 Hi, my name is Ryan Ballard, and I am privileged to be the board president of the Long Beach Public Library Foundation. Happy Black History Month 2022. I'll be reading the book, The Undefeated, by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by one of my favorite illustrators, Kadir Nelson. This is for the unforgettable, the swift and sweet ones who hurtled history and opened a world of possible. The ones who survived America by any means necessary, and the ones who didn't. This is for the undeniable, the ones who scored with chains on one hand and faith in the other. This is for the unflappable, the sophisticated ones who box adversity and tackle vision. This is Jack Johnson, who shine their light for the world to see and don't stop till the break of dawn. This is for the unafraid, the audacious ones who carried the red, white and weary blues on the battlefield to save an imperfect union. The righteous marching ones who sang, we shall not be moved because black lives matter. This is for the unspeakable, this is for the unspeakable, this is for the unspeakable. This is for the unlimited, unstoppable ones, the dreamers and doers who swim across the big sea of our imagination and show us the majestic shores of the promised land. The Wilmer Rudolphs, the Muhammad Ali's, the Althea Gibson's, the Jesse Owens's, the Jordan's and the Lebrons, the Serena's and the Sherrill's, the Reese Whitley's and the Undiscovered. That might be you. This is for the unbelievable, the we real cool ones. This is for the unbending, the black as the night is beautiful ones. This is for the underdogs and the uncertain, the unspoken but no longer untitled. This is for the undefeated, this is for you and you and you. This is for us. We are the undefeated. Happy Black History Month 2022. Until next time, we'll see you soon.