EVENT: B2018 0623 WARE LECTURE 7:30PM CAPTIONS PROVIDED BY: HEAR INK HTTP://WWW.HEARINK.COM PHONE: 314-427-1113. **********DISCLAIMER********** THE FOLLOWING IS AN UNEDITED ROUGH DRAFT TRANSLATION FROM THE CART CAPTIONER'S OUTPUT FILE. THIS TRANSCRIPT IS NOT VERBATIM AND HAS NOT BEEN PROOFREAD. TO DO SO IS AN EXTRA FEE. THIS FILE MAY CONTAIN ERRORS. PLEASE CHECK WITH THE SPEAKER(S) FOR ANY CLARIFICATION. THIS TRANSCRIPT MAY NOT BE COPIED OR DISSEMINATED TO ANYONE UNLESS YOU OBTAIN WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE OFFICE OR SERVICE DEPARTMENT THAT IS PROVIDING CART CAPTIONING TO YOU; FINALLY, THIS TRANSCRIPT MAY NOT BE USED IN A COURT OF LAW. **********DISCLAIMER********** >> HELLO UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS. [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] >> I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS NIGHT AND DELIGHTED TO INTRODUCE BRITTANY N. PACKNETT, AN UNAPOLOGETIC EDUCATOR, ACTIVIST, WRITER, AND NATIONAL LEADER IN SOCIAL JUSTICE AS YOUR WARE LECTURER. [APPLAUSE] THE WARE LECTURE WAS FOUNDED IN 1922 AS A WAY TO INVITE PRESCIENT SPEAKERS TO COME, SHARE THEIR INSIGHTS AND TO CHALLENGE US. I LOVE THOSE TWO THINGS TOGETHER BECAUSE INSIGHT WITHOUT CHALLENGE SATISFIES CURIOSITY BUT NOT A LOT MORE THAN THAT. THE WARE LECTURES HAVE BEEN MORE THAN THAT. LAST YEAR, AMIDST THE TURMOIL OF 2017, WE HAD BRYAN STEVENSON FROM THE EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE. AS IF LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE OF WHAT THE TIME IN BETWEEN LAST GA AND THIS WOULD BE, HE OFFERED US FOUR MANDATES: GET PROXIMATE TO THE POOR, THE EXCLUDED, NEGLECTED, AND ABUSED; CHANGE THE NARRATIVES THAT UNDERLIE RACISM AND OTHER INEQUALITIES; STAY HOPEFUL ABOUT CREATING JUSTICE; AND BE WILLING TO DO UNCOMFORTABLE THINGS. [APPLAUSE] SO AS YOU KNOW, THE WARE LECTURES HAVE BEEN SO MUCH MORE THAN AN INTELLECTUAL EXERCISE, AND SO I AM EXCITED TO INTRODUCE MS. PACKNETT AND ASK US TO OPEN OURSELVES TO BOTH HER INSIGHTS AND HER CHALLENGES WITH BOTH OUR MINDS AND OUR HEARTS.AND OUR SPIRITS. MISS PACKNETT IS VICE PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL COMMUNITY ALLIANCES FOR TEACH FOR AMERICA, WHERE SHE LEADS A TEAM ENGAGING IN PARTNERSHIPS WITH COMMUNITIES AND CHILDREN OF COLOR. SHE IS CO-FOUNDER OF CAMPAIGN ZERO, A COMPREHENSIVE POLICY PLATFORM TO END POLICE VIOLENCE AND WAS A MEMBER OF THE FERGUSON -- BE AND SHE WAS ON THE STREETS IN FERGUSON FOR DAYS AND WEEKS AFTER THE SHOOTING, THE MURDER OF MICHAEL BROWN. MS.?PACKNETT ALSO SERVED ON PRESIDENT OBAMA'S TASKFORCE FOR 21ST CENTURY POLICING. AND SHE RECENTLY SHE FOUNDED LOVE + POWER, A PLATFORM TO INSPIRE AND OUTFIT PEOPLE FOR JUSTICE. AMONG HER MANY HONORS, BRITTANY HAS GRACED THE COVER OF ESSENCE MAGAZINE, BEEN NAMED ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 12 NEW FACES OF BLACK LEADERSHIP, TO MARIE CLAIRE'S NEW GUARD, LINKEDIN'S NEXT WAVE, RECEIVED THE PETER JENNINGS AWARD FOR CIVIC LEADERSHIP AND SHARES THE NUMBER 3 SPOT ON POLITICO'S 2016 50 MOST INFLUENTIAL LIST. [APPLAUSE] BRITTANY IS AN ALUM OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LEWIS, MISSOURI. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN WASHINGTON, AND IS A CURRENT ASPEN INSTITUTE EDUCATION FELLOW. SHE IS PUBLISHED ON MULTIPLE PLATFORMS, INCLUDING HER PODCAST POD SAVE THE PEOPLE. I FOLLOW IT FAITHFULLY AND I RECOMMEND TO YOU. POD SAVE THE PEOPLE WHICH JUST WON TWO WEBBY AWARDS. ULTIMATELY, BRITTANY IS A SELF-DESCRIBED PROUD BLACK WOMAN WHO BELIEVES THAT FREEDOM IS WITHIN OUR GRASP-AS LONG AS WE UNLEASH LOVE, AND BUILD OUR POWER, BECAUSE, AS SHE CITES DR. KING, "POWER AT ITS BEST IS LOVE IMPLEMENTING THE DEMANDS OF JUSTICE."I WELCOME TO THE 2018 GENERAL ASSEMBLY MS.?BRITTANY PACKNETT. [APPLAUSE] WELCOME! [APPLAUSE] I AM THANKFUL TO REV. FREDRICKS FOR THIS INVITATION AND MY FRIEND LESLIE MAC FOR NOT ONLY HER SISTERHOOD BUT HER DETERMINATION TO ALWAYS HOLD THE MOST AFFECTED AT THE CENTER AND NOT JUST TO TALK ABOUT IT, BUT TO BE ABOUT IT. THE BLACK UUAS GAVE ME ALL THAT MY SPIRIT NEEDED TODAY AND THE YOUTH COUNCIL GAVE ME MORE HOPE THAN I CAME IN WITH. THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR COMMITMENT AND GENEROSITY. I AM SO OVERWHELMED BY ASPIRATIONS OF THE LOVE AND BELOVED COMMUNITY THAT SIT IN THIS PLACE AND WITH EACH OF YOU. I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO AND MENTALLY PREPARING FOR THIS DAY FOR MONTHS. I HAD CRAFTED THOUGHTS TO SHARE WITH YOU TODAY ABOUT THE POWER OF A SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY. YOU SEE, WHETHER YOU KNOW IT OR NOT, YOU CAME HERE TONIGHT WITH A SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY. NOW, I LEARNED THAT PHRASE IN MY FATHER'S BLACK BAPTIST CHURCH ON THE OTHER SIDE OF MISSOURI, SO YOU MAY NOT USE THAT PHRASE EXACTLY, BUT IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, AND ADMIT IT TO YOURSELF, YOU CAME HERE WITH A SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY. YOU ARE EXPECTING SOMETHING TO COME- AND YOU HAVE EXPECTATIONS ABOUT EXACTLY WHAT THAT THING WILL BE. YOU HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS-AND