Chicago Politics

MLK Interfaith Breakfast 1.17.25

Chapters

Description

Mayor Brandon Johnson attends the MLK Interfaith Breakfast.

Transcript

0:00 Good to go to my joy, you're not to shout back to you.

5:30 sing it with us golden come on living my life like it's golden here we go

16:49 Good morning everyone. Good morning everyone. I know my voice carries so I probably will keep saying it until y'all act like you hear me. Good morning Chicago. Can you all please make your way to your seats so that we can start our program. Please make your way to your seat. I promise you're going to get all of your pictures in a minute. Let's please make our way to our seats

17:31 so we can begin our program our honorees are entering the room and we have an incredible program for you we have a movement here in chicago you ought to be in this church tonight be smooth there will still be rocket places of frustration during points of bewilderment

18:04 some great and noble opportunities to make this beautiful city that sits on the banks of lake Michigan, the beautiful city of brotherhood,

19:20 that have kept me going for the future. Let us march indignantly, let us march.

20:01 We have overcome. We have overcome. I do not know what the future holds, but I do know who holds the future. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

20:34 One more time, just want to make sure everybody can hear me. Good morning, Chicago. A special good morning to you and Happy New Year. My name is Nate Rogers. I am a reporter for Fox 32 News here in Chicago. and it is indeed my pleasure to welcome all of you to the 39th annual Interfaith Breakfast to remember and to celebrate the life of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

21:05 Can we please give his life and legacy a round of applause? Now, I know everyone in the room wants to say hello to their favorite person. You want to take the best picture possible, but we also want to make sure that you all are able to eat and enjoy this great program. So we'd ask that everyone please make it to their seats as expeditiously as possible. We'd like to begin the program by thanking all of the elected officials joining us today,

21:38 as well as our keynote speaker, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson. Let's give him a round of applause. Now we all know that this breakfast could not be possible without the generous support of its partners. I'd first like to take a minute to recognize our presenting sponsors, Aon, Ferreira Candy Company, it's alright to applause at this time, Globetrotters Engineering Corporation,

22:11 McDonald's, People's Gas, as well as our partners, Bally Chicago, United Airlines, U.S. Bank, Walgreens, and of course our supporters, Amazon, ComEd and Exelon Company, Northern Trust, Walmart. Thank you to all of our corporate donors as well. Let's give them all a round of applause. I'd like to give a special thank you to our Mayor, Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Department

22:49 of Cultural Affairs and Special Events for bringing us together to honor the legacy of Dr. King. Let's give our Mayor and this office a great round of applause. Each year we celebrate his vision of solidarity and his belief that all faiths contribute to building our community. Now, if you would please join me in welcoming Bishop Dwight Gunn from Heritage International Christian Church,

23:26 who will lead us in our invocation. We'd ask at this time that you would pause where you are as we prepare to pray. Father, as we approach your throne with reverence, we invoke your spirit into this atmosphere. Before we ask anything, we acknowledge that you are worthy to be praised. We remember that your word has taught us through the Declaration of the Psalmist and the 100th number,

23:59 enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him and bless his name, for the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endures to all generations. So now, Father, we come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. As we've gathered to reflect and remember, I pray, Father, for a resurgence of righteous indignation for the marginalized, a stirring of right standing for those denied access and opportunity

24:32 because they are not from the privileged and connected. We realize that while we have great diversity of thought and do not always agree in words, the words of Dr. King, we must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. And so, Father, I pray that the spirit of brotherhood, sisterhood, rise up among us in our neighborhoods so we can have peace in our streets. Understanding that the real enemy is not one another, but a spirit of apathy and misguided privilege. We pray that this gathering stir up a hope in us that causes us to refuse to bow to tyranny and fear of the unknown.

25:10 A hope that causes us to fight for economic equality and that it become a reality. a hope that the best of us show up in our community, in City Hall, at every police station, in every school, in every place of worship, in every home. That the best of us rise up through a mutual respect and by the power of love as we love our neighbors as ourselves. We bind up the foolish spirits of ill-isms and foul-phobia, racism and sexism and classism and ableism and xenophobia and Islamophobia

25:45 and homophobia, transphobia, and every other attempt by man to exclude ostracized through hate and fear and ignorance. Help us live in the power of love so that in every system of our society and corner of community we would thrive with equity and equality. And Father, as I close, I remind, I'm reminded of the wisdom of Dr. King who taught us that as a society we must stand for justice, stand up for righteousness, stand up for truth.

26:19 So we pray that justice would roll like water, righteousness like a mighty stream. In the name of him who is and was and is to come, with confidence for you to perform, we pray, in Jesus' name and all the people said, Amen. Thank you so much, Bishop Gunn. Well, we all know one thing for sure, being from Chicago, Chicago is a city with many, many great and talented singers.

26:54 With a mission of safeguarding the rich musical legacy of historically black colleges and universities, also through service and supporting the emerging generation of scholars and musicians, founded and directed by the master baritone himself. He indeed is a Morehouse brother for a singer and principal of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Martin Woods and Chicago's HBCU Alumni Choir.

27:33 Let's welcome them at this time.

30:06 You may all be seated. Ladies and gentlemen, Planae Hetsbeth, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. I'm deeply honored here with you as we celebrate a man whose vision of justice, equality, and love continues to inspire us all. As we gather in this beautiful city,

30:37 it is important to recognize that the fabric of Chicago has been shaped by the rich, diverse contributions of black people and black culture. Again, I'm going to say black people and black culture, which is actually quintessential American history. This celebration isn't just about looking back. It's about looking forward. We honor Dr. King's dream of a world where equality and opportunity are not just ideals, but true realities for everyone.

31:12 Let's remember that dream that Dr. King envisioned, not just for one day, but every day. And collectively, we can continue to realize his dreams through our actions, voices and commitments. I also want to thank Mayor Brandon Johnson for moving a little bit further, demanding we do a little bit better in the honor of King. Thank you.

31:44 Thank you so much, Commissioner. Again, not only does Chicago have some amazing talent, including singers, but in the form of spoken word, the next brother that I'm about to introduce to you is taking our world by storm. He indeed is someone who is a historian, an amazing storyteller, and I won't hold it against him because he's from the south side of Chicago, and I'm from the west side of Chicago, like our great mayor, from the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood.

32:19 Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you none other than urban historian Sherman Dilla Thomas. Let's welcome him at this time. Good morning. Very honored to be here in this amazing room tonight. So many wonderful faith leaders and, of course, the folks who steer and lead are a great city. Honored to be in the presence of Reverend Jesse Jackson and, of course, a person who doesn't know me but means a lot to me, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson.

32:54 I'm not a spoken word artist. I don't know why they put that there, so don't worry about that. But what I am is a proud Chicagoan who gets to walk around his city wearing immaculately clean J's and nice fitted hats because I come from a people who are following the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and we're doing that every day. I'll be with you very briefly. I don't know if you know this or not, but Dr. King, he lived here in Chicago, and he did indeed live on the west side of Chicago. And he was here to start the Chicago Freedom Campaign.

33:28 Now, that lesson for me has become a lesson that reverberates in my life over and over again. Because, see, Chicago gave Dr. King his first loss. I know when we think about Dr. King, we think about all the triumphs. We think about the Montgomery Bus boycott. We think about the letter from Birmingham jail. We think about the Civil Rights Act and the Voter's Rights Act. But when he came to Chicago, he was facing a whole nother beast. He was facing the democratic machine. He was facing decades of segregation.

