0:00:00.920,0:00:04.903
You can ask anyone you want

0:00:04.903,0:00:06.635
and they will tell you

0:00:06.636,0:00:11.309
that they are sick and tired[br]of fighting for justice.

0:00:12.483,0:00:18.553
People of color and members[br]of the LGBT community are tired

0:00:18.553,0:00:21.682
of carrying the burden of speaking up

0:00:21.682,0:00:23.398
and stepping up

0:00:23.398,0:00:25.628
even when they're being silenced

0:00:25.628,0:00:27.312
and pushed back down.

0:00:27.888,0:00:29.690
And white allies

0:00:29.690,0:00:32.138
and cis allies are tired too.

0:00:33.076,0:00:36.490
Tired of being told they're doing it wrong

0:00:36.490,0:00:39.737
or that it isn't even their place[br]to show up at all.

0:00:40.725,0:00:44.374
This fatigue is impacting all of us.

0:00:45.025,0:00:46.577
And in fact,

0:00:46.577,0:00:49.391
I believe we won't succeed

0:00:49.391,0:00:52.838
until we approach justice in a new way.

0:00:53.940,0:00:58.496
I grew up in the middle[br]of the Civil Rights Movement

0:00:58.496,0:01:00.485
in the segregated South.

0:01:01.451,0:01:03.301
As a five-year-old girl,

0:01:03.301,0:01:06.356
I was very interested in ballet.

0:01:06.471,0:01:11.001
It seemed to be the five-year-old-girl[br]thing to do in the 1960s.

0:01:11.999,0:01:14.823
My mother took me to a ballet school.

0:01:15.678,0:01:17.819
You know, the kind of school[br]that had teachers

0:01:17.819,0:01:19.725
that talked about your gifts and talents

0:01:19.725,0:01:22.154
knowing that you'd never be a ballerina.

0:01:22.154,0:01:23.621
(Laughter)

0:01:24.338,0:01:25.853
When we arrived,

0:01:25.853,0:01:30.517
they said nicely that they[br]"did not accept negroes."

0:01:31.537,0:01:35.254
We got back in the car as if we were[br]just leaving a grocery store

0:01:35.254,0:01:37.229
that was out of orange juice.

0:01:38.098,0:01:41.001
We said nothing ...

0:01:41.001,0:01:43.530
just drive to the next ballet school.

0:01:44.487,0:01:49.157
They said, "We don't accept negroes."

0:01:49.690,0:01:51.613
Well, I was confused.

0:01:52.079,0:01:55.455
And I asked my mother[br]why they didn't want me.

0:01:56.410,0:02:00.865
And she said, "Well, they're just not[br]smart enough to accept you right now

0:02:00.865,0:02:02.986
and they don't know[br]how excellent you are."

0:02:02.986,0:02:04.141
(Cheers)

0:02:04.141,0:02:07.757
(Applause and cheers)

0:02:09.315,0:02:12.898
Well, I didn't know what that meant.

0:02:12.898,0:02:14.301
(Laughter)

0:02:14.775,0:02:17.408
But I was sure it wasn't good

0:02:17.408,0:02:20.121
because I could see it[br]in my mother's eyes.

0:02:20.357,0:02:23.612
She was angry

0:02:23.612,0:02:26.435
and it looked like she was[br]on the verge of tears.

0:02:27.134,0:02:31.022
Well I decided right then and right there

0:02:31.022,0:02:33.480
that ballet was dumb.

0:02:33.936,0:02:34.935
(Laughter)

0:02:36.047,0:02:39.033
You know, I had lots of experiences[br]like that along the way,

0:02:39.033,0:02:41.274
but as I got older,

0:02:41.274,0:02:43.294
I started to get angry.

0:02:43.721,0:02:47.576
And not just angry at the outright[br]racism and injustice.

0:02:48.363,0:02:52.681
I was angry at people that stood by[br]and didn't say anything.

0:02:53.257,0:02:58.002
Like, why didn't the white parents[br]in that ballet school say

0:02:58.002,0:03:00.082
"Uh, that's wrong.

0:03:00.082,0:03:01.909
Let that little girl dance."

0:03:02.975,0:03:04.155
Or why --

0:03:04.155,0:03:05.862
(Applause)

0:03:05.862,0:03:08.831
Why didn't the white patrons[br]in the segregated restaurants say

0:03:08.831,0:03:10.776
"Hey, that's not right.

0:03:10.776,0:03:12.583
Let that family eat."

