mr. president will you give an apology for the statement yesterdaysome >> -- oh, boy. [inaudible conversations] mr. president are you a racist? mr. president will you respond to experience -- >> no. mr. president about are are you a racist? >> the national action network held its annual martin luther king day breakfast yesterday morning in washington, d.c. we'll hear from reverend al sharpton martin luther can king the thiferred and browser dmbt national committee chair tom res and american federation of teachers president randy qien garten.

good morning everyone. good morning. may i ask that you take your so that we may begin. so again, good morning. i'm jennifer jones, austin board member for the national network and i run a policy and advocacy organization poverty policy organization based in new york city. every year, on mlk day, we gather heree to remember dr. king's legacy. and to reflect and refocus on the work we all, we all are doing to keep his dream alive andp make it live here in america. in 1991, the national actions network was founded in the spirit and tradition of dr. king andng ever since 26 years 26 yes

plus, this civiles organization superbly led by its leadser reverend sharpton has been a preeminent leader in fight for civil rights. again, iing with all of you this morning. as we prepare now, to break the nights fast, board member will come and bless the the food. and thenth we'll all watch to lt every voice video. shall we pray gracious father and creator and sustainer of all thing hads. we come hereof this morning on this king day to -- tell you thank you to tell you how much we love you. how much we appreciate you. for all you've done for us. we ask lord god our blessings

upon this day every person who has gathered we pray for every server that's about to prepare and seive us our breakfast we pray that you continue to advance this dream many your son jesus christ that i am, thank god amen. breakfast is o served. ♪

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it gives me great pleasure to turn the program over to reverend sharm ton an individual who needs no introduction many this room, in this town, in this nation or beyond for tireless, tireless and unrelenting work on behalf of those systemically disenfranchised and marginalized spans more than 50 years and for our sake knows no limitations. i consider myself to be truly fortunate i've known reverend sharptoner longer than i can remember. before i was even born reverend sharpton was a presence in my family and in my household as he was mentored in civil rights and faith routed social justice by my father reverend dr. jones jr.

who was pet of the southern christian leadership conference new york chapter. and in a conrad of dr. kings in the movement. today nearly 50 years later, i'm proud to be mentored by rerchgd reverend sharp ton and my pleasure to repght to you reverend al sharpton. >> good morning, good morning, and welcome on another martin luther king day and as we are taking our seats and eating, the reason we are moving so uncustomaryily on schedule -- [laughter] and we have a lot of people coming in but i told they will just let folk o in because we e do three cities on king day.

and martin has to be obvious all over the place. but let me say this, on the good news side is that i remember whenth martin's mother dr. kings widow and congressman john connier and walter and others were fighting to make this a federal holiday. and it was something that seemed to be unthinkable and implausible. i said this morning on a show, number 82, 36 year ago james brown the god father's soul brought me to washington first and io, went to the white house and he had supported king and met with ronald reagan and i told james brown ronald reagan will never sign making this a holiday.y. because ronald reagan had had called martin luther king a communist.

but -- ronald ray begun a few years later sign and as i wrote to may flow or everything is closed honoring the birthday of martin luther king and you should be honored to be here in the presencece of his son, his daughter-in-law and yewlada is with us this morning. good morning you can tell your grandchildren you sat with dr. king's granddaughter. on king day 2018. and sadly we're going to not hear from martin but bad news is when businesses open tomorrow

they are administering smflt worst policy we've seen in the 50 years since dr. king was killed which is april of this this year. there has been a light of report about the present president, and him calling 80 african nation and al salvador s hole countries and after three or four days, they are saying didn't say it. if iif ifirst of all, i have knh for 35 years and every time i've met with him and usually it was forr protesting him, all of our meetings have been a lot more profane than profound. i have no doubt that he said it. but the issue is not what he said it is what he's doing. they're not debating the policy

is going to be that they exclude people from africa and haiti. they're talking about whether he cuss them. if i was walking down stands in the ballroom and you push me down the stands, argument is not >> whether you call me the n word on the way down but the argument is whether you push me down the stairs. the race based policy of this administration is what we have to face and what we've got to deal with. the good news is, that we learned from dr. king. how to deal with people that were notat in our interest. one, we don't become like them. and we do not lower our moral standards for theirs. that is why it is our honor today that we are blessed with presence of the bearer of dr. king name sake of dr. king.

year ago we marched here had in washington, martin said to me in the spirit of our father, i must meet an appeal to doctor, president trump. i said well you know, a lot of folks are not going to stand they said they understood my father. but we must make tomorrow aeel even as it goes nowhere. and he did. and i told him i've known donald trump i don't think he'll do anything. he said but we're not responsible for how they respond. we're responsible for making the appeal. a year later, martin was right you make appeal. i was right that donald trump was not going to do mog. but he is always tried to bring out o the better many society. and that is what martin luther king was about. and that's what we must be

about. ifif we become bitter and hatefl as those we might they've already won so on king day we're to stand up to trump without becoming leak trump. we're not going to call them names but we're not going to allow the policies to go unaccounted for. 1:00 we'll be in harlem today, 4:00 times square and march against hate. but every -- king day morning we pause to salute those that have oarptsed in the spirit of dr. king before we honored them, though, we're blessed to get on his schedule to be opening speaker our keynoter for martin luther king day breakfast of national action network 2018 the standard bearer oldest child, and the name sake of martin luther king, jr. on this his federal holiday. among the thing he's done is

spread i peace and global understanding, kept his fathert andd mother's movement and centralized is greatest honor -- , though, husband and daddy martin luther king the third. [applause] >> good morning. let me first thank god for the opportunity to be back many washington. but especially on this king holiday and this year that we

observe 50 years since the passing or o actually assassination i should say. of martin luther king, jr. i'm going to reflect in a moment. but first, i must say that, i am thankful to have a very dear friend who has been on the battle fieldee for a long time. and that we all owe a great debt of gratitude to and what is the reverend al sharpton president of the national action network. [applause] you know, it takes a lot of courage to stand up all the time

for those who have no voice. and it's interesting because leadership certainly keeps coming.au and every now and then, the lord sands prophetic leader. who understands the future and really leads in a way so that that message lives forever. because it's interesting to me to listen to some of the speeches of my father. ... but by the word negro, those speeches could have been delivered at any time, even right now. and obviously, as i said, he was killed 50 years ago. and obviously as i said he was killed 50 years ago. so i want to reflect this

morning, let me say first to all of the ministers who today, every elected official here today, every honoree, and advanced congratulations to you, chair of the democratic party, chairman perez. importantly i must say that i always, it is always special, because she is not always with me, and i should say they are not, , but i am so fortunate and blessed today to have the best thing that ever happened to me with me, and that is my dear wife andrea watters king. [applause] and the second best thing, our daughter, yolanda arthur vandenberg.