33:59 He was facing decades of systematic racism. He came here and dared to challenge all of that. He was up against a shrewd Chicagoan. And since I'm in a good mood today, I ain't going to say no names. Okay, Richard J. Daley. And up against Richard J. Daley. Daley did something that King hadn't come across before. When Dr. King presented his list of demands that needed to be changed in Chicago, he demanded that we stop segregating our neighborhoods. He demanded that we stop redlining our neighborhoods.

34:31 And Richard J. Daley, seeing those demands, he said, you know what? I agree with you. We need to change all of that. But I can't change that with you and my city. So here's a gentleman's agreement. As soon as you leave Chicago, I'm going to get city council to pass all this stuff. Now, that might have been Brother King's first mistake, thinking city council is going to move super fast, but nothing here nor there. So King left. Chicago, based off the word, Mayor Richard J. Daley. And of course, we know that nothing changed.

35:02 But in that talk, King, a very important lesson, and that lesson is timely right now. Don't leave without the paperwork. And so what King decided to do next is he went to Washington, D.C. And that's where you famously hear the tapes of President LBJ calling him the N-word because he wouldn't get out his city. He did not leave that city until they passed the Fair Housing Act. And so, get right on to that. And so, following that legacy, that's what I challenge us to do today. Don't leave without the paperwork. When we're trying to

35:36 change Chicago, make sure we get those policies enacted that are pushing black people and brown people and Jewish people and Muslim people and Asian people and Mexican people and Puerto Rican homies and Humboldt Park. We want to push us all forward and we're not going to leave without the paperwork. Thank you all very much. One more round of applause for Chicago urban historian Sherman Dilla Thomas, another giant in our city for social justice and education, a great leader of our time, former Illinois senator, founder, and pastor emeritus of one of the greatest churches in the Chicagoland area, the renowned Salem Baptist Church.

36:23 Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Reverend James T. Meeks. What a privilege and pleasure it is to be here, especially to introduce somebody that everybody knows. What a joy to be in the room with my living legend and hero, the Reverend Jesse Jackson. Come on, give it up for Reverend Jackson. And let me say to the mayor, as I look around at this room, how much Chicago loves you.

37:04 You are a son of Chicago. You are bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh. And Chicago really loves you. Let me say to you, mayor, as a guy who's been out here 50 years myself, Let me remind you that how difficult it is to win the public opinion battle. Let me just tell you how difficult it is. Dr. King died on April 4th.

37:35 On April 6th, everybody was in love with him. April 3rd, he didn't have that same crowd. People tend to love you when you die. The Apostle Paul wrote 14 books in the Bible. How you write half the Bible, 14 books in the Bible, yet he died in prison because everybody wasn't with him. But I could do one better than that, Jesus Christ.

38:08 Jesus never said anything wrong. Jesus never thought anything wrong. Jesus never did anything wrong. Mayor, perfect man, perfect heart. But he died at 33 because a crowd shouted on Good Friday, crucify him. Every day when you get up, do the best in your heart. Do what's right, what you know to be right in your heart, and you'll sleep well at night. Last of all, if you went to Rome, Mayor, you went to Rome.

38:43 The Pope wanted to see you, and you and the Pope were walking along the beach. All the photographers were up in the mountains taking pictures. And all of a sudden, the Pope's white little hat flies off into the ocean, flies out. You decide you're going to go get the Pope's hat. You walk on the water to go get the Pope's hat. All the press taking pictures. You go get the hat and you bring it back. You give it to the Pope, shake it out, put it back on his head. Now you know the whole press corps saw it. You know everybody was watching. You can't wait to get up the next morning to look at the paper to see how they reported it.

39:28 The paper the next morning, when you open it up, will read, Mayor Brandon Johnson can't swim. Because no matter what you do, people will judge your heart and they'll judge it wrong. But as long as you're right in your heart, God will always bless you. Ladies and gentlemen, the mayor of the city of Chicago, our brother, our friend, our leader, Mayor Brandon Johnson.

40:09 Wow, thank you so much. Please be seated. Thank you. Thank you to our Pastor Emeritus, Reverend Meeks. Thank you for your leadership. And I think what's probably even more dangerous in that story, tomorrow the press still just might put that as their heading, that Mayor Johnson cannot swim. However, we are grateful that we are not subject to one's opinion or a headline.

40:43 We are subject one to another. And that's really what this moment and what this opportunity provides for us today, as we recognize and celebrate the true, true radical humanitarian, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. I do appreciate the acknowledgement as well as the introduction, But I will say that the acknowledgment of all acknowledgments is that the people of Chicago have the rare opportunity to experience what I have experienced for over 26 years now.

41:28 And that is what the Bible describes as a good thing. And so the ability to have a good thing rests upon one's ability to find a good thing. And so I'm grateful that my good thing came in the form of perfection, came in the form of the original expression of God's love,

41:59 and it came in the form of a black woman, the First Lady of the City of Chicago, Stacey Nicole Richard Johnson. I love you dearly. You know, Dr. King's life represented a steadfast commitment to ensuring and advancing equality and justice for everyone. As a man of vision, he challenged Americans and people across the globe

42:34 to fully embrace the core values of our nation's constitution, freedom, liberty, and justice. He worked tirelessly to awaken the consciousness of a sleep nation. The city of Chicago, we have incredible champions, and we have three that are here today for the city of Chicago Champion of Freedom Award, which recognizes and honors Chicagoans who have embraced those principles and carry on the legacy of Dr. King.

43:06 Today, I'm truly honored to present this year's Champion of Freedom Awards to three individuals. Our first one, our dear brother, Spencer Leak Sr., was born to pioneer one of the greatest institutions on the planet. An insurance salesman from Arkansas who opened up A.R. Leake Funeral Chapels in 1938, Leake and his three brothers grew up on the south side, graduated from Hyde Park High School and Worsham College for Military Science.

43:53 Leek became the president and funeral director of Leek & Sons Funeral Chapel in 1970. Since 1993, Leek has served as president and CEO of Leek & Sons Funeral Home. He still lives here in Chicago with his beloved wife, to whom, of course, they have been married for several decades and have three amazing sons. Let's give it up for Spencer Leek Sr.

44:36 Our second award goes to Mr. Larry Huggins. A true businessman, civic leader, philanthropist, serving as President and CEO of Rightway Huggins Construction, a pioneer in the construction industry, Mr. Huggins has dedicated his career to fostering innovation, promoting diversity, and leading large-scale projects that have transformed Chicago's landscape. Through his business acumen, civic leadership, and philanthropy,

45:08 Larry Huggins has made a lasting impact on Chicago and well beyond. His dedication to excellence, community empowerment, and equitable opportunities have established. He has established himself as a true trailblazer. Larry Huggins. Our final awardee, Bishop Horace, I'm sorry, Dr. Bishop Horace E. Smith.

45:44 A gifted man, passion, full of passion, full of the word of God, coupled with his love for people. He has a contagious spirit of generosity that overflows in every facet of his life. As pastor of the Apostolic Faith Church and, of course, as a physician specializing in pediatrics,

46:19 His true love and his work continues as he provides healing for the spirit, the soul, and the body. Bishop Smith's vision is one that is clear, it's uncompromising, and one that is central and principled to build and develop the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. Bishop, Dr. Bishop Horace Smith.

