0:00:00.708,0:00:05.768
So I know for sure there's at least[br]one thing I have in common with dentists.

0:00:05.792,0:00:10.143
I absolutely hate[br]the holiday of Halloween.

0:00:10.167,0:00:13.809
Now, this hatred stems[br]not from a dislike of cavities,

0:00:13.833,0:00:16.184
nor was it a lifetime in the making.

0:00:16.207,0:00:19.351
Rather, this hatred stems[br]from a particular incident

0:00:19.375,0:00:21.434
that happened nine years ago.

0:00:21.458,0:00:25.309
Nine years ago, I was even younger,[br]I was 20 years old,

0:00:25.333,0:00:27.476
and I was an intern in the White House.

0:00:27.500,0:00:28.768
The other White House.

0:00:28.792,0:00:32.018
And my job was to work[br]with mayors and councilors nationwide.

0:00:32.042,0:00:35.976
November 1, 2010[br]began just like any other day.

0:00:36.000,0:00:40.726
I turned on the computer, went on Google[br]and prepared to write my news clips.

0:00:40.750,0:00:44.059
I was met with a call from my mother,[br]which isn't that out the norm,

0:00:44.083,0:00:47.417
my mom likes to text, call,[br]email, Facebook, Instagram, all that.

0:00:48.667,0:00:52.851
So I answered the phone expecting[br]to hear maybe some church gossip,

0:00:52.875,0:00:56.809
or maybe something from WorldStarHipHop[br]she had discovered.

0:00:56.833,0:00:59.059
But when I answered the phone,

0:00:59.083,0:01:03.601
I was met with a tone that was unlike[br]anything I had ever heard from my mother.

0:01:03.625,0:01:05.059
My mother's loud.

0:01:05.083,0:01:09.351
But she spoke in a hush,[br]still, muffled tone

0:01:09.375,0:01:11.851
that conveyed a sense of sadness.

0:01:11.875,0:01:14.309
And as she whispered, she said, "Michael,

0:01:14.333,0:01:17.559
your cousin Donnell[br]was murdered last night,

0:01:17.583,0:01:18.851
on Halloween,

0:01:18.875,0:01:21.226
at a house party in Stockton."

0:01:21.250,0:01:23.684
And like far too many people[br]in this country,

0:01:23.708,0:01:25.643
particularly from communities like mine,

0:01:25.667,0:01:27.351
particularly that look like me,

0:01:27.375,0:01:32.393
I spent the better part of the year[br]dealing with anger, rage, nihilism,

0:01:32.417,0:01:34.143
and I had a choice to make.

0:01:34.167,0:01:37.559
The choice was one[br]between action and apathy.

0:01:37.583,0:01:41.458
The choice was what could I do[br]to put purpose to this pain.

0:01:42.292,0:01:45.518
I spent a year dealing[br]with feelings of survivor's guilt.

0:01:45.542,0:01:47.559
What was the point of me[br]being at Stanford,

0:01:47.583,0:01:49.893
what was the point[br]of me being at the White House

0:01:49.917,0:01:52.101
if I was powerless to help my own family?

0:01:52.125,0:01:55.934
And my own family was dying,[br]quite literally.

0:01:55.958,0:01:58.226
I then began to feel[br]a little selfish and say,

0:01:58.250,0:02:01.309
what's the point of even trying[br]to make the world a better place?

0:02:01.333,0:02:03.268
Maybe that's just the way it is.

0:02:03.292,0:02:07.059
Maybe I would be smart to take advantage[br]of all the opportunities given to me

0:02:07.083,0:02:08.768
and make as much money as possible,

0:02:08.792,0:02:11.893
so I'm comfortable,[br]and my immediate family is comfortable.

0:02:11.917,0:02:14.018
But finally, towards the end of that year,

0:02:14.042,0:02:16.268
I realized I wanted to do something.

0:02:16.292,0:02:19.518
So I made the crazy decision,[br]as a senior in college,

0:02:19.542,0:02:21.601
to run for city council.

0:02:21.625,0:02:24.684
That decision was unlikely[br]for a couple of reasons,

0:02:24.708,0:02:26.268
and not just my age.

0:02:26.292,0:02:29.976
You see, my family[br]is far from a political dynasty.

0:02:30.000,0:02:34.226
More men in my family[br]have been incarcerated than in college.

