Standing Against the Attack on Civil Rights and Our Communities
Remarks as prepared for Community Round table about the attacks on Civil rights and DEI
Baltimore MD
February 28, 2025
Good evening, everyone.
It is an honor to stand before you—not just as a candidate for governor, but as someone who believes that the fight for justice is all of our responsibility, and as someone who knows that silence is complicity.
At one point when I worked for Pete Seeger in the early 2000’s he would often talk about the dark days, the hopeless nights and the real dangers of the civil rights movement, to Pete the hope came out of the desperate times.
And right now we are living through dangerous, dark, and desperate times. Across this country, there is an all-out assault on civil rights, on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and on the very idea that this nation owes a debt to Black Americans.
In the parts of Dr King’s I have a dream speech that neither party wants to talk about, he reminds us that America owes a promissory note to Black Americans and that the civil rights movement was there to cash the check.
But As Dr. King told us:
“America has written a bad check, a check that has come back marked 'insufficient funds.’”
And let’s be honest—Donald Trump knows a thing or two about insufficient funds.
But this debt is no joke. America has spent centuries running up a bill on the backs of Black people, promising equality while delivering injustice, promising opportunity while delivering oppression.
Instead, of honoring the debt they want to close the doors even further, shut down the progress that has been made, and strip away every protection that was fought for.
And let’s be clear—when Trump and his allies attack “DEI,” they aren’t just talking about hiring initiatives. They are attacking the entire legacy of the Civil Rights Movement. They are coming for affirmative action, fair housing, voting rights, equal employment, and the protections that Black Americans fought and bled for.
They are coming for the federal workforce—not just because of budget concerns, but because for generations, the federal government has been a pathway into the middle class for Black workers. Here in Baltimore and Maryland and across the Country, Trump and his Billionaires want to dismantle that opportunity, just as they want to dismantle every hard-fought gain that made this country take even a step toward justice.
And yet, while these attacks escalate, too many of those who claim to oppose Trump are looking everywhere but here.
Who Is Paying Attention?
Right now, outside of Black communities, even the people who call themselves progressives are focused on everyone else Trump is attacking. They are mobilizing for immigrants, for trans rights, for Palestinians and Ukrainians. They are rallying to defend federal workers in general. And yes—these fights matter. But where is the urgency for this fight?
Who is sounding the alarm about the dismantling of civil rights protections? Who is standing up as the courts strip away affirmative action and voting rights? Who is fighting back as the right wages an all-out war on Black history, Black opportunity, and Black political power?
We see it. We know it. And together, we will fight back.
We cannot let them erase history. We cannot let them rewrite the story of this country to pretend that the struggle for justice never happened, or that the work is somehow done. And we won’t let them turn back the clock while everyone else looks away.
How We Fight Back
Now, I know there are people who will say, “We just need to vote for the Democrats and stop Trump.” But we’ve heard that before. And what has it gotten us?
Too often, the Democratic Party treats Black voters as a guaranteed bloc. Too often, it assumes that there is nowhere else to go. But history tells us something different.
Sometimes, you have to go outside the Democratic Party to get them to listen. James Clyburn understood this in 1969, when Black leaders in South Carolina refused to wait. They founded the United Citizens Party—and in just one year, they broke through. When the Democrats were dragging their feet on civil rights, community leaders, students, and working people banded together and built their own political vehicle to force their hand. And it worked, three UCP backed independent Black candidates won state legislative office in the 1970 election and became the first Black people elected to the State Legislature since reconstruction.
That’s the kind of power we need today. That’s the kind of pressure we have to apply.
That is why I’m running—not just as an alternative, but as a tool that movements and communities can wield in their struggle for real power.. A tool that can be used To demand real democratic power for communities that have been ignored. To stand up for civil rights when the parties in power won’t. To make sure that NO party—Republican or Democrat—can take Black voters for granted ever again.
A Campaign for Justice and Power
Our campaign is about justice. It is about power. It is about making it clear that we will not stand by while the rights and opportunities of Black Marylanders are stripped away.
We will fight for:
✅ A Maryland that protects civil rights, no matter who is in the White House.
✅ A movement that builds real, independent political power—so that no party can ever ignore this fight again.
✅ A government that not only listens to Black communities— at election time, but gives those communities the power and resources they need to determine their own course of action every.single. day.
Dr. King also told us:
"..we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation."
I refuse to believe that, too.
They want people to believe this fight is already lost. They want people to sit quietly while they dismantle everything that generations have fought for.
But we are here to say: Not today. Not in our name. Not in our time.
It is time to fight. It is time to build. It is time to win.
Thank you.