I want to start by thanking you all for your leadership and support.
You've rallied support against some of Trump's most dangerous actions.
Its failure to contain the pandemic and the mass casualty event is caused in the black community.
His embrace of white supremacy has been just straight out and continues his attack on the A C A, which affect so many African Americans.
His his incitement of violence against peaceful social justice.
Protesters removing diversity and inclusion awareness policies across the federal government and, if successfully litigated, voting rights cases, while the right to vote has been under more severe attack than any time since I was a kid and you've helped ensure that Americans across the country complete the census and are counted, which is a big deal, an awful lot Mawr We have an enormous amount of work to do not just to reverse Trump's actions, but to repair the damage that off four years of his policies.
They have exacerbated worse than every inequity from housing, education and the economy toe being able to build back better.
And I've made advancing racial equality priority throughout the campaign in our transition team, and I'm gonna make it a priority in our administration, and I know you all have.
Well, you just know you could have partners to partners in the White House, and you have responsibility.
I think that in addition to that pushes hard as you can for the nominees we come forward that I think you're gonna like, understand that.
And I support.
All you've been pushing me to do is well, you're going to do your jobs.
I know, and I'm gonna do mine.
And together, I think we're going to see progress happen.
I understand.
If a few policy and personnel proposals you wanted to discuss today I welcome input in the council.
And here is what my transition team is doing to ensure the tracking racial inequity is part of every piece of work from policy the agency route of personnel, to appointments to technology and to delivery.
Now we've asked our agency review teams toe look at opportunities to advance racial equity and the federal agencies.
I just announced, by the way, the covert team and we have one hole.
Why? We've set up a new department that requires a toe look at racial equity in the way in which the covert vaccine is in fact distributed.
It's an important pieces across every aspect of our administration.
On my view, this is an essential part of taking responsibility for greater equity across the government.
We're talking.
We're talking a lot of policy experts, including many of you have talked to, and we're developing implementation plans to assess implications for racial equality and racial equity.
We're applying anti bias techniques as we recruit people from my administration and the ones we'll hire.
And those who will be 2nd, 3rd level folks is well, and I've asked Cedric to help me think through how to build on this work and make sure we're infused throughout my entire administration.
After holding listening sessions of experts like yourself on personnel, I'm committed to administration.
I've said this from the outset that's gonna look like America and represent the country in a way that I said I would.
I'm proud of General Austin that picked him to serve a secretary of defense.
I hope you will support his nomination and join me and celebrating this historic significance.
So many African Americans have died defending this country.
It's the first time in American history we'll have an African American heading up the Defense Department.
Of the people I've announced already, the majority of the people are people of color and we're just getting started.
I've only named 10 of the 20 Cabinet level appointees.
I'm confident by the end of the process, you'll see a talent cabinet that represents the diversity of this country.
I know we have a lot to discuss, and I want to invite common to add anything she'd like to say before we get started.
But we're here to listen and we're here to work with.
I promise you, you're gonna have access to us throughout our administration, comma.
Thank you.
I just welcome.
It's good to see everybody.
The only thing be better if you were together in person.
Um, but thank you for everything you do every day.
We have arrived at that the day we hoped, which is that after four years of dealing with what we have all been dealing with, we have new opportunities and to really follow through on a commitment to racial justice, social justice, equity, equality, fairness.
Um, the work that we need to do is an administration cannot get done without your involvement partnerships, support and influence.
And so I say hello to all of the friends.
Thank you for everything you have done and that the organizations you represent have done over all of these generations because I would not be the vice president of the United States, elect, were it not for that work.
So greetings and thank you.
And we should get started, because this is this is the time for you to talk.
Cedric, you're gonna start this or how are we doing this? Can't hear you, Cedric.
You're on mute.
This is what I'll do.
I'll turn it over to my former boss, Marc Morial, and he will give us the run.
The show.
But market, if I see that were get involved down somewhere I may have to jump in because I know Reverend Al is last, and I don't want Reverend Al not to get his full time also, so hopefully we'll go straight through.
But I don't want to make sure we don't use up too much time and deprived the last guest.
So with that, I'll turn it over to the chair and CEO of the national really Mark Morio way.
We both We both worked with them for Mark.
You're on mute.
Go ahead, Mark.
I think you're on mute Mark, your muted.
Yeah, Mr President.
But I mute you before, Mark.
I've never heard that happened.
Never.
Uh, Mr President Elect.
Madam Vice President Elect.
First of all, that sounds so great to us.
Let me just say congratulations to both of you and your historic victory in this election for which, uh, we worked so hard to turn out a record vote in our community.
Let me also just began by thanking you for Cedric Richmond, Cecilia Rouse in General Austin and Vice President elect Harris, particularly for your courage and fortitude in selecting them for these very important positions.
We intend to work closely with Cedric on an ongoing basis to make sure we hear you and you hear us on.
Let me begin by telling you who we are.
We are seven historic civil rights organization leaders.
We do not come as individuals personalities.
We come as leaders of historic civil rights organizations meaning we have been there or the roots of our organization go all the way back to the 19 sixties.
And prior to that, we are a group of equals.
There is no one organization or any one of us who is the leader of the pack, president of the group or the chairman.
We come as equals, bounded together by mission, doing our work in different ways, but with intense focus on racial justice, with a particular emphasis on the African American community.
For many of us, I want to lift up your historic commitment to racial justice embodied in your campaign document, lift every voice and embodied in your statements.
The night of your victory, where racial justice was lifted up is one of your four pillars.
Our job is to help you and toe hold you and your administration accountable to accomplish the progress of racial justice and those twin objectives.
Helping and holding you accountable is what we will use to guide this relationship over the next four years.
To accomplish this objective, you must maximize the number of African America is in the Cabinet sub cabinet and the White House staff so that people with the lived experiences of racial justice and the professional qualifications are at the big table.
In the deliberations and the discussions on all issues, we want to affirm that as Americans, every issue is an African American issue.
Some issues are greater importance than others.
But every issue is an African American issue.
I will say as I began, and then I'll be coming back later with some specific suggestions and accomplishments.
Specific, specific suggestion that to accomplish the aims of racial justice, there must be at the beginning a commitment to address the racial wealth and economic gap that is so persistent and exists in this country.
And that Mr President, elected madam vice president elect, has gotten worse in the last 20 years and gotten worse in the in the era of Cove it our community is in crisis.
This nation is in crisis.
Our community is catching hell economically catching hell from cove it.
Andi, I want to encourage you, Mr President elect to be bold, to be imaginative toe view this as the historic opportunity that it is for your administration.
So number one to accomplish Thea aims of addressing the racial wealth gap.
It will require a set of targeted policies that focus on the communities that are deeply impacted.
I wanna lift up your own plane, The lift, every voice plane, and I want to encourage you to ensure that from Secretary designee Yellen, each member of the economic team thio every member off the staff economic team that this document and this plane be a guiding document for everything you do in the next four years.
Your commitment to this plan was encouraging, and all too often in an administration, people come in and they bypass the specific commitments that were made during the election.
This plan, we think, should be the guide folks of your work.
When it comes to racial justice, I just want to say two more quick things, my number one.
With respect to the 1st 100 days, we will share with you various thoughts about what should be in the 1st 100 days.
I wanna lift up the importance of a broad based stimulus with money for cities with money for African American businesses with less than five employees for education, for covert distribution that utilizes community centers and libraries and community facilities.
As distribution points on, I wanna encourage on an economic recovery plan that you think of infrastructure as not only transportation infrastructure but as community facilities.
We lost your mark your muted mark Mark your muted on the like.
Where did you lose me? On infrastructure infrastructure.
So we recommend that infrastructure being not only transportation infrastructure, Mr President elect and Madam Vice President elect, but for schools, community centers, broadband and other facilities such as water systems.
Without that, a transportation infrastructure plan will not will not achieve the aims of addressing the racial economic inequities in this country.
If you get a chance to read the plan, you'll see it does exactly that what you're talking about, and we appreciate that, and we wanna emphasize that.
So with that, each of us is going to discuss ah, set of issues and I want to turn it over to my colleague Eric Johnson to provide some context.
After that, we'll go to Melanie Campbell.
Thank you, Mark N.
Thank you.
President elect and Vice President elect.
