The four men the mayor called up handed out the commendations and shook hands, the job the mayor normally handled.  When they finished the mayor thanked Lisa and Charlie.  Then she and Charlie found chairs and sat down.  The mayor then called Eli and Dottie Williams to the podium.  Eli pulled out his glasses and put them on.  “Mr. Mayor.  Thank you all for allowing me to be here.  Several days ago I said that if I could pin a medal on these three women I would do it.  Tonight I will get the chance to do the next best thing.  The mayor wants to reserve that for someone else and I will defer to them.  I get the greater honor to call out the names of all of the civilians to be honored here tonight and their names are on that list.  But more important than the honor in the last month I have been forced to rethink some ideas.  Let me restate that more accurately. I have been forced to rethink and recognize some of my prejudices.  When I opened the box they were in and saw them for what they were I didn’t like them and I didn’t like me.”  He wiped his brow.

“Not many of you know me or have a clue about why I am here.  I am a lawyer for the U. S. Justice Department and I specialize in Civil Rights violations.  I have preached publicly and privately that prejudice was wrong, have litigated against people for exercising it and at the same time privately and to my wife and children preached hatred and prejudice.  And I was so blind I didn’t call it that.  And that prejudice could have tainted decisions I made. Now like most of you sitting here right now last month I would have fought if you said I harbored prejudice.  I have had to do some repenting to my family and pastor and tonight I get to do it publicly.  I say ‘get to’ because I think I will be better for having done this in this forum.  I have to put my prejudices on the line publicly and acknowledge them for what they are.  If I do that here I will have a couple thousand people to hold me accountable and looking back I am not sure that is enough.  The morning before they were shot I told my daughters.  ‘If you ever need help, don’t count on any white people.  They will let you lay on the street bleeding and walk over your body.’  I would have never admitted prejudice.  In my mind it was a statement of fact.  And I had proof.  What I should have said was there were people out there that would not turn a hand to help you.  There are people like that.  The problem was me.  In the picture I painted these people all had white faces.  But I have learned that not all white people are that way and not all black people are good.  As a black man I wish I could but I know there are people of both colors who will help and people of both colors that are not good people.  I’m going on record that there are more whites, a lot more that would help because there are a lot more of them.  After all I’m sworn to fight prejudice.  That is my job.  How could my ideas be prejudiced?  But when the vermit came out of the box I didn’t like the looks of it.  I’m not Catholic but tonight I think I will make penance and repent in public.  You know it was tough to get up here.  But it feels good to do it.  If you need to repent for something after tonight, try it.  And if you need someone to repent to I’m going to ask every person in this room to do something.  For tonight, if someone here comes to you and repents, even if you don’t know them, consider yourself a priest for a moment and give absolution.  But I didn’t stop there.  Since the shooting I judged my black brothers and sisters as harshly because they didn’t move and I have had to repent for that too.  If you have ever heard the thing about feeling lower than whale droppings, that is how I have felt when I realized it.  And I have vowed to do better as penance.  That is the most and least I can do.  Well I have rambled enough.  Let’s get to why we are here.”