PERHAPS A SET ARCHETYPE-FOR HOW LECTURES ON AUSPICIOUS OCCASIONS LIKE THIS ONE ARE SUPPOSED TO GO. AND I PLANNED TO TRY TO MEET EVERY ONE OF THE EXPECTATIONS I ASSUMED YOU HAVE OF ME. I HAD A PLAN TO IMMERSE MYSELF IN PREVIOUS SPEAKERS' WORK AND THE TEXTS THEY'D WRITTEN. I PLANNED TO GATHER MY THOUGHTS AND PRESENT THEM IN A WAY THAT WAS PART ACADEMIC AND PART LITURGICAL, ASPIRING TO SOME ELUSIVE HISTORICAL KINGIAN RHYTHM. I PLANNED TO IMMERSE MYSELF IN CANONICAL RESEARCH AND REVOLUTIONARY TEACHING TO STUDY AND SHOW MYSELF APPROVED. I HAD A PLAN TO COME HERE AND MEET YOUR SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY WITH A POINTED AND PREPARED BRILLIANCE THAT WOULD TAKE MONTHS TO GET JUST RIGHT. THAT IS, AFTER ALL, THE TEMPTATION WHEN BLACK MINDS ARE INVITED TO HISTORICALLY AND PREDOMINANTLY WHITE SPACES. NO MATTER HOW FORTIFIED WE ARE IN OUR HERITAGE AND OUR DETERMINED WE ARE TO LIVE AUTHENTICALLY, THERE IS ALWAYS, SOMEWHERE SOME VOICE TELLING YOU TO CONTORT YOURSELF TO MEET THE EXPECTATIONS OF OTHER PEOPLE. THAT THERE IS SOME GREAT PROOF YOU ALONE MUST PROVIDE IN A SINGLE MOMENT TO SHOW THAT THE ENTIRE RACE IS JUSTIFIED. THAT VOICE TELLS YOU THERE IS SOME PROFOUND BURDEN THAT YOU CARRY FOR WOMEN, FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR, FOR WOMEN OF COLOR, FOR ANYBODY MARGINALIZED ANYWHERE TO PROVE OUR WORTH IN THE PRESENCE OF THE PRIVILEGED. AND EVEN AS I HAVE INTENTIONALLY QUIETED THAT VOICE IN MY LIFE, THROUGH PRAYER AND PRACTICE, THROUGH THERAPY AND STRUGGLE, STILL IT WAS THERE. TELLING ME THAT YOUR EXPECTATIONS WERE MORE IMPORTANT THAN MY OWN. THAT YOUR EXPECTATIONS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN MY COMMUNITY'S. THAT YOUR EXPECTATIONS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN MY CREATOR'S. BUT THEN. THEN I READ A POEM. "I AM CONFUSED AND AFRAID," THE POEM BEGAN. THAT POEM STOPPED ME IN MY TRACKS. WRITTEN JUST TWO YEARS AGO ON MAY 16, 2016, I READ IN IT A BURDEN WITH WHICH I WAS DEEPLY FAMILIAR. A BURDEN TO PROVE. A BURDEN TO PRETEND. A BURDEN TO SUFFOCATE AND STAND STILL SO THAT NO HARM COMES TO THIS BLACK BODY OR BLACK MIND. A BURDEN OF CONFUSION. A BURDEN OF FEAR. A BLACK BURDEN TO SURVIVE, INSTEAD OF A UNIVERSAL OPPORTUNITY TO THRIVE. I BEGAN THIS JOURNEY TO YOU TO NIGHT THINKING THAT YOUR EXPECTATIONS WERE MORE IMPORTANT THAN MY OWN. THAN MY COMMUNITY'S. THAN MY CREATOR'S. BUT EVERY TIME I ASSUME THE BURDEN TO PROVE MYSELF WORTHY, I TEACH THE YOUNG MINDS AND YOUNG HEARTS LOOKING TO ME THAT THEY HAVE TO DO THE SAME. AND THE AUTHOR OF THIS POEM WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO SHED THAT BURDEN. HE WILL NEVER KNOW HE HAD PERMISSION NOT TO LIVE TO SOMEONE ELSE'S SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY BUT RATHER THAT HE COULD HAVE HIS OWN. HE WILL NEVER KNOW THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE TO HOPE HIS DREAM WOULD COME TRUE, THAT HE COULD EXPECT IT. HE WILL NEVER KNOW BECAUSE HE BECAME A STATISTIC. HE WASN'T DIFFERENT. HIS LIFE DIDN'T GET ANY EASIER. BECAUSE THE YOUNG MAN WHO WROTE THIS POEM, ANTWON ROSE, WAS SHOT IN THE BACK BY PITTSBURGH POLICE JUST LAST WEEK. HE WAS BLACK. AND UNARMED. AND 17. SO YOU SEE, YOUR EXPECTATIONS CAN NOT BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN MINE BECAUSE I EXPECT MYSELF TO STAND HERE, IN THE GAP, FOR ANTWON. YOUR EXPECTATIONS CAN NOT BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN MY COMMUNITY'S BECAUSE THEY EXPECT ME TO STAND HERE, IN THE GAP, FOR ANTWON. YOUR EXPECTATIONS OF ME AT THIS LECTERN ON THIS AUSPICIOUS OCCASION CAN NOT BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN MY CREATOR'S BECAUSE HE WOULD NOT PERMIT ME TO STAND HERE WITHOUT ANTWON. I READ HIS WORDS AND THREW OUT MY PLAN. I THREW OUT MY NEED TO LIVE UP TO SOME ARCHETYPE OF SCHOLARSHIP AND RESEARCH AND KNOWING. MY RESEARCH IS 33 YEARS OF LIVING BLACK IN AMERICA, STRUGGLING AT THE TABLE AND IN CLASSROOMS AND IN THE STREETS FOR THE FREEDOMS WE DIDN'T GAIN ON JUNETEENTH. MY SCHOLARSHIP IS GENERATIONS OF TRAUMA AND TRIUMPH PASSED DOWN THROUGH MY BLOODLINE THAT WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE PAST THE CHATTEL SLAVERY IT WAS INTENDED FOR. IT IS KNOWING THAT WHEREVER I GO, I AM BLACK WOMAN IN AMERICA, WHICH MEANS I MAY "COME AS ONE, BUT I STAND AS 10,000. MY KNOWING IS TRANSFERRED FROM A PEOPLE WHOSE HISTORY BEGAN CENTURIES AGO, WHO CRADLED CIVILIZATION BIRTHED NATIONS, AND WHO WERE SUCH A THREAT TO THE DESIRED WORLD ORDER THAT THEY WERE GATHERED UP AND SHACKLED UP IN NIGERIA AND GHANA, TOSSED ACROSS A HURLING SEA, DOCKED ON THE EASTERN COAST OF A FOREIGN CONTINENT STOLEN FROM ITS INDIGENOUS TRIBES, SOLD ACROSS STRANGE TERRITORIES TO THE SOUTH, SOME BURIED ON A PLANTATION CALLED PACKNETT IN MISSISSIPPI, SOME SURVIVING AND TREKKING ON TRAINS TO THE GREAT PROMISED LAND OF SOUTH SIDE CHICAGO, ONE MIGRATING BACK DOWN ACROSS THE FREEDOM RIVER TO THE WRONG SIDE OF THE OLD MASON DIXON LINE, TO MARRY A ST. LOUIS SWEETHEART, TO ME, STANDING AMIDST CHAOS AS MY CITY BURNED AND MY PEOPLE CRIED AND MY EYES WERE GASSED AND MICHAEL BROWN, KAJEIME POWELL, VONDERRIT