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Welcome to a special midweek message from the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Insider, a newsletter that features regular updates about upcoming Dem-NPL events, legislative happenings, and news that affects North Dakotans!
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DNC Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta is coming to North Dakota!
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DNC Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta will be in North Dakota! On Friday, he'll be in Manvel, ND at the Whispering Oaks Golf Course for an event with the Northern Valley Dem-NPL! Get your tickets here!
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If you haven't heard him speak before, we thought we'd share one of his speeches in our Midweek Message.
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Malcolm Kenyatta's Full Remarks at the 2025 Frank and Bethine Church Gala for the Idaho Democratic Party in Boise, ID
Now, I have learned over the years, speaking at a couple of events, if you want to say something shocking, say it early on in your remarks—and you'll have time to win people back. So, you saw a Black kid from North Philly walk up here and did not expect one of the first things for me to say is that I am not here tonight, and I am not a Democrat because I hate Donald Trump. Hear me on this. I got involved in politics because there was somebody that I loved who I thought was worth fighting for.
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Now, I grew up in a working-poor family in North Philadelphia. My dad was trained as a social worker. My mama was trained as a home healthcare aid. And he was lucky that while he was in school, he got to meet this little cute, little thing named Kelly Kenyatta. Now, I like to say this because it is so true—I got the best parents in the world. Okay? I hit the jackpot in that regard. They just didn’t like each other. And so what that meant for me, brass tax, is that my parents separated when I was pretty young. I got my first job at 12 years old, washing dishes at a little restaurant. And what that job did was help give my mom a little bit of wiggle room. Some of you in this room know about needing wiggle room. Some of you know about what it means to be in that grocery store with great hopes and expectations, filling up your cart ’til you get to the register, and it starts going up and up and up—and things start coming out of that cart. Some of you know about that. And you know about it now—even if you didn’t know about it before—’cause eggs are like 10 damn dollars.
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Some of you know what I know about only having health care because of a little program called CHIP—you might’ve heard of it. Some of you know what I know about not having access to the type of stable housing that you need. Some of you know what I know about my mom sitting us down and saying, “Hey baby, I’m sorry, but we’re not going to be able to stay here—we can’t afford that anymore.” And so, I am not a Democrat because I hate Republicans. I’m not a Democrat because of the guy that's walking around the White House right now. I am a Democrat because there are working families like mine that need a strong Democratic Party.
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Families that need us to fight for Medicaid and Medicare; families that need us not to walk away from the fight for food assistance. Years ago, I ran for the U.S. Senate, as Terry mentioned, and during that campaign, I gave a speech on the hallowed grounds of Gettysburg. And I said there something that I want to say to you tonight, Idaho Democrats. I said that democracy requires something of us. It required something of the women of Seneca Falls and others who understood—and we’re thinking about them today on International Women’s Day—those great suffragettes, who understood that they deserved to have full access to this thing called "democracy." It required something of enslaved folks and abolitionists who gave up everything to chart a path to freedom. It required something of the folks at Stonewall, who said, “I deserve to live exactly as I am in a country this great.” And Lord knows it required something of the folks who sat at diner counters and boycotted buses and 60 years ago walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge—because they understood that the Arc of Justice doesn’t bend because it bends; it bends because we bend it.
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And so, in this moment where we have a guy in the White House who couldn’t give a damn about working families like ours. It can be easy to think that the only job we have is finding the hero who’s going to save us. But let me tell you something, my friends—we can do much better than getting caught up in somebody’s cult of personality. We have a responsibility to actually recognize that the person we’re looking for—who’s going to solve a lot of these big challenges—they are right in the front camera on your phone—they are in the mirror in your house. It is you.
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In our founding documents—our great Constitution, which changed the course of human history—it starts with three words: We the People. Not they—the billionaires; not them—the corporations; not them—the politicians. We the People. And so if you ask, “Who’s going to stop a would‑be dictator?”—We the People are going to stop them. If you ask, “Who’s going to stand up for veterans who are losing their jobs?”—I have an answer: We the People. If you ask, “Who’s going to keep this country from becoming a fascist regime?”—We the People.
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One of the reasons would‑be dictators—would‑be kings—try to go after history first is because they want you to forget what you are made of. History doesn’t repeat itself, the saying goes—and it rhymes. But I will tell you, we have been here before. We are not the first generation to face off against powerful interests that don’t want people to be able to organize a union for good pay and dignified wages. We’re not the first generation to stand up to bigots that want to divide us by race, religion, and region. We’re not the first. We’re not the first generation to fight for the fundamental truth that every single one of our kids deserves a high-quality public education. We’re not the first. And we are not the first who would have America ally with oligarchies and autocrats across the world and turn our backs on our allies. We’re not the first.
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And so in this moment, it’s critical for us to remember what the hell we are made of. I mentioned earlier the Edmund Pettus Bridge—and when we think about that story, it’s very easy to stop at the icon, the legend, John Lewis. But I will tell you: on that day—Bloody Sunday—and in the marches that came after, there were 600 people on that bridge—people who showed up at great risk to their livelihoods, to their families—people who showed up knowing that there were going to be water hoses and dogs on the other end of that bridge. People who showed up not knowing the outcome, but knowing what was right. And leaders tell you hard truths. Here’s the hard truth: Democrats, we are spending way too much time asking who’s going to be at the front of the line—and not just getting in line. We’re spending a lot of time asking what’s going to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back—and not just being a straw on the camel’s back.
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Here is the truth: there are folks who have asked me, “Malcolm, what do we do? Should we be making phone calls?” Yes. "Should we be registering people to vote?" Yes. "Should we be showing up to protest?" Yes. "Should we be running for office?" Yes. If there is something that you can think of—yes, we ought to be doing it.
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I told this story before, and I want to end with these incredible thoughts for my grandmother, Mary. My grandma was a titan of the civil rights movement. And I will never ever forget her calling me during the last time this jag‑off got in the White House. And she called me—her voice cracking, I could hear she had finished crying, and she said, “Baby, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I thought my generation had fixed this stuff. And here you are—a young man—fighting the same battles.” But I want to say to you tonight, Idaho Democrats, what I said to her, "it’s just our turn." It’s just our turn. It’s just our turn to remember that we the people built this country—and we the people are going to save it. It’s just our turn to remember that our power is not locked in just our vote. Our power is in our voice. Our power is in showing up. Our power is in running for office. Our power is in making phone calls. It’s just our turn.
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And so, Idaho Democrats—I have a question for you: Are you going to let these folks silence you as they take away Medicare and Medicaid? Are you going to be quiet as they try to take us backwards? Are you going to be quiet when they try to gut public education? I didn’t think so. I had a sense that that was what you were going to say. And so this is what I want to say to you in this moment: remember who the hell you are. We were made for this moment. And I don’t know about you, but I’m not bending the knee to any would‑be king. I’m not rolling over to some billionaire from South Africa. I’m not going to be quiet in the face of people who don’t even have the courage to show up to a damn town hall meeting. And I damn sure am not going to let democracy die on our watch. Idaho Democrats—let’s go save this country. Let’s go win. God bless you.
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The Century Club supports our year-round work to build party infrastructure supporting candidate recruitment, local district and regional leadership, issue-based education, and tools for Dem-NPL success.
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Help us elect great Democrats up and down the ballot!
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The North Dakota Democratic-NPL is launching a new grassroots program called “Neighbor to Neighbor” where volunteers will connect with voters in your community to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. As a volunteer, you will be responsible for connecting with voters in 25 homes in your neighborhood or friends and family to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot about 3-4 times this year.
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Grassroots organizers are the lifeblood of the Dem-NPL! Sign up to volunteer with the Dem-NPL!
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