Protesters and lawmakers to address policing practices. What hes saying in a new interview this morning. Were also seeing the power of those protests in action right now. Louisville, kentucky, passing a law named after Breonna Taylor, the woman killed by police in her home. That new law would ban the use of noknock warrants. Now a republican senator is calling for a similar law nationwide. Were also following spikes in coronavirus cases in states across the country. Right now there are more than 2 million cases in the united states. How states are dealing with this challenge as those numbers continue to climb. But first, the president , as we noted, is in new jersey right now after a trip to dallas where he discussed possible Police Reforms. Nbcs kelly odonnell, my colleague, is in bridgewater, new jersey, outside the president s bedminster property. What are we learning from the president who is trying to balance the calls hes hearing loudly for Police Reform and his instinct to drill into this idea, as he tweets often in all caps of law and order . Reporter thats so right. Its the instinct versus the moment and what is happening in the shift in our culture and society with much broader call for Police Reforms and more sensitivity on the issues exposed by the death of george floyd and the response weve seen around the country. So the president is not wanting to back off what he thinks is a core part of his appeal to his base, being a law and order president , one of the ways he defines himself, also embracing Law Enforcement and yet trying to figure out a way to answer this moment. So we saw from the president in dallas where hes talking about some things he could do through executive order, and at the same time we know that congress is looking at way z to do things legislatively that are much more aggressive than what the president is looking at. The president is taking it from an approach thats a big more holistic where hes talking about issues like trying to find opportunity capital for communities of color so theres greater Business Opportunity and livelihood opportunity as well as choice regarding schools. So education, economy, and then at the same time looking at ways to have an executive order to encourage Police Departments around the country to embrace the latest in policing, understanding the tactics, deescalation, those kinds of things. Its still a work in progress. Nothing official from the white house, just talking about those ideas, and the timing of the president s visit to dallas was about fundraising as the president is also doing a fundraiser tonight at his new Jersey Property because were in campaign season. Of course, he is going to go back to the rally world, and that has brought about some juxtaposition of timing that is bringing more criticism to the president about the calendar. Next friday he is going to be holding his rally in tulsa, a place that has its own history of racial violence, and it falls on juneteenth, the commemoration of the emancipation, a holiday that is important to acknowledge the end of the civil war and freedom from slavery, and the timing is such the president who holds big rallies will be doing so on that day. He was asked about that timing in a new interview with fox news. Here is how he responded. Your rally in oklahoma is set for june 19th. Was that on purpose . No. But i know exactly what yu peer going to say. Im just asking. Ive not got anything to say. Think about a celebration. My rally is a celebration. In the history of politics, i think i can say, theres never been any group or any person that has had rallies get the biggest stadium and we fill it up every time. Reporter so aides have been talking about the celebratory idea, the president , by bringing together a huge crowd would be acknowledging juneteenth. Weve known from covering dozens and dozens of rallies the majority of attendees are white and there are a small number of africanamericans. So is that the right environment for a celebration of juneteenth. The president has now planned for an acceptance speech at the Republican National convention not in North Carolina where it was scheduled to be, but now in jacksonville. That ties in with another important date in terms of civil rights history, and the president is getting some pushback on that as well. And the campaign is saying they cant erase some of the darkest moments in American History but they can learn from them. The calendar on the campaign side and u. S. History are overlapping in a way where the president is now being questioned on a lot of these matters. Kelly odonnell traveling with the president after going on Board Air Force one from dallas to new jersey. Thanks for your insights and reporting. The mayor of seattle defending protesters after President Trump threatened to take over the sixblock area. Activists have taken over an area surrounding a police precinct. Their message is straightforward, that police should stay away. Here is what President Trump said about that in a new interview. If they dont straighten that situation out, were going to straighten it out. What do you mean by that . What i mean is very simple. Were not going to let seattle be occupied by anarchists. The woman, i dont know has she ever done this before. In seattle . It was pathetic. Were not going to let this happen in seattle. If we have to go in, were going to go in. Nbcs Vaughn