[applause]e] now, you know you're going to leave something out but i to get to the head and not heart so i apologize if i overlooked someone that i should've stated with you because actually we all are important. and i have just a few remarks, ten, 12 instead of one to read it but asef i said i've got reflect just a tiny bit. because i remember ten years ago on april 4 whenon i was watching television, watching the news and it flashed across the screen and is sitting in our family room with my brothers and sisters and it flashed across the screen that martin luther king, jr. has just been shot. now, there is no way to be prepared for that, but i remember running back to our moms room looking for some

consolation as to what has happened, what is going on, what did that mean? and i remember that, existing for a very long time. it took a long time to overcome the fact that dad had been killed. but then year later my uncle, my fathers brother was mysteriously drowned. and then four years after that, 1974, five years after that, my grandmother was gunned down in ebenezer church while praying the lords prayer. now, interestingly enough, dad was killed by a white man and a white racist system. my grandmother was skilled by a black man. so i could've harbored hatred, and really dislike all of you

all, but i'm thankful for the spirit of love because it teaches you to just like the evil act that still love the individual. my grandfather and my mother and my uncle taught that. and we as a nation have got to learn how to forgive. we don't know how to forgive,, that's why we're constantly engaging in wars. we have the capacity to destroy anything, maybe everything. but human beings are gods highest creation but yet when we commit to resolve a conflict we resort to lower animals means. you've never seen dogs talking about plato or shakespeare, harriet tubman, w.e.b. du bois, malcolm x martin martin luther. they don't have that ability. you have seen a a group of cats talking about a democrat, i'm republican, i may depend. they don't have that ability. you've never seen a group of

zebras talking about, i'm christian or a muslim or on hindu, i'm jewish, i'm atheist. they don't have that ability. but gods highest creation, mankind, actually humankind, has the ability to think and reason and we get ready to resolve a conflict, we resort to lower animal means. i'm going to kill him. that must change. it only takes a few good women and men to bring about change. i think my father showed us that with his team, and others have shown us that. now there are a few places, ifan any, that i believe -- like to make some of this reflection today, reflection of the dream means me to read to understand what the dream is. when weight is a liquid is that all god's children, blacks and whites, jews and gentiles,

protestants and catholics, hindus and muslims, women and men, lgbtq and straight, young and old. yes, all god's children would join in the brotherhood and sisterhood as one humanity and live in the world of freedom and justice, equality for all. let me say from the outset those who argue for national policy of isolation would do wello to remember my fathers admonition six years ago that we must learn to live as brothers or we may perish together as fools. he argued the destiny of one nation is tied to the destiny of all nations. we can never be totally secure as they are and secure. the final analysis, all life is interrelated. no nation or individual is independent. we are interdependent because he looked across this land, we came to realize the individual of the nation that use can live in

isolation has allowed itself to sleep through a revolution. well have its place, but america can only be first if she lives up to the true meaning of her creed -- we hold these truths to be self evident, that all women and men are created equal and they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. the country that can live it in isolation has a flip there a sleep through a revolution. we are indeed living through a great revolution. as we listen to and we read current news, we find citizens are losing confidence, trust, and hope in our democracy, and our economy, more precisely in the institutions that negotiate and mediate our life chances. now that we have turned the corner to a new decade since the great recession of 2008, the

wealthy have done well, while millions wait for recovery that seems to never come. yes, the stock market is at an all-time high, moving higher daily. unemployment seems to rest at a respectable low, they say, but still too many struggle to put food on the table, to pay bills, and to provide adequate housing, clothing and education for their children. unemployment may be low, but so are the wages. that barely put a salary for the meaningful living in the hands of women and men. it is one thing to give a token bonus to a handful of workers on the one hand, but altogether another to simultaneously take a whole livelihood away from hundreds on the other, through layoffs and business closings. do not get me wrong, i get the logic of the free market, but i

also get that the market must work freely for all and not benefit the privileged few. so i am here today because of a prophetic obligation captured in my father's dream speech. it is an obligation that calls upon all of you, all of humanity, an obligation that of als upon every citizen conscience, of every race, color, religion, gender and creed it is an obligation , captured in the prophetic call for justice to roll down like waters and righteousness like a stream. he challenges us today, he answers the call of the moral obligation, we are here today because the american dream is decidedly a nightmare for too many citizens. and people have had enough. let me say it again, the dream has become a nightmare for too many american citizens. on the left and on the right. and they have had enough. they have had enough of the

viciousness and the vitriol seen from the statehouse to the white house. they have seen enough of the dysfunction in the legislative capitals of our country. and they want action that responds to the struggles of their daily lives. millions of marginalized citizens of all races and ethnic backgrounds are demanding that their voices be heard, their faces seen and their needs met. like many of their fathers and mothers, they refuse to believe that the vault of liberty and prosperity are empty. they still believe in the constitution's promissory note, a contract between them as citizens and their country as as the guarantor of liberty, justice and equality, and they still believe the bank of justice is not bankrupt. the media asked me what i think my father would say about the current state of affairs in our nation and in our world today.

i do not know exactly what he would say, but i can tell you what he said about the injustice and moral decay of his time. let me first set the stage. 54 years ago, he and a legion of religious, civic, labor leaders marched for jobs and justice. the march was moral because it sought to bring the attention of the world to the injustice of an economy that favored one segment of society and denied dignity and work to its citizens of color. 50 years ago, he lost his life to that struggle and he prepared for another march on washington . it would be a public statement that the nation was not living up to the true meaning of its creed. that was called the poor people's campaign. in 1967, he was talking about a living wage. we are still trying to get the

minimum wage raised, so that people can have a decent quality of life. they would march, because they understood that the preamble of the constitution states certain truths that are self evident. our constitution declares, it is self-evident that all women and men are created equal. that all women and men are endowed with unalienable rights. let me go back to the women being created equal, because let me tell you, brothers, all men, you have to get your house in order quick. women are not playing. [applause] and it is tragic that we as a society have mistreated women for so long. it has always been unacceptable, but who would've ever thought that just six months ago that this would take a trajectory, this movement, a movement for righteousness, for justice, for

fairness, for truth, this may be the year of the woman for real. in georgia, we have two women running for governor in a republican state. guess what, women are mobilized and organized. one of those women will become the democratic nominee, one is an african-american, and one perhaps will become the first woman governor of the state of georgia. we are serious in this nation. [applause] these rights, if they are to become real, and justice must prevail. in equal sharing of society , benefits and burdens, advantages and disadvantages, but today the scales of justice lean in favor of the few who hold societies benefits and advantages, while many are weighted down with life's burdens and disadvantages. my father and so many others marched to redeem the soul of the nation. the march was for values and

