Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez energized supporters during a rally in Memphis, criticizing President Donald Trump and Republicans while urging political engagement. Speaking alongside Tennessee State Rep. Justin J. Pearson, AOC described the current political climate as a challenging moment but encouraged the audience to remain hopeful and active. She praised Pearson's leadership and called on supporters to help send him to Congress, framing the effort as part of a broader movement for change and civic participation.
#AOC #DonaldTrump #Memphis #Republicans #JustinJPearson #USPolitics #Congress #Campaign #Rally #BreakingNews #Tennessee #Democrats #PoliticalNews #News
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#AOC #DonaldTrump #Memphis #Republicans #JustinJPearson #USPolitics #Congress #Campaign #Rally #BreakingNews #Tennessee #Democrats #PoliticalNews #News
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NewsTranscript
00:00Something is happening in Memphis.
00:04Something is happening in our world.
00:07This is the darkness.
00:10But this is what it takes for us to see the stars.
00:16And we have a star here in Memphis with Justin J. Pearson.
00:22An oil company planned to push a crude oil pipeline
00:26through a historically black neighborhood.
00:29Putting an entire community's health and drinking water at risk,
00:34Justin refused to stay silent.
00:38It's so special to be here.
00:41This is my first time ever in Memphis.
00:47And I landed last night,
00:52and I could just feel the wave of importance of this place.
00:59Wash over me.
01:03So much of when I started to think about my role
01:11and all of our role in the world as a young person,
01:15I thought about places like Memphis.
01:19Genuinely, genuinely, genuinely and truly.
01:22Because, you know, for all folks that may say,
01:25and can we please just hear it for our pastors and our speakers and our reverends
01:31here at New Direction Christian Church, thank you all so much.
01:36But, you know, there's this conversation about Jesus being a socialist.
01:44And I listen to the reverend's words,
01:47and, you know, you hear the television turn on,
01:50and they're talking about this and that.
01:52But when I think about where my first political consciousness was formed,
01:59it actually didn't come from a book written by Marx.
02:05It came from watching what happened in Memphis,
02:10in Montgomery,
02:11and Selma
02:12and Atlanta.
02:16I remember as a little girl,
02:19as a little girl,
02:21I read this children's book called
02:23The Watsons Go to Birmingham.
02:27And as a small child,
02:30I gained an understanding
02:33that our country
02:36was a source and a place
02:37and a site of not just great injustice,
02:40but great miracles.
02:44And when I think about
02:46the sacrifices that people have made
02:49for us to gather here in this church today,
02:55I know about
02:57the duty and feel
02:58filled with a sense of purpose
03:01about what we are here
03:03today together
03:05to accomplish.
03:08We're not here today
03:09by accident, Memphis.
03:11We're not here,
03:13each and every one of us
03:14in this room,
03:15by accident.
03:17So when I landed last night,
03:20I felt that wave
03:24and I decided
03:25to pull up
03:28Dr. Martin Luther King's
03:29last speech
03:32about the mountaintop.
03:36Now we know that
03:38he was a prolific
03:40writer,
03:41orator, of course,
03:42the leader of our nation.
03:43We learned from him
03:45about not just the dream,
03:47but the drum major instinct.
03:52And we learned about
03:53that mountaintop
03:55that he told us
03:56about the day
03:57before his life
03:58was taken from us.
04:02And he talked
04:03about that mountaintop.
04:04And I sat there
04:06and I listened
04:06to his words
04:07and I wanted to share
04:08some of them
04:09with you all today.
04:11He said,
04:12something is happening
04:13in Memphis.
04:17Something is happening
04:18in our world.
04:21And you know,
04:22if I were standing
04:23at the beginning
04:23of time
04:24and the Almighty
04:26said to me,
04:27Martin Luther King,
04:28which age
04:29would you like
04:30to live in?
04:32Strangely enough,
04:34I would turn
04:35to the Almighty
04:35and say,
04:36if you allow me
04:37to live just a few years
04:39in the second half
04:40of the 20th century,
04:42I will be happy.
04:43And he said,
04:45now that's a strange
04:46statement to make
04:47because the world
04:48is all messed up.
04:50The nation is sick.
04:53Trouble is in the land.
04:55Confusion all around.
04:57That's a strange statement.
04:59But I know
05:01somehow
05:03that only when
05:04it is dark enough
05:05can you see
05:07the stars.
05:11and I see
05:12God working
05:13in this period
05:14of the century
05:15in a way
05:15that men
05:16in some strange way
05:17are responding.