It is truly good to say that after, uh, this, uh, most tumultuous 2020 election cycle way have a huge opportunity.
I think the opportunity is capped with what Mark just mentioned.
Have you made some bold statements and promises and commitments on the campaign cycle Also made some very clarifying statements after it was obvious that you would in fact be president intellect and taking the example from corporate America when they actually embrace the opportunities of diversity when they actually understand the importance of inclusion those who have been able to successfully pivot, they have empowered and individual to be a diversity and inclusion officer who report directly to the president.
This is a strong message that the message from the chief it will germinate in terms in terms of the reality of how people operate.
I want to encourage you to consider that as something that this administration will be bold enough to do to empower the individual who's responsible for carrying out some of the state that some of the commitments that you have made to address racial opportunity inequality as you stated when you first started off and as the TPV touch over 18 million voters this election cycle 12 targeted states way had a specific focus on areas like my hometown of Detroit and Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh in other areas, and we're now in Georgia during the exact same thing.
But I would like to cost to you in terms off the opportunity to get people good people confirmed in the Senate.
It would be it would result in the outcome of this George election.
Anything that could kill off any of the boats would be something that could be harmful to the outcome.
If you consider the victory that you appreciated in Georgia, it was around 12,000 votes.
And so, as you consider appointments, you also must consider what impact would that happen have on voters in the state of Georgia? And I would submit to you that former Secretary village that could have disastrous impact on voters in Georgia.
Shirley Sherrod is a civil rights legend, a hero.
I live in a state of Mississippi.
I'm surrounded by civil rights icon and I understand the reference that many of them have, particularly in rural areas.
So I wanna make sure that as you consider appointment that you do so with November 5th in mind so that we don't listen our opportunity to be able to get confirmed stomach the outstanding candidates that you're gonna bring forward if you decide to take that route.
I strongly encourage you to reach out to Mr Ross, have a conversation with her.
I strongly encourage you to talk to black farmers so that you have a clear understanding of the impact any decision could have on the January 5th election.
It is.
Our goal is in.
Http.
Is our goals and civil rights community for this administration to be successful? And it could only be the at the success we needed to be if we have the ability to get good people confirmed.
But around that, off with what you started around this question of equity ah, both statement that you can see it earlier is to rename the domestic Economic Council the Domestic Economic and Equity Council, charging them with the responsibility of tracking the spin and the dollars as an impact.
Many communities not only African American community, the Native American Latino community and others communities to show that there is, in fact equity and how we are managing our economic policy, the same thing for o.
M.
B.
Renaming it and give it a charge of equity, Office of management, budget and equity so that we can track and manage and understand whether that the commitments made during the campaign continually be lived up to with this administration.
We are cheering for your success.
The work that Cedric Richmond has already begun to do, to reach out and build is really important.
But his skill set is so much broader than just the black community.
We are really celebrated.
Amos Brown's mentioned to me every time Vice President Elect Harris that she is a member of my church, and I don't know if you remember now, but you know, AIM is gonna claim anything that's successful.
That's in proximity of him.
And we love famous for that way really need a laser sharp focus on your commitments because what get done is what gets measured.
What gets measured is what could be held accountable and accountability.
Start with making sure somebody is solely responsible on carrying out the charge of the commitment you made.
Thank you for the opportunity, and I wanna make sure that your statement is very true.
We do have a responsibility as an advocacy organization to raise the questions as we hear in Germany for my members to call out concerns as they exist.
That's something that I will always dio, but I want to do it in a way in which we can always have a dialogue and that dialogue should be towards solutions because my little piece of solution with your army of solutions, we can perhaps get a solution that not only help the African American community, but make democracy work for everyone.
So thank you for the opportunity.
Thank you.
Right.
Melanie Campbell.
Thank you, Mark.
Thank you.
President elect Biden and Vice elect Harris.
It just says a wonderful ring to it.
A wonderful ring to it.
But thank you for the opportunity to have this conversation with you all today.
Um, and also thank you for earlier, uh, President Biden for meeting with me and several other black women.
And you were a liberating about who would be your vice presidential running mate.
And so I wanna thank you for selecting now VP elect Harris.
And for her selecting you as partners on it has, uh, we wanna thank you for theology, unities for us to make the case and that you all were awesome as a winning ticket.
And we know you will be awesome administration.
So I thought I want to thank you on behalf of those black women like Leola Brown and others and many others of us who met with you earlier on when we sent you that letter.
Also want to thank you on behalf of many, many black women for the legend you've already made for your administration.
Um, when it comes to cabinet as well as other White House staff, I also want to really encourage you, Aziz ur selecting your positions for sex store Canada positions, uh, that black women are represented in those positions and names that we all have heard.
And we've also sent letters to from Congresswoman Marcia Fudge or Mayor Kesha Lands Bottles and Karen Bass and Susan Rice and others that black women who could bring the lived experience, um, and expertise to the table and how important that is.
Askew.
Round out your cabinet one.
Thank you for selecting Cedric Richmond, who I've had the pleasure of knowing from from his role in Congressional Black Caucus and others.
You know that we're looking forward to that relationship.
Aziz.
We move forward, have a couple of things from National Coalition Black Women's Roundtable that wanted to share.
And when I first, uh, talk about Kobe 19, um, and its impact? I am a survivor of Colon 19.
Thank Congresswoman.
Think of, uh, BP.
Let for calling me if you are sending those flowers in September.
Um, and the issue around health care and implicit bias.
What happens? So when I was first diagnosed the first week of September, um, I was checked into the hospital, um, at a day later and I had pneumonia, and I was at home the next day, the Tylenol in Houston X.
I was not giving room disappear.
I was not giving anything.
I was sent home to figure it out.
The very next day I had I couldn't breathe.
I had to take an ambulance and I was in I C U.
For two weeks.
I was didn't make it, and I was in hospital for a month as we speak.
Right now, I have a 70 year old sister and a niece at seven family members in Atlanta who have co vid.
They went to the hospital on Saturday.
What least had, uh, has a heart issue had bypass surgeries this year.
They went to the hospital on Saturday.
They all afford them, were diagnosed in my sister's family circle.
They were sent home the next day.
I didn't understand that on Sunday my niece had be taken by ambulance back to the hospital.
She was at home Sunday.
She's diagnosed with pneumonia.
My sister, 70 years old, retired teacher, sit home.
She had to get in the ambulance yesterday.
Setback.
So the question that I think for the covert task force is to look at what's happening with how people at the hospitals are, how these decisions are being made.
We know that black and brown people are the ones who died most disproportionately.
So when you go to the hospital for care and you sit home with Tylenol as opposed to getting reamed s severe.
Once I was sent back to the hospital, I received invest severe and all the other cocktails and treatments.
But by that time, I'm now and I see you.
So I asked A task force looks all the things that they have to look at.
Look closely at that situation, and I would like to offer my opportunity to be able to help in any way I can, because there's other things that happened while I was in hospital.
So some of the people who have have been patients to be able to make sure that they're talking to folks and I offer myself up.
And in that regard, um, the other issue around covert, of course, is your task force, as you will deal with.
And I think someone mentioned it are really about, I think, marked it about how you deal with vaccines and distribution.
We know our community is gonna has a lot of fear when it comes to vaccinations and things like that for very good reasons.
And we know that history and that community based organizations are engaged in that process of trusted leaders, trusted organizations to make sure our communities, um, I'm not so afraid of actually taking this vaccine so we can save more lives.
Lastly, I want to focus on your White House counsel on gender equity as it's being formulated very closely during the Obama administration with the White House counsel on women and girls.
I think it's very, uh, proposed for you to focus it on gender equity.
Also believe you should look at it as a with a racial lens.
I've been engaged with some of the other women's organizations around that and think is very important that, as was done in the prior administration, that you have.
All of the departments have some element of that.
Representatives that participate in that.
Lastly, what's happening as we speak around three.
The recovery pack.
It does not include unless something happen.
Since we've been talking paid family and medical leave.
Yes, it does.
It does include It does include paid family medical leave.
It doesn't have enough Well, it has more than I don't think your read it.
It has significant e been reading it.
Something may have happened since the sense, but it was 1.8 committee was gonna take for three months.
Billion, rather.
But making sure that is there and strong, I say it that way, like Biden, and that's very, very important.
And that's coming many of the women's organizations that I worked with very closely So those are some of those issues on.