47:25 Thank you again to Spencer Leake, Larry Huggins, and Bishop Smith. Let's give them one more round of applause to all of our elected officials, pastors and faith leaders that are here today. Let me again express how humbled I am to continue this tradition of celebrating Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, his life, his legacy and his unwavering desire to see justice fulfilled here in America and around the globe.

48:02 I'm grateful to all of the sponsors, the presenters, the speakers. Thank you for making this breakfast a blessed occasion. But let us not forget the hands that do the work, because in the book of James it says, woe unto the rich who would deny wages to the workers. So let's give it up for all of the workers who have made this event possible. You know, it was Dr. King that said that if the civil rights movement,

48:33 the labor rights movement, were to ever collide, what enormous potential we would have. I do want to acknowledge, though, that as we sit here today in some level of relative comfort, as we honor and celebrate the life of Dr. Keene, we recognize that there are challenges that still are abound. Dr. Keene's lifelong fight for justice is one that we have to continue to recall.

49:04 His teachings certainly still ring true today. At a time when we are in the midst of an administrative transition, we have to be prepared to write the next chapter in America's history. For many people, the chapter that awaits... brings a level of anxiety and fear, but we know that fear doesn't come from our God.

49:36 In fact, Dr. Keene was very clear about the ugliness and the danger and the evil of fear. He referred to the three evils of racism, poverty, and war as one that we must eradicate and exercise. Though there are forces that still threaten our sensibilities and they are emboldened, we can never lose sight of the ultimate goal, which is to truly bring equity and justice for all humankind.

50:09 And no doubt this is a period of change for our country and this planet. But we cannot allow fear and panic to disrupt and to block our unwavering desire to see hope truly manifest. As a former middle school teacher, I'm thinking about the Reconstruction era, an era in which the descendants of slaves had very clear demands for housing, education, transportation, education, and jobs. And as we work to move well beyond the wicked system of slavery, the bloodshed of the Civil War, and the ensuing desire for Reconstruction, it certainly was not a simple time in our nation, and neither is today.

51:00 Unfortunately, there are many that still fiercely reject and are unwilling to see progress in equality become a reality for the people of the planet. Societal and legislative changes were hard fought, even died for. And so we are reminded that through disagreements and turmoil, we must remain clear and hopeful and persistent to ensure that our future reconciles with the true belief that all men and women truly are created in the sight of God equal.

51:35 At the conclusion of the Civil War was President Abraham Lincoln, who expressed some level of hope. And he said that we cannot meet this evening with sorrow, but we have to meet it with gladness and heart. And even after all of the fighting that we see and the fighting that this country has experienced, we have to remain optimistic about the future and believe that the strong promise of justice for all can truly become a reality for all.

52:11 Now we do know that before that great day comes, the Bible says that rebellion and lawlessness will be revealed. There clearly is a revelation that is being uncovered. And just like the Reconstruction era where Frederick Douglass stated, there is no struggle, there will be no progress. And so today we have to be reminded and hold fast that as we write the next chapter for reconstruction in America, that we have to hold fast to struggle because I understand that on the other side of the struggle, from the top of the mountain, we know that progress will prevail.

52:53 And even though there are forces that are working hard to divide us and will continue to try to shake our faith, we have to remain clear and hopeful that the vision for the future will ultimately unite the righteous on the planet to ensure that the struggle won't be in vain. Over the next several years, even as America's character becomes revealed, so will Chicago's. Chicago will serve as a protective, progressive haven that it has always been.

53:27 And even the road or even an underground railroad, Chicago has always been a stop, linking people to freedom. In fact, when Dr. Keene stopped, he made sure that the link to freedom continued when he said, Reverend Jesse Jackson you are up and the ring to freedom has continued in Chicago because Dr. Keene stopped and left us a true champion for justice in Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. I'm gonna try that one more time on our route to

54:07 freedom Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King left us someone to carry on the route in the path to justice in thee, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. We honor you, sir, and it is very clear that as the difficult time as Dr. Keene had on the west side, it's no wonder why Reverend Jackson decided to start the movement on the south side.

54:43 He needed, you know, just, he needed a little bit more comfort there. It's all good. You turned out just fine, even as a south-sider. Chicago is a haven for freedom. In this current moment, we will always remain a welcoming place for the globe, whether you are coming from the continent of Africa, Central or South America, or by way of Salus, Mississippi, as my family did.

55:13 the city of Chicago with the love story between a black Haitian immigrant who fell in love with a Pottawatomie woman and Kirihawa, the first black family in the city of Chicago. We will never turn our backs on those who look to find refuge in the greatest freaking city in the world. People get to build a life, a life of freedom.

55:45 We will always remain in solidarity and fight for peace and justice no matter where we are. In fact, I'm very proud that as a city we have stood for freedom and justice, even facing harsh criticism. But it turns out, no matter who you are, no matter how much power you try to exude, the city of Chicago will always stand for peace, and that's why we were very proud not to just condemn the acts of Hamas, but we stood flatfoot and we declared that the globe deserves a permanent ceasefire

56:21 with the releasing of hostages, and we will never apologize, even as Dr. King did not apologize when we speak out against war. And we do this through the lens of black liberation, because it has the power to benefit all people. We are building hope and opportunity in communities in Chicago that have long been disinvested in, dismissed, and neglected. As we rebuild in this moment our new era of reconstruction, we are fighting for better schools.

56:52 We are fighting for health care. We are fighting for a transportation system that is affordable, reliable, and safe. We are fighting to make sure that those who are struggling with their mental health, that they actually have access to services. That's why there are those who decide that it is easier to throw small pebbles than get in the fight with us. There are individuals who did not have stones when they lived in an economic sin,

57:26 closing schools, shutting down public accommodations, shutting down public housing, running the city into the ground, selling off the assets to the interests of corporations, had not one stone to throw. But now all of a sudden, in the spirit of Dr. Keene, when we are building a new reconstructive transformational economy and government for all, all of a sudden you got a rock to throw. We will resist the status quo and your little rock. We do not abide

58:00 by the so-called rules of the game that have left people behind. For years, the naysayers and critics continued to push back against hope and aspiration. But we know that the investments that we are making today for posterity, the fight for investment, the fight for dignity and respect has to be front and center in this moment. And I'm grateful through the People's Plan of Community Safety that the investments that we are making, we have seen

58:32 the lowest number of homicides that we've seen since 2019. A long way to go, but we are building a better, stronger, safer Chicago. We are investing strategically that honors the very complicated history of this city. Our investments, of course, We have to ensure that there is accessible, quality, public mental health services and that's why I'm glad that I am the mayor, the first mayor since Mayor Harold Washington to reopen publicly funded mental health centers.

59:06 When the chains were put on the Roseland Clinic, we broke those chains last week to ensure that every single person on the south side of Chicago in Roseland can have access to mental and behavioral health services. A safer, healthier, and a much more compassionate Chicago. We are realigning, of course, the relationship with our police department, ensuring that when people call 911 who are experiencing a mental health crisis, they now can have

59:39 a response from the city's crisis alternate response engagement program where mental health professionals get to show up to mental health crises. And Chicago will continue to expand these services. And furthermore, my administration did something, of course, that many other administrations were afraid to do. We told the truth. We told the truth. I just want to make this part clear as I close.