MYERS AND MANSUR BALL BEY'S BLOOD COVERED THE HANDS OF THE POWERFUL IN FERGUSON AND BEYOND. I ALMOST SHOWED UP HERE DENYING ALL THAT ANCESTRY. ALL THAT POWER. ALL THAT KNOWING. I ALMOST SHOWED UP HERE AS SOMEONE ELSE. BUT GOD. GOD REMINDED ME THAT MY KNOWING COMES YES, FROM SOME TEXTS, SOME HOLY OR REVOLUTIONARY, SOME TRANSFORMATIVE AND CULTURE SHIFTING. BUT MY KNOWING COMES FROM MY SOUL, TOO. ANTWON'S KNOWING CAME FROM HIS SOUL, TOO. HIS OWN FEARED PROPHECY OVER HIS YOUNG LIFE MEANT THAT THE SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY HE LEARNED WAS VASTLY DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW. HE DIDN'T EXPECT JOY-HE EXPECTED TO STRUGGLE FOR IT. HE DIDN'T EXPECT A CHANCE TO BE GIVEN-HE EXPECTED TO WORK FOR IT, AND MAYBE STILL NOT GET IT. HE DIDN'T EXPECT EASE OR COMFORT OR WORTH. HE EXPECTED BURDEN. YOU SEE, EXPECTANCY IS A FUNNY THING. EVERY `DAY, PREACHERS AND PASTORS AND HEALERS WILL STAND BEFORE THEIR CONGREGANTS AND FOLLOWERS AND FLOCKS AND DARE THEM TO HAVE A SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY FOR THE GOOD. FOR THE ABUNDANT. FOR THE RESTORATIVE. EXPECT YOUR HEALING. EXPECT YOUR MIRACLE. EXPECT YOUR BREAKTHROUGH. AND FOR A TIME, MANY OF US WILL. WE WILL THROW OUR WORLDY JUDGEMENT TO THE SIDE FOR THE SAKE OF FAITH-OF THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISE OF TRUSTING A GOD BIGGER, BETTER, AND HIGHER THAN ANY OF US. BUT FOR SOME OF US, WHEN WE COME OUT OF THOSE DOORS, WHEN WE EXIT OF THOSE SPACES FOR HOPE, WE REENTER A FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT REALITY. SOME OF US KNOW BETTER THAN TO RAISE OUR EXPECTATIONS OF THIS PLACE CALLED THE WORLD. SOME OF US DON'T EVEN BOTHER HAVING ANY EXPECTATIONS AT ALL. OF OUR COUNTRY. OF OUR INSTITUTIONS. PERHAPS EVEN OF THE NEIGHBOR WITH WHOM WE JUST WORSHIPPED, NEXT TO WHOM WE SERVE, LIVE AND WORK. ALL WEEK, WE HAVE WATCHED FASCISM AND NATIONALISM ONCE AGAIN REAR ITS UGLY FACE TO TEAR CHILD FROM PARENT AND CRIMINALIZE THE VERY MIGRATION THAT HAS BEEN A NATURAL PART OF ALL HUMAN LIFE SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME. AND LLL WEEK, FROM WELL-INTENTIONED PEOPLE WITH GOOD HEARTS AND STRONG SOULS, ALL WEEK I HAVE HEARD US UTTER A SIMPLE PHRASE: "THIS IS NOT WHO WE ARE." BUT THIS? THIS IS EXACTLY WHO WE ARE. AND THOSE OF US WHO SOCIETY HAS PUSHED TO THE MARGINS HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU SO FOR YEARS. INDIGENOUS PEOPLE WHO OCCUPIED THIS LAND AS FAR NORTH AS CANADA AND AS FAR SOUTH AS THE VERY BORDER WE WANT TO CLOSE DOWN AS IF THEY WERE OURS TO BEGIN WITH, HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU THAT THIS IS EXACTLY WHO WE ARE. NATIVE PEOPLE WHOSE CHILDREN WERE KIDNAPPED IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT AND SHIPPED OFF TO BOARDING SCHOOLS, SO THAT A NASCENT COUNTRY FOUNDED WITH GENOCIDE AND ON SUPREMACY COULD QUOTE, "KILL THE INDIAN, SAVE THE MAN." THEY'VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU THIS IS EXACTLY WHO WE ARE. THE DESCENDANTS OF ENSLAVED AFRICANS, WATCHING THEIR CHILDREN BE SOLD OFF FOR LABOR HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU THAT THIS IS EXACTLY WHO WE ARE. THAT WHEN OUR CHILDREN WERE BEING SOLD OFF FROM US, OUR WOMEN WERE STILL EXPECTED TO BREASTFEED THE CHILDREN OF THEIR OWNERS. THAT THERE WERE NO TRACKING SYSTEMS WHEN THEIR CHILDREN WERE TAKEN EITHER. THAT NO ONE HAD ANY INTENTIONS OF REUNIFICATIONS THEN, EITHER. THAT NO EXECUTIVE ORDERS WERE SIGNED TO TRULY END THEIR SUFFERING THEN, EITHER. THAT RECONSTRUCTION WAS INTENTIONALLY STOPPED THEN JUST LIKE IMMIGRATIONS REFORM IS NOW. THE JAPANESE MOTHERS AND FATHERS WHO LAID THEIR CHILDREN TO BED IN INTERNMENT AND CONCENTRATION CAMPS RUN BY OUR MILITARY HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU THAT, YES, THIS IS EXACTLY WHO WE ARE AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN. THEY HAVE TRIED TO TELL YOU THAT THE BEDS IN THESE NEW DETENTION CENTERS LOOK EERILY SIMILAR TO THE ONES MEXICAN AND GUATEMALAN AND CENTRAL AMERICAN CHILDREN ARE LAYING IN TONIGHT. THEY HAVE TRIED TO TELL YOU THAT THE BARBED WIRE AND THE CHAINLINK FENCES THAT HELD THEM WERE MANUFACTURED IN THE VERY SAME COUNTRY YOU SWORE WOULD NEVER STOOP THIS LOW. THEY TRIED TO TELL YOU THAT THEIR INTERNMENT WAS IN THE NAME OF "AMERICA FIRST," THEN, TOO. LGBTQ PEOPLE WHO ARE EXCOMMUNICATED FROM THEIR HOUSES OF WORSHIP HAVE BEEN PLEADING WITH YOU TO KNOW THAT THIS IS WHO WE HAVE BEEN FOR CENTURIES. THAT EVERY TIME WE FORCED ENTIRE GROUPS OF PEOPLE INTO THE SHADOWS JUST BECAUSE OF WHO THEY LOVE OR DON'T LOVE, OR HOW THEY IDENTIFY THEIR OWN GENDER AS IF WE GET A RIGHT TO THAT DEFINITION, WE SHOWED OURSELVES TO BE EXACTLY WHO WE ARE. THAT SEPARATING FAMILIES EMOTIONALLY, BY TELLING PARENTS THEY CAN NO LONGER SPEAK TO THEIR CHILDREN OR CHILDREN THAT THEIR PARENTS ARE A SINFUL ABOMINATION, IS NOT FAR REMOVED SEPARATING A FAMILY PHYSICALLY. THE FAMILIES OF INCARCERATED MEN, WOMEN, AND NON-BINARY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN BEGGING YOU TO SEE THAT CRIMINALIZING HUMANITY AND SEPARATING FAMILIES HAS BEEN AMERICA SINCE AMERICA BECAME