0:02:34.250,0:02:38.101
In fact, as I speak today,[br]my father is still incarcerated.

0:02:38.125,0:02:40.476
My mother, she had me as a teenager,

0:02:40.500,0:02:43.768
and government wasn't something[br]we had warm feelings from.

0:02:43.792,0:02:45.476
You see, it was the government

0:02:45.500,0:02:47.976
that red-lined the[br]neighborhoods I grew up in.

0:02:48.000,0:02:50.143
Full of liquor stores[br]and no grocery stores,

0:02:50.167,0:02:53.393
there was a lack of opportunity[br]and concentrated poverty.

0:02:53.417,0:02:55.768
It was the government and the politicians

0:02:55.792,0:02:57.059
that made choices,

0:02:57.083,0:02:59.059
like the war on drugs and three strikes,

0:02:59.083,0:03:02.143
that have incarcerated[br]far too many people in our country.

0:03:02.167,0:03:04.643
It was the government and political actors

0:03:04.667,0:03:07.768
that made the decisions[br]that created the school funding formulas,

0:03:07.792,0:03:11.476
that made it so the school I went to[br]receive less per pupil spending

0:03:11.500,0:03:13.434
than schools in more affluent areas.

0:03:13.458,0:03:17.184
So there was nothing about that background[br]that made it likely for me to choose

0:03:17.208,0:03:19.268
to be involved in being[br]a government actor.

0:03:19.292,0:03:22.726
And at the same time,[br]Stockton was a very unlikely place.

0:03:22.750,0:03:26.518
Stockton is my home town,[br]a city of 320,000 people.

0:03:26.542,0:03:30.893
But historically, it's been a place[br]people run from, rather than come back to.

0:03:30.917,0:03:33.018
It's a city that's incredibly diverse.

0:03:33.042,0:03:35.851
Thirty-five percent Latino,[br]35 percent white,

0:03:35.875,0:03:38.351
20 percent Asian,[br]10 percent African American,

0:03:38.375,0:03:40.643
the oldest Sikh temple in North America.

0:03:40.667,0:03:42.518
But at the time I ran for office,

0:03:42.542,0:03:45.768
we were also the largest city[br]in the country at that time

0:03:45.792,0:03:47.268
to declare bankruptcy.

0:03:47.292,0:03:49.309
At the time I decided to run for office,

0:03:49.333,0:03:52.559
we also had more murders[br]per capita than Chicago.

0:03:52.583,0:03:54.518
At the time I decided to run for office,

0:03:54.542,0:03:57.309
we had a 23 percent poverty rate,

0:03:57.333,0:03:59.851
a 17 percent college attainment rate

0:03:59.875,0:04:05.059
and a host of challenges and issues[br]beyond the scope of any 21-year-old.

0:04:05.083,0:04:06.601
So after I won my election,

0:04:06.625,0:04:08.893
I did what I usually do[br]when I feel overwhelmed,

0:04:08.917,0:04:12.643
I realized the problems of Stockton[br]were far bigger than me

0:04:12.667,0:04:15.476
and that I might need[br]a little divine intervention.

0:04:15.500,0:04:17.642
So as I prepared[br]for my first council meeting,

0:04:17.666,0:04:20.684
I went back to some wisdom[br]my grandmother taught me.

0:04:20.708,0:04:22.559
A parable I think we all know,

0:04:22.583,0:04:25.155
that really constitutes[br]the governing frame we're using

0:04:25.179,0:04:27.184
to reinvent Stockton today.

0:04:27.208,0:04:29.601
I remember in Sunday school,[br]my grandmother told me

0:04:29.625,0:04:33.559
that at one time, a guy asked Jesus,[br]"Who was my neighbor?

0:04:33.583,0:04:35.476
Who was my fellow citizen?

0:04:35.500,0:04:37.351
Who am I responsible for?"

0:04:37.375,0:04:40.559
And instead of a short answer,[br]Jesus replied with a parable.

0:04:40.583,0:04:43.018
He said there was a man on a journey,

0:04:43.042,0:04:45.226
walking down Jericho Road.

0:04:45.250,0:04:46.809
As he was walking down the road,

0:04:46.833,0:04:49.309
he was beat up,[br]left on the side of the road,

0:04:49.333,0:04:50.768
stripped of all his clothes,

0:04:50.792,0:04:53.726
had everything stolen from[br]and left to die.

