Representative Sherrill Addresses National Action Network 2023 Convention

“I know there are more of us who want to see our country succeed than those who want to drag us back in time. We will not back down in our fight to see a more perfect union.”

New York, NY— Today, at Reverend Al Sharpton’s annual National Action Network Convention, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) delivered a plenary address focused on addressing gun violence and called for lawmakers to focus on delivering for future generations, not their extreme agendas. The theme of this year’s convention is “Dealing With the Dream Under Threat.” Speakers at this year’s convention include Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Ambassador Susan Rice.

Below is her address, as given:

Good afternoon, everyone. I want to thank Reverend Sharpton for organizing this incredible convention. It is an honor to share a stage with leaders like Vice President Harris and Ambassador Rice. It is amazing to be here because, as you know, the National Action Network Board of Directors also brings together important voices from across the country, including New Jersey’s very own Pastor Steffie Bartley and Reverend David Jefferson. I want to thank them for their leadership in our community. 

The creation of the National Action Network more than 30 years ago filled a void in our country and activated a generation of Americans to get engaged and to serve their communities. Thanks to the leadership of Reverend Sharpton, one of the nation’s great civil rights leaders, the National Action Network continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the national conversation around justice and providing the tools to make real progress. 

We are gathering here today at a time in our nation where nothing less than bold, thoughtful, and collective action is necessary to tackle the existential problems that are testing us. 

One such issue is the sickening prevalence and unrelenting threat of gun violence. As a mother of four kids, two girls, two boys between the ages of 11 and 17, this issue keeps me up at night. 

The number one killer of children is guns. Not car accidents, not cancer. Guns. 

When we break that statistic down further, it is even more devastating. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2021 Black children were the victims of 46% of all youth gun deaths, despite only making up 14% of the under 18 population. 

Our nation is almost numb to these tragedies. Before we can properly mourn the losses at one shooting, breaking news hits again to announce another attack in another state. Going to school, to the bank, to the supermarket, or a concert should not be a death sentence in this country. 

And the reality of gun violence is even greater than the mass shootings that make national news. There are also tragedies happening every day, where children are injured or killed simply walking down the street in their communities, hit by stray bullets as unintended victims, or using a firearm to die by suicide in a nation plagued by a mental health crisis. 

Those who oppose gun safety reforms— those beholden to the gun lobby and special interests, those who value owning a weapon more than saving a child’s life— try to tell us legislation won’t work. But that is categorically false. 

My home state of New Jersey has some of the best gun safety laws in the country. While gun violence went up 35% across the United States, it went down by 10% in New Jersey – the most densely populated state in our country.

There have been movements across America, by moms, kids, family members who have lost loved ones, and more to end gun violence. The majority of Americans want to see action. Background checks, waiting periods, cracking down on trafficking, and banning assault weapons.

And in Tennessee, – to paraphrase Nina Simone, everybody knows about Tennessee Goddam – in Tennessee we see a fearlessness in three legislators willing to stand up to address this.

The response from Tennessee Republicans is an incredibly racist affront to our democratic institutions and demonstrates clearly what those who oppose progress in this country truly want. 

The far right wants to shut out the voices of people who think and look differently than they do. They want to erase the history of this nation and the tactics we’ve always taken to build a more perfect union. They want power rather than to serve the people and our values. 

We are not only facing those who would erase our democratic institutions, but in acts that often go hand in hand with attempts to undermine democracy, we are seeing those who are working to erase and rewrite our history.

Justin Pearson’s words, right before the Tennessee House voted to expel him, harkened back to the very foundations of our country.  He chastised the Tennessee legislature saying that “In a country that was built on a protest. You, who celebrate July 4, 1776, pop fireworks and eat hot dogs, you say to protest is wrong.” 

Protest is at the heart of being American. Recognizing flaws and putting the energy and time behind fighting to right those wrongs is how this country was founded. It was how slavery was ended. It was how the right to vote was won. It was how we pushed for peace during war. It was how marriage equality became the law of the land. It is, I dearly hope, the way we will get women’s reproductive freedom.

As we look to a future where all of our nation’s children succeed, how can we not learn about both the historic successes and failures of our country?  How can we hope to have a brighter future if we ignore the lessons of the past?

What part of the truth do they fear? Probably the fact that history remembers who was in the right and who was in the wrong. And their inability to act to better our nation mirrors those who stood in the way of progress in generations past. 

When I began my Naval career at age 18, I signed up to fight for a country that is far from perfect but one whose values and ideals I believe in deeply. I joined the Navy to fight for truth and justice, all around the world. And I joined Congress to continue that fight here at home.

Anything less to me is a betrayal.  

A betrayal of those who have fought and died for our rights and freedoms, a betrayal of our democracy and the values enshrined in our Constitution, but most of all – and in my mind worst of all – a betrayal of our children and the amazing future we could bequeath to them.

In order to ensure the future all of us here envision, we have to work endlessly to protect the vote from the local to the federal level.  We need to elect thoughtful people at school boards and in Congress. We have to elect legislators and promote judges who will care more about protecting civil rights and children more than the gun lobby and special interests.

As a Congresswoman and as a mom, the internal balance I am always seeking is between my optimism and my deep concerns about where this nation is heading.

But looking around this room, the worries ease. Because I know there are more of us who want to see our country succeed than those who want to drag us back in time. We will not back down in our fight to see a more perfect union.

So let me finish where I started, by thanking Reverend Sharpton and the National Action Network for all that you do in the face of great trials, to lead our nation, activate her people, and work for a bright future for every single child in America. Thank you.