AMERICA. THEY ARE BEGGING YOU TO SEE THAT THE WOES OF CASH BAIL DECLARE PEOPLE GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT AND SEPARATE FAMILIES BEFORE TRIALS HAVE EVEN BEGUN. THAT THE SO-CALLED WAR ON DRUGS WAS REALLY A WAR ON POOR PEOPLE UNTIL THE OPIOID ADDICTS WERE WHITE AND RURAL AND THE WEED DEALERS WERE WHITE AND URBAN. THAT EVERY DAY IN AMERICA, PEOPLE ARE TOSSED IN JAIL FOR BEING BLACK AND BROWN AND GIVEN NO HOPE OF PLEADING FOR AMNESTY, EITHER. TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY, THE RAIDING OF FARM BILLS THAT KEEP CHILDREN FED, THE CRIMINALIZATION OF POVERTY, THE ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM THAT HAS LEFT FLINT WITHOUT CLEAN WATER FOR THOUSANDS OF DAYS, THE SHAME HEAPED UPON TRANSGENDER CHILDREN WHO JUST WANT TO USE THE BATHROOM, THE ISLAMOPHOBIA THAT BURNS MOSQUES, THE ANTISEMITISM THAT DESTROYS BURIAL GROUNDS, THE HATRED FOR THE INDIGENOUS THAT CARVES THE FACES OF OPPRESSIVE PRESIDENTS IN THEIR SACRED HILLS, THE CONSTANT DEGRADATION OF BLACK WOMEN AND WOMEN OF COLOR, THE ECONOMIC INJUSTICE THAT PREDICTS LATINX PEOPLE WILL HAVE ZERO WEALTH IN 55 YEARS AND BLACK PEOPLE WILL HAVE ZERO WEALTH 35 SHORT YEARS, THE CRIMINALIZING OF MIGRATION AND THE SEPARATING OF FAMILIES ARE, AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN, MANIFESTATIONS OF WHO WE ARE. THIS IS WHY SOME OF US KNEW EXACTLY WHAT TO EXPECT. SOME OF US HAVE A VERY DIFFERENT SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY. WE EXPECT THE HARM. WE EXPECT THE HURT. WE EXPECT TO HAVE TO RESIST. WE HAVE BEEN RESISTING BEFORE IT WAS POPULAR AND BEFORE THIS ADMINISTRATION. WE EXPECT RESISTANCE TO OUR RESISTANCE-BACKLASH TO OUR AUDACIOUS, SOMEHOW RADICAL DEMAND TO BE FREE. WE EXPECT TO BE COMPLIMENTED FOR OUR RESILIENCE, BECAUSE TOO OFTEN, THE VERY PEOPLE AND SYSTEMS WHO REWARD OUR SUCCESS WILL ONLY EVER ALLOW IT TO BE MEASURED BY THE VERY OPPRESSION THOSE PEOPLE AND SYSTEMS SUBJECTED US TO. WE EXPECT SUPREMACY AND PRIVILEGE TO ALWAYS CENTER THEMSELVES. SOMETIMES, WE LET OUR EXPECTATIONS CHANGE. SOMETIMES WE LET THEM SHIFT. SOMETIMES WE LET OURSELVES THINK THE DARREN WILSONS WILL BE CHARGED FOR KILLING THE MICHAEL BROWNS, THOUGH WE HARDLY EVER LET OURSELVES EXPECT THEY WILL BE CONVICTED. SOMETIMES WE LET OURSELVES EXPECT TO NOT HAVE TO CODE SWITCH IN OUR NEW, MIXED RACE SURROUNDINGS. THAT WE WON'T HAVE TO PRETEND TO BE FINE, PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE ELSE. SOMETIMES OUR SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY EVEN LETS US THINK THAT 8 YEARS OF AN IMPERFECT BUT COMPARATIVELY PROGRESSIVE BLACK WORLD LEADER WOULD LEAD US CLOSER TO COLLECTIVE FREEDOM AND NOT BE MET WITH AN OUTRIGHT REJECTION OF THAT IDEAL JUST ONE ELECTION LATER. BUT THERE IS PUNISHMENT FOR HAVING SUCH EXPECTATIONS. MOST OFTEN, WE ARE MET WITH DEEP DISAPPOINTMENT FOR HAVING THE UNMITIGATED GALL TO EXPECT OUR COUNTRY TO TREAT US LIKE HUMAN BEINGS-AND OUR CONTINUAL OPPRESSION RIDICULES US FOR EVER HAVING THE AUDACITY TO BELIEVE. HOW DARE WE EXPECT OUR COUNTRY TO TREAT US LIKE OUR ANCESTORS BUILT THIS LAND WITH THEIR BARE HANDS FOR FREE AND WE ARE OWED THEIR INHERITANCE. HOW DARE YOU EXPECT YOUR COUNTRY TO SEE YOUR CIRCUMSTANCE AND WANT TO PRESERVE YOUR HEALTH CARE. HOW DARE YOU EXPECT YOUR GOVERNMENT TO CARE THAT YOUR LABOR FAILS TO PAY YOU A LIVING, SUSTAINABLE, HUMANE WAGE. MANY OF US ARE REMINDED, EVERY TIME WE SHIFT THAT SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY TO EXPECT MORE, EXPECT BETTER, EXPECT SOMETHING TO HONOR OUR HUMANITY, THAT WE WERE SILLY TO EVER EVEN HAVE THE THOUGHT. TO EVER DREAM OF EQUITY, OF FREEDOM, OF INCLUSION. AND THOSE MESSAGES AREN'T JUST SENT BY OUR OFFICIALS. OUR FIGHT ISN'T JUST WITH THE LARGE AND AMORPHOUS SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURES THAT CONSPIRE TO OPPRESS PEOPLE. THOSE MESSAGES OF HATRED AND EXCLUSION AND INHUMANITY DON'T JUST COME FROM THE STATE HOUSE OR THE WHITE HOUSE ALONE. NO, NO. SOME OF THOSE MESSAGES COME FROM US. YES, US. YOU. THOSE OF US WHO THINK WE ARE BETTER THAN OR TOO GOOD FOR OR TOO ENLIGHTENED TO BE LIKE THEM. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAME HERE EXPECTING TO HEAR A GOOD ANTI-TRUMP SERMON AND BE LET OFF THE HOOK-IF YOU DID, YOU CALLED THE WRONG ONE. MY CALLING, I HAVE DISCOVERED, IS TO SPEAK AND TEACH TRUTH TO MOVE PEOPLE TO ACT. I CAN'T HELP IT. TRUTH GETS ALL SHUT UP IN MY BONES AND IT HAS TO HAVE DIVINE RELEASE. OTHERWISE, I'M NOT MEETING MY OWN EXPECTATIONS, MY COMMUNITY'S OR MY CREATORS. SEE THE TRUTH IS THAT, TOO OFTEN, THE IDEA THAT MARGINALIZED PEOPLE CAN NOT AND SHOULD NOT EXPECT TO BE FULLY AND SINCERELY INCLUDED IN THE FABRIC OF OUR COMMUNITIES IS REINFORCED BY EACH OF US. BY WHAT WE SAY. BY WHAT WE DON'T SAY. BY WHERE WE SHOW UP. BY WHERE WE DON'T SHOW UP. BY WHO WE DEFEND. BY WHO WE PUNISH. BY THE SIDE ON WHICH WE STAND. BY THE EXCUSES WE MAKE FOR OURSELVES. BY THE EXCUSES WE DON'T ALLOW FROM OTHERS. BY THE CHANGES WE ALLOW. BY THE EVOLUTIONS WE DEEM "TOO FAST, TOO REVOLUTIONARY, TOO SOON." BY THE PEOPLE WE ELEVATE. BY THE PEOPLE WE REJECT. BY THE MOVEMENTS WE CALL DIVISIVE. BY THE