1:00:13 The City of Chicago is open for business, but we are not for sale. We're going to respond to the needs of people, and that's why we have city-operated spaces such as on the west side, the Legler Regional Library and the Pilsen Health Hub where people can get continuous care. You know, Dr. Keene understood the importance of housing and affordable housing where people can have dignity.

1:00:44 I actually think it's very powerful and prophetic that the person that invited, who was a part of the invitation crew that invited Dr. Keene to the city of Chicago, there was a teacher, a social studies teacher, on the west side of Chicago at Marshall High School by the name of Al Raby, who said that we need fair and equitable housing on the west side and throughout the south side as well. Can I just say something emphatically clear? The Chicago Teachers Union and the formation in which they stand today

1:01:16 is not the first formation to stand for affordable housing. A black teacher by the name of Al Raby said we need more affordable housing long before Karen Lewis and Stacey Davis Gates. So get off Stacey Davis' Gates back because she is standing up in the tradition of true black liberation. As a fellow social studies teacher, I'm a witness. She knows what she's talking about. Y'all better be glad I'm Kojic and not Baptist like Reverend Meeks.

1:01:49 Almost, almost got there, Reverend Meeks. When Dr. Keene came to Chicago, he said he never experienced, even in Mississippi and Alabama, the hostility that came from mobs. You know, it's interesting that it was mobs that worked to run the freedom movement out of the city of Chicago. But yet when black children have their schools closed and their parents' jobs taken away and they decide to gather because they don't have enough safe spaces, we want to call them mobs.

1:02:23 The last I checked, not one black child ran off the freedom movement. We're going to defend the interests of our people. And the freedom movement, it did not deter us from working hard in the city of Chicago to secure affordable homes. Since 2023, we have built almost over 3,700 affordable homes. There are almost 2,000 homes that are under construction right now because the Freedom Movement understood that every single human need is a human right.

1:02:56 And that starts with fair and affordable housing. The financial stability of our city rests upon our ability to invest in people. And then speaking of young people, you know, as a middle school teacher, I know what it's like for children to come into a classroom. And there are bulldozers staring at them every single morning. as previous administrations prepared to destroy their public housing. But yes, somehow they were supposed to find their way into my classroom

1:03:30 and discuss the five causes of the American Revolution or discuss what a commerce place is. So that's why as we invest in young people, we do it with intentionality. And I'm grateful that one of my former students is here today who had me as a 7th grade teacher. He is now working in this establishment as a leader, Mr. Huel Collier, wherever you are. Thank you for believing in Mr. Johnson. We hired almost 28,000 young people for summer jobs last summer.

1:04:03 We have 29,000 jobs available for young people right now. That's a 45% increase in summer job opportunities for young people since I've taken office. I encourage everyone here today to encourage and promote those opportunities. And now as I close, that's the second one, Reverend Meeks. I know we can achieve a more equitable, safer and stronger Chicago. I believe in the promise of our people. I believe in the Rainbow Coalition that created one of the most diverse, if not the most diverse

1:04:39 city councils anywhere in America, where you have more black and brown chairs who run committees more than we've ever had in the history of Chicago. Black and brown, the coalition, is still alive no matter how people try to divide us. The last I checked is not just individuals coming from Central and South America who are seeking asylum. They're coming from Haiti. They're coming from the Cameroon. They're coming from East and West Africa.

1:05:11 Now what I do find interesting is that when 30,000 Ukrainians sought asylum here in the city of Chicago, nobody said a mumbling word, but all of a sudden indigenous people who are trying to get to a land that was robbed from them through colonization, they want me as a black man to be mad at them? You've got to be out of your freaking mind if you think I'm going to allow white supremacy to divide black and brown and indigenous people in the city of Chicago.

1:05:54 The Reconstruction era is alive. We will build an economy that works for everyone. The groundwork that was laid 60 years ago, the bloodshed, the tears, the frustration, and even the doubt, We do not have to doubt anymore. In fact, I am more confident today that even as individuals try to pass laws to trap us up, even as they try to pass laws to trap up Daniel, I am not afraid of a den.

1:06:24 the city of Chicago is not afraid of a den they can talk about us today but here's what I know for sure that even as the oligarchs in this country on this planet wish for us to bow down to a golden calf I'm not afraid of a fiery furnace because I understand and the city of Chicago understands that he will be with us even to the end of the age the reconstruction era is alive and well in the greatest city in the world. We will build schools that work for all of our students.

1:06:58 We will expand health care that gives everyone access to health care. We will build more affordable homes in the name, in the presence of Dr. Keene, and we will ensure that people have good paying jobs. No matter what fiery furnace, no matter what den they attempt to throw us in, we will not bow down. We will rise up and come out even stronger. We are the city of Chicago, the greatest freaking city in the world. God bless you all. In other words,

1:07:48 he said what he said. I believe it's time to open up the doors of the church at this time. One more time for our mayor, Mayor Brandon Johnson. Once again, I'd like to welcome all of you to the 39th annual Interfaith Breakfast. Please welcome our unity prayer leaders for this morning's event, the Reverend Tanya Lozano Washington of Holy Ground Chicago,

1:08:23 Imam Sultan Rahman Muhammad of the Nation of Islam, Reverend Juan Vargas of St. Bartholomew Church, as well as Rabbi Stephen Philip. Let's give them all a Round of applause at this time. Peace and power, everyone. I'm honored to be here in the presence of so many amazing people, but especially the great, legendary Reverend Jesse Jackson.

1:08:56 I ask that we all place ourselves in a position of prayer, whatever that looks like for you. Let us pray. Let us pray with deep conviction and a fierce commitment to justice. God of liberation, God of revolutionary love, we gather before you today remembering the lives and legacy of those who have come before us. Dr. Martin Luther King and two of Chicago's own who transitioned this year, my father, Reverend Slim Coleman, and just last week, Cha-Cha Jimenez.

1:09:29 These revolutionary angels now watching over us have shown us what it means to be a people of faith who live not in fear, but in bold, transformative action. And we ask today, Lord, for the strength to continue their work. Dr. King was a man of faith, a servant of justice. He didn't just preach about love. He organized. He mobilized. He led. He inspired leaders across the country and around the world. His heart was not only with the oppressed in this nation, but with the oppressed everywhere,

1:10:01 understanding that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Dr. King saw with clarity the deep contradictions of a nation that claimed to be founded on freedom, yet upheld systems of racism, violence, and economic exploitation. He knew the capitalist systems of the world would always place profit over people, and he spoke out boldly against them, knowing full well that his activism could cost him his life. Yet in the face of that, he stood firm, knowing that his work was a part of something far greater than himself.

1:10:32 Today, as we reflect on Dr. King's legacy, we cannot ignore that we are still mourning the loss of Cha-Cha and Slim, two fierce warriors for justice who gave their lives to the struggle. We celebrate them today. Cha-Cha, who turned a gang into a movement for liberation and who took a church building and made it a sanctuary for the oppressed. Slim, who used the church as a shield, offering sanctuary to a mother threatened with deportation. These were not just men of faith, they were men of action. And their faith led them to confront the powers that sought to tear apart our families and communities

1:11:05 and to build coalitions that crossed color lines, borders, and backgrounds. Chairman Fred, Cha-Cha, and Slim forming the Rainbow Coalition knew that the struggle for justice requires unity. The unity of all marginalized people coming together to fight against a system that thrives on division. So in this moment, Lord, we are called to that same unity. We are called to build bridges where walls have been erected, to tear down the barriers that separate us, whether they are born of race, class, or borders, and to come together in the fight for justice.

