diversity and cults to cuts to the federal workforce. [applause] >> thank you, thank you, my sister. let me just say good morning and

i want to use my time wisely. so i want to make sure that i divide it into three things tht i want to share with you first let me say good afternoon and thank you to everyone for being here today. i also want to say to al sharpton. the reverend al sharpton. a very dear friend. i want to thank limb for him fa drum major for diversity and equity and inclusion. as claire of chair of the blac, i'm proud i can be in the same room with my sister. my sis sister who hails from brooklyn, new york. and let me just say we're stronger than ever, 62 black

members control the largest caucus in our congress. and you need to know that information is hard. you need to know when people come to you and say, what are the black members of congress doing? what are the members of the congressional black caucus like reverend al said earlier. i don't want you to say, i don't know. and i darn sure don't want you to say they are not doing anything. because that is not true. al green from texas who sat next to me had more courage than everybody in this room when he went up against the congress. and he is one of my best friends in congress. and he said, i heard you. and i will stand up for justice. we have a black man from new york hawking jeffreys to stands to make history by being the

first black person to serve in congress. now some may say, what las hase done? i don't have anything against anybody that came before him. congresswoman congresswoman nancy pelosi has done more. he has raised money and unified us by 100 percent. you need to know what black people are doing for us. let me just say to you, we're gathered at the most critical hour of our time. in the most unprecedented time of our time. and i want you to know, this administration, wants us to be asleep and that is why they are attacking woke. well i'm saying to you, we have news for them. cbc is woke every day because we're black. i come to you unapologetically black. i come to you to tell you that this administration is trying to

deny our history. and there is a theme to what they are doing. you need to understand it is not by happen stance that they are attacking the united states department of education. you need to understand that it's not by happenstance they are attacking hub. it's not by happenstance they are attacking medicare and med canadian and the usid. let me put it in perspective. let's go back in our history. if you think about when we weren slaved during slavery, during slavery because we're stillen slaved. when we weren slave the in s lavery, they weren't afraid of our blackness. they weren't afraid of our strength. depending on your come lore coe in the fields or in the house.

if you were strong they weren't afraid they just put you out in the field. but think about what they killed you for, if you could read. if they found out you could read they took your life. first they beat you and hoped that you died. and if you spoke up they put as into around a n oose around your neck or shot you in the back. now you answer the question why is the united states department of education. why are they taking our babies and don't want them to read about amanda gordon or to. ni morrison. think about when we go from the streets to public housing and section eight and that leads us to our first mortgage. that gives us equity and that

gives us something that we can use for power. they are attacking our hbcu's. they are attacking our universities only on black things. now we have become educated and we have become like maxine w aters. we have become like jasmine crockett. we become like sheila jackson lee. the late congresswoman. we become like so many more. and let me tell you why our history is so important. i took my then eight-year-old granddaughter to the african-american hume. museum. i was so proud of her. she said oh, my god that is the first black justice. she went through it. that is harriet and that frederick douglas. and i said didn't you have a great time. and at eight years of age, she

said i enjoyed it, but -- and here it comes from the mouth of a child. she said, why do they only have dead people in here? she said you need to teach us grandmother about those who are alive. you need to tell us there is a young jasmine crockett who is speaking truth to power. she said you need to tell us that she stands on maxine w ater's shoulders you need to tell them the tent tenth womano chair the black american caucus. you all who are alive give us hope. i want to be like jackson. i want to be like my mother who is a federal judge because she said i want to stand on the shoulders of not only those who are advocates, when i brought her into the community she said, i want to be like that young

sister over there who is h ollering and screaming and speaking truth to power because what we need to let our young children know, is that we have a voice. and so that is what i want you to tell people when you go back home. i want you to tell them, that what i learned at nans conference is i need to go back and repeat what the reverend al sharpton has given us. i need to go back and regurg tait regurg t ate what we learned. if we don't understand what the drum administration is doing, to keep us in the darkness and keep us from moving forward. it's because of you, it's not just our time. and it's not just our role. but we need you more than ever.

let knee me just tell you why. i have crossed that bridge a number of times. i was there on the 50th afternoon versery of anniversary of the reenactment. i was there for the 50th anniversary of martin luther king jr. from having given that speech. let me tell you what changes history is having people stand with us. that is the only thing that changes history. and you may applaud on that [applause] you are who changes history. when i go to any civil rights movement i go to the front line where the foot soldiers are there. i go to the middle line. i say thank you to our save saviors. when you retire nobody owns yo. you get to have your own voice.

