so I want to give a huge huge thank you to our city of St Paul Black History Month committee if you see you know as you're coming through you're getting food you're getting kind of shown where you need to be this is not possible without the support of our committee who has worked tirelessly to put these events together for you so if possible can we give a hand to our committee thank you [Applause] so my name is marvn trip and I am your I am the co-chair of our Black History Month um 2024 Black History Month committee and again I am so thankful and so grateful for you all to be with us here today uh we're going to start with a land acknowledgement so every Community owes his existence and vitality to Generations from around the world who contributed who contributed their hopes dreams and energy to making the history that led to this moment some were brought here against their will some were drawn to leave their distant homes and hope for a better future um some were drawn to leave their distant homes and hope for a better life and some have lived on this land for more Generations than can be counted truth and acknowledgement are critical to building mutual respect and connection across all barriers of Heritage and difference We Begin this effort to acknowledge what has been buried by honoring the truth we are standing on the ancestral lands of the Dakota people we want to acknowledge the oju and hunk people who also call this place home we pay respects to their Elders past and present so let's please take a moment to consider the treaties made but were never honored or kept with the tribal Nations that entitled non-native people to live and work on traditional Native lands consider the many legacies of violence displacement migration and settlement that bring us together here today please join us in uncovering such truths at any and all public events I would like to give a huge thank you to our 2024 Black History Month sponsors St Paul city council the Office of Financial Services human rights and equal Economic Opportunity St Paul Parks and Recreation St Paul fire department the St Paul Public's work department St Paul public libraries where we are hosting today St Paul equity and inclusion St Paul city attorney's office hey hey the department of safety and inspections the office of technology and Communications and the St Paul police department Black History Month events are not possible without your support so please continue to support whether it's your neighbors or your colleagues in celebrating um and really working to diligently create experiences where we can learn learn with and from each other so now I will be we'll kind of start with our black national anthem if I can have treasure so treasure is going to do this [Music] Acappella sing till Earth and Heaven ring ring with the of Liberty let our rejoicing rise highest the Lo Sky let us the road sing song can I start over here can I get a seat please CU I don't want to be standing up try to hit all these notes and stuff I'm usually a sit down singer okay let me get one of the shairs yeah please cuz I don't want to be sitting up here nervous and then my nerves get in the way and I'm trying to stay in here hold my breath too oh no this ain't going to work let's do it right lift every voice and sing till Earth and Heaven ring ring with the heart needs of [Music] liy let our rejoicing us [Music] Ro Sing Song full of the Fai that the present has brought us I the pass has hard sing a song [Applause] [Music] facing the Ring of a new [Applause] day let us march on to [Music] Victory thank you now we will hear a poem from Mauna abdah okay so before I do a poem it's really important to ground this space here so everybody can repeat after me I am a liive therefore this space this SP is alive is Alive come on say with your chest I am Al liive therefore this space therefore this space is a lie is a li Black Culture stands up Black Culture starts to speak in America get shut down before speaking stop speaking stop speaking be American take off your culture be American be American you can't take Blackness off but there is a cream for that wait why are you so light does that still make you a black girl be that black girl not that culture or hood girl but that good girl keep the good parts I mean like a little culture so I can say I have that one black friend so I can say I have that one friend show us your talents I mean can you show me those black dances I mean like those those black dances I mean like shouldn't you know them I me like doesn't that make you African-American I mean like doesn't that make your bloodline African so Dance For Me dance for me let us use you let us use you let us [Music] use you see this isn't complicated get out of your head speak up speak up speak up why are you not speaking up why are you speaking do not speak do not speak don't you listen don't you listen don't you [Music] listen Black Culture main stand Black Culture gets treated well in front of the camera to claim diversity and get slapped in the face in silence when he gets turned off it's St it's for your own good get St show me a talent or show me an institution it's your fault for speaking were you not paying attention what are you wearing wow I love how exotic it is what are you wearing dress right dress neutral match your clothing match your clothing w why don't