-- enshrined in the constitution, but the nation seems to have abandoned these values when it comes to certain citizens. so if we truly honor his life and work, we must join in his cause for a revolution of values. his call for a revolution of values was also a call for a revolution of the scales of justice. let me explain that. as he looked over the landscape of our collective lives and he saw the great divide between poverty and wealth, and declared, "that is not just." he saw thousands of working people displaced from their jobs and reduced incomes as a result of automation, while the profit of the employers remained intact, and said "that is not just." , he the held capitalists of the west investing huge sums of money in africa, asia and south america, only to take the profit

out with no concern but the social betterment of these countries and is said, "that is not just." he witnessed the western arrogance, feeling like it has everything to teach others and do nothing to learn from them, , "that is not just." . he gazed in horror at the ways that we use war, putting our will against the will of others, and insisted, that is not just -- and emphatically insisted, that is not just. he declared in justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. i cannot be what i have to be until you are what you ought to be, because our destinies are tied together. all humanity is caught in a n inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a garment of destiny, certainly whatever affects one directly affects all. thus, we are all responsible to ensure that we live in a fair and just and peaceful society. what does justice look like? justice is having unfettered

access to our franchise rights to participate in the democratic process of a voting, just legislative capitals and statehouses and executives should be looking for every opportunity to help people vote, rather than every excuse to prevent some citizens from exercising their rights. [applause] voter suppression must be eulogized. it has to be dead. we have got to make sure that there is no barrier to voting. we should have online registration, as there is in some states. we should have the ability to register -- and even have all the i.d.'s that we need. i proposed a suggestion of couple of years ago. in fact, that's why i was time,g with at the president-elect trump, about taking an i.d. and making sure that barrier no longer existed so that we could not keep people from voting because they do not have an appropriate i.d.

the suggestion was to say to put a picture on a social security card. everybody has one of those. everybody does not have a drivers license, or the appropriate id, but everybody has a social security card, so why not put a picture on it? that issue is no longer in issue. we as a nation, out of 107 democracies, the united states posts --a posts -- boasts, 107 countries voted higher percentages than the united states. there is something wrong with that. women and men gave their lives so we would have the right to vote, all we have to do is find the way to use it. in 2018 in november, we could change the complexion of this nation. i am not talking about color, i am talking about the moral complexion by electing senators and congress people, the whole united states congress is up for

election, and several senators. all we have to do is take that short step into the ballot box and cast our votes. [applause] justice is having representation with taxation. therefore, washington, dc should have statehood. [applause] [cheers] justice is having equal pay for equal work. justice lifts up women and people of color to enjoy the same wealth as their male and white counterparts. justice is supposed to be blind, it weighs the merits of a criminal and civil case on the basis not of wealth or sexual orientation, gender, or any other characteristics, but on just laws. you know, we have a criminal system, but it is not just. whether you go down to the

.c. or ine here in d maryland, or any county in our to that system and all you find are blacks, hispanics, latinos and poor whites. richard pryor captured it effectively, you go down to the courthouse looking for justice and all you find is just us. and while it is humorous, it really is not. we are 80% of the jail population into something is wrong with that. -- of the population. something is wrong with that. it is a twofold scenario. one of those scenarios is, biblically it says if you bring up a child in the way that they should go when they are old, they will not depart from that training. some of us, some of us are not raising our children properly. that is part of the problem, but that is not the bigger problem. the bigger problem is a lack of indigent defense counselors. if you do not have proper representation when you are in

court, nine out of 10 times you are going to jail. we've got to address that issue to make our system of justice truly a system of justice. when the courts have spoken, true justice ensures that the rule of law stands above all and n, fromeryone in and ma a toddler to the president, is subject to rule. that is the meaning of freedom, equality, and justice. now is the time for every man and woman to stand up for righteousness, justice, and to stand up for fairness, and to stand up for truth. the urgency of now declares that now is the time to stand against injustice of every time -- kind. injustice of every kind, the moral injustice of a criminal system. the racial injustice that privileges whites over people of color, the cultural injustice that favors one ethnic group over the others, the political injustice of voter suppression,

the social injustice of an adequate education, the economic injustice of unemployment, underemployment and unequal pay, the gender injustice that denies the gender in justice that and girls of the world house equal rights and threatens them as objects of a male-dominated play house. my father declared only a revolution of values can provide these my father declared only a revolution of values can provide these principles and create the conditions for fair and just society. that revolution of values canf only, through peaceable power, peaceable power is the part of the people. it can only, from the people consciously educated, or equipped, actively engaged in the work of nonviolent social action. thus we must march. we march to mobilize. weni must organize and we must continue to march to let me recall something briefly as i prepare to close.

a story of father spoke of as e pondered washington irving sale of a young man sweeping to a great revolution. too many of us like rip van winkle if we are asleep. we have an administration that seems to have awakened us. but many of us were asleep. we slept for eight years when president obama was in. we slept. we didn't work. thee conservatives and republicans worked. they worked for eight years and we thought, obama will take care of it. you have to work and earn your freedom and regeneration. that means the work is never complete. it will be but we have to keep working. so i say to you, and i hear in the spirit of the voice of the late doctor sandy ray, as he recalled the admonition, he said

wake up and rise from the dead. see to it that you make the most of the times, for these are evil days. these are evil days when they deny today immigrants the same rights as white immigrants, these are evil days when they see the breakup of families with needless and heartless rationale that is tantamount to expediency. these are evil days when the president of united states doesn't seem to understand that africa is a continent, not a state. [laughing]af [applause] and refers to countries such as nigeria and haiti and el salvador as -- donald, when he said, he did what he always does, and the president insists that our nation needs more citizens from white states likee

norway. i don't think we need even spent any time even talking about what it says and what it is. now, the problem is that you have a president who says things but as the power to execute and create racism. that's a dangerous power and a dangerous position, and we cannot tolerate that. what i say is where to find a way, you mayay also that does me any sense. we have to find a way to work on this man's heart. you see, think about, george wallace was a staunch racist and we worked on his heart and ultimately george wallace transformed. so don't tell me we can't transform. we've done it too many times. we are networking hard enough. my father and his team consistently reciprocated crisis situations. because even in 1961 when he went to visit president kennedy and said, mr. president, do you

