Governor Kathy Hochul marched in the 49th annual Buffalo Juneteenth parade.
A rush transcript of the Governor’s remarks is available below:
Patrick Cray, thank you so much for chairing this extraordinary event once again. Mr. Brown, thank you for being the person behind the scenes who knows how to get the job done.
We have an extraordinary array of leaders who found their way right here. All the way from New York, we have our Attorney General Tish James, who’s out there fighting the great fights every single day. Now all the way from Washington, D. C. is our own Congressman Tim Kennedy. How about that?
We also have so many elected officials. Let me just mention a couple of them here. Oh, yes, of course. Anybody know who the mayor is in this town? We have the finest mayor you could ever see. How many years you been mayor now? 19 years as mayor. We are blessed. Mayor Byron Brown and my partners in state government.
We have Monica Wallace here. I also see DMV Commissioner, Mark Schroeder. You got anything wrong with your license, Mark Schroeder, you’re a hometown guy right there. Our Commissioner of Civil Service, Tim Hogues. You want a job with us today? That’s your man to get to. There we go, we have our District Attorney, we have our County Clerk, we have a lot of people, but most importantly, we have all of you. And also, my spiritual advisor over there. Keep praying for me, Bishop Pridgen.
Wonderful to see all of you. This parade has such significance. I’ve marched in this parade since I was a local government county clerk, but now to come back here as Governor, after someone who just signed into law for the first time in history a reparations commission that we’re working on because we understand the injustices, the vestiges of slavery that we talk about today are still lingering. So, that’s not always in the rear-view mirror. That’s not ancient history. There are still effects when it comes to the quality of education and housing and health care and the criminal justice system. So, we must always make sure that we honor our ancestors. And they would want us to continue the march forward from that day, back in the 1800s, when people realized they were once and for all free.
But what does freedom mean? What does freedom mean? If you can’t start a business because they won’t give you a loan, or you can’t get a mortgage for your house. What is freedom like today in 2024? Let’s keep pushing forward to make sure that we honor their stories, their struggles, their sacrifice and the resiliency of a people who find themselves here today after suffering incalculable loss two years ago, but my God, this spirit, the spirit that is resounding in this community, the soul of East Buffalo and the people who support them is stronger than ever. And that’s why we march strongly in defiance of all those with hate in their hearts to say we are here, we’re not going anywhere and we’re only going forward.
Thank you very much, everyone.
June 15 2024 Albany, New York
Sources: Midtown Tribune news – NY.gov
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