“GOD OF OUR WEARY YEARS
250 YEARS AS A PEOPLE WORKING TO PERFECT THIS UNION
GOD OF OUR SILENT TEARS
250 YEARS AS A PEOPLE STRIVING TO MAKE THE WORDS OF OUR FOUNDING DOCUMENTS REALITY FOR ALL PEOPLE
THOU WHO HAST BROUGHT US THUS FAR ON THE WAY
250 YEARS AS A PEOPLE STRUGGLING BUT FIRMLY BASED IN OUR SPIRITUAL FOUNDATION
THOU WHO HAST BY THY MIGHT
LED US INTO THE LIGHT
250 YEARS AS A PEOPLE UNDERSTANDING THAT WHEN WE HOLD ON TO YOUR UNCHANGING HAND, WE CAN OVERCOME
KEEP US IN THE PATH, WE PRAY.
AND
AS YOU KEEP US IN THE PATH, HELP BLACK AMERICA UNDERSTAND THAT WE MUST VOTE ALL THE TIME AND, IN EVERY ELECTION, I PRAY.
250 YEARS OF STRUGGLE TO PERFECT THESE, AS YET TO BE, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA UNDERSTANDING THAT OUR STRUGGLE IS PERPETUAL, OUR VIGILANCE IS REQUIRED AND OUR COMMITMENT MUST BE CEASELESS.
GOOD EVENING DELEGATES TO THE 117TH ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE.
WE COME TOGETHER THIS EVENING UNDER THE BANNER,
WE THE PEOPLE!
THREE SMALL WORDS, ONE SHORT PHRASE.
MY CHARGE THIS EVENING IS TO CONVINCE YOU THAT;
FIRST, ALTHOUGH NOT ORIGINALLY INCLUDED IN THAT FOUNDING PHRASE, WE HAVE TIME AND AGAIN BOUGHT AND PAID FOR OUR INCLUSION WITH OUR BLOOD, OUR SWEAT, OUR TOIL AND OUR TEARS. THIS NATION WAS BUILT AND HAS PROSPERED BASED ON THE SACRIFICE OF OUR ANCESTORS AND THE CONTINUED WILLINGNESS OF OUR COMMUNITY TO LOVE A NATION, THAT HAS NOT ALWAYS LOVED US.
WE THE PEOPLE
THIS NATION HAS STRUGGLED WITH ONE QUESTION.
WHO BELONGS INSIDE THOSE WORDS?
FOR 117 YEARS, YOUR NAACP HAS SPENT EVERY GENERATION WORKING TO MAKE ROOM INSIDE THESE THREE WORDS FOR ALL OF US.
SECONDLY, I HOPE THIS EVENING TO HELP ALL OF US UNDERSTAND THAT EVERY PERSON, EVERY GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS AND EVERY COMMUNITY THAT NOW LIVES WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE THREE WORDS, WE THE PEOPLE, HAS THE POWER TO IMPACT THIS NATION AND ITS FUTURE, IF WE ALL RECOGNIZE OUR POWER AND IF WE EXERCISE THAT POWER.
WHEN WE DO THAT, THEN WE WILL, IN FACT,MAKE THIS “A MORE PERFECT UNION”.
AS I PROCEED THROUGH THIS DISCUSSION, I WOULD ASK YOU TO CONSIDER MY WORDS IN A BIBLICAL CONTEXT. SPECIFICALLY, I ASK THAT YOU CONSIDER THE CURRENT STATUS OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TODAY IN THE CONTEXT OF WHAT WE ARE TAUGHT IN THE 7TH CHAPTER OF THE NEW TESTAMENT BOOK OF MATTHEW. MORE TO THE POINT CONSIDER VERSES 16 – 20.
“YOU WILL RECOGNIZE THEM BY THEIR FRUITS. ARE GRAPES GATHERED FROM THORNBUSHES, OR FIGS FROM THISTLES? SO, EVERY HEALTHY TREE BEARS GOOD FRUIT, BUT THE DISEASED TREE BEARS BAD FRUIT. A HEALTHY TREE CANNOT BEAR BAD FRUIT, NOR CAN A DISEASED TREE BEAR GOOD FRUIT.”
