Erin Brockovich Congratulates Marc Edwards & LeeAnne Walters | Smithsonian American Ingenuity Awards — Transcript

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1. 0:00ERIN BROCKOVICH: Hi, everyone.
2. 0:01I'm Erin Brockovich.
3. 0:02I wish I was there tonight, but I am here from New York to you
4. 0:07because I am so excited for your next recipients and the awards
5. 0:12that will be given to LeeAnne Walters and Marc Edwards
6. 0:16for the amazing work that they did
7. 0:19in exposing the truth of the Flint water crisis.
8. 0:23Both of them embody something I believe and I say very,
9. 0:28very often, and that is Superman isn't coming.
10. 0:33It is a moment in our time where we must look to ourselves
11. 0:39and not take for granted or wait for something from the top
12. 0:43to come down but rather do exactly as LeeAnne and Marc did,
13. 0:49and that is to pick up the torch, to carry the torch,
14. 0:53to find information and the truth about what
15. 0:57was happening in their hometown, in their water supply,
16. 1:01and the outcome it was having on their family.
17. 1:05I am so proud of LeeAnne and for Marc.
18. 1:10Against up all the odds and all the pushback, they said, no,
19. 1:16and they persevered.
20. 1:18And they had that stick-to-itiveness
21. 1:20that I talk about to everybody, and that's
22. 1:22that dogged persistence borne of obligation and stubbornness.
23. 1:27They marched forward to find the answers and to expose the truth.
24. 1:33I cannot think of two greater recipients and two people who I
25. 1:37am more proud of and more honored to say to you tonight,
26. 1:41congratulations for the work that you have done.
27. 1:45It is so well deserved.
28. 1:47And your voice has saved countless of thousands,
29. 1:51and your voice has been an inspiration to all of us
30. 1:55again to speak up and to speak out
31. 1:59against water pollution, lead pollution,
32. 2:03lead pollution that exist right where you are
33. 2:06right now in Washington, DC.
34. 2:09Maybe you guys better hire LeeAnne and Marc
35. 2:12because I'll tell you what, they'll get to the bottom of it.
36. 2:15Thank you so much for this time.
37. 2:18LeeAnne, Marc, may God bless you.
38. 2:21Thank you so much, honor well deserved.