7 March 2015, Selma, Alabama, USA
There is still much work to be done. In fact, it was Amelia Boynton, 105 years old, who was my special guest at the State of the Union. As many people passed her in the hall, they would say, "Mrs. Boynton, we stand on your shoulders. We stand on your shoulders." Mrs. Boynton said, "Get off my shoulders! There's plenty of work to do!" So I say to you, America, there's plenty of work to do.
Now I have the great honor of introducing someone I did not know how to address when I first came to Congress. Do I call him colleague? Do I call him Congressman Lewis? Do I dare call him John? He is a civil rights icon, and a little black girl who grew up in Selma stands in his shadow. It is because of you, John, that so many of us get to walk the halls of Congress, get to sit in the Oval Office. It is because of your bravery and the bravery of those foot soldiers that I get to be Alabama's first African-American congresswoman. To say thank you is not enough. Let me just say, we know we have unfinished business, John, and we know there is much work to do.