Video Remarks Announcing Candidacy for President

In a spirit of profound gratitude for all the country has given to me, with a determination to build a better, more sustainable, more inclusive American Dream for everyone:

I am today announcing my candidacy for President of the United States.

www.devalpatrick2020.com

Deval Patrick Announcement Video Transcript

Hi, everyone, I'm Deval Patrick. I used to be governor of Massachusetts. But that's not where I started. I grew up on the south side of Chicago. I lived there with my grandparents, my mother and sister and our grandparents two-bedroom tenement, some of that time on welfare.

I went to big broken, overcrowded public schools. And still my grandmother used to tell us we were not poor just broke, because broke, she said is temporary. Through the love and support a family, great teachers, adults in the neighborhood and in church, I learned to look up not down to hope for the best and work for it.

I was the first in my family to go to college and law school and have had a chance to work in government in nonprofits and in business. I've had a chance to live my American dream. But over the years, I've seen the path to that dream gradually closing off bit by bit.

The anxiety and even anger that I saw in my neighbors on the south side, the sense that the government and the economy, were letting us down. We're no longer about us is what folks feel all over America today and all kinds of communities.

I admire and respect the candidates in the Democratic field. They bring a richness of ideas and experience and a depth of character that makes me proud to be a Democrat. But if the character the candidates is an issue in every election, this time is about the character of the country.

This time is about whether the day after the election, America will keep her promises. This time is about more than removing an unpopular and divisive leader, as important as that is, but about delivering instead for you.

So, in a spirit of profound gratitude for all the country has given to me and with a determination to build a better, more sustainable, more inclusive American dream for the next generation. I am today announcing my candidacy for President of the United States.

Come be a part of this.

We will build as we climb, to welcome other teachers and learners, other seekers of a better way and builders have a better future.

This won't be easy, and it shouldn't be.

But I'm placing my faith in the people who feel left out and left back who just want a fair shot at a better future not built by somebody better than you. Not built for you, but built with you.

Now let's get started. Thank you.