Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Delivers Remarks at the Brooklyn Academy of Music 37th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul delivered remarks at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's 37th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.

AUDIO of the event is available here.

PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Good morning. Hello, everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Despite the fact that we're here to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King, you should know that your Borough President is so in tune with the times. He said, "Good luck with your Buffalo Bills." And I said, "And the Giants too." Okay. Okay. I've got to be fair. I've got a big family across the state.

But thank you to our Borough President, someone who I have such high regard for, who has been a fighter for the people he represents, and I'm honored to call him a friend. And I know you heard from the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Chuck Schumer. You heard from. Yes, he's got a big title now, but I know he's going to someday be known as the Speaker from Brooklyn, Hakeem Jeffries. And come on, Brooklyn. How do you keep doing this? It's extraordinary. It's extraordinary. So, our Borough President, thank you. And I know I saw Crystal Hudson back there, our councilmember. We've done a lot together, walked the streets, met the people, let them know that they have a government that cares.

One of the most incredible leaders, our District Attorney, Eric Gonzalez. Incredible how he has fought to protect people, but also ensure that rights are protected as well. They can be achieved together. That is exactly what Dr. King expects of us. And Gina Duncan, thank you for this extraordinary masterpiece. Over 150 years of bringing joy in music and opportunities for young people, and it's just a chance to get a respite from the daily lives.

You know as I was preparing for these remarks, I watched Dr. King's speech this morning. I have a dream. And I thought about what would he say about where we are today? Has the dream been achieved, or do most of our people wake up to a nightmare? And that is the question that is before us. And that'll be part of our legacy when years from now when they continue to celebrate this day and the life of man whose extraordinary, how did the people of our time, 2023, did we take the torch that he handed off to us as a young man? He was 34 when he gave that speech, 39 when he was assassinated. What he did in his young life was put upon our shoulders the moral responsibility to do more for our brothers and sisters who are still struggling. Now that can happen at the federal level, and we have great partners who are committed, and it happens at the borough level with our local leaders.

But also I take on the responsibility of Dr. King's message as the Governor of the State of New York, and this is not new to me to be inspired by his words and his life. In fact, yes, I'm this old, but I'm going to tell you this story. I read a book about his life while he was still walking among us. I did a book report on him. A little white girl in Hamburg, New York. I went to the library, "Childhoods of Famous Americans," and I pulled out the book on Dr. King and I read it, and I reread it and I reread it. And this is a time we were seeing strife in our cities and civil rights marches and protests. And my parents raising us in a pretty conservative part of the state brought us to those marches and made sure that they had the same values, that they learned from their teachings of the church and Dr. King that were imparted to their children. So, the night Dr. King was assassinated, we held our hands around the table and wept because I was raised in a social justice Catholic family and we knew what he meant to so many people.

We also knew his story could not die in that moment, and that is why we gather every single year, to refresh the memory, to teach the young children of our responsibilities. I assure you that those of us in government know the responsibility that's been entrusted to us by the people to carry on his dream, his vision, and that means creating more affordable housing because housing is a human right. More people deserve to have that right than they have right now. Making sure that our children get a high-quality, world-class education because it was an education that lifted my father and mother out of a trailer park and allowed them to live the American Dream. I want that same dream for every child. We're also going to focus on jobs and skills training, saying, "Yes, there's so many more opportunities." But those who are just starting out, we will raise the minimum wage to tie it to inflation because it's nobody's fault that the price of everything from formula and diapers and rent and gas all keeps going up.

So, we're going to take on those fights and I'll do that emboldened knowing that the people have given me this gift of leadership. But it's not one that I'll ever take for granted because just like Dr. King, I feel that sense of responsibility to others and I'll continue to heed his life story and his message as an inspiration to take on the fights. And to make sure that we live his words and not judge people before we know them, that we treat others the way we want to be treated with respect and dignity because all of God's children deserve that. I'm honored to be your Governor. I'm honored to be here today, and God bless every one of you and let's continue this celebration to honor the man, the legacy, and the great story and inspiration of Dr. Martin Luther King. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. And with that, I'd like to present a proclamation to Gina. Thank you. Thank you, Borough President. Thank you. I would read it, but it's really long and I won't do that to you. Thank you, everyone.