David Dinkins, Rudy Giuliani, New York discussed on The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell


Former new york city mayor. David dinkins passed away last night at the age of ninety three. Join now but the reverend al sharpton president the next action network and host of politics nation. Right here on. Msnbc and rev. i've met david dinkins in person because you. I met him through you. I think he was here to do at thirty rock to do an interview for your show. And i'm so excited to meet him. He was such a great man. What are you remember. most about <hes>. David dinkins well. I knew david dinkins. Since i was a teenager when i was sixteen and started my national youth movement group. He was the lawyer that incorporated us and down through the years. We maintain the relationship. And sometimes i would argue would on call them names and one hundred be more strident and it took time to understand that. He had such grace even under the most tumultuous circumstances and i felt he should be more strident. He said al. You have to learn how to get the job done. Keep your eye on the prize. But i most remember. Is that when we were facing a police. Killing of a young man named ahmadou diablo. Who in the hell of forty one bullets was killed. Nine thousand nine hundred bullets for only gone in his debut. Stick in a key in the door and the police thought. They said they thought he had a weapon. He was just going home. They were looking for someone else and david dinkins. When we started protests every day we would go down to the police headquarters. The main one in new york and sit in and hundreds would be arrested. He called me one. One is at what time y'all have. The demonstrations was a former. I said ten in the morning. he's coming down. I said but we're getting arrested. He's out seeing the morning and he came down and went to one police plaza where he had been mayor and got on a knee way before colin cabinet. He took a knee and was arrested and had them cuffed him with congressman. Charlie rangel and himself and me and we went to jail fighting police reform that he started with that civilian complaint review board. He never left the struggle. He was not wanting to be loud and boisterous but he was firm and made real change happen. Yeah absolutely you know. We started off and we could see <hes>. <hes> charlie rangel and james brown. Lots of people in the photos that are that. I don't know if you can see them. That are coming up as as you're talking and you know we started off by talking about the way that dinkins was taken out of office by rudy. Giuliani this rage. That giuliani stoked already. There in the police against what mayor dinkins wanted to do which was changed policing. I feel like we're kind of having a rerun of that conversation about black lives matter about whether or not police should be free to kill it will in black communities. He tried to do something about it. Wouldn't you take from that fight. Is it dispiriting to think that after great men like this have tried after. You've tried after we've had all of these movements. We're still fighting about this were you. Were you fight you win. You don't fight to say the fight is over in a certain amount of rows. This is not pro boxing wrestling. You fight to you win and every struggle has had long struggles. I remember when nelson mandela gain which you mentioned then david dinkins had me as potted group. That went to the un with him. And just jackson. All of us. And when i thought about it took nelson mandela being jailed. Twenty seven years after fighting many decades around the pon-tae. How can we complain about fighting. We fight to. We win knowing that the victory is certain. And that's what they dickens would always say and as i want more national from new york activism. He said you still fighting. Now keep fighting. He come down national action network rallies. In fact he was there just a few months ago. We had his ninetieth birthday there and we never forgot this. Gentle giant had a had a spine of steel. And he didn't need to be boisterous he just needed to be effective and he was the one that broke that ceiling and made people know you could be the ceo of the biggest city in the world and perform. He revitalized times square. He started this whole community policing and in many ways you are more than correct. Joy is almost like to study donald trump. You have to study rudy giuliani. They took credit for things then get predecessor did and they used race to try and rev up a political career that ended up embarrassing them at the end. Indeed amen. thank you reverend now. It's always great to talk with you. Revenue sharpen. Thank you very much. I

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