FULL SPEECH: Oprah takes the stage at Night 3 of DNC

please welcome Oprah [Applause] Winfrey good evening everybody who says you can't go home again after watching the Obamas last night that was some epic fire wasn't it some epic fire we're now so fired up we can't wait to leave here and do something something and what we're going to do is elect commo Harris as the next president of the United States I am so honored to have been asked to speak on tonight's theme about what matters most to me to you and all of us Americans Freedom there are people who want you to see our country as a nation of us against them people who want to scare you who want to rule you people who'd have you believe that books are dangerous and assault rifles are safe that there's a right way to worship and a wrong way to love people who seek first to divide and then to conquer but here's the thing when we stand together it is impossible to conquer Us in the words of an extraordinary American the late Congressman John Lewis he said no matter what ship our ancestors arrived on we are all in the same boat now Congressman Lewis knew very well how far this country has come because he was one of the brilliant Americans who helped to get us where we are but he also knew that the work is not done the work will never be done because Freedom isn't free America is an ongoing project it requires commitment it requires being open to the hard work and the heart work of democracy and every now and then it requires standing up to Life's bullies I know this I've lived in Mississippi in Tennessee in Wisconsin Maryland Indiana Florida Hawaii Colorado California and California and Sweet Home Chicago Illinois I have actually traveled this country from the Redwood Forest love those redwoods to The Gulfstream Waters I've seen racism and sexism and income inequality and division I've not only seen it at times I've been on the receiving end of it but more often than not what I've witnessed and experienced are human beings both conservative and liberal who may not agree with each other but who'd still help you in a heartbeat if you were in trouble these are the people who make me proud to say that I am an American they are the best of America and despite what some would have you think we are not so different from our neighbors when a house is on fire we don't ask about the homeowner's race or religion we don't wonder who their partner is or how they voted no we just try to do the best we can to save them and if the place place happens to belong to a childless cat lady well we try to get that cat out too cuz we are a country of people who work hard for the money we wish our brothers and sisters well and we pray for peace we know all the old tricks and tropes that are designed to distract us from what actually matters but we are Beyond ridiculous tweets and lies and Foolery these are complicated times people and they require adult conversation and I welcome those conversations because civilized debate is vital to democracy and it is the best of America now over the last couple of nights we have all seen brave people walk onto this stage and share their most private pain Amanda and Josh Caitlyn Hadley they told us their stories of rape and incest and near-death experiences from having the state deny them the abortion that their doctor explained was medically necessary and they've told us these things for one reason and that is to keep what happened to them from happening to anybody else because if you do not have autonomy over this over this if you cannot control when and how you choose to bring your children into this world and how they are raised and supported there is no American Dream the women and men who are battling to keep us from going back to to a time of desperation and shame and Stone Cold fear they are the New Freedom Fighters and make no mistake they are the best of America I want to talk now about somebody who's not with us tonight Tessy privos Williams was born in New Orleans not long after the Supreme Court rule that segregated Public Schools schools were unconstitutional that was in 1954 same year I was born but I didn't have to head to first grade at the all-white McDonna 19 school with a US Marshall by my side like Tessy did and when I got to school the building wasn't empty like it was for Tessy you see rather than allowing madana to be integrated parents pull their kids out of the school leaving only Tessy and two other little black girls Gail etan and Leona Tate to sit in a classroom with the windows papered over to block snipers from attacking their six-year-old bodies Tessy passed away six weeks ago and I tell this story to honor her tonight because she she like Ruby Bridges and her friends Leona and Gail the New Orleans four they were called they broke barriers and they paid dearly for it but it was the grace and guts and courage of women like Tessy Pros Williams that paved the way for another young girl who 9 years later became part of the second class to integrate the public schools in Berkeley California and it seems to me that at school and at home somebody did a beautiful job of showing this young girl how to challenge the people at the top and empower the people at the bottom they showed her how to look at the world and see not just just what is but what can be they instilled in her a passion for justice and freedom and the Glorious fighting Spirit necessary to pursue that passion and soon and very soon soon and very soon we're going to be teaching our daughters and sons about how this child of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father two idealistic energetic immigrants immigrants how this child grew up to become the 47th president of the United States that is the best of America you know you know let me tell you this this election isn't about us and them it's about you and me and what we want our futures to look like there are choices to be made when we cast our ballot now there's a certain candidate that says if we just go to the polls this one time that we'll never have to do it again well you know what you're looking at a registered independent who's proud to vote again and again and again because I'm an American and that's what Americans do voting is the best of America and I have always since I was eligible to vote I've always voted my values and that is what is needed in this election now more than ever so I'm calling on all you Independents and all you undecided you know this is true you know I'm telling you the truth that values and character matter most of all in leadership and in life and more than anything you know this is true that decency and respect are on the ballot in 2024 and and just plain Common Sense Common Sense tells you that kamla Harris and Tim walz can give us decency and respect they're the ones to give it to us so we are Americans we are Americans let us choose loyalty to to the Constitution over loyalty to any individual because because that's the best of America and let us choose optimism over cynicism because that's the best of America and let us choose inclusion over retribution let us choose Common Sense over nonsense because that's the best of America and let us choose the sweet promise of Tomorrow over the bitter return to yesterday we won't go back we won't be set back pushed back bullied back kicked back we're not going back not going back we're not going back so let us choose let us choose truth let us choose honor and let us choose Joy because that's the best of America but more than anything else let us choose Freedom why because that's the best of America we're all Americans and together let's all choose Kamala haris thank you Chicago thank you