Governor Hochul: "We all have a moral obligation to take the torch that Dr. King left and gave it to us. Make it glow even brighter. And that's why as a Governor, I can make sure that we focus on the issues that reflect our belief in justice."

Hochul: "But what is justice other than a word if we don't act upon it? Every single day. That is what we are called to do. That's how you live the legacy of Dr. King."

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul delivered remarks at National Action Network's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration in New York City.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks are available below:

That's right. That's right. Thank you. True story, Reverend Al, true story. He knows how much New York loves him and this is the right place. But we know you left the President, we know you left a national celebration to honor the life of Dr. King, but you came back to New York, and we love you for that. So yes, we are here in the House of Justice. Yes, we are. But what is justice other than a word if we don't act upon it? Every single day. That is what we are called to do. That's how you live the legacy of Dr. King. It's not just to get together and high-five and say Happy King Day, make us feel good and then move on with our lives.

How do you live the lessons, the teachings, the inspiration of Dr. King every single day? And that's what we're called upon to do. Dr. King has been an influence in my life since I was a child. You're saying, "How is that so?" Yes, I'm old enough to remember him when he was still alive. I read a book called "Childhood of Famous Americans." My parents wanted to make sure I read because they were civil rights warriors in a conservative part of our state where it was not the most popular thing to be doing was to be fighting for civil rights and going to the marches and dragging your little kids along. But I read the story of Dr. King and I reread it. And I did a book report on it, and he was still alive, and I listened to his speeches. And the night we learned of his assassination; I'll never forget. Our family, all of us raised in a social justice, Catholic family held hands and prayed and wept because what would happen to our country without this conscience of America who called us to be better than we were at that time in our history?

But I've never lost that. That's what drew me to public service and knowing that with leaders from the local level that I'm joined with here today, our state level, our federal level, we all have a moral obligation to take the torch that Dr. King left and gave it to us. Make it glow even brighter. And that's why as a Governor, I can make sure that we focus on the issues that reflect our belief in justice because right now it's an injustice that too many people don't have a good roof over their head, that they're living on our streets, that they're suffering from mental illness, that their kids don't have a good education, they can't find childcare to have a good job.

That, to me, is an injustice. And I will not stand for injustice. I also believe that we can do so much more to bring diversity to places of power. Like our court. The highest court in the state. I believe in the rights of people to live their dreams just as Dr. King wanted us to do. And I will stand here with the power that's been given to me by all of you, the people of this community that had your faith in me and stood up and said, "We're with her." You have empowered me to be the voice of the people that Dr. King wants us to keep fighting for. That is my pledge to all of you. It's not just a day, it is a lifetime commitment to ensuring that we don't prejudge people by the color of their skin, or by their positions, or their cases.

That we give people an opportunity to be heard, because that's what Living Justice is all about. And I'll go to my grave knowing that I will fight the good fight. I will stand shoulder to shoulder with that the people up here on behalf of our people, starting with Reverend Dr. Al Sharpton, and Mama Hazel Dukes who I see every day of the week, whose story lifts us all up. To all of you here, our leaders, community activists, and the true believers in the Dream. We will not let this dream become a nightmare for fellow New Yorkers. We'll stand up and fight for them every single day. That is my pledge to you. God bless every one of you. Thank you.

I have a really long proclamation. Single-spaced, lots of words. Anybody who'd like me to read this before I present it to Reverend Al, you just raise your hands. I'm not seeing a lot of hands go up right now. Okay, I respect the will of the people. Reverend Al, this honors Dr. King here in the State of New York. I will hand it off to you right now, sir. There you go. That's for you.