitchen. They are trying to tell gaze to get back tell gays to go back in the closet, we will not go back in the closet. Our fathers fought for this and we will maintain. 60 years ago, Martin Luther king junior talked about a dream. The problem is we are facing steamers. It is streamers on one side and schemers on the other. The dreamers are fighting for Voting Rights, schemers are changing them. The dreamers are standing up for womens right to choose. The schemers are arguing whether they will stop you at six weeks or 15 weeks. The dreamers are saying if you are lgbtq or trance, you have a right to your life. The schemers are saying you look like something that not should not be tolerated. It is the dreamers against the schemers. The dreamers are in washington, d. C. Schemers are being booked at Fulton County jail. The dreamers will win, will march, will stand up. Black, white, jewish, lgbtq. We are the dreamers, the children of the dream. Let us what march in the vision of the dreamers. That is why Jonathan Greene is here. That is why civil rights leaders are here. It is time to march. Everyone line up and we will march from the washington memorial until the dr. King memorial. [applause] no justice no peace no justice no peace i have a dream. I have a dream. I have a dream. I have a dream. I have a dream. I i i i have a dream. America was built on the power of people. On moments when our voices lost launched movements. My father, dr. Martin luther king jr. , challenged america to live up to its promise for all of us to recognize every voice deserves to be heard. But now, some are trying to silence us. It is time to get louder. That is why, today, we have to get louder. Raise our voice. Allamericans, your voice is your power. The time is now