community for sharing. i think the task force for taking the need to improve our relationships with law enforcement seriously. my hope is to continue to work toward solving what is clearly a problem so our streets are safer in our communities are stronger. course thank you to all the witnesses here. i want to start by asking sean if he can lead with the questions. >> thank you. thank you to all the panel members. i very much appreciate hearing your perspectives. we have had a problem identified not just in this panel but in previous ones which is a problem of creating a diverse law enforcement workforce. i am a very curious to know if any of you in particular have specific recommendations on how that can be done. i know it is something that departments struggle with.

in the context of specific recommendations that you submitted, hiring from a diverse pool of applicants, and then revising and raising the educational requirements. i know that in working with departments around the country those two thing sometime -- sometime compete with each other. so we are eliminating the kinds of folks we want to -- you can higher by making an associate degree requirement. >> i think one of those is winding a way to actually start cultivating an high school and start recruiting and high schools. while i am not aware of programs that provide associate degrees i can share that if you go to nursing, where you have a strong need to be culturally competent and bilingual. california has an excellent

program where they start in high school, start providing this kind of training, so while in high school, they are also taking their aa degrees that will help fill fill their requirements to nursing. that is how we can look at that doubt you're describing. it already works very well in the nursing profession area --. >> are there others who would like to weigh in? >> i think this question is darkly related to the broader question we are engaging in today. part of what will help -- one of the reasons why it is so critical in the context of civil rights to think about this issue -- we believe that communities should be policed by a diverse police force, certainly one that reflects the diversity in that community. yet, in order to attract that diverse police force, the

members of that community who are eligible to serve must regard the idea of becoming a police officer as a good thing. ask something honorable to do in their community. and to the extent they see police officers as an occupying force, to the extent by the time you're 17 you have been stopped and frisked a dozen times. that is not a recipe that will make that 17-year-old, even if they will get an associate agree, one to become a police officer -- want to become a police officer. the two are connected. to recruit we have to change the perception and who police are in our community. if you think about the role of firemen and fire woman, they also protect and serve. they are in the community. in many ways they have a different reputation.

people see that something honorable. as a wonderful thing to do as an occupation and to serve your community. the challenge we face is to transform the idea of policing in communities, particularly above -- among young people into something they regard as honorable. they must see police behaving honorably. they have to see police at these local offense that maria was talking about. they have to see police as the person living across the street, not as someone who comes in and knows nothing about the community. in many ways, it is all of a piece. yes, we have to reach into high schools. and i agree with the idea of kimi college for police officers. but i think that changing who

police officers are in our community is an important part of answering the diversity issue. >> britney? >> thank you for your tech -- testimony. two quick questions. the first is to mr. reddy. in your submitted testimony, you have a statement about over it criminalization. essentially cannot -- you do not have to end broken windows in order to end over criminalization. i have never heard that before, so if you could explain that. my second question is, i would love to know, given the lds's -- ldf's expertise and law enforcement and education, how can you see education and law enforcement systems interacting positively? >> i would love to talk about that. i wanted to talk about it but

was time-limited. first of all, rogan windows has -- broken windows has coincided with significant improvements. it has also coincided, few realize this with the significance of crimes and incarceration. i want to say coincided and not caused. it is difficult to say that one cause the other. new york has particular significance in decline as opposed to other states. at least some of these great improvements in public safety and incarceration rate reductions can be a tribute to broken windows -- can be attributed to broken windows. i think everyone in this room that one problem we have seen is an erosion of trust between many

communities and police officers. i think that has also coincided with broken windows. it seems reasonable to say there is some causation there. i do not want to throw the baby out with the atwater and i also get this question frequently how can your verse over criminalization and also that maintenance of policing strategies? the sheer number of crimes is so extraordinary that i think you could remove many of them and still continue to go after certain low-level crimes that are a part of smart, broken window policing. one i -- one crime i mentioned is graffiti. it is nonviolent but also property destruction. i do not think there is anything improper about police officers getting serious about the feeding as they did in new york city about 20 years ago.

i think most people would recognize that that is destroying someone else's property, it makes a certain amount of sense to be serious about that. that is distinct rather than going after somebody who is selling loosies at the corner. i do think it is possible to maintain broken window strategies but also find a way to pull back over criminalization and improve trust between police officers and communities which is the real core of the problem we're discussing. >> it is interesting that in the earlier panel with law enforcement leaders, i cannot remember which person talked about the job that police officers are being given, and that it kind of extends beyond law enforcement. i am really glad the question was asked about education. the over criminalization rick

was talking about has not only permitted the community, but also what must be the safe space , the place of opportunity and development for young people. that is the school. when we talk about the school to prison pipeline, we are talking about the migration of the criminal justice apparatus into the school. what that means is the look that young people are getting at the police is not happening just in and counters on the street, it is happening in the school building. secondly, it means that create -- police are increasingly being used to engage in disciplinary actresses and the school. -- practices in the school. it also means students are being pushed into the criminal justice system. we filed a complaint with ocr against a high school in texas

where students were given criminal misdemeanor tickets for using profane language, swearing. that is your pipeline, your diversity pipeline, that now has a record of who cannot serve as police officers. to the extent we are thinking of this issue of over criminalization, the low hanging fruit are these goals. -- the schools. we have to deal with the reality that we have problems in our schools. we have children who need counselors better instruction, physical education music, the humanities. their parents need support. they need resources and the community. it is not they need more police officers. we regard education as the principal means for people to find a future for themselves. we have allowed the over

criminalization to now enter these cool house door and -- the schoolhouse door and take up residence. that seems to me to be the low hanging fruit that we should all address. >> i completely agree. i also think that the whole problem around schools is something that sets children up for failure. it also makes children hostile to police officers when they are being thrown out of school and expelled for talking back and all of these sorts of things. i also want to say that the federal government has played a powerful role in the school to prison pipeline by making data available to the community to

see which kids are getting pushed out. a cooperative agreement between the department of education and justice released eight showing which schools had the greatest problems. that is accessible through the federal government website and empowers the community to look at albums and look at how certain kids -- particularly those of color and with disabilities -- are being restrained, kicked out expelled, and that sort of thing. it goes back to the point why data collection in the policing realm is so important. when committees have information, they can come together and say we have a problem. right now we have communities pitting themselves against departments and vice versa.

they are not all able to calm together around a common set of facts. this is what will help us in the school to prison pipeline. a common set of facts. >> thank you. cedric alexander. >> good afternoon. i have a couple questions. ms., you alluded to what probably what equate to recruitment and the recruiting of police officers in this country. i think you also stated that they should have at least have a two year degree with some -- maybe a degree in diversity or sociology or psychology or something to that effect. i am in agreement, first of all.

but that being said, there are a number of people who are -- in today, watching this, asking the question, if you are presenting that as a recommendation considering most states, when it comes to police recruitment only require a high school diploma and that you be 18 years old or so, so if you would elaborate on that recommendation and why it is so important for those of us who are listening. why is it so important that education becomes important in the recruitment of police officers in this country? in addition, the educational tracks that you alluded to. why is that important as well? >> thank you.