have any civil rights legislation you were present? president kennedy said dr. king, i'd like to, but i have other domestic priorities. then they said will participatee and nonviolent crisis and you have to find itt was. a few years later we had a civil right act that gave the citizenship. then folks march from selma montgomery led by john lewis and the makeup of voting rights act. in 1968 with her housing legislation. there was a strategic plan that was put inn place. we need to have a strategic plan, not just in the african-american community but for all progresses in a america, but in the african-american community we need a think tank, a new think tank. why do i say that? because laster we spent over $1 trillion and we we don't have one black bank with a billion dollars in it. not one. if we had 10% of that, $100 billion in african-american

institutions, we could salvage our communities. we could create entrepreneurship. we could create jobs and we could create options. we got work to do. we need to roll up our sleeves and work like we never worked before. and so i say to you now is the time. we must also march to protect our neighborhoods, our children tryy to play and grew up without fear and trepidation. we want civic institutions and civil consciousness that checks the power of authority of an elitist market that favors the few over the many, and a complicit government that makes it possible. we must march to the symbolic citadel of justice. that's a moral march of righteousness, a march to transform the jangling discords of culture, the culture of violence through the sweet elegy of a culture of nonviolence. this is a new march for a new

generation. it is a moral march for peace, a moral march for justice. it is a march to realize the dream. as i close i want to share two things with you. one of my favorite quotes of my fathers, that we should all think about employing, because he said the ultimate measure of a human being is not where they stand in times of comfort and convenience, but where they stand in times of challenge and controversy. he went on to say that on some questions, cowardice asks is a position safe? expediency asks isex a position politics? is a position popular, but that something deep inside called conscious act is a position right. he went on to say that sometimes we must take positions that are

neither safe nor popular nor politic, but we must take those positions because our consciences tell us they are right. now with the time, my friends. now was the time. my mother took me to an undergraduate school t in and on the college there's a statue of the educator horace mann, there's an inscription on that statue that made that impact that it always remember. it says, , be a shame to die ino you want a victory for humanity. let me tell you one more time. be ashamed to die into a you won a for humanity. you may say, brother king, that's two grandkids. it is in. we can win victories in her neighborhood. we can win victories in our schools. we can win victories in our places of worship. some of us. will win victories. some may win victories in our states. some may win victories internation and get others may

win victories in our world. what those words basically mean are, be ashamed to die until you have done a little something to make the world in which we live in a little better than it was when you arrived. thank you. god bless you. god bless the national action network in reverend sharpton. [applause] >> martin luther king iii.in [applause] he has given us the charge, the mandate, and iul would hope that we go forth to work. the mayor has arrived and the

chair of dnc. before we hear from them, i want to give out awards out so martin can take his leave, and those of us have tous get to new york, first, let me acknowledge first freedom fighters in the audience. glad to have with us melanie campbell. stand up, from the black women's roundtable. [applause] .. onwine is inbara urbanuse, from the league, our partner and friend, dawn craven. [applause] and, of . [applause] >> and of course, the one who put all of this together who is a real leader extraordinare, the head of our washington bureau of national action network, where is ebony?

[applaus [applause] >> all right, there she is, ebony riley. and our d.c. chapter leader, nia. [applause] our first award goes to let us not forget dr. king was organizing a poor people's campaign and he was coming to washington to establish resurrection city. he got a call from reverend james lawson that there were garbage workers on strike in memphis, would he come and support them. most of his staff was against his going, but dr. king said, no, i'm going to memphis 'cause unless we stand up for garbage workers, we are not living up to our jobs. he went to memphis and some folks felt dr. king was too

moderate disrupted the march and had a riot at the end of his morph, calling themselves the young invaders. new york times said dr. king's nonviolence was-- he went back in to save nonviolence and that's when he was killed, standing up for garbage workers. wouldn't have to make the trip unless there were super-duper militants, they were around today. they was around before trump came in, i haven't seen them around since trump-- they marched on obama and took a vacation on trump. i don't understand that. but one of those that was one of those striking garbage workers that keeps the banner going, that stands with martin luther king iii and those of us today as we stand with labor

and this administration is trying to break-- you can't sign a proclamation for martin luther king and try to dislodge labor because he died fighting for labor. let us honor from the garbage workers of that time to this time, the social justice leader award from memphis, tennessee, give a hand, brother baxter lee. [applaus [applause] >> come on, give him a hand. [applaus

[applause] >> good evening. i got this call and i said it's an honor, it was a hard day and worked through that struggle. and jones, he struggled with us to get this war through sanitation workers and i thank you all for inviting me anytime. [applaus [applause] >> give him a hand. [applaus

[applause] >> one of the pride and joys of our movement is that we make sure that not only do we have a multi-generation movement, but that we relate gender-wise, lbgtq-wise. a lot of folk got on us many years ago when we said this is one movement. we may have different ways that we're discriminated, but you can't fight for civil rights for anybody unless you fight for civil rights for everybody. and we continue to stand with that. one of the things that has made us proud at national action network is to see leaders come and blossom and i am eternly proud and grateful to have had a leader and a warrior that has

stood in this organization that has spread her wings. when you saw the massive woman's march in january, she laid out the logistics and i don't care-- i looked the other night at the global war, wouldn't have been the #metoo movement without the january march and they're not in this because of whatever, they're there because it's right 'cause i know her 'cause she fought for what's right, and she stood with us when others did not understand. her staff helped to make it a nomination that we need to honor her and martin and i wanted to present it, but i want one she-- ebony riley who runs this was trained by her and i want her to be able to help present to her predecessor. 'cause we don't have a woman

problem in nan. in fact, the women have a sharpton problem, they're telling me i'm getting too grouchy. they don't think i hear them say about it. and don't worry, yolanda, got a younger woman here. and a group where nan is, i want ebony to help martin and i to help present this award to her. >> thank you. we're going to keep this brief for the sake of time, but in 2012 is when i first met our honoree when she gave me a chance as a senior college student to intern. i volunteered for a year and to do this work, you have to be passionality behind it. she taught me how to do march

logistics and i planned two marches after her transition. and i honor you so much, so now we have the second woman running and it's my third year as bureau chief for national action network so i'm following in your footsteps and i appreciate everything you taught me and i'm very grateful, thank you, janay. [applause] >> let us honor janay ingram. [applaus [applause] >> oh, i'll make this brief. i managed to not tear up which i thought i was going to do. i think this award means more than any other award that i've ever received because these are

the people who have watched me, really make the sausage and that's not necessarily always a pretty thing to see all of the hard work that goes into making something happen and to creating-- and i really want to thank reverend sharpton and also want to thank my family who are here. can you just stand up, please. all of my family who are here. [applaus [applause] >> so before i came to nan, obviously, family is what grounds you, but i want to give a special acknowledgment to reverend sharpton. sidney poitier in one of his books, he talks about how his parents, when he grew up on an island in the bahamas, his parents threw him in the water when he was like three or four years old because they wanted to teach him how to swim and his father kept throwing him in the water and he would start drowning and his mother would come and pick him up and his father would throw him right back in the water and working at nan was a lot like that the