0:04:53.750,0:04:58.143
And then a priest came by,[br]saw the man on the side of the road,

0:04:58.167,0:05:00.059
maybe said a silent prayer,

0:05:00.083,0:05:03.059
hopes and prayers,[br]prayers that he gets better.

0:05:03.083,0:05:05.101
Maybe saw the man on the side of the road

0:05:05.125,0:05:08.059
and surmised that it was ordained by God

0:05:08.083,0:05:10.518
for this particular man,[br]this particular group

0:05:10.542,0:05:13.976
to be on the side of the road,[br]there's nothing I can do to change it.

0:05:14.000,0:05:17.226
After the priest walked by,[br]maybe a politician walked by.

0:05:17.250,0:05:19.601
A 28-year-old politician, for example.

0:05:19.625,0:05:24.226
Saw the man on the side of the road[br]and saw how beat up the man was,

0:05:24.250,0:05:27.559
saw that the man was a victim[br]of violence, or fleeing violence.

0:05:27.583,0:05:29.601
And the politician decided,[br]"You know what?

0:05:29.625,0:05:32.143
Instead of welcoming this man in,[br]let's build a wall.

0:05:32.167,0:05:33.518
Maybe the politician said,

0:05:33.542,0:05:36.726
"Maybe this man chose[br]to be on the side of the road."

0:05:36.750,0:05:39.309
That if he just pulled himself up[br]by his bootstraps,

0:05:39.333,0:05:40.976
despite his boots being stolen,

0:05:41.000,0:05:43.143
and got himself back on the horse,

0:05:43.167,0:05:46.434
he could be successful,[br]and there's nothing I could do."

0:05:46.458,0:05:50.518
And then finally, my grandmother said,[br]a good Samaritan came by,

0:05:50.542,0:05:53.226
saw the man on the side of the road

0:05:53.250,0:05:55.934
and looked and saw not centuries of hatred

0:05:55.958,0:05:57.643
between Jews and Samaritans,

0:05:57.667,0:06:02.101
looked and saw not his fears reflected,

0:06:02.125,0:06:03.518
not economic anxiety,

0:06:03.542,0:06:06.518
not "what's going to happen to me[br]because things are changing."

0:06:06.542,0:06:08.559
But looked and saw[br]a reflection of himself.

0:06:08.583,0:06:11.559
He saw his neighbor,[br]he saw his common humanity.

0:06:11.583,0:06:13.869
He didn't just see it,[br]he did something about it,

0:06:13.893,0:06:15.143
my grandmother said.

0:06:15.167,0:06:16.476
He got down on one knee,

0:06:16.500,0:06:18.434
he made sure the man was OK,

0:06:18.458,0:06:21.393
and I heard, even gave him a room[br]at that nice Fairmont,

0:06:21.417,0:06:22.976
the Pan Pacific one.

0:06:23.000,0:06:25.750
(Laughter)

0:06:27.333,0:06:28.768
And as I prepared to govern,

0:06:28.792,0:06:31.768
I realized that given[br]the diversity of Stockton,

0:06:31.792,0:06:36.684
the first step to making change[br]will be to again answer the same question:

0:06:36.708,0:06:38.226
Who is our neighbor?

0:06:38.250,0:06:43.559
And realizing that our destiny as a city[br]was tied up in everyone.

0:06:43.583,0:06:47.059
Particularly those who are left[br]on the side of the road.

0:06:47.083,0:06:51.018
But then I realized[br]that charity isn't justice,

0:06:51.042,0:06:53.809
that acts of empathy isn't justice,

0:06:53.833,0:06:57.018
that being a good neighbor[br]is necessary but not sufficient,

0:06:57.042,0:06:59.226
and there was more that had to be done.

0:06:59.250,0:07:00.518
So looking at the story,

0:07:00.542,0:07:04.101
I realized that the road,[br]Jericho Road, has a nickname.

0:07:04.125,0:07:07.559
It's known as the Bloody Pass,[br]the Ascent of Red,

0:07:07.583,0:07:10.643
because the road[br]is structured for violence.

0:07:10.667,0:07:14.351
This Jericho Road is narrow,[br]it's conducive for ambushing.

0:07:14.375,0:07:17.601
Meaning, a man on the side[br]of the road wasn't abnormal.