I NEED YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT AS I CONSIDERED WHAT I NEEDED TO SAY TO YOU THIS EVENING, I FOUND MYSELF THINKING ABOUT OUR NATION AS WE PROCEED THROUGH THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR COUNTRY AS THOUGH IT IS AN ORCHARD PRIMARILY CENTERED IN WASHINGTON, DC AND MORE SPECIFICALLY THE GARDEN FROM WHICH THE POLICIES THAT GOVERN OUR NATION ARE GERMINATED RUN FROM 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE DOWN TO THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL BUILDING.
TONIGHT, IN THE 250TH YEAR OF OUR GRAND EFFORT TO CREATE A MORE PERFECT UNION, I NEED YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT, WE THE PEOPLE HAVE ALLOWED A BUNCH OF BAD/DISEASED TREES TO BE PLANTED AND ALLOWED TO FLOURISH IN OUR NATIONAL POLICY GARDEN.
DID YOU KNOW THAT WHEN YOU PUT BAD FRUIT NEXT TO GOOD FRUIT IT EMITS ETHYLENE GAS WHICH CREATES MOLD AND WHEN THE BAD FRUIT NEXT TO THE GOOD FRUIT IT ROTS THE GOOD FRUIT.
WE CAN RECOGNIZE THEM BY THEIR FRUITS. FROM THAT BAD TREE PLANTED AT 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, TO THE ROOTS AND BRANCHES THAT HAVE SPRUNG UP IN THE HALLS OF CONGRESS, OUR NATION IS SUFFERING FROM THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF THE BAD FRUIT THEY HAVE CREATED.
WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE CONTINUED EFFORT TO PERFECT THIS UNION, I FIND MYSELF THINKING ABOUT TWO LITTLE GIRLS. ONE IS EIGHT YEARS OLD. SHE CURRENTLY LIVES IN OKINAWA WHERE HER FATHER IS STATIONED AS A MEMBER OF THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS. HER NAME IS JUSTICE AND SHE HAPPENS TO BE MY NIECE. THE OTHER LITTLE GIRL IS SIX YEARS OLD AND LIVES IN HONOLULU WHERE HER PARENTS ARE ENGAGED IN HIGHER EDUCATION AND STATE GOVERNMENT. HER NAME IS STORI AND SHE IS MY GOD-NEICE. THE GIRLS ARE FRIENDS, BUT MORE THAN THAT, THEY REPRESENT THE FUTURE. I AM INTRODUCING JUSTICE AND STORI TO YOU THIS EVENING BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT THOSE OF US IN THIS ROOM THIS EVENING WILL BE INSTRUMENTAL IN DETERMINING HOW, WE THE PEOPLE ANSWER THE QUESTION; WHAT KIND OF COUNTRY DO WE INTEND THESE YET TO BE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO BE? WHAT DO WE WANT THE NEXT 250 YEARS TO LOOK LIKE FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE.
I AM REMINDED OF THE LATE GREAT REV. JESSE JACKSON AT THE DEDICATION OF THE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BRIDGE. REV. JACKSON SAID: “IT MUST LEAD TO MORE FUTURES AND FEWER YOUNG FUNERALS. IT MUST EMBRACE DR. KING’S LAST DREAM, A POOR PEOPLE’S CAMPAIGN, WHERE ALL COULD COME TOGETHER WITH A JOB, INCOME, EDUCATION, AND HEALTH CARE. A BRIDGE THAT LEADS US FROM RACIAL BATTLEGROUND TO ECONOMIC COMMON GROUND. IT LEADS US TO HEALING.”
WE MUST COLLECTIVELY BUILD A BRIDGE THAT WILL TAKE US TO THE NEXT 250 YEARS, ONE WHERE EVERY PERSON EARNS A LIVING WAGE. WHERE HEALTHCARE IS A RIGHT. WHERE OUR COMMUNITIES BREATHE CLEAN AIR. WHERE EVERY CHILD RECEIVES A QUALITY EDUCATION. AND WHERE EVERYONE HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO THRIVE.
BUT AS YOU THINK ABOUT THAT QUESTION, LET’S EXPLORE A BIT OF OUR NATION’S HISTORY.