I want to respect all the time and hope I did not go over time with my colleagues to express some of the concerns we have from my organization's again.
I am looking forward to working with you both and your whole team a Z move forward to make Let's bring back, bring it back.
Better make it better together.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
So I'm going to speak next.
Let me just extend Greetings.
Uh, President Elect Biden, Vice President Elect Harris.
It is wonderful to have this time with you today, uh, to talk about how we rebuild on reconstruct our nation and as a black woman, I'm so thrilled.
Excited him proud to see Vice President Harris in this seed and looking forward to working closely with the both of you over the course of the next 4 to 8 years to get our country back on track.
When it comes to racial injustice, I'm gonna focus very squarely on two issues.
Uh, this afternoon, voting rights and federal civil rights enforcement.
Um, first, I want to underscore how important it would be for both you, President elect Biden and Vice President elect Harris to work hand in glove with Congress to enact the John Lewis Voting Rights Event Advancement Act.
Aziz, you know, restoring section five of the Voting Rights Act is critical.
Um, this would be a singular and historic and monumental accomplishment for your administration If we can get this bill to the finish line.
Um, S O, That's number one number two, I want to ask that you consider issuing an executive order to create a national task force to examine challenges to our democracy.
A national voter access commission and the work of that commission would be thio travel across the country, identify and propose new and innovative solutions to help protect our democracy and to ensure that our most vulnerable communities have voice in our democracy.
The work of that commission could actually help to inform and develop a congressional record that can help make the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act passage possible.
But here's the other reason why I think this would be incredibly important and timely.
Right now, we are seeing an onslaught of voter suppression efforts across our country and attacks on democracy.
The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law has been working in close partnership with the Deep and other organizations to fight back against the slew of post election efforts that we have seen to disenfranchise voters across the country.
And the reason why we have engaged in these cases is because so many of these cases target black voters and voters of color in particular thes air cases that are fortunately being squarely rejected by the courts.
But we're deeply, deeply concerned because we know that once the dust settles on this litigation, that that there are states actively preparing toe work to reverse many of the games made to promote access to the ballot during the pandemic.
So their state legislator, let's state legislatures that are poised to roll back access Thio absentee balance, etcetera.
So the timing the launch of this commission, I think, can be a powerful counter active measure.
Thio.
The kind of slew of voter suppression efforts that we know await us in 2021 beyond.
I also want to talk about how critical it is to not just restore the civil rights division, but to put the voting section of that division back in big business swiftly on I want to single out the voting section for a few reasons.
One.
We've seen no enforcement of the Voting Rights Act for four years.
Two were about to go into the first redistricting cycle in decades where we may be without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act right, and that will have implications at every level of democracy in our country, but three, We need strong leadership that can help with help deal with some very live issues that we're up against right now.
As you both know, the Supreme Court dealt ah, huge blow to the Voting Rights Act with the 2013 Shelby County decision.
That decision brought to a grinding halt the Section five preclearance provision.
But what we have left is the Section two provisions of the Voting Rights Act, which applies nationally and is a tool that all of us use every day to beat back voter suppression efforts right now, before the United States Supreme Court is a case that seeks to weaken Section two of the Voting Rights Act.
The Justice Department just yesterday filed a devastating brief that sides with the petitioners who are seeking to cut out this critical provisions of the act briefs are due in this case from respondents on January 20th will be filing a brief to stand up to save the Voting Rights Act in that case.
But that afternoon after you are sworn in, we're gonna need strong leadership that can move before the stroke of midnight to signal to the Supreme Court that the Justice Department may be revisiting its position in this incredibly important case.
We cannot afford to live in a world in which both Section five and Section two of our nation's most important federal civil rights law have been weakened by the Supreme Court.
So there's gonna be work to dio on the very day in which you are sworn into office and so strong leadership that can ensure that we're able to get back in business and deal with some of these life threats and issues is incredibly important.
I wanna close by talking about how important it is that we revive civil rights enforcement not just in the civil rights division but across all of our federal agencies HUD, the Department of Education, the Department of Labor and Mawr.
And here's my final ask.
I'd like to ask President Elect Biden that you consider Thio include among the first memoranda that you issue one that speaks to the heads of government agencies and underscores the importance of directing those agencies to use all lawful means to recruit and hire diverse political staff within their agencies.
Both toe honor the commitment that you've made to assembling a diverse team within this administration, but also helped create a larger pipeline of qualified and experienced divers political staff who can move up to higher level positions during this and subsequent Democratic administrations.
Agency heads will be scrambling and are scrambling right now to fill mid and lower level political slots during, and we know that that work will continue in the first few months.
But it's imperative that the White House formally and publicly emphasized the agency heads the importance of racial, ethnic and gender diversity.
Uh, in this administration, and make clear your expectation that agency heads will do everything that is necessary to dissemble diverse teams from top to bottom across our federal government.
Eso that kind of memorandum issued very early on, I think will be the strong medicine and strong message needed to help ensure that we breathe life into that promise.
I am looking forward to engaging with the both of you in the road ahead.
Thank you, Kristen.
And we'll go to Benita Sherrilyn and then Reverend Al, uh, to try toe, make up some time and then Derek and I'll come back.
Then he quit close.
So go ahead, Anita.
Thank you.
president elect, vice president elect.
But it is.
I have to just say I am just personally deeply moved in this moment.
A zoo, You know, we have all been collectively fighting for the soul of our nation for the last four years.
And now to be here before you in a moment to rebuild our country toe have the kind of country we deserve.
Such an incredible moment of hope and to There's been too little of that the last four years.
Thank you.
And we were honored to be able to push for pro civil rights administration from the bottom of my heart.
Eso I am president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights were today a coalition of over 220 civil and human rights organizations driving a national policy agenda.
I came to this position after serving for just under 2.5 years ahead of the civil rights division in the prior Obama administration.
In preparation for the Biden Harris transition, the leadership conference has created a set of a comprehensive list of priority initiatives to begin the task of repairing the devastation from the trump era and to chart a new course that not only strengthens our democracy but really moves us beyond the status quo to address the root causes of racial inequity in this country.
And we've been working very closely with your transition with the agency review teams on everything from the census to criminal justice, reform, immigration, housing and the like.
We've got day one priorities and 100 days priorities to really help make sure that we don't lose that moment.
I want to speak very quickly about the few specific points, Aziz, you know, and as my colleague Christine just said, the work of the Justice Department and federal Civil Rights Enforcement frankly has never been more important for this country.
And I understand it.
Hughley, how it transforms America, how it affects real people in real communities.
It has been gutted as an institution, but we need an attorney general who is going to lead this agency who has a demonstrated commitment to an experience in civil rights and criminal justice and police reform.
Somebody who I think needs to know the department well, who can pick up from where the Obama Biden administration left off and then go Boulder.
There is so much to restore.
They literally the Trump administration undid everything.
Pro civil rights about the Justice Department's work on.
We need a new attorney general that's going to be able to step in day one, rapidly restore everything that was broken on, then go much bolder on civil rights and criminal justice reform.
Our communities are have fought for this.
That is something that your administration represents.
I was a member of the Biden standards Unity Test force with attorney general holder on criminal justice Reform.
Think it's a really robust platform and agenda on these issues, but we absolutely need an attorney general who's got credibility across all of these communities on you can understand the levers of power for our Justice Department, and I can guarantee you with that type of nominee we will fight fight for her.
So I also want to echo something about voting.
Uh, it took unprecedented amount of litigation, organizing and mobilization from all of our groups, and so many more Thio ensure expanded voting rights and in this pandemic, and to fight pervasive ongoing disinformation by Trump and many others.
And so we hope that we understand the Senate the makeup of the Senate and how much rides on it in the Georgia run offs.
We hope you will continue to uplift HR one before the People Act and HR for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
They passed the House of Representatives.
They would have passed a whole myriad of problems that we had to fight for in this election.
We cannot allow that to happen again on we need a Justice Department that is going to do everything it can to fight for voting rights.
Uh, in your administration, I also want to very quickly talk, say something about the courts, which is we have seen a devastating whitening of the bench.
Federal judges affect every part of our lives, and it will if they will affect every part of your agenda on.
In the four years that Trump has had, he has transformed 25% of the federal judiciary.
