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.
Comments