Hello, everyone.
Can you hear me OK?
Yeah.
Is there good volume?
Thank you, TC.
And thank you for those words.
I will carry them with me in my moments
of doubt, which are often.
And thank you for being you.
I've been here two years ago at Casa Libra.
And I can tell that this is a community that deserves you.
And I think for you to be a poet laureate here
is a long overdue.
The politics of this nation and the people in Washington
now do not realize the gift they have
having you in this country.
And I hope that one day they will realize that.
I feel very grateful to be here and to see you all here.
There are forces working to dismantle
these very walls and what they hold, everything they contain.
But you're here because you are a testament of something
beyond gold, something beyond paper.
So I thank you for voting with your bodies and your presence
for this art and for what it means for all of us.
And so I'm happy too to be here to celebrate the work you've--
this community has made and to recognize someone
who has always been shining.
Thank you, TC.