the national action network hosted a breakfast. >> good morning. as we gather today, first let me thank all of our honorees that we are saluting this year. it is important on king day that we do things in the spirit of dr. king. as we gather today, first let me thank all of our honorees that we are saluting this year. it is important on king day that we do things in the spirit of dr. king. dr. king as a federal holiday was a result in and of itself of struggle. so we do not take it as a day off. we take it as a day on. who thought to spend this federal holiday every year with us at the breakfast. he had brought his mother to our convention many years. so we are, in our d.n.a., king-like. and no year is more important than this year. because we are meeting on a morning of king holiday where the nation has been more polarized and divided than we've seen in recent history. the rise of anti-semitic attacks, the rise of hate crimes, the right of rhetoric that has been polarizing. people that are gathering in virginia today, extremists threatening to harm blacks and jews have already been arrested days ahead. we need a spirit of civility and reconciliation, along with justice. to fight for justice is not to fight for bitterness. i was blessed to have a federal -- several conversations with nelson mandela. nelson mandela said, it's not enough to be angry, let your anger energized and charger activism, but then reconcile afterward, otherwise you become those you are fighting. the bitterness and the venom we highesting even at the corners of this country is not like dr. king and not what dr. king would want. reason that we are very careful about those we honor this day, to show that in the middle of all that is going on wrong, there are some that have shown a light. martin luther king jr. said darkness can't cancel light, -- darkness can't cancel darkness, only light can. and we want to some of those who have shown the light. certainly when we honor ileana eastman, one of those from parkside, that are fighting against gun violence. [applause] this young lady, this young lady has kept a light up. jean-pierre with moveon.org. a real voice for the light. and we honor kenneth, who has been a labor leader now and the general president of upat, and keeping the labor movement going. our national action network whod member, lee sanders, is the international president. stand up, lee. i know you're bashful. but stand up. [applause] mr. sharpton: he said, we've got to honor kenneth this year and when lee tells me something, that's what i do. we also are honoring joan mullhousen who is one of the original freedom riders. [applause] who thought it not robbery, at a time when young blacks need to know whites went to the south and risked life and limb to get this country moving forward. [shouting] mr. sharpton: she was from the south -- she is yelling "i am from the south!" that's even more of a sacrifice. she had to live down there after the freedom ride. but we honor her. [applause] and kathy, who gave this community a microphone and a megaphone, when our voices would have been silenced. she is unquestionably the reason that we've made political and economic progress, because if you cannot be heard and cannot interpret for yourself, it will not make change happen because no one will know what is going on. she, with great sacrifice, did that. so we honor them today. in fact, one of the reasons that hill has said we're not going many of youeon, -- know that we go to harlem this afternoon and do the king day event, and then everybody goes home tonight because at 8:00 sharp eastern time we're going to watch the urban one awards on tv-1. kathy hughes has commanded it, and thus sayeth the queen. [laughter] and we honor the 42nd president of the united states. [cheers and applause] i'm going to say more about that in a moment. but you don't always have to agree on a path to be going on the same path. and when tanya lombard, where's tanya, who was our board member, now vice president of at&t, said that we should honor president clinton, because although there were times of that the president and i debated issues, and more times we agreed, it never was about the path we were going, it was about which way we should take on that path. and we are now at a crossroads in this country where we are really deciding what path we're going. a path of human rights and civil rights and mutual respect and equal protection under the law, and protecting voting rights, or a path of narrow nationalism and divisiveness and polarization and pitting one against another. don't confuse those of us that debate from different lanes on the same highway going the same that are trying to take us a different highway to a different destination. bill clinton took a lot of hits and criticism because he refused to change the path. he had a lane that he wanted to go. the lynn was more centrist than us, but we were all on the same highway. not be a better day than time doing this divisiveness for us to stand and say, we remember that even when we had debate, the white house was where we could always depend that we were headed in the same direction. william jefferson clinton. [applause] i released the announcement today that -- talking about different paths, i'm writing a book on -- "rise up" is going to be the name of it. it will be out in september. talking about the crossroads. and we are at the crossroads and we are on the verge of a very dangerous period. and we're going to have to choose where we are going. in that spirit, and the book won't be out until september, so i'm not selling books today, i'm just -- i'm just getting you ready. [laughter] for my best seller. [laughter] thank you again, reverend davis, for your invocation this morning. let me bring to start us this morning a man who just did not sit back on his name, a man that did not say, that my family made the sacrifice, i can be a celebrity. but a man that took the work and said, no, i not only inherited a name, i inherited a responsibility. , for the last quarter of a century, have worked together, goneed to jail together. we have stood together all over this country. and there are times that he is al,to say, now, and calm down, because i am a little bit more northern than urban, but we have operated shoulder to shoulder and he has undoubtedly become the one that has carried on the mantle of his father around the world. may we welcome to the microphones the eldest son of dr. martin luther king and carter scott king, martin luther king the third. [applause] martin: good morning. the first thing i want to do is ask my wife and daughter to join me. i think it's very important. come on. [applause] the next generation is coming. come, come, come. quickly. going to be very quick. very brief. i wanted, first, let me thank god for always being able to be in washington, d.c., especially as we observe the 35th anniversary of the federal holiday. 