i think right now we are leaving -- living in a moment in our country where we had the most diverse group of people we have ever experienced. but we are also living and in incredibly segregated america. my recommendation, and that is for the latino audience, it it is difficult to take a young kid -- we had this conversation right before we started. take a young kid from roadmap, 18 years old, who has never seen an african-american or latino and then put them in the middle of philly. and they're only interaction has been what they have seen on tv. the hope by having someone go to school and taking such a diverse course load is the opportunity for them to be introduced to difference and sensitivity. and the maturity that comes with that.

that was the recommendation from the latino audience. it is one i believe. the more you can expose our officers to these types of lessons, the stronger they are to make sure that they are enforcing not only the law but also the communities they serve. >> i have one additional question. any of you feel free to jump in. we often hear it -- i often hear -- i do not have this challenge and metro atlanta, but many communities do. often times, we find it difficult to recruit african americans, hispanics, people of color. in many communities across the country because -- for a variety of reasons. the question i pose, which i think is critically important

even though i think any agency should never stop trying to recruit that population, no matter how challenging. it means you have to be more creative and find more funding because it is so essentially important to providing good police service. but in absence of that, would you agree, any of you, that you have to find good human beings who are mature sensitive, have good self-esteem and a strong internal locus of control of self. confident. some life experience and some level of education that suggest they would make a well-rounded individual in order to go into any community of america regardless if you are black white, or hispanic, and provide a fundamental police service.

would you have any comment to that? >> i think it would be useful to talk to police chiefs who have diversified their workforce and ask them to present their findings about their tactics that work and do not work. i think it was under police chief ramsey in d.c. that we had a peoples in the latino section of washington, d.c. in mount pleasant. there were no latino police officers. now when you drive through, you see a much more diverse police department. there are police departments who figured out -- notwithstanding officers in school or the bad images -- they had figured out how to attract and recruit people. >> that is not my question. we will all figure that out over time. the question is in the interim.

what are we capable of still hiring and training men and women who are capable of providing a good police service regardless of who we are as we continue to move towards looking for that diverse population? >> i think we can do both. >> i think vikrant mentioned it. a lot of people in the academy have their intention of serving and protecting the defenseless area and somewhere along the line, something gets lost in translation. we have to identify that. but as a country, we are no longer -- it is no longer a luxury for us to scratch our heads and figure out this diversity problem. in california and texas, go down the line, the majority of children k-12 are latino, african-american, or asian.

they are the workforce who will fill the police departments soon. we do not have the luxury of time. we have to stop saying that it is a nice to have. i think what has been happening in the last couple of years with increased police brutality, it is becoming clear it is a necessity for us to make sure we are not only healing as a country, but our institutions, including law enforcement actually reflect the america that is here today. >> i want to sound a word of caution on this. i am quite capable of keeping these two things in my head at the same time. i think it is useful for us to think about it this way. we absolutely must have diversity and every workforce, but certainly in the police force that engages in that level of the community. but diversity is part of the problem, not the silver bullet.

there are committees -- communities with diverse police forces, like baltimore where i was -- worked. we have an excellent police commissioner now, but we have had our share of problems with the police. we are under review by the department of justice. i want to make clear that what we are talking about is a culture of policing. black and latino officers are just as capable of entering and adopting a problematic culture. our job is to change the culture of policing. you are right. part of the change is identifying the people you are describing. it is interesting that we think of police officers as being this bright, shiny, 18-year-old. for those of us a little older but can remember when we are 18 we were not all that right even when we thought we were.

[laughter] we did not know a lot and needed to mature. i mean this. it is true. we were right but did not know everything. think about how much you have matured, how much self-control you have to develop. how much you had to learn about human beings, psychology, and how you engage people. what we can do is have those bright, young people and teach them that. but we have to be intentional about that. we had to say this is what it looks like to become a police officer. this is where we get to the associates degree or whatever. get bright young people, but then we are failing them if we do not provide them with the training they need to be able to perform at the level we are saying we want them to perform at. implicit bias is something every single person in this room has. we walk into a room and see somebody, and we start doing some shorthand.

most of us then, good, right minded people, take the time to learn about another person. our views are sometimes confirmed often changed. you have to learn how to do that. that is a conscious act. you need to have time to do that. when you have a police officer role up in a car and shoot a 12-year-old in two seconds, that is a problem. the question is what are we training, of any age or race police officers to do. what is the package of skills we are trying to develop. it is not just about knowing how to use the weapons or the handcuffs or the defense of stuff. it is about knowing the psychology of policing, knowing your own bias and learning how to manage them. that is real work that needs to be. >> taught we have a restricted number of minutes the questioning.

tracy and then jose. >> thank you for your testimony. i appreciate that you each offered specific recommendations. i want to ask you about a few of the recommendations you have made in a particular way. this is mostly for -- and laura murphy. your recommendations seem to be -- might be characterized as practices in some sense. i am wondering if you would be willing to offer any ideas about moving beyond best practices. not just incentivizing departments to do this but somehow creating a structure in which the ideas you offer our more -- are more standardized, perhaps mandatory, for the thousands of police agencies across this country. >> i will go back to what what i

think i was trying to suggest with the grant program. on the one hand it is an incentive, but in my view is how over time you change culture. let's take data collection, for example. from a police department. if you give a grant to a police department in the city x and then in order to renew it, your acquire certain data, you asked some questions. how many people are on the force? how many activities of the force engaged in? you may ask about training. but you may ask specific questions. you might ask what kind of training. whether it was implicit bias training. de-escalation training. you might ask about encounters with the mentally ill. you might ask about the diversity of the police force from one year to the next.

you might ask about civil rights complaints filed against the department or particular officers. the mere questions you ask about the data you think is important begins to seep into the department he cousin of a begin to keep the money. you're suggesting what you think ought to be infused into that culture. i think of it something as different than best practices. if we go back to our own civil rights history, segregation in this country and our schools officially ended with brown versus the board of education. but those of us in the north know that most of the desegregation of our schools to the extent that it was happening then have been largely after the civil rights act of 1964, which includes the provision i said and that the federal government told schools they were not get money if they segregated.

as a result, people were able -- schools wanted the money so we were able to get educated during that period. it is not just a best practice it is a vital tool in changing the culture. >> i agree with what sherrilyn said. i do think we have to write some of these incentives in statute and some of them in regulation. i do think we need to go back to capitol hill and do a little tweaking of -- grants, so they are not just seen as us recommending best practices. we want the law changed. we want the executive ranch to use its authority -- all the

items i listed as recommendations, they are actions that the executive branch could take on its own to implement some of these requirements. i do not see these as best practices, i see them as absolute necessities in reforming the culture of the least departments. i also want to say that broken windows policing is wrong. it targets communities of color for the acts of a few. we need to go back to individualized suspicion. i am not same do not follow up on lawless behavior. police should attend to that. but to describe a community when 90% of the people are engaging in law-abiding activities, to describe it humanity as formatting

lawlessness of becomes a self reinforcing concepts. it is about 10% of the lack population -- black population that engage in criminal activity. being poor does not make you engage in that even more. i just want to put a pain in the notion of the broken windows policing. in order for us to change the culture of departments, we have to change that approach to law enforcement. i believe it is totally unacceptable. >> my question was spoken to, i can pass. >> let me turn to ron davis to find out if we need to wrap this panel up. >> it's a great panel, unfortunately, we do. >> let's thank our excellent

panelists. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015 >> the movie "american sniper" has been nominated for an academy award. we'll show an interview with chris kyle from 2012. he talked about his career and his book, the all buy galaxy about the most lethal sniper in american history. you can see that on c-span 2 at 5:15. president obama gives his state of the union address to a joint session of congress. tomorrow night we'll have the president's speech and the republican response and reaction from you and members of congress. live coverage tomorrow night starts at 8:00 eastern right here on espn -- c-span c-span.org. the white house has announced a list of invited guests that will be seated in first lady michelle obama's box in the gallery. alan gross was released from

jail in cuba last month as president obama announced a move to normalize relations with the country. and astronaut scott kelly, the first american to live and work above the international laboratory the twin brother of mark kelly, the husband of former congresswoman gabby giffords. live now to the dr. king memorial on the national mall here in washington, d.c. where the sun is shining now. crowds are gathering on this national holiday. from the "associated press," tributes continue as the nation celebrates the holiday in his honor. remembrances come amid a backdrop of recent incidents in which unarmed black men were killed by police spurring protests and heightening tenses in the u.s. oprah winfrey and fellow actors from the movie "selma" marched.

