Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks at First Baptist Church

December 19, 2021

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Good morning, First Baptist.  

Audience: Good morning.  

Mayor: It is joy, a true joy to be here. First, I want to give honor to God. Without Him, this day would not be possible. 

[Applause] 

I felt joyous coming in here today, because I love this place, this congregation, the history that makes First Baptist so powerful. And I came in and I saw this beautiful sea of red, and cheer, and joy. But then I had troubling thought. And I have to admit to you. I have to confess it to you, Pastor. I thought, as a public servant, I should leave for a moment and take out my phone and call the Fire Department. I’ve got to tell you why.  

[Laughter] 

I needed to call the Fire Department, I’ve got to tell you why, because the mass choir was on fire. 

[Applause] 

Is that, like, every Sunday you do that? Absolutely beautiful. Pastor Moore, I'm going to tell you what you know already, that leading this church is a profound privilege.  

[Applause] 

And for all of us who knew Pastor Clarence Norman Sr., and saw the greatness. 

[Applause] 

To me, when you build upon to see of someone, great, it should not be intimidating. It should be inspiring. And this church chose a great leader, a man who was supremely prepared. Prepared and educated in the finest institutions, preaching in the finest churches to come here and build upon an extraordinary tradition. Pastor Moore, thank you. And God bless you. 

[Applause] 

And this church is synonymous with putting the word into action, taking faith and making it real in the community. Synonymous with engagement in our neighborhoods, our beautiful borough of Brooklyn, our city. This church is the epitome of engagement, involvement, action. And that is also an amazing tradition that starts with the Norman family and grows more and more every day. And I want to offer a profound thanks to my friend and someone I served with for years – Clarence Norman Jr., thank you for all you've done for us. 

[Applause] 

And I want to offer thanks to every one of you. And I'll be brief, but I want to come here today in a spirit of gratitude. For eight years, together – eight years that could not have happened in any way, shape, or form without you. And I want explain why I say that. But before I do, it's obvious that we are still in the grips of this pandemic. But I want you to hear the most important things I can tell you today. Your city is ready. Your city is ready. This next phase will be a challenge. I’ve got to tell you, when I first heard the word, it sounded like someone, like, was coming up with a name for a – you know, super villain, Omicron, right? It's like – I'm like, where did you get that name? But Omicron presents us a challenge, but it is a challenge we will meet. And it is a challenge we will overcome, because we have been through – and I'm sorry to say this, and we all felt it, we all lived it – we have been through much, much worse. And somehow, when we were the epicenter in this country, there was a lot of pain, there was a lot of loss in this congregation and in every congregation. But people fought back in this city, brilliantly – brilliantly. And that's something everyone should be proud of. People fought back. 

[Applause] 

And I'm going to tell you, as we brace for this next challenge, this is different. What we're going to experience in this month and next month in New York City is very, very different than what we experienced in that horrible spring of 2020. But what we have now is a profound answer we didn't have then, but we’ve got to use answer. And it's vaccination. It's vaccination. This is the difference maker. And I know – I know New Yorkers, and I always say I represent 8.8 million highly opinionated people. No two people share the same opinion in our beloved city. But 90 percent of all adults in this city have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine – 90 percent, breathtaking figure, something we should be proud of as New Yorkers.  

[Applause] 

So, I'm going to just issue a simple plea. If you have not yet gotten vaccinated, please, this is how we overcome Omicron. If people are vaccinated, they're going to come through this. If you haven't gotten that booster, everyone qualifies now, it's time to get that booster. If a child in your family, a five- to 11-year-old is not yet vaccinated – if your mom, dad, aunt, uncle, grandparent, please, this is the time to protect our children and our whole community. And that's how we get through Omicron. And one day we're going to forget about Omicron. And one day, we're going to put everything about COVID in the rearview mirror and move forward, because we fought back and we will overcome it. 