PACE WE WANT TO SET FOR THE FREEDOM OF OTHERS. BY THE INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS WE TAKE THAT EITHER DISRUPT OR UPHOLD THE SYSTEMS THAT HARM US. ALL OF THOSE MOMENTS AND MORE TELL MARGINALIZED PEOPLE EXACTLY WHAT WE THINK OF THEIR HUMANITY, THEIR DIGNITY, OF THEIR DARING. EACH OF THOSE CHOICES TELLS ME EXACTLY WHAT YOU THINK OF MY EXPECTATIONS. EACH ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS OF ACTION OR INACTION TELLS ME PRECISELY WHAT YOU THINK OF MY RIGHT TO HAVE ANY EXPECTATIONS AT ALL. THINK OF ANTWON. THINK OF HIM WHILE HE WAS ALIVE. WHAT DID YOU TELL HIM YOU THINK OF HIS DREAMS BY THE WAY YOU LIVED? WHAT DID YOU TELL HIM YOU THINK OF HIS PERSONHOOD BY THE WAY YOU LOVED? THINK OF CHIKESIA CLEMONS. ASSAULTED BY POLICE OFFICERS IN SARALAND, ALABAMA, SIMPLY FOR ASKING FOR THE CORPORATE NUMBER TO WAFFLE HOUSE. CHIKESIA EXPECTED GOOD SERVICE. WHAT SHE GOT IN RETURN WAS SUSPICION. PRESUMPTION OF GUILT. WHAT SHE GOT WAS THROWN DOWN TO THE FLOOR OF A DIRTY DINER, DISROBED IN FRONT OF A CROWD FULL OF WHITE DINERS, AND CHARGED WITH DISORDERLY CONDUCT AND RESISTING ARREST FOR HER OWN BEATING-CHARGES WHICH STILL HAVEN'T BEEN DROPPED. WHEN I SPOKE WITH CHIKESIA JUST YESTERDAY SHE TOLD ME SHE WAS HAVING A ROUGH WEEK. SHE TOLD ME THAT NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION, AND THAT FEW CARE. SHE SAID WAFFLE HOUSE SEEMS TO BE JUST FINE TREATING HER LIKE AN ANIMAL AND COLLECTING MONEY FROM PROUD PATRONS. WHAT HAVE YOU SHOWN CHIKESIA ABOUT HER FUNDAMENTAL EXPECTATION OF SAFETY WITH WHERE YOU DINE? WHAT HAVE WE TOLD CHIKESIA ABOUT HER EXPECTATIONS TO LIVE A DIGNIFIED LIFE BY WHICH MARCHES WE DO-AND DON'T-SHOW UP FOR, RETWEET OR DONATE TO? EVEN PROGRESSIVENESS HAS A LIMIT. EVEN OPEN-MINDEDNESS HAS A THRESHOLD. THE LIMITS TO OUR OPENNESS ARE IMPOSED BY THE BIASES WE WERE TAUGHT AND SOCIALIZED TO. IMPOSED BY THE COMFORT WE WORKED HARD FOR AND WANT TO PRESERVE AT ANY COST. AND THE PRICE OF PRESERVING THAT COMFORT BECOMES SOMETHING WE'RE MORE WILLING TO PAY THE OLDER WE GET. THE MORE DEPENDENTS WE HAVE. THE MORE THOSE ACCOUTREMENTS ARE TIED TO OUR SELF-ESTEEM. EVEN FOR THOSE OF US WHO COUNT OURSELVES AMONG THE PROGRESSIVE AND OPEN MINDED, SUPREMACY CAN CREEP UP ON US, UNWITTINGLY LULLING US BACK TO SLEEP WHEN WE COMMITTED TO STAYING WOKE. AND WE WON'T EVEN REALIZE WE'RE ASLEEP. BECAUSE THE CROWDS, THE MASSES WILL AGREE WITH YOU. THEY'LL SUPPORT YOUR MYOPIC PERSPECTIVE AND NEVER INTERROGATE YOUR INTENTIONS. WHY? BECAUSE THEY'RE ASLEEP TOO. THE WHITE CLERGY WHO BANDIED TOGETHER TO WRITE DR. KING THAT LETTER IN ALABAMA I'M SURE ALL THOUGHT THEY WERE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY. THEY DIDN'T WANT CIVIL RIGHTS TO NEVER COME-THEY JUST WANTED IT TO COME AT THE RIGHT TIME. THEY DIDN'T WANT THE SOCIAL ORDER TO NEVER BE DISRUPTED-THEY JUST WANTED IT TO HAPPEN IN SHORT, DIGESTIBLE BURSTS INSTEAD OF ALL AT ONCE. AS IF INTEGRATED BUSSES AND LUNCH COUNTERS WAS ALL AT ONCE. I'M VERY SURE THOSE CLERGY SPOKE OF LOVE AND PREACHED ACCEPTANCE AND MAY HAVE EVEN GIVEN THEIR BLACK HOUSEKEEPERS A DECENT CHRISTMAS BONUS. THEY MAY HAVE DONATED TO PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATES AND PUT ALL THE RIGHT BUMPER STICKERS ON THEIR CAR AND NEVER EVEN CONTEMPLATED JOINING A WHITE CITIZEN'S COUNCIL. BUT IN THEIR COMFORT, IN THEIR COMPLACENCY, IN THEIR SLEEPINESS, THEY CONFIRMED ONE ANOTHER'S BIASES IN THEIR ECHO CHAMBER AND SET ABOUT PUTTING A GROWN BLACK MAN IN HIS PLACE, ATTEMPTING TO SLOW HIM DOWN AND CHASTISE HIS EFFORT. I WAS IN A GROUP ONCE WHERE WE READ THE "LETTER FROM A BIRMINGHAM JAIL," DR. KING'S RESPONSE TO THOSE CLERGY. A GROUP OF MIXED RACE, MULTI-AGED PEOPLE ASSESSED THE FAMOUS TEXT AND PICKED APART THE SO CALLED "WHITE MODERATE," AS DR. KING DESCRIBED THEM. TOGETHER, WE IDENTIFIED THAT THE MODERATE DOES NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT A PARTICULAR POLITICAL IDEOLOGY OR PARTY AFFILIATION, BUT RATHER AN ATTACHMENT TO THE COMFORT OF PRIVILEGE AND THE SOCIAL MODERATION THAT PRESERVES IT. MODERATION ISN'T ABOUT BEING A DEMOCRAT OR A REPUBLICAN-IT'S ABOUT WANTING TO KEEP WHY YOU HAVE, EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T FULLY EARN IT, EVEN IF SUPREMACY HELPS YOU KEEP IT, EVEN IF OTHER PEOPLE DON'T EVEN HAVE A CHANCE TO HAVE IT. IT IS A HOARDING OF BENEFITS BECAUSE IT IS ROOTED IN A MODEL OF SCARCITY, AND NOT THE ABUNDANCE FAITH TELLS US TO LIVE IN. BY THIS DEFINITION, PROGRESSIVES CAN BE MODERATES. STRAIGHT ALLIES CAN BE MODERATES. TEMPORARILY ABLE-BODIED DEMOCRATS CAN BE MODERATES. WELL-INTENTIONED, LOVING PEOPLE CAN STILL BE MODERATES. AS A GROUP, WE AGREED AND UNDERSTOOD THIS TO BE TRUE. AND NOT A DAY LATER, AFTER A RACE-BASED INCIDENT WAS BROUGHT FORWARD TO THE GROUP, DID I WATCH AS NEARLY HALF THE GROUP BEGAN TO BECOME THE MODERATE THEMSELVES. MAYBE THE CONVERSATION SHOULD HAVE JUST BEEN HANDLED AMONGST YOURSELVES, INSTEAD OF BRINGING IT TO THE COMMUNITY, THEY SAID. WHAT HAPPENED-IS IT REALLY THAT BIG OF A DEAL? I'VE BEEN THROUGH SIMILAR AND I GOT THROUGH IT, THEY SAID. YOUR DIVIDING US FURTHER BY EVEN BRINGING UP WHAT WAS DONE TO