We’ll call on now Reverend Dr Herman skip Mason senior pastor of historic West Mitchell CME Church to give us the invocation followed by uh Harry E Johnson Esquire the president and CEO of the memorial foundation and the 31st General president of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity brother Mason thank you let us pray
Gracious God under your beautiful sky as We Gather this evening first to give you thanks and praise for allowing us to see this day for safe travel to this site and to this city a dear God we honor the memory of those who gathered here 60 years ago
To bring attention to the injustices of this nation and we’re grateful that Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity was an integral part of that We Gather here on the Memorial dedicated to our dear brother Martin Luther King Jr and God we’re grateful that his fraternity helped to raise and erect this memorial for the ages
We asked that this March this Gathering today the March tomorrow will be meaningful and fruitful and that it will deliver results that will show up uh in the voting boxes and around this country dear God may we forever be reminded of our mission to develop leaders
May we remember the love of our beloved seven jewels and the men who have served and are serving this great fraternity oh God we ask that you be with us in this moment but as We Gather there’s someone who is hungry right now there’s someone who has nowhere to lay their head
God we ask that you will remember them as well we thank you for the speakers who will come tonight to pour it to share with us and we thank you for the hard work of the foundation as leaders and the fraternity now God be with us in this moment and
Lord may we forever stand true to our God and true to our native land this is the prayer we lift up the invocation we offer in the Blessed name of your son Jesus the Christ we pray and all who believe said amen good evening uh you all are fairly like it’s hot out
Here Mark they need to come out in January when it’s cold out here you would appreciate it but bro president thank you for allowing us to be a part with this without Phi Alpha as we talk about the purpose and the reason why we’re here six years later but more than
That we talk about why we built this Memorial and we built this Memorial as a reminder of what Dr King meant to this nation when the brothers started planning this Memorial it was to encourage people of color to come and visit it it has done absolutely the
Opposite if you come here any day you see people from all over the world coming to see what we now know as the fifth most visited Memorial on this mall and it’s all because of you all the alpha men and others who gave their nickels Dives and quarters to make this
Happen and I make no bones about it that you all raised 127 billion dollars to build and erect this Memorial nobody went to jail nobody would did a perk walk and we built a memorial that’s Everlasting so thank you all for that but more than that we thank our folks
Will come out to speak our speakers are going to follow us to say why we’re here the purpose was being here six years later I would encourage you to continue to follow us on social media with the memorial foundation and thank you all for coming out have a good evening [Applause]
Throughout the history of this great fraternity there have been men who have stood against Injustice who have an unwavering commitment to the principles and the values of American democracy and to reflect on the legacy of our brother Dr King we have some of these uncompromising courageous Leaders with us today
The first that you will hear from is brother Mark moriel the president and CEO of the National Urban League and former mayor of the City of New Orleans and who is also the son of our past general president mayor Dutch Ernest Dutch Maria let us give a round of applause to brother
Moriel as he comes forward [Applause] guests and Friends our brother General president to past general presidents as well as members of the Alpha Phi Alpha Board of Trustees chapter presidents youth presidents and others it is an honor to be here today out of a mountain of despair a stone
Of Hope out of a mountain of despair a stone of Hope when the big six convened the March on Washington in 1900 and 63 let the record reflect that two of the big six were members of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity certainly Dr Martin Luther King and my illustrious and esteemed
Predecessor the late Whitney young Jr Alpha has always contributed to the leadership of this nation and the leadership of Black America at that point in time Alpha men included Thurgood Marshall who just nine years earlier it’s argued in one the Brown versus the Board of Education decision before the United States Supreme Court
Alpha men included then congressman Adam Clayton Powell who was a one-man Congressional Black Caucus exercising power and influence in our nation’s capital Alpha men included judges and lawyers and Physicians and engineers and Educators and entrepreneurs and businessmen from all sectors of the economy we come today as Alpha Brothers allies and Friends