We have now have to re desegregate the seventh Circuit.
There hasn't been a single African American Circuit Court nominee in this entire trump administration.
We have a pipeline of highly qualified nominees who can restore the rule of law and civil rights protections.
But this is going to be a core area of focus that we know with all of the juggling priorities can get lost.
And yet it under boards, everything that we care about.
And lastly, I will just say that all of our organizations were tremendously hard to get out the census count.
It was against some of the most formidable anti, uh, some of the most formidable racist forces, Quite honestly from the administration.
We're still fighting to make sure that we can have a fair and accurate count because of the consequences that will last 10 years for our country.
But I will also say that one of the things that were so encouraging about the infrastructure that we built to get a fair and accurate count is I believe that that infrastructure can help with vaccine distribution to reach the hardest account communities communities that have long been very distrustful off the government and of of concerns for very important historic reasons.
And so I want to offer that as an idea to explore a czar.
Organizations have deep warrants in these communities.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, darlin.
Good evening, Mr President.
Elect and Vice President Elect This is just such an incredible honor.
I am the president of director counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, with which is a nonpartisan 501 C three organization.
But I was raised in an obsessively political family.
I believe I have watched every political convention Republican and Democrat since 1972.
And, um, I have to tell you that I am invoking the spirit of my father in this moment who taught me to be so politically focused, and he would have been absolutely blown away, that I'm sitting here in this moment talking to you both.
I haven't had an opportunity to congratulate you before this moment.
And so I want to use this moment to just congratulate you on this historic when this important, when that truly has pulled us back from the precipice of our failing democracy because we have such a short time left.
I'm not going to repeat any of the things that my colleagues talk about, and I want to focus on just a couple of things.
The first thing Mr President elect is that you have the opportunity in this moment to reset what has been a corrosive and dangerous tone and message about race in the United States, and that means that we need your policies.
But we also need your voice.
It's going to be important, for example, that one of your first actions is a reversal of the executive order that President Trump promulgated that essentially seeks to gag conversations about diversity, race and history among anyone who contracts with the federal government.
The Legal Defense Fund of my organization filed suit.
We represent the National Urban League in challenging that that that executive order already it's having an effect on so many who feel silenced in this period and who feel fearful of talking about race.
And so when you reverse that executive order and I know that you will, it's going to be important for you also to articulate why you are a reversing that executive order to demonstrate and to talk about how much this administration welcomes the opportunity to talk about race and indeed encourages Americans to grapple with the difficult issues of our racial history and of racial injustice and lingering discrimination.
But I really want to focus on just a couple of things.
I think most of what has been said about what needs to be said.
I just want to add one thing.
So L d.
F is a civil rights litigating organization and we have been on the ground every year in elections.
And I can tell you that I first joined the Legal Different Fence Fund as a young lawyer in 1988.
I hate dating myself like this, but this is a close to the press call, and so I'm gonna do it.
Andi.
So I have been working on voting rights issues for a very long time, 30 years, and I have never seen the level of voter intimidation that we saw in this election.
And so when we talk about activating the Department of Justice when we talk about Section two of the Voting Rights Act, that's all very important.
But we're seeing something we have never seen in most of our lifetimes, which is active and aggressive physical voter intimidation that harkens back to the 19 sixties.
We filed a suit under Section 11 B of the Voting Rights Act against the current president, Mr Trump, for his efforts to threaten and coerce officials in Michigan to try and change their vote and dissent disenfranchise the votes of black voters in Detroit.
I don't think we have ever filed an 11 B action under the Voting Rights Act in the years that I have been litigating in this space.
So it's going to be important tohave an aggressive Justice Department engaged around voting not just in the ways that we did before in the nineties and in the early oughts.
But we're gonna have to look back at some of the old ways that we had to address voter intimidation, and this again requires your voice.
People need to understand that this is anti Democratic, that when they threatened the secretary of state of Michigan when they threatened the attorney general of Michigan when they threatened the governor of Michigan that these air anti Democratic acts, and particularly when they're involved with the issue of voting, I'm glad that Benita mentioned HR one.
To be honest with you, H R four is not enough anymore.
Preclearance is not enough.
We now need to really address voting in a way that broadens our democracy.
We need to return voting to formally incarcerated persons in federal elections.
We need to have election day be a national holiday.
We need to make sure that states are fully funded and fully protected in their security apparatus for their election systems.
We need to be more ambitious than we have ever been before in the space, and you can do it.
So I want to talk about policing and criminal justice, which is so important to our communities on this is a set of issues that are very, very volatile and have to be handled carefully.
Some of these issues can be handled, we believe, by legislation.
Of course, we don't know what will happen in the Senate races in Georgia, and so it's hard to say we have the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act, which everyone on this this call among our groups worked on and that we think it's so important.
It's not clear that we have the votes for it, But you know, President elect, that politics is not about simply saying there are this many Democrats and this many Republicans.
The president has the power.
He has the bully pulpit.
He has moral authority.
And so we would ask you toe, lend your voice and your strength and your influence and your power and your ability to reach across the aisle to try and pass the George Florida justice and policing at.
But failing that, we would ask you to pull from that act measures that can be enacted by executive order.
You have the power to call for a national database on police misconduct.
You have the power to ask for a registry that will allow people to easily search in public a multiple misconduct complaints against particular offices.
Um, you have the ability to impose a database around police killings and police shootings.
We know everything that happens to police officers because the FBI keeps the database.
But we rely on The Washington Post to tell us how many people have been shot and killed by the police and what the racial breakdown is off those statistics.
We need good data so that we could understand what is really happening around policing.
And these are things that you could do by executive order.
Most important and most overarching, Mr President elect is the power that you have and in fact, the obligation that you have under one of the most important civil right after the Civil Rights Act, 1964 Analytics of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 64 prevents the federal government from providing funding to any program that engages in discrimination.
It was used originally and in fact, enacted to compel School District's to comply with desegregation orders.
Recalcitrant School district.
But that but Title six applies across the board to every program.
It makes sense, right.
The federal government should not be funding programs engaged in discrimination, but it has never been enforced against law enforcement.
And I would ask that you would articulate clearly the indication the the intention of this administration toe apply Title six to every program.
If you are a state or local program and you engage in discrimination, you cannot receive federal funds.
What that means is that there needs to be created a kind of protocol for Title six, and you could do this very easily for law enforcement.
What do your diversity numbers look like? What do you're stopping? Arrest numbers look like by race? What do your shooting numbers look like by race? Do you have implicit bias training? What have you done to remove white supremacist from your police departments? Thes are actions that you can take that.
Indeed, I would suggest you are compelled to take by Title six, which requires the federal government to ensure that their programs, their money does not support programs that engage in discrimination.
Finally, I want to say something about, um, prisons, which I know has not come up.
We know that the Department of Justice has the power to address issues of policing through pattern and practice investigations.
I want to encourage you to add prisons to that as well.
I want to inform you, Mr President, elected vice president elected.
There is a prison tragedy that is unfolding because of cove it.
We will find out about it more in the coming six months.
I encourage you to use your power to order an investigation of state and local prisons and jails to find out precisely what is happening.
And you have that power through the Department of Justice.
And that brings me to the Department of Justice, which is one of the principal ways through which you'll be able to execute criminal justice reform.
It is vitally important.
And that means the leadership of the Department of Justice.
The Attorney General is critical.
I've been reading all of the names in the press and so forth.
I don't know what's true and what's not.
I can only tell you this that I believe that this appointment of the attorney general is vitally important, that it must be someone that has the confidence of the civil rights community, that it must be someone that, in my view, is familiar with the main justice building.
Precisely because of what has happened at the Justice Department over the past four years, this person needs to be able to look in every nook and cranny to be able to lift up every sheet of, know what's happening and to be able to move on Day one, you started out saying we have a lot of work to do.
This isn't just about repair and backfill.
This is about creating an aggressive program, and we need someone with a track record on criminal justice reform, someone who knows about criminal justice reform and who has engaged in that process.
This is vitally important to our community because we have to be able to move on Day one, and the last thing I'll say is about judges.
Veneto already talked about the importance of racial diversity on the bench.
I want to talk about the importance of background diversity on the bench.
Our federal courts have largely been turned over to former prosecutors.
In order to become a federal judge, you essentially have to be a former prosecutor, local prosecutor, U.