0:03:12.963,0:03:15.345
Well, it didn't take me long to realize

0:03:15.345,0:03:18.766
that racial injustice[br]wasn't the only place

0:03:18.766,0:03:21.798
that people in the majority[br]were staying quiet.

0:03:22.414,0:03:25.539
When I'd sit in church and hear[br]some homophobic comment

0:03:25.539,0:03:27.806
being disguised as something scriptural,

0:03:27.806,0:03:30.448
I'd say, "I'm sorry,

0:03:30.448,0:03:35.431
why aren't the heterosexual[br]church-goers disrupting this nonsense?"

0:03:35.912,0:03:38.378
(Applause)

0:03:38.378,0:03:40.463
Or ...

0:03:40.463,0:03:44.482
in a room filled with boomers and Gen-Xers

0:03:44.482,0:03:48.844
who started degrading their millennial[br]colleagues as being spoiled, lazy

0:03:48.844,0:03:50.127
and overconfident,

0:03:50.127,0:03:51.330
I'd say,

0:03:51.330,0:03:53.131
"I'm sorry,

0:03:53.131,0:03:57.523
why isn't someone my age[br]saying 'stop stereotyping?'"

0:03:57.777,0:03:58.918
(Audience) Yes!

0:03:58.918,0:04:01.543
(Applause)

0:04:02.147,0:04:06.110
I was used to standing up[br]on issues like this,

0:04:06.110,0:04:08.681
but why wasn't everyone else?

0:04:09.755,0:04:11.551
My fifth grade teacher,

0:04:11.551,0:04:13.537
Mrs. McFarland,

0:04:13.537,0:04:18.760
taught me that justice[br]requires an accomplice.

0:04:19.329,0:04:21.842
Not just anyone will do.

0:04:22.515,0:04:26.707
She said we need unlikely allies

0:04:26.707,0:04:29.441
if we want to see real change happen.

0:04:29.705,0:04:35.201
And for those of us experiencing[br]injustice up front,

0:04:35.201,0:04:38.491
we need to be willing to accept the help,

0:04:38.491,0:04:41.316
because when we don't,

0:04:41.316,0:04:43.536
change takes too long.

0:04:44.152,0:04:47.949
I mean, imagine if heterosexual[br]and gay people had not come together

0:04:47.949,0:04:50.611
under the banner of marriage equality.

0:04:51.037,0:04:53.580
Or what if President Kennedy

0:04:53.580,0:04:56.468
just wasn't interested[br]in the civil rights movement?

0:04:57.377,0:05:02.935
Most of our major movements[br]in this country might have been delayed

0:05:02.935,0:05:04.843
or even dead

0:05:04.843,0:05:09.452
if it weren't for the presence[br]of unlikely allies.

0:05:10.184,0:05:12.600
When the same people speak up

0:05:12.600,0:05:15.769
in the same ways they've always spoken up,

0:05:15.769,0:05:18.701
the most we'll ever get[br]are the same results

0:05:18.701,0:05:20.890
over and over again.

0:05:21.901,0:05:24.636
You know, allies often[br]stand on the sidelines

0:05:24.636,0:05:26.588
waiting to be called up.

0:05:27.117,0:05:31.839
But what if unlikely allies[br]led out in front of issues?

0:05:32.228,0:05:33.535
Like ...

0:05:33.535,0:05:37.823
what if Black and Native American people[br]stood in front of immigration issues?

0:05:38.921,0:05:40.921
(Applause)

0:05:42.465,0:05:46.681
Or what if white people led the charge

0:05:46.681,0:05:48.415
to end racism?

0:05:48.725,0:05:52.726
(Applause and cheers)

0:05:53.721,0:05:55.152
Or ...

0:05:55.152,0:05:59.427
what if men led the charge[br]on pay equity for women?

0:05:59.703,0:06:03.337
(Applause and cheers)

0:06:03.594,0:06:05.031
Or ...

0:06:05.031,0:06:10.571
what if heterosexual people[br]stood in front of LGBTQ issues?

0:06:11.273,0:06:14.740
(Applause and cheers)

0:06:15.025,0:06:18.913
And what if able-bodied people advocated

0:06:18.913,0:06:21.628
for people living with disabilities?

0:06:21.628,0:06:25.141
(Applause and cheers)

0:06:25.141,0:06:27.994
You know, we can stand up for issues,

0:06:27.994,0:06:30.199
weigh in and advocate

0:06:30.199,0:06:34.595
even when it seems like the issue[br]has nothing to do with us.

