now, see, reverend al sometimes turns this pulpit over to me. now i can tell you one thing, i'm like reverend al, i'm gonna take that offering, y'all. [ laughter ] >> good morning. this is truly an honor, and i would like to give praise to one from whom all blessings flow, and that is my heavenly father, who is first and foremost in my life. i thank you, reverend al and the national action network for gracing me with the unprecedented opportunity for me to receive this martin luther king able leader weiaward. it's a humbling experience having this award bestowed upon me, in front of my daughter, this will forever be a hallmark in my life. you all give it up for my baby. [ applause ] it's even more special to have my niece here as well. she and my daughter traveled here together. and now they're at the same college together. they are the first in my family to ever go to college. coming from the city on the other side of the bridge from miami where there are no beaches. i hope that i am the example to them and what is all possible, thanks to the leaders in this room who supported me and believed in me, my friends and colleagues alike. some here and some not here. next month will make 21 years that i have been involved in the labor movement, and it has not been an easy journey. it's been very hard. and in fact, tumultuous as times. and like many people in this room, i lost hope many times. life's challenges included the death of two young brothers. i persevered only through trust and believing in god. only god. in part i got through it because of the wise counsel that he bestowed upon me, and you all know who you are. i thank you for being there. i thank you for calling greater out of me when i didn't believe in myself. a moment two short years ago, i was contemplating quitting. you sent me a scripture when i was dealing with the death of my baby brother. exodus 17, verses 8 through 13. for those who are unfamiliar with the citation, this is the story of moses on the mountain top, with the rod of god in his hand. and joshua waged battle. when moses got tired and weary, the israelites began to lose, but they got a rock for him to sit on, to hold up his hands until the battle was won. clifton bucannon, robert rule, mike swanson, you have been able to sit there with me, supporting me through these two years when i grew weary and i was tired. i lost two, but god gave me back three. your prayers got me through, brother. >> like king, and you reverend, al, i learned to pace myself for long, hard-fought battles. i owe a lot to afge, the organization has an a sanctuary throughout my career. so it gratifies me to see many members in this building here today for the ceremony. and i would be remiss if i didn't acknowledge my agency which provided me the livelihood to give me the opportunity to be able to put my daughter in college, the federal bureau of prisons. the acting director who is here today, mr. thomas cain, and assistant director, judy garr t garrett, i thank you all for coming and sharing in the moment. there are some people i worked with for two years, along with my other colleagues, to represent the largest federal law enforcement agency within the department of justice. and it's not easy to task responsibilities of 39,000 staff, finding solutions for an agency that incarcerates so many offenders. because we do this so well, you all know peace in your communities. we are the people who protect the people in america. america spent $80 billion on incarcerating 2 million offenders. as criminal justice reforms come to the forefront, it needs to include preventive programs, and i'm a product of a prevention program, mr. alder. i attended mays junior high, i was a part of one of those programs for at-risk kids and dropouts. but here i stand. here i stand. forming a ring in the air in the halls of congress, i pray this is the new civil rights movement that will continue to make this a priority for all our children. our children are our future and far too many of them are losing their ways, being raised in single family homes, with family members incarcerated. one such program today i helped organize and helped model at my home institution at the federal detention center in miami where we partner with the u.s. attorney's office and we usher in little schoolchildren just like i, to hear the stories of offenders who are serving time, and hoping to ensure they will make the right choice, not the wrong ones. let's try to keep our children who are our future out of prison in the first place. [ applause ] as a professional law enforcement officer, i'm ready for work, even among things that are not popular, like sentence reform. to make bop safe and to make my community better. cannot do this in our comfort zone. dr. martin luther king had a dream, but his dream did not allow him to live comfortably. we are, and the urgency is now, as you've heard two attorneys general come up here and speak. at rosa parks funeral, al sharpton said something that stuck with me for many years. he stated that it amazes me that we act like we don't have work to do. reverend al, you are correct. we do have work to do. trust in the matter -- truth of the matter is, i would like to stand -- i wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for visionaries like dr. king and reverend al. so i accept this award humbly and on behalf of my colleagues who believe all things are possible when we come together to do the right thing for our peers and our community. before i close, i do want to acknowledge the former attorney general, mr. eric holder. you called me, and you met with me after my election two years ago, congratulating me on being the first african american elected in my position, in my organization's 60-year history. to know that i served during an era with the first african american president of the united states, with the first african american attorney, with the first african american director of the bureau of prisons, who just recently retired, it's a momentous occasion, and now i serve with the first female african american and current attorney general, who was your keynote speaker. just