S attorney, and that has cascaded up through those who are nominated for judicial positions, including the United States Supreme Court.
That is an imbalance in our justice system.
So much of our justice system is about defense.
You are a former public defender, uh, Mr President elect.
And so you know, where of I speak, the things we're most proud of in our justice system are those that are associated with the rights of defendants.
And so I would ask that as you are looking to fill these positions, that you also begin to reverse this prosecutor myopia for our federal bench and begin to look at former civil rights lawyers.
Thurgood Marshall, who founded our organization, was nominated to the second Circuit in 1961 and I'm not sure he could be nominated today to the Circuit Court because of what has become a bias against civil rights lawyers and public defenders.
So I would ask if you think about judicial nominations that you could consider the full panoply of diversity not just racial diversity, but diversity of background.
And that is you look at justice issues in your administration that you look not just at the Supreme Court but that you expand to live across the entire judiciary and think through how we can strengthen our justice system to give voice to people who rely on it to have their rights vindicated.
Thank you so much for this opportunity.
And I'll stop there, Reverend Sharpton up.
Yeah.
You know, I was gonna go to Reverend Sharpton.
Good.
Uh, first, let me thank you for the meeting.
I I have spoken to both of you, sense the election and congratulated.
And let me also, uh, say that I congratulate, uh, the wisdom of having centric Richard, who is I feel a great choice for where he is.
Uh, in the years I've been out here, he's one of the few that has earned a lot of trust.
And I know you, Mr President Elect.
But that case now I've known, uh, you, vice President elect almost a long you're not as old as he and I.
So not as long.
And, you know, I trust very few people in Washington, but centric is among them.
Uh, let me start with where we are.
The fact that this today we are in a situation where for four years black America has been under scene.
So in many ways, you are going to, as the administration going to have to first dig us out of the racist mess that we've had to tolerate, deal with and been subjected to because of your predecessor and then also build on from there.
And we can't take that.
Like, in the area of policing.
As you both know, we've had this year.
So many cases, one right after, uh, on August 28 we had over 202 108,000 to be exact people in Washington around policing and voting rights.
In fact, Vice President uh Harris was kind enough to have a video play there.
People came in a pandemic.
That's how outraged they are about in the matter of a month seeing one man with me on his neck killed another person shot in the back of the Windies in in Atlanta, a young lady killed in their own house in Louisville, Kentucky.
All of this in a month in a pandemic.
And the president of the United States at that time did nothing.
He went to Kenosha when the kid was shot and met with law enforcement and left.
It is needed that we have a presidency that supports policing and supports proper policing and understand that victims are not looking for favors.
They're looking for the law to be of help.
And we need insane that an attorney general that will deal with the the consent decrees that this administration immediately suspended that will deal with having an empowered US attorneys that will seriously look at these cases and that will at the same time enforce the law equally and evenly off in all quarters.
Now, I was one that said to you, President elect, that I wanted to see a black woman is vice president.
You said, I hear you out and you ultimately came there.
I another do with it.
But I said that.
So I will say that you I prefer Black Attorney General.
I would say the least, though, is we should have an attorney general that has a proven civil rights record on the job training on civil rights will not do it this time.
We need somebody that can establish that they dealt with civil rights issues and they know what they're doing because we're an error that we've not been in before with the pandemic and these huge amount of cases, one right after another, I will never forget.
I totally reported today that I will never forget that when we brought the body of George Floyd for Minneapolis and National Action Network and facilitated, the family's got our supporters to help them.
And we sat there in Houston, Texas, how you and your wife, Mr President, later brutal Houston and met with that family and said to them, We just did not want to disrupt the funeral, and they'll never get that.
But the thing that got me that I told this reporter is you told his daughter, George Freud's daughter.
You took a little hand because you said I heard you say that your father will change the world well, I want to be able to tell that daughter the man that told you that did not mean that to get both.
He meant that because he's gonna help change our world.
Because we've been living in a world that every day the phone rings all of us.
Hope is not another killing, because the president of the United States right now has made it clear any victim is not a victim.
Thio, keep that commitment to that little girl.
We also need to deal with the voting rights that has been robbed that even now they're trying to suppress all over this country.
Uh, clearly, I remember you and I sat next to each other on the pulpit that the, uh, church in, uh, in some Alabama, just this past march, in which we talked about voting rights.
We talked about John Lewis, John Lewis.
That was the last time he was on that bridge alone.
We have had the watering down the voting, and now it has ushered in this whole hysteria where we have a president that's made a mockery of voting.
We need an attorney general that will clearly deal with protecting voting rights.
Not as some privilege as I sat in the courtroom and heard Scalia say from the bench that this falling right Sounds like a racial.
And but it is a right, and it is a right dipped in the blood of our people.
Let me say that we should not, as you look, toe your pointing that are left.
We should not let them submit us to a double standard whether they be on the left or the right.
Because many of us are not intimidated by either side.
A lot of people call themselves up, put up that call themselves progressive, our progressive about everything but race all of a sudden, with black start making money.
Is lobbyist there against that? They against this, they do not necessarily speak for us.
What I'm saying is that when you have progressive, that will question your nomination, your nominee for the defense, our department making history.
And he made he will need a waiver.
Well, it would look very strange to many of us that two white guys can get a waiver, but the black nominee could.
It would look very strange to us that we can see people that we're hearing up for attorney General.
But the black guys, if it's a Tony West, well, it may be nepotism.
if it's, uh, develop Patrick.
Well, we don't know.
At least make sure we're equally considered in the running and I think that it is important.
It is imperative.
And I know you.
I think I saw a commercial.
I know, Joe, I know you.
I sat next to you eight years and every just about every civil rights meeting Barack Obama had and you pushed him.
And you're right.
It's our job to push you.
And you sat there.
You were there.
I sat next to you when Obama sat there with young activists, as I hope you will with Patrick's colors and others and listen to them.
And we started this commission on policing.
It's almost forgotten history now because a lot of that body cameras and all almost something that you could put in a museum because they turn on and turn off when they want.
You were part of making that happen.
That's why I think that it is totally ridiculous Anyone to think that we could put a Rahm Emanuel who covered up laquan McDonald's killing as mass in any position without our raising from the civil rights community that this man did something that in our opinion, was just absolutely on part of So, Aziz, you know me and I know you.
And I know you, Vice President elect, I will never embarrass you.
I never in eight years he would disagree with President Obama National Action Network.
You both have been there, spoke for several times.
We will not embarrass you, but we will never like Thio.
And we will never tell you that things were going certain ways that they're not going As I said that, Dan Selma, Mr Vice President elect that we are not looking for better slave masters.
We're looking for freedom and used to them said I'm right.
I was directing me at a ton opponent of yours because some people think they can come in at the last minute say that progressive fishing there and were conned by that.
So I'm very happy that you're there.
I'm happy that Miss Camera Harrison's there.
Senator Harris, now Vice President elect.
Not because of your stellar records, not because of your positions, but I've seen you hold George Floyd's daughter's hand.
And I've seen you.
Vice President elect Carla Harris.
Oh, Eric Garner's mother's hand.
That's the kind of president elect and vice president elect that we need to turn that compassion into some concrete legislation and the policies that we need.
So we're not just holding hands, but we're moving forward and we want to move forward together, and we wanna not maybe not always agree, but be able to walk out with a common agenda that all of us can live with and make life better for everybody.
So I thank you for this meeting.
I thank all my colleagues that joined and asking for this meeting, and, uh, I'm sorry if I was a little more candid, but you would have thought I was a clone if I didn't do our shop.
Mark, let me just mark let me update you where we are in time.
We probably have a couple of minutes.
I really wanted Let's call it the president.
The president Vice E.
I want to go to the president, President elect.
But I know Derek, tell me, had one thing that he wanted to get out.
Derek, if you could do that quickly, we could go to the president and Vice president elect to close us out.
Derek commuted your music there.
I'm their president.
You've mentioned more than once how the black vote save you in your racist in the Senate and Delaware.
You've talked about your friendship with about.
We are now saying the black community have stood up in this election cycle.
Let's not suffocate the black vote in Georgia and make sure you send the right message because the success of this administration will be the ability of the city to confirm your nominees.
We have an opportunity here.
We want to make sure we see these deposits opportunity and allowing for the input necessary.