1983,remember when in ronald reagan signed the king holiday bill. i remember when he said he would not sign a holiday bill and i remember when the public said, you will. and he came back and he said, i would be honored to sign a holiday bill. [laughter] isn't that right, president clinton? so i say that to say that the power really is in the people. however, we don't seem to know that. and so while we haven't had a whole lot of celebratory periods, on this holiday it is, as reverend said, about recommitting ourselves, rededicating ourselves to continuing the work. because it is nowhere near done. that's why just a few years ago at the march for our lives, we were blessed to have our daughter speak. she talked about something that most of us don't envision that can happen, she said, "i have a dream, just as my grandfather did, and my dream is to create -- first of all, enough is enough. and we want to create a gun-free world." now, you may say today when we see all of this confrontation occurring in virginia, that is not able to happen. well, it may not happen this day. but you got to put it out into the universe before it even begins to be thought about. out of the mouth of babes come propheticism. so we are so honored, and always honored be here to join reverend sharp and and especially congratulate all of the honorees. thank you and may god bless you. let's keep on working. we will work tirelessly. dad never embraced hatred, because hatred can't put out hatred, only love this do that. again, hate will not make america great, but it is love that will make america great. god bless you. [applause] mr. sharpton: before we start our award presentations, let us hear from one that has always been here for us and certainly keeping the fight i here as we fight for the rights of this fightct -- keeping the alive here as we fight for the rest of this district and the fight to keep the district what it is supposed to be, the honorable muriel bowser, the mayor of washington, d.c. [applause] ms. bowser: good morning, everybody. i am very delighted to welcome all of you on behalf of the 700,000 residents of washington, d.c. i want to thank you, reverend al, and the national action network, for always hosting this breakfast here in our nation's capital, in my hometown. and i want to offer a special welcome to president clinton, a special welcome to to martin luther king iii and his family and give our great appreciation to the king family. [applause] and i am reminded this morning of something that the president said 27 years ago. exactly. he said, "there is nothing wrong with america that cannot be cured with what is right with america." and we hold that sentiment dear today. when i look around this room, i see a lot that is right with america. we certainly have our work cut out for us in 2020. before i say more on that, i want to thank the national action network, and members of the congressional black caucus for your steadfast support of washington, d.c. and washington, d.c. statehood. we want to thank you for your commitment. we want to honor the late elijah cummings and our congresswoman, eleanor holmes norton. we had a very successful hearing on d.c. statehood, but we know there is so much more that we can do. we know that achieving statehood ,ould more than honor dr. king it is a way to fight back against cruel policies coming out of our current administration, like the one we are very concerned about, where thousands of americans would be kicked off of their snap benefits. instead, we need to focus on making bigger investments. i am very honored that we're here together to fight. we know the big issues, housing, protecting our communities against gun violence, fighting climate change and increasing opportunities for all americans. and we look forward to the residents of washington, d.c., with our two senators, to be right with you. god bless you all. [applause] mr. sharpton: give the mayor another hand. [applause] let me acknowledge several of our partners in civil rights that we're honored to have joining with us. certainly we're honored that christine clark is here. stand up, ms. clark. lawyers, committee. spencer overton is here. [applause] from our women's round table, melanie campbell is here. [applause] laura murphy is here, who has worked for many years in d.c. and among other places in the .ivil rights community and certainly, one who has continued the work of dr. king, dr. mathis is in the house. [applause] meekr congressman kendrick of florida is with us. [applause] i mentioned the rise of hate crimes and attacks that have been based on anti-semitism. ne have been honored in na to have a close working relationship with a rabbi and the religious action center. and every year they come as leaders in the jewish community to stand with us as rabbi abraham stood with dr. king. stand?ou this is their table. [applause] in that spirit on last monday there was a huge rally in march in florida. -- rarely and march -- there was a huge rally and march in florida. i went down to keynote the rally with a sister beloved, supporting brother ingram who leads the florida education association. it is unbelievable that in the state of florida, the sunshine state, the state that the president says he now resides in , the teachers do not get the pay they should, and those about ink in the schools, some food services, some custodians making less than $12 an hour. we have had a long bond with randy weingarden when she was in new york as the head of the u. f.t. and now the head of the a.f.t. dr. king fought for your union in memphis, when he was killed and we want to continue that bond with labor. in a climate that is anti-labor and, and looks out for the businesses at the top but not the teachers and therefore the students at the bottom. let's have a few words from randy. [applause] randy: i am grateful to be in your presence. i am grateful for reverend sharpton's leadership. i am grateful for the leadership of the honorees today. we are, as reverend sharpton said, both in uncertain and perilous times. and while i worry about the future, i'm clear-eyed about the level of activism and deep community work that it will take to get us through. fiercely hopeful, yet clear-eyed about the existential threat. and the reason is because of the labor movement and