All right. Good morning. And welcome to the National Enforcement officers museum. Thank you for being here. As howard cook in the room . No . Not yet. All right. So, secretary mayorkas, welcome. I am amazed on how many i just left orlando. I thought i left you behind but here you are. Recognize that when i look to my right and my left, you are often standing there. So your commitment to Law Enforcement and your commitment to the communities that they serve does not go unrecognized. It really is a testament to your leadership. So thank you for being in the house again. Its always good to have you here. So, this is our third year of having the weekend to conference here at the museum press conference here at the museum. I say it every year, this is the perfect backdrop for this launch. On one side of this campus, we honor the fallen. On this side of the campus, we honor the stories, the amazing story of american Law Enforcement. What put covid altogether is our safety and wellness program, our efforts that we may to try to keep names off the memorial wall. Every Successful Initiative has to have an incredible leader. And todays initiative that we are talking about is National Faith and blue weekend. And i could not be more honored than to introduce the incredible leader, the passionate leader, the leadership that is needed to make an Initiative Like this come to fruition, ladies and gentlemen, reverend hutchins. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, let me say first thank you to all of you for being here, most especially to the national Law Enforcement officer Memorial Fund and museum, and sec. Mayorkas, and all of our partners here. Three years ago, like many of you in Law Enforcement and communities across this country, i began to be very concerned about the tone and tenor of some of the communities response to Law Enforcement involved tragedies. When i started to see folks in one corner yelling our lives matter, people in a different corner yelling it, i knew that we were headed in the wrong direction, because we have never progressed as a nation, when we segregate or separate ourselves from one another. I believe in social justice. I believe in civil rights. I believe in human rights. I was meant toward by all of the icons at work very closely worked very closely with Martin Luther king jr. , including his wife and so many others. What made the Civil Rights Movement great was it was not across one race, or pleas from one group of people, it was black and white together. We will overcome. If we are to overcome the tensions that we see, we are to stop attacks on our Law Enforcement professionals. If we are to see a decline in officer involved tragedies, it will only happen because we have the the courage to stand one with another, across our differences. Because when we do that, mr. Secretary, we all find that there is more that unites us together than there is that divides us. What we are hearing too much in this country at this moment is what dr. King called the vocal minority, doctor can used to talk about the difference in the silent majority and the vocal minority. Communities of color like every other Community Want to be policed with fairness and justice. But black and brown communities are not antiLaw Enforcement. More than 90 of white americans more than 80 of hispanic and African Americans wants the same or more Law Enforcement want the same or more Law Enforcement. But what we have been hearing is that those are minorities, who want to demonize Law Enforcement, want to defund the police, when in doing so they hurt the most vulnerable communities among us. As a civil rights leader, i am most disappointed when i hear someone say that defunding the police is a pathway forward. We need more resources, focus on Mental Health. We need more resources, focused on alternatives to incarceration. But we need to lift our nations Law Enforcement professionals up, not tear them down. And i knew that we needed to do something dramatic and significant in this country. So in april of 2020, i asked the u. S. Department of justice, here with us today, to stand with us, in convening every Single NationalLaw Enforcement organization in this country. They all came together. I did not realize that it had never happened before. But we brought all of them together for one purpose, to build bridges, to build bridges between cops and communities of every kind. To build bridges between our nations Law Enforcement officers and our citizens and residents in our local communities. To build bridges between those who jesus called the least of these, and those who were sworn to protect and serve them. I was reared in atlanta, mr. Secretary. I lived some of the largest protests, marches, and demonstrations in atlantas history. Im honored to be joined by our immediate past police chief in atlanta, rodney bryant. Chief rodney bryant. About five years ago, after serving as a civil rights leader leading many marches in atlanta, the Atlanta PoliceDepartment Said to me, we want to put you in the shoes of a Law Enforcement professional. One of the big tv stations in atlanta did a big story on it. And what i experienced going through that Law Enforcement academy, every public voice that speaks to Law Enforcement issues ought to have that experience. Too often, we dont see what we think we see. My message to the American People now is the time to turn to each other, but not on each other, now is the time to stand up and be counted. Now is the time to lift our Law Enforcement professionals up from 2020 to 2021. The number of Law Enforcement officers that died in the line of duty doubled in a single year. All the while, Law Enforcement agencies are having a difficult time retaining and attracting new talent, while crime and violence in our most vulnerable communities is escalating. We need a new direction. We need a new path. And that pathway to progress focuses on partnerships. Partnerships that unite us together, instead of dividing us. Thats why we organize National Faith blue weekend, with all of our Law Enforcement professionals, we launch faith we launched faith blue for the first time in october of 2020. In the midst of the pandemic, in the midst of the outcry and the protest of that summer, there were more than 1,000 communitybased event across 43 states in this country. In year two, last year, there were more than 2,000 Community Engagements in all 50 states, plus washington, d. C. In the span of three years, this effort has become the largest and most consolidated Police Community outreach project in American History. Thats a testament to these Law Enforcement agencies. And associations. They are here today, to extend an olive branch to the American People. They are here today to issue a call for help. For support, for unity, for collaboration. We have no idea when we started this just how much the nation needed it. My challenge to every Faithbased Community and organization, its not enough to hang a sign outside your door. A sign outside of your door. Youve got to invite Law Enforcement professionals inside to have a conversation. There is not a problem in this country, mr. Secretary, that we cannot solve. If we have the courage to sit together, and reason together, and converse together. Today, we announce the second, the third faith weekend friday, october 7, through monday, october 10. Law enforcement agencies, large and small, in every state in this country, will hold communitybased events, where they focus the attention of their community on the need to actually solve problems. What we need more than anything else is to sit together and figure out a pathway forward. The answer to the challenges we face at this