0:06:35.229,0:06:36.438
And actually,

0:06:36.438,0:06:39.441
those are the issues[br]that are most compelling.

0:06:39.844,0:06:42.004
And sure,

0:06:42.004,0:06:46.127
people will have no idea[br]why you are there,

0:06:46.127,0:06:49.485
but that's why those of us[br]facing injustice

0:06:49.485,0:06:51.819
must be willing to accept the help.

0:06:52.506,0:06:55.406
You know, we have to fight injustice

0:06:55.406,0:06:57.830
with a consciousness of grace.

0:06:58.798,0:07:01.331
When white guys stand up to fight

0:07:01.331,0:07:04.669
for the liberation[br]of Black and Brown people,

0:07:04.669,0:07:08.820
Black and Brown people will have to be[br]willing to accept their help.

0:07:09.858,0:07:12.392
And I know that's complicated,

0:07:12.392,0:07:15.714
but this is collective work

0:07:15.714,0:07:20.954
and it requires everyone to be all in.

0:07:22.297,0:07:24.962
One day when I was at kindergarten,

0:07:24.962,0:07:26.479
our teacher introduced us

0:07:26.479,0:07:30.253
to this beautiful, tall,[br]white lady named Miss Ann.

0:07:30.853,0:07:34.153
I thought she was the prettiest[br]white lady I'd ever seen.

0:07:34.745,0:07:36.371
Well if I can be honest with you,

0:07:36.371,0:07:39.987
I think it was the first time we'd ever[br]seen a white lady in our school ever.

0:07:39.987,0:07:40.987
(Laughter)

0:07:41.439,0:07:43.130
Miss Ann stood in front of us

0:07:43.130,0:07:47.320
and she said she was going[br]to start teaching ballet classes

0:07:47.320,0:07:50.206
right there are our school,

0:07:50.206,0:07:54.079
and that she was proud[br]to be our dance teacher.

0:07:54.686,0:07:57.699
It was unreal.

0:07:58.501,0:08:00.392
All of a sudden --

0:08:00.392,0:08:01.393
(singing)

0:08:01.393,0:08:03.353
I didn't think ballet was dumb anymore.

0:08:03.353,0:08:05.067
(Laughter)

0:08:05.973,0:08:11.282
You see, what I know now[br]is Miss Ann was fully aware

0:08:11.282,0:08:15.577
that the white ballet schools[br]would not accept Black girls.

0:08:16.010,0:08:18.081
She was incensed by that.

0:08:18.376,0:08:21.024
So she came to the Black neighborhood

0:08:21.024,0:08:24.288
to start teaching[br]the dance classes herself.

0:08:24.966,0:08:28.100
And you know it took love[br]and courage for her to do that.

0:08:28.100,0:08:32.367
(Applause)

0:08:34.783,0:08:38.389
And where there was no justice,

0:08:38.389,0:08:40.090
she just built it.

0:08:41.302,0:08:44.424
We all survived

0:08:44.424,0:08:48.041
because we stood on the shoulders[br]of our Black ancestors.

0:08:48.875,0:08:54.469
We all thrived because[br]Miss Ann was an unlikely ally.

0:08:55.730,0:08:58.864
You know, when you add your voice

0:08:58.864,0:09:01.114
and your actions

0:09:01.114,0:09:04.824
to situations that you[br]don't think involve you,

0:09:04.824,0:09:07.903
you actually inspire[br]others to do the same.

0:09:08.803,0:09:12.852
Miss Ann inspired me[br]to always be on the lookout

0:09:12.852,0:09:16.590
for situations that weren't about me

0:09:16.590,0:09:18.763
but where I saw injustice

0:09:18.763,0:09:21.889
and inequality happening anyway.

0:09:22.511,0:09:25.187
I hope she inspires you too,

0:09:25.187,0:09:30.354
because to win the fight for equity

0:09:30.354,0:09:34.253
we will all need to speak up

0:09:34.253,0:09:35.821
and stand up.

0:09:36.619,0:09:38.802
We will all need to do that.

0:09:39.128,0:09:41.127
And we will all need to do that

0:09:41.127,0:09:42.842
even when it's hard

0:09:42.842,0:09:46.132
and even when we feel out of place,

0:09:46.132,0:09:50.148
because it is your place,

0:09:50.148,0:09:52.885
and it is our place.

0:09:53.277,0:09:57.052
Justice counts on all of us.

0:09:57.345,0:09:58.724
Thank you.

0:09:58.724,0:10:01.427
(Applause and cheers)