public education. when unions were representing every one of three workers, in some ways, community and labor were hand-in-hand. today, with the powerful forces that attempt to divide us, we have to be more intentional about building community. and so i often used to say, community is our new density. today i say, community is our responsibility. that's what utla did last year when they fought for the nurses and guidance counselors that we needed in our schools. for kids to survive. that is what the chicago teachers union did this year, with the same kind of fight in the fight for programs for kids to thrive. [applause] randi: because of the end of the day, oil public schools are far from perfect, they are the ladder of opportunity, the pathway out of poverty, the place to develop the muscle of civic participation where we both embrace america's diversity and force a common identity. when we stand hand to hand, as n.a.n. and a.f.t. have always done, we take a righteous path. but to win right now, we must all stand together. thank you very much. [applause] mr. sharpton: the other aspect that dr. king focused on in his last years, was economic empowerment and economic development. if you read his last book, "where do we go from here, chaos he addressed", that any had a vision of that in his organization, the southern christian leadership conference, ,"lled "operation breadbasket that would work with that. i became the youth director in new york at age 13, the year dr. king was killed. fighting to give blacks a piece of the pie. reverend william jones and reverend jesse jackson led that and i grew up under that tutelage. i see yolanda carroway who was a result of that. mignon is here somewhere. she and i used to pick it together, before she became dust topicket -- she and i used together before she became a big shot in washington, d.c.. [laughter] in that spirit, you must work with those in office that understand how to make the rules work, but at the same time expand the playing field so that everyone can play and win on merit. and that is represented by the state comptroller of the state of new york, who has opened new opportunities and has done it where the state has benefited, but the community has been included, honorable thomas denapoli. [applause] thomas: good morning, everyone. thank you, reverend sharpton, for setting the context for our martin luther king day this celebration this year. on stability and inclusion and strength really is a privilege for me to join with all of you. martin, last night i stopped by the memorial for your dad, the first time i have had the opportunity to do that. even though it was cold, it was warm in my heart, and it was an inspiration. and i loved the quote "out of a , mountain of despair, a stone of hope." our honorees that we're acknowledging this morning are truly stones of hope. congratulations to each and every up with of you for your life's work. special word of appreciation for my friend, president clinton. you continue to be an inspiration to me, you showed us how to win, i hope you're giving folks good advice this year, because we need to win as well, please, please, please. [laughter] as reverend sharpton indicated, money moves things. markets move things. and when i first became comptroller, reverend sharpton visited me and he gave me a task . he said, we have to do things differently. folks don't know what comptrollers do. but you know it has something to do with the money. if we're going to have economic progress, we need to make sure that every community is empowered. reverend, you know in many states now, pension funds are moving away from deploying more capital to firms of color and women-owned firms. in new york we're doing the opposite. we are redoubling our efforts. we are up to $20 billion now firms, women and minority-owned , firms, managing our capital, and putting money back into communities. [applause] we are going to continue that commitment. money talks. we will continue to press our corporate boards, as we all need to do to make sure that the corporate boards of directors are as diverse as the people of our country, as diverse as the customers they serve, as diverse as their employees. and it's also about where we don't put our money. we don't put our money into gun manufacturers anymore. too many school shootings. we have too many employees working in schools, our capital shouldn't be going to gun manufacturers. and private prisons. we don't want our money going there. that's no way to make money. [applause] and, lee and randi, i don't think your members want us to put their pension fund money there. so there is a big agenda, we all need to play a role. dr. king's words continue to stay with us. this is no time for apathy or complacency, this is a time for vigorous and positive action. i look forward to working with ande reverend sharpton n.a.n. and all of you for that vigorous and positive action that we all need. thank you. [applause] i would ask martin to join us back on stage. miss lombard, do you want to join me or do you want to sit where you are? i know i'll embarrass you up to the stage. tanya lombard, please join us. [applause] and board member lee saunders, please join us. [applause] many years ago, in the 1990's, as we wrestled with impending election in 1992, many of us wanted to see the country go in a direction that we believed passionately. there were those that said that, no, we must imitate the reagan-bush era. and go to the right. there were those of us pushing to the left. and then there were those that said, we will come down the middle and try and win so that we can deliver things for people. it was during that time that i governor, ther governor of arkansas, bill clinton. as i was attacking certain things that he said to me, al, the question is, do you want to get things done or do you want to get on the evening news? it's all right with me either rate. go in this, you find that sometimes, sometimes what you need to get done may not make the evening news, and some things that make the evening news does not mean you got anything done. we are in a time where people no longer care at the level of the white house, or the things get done. but whether we agreed on feltthing or not, we never that that president sat there are those eight years didn't care about getting things done and done effectively. what he did in africa, in terms of urban areas and development, what he did in other areas that we had dealt with racial profiling, we debated on the crime bill and other things, but we got things done in other areas that hadn't been touched. office,n he came