This audio exceprt from 2017 (sadly) could have been given this first week of June 2020. I made these remarks after the death of Eric Garner in NY. Today is #blackouttuesday in America. We are mourning the senseless, recent deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and numerous others before them. It is my mission and my prayer that in the future, this speech and every scene of Dr. King’s dream will be part of America’s past because I still can’t breathe–
This is why I can’t breathe.
I am not new to community service.
I am not new to working with law enforcement.
I am not new to working with government officials.
I have served every community I’ve occupied from the Junior League of Minneapolis to Leadership Austin, TX.
I’ve studied, graduated, participated, and obeyed the laws of this country.
Even when I was marginalized and sabotaged,
I stayed the course and showed up every day giving 100%.
For my sons, grandchildren, and all the generations to come,
I cannot indifferently leave the world the way I found it.
This post is not my brand.
My brand is not my message.
“My life is my message.” – M. Gandhi