To once again reaffirm brother General president that Alpha Phi Alpha was never about just partying and socializing that Alpha Phi Alpha from its very beginning was about social action and civil rights and one need only review the BIOS and the resumes of our jewels engineers and doctors and Architects and
Indeed the second president of the National Urban League Eugene Kinkel Jones six of the eight presidents of the National Urban League and they’ve only been eight were members of alpha Phi Alpha fraternity so we celebrate today the role that Alpha Phi Alpha has played does play and must continue to play
In this work for social justice civil rights and Economic Opportunity I am very proud that tomorrow Alpha Phi Alpha will join us in hosting our pre-march rally so brothers friends and guests and we’d like to invite you to join us beginning at 7 30 a.m in the morning nice and early
They get hydrated and inspired at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill where we’ll gather and be inspired before we participate in the rally and indeed the March here’s what I want to do finally we at nul when we met in Houston and we met in Houston thanks to the
Leadership of among many others Alpha brother mayor Sylvester Turner a three-point call to action the first and these are the three I call them the three d’s the first is we must defend and fix democracy democracy is under attack do you think sometimes I wake up
And ask myself am I in a Twilight Zone am I watching a horror movie or a replay of Godzilla or Terminator when I look up and see that the former president of the United States has been indicted four times including once for an attempted violent overthrow of the government
So we must defend democracy a thousand efforts Across the Nation to suppress our vote and I could go on the second d we must demand diversity equity and inclusion in all walks of American Life the Supreme Court Delta sublow right right it is a blow that we have to fight
To overcome but we must demand in the boardrooms in the corporate Suites in the campuses in the classrooms in the labor unions in the government agencies diversity equity and inclusion it means we get an opportunity to participate on a Level Playing Field like everyone else that’s all it means that’s all it means
And the third D is we must defeat poverty some 60 years after the March on Washington the poverty rate amongst black people has not significantly declined and then there’s a new poverty in America men and women many times younger women who work every single day sometimes two jobs
And struggle to pay the rent to pay a mortgage to take care of their basic expenses we must defeat poverty what’s the point we cannot March gather convene for commemorative purposes for nostalgic purposes so we can feel good about yesterday we have to March because we honor and acknowledge yesterday
But we have to March and we have to protest and we have to litigate and we have to legislate and we have to advocate because the objectives of 1963 have not yet been achieved and speaking of another great Alpha Man brother Stephen horseford the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus
How many brothers have been chairs of the caucus Emmanuel Cleaver and then the one-man Congressional Black Caucus Adam Clayton Powell have all represented so Brothers today are in the Congress in City Halls in the Judiciary in corporate Suites in classrooms in boardrooms you can go to any walk of American Life
And the achievement of alpha is there and represented so I’m proud to be a third generation Alpha and I’m working hard so that it’s going to be a fourth generation I got a young one uh brother Johnson he’s uh I’m gonna let you talk to him he
Is completely down but he just needs a little nudge A little nudge uh brother president so thank you all for being I look forward to seeing everyone indeed in the morning I want to thank uh brother Johnson who also serves as a trustee of the National Urban League because making this Monument happen
Was no easy notion for maybe 17 or 18 years the concept was there the vision was there brother Johnson you took the bull by the horns got us a sight they first wanted to put us Over Yonder over here over there Alpha said no we need to be in a prominent
Site and then money had to be raised and people had to be organized so I want to just say thank you brothers and I’ll turn it back over to our emcee thank you [Applause] as brother moriel said and as always he gives a historical narrative that is second to none
But it’s one that is worth noting is that in every fight for freedom and justice the alpha men have led the way that deserves a round of applause [Applause] and today we are very fortunate that yet again when the tables and the clock of justice is being attempted to be put in reverse
That there is a man who stands for justice and freedom and who will speak regardless of the circumstances and the consequences it is my privilege brothers and guests to Welcome to the podium The Honorable Stephen horsefoot chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus let us rise to our feet and recognize the chairman
