-Derrick, thank you so much for being here.
I was just speaking with Joy Reid about
the events of today.
When the decision in the Breonna Taylor case
was announced, walk me through your first reaction.
-Well, unfortunately, I was not expecting a positive decision.
That's a bad commentary for many of us.
I don't know of any African-Americans who thought
it would be a good decision, but when we heard the outcome,
it was even more unfortunate, because it did not address
the fact that Breonna Taylor was killed.
Only one charged of the three officers,
and it was for shooting into another dwelling.
That type of -- We shouldn't have that level
of expectation out of our judicial system.
-What were you hoping to see happen today?
-You know, that finally justice would include all of us.
Here's a woman who was in her apartment.
There was no allegations of wrongdoing.
She was sleeping in her bed, and her door's kicked in.
and police ultimately killed her.
Just think about that.
Can you imagine if that was your daughter,
your wife, your loved one?
Take out the question of race.
How would you feel at this moment?
That is the reality that far too many
African-Americans face in this country today.
-Gosh. Why do you think they reached this decision?
-You know, because we have this grand jury system,
this archaic system. It is --
We have no concept what evidence were presented to the grand jury
'cause it's a secret process.
We don't know how vigorous it is.
Special attorney to pursue the case.
Far too often, district attorneys
and state attorneys are too cozy with law-enforcement agencies,
and the value of the life of the person taken is at stake.
And so, unfortunately, we don't know what was said or not said,
what evidence was withheld.
We do know that an innocent person sleeping in her bed,
not causing any harm, was murdered
at the hands of law-enforcement officers.
-A lot of people are angry today
and looking for someone to point the finger at.
Who would you say is --
Who would you be pointing at right now?
-I think we should be pointing forward.
You know, how do we change this reality?
This is something, as Americans, we should not tolerate.
This is all baked into public-policy decisions.
Qualified immunity,
the lack of a database of national police misconduct.
Many of the things that you nor I would like to see
our children confronted with in the future,
we must begin to look at this moment.
We are in an inflection point in this country.
We have to decide, are we gonna move into a future
that's more just and equitable,
or are we gonna stay in this perpetual moment of 1930?
I suggest that, as we look forward,
we need to do so with a value proposition
that's much different than what we have seen displayed
in today's decision.
-There's two initiatives that the NAACP are working on.
One is #WeAreDoneDying.
Can you explain what that is about?
-You know, we adopted that -- that campaign
after the realization of COVID
impacted disproportionately African-Americans.
It is a hashtag campaign where we understand
that elections have consequences.
We are looking at 2020's unfortunate series of events,
which is a result of the 2016 election.
There is no reason this nation --
We are leading in the number of deaths as a result of COVID
'cause we were not prepared for this pandemic,
and we should've been prepared.
There is no reason, in this nation,
that our economic system is on the verge of collapsing
because of policy decisions.
There is no reason in this nation that we're still
dealing with this type of aggressive policing
and lawlessness by those who are sworn to uphold and protect us.
We're done dying.
This is our opportunity to begin to push people
towards the polls in November so we can set a different
value proposition, that black lives matter,
and if black lives cannot matter,
none of our lives matter.
That's not a separative statement.
That is saying equal protection under the law should be afforded
to all of us, and if we value all of us,
that means we all will have a better future.
-The late John Lewis said "Vote like we've never voted before."
Is that's -- That's -- It's happening.
Yesterday was National Voter Registration Day.
Those words mean a lot this election.
I know your other initiative
is the Power of Five voter outreach.
-You know, I had the privilege
to be on the Edmund Pettus Bridge
next to John Lewis when he made those statements
with so many other people
and vote like we've never voted before.
Vote like our lives depend on it.
And it's so true.
And he was such a stakes person.
He was one who was an ordinary person
who did extraordinary things.
And he embraced so many people, but his statements are so true.
What he marched for in 1965 resonates today.
It is the right to cast the ballot.
And so we're asking people to join our campaign
that we know that you're voting but there are five people
that you know, or there are five people
we can direct you to, to get them to the polls.
We cannot be a true representative democracy
if we allow the forces to suppress votes
or to intimidate people from voting
or allow a level of apathy
where people feel their votes don't matter.
All of our votes matter.
Public policy directs the quality of our life.
We cannot get the public-policy changes if we don't participate.
-People are feeling a lot of different emotions today.
Is there a wrong way to feel today?
-You know, I'm angry.
People are depressed. People are in fear.
People are confused. People are frustrated
at a system that has caused so much harm.
You look at the peaceful protests across the country
we've seen over the last three months.
You see America, you see black, you see white, you see young,
you see old, you see male, female.
It's all of us who are saying, "We can do this better."
And this moment, this inflection point,
how do we look to a future that represents all of us,
that allows for a quality of life and a comfort of living
that we should all be afforded to,
that our labors are valued and that we can work in harmony,
as opposed to a past of 1930, where otherness so pervasive
in this country that the social construct
we call "race" excluded people.
If you was Irish in Boston, you was excluded in 1930.
If you was Jewish in many parts of New York,
you was excluded in 1930.
We cannot continue to allow a social construct
that still, in many ways,
excludes so many African-Americans,
excludes so many Latinos, to continue to be the norm.
We need to be looking forward, so all of the anger,
the frustration, let us channel that
towards a future, but we have to do it
by moving from peaceful protests to power at the ballot box
with a value proposition that equal protection
under the law should be afforded to all of us.
And then, once those policymakers are elected,
they walk into office, implementing public policy
to reflect that value proposition.
That is the trajectory we should be on, not looking backwards.
-Let's make that happen.
Derrick Johnson, thank you so much for being here tonight.
It's good to see you. -Thank you.
Continue to be a supporter. Continue the good work.
-Thank you, buddy. Thank you.