it's not by happenstance. they want to take care of our medicaid and take it away because they think that is the life line for black people who might at this time need a little government assistance. but let me just tell you, we have members of congress, we have people that worked in the white house when democrats were in charge who grew up in public houses. we have people who got the three cheese and my momma would churn turn it into mac and cheese. i know what it's like to live in the community. it does not matter where you started. it does not matter where you came from. it matters what you are doing at this time. it matters what you are doing today. i don't care if you are singing in the choir or in the audience. if we're in the fight, like

we're in now. when we have someone who is u nvetted and unelected and in the white house a billionaire pulling the strings for this government, we need you, we need you like we did for obama care. when we were in the minority, 71 times they brought to the united states house floor to take away our healthcare. because that was the life line for us. they didn't want us to be well. they didn't want college students to ma trick stay on tt insurance they wanted to bankrupt us of our health. we marched and woo we protested today we still have health care and obama care. do not let them get caught up what you can and can't do. this congress conference will u

what you can do. you can march and you can protest. don't call me. i appreciate you call me. but call the other folks on the other site that are not voting like i vote. anyone that does not stand with congressional black congress you immediate to make sure -- neede sure that you let them know who you are and who you stand with. let me just say to you. we're not here by accident. we have have heard from some of the most brilliant minds in our united states. and so if we break it down for you what they are telling to us, history repeeghts repeats its. whether it's the good or the b ad, history repeats itself. and when we went through the 1,800s and when we went through slavery and when we went through when they told black women they could not march in the

suff frige they told us only white women would players and pick march. we had no right. black men had the rights if you owned a little bit of property. but it was 22 black women that decided i am not going to let that stand. and those 22 black women from the ages of 18 to 25, dressed in their black decided that they were going to stand up for justice. they were going to stand up for our freedom. and so all morning we have heard one word, "courage" do you know what it must have been like then at that time in history? that they stood up, and they marched for us. and they were a part of a sorority that is part of the

divine 9. it's the 22 founders that started that march. i can tell you that it did not stop there. you see if we had not had the civil rights movement, the v oting rights movement, the jobs act. if we had not had the years of 1963 and '64 and '65 and the years of martin luther king jr, you have to remember that what propelled him was when rosa parks refused to get up and out of her seat. she was not tired by her feet. she was tired and she decided to be woke. she was tired of letting people tell her that she could not ride on that bus. but you need to make sure that you get the history right.

so you see, she was sitting then called the colored or the negro section of that bus. so when that white man came and looked a at her and of that was koirnlg. she knew she was going to be arrested. i need a minister and i need an attorney. and they called the young martin luther king jr. so it's important for you to know. it was rosa and martin and so many more young college s tudents. let me fast forward. because we're not always on the same page initially. that is okay. look to our history. there was a young john lewis who was just a teenager who advised

his parents to go and march. because he looked up to a little older john lewis and looked up to a little older martin luther king jr. john lewis wanted to holler and protest. and martin was saying we have to pick the right time and we have to be union unified. we have to be a little more patient than whrea what we wan. but they came together why do i tell you that? i tell you that because you have to take a young fighter whether it's a advocate or a a activisr a lawyer or member of congress, you can't pit us against one another. you can't say why aren't you doing what a young david frost is doing or why aren't you doing what a jasmine crockett is d oing? because they are doing what they seen us do and that is what the

power is and she recognizes every day we go to that house floor and jases jasmine crockes over and says fix this and what do you think about this. and i go over to maxine waters fix this, what to you think of this? i tell you because we stand on each other's shoulders and that is what progress is. and that is what unity is. and lastly i will let let me d diversity and inclusion. never in the history of the united states congress did they have a committee of diversity and equity and inclusion. never. it was when we took over, called for when you get up and go vote. and then you control the government. you got up and went and voted. we got a black president of the united states of america. you got up and voted.

and we got a black female on the united states supreme court. ms. brown jackson. and you got up and voted and you got the powerful maxine waters to be the first black chair of one of the most prestigious committees of the united states congress, financial services . it controls had you had it controls the fec it controls the reserve bank. let me break it down. it controls everything that it has to do with money. it has everything to do with anything that controls banking. and what was one of the first things that maxine waters did? because she had courage. she created a committee. a committee on one of the most exclusive hardest committees to get on. and there was a little black girl from ohio, that got on that

committee. and it was maxine waters that said i believe in diversity and equity and inclusion. and she appointed me to be the chairwoman of the first diversity and equity inclusion committee in history. and we moved the needle. we had corporate america making $50 billion or more in banking that had to give black folks positions not jobs follow me. positions. we made sure that there were people in the c sweep. you see when you control the government, you have the power. now what we heard from michael dyson and others earlier, they do not control the government. they control the administration. and we are the government, we . we can move them out of offers office if we vote. let's take back our power.