moment when it comes to crime, retention, and when it comes to tension, and when it comes to officer involved tragedies, the answer will not just be printed in legislation or on executive order, an executive order, and it cannot be taught in the academy. The answers lie in the hearts and minds of every resident and every local community and every Law Enforcement officer in this community. Thats what we need. What killed george floyd was not flawed policy. The officer violated the policy. There is a lot of talk in this moment about the need for reform, and i believe there is a need for some standardization, summary formation and certainly some innovation in Law Enforcement. But the biggest need for reform when it comes to policing is relational reformation. We need to get our Law Enforcement professionals and our Community Residents to relate to one another. As humans, with shared values, as sisters and brothers, with shared interests. So today, i join with all of our national Law Enforcement partners, in all 50 states. We call upon every Law Enforcement agency to get involved. Get out into the community. Host events over the weekend. And show the community that we are not as divided as we are disconnected. I call upon every faithbased organization, every communitybased organization to come together with your Law Enforcement professionals. Lets build these bridges. Because if there has ever been a time where our nation needed and deserved this leadership, that moment is now. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor and privilege to welcome to the podium now the honorable secretary of the u. S. Department of Homeland Security, alejandro mayorkas. Mr. Secretary. [applause] secretary mayorkas the first thing i will do is lower the microphone considerably. [laughter] good morning, and thank very much, for inviting me to join you. Faith and blue seeks to bring Law Enforcement agencies and faithbased organizations together to effectively safeguard our communities across the country. It is an initiative that is based on a core principle that our safety and security are best achieved, when we work in partnership with one another. When in the service of our communities, we ourselves work as a community together. The department of Homeland Security is a department of partnership. One of our key roles is to equip our communities to be safe and secure. We fulfill that role by working with Law Enforcement professionals, faithbased organizations, residents, businesses, and committed to groups. Community groups. We are proud to be a member of the partnership, and i am proud to be here with you today. We live in an extremely challenging time. A time when the balance of trust between our communities in Law Enforcement are afraid, and the Threat Landscape is dynamic. In our increasingly interconnected society, trust is a key element of achieving public safety. The reality is that we can only strengthen and rebuild the bonds of trust by our actions. We are working with all of you, in partnership with you, in a number of different ways. We share information and intelligence with you. Seeking to reach the broadest audience possible, at the lowest classification level possible. Since early last year, we have issued over 100 unclassified intelligence products and issued six national bulletins that describe and contextualize for the public the evolving threat environment in which we live. Our Nonprofit Security Grant Program supports security enhancements, planning, and training for nonprofit organizations and places of worship at risk of terrorist attack. This year, we are providing 250 million, an increase of 70 million over the last year. Through our emergency grant response programs, we have increased our funding to Law Enforcement agencies by more than 50 million as well. Tragedies in buffalo and others involved individuals who were exhibiting signs of decline. We realize there is a critical need for prevention. We are developing programs and resources to enable faithbased organizations, schools, hope your services, long, school officials, friends and neighbors and others in the community to school officials, friends, neighbors and others in the community to build their capacity to prevent violent acts from happening in the first place. Security are bringing critical stakeholders together. Faith blue is a parallel effort that, through all of our presence here today, proves to be a powerful vehicle in the service of partnership and the safety and security our partnership is designed to achieve. We need to work as a community to address the threats to our community. Trust is essential to our success. Thank you to faith blue for bringing us one step closer. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you, mr. Secretary. This effort would not be possible without the support of the sponsors that sponsor faith blue weekend. They give us the opportunity to service and support every Law Enforcement agency in this country with the resources. You can find those at www. Faith blue. Org. Www. Faith blue. Org. Our sponsors are the Motorola Solutions foundation and at t. To speak about our sponsor support, i want to welcome the executive Vice President and coo of Motorola Solutions, followed by the Vice President of federal regulatory for at t, the Parent Company of first net. [applause] thank you. The creation of safer cities and thriving, equitable communities are at the core of Motorola Foundation solutions purpose. We fundamentally believe the communities are safer when those who are called on to serve and protect and those that they actually serve continue to build communication and collaboration. That is why we are so honored to support the National Faith blue weekend in its third year. I would also like to acknowledge all of the Law Enforcement leaders, agencies, and associations they represent as well as the faithbased leaders here today. I would also be remiss not to acknowledge Movement Forward, and the leadership of reverend hutchins, who has been a tremendous catalyst for change. The event that will unfold here will create critical connections within our communities. I think most importantly, foster the dialogue around policing, trust, safety. We know that this years National Faith blue weekend will continue to build momentum, and most importantly, serve as a mechanism for us to build stronger connections and a bridge between Law Enforcement and those that they serve. We are humbled and very proud to be here to support the third National Faith blue weekend. Thank you. [applause] good morning. A special thanks to our industry partner, Motorola Solutions,dery day. Part in every day to keep our communities safe. Doing the right thing without compromise underpins our level of values underpins all of our values, and it begins with how we communicate. Clear and Reliable Communications pave the way to a better future. Today, we are honored to help in bringing lawenforcement and faithbased communities together in a partnership to unite around our common interest. Pursuing interconnectedness and finding Common Ground can only push all of us to create a safer and better world. Thank you, reverend, for allowing us to be a part of faith blue. We look forward to what we can continue to do together for our communities. [applause] faith blue weekend is not a religious proposition. Its not about religion or sectarianism. There are 350,000 faithbased organizations in this country. More than 65 Million People participate in some form of faithbased Service Every week. When our Law Enforcement partners and sponsors and partners in the government were looking for a way to build these bridges in sustaining and in a sustaining a