Congressman Hakeem Jeffries: The ABCs of Democracy

“American values over autocracy. Benevolence over bigotry.”—So begins the rousing finale of the first floor speech delivered by Congressman Hakeem Jeffries upon his historic elevation as House Democratic Leader, affirming the values of our great country one letter of the alphabet at a time.

His words provide a reminder of what will keep the United States the greatest democracy in the history of the world. In his new illustrated book for all ages, Jeffries employs clever and memorable turns of phrase to paint an alphabetic road map for a brighter American future and warn of the perils of taking a different path.

Jeffries (D-NY) has served as the House minority leader since 2023, when he succeeded San Francisco’s Rep. Nancy Pelosi as leader of House Democrats. He is the first Black party leader in either chamber of the U.S. Congress.

 
Notes

Photo courtesy the speaker.

Speakers
Image - Hakeem Jeffries

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries

U.S. Representative (D–New York’s 8th District); Author, The ABCs of Democracy; X @hakeemjeffries

Image - Marisa Lagos

In Conversation with Marisa Lagos

Political Correspondent for KQED; X@mlagos