let's stand up for truth. and now we have another suspect. the honorable yvette clark from brooklyn, new york. one. first things that congresswoman clark did. we're not going to make a mistake with history and we don't need to start over. she created a diversity and equity and inclusion task force. and you know what jessie jackson jr.'s son did? he created a diversity and equity and inclusion caucus. so you need to have information. because information is powerful so when people say, they are not going to do de&i you need to tell them i don't know who the they are, but i can tell you the members of the congressional black caucus is standing for diversity and equity and inclusion. so let me close, let me close by

saying today, this conference s arming you with the responses you need to go back and give. do not get in a line and march. do not hold your fist up in the air and have someone look at you and maybe a reporter come to you and say, why are you out here? why are you protesting? then you need to give them short sound bites by-laws i'm woke and i'm unapologetically black. i'm fighting for my ancestors, i'm up here because i'm the government and musk and trump are only the administration. they too will go away and we'll have our time to shine. the powerful james clyburn usually begins with a scripture and ends with words from a very powerful writer, author, american politician, alexis, who

has always said to us powerful words. now i'm not jim clyburn and i didn't flow a didn't know a lot about alexis. and i looked him up and i have something i want to add to that and that is the powerful words of angela davis. i want to end putting a scholar with another scholar and those words went something like this paraphrasing. those words are "nothing is more wonderful than the art of being free."" nothing is more wonderful than the art of being free "and that was aelect sis d tokefield and then my sister angela davis said," freedom is a constant struggle. and congress from ohio, joyce

bailey said, today they are trying to strip it away. but we will not let that happen. we have fought and bled and died for our freedom. we do not take our freedom lightly. so we will savior, we will not let them over come us. and i'm not going to sing, but i'm going to tell you, if you didn't know, now you know. i'm congresswoman joyce bailey. and i approve this message. glod bless god bless you and stay in the fight, because freedom, freedom, freedom will reign! thank you. >> that was kind of week y'all. can a sister get a clap up in here. [cheers and applause]

brooklyn is always in the house. good afternoon y'all. first of all let me thank jennifer jones austin for that wonderful introduction. when your neighbor introduces you it's always very specs. as it's been stated i'm congresswoman yvette d clark. chair of the congressional black caucus and proud representative of new york's ninth congressional district located in central and southwest brooklyn. it's an honor to be here with you all today for the national action network's annual legislative conference. i want to thank of course our beloved reverend al sharpton [applause] and the national action board of direction for their tirements tire -- t

irements tireless leadershipd organizing this congregation here in new york city. >> light and dark times. i can't think of a group of leaders and activists and change makers who better exemplify the theme of this years' convention. what i want to add to this years' theme is "what side are you on?" whose side are you on? it's critical as we're gathered in this moment, given what we're up against, that we censor ourselves. that we dig deep into our dna. that we recognize the moment we're in and that we gird our selves for the battle ahead. whose side are you on?

these are truly dark times and the communities are concerned about the mounting threat of donald trump and elon musk and republicans in washington. today, the nation we live in, the system of governance, known as democracy, access to economic opportunities, fundamental freedoms, and access to the ballot box are all under attack. the and in many unprecedented ways. think about what has transpired over the past few months. in just 74 days. 74 days y'all of the trump administration we have seen attacks on the 14th amendment,

birth right, citizenship, illegal, federal funding freeze. attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion. our workforce, civil servants, we have seen the g.o.p. tax scam and billions of dollars in proposed cuts to medicaid, social security, snap, and the beginning of a tariff war. >> we have seen donald trump hand over the keys of the government and our private information to a corrupt billionaire south african elon musk. and we have seen donald trump sign an executive order to illegally take away power from the states to change our federal

elections at administered acros the country. while openly amusing with the idea of running for a third term in office. . we cannot over state the gravity of the moment we're in. we cannot over state the impact that trump's policy also have n black communities. in particular, the mass firings and attacks on diversity in the federal government. an assault on black workers. 1:5 civil servants are black. for-- aids for decades federal jobs have

been the path for black in the face of the civil sector. you all know your parents told you, get educated and get a government job. hello? the the purge of the federal workforce is an attack on black jobs. an attempt to kick us out of the middle class. cutting bmtion billions of dolm medicare, medicaid and snap is truly a matter of life and d eath. these cuts will leave millions of black children, black families, black seniors and people with disabilities vuller in - - vulnerable and without a life line.