tributes for the civil rights leader. >> this morning the reverend al sharpton and the national action network hosted a breakfast honoring dr. martin luther king jr. speakers.

hulia castro and sylvia burr well. they spoke about ending homelessness and disparities. this is about two hours. >> good morning, washington, d.c.! happy king day! oh, you can do better than that. happy king day! happy king day! [cheers and applause] >> all right, first giving honor to god who is the head of my life to reverend sharpton, the head of this merry band thank you so much reverend sharpton. i want to thank all of you for coming. my name is nate miles. i'll be your emcee for the morning. i see that happy king day and i mean it very seriously because there used to be a time when we used to have to sneak and take the day off from work. joe, when we couldn't tell them

that we really, when everybody else went to work except us and we secretly protested and had our own king day, but thanks to coretta king and all of the rest of the king family, reverend sharpton, jackson and all of the other carol civil leaders around the country we have a day that we can legitimately say happy king day! >> happy king day! >> that's a lot better. as we come today we have a great program that has been put together for you. please as you come on in, we want to make sure that you know what we realize what a crossroads the united states, our country right now, we are seeing protests in the streets. we're seeing issues that we thought long ago solved still bub believing up to the top. we see relationships that we thought were repaired are still fractured. it turns out we have work to

do. america will come together as it always has and it will handle this. we are a better people and we are a better nation than what we have seen in the past few months and over the last year or so. i'll tell you one thing, i believe in my heart that with people like you, people like reverend sharpton who helps to continue bring us together, we're going to make this thing work. when you figure that over 50% of our kids now in our public schools are getting free and reduced lunch, what it says is that poverty is on the rise. dr. king spoke of a be never lent community, a beloved community and the question today we will ask at this breakfast and reverend sharpton will give us all a charge to is what are we doing to bring about that beloved community. that is a community that we know can and should happen in this nation because we have too many kids who are deferring their dreams and as longston hughes said, what happens to a dream defend does it drive up

like a raisin in the sun, fester like a sore and then run, at the end or maybe it just sags like a heavy load or does it explode? we don't need any explosions in this country. what we need are people who are right-minded and thinking and sit down and answer the question, he can can't tell our children one or two things anymore and expect them to believe it. because of social media and others, you can't contain what is out there now. our kids can get online and see for themselves speak for themselves act for themselves and do for themselves now because will are other avenues. we better make sure we understand that the eyes of the world are watching and more importantly, the eyes of our children are watching. with that, i would like to say to make sure that we go upstream, we have sylvia hayes here, so much of the cabinet that are represented by a president and administration that believes like do, there

comes a baby floating down the river. the guy watching this baby, he runs out and grabs this baby, pulls him to the shore and starts pumping the water out of him. one of the buddies standing by, man, that was a good job. another one said we got to make sure that doesn't happen again. he goes out and gets another baby. while he is pushing the batter out of this baby, where are you going? you can stand here and try to save babies all you want. i'm going up the river to see who is throwing them in. reverend sharpton always looks to she who is throwing them in. he makes sure to call them out as he sees it. that's what we're gathered today for. what i would like to do is get us opened up with our national anthem sung by ms. kathy stansberry. please welcome her as she comes to the stage. [applause] >> please rise.

♪ oh, say can you see ♪ ♪ by the dawn's early light ♪ ♪ what so proudly we hailed ♪ ♪ at the twilight's last gleaming ♪ ♪ whose broad stripes and bright stars ♪ ♪ through the perilous fight ♪ ♪ oer the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming ♪ ♪ and the rockets' red glare ♪ ♪ the bombs bursting in air ♪

♪ gave proof through the night ♪ ♪ that our flag was still there ♪ ♪ oh, say does that star spangled banner yet wave ♪ ♪ oer the land of the free ♪ ♪ and the home of the brave ♪

please stand by -- [applause] >> well done, well done, kathy. at this point we would like to bring up the reverend coates, senior pastor and board member to lead us in prayer. we will go on with the program from there as listed in your book. >> might we bow in a word of prayer. eternal god, we come to you today as humbley as we know how just to say thank you. we thank you for this day and this occasion that brings us together and we ask today that you would consecrate our hearts, our hands and our heads that we might make this world a

better place. we gather today in the midst of unique and unprecedented times, times of great challenge and times of tremendous difficulty and, god, we ask that your hand will continue to guide the leadership of this great nation, continue to lead and guide the national action network and all those concerned about peace, justice, and equality. we thank you for the life, legacy and witness of your servant who we honor today, the reverend dr. martin luther king jr. help us to discern your will and seek your direction as we endeavor to confront the challenges of our day. as we remember him we remember the lives of all those who have innocently lost their lives in this day. grant on to us the clarity of thought and the unity of purpose in our efforts to make this nation and this world a place for all people, enable us

to be a voice for the voiceless, hope for the hopeless and help for the helpless. compel us to seek peace where there is unrest, love where there is hate, and unity where there is division. we ask that you would raise the crown of justice and righteousness above our heads and we pray that you would encourage us to grow tall enough to wear it. this is our prayer and we ask it in the name of hope, in the name of love, and in the name of peace amen. >> well, we welcome you this morning and i have the esteemed privilege to introduce the reverend al sharpton, the president and c.e.o. of the national action network. when i think of reverend sharpton i am reminded of a question that those who sat on the sidelines during the ministry of jesus of mass

register asked, as jesus of nazereth engaged in his prophetic ministry, there were many on the sidelines asked who is this man who is this man born of a virgin, who is this man the son of a carpenter. who some man able to make the lame walk and multiply food for those who are hungry, who is this man who is able to challenge the powers that be and who is this man who when given an opportunity to save himself stayed on the cross and died for the least of these. well, two me lenia later there are people still asking the very same question, who is this man born in the inner cities of new york city, who is this man who emerged from being a childhood preacher, community activist who has been on the front lines of our nation's

civil rights issue, who is this man who founded the national action network this country's premiere civil rights organization. who is this man who is able to rub shoulders with the poor and with presidents and corporate c.e.o.s. it is my esteemed honor and privilege to welcome and to introduce and present today, the reverend al sharpton, president and c.e.o. of the national action network. won't you put your hands together and receive him at this time. [applause] >> thank you thank you very much reverend delmon coates who not only passed -- pastored one of our major congregations in our country maryland, prince