0:07:17.625,0:07:18.976
Wasn't strange.

0:07:19.000,0:07:21.851
And in fact, it was something[br]that was structured to happen,

0:07:21.875,0:07:23.393
it was supposed to happen.

0:07:23.417,0:07:25.476
And Johan Galtung, a peace theorist,

0:07:25.500,0:07:28.434
talks about structural[br]violence in our society.

0:07:28.458,0:07:32.518
He says, "Structural violence[br]is the avoidable impairment

0:07:32.542,0:07:34.309
of basic human needs."

0:07:34.333,0:07:37.309
Dr. Paul Farmer talks[br]about structural violence

0:07:37.333,0:07:38.857
and talks about how it's the way

0:07:38.881,0:07:42.518
our institutions,[br]our policies, our culture

0:07:42.542,0:07:47.018
creates outcomes that advantage[br]some people and disadvantage others.

0:07:47.042,0:07:49.809
And then I realized,[br]much like the road in Jericho,

0:07:49.833,0:07:52.309
in many ways, Stockton, our society,

0:07:52.333,0:07:55.018
has been structured[br]for the outcomes we complain about.

0:07:55.042,0:07:56.559
That we should not be surprised

0:07:56.583,0:07:59.309
when we see that kids in poverty[br]don't do well in school,

0:07:59.333,0:08:02.851
that we should not be surprised[br]to see wealth gaps by race and ethnicity.

0:08:02.875,0:08:06.309
We should not be surprised to see[br]income pay disparities between genders,

0:08:06.333,0:08:09.976
because that's what our society,[br]historically, has been structured to do,

0:08:10.000,0:08:11.542
and it's working accordingly.

0:08:12.417,0:08:17.976
(Applause)

0:08:18.000,0:08:19.518
So taking this wisdom,

0:08:19.542,0:08:21.893
I rolled up my sleeves and began to work.

0:08:21.917,0:08:24.184
And there's three quick stories[br]I want to share,

0:08:24.208,0:08:26.518
that point to not that we[br]figured everything out,

0:08:26.542,0:08:27.976
not that we have arrived,

0:08:28.000,0:08:30.476
but we're trending in the right direction.

0:08:30.500,0:08:32.976
The first story, about the neighbor.

0:08:33.000,0:08:34.601
When I was a city council member,

0:08:34.625,0:08:38.101
I was working with one of the most[br]conservative members in our community

0:08:38.125,0:08:41.518
on opening a health clinic[br]for undocumented people

0:08:41.542,0:08:44.226
in the south part of the city,[br]and I loved it.

0:08:44.250,0:08:45.809
And as we opened the clinic,

0:08:45.833,0:08:48.184
we had a resolution to sign,

0:08:48.208,0:08:50.143
he presented me a gift.

0:08:50.167,0:08:54.809
It was an O'Reilly Factor[br]lifetime membership pin.

0:08:54.833,0:08:57.476
(Laughter)

0:08:57.500,0:09:01.768
Mind you, I didn't ask[br]what he did to get such a gift.

0:09:01.792,0:09:05.018
What blood oath -- [br]I had no idea how he got it.

0:09:05.042,0:09:06.559
But I looked at him and I said,

0:09:06.583,0:09:10.476
"Well, how are we working together[br]to open a health clinic,

0:09:10.500,0:09:13.768
to provide free health care[br]for undocumented people,

0:09:13.792,0:09:16.226
and you're an O'Reilly Factor member?"

0:09:16.250,0:09:17.518
He looked at me and said,

0:09:17.542,0:09:20.393
"Councilman Tubbs,[br]this is for my neighbors."

0:09:20.417,0:09:22.643
And he's a great example of what it means

0:09:22.667,0:09:26.184
to be a good neighbor,[br]at least in that instance.

0:09:26.208,0:09:27.476
The robbers.

0:09:27.500,0:09:30.726
So after four years on city council,[br]I decided to run for mayor,

0:09:30.750,0:09:34.101
realizing that being a part-time[br]councilman wasn't enough

0:09:34.125,0:09:37.559
to enact the structural[br]changes we need to see in Stockton,

0:09:37.583,0:09:41.101
and I came to that conclusion[br]by looking at the data.

0:09:41.125,0:09:43.393
So my old council district,[br]where I grew up,

0:09:43.417,0:09:46.434
is 10 minutes away[br]from a more affluent district.