and the attacks on the 14th amendment. birth right citizenship shows all the direction that republicans would like to take our country we're at the bulls eye. the bulls eye of what is taking place. according to some estimates the trump administration has begun implementation of nearly 45 percent of projects 2025. now we talked about this last time we were here. we talked about it in the media. we talked about it in the communities. we talked about it across this country, and here is what we were talking about. they are actually trying to implement it. with a a republican trifect.

the head winds against us are strong. we, we, are stronger. we're by no means powerless to fight. whose side are you on? you have to ask yourself that question. under the leadership of d emocratic leader jeffreys, assistant leader and the rap i had response task force and litigation working group the cbc and the house democrats are fighting back in congress. 61 strong. four senators for the first time in history. two black women serving in the united states senate. i don't know if y'all got a chance to see brother corey booker? [ [cheers and applause]

take down that old record set by strom thurman. this is about whose side are you on? the cbc and house democrats are fight fighting back in congress. we're fighting in the courts and we're fighting in our communities [applause] right now, there are more than 100 active pieces of legislation against drum's trump's executo rders. many of which are gaining ground in the courts. the cbc began the 119 congress with 62 members, the largest membership in our nation's history. from oregon to connecticut: from rhode island to california. from colorado to new york.

the cbc is standing strong. our strength and our unity are our greatest assets. let me repeat that our strejtd strength and our unity are our greatest assets. because of the work of leaders like leader jeffrey and the c bc reverend sharpton and so many others who are organizing across this nation. we have held strong against this slim majority and maga e xtremism. the cbc will always stand firm against efforts to rollback our rights and strip away our fundamental freedom

[cheers and applause] we will stand firm against efforts to deem demonize divery and cut off access to economic opportunity in our communities. we will stand firm against efforts to suppress the power of our vote or deny black voters fair and equal representation at the ballot box. and we will stand firm against any effort to make our communities less safe and less prosperous. whose side are you on? we cannot afford to play footsy with folk who say they are about the movement. but a weak knee when it comes o stand up in the movement.

[applause] >> in partnership with the national acts network we will continue fighting. we know that allowing donald trump to take us back wards is simply not an option. simply not an option. [applause] we are here today because blood was shed. he we're here today in the beautiful sheraton hotel because sacrifices were made. we are here today because our

ancestors survived the middle passage. we're here today because they survived jim crow lynching and hanging. we are the strongest of the strong. [applause] and therefore, much is required of us. in partnership with the nationl action network, we will fight. we will be more determined than ever to win on behalf of the communities that we are privileged to serve each day. so let me say something. you can not just elect individuals to go to washington,

d.c., do the work that we do in the legislature, and not be educating our people on the ground. our folks consume way too much propaganda. our people are being inundated with false narratives, with m isinformation. you know i come out of brooklyn where we had the black power movement. we had a struggle for public education. and in that moment, parents, neighbors, communities, stood together, to make sure to hold the public school system a ccountable. and when the school system p ushed back, when the racism

reared it's ugly head, our folk were determined to educate their children any how. [applause] they started independent educational programs. they bought brought teachers ie church house. they did everything in terms of sacrificing time and treasure to make sure that a wholesome community of children were raised. can we sacrifice and make that happen form our for our childr? [applause] that is weak y'all. can we sacrifice and make that happen form our children today? they just can't be sitting on tik tok.

[applause] they can't just be listening to any old inflew influencer. they have to be influenced by our struggle and how we got o ver. they have to be under girded with a strength to who they are, and to whom they belong, and the power that they have. we have to strengthen them so they don't consume this propaganda, believe it as g ospel, and undermine their own development. that is what their adversaries are working so hard at right n ow. our children need to know what they say, they have a war on woke. they have a war on them. our children need to know that

when they say de&i is not the way that society will be o rdered, that they will disrupt and say i am department de&i aa part of this society and i will take my rightful place in this society. [cheers and . [applause] >> and so as we undergird our selves, because understand this is not a moment, this is a movement. [applause] this is not an episode, this is an epic. we're part of a journey of liberation. and we cannot stop, we will not stop, we cannot stop until we're free. they will use every

manner of wickedness. of wretchedness to undermine us. they are making us believe that everything in this society is built on your wealth. understand that our people came from no wealth at all. that their labor was exploited for hundreds of years years and continues to this day. in the midst of that, we stand strong in our humanity. we stand strong in understanding that our liberation is n

