00:00Sisterhood is a powerful thing and we've got a sisterhood of African-American mayors
00:05and we can rely on each other, we can challenge each other, we can lift each other up.
00:15The idea for this Mayor's Roundtable grew out of part of a fellowship that I'm doing with
00:24PolicyLink. For me, this is the organization, the policy institute think tank in the country and
00:35around the world focused on race and equity issues. We have such a good time with each other
00:41and learning from each other and lifting each other up and supporting each other. To get people
00:46to understand black, white, is that you cannot have part of your city at an A-plus grade and the other
00:54part of your city at a D grade and say, oh we're a great city. It's really a great network of women
01:01that I can lean on, that I can call, that I can vent to, that I can ask for advice or how are you
01:07handling this situation, what are you doing about this in your city, how are you moving forward with
01:13this particular initiative. We've always had to fight, we've always had to work hard, we've always
01:18had to prove ourselves. I think anytime we do a Roundtable, there's a lot of substance to our
01:24conversations. We talk about efforts that we're undertaking to improve people's lives. We talk
01:30about numbers and we talk about money. Those are the things that really are important, but we do it in
01:36a way that it's a dialogue for learning and working together and we're making a difference in our cities.
01:43I think we have to be intentional around budgets. Oftentimes, budgets are driven by budget directors
01:49and not driven by mayors, and I just believe that mayors should drive the city budget. It's always good to know,
01:55one, you're not in it by yourself, two, that we can lean on one another for strength, but also solutions,
02:01and so that's what I'm most hopeful about. The gathering is to focus on not just challenges, but solutions that will meet the needs of the people that we serve every single day.
02:12I decided to run in the district I grew up in, and the first thing that was said to me was,
02:17you should move to the Bayview and run, and the Bayview was where there was a larger African-American
02:22population. I've learned a lot over the last two years, and I'm always willing to share and help and
02:29assist and would love to learn from others what they're doing and some of the challenges that they're facing.
02:34Nothing can be more exciting than to hear you all talk to each other and to be part of building a network
02:41where we are also building relationships, but increasing the capacity to be able to deliver
02:46during the most important time that any of us have ever lived through. This is the time to deliver.
02:51I believe we can be a model across the nation in terms of women supporting women in leadership
02:59and empowering one another, celebrating one another, and making sure that we all
03:05are advancing the goal of success for the people that we serve.
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