0:09:46.458,0:09:48.559
And 10 minutes away in the same city,

0:09:48.583,0:09:53.893
the difference between[br]zip code 95205 and 95219

0:09:53.917,0:09:56.625
in life expectancy is 10 years.

0:09:57.708,0:10:00.726
Ten minutes away, 4.5 miles,

0:10:00.750,0:10:02.893
10 years life expectancy difference,

0:10:02.917,0:10:05.351
and not because of the choices[br]people are making.

0:10:05.375,0:10:07.809
Because no one chose[br]to live in an unsafe community

0:10:07.833,0:10:09.101
where they can't exercise.

0:10:09.125,0:10:12.697
No one chose to put more liquor stores[br]than grocery stores in the community.

0:10:12.721,0:10:15.059
No one chose these things,[br]but that's the reality.

0:10:15.083,0:10:16.434
I realized, as a councilman,

0:10:16.458,0:10:18.601
to enact a structural change[br]I wanted to see,

0:10:18.625,0:10:20.184
where between the same zip codes

0:10:20.208,0:10:23.059
there's a 30 percent difference[br]in the rate of unemployment,

0:10:23.083,0:10:25.976
there's a 75,000 dollars a year[br]difference in income,

0:10:26.000,0:10:28.239
that being a councilman[br]was not going to cut it.

0:10:28.263,0:10:30.309
So that's when I decided to run for mayor.

0:10:30.333,0:10:34.476
And as mayor, we've been focused[br]on the robbers and the road.

0:10:34.500,0:10:36.018
So in Stockton, as I mentioned,

0:10:36.042,0:10:38.559
we have historically had problems[br]with violent crime.

0:10:38.583,0:10:41.768
In fact, that's why I decided[br]to run for office in the first place.

0:10:41.792,0:10:44.226
And my first job as mayor[br]was helping our community

0:10:44.250,0:10:45.976
to see ourselves, our neighbors,

0:10:46.000,0:10:48.351
not just in the people[br]victimized by violence

0:10:48.375,0:10:50.559
but also in the perpetrators.

0:10:50.583,0:10:53.893
We realized that those[br]who enact pain in our society,

0:10:53.917,0:10:57.108
those who are committing homicides[br]and contributing to gun violence,

0:10:57.132,0:10:59.309
are oftentimes victims themselves.

0:10:59.333,0:11:01.905
They have high rates of trauma,[br]they have been shot at,

0:11:01.929,0:11:03.976
they've known people who have been shot.

0:11:04.000,0:11:06.851
That doesn't excuse their behavior,[br]but it helps explain it,

0:11:06.875,0:11:09.601
and as a community,[br]we have to see these folks as us, too.

0:11:09.625,0:11:11.434
That they too are our neighbors.

0:11:11.458,0:11:13.476
So for the past three years --

0:11:13.500,0:11:18.268
(Applause)

0:11:18.292,0:11:21.643
So for the past three years,[br]we've been working on two strategies:

0:11:21.667,0:11:23.976
Ceasefire and Advance Peace,

0:11:24.000,0:11:26.643
where we give these guys[br]as much attention, as much love

0:11:26.667,0:11:29.851
from social services,[br]from opportunities, from tattoo removals,

0:11:29.875,0:11:31.559
in some cases even cash,

0:11:31.583,0:11:33.143
as a gift from law enforcement.

0:11:33.167,0:11:37.726
And last year, we saw[br]a 40 percent reduction in homicides

0:11:37.750,0:11:40.851
and a 30 percent reduction[br]in violent crime.

0:11:40.875,0:11:46.393
(Applause)

0:11:46.417,0:11:47.684
And now, the road.

0:11:47.708,0:11:51.518
I mentioned that my community[br]has a 23 percent poverty rate.

0:11:51.542,0:11:55.559
As someone who comes from poverty,[br]it's a personal issue for me.

0:11:55.583,0:11:58.476
So I decided that we[br]wouldn't just do a program,

0:11:58.500,0:12:01.184
or we wouldn't just do something[br]to go around the edges,

0:12:01.208,0:12:03.559
but we would call into question[br]the very structure

0:12:03.583,0:12:05.643
that produces poverty in the first place.

