John Bryant signed statement by Tutu

It goes without saying, there are fewer voices of moral authority, reason, balance and love in and for our world — globally — than Archbishop-Emeritus Desmond Tutu.

We are blessed and honored to have the Archbishop-Emeritus on our Honorary Board for Global Dignity, and I am deeply honored to see him here, lending his powerful and authentic voice; both in commending Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and the U.S. Treasury Department, and in also recognizing the powerful, intercontinental shared vision, the shared history, and the un-finished work – of The Freedman’s Bank.

In this important statement from his office he commends the U.S. Treasury Department in the renaming of the U.S. Treasury Annex Building, into the Freedman’s Bank Building.  The formal ceremony is January 7th, 2016, in Washington, D.C.  Below, we share a special private moment in his office.

JHB with Tutu

Last month I briefed Archbishop-Emeritus Desmond Tutu both on our work in South Africa, in the under-served communities within the United States. and globally. I extended greetings from my fellow Global Dignity co-founders, HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Professor Pekka Himanen of Finland, and of course to brief him on the unfinished work of The Freedman’s Bank.

I also came to thank him for his early and strong counsel, around what he hoped would be a more sobering message from me, of ‘what and whom ~ capitalism had left behind. Along with what its leaders should now do about it’ as outlined in my newest book, “How The Poor Can Save Capitalism.”    I told him, “I hope I did you proud, sir.”

The renaming of The Freedman’s Bank Building is the ‘squaring of a historic circle,’ the completion of one part of a long journey, and it is a powerful showing of respect, admiration and appreciation.

It is acknowledgement of leaders and leadership, from everyone from President Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. Dorothy U. Height, Rev. Leon Sullivan and Ambassador Andrew Young, to Nelson Mandela (‘Madiba’) and yes, Archbishop-Emeritus Desmond Tutu.

This is the silver rights movement. Building on the civil rights movement that came before it.

Thank you, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

The message here is simple. You have helped to ‘bend the arch of justice,’ so says Dr. King, ‘towards freedom and justice.’

Let’s go….

John Hope Bryant

 

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