05:20Now,
05:20I'm just happy
05:21that God
05:21has allowed me
05:22to live in this period
05:23to see what is unfolding
05:25and I'm happy
05:26that he's allowed me
05:27to be in Memphis.
05:30And I feel
05:31the same way
05:32sharing this
05:33with you all tonight
05:36because we are here
05:37to pick up
05:39where King
05:41left off
05:4258 years ago.
05:47He told us
05:49that night
05:51that we must
05:53develop a kind
05:55of dangerous
05:56unselfishness
05:58in order
06:00for us
06:01to prevail.
06:03Earlier today
06:04we walked through
06:06and we saw
06:07what was happening
06:07here in Memphis.
06:08We sat
06:09at an intersection
06:11and I could see
06:12on this side
06:13of the street
06:14a methane plant,
06:16on that side
06:17of the street
06:18coal ash plant.
06:20You all know
06:21coal ash
06:22is more
06:22radioactive
06:23than nuclear waste.
06:26Over here
06:27wastewater plant.
06:29Over there
06:29the gray water
06:31plant facility
06:32from the new
06:33XAI data center.
06:38And all of this
06:42within one
06:43or two blocks
06:44of each other.
06:44I mean,
06:45I'm from New York.
06:45I say blocks.
06:46I don't know.
06:47We share it out here.
06:51And the thing
06:52that we have
06:52to see
06:53is not just
06:53these facilities
06:56but the human
06:57beings
06:58that surround
06:58them.
07:01Because outside
07:02of that,
07:03across the street
07:03from that
07:04I saw little
07:04girls with asthma.
07:06Their grandmothers
07:07with COPD.
07:11Their inhalers
07:12and their
07:13chemotherapy.
07:16And who's
07:17paying for that?
07:20not the folks
07:21requiring them
07:22to need it.
07:24This is the
07:25darkness.
07:27But this is
07:28what it takes
07:29for us
07:29to see
07:30the stars.
07:33And we have
07:35a star here
07:36in Memphis
07:36with Justin
07:37J. Pearson.
07:45Brothers and sisters,
07:46this responsibility
07:47now belongs
07:48to us.
07:49And that's
07:50exactly why
07:51we must send
07:52him to Congress.
07:54I think about
07:55this because
07:5758 years ago,
08:0158 years ago,
08:02King was
08:03assassinated
08:04right here
08:04here in Memphis.
08:0758 years
08:08later,
08:09to the month,
08:11to the month,
08:12the Supreme
08:13Court gutted
08:14the Voting Rights
08:15Act.
08:16And 50,
08:19and 58
08:22years
08:22later,
08:24you could set
08:25your watch
08:26to it.
08:28What was
08:29the first
08:29place they
08:31went after
08:31to redraw
08:32the seat?
08:33Memphis.
08:37That wasn't
08:37an accident
08:38either.
08:40That was not
08:41an accident
08:42either.
08:44And the efforts
08:45that it took
08:46for them
08:47to get to
08:47that moment,
08:48we must
08:50double
08:50as we
08:52descend
08:52here on
08:53Memphis
08:53to organize
08:55and care
08:56for our
08:57brothers and
08:58sisters.
09:00We cannot
09:01afford
09:02to leave
09:03Tennessee
09:03behind.
09:05We cannot
09:06afford
09:07to leave
09:07Kentucky
09:08behind,
09:08Alabama
09:09behind,
09:10Mississippi
09:10behind,
09:11Georgia
09:12behind,
09:13South
09:14Carolina
09:14behind.
09:16There is
09:18no country
09:18when we
09:19are split
09:19apart.
09:22About a
09:22month or
09:23two ago,
09:23we're in
09:24Montgomery,
09:24Alabama.
09:25Sister Presley
09:26and I
09:26were in
09:26Montgomery,
09:27Alabama.
09:27And one
09:28of the
09:28things that
09:28we said
09:29was that
09:30it is
09:30time for
09:30the North
09:31to roll
09:32up to
09:32the South.
09:38We will
09:38not be
09:39chased out
09:40of places
09:40anymore,
09:41brothers and
09:42sisters.
09:43It is
09:44going to
09:44take all
09:45of us
09:45together
09:46rejecting
09:47the
09:47separation
09:48for us
09:49to
09:49organize
09:49and
09:50speak
09:50life
09:51into
09:52one
09:52another
09:52because
09:53we
09:53will,
09:54we
09:55will
09:55see
09:56the
09:56day
09:56where
09:57we
09:57will
09:57turn
09:57the
09:58crooked
09:58path
09:59straight,
10:00Memphis.