Tim or appointments to go.
A lot of people in our community are getting a little anxious because they're not seeing enough of the progress they thought they would have seen at this point.
Let's not disappoint them.
And let's not get to a place where voters in Georgia began the second gas.
Okay, let me respond.
I gotta I gotta go.
Let me respond.
There's a lot to respond to here.
Let's get something straight.
You shouldn't be disappointed, but I've done so far.
Is more than anybody else has done this far.
Okay, Number one, Number two I mean, what I say When I say it, I mean what I say when I say it.
I'm the only person who's ever run on three platforms that I was told could not possibly win the election.
And I never ceased from it.
One waas on restoring the soul of this country because of what I saw happened in Charlottesville.
That was it.
No one else was talking about it.
The words of presidents matter, nobody else no progressive was talking about.
I did.
My son Beau used to have an expression.
He said, Remember Dad, remember Dad home base? It ain't worth the job If I can't say what I believe.
I didn't want to run this time.
I ran this time because of the racist son of a gun who was president of the United States of America.
That's why I ran and you remember Ah lot of you told me talking about the soul of America was going over people's heads.
They didn't know we're talking about the words of a president.
Didn't matter what the president says matters, and you have never seen me shy away in the middle of the debate.
I called him a racist in the middle of the debate with him.
I took on white supremacist.
I'm the guy that took on every single time somebody was threatened in this country.
The only white boy you know who did it carry it out there every single time.
So look, all I'm saying here is guys and ladies, we're in the same exact page, the same exact page we talked about closing away the racial wealth gap.
That's the single biggest thing I want to get done.
It's the ultimate equalizer, no matter what else happens, because I plan on spending over $15 billion to provide for opportunity for young black entrepreneurs to get them off the ground.
Black farmers to be able to own their own property.
Young people being able to get their 1st 15,000 bucks down payment on a home, making sure that they have an opportunity to gain wealth.
We could do all the rest of this unless the black community is ableto make up the wealth gap.
In my humble opinion.
Israel trouble.
I support same day registration.
I'm the guy that extended the Voting Rights Act for 25 years as a United States senator.
Before Sherrilyn, you were even involved.
I got it.
I started off.
I'm much older than you.
That's why I got involved in politics.
The assault on the black vote and voting rights across the nation has never been mawr ugly than it is today.
You've got to go all the way back to the original Jim Crow to get where this guy is.
If, in case you haven't looked, we have the largest voting, right? Kristen, my operation.
1000 lawyers.
Bigger than you or anybody else out there on voting rights.
1000 in this campaign.
Not a joke.
1000.
So I want you to know I understand this.
I know.
Look at the 38 cases that were brought against my being president of the United States all about phony, phony actions.
And so I think there should be same day registration, automatic voting rights.
I've been pushing, and I got a number of people that contributes significantly to the effort down in Florida to make sure that the federal, uh, prisoners who served prison who served their time have every single right restored to them.
That's been my position before was anybody else's position.
I've been out pushing that In addition to that, I think it's really important that no one goes to prison for a drug offense.
Nobody, They go into rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation, that's we should be building rehabilitation centers, not MAWR prisons.
I have A I have a $20 billion effort that I'm proposing to get states to change their sentencing guidelines so that there is no more mandatory sentences across the board.
In addition to that, we're talking about having diversity, hiring in every agency.
I promise you that is gonna happen.
We're just getting started here.
Police reform, judicial reform.
Look, you know, when I was, if you noticed, when I was chairman of the Judiciary Committee and when I was advising the president, who did we get on the court? We got on a woman who worked for May became a member of the Supreme Court, Another woman who was a leading Hispanic in America.
No one paid attention to is on the court.
All the people that I pushed down the court have been have been really pro civil rights judges across the board.
And I like you.
The idea, Kristen, that we have to everybody has to be a prosecutor.
I'm a public defender.
When I'm president of United States of America, we're going to see to it the public defender's federal defenders get paid the same as federal prosecutors.
Eso we can attract people.
There's a whole range of things I guess I'm trying to say.
Here, look, the whole idea of of equity is building to everything we've done.
For example, I laid out the My covert team.
Nobody's ever done this before.
What we're gonna have Marcella Nunez Smith.
But you know she is going to have one job.
We have an equity task force.
Her entire job is to deal with the inequity that exists because of racial discrimination.
And Miss Campbell.
That's what this is all about.
Making sure that you may remember I'm the first person black or white who called attention to the fact that you were finding that there was the rate of people who are African Americans, were dying, was three times out of of of white people.
That's because a friend of mine, a white guy who happens to be, as you well know, Derek, the mayor of the City of Detroit, call me to tell me about it.
I insisted that we keep a record on everything that happened since then.
Guys, guess what I'm saying, guys is, You know, I mean, what I say, the hard part here is I'm gonna have a lot of trouble.
We're gonna have a lot of trouble getting a lot of this done with this Congress.
And so the question is, for example, you know, I'm gonna be pointing at least, and I'm you know, look, the reason I'm not telling you who the other black, maybe Cabinet positions I'm gonna point are, is because it will get out.
And guess what.
I can't defend them.
They're gonna be out there by themselves without any defense before their name.
They're gonna get ripped to shreds.
That's why I'm gonna wait.
You will be pleased.
I believe you will be pleased to see Major Will beam or African Americans in major positions within a Cabinet and major spots and mawr Hispanics in major spots than ever in American history.
That's gonna happen, I promise you that.
And the other thing is, for example, thus far.
You know, for example, when we went ahead and we made sure that you know, I have as, uh you know, uh, Secretary of Treasury, Janet Yellen.
But a number two is Wally at M O on African American.
Who is the number two guy with real authority at that department.
Look underneath just what we're doing.
In addition to the people we've already named, you're going to see people look and you know, Cecilia Rouse CC.
She is a significant player.
That's a serious position.
But it's like when I named it.
Well, I don't know that counts.
I'm not so sure.
Well, if it doesn't count for y'all, well, the hell with you all.
But because it's riel, it's riel.
So all I'm saying is, Look at this.
Judge us based on what we do, you're going to see more coming your way.
And not only that, within the White House as well.
Cedric is the best.
Cedric has been with me from the beginning, and Cedric is going to be overseeing.
Ah, great deal of this and not all all his responsibility.
But he's in every single media.
He's an assistant to the president.
He's in every single meeting in the White House, period, period, period.
And so what we're gonna be doing here is making sure that we have diverse hiring, not on Lee and for the main cabinet position in the sub Cabinet positions.
But down the line down the line, it's gonna make a big difference.
And within the White House as well assistant to the president, there's only six of those slots.
It matters.
And by the way, I think you're gonna see I always kid Camilla by saying this.
But we're gonna have more women than men, as is looking like now.
Okay, that's good, because I'm surrounded by women smarter than me, starting off with my wife and my sister.
But all kidding aside, this is going to be fully, fully fully across the board.
I'm going to keep the commitment that I said, and here's the thing.
And Al, Reverend Al, I think you're right about this.
It matters what the president says, and if you notice I am not mincing my words when I speak about what I plan on doing as president.
United States, The only thing I'm not doing is I'm not engaging in retribution.
I am not deciding that the way to win is to go after hate with hate.
We have to convince people we have to move them, move them.
And one of the overwhelming reason I won, by the way, is because we took on racism in suburbia.
White women, white women overwhelmingly voted with me and black women were the two places where it was overwhelming because we spoke to those concerns.
And Anita, you know what I'm talking about.
You and I have talked before.
I don't carry around a stamp on my head saying Progressive and I'm AOC.
But I have a more of a record of getting things done in the United States Congress than anybody.
You know, Anybody you know, of getting things accomplished, that sounds so self serving.
I know that.
But this is going to really be hard.
It's going to really, really, really be hard and let me conclude and turn it over to common.
Who says what? Tell him I do with this guy right now, But all kidding aside, I've known you my whole life.
Most of you I'm working in my whole life.
Most of you.
I've been around doing this for a long, long time.
I don't always get it right, but I always take responsibility when I get it wrong.
I acknowledge I got it wrong, but my overarching objective.
If we cannot make significant progress on racial equity, this country is doomed.
It is doomed not just because of African Americans, but because by 2040 this country is going to be minority, white, European, Hear me minority, white, European.
