Baltimore chief prosecutor Marilyn Mosby was in Philadelphia to keynote the Women in NAACP Empowerment Forum held at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel on Sunday as part of the ongoing NAACP 106th National Convention.
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Mosby, 35, garnered national attention in May after lodging criminal charges against six Baltimore police officers who were involved in the controversial arrest of Freddie Gray, whose death sparked multiple days of rioting and protests.
More than 400 people were in attendance for Sunday's sold-out event, which addressed a range of topics concerning whether or not there is justice in America for women and girls, the International Business Times reports.
“With all the negativity that’s in our world today, surrounding our young people, we must take the time out to empower those that are self-motivators, self-discipliners and self-determined enough to understand the importance of even being here,” Mosby said.
The daughter of police officers, Mosby became in January the youngest woman elected chief prosecutor of a major American city. She told the audience in Philadelphia, however, that success should not blind anyone from the responsibility to help those of the coming generation, particularly young black women facing unequal treatment in education and the criminal justice system.
“All too often in our community, when we feel we’ve obtained a level of success, we want people to see where we are, and not how we got to where we are,” the 35-year-old prosecutor said to the audience. “We, as women, must cast our shame, our pride, our egos aside, and we must continue to pass our testimony…on to the generations coming behind us.”
Mosby added that the tests and adversity she encountered prepared her to attain her success and handle conflicts with poise and conviction.
“Every great movement toward progress began with warrior women who had channeled their confidence and were unafraid to challenge the status quo in the pursuit of justice and equality.”
Read more at The International Business Times.