georges count and sits as one of the board of directors on the national action network, he must add that he has shown outstanding and i think exemplary coverage by standing up for civil rights issues across the board in our country. one of the things that i think that you must remember on king day is that dr. king said that you measure a man not by where he stands in the hours of convenience, but where he stands in the hours of controversy and when we dealt with civil rights issues that were outside of what was comfortable, issues like immigration, issues like marriage equality that many of us only want civil rights for our tribe and not for everybody, delmon coates stood

up and i want him to know we're very proud of that, reverend delmon coates. let me welcome everybody to our annual breakfast and we are very happy and honored to have all of you with us. this is a very interesting year where we have seen many of the issues that national action network has fought for and have been battling for coming front and center. whether it is the question of police accountability, whether it's a question of the income gap, when it's a question of now it is documented that 51% of school children are living in homes under the poverty level, these are issues that we have struggled for for 24 years in man's history -- n.a.n.'s history that are front and

center. if we are to take dr. king seriously, it is not just about putting the issues out front, it's about keeping them out front until we resolved them. [applause] >> the job of activist, the job of advocacy organizations, the job of civil rights organizations is putting in light what forces people to look at the issues. there they go again sharpton and them want publicity. that's exactly what we want. that's right. [applause] >> because part of the role of activists is to get your attention. you don't see me on "dancing with the stars." [laughter] >> you see us dealing with social issues and to draw the attention to those issues.

and if you don't do that, people are not going to deal with those issues in the dark. i often tell the story, i learned that, i did not like delmon coates or like boardmember mcmorris go to one of the elaborate educational institutions. i learned that because i grew up in the projects in brooklyn. we had roaches. i know reverend yearwood comes from there, but we had roaches. [laughter] >> i remember getting up one night and went in the kitchen and saw all of these roaches all over the table. we had all kinds of roaches, big roaches, little roaches. we had flying roaches get on the side and fly down. so i ran in the room and got my receive. i said we got roaches. i keep telling you we have roaches.

no we don't. she is half mad and asleep. i dragged her. she went to the kitchen to see these roaches, turned on the light, clear eyed, looked around no roaches. she said i don't see no roaches. why are you bothering me? i said no they were here. she is really mad. she go back and lay down, cut the light off. i am sitting up in the room trying to figure this out. i go back, roaches everywhere. i go get her the second time. she stumbled furious, touched the light on, looks roaches gone. now she is not speaking to me wanting to fight. goes back and lays down, cut the lights out. i go back and i figure this thing out. as long as the lights were out, roaches will have a six-course meal in your kitchen. as soon as you cut the lights

on, roaches go. i spent the rest of my life cutting lights on roaches all over this country. [applause] >> you want to deal with health care, cut the lights on. want to deal with police accountability, cuts the lights on. want to deal with lack of education quality, cut the lights on. our job is to put the lights on where they don't want to go. and once you do, you're going to get a reaction. my mother raised, born and raised in alabama. i was born and raised in brooklyn. she has taken me down to see her mother every year. she said, let me tell you something, you come from the north. you don't know nothing about the country. i will tell you something you will remember all your life. i said what's that? if you throw a brick at a pile of hogs, the one that hollers is the one you hit. i have learned that we're

effective when folks are hollering because we hit them. when you hit policies and you see folk on different sides screaming and hollering, it's because we hit them. did you hear what they said last night we hit them. we're hitting situations that people don't want hit. i want to bring on our first speaker, but i want to first acknowledge all of our special guests so i would like everybody to please turn to the person on your right and shake their hands and say thank you for being reverend al's special guest this morning. all right.

the now, let me acknowledge quickly that i'm very honored and happy to have terry o'neil, head of the national organization of women with us. reverend yearwood, hip-hop coffee and i'm going to be acknowledging people throughout the morning, we're happy to have all of you and particularly from the civil rights community my partner and the struggle no matter what it is and that's melanie campbell of the national council. [applause] >> parpgs and black women's roundtable and so many more. i must acknowledge members of the board of national action network, reverend dell-month coates, aiesha river and tanya

lombard from at&t, a real strong board member. [applause] >> second of health and human services, to show you her commitment, she is on her way to philadelphia open enrollments for the affordable care act closes on february 15. she wanted to be here to speak before and to be part of n.a.n.'s annual breakfastment we're honored to have her as we call in church, our preacher for the morning is secretary castro. we have two distinguished members of the president's cabinet. let me also say from the white house, we're very happy to have heather foster. stand up, heather. [applause]

>> she is one of the outstanding people in government who has really demonstrated real leadership and we're very proud. her parents are with us as well this morning. where are your parents? i want her father to know, i want her father to know that this is really your birthday party. [laughter] >> today is his birthday. [applause] >> and aside from the dr. king day, this is heather's daddy's day. i want him to know that. we're honored to have you. she has in my judgment showed a real commitment to making sure that one of the most historic progressive moves of this president bared the fruit that

it was designed to bear. she oversees 77,000 employees. she is the 22nd secretary of health and human services and aside from all of the talking points janay and them give me, i want you to know that against great odds and against every effort to undermine secretary burwell has delivered for the millions of people around this country that depended on this president to keep his commitment and has done so. you cannot execute without having the kind of support staff and mechanisms that will go and do the work. she is not on the front page unless something messes up but she does the work and makes sure that the vision of this president around providing health care is a relate in the

lives of millions of people that wouldn't have it. martin luther king day, if it means anything, is serving the unserved and giving security to those that live every day in anxiety and on king day, no one has done that more than our secretary of health and human services, secretary burwell. will you come. [applause] >> thank you, reverend sharpton and it's always a bit intimidating to speak in a room of great orators and especially how did i draw speaking right after the reverend. i have had the pleasure of knowing the reverend since serving in the clinton administration during my time at wal-mart and have worked with him during my time at the

office of m.o.b. and now at h.h.s. and it's a pleasure. i want to come back to something you said. dr. king said the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in time of challenge. that is something that reverend sharpton has done time and time again in terms of standing in times of challenge. [applause] >> and i also want to acknowledge my colleagues, julia castro and bring broderick is here as well and heather, brod is leading my brother's keeper evident that i think everyone is familiar with. i really can't think of a better way to celebrate dr. martin luther king jr. than with all of you today. the national action network continues to fight tirelessly for dr. king's dream every day. this room holds the past, the present, and the future of the

civil rights struggle. i'm proud to be in some small part today a part of that. when we think of dr. king many things come to mind, a civil rights legend, a fearless fighter and a man of god. he was and remains one of the most transformative leaders of the 20th century. he influences our lives today so many years later with both his words and his ideas. i was not born when he delivered his most famous speech and at the time of his tragic death, i was only three years old, but the ideas he talked about and the courage that he acted with inspires so many of us today to live a life of service, to know that the potential of our nation is great even when it's sometimes very hard to see. he showed people of faith like myself how to live out those

acts of faith. he showed us how to make the gospels as real as they were when they were written and to make sure that we're working every day to make the beatitudes a reality. dr. king changed the course of the history of our nation forever. we remember him as a servant. that's why we honor today with service and i'll be going to philadelphia to do an event on service and then an event on the affordable care act so that we honor in terms of what he asked us to do in terms of service. dr. king's mission was big, but his directives, though, difficult, were often kind of quite simple like sit quietly and wait to be served. he showed us that the past to helping men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism was paved by acts as big as

