Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks at Northern Caribbean University Alumni Association Homecoming

July 25, 2015

Mayor Bill de Blasio: First, I wish everyone a Happy Sabbath.

[Applause]

And today, I want to give honor to God. Without him, this day would not be possible. 

Audience: Amen

Mayor:  Now, there are many, many blessings in my life, but I know the first blessing in my life is standing right here besides me.

[Applause]

Particularly, [inaudible] into my life, so it’s only right that I yield to her for a moment so she can say her thank you for the lovely present she was given – the first lady of New York City, Chirlane McCray.

[Applause]

First Lady Chirlane McCray: Happy Sabbath.

Audience: Happy Sabbath.

First Lady: I thank you for this time. This is so amazing to be here. And it’s always a special honor to see the kindness in our brothers and sisters. So thank you and I thank you all for everything that you are doing to help our young people succeed in education so they can give back to the community. [Inaudible].

Audience: Amen

[Applause]

Mayor: Thank you so much. It is an honor for Chirlane and I to be here. We love Hanson Place. We love all the good that happens within this church.  We’ve had the blessing of being here many times. And so I want to thank all the leaders. I want to thank Dr. Alanzo Smith, Pastor Rohan Wellington. I want to thank all the leadership and clergy and all those who provide leadership in this wonderful place of worship. Of course, thank you to Pastor Bernard Penn and to Karen Penn for their leadership. I want to thank – because of the importance of this occasion, and to say, what we’re celebrating – education here and education [inaudible], I want to thank chair of Northern Caribbean University, Pastor Everett Brown.

There are so many good people here today. I want to thank someone who has been a friend in word and deed time and again, Elder James Richmond, who serves this church so well and also serves on our Clergy Advisory Committee; and the chair, who is doing such dynamic work, at [inaudible] and all over the city. We thank him for his leadership and clergy all over the city. Pastor Michael Walrond, thank you.

[Applause]

You have heard about the wonderful elected leaders in here. We thank the Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte. We thank Assemblywoman Diana Richardson – new – but already making an impact. We thank the district leader [inaudible] our Nigerian sisters present us with some challenging pronunciation – some could say – although [inaudible], but some might say [inaudible]. Which one is it?

Unknown: It’s both.

Mayor: It’s both. Okay, we’ve settled that then.

[Laughter]

And a special, special thank you – you know there are many reasons I want to thank Yvette Clarke. [Inaudible] But, you know, I do not have a biological sister. But in this journey I’ve traveled in public life, I found the sister that is [inaudible] Yvette Clarke.

[Applause]

And we have been through thick and thin. And you know someone’s more than a friend when they become my family, when it doesn’t matter what the challenge is. You know, we [inaudible] with each other and it is [inaudible] we’re going to be there for each other, because we’ve crossed that bridge. We’ve traveled that road already. And the people of this community are so well served under. Let’s thank her for all she does today.

[Applause]

Now, you all really know how good the work of Northern Caribbean University is. You already know how energetic the alumni are in supporting education here and in Jamaica. And that is such good and noble work. And we’re [inaudible] all elected officials, and everyone with the [inaudible] are motivated by that core belief in [inaudible] of education. And we have a love for that education.

[Applause]

[Inaudible]. We love and honor what the Jamaican community has done in this city – in New York City.

[Applause]

And all the communities of the Caribbean [inaudible] – Caribbean Americans and what it means to be in New York City today just wouldn’t have been possible without that extraordinary [inaudible] extraordinary contribution [inaudible]. I’m honored so much, that I have decided, you know, words are good but deeds are even better. So last Sunday – this is very serious. I’m going to raise a very serious, sober issue. Last Sunday, I decided to put myself forward and participate in the greatest Jamaican Jerk Festival Cook-off.

[Cheers]

And it is a fierce competition! Only the brave enter into the ring. But I thought with enough [inaudible] proud to say that I created a jerk chicken sandwich.

[Laughter]

I called it the New York Swagga Sandwich.

[Laughter]

It’s very spicy, very assertive, but still sweet underneath. And it won the day.

[Applause]

But on a truly a serious note, we are so honored – I’m honored, Chirlane is honored to be with you and to talk about the work we have done with pre-k. And I know I’m before an audience that doesn’t just think about it – feels it and acts on it – because the Seventh-day Adventist Church has believed in the power of education for a long, long time – [inaudible] create schools of the highest quality.