Hillyard is in seattle. I lived in that city for a long time, spent a lot of time on capitol hill where this is taking place. The president says hes not going to allow seattle to be occupied by anarchists. Is it anarchists who are now running the show . Reporter peter, as you just said, youve been through that neighborhood before on capitol hill. This particular neighborhood where this sixblock radius has become this socalled autonomous zone, its very much of a has its own life within itself. Over the last nights youve had thousands of folks walk through. Its more like a pedestrian street festival. Restaurants are open, couches in the middle of the road, gardening taking place. We should note the context to this. The president says that it may come down to him to step in and bring in troops to take back over this zone. We should note it was the mayor and the police chief who pulled back police. There had been more than a week of protests that had escalated in violence with flash bang grenades and pepper spray and teargas being used. Thats when the city decided on monday to pull back. Thats essentially when this autonomous zone was created. I want you to hear directly from mayor jenny durkin of seattle responding to the president s suggestion that he may use his own force here in the city. The right to challenge authority and government is fundamental to who we are as americans. We do not need anyone, including the president , to try to sow further divide, further mistrust and misinformation. The threat to invade seattle to divide and insight violence in our city is not only unwelcome, it would be illegal. Reporter there was one resident i talked to who said the last several nights hes felt safe unlike the week prior when the protests were on going. The police chief call time response has increased by three months because that east precinct for the Police Department remains vacant at this time. Peter. Vaughn hillyard in kerry park with a beautiful view of the seattle skyline, thank you very much. The city council in louisville, kentucky, just voted unanimously to put an end to the kind of police warrants that resulted in the death of Breonna Taylor. He death had become a rallying cry at protests with calls to ban noknock warrants nationwide. Here is how her family reacted to the news of whats now breonnas law. Say her name. Breonna taylor. Say her name. Breonna taylor. Say her name. Breonna taylor. Nbcs cal perry is in louisville where protesters have been demanding that change in policy. Does the family and do the protesters finally feel like theyre getting some o form of justice here . Reporter i think they do. This is the first step amongst many. You can see breonnas mother behind me. A number of ceremonies today following the passage of that law. The Police Officer are still under investigation. It was three months tomorrow when breonna was killed in that noknock raid. Weve been speaking to people here amongst the city council about what this law means, for them to be able to pass it. Take a listen to what one of the members had to say earlier this morning. When i think about the world that i want my children to live in, i want it to be a safer world. I want it to be a more compassionate world. I want it to be a place where black people are not being killed by Law Enforcement in their own homes. Theres no reason for it. Reporter when you talk again to breonnas family, theyll tell you that this is now a question of how to involve civilians in the policing here in louisville, how to have some kind of oversight, some kind of inspector general. Were also going to pivot at some point to the funeral of david mctea. He was shot. Theres discussion about what happened in that case. The one here that seemed to be central were the noknock raids which will now be not allowed. Cal perry in louisville, thank you very much. Kentuckys senator rand paul wants breonnas law to go further than just in louisville. Hes calling for a nationwide policy. Yesterday senator paul introduced the justice for Breonna Taylor act that would ban federal Law Enforcement officers from carrying out no knock warrants. I want to bring in maya wiley, former assistant u. S. Attorney in the Southern District of civil rights decisions. Shes obviously well positioned to address this issue head on for us. Maya, i appreciate your expertise on this right now. Walk us through this. When it comes to no knock warrants, how widespread is this as an issue nationwide, and would a ban on it have a Significant Impact in cases of Police Brutality . Its a really important question and its a widespread practice. Very hard to get data on it. But lets start with the fact that it is an important shift because people die. People die because of no knock warrants. Breonna taylors death shows us that. But theres even statistics to bear that out. In fact. One researcher found that between over about a sixyear period, 94 people were killed as a result of noknock warrants. One example was a toddler in georgia in 2014. Police burst into the home and threw a grenade into the toddlers play pen on a noknock warrant. That child fortunately survived but was in a coma. Thats the kind of practice no one should ever tolerate. That one news story should have changed it. We saw no knock warrants jump radically from the 1980s into the 2000s, literally from 1,500 no knock warrants jumped to 45,000 by the early 2000s