selma and as small as a letter. behind the legend of dr. king was a man who simply believed in action. he believed in service and he lived his life accordingly. behind this might, i will -- this mic i will recognize that accordingly. but we all can have a servants heart. that is what this day is to me. a reminder of what it takes to make revolutionary change. the courage to stand up, or sit in, for what is right. faith in the possibility of a better future, at a servants heart. i know there is an abundance of those things in this room here today. we are closer to realizing dr. king's dream that is because of actions big and small by the

national action network and others who continue to keep the faith in a better tomorrow. we have made incredible strides and progress since the days of segregation from voting rights to education, to workplace equality. today's america has undoubtedly changed for the better, and we celebrate that. but our progress must also serve to remind us of how far we have to go. in a sense, all the issues that we touch at the department of health and human services are in some way about civil rights. after all, our mission is to make sure that every american has the building blocks of a healthy and productive life. our work impacts moms and dads at the kitchen table, when they are figuring out how they are going to take care of their aging parents, or how they are going to make sure their kid is ready for kindergarten. our work is about lifting up

americans of all races, of all ages, and all backgrounds. we look at the services that hhs supports -- our nations lingering disparities are clear. african-americans have the lowest life expectancy of any other race in our country. they are twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, and 40% more likely to have high blood pressure. african-american women, for example, are 40% more likely to die of breast cancer, even though they are 10% less likely to be diagnosed. and the statistic that impacts all of that -- african-americans are more likely to be uninsured. than white americans. health inequalities impact our nations potential, from access to education, to the stability of families and communities. whether you are someone who now has access to health insurance

on the marketplace, someone who is newly eligible for medicaid, or someone who is covered through employer-based care, the affordable care act impact you. and thanks to the affordable care at, 7.8 million african-americans with private insurance now have access to expanded preventative services with no cost-sharing. [applause] that includes screenings from cancer, cap smears and mammograms well-child visits and flu shots. from october 2013 to june of 2014, 1.7 million african-americans aged 18 to 64 years old gained health insurance coverage. that is a 6.8% drop in the uninsured over that time. in fact come in just one year, we've reduce the number of

adults that were uninsured in this nation by 10 million people. these changes are helping people all over this country get the care that they need. these changes mean when a doctor finds a cancerous lung, there is enough time to intervene. they mean a mom will learn to manage her diabetes before threatens her life. they mean that a dad will be able to afford the prescription that keeps his blood pressure in check. and they are helping families sleep a little easier at night knowing that a sickness or accident won't bankrupt the family. this progress was made possible because people like you all helped us make this a reality. you stood with us when no one thought a bill was going to happen. you stood with us during the first open enrollment. you held events in detroit, los angeles, atlanta, all over this country, he partnered with us

during faith and african-american weekends of action. you held panels and roundtables and you spread the word far and wide. i want to thank you for standing with us now, during this open enrollment. you are ambassadors to our communities, and you are the voices that people trust. you are the reason they will go in check, and understand that they can get affordable care. so, here is what you need to know. we have less than one month left in open enrollment. it ends on february 15. the other thing is -- financial help is available. this can be affordable. 87% of those who are in open enrollment this year, those we have reenrolled, and those who have come to us new are receiving financial help. that is a very important message that we want to make sure that people have. the other thing is -- it is easier than ever.

we focused very heart of the consumer experience, and that is -- very hard on the consumer experience, and that is making sure that we have a website that is easy to use. for 70% of people coming in new the application went from 76 screens to 16. for people reenrolled in, it is pre-populated. you don't have to keep typing it in. we are to make this as easy as possible. to remind everyone, three ways to do this -- meet the consumer where they are. for some people, they just want to go to the website. healthcare.gov. for some people, they want to talk to someone on the phone. one 800 you can talk to some of the on the phone. you can walk through it. if you are someone who wants to sitdown down with somebody and do this face-to-face, though to the website -- go to the website, put in your zip code, and find the nearest person who can sit down and have a

conversation with you. in the spirit of dr. king, we are asking you to help us again in big ways and in small. post and enrollment event at your church, or your community. reach out to your partners, ask them to help. use your twitter and social media to spread the word about the february 15 deadline. tell your neighbors, tell your friends. now is the time to close that gap, and we want to help our neighbors. so that we can see the change that reverend sharpton was talking about. as dr. king said, change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability. but comes through continuous struggle. dr. king's dream is ours now. and that struggle is ours to continue. i want to thank you all for all that you do to keep that dream alive, and to make it a reality. thank you. [applause]

>> let's give her another round of applause. we want to thank secretary burwell for joining us this morning, she is off to philadelphia for enrollment event, we thank her for being here with us and sharing this part of her mourning with us. -- her morning with us. >> i'm the executive director of the national action network, want to thank you all for joining us this morning. we are here for another king day, and each day we gather to celebrate the life and legacy of dr. martin luther king. national action network is an organization that is inspired by his work. we are continuing in his legacy. annually, weak knowledge people whose lives and work also reflect the principles of dr. king. this year, we are delighted to honor several people.

for continuing dr. king's legacy in their own way. we are seeing dr. king in a new light thanks to the feature film "selma. if you haven't seen it, check it out. we see that he was more than just a dream speech. his work was not done with the 1963 march on washington, or the passing of the civil rights act of 1964. he didn't stop when he received awards and accolades. but he continued to fight for justice until his death. with that in mind, we want everyone to be like king, and to continue to be change agents in your own way. not just today, but throughout all of your days and throughout your life. i want to draw your attention to the video screens, and show you just how we are continuing to act for change. >> [video clip] >> civil rights did not write a

resume, but it made someone read your resume. >> you achieved because you were that smart. you got there because some grandma who never saw the inside of a college campus put themselves on the line and alabama, mississippi, to get you up here. [applause] >> the national action network engages people. we engage people everyday on the ground. we engage our state legislatures, international legislators, in the capitals of cities and in washington, d.c.. we, of course, engage corporate leaders and seek to hold him responsible, and accountable to communities across this country. >> this is our first line of defense in dealing with issues on the ground and creating a

grassroots movement to respond issues. our chapters were together with the national staff to ensure the communities are protected against injustices and treated fairly. ♪ >> the national action network has a house of justice. it was dedicated and named by one of the mentors of reverend sharpton, reverend jesse jackson. we try to live up to the meaning of that name -- the house of justice. every saturday, we hold a community rally that is broadcast throughout the nation, both on internet and on radio. we make sure that people can come there, that are looking for help, they need assistance, that are looking for referrals. we hold a monthly legal might in

order to give people in our community and affordable way to get direction on some of the legal challenges that face them in their communities, all of our chapters duplicate those efforts in many ways. which is how we stay connected to the communities that we serve. we try to know what the needs are within that community, and we try to help people meet those needs. >> i'm not asking you to think about what we have already done, see can be satisfied with our progress. i know this isn't the national satisfaction network, this is the national action network. but i am asking you to draw inspiration from the facts that we know change is possible. i'm living testament that change is possible. [applause] we know we have the ability to put our shoulder to the wheel of

history and steer america towards the promise of a better day. we know that we stand in other shoulders, and step-by-step, inch by inch, we make progress. >> one of my primary focuses within the organization is to engage our members on the national level. the organization is still growing. we have over 1600 now. it's important that our members become active members of the organization, not just supporting us from a distance, but to really become active participants of change. that's what we gear to increase and to promote. >> we operate seven regional offices in new york, washington, dc, atlanta, miami indianapolis, los angeles, detroit. we coordinate the work of our chapters. the goal is to turn

demonstration of the legislation. >> the national ashen networks -- action networks provides a voice for the next generation of social change agents. young people across the country advocate for issues addressing social justice, education, youth violence, and conflict resolution. it nurtures young people in gaining skills in various areas including leadership training, social networking, media and legislative advocacy, and public speaking. we have a weekly program called the huddle, that allows people to converse in a setting that is informal, safe, and with their peers about issues of relevance in the community. >> i think what makes this the best, what makes us a leading organization is that we believe in the work, we take it seriously, and we do it diligently.

