Kennedy At Naacp: Threat To Any Civil Right Is A Threat To All Civil Rights

Statement

In a speech to the Cambridge NAACP, Congressman Joe Kennedy III today slammed the Trump Administration for its systemic, calculated assault on civil rights and rallied for a united front in the face of continued attacks.

"It's tempting to write off this onslaught of ugliness as the Trump Administration's ineptitude or ignorance," said Kennedy. "But for those of us in this room today...we know better. This isn't chaos. It's calculation. Beneath every seemingly sporadic executive order, press conference or late-night Tweetstorm is a singular, cold and determined vision: to remake our nation into a place where some American lives don't count."

Citing voting rights, LGBT equality, criminal justice reform and immigration, he urged the advocates, civic leaders and community members gathered not to lose hope in the critical fights ahead. "If there is any moral to our imperfect, ever-evolving American story it is that no oppressor gets the final word," he said. "Bullies might land a punch, they might leave a mark. But they have never -- not once, in the history of our United States -- managed to match the extraordinary strength of a people united in defense of freedom."

Kennedy continued: "This country has fought wars to defend its story. Bodies been beaten. Lives have been lost. So Donald Trump isn't going to be the thing to reverse the arc of our moral universe. Not on our watch. But if he tries --when he tries -- make no mistake. We will reach out, we will hold tightly to each other, and we will be the indestructible shield that protects what is most sacred in this life on earth."

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