because the Supreme Court opened up the ability of Law Enforcement to get these no knock warrants in the 90s. Its a problem. Its a problem by enabling no knock warrants. Its also resulted in the death of officers. Of that 94 death count i mentioned, 13 were Police Officers. We should recognize that when we want to keep everyone safe, its also better for Law Enforcement officers to not have no knock warrants. By this week, the new york state assembly, as youre likely aware, also approved the eric garner anti chokehold act. So Many Americans familiar with the i cant breathe. It would ban police chokeholds. In california the governor is considering a similar measure hes announced as well. What is the obstacle to this . Could it be done nationally . Why is there any need for choke holds . The obstacle is political. Its a political obstacle erected by police unions, who want to give the widest latitude possible to Police Officers what they want, when they want to do it with very little restriction. The result is we have collective bargaining agreements and also a failure of legislation sometimes at the state level to ensure that we have more and better roadmaps for what kind of Police Conduct keeps the public safe and what kind of Police Conduct makes us more vulnerable to excessive force. So whats changed now is that these kinds of laws that, even after eric garner were hard to get passed because demonstrators are in the street, these things that should have been easy before George Floyds death are now made mandatory as a result of yet another one. Maya wiley. Thank you for your expertise. To those watching us right now, maya is the featured guest on this weeks episode of the podcast the oath with chuck rosenberg. You can listen for free and subscribe wherever you get your podcast. Right now House Democrats are looking to pass Police Reform to meet the overwhelming cry for justice we continue to hear. Its still unclear when we could see a vote or if we will see a compromise between democrats and republicans. I want to bring in someone who knows a lot about this conversation. Texas congresswoman Sheila Jackson lee, a democratic. Shes also a member of the house Judiciary Committee. Congresswoman, we appreciate you being here. Out of the gates, my first question is when do you think well see an official vote by the house on this legislation that you helped bring forth . Let me thank you for having me. As you well know, we wish that George Floyds life did not generate spark, implode this question of police accountability. But we know that it has as we watched him lose his life on the streets of minneapolis in the most violent way. He was actually murdered. I just want to announce that, ill be leading the effort to name the bill after george floyd. With that said, i want to thank our chairman and the head of the congressional black caucus, karen bass, chairman nadler, and the combined Democratic Caucus and members of the Judiciary Committee and leadership have said theres no more important agenda in this moment. We expect to mark the bill up this coming wednesday with a comprehensive look with republicans and democrats. Frankly we hope there will be those of conscience, my friends, to vote for this bill and to mark it up then to send it to the floor in the following week. We cannot wait. Dr. King said that many, many years ago and said now is the time. It was probably the time many years ago, decades ago, but here we are now. Were going to respond as quickly as we can. We heard from kevin mccarthy, the Top Republican in the house within the last 24 hours or so saying he cant identify any one specific item in the democrats legislation that he is opposed to right now. Are you satisfied that you can get the republican votes you need, not just to pass this but to send a message to americans that theres bipartisan support for this effort . This is an american issue. Leader mccarthy was in our hearing just a few days ago introducing a witness. He said some very complimentary and encouraging words. I think these are encouraging words. What we have seen and the brunt of Police Actions again africanamericans cannot be doubted. I just got off a call with the helsinki commission, im a member of it, an International Commission on peace and democracy. One of the parliamentarians in england said there are 3 blacks in england, 40 of the police stops are blacks. This is a real problem of racism as well as accountability. I just dont think we have any moment at this time to rest or to wait. But we really want to do it in a bipartisan way. I believe the voices of americans are being raised by the protesters in the streets and it is an american issue. A real reckoning, not just here in the u. S. But around the world. Quickly i want to get your reaction. The president will host his first rally, again, since the pandemic began in tulsa with the dark chapter in history taking place 99 years ago this month, the tulsa race riots, Tulsa Race Massacre there. Similarly hell be ak is accepting his nomination as the republican nominee for president in jacksonville on another historic anniversary, 60 years since whats called axe handle saturday where young naacp youth were attacked in that americans . Well, if he does not provide the comfort and truth of the history of the descendants of slaves in this country, then it sends a horrible message, and it particularly sends a very