And you guys are gonna have to start working mawr with Hispanics who make up a larger portion of population.
You all do in terms of raw numbers.
We're gonna have to be working with, ah, whole group of people that in fact are the single most diverse democracy in American history and anywhere in the world.
We've got to figure out how to unify this country.
And you've been the leaders of being able to do that, not a joke.
And so there's some things that I'm gonna be able to do by executive order.
I'm not gonna hesitate to do it, but what I'm not gonna do is I'm not gonna do what usedto the need of you probably used to get angry with me during the debates when you'd have some of the people you were supports that on day one, I'm gonna executive order to do this, not within the constitutional authority.
I am not going to violate the Constitution.
Executive authority that my progressive friends talk about is way beyond the bounds.
And one of you said maybe you were ever ever.
Now, whether it's far left or far right, there is a Constitution.
It's our Onley.
Hope our Onley hope and the way to deal with it is where I have executive authority.
I will use it to undo every single damn thing this guy has done by executive authority.
But I'm not gonna exercise executive authority where it's question where I can come along and say, I can do away with assault weapons.
There's no executive authority do of that.
No one's fault.
Harder to get rid of assault weapons than me.
Me.
But you can't do it by executive order.
We do that next guy comes along and says, Well, guess what? By executive order, I guess.
Everybody.
Cono, machine guns again.
So we gotta be careful.
I know you all know this.
I know you know it.
I you and poor communist heard me say this.
And so is Cedric.
I used to have a friend named Bob Gold It was a really bright guy.
Not much of it.
We went to school together.
It wasn't an academic quiz, but bright as hell.
And as he grew, he became very successful.
I look at him.
He died of a heart transplant.
And about 30 years, 20 years ago I said, Bob, you understand what I'm saying? You know what I'm talking about You.
Do you understand me? You looked at me said Joanne, not only understand you, I owe Verstandig you.
I'm sure you over stand me here.
I desperately wanna work with each of you.
And I promise you, you have access to us on a regular basis and any emergency you'll have access to us.
We gotta figure out a way how to regularly see to it.
We can do it as a group like we're doing now.
I'm gonna have to have an opportunity to be ableto answer.
Go down and answer your questions.
And let me just say two more things.
I like HR one and I like HR four.
But let me tell you something.
We're gonna have a hell of a hard time getting that passed through a Republican Senate.
So the question is, what can we do? In the meantime, I'm going to push him.
I'm going to push them.
And by the way, you know the whole idea of gag conversations that ends in my administration, there is no possibility you'll hear me talking about that.
There's no possibility.
But what we're gonna talk about is formally how we go about changing police misconduct, exposing it, keeping the records, the things I wanted to talk about with with, uh, you, you, Miss Campbell, where the whole idea of this task force and how we're going to deal with you're gonna see there's gonna be a least two mawr major African American women who are gonna be appointed to this, uh, this, uh, uh, group that we're talking about a major positions in the White House and in the administration.
You're also going to see that we're gonna point, and I guess let me conclude with this because I'm I'm going to get in real trouble here in terms of my time.
You know, I promise you there will be in a G who has a significant record on dealing with civil rights.
That's a guarantee.
And each of the departments you will see that as well.
The need You did a hell of a job in the civil rights have been.
I really mean it.
But you will see that is critical.
And I think it matters how we start off.
I've again.
I conclude by saying one of things I learned early on was that if, in order to get things done in the Congress or the Senate, I start off by always going after my opponents Motive.
I'm never again being done.
When I talk about dealing with the whole notion of what we're going to do in terms of infrastructure, I'm talking about it across the board.
I'm not talking about just building highways.
I'm talking to making sure that we have safe water.
I'm not gonna make sure we have clean water.
I'm gonna make sure that we could breathe the clean air.
I'm gonna make you realize all the folks were getting clobbered by climate are all fence line communities which you all come from the black community, the poor community, they're the ones who are dying overwhelmingly is a consequence of the impacts of climate change.
They're the ones who are going to get first relief in my climate policies, climates about equity.
It's not just about being able to breathe clean air, it's about equity.
And we're gonna build back in a way that we're going to create significant jobs for folks that in fact represent minority communities badly needed.
And so I wish I had more time.
Maybe we can have another one of these meetings before we actually get sworn in or in that area to go into.
Or maybe I respond you and writing on a number of stuff you raised.
But I will get back to you on the detail.
But I promise you this.
Campbell, if you read the entirety of my position, you'll know that I've never waffled on what you're talking about.
Never and and and and Kristen, you know, my view on the judiciary, the Voting Rights Act, what we have to do to restore it.
But we gotta have to do it because we gotto convince people absolute last point.
One of things I'd be concerned about, just as was pointed out to me that you wanted me to be concerned, Derek, I think as you said it about, you know, uh, dealing with Vilsack as, uh, in in terms of of agriculture.
Well, first of all, you will learn more about Vilsack's record.
But my point is this.
I don't think we should make that a big issue going into before January 5th, when the election takes place down in in, uh, Georgia.
But I also don't think we should get too far ahead of ourselves on dealing with police reform in that because they have already labeled us as being defund the police.
Anything we put forward in terms of the organizational structure to change police, in which I promise you will occur.
Promise.
You just think to yourself and give me advice whether we should do that before January 5th, because that's how they beat the living hell out of us across the country, saying that we're talking about defunding the police.
We're not.
We're talking about holding them accountable.
We're talking about giving them money to do the right things.
We're talking about putting more psychologists and psychiatrists on the telephones when the 911 calls through.
We're talking about spending money to enable them to do their jobs better not Mawr, with more force with less force and more understanding.
But that's I just raise it with you to think about how much do we push between now and January 5th? We need those two seats about police reform, but I guarantee you there will be a full blown commission.
I guarantee you.
It's a major, major, major element, and his Reverend Al said I was.
I was a pain in the ass to everybody except him.
When we did the commission before, I don't think we went far enough.
We can go very far.
It matters how we do it.
I think it matters how we do it.
As I learned early on, it's all right to question your opponents and you're not my opponents, any of you.
It's always always appropriate to question your opponents judgment.
It's never appropriate to question their motive, even if you know it, because once you question their motives, you're done.
You can't get anything done.
By the way, let's talk about building highways.
By the way, you're in the pocket of the cement industry now.
What could we do together? Not a chance getting anything done so we could be tough question judgment, not motive to get things done anyway.
I'm gonna yield to my vice president, and, uh, she can correct all the mistakes I made, but I want to talk to you.
And with your permission, Since I may not catch all together to pick up the phone and call the eight year individually over the next several weeks on the stuff each of you raised because I care deeply about what you're talking.
Okay, I know you have to leave soon.
Um, Mark, you started the conversation.
Um, Expressing what? Um, the spirit of this conversation as the first of obviously an ongoing conversation.
And the president elect made that commitment just now.
I heard him make that commitment.
We all did that this is going to be about access.
It's gonna be about consistency and collaboration.
But you started saying, we will help you, and we will hold you accountable.
And that's right.
And that's exactly what I think the President elect has made clear that that he and I understand is exactly how we should proceed.
Um, and, uh, I will tell you, having spent, I'm in Delaware right now.
I have practically moved to Delaware.
E and I have been Yeah, and I have been spending a lot of time with the president elect, and I will tell you something.
I'm in those meetings.
He and I have conversations when people are in the room and when nobody is in the room when the cameras are on and when the cameras are off, I guarantee you I have no question.
Nor should anyone about the values and the principles that he brings to the discussion we've just had.
Today they are shared values and shared principles.
And of course, we need to work out the details on the many points that were raised that are raised in the context of what many have also pointed out and made clear we didn't just lose ground over these last four years.
There was extreme damage that occurred.
And so what is in front of us is not only just simply, um, making up ground way need to leap frog, because we got we got pushed behind.
So had we not experienced Donald Trump for four years, perhaps we would have made some progress, but we were now behind, and we lost those years.
And so it is going to require a concerted, a purposeful and intentional approach everything that we have discussed.
We cannot afford to be incremental.
And we have to be strategic and we have to be smart and we have to do it in a way that is.
And I know this for speaking to the president elect many times.
That is not about the work that we do is an administration.
That's about a grand gesture, but instead about work that actually has an impact on the people.
And, um, s O I appreciate the president elect making the commitment that he has made for access and and accountability.