0:12:05.667,0:12:08.934
So starting in February,[br]we launched a basic income demonstration,

0:12:08.958,0:12:10.684
where for the next 18 months,

0:12:10.708,0:12:14.226
as a pilot, 130 families,[br]randomly selected,

0:12:14.250,0:12:18.018
who live in zip codes at or below[br]the median income of the city,

0:12:18.042,0:12:19.768
are given 500 dollars a month.

0:12:19.792,0:12:21.893
And we're doing this[br]for a couple of reasons.

0:12:21.917,0:12:23.559
We're doing it because we realize

0:12:23.583,0:12:25.851
that something is structurally[br]wrong in America,

0:12:25.875,0:12:29.268
when one in two Americans[br]can't afford one 400-dollar emergency.

0:12:29.292,0:12:32.643
We're doing it because we realize[br]that something is structurally wrong

0:12:32.667,0:12:36.809
when wages have only increased[br]six percent between 1979 and 2013.

0:12:36.833,0:12:39.934
We're doing it because we realize[br]something is structurally wrong

0:12:39.958,0:12:41.851
when people working two and three jobs,

0:12:41.875,0:12:44.059
doing all the jobs[br]no one in here wants to do,

0:12:44.083,0:12:46.226
can't pay for necessities, like rent,

0:12:46.250,0:12:49.684
like lights, like health care,[br]like childcare.

0:12:49.708,0:12:53.875
(Applause)

0:12:55.000,0:12:58.393
So I would say, Stockton again,[br]we have real issues.

0:12:58.417,0:13:02.101
I have constituent emails in my phone now,[br]about the homelessness issue,

0:13:02.125,0:13:04.809
about some of the violent crime[br]we're still experiencing.

0:13:04.833,0:13:08.934
But I would say, I think as a society,[br]we would be wise to go back

0:13:08.958,0:13:11.476
to those old Bible stories[br]we were taught growing up,

0:13:11.500,0:13:13.018
and understand that number one,

0:13:13.042,0:13:15.281
we have to begin to see[br]each other as neighbors,

0:13:15.305,0:13:17.351
that when we see someone[br]different from us,

0:13:17.375,0:13:21.893
they should not reflect our fears,[br]our anxieties, our insecurities,

0:13:21.917,0:13:26.184
the prejudices we've been taught,[br]our biases -- but we should see ourselves.

0:13:26.208,0:13:27.851
We should see our common humanity.

0:13:27.875,0:13:29.399
Because I think once we do that,

0:13:29.423,0:13:32.643
we can do the more important work[br]of restructuring the road.

0:13:32.667,0:13:35.191
Because again, I understand[br]some listening are saying,

0:13:35.215,0:13:39.059
"Well, Mayor Tubbs, you're talking about[br]structural violence and structural this,

0:13:39.083,0:13:40.809
but you're on the stage.

0:13:40.833,0:13:44.393
That the structures can't be too bad[br]if you could come up from poverty,

0:13:44.417,0:13:46.643
have a father in jail, go to Stanford,

0:13:46.667,0:13:48.684
work in the White House and become mayor."

0:13:48.708,0:13:53.643
And I would respond by saying[br]the term for that is exceptionalism.

0:13:53.667,0:13:57.768
Meaning that we recognize it's exceptional[br]for people to escape the structures.

0:13:57.792,0:13:59.226
Meaning by our very language,

0:13:59.250,0:14:02.559
we understand that the things we're seeing[br]in our world are by design.

0:14:02.583,0:14:05.559
And I think that task for us, as TEDsters,

0:14:05.583,0:14:08.643
and as good people,[br]just people, moral people,

0:14:08.667,0:14:13.934
is really do the hard work necessary[br]of not just joining hands as neighbors,

0:14:13.958,0:14:16.351
but using our hands[br]to restructure our road,

0:14:16.375,0:14:20.351
a road that in this country has been[br]rooted in things like white supremacy.

0:14:20.375,0:14:23.768
A road like in this country[br]has been rooted in things like misogyny.

0:14:23.792,0:14:26.518
A road that's not working[br]for far too many people.

0:14:26.542,0:14:31.518
And I think today, tomorrow and 2020[br]we have a chance to change that.

0:14:31.542,0:14:33.458
So as I prepare to close,

0:14:34.708,0:14:38.059
I started with a story from nine years ago[br]and I'll end with one.

