Jim Kenney's 2016 Democratic National Convention Speech

Jim Kenney delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on 25 July 2016.

Transcript
Thank you. Yo, Pennsylvania.

On behalf of the great people of this city: welcome to Philadelphia. Philadelphia is a city that makes history, and we're ready to do it again when this convention nominates the first woman President of the United States. Today– today, however, I want to share a Philadelphia story you probably don't know. In 1844, an early version of the Know-Nothing political party held a rally here to protest the threat that Irish Catholic immigrants posed to the American way of life.

They claim these immigrants – people like my family – were more likely to commit crimes than native-born citizens. Does that sound familiar? This rhetoric led to riots. Saint Michael and Saint Augustine Churches were burned to the ground; some twenty people died. I'm telling you this story for one reason: it's happening again. The Know-Nothings have returned and last week, in Cleveland, they vowed to "take their country back" this November.

But they got it all wrong. It was never their country in the first place. Whether our families came to this country in 1776 or 1976 or 2016, this country belongs to all of us. Now: many of us thought we defeated the Know-Nothings eight years ago when we elected our first black president, Barack Obama.

But the fact is that meaningful change never happens all at once. You have to fight for it. A few weeks ago, after two previous attempts, Philadelphia became the first major city to pass a soda tax that will fund pre-K, community schools, and recreation centers, and library renovations all throughout the city.

Recently, I was speaking to an immigrant restaurant owner who told me that he supported the tax even though he sells soda, because it was going to help the neighborhood children. He said: "We didn't come here just to get rich. We came here to make a better life for ourselves and everyone else."

I can't tell you how angry I am that he and all of our immigrant brothers and sisters had to hear the ugly things said in Cleveland. But we can't that anger– let that anger overwhelm us. That's what Know-Nothings do. Instead, we have to come together, because when this country comes together, families who used to have to chose between groceries or healthcare are no longer hungry or sick.

When we come together, children whose destiny was once determined by their zip code get a start in pre-K that they deserve. And when we come together, the Know-Nothings who overran Philadelphia in 1844 will finally be defeated with the election of Hillary Clinton as President of the United States in 2016.

Let's get to work.

Thank you, and enjoy Philadelphia.