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WILMINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) recorded the following message in response to a hateful attack on a Zoom meeting being hosted by the Delaware Legislative Black Caucus for Delaware small businesses. 

A transcript of the video can be found below and the video can be found here.

“Hey, Delaware. It's kind of funny last night I had a conversation with my son and I was just saying how you - he was saying to me, “Mom just be natural with your videos you don't have to be perfect and you know when you feel something say it.” 

And so just about an hour ago I participated on a call with us from our state and a Congressman from another state, representatives from the Small Business Administration, really just trying to provide some information to Delawareans, and the Zoom call was pre-empted by somebody who thought they were doing something big and special by bombing our call. It was racist, it was sexist, it was immature. My first reaction was not to be upset - my first reaction was that we will not let hate take us down. I think that that is the message right now for this whole epidemic.

 It's about who are we, who will we be when this is all over. So for those of you doing those things that exemplify love every single day, thank you, thank you, thank you. Every day I'm getting calls from people who have lost someone or who are sick themselves and who are scared and I want to say thank you to those of you who are counseling, those of you who are helping us keep the stores stocked - everything that you’re doing - thank you.

 For those of you who don’t get it yet - this is about caring for each other, this is about love, this is about the reality that only what we do for love will last and that only if we stick together will we be strong and make it through this stronger. So to that person that was trying to destroy the positivity of what we were doing getting that information out to those small businesses - you did not succeed. 

And for anybody who wants to continue to spread that kind of - you know - it's one thing to have a different opinion. We're all entitled to that. But for those of you who just don’t get it - why we’re on this planet - I feel sorry for you, I pray for you, but I want you to know you will not steal our joy. And that we - we as a country and we as the world - will get through this together. I love you. Take care.”

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