10:04Justin
10:04is a
10:05fighter.
10:06He's
10:07an
10:07organizer.
10:09He
10:09is the
10:10son
10:10of a
10:11preacher
10:11and a
10:12teacher
10:12who
10:13worked
10:14themselves
10:14out
10:14of
10:15minimum
10:15wage
10:15jobs
10:16to
10:16provide
10:17for
10:17their
10:17four
10:18sons.
10:20And he
10:20hit five
10:21sons.
10:22My goodness,
10:23I'm sorry
10:23about that.
10:26Five
10:26sons.
10:27And he
10:28is the
10:29right person
10:29for the
10:30job.
10:31Because
10:32long
10:32before
10:33Justin
10:34ever
10:35stood
10:35on the
10:35floor
10:36of the
10:36Tennessee
10:36house
10:37fighting
10:37for
10:37dignity,
10:38he grew
10:39up in
10:40southwest
10:40Memphis,
10:41the most
10:42polluted
10:43area
10:43of the
10:45city.
10:46He saw
10:47firsthand the
10:48effects of
10:48growing up
10:49in a
10:49neighborhood
10:50that everyone
10:51had written
10:51off.
10:52The rising
10:53cancer rates,
10:54the children
10:55almost born
10:56with asthma.
10:58So when
10:59an oil
10:59company
11:00planned to
11:00push a
11:01crude oil
11:01pipeline
11:02through a
11:03historically
11:04black
11:04neighborhood,
11:06putting an
11:06entire
11:07community's
11:07health
11:08and
11:08drinking
11:09water
11:09at
11:10risk,
11:10Justin
11:11refused
11:11to
11:12stay
11:12silent.
11:16He went
11:17door-to-door.
11:19He packed
11:19public meetings
11:20with neighbors.
11:23And against
11:24all odds,
11:27together with
11:28the people of
11:29this incredible
11:29city, they
11:30forced two,
11:31not one,
11:32but two
11:33billion-dollar
11:34corporations to
11:35abandon their
11:36polluting
11:37projects.
11:40That's what
11:41Memphis does.
11:43It rises up
11:44and it
11:46fights back.
11:47We cannot
11:48listen to the
11:49siren call of
11:50those voices
11:51that say what
11:52we do doesn't
11:53matter,
11:54that we
11:55don't matter.
11:58Oftentimes,
12:00people try to
12:01accuse folks of
12:02us, of being
12:03something like
12:03too woke.
12:07It's because
12:08they don't like
12:09when we wake
12:10up.
12:13Because when
12:15people wake
12:15up, Memphis,
12:17we stand
12:18together.
12:19When people wake
12:21up, they stand
12:22for their wages.
12:24When people wake
12:25up, they kick
12:26out the corporations
12:27giving us cancer.
12:29When people wake
12:30up, we demand
12:32that billionaires
12:33pay their fair
12:33share.
12:34When we wake
12:35up, our schools
12:36get better.
12:37When we wake
12:38up, we fight
12:39for guaranteed
12:40health care
12:40for every
12:41American.
12:42When we wake
12:43up, we realize
12:44all that money
12:45we're spending
12:45on bombs
12:46abroad could
12:47be spent
12:48on schools
12:49right here
12:50at home.
12:51So, yeah,
12:53they're calling
12:53us too woke
12:54because we're
12:56realizing that
12:56the math isn't
12:57adding up
12:58here in America.
13:02And it is
13:03long past
13:04time that
13:06we help
13:06our brothers
13:07and sisters
13:07wake up, too.
13:12We saw
13:14this when
13:15Justin demanded
13:16action on gun
13:17violence and
13:18the Republicans
13:19responded
13:20by expelling
13:22him from
13:23office.
13:27And then
13:28you sent
13:29him right
13:29back to
13:30serve in
13:30the Tennessee
13:31House.
13:34You see,
13:36Justin's
13:36story has
13:37never been
13:38just about
13:39one man.
13:40It has
13:41always been
13:41the story
13:42of Memphis.
13:44And this
13:45election is
13:46the latest
13:46chapter of
13:48that lineage.
13:48because after
13:50the Supreme
13:51Court weakened
13:51one of the
13:52Voting Rights
13:53Act's most
13:54important
13:54protections,
13:55this was the
13:56first district
13:57that was torn
13:58apart after that
13:59decision.
14:00Tennessee's only
14:01majority black
14:02congressional district.
14:05Republicans in
14:06this state and
14:06across the country
14:07want to overturn
14:08everything that
14:10black political
14:11power has made
14:12possible.
