Remarks: Joe Biden Delivers Remarks at a Virtual Black History Month Celebration - February 26, 2021


Joe Biden Delivers Remarks at a Virtual Black History Month Celebration [2021-02-26]
Joe Biden
Kamala Harris
America
NIH
COVID
White House
Vaccine Research Center

Joe Biden
00:00:00 - 00:00:22 ()
As we enter the last week of February, Jill and I wish we could have hosted an in-person Black History Month celebration here at the White House. We'd have one of the most meaningful events to start our administration. But we've still been honoring this month in a different ways. You know, uh, the show of Black History Month is America's history.
Very Positive
Joe Biden
00:00:22 - 00:00:45 ()
Black culture is America's culture. And we're in America because of the centuries of struggles and achievements of black Americans. But we know this month falls after an especially hard year, the pandemic and economic crisis that is devastating black lives, businesses and communities. There's a cry for justice 400 years in the making.
Very Negative
Joe Biden
00:00:45 - 00:01:13 ()
In all we saw more Americans, more black Americans vote this past election than ever before. We're just over a month away from the deadly insurrection against the very democracy by extremists and white supremacists. We remain in a battle for the soul of America, on an ongoing journey to live up to our founding principles, that all people, all people are created equal and have a right to be treated equally.
Somewhat Negative
Joe Biden
00:01:13 - 00:01:37 ()
Y'all know for much too long we've allowed a narrow, cramped view of our promise to fester, it just festered, it keeps festering. But to become a zero sum game, it's happened. If you succeed I fail. If I get ahead you fall behind. If I hold you down I lift myself up. But that's changing. It's going to change in our administration.
Slightly Positive
Joe Biden
00:01:37 - 00:02:08 ()
We're bringing to our work a seriousness of purpose and urgency. We'll work to dismantle systemic racism across the board by advancing racial equity across the whole of government. In healthcare, education, housing, economic mobility, environmental justice, civil rights, and our justice system itself. Protecting the sacred right to vote that remains under attack, and beating this pandemic and economic crisis with equity at the heart of our response.
Very Negative
Joe Biden
00:02:08 - 00:02:43 ()
You know we do so not only because it's the right thing to do, which it is, but because it's the smart thing to do. It benefits everyone. The work ahead won't be easy, but I know we can do it. We're honoring those who came before us by following those leading us today. This month, alongside our first black Vice President, our first black Secretary of Defense, I walked down the hallway to the Pentagon, that long honors the history of black Americans, fighting for this country with honor, dignity and devotion.
Very Positive
Joe Biden
00:02:43 - 00:03:05 ()
Congressional medal winners. We follow them today. We follow them today. I also visit, I also visited the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Health, at the so-called NIH, where brilliant scientists develop COVID-19 vaccines. I met Dr. Kizzy Corbett, who she's one of the most influential people in this process.
Very Positive
Joe Biden
00:03:05 - 00:03:33 ()
She's a hero. She's saving millions of lives with a vaccine that is safe, and that can save your life and the life of your loved ones when it's your turn to take it. We follow her today, and honor her. You know, at the COVID-19 Memorial, the day before the inauguration, I met Laurie Key, a nurse from Detroit, who sang a hymn she sings to lift up her fellow healthcare workers.
Very Positive
Joe Biden
00:03:33 - 00:04:02 ()
Amazing Grace. And we follow all of our amazing frontline workers today. We praise them. And on Inauguration Day, we're all l listen to Amanda Gorman deliver a powerful, powerful words about America. Quote, a country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free. That's America. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
Very Positive
Joe Biden
00:04:02 - 00:04:14 ()
And that's who we honor during Black History Month, and each and every day, by commemoration and also by action.
Positive
Kamala Harris
00:04:14 - 00:04:43 ()
Every year during Black History month, we take time to remember and honor those who came before. The visionaries, the innovators, the barrier breakers, the history makers. Those who were clear-eyed about the moment in which they lived. Those who told the truth about what they saw. Those who worked to build a better future, a future unburdened by what had been.
Very Positive
Kamala Harris
00:04:43 - 00:05:10 ()
And I am grateful for them today and every day. And I know we all are, because they have left us a legacy, and also a job to do. After all, history is a relay race, with each generation passing the baton to the next. The baton is now in our hands. And what matters now, is how well we have run our portion of the race.
Very Positive
Kamala Harris
00:05:10 - 00:05:33 ()
That's what I've been thinking about this year as we endure this devastating pandemic. Cause here's the truth about the moment we're in. More than two in three Black Americans personally know someone who has been hospitalized or who has died from Covid-19. Black women workers are being forced out of the workforce in record numbers.
Very Negative
Kamala Harris
00:05:33 - 00:05:59 ()
So many Black small businesses are being forced to close their doors. This pandemic has been an accelerator in many ways. And our response to the pandemic has shown the determination and aspiration of the American people. Dr. Kizzy Corbett, a black scientist, helped develop the vaccine that is saving lives at this very moment.
Neutral
Kamala Harris
00:05:59 - 00:06:32 ()
I met Dr. Corbett at the National Institutes of Health, also known as NIH, during our second week in office, just before I received my second shot. I was so honored to thank her on behalf of our nation. President Biden and I have been working hard to pass the American Rescue Plan so that every American can get vaccinated, so that every American small business can receive the support they need, so that every American woman worker can get back to work.
Very Positive
Kamala Harris
00:06:32 - 00:06:56 ()
Friends, the challenges we face are big, and because of that, so is our collective responsibility as we combat this pandemic and restore our economy. We all must do everything we can, whether that's wearing a mask, or getting vaccinated, or urging your members of Congress to pass The American Rescue Plan.
Very Positive
Kamala Harris
00:06:56 - 00:07:23 ()
I believe that if we are clear-eyed, if we are truth tellers, if we are courageous, we can meet this moment. So this Black History month, let us honor history and let us make it too. The baton is in our hands. Thank you. And may God bless you and your family, and may God bless America.
Very Positive