Of the Congressional Black Culture thank you good evening thank you for that overly generous introduction brother Ward brother Johnson General president thank you very much it’s a privilege to join with all of you today I’m honored to serve Nevada’s fourth congressional district and also to serve as chairman of the Congressional Black
Caucus of the 118th Congress but I’m also proud to be a good Alpha man and to be a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity Third Martin Luther King Jr it’s good to see Martin Luther King the third year led a historic March on Washington and propelled the fight for civil rights in ways many of us could not have imagined the March on Washington for jobs and freedom helped to harness the collective
Energy of black Americans to fight for civil rights equality and opportunity our history tells us about the role our brother Martin Luther King Jr played as well as many other Alpha men other fraternity men and our sisters from the divine nine as a nation right now we are fighting to protect that history
There are some who want to erase our history calling slavery some kind of jobs training program and ignoring the struggles through slavery through Civil War through reconstruction through Jim Crow separate but equal and so many other battles that black Americans have endured but we will not let them
That’s why this summer I have led the Democracy for the people summer of action in the spirit of Freedom Summer my colleagues from the Congressional Black Caucus and I have held town halls and organizing sessions now in 10 cities across the country because sadly in 2023 the fight for
Equality civil rights and our most sacred right which is our right to vote is not yet done as we saw in reconstruction in Jim Crow and as we’ve moved forward some forces want to hold us back as affirmative action gets Stripped Away from our institutions of higher education others are now fighting
Diversity equity and inclusion in our federal government and corporate entities but we have one very clear message we are not going back and we will not be silenced In This Moment so today as we honor our brother let us all hear recommit to taking on his commitment to our civil rights and
Making sure that all Americans regardless of race or income geography or religion gender or sexuality have access to The Ballot Box we must fix and defend our democracy and it will be the alpha men because first of all Servants of all we shall transcend all that is what we
Stand for and that is what we’re continuing to build on thank you for this opportunity to be here with all of you today God bless you [Applause] let’s give brother Horsford another round of applause [Applause] we are so honored to have with us our brother beloved who
Is in his own right continuing a legacy against Injustice and discrimination and making sure that all God’s children are treated equally in the eyes of Justice in this nation would you join me in welcoming Brother Martin Luther King III to the podium as he president and CEO of
The dream uh major Institute drum major Institute come up brother [Applause] see thank you [Applause] thank you brother Ward to our General president Lanza and Congressman always good to be with you once again we so many of us actually will be together and I cannot say enough about brother Harry Johnson um
Of course brother um skip Mason who brought me through and so well that’s a long short story what I’d like to say and if I’m leaving anyone out on behalf of my way actually I need to correct one thing I’m the chairman of the board of the drum major
Institute my wife Andrea I’m going to be quick I’m trying to get a signal is the actual president of the drum major Institute and of course our daughter is with us today as well Yolanda Renee King the only grandchild of Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King
You know I cannot say enough my brothers about what you all did because I came on at the latter part in terms of building this memorial for all people in honor of dad and what he represented because obviously he first was an alpha man long before he did much of anything probably but
Every year when you think about many times that I’ve been with brother Johnson here on April 4th as well as the King holiday when we come in town every year people from all over the world they come to see these monuments these memorials in honor of presidents and
Memorials in honor of War veterans and Wars is only one that represents peace and represents unification and represents Harmony and no matter where they’re from they are going to come to see the Magnificent quotes that were chosen to see this total stature in fact when we first came here
And it was before the opening actually it was still covered we came and Yolanda was three years old she’s 15 now and someone asked me today one of the media persons what what was it like what is it like to be I said I’m gonna tell you what my daughter said
