I want to bring in somebody who is incredible.
She is the mayor of Atlanta.
And she went viral for a speech that she gave when
the protests first started.
Take a look at this.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
You're not honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr,
and the civil rights movement.
You're not protesting anything running out
with brown liquor in your hands, breaking windows in this city.
TI and Killer Mike own half the Westside.
So when you burn down this city, you're
burning down our community."
If you want change in America, go and register to vote.
Show up at the polls on June 9.
Do it in November.
That is the change we need in this country.
[END PLAYBACK]
[APPLAUDING]
Please welcome Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Thank you.
Hi.
Thank you.
I know how busy you must be.
So thank you so much for taking the time to speak to me.
It has been a crazy few months and an insane week.
You must be exhausted.
And you're handling this so beautifully.
But how are you?
Well, thank you for having this platform, Ellen.
It just means so much to hear you speak and acknowledge
the pain that so many people across this country
are feeling right now.
And I'm still standing, like the rest of us are.
And I think we're all processing our emotions right now.
And on the other side of this, I think there'll be a lot of--
even more released than what we're seeing in our streets
right now.
But we're just taking it one day at a time
in Atlanta, the same way so many people across this country
are doing.
Well, I think that your speech was--
I don't know if you feel like it had an impact, if you've seen
any results of what you said.
But it got a lot of attention.
First of all, were you surprised?
Did you expect to get that kind of attention?
Well, I knew it must have been impactful
because my 18-year-old son was with me.
And he told me he felt something,
which is pretty extraordinary for my son
to have a response to anything that I say.
But honestly, I didn't remember what I'd said.
I had to come home and watch it again at night
because it was just so much emotion.
I hadn't planned on saying any of that.
So to answer your question, did I
think it would get that much attention,
I didn't give it any thought at all.
But I'm grateful that I was able to put into words
and express what so many people were feeling
and maybe even needed to hear.
Yeah.
It was-- and you could feel the passion.
One of the things you said that really resonated with people
was talking about not only being a mayor of Atlanta,
but you have four children who are--
it is-- it's one thing to be witnessing all of this.
But then to have children, and I'm
sure this is not the first time that you're thinking,
I've had to fear for my children that are out in the world--
but that must also be part of the passion in what you're
saying.
It is.
Everything that I do I look at through the lens as a mother.
My work as mayor is wrapped--
it just fits in somewhere in between my
being a mother to four kids.
And our kids have been dealing with so much
over the past few months, all of the anxiety
and the disruption related to COVID-19
and then layering this on top of it.
Everything is so uncertain with them.
And I see the range of emotion, from my 18-year-old to my two
youngest, who are nine.
It ranges from fear to anxiety to anger.
And you can have all of those emotions
from them all at one time.
Yeah.
That's a lot for you to handle, being
a mother and a mayor and a great leader
right now, which is something I want to talk to you about.
We have to take a break.
But I want to talk to you about where
is that leader that we all need right now to organize
this and have a plan.
We'll be right back.