0:14:38.083,0:14:39.607
So after my cousin was murdered,

0:14:39.631,0:14:42.226
I was lucky enough[br]to go on the Freedom Rides

0:14:42.250,0:14:44.518
with some of the original freedom riders.

0:14:44.542,0:14:48.143
And they taught me a lot[br]about restructuring the road.

0:14:48.167,0:14:51.393
And one guy in particular,[br]Bob Singleton, asked me a question

0:14:51.417,0:14:53.518
I'm going to leave with us today.

0:14:53.542,0:14:58.101
We were going to Anniston,[br]Alabama, and he said, "Michael,"

0:14:58.125,0:14:59.518
and I said, "Yes, sir."

0:14:59.542,0:15:03.726
He said, "I was arrested[br]on August 4, 1961.

0:15:03.750,0:15:06.559
Now why is that day important?"

0:15:06.583,0:15:09.184
And I said, "Well, you were arrested,

0:15:09.208,0:15:11.643
if you weren't arrested,[br]we wouldn't be on this bus.

0:15:11.667,0:15:14.726
if we weren't on this bus,[br]we wouldn't have the rights we enjoy."

0:15:14.750,0:15:16.608
He rolled his eyes and said, "No, son."

0:15:16.632,0:15:19.132
He said, "On that day,[br]Barack Obama was born."

0:15:20.333,0:15:24.018
And then he said he had no idea[br]that the choice he made

0:15:24.042,0:15:25.601
to restructure the road

0:15:25.625,0:15:26.893
would pave the way,

0:15:26.917,0:15:30.393
so a child born as a second class citizen,

0:15:30.417,0:15:33.976
who wouldn't be able to even get[br]a cup of water at a counter,

0:15:34.000,0:15:37.059
would have the chance,[br]50 years later, to be president.

0:15:37.083,0:15:38.684
Then he looked at me and he said,

0:15:38.708,0:15:41.893
"What are you prepared to do today

0:15:41.917,0:15:43.559
so that 50 years from now

0:15:43.583,0:15:45.643
a child born has a chance[br]to be president?"

0:15:45.667,0:15:49.059
And I think, TED, that's[br]the question before us today.

0:15:49.083,0:15:51.643
We know things are jacked up.

0:15:51.667,0:15:54.018
I think what we've seen[br]recently isn't abnormal

0:15:54.042,0:15:57.143
but a reflection of a system[br]that's been structured

0:15:57.167,0:15:59.268
to produce such crazy outcomes.

0:15:59.292,0:16:01.434
But I think it's also an opportunity.

0:16:01.458,0:16:04.059
Because these structures we inherit[br]aren't acts of God

0:16:04.083,0:16:06.417
but acts of men and women,[br]they're policy choices,

0:16:06.441,0:16:09.268
they're by politicians like me,[br]approved by voters like you.

0:16:09.292,0:16:11.934
And we have the chance[br]and the awesome opportunity

0:16:11.958,0:16:13.684
to do something about it.

0:16:13.708,0:16:17.684
So my question is:[br]What are we prepared to do today,

0:16:17.708,0:16:21.226
so that a child born today,[br]50 years from now

0:16:21.250,0:16:25.518
isn't born in a society[br]rooted in white supremacy;

0:16:25.542,0:16:29.476
isn't born into a society[br]riddled with misogyny;

0:16:29.500,0:16:33.476
isn't born into a society riddled[br]with homophobia and transphobia

0:16:33.500,0:16:36.268
and anti-Semitism[br]and Islamophobia and ableism,

0:16:36.292,0:16:37.809
and all the phobias and -isms?

0:16:37.833,0:16:40.559
What are we prepared to do today,

0:16:40.583,0:16:42.393
so that 50 years from now

0:16:42.417,0:16:45.226
we have a road in our society[br]that's structured

0:16:45.250,0:16:48.851
to reflect what we hold[br]to be self-evident?

0:16:48.875,0:16:51.809
That all men, that all women,

0:16:51.833,0:16:53.934
that even all trans people

0:16:53.958,0:16:55.476
are created equal

0:16:55.500,0:16:59.268
and are endowed by your Creator[br]with certain unalienable rights,

0:16:59.292,0:17:03.684
including life, liberty[br]and the pursuit of happiness.

0:17:03.708,0:17:04.976
Thank you.

0:17:05.000,0:17:11.875
(Applause)