Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) spoke to students at AU on April 7 about how everyone is capable of creating change in the world and the importance of staying positive while working for this advancement.
“If history proves anything, it is that optimism and idealism have just as much a claim on reality, if not more so, than pessimism and cynicism,” Ellison said.
Ellison is the first Muslim to be elected to Congress and the first African American elected to the House from Minnesota. His memoir, “My Country Tis of Thee,” was recently published and describes Ellison’s road to Congress, including overcoming obstacles as the lesser-known, minority candidate in his district.
“Our politics can’t be about the money, it has to be about the many, it has to be about us,” he said.
Ellison focused on current issues that he said need to be addressed in America, specifically raising the minimum wage and immigration reform. He gave examples of citizens “building up momentum” to change these problems and said that people should respond to those who doubt them with conviction and a passion to improve.
During a question and answer sessions, students asked Ellison about the building of the new Vikings football stadium in his home district of Minneapolis. Ellison responded by saying while he supported creating new jobs through the stadium, he did not think government money should go towards the project.
Another student asked Ellison about his thoughts on the recent McCutcheon Supreme Court case, which removed limits on how much private citizens can donate to political campaigns. Ellison said he believes decisions such as this, which give more power to the financial elite, are crippling America’s democracy.
“We are paralyzing our democracy right now, and we gotta do something about it, and we gotta believe we can do something about it,” he said.
Ellison ended his speech by encouraging students to be involved in the country’s future, and to believe in what they do.
“You gotta know your power, you gotta believe in it,” Ellison said.
“There’s nothing more inspiring than an excited, ready to go young person.”
kmagill@theeagleonline.com