on-negotiate negotiable. [applause] and so, let us prepare o urselves. this is a battle of epic proportion. do not minimize what we are dealing with. the level of victroal. the ongoing assault, the shed something of the d ing of the workforce. the implementation of tariffs have real-time real, real-tim, implications for how we will live in this country. let us be

disruptive. let us be creative. let us use all of the talent, the skill, and the expertise that we have. let us educate. do not just agree to be a greeable. understand that we have been demonized throughout the history of this nation. however, history would not be complete in this nation were it not for our sacrifices. for our talent. for our creativity, . for our power to move mountains in the midst of adversity. let us tap into our dna. let us ask, whose side are you on? let us remember that in the m

idst of this, we will come out victorious. we will chart a path forward that ensures our communities have more access to economic opportunities, a path that protects our sake rid sake sa. a part to path to afort affor. a path that keeps us safe. what are we going to say to tor children and our grandchildren, in the day after. do you have a vision for america that looks so different from anything that we have ever experienced before? in the victory, in the victory, our society must be a reflection of the best of who we're and

what we have to contribute to our society. together, we see our c ommunities, we will see our communities through this storm. and i believe, i firmly believe, the members. congressional black caucus believe that working together, there are better times ahead. [applause] come on y'all. come on y'all come . come on y'all, come on y'all. better times ahead, come on y'all [applause] come on y'all. we will make it so. god bless you. god keep you, stay strong, stay safe, stay healthy. see you on the battle field.

[cheers and applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you, reverend al. i was in dc yesterday. i was supposed to be in d.c. today. blue but when al sharpton tells you where you are supposed to be, that is where you are going to be. it's my honor and a pleasure to be here with nan. the name alone is why i like being here. it's not just about action. this is the national recognizing that we're linked together. this is a network that we recognize and we have to work together. and in the middle of it all is the action that says we're not going to wait the national action network of

2025. thank you for having me. i have spent a little bit of time working in the south. i was born in wisconsin and yay wisconsin. only three years to understand cold and cheese kurds and moved back to mississippi and grew up in mississippi and came of age in georgia. my roots are planted in the south. but i recognize that the work has to go everywhere, if we can face the challenges and understand the intention and we don't only serve ourselves but the nation we love and the world we belong to and tackle the gin justices the infirmity and

indignity then we have the ability to change. i am from the south. i am the daughter of the south and student of history. i'm a student who has gone to spellman college and university of texas and yale and listened closely and understood what we are fasting now. there is nothing new under the son. there are those who say we repeat history but know, it is just rhymes and sometimes it is a bit off key. and what we are phossing today we have seen before and tyranny on the rise before. we have seen awe talk ray shy and this nation on the verge of collapse not because we don't

know right but because we are silent. i was reading a op ed that reminded me what we are facing now. and the general decided that were certain communications and newspapers and mag scenes that told the truth and banned them from being sent around the country when radio and tv weren't prolific to cover the information. if you want to weaken the people you don't want them to know what was going on. they were arresting and abducting and deporting because it was able to hold them accountable and this was at the be left of the free world. if we fast forward to today we

have to understand that we are on the verge of tyranny again. this is not something that might be but something that is becoming. an a professor at university and has the scripts that they follow and we have to update our understanding and have to know tyranny didn't look like the way the did when they would raise the community to the ground and take over the places of power. today, tyranny starts with election. it just happens sometimes the free and fair election is the last what you see. if you look at what happened in turkey and india and hungary and russia, it began with electrics.

maduro got elected. tyranny no longer requires the invective of overthrow. the problem is we invite them in and once they hold power they have a clear path to tyranny and begin by making certain that the branches of government get broken at the roots. and make sure the government is compliesity and weaken your judiciary. you issue executive orders that has the sound of law but when you are in charge of the law it is hard to make you stop. and you make sure that you hold your power well, because you a point loyalists and sink faints to take and put them in charge of the military and in charge of

the judiciary and national secrets on text message and put them in charge of the health of the the people while they pretend that the disease doesn't kill. put the inept in power because if you can stop it at the top, you can freeze progress where it is. so you have made complicit legislative and made inearth the judiciary and issued your edicts to make it so and next step is to make sure the people can't lies rise up. and you kick the associated press and you surround yourself that only tells the propaganda and threaten those who about who

you are. when you take control of the media, then you come after the place where we find ourselves today because you got to blame someone for your failure. when you fail to deliver on your economic and you pick on transdepender children, when you are passing tax cuts for the wealthiest >> we will take you to capitol hill where kashyap patel will testify on the budget proposal. live c-coverage on c-span3.