IN PARTICULAR, LET’S THINK ABOUT HOW BLACK AMERICA HAS STRUGGLED TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PHRASE, WE THE PEOPLE. LET’S ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE IMPERFECT MEN WHO SERVED AS FOUNDERS OF THIS NATION DID NOT INTEND AT THE OUTSET OF THEIR EFFORT TO INCLUDE US IN, WE THE PEOPLE. THE FACT IS, THEY DIDN’T INCLUDE OUR ENSLAVED ANCESTORS OR WOMEN OR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OR ANYONE WHO DID NOT OWN PROPERTY IN THE MEANING OF THE PHRASE. THE EFFORT TO EXPAND THE MEANING OF WHO WAS INCLUDED IN THE PHRASE HAS BEEN A CONTINUING PROCESS THROUGHOUT OUR 250 YEAR ODYSSEY. THE STRUGGLE TO EXPAND THE POPULATION INCLUDED IN THE TERM HAS BEEN CONTINUOUS. BLACK FOLK WERE ONLY CONSIDERED TO BE THREE FIFTHS OF A PERSON WHEN THE FOUNDERS WROTE THE CONSTITUTION, EVEN THOUGH CRISPUS ATTUCKS, A BLACK MAN, WAS THE FIRST TO SACRIFICE HIS LIFE IN THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM OF THE NATION AT THE ONSET OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. THROUGHOUT THAT WAR AND EVERY SUBSEQUENT MILITARY CONFLICT, THIS NATION HAS ENGAGED IN, UP TO THE PRESENT DAY, BLACK FOLKS HAVE ENGAGED VALIANTLY AND CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEFENSE OF OUR NATION AT EVERY TURN. AS VALIDATION OF THAT POINT, PLEASE STAND UP IF YOU HAVE SERVED OUR NATION AS A MEMBER OF THE ARMY, THE MARINE CORPS, THE NAVY, THE AIR FORCE, THE COAST GUARD, THE NATIONAL GUARD OR THE RESERVES, PLEASE STAND AND BE RECOGNIZED. IF YOU ARE THE SPOUSE OR A DEPENDENT OF A VETERAN, PLEASE STAND. YOUR SACRIFICE HAS EXPANDED THE DIVERSITY WITHIN THE MEANING OF WE THE PEOPLE. SIMILARLY, INDIGENOUS AMERICANS, LGBTQIA AMERICANS, IMMIGRANTS, WOMEN AND PEOPLE PREVIOUSLY IDENTIFIED AS THE OTHER HAVE EARNED THEIR PLACE IN THE MEANING OF THE PHRASE, WE THE PEOPLE.
IN ADDITION TO WORKING FOR THE PAST 117 YEARS TO EXPAND THE MEANING OF WHO MUST BE INCLUDED IN THE PHRASE WE THE PEOPLE, IT HAS ALSO BEEN NECESSARY TO WORK TO ENSURE THAT THE NATION LIVES UP TO ITS CLAIM TO THE TITLE “REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY”.
I WOULD REMIND MY NEICES, JUSTICE AND STORI, THAT OUR FOUNDERS FOUGHT TO SEPARATE THE NATION FROM AN AUTHORITARIAN MONARCHY AND TO ACHIEVE THEIR ASPIRATIONAL GOAL OF CREATING A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE. IN REVIEWING THAT HISTORY, WE ARE REMINDED THAT THE FOUNDERS DECLARED: “THAT TO SECURE THE RIGHTS TO LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, THAT TO SECURE THESE RIGHTS, GOVERNMENTS ARE INSTITUTED AMONG MEN, DERIVING THEIR JUST POWERS FROM THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED. THAT WHENEVER ANY FORM OF GOVERNMENT BECOMES DESTRUCTIVE OF THESE ENDS, IT IS THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO ALTER OR ABOLISH IT, AND TO INSTITUTE NEW GOVERNMENT, LAYING ITS FOUNDATION ON SUCH PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZING ITS POWERS IN SUCH FORM, AS TO THEM SHALL SEEM MOST LIKELY TO EFFECT THEIR SAFETY AND HAPPINESS”.