And of course, you should expect no less.
But it is good to know that that's how we're gonna proceed and that at this early date, even before the inauguration, that this has happened.
And so let's just come up with a plan and and a roadmap for how we are gonna be angry.
E I want to say one more thing.
I am incredibly optimistic.
Let me tell you why I'm incredibly optimistic because society is changing Z generation and young millennials air changing.
Now you're not gonna maybe agree with that? I'm about to say, but take a look at what is happening 15 years ago.
Could you turn on the television and C three or four out of seven commercials? Bi bi racial commercials? What do you think, Guys? Huh? What do you think? You wanna know where society is going? Watch entertainment.
Watch the profit motive.
Why are these commercials so many of them? By racial? The young generation is changing.
They're demanding mawr.
They don't come with the baggage.
Maybe 10 2025% of their pure racist.
Who knows? But the vast majority, the vast majority are not at all.
Where when I was coming up and the second thing has changed is that you and I have talked about this, Al, Remember what Dr King said When Bull Connor turned those hoses on those black women and sic the dogs on him, ripping their clothes off, going in their Sunday, go to church best and ripping the skin off of those kids.
He said it was responding.
That was supposed to be the wooden stake in the heart of the civil rights movement.
Remember what he said? He said that waas most significantly and happened in terms off freedom.
What happened was we got the voting Rights Act in the Civil Rights Act.
Out of that, that young man who stood with a camera, a cell phone, like millions of people have and stood there for eight minutes and 46 seconds and took a picture of George Floyd asking for his mom, seeing his nose broken against that curb.
All of a sudden, what happened? You saw a response around America and around the world world.
The world doesn't mean we don't have a big fight to go.
But the first thing we had to do because of you we get it done is get rid of the racist Donald Trump.
The first thing second thing we got to do is go back and appeal to those folks who, some of that.
Some of that 70 million not appeal by giving them anything but appeal by moving hard toward what will benefit them as well.
If you notice whenever I make those speeches about civil rights and civil liberties and racial equality and economic and EC economic equality, I make him the white audiences.
I make him toe white chambers of commerce.
I make him the white audiences because I got to remind them you want your community to look better.
Make sure black folk can own a house.
You want to make sure your community does better.
Make sure everybody's making 15 bucks an hour minimum.
You want to make your community better.
Make sure everybody's making more money is never, never, never, never, never, never, never hurt the wealthy.
They always do better, but it gives the poor way up in the middle.
Class is shot.
So I just think we have a way.
I think the American public about the blinders taken off with these for apocalypse these four horsemen Apocalypse, starting with number one Covert number two dealing with the economic recession number three with racial equality and number four with global warming.
All of a sudden they're going.
Holy God, I didn't know that happened.
I don't know that was the case.
I don't know that way should take advantage, Mr President Elect, If I could just say one thing you are right about what has happened with young people.
This is Cheryl, and I fell.
But But this administration, Mr Trump, even during his last campaign, has also unleashed something else very ugly and very steeped in this country.
Yes, there are many people who were moved by what they saw well, and George Floyd was killed.
But we also know that this president president has tapped into ah very ugly vein in this country.
And it's not easy to put it back in the bottle.
And so all I'll say is I agree with you 100%.
I only want to say again, just thinking about the need for momentum and one of things I love that I've seen so far already with you and the vice president elect is your momentum move fast and keep moving.
That's what makes the Department of Justice so important.
And the attorney general, someone hitting the ground on day one who understands what to do because we're gonna need to move fast so that people can see that we can produce a country that has the kind of unity that you discussed because there is a well out there of hate and violence that we also would've will ignore at our peril.
Let me let me tell you the big mistake I made I'm gonna and I'm in trouble so much in trouble now.
But you are, you know, when Barack picked me as his vice president.
Um, and and you all know I didn't wanna do it.
Not because of Brock.
I didn't.
I thought vice presidents were just, you know, uh, you know, uh, bodies and waiting.
You know, something happened in the president, and I thought I could do Maura's a senator, but I made the same commit the common he made to me first and last person in the room.
I was standing down in the platform 10 blocks from here.
Now seven blocks where I'm standing right now in a movie theater.
I just segregated when I was a senior in high school, the Queen Movie Theater here.
That's we're in right now.
And I was waiting.
There were over 10,000 people down on the tracks waiting for a black man to come from Philadelphia on a train to pick me up to take me 127 miles to Washington to be sworn in as president vice president.
As I stood there, I walked up to the north end of the platform.
There's no reason why name, you know, this and I looked out over what they call the East Side and South Bridge.
When I got back from law school, I had a job with a fancy law firm here.
Most you know, the oldest law firm in the state, My states, the only my city is the only city in American history occupied by the military sense, sense, reconstruction since the Civil War on Lee one.
And so, after four months of taking the bar and getting ready, I quit because I thought, I can't do this.
I and I became a public defender.
That's why I went there.
So I'm standing there thinking at the time hadn't dawned on me waiting for a black man to come pick me up on all these people down there and off to my left in the north.
The east side was completely leveled.
I mean, level after everything was burned down a level.
All you could see was plots for 10 blocks all the way up to Rodney Square burned down and across the third Street Bridge, which is the river that the Christina River that runs through.
Same thing.
They're built back up now and doing a lot better still have more to go.
So I called my kids up and my son, Beau was alive then was attorney general.
My son Hunter was running the World Food Program USA, and my daughter is a social worker with a master's and works in the East Side and criminal justice reform.
And I said, You know, just hit me and I told him what I'd seen when I used to have to interview my clients down there when I was a public defender in the holding cell.
Was was down in the basement of the police station because so many were being arrested.
And I thought it would never be a time when black and whites would get along ever again.
In Delaware, 60% of my city is black now, and we have the eighth largest black population in America.
In the state of Delaware.
I thought it would never work.
I said, Here I am.
Don't tell me things can't change here.
I am waiting for a black man to take May be sworn in President, Vice president, United States.
But you know what I underestimated.
It's the point you're making Sherlund.
I underestimated.
You can never defeat hate.
Hate on Lee hides and it hides under the rocks and when you breathe oxygen in under those rocks, it comes out.
But that's why the words of a president matter.
It matters that leaders leaders step up in all communities and condemn prejudice.
And I was reminded by a guy that helps May now.
Jon Meacham, he wrote a book about the return of the Soul America.
Ku Klux Klan was reinstituted in 1925 4 and five.
You know why not for blacks, but for Irish Catholics like May, too many Catholics, 30,000 people marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in hoods, complete regalia.
Having nothing to do with African Americans is about to many Catholics.
We were gonna pollute.
We're gonna pollute the culture of America and know what it took.
It took every single major entity, starting with then a Republican president speaking out against him.
There were then 33 members of the house that were members of the Ku Klux Klan, seven members of the Senate Ku Klux Klan.
But everybody spoke up because the president started a president's words matter, and the condemnation has to be swift and consistent.
And that's what you're gonna see me talking about.
You're gonna see the vice president talking about with all of you talk about.
But that's why I've organized you.
See how many black ministers have supported me? You know, Reverend, now over 460 got together.
But this guess what? Same way I put a little put together.
Catholic priest now an Episcopal priest condemning racism.
I met and I'll end with this.
I shouldn't have even started.
I got a call from Pope, the pope calling me to congratulate me.
You know what he said? He said the most important thing you have to do is deal with racism Him he put out an encyclical which is a big deal in the Catholic Church about ending racism and dealing on dealing with poverty.
And he's willing to come and help on that score that has never happened before.
Things were changing around the world.
I'm not making the Catholic Church the leader of this, But my point is, things were changing.
We just got to keep pounding and pounding and pounding, giving people.
Mr.
President.
Mr.
President, while I still have a job and you can't fire me from the one I have.
I've been I'm being told that you're over Yeah.
And so and so I just wanted to make sure that you know that.
And 10 seconds, Mr President, we take you up on your offer to meet with your game before January 20th, and we also take you up on your offer to meet with you regularly.
We like to do it four times a year.
We thank you for your time and candor and passion today.
And by the way, I may not be able to meet video as one group of out in the minimum.
Call all of you and talk to each of the issues.
You have to try to do it.
Be consistent dialogue.
Thank you, Mr President.
Thank you, Madam Vice President.