sad and horrible message. Juneteenth is a very somber and sobering time even though there are moments of joy because it is freedom, for many slaves that lasted or remained slaves two extra years after the emancipation proclamation. Texas is part of that. Ive created an emancipation trail to honor that when captain granger came in 1865, two years later. Then in tulsa, if i might say, we just had a briefing on that a few weeks ago. I introduced hr40, the commission to study reparations. We acknowledge the black wall street that was destroyed because it was alleged a young black man glanced at a white woman in an elevator. Mobs of whites burned down this prosperous town, killed africanamericans, descendants of slaves, never have been apologized for, took all the wealth away at that time. It is a painful moment in our history. And then 60 years ago was as well. The president is skating around it with milquetoast policies around police accountability, vanilla policies that dont work as well. He has not shown any compassion or passion or heart. We are hurting in this country. Everyone is looking for someone to bring us together. I want to bring us together. I want to say that we can, in essence, overcome this and we will working together. The president has to do that and we have not seen that. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson lee, we look forward to that vote in the house next week. We appreciate you speaking with us today. Wishing you a safe and good weekend. Coming up, a reckoning across the country as Congress Takes steps to rename military bases named for confederate leaders. Places in the deep south are making major changes. Could the end in this fight over remnants of the confederacy be what were witnessing. Remember this moment . The nations top military officer has apologized for taking part in the president s photo op at st. Johns church. Now were learning even he considered resigning over it. Esd technology you can rely on. And people you can rely on. Im a Dell Technologies advisor. Me too. Me too. Me too. And if youre a small business, were with you. We are with you. Were with you. We want to help. So well be right here. At home. Answering your calls. Providing support. And standing by you every step of the way. Bye bye. Deposit checks, check balances, pay bills, and more. Explore all you can do with our Digital Tools from almost anywhere. Pnc bank. A lot goes through your mind. With fidelity wealth management, your dedicated adviser can give you straightforward advice and tailored recommendations. Thats the clarity you get with fidelity wealth management. Protests and the Uncomfortable Conversations many are having right now about race, were seeing cities and institutions across the country taking a very hard look at remnants of the confederacy, an issue that sparked rare bipartisan movement in congress. Both chambers are looking at legislation that would rename military bases currently named after confederate leaders, many of them past generals, thats despite opposition from President Trump. House members have introduced legislation that would remove confederate statues from the capitol building. Cities working to remove commemorations of confederate leaders even in the deep south. I want to bring in eddie glaude, chairman of the center for africanamerican studies, also an msnbc contributor. Eddie, i appreciate you being here. Were seeing so much change happening so quickly, some happening by force. Youre literally watching protesters rip down these statues even before theres decisions made by lawmakers right now. How important, though, is this moment and this sort of reconsideration of our past to the way american moves forward . Its absolutely essential, peter. Theres a wonderful line by James Baldwin where he says the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us. History is always present. Its moving us about in interesting sorts of ways. In this moment where it seems the country is on the cusp of a transformation, it makes sense theres this confrontation with our past and what weve done with that past. Remember now, what was the motivation behind the chaos in charlottesville . It had everything to do with the debate around the robert e. Lee statue in charlottesville. There was an argument that somehow that statue represented american heritage, when, in fact, it represented the lie of the lost call. As we see this conflict and this battle around public memory and history, it is a battle really about what kind of story are we going to tell about ourselves in this moment as we aspire to be different. Eddie, even in the deep south were seeing universities stepping up, making significant changes to their campuses that have been pushed for years. Take, for example, the university of alabama that is presently removing three confederate plaques placing them, as they describe it, in a more appropriate historical setting. Are you struck by how fast this is happening right now in the wake of George Floyds death just a couple weeks ago . What is the appropriate setting for these statues, these commemorations so history is not forgotten and certainly is not repeated . The first thing we have to do is admit what these statues and plaques actually are. Theyre monuments to a particular ideology. Many of the statues were erected in the 1890s up to the 1920s. They were really this ef ford to memorialize the lost