1:11:38 The time for division is over. The time for coalition building and for solidarity across all borders is now. We are at a moment in history that feels all too familiar, God. A time that mirrors the very struggles Dr. King and his comrades fought against. An era where systems of violence, hate, and economic greed will seek to tear us apart. But just like Dr. King, we must know that this is now our moment. It is our time to stand, to act, and to be the change we seek. Isaiah 58 says, is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen?

1:12:12 to loose the chains of injustice, to unite the cords of the yoke, and to set the oppressed free. We hear this call today, Lord, and we will rise to answer it. As the world grows more hostile, more divided, we are called to be the true people of God. We know that the church is not a building of brick and mortar. It is a people who resist, a people who love, a people who demand justice. We are called to stand with the marginalized, to fight for the oppressed, and to be the sanctuary for those who are in need.

1:12:42 We are called to take the love of Jesus, not just into our hearts, but into the streets, into our communities, into our very lives. This is what the times demand of us. So, God, give us the strength to be bold like Dr. King, to be radical like Cha-Cha, and to be courageous like Slim. Fill us with your spirit of justice and help us to carry the work they began. We will rise up against every force that seeks to divide and destroy We will not be silent We will act, we will love, and we will continue to build your kingdom here on earth

1:13:16 In the name of all the prophets who embody justice, love, and liberation, we pray Amen Dear loving God of friendship, of relationship, of unity Thank you for this opportunity to gather and celebrate. It is great being here in this city to honor one of your disciples. May we continue to grow in trust with you, our Father,

1:13:50 as you exemplify through your Son, Jesus Christ, and as you guide us day by day through the Holy Spirit. May we and the leaders of our city, county, and state continue to be inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his work and his mission to be people of justice and solidarity. May we have the courage to speak up for people's rights in this fight for justice

1:14:21 as we continue to be people that give of ourselves with others to continue to grow as one community as we continue to share in those legacies as we continue to be inspired by those that walked before us. May we continue to grow in love, charity, justice. May we have the courage to speak up, the courage to harden not our hearts, but to open them so that it may be you, your loving care,

1:14:52 that through us, through the intercession of the many people that have walked before us, that lead us, guide us, so that we can continue the journey that you have invited us to do in this world whom you created us to be. In the name of Allah, God, the Beneficent, the Merciful, we greet all with the greetings of peace and paradise in the original language of Arabic,

1:15:29 As-salamu alaykum, which means peace be upon you. It is one of the greatest, greatest prayers to offer in this time, in this hour of humanity, the prayer of peace, the prayer of justice, the prayer of equality. In the Holy Quran, in chapter 2, known as the cow, in verse 62, Allah, God, revealed, Most High, that surely those who believe and those who are the Jews and the Christians and the Saba'ins,

1:16:13 Whoever believes in Allah, God, and the last day, and does good, they have their reward with their Lord, and there is no fear for them. And they shall not grieve. We have been in a state of fear, in a state of grief, and in the Islamic prayer, known as the oft-repeated prayer, repeated more than 32 times a day among the righteous believers,

1:16:55 we will recite the most oft-repeated prayer known as the opening, which calls on the great names of God so that we may be guided, guided aright in the cause of justice. These three essentials of life, as taught to us by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, freedom, justice, and equality, the three essentials of life.

1:17:32 Let us bow our heads in prayer. In the name of Allah, God, the Beneficent, the Merciful, all praise belongs to Allah, God, the beneficent, the merciful, sole master of the day of judgment, of requital, in which we now live. You alone do we worship, and your aid we seek.

1:18:04 O Allah, God, guide us on the right path, the path of those upon whom you have bestowed your favor and grace, not the path of those who have earned your anger or wrath, nor those who have gone astray after having had guidance. Let us say ameen, ameen, ameen. As-salamu alaykum.

1:18:44 If you were to go to a synagogue tomorrow, and I want you all to consider this your open invitation to come to my community, we would open the Torah and read the first chapters of the book of Exodus. They tell the story of Moses, his childhood, the awakening of his moral vision, and his call to leadership. And now this alignment between what one might call the Jewish lectionary and the days when we celebrate the life and work of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. happens every year.

1:19:17 It is a fitting connection between leaders who led us closer to a redeemed world. But like Moses, Dr. King never got to reach the promised land. The fact of this gathering, the diversity that is present in this room, is a future that he and so many of those who worked and walked alongside him could have only dreamed of. We are here today because of the many, many Moseses who guided us on this journey,

1:19:49 even if they knew they would never live to see its end. Instead of despair, they chose resolve. Instead of apathy, they chose action. And for that, we are grateful. And so today, at this time in a world on fire when there are so many broken hearts and broken places around us, when we know that we might not live to see the promised land that we so desire, this is my blessing for all of us, that we may follow in the footsteps of Dr. King,

1:20:24 that we might be another Moses leading our communities and walking side by side together and persist on our journey toward a better future, one that is more just and more equal and more caring and more kind so that one day there will be a gathering like this, living in the world that we dreamed of, grateful that we didn't give up. Can you hear what's sown? May it be the will of the source of all things.

1:20:54 And to that we can say, amen. One more round of applause to all of our faith leaders. Thank you for those prayers. Well, everyone, we are indeed in for a treat. One thing about Mayor Johnson, Mayor Johnson loves great singing. And we indeed have a superstar in the house. He's homegrown.

1:21:25 His vocal range is out of this world. His songwriting is revered by millions worldwide. His hit song, Make Room, has more than 17 million views on YouTube. This brother has graced the stage with some of the top singers of our time. I'm going back to the west side. He's a graduate of Whitney Young High School. my own alma mater as Moody Bible Institute some great advice to us all

1:22:03 listen to these lyrics everybody may your bad days prove that God is good ladies and gentlemen I ask that you would join me as we welcome Grammy the award-winning Jonathan McReynolds. Legit one of the best intros I've gotten. Somebody make some noise with that impressive intro.

1:22:35 I don't feel like I'm worthy, but thank you. Thank you so much. Chicago, how y'all feeling? All right, so now check this out. This can be a solemn occasion, or this can be a joyous one. Which one do y'all want? So I'm just wondering if we could just kind of, I don't know, loosen up the tire or something, keep the shoes off just for three minutes. Three minutes and maybe 16 seconds. Look at your neighbor and say, neighbor. I know things were crazy last year.

1:23:07 But can I tell you something? We're moving on. Come on, jump on your feet. Let's have a little bit of fun, burn some of these calories. Let's go. Turn it up for me. Let's have a party. Come on, clap those hands like this. Yeah, see, I'm closing chapters. Yeah, yeah, I know so I keep it straight to then go stay

1:24:00 Oh, hey, hey, you ought to get that say I'm taught me and she taught me well

1:24:50 yourself I'm moving the head and I'm just in this body and never will the love be spotty

1:25:53 I promise ever bringing light to the party holy ghost rectify the mind I'm naughty without you I'm pounding like a chocolate And without your powder I'm in for trouble Stand by me

1:26:23 Let you move on for some things Some unhealthy people Some toxic relationships There's a block anointing in the room Go ahead, sit down You make me nervous when you stand up that long Just for a second Just for a second

1:26:57 This is not a normal breakfast for me First of all, I'm in the best city in the world My hometown now. Second of all, I know Southsiders are in the building. Make some noise, Southside. Make even more noise if you're from over east. They don't know about that. But also, I'm so excited I see my uncles in the building, and it's so cool to see them. Y'all mind if I sing one more song real quick? Gonna go, I can feel, might feel a little bit unprepared.