AS THEY SET THESE PRINCIPLES AS THE GUIDE STAR FOR THE REVOLUTION, THEY SET OUT A LIST OF SPECIFIC WAYS THAT THE MONARCH, KING GEORGE, HAD COMMITTED ACTS, WHICH IN THE DETERMINATION OF THE FOUNDERS, WERE DESTRUCTIVE OF THE RIGHTS OF THE COLONIST.
THEY SAID THESE VIOLATIONS JUSTIFIED THEIR DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE FROM ENGLAND AND THEREFORE THE AUTHORITARIAN MONARCH.
THEY SAID THE FOLLOWING:
HE HAS REFUSED HIS ASSENT TO LAWS, THE MOST WHOLESOME AND NECESSARY FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD.
IN 2026, WE MIGHT SAY THAT THE WOULD-BE-KING/AUTHORITARIAN REFUSES TO ALLOW LAWS PROMULGATED TO PROMOTE THE HEALTH AND WELL BEING OF THE PEOPLE TO BE ENFORCED. TODAY, YOU MIGHT THINK ABOUT A FAILURE TO SUPPORT THE CONTINUATION AND EXPANSION OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, LEGISLATION THAT MILLIONS OF PEOPLE RELY ON.
THE FOUNDERS SAID HE: THE MONARCH, HAS ENDEAVORED TO PREVENT THE POPULATION OF THESE STATES; FOR THAT PURPOSE OBSTRUCTING THE LAWS FOR NATURALIZATION OF FOREIGNERS; REFUSING TO PASS OTHERS TO ENCOURAGE THEIR MIGRATION HITHER. THINK FAILURE TO PROMOTE FAIR IMMIGRATION REFORM AND ULTIMATELY DECLARING WAR ON IMMIGRANTS.
HE HAS OBSTRUCTED THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.
HE HAS MADE JUDGES DEPENDENT ON HIS WILL ALONE.
HE HAS ERECTED A MULTITUDE OF NEW OFFICES AND SENT HITHER A SWARM OF OFFICERS TO HARASS OUR PEOPLE, SUCH AS THE DISGRACED DOGE AND THE RENEGADE ICE.
FOR QUARTERING LARGE BODIES OF ARMED TROOPS AMONG US. PERHAPS ICE AND THE WEAPONIZED NATIONAL GUARD.
NOW, THOSE ARE THE EVILS THAT OUR FOUNDERS BELIEVED WERE SUFFICIENT TO JUSTIFY A REVOLUTION AGAINST THE BRITISH MONARCHY. IN THE BIBLICAL REFERENCE, THESE ACTS WOULD BE CONSIDERED THE BAD FRUIT OF THE DISEASED TREE.
I SUGGEST TO YOU THAT ALTHOUGH THE NAACP SHOULD NOT FOMENT REVOLUTION, IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE THE SUBJECT OF SUCH AN AUTHORITARIAN GOVERNMENT, HAVE A POWERFUL ALTERNATIVE. WE ARE NOT COMPELLED TO LIVE WITH THE BAD FRUIT OR THE DISEASED TREE. WHEN WE ORGANIZE OUR COMMUNITIES TO USE THE STRONGEST TOOL AVAILABLE TO THEM, THEIR VOICE, THEIR VOTE, THEY CAN ALTER OR ABOLISH THE OFFENSIVE OR OPPRESSIVE GOVERNMENT. WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO REMOVE DISEASED TREES AND THEIR BAD FRUIT FROM OUR PUBLIC POLICY GARDEN.
