Keith Ellison's 2016 Democratic National Convention Speech

Keith Ellison delivered a speech to introduce Bernie Sanders at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on 25 July 2016.

Transcript
How you doing, Democrats!?

You know, tonight– tonight, my Democrats, we are– we are united around the most progressive platform in history. The most progressive platform in history: a $15-an-hour minimum wage, banning private prisons, expanding Social Security, the public option, and debt-free college tuition. That's the platform that Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton wrote together! And that's the platform that we can make the law of the land if we stand together; if we work together; and if we vote together on November 8th.

You know: Trump, he wants to divide and conquer us with his anti-Muslim, anti-Mexican, anti-worker message. They don't want us to vote. They want to push voter-ID laws that block black and Latino voters. Paul Ryan won't even allow a vote to restore the Voting Rights Act. You know: we must push back. Voting is not&ndahs; not voting is not a protest: it is a surrender.

When they bring the fear, we bring the courage. When they bring the division, we gotta bring the unity everybody. As a proud – and I said proud – Bernie Sanders supporter, I will always remember feeling the Bern in Minnesota. There's my Minnesotans over there! 6,000 in Duluth! 14,000 in St. Paul! Bernie sparked the beginning of a revolution, y'all. He packed `em in from Davenport to Detroit. To Yorktown, and Mine. 13,000,000 Americans voted their progressive values, and millions more made an investment in building that movement, $27 at a time.

You know: together– together, we call for climate justice; we call for racial justice; we call for wage justice. And you know what? We made our voices heard, and together, Democrats, we will make our voices heard in November when we defeat Donald Trump, and– and elect Hillary Rodham Clinton to the next President of the United States of America.

But tonight– tonight, let us raise our voices in gratitude to the man who has helped make this great Party greater than ever!

Ladies and gentlemen: I give you Bernie Sanders!