Remarks Addressing Women's March on Boston - Jan. 21, 2017

Hello women of Massachusetts! And hello friends of women of Massachusetts! I love you too!

Thank you Mayor Walsh! I am glad to have this chance to stand shoulder to shoulder, to fight alongside the Mayor of Boston for the people of this country. Thank you!

So we’re here today because of the power of women. The power of women to come up with good ideas, like this rally. The power of women to organize, like this rally. And the power of women to make sure that as our country enters a new political era that the voices of the people will be heard.

Yesterday Donald Trump was sworn in as President. That sight is now burned into my eyes forever, and I hope the same is true for you because we will not forget. We do not want to forget. We will use that vision to make sure that we fight harder, we fight tougher, and we fight more passionately more than ever—not just for the people whom Donald Trump supports but for all of America.

People are worried. Donald Trump’s campaign was about attacks on women, attacks on African Americans, attacks on Latinas, attacks on religious groups, attacks on immigrants. A Trump-Pence Supreme Court could overturn Roe versus Wade and dissolve marriages of LGBTQ citizens. A Republican Congress is eager to rip away healthcare for millions of Americans.

America’s hard working families have taken one punch after another. Decades of trickledown economics and attacks on unions, attacks on wages, attacks on pensions, attacks on healthcare, attacks on Social Security, attacks on education, attacks on infrastructure, and financial regulation that’s gutted America’s middle class.

A broken criminal justice system, a broken civil rights system, and decades of systemic racism have kept people of color from having the same opportunities of other Americans throughout this country.

The fact is that the playing field has been tilted badly in favor of those at the top for a generation now. And now President Trump and the Republican Congress are ready to ram through laws that will tilt it even farther.

Now we can whimper, we can whine, or we can fight back. Me, I’m here to fight back!

And that is why we come together today. Hundreds of thousands of people in Boston, in Washington, and across this country, we are in marches to say, “We are fighting back!” That’s who we are.

We come here to stand shoulder to shoulder, to make clear we are here, we will not be silent, we will not play dead, we will fight for what we believe in.

We have a vision and that vision defines who we are as a people.

First, we fight for basic dignity and respect for every human being period. No compromise, no backing up.

Second, we fight for economic opportunity. Not just for those at the top but for everyone. All of our kids deserve a fighting chance to get ahead. Respect of everyone, economic opportunity for everyone that is the American Deal and that’s what we fight for.

Those core principles call out the best in who we are. For too long American families have seen a government and an economy that isn’t working for them. And Trump and the Republicans promise to make America worse. But we’re here because we are ready to fight for the people who want to build a country that works for all of us. That’s why we are here.

We come together to give each other strength. We come together to give each other courage. We come together to remind each other of our values. As we get ready to march, let us remind each other of what we believe in, and why we fight, and why we will keep right on fighting.

We believe that no one in this country should work full-time and live in poverty—that means raising the minimum wage. Paid over time, sick leave, we will fight for it.

We believe that workers have a right to come together and to bargain together. Unions built America’s middle-class and unions will rebuild America’s middle-class.

We believe that every young person is entitled to get an education without being crushed by student loan debt. We believe in debt-free college!

Now I am going to say something that is really controversial in some places in Washington—we believe in science. Yeah! We know that climate change is real, and we have a moral responsibility to protect this earth for our children and our grandchildren.

We also believe that immigration makes us a stronger country. We will not build a stupid wall! And we will not tear millions of families apart! Not on our watch!

And we believe that sexism, racism, homophobia, and bigotry have no place in this country. Black Lives Matter! Diversity makes our country stronger!

We believe that equal means equal. And that’s true in the workplace, that’s true in marriage, it’s true every place. We will never stop fighting to ensure a quality for all of our citizens.

You know I could do this all day.

Hey! We’ve got to march. So I’m just going to do one more. One more that I cannot believe I have to do in 2017.

We believe in equal pay for equal work, and a woman’s right to make decisions over her own body.

Yes! This is what we believe, this is what we will fight for, this is what we will march for.

Are you ready to fight? Are you ready to march? Are you ready to make sure today and tomorrow and the next day and the day after that, that our voices are heard across the nation! We will be out there every day!

Now let’s go march!