[Applause] 

But now, very quickly, just to say thank you – just to say thank you. This is one of the places I came when I ran for mayor, and this is one of the places that made me mayor. And I want to be clear about that. I know where I come from. 

[Applause] 

And in these years, we challenged the status quo in this city. And it's going to need a lot more challenging, going forward, because there is still too much unfairness and injustice in the City of New York, let's be clear. And it was true before the pandemic. It was laid bare by the pandemic. And it must be fought continually after the pandemic. But my message today is not just one of gratitude, but one of reassurance that your impact has been felt, that your action that I spoke of earlier really makes a difference. It's not just that you choose mayors. It's what those mayors do.  

And so, I said to the people in New York City, why don't we do something entirely different for our children and provide every single one of them pre-K for free – every single one. And you said, we needed that and you made it happen. You made it happen. And I want to emphasize this, there were plenty of naysayers. At the time I proposed it, it was treated by what we used to call the establishment – it was treated by the mainstream of this city as an impossibility, and an overreach, and a dream – just an idealistic dream. But the people of this city demanded it and fought for it. So, the thing that was not supposed to be possible, started to happen. And then, it reached more children, and more children, and more children. And now, it is a universal right in this city. And then, it worked so well, we did the same thing for three-year-olds. We did the same thing for three-year-olds. So, now, we are well on our way to 3-K for All. 

[Applause] 

And I only will say this, imagine what we've done here in this city, because of you. Your votes, your voices, your demands made all the difference. We have now added two full grades to our public schools for free for every child. That's what we did together.  

[Applause] 

We also looked at the horrible injustice that in this city, majority people of color, when the city government spent its money, it did not go to people-of-color companies. It did not go to women-owned companies. It went same old, same old. And so, we set a goal. And the same thing happened the minute I set the goal, people said it was impossible. I said, $25 billion must go into the hands of minority- and women-owned businesses. $25 billion – billion with a B. And again, the doubting Thomas said it could not be done. But I am here to report to you, because the people demanded change, we are well on our way, and we will meet that goal. $25 billion in contracts for businesses here in our neighborhoods that will then employ the children, the youth of the community that will then create their own businesses.  

[Applause] 

And one lasted example, as I conclude. My wife, Chirlane, saw the scourge of mental health in this city. And she understood that something had to change. She understood it affect every single one of our families in one way or another. But we were having the wrong conversation as New Yorkers. We were not talking about. We were not acknowledging it. We were not helping people to come forward and get the help they needed. We had to change the entire not only conversation, but the approach. Because I'll tell you, before Chirlane McCray came along, there was no mental health strategy for the City of New York. Even though one in five New Yorkers deals with a mental health challenge or a substance misuse challenge. And it is not because there's anything wrong with their character, it's because they're human beings. This is part of the human condition. It's something we all have to work on together. I'll tell you why I am so proud of my wife. I could tell you a million reasons, but, on this topic, because she said we're not going to accept something that's broken. She created Thrive NYC. And, literally, in the course of the last eight years, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have gotten access to mental health support that used to get none, that used to not even know where to turn. They have been told you – you're fine, you're okay. Because you have a challenge, doesn't mean you're a bad person. You're a good person. You're a good person with a problem that deserves respect and deserves support. And your city will be there for you. That's what Chirlane achieved. And that was because you made it possible. You made that possible. 

[Applause] 

So, I don't know how to summon the words to express the gratitude. I only want you to know it is a sense of the collective reality, the collective will that pervades me today. No one does it alone. If you ever meet a politician who tells you, I, I, I, I, I – they don't understand how the world works and they're also a not particularly grateful human being, because it's actually, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you that make the change. And because we made these changes, it tells me we could do so much more. Every time they told us it was impossible. I am telling you, every single time, every time they told us was impossible – and I've now come to one conclusion, when they tell you it's impossible, when they tell you to stop, when they tell you to turn around and go away, that is confirmation it is absolutely possible, and to keep going, and to keep fighting for a better society for all. Thank you and God bless you all. 

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