[Applause]

And I’ve said this here before, and I’ll say it again, this church – the people of it – think not only about the members of the [inaudible] community, but the entire [inaudible]. The commitment to education helps us all. Your commitment to healthcare – the high standard you set for healthcare in the community helps us all. What you did after Hurricane Sandy – now Hurricane Sandy stayed in our [inaudible]. But I know – I know a lot of times it was members of the SDA church who got there ahead of the government to help [inaudible].

[Applause]

And you have done this not only here, in New York City, but around the country and around the world – that commitment to education, that commitment to healthcare. And those of us in the public sector need to remember to say thank you. Because there is really one mission in the end – it’s one mission and you are doing your share and then some to uplift – uplift our city.

Now, because you understand the power of education, you’ll understand why this pre-k effort is so sacred to us [inaudible].   It was not debatable. There was no way we could even think it terms of half measures. And as Yvette Clark said – right, we could’ve said let’s take this a little slow; let’s not take chances.  But we would be leaving a number of children behind if we did that. That was not the moral course. So, we believe that pre-k had to happen, and it had to happen now. It happened to happen now for our children. And we saw with Chiara and Dante – their lives were so uplifted by that year of pre-k – just getting smarter, more engaged – it opened their minds at a perfect time in life. Some of them are three and four-years-old and learn in ways that are almost unimaginably quick. But you’ve got to harness that moment. So, that’s what we did.

Now, as I alluded to [inaudible]. Brothers and sisters, they were not [inaudible], they were [inaudible] –

[inaudible]– a number of our brothers and sisters in the press corps, telling me how impossible it would be. And over and over again, we’re confronted with voices who said, why even bother, it cannot be done. Well let me quote scripture – from Matthew – [inaudible] “faith as small as a mustard seed.”

[Applause]

So, we knew – we knew the people demanded more – that people’s belief that uplifting our children was paramount. So, we said, what’s the most we can do in the first year? We said, the first year, we believe we can reach 53,000 children with full-day high quality pre-k.

They said it could not be done. They said it absolutely could not be done – 53,000 children – you must be crazy. Brothers and sisters, when we got into the school year, we took the count and we had more than 53,000.

[Applause]

Can I get an Amen?

Audience: Amen!

Mayor: So, I guess you can say it’s time to go home, the work is done. But no, in fact, we believe there are more children that need to be served. And we wanted to go a bit further. We thought the real number of children who needed pre-k this year is close to 70,000 children. So guess what we had [inaudible] this September? Pre-k – enough for every child in this city – 70,000 [inaudible].

[Applause]

And they are saying – I’ll be quick. I know you’ve got a lot to do today, but they are saying this – at this moment in history – [inaudible]. At this moment in history, education determines economic destiny literally more than at any points before in human history. At any point before, our parents, our grandparents – if they did not have the benefit of education, they still had economic opportunities. There was that factory job or that farm job. The world’s changed. If they stop getting that strong education, [inaudible] all of the economic possibilities.

[Applause]

But wouldn’t it be right if in a democracy, that quality education was equally available to all, but it’s not if there’s not pre-k for all. It’s as simple as that. You’re not serious as a society – you’re not seriously addressing economic equality and economic opportunity if there is not pre-k for literally every child. That was our commitment, and we followed through on it.

We also know people are struggling in this city. They are struggling to make ends meet – good, hardworking people. It doesn’t matter if there’s one parent at home or two parents at home – they may be working one job, two jobs, three jobs, and they’re still having trouble making ends meet.

So if we can take one burden off their plate – and if you ever paid for that same pre-k, you’d be paying $10,000–$15,000 dollars a year and how many families can afford that? So we said, let’s not [inaudible] our children and create inequality. Let’s take that financial burden off the backs of hardworking people and give them an opportunity to move forward.

[Applause]

So, thank you – thank you for this honor. Thank you for your support, the work you do. And you should know that support is invaluable, immeasurable, so powerful because the voice of the people wins the day. The voice of the people is what really determines the course of things. And if you believe we should keep moving forward to reach our children, with you as the wind in our sails, we’ll get there. Thank you and God bless you all.