best way possible, in the best way possible. reverend sharpton really taught me how to do all of the things that i'm here getting this award for, and it was because of his belief that i could do it and his belief and faith in me that i could do things that i had no clue that i could do it that i am here and that i've achieved some of the things that i have achieved and so i really appreciate him and i really thank you for that. he doesn't have a woman problem, he has fabulous women who are ebony who are leading and tamika here before me as a national director. before i leave i'm going to keep it brief. a special thank you to some of the women in the room who have helped lead me and prop me up like laura murphy who helped me get a role at air bnb and melanie campbell who is always my sister and my friend and my

mentor, barbara, tanya, so many women in this room if i forgot your name, please charge it to my head and not my heart. thank you, everyone, this means a lot. >>. [applause] >> janay ingram. [applaus [applause] >> and she's not lying, we just throw you in the water. if you show up to work the next morning, we know you didn't drown. so-- and she learned to be a mighty great swimmer and we're proud of her. we could not do what we do without those who are forerunners, those who are long distance runners. race isn't given to the swift nor the strong, but those that can endure to the end. there's no retirement package

for freedom fighting. as long as i've been out here, there's been a voice, one that would not compromise or back down, and on this, the 50th year that we will have to deal with the assassination of dr. king's memory, nobody's invited that voice stronger and longer than the black eagle, the man who rose never to be silenced, may you help me honor joe madd maddon. [applaus [applause] >> i have to share this and reverend sharpton knows this with the fact that today is

also my 41st wedding anniversary. [applause] >> and you can see i ain't got a woman problem. somebody said, well you only got married on your dad's birthday so that you would never forget the anniversary. no, i married a woman who was great, therefore, i don't have to forget. i don't need king's birthday to remind me of just how fortunate that i was. i will say this, martin, and this is something you can use later, i always say that if i should die and go to heaven, reverend, and st. peter's at

the gate and says, you know, joe, you worked with reverend sharpton and martin, you can come right on into heaven. you don't have to wait, just come right on in. i would say and ask, is sherry madison there? because if she's not it just can't be heaven. [applaus [applause] >> now, martin, you're going to have to wait a while, because if you use that line, she's here, so she's going to remember it. but let me just say that the -- my favorite quote of dr. martin luther king, jr. is when he said that the two most dangerous things on the planet sincere ignorance and

conscienceo conscienceous stupidity. that's my favorite quote and say it every day. i'll say to donald trump, i will not use the word either out of respect to your granddaughter. i've got a grandson from kenya, his father is kenyan, kenyan, on the continent of africa, and i had to explain to tell him that you didn't come from an s-hole country or a continent. matter of fact you're the only one in our family he's akin to the only president of the united states because he and you are from the same tribe, but i close by saying to donald trump, if he's listening, and let the message go out loud and clear, that god created this earth and he did not create any s-holes. not on the continent of africa,

not in the caribbean. [applause] >> if any s-holes were created it was because man messed it up, and god is going to fix it. thank you very much. [applaus [applause] >> joe madison and thank you, i'm so happy that when he got to talk to st. peter that martin and i was already in heaven. that's good forecast for us. for presenting our last award, let me acknowledge some members of our national board, certainly one that's been a rocky land for us and has been there from day one in good and bad days. he's an outstanding

entrepreneur, lamel mcmorris. former executive director of sdlc under martin and, of course, the chairman of our new jersey chapter, pastor newhope mission baptist church in new jersey and is down with us today. reverend steffi bartlett. and our provider, the daughter of my mentor who brought me in the movement when i was 12 r and who has grown herself. she has been the ahead of the transition team with the present mayor of new york. she heads the federation of protestant welfare organizations in the city of new york, an outstanding example of what woman of excellence is all about. our own jennifer jones austin.

[applaus [applause] >> dr. king said we must have intersectionalism we call it now. he said that we must fight shoulder to shoulder and we must have allies. the fact of the matter is, everybody that was black did not march in the '60s and everybody that was white was not on the other side. we had allies that died to get us the right to vote and we had some blacks that never came out of their house. i meet people everywhere now, they're over 75, swear they march marched. we never had a million man march till '95. i can't get through the airport without people telling me they voted for me for president. if they had, if they had, i would have been on my second

term when obama won the white house. but there's one sister that has always been in the trenches, never missed a fight for rights for anyone, never ever missed standing up, even if the members of her union didn't understand it. and she is still fired up. shoos he a still on the front line. she exemplifies the spirit of dr. king in her very body and every molecule of her body, and we salute her in this 50th year because she best represents what labor is, with fire in their belly, passion on their minds, and with their feet moving towards justice. the head of the american federation of teachers, randi weingarten. [applaus

[applause] >> okay. you know, like the others, i can't do this without a couple of notes, but i promise i'm going to be one minute or less, which is this, how is that? thanks. thanks. you know, it is an honor to be standing in your presence. it is an honor to be walking the walk of justice. it is an honor to be awoke in this moment of time because it is this moment that takes on an

urgency that frankly i have never experienced in my life. this is not simply as important as it is a fight for everything that martin had said before. this is not the fight that lives and we have stood on lines over and over again in streets over again to do. it's not simply a fight for fairness or justice or policies we champion or working folks and their families. we right now must be a check and balance for our democracy. we, who has fought for our democracy, must be its check and balance. we must fight for a society that is safe and welcoming for all. and sane.

we must fight the anti-democratic, the nativist, racist, misogynist, incompetent, authoritarian, cruel instincts and actions of this president. i will not even say his name and his cronies and associates that simply want an intolerant, divisive, gilded age society. it is a which side are you on moment and we are on the side of justice. thank you so much for this honor. [applaus [applause] >> randi weingarten. revere reverend randi weingarten. before we bring on the chair of

the democratic party, our mayor has arrived. because of an emergency she had to be late. she is the mayor and she runs this town. and she has to take care of all parts of it, and i hope soon that she will send a new yorker that got lost on pennsylvania avenue back to us. martin said we can work on it hard. i can work on it better if you send him back to fifth avenue. the mayor of washington d.c., mayor muriel bowser. [applaus [applause]. >> well, good morning, everybody. good morning, and happy martin luther king day. reverend al and martin, thank you of reminding us of the legacy of martin luther king. it's true that that i was just

