Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Delivers Remarks at the Baptist Ministers Conference of Greater New York and Vicinity’s 57th Annual Dr. Martin Luther[...]

Governor Hochul: "As I declared last week, my fight is your family. Because New Yorkers are struggling too much. They have too many struggles. Inflation is not their fault, it's not your fault, it's no one's fault, but it's real. Everything costs more… People are struggling and I cannot ignore those cries for help.'"

Hochul: "As a community, as people, as New Yorkers, and say, 'We will fight for our rights with every fiber of our being.' So whatever comes our way for the next four years, we are ready, we are ready to stand up and channel the spirit of Dr. King and the influence of Jesus Christ, our Lord Savior, on him and his teachings. Because that's how I was raised, that's how I'll always be, and all of us together will continue not to stand up, but to also continue the march forward to real justice and freedom in the great State of New York."

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul delivered remarks at the Baptist Ministers Conference of Greater New York and Vicinity's 57th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Hello, church. Great to be back again. I was here just about a year ago and felt so welcome, but I'm back again. One thing I want to say at the outset - ushers, you missed the people in the front. So you're leaving money on the table, right? There's some money up here, okay. Alright, here we go. Alright.

Now don't worry about that, because if you watched my State of the State address, we're gonna put money back in your pockets. Alright? So, you're gonna be just fine. You're gonna be just fine. First of all, to be in this place, this hallowed sanctuary, where Dr. King came and spoke - not knowing it would be his last time to ever speak in a New York City church, but he poured his heart out - as he often does - and shared with this congregation his thoughts about where we're heading. And here we find ourselves today, very much thinking about the words that he lived by, the words that he taught by, but more importantly, the words he left us today.

So Dr. Reverend James Kilgore, our president of the Baptist Ministries Conference of Greater New York and Vicinity, and indeed, New York is great. Greater New York. Thank you for bringing us together. I heard Pastor Williams speak. I said, "Who put me in the order of an Irish Catholic girl from Buffalo to speak after him?"

Yeah, because I could only go down from there, right? But I'm honored to be here with all of you and the first ladies and my colleagues in government. I'm going to give a few of them a shout out, the ones I can see from here. We have our congressman, Adriano Espaillat, who's been a great, great friend of mine, a great partner. Please stand up.

Our district attorney working to keep us safe, Alvin Bragg. Our Borough President Mark Levine has joined us. Brad Lander, our Comptroller is here. Senator Robert Jackson, one of my partners up in Albany. Member of the Assembly Jordan Wright is here, and Council Member Yusef Salaam is here. Anybody I missed? I know a good line up when I see one.

I just watched the Buffalo Bills last night. That was a good line up. I'm allowed to say that, right? I can say that. Alright? You're all Bills fans. Right? Right? Where else are you gonna go right now, right? Kansas City? I digress a little bit. Just a little bit.

But, when I think about being in this church, and the last church that Dr. King spoke at in New York, I think about the church he spoke at two months before he was brutally assassinated and that was his beloved Ebenezer Church in Georgia. And at that church he said something that is so profound. He said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is what are you doing for others." It is so simple. It is so clear.

But I say, the time for asking these questions is over. Now it's time to stand up and say what you're going to do. And who you're fighting for. And I took note that the name of this conference is, "Honoring the Dream, We're Still Standing." I say we're not just still standing, we're still marching. We're not done marching yet.

And what does that march mean? It means to use the power of your position, whatever it may be, whether you're blessed to be an elected official, and I tell you, this is the highest honor of my life. Never imagined that God would put me in this place, but here I am, and I am honored to be here.

But when you're given these opportunities to serve others in a profound, unexpected way, you must step up. And those of you who listen to my values and my priorities in my State of the State address a few days ago, would see the influence of Dr. King in my life. Now you're thinking, "Well, how is Dr. King influencing this woman from Buffalo?"

Well, I'm going to tell you a couple things right now. I'm a lot older than you think. Okay? You can laugh at that. You don't have to agree. But, I was ten years old when he was assassinated. Dr. King was not a stranger to my family. As a little girl, I would try to get away from the challenges of growing up in a very big Irish Catholic household.

I would walk to the neighborhood library. My parents couldn't afford to buy us books, but I knew I could always check one out. And I went through this whole series called "The Childhood of Famous Americans" and actually had a book about the life of Dr. King while he was still on Earth. I read that story. Read it over and over.

