LeeAnne Walters acceptance speech, 2018 Goldman Environmental Prize — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00[Applause]
2. 0:03[Music]
3. 0:10[Applause]
4. 0:23thank you it is a pleasure to be here
5. 0:27tonight to be among so many great minds
6. 0:29and strong wills I would like to thank
7. 0:32the Goldman environmental foundation for
8. 0:34this highest honor that they have given
9. 0:36to me I would also like to thank my
10. 0:39fellow Flintstones the water warriors
11. 0:43Marc Edwards Miguel del Toro their
12. 0:47families and especially my family for
13. 0:50supporting me when we started fighting
14. 0:53for Flint I thought of my kids and how I
15. 0:56would stop at nothing to make this grave
16. 0:58injustice right I am just one of many
17. 1:01who have fought for clean water over the
18. 1:03years as you know water is a necessity
19. 1:06and poisoned water isn't something that
20. 1:09should ever be expected in the United
21. 1:10States but Flint has opened our eyes to
22. 1:13an environmental crisis that is a
23. 1:16reality not just for Flint but across
24. 1:19the u.s. in even in communities across
25. 1:22the country even right here in the Bay
26. 1:25of Oakland loopholes in the law make it
27. 1:28easy for cities to minimize their lead
28. 1:30results and unfortunately Flint was a
29. 1:33mix of all the wrong circumstances the
30. 1:37people in charge didn't believe us when
31. 1:39we spoke out and there were many
32. 1:42attempts to discredit us but Flint is a
33. 1:45strong and determined community we were
34. 1:47not going to sit by being pushed to the
35. 1:49side or be told that we were fabricating
36. 1:52the truth soon we were able to prove the
37. 1:56facts of what had happened we finally
38. 1:58had science on our side and the proof
39. 2:01that couldn't be dismissed with dirty
40. 2:04water samples in hand we felt vindicated
41. 2:06at the same time we feared what the
42. 2:09future held tomorrow is the four-year
43. 2:12anniversary of what started Flint the
44. 2:16switch to the Flint River it it is
45. 2:20important for us to remember that
46. 2:21there's more work to be done for me this
47. 2:25award is a symbol to my kids to fight
48. 2:28for what is right and to not let anybody
49. 2:30stand in their way or make them feel
50. 2:32like they shouldn't fight because it
51. 2:34won't make a difference
52. 2:37[Applause]
53. 2:48even the smallest action can make a
54. 2:51difference when someone tells you to
55. 2:53stop ignore them and keep on your path
56. 2:56I am the catalyst for Flint but this was
57. 3:01a community effort one person can make a
58. 3:04difference but a community is
59. 3:07unstoppable
60. 3:09[Applause]
61. 3:16this award here tonight is not just for
62. 3:19me but is for everyone who has fought in
63. 3:22Flint and has fought for Flint so thank
64. 3:25you
65. 3:47you