- 1 day ago
Sharpton tells the story of a woman who as inspired him
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Our next keynote speaker is founder and president of the National Action Network.
00:07Yeah.
00:09The National Action Network is a not-for-profit civil rights organization
00:14with more than 100 chapters nationwide.
00:17As one of the nation's most renowned civil rights leaders,
00:21he was praised by President Barack Obama.
00:24Can we give it up for President Barack Obama?
00:26For being the voice of the voiceless and a champion for the downtrodden.
00:34Along with his work on the front lines,
00:36he served as host of both a daily radio and national cable news show,
00:41and he's an esteemed author.
00:44Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for Reverend Al Sharpton.
00:56Watchmen!
00:57Watchmen!
00:58Watchmen!
01:04Watchmen!
01:05First, let me thank Essence Magazine, Essence,
01:11for bringing us together again this year.
01:15We owe a tremendous debt to the leadership of Essence,
01:22Michelle Ebanks and Vanessa DeLuca
01:26and all of those sisters that have stood up against the odds
01:32and no matter what, brought the biggest gathering of black folks
01:37anywhere in this country every year.
01:41Give them a big hand.
01:42We also have two sisters that many of you don't know
01:51that made sure the resources were there.
01:55We fight sometimes to put people in the corporate suites
01:59and they get Negro amnesia.
02:03They forget how they got there
02:06and forget what they're there for.
02:09But we have two sisters that fought the good fight
02:13not only for Essence but for black folk.
02:17One is a native of New Orleans.
02:20At AT&T, Tanya Lombard.
02:22Give her some love.
02:26And her partner, Claudia Jones.
02:29Give her some love.
02:30Now let me get down to what I've come to say.
02:39I told y'all last year
02:41that we were going to go through an emotional letdown
02:48when we saw the first black family that was in the White House
02:54leave and get on Marine One and leave the White House.
02:58I had no idea that the country was going to have a nervous breakdown
03:04and go from black to orange
03:09and find out that orange is not the new black.
03:14Donald Trump comes from New York.
03:26I want y'all to know I've known and dealt and marched on him for 30 years.
03:32A lot of folk guessing about Trump.
03:35We know Trump.
03:361986, when a young black man named Michael Griffith
03:42was run through Howard Beach
03:46as they chased him saying no ends were allowed in the neighborhood.
03:52We went out and marched
03:53and we protested until we put three white kids in jail.
03:59Howard Beach was just a couple of miles
04:03from where Donald Trump was then.
04:06He's older than me.
04:07He never opened his mouth one time.
04:11But a couple of years later
04:14when a white woman was viciously
04:18attacked and raped in Central Park
04:21something that we all deplored.
04:25They went and just rounding up five young black men
04:28and they accused them of it.
04:32Browbeat and coerced them into confessions.
04:36They sentenced them.
04:38Convicted them on coerced confessions.
04:42Donald Trump,
04:43who never spoke up about race in his life,
04:46put full-page ads
04:49in the newspapers around New York
04:52that they should execute them.
04:56Donald Trump's racial birth
04:59was when he came out
05:00against those young men in Central Park.
05:03Many years later
05:04when another serial rapist
05:07confessed to the crime
05:09and DNA proved those boys didn't do it
05:13and he did it,
05:14Trump said they did do it
05:16and the city shouldn't settle with them.
05:19We know Trump.
05:21Oh, he act like he's our friend
05:23sometime come to our convention,
05:25go see Mike Tyson fight
05:27when he could make money.
05:28But we know him.
05:30And we know him
05:32and that's why we won folks against him.
05:35But now you got him.
05:37But don't fall for the game.
05:40Big game in New York
05:42is five-card Monty
05:45or on Times Square
05:47three-card Monty
05:48where they put down
05:50a certain amount of cards,
05:52put money under one,
05:53let you see the money,
05:54show you this,
05:55then they shuffle the cards,
05:57distract you.
05:58So you're looking at the wrong card
06:00and they take your money.
06:02Donald Trump is playing a three-card
06:05Monty game on America.