WE THE PEOPLE ARE CURRENTLY SUBJECT TO A WOULD-BE TYRANT, JUST AS OUR FOUNDERS WERE 250 YEARS AGO. WE DO NOT NEED TO RESORT TO ARMS IN ORDER TO CHANGE OUR GOVERNMENT. ALL WE NEED TO DO IS WORK TOGETHER TO ORGANIZE OUR COMMUNITIES ACROSS THIS NATION. WE MUST EDUCATE, WE MUST LITIGATE, WE MUST LEGISLATE AND WE MUST ADVOCATE. BUT MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, WE MUST MAKE SURE THAT OUR COMMUNITIES VOTE. WE MUST VOTE IN NUMBERS LIKE NEVER BEFORE. DURING THIS COUNTRY’S 250TH YEAR, WE ANNOUNCED PLANS TO SPEND $20 MILLION DOLLARS – MORE THAN WE HAVE EVER INVESTED INTO A MID-TERM ELECTION BEFORE – BECAUSE OUR LIVES DEPEND ON IT. AS AN ORGANIZATION, OUR GET OUT THE VOTE CAMPAIGN SEEKS TO MOTIVATE BETWEEN SIX AND TEN MILLION INFREQUENT VOTERS TO ACTUALLY PARTICIPATE IN THE 2026 ELECTORAL PROCESS AND ALL SUBSEQUENT ELECTIONS. WE SEEK TO MOBILIZE BLACK VOTERS ACROSS 14 STATES AND 33 CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS. BUT TO DO THAT WE WILL NEED ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET. WE AIM TO RECRUIT 20,000 VOLUNTEERS TO WRITE POST CARDS, CALL VOTERS, KNOCK ON DOORS AND SEND TEXT MESSAGES. TELL YOUR FAMILY, TELL YOU FRIENDS TO TEXT VOLUNTEER TO 20707. THAT’S 20707, THEN TEXT THE WORD “VOLUNTEER” TO SIGN UP TO JOIN US ON THIS CRUSADE TO TURN OUT MILLIONS OF VOTERS.
WE DON’T JUST VOTE FOR OURSELVES. WE VOTE FOR OUR LOVED ONES. FOR PEOPLE IN OUR CHURCH, OUR NEIGHBORS, THE PEOPLE WE SEE IN GROCERY STORES THAT WE NEVER EVEN TALK TO. WE VOTE FOR JUSTICE AND STORI, WHO ARE TOO YOUNG TO VOTE. AND WE VOTE FOR OUR FUTURE.
IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT MY NEICES, JUSTICE AND STORI, INHERIT A NATION WHERE THEY CAN THRIVE AND BECOME ALL THAT THEY CAN BE, WE MUST MOVE 60 PERCENT OR MORE OF ALL ELIGIBLE VOTERS TO GO TO THE POLLS IN EVERY ELECTION THIS YEAR AND FOR YEARS TO COME.
WHEN WE MOVE OUR COMMUNITIES TO THE POLLS, WE CAN RID OUR PUBLIC POLICY GARDEN OF DISEASED TREES AND BAD FRUIT FROM THE LEGISLATIVE AND ULTIMATELY THE EXECUTIVE LEVEL OF OUR GOVERNMENT.
WE ARE OBLIGED TO HONOR THE SACRIFICE OF EVERY ENSLAVED PERSON WHO EVER LIVED ON THESE SHORES BY CASTING A FREE UNFETTERED VOTE.
WE OWE EVERY BLACK PERSON WHO EVER SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES MILITARY OUR BEST EFFORT TO ENSURE THAT THEIR SACRIFICE WAS NOT IN VAIN.
WE OWE IT TO CHILDREN LIKE JUSTICE AND STORI AND THEIR PEERS ACROSS THE NATION TO ORGANIZE OUR BRANCHES, YOUTH COUNCILS, COLLEGE CHAPTERS AND STATE CONFERENCES TO UNDERTAKE THIS SACRED MISSION.
WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER, WE THE PEOPLE, WILL CREATE A MORE PERFECT UNION. AND WE WILL WORK TOGETHER. THAT IS WHY WE’VE GATHERED IN THIS GREAT CITY. TO DO THIS GREAT WORK. IT WILL TAKE ALL OF US TO BRING SOULS TO THE POLLS THIS NOVEMBER. UNITED IN ONE MISSION. IN ONE ACCORD. AS ONE NATION.
SO, I ASK YOU, IS OUR FREEDOM WORTH FIGHTING FOR?
DO YOU BELIEVE “WE THE PEOPLE” MEANS ALL THE PEOPLE?
IF YOU BELIEVE LIKE I BELIEVE, LET ME HEAR YOU SAY, WE THE PEOPLE!
WE THE PEOPLE!
WE THE PEOPLE. “