1:27:57 But can I encourage you that this morning I didn't have a guitar strap, so I made this out of somebody's purse or belt. That just goes to show you that there's a will, there's a way. So may your strength hear, and may your trust show that, and may your bad, the way, and may your, yes may your hope is good, yes may your, and may your trust, and may your bad, that's the simplest song I ever wrote, come on just say that, say may your bad day, say, may your whole life, yes may your,

1:31:34 Ladies and gentlemen, one more time for Jonathan McReynolds, Jonathan McReynolds, there indeed is no one like him. May your bad days prove that God is good. May your whole life prove that God is good. One more time, Jonathan McReynolds.

1:32:10 If everyone could please take their seat, as we're now honored to welcome our keynote speaker, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, a renowned professor, writer, speaker, and media personality. With a PhD in religion from Princeton University, he has taught at prestigious institutions like Brown, Columbia, and Georgetown. Currently, he is the Distinguished University Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies at Ethics at Society in Vanderbilt University.

1:32:44 Dyson has authored over 25 books, including seven New York Times bestsellers, such as I May Not Get There With You, The True Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King, Jr. His literary works have earned him the 2020 Langston Hughes Medal, as well as an American Book Award and two NAACP Image Awards. He is a sought-after lecturer in the U.S. and internationally,

1:33:16 and has appeared on major media outlets, including NPR and MSNBC. He told me to stop bringing to the stage right now the one and only Dr. Michael Eric Dyson. Thank you so kindly, my brother, for those gracious words of introduction to Mayor Johnson, or should I say Reverend Dr. Bishop Brandon Johnson.

1:33:54 Did he give it up or what? Let's just start there. On your feet for the baddest, coldest, most brilliant and gifted mayor in the United States of America, Brandon Johnson. And of course to all of the distinguished dignitaries, potentates, bishops, head people in charge, and all of the wonderful Chicagoans in this city, to you my brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, good morning.

1:34:34 Now, we've already had such extraordinary and brilliant insight, and this brother Jonathan McReynolds, with that angelic voice, with that range that goes from Sam Cooke down to Biggie Smalls, an incredible embodiment of the anointed spirit of God. I see so many people I can't even start to call names that are here.

1:35:07 Sister Pam Morris started this breakfast under Mayor Daley, and it is extended because of her genius and her gift. Got to show her love up in here this morning. My dear friend Desiree Rogers is here. Y'all know her, former Social Secretary of President Obama, now the Opal Company, an entrepreneur, a businesswoman, a rock hauteur, a provocative conversation.

1:35:39 Let's give it up for Sister Desiree Rogers up in here. I saw Dr. Carol Adams, y'all know her, Secretary of Human Services, the Discibel Museum and a great intellectual in America, got to show her love, and Sister Irma from the Discibel. And, of course, the Reverend Jesse Lewis Jackson, the great civil rights pioneer, social activist, public intellectual, leader of the people, presidential candidate who made a way for those who came after him.

1:36:21 There would be no Barack Obama without Jesse Lewis Jackson. So stand on your feet to acknowledge his genius and his greatness in this arena. And his son, Congressman Jonathan Jackson, doing an extraordinary job out here. I saw Sister Kim Foxx. So many of y'all. Now, all my time done been taken up,

1:36:55 Oh, has the brothers and the sisters in the street been tooken up? But I'm going to take my time. Right? Reverend Meek said I could do that. Bishop Horace Smith has granted me the ability to do that and to use one cuss word. I'll hold that in reserve until appropriate in my particular speech. But we are obviously facing difficult times.

1:37:25 and to celebrate the birth of the greatest freedom fighter that this nation has witnessed, the greatest American that this nation has produced. He was no president, therefore holding office. to deploy the significant political capital accumulated around iconic figures. He was not a person who held a title that could be officially deferred to.

1:37:58 He was a private citizen. And as a private citizen, he changed the world. And so when I think about Dr. King, I want to speak for just a few minutes on the subject Stay Woke. Now, what's interesting to me is that America is transitioning through an epico-historical phase

1:38:30 where they have developed an allergy to being awake. Frederick Douglass said that of all the sins that the slaves could commit was oversleeping because when they overslept, they deprived the slave owner of potential capital. Now, it's interesting to me that the oversleeping of enslaved peoples was such a scourge on the capital accumulation of the slave officers in America.

1:39:15 But now, being awake seems to be the problem. Frederick Douglass said what he said, but at the same time, Thomas Jefferson said, the rapid descent of the Negro into slumber was an unavoidable index of our inherent inferiority. Well, he didn't just sleep. He grabbed some Luther Vandross tapes.

1:39:46 Y'all should see that CNN documentary on Luther. Wasn't nobody like Luther, was it? and went out and started singing to Sally Hemings. Don't you remember? I told you I loved you, Sally. Y'all ain't ready, I see. And the American nation collectively, with its unconscious commitment to inherent superiority of whiteness, were disbelievers in the fact that Thomas Jefferson could find corporal cooperation

1:40:24 and fleshly conjunction with an enslaved black woman. But black women are the precious pearls of eternity, and unleashed on earth, everybody wants a black woman. And so a scientist came along and said that black people's ability to sleep kept them from staying awake at night, as Thomas Jefferson said,

1:40:54 to discuss ideas in intellectual reverie. Well, I suppose that's because somebody was doing the work for you, that you were able to read books and to write volumes and to pen the Declaration of Independence that talked about native peoples as savages and black folk as disloyal to the nation. My brothers and sisters, we were harangued for not staying awake. and now people seem to have a problem when we woke.

1:41:29 We awake, but the nation doesn't want us to be awake because, as Dr. King said, they don't want us to see what they done done. The reason governors are banning books on black history, they don't want their children to know what they did in American history. But we're going to stay woke. we're going to remind them that slavery was a real thing. That wasn't no cruise ship. That wasn't something we took because we were bored in Africa.

1:42:02 We were extracted from our resting place in Africa and forced against our will to come here to America, at least notably and iconically in 1619, even before then. And being brought here against our will, we populated the American scene. And we gave the genius of our song, of our strength, of our durability, of our premise of the future, of our very bodies to make America what it is today.

1:42:34 And that's why Martin Luther King Jr. said we ain't going nowhere. When white supremacists and other bigots tell us to go back where we came from, we from the south side. And some of y'all from the west side. I ain't got no money so don't hold me up, but the point is that we right here in America, we made this nation what it is.

1:43:07 We shaped the ideals of America in our brains. We cooperated with the dignity of American democracy in the very flesh that was denied that very democracy, brought here in chains, and yet we worked against American chains so that we could free our minds. And in freeing our minds, we were able to break those chains. As the great philosopher George Clinton said, free your mind and your ass will follow.