cause, this idea of White Supremacy that was taking root in the country. We also see another proliferation of the erection of these statues in the 1950s as segregation is being challenged. We need to understand what they are. Theyre not really historical artifacts in some ways, only to the extent to which we view them as artifacts of a racial ideology. They need to be moved into museums, need to be contextualized in that way. I want to resist something that you said, peter, for a little bit, push back. This is not quick. Weve been having this debate for a while. Newsom climbed the pole in charleston to take down the flag. Weve had debates in mississippi and the like. This is a slow churn that has now bubbled up to the surface. The nation stands at a crossroads. We have to decide who we are, what will be our symbols as we aspire in some ways to finally break free from a history that threatens to choke us. Thats an important point that you make. Eddie, people may not be aware youre from mississippi. Right now a lot of folks are watching a Bipartisan Group of lawmakers there pushing to remove the confederate emblem from the states flag. There was a similar conversation and some similar tough conversations that took place in the wake of the awful massacre at Mother Emanuel Church in charleston in 2015. Is this the time that states flag will finally remove the confederate emblem . From your lips to gods ears. I hope so. It seems to me we need to recognize that the Confederate Flag represents treason. It represents traitors, folks who were willing to die on behalf of slavery. Its not just simply states rights. I think that way of life was cruel, it was evil. We need to understand what values it represents. This is the beauty and power of history. Its always on going. Its always written over and over again because the human drama is always kind of enacted. We have to tell a story about who we are in relation to who we aspire to be. So the new south, weve been claiming it for a while. Were always proclaiming the mu south. Thats going to have to begin with the symbols that represent who we are and hopefully well finally put aside the stars and bars or whatever the hell its called and begin to imagine ourselves differently. Critical chapter being written as we speak. Eddie glaude, we appreciate your expertise and perspective. Thanks for spending time. Up next, an exclusive report from nbc news. Why the nations top military officer considered resigning after the Trump Administration cleared those protesters from the streets here in washington to take a photo at st. Johns church. Were following breaking news on the markets. Right now the dow is back up in the green, up roughly 200 points. It follows that awful day, the worst that the stock market has seen since march. The dow plunging more than 1800 points as concerns over coronavirus and cases speaking. Many states are concerning that we may be in this for the long haul. Well be right back. I am robert strickler. Ive been involved in communications in the media for 45 years. Ive been taking prevagen on a regular basis for at least eight years. For me, the greatest benefit over the years has been that prevagen seems to help me recall things and also think more clearly. And i enthusiastically recommend prevagen. It has helped me an awful lot. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. No uh uh, no way come on, no no nnnnono only discover has no annual fee on any card. Nnnnono if you have a garden you know, weeds are low down little scoundrels. Draw the line with roundup. The sure shot wand extends with a protective shield to target weeds precisely and kill them right down to the root. Roundup brand. Trusted for over 40 years. In an unprecedented crisis. A more than 10 billion cut to Public Education couldnt be worse for our schools and kids. Laying off 57,000 educators, making class sizes bigger . Cmon. Schools must reopen safely with resources for protective equipment, sanitizing classrooms, and ensuring social distancing. Tell lawmakers and Governor Newsom dont cut our students future. Pass a state budget that protects our public schools. We are learning stunning details about the fallout over President Trumps Controversial Photo op at st. Johns church. Three defense officials tell nbc news the joint chiefs chairman mark milley discussed resigning amid criticism over his participation in the photo op. Just yesterday general milley apologized for taking part. We want to bring in my colleague carol lee who has been taking in this story for us. You have details about what happened behind the scenes. Walk us through milleys thinking as he was scrolling through social media and what led him to thinking about resigning. You posted on your website about him shaking his fists, trying to communicate to the president the danger associated with him calling up active duty military members. Reporter thats how the day started, a meeting in the oval office where milley was among a number of the president s advisers trying to convince him not to call up active duty troops. The day went on and we had that photo op with the president at the church. What we know from three defense officials is general milley after that was upset. He was scrolling through social media, reading News Coverage of this photo op and really seeing a lot of criticism from dozens of people and he also stayed up much of the night. He