EXCERPT:
CLINTON: “My youth fellowship, our youth pastor, took us to hear Dr. King speak at Orchestra Hall in Chicago. We went on a Sunday night. You know, we got in one of those rickety church vans, you know, had to get permission from our parents, and we went down and he delivered a speech that had been called 'Staying awake through the revolution.' And it had such a huge impact on me because he was basically arguing, there is a revolution going on right now. It’s a revolution for our rights. It’s a revolution for fairer economy. It’s a revolution for justice. Stay awake. Don’t get lulled into a false sense of security or think it doesn’t apply to you or that, you know, somebody else can do the work. I remember, I stood in a long line after the — really, it was a sermon, but after the speech was over, in order just to shake his hand and meet him. You know, that just was such an impactful experience for me. We are in another revolution, but it’s a counterrevolution to the revolution that Dr. King was describing. It is a revolution to turn the clock back. It is a revolution to take away the rights that we have worked so hard to achieve. It’s a revolution that enables those who are in power right now to fire well-qualified black and women admirals and generals and military officers who have earned the right to be promoted and they are not because this particular counterrevolutionary crew in Washington right now doesn’t want us to be a rainbow nation, doesn’t want us to have the kind of vision of a country where we all have a place. So, let’s stay awake.”