06:08He got you looking at him
06:11fighting with cable news hosts
06:13while he taking Medicaid
06:15from poor folk.
06:19He got you looking at him
06:22arguing with somebody
06:24somewhere in Congress
06:26while he's trying to make
06:28good with the Russians.
06:31He is trying to flim-flam you.
06:34But I come to Essence today
06:36to tell you
06:38I know the flim-flam
06:39and I know how you deal
06:42with a bully.
06:43You tell the bully,
06:44let's meet in the schoolyard
06:46and let's get it on.
06:48I've called on some of our ministers
06:57on August 28th.
07:00We've taken a thousand ministers
07:02to Washington.
07:04It's the anniversary
07:05of the March on Washington.
07:06Martin Luther King talked about
07:08I have a dream.
07:09Well, we have dream busters
07:12in Washington now.
07:14They're trying to roll back
07:15voting rights.
07:17They're trying to roll back
07:18Medicare and Medicaid.
07:20They're trying to roll back
07:22police reform.
07:24They're trying to roll back
07:25commuting sentences.
07:27We can't sit by
07:29and allow them to take from us
07:31everything that we fought
07:34and gained.
07:35We cannot be the generation
07:37that allows us to go backwards.
07:40We've got to go forward.
07:43Now I keep hearing,
07:44and I referred to it last night,
07:45I keep hearing people
07:47talk about stay woke,
07:49and I love that expression.
07:52But in order to stay woke,
07:54you've got to first be woke.
08:00Now, funny thing about being woke,
08:04I wake up every morning.
08:05sleep soundly,
08:12then you wake up.
08:14But it's not enough
08:15just to get woke.
08:18Then you've got to get up.
08:20If you woke and not up,
08:23you might be sleepwalking.
08:27Once you get up,
08:29you wash up.
08:30Once you wash up,
08:34you get ready to go to work.
08:36Woke without work
08:38is a waste of time.
08:43Don't just get woke
08:45and stay woke,
08:46but get ready to do some work.
08:50We must get ready
08:52to put pressure
08:53on every member of Congress
08:56and every member
08:57of the U.S. Senate.
08:58We need to tell them
09:00that we are not going
09:03to not only stay woke,
09:05we're going to put
09:06your political careers
09:07to sleep
09:08if you allow Trump
09:10to do what he's doing.
09:13They are betting on us
09:16to just get mad.
09:17They don't care if you mad.
09:20They don't care if you angry.
09:22You can cuss them out
09:23and sell wolf tickets.
09:25They did that all the way
09:27through the campaign
09:28last year.
09:30Everywhere Trump went,
09:31they was hollering
09:32and screaming.
09:33And he was plotting
09:34again on the flim flam game.
09:38Watching this
09:39while he counted up
09:40these votes.
09:41He lost
09:42by two and a half million votes.
09:44But he stacked up
09:46the electoral college
09:47and now he's sitting
09:48in the White House.
09:50We cannot go
09:51for the same game.
09:52We've got to go
09:54district by district
09:56now.
09:56When you go home
09:58after you enjoy
10:00this weekend,
10:02you've got to email,
10:04you've got to lobby,
10:05you've got to march,
10:07you've got to do
10:07whatever it takes
10:09to put pressure
10:10on your congressman.
10:12Yes,
10:13we've got to use
10:14social media,
10:16TV, radio,
10:17whatever it is.
10:18Yeah,
10:18tell Jay-Z
10:19I'm going to selfie,
10:21I'm going to do
10:21whatever needs to be done
10:23to get the message out.
10:26Because
10:27we are talking about
10:29not just reversing Obama,
10:32he's talking about
10:32reversing Dr. King.
10:35Do you realize
10:36if they change voting
10:38that everything
10:40that Dr. King stood for
10:42is gone?
10:44Do you realize
10:45that Medicaid
10:46and Medicare
10:46was putting in the 60s
10:48not doing Obama,
10:49do you realize
10:51that what they're
10:52talking about
10:53in terms of
10:54building infrastructure
10:55and cutting
10:56black folks out
10:57or these contracts
10:59or things
11:00that we said
11:01and we was able
11:03to get
11:0350 years ago,
11:05we're about to lose
11:07the entire
11:08last two generations.
