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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox addressed a rally held Monday night to denounce the hatred of white nationalists who marched in Virginia. Here is a transcript of his remarks:
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Ladies and gentlemen,
It’s been a big day; it’s been a busy day here in Salt Lake City. I, too, am so proud to see all you here. To see Republicans and Democrats and unaffiliated and every party — everybody is here. And we’re here to be unified and we’re here to share a message. I’ve thought a lot about what I might be able to say. I want to share a couple of things with you.
We saw those hateful images on TV from Charlottesville and it made us sick and made us sad. We heard those white nationalists chant the words “blood and soil.” They yelled that as they marched through the streets of Charlottesville with their Tiki torches. It has its roots in the Nazi's murderous, evil ideology. It was used to intimidate and provoke people of goodwill. I reject and condemn the usage, but there is something about those words that matters.
If they want to talk about blood, let’s talk about blood. Let’s talk about the blood of black patriots that fought in the Revolutionary War. Let’s talk about Japanese-Americans who fought in World War II. And when they talk about soil, I want to talk about some great things that have happened on the soil of this country.
What makes America most exceptional in the world is that on this piece of dirt we made promises to each other. “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.” We said that. We said that here on this soil. To be on this soil we said e pluribus unum — out of many one. And on this soil we said, “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to break free.” On this soil, we said we have free speech. Now, we haven’t always kept this promise. But it is what has always pushed us toward being our best, toward “a more perfect union” — the shining city on a hill, the world’s last best hope.
To those full of hate, like this gentleman behind me, we say to those filled with hate, we will defend your right to peaceably assemble and chant hateful words, and we will allow you to do that because we do not fear you. We know that love will win. The words of love are truly the best words. We will defend your right to peaceably assemble so the world can see the vile ideas you formed on hidden corners of the internet and in content-filled comment sections. Because in the marketplace of ideas, yours have been tried and they’ve failed, and they will fail again. But a word of warning: if you move toward violence, justice will be swift and certain. Don’t make that mistake.
For the rest of us, let’s lead with love. Let’s love those whose lives have been lost. Let’s even love those who even live so far off track. Let’s love this gentleman behind me. Martin Luther King said this: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.”
Now, I want to share something. Some of you will remember what happened on April 4, 1968. That was the night that Martin Luther King Jr. was tragically murdered. And what you may not know, some of you know this story, is that in a poor section of Indianapolis, Robert Kennedy was campaigning. That night he was scheduled to speak to a largely black crowd. The police chief warned him not to go. As he pulled into that neighborhood, he turned to one of his campaign aides and he asked if the people at that rally, if they knew about Martin Luther King Jr.’s death. He was told that they did not. It then fell upon his shoulders to tell the crowd what had happened.
For the students of history and those who were alive at that time, you know there were riots breaking out across the country. But the people in this neighborhood didn’t know yet. As Robert Kennedy turned to them, filled with compassion, I want to read his words. It’s one of the greatest speeches ever given. It’s short, I promise. He said: “I have bad news for you, for all our fellow citizens and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and killed tonight.” There was an audible gasp in the crowd. And then he went on to say this:
“In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black, considering the evidence, there evidently is white people that were responsible. You can be filled with bitterness, with hatred and a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country in great polarization — black people amongst black, white people amongst white, filled with hatred toward one another — or we can make an effort as Martin Luther King did to understand and comprehend and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand and compassion and love. “For those of you who are black, and are tempted to be filled with hatred and distrust at the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I can say that I only feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man. But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to go beyond, these rather difficult times. “My favorite poet was Aeschylus — Greek poet — he wrote: ‘In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop on the heart until, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.’ What we need in the United States is not division. What we need in the United States is not hatred. What we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but love and wisdom and compassion toward one another. And a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black. “So I shall ask you, tonight, to return home to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King — that’s true — but more importantly, to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love — a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke. We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times; we had difficult times in the past; we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence, it is not the end of lawlessness, it is not the end of disorder. But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings who abide in our land. Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago, ‘to tame the savages of man and make gentle the life of this world.’ Let us dedicate ourselves to that and say a prayer for our country and for our people.”
Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve spoken too long. I’m a little emotional for many reasons, but I just got a call from my son. He’s leaving for two years to serve as a missionary. He’s going to Mozambique, Africa, and I won’t get to talk to him until Christmas, and he called from the airport for a few minutes. He’s really scared. He’s scared to go to a place where everything is different and foreign for him. But he said, 'I’m so excited because I know I’m going to love these people.' I know he will, too, because he’s going to get proximate. There is a power in proximity. We can change, people can change. People with hate and rage can change, but we only change when we get proximate. We only change when we get close. We only change when we dare to get close to people that are different than us. And we only change when we dare to have uncomfortable conversations.
Racism isn’t dead; it’s alive and far too well. But we can kill it forever. We can only do it by getting proximate. Today, we got proximate. Today, a whole bunch of people who are different got together in this space, and I feel your love and I feel your compassion. That’s how we change this country. That’s how we live the dream that Martin Luther King Jr. shared with the world so many years ago. We can do it. We can do hard things. But we can only do it if we love, so let’s keep loving.