with my firefighters who helped to evacuate people from a tunnel and everyone is well and i want to thank those men and women for their bravery. recognize our city council who are here, phil mendelsohn and brandon. let me in addition welcome you to our great city, a city growing in so many ways and in many others, these are the best of times in washington d.c. but, as we grow and as we change, we're also reminded of our very significant responsibility, as we sit right in the belly of trump america, some would say. there have been d.c. mayors who have worked with republican presidents, but none like this one. and we have been reminded and continue to be reminded of our role not only in the region and the nation, but also in the

world, to represent american ideals in democracy around the world. we are greeted in many nations as represents of our great nation and it's my honor to do so. i am also reminded of the role that mayors play at this very critical time. where the rubber meets the road in so many ways. the decisions that we make, the procurements that we allow. the initiatives that we push and in so many ways can push against the very divisive rhetoric and actions of this president. we should also be very proud that this year, we welcome one of the largest classes of african-american lady mayors across these united states of america. [applause] >> and in some our biggest

cities, atlanta, charlotte, and washington d.c. support the mayors and make sure the mayors know the ideals and things we're fighting for at the national action network can be put into play at our city halls across the united states of america. these women will represent millions of people who can help change the economic inequality that reverend king fought against bypassing minimum wage laws in their cities. these women can change the course for many african-american men by making our criminal justice systems more fair and just. these women can change the courses for their own sisters in making sure that women have access to equal pay and just, just systems across all of our institutions and finally, these women can change the courses for our children by making sure

our education systems aren't just bricks and mortar buildings, but places where we can find again, like our president, our real president, barack obama told us, they find in those buildings hope and change. god bless you all. [applaus [applause] >> we will now have an opportunity to hear remarks from our chairman of the democratic national committee, the honorable, i'm going to call him the honorable tom

perez. [applaus [applause] >> good morning. it is such an honor to be here. thank you reverend sharpton, thank you martin, thank you, mayor of what will be the state of washington d.c., as we keep fighting for. thank you to all the honorees who have done so much work here and thank you to all of you. this is a gathering of serial activists, that's what it's all about and that's what martin luther king day is about. it's about making sure that serial activism isn't one day a year, it's every day of every year. and, boy, i've been reflecting a lot over the course of the last few days on the basic issue of what is moral leadership. you can't help, but ask that question because reverend

sharpton challenged us, you don't fight invective with invective. that's not what dr. king would have done. moral leadership is what dr. king has guiding principles. frankly, they transcend party. his guiding principles had everything to do with moral formation and those loftier principles driving us to make the world a better place. when i think about moral leadership, i think about the work that he did. i think about the recognition of the golden rule. i think about how we should be working together to build community for everyone. i think about how we should always remember that history, every single day, has its eyes on us. when i think of moral leadership, i think about the

fact that america is at its best when we're working together. when i think about moral leadership, i frankly think about the principles on which i was raised because my family came here from the dominican republic. we proudly share an island with haiti. we proudly do that. haiti, where web deboise father immigrated from. haiti, eight years ago last week endured a horrific earthqua earthquake. america is at its best when we help people in need, when we help our sisters and brothers around the world in need, and that's exactly what barack obama did. boy, do i miss barack obama. anyone else in here miss barack

obama? man. and my parents came here because they had to flee a ruthless dictator, she'd seen politics at its worse. their lives were in jeopardy, they came to this country, they weren't born in this country, but my family dedicated itself to this country, my mother was one of nine, all of her siblings fought as part of america's greatest generation. my father fought with honor in the united states armed forces. they taught me that being american is not about your birth or bloodline, it's about the values you live every single day, service, hard work, compassion for others, moral leadership is the recognition that our moral test as a nation is how we treat those in the dawn of life, our children. how we treat those in the twilight of life, the elderly and how we treat those in the

shadows of life. these aren't my values because i'm a democrat. i am a democrat because these are my values. the values of my immigrant family were american to the core from the moment they stepped on american soil. and this is, frankly, what is under attack today. this is bigger than parties. it's not about one issue or one comment, it's an all-out assault on the fundamental idea of what it means to be american. and it's causing immense suffering. leaders, including presidents, should be uniters, not dividers. presidents should elevate our national discourse, not debase it. a president's words and actions send a message to the world about the values that we treasure and the values we will fight for. joe, you mentioned one of the quotes that is so meaningful to

you. well, you know what, folks? as i reflect on moral leadership, i find myself reflecting on another quote of dr. king who once said that to ignore evil is to become an accomplice to evil. what i've found most remarkable about last week was not what this president said, regrettably that's become a dog bite's man story and that's unfortunate in itself, but what was regrettable and most notable was the appalling silence of so many people in the republican leadership. [applaus [applause] >> paul ryan called those remarks unfortunate. when the washington nationals have a rain delay and you must wait, that is unfortunate.

when i trip and stub my toe and it is slightly painful, that is unfortunate. joe, i don't know whether that was sincere ignorance or c concensusous or both. that's our generation the appalling silence of many people. what is clear to me, clear as ever is that the party of lincoln is officially dead, and has been replaced by the party of trump, the party of roy moore, the party of joe arpaio, the party of people who seek to divide and conquer because there is so much suffering going on right now. our fellow citizens in puerto rico are suffering because this president is attacking our values. our young dreamers, who are every bit as american as my

three u.s.-born children, they just don't have the sheet of paper, are suffering. our haitian brothers and sisters are suffering. so many others are suffering and yet, what do we see from this congress? what do we see from this leadership? reverend barber calls this a symptom of deeper moral malady and that's what we see across this country because we must always stand up to injustice. the democratic party stood up to george wallace. lbj when he signed the civil rights act of 1964, he understood that there would be electoral consequences for democrats, but there were things that transcended the politics of the moment, there were broader principles of inclusion and opportunity for everyone and he understood

that. regrettably, the appalling silence of today's republican leaders, i don't even know what mitch mcconnell has said because he's in the emergency room getting the sock in his mouth removed. the appalling silence, again, joe, sincere significant nor rance -- ignorance or conscien conscienceous stupidity. we've confronted these forces before and we will defeat them again because of the serial activists in this room and across this country. [applause] >> i had the privilege of getting to meet mr. leach in the back of the room. mr. leach is a moral leader.