14:13because when
14:15black Americans
14:16had their right
14:18to vote
14:18protected,
14:20we established
14:21health care,
14:23Medicare,
14:24Medicaid,
14:25the Clean
14:26Air Act.
14:28they know that
14:30when black
14:30Americans exercise
14:31political power,
14:33they deliver
14:33progress for
14:34every American.
14:38And they
14:38believed that
14:39they could
14:40weaken the
14:40political power
14:41of the black
14:43community here.
14:43Instead,
14:44they awakened
14:45a movement.
14:47You see,
14:47it's very clear
14:49to me that
14:50the people
14:50turning back
14:51the clock
14:52on our rights
14:53are afraid
14:54of Memphis.
14:56They're afraid
14:57of this city's
14:58legacy of
14:59fighting back,
15:00of their hunger
15:01for justice.
15:03They believe
15:03that if they
15:04broke apart
15:05this city,
15:06they could
15:07break apart
15:07its political
15:08power.
15:09They believe
15:10that if they
15:10change the map,
15:11they could
15:12change the future.
15:13But they
15:14were wrong.
15:18New Direction
15:20Christian Church,
15:21we know
15:22that what man
15:24meant for evil
15:25God meant
15:26for good.
15:28Every time
15:29someone tries
15:30to diminish
15:31the voices
15:31of Memphis,
15:32this city
15:33finds another
15:34way to speak.
15:35Every attempt
15:36to silence
15:37becomes another
15:38reason to
15:39organize
15:39and a magnet
15:41for more
15:41to come.
15:44How many
15:45people here
15:46are from the
15:46state of
15:47Tennessee and
15:47Memphis?
15:48Right around
15:48here,
15:49make some noise.
15:51Now let me
15:52ask some
15:52questions.
15:54how many
15:54people here
15:55are not
15:55from Tennessee?
15:57We've got
15:58some folks
15:58here.
16:01We've got
16:01people who
16:03are answering
16:04the call.
16:07Because Memphis,
16:08we want you
16:09to know that
16:09you are not
16:10alone.
16:12I know that
16:13we've got some
16:13folks from New
16:14York that made
16:16the trip to come
16:16down here as
16:17well.
16:18This is what
16:19it's going to
16:20take because
16:21we saw the
16:22flares have
16:23been going
16:23up.
16:24The call
16:26has gone
16:26out.
16:27The call
16:28has gone
16:28out in
16:29Montgomery.
16:29The call
16:30has gone
16:30out in
16:31Atlanta,
16:32in Selma,
16:32in Memphis,
16:33saying it
16:34is time
16:34to come.
16:35And people
16:36are starting
16:37to answer
16:38the call
16:38to support
16:40your all's
16:41leadership
16:42and example.
16:43and it
16:44starts in
16:45small actions
16:46like today.
16:47But it's
16:48not going
16:48to stop
16:49today.
16:52Because again,
16:54what began
16:54as an attempt
16:55to weaken
16:56this power
16:57has become
16:57an opportunity
16:58to strengthen
16:59it.
17:00What was
17:00intended to
17:01divide has
17:02become an
17:02opportunity
17:03to organize.
17:04What was
17:05intended to
17:06silence has
17:07become an
17:07opportunity
17:08to speak
17:08louder than
17:09ever before.
17:11And tonight,
17:13we have
17:13the opportunity
17:14to finish
17:15a story
17:16that others
17:17thought
17:17that they
17:18had written
17:19and carved
17:20up.
17:22They think
17:23they drew
17:24a Republican
17:25district.
17:28What they
17:29don't know
17:30is that
17:31they just
17:32woke
17:32a lot
17:33of people
17:33up.
17:39So we're
17:40not rallying
17:41today for
17:42the primary
17:44brothers and
17:45sisters.
17:45We are
17:46here for
17:47the general
17:48election.
17:50We are
17:51here to
17:52knock every
17:53door and
17:56make those
17:58holding that
17:59pen of
18:00injustice,
18:01carving up
18:01that map,
18:02regret the
18:04day they
18:04ever dipped
18:05the ink
18:06in the well.
18:07hell.
18:10It starts
18:11with brother
18:12Justin J.
18:13Pearson.
18:14It does
18:15not end
18:15with brother
18:16Justin J.
18:17Pearson.
18:18Are we
18:19ready,
18:19Memphis?
18:21It is my
18:22honor to
18:23introduce to
18:24you my
18:27brother and
18:30our next
18:31congressman,
18:35representative
18:36Justin J.
18:39Pearson.
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