♪ [applause] >> so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow. i still have a dream. it is a dream deeply rooted in the american dream. i have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed. >> dr. king said somewhere, we must come to see that human

progress never rolls on the wheels of inevitability. we emphasize that. never rolls on the wheels of inevitability. he went on to say it comes through tireless efforts, and persistent work of dedicated individuals, who are willing to be coworkers with god. or as my mom would say, doing god's work. that is what all of you are all about. as you fight for economic justice, racial and gender equality, and trying to stem the tide of new attempts -- new attempts to restrict the right of our people to vote. it's the everyday actions that you inspire, that are going to keep human progress rolling forward, and keep it from sliding back. >> we are here today because we

must ask this nation -- deal with the fact that just like 50 years ago the state has taken a position to rob the human rights and civil rights of citizens with state right projected laws that this empowers federal law. we have seen in staten island, with state grand jury's have suspended the right of due process. and we have come to washington to call on this congress and national governments to do what was done before.

we need national legislation and intervention to save us from state grand jury's that save the right to people on tape and you won't bring them to court. [applause] when i saw a black man put his hand on the bible and become president, i'm inspired today what i see young white kids holding up signs saying black lives matter. i know the media won't show that. i know they will say we only had 500 representing thousands. but i don't care how much you try to discard it, we shall rise again. the people united will never be defeated.

because god gave me a new life, -- and new light, and i'm going to let it shine. and the shine for michael brown. the shine on eric garner. god gave me my light, let it shine. >> national action network continues to bring awareness to local and national civil rights issues around this country. we had a major part in amplifying issues like standard round, and bring the fight to florida, stop and frisk in new york, and voter rights issues around the country. we have always been a voice for the voiceless. >> when i was down in texas everyone was celebrating the day

the civil rights law was finally passed. remember -- there were decades in which people sacrificed and worked hard. change doesn't happen overnight but it happens as long as we don't purposefully give our power away. every obstacle put in our past should remind us of the power we hold in our hand each time we pull that lever or feeling that oval, or touch that screen, just have to harness that power. we have to create a national network committed to taking action. we could call the national action network. [applause] >> so many of our children are victims of senseless gun violence. and this leader right here, stood his ground and stood with the trayvon martin family, and the trayvon martin foundation

and so many other trayvon martins all over the united states. he did it with passion, he did it with commitments, and he was dedicated to our cause. and that is why we are indebted to him for life. on behalf of accent, and all of us here, we present to you reverend starks and. the icon award. thank you, so much. [applause] >> every day i get up, i have only one wish -- and that is that every morning i wake up, that every bigot, every brutal person, every wrong person in

this land will say damn, he's up again. [laughter] [applause] >> this gives us a unique ability to support our efforts and comedic ending to the nation the work of the organization is doing on a daily basis. in a way that few progressive organizations are able to do. >> we see a new america. we see an america of equality, of justice, of fairness. we march because we are going to bring a new america, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice -- not for some, not for who you choose not for who you like, but for all. we believe in a new america.

it's time to march for a new america. it's time to organize for a new america. it's time to register and vote for a new america. we are on our way, we are on our way, we are on our way. [applause] ♪ >> at this time, i would like to bring back to the stage our founder and president, reverend al sharpton. [applause] >> thank you, june 8. -- jenee.

she is doing a job as our executive director. at 1:00, we do our public policy forum with the mayor, and others at our national headquarters. and then, at 3:00 this afternoon, we will be bringing hundreds, where we will be laying a wreath at the site where two new york city policeman were killed brutally and viciously. tonight, a vigil for eric garner , the chokehold victim. why? because dr. king was about fighting for justice, but he was also about standing against senseless violence. it's important on king day, we send a message, the yes, we want to see justice in specific cases, but that we are not anti-police, we don't hate police. most police are good. they risk their lives everyday.

in the spirit of dr. king, we start here with those that have influence. we go to new york with the mayor and others, and then we go to show that we denounce the violence against police. but we have the right to question specific cases. that is what dr. king did, and that is how we are going to spend this day. [applause] let me acknowledge also, we have been joined by one of the real champions in this country and a want technology and. he did not want to speak, but i must technology in. -- acknowledge him. he has my brothers keepers initiative, broderick johnson. we are so happy to have you with us. [applause] and also working on the white house initiative on education excellence for african-americans, a real champion. he works very closely with our sister organization, education

for a better america. if i had finished college, he would be working with me, but he deals with the more educated younger side of nan. david john. president and ceo of them in tc --mmtc. kim. from the brennan center, nicole austin hillary, one of our partners. [applause] the assistant secretary for civil rights at usda. [applause] where is congressman wynn? [applause] i'll be glad to have you as well as claudia withers, who is the coo of the naacp.

stand up, claudia. [applause] ok, she's over there. you should sit them closer to the mainline. [laughter] glad to have you. i'm honored that one of the leading figures of civil rights in our country leader of the leadership conference of civil and human rights, brother wade henderson is with us. [applause] and i mean, he is a pillar in the civil rights community. also leah from the greater washington dc chapter. give a hand. [applause] let me move in the program. i know that we are going to present awards out, executive director going to help us with

that. i can get into new york. i'm so happy and honored that others, that my friend, president cox, who was honored last year is with us. as i said for now, is with us. i must say, jim reynolds is a real -- i know the young folk who of done the program, but i'm not allowed to do that. but i have been known not to. i'm glad for all four honorees but certainly, i want to say that it is extremely an honor for us to have a -- as our speaker today, young man who is energized this country, when you think of national politics, clearly into 2012, everyone was electrified by this young man. but like most men and women that

make their mark, they do not become intoxicated with the high , and they do not become depressed with the lows. one of the signs of knowing whether someone is headed towards a real mark is how they handle high moments and low moments. this young man heralded by media as the next whatever -- said i'm not going to go for the halos i'm going to continue to work. and he did, as mayor of san antonio, and came on to conquer the continued drive for affordable housing in this country. she mentioned the movie "selma," one of the things about that in the debates in the civil right candidate, what was right what was wrong, johnson's role, half of the argument is why the older

guys names weren't in the movie. but we will leave that for another day. [laughter] heather told me to be nice today. the one of the striking parts is that it opens with dr. king getting a nobel prize. and most people that would have gotten a nobel prize of 35 years old, and on the cover of time magazine's man of the year would never have gone to selma, alabama. he would have said i have achieved it, i have made my name, history is complete. the story of king is with the prize, he went to selma. with the prize, he went to birmingham. most of us go to selma to try and get a prize. i respect this man because with the national media raising him he said i want to roll up my sleeve and make sure that people

in public housing, and people in subsidized housing have a friend in washington. and that is why we are honored that she has come to share with us on king day, in the spirit of dr. king, the secretary of housing and urban development cooley on castro. -- cooley on -- julian castro. >> in mourning. -- good morning. thank you for the invitation to be here today and more importantly for the the advocacy and leadership in your voice. i also want to thank it knowledge my colleagues, who have been who have been fantastic rattling those of us in the and to secretary burwell and heather foster who are here.