11:10It's time
11:11for us
11:12to be serious
11:14about some folk
11:15that are seriously
11:17trying to dismantle us.
11:19Now let me remind you
11:27that didn't nobody
11:29donate
11:30none of this
11:31to us.
11:33They didn't wake up
11:34one morning
11:34and say let's be
11:35nice to Negroes.
11:38They didn't wake up
11:39and say let's give them
11:40the right to vote.
11:41Let's give Medicaid
11:43to poor people.
11:45We fought for that.
11:46We marched for that.
11:49We went to jail
11:50for that.
11:51We shed blood
11:52for that.
11:53Martin Luther King
11:54laid down on the balcony
11:56and died for that.
11:57And we're not
11:59going to let
11:59Donald Trump
12:00and nobody else
12:02take from us
12:03what we bought
12:04and paid for
12:05with blood.
12:06It is our duty.
12:17It is our obligation.
12:20Let me tell you something.
12:21The reason why
12:22I wanted to make
12:24this challenge
12:26at Essence
12:27is because
12:28black women
12:29have had to bear
12:31the brunt
12:32when we had
12:34no one else
12:35to depend on.
12:37You've been
12:37the backbone
12:38and the front guard
12:40of turning
12:41this country around.
12:43I heard
12:44Dr. Dyson
12:45talking about
12:46Harriet Tubman.
12:48Harriet Tubman
12:49they once saluted
12:50her
12:51for freeing
12:52500 slaves.
12:54She said
12:55I would have
12:56freed more
12:56if I could have
12:58convinced them
12:59they were slaves.
13:00I come to tell
13:03some of you
13:04you thought
13:05you was free
13:06because we put
13:08Obama in the
13:09White House.
13:10You thought
13:11you was free
13:12because you got
13:13a little degree
13:14and a little title
13:15something on your card.
13:17But I come
13:18to tell you
13:19that they done
13:20put Trump
13:20in the White House
13:21and your degree
13:23and your title
13:24won't mean nothing.
13:26You better get
13:27on the freedom road
13:29or they going
13:30to take it
13:30all back
13:31from you.
13:38I end
13:39by telling you
13:40that I believe
13:42in black women
13:43because I met
13:45a black woman
13:46many years ago.
13:48She had to raise
13:50her two children
13:50by herself.
13:52She was a
13:53domestic worker
13:54scrubbed floors
13:55took care of
13:57white folks
13:59children
13:59in midtown
14:01Manhattan.
14:01Some of y'all
14:02thought that was
14:03just down south
14:04but she took care
14:05of it
14:05in midtown
14:06Manhattan.
14:08She had dropped
14:09out of school
14:10when she was a
14:11child in the south.
14:13Didn't have much
14:14education
14:14but she made
14:15her children
14:16study and be
14:18somebody.
14:19She sometimes
14:20couldn't pay
14:21the utility bills
14:23and she made
14:24her little girl
14:25and little boy
14:26do their homework
14:27by candlelight
14:28and she made
14:30them read the
14:30Bible and told
14:31them if they
14:32believed in
14:33themselves
14:34that God
14:35would make
14:36a way out
14:37of no way.
14:38That woman
14:39raised them
14:40children to be
14:42something she
14:43could never be
14:44because she
14:45believed if she
14:46put it in her
14:47children that
14:48somehow they
14:50could break
14:50through in the
14:51next generation.
14:53I come to
14:53New Orleans
14:54to tell you
14:55that I'm that
14:56lady's son
14:57and in her
14:59name I'm
15:00going to stand
15:01up to Donald
15:02Trump.
15:03I'm going to
15:04stand up to
15:05Sessions.
15:06My mother
15:07didn't raise
15:08no punk.
15:10I'm ready
15:11for the battle.
15:18For every
15:19black woman
15:20for every
15:22black mother
15:24that got on
15:25their arthritic
15:26knees and
15:26scrubbed the
15:27floors.