you ever wear your culture fold day I mean like do you even know your culture I'm just wondering why you your people wear such bright colors why do your people do your hair that way in cor RS why would you get that why would you get that oh my god did you see Megan's box where do you think I can get that where do you think I can get that where do you think I can get that look this isn't complicate keep the good parts get rid of the bad part your Blackness it's the bad part but your culture it's the good part let us use you let us use you let us use [Music] you TR culture every understand by culture understands this is not a white privilege poem this is a Black Culture poem not giving their privilege another platform to believe our culture our our Arts needs their opinion our culture is loud yet we are us we are us we are us regardless you see our culture is Everlasting our culture is bright and Loud yet Black Culture says one thing and one thing only you need Black Culture to justify your identity while Black Culture Black Culture needs no one thank you my name is Melvin Carter and the most important thing I need you to know about me is that I am a child from this neighborhood and I want to you to know I'm not saying I'm from a neighborhood like this I'm not saying I'm from kind of around here in general what I'm telling you is when I was all of your age if you're younger than me I would get up and walk to this Wendy's I would get up and walk to these stores I would get up walk to these spaces if I was good and my parents let me I will walk to these spaces uh uh and and and and and existing Community just like that and today I have the privilege and honor of serving this city as the May and the reason I said it's most important for you to know where I come from is because if you're younger than me and you're reading books in this Library if you're younger than me and you've ever played at a playground in this community if you're younger than me and you've ever run down the sidewalk in this community if you're younger than me and you go to school in this community or you're learning in this community or going to church in this community or live in this community that means you're on the road towards being being the next mayor of this city I don't think you ready I don't think you ready and that's what black history is about like we have all these amazing people on this screen people who have made history people who have done amazing incredible world changing things and what's important is really not that you know that they did amazing things what's important is not that you know that I'm the mayor what's important is that you know that if I can be the mayor then so can you what's important is that you know if if they can win Awards and be scientists and be astronauts and be world leaders then so can you and so what I love about Black History Month isn't the history at all what I love about Black History Month is our is the reminder that we can build our future just like they did cuz don't you know when they were busy building history it wasn't history yet and that's the same for all of us people always talk people when I got elected people you're the first black mayor of the city of St Paul you made history and I would always tell them I'm more interested in making the future and don't you know thank you and don't you know that we in St Paul when when when and let me tell you young folks I'm I'm going to tell you a little secret ready for it don't tell anybody I said this all right you ready and and and you guys on the live stream too it's a secret when you ever hear whenever you hear the word future everybody say future future whenever you hear the word future people talk all beautifully about the future and they say the future belongs to those who show up and the future this and the future that you should know when everybody whenever anybody says the word future young people they talk about you they talking about you they might as well say your name Isaiah they might as well say Isaiah they might as well say Amia they might as well say Nia when they say the future they're talking about you you are the future and that's why in St Paul we start every child born with $50 in a college savings account that's why in St Paul we do guaranteed income that's why in St Paul this is your library and if you check out a book I'm going to tell you a secret I have a late library book right now I he it's it's the truth I have a late library book right now um me and my daughter have been checking out the we have a late library book right now and we're going to bring it back and guess what guess how much our lay fine is going to be say aloud zero cuz we don't believe in lines in St Paul because this is your library these are your books we know we exist in community together and somebody else needs those books so we're going to bring them back but these are our books we're not going to charge each other for that and the reason we do all those types of things is because we want you to know that we are invested in you we want yes you we want you to know that we are invested in you and you and your future because we know that your future is the future your future is our future and that's the most important thing that we can do together and so I have a proclamation that says I therefore hereby I declare February 2024 to