Quote
of
the
day
by
New
Yo k
City
Mayo
Zoh a
Mamda i.
New
Yo k
City
Mayo
Zoh a
Mamda i
delive ed
a
powe ful
speech
o
July
4,
2026,
o
the
occasio
of
Ame ica’s
250th
bi thday,
add essi g
the
bu i g
issue
of
mig atio ,
weavi g
i
his
sto y
of
comi g
to
the
US
as
well.
“The
city
I
see
today
looks
ve y
diffe e t
tha
the
o e
that
g eeted
Geo ge
Washi gto .
I
July
of
1776,
ou
city
simme ed
u de
the
yoke
of
opp essio .
The
B itish
had
imposed
a
colo ial
ule
so
ep essive
that
250
yea s
ago,
80
miles
south,
a
small
g oup
of
ewspape
edito s,
fa me s,
a d
soldie s
sig ed
thei
ames
o
a
docume t
decla i g
t uths
that
feel
self-evide t
ow,
but
we e
evolutio a y
the ,
establishi g
the
ideals
ou
atio
still
st ives
to
fulfill,”
he
said.”The
B itish
did
ot
take
it
well.
Wa
b oke
out.
A d
that
August,
as
the
la gest
battle
of
the
Revolutio a y
Wa
u folded
i
B ookly ,
batte ies
o
Gove o ’s
Isla d
took
aim
at
B itish
ships
a cho ed
just
offsho e.
We
we e
outgu ed,
we
we e
outma ed,
a d
we
we e
sou dly
defeated.
Afte
o ly
a
few
mo ths,
it
appea ed
ou
fledgli g
attempt
at
democ acy
was
o
the
p ecipice
of
collapse.””But
that
ight,
with
the
moo
ove head,
thousa ds
of
ou
soldie s
sile tly
climbed
i to
fe ies
a d
flat-bottomed
boats
a d
escaped
to
Ma hatta .
The
Co ti e tal
A my
su vived
to
fight
a othe
day.
I depe de ce
may
have
bee
decla ed
i
Philadelphia,
but
it
was
escued
i
New
Yo k
City.””Geo ge
Washi gto
was
the
last
to
leave
B ookly .
As
he
waited
at
the
ive ’s
edge,
the
su
begi i g
its
ise,
he
would
have
looked
out
ove
New
Yo k
City’s
wate s
a d
see
what
so
ma y
have
see
i
the
250
yea s
si ce,
a
oppo tu ity
to
begi
a ew.
Those
oppo tu ities,
like
eve ythi g
i
New
Yo k
City,
a e
ot
give ,
they
a e
wo .”
My
family
did
ot
a ive
by
boat
I
his
speech,
he
ecou ted
the
waves
of
mig atio
that
happe ed
i
phases
to
Ame ica.
“That
legacy
of
eve y
ge e atio
of
Ame ica s
i sisti g
that
the
ight
to
life,
libe ty,
a d
the
pu suit
of
happi ess
exte ds
to
them,
too,
is
o
elic
of
the
past.””It
ca ied
millio s
of
Black
Ame ica s
o th
du i g
the
G eat
Mig atio .
It
d ew
hu d eds
of
thousa ds
of
Pue to
Rica s
to
New
Yo k
City
afte
the
Seco d
Wo ld
Wa .
It
i vited
cou tless
othe s
f om
the
West
I dies
a d
South
Asia
a d
West
Af ica
a d
ac oss
the
wo ld.
A d
it
is
what
b ought
my
family
to
this
city
whe
I
was
seve
yea s
old.””My
family
did
ot
a ive
by
boat,
although
we
saw
the
Statue
of
Libe ty
f om
the
wi dow
of
the
pla e.
Eve
f om
the
ai ,
we
could
make
out
the
p omise
of
Ame ica,
the
p omise
of
the
beautiful
pat iotic
wo k
of
e de i g
Ame ica,
yea
afte
yea ,
a
little
mo e
faithful
to
its
fou di g
ideals.”
Ame ica
exceptio alism
Mamda i
said
Ame ica
exceptio alism
makes
f eedom
mo e
f ee.
“Fo
ge e atio
afte
ge e atio ,
we
have
bee
told
that
whe
the
wo ld
has
se t
its
people
to
ou
sho es,
it
has
ot
se t
its
best.
It
se t
Pu ita s
a d
Sikhs
a d
Quake s
a d
Muslims
a d
Jewish
people
who
we e
ba ished
fo
p ayi g
the
w o g
way,
wo shippi g
the
w o g
gods,
a ge i g
the
w o g
people.
It
se t
peasa ts
a d
se fs
f om
slums
a d
shtetls
who
we e
t eated
as
less
because
they
ha dly
ow ed
clothes,
let
alo e
la d.
It
se t
immig a ts
fo
whom
powe
was
somethi g
someo e
else
had.””What
a
p ivilege
each
of
us
has
to
live
i
a
atio
that
eve y
o e
of
its
i habita ts
ca
shape.
What
a
espo sibility
each
of
us
possesses
to
p ove
ou selves
wo thy
of
all
those
who
came
befo e.
What
powe
each
of
us
holds
to
b i g
Ame ica
eve
close
to
the
g eat ess
so
ma y
have
see
whe
they
looked
upo
these
sho es,
the
g eat ess
that
fo
250
yea s
has
bee
Ame ica.”