15:28We're not
15:28going back to
15:29our knees
15:30Trump.
15:31We are the
15:32children of
15:33those that
15:34we're not
15:34cleaning your
15:35house no
15:36more.
15:37We're not
15:38raising babies
15:39no more.
15:40We're going
15:41to rise never
15:42to fall again.
15:44We are going
15:45to gain and
15:46maintain our
15:48freedom.
15:48let me say
15:50this.
15:52That woman
15:53made me read
15:54that Bible
15:54as I grew
15:56up a preacher
15:56and I
15:58remember on
15:599-11
15:59Trump you
16:01probably
16:01listening.
16:04You and I
16:05both were in
16:06New York
16:079-11 and I
16:08remember the
16:10city was
16:10traumatized.
16:11Michelle E.
16:12Banks we
16:13didn't know what
16:13was going to
16:14happen.
16:14Two planes
16:15hit the World
16:16Trade Center
16:17we didn't
16:18know if
16:18something else
16:19was coming.
16:20And I went
16:20up to the
16:21headquarters of
16:22National Action
16:22Network and I
16:24remember there
16:25were hundreds
16:25that had come.
16:26Cell phones
16:27was out.
16:28Nobody knew
16:29what was going
16:30to happen.
16:30Nobody could
16:31make contact.
16:32People had
16:33relatives that
16:33worked in the
16:34World Trade
16:35Center were
16:35petrified.
16:37And for the
16:37first time in
16:38my life I
16:39didn't know
16:40what to say.
16:41I'd been a
16:41preacher since I
16:42was a little
16:42boy but words
16:44wouldn't come
16:44out.
16:45And I
16:45went and
16:46sat in my
16:47office and I
16:48remember an
16:49old preacher told
16:50me a story.
16:51He said,
16:52I had to
16:54preach the
16:55early service
16:55one Sunday
16:56and I had
16:57stayed up late
16:58Saturday reading
16:59a novel and I
17:00kept reading and I
17:01kept reading and I
17:03couldn't figure the
17:03plot out and I
17:05read more and I
17:05read more and it
17:06got to be midnight
17:07and I couldn't
17:08figure the plot
17:09out and it got
17:10to be one o'clock
17:11I couldn't figure
17:11the plot out.
17:13He said,
17:13finally I cheated.
17:15I went to the
17:16back of the book
17:17and I figured
17:19out what was
17:20going to happen
17:20because I figured
17:22out how the
17:23story was going
17:24to end.
17:25I come to
17:26Essence Festival
17:27in the city
17:28of New Orleans
17:29where even when
17:31the levees broke
17:32and we were
17:33flooded out we
17:34came back.
17:35I come to tell
17:37you Donald
17:37Trump I took
17:39out my mama's
17:40Bible and I
17:41cheated.
17:42I turned to
17:43the end of the
17:44book.
17:45I know how
17:47this story
17:48going to end.
17:49The first
17:50will be last.
17:52The last
17:53will be first
17:54and the lion
17:56and the lamb
17:57going to lay
17:58down together.
17:59God will.
18:01God will.
18:02God will make
18:04a way for his
18:05children.
18:06I've been to the
18:07end of the book.
18:07God will.
18:08God will.
18:09God will.
18:09God will.
18:10God will.
18:10God will.
18:10God will.
18:11God will.
18:11God will.
18:12God will.
18:12God will.
18:13God will.
18:13God will.
18:13God will.
18:13God will.
18:14God will.
18:14God will.
18:14God will.
18:15God will.
18:15God will.
18:16God will.
18:16God will.
18:17God will.
18:17God will.
18:17God will.
18:18God will.
18:18God will.
18:19God will.
18:19God will.
18:20God will.
18:21God will.
18:21God will.
18:22God will.
18:23God will.
18:23God will.
18:24God will.
18:25God will.
18:25God will.
18:26God will.
18:27God will.
18:27God will.
18:28God will.
18:29God will.
18:29God will.
Comments