be Black History Month in the city of St Paul and I'm going leave it here so if you want to you can read it but I'm not going to read it all to you because what's important isn't the words on this Proclamation what's important when we celebrate history what's important is the future of the building and whenever we say future who are we talking about so what I just said and this is the mayor of St Paul saying it so it must be true what I just said is what's important to this city is who who is you is you is you cuz here's the thing a city doesn't really exist a city isn't really a thing it's just like one day somebody took a map and Drew some lines around some streets and said this is the city of St Paul it's imaginary what's real is the people in it that's right what's real is you the people who give it breath and life and that's you what's real is your future what's real is your opportunities what's real is the unlimited Amazing Earth shattering just God inspired potential that exists in every single one of you and what's real is that we as a community our best job our biggest job our highest job our only job is making sure that if they could you can you hear me yes sir if they could so you got to know that they could you got to know that in St Paul some of your neighbors you see at the grocery store are Grammy awardwinning singers you got to know that in St Paul some of your neighbors that you see at the grocery store some some of them are are scientists who invent things at for 3M you got to know that some of them are pastors and some of them are lawyers and some of them are all these amazing things and again it's not important Jer that they were those things what's important is what you're going to do in The Amazing future that you are building right here in the city of St Paul so one happy Black History Month far far far far far more important happy black future month I love you love the opportunity so next um we are going to have a poem read by my daughter my future Mariana Williams I have Mariana come up um hello as my mom said my name is Mariana and I'm going to be reading a poem called history our history why should we know our history or shouldn't we why do we have to make laws to protect our god-given care why can't we get the same opportunities as others why do we why do others stereotype us why do they work us to them why do they steal us why shouldn't we know that we were and still are kings and queens that's right why should know that we make per first Coles why shouldn't we know how strong our people are why do we struggle so much why do we have to endure so much pain why shouldn't we know that we are super duper intelligent why shouldn't we know that we invented the stoplights not why black people have the highest poverty rate when our ancestors were the unpaved FED Bread Winners why is it when I look up the first college it's not in Tim 2 why were we denied Ed education there you go why is it so hard to be seen as human or even a citizen why was lynching black people seen as a fun sport why is our history K because we were powerful strong smart and elegant people that's what we should know so next I am going to have brother DeAndre come up to read us a poem on Ronda how's everybody doing all right today I'm going to be read reading the trade in the heart of Rondo where the Mississippi B a story unfolds where history men a neighborhood once vibrant full of Soul now caught in the grip of a Relentless toll gentrification Shadow a Relentless Tide washing away the culture with history hives Ronda a community rich and bold a tapestry of stories and tells Untold in the Echo of jazz in the rhythm of the street a legacy forged where cultures but Shadows of progress a darker to gentrification winds begin to say so the bulldozers came with a cold Embrace erasing the past leaving an empty space Brick by Brick memories crumbled gentrifications Force families humbled a displacement of roots a tearing apart in the name of development AED heart once bright in streets ly with life now Echo with silence in the face of strife corner stores and jazz clubs Swept Away replaced by condos where children used to play family Shattered Dreams torn aunder yet in the soul of Rondo there's a thunder a thunder of voices rising in the night to reclaim the narrative to set things right the history of Rondo etched in its ground in the strength of those who stand their ground rication May alter the face but the spirit of r finds a different space let the voices of Justice pierce the ear in the face of justification we declare for rh's legacy a force to be reckoned in the heart of the sea a spirit unbroken thank you go very important hands are going together okay 5 [Music] go [Music] [Music] give me a hand presence of the Lord is here I feel it in the atmosphere presence of the Lord is here oh presence of the Lord is here of the Lord herebody feel it [Music] tonight the spirit of the Lord is here Spirit of the Lord is the power of the Lord is the power of the I feel it in the atmosphere the power of the is he the power of the Lord is [Applause] [Music] he [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] of [Music] [Music] [Music] it I need somebody the power the power of the [Music] is [Music] I everybody going [Music] [Music] [Music] I the places a blessing bless the is a blessing tonight bless [Music] the