THE
PRESIDENT: Thank you, all. Thanks for the kind introduction. Thanks for
the invitation to be here. It's an honor to join you on this national
holiday celebrating one of America's most important lives: Martin Luther
King, Jr. (Applause.)
Every year on this day we reflect on the great movement for civil
rights that transformed our country. We remember leaders like Rosa
Parks, who today is being honored with the John Thompson, Jr. Legacy of
a Dream Award. And we recommit ourselves to working for the dream that
Martin Luther King gave his life for: an America where the dignity of
every person is respected; where people are judged not by the color of
their skin -- by the content of their character; and where the hope of a
better tomorrow is in every neighborhood in this country.
I'm sorry Laura is not with me. She's leading a delegation to Liberia
for the swearing-in of President Johnson Sirleaf --(applause) -- who, by
the way, is the first elected woman President on the continent of
Africa. (Applause.)
I want to thank Dr. DeGioia and the good folks at Georgetown
University. I want to thank the members of my Cabinet who are here. By
the way, Condoleezza Rice is not here, because she's with Laura.
(Laughter.) I want to thank Majority Leader Bill Frist and his wife,
Karyn; other members of Congress who are here. I appreciate Bruce
Gordon, the president of the NAACP, for his strong leadership.
(Applause.)
It is such an honor always to be in the presence of Dorothy Height.
(Applause.) And I want to thank Tiffany Thompson for being here to
represent her good dad -- wonder where your brother was? (Laughter.)
DeGioia hired him and he's working. (Laughter.) Thank you all for being
here.
When our founders declared America's independence, they invoked the
self-evident truth that all men are created equal. Our Constitution was
written to put the principles of a free and equal society into practice.
It is a living document. It required amendment to make sure that promise
was fulfilled, amendments like the abolishment of slavery, the guarantee
of equal protection, and the right to vote for all Americans. Dr. King
called these documents America's great "charters of freedom," and he
continued to trust in their power even when the practice of America did
not live up to their promise.
As children of the South, Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks both came
to the civil rights movement with long personal experience of the evils
of discrimination and segregation. Dr. King called the daily
humiliations endured by black Americans, "the jangling discords of our
nation." And Rosa Parks famously experienced it when that bus driver had
her arrested for refusing his order to give up her seat to a white man.
But Mrs. Parks and Dr. King shared a deep belief in a hopeful future.
They strongly believed that segregation could not stand once it was held
up to the light in all its ugliness. And because of their spirit and
their work, the cruelty and humiliation of Jim Crow is a thing of the
past.
As well, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mrs. Parks' faith in the future
reflected their faith in a higher being. Martin Luther King and Mrs.
Parks both believed that the answer to hate and discrimination was love.
Dr. King once wrote, "It is quite easy for me to think of a God of love,
mainly because I grew up in a family where love was central and where
lovely relationships were ever-present." Mrs. Parks was a devout member
all her life of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and a woman who
saw the face of God in every human being. These two leaders knew that
freedom was not a grant of government, but a gift from the Author of all
Life.
So when they made their appeal to equal rights, they aimed straight
for America's soul, