MAYOR MELVIN CARTER’S HANDS OFF RALLY SPEECH: A CALL TO FIGHT WITH LOVE, NOT HATE

Melvin Carter is the mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota—a city committed to progressive values and inclusivity. As the first Black mayor of St. Paul, Carter has worked tirelessly to promote policies that prioritize the safety and well-being of all residents, particularly marginalized communities. His speech at the Hands Off Rally was a powerful call to action in the face of rising political divisiveness, urging the crowd to fight with love, not hate. Below is the full transcript of his inspiring words, a passionate plea for unity, justice, and decency in these tumultuous times.

"I want to welcome you to a city where immigrants are welcome. I want to welcome you to a city where trans youth are protected. I want to welcome you to a city where women make their own decisions about their healthcare. A city where women make a whole lot of decisions about policy too. And I want to welcome you to a city where we all have a seat at the table."

"You know, listen, I won’t take the whole time to brag on St. Paul, but we’re a community that starts every child born in our city with a college savings account. We’re a community that works hard to make sure all of our neighbors have safe housing. We’re a community that has progressed on public safety—not through hateful rhetoric, but by taking better care of one another."

"And I say all of that just to say that what we’re working on in St. Paul is to show what it looks like to make policy, to make financial decisions, to make decisions in the halls of government that are based on a belief in and a love for all of the people."

"Are you angry? I gotta admit I’m a little angry too. And that’s because the work that we’re doing—and let me tell you, that work we’re doing on public safety—is more important today than it ever has been. 'Cause we’re working to prevent a repeat of one of the worst historic surges in homicides that we saw in the first Trump administration. We have urgent work to do. And you know that work ends up getting impacted by some of the messages we hear out of Washington D.C. Some of the messages we hear, even in this building, that try to convince us that each other is what’s wrong with our country, that each other is what’s wrong with our state, that each other is what’s wrong with our city. But we know better."

"Just last month, the White House of the United States of America sent out a list of people they observed, called sick, and said that this list of people were rapists and murderers roaming free in their communities. And that just is inaccurate. And we know that the mistake of harmful rhetoric on immigration, harmful rhetoric on public safety, actually makes us all less safe."

"They were saying that we were sick because we said there is absolutely no way, in St. Paul and Minneapolis and cities across our country, there is absolutely no way that we’re going to allow our police officers to be co-opted as federal immigration agents."

"And do you know, they sent us a press release, we sent them back a lawsuit."

"Because we ain't gonna let nobody separate us from our neighbors. We’re not gonna let nobody tell us that diversity is a threat. We ain't gonna let nobody stand in the way of our work to build a city, a state, a country that works for all of us."

"They threatened to pull our city’s federal funding. They threatened to pull the dollars that we use to fund police officers, to help us out in our community. They threatened to pull the dollars that we use for youth jobs in our community. They threatened to pull the dollars that we’re using to make sure children don’t have to drink lead in their water."

"But let me tell you, the folks who threw tea into the sea wouldn’t allow taxation without representation, and neither will we!"

"So, I’m angry. But let me tell you this—let me tell you this."

"I’ve learned how true it is, Martin Luther King’s words, that hate can’t drive out hate. Only love can do that. We got a fight in front of us. We’ve got to fight right now. But let me tell you, as I go fight, I’m looking for, and I need you to find something more powerful than hatred, something more powerful than anger to fuel your tank."

"I’m angry, and I know that you are too. But my anger for what I hear is coming out of Washington D.C. is small compared to my love for the people who live in this community. Compared to what I believe in the children growing up in our state today. Compared to the hope that I feel when we all come together and say: 'We shall overcome. We shall overcome. We shall overcome. We shall overcome. We shall overcome.'"

"Martin Luther King said, 'The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.' I believe that’s true. But guess what I’ve learned, Representative? It doesn’t bend itself. We are responsible for being the benders."

"So listen, somebody asked me what I had to say to Donald Trump. I’ve got a lot to say to Donald Trump, but guess what? I don’t think he’s listening to me. But while you are, let me just ask you to do something. We’re gonna fight everywhere we can. We’re gonna fight in the halls of government, aren’t we? We’re gonna fight in the courts, aren’t we? And we’re gonna fight every time we get a chance to vote, aren’t we?"

"But look, we have to practice what it means to fight with love. We have to practice what it means to not let people who are bringing hate to us lure us into the trap of hating them."

"We have to practice what it means to fight with love, to restore decency in our country. And it starts with every interaction."

"So, my challenge to you—my homework for you, as I see somebody holding up the 'your time is up' sign."

"Listen, I need you here supporting the legislators who are fighting on our behalf. I need you standing up behind our attorney general when he files a lawsuit on our behalf. I need you making sure every single one of our neighbors shows up to the polls when it’s time to vote."

"But do me this favor: in the grocery store, and in the hardware store, and in your family, and at school, and at work, and everywhere you go, wear the cloak of decency. And when you meet somebody who disagrees with you, be decent to them. When you meet somebody who doesn’t like you, be decent to them. When you meet somebody who’s pushing policies that you don’t believe in, be decent to them."

"Because the thing that will stand justice is if we lose that just understanding that we have more in common than the things that separate us. And if we fall for hate, then hate will win."

"So, there’s a whole lot of things that I want this administration to keep their hands off of. But the bottom line ends with the beginning: The words that started our country’s journey: 'We the people. We the people. We the people. We the people.'"

"The thing that makes America great is the word 'we.'"

"And let me tell you, I’ve learned that this fight isn’t just about right versus left. This fight isn’t about blue versus red. This fight that I’m asking you to fight is a fight between those who want to take that powerful word 'we' and build a wall around it to keep anyone else out. And those of us who want to take that powerful word 'we' and build bridges to bring as many people as we can."

"In no matter how many walls they build, I’m going to keep on building bridges. And I need you to. Thank you for being here. Thank you for your fight. Thank you for building. Thank you for restoring dignity. Thank you for restoring decency. Thank you for voting. Thank you for volunteering. Thank you for making sure that they hear that not only are we going to take their hands off our rights, off our voting rights, off our veterans, off our Medicare, off our unions, and jobs, off of our public plans—but they don’t have the reach. They don’t have long enough arms to put their hands on our love for one another."

"I love you, and I thank you for being here."

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