YOU, THEY SAID. I DON'T REALLY THINK SHE MEANT IT THAT WAY, THEY SAID. LET'S TAKE CARE OF THIS ANOTHER TIME, THEY SAID. SLOWLY, BUT VERY SURELY, THE VERY MODERATES THEY DERIDED THE, THEY BECAME ONE DAY LATER. THE COMFORT OF PRIVILEGE IS SEDUCTIVE. IT SNEAKS UP ON YOU, UNRELENTING IN ITS MISSION TO PUT YOU BACK TO SLEEP. SUPREMACY IS SO NORMATIVE THAT YOU MAY NOT EVEN KNOW WHEN YOU'RE LIVING TO PERPETUATE IT. AND LET US BE CLEAR- THE MODERATE IS NOT ALWAYS WHITE, STRAIGHT, CIS OR MALE. SOMETIMES, EVEN THOSE OF US WHO POSSESS MARGINALIZED IDENTITIES BECOME SO COMFORTABLE WITH OUR INDIVIDUAL ACCOUTREMENTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT WE FORGET THE STRUGGLE OF THE COLLECTIVE. WE BECOME TOO ATTACHED TO THE CREATURE COMFORTS OF PRIVILEGE WHEN IN FACT NO AMOUNT OF PROXIMITY TO OR PERFORMANCE OF WHITENESS, STRAIGHTNESS, OR MALENESS WILL SAVE US. BUT THESE DELUSIONS CONVINCE THE OPPOSITION THAT IF THE REST OF US WERE JUST A LITTLE MORE LIKE KANYE, A LITTLE MORE LIKE MILO, A LITTLE MORE LIKE PHYLLIS SCHLAFLY, THAT WE'D BE FINE. YOUR NEED FOR APPROVAL GIVES THEM PERMISSION TO TELL US OUR PAIN IS IMAGINED, AND OUR OPPRESSION ISN'T REAL. MODERATES COME IN MANY FORMS. BUT LIKE DR. KING, I AM CONVINCED THAT PRIVILEGED MODERATES OF ANY IDENTITY ARE MORE OF A THREAT TO FREEDOM THAN ANY FRINGE HATE GROUP. IT IS OUR COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY TO CREATE THE WORLD WE WANT TO LIVE IN. AND ALSO: THE BURDEN OF THAT WORK VARIES IN DEGREE DEPENDING ON THE INTERSECTION OF YOUR PRIVILEGES. THE MORE YOU BENEFIT FROM SUPREMACY, THE MORE RESPONSIBLE YOU ARE TO DISMANTLE IT. WHEN I BEGAN, I SHARED THAT I KNEW EACH OF YOU CAME WITH A SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY ABOUT ME, MY WORDS AND MY PRESENCE HERE TONIGHT. BUT THERE IS A SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY THAT EACH OF YOUR NEIGHBORS HERE HAS OF YOU. YOU EXIST IN COMMUNITY WITH THEM EVERY DAY, AND EVERY WEEK. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY EXPECT OF YOU? DO YOU KNOW IF THEIR EXPECTATIONS ARE HIGH-PERHAPS BECAUSE YOU DEEM THEM DESERVING OF LOVE, ACCEPTANCE AND SUPPORT? OR DO THEY HAVE LOW EXPECTATIONS OF HOW YOU LIVE AND HOW YOU LOVE, BECAUSE YOU'VE GIVEN THEM NO REASON TO EXPECT MORE? HAVE YOU LITTLE REASON TO TRUST THEY CAN RAISE THEIR EXPECTATIONS OF YOU. WE CAN BE SO BUSY TAKING ACTION ON, BEARING WITNESS TO, AND FEELING COMPELLED BY THE WORLDS ILLS THAT WE NEGLECT THE ILLS OF OUR OWN COMMUNITY. OUR NEIGHBORS. OUR FRIENDS. OUR FAMILY IN THE FAITH. WHILE YOU MARCH FOR THE NEXT VICTIM OF GUN VIOLENCE, HAVE YOU ALREADY KILLED YOUR NEIGHBOR WITH YOUR WORDS? WHEN YOU DONATE TO HELP SAVE HEALTH CARE, ASK YOURSELF-IS YOUR HOUSE WELL? HAVE YOU LISTENED TO BLACK AND BROWN UU-ERS' EXPECTATIONS FOR EXACTLY HOW TO SHOW UP? DO YOU KNOW HOW THEY WANT YOU TO FIGHT BACK THIS THING CALLED WHITE SUPREMACY? DO YOU KNOW THAT THEY EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO SHOW UP EVERYWHERE AS THEIR FULL SELVES? DID YOU EVEN KNOW THAT THEY WEREN'T. DO YOU KNOW IF THEY WANT YOU TO SHOW UP AS AN ALLY? OR AS AN ACCOMPLICE? BECAUSE I'M GUESSING THAT IT'S THE LATTER. YOU SEE AN ALLY TENDS TO BE A SELF- CONGRATULATING, TEMPORARY PRESENCE, THAT MAKES A SOMETIMES EFFORT FOR SOMETHING THEY SOMETIMES CARE ABOUT. SOMETIMES AN ALLY SHOWS UP, SOMETIMES THEY DON'T. SOMETIMES AN ALLY LISTENS, SOMETIMES THEY PATERNALIZE. SOMETIMES AN ALLY TAKES ACTION, SOMETIMES AN ALLY JUST TALKS ABOUT TAKING ACTION. ACCOMPLICES, ON THE OTHER HAND, CHOOSE THE RISK EVEN THOUGH THEY DON'T HAVE TO. THEY'RE WILLING TO LAY THEIR BODIES AND REPUTATIONS AND SECURITY ON THE LINE BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT'S THE ONLY WAY TO PROPERLY LEVERAGE THEIR PRIVILEGE. ACCOMPLICES STICK AROUND. ACCOMPLICES ARE IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL. ACCOMPLICES KNOW THAT BLACK AND BROWN FOLKS, JUST LIKE ANY MARGINALIZED PEOPLE, ARE NOT LACKING OR DEFICIENT. THEY ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH. THEY KNOW THAT BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE DO NOT NEED TO BE EMPOWERED, THEY ARE ALREADY POWERFUL. RATHER, THEY NEED YOU TO PRACTICE THE SOLIDARITY YOU PREACH? DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR FELLOW BLACK AND BROWN UU MEMBERS EXPECT OF YOU? DO YOU KNOW IF YOU HAVE MET THEIR EXPECTATIONS? DO YOU KNOW THAT STANDING WITH THE OPPRESSED IS NOT TO SAVE THEM, BUT TO SAVE YOURSELF? HAVE YOU ASKED WHAT YOUR LGBTQ FELLOW UUERS EXPECT OF YOU? HAVE YOU ASKED WHAT YOU DISABLED FAMILY MEMBER EXPECTS FROM YOU? HAVE YOU INQUIRED AS TO WHAT THE WOMEN IN YOUR LIFE EXPECT FROM YOU? DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU NEED TO MEET THEIR EXPECTATIONS NOT BECAUSE THEY NEED YOUR HELP-BUT BECAUSE YOU AREN'T FREE IF THEY AREN'T? AT WORK, YOU ASK YOUR MANAGER EVERY DAY, EVERY WEEK, OR EVERY QUARTER EXACTLY WHAT THEY EXPECT AND THEN BREAK YOUR BACK TO MEET OR EXCEED THOSE VERY EXPECTATIONS IN EXCHANGE FOR A PAYCHECK. WHY NOT ASK YOUR COMMUNITY EVERYDAY, EVERY WEEK, EVERY QUARTER EXACTLY WHAT THEY EXPECT AND USE EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT TO MEET OR EXCEED THOSE VERY EXPECTATIONS IN EXCHANGE FOR JUSTICE? THIS IS OUR WORK. IT PROMISES TO PAY THE VERY BEST DIVIDENDS. PERHAPS YOU HAVE ASKED. PERHAPS YOU'RE STRIVING EVERYDAY TO MEET AND EXCEED THOSE EXPECTATIONS FOR THE SAKE OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN YOU. PERHAPS YOU'RE AS CLOSE TO PERFECT AS A HUMAN CAN BE. BUT IF YOU'RE ANYTHING LIKE ME, YOU MUST ASK THIS QUESTION CONSTANTLY, OF ALL YOU ARE IN RELATIONSHIP WITH. MY PRIVILEGES AND MY PLATFORM DEMAND THAT I ASK MY LGBTQ FAMILY, THE DISABLED MEMBERS OF MY COMMUNITY, THE PEOPLE OF OTHER COLORS I LOVE, THE YOUNG PEOPLE I HOLD DEAR: WHAT DO YOU EXPECT OF ME? AND HOW DO I MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS? I'M NOT BEING FIGURATIVE. I'M BEING LITERAL. AND NO MATTER HOW BIG OR PUBLIC OR HARMFUL MY MISSTEP OR MISTAKE, IF IT MEANS I FAILED TO MEET EXPECTATIONS, THEN IT IS MY JOB TO HUMBLE MYSELF AND DO BETTER. I CANNOT EXPECT PEOPLE TO GIVE ME GRACE WHEN I HAVE NOT TAKEN RESPONSIBILITY. I'M NOT HERE TO BLAME OR SHAME YOU. I'M NOT TELLING YOU ANYTHING I DON'T TELL MYSELF. I'M NOT SAYING ANYTHING I DON'T OR WON'T OR HAVEN'T SAID IN ANY OTHER ROOM. I AM NOT CALLING YOU OUT: I AM CALLING YOU IN. I AM CALLING YOU INTO THE DIVINE UNION OF LOVE AND POWER. THIS SINGLE CONCEPT, THAT I LEARNED FROM KINGIAN PRINCIPLES, IS THE KEY TO HOW WE MEET-AND EXCEED- THE EXPECTATIONS THAT GET US EVER CLOSER TO FREEDOM. I'M NOT INVITING YOU INTO A CATCHY SLOGAN OR HASHTAG. I'M NOT INVITING YOU INTO THE KIND OF ANEMIC LOVE THAT IS SENTIMENTAL AND USELESS. THAT KIND OF LOVE LACKS POWER. I'M NOT CALLING YOU INTO THE KIND OF POWER THAT IS UNCARING AND ABUSIVE. THAT KIND OF POWER LACKS LOVE. I AM CALLING YOU INTO THE DIVINE UNION OF LOVE AND POWER. IT IS A UNION THAT ALLOWS LOVE TO BE POWERFUL ENOUGH TO TAKE ON SYSTEMS AND NOT JUST INDIVIDUALS; IT GIVES LOVE THE AUDACITY TO SEEK JUSTICE SWIFTLY AND NOT MERELY INCREMENTALLY. IT IS A UNION THAT ALLOWS POWER TO BE INFORMED BY LOVE AND DISRUPT ALL THAT STANDS IN THE WAY OF FREEDOM. I AM CALLING YOU IN TO FAMILY AND BELOVED COMMUNITY WITH ONE ANOTHER. THE BEAUTY IN THIS IS THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT TO PRACTICE THE DIVINE UNION OF LOVE AND POWER UNTIL WE GET OUT THERE, WE CAN BEGIN TO BE PRACTITIONERS OF LOVE AND POWER RIGHT HERE. IT'S POPULAR TO ASK PEOPLE WHERE THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN DURING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE DONE DURING THE HOLOCAUST. WHAT YOU'D CHANGE IF YOU WERE PRESIDENT FOR A DAY. YOU DON'T HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF WHAT YOU WOULD DO DURING TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY, DISTRESS AND INJUSTICE-YOU ARE LIVING IN THEM. AND YOU ALWAYS HAVE BEEN. YOU DON'T NEED TO ASK YOURSELF WHAT YOU WOULD DO IF YOU EVER HAVE THE POWER- YOU HAVE THE POWER NOW. AND YOU'VE ALWAYS HAD IT. YOUR POWER IS NOT DEFINED BY YOUR TITLE. IT IS DEFINED BY YOUR WILLINGNESS TO LIVE IN ALIGNMENT WITH A PURPOSE BIGGER THAN YOURSELF. WE ARE ALL CALLED TO MAKE THE WORLD BETTER. WE BEAR THAT RESPONSIBILITY IN EXCHANGE FOR OUR INHABITANCE OF THIS EARTH, WHETHER WE ACCEPT IT OR NOT. YOUR PRIVILEGE INCREASES YOUR DUTY, WHETHER YOU ACCEPT THE EXCHANGE OR NOT. AND WHETHER IT IS WITH ONE CHILD OR YOUR SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSEHOLD OR WITH ENTIRE CONGREGATIONS, YOUR POWER IS WAITING ON YOU TO PICK IT UP, INFORM IT WITH LOVE AND EXPECTANCY, AND WORK. NOW THIS MAY BE THE TIME THAT SOME OF YOU HAVE TUNED OUT. SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE DECIDED, S IS HUMAN NATURE, THAT THIS PART DOESN'T APPLY TO US. MAYBE THAT NONE OF US APPLIES TO US, TO YOU. YOU DONATE TO BLACK LIVES OF UU AND YOU MARCH FOR YOUR LOCAL ISSUES. YOU CAN'T BE PREJUDICED, RACIST, SEXIST OR HOMOPHOBIC-YOU, AFTER ALL, ARE A UNIVERSALIST UNITARIAN. YOU DON'T CARRY PITCHFORKS AND MARCH WITH THE CHARLOTTESVILLE GANG. YOU DIDN'T VOTE FOR TRUMP AND YOU STARTED THE WOMEN'S MARCH CHAPTER IN YOUR CITY. YOU ARE A GOOD PERSON, WITH GOOD INTENTIONS, YOU LOVE EVERYONE, AND YOUR TAX RETURNS PROVE IT. I CHALLENGE YOU - IF HERE IS WHERE YOU'RE TUNED OUT, THIS IS EXACTLY THE TIME TO TUNE IN. DO YOU LOVE PEOPLE OF COLOR, OR DO YOU TOLERATE THEM AS LONG AS THEY AREN'T TO DISRUPTIVE TO YOUR AGENDA? DO YOU LOVE LGBTQ PEOPLE OR DO YOU ONLY LOVE THE CIS WHITE MALE ONES, AND FORGET THE L, THE B, THE T, THE Q, AND ESPECIALLY ONES OF COLOR, IN YOUR FIGHT? DO YOU REFLECT THE CULTURE OF YOUR CONGREGATION IN YOUR LEADERSHIP, OR DO YOU CHECK BOXES AND FILL QUOTAS. I AM HERE TO TELL YOU THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE AN ACTIVE WHITE SUPREMACIST TO BENEFIT FROM WHITE SUPREMACY ANY MORE THAN YOU HAVE TO BE A MISOGYNIST TO STILL BENEFIT FROM THE PATRIARCHY OR A HOMOPHOBE TO BENEFIT FROM STRAIGHT PRIVILEGE. IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO NOT BE A RACIST. WE MUST EXPECT OURSELVES TO BE ACTIVELY ANTI-RACIST. IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO BE NOT BE SEXIST. WE MUST EXPECT OURSELVES TO BE INTENTIONALLY AND CONSISTENTLY DISRUPTIVE OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION. IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO NOT BE A TRANSPHOBE. WE MUST EXPECT OURSELVES TO BE OBSESSED WITH SUPPORTING THE ACHIEVEMENT OF JUSTICE FOR TRANS* PEOPLE ACROSS THE GLOBE. NOW, WHEN I WAS ASKED HERE I WAS ASKED TO DISCUSS, IN PART, HOW THIS BODY CAN HELP DISMANTLE WHITE SUPREMACY. I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE THAT I DON'T HAVE A DECK OR A STEP-BY-STEP TO GIVE YOU. WE, TOGETHER, ARE BUSY TRYING TO CREATE A NEW WORLD AS WE BUILD IT. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT CAN LOOK LIKE ANY MORE THAN YOU-AND I KNOW AS WELL AS YOU DO THAT THERE IS NOTHING SIMPLE ABOUT ITS DISMANTLING. I HAVE NO SINGLE TASK TO ASK OF YOU, NOR DO I HAVE INSTRUCTIONS EXCLUSIVELY FOR YOUR ORDAINED LEADERSHIP. THIS IS ALL OF OUR JOB, AND IT WILL BE HARD. IT WILL REQUIRE THE INTENTIONAL, CONSISTENT, PROXIMATE ATTENTION TO YOUR PRACTICE, YOUR MINISTRY AND YOUR LIFE. NOT JUST TODAY, AND NOT JUST TOMORROW, BUT EVERY DAY-EVEN AND ESPECIALLY THE DAYS YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE IT. ASK YOURSELF, AFTER EVERY SERMON YOU WRITE, EVERY SONG YOU PLAY, EVERY POST YOU SHARE, EVERY DONATION YOU MAKE, EVERY STRATEGIC PLAN YOU WRITE, EVERY HIRE YOU DO, EVERY CAUSE YOU PICK UP, EVERY BIT OF ATTENTION YOU SEEK, EVERY PIECE OF KNOWLEDGE YOU SHARE, EVERY LESSON YOU TEACH, EVERY WORD YOU SPEAK, AND EVERY ACTION YOU TAKE: DID I JUST UPHOLD SUPREMACY, OR PLAY MY PART IN ITS DESTRUCTION? IF YOU CAN'T ANSWER, FOR SURE, EVERY TIME, THEN THERE IS WORK TO BE DONE. IF YOU THINK YOU ARE OWED SOMETHING IN EXCHANGE FOR YOUR GOODNESS, THEN THERE IS WORK TO BE DONE. IF YOU THINK YOU ARE ABSOLVED OF YOUR CONTINUAL RESPONSIBILITY, THEN THERE IS WORK TO BE DONE. IT IS TIME TO READ MORE. LISTEN MORE. ASK MORE. AND TRY AGAIN, UNTIL THE ANSWER IS YES MORE THAN ITS NO, UNTIL YOU ARE SURE MORE THAN YOU ARE NOT. AND THIS-THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART: BUILD. SOMETHING. NEW. OUR MYOPIC VIEW OF REVOLUTION IS CENTERED IN DESTRUCTION. DESTRUCTION OF SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURES AND OUTMODED STATUS QUOS THAT WERE NEVER MEANT TO SERVE ALL PEOPLE WELL. THE TEARING DOWN IS SEXY, BUT THE FREEDOM COMES IN THE BUILDING. IF WE ONLY BATTLE, AND WE NEVER BUILD, WE WILL STILL BE LEFT ON THIS PATCH OF THE UNIVERSE TO LIVE WITH ONE ANOTHER AMONG THE RUBBLE. YOUR HOME SHOULD BE DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF YOUR WORK. YOUR CHURCHES SHOULD BE MORE INCLUSIVE BECAUSE OF YOUR LABOR. NO ONE SHOULD BE AFRAID TO BE THEMSELVES IN YOUR PRESENCE. YOUR FRIENDSHIPS SHOULD BE MORE ROOTED BECAUSE OF YOUR SACRIFICE. PEOPLE SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE THEIR FULL AUTHENTIC SELVES IN ANY PLACE YOU LEAD OR INHABIT BECAUSE OF YOUR LEARNING. KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT ACTION IS A TREE THAT BEARS NO FRUIT- AND TAKES UP ROOM THAT COULD BE USED FOR SOMETHING GOOD. I DARE YOU TO SHIFT YOUR SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY ABOUT WHAT THIS WORLD CAN BE BY EXPECTING THE CHANGE TO COME FROM YOU. I DARE YOU TO SHIFT THE SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY OF YOUR MARGINALIZED NEIGHBOR BY GIVING THEM GOOD REASON TO TRUST AND BELIEVE YOU WILL MEET AND EXCEED WHAT THEY EXPECT. I DARE YOU TO RESIST THE URGE TO DO THIS WORK BECAUSE YOU WANT TO SAVE-DO IT BECAUSE YOU WANT TO SERVE. I DARE YOU TO ADMONISH THE SAVIOR COMPLEX AND STRIVE TO DO WHAT LILLA WATSON SAID AND WORK TOGETHER BECAUSE YOU KNOW OUR FATES ARE BOUND UP WITH ONE ANOTHER. I LEAVE YOU WITH THIS WITH A SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY. WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS BODY TO DEMONSTRATE A LOVE AND POWER AFTER WHICH THE REST OF US CAN MODEL OURSELVES. WITH EXPECTATIONS ABOUT WHAT WE ARE PROVOKED NOT JUST TO THINK, BUT TO DO ON THIS DAY AND EVERY DAY, KNOWING THAT ANTWON ROSE AND CHIKESIA CLEMONS AND MICHAEL BROWN REQUIRE US TO COME AS ONE, BUT STAND AS 10,000. I LEAVE YOU WITH A SPIRIT OF EXPECTANCY, THAT WHAT WE WILL BIRTH TOGETHER WILL BE FREEDOM. RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. GOD BLESS YOU. LET'S GET FREE. >> MY HEART FEELS FULL AND CHALLENGED. DEEP IN MY SOUL, DEEP IN MY HEART. MAY WE CARRY THEY CHALLENGE, THIS CALL AND IT IS REMINDER WE ARE ALL IN THIS AND WE ALL HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO DISMANTLE THE STRUCTURES OF WHITE SUPREMACY. FEEL OUR LOVE AND OUR PRAYERS, BRITTANY, FOR YOUR SAFETY AND YOUR SOUL'S STRENGTH AND YOUR VISION TO CARRY YOU, TO CARRY THE WORK YOU DO, AND MAY WE BE PARTNER IN HIS THIS WORK. AND GOOD AND FAITHFUL ACCOMPLICES IN THIS WORK. ALL RIGHT. [APPLAUSE] >> SHOW HER THE LOVE. [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] **********DISCLAIMER********** THE FOLLOWING IS AN UNEDITED ROUGH DRAFT TRANSLATION FROM THE CART CAPTIONER'S OUTPUT FILE. THIS TRANSCRIPT IS NOT VERBATIM AND HAS NOT BEEN PROOFREAD. TO DO SO IS AN EXTRA FEE. THIS FILE MAY CONTAIN ERRORS. PLEASE CHECK WITH THE SPEAKER(S) FOR ANY CLARIFICATION. 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