the sanitation workers in memphis were moral leaders. i was a work study student, a pell grant kid and one of my summer jobs was working on the back of a trash truck. and you know, as i prepared for today, i found myself reading more and more about the memphis sanitation workers. taylor rogers was one of those workers, and in telling his story, the working conditions that they described were just nightmarish and you go to the memphis museum and you see the trash truck and you see the injustice and the indignity and so, mr. taylor, taylor rogers and mr. leach and others did the only thing they could do, they marched. they organized, they declared, i am a man. and i will take license and say i am a woman as well, and they marched past the national guards people and after dr. king's assassination they did

not quit. they organized. the community rallied around them and two weeks later, the city council finally agreed to give the workers a better deal. and as he told his story, taylor rogers said, and i quote, alls we wanted was some decency and some dignity. decency and dignity. is there no demand more basic than that? the promise of decency and dignity is what inspired the workers in memphis and the hospital workers in charleston. decency and dignity empowered activists to rise and students to stand up, sit in and make their voices heard. decency and dignity brought john lewis and others to a bridge in alabama in mildred loving to a courthouse in virginia. decency and dignity inspired fannie lou baker, rosa parks, so many others in this room and

decency and dignity as we know is the foundation of dr. king's legacy. and it is this promise of decency and dignity that has carried the downtrodden and the oppressed through our darkest hours, whether it's the beatings in selma, bloodshed in mississippi, the massacre in the basement of a church in charlestown. decency and dignity should not be simply values of the democratic party, they are values across america, my friends and we must fight for them because they are human rights, but the moral malady that reverend barber and reverend sharpton and so many others talk about today, that's what we need to confront and as i said before, we have confronted these forces before. we have defeated these forces before. and we will defeat them again. how will we do that? we will take a page out of what just happened last month in alabama. we organize, we vote, and we

win. [applause] >> and thank you to the african-american women across the state of alabama, the african-american men across the state of alabama, who brought doug jones, who brought dignity and decency to alabama who said, roy moore, you are not what we stand for as a nation, we will continue to fight when we vote and when we organize and when we lead, we succeed. that's what we have to do, my friends. and i was proud to be involved in that, but you know what? the real credit goes to the african-american women and the african-american men who are the backbone of the democratic party, the voices we're seeing in alabama and elsewhere, it's not simply coincidence. lyles down in charlotte, the new mayor of atlanta, we have the mayor here in washington d.c., we are making progress. the american people are sending a very clear message across

this country. we want moral leadership. we want uniters. we want leaders who will fight for dignity and decency in every single zip code. so, my friends, i leave with you this, we are living in a time of serious challenge, but dr. king once said that we must, while we must accept finite disappointments, we should never lose infinite hope. we're living in this time, but i'm confident that our infinite hope, we will march, we will fight for decency. we will rise and we will win. so, if you believe that workers deserve jobs that pay a fair wage, you should organize and vote everywhere. if you believe that workers who work a full-time job shouldn't have to live in poverty, you should organize and vote everywhere. if you believe that health care

is a right for all and not a privilege for a few, we should organize and vote everywhere. if you believe that we should be giving working families a break instead of wealthy corporations, you should only and vote everywhere. if you believe that we should be building more schools instead of more prisons, you should organize and vote everywhere. if you believe that every eligible voter should have the right to vote and that voter suppression should be in the history books, you should organize and vote everywhere. if you believe that women are the backbone of the democratic party, you should organize and vote everywhere. if you believe in a woman's right to choose and a worker's right to bargain collectively, you should organize and vote everywhere. if you believe that the labor movement is a backbone of the progressive movement, we should

organize and vote and protect our brothers and sisters. randi weingarten, lee saunders and others. if you believe that we should be welcoming our brothers and sisters from haiti, from el salvador and elsewhere, you should organize and vote. if you believe that dreamers are not simply a group of 800,000 young adults, but they are a value statement as president obama said, a damn good value statement he said about who we are as americans, you should organize and vote. if you believe, my friends, that black women are at the core of this party and have been the core of this party and we must never take them for granted again, we should organize and vote. if you believe, my friend, that we should have a secretary of education that actually believes in public education, you should organize and vote.

if you believe that we need to put justice back in the department of justice, you should organize and vote. if you believe in d.c. statehood, you should only and vote. if you believe that every child should have access to a quality education, that clean drinking water is a basic human right, that police departments should be held accountable to their communities, then you should organize and vote everywhere. i am confident, my friends, that we can do this. because we've done it before and we'll do it again and the arc of the moral universe is indeed long, but it does bend toward justice, but it never ever, ever, ever bends on its own. let's bend it together. that's the mission of moral leadership. thank you very much. [applaus

[applause] >> amen. amen. well, we have-- we have dined divine and we should feel richly filled. amen? and our hearts should feel energized. we've heard from many in this room, many prominent figures and many words should stay with all of us. i'm going to walk out of here referring several things, among them, mr. leach's presence inspires us all. [applause] >> martin luther king iii, be ashamed to die until you have

done something for all of mankind. joe madison, god didn't create s-holes, if there are any, it's because man messed up, and god's going to fix it. randi weingarten, it is a which side are you on moment and we are on the side of justice. chairman tom perez, we have confronted these forces before and we have defeated them, and we will again. and then to paraphrase him, if you believe in humanity, that's paraphrasing, summerizing, if you believe in humanity, you should organize and vote everywhere. have we be fed? have we be norrished? have we been energized? are we here living and listening in the spirit of martin luther king, jr.? well, if we're going to

actualize that spirit then we need to move forward and we need to act. so we're going to get up on out of here so we can get to the acting, but before we do, i want to bring forward our final presenter, reginald mcknight and as he makes his way to the stage, i want to acknowledge all of our sponsors, made the breakfast, 911, 32 bj. air bnn, afge. aft, alphabet soup, right? . at&t, charter communications, comcast, eli lilly & company, essence, macy's, mastercard, pepsico, perennial strategy group. air, uber, verizon, wal-mart, viacom and as reginald mcknight comes to us, a lead partner,

facebook. let me say a few words about reginald mcknight before he comes. he is the head of u.s. infrastructure public policy at facebook. he had as more than a decade of experience as a lawyer and policy advisor. he's counseled major corporations on a wide array of matters involving public policy, government affairs and complex investigations, and litigation. and as the head of u.s. infrastructure public policy at facebook, he's responsible for the government affairs strategy of the multi-billion dollar infrastructure program and for its work on cutting-edge issues at the intersection of law, policy, and technology. he's been a leader in our community, in the community at large. and he's demonstrated time and time again a commitment to service through his involvement in various civic activities. among other thing, he serves on the board of the university of

south carolina business school. the international african-american museum, the abramson scholarship foundation and he's a former board member of duke university's school of law alumni board. he's a native of greenfield, south carolina, and his wife and he reside in alexandria, virginia with their 20 month-old son and they attend alfred street baptist church. i present to you, mr. reginald mcknight. [applaus [applause] >> good morning. to the king family that has sacrificed so much and inspired so many. to the national action network, that has been on the front lines of the night for justice and equality since their founding, and to all that