called some of his mentors and friends and really questioned whether or not he should resign. Obviously he chose not to do that. Instead he apologized in this commencement address saying he should havent been there because it gave the perception that the military was involving itself in domestic politics. The white house has not responded to this, but President Trump was asked about general milleys comments in an interview with fox news yesterday. Lets take a listen to that. Why do you think youre hearing from general milley, from secretary of defense esper and not why you think you are, but do you think its significant . No, i dont think so. If thats the way they feel, i think thats fine. I have Good Relationships with the military. Reporter now, President Trump does have a Good Relationship with general milley, at least he has had one Officials Say he likes him, likes being briefed by him. He seeks out his advice regularly. Thats not true for all members of President Trumps National Security team. As you know, peter, whether or not this changes the dynamic of their relationship remains to be seen. We know this is a president who does not like when his advisers step out and differ or distance themselves from him, especially if they do that publicly like general milley did with this. All of it punctuating just a remarkable week. James mattis, mark milley, colin powell, all of them rebuking President Trump for his handling of the last several weeks. Carol leon the north white house lawn. Well talk to our doctor on duty about growing concerns over a second wave of covid19. Jietd releasing his plan to reopen the country in this pandemic. How would that work in a Biden Administration compared to what were seeing right now . We have his answers next. His ant this moment. This moment right now. This is our commencement. No, well not get a diploma or a degree of any kind. But we are entering a new chapter in our lives. Our confidence is shaken; our hearts cracked. The kind of a crack that comes from the loss of a job; from life plans falling apart. We didnt ask for it. But we are rising to meet it. And how far weve come isnt even close to how far we can go. We just have to remember how patient we were. How strong we can be. how strong you can be. and remember this; theres a crack in everything for a reason. How else can the light get in . Tomorrow starts today. And still going for my best. Even though i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib. Not caused by a heart valve problem. So if theres a better treatment than warfarin, im reaching for that. Eliquis. Eliquis is proven to reduce stroke risk better than warfarin. Plus has significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. Eliquis is fdaapproved and has both. Whats next . Im on board. Dont stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. Eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. Ask your doctor about eliquis. And if your ability to afford. Your medication has changed, we want to help. The number of coronavirus cases is speaking in states across the country. We want to get you caught up on the facts right now. There are now more than 2 million coronavirus cases in the united states. More than 114,000 americans have died since this pandemic began. The Oregon Governor kate brown is now pausing the work to reopen counties statewide for a week. Her state has seen record high increases in coronavirus cases. And yesterday florida saw its largest single day increase in cases with more than 1,900. Theyve seen an increase of more than 1,000 cases every day for the last nine days. I want to turn to our doctor on duty, dr. Lipi roy, an internal medicine physician and nbc news medical contributor. Doctor, walk us through this. Theres a lot of conversations. States beginning the process of reopening, but there are concerns about the potential for a second wave. It seems like the second wave is still way out there. A lot of states are dealing with the first wave right now, arent they . Good morning, peter. The rise in cases in states all over the country is quite concerning amongst the Public Health community. To your point, we think its multifact torl, a come newsmakers of loosened orders, protests, memorial day as well as increased testing. The increased testing is detecting whats already out there, so theres clearly Community Spread of the virus which drives home the point that people need to continue practicing these Public Health measures, the physical distancing, covering their face and the hand hygiene, peter. Can i ask you about what the Washington Post has been reporting today. They talked to a would madge, i think melanie montano, who has been having these symptoms, dealing with coronavirus for more than 60 days, all the symptoms we heard about. But with it the frustration that she cant kick this thing. Whats the best research . Some people can be asymptomatic, no symptoms at all, and others can have it literally for months. Frustrating not only for patients, but for doctors as well. What were discovering in select cases, patients ranging from their 30s to their 60s, even 70s, that theyre shedding the virus for a prolonged period, well over 60 days. In most patients, its still an acute respiratory infection, but actually were seeing a prolonged case in several cases. There was a case report published from wuhan, china, of a 71yearold woman. That was