unprecedented. [ applause ] i try to put god first in all that i do, and i believe he blesses me with divine favor to see things all promising. for a man who attended a dropout program at mays june wror high as a teen, for a man who wasn't raised with his mother or father, for a man who is grateful to survive the streets of miami, on the other side of the bridge where opportunity were not readily available, for a man who lost two younger brothers, trying to inspire their two sons, i'm hoping to be an inspiration of those coming behind me in a similar circumstance, breaking barriers and ending generational curses. let's continue to seek the dream. dr. king's dream. thank you. [ applause ] >> as an only child, liz powell was born in the state of west virginia and graduated assalute torrian of her class in logan, west virginia, where she received a scholarship and attended west virginia state university. she joined the postal service in 1970 as a part-time clerk, working in hempstead, new york, post office on long island, while at the same time working as a teacher's aide at the hempstead school district. she became actively involved in the hempstead local apwu early in his postal career, serving as chief shop steward and secretary treasurer. in 1979, she was elected the first female president of the hempstead apwu local, now known as the western nassau. liz served as membership as a national business agent from 1983 to 1989, when she was elected as the first and only female member of the apwu national executive board. she believes that the membership is the most important faction of the apwu, and has consistently extended herself as well as the national business agents within the northeast region, to provide the state and local unions any and all assistance necessary to be successful. this woman is an amazing young lady. i think many of us in this room know her. that is why she's been awarded this year's breaking the barriers award. why don't we all put our hands together and bring up elizabeth liz powell, secretary treasurer for apwu. [ applause ] >> thank you. wow. it's amazing how your history goes from place to place, right? i'm going, where did he get that from? [ laughter ] giving honor to god, special recognition to reverend sharpton, the founder and president of nan, to ebony and faith to make sure i had all the information to make sure i was where i needed to be this morning. to all of the honorees and to each and every one of you assembled here, good morning. i had a lot of firsts in my life, but here's one my apwu colleagues over in this corner don't even know about. my cheering squad. one month after arriving in new york in 1963, i attended my first civil rights meeting. where i became secretary of the long beach, new york, naacp. that was a thursday. on that following monday, i was challenging a white establishment known as the rod littman real estate agency, who had gone on record for months saying that he would hire black, but no one had applied who was qualified and could type. that, my friends, became my first official job in new york. because i could do both. if you think about the subjects that those of us who attended the conference this weekend, you can take that moment, and you can take this one. and you can see that the movement created by dr. martin luther king in the fight for social and economic justice, civil, human, and workers' rights, is still an ongoing movement. although most of us remember the "i have a dream" speech, the march on washington was organized to fight for jobs because it was recognized that freedom without jobs was not really freedom at all. and there's very few people today who know that the march would not have been possible if it had not been for the support of the labor unions. however, we are blessed and strengthened by one piece of sure and certain information and knowledge, and that is, there are no lost causes, that the fight is never over. that as long as we stand together and the blood is in us, there can be no final defeat on any battleground. that's why we have to keep the fight going, because if we give up the fight, we give up the struggle. and while we may not move mountains, if we do the work that falls to us, to the best of our ability, we may rest in the consciousness of a job well done. our message must be loud and clear. and more important than whether we win or lose is how we play the game. but then on the other hand, how we play the game, determines whether we win or lose. as i progressed up the ladder in the american postal workers union, i stood on the shoulders of my brothers as well as those of my sisters, but more importantly, the shoulders of the american postal workers union. and i am deeply honored to be one of the honorees. because in reality, you don't just honor me, you honor the fight for economic and social justice for all working people. therefore, reverend sharpton, on behalf of my sisters and brothers in the labor movement, with special recognition to my president mark demmen steen, apwu officers, members and friends who are with me this morning, i respectfully accept this award and will cherish this moment as i continue to be a part of a movement that continues to fight for social and economic justice, and i will be with you. sister pinckney, i know i don't have to tell you this, one day at a time, one foot in front of the other. god is good all the time. you have a lot of love from those of us who express our sincerest sympathy. and if there's anything that we can do in any way to assist you, let us know. got bless each and every one of you, and thank you so very much for this award. [ applause ] general loretta lynch talks about the justice department's prosecution of civil rights cases. this week, president obama attended the righteous among the nations awards assembly in washington, d.c. the award recognizes those that risk their lives to protect jews during the holocaust. this year's ceremony was the first to be held in washington, d.c. and the first to include the participation of an american president. it's an hour and 20 minutes.

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