1:43:40 And so we got to stay woke because they don't want us reading them books, reading those books that remind America what we have done to black people in America, to indigenous people in America, to Latinx people in America, to native peoples in America, what we've done to Asian and Pacific Rim brothers and sisters in America, what we've done to gay and lesbian and transgender and bisexual people,

1:44:15 What we've done to everybody who does not qualify in a narrow interpretation of what it means to be white. And even there we made distinctions. Poor white people catching hell in America too. Martin Luther King Jr. was in jail in Birmingham. And his jailer came up to him and said, segregation is right and what you're fighting for, desegregation is wrong. He said, no it's not. And they fought back and forth. And finally, King said, how much money do you make?

1:44:48 And when his white jailer told him, Dr. King said, hell, you need to be out here marching with us. Reverend Jesse Jackson proved it's a rainbow coalition. White brothers and sisters who are seduced into complicity with a white supremacy that will never benefit them from a white privilege that they will never have total access to. You must forge connection with black and brown and yellow and red peoples in America to understand your destiny is tied up with our destiny.

1:45:23 And if you want true freedom, you've got to march with us. You've got to stay woke like we stay woke. And this banning of books really is an avatar, a symbol of trying to ban black brains, to ban black minds, and really to ban black bodies. Oh, they don't mind them bodies on the basketball court. And when you watch the playoffs in the NFL, 70% of those men who are playing are black.

1:45:57 So they don't mind you carrying a ball on a gridiron or playing basketball on a parquet floor. But when you try to dribble your way to success in corporate America, they got a problem. So we must say we must stay woke and remember you are not going to ban our bodies, you're not going to ban our voices, you will not ban our intelligence because we will refuse to subordinate ourselves to white supremacy in America.

1:46:29 We will continue to rise up and tell the truth about who we are. And the tragic thing about banning black books is that you ban them from black children, too. They don't understand how great they are. And some of us don't even tell our kids how great they are. Some of us are ashamed of our history. Dr. King said we got to tell the truth about those who had no education.

1:46:59 Because without them, we wouldn't be here today. Those folk who didn't know that a dangling participle wasn't a piece of lettuce. Those folk who couldn't pronounce words the correct way. But when they prayed, they might have been ungrammatical, but they had theological profundity. Thank you, Lord, that the golden moments is rolling on a little longer. We thank you that the walls of my sheet wasn't my winding sheet, and my bed wasn't my cooling board.

1:47:32 That might be bad grammar, but that's great theology. You better thank God for your grandmamas and granddaddies who never had the ability to get an education, but you went to Princeton, Harvard, and Yale. You went to Talladega and Spellman because of them. Stay woke! And then we got to understand we got to stay woke because we got to understand what kind of battle we're in today.

1:48:04 They jumping on these black leaders. Here you are, the mayor of the third largest city in America. And look, ain't nobody beyond criticism. We understand that. but dadgum, the kind of leveraging of media power deployed against black bodies because you mad that an unapologetically black leader is at the helm of power.

1:48:36 God made him chocolate charming, ebony ecstasy and furrowed in coffee flesh with his beautiful daughter, I mean wife, standing next to him. with the fresh cut they look like the wedding cake people on top of a nice wedding we proud of them we celebrate them because that power is your power that power is our power that black power is American power and when that is

1:49:09 exercised justly that will transform this city and nation they don't want you to know where you is because they want to tell you that DEI is a bad thing. First of all, DEI was a concession we made because y'all didn't want to have true justice. You didn't want affirmative action. You didn't want reparations. So we cut a deal on DEI.

1:49:39 And now you're blaming DEI for everything. But now you're hiring the most awfully intolerant and the most viciously mediocre people we can imagine in your cabinet. Dumber than doornails. Your leader is proud to be unmolested by enlightenment. Proud to be ignorant. Mad that he didn't have the intelligence of the black man who had the job before he had it.

1:50:13 Five words in his vocabulary. Bigly. Yes. And the trouble is that we ain't got to lie about who he is. We know this oligarch, this autocrat, this fascist, this demagogue, this man who excretes the feces of his moral depravity into an American culture, he is turned into a psychic commode.

1:50:48 This ain't the mayor, this me. I want him to work with that man. If you can bring some money to Chicago, tell him, what up, homie? Let's work out a deal. But that ain't my job. My job is to whip behind, tell the truth, and elevate the consciousness of our people so we can support this man, so we can support justice, so that the legacy of King will stay alive.

1:51:18 My brothers and sisters, black people have loved democracy. We have made democracy real. On January 6th, we did not riot in the Capitol, we did not carry the Confederate flag, we did not visit upon this nation an orange apparition, this lugubrious leech, this dim-witted dictator, this foolish fascist, this demagogue without conscience. Martin Luther King Jr. told the truth, and we've got to tell the truth as well.

1:51:54 We cannot spare telling the truth because on this day we celebrate the legacy of a man who didn't hate on people, who didn't call them names, who didn't assault people, who did not viciously sexually tyrannize them. He elevated the consciousness of America and brought us all together. And so we stay woke, because we know these are going to be a tough four years. But my pastor used to tell me, we've already been through what we've come to.

1:52:29 This ain't the first time. This ain't even the worst. Y'all don't remember enslavement. My grandchildren asked me, were you a slave? I said, some days I feel like it, homie. we know that we have been enslaved for 250 years in America and we kept on pushing we know in reconstruction which lasted 12 years officially then it was denied we kept on moving we saw the blood of black people fuel the romantic

1:53:07 embrace of idealistic and iconic struggles for freedom and we kept moving We saw the blood in 1919 move forward. We saw a young man swimming in the river, in the ocean here, murdered for having the unabashed temerity to believe in his equality and we kept on moving. We saw Oklahoma and what happened in 1921 in Tulsa when they dropped a bomb on us because we believed in education and forward movement and we kept moving.

1:53:38 We saw what happened in the military when they denied us access to roles to play and we gave our lives for the benefit of this nation. We saw what happened when Emmett Till was murdered and Martin Luther King Jr. got involved and Rosa Parks got involved and we kept moving. And then Reverend Jesse Jackson and we saw Stokely Carmichael and Ida B. Wells Barnett and Ella Baker and Septima Clark and we kept on moving. We ain't going to let no color orange distract us from what we got to do.

1:54:17 My brothers and sisters, why is that important? We don't demonize anybody. We don't stigmatize anybody. But we tell the truth. There was a woman who was running, too, and some of us were hesitant about what she might mean. That's because we've internalized white supremacy ourselves. And were Dr. King alive, he would challenge us and chasten us against that kind of vicious, toxic masculinity

1:54:48 and our inability to acknowledge that women are the embodiment of the dream and the ideal, too. And so, I tell you what, if Dr. King were alive, he'd have to talk about that. He'd have to talk about our addiction to war. He'd have to talk about the evil of anti-Semitism and the bombing of innocent people and yet the dying of over 50,000 people in an unjust war.

1:55:19 We've got to tell the truth on both sides. We've got to love our Jewish brothers and sisters and our Muslim brothers and sisters. We've got to love those who are in Israel, in the West Bank, and those who are on the formal side of an Israeli government. But we must tell the truth about where we are as a nation. And we must not be addicted to that violence. Here we are in a culture where white mediocrity has seemed to win the day.

