BOSTON, July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript of The
Reverend Al Sharpton's speech before the Democratic National Convention:
Good evening, Mr. Chairman, Assembled Delegates, Honored Guests and
Friends: Throughout the history of this nation, Americans have fought to
protect our freedoms at home and to secure our nation against foreign and
domestic threat.
We gather tonight in Boston where 228 years ago, people fought to
establish American freedom. At that time, the first person to die in the
Revolutionary War was a Black man from Barbados, Crispus Attucks, who is
buried not far from this Fleet Center. Forty years ago, in 1964, Fannie Lou
Hamer and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic party stood at the Democratic
National Convention in Atlantic City fighting to preserve voting rights for
all Americans and all Democrats, regardless of race or gender. Hamer's stand
led to Dr. King marching in Selma, which inspired the Voting Rights Act of
1965. Twenty years ago, Rev. Jesse Jackson stood at the Democratic National
Convention in San Francisco, again, appealing to the preservation of those
freedoms.
Tonight, we stand with those freedoms at risk and our security as citizens
in question. I have come here tonight to say, that the only choice we have to
protect and preserve our freedoms at this point in history is the election of
John Kerry as the president of the United States.
I stood with both John Kerry and John Edwards on over 30 occasions during
the primary season. I debated them. I watched them. I observed their deeds. I
am convinced that they are men who say what they mean and mean what they say.
I am also convinced that at a time, when there is a vicious spirit in the
body politic of this country that attempts to undermine America's freedoms -
our civil rights, and civil liberties - we must leave this city and go forth
and organize this nation toward victory for John Kerry and John Edwards in
November. This is not just about winning an election, it's about preserving
the principles upon which this nation was founded.
Look at the current view of our nation worldwide and the results of our
unilateral foreign policy. We went from unprecedented international support
and solidarity on September 12, 2001, to hostility and hatred as we stand here
tonight. How did we squander the opportunity to unite the world for democracy
and to commit to a global fight against hunger and disease? We did it with a
go-it-alone foreign policy based on flawed intelligence. We were told that we
were going into Iraq because there were weapons of mass destruction. We've
lost hundreds of soldiers. We've expended over 200 billion dollars at a time
when we face record state deficits. And when it became clear, that the weapons
were not there, the president sought to shift the purpose of the war and to
challenge our patriotism.
We are also faced with the prospect, in the next four years, that two or
more of the Supreme Court Justice seats will become available. This year, as
we celebrated the anniversary of Brown vs. the Board of Education, this court
voted 5 to 4 on critical issues of women's rights and civil rights. It is
frightening to think that the gains of the civil and women's rights movements
of the last century could be reversed if this administration sits in the White
House for four more years.
This is not about a party. It is about living up to the promise of
America.
The promise of America says that we will guarantee quality education for
all children, and not spend more for metal detectors than computers in our
schools.
The promise of America guarantees health care for all of its citizens, and
does not force seniors to travel to Canada to buy prescription drugs they
cannot afford here.
The promise of America provides that those who work in our health care
system can afford to be hospitalized in the very beds that they clean
everyday.
The promise of America is government that does not seek to regulate your
behavior in the bedroom but to guarantee your right to provide food in the
kitchen.
The promise of America is that we stand for human rights - whether it's
fighting slavery in Sudan, AIDS in Lesotho, or police brutality in this
country.
The promise of America is one immigration policy for all who seek to enter
our shores, whether they come from Mexico, Haiti, or Canada.
The promise of America is that every citizen's vote is counted and
protected, and election schemes do not decide elections.
I often hear the Republican party preach about family values, but I can
tell them something about family values. Family values don't just exist for
those with two-car garages and retirement plans. Family values exist in homes
with only one parent in the household making a way against the odds.
I stand here tonight, the product of a single parent home, from the depths
of Brooklyn, New York. My mother was a domestic worker who scrubbed floors in
other people's homes for me. And because she scrubbed those floors, I was
proud to stand as a presidential candidate.
Those are family values.
I recall that a few days after the September 11 terrorist attacks I was in
a radio station that played "America the Beautiful," as sung by Ray Charles.
As you know, we lost Ray several weeks ago, but I can still hear him
singing: "Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for
purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain."
We must leave here committed to making Ray Charles' song a reality and to
making America beautiful for everyone.
Good night, God bless you all, and God bless America!
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SOURCE Democratic National Convention Committee
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Related links:
http://www.dems2004.org
CONTACT:
Peggy Wilhide of the Democratic National
Convention Committee, +1-617-366-3100
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