And my parents were also those social justice Catholics, I mean they were marching against the war, they were marching for civil rights. They had their little kids, all of us, part of this journey. And the influence on my life was profound, even as a child, and the night that he was assassinated - that fateful day on a spring day in April - my family gathered, we held hands, we prayed and we cried, because we knew, we knew we lost one of the great ones.

So I carry that story with me forever. And that is one of the influences I take with me when I'm talking about who we're fighting for here in the great State of New York. And as I declared last week, my fight is your family. Because New Yorkers are struggling too much. They have too many struggles. Inflation is not their fault, it's not your fault, it's no one's fault, but it's real.

Everything costs more. Eggs are now $7, a couple months ago, they were $4, and before that, they were $2. Come on. How are people supposed to survive paying the rent - paying for child care?

Anybody out there paying for child care? Maybe your grandkids? It's $21,000 a year to care for a child. You're making minimum wage? It doesn't add up. People are struggling and I cannot ignore those cries for help. And I will not be silenced - as Dr. King called out those - the worst are the ones who remain silent when they're called to use their voices.

So what are we doing about it? I wasn't joking when I said, "Money back in your pockets." We have found a way, and I'll be announcing my Budget tomorrow. I need to get back to Albany as soon as I'm done here and put the final touches on it. But you will not be disappointed because it prioritizes the people of this state.

If you have a child under the age of four, $1,000 back in your pocket because I know the diapers and the formula and everything is so expensive out there. And why do I know that? Because I'm New York's first mom governor. I lived it. I lived it. For middle class families, because you paid so much in sales tax, a $500 rebate to put back in your pockets.

You want an education? You're an adult who wants to get re-trained in a new field? Free college tuition at a community college. Free. Lifting up opportunities. Opening doors for people. And a middle class tax cut because you're paying too damn much in taxes. It all adds up. You've got three little kids - well we're covering your school lunches too, by the way. School lunches and breakfasts will be free for every child in New York, so no child has to have the stigma of getting in a separate line to get that subsidized lunch. Nearly $5,000 back in your pockets if I can get the Legislature to support this. That's what I'm talking about. That's how we use our positions to make a difference.

And also, I believe in second chances. I was able to sign the Clean Slate Law that says when you have paid your debt to society, you should not be ostracized. You should be able to get a job, re-enter society, earn a living, get a place to live, take care of yourselves.

There's one other issue I want to raise with you. As our nation approaches its 200th anniversary, there are some scars that need to be looked at more closely. At the beginning of our nation, one out of five New Yorkers were enslaved people. I don't think most people know that story. They all thought slavery was something in the South, right? Didn't happen here. No, those people didn't build our great buildings and they don't have any buried down on Wall Street. No, that never happened. Well, that's the history they want you to think exists. I convened a reparations commission of leaders from all across the State to talk about the vestiges of slavery and how we're still dealing with it today. And to tell the stories of the struggles, because they were real. And we examined the struggles of - today at noon, and for the next four years - I want to put a little perspective into this.

Talk about struggles? Talk about being a young man in his early thirties, wasting away in a dark, dank jail in Birmingham. And he sent messages, powerful words, from that jail cell, that told the story of what real discrimination and hatred was all about, how it affected people, and said, "We will no longer wait. We're going to take up this cause and march forward." If a young man can do that from a jail, with no hope in front of him, we can rise up, my friends. As a community, as a people, as New Yorkers, and say, "We will fight for our rights with every fiber of our being."

So whatever comes our way for the next four years, we are ready, we are ready to stand up and channel the spirit of Dr. King and the influence of Jesus Christ, our Lord Savior, on him and his teachings. Because that's how I was raised, that's how I'll always be, and all of us together will continue not to stand up, but to continue the march forward to real justice and freedom in the great State of New York.

Thank you, everybody, and happy Dr. King Day!

And, because I'm the Governor, I get to carry around really big proclamations in honor of Dr. King Day. And I'm going to put this to a vote, because I do believe in democracy. Some others don't. I do. Let's take a vote. Who wants me to read every word of this long proclamation?

Hearing none, I will not read every word of this long proclamation. But I will present this to you in honor of Dr. King Day and say we honor his legacy today and all the days going forward. Thank you very much.