‘Hopefulness over hatred’ — Hakeem Jeffries will bring optimistic message to Medgar Evers College

By David Gil de Rubio | dgilderubio@mec.cuny.edu

When Hakeem Jeffries takes the stage at Medgar Evers College on Friday, February 7, it’ll be to promote a message of hope that reverberates through his book The ABCs of Democracy. This project was inspired by a speech he gave at the start of the 118th Congress on January 3, 2023, after the Democratic caucus unanimously nominated Jeffries to be Speaker of the House.

It was during this address where the Brooklyn native used the alphabet as a jumping-off point to remind the nation about the promise of our country and current system of government. It’s a message he reiterated during a recent interview with People Magazine.

“America is at a fork in the road and the choice we make — move the country forward or turn back the clock — will define us for decades to come,” Jeffries told People. “This book endeavors to lay out the values that have made our nation the greatest democracy in the history of the world using powerful illustrations and the elegant lens of the alphabet. It is my hope in some small way to help illuminate the road ahead in a manner that will guide our journey into a brighter future.” 

Illustrated by Shaniya Carrington, the book goes through the alphabet one letter at a time and is driven by catchy alliteration starting with, “American values over autocracy, Benevolence over bigotry, the Constitution over the cult.” 

It goes on to include other couplets including “Hopefulness over hatred. Inclusion over isolation. Justice over judicial overreach. Knowledge over kangaroo courts. Liberty over limitation.” 

The House minority leader since 2023 when he succeeded fellow Democratic Representative Nancy Pelosi, Jeffries is the first Black leader in either chamber of the U.S. Congress. When asked about his choice to “…riff off the alphabet to conclude your opening speech,” Jefferies told NPR’s Michel Martin that it was time of reckoning in the face of defeat.

“It was a moment of transition as Democrats had just lost control of the House of Representatives,” Jeffries said. “I thought it was important to make clear that while we would always be prepared, and that’s the case right now, to work with the other side of the aisle wherever and whenever possible in a bipartisan way to get things done, that we would stand up for traditional American values and push back against extremism at all times. And concluded that perhaps the most accessible way to lay that out was to go through those traditional values through the lens of the alphabet.”

For the Medgar Evers College event, Jeffries will be sitting down for a Q&A session with L. Joy Williams of the Brooklyn NAACP. They will be joined by Lurie Daniel Favors, executive director of the Center for Law & Social Justice at Medgar Evers College. 

Expect a message of hope if his parting words with NPR’s Martin are any indicator.

“I grew up in the Cornerstone Baptist Church and learned from an early point and time that a setback is nothing more than a setup for a comeback,” Jeffries told Martin. “Election Night was certainly a setback, but it sets us up for a comeback on behalf of the American people staying consistent with our ideals. Making sure we put working families over the well-connected and that we stand up for these traditional American values. America is much more than any one particular election. Anyone particular moment of adversity. And any one particular bump in the road. We will regroup. We always have. 

“We will rise to the occasion and we will get through this moment.”