Thread by @mayawiley

Thank you for the outpouring of kind and humbling support so many of you have shared on this dark, rainy day. I walk thru it feeling the weight of history. The history I believe so sincerely NYC can make clashing with the current history unfolding. 1/14

We have been shrouded in darkness before - September 11th, Sandy, COVID. In hard times we see our strengths & our challenges. We have seen the strength of unity & sometimes the ugliness of fear-driven hate. There are some clouds now & we have choices. 2/14

We are a powerful when we come together and we are fiercely proud of our city even when we have reasons to complain. I have been proud of our strengths and our grit and our determination. We need it all now - for unity & to refuse hateful divisions. 3/14

And we also need some humility. I am and have always been so proud, to be counted as a New Yorker. This city is beautiful, vibrant, creative & worthy of its position as a global Capitol and Mecca for millions who see promise here. It deserves only the best leadership. 4/14

I have used the opportunities I have been given to do what my parents taught me and what I have had the privilege to reflect upon by writing about their lessons. They taught me to fight for what’s right with whatever gifts I have been given & to be grateful! 5/14

I am so grateful for it all. The privilege of having served in City Hall and to have had the opportunity to ask you to trust me with the awesome responsibility of making the city more fair, affordable and livable. And I always knew that the work is what matters the most. 6/14

There are so many ways to do the work and they all matter. I am so humbled to be able to do the work of rights and justice. I will never stop. And while there is no higher privilege than public service, I learned from my parents that true power is empowering others. 7/14

Being a place of power has always meant some will seek to corrupt it. Some will seek it for corrupt purposes. The city public match program enabled me, a Black woman who never held office before, to seek the privilege of public service. We need to strengthen it! 8/14

We need to fight dark money in politics and strengthen our laws to make it harder for the corrupting forces of money in politics. I’m all in on fighting for the Freedom to Vote Act & also the John R Lewis Freedom to Vote Act, and other democracy protections nationally. 9/14

I will be standing beside all New Yorkers as we work out what our future looks like and who are future leaders will be. As I contemplate the legacy my parents left me, the lesson that we have many roles to play & we must do what we can with what we have, I will play mine. 10/14

I will play mine supporting all of YOU to see the power YOU have - WE have - to forge this future, from the White House to the House of Representatives and the people’s house in Manhattan. I know that everything each of us does now matters. 11/14

The wheels of justice will turn without out us. But change requires us! We have to see House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a son of Brooklyn and a blessing, to be our next Majority Leader of the US House of Representatives because that is a future making history! 12/14

Electing VP Kamala Harris as the 47th POTUS requires us because our city will get the leadership we all need for a forward looking future. The ceilings of race and gender I deliberately challenged we will break in Congress & The White House. 13/14

And in this big, beautiful, city, we won’t be dragged into the muck of speculation, mire of deflection or deceit of division that tries to distract us from forging our future. I am beside YOU, hand in yours, chanting, cheering & cherishing the journey because it’s with you. 14/14