I mean she just got here yesterday it was three three 15 now but three and she said when we walked up and looked at the memorial she the monument she said this is awesome now I don’t even know where she learned she was three years old well how do you
Get a vocabulary like that she kind of came that way I guess but that’s what Andre and I were thinking and shorter said shedding tears about that Monumental moment so Now 60 years let’s quickly go to March on Washington it was jobs and freedom as has been said by a number of speakers
In 2023 we gotta raise some real questions about our country and the direction that it is chosen to go to going through how is it allowed for the history of our nation and particularly the history of Black people to begin to be erased or at least changed
I mean how do you have the gall unmitigated Gall to say that the most inhumane Institution institution of slavery well the slaves learn to skill how sick is this nation when that is one thing and there are many more the crown and Jewel of the modern Civil Rights Movement the Voting Rights Act
Was eviscerated or began to be struck down in 2013. and it goes down after that so 2020 we lost or at least Draconian voting repressive laws were put in place in the number it got worse than 21. we saw a Insurrection on September 6. I mean excuse me January 6. of 2021
We’re hoping today tomorrow to see a resurrection a resurrection of Engagement of activism to quadruple and more because that’s what we’re going to have to do to retain right to get our Ghana rights Yolanda in 2008 was born today in 2023 she has fewer rates than
She had from the day she was born again the voter nights Act was struck down in 20 uh 13 and 20 20. they started talking about critical race Theory as if it had not existed for 25 years taught only in law school but they created an issue that this really
Still does not exist in the primary and secondary system and then in 2022 Reproductive Rights was struck down and then in 2023 affirmative action this has not happened so she has fewer rights than her mother her grandmother her great-grandmother had and it hadn’t been like this since the end of reconstruction and the
Beginning of the Black Codes so don’t tell me everything is great and we don’t have to talk about income inequality black white families 175 000 platform is less than ten thousand 60 years later the question is what are we going to do I only ask
As I go to my seat I’ve got four more events to go to tonight so I apologize my brothers that I can’t stay here with you but I ask us not to give up not to give out not to give in certainly Dad and Mom would have us engaged
And it’s unique and special Brotherhood that we have as Alphas as Alpha men If Not Us Then Who if not now then when let us continue to move forward thank you all my brothers so much may God bless each of you always okay [Applause] thank you very much brother King let’s
Give him another round of applause as we continue to move forward let us welcome the new president and CEO to come forward of the rainbow push Coalition let’s give a hand to brother Dr Freddie Haynes thank you so much let me express my appreciation first of all to our general
President for having the vision to bring us together on this eve of this commemorative event let me also say thank you to Henry Johnson for his amazing work and vision that has brought us to this sacred and great space Also want to salute our immediate past general president Everett
Ward for his phenomenal leadership we have shown as We Gather on a Holy Ground that we can build a monument a monument to a prophetic Justice drum major we’ve shown we can build a monument that becomes a magnet to all justice-seking people from around the world we’ve shown we can feel a monument
And yet our challenge in 2023 will be ignite a movement after all think about 60 years ago our mothers and fathers came from all over this country without the benefit of first-class seats on airplanes without the benefits of staying in Suites in hotels and motels and yet they
Came they came under siege from fascism as they dare to dream of democracy of one of liberty and justice for all they did that 60 years ago 60 years ago fresh from dogs biting them in Birmingham 60 years ago fresh from having dealt with the water hose it’s a Bull Connor in
Birmingham 60 years ago fresh from the grief of losing one Medgar Willie Evers there in Jackson Mississippi 60 years ago they came anyhow daring to dream about a democracy while under attack from Fascism and yet here we are 60 years later and perhaps Jay-Z can best express it when he says everybody want
To be king tell shot to ring and you laying on the back foreign 60 years later there’s a hole in the dream of Dr King 60 years later there’s the neo-fascist war on Democracy as we have seen affirmative action aborted by the Supreme Court of the United States
Which is determined to be a supremacist Bill and so since we have been able to build a monument our challenge now is to reignite a movement let’s reignite a movement of liberty and justice for all let’s reignite a movement and Fight For the Working foreign thank you for coming foreign
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