1:55:50 You keep on studying, because that ain't going to last forever. However, midterm elections are coming and another four years will be here before you know it. You stand up and stay woke. You teach your kids. If they deny those books in school, you teach them in your church, in your temple, in your synagogue, and you tell your children what is important. And as I take my seat, let me tell you this, if we're going to love democracy and love

1:56:21 Dr. King. We have got to remember we got to love our young people. I know some of y'all upset with the young folk, especially with the rap music. Now I'm a fan of rap, but I really don't know what they're saying right now. I ain't gonna lie to you. I come from a day when you could understand Rakim. Standing by the speaker, suddenly I had a fever. Was it me or either summer madness?

1:56:53 Because I just can't stand around. So I get closer and the closer I get, the better it sounds. My mind starts to activate. Rhymes collaborate. Because when I heard the beat, I just had to make something from the top of my head. So I fell into the groove of the wax and I said, How can I move the crowd? First of all, ain't no mistakes allowed. You understand? That's what I came from. I came from where Nas said it's only right that I was born to use mics and the stuff that I write is even tougher than dice.

1:57:26 I'm taking rap into a new plateau through Rapslow. My rhyming is a vitamin held without a capsule. A smooth criminal on beat breaks. Never put me in your box if your stuff eats tapes. Where Mr. Christopher Wallace, y'all remember him? I used to fuss when the landlord dissed us. No heat, wonder why Christmas missed us. Birthdays was the... Now we sip champagne when we... Damn right I like the life I live.

1:57:58 Cause I went from, and it's all good And if you don't know But now I don't know what they saying Know what I'm saying?

1:58:29 No! No I really don't I've been black for 66 years And I have no idea What you saying? But maybe they're mumbling because even when they were articulate, the police still murdered them. Maybe when they were clear and speaking articulately, self-destruction was their lot. Jay-Z said, now all my teachers couldn't reach me and my mama couldn't beat me hard enough to match the pain of my pop not seeing me.

1:59:03 So with that disdain that my membrane got on my pimp game, blank the world, my defense came. Tupac said, somebody wake me, I'm dreaming I started as a seed to semen, swimming upstream, planted in the womb while screaming On the top was my pops, my mama hollering, stop, from a single drop This is what they got, not to disrespect my people, but my papa was a loser Only plan he had for mama, was the blinker and abuser And even as a seed, I could see his plan for me, stranded on welfare, another broken family

1:59:33 hear the desperation hear the pain hear the trauma that's why dr king stood with gang members that's why dr king met with those who were the refuse of society so he could hear what they're saying he said violence a riot is the voice the language of the unheard so we got to pay attention to them And as I sit down, if we really love Dr. King, we're going to have to love our women.

2:00:10 Sexism and patriarchy and misogyny, that didn't start with hip-hop. That ain't no Snoop Dogg issue. That's a reverend issue. That's a church issue. That's a temple issue. That's a synagogue issue. Now, you can dress it up and act like God don't want women to do stuff. You are just a highfalutin sexist and misogynist using God to cosign your bigotry.

2:00:43 And see, I don't want to be that dude, but let me be that dude for a minute. I hate to be that guy to say back in my day, but back in my day, even though we were sexist and I'm going to sit down and patriarchy, we didn't talk about women in our music. Like they be doing now We said sunshine, blue skies Please go away My girls found another What? And gone away

2:01:13 With her went my future My life So day after day I stay locked up in my room I know to you I know y'all don't know this This is Detroit music This Detroit music This ain't Chicago go this ain't this ain't the Dells this ain't stay in my corner but I wish it would rain huh And the girl would make us see things. We didn't mind. Today I saw somebody who looked just like you.

2:01:47 She walked like I thought it was you. Right? As she turned the corner, I called out her name. I felt so ashamed that it wasn't you. Shanae Nae! We met a girl the next day, we singing. Always and forever. Y'all don't know nothing about that. But now what they're singing, you remind me of my Jeep, my brothers and sisters, that's not what we're going to do.

2:02:22 We're going to celebrate the women in our lives. We're going to uplift the women in our lives and be like Harriet Tubman. You think Harriet Tubman wasn't a serious woman? She said, be here tonight at 8.30 and don't be late. And some of them came late. And then they said, Ms. Tubman, we was going to go, but we're going to change our minds, but we're not going to tell nobody. She said, well, I know you won't. She had a Bible in one hand and a gun in another. And I was able to sing with some of those people because Marcia Dyson was the mayor's office,

2:02:55 a special event coordinator, and allowed me to sing on stage with the temptations and to sing with them because I embraced their struggle. And yet now, when we talk about Harriet Tubman, we speak about a woman who understood who she was. And then she had to knock some of them out. Y'all remember that? Don't call it a comeback. I've been here for years. Mama said, and she cold cocked some of them. And when they woke up, where I is? You free. We done drug your butt to freedom. And women and the mayor and our leaders are still doing it today. Peace.

2:03:31 quote, and your ass will follow, ladies and gentlemen, the Honorable Dr. Michael Eric

2:04:01 Dyson. Let's give him one more round of applause. Dr. Dyson, I apologize. We did not have an organist in place. I know you wanted to hoop next time. We got you for sure. Well, ladies Ladies and gentlemen, thank you once again for joining us for the 39th annual Interfaith Breakfast. Again, I am Nate Rogers from Fox 32 News here in Chicago. I ask that as we go along with our theme of honoring the dream, building a Chicago of hope and opportunity,

2:04:36 I ask that everyone here in this room that we would use our own individual lives and platforms to offer someone else hope, to offer someone else opportunity. At this time, I'll now bring the Reverend Roy Patterson for our benediction with Moody Bible Institute. Following Reverend Patterson, we ask that you would all remain standing and join the HBCU Alumni Choir

2:05:08 in the singing of We Shall Overcome. Have a good day. Great job, Nate. Great job, Nate. We appreciate you. Would you bow with me in a word of prayer? God, we just want to say thank you. Thank you for waking us up this morning, starting us on our way. Thank you for the blood running warm in our veins. Thank you that our bed was not our cooling board. Our sheets were not our winding sheets.

2:05:40 Four walls of our bedroom were not the four walls of our graves. We just want to stop and say thank you. Thank you for the eggs on the plate today, the bacon on the plate. Thank you for the fellowship in this room. Thank you for everyone that stood behind this podium. We just want to thank you for being good, and you're good all the time. We pray that you would cause us to have a spirit of unrest in our city, cause us to dig deeper, cause us to reach higher. God, as we look around, we want to stay woke.

2:06:12 We want to stay woke when it comes to folks who are gangbanging and shooting other children. We want to stay woke when it comes to inequities in our education, when it comes to business. We want to stay woke when it comes to husbands loving their wives and wives loving their husbands and children loving their parents. God help us stay woke. We want to be woke. We want to do what you want us to be. We want to do what you want us to do. As we leave this place but not your presence, we commit to the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King to see justice roll down like a river. Have your way in our lives. Bless us, lead us, make us, mold us. We give you glory. We give you honor right now. In the precious name of Jesus. Somebody shout, thank God. Thank God. Amen.

2:07:05 Amen. Remain standing, please. Ladies and gentlemen, one more final announcement from the Reverend Jesse Lewis Jackson.

2:10:14 Please listen in. Please join us tomorrow for the Breadbasket Day of Service taking place at 8.30 at the Rainbow Push Coalition, 9.30 East 50th Street. 8.30, the Breadbasket Day of Service. Thank you.

Sources and methods: how we get and count this data · report an error