i want to thank jenny ingram and all of you who were part of the national action network. today is a joyous day, when we gathered to commemorate the legacy of dr. martin luther king. it is a day of reflection about who we are as individuals, and what we stand for as a nation. and how we can bring dr. king's dream to pass, it's also a day of some sadness, because we lost a true visionary -- number is the man -- a brilliant man too soon. it's a day of celebration because his life, his ideas, the brilliant example he left in

doers. we can see that every day in the work that you do in your own local communities and that national action network does. but most of all, as other speakers of said, it is a day of action. a time to put into deed the example that he left, and the ideals that he championed. we gather today at a moments of momentum in america. our economy is growing again, we have seen 11.2 million new jobs over the last 58 months. we have seen the unemployment rate dropped down to 5.6%. the fastest drop in one year since 1984. the numbers tell us we have seen the best economic growth in our country since the late 1990's.

we see that in the housing market, with more folks going to work in construction because housing has doubled over the last five years. folks feeling confident because foreclosures have fallen to their lowest level since before the housing crisis. president obama has led this nation to an economic comeback we also note that there is still tremendous work to be done out there, and that our charge in this year, in 2015 must be one thing above all else. to create opportunity. if you are black, opportunity. if you are white, opportunity. if you are young, opportunity. if you are old, or young at

heart, opportunity. if you are rich or poor, or somewhere in the middle, our charge is to create for you opportunity. we call hide -- hud the department of opportunity, because 2015 marks 50 years that this department of housing and urban development has had as its charge the mission of creating a chance for every single american to have a decent and safe place to live in this country. we are going to keep going strong in 2015. just a few days ago in phoenix, arizona, the president announced a reduction to mortgage insurance premiums at our fha that has traditionally been the most powerful vehicle for

first-time homebuyers and minority homebuyers to get a loan, so they can own a home, and have a piece of the american dream. we believe that over the next three years, this is going to ensure that .2 5 million more folks of modest means have a chance to own a piece of the american dream. and that over those same three years, up to 2 million folks are going to save $900 annually because of this. at hud, we believe in the intersection of housing and opportunity in people's lives. that is why we are focused on ensuring that, for the 5 million folks who live in public or subsidized housing, if you are a young person, that you want to be getting a great education. if you are a working age person,

you should have access to job training. and the information and resources you need to get a decent job. so that you can provide for your family. it's also why we know that we need to take a big picture approach to community revitalization. you see, is not enough to just focus on housing. because what if the neighborhood is not safe? it's not enough to just focus on housing because what if somebody can get to work? or what if they don't have a job? or what if they can't make sure that their child is getting a good education, so they can move up in life? we believe in a holistic approach. we also know that in our beautiful nation, the richest nation on earth, there is still

far too many americans who don't have a home at all. five years ago, the president did something bold. he was the first president to set a marker, through an initiative called opening doors they said we would effectively end homelessness in the united states by 2020. since that time, we've seen a 33% reduction in veteran homelessness, and significant reduction in family and chronic homelessness as well. and every single day, the 8000 employees of hud wake up and go to work in partnership with nonprofits and individuals throughout the united states to ensure that folks can have a home that, in america that has always been the land of

opportunity, that folks can continue to rise. on this day, when we celebrate dr. king's call for a colorblind america, and also, one that offers economic opportunity to everyone, matter who you are, or where you come from, i'm proud to join you as we push to create prosperity for americans everywhere, to commit ourselves to action, to use our time and our talents and our resources to not just do for ourselves, or for our own families, but to do for others as well. it is a wonderful ideal, one that we celebrate today, and that we live out every single day. thank you for doing that. we appreciate it. [applause]

>> given other hand to secretary castro. [applause] i'm going to have our executive director come back as we do the awards. i do want to recognize d.c. council member at large vincent orange, who works with us every year, and is one of the outstanding -- where is he? [applause] in another of our giants in the civil rights community the irreplaceable, irrepressible barbara on wine of the

committee. [applause] as we -- every year we present several awards to people that we feel have shown in their lives the spirit of dr. king. be like king awards. the staff selects them, and will give them the first award, i will present with them. and then they are kicking me off, they say the older folk have to get off the stage, they mean that now. [laughter] but this brother represents one of the real frontiers that we are yet to conquer, and that is

dealing with economic and business in this country. dr. king formed a group called operation breadbasket, which was part of his organization. to receive economic or to fight for economic equity and parity. it's new york chapter, i was the youth director of i was 13 years old. one year after he was killed. i grew up given total orientation on our fight for social justice, and legal justice, most equal, our fight for economic justice. no one has personified that and exemplified that more than the winner of the economic justice award. he has worked from the tireless days of washington and chicago to seeing his friend, barack

obama, become president of the united states. but on his own rights, what he has done with new capital opening doors that never had been opened before by a person of color but performing is not enough to get you in the door, if you embarrass us once you get in. the validation there is that we show that if given the chance we can perform. and he has never not performed. which opens the door for us. but he never forgot where he came from. you measure giants not by how tall they stand but how tall they stand on their own two feet. because i have found in life that a lot of people that i looked up to were standing on letters, and were really not standing on the ground on their own two feet. this man is tall, we look up to him, that there is no letter under him. these are his two feet, grounded in his community.

with his head held high. i'm honored to present our economic justice award to the chairman and chief executive officer of loop capital, james reynolds. [applause] >> thank you all, so much. it is a privilege for me to be here today to receive this great award from such a great man. in my particular hero, reverend sharpton. particularly on this wonderful day, king day. when i started my business, 17 years ago, i had several missions. one was certainly do have a successful business. because of you don't have a successful business when you start a business, you really are

not going to do much else. but then, given that to stay involved in my community, and to do every single thing i could to make my community proud of any success that i would have, and have had. it is always humbling for me, and coming from chicago, i've been around some great leaders. but to be on stage with a man like reverend sharpton, who is sacrificed so much for so many. so thank you all, i really appreciate this today. thank you so much. [applause] >> before go any further, i know we have a birthday. it is mr. foster's birthday, we want to give them a round of applause for being here on his birthday and celebrate with us. he is the father of heather foster, from the white house. eddie birthday to you. [applause]

-- happy birthday to you. the next award is going to be presented is the breaking barriers award. i've heard her name for a while now, and finally had the opportunity to meet her today. but her work obviously precedes her. her reputation at her work has been talked about in this town and beyond the borders of the city. she was confirmed by unanimous consent of the u.s. senate in december 2010 to be the 14th chair of the equal employment opportunity commission, the eeoc. her term recently ended. we thought no better time to honor her, and to recognize the work she has done with the commission. she has had lots of other awards, including the rue.com hr's most influential by human resource executive online. she was america's leading black woman in public service, and the power 100 of the list of the most influential minority attorneys.