gather here today, it is truly an honor to stand before you to celebrate the life of the reverend dr. martin luther king, jr., at a moment in our nation's history where it is particularly important that we reflect on his message, that we all have a responsibility to stand up for equal rights and justice. we give thanks for dr. king's legacy that reminds us that our lives are the personification of prayers. our lives, our offerings in service, to god and our fellow human beings. nearly half a century has passed since his death and it is right to acknowledge all the wonderful progress we've made because of wonderful organizations like this and so many freedom fighters in this

room. but we must also remind ourselves that his work is not yet complete. and so, neither is ours. it is easy to recognize this as a moment of great challenges. we face issues that threaten the very fabric of the community dr. king envisioned. but i think those who have been in this fight for a long time would tell you that challenges don't ebb and flow. they may arise in different forms, but challenges are constant. today we are seeing regard change across our nation driven by many factors. at this moment, we are facing the greatest economic inequality since the great depression. there are large scale movements of jobs and economic security throughout our nation and as

always, our concern is and must be with the people who may be left behind. but as the challenges are constant, so are the opportunities. to seize upon these opportunities, we must act. echoing the greatest tradition of the movement, we must lift our collective voices and speak with moral clarity about the issues that we face. mr. leach's presence here today reminds us, he's a hero, an american hero and those sanitation workers in memphis that dr. king was there visiting are american heroes and what their presence reminds us is that he was there in the middle of a campaign focused on economic equality when he was assassinated. they were marching for justice and for jobs, not just an end

to legalize discrimination, but the presence of economic opportunity. and while we've undoubtedly made progress in that area, let's be clear, there is still much work to do. today african-americans still have the lowest un-- highest unemployment rate in the nation. in the gap between races has not lessened, it's widened. in the technology industry, the fastest growing industry in our country and yet, african-americans make up less than 5% of technology workers. and only 24% of those jobs are held by women and that number is also declining. now, i'm thankful to work for a company that recognizes that diversity helps us build better products, make better decisions and better serve our community of over two billion people and recognize that while we made

progress, it simply isn't good enough. providing economic opportunities to all communities also involves putting people to work, literally. again, looking at the technology sector, jobs are growing at three times the rate of any other industry. today there are over half a million open computing jobs in the united statesment that number is goes to rise to one million by 2024. filling these jobs is critical for our economy, our country, and our families. and that's why i was so excited to go to detroit last fall to announce that facebook is going to train 3000 in computing jobs over the next two years. and we recently announced we're going to take this work force development program to 30 cities all across america this year, but we still have work to do. we can't stop there. in all sectors. we must also be committed to

paying people what they deserve. and -- [applause] as simple as that sounds, we still live in a world, 50 years after dr. king was assassinated, where women earn less than men. in 2016, women on average were paid 80 cents for every dollar men earned, and that gap widened further for women of color. black women were paid 63 cents for every dollar white men made. now, we should all take this personally. i can't help, but think about my grandmother who cleaned homes in charleston, south carolina, just to make it. or my parents, who grew up in poverty, picking cotton in rural south carolina, but somehow, through prayer, and hard work, have gone on to be one. top educators in this country.

when i think of their stories, and the stories of so many women who are now nearly half our work force, it is an embarrassment that they should still earn less than men for the same job. [applaus [applause] >> welcome can't buy gas cheaper, they can't buy clothes cheaper, and they shouldn't have to look at their colleague sitting next to them and wonder if they're less valuable because they're a woman. it is precisely because of the challenges we face, but the opportunities before us that i am so energized, and so honored and humbled to stand before you today. in the words of the incomparable reverend william barber, we are being called like generations before us to be the moral defibrillators of our time and shock the heart of

this nation with hope and justice and the love that dr. king taught us. we will rise to this moment together. i am confident of that. as one nation, as one people, we may have come from different countries, at different times, on different ships, but we're all in the same boat now. so as we celebrate dr. king's life today, in following the eloquent example of the national action network, let us ensure that his death was not in veain. let us be reminded that the dream lives on through each of us and let us keep marching forward forever onward to that promised land of a nation more just and more free for all god's children. god bless you and thank you very much. [applaus

[applause] >> all right. we are nearing the end of our program this morning. if you have any doubts about how you can activate, how you can get organized and get out there, we're going to bring up a gentleman, a young gentleman who is going to give you a few words about an upcoming event that will give you an opportunity to get engaged. ryan battle, he is the national action network's youth huddle leader. please come on up and say a few words. [applaus [applause] >> good morning. >> good morning. >> i haven't seen you guys in a

long time so i'm going to lead a little more energy than that. good morning. >> good morning. [applause] >> my name is ryan battle. i'm the northeast region representative for the nan huddle. an 8th grader, and an intern for dnc vice chair and assembly member, michael blake. [applaus [applause] >> i have a job today and that's to give you some information on the convention you don't want to miss. historically, national action network has convened the largest public civil rights convention in the nation. free to attend our conventions draw activists and feature most important in speakers in the nation. we create a unique environment bridging together the grass

roots and grass tops in the way that's truly unprecedented. past years have featured president barack obama, president bill clinton, vice-president joseph biden, attorney general eric holder. former secretary of state. hillary clinton, civil rights icons like joseph lawrie. ... king, as well as celebrities like gloria steinman, robert kennedy jr., helen mirren, lee daniels, the "empire," magic johnson, bishop t.d. jakes, belefonte, samuel l. jackson and john legend, just to name a few. marking 50 years of the assass more than 50 50 years after te assassination issues convention seeks to invoke martin luther kings persistent project and hope among these times to refuse

ton relent. even coming from the highest in the land, you know, it is sad i can't stand up and repeat what was that about countries of people that look like me, but i can't and won't ignore it either. i i can, however, repeat the men we had to honor and will honor during the convention dr. martin luther king, jr., and sang every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism, or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. we talked about this last year. make a choice. don't be a man afraid of the light. let's not be ignorant to the fact that the world, to call and treat me like monkeys in the jungle.

use your voice, show up, show up. visit www.nationalactionnetwork.net to register and join us in walking in the light of this historic moment. lastly, in the spirit of the honorees, mlk, reverend al sharpton and the now late frankie newman remember what i always say, you have the power to give life, or destroy it. i choose to give. thank you. >> live on c-span2 take you live to testimony to the director the international energy agency before the senate energy and natural resources committee. they will be discussing the global energy outlook today. the ranking member is here in the room, maria cantwell. the chair murkowski of alaska.

ivanka trump and white house press secretary sarah sanders will join a white house conference on empowering women, and returning to capitol hill today, , congress will be in facing the government shutdown deadline midnight friday night. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

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[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> good morning, everyone. the committee will come to order as we begin our first hearing in what promises to be