the longest reported case of viral shedding. We need to get a lot more information on cases in patients all over the world to better understand if this is a postviral syndrome or maybe its lingering the body and causing people to feel sick because of a prolonged immuno or inflammatory reaction, peter. Dr. Lipi roy, we appreciate your expertise. Well leave the conversation there and bring our viewers to new york state right now where the governor, andrew cuomo, says hes about to sign aggressive legislation as relates to the recent unrest we have seen in these protests nationwide. Lets listen to governor andrew cuomo. Its about fanny lieu hamer, im sick and tired of being sick and tired. How many times do you have to see the same case before you do something . The same case over and over and over and still no change. Mr. Floyds murder, got bless this country for standing up and saying enough is enough. I respect them. But it goes back certainly to rodney king in modern times. And the truth is it goes back to dr. Martin luther king, 1968. It is systemic discrimination and injustice in this nation. Thats what it is. Thats what today is about. The answer there is no quick fix to this. There is no, well, stop teargas. Well, change the uniforms. Thats not what this is about, my friends. It would be a mistake if we went down that path. This is systemic reform of Police Departments. This is sitting down and taking a look at exactly what they do and how have been doing and looking at it through a new lens of reform and reinvention because this has been 40, 50 years in the making. Providing police with military equipment, increasing the number of police. It goes back to the 90s and the crime bills. Looking at the population explosion in our prisons. This was a long time coming. This is not about a press release thats going to solve it. The way we really solve this is we say to every Police Agency in this state i believe should happen in the nation. Sit down at the table with the local community, address these issues, get to the root of these issues, get a plan, pass that plan by your local government, and if you dont, youre not going to get any additional state funds, period. Were not going to fund Police Agencies in this state that do not look at what has been happening, come to terms with it and reform themselves. Were not going to be as a state government, subsidizing Improper Police tactics. Were not doing it. This is how were going to do it. Im going to sign an executive order today. Well require local governments and Police Departments across the state, about 500, to develop a plan that reinvents and modernizes Police Strategies and programs in their communities. They must formulate a plan, address crowd management, community policing, bias awareness, deescalation, restorative justice, communi communitybased outreach. They have to have a transparent citizen complaint disposition procedure. So if you make a complaint, its not just yelling out the window. You find out what happened to that complaint. They should talk about appropriate equipment, whats not appropriate equipment and any other issue that that community believes is relevant. That discussion has to happen with the Community Participants in the room. That plan then has to be enacted into local law. Every city, every county. It has to be done by april 1. If its not done by april 1 and if its not passed, theyre not going to be eligible for state funding, period. Look, its simple. This is something that has to be done anyway. Has to be done anyway. Because what we know is certainly true is there is no trust between the community and the police. Thats what the protests have said. Theres no trust. And if there is no trust, the relationship doesnt work. If theres no trust, the police cant effectively police. If theres no trust, the community is not going to allow the police to police. And there is no trust or there is a breach of the trust. And that has to be restored and repaired. And the only way to do it is to get in a room, get to the table, let everyone say their piece and lets figure it out community by community all across this state. It will be statewide, no other state has done it but new york state will lead the way because new york is new york tough, smart, united, disciplined and loving. With that, let me turn it over to our great senate leader. I thank Andrea Stewart cousins very much for her leadership. I know weve worked long and hard over this past week. We worked long and hard for a long time, especially this past week, and it turned out great. Thank you very, senate leader. Thank you so much, governor. Thank you for your leadership. Im certainly so happy to be here at this moment, at this historic moment and to share this with my colleague and partner in the assemblies, speaker hasty and certainly to be always in the presence of reverend sharpton, who, you know, is an icon for all of us in this movement, as is everybodys mother. So hazel dukes, who has been so clear in so many ways. And obviously in the presence of valerie bell and gwen carr. Thank you. Thank you for being brave and strong. You know, we are at a moment of reckoning, theres no question about it. I am just so thankful that i have an historic role. At this moment i have an opportunity leading 40 senate democrats, who unanimously decided this was the time. You know, many of my colleagues will sit stand on the floor and certainly colleagues who are younger and theyll talk about the hip hop and give vers verse. For me, when bruce springprings the hero, i thought that was the moment where people outside of black and brown communities were finally going to get the message that bad things were happening. And that refrain, you can get killed just for living in your american skin, i thought would ring a note. But it didnt. That was right around amidou diallo. And here we are after the horrific murder of george floyd, we finally got it, but every parent, every mother who looks like me understood that scary notion with our kids, with our husbands, with our brothers. I got that call when my youngest son was only 18 years old. And he was, quote unquote, on the wrong side of the town. He was stopped, he was frisked. The next thing i know after were out of the police station, were in the emergency room because hes got a fractured nose. Thank god i was able to bring him home. I ache for gwenn, valerie. I understood that. And i want to be clear. You know, obviously every Police Officer is not a bad Police Officer. My brother bobby was a Police Officer. Hes a transit officer. He worked for new york city transit. He went in there because he wanted to help his community. He spent about six years. He was 24, he was he is a marine, vietnam vet, went into the Police Department and came out within six years because he was convinced that the system was designed so that every young black man would have a record. He knew. He was a good cop, he worked with good cops. Here we are. We know this isnt a cure, as the governor said. We know that this is the beginning, but its a move to bring justice to a system that has long been unjust. And, again, i thank you for being a partner, for making sure that we take to heart this moment that has taken too long to come to, and i thank all of the people in the streets and the leadership of the families to make this happen. So thank you, governor. Thank you, senator wheeler. Youre exactly right. It good to be part of the solution and im proud of new york and what weve done and what weve done together. Speaker hastings, thank you, my friend. Let me thank everyone for being a part of this historic moment. When i was first elected speaker of the assembly, i said that of all of the great things that i would be a part of and working with the governor and working with the cousins, that nothing would mean more to me and i felt my legacy and who i was as speaker of the assembly would mean nothing to me if we didnt make these systemic changes in how communities of color were policed and judged and here we are. So i really want to thank the advocates. I know we have two of the mothers here, but i want to thank all of the mothers who are in here with us and i want to point one out in particular, constance graham, who is the mother constance malcolm, who is the mother of molly graham, who is a constituent of mine. Ive gotten very close to her. I was there with her and her family throughout the entire time. I was recently asked on an interview why now, why did it happen now with george floyd . As leader cousins said, we thought every time it and when it amidou diallo, we thought it was time. When it happened with eric garner, sean bell, we thought it was time, when it happened with molly graham, we thought it was time. But for some reason, i think it just touched a nerve on every person. It wasnt just a people of color issue, it wasnt just the families. I this i watnk watching a man b suffocated by strangulation, you know, crying for his deceased mother i think struck a nerve. Us even in the assembly i thought the bill was going to be democrat versus republican. We have many, many republicans voting for these bills because i think the entire world has just said enough is enough is enough is enough. How many how much more bloodshed had to be had to happen for the consciousness and the heart of this nation to finally open up and say we need to do better and we need to be better. And i think that that moment has come. But it doesnt just end there. You know, theres still many other issues of systemic injustice and systemic racism that people of color have to deal with, whether its education, heath dlth dispariti. These are all things that we have to continue as government to be a part of. Government is supposed to be problem solvers, when society cant fix things, thats where government is supposed to come in and chart that course. And so this is just a very its an emotional dale, but i was also asked in one of the interviews how emotional was i when we actually passed the bills. I said i was actually more emotional when my house and andreas house agreed on the bills because thats when we knew that we were going to be able to get it done. At that point it was just a mechanical process of getting the bills passed. But when we agreed on a package of legislation that the governor has said that he is going to sign, thats when i was emotional because growing up as a young black man, theres a lot of times that i had not so positive interactions with the police. Ive had not so positive interactions with the police even as the speaker of the assembly. They didnt know i was the speaker of the assembly. I never mentioned anything. Growing up when you heard the stories, as a black man i felt, you know, that could be me. And i think that that is the reason why this