so this is not her first time being presented with an award, but obviously, it is very, very deserved. we are honored to have her here today. at this time, i would like to present our breaking barriers award to jaclyn berrien esquire. [applause] >> she also has a big fan club in the building. [applause] >> i will hold this for you. >> thank you, so much. i'm just thrilled beyond words. one of the byproducts of spending time in brooklyn i think is that you do always have brooklyn in the house. [applause] and i have a hometown crowd, i'm a d.c. native. [applause]

i've had the blessing also of working with so, so many people who are here today, the leaders of the civil rights movement. beginning of course, with reverend sharpton, and the national action network's leadership. but so many people who have been a knowledge today, who are my longtime friends and allies. dr. king once said, when evil men plot, good men must plan. when evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. when evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love. where evil men would seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo good men must seek to bring into being a real order of justice. one of the great benefits, i think, of the movie "selma,", a

great film that so many of us have had the opportunity to see -- if there's anyone who hasn't, please, do see it. but i think one of the wonderful things it does is it shows that as important as dr. king and the other leaders of the civil rights movement were, and truly, they were important -- there is no movement without the masses. there is no history until we make it. one of the things i always carried with me to my work, and in my work at the equal implement opportunity commission , was the fact that the commission exists because in 1963, hundreds of thousands of people had the faith to believe that this nation could live up to its promise of liberty and justice for all. but importantly, they married that faith with the action of marching to washington, and marching just a few blocks from here to the national mall, to

make sure that they demanded that this nation deliver jobs and freedom, as it promised. the equal implement opportunity commission was created because of the civil rights act of 1964 that was passed in the wake of that great march. and the film reminds us that the civil rights act of nation 65, the voting rights act of 1965 was passed because of those marchers, those brave men and women and children who faced down the police, the fire hoses the dogs in birmingham, and in selma, and all across the south. we stand here -- i'm able to stand here, everything i have ever been able to achieve is not because of any solitary effort. why spoke to the staff of the eeoc i would always say there

is no such thing as solitary success as a leader. you only succeed as a leader because of the efforts of all of those you work with every day. so today, i'm grateful that i have this opportunity, i don't deserve this recognition, but what i do know is that i'm grateful, first to god, i'm grateful to my friends and family who enabled me to serve in the eeoc. i can name them all, but i certainly must acknowledge my first and greatest supporter -- my husband, peter williams, who reminded me this morning that we were engaged at a concert, with stevie wonder singing. as we were working and hoping and working and fighting to see that there would be a martin luther king holiday. so 31 years ago, we were engaged. [applause]

to my pastor, here in washington, idc church home, michigan park, christian church. the pastor, marvin owens, and his wife, first lady barbara owens, who are here with me today. to president obama who entrusted me to serve as the chair of the eeoc, and to the administration colleagues, both those who are here today, and those who are not, but who worked alongside me to enforce the nation's civil right laws. to all of the eeoc's public and private sector, and civil rights and human rights community allies -- allies and stakeholders. and to all past and present eeoc employees, who are represented here today by three very special people and guests, who have come to join me today. they were indispensable during my eeoc service, they weren't dead, the wind -- they were indeed the wind beneath my

wings. particularly james price, who recently retired after more than three decades of service in the federal government. and heroic service in the united states army during the vietnam war. thank you all for being here. these men and women, and the more than 2200 men and women i had the privilege of working with at the equal employment opportunity commission are those who truly deserve the credit for the eeoc's achievements. and i am delighted to stand today, and to accept this award and share this with them today. thank you. [applause] >> she said she wasn't deserving, and i had to tell her, she is definitely deserving. i think when she came up to the applause proved just that. let's give her another round of

applause. [applause] a lot of people know about national action network's activism, specifically when it comes to issues around criminal justice reform, and police misconduct. but we focus on a whole host of issues, including health care. two years ago, we hosted our first-ever health care awards luncheon. that sort of focused on and brought together the need to pay attention to health inequities that exist in the black community. and obviously, secretary burwell was here, speaking about some of those disparities that exist within our community. one of our great partners for that luncheon was the aetna foundation. when we started taking about this year's awards, we wanted to lift up as part of the king day celebration, we wanted to lift up aetna again. the work that we think about in terms of healthy living is so

important to us being able to continue the fight that we talked about. so we chose floyd green -- where is floyd? there you are. the vice president and head of committee relationships of urban marketing for aetna. he is responsible for their philanthropic investment for the brand, and he is the recipient of many professional and civic awards, again, well-deserved including a presidential meeting with jimmy carter to discuss foreign intimacy policies, and the international global award for excellence and health care marketing. most recently, he was honored by black doctors.org at john hopkins center for health disparities solutions. it is very fitting that we give today's mlk merit award to floyd green the third. [applause]

>> good morning. i am deeply honored to receive this award from reverend al sharpton, as well as the national action network. at that not come into thousand, we went to washington to ask the correct racial and nothing data for our population. at the time, folks were afraid that the big bad insurance company would use this information for unfair rating and righteous and bias and stereotypes. we said no. in order for people to really understand and get the right information and write health care, we need to know who people are, where they live. the language they speak, what culture therefrom. they said no. we said we are not going to give it to marketing people. we will only keep it with our case managers. so that all people can get the care they need and again, folks that no. it wasn't until our chairman went on cnbc, and one of the

analyst said to our chairman -- don't you believe it's racist to collect ethnic data on the population, and he said it's racist not to. and so, for years now, we have been using this data to make sure that all people, the matter who they are, will he would this be lakota therefrom, get the information that they can get that they need to make informed decisions about their health. martin luther king said that one of the greatest forms of inequality is that of health care, and that it is most shocking and inhumane, and we are working diligently to make sure, especially now that people have a in axis, that they get the tools they need to make the right decisions about their health care. the name is personal for me is that martin luther king talked about dreams. what i have noticed across the

country, when we look at total health, is our kids and ability to dream. one of the reasons because of that is removal of arts and arts education in the school system. and we must put a crayon back in a child's hand. so they can create rainbows. [applause] that a child may struggle with mathematics, but yet, can play trumpet and understand fractions. and through that playing the trumpet, that person can go on to be a physicist, or an engineer. that someone may not necessarily know how to do reading comprehension, but they might learn a line in a play, and they might be able to comprehend a character in a role and through that, be able to read and go on and become teachers of this great nation. for the arts are important for the development of society, and

the development of a culture. there arts will take us into innovation, and create a new world for us. we have to have our children to believe that they can dream. so that while stem is important science, technology, engineering, math, i personally believe when a corporation stands behind its steam and is the engine that will move us forward. and for those of you who are not familiar with steam, it's science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math. it is that engine that will hopefully, one day, allow all kids, no matter who they are where they live, what culture they speak, allow them to dream of. thank you for this honor. [applause] >> our last award, and certainly not least, is our lifetime

achievement award. a lifetime of service award. augustine thomas is a woman i have yet to meet, but have heard a lot about. she was actually a classmate of dr. king. she -- it is very fitting that she would be getting this award. she knew him before he was the dr. king that we have all come to know and love. she was reelected as the national vice president for women and fair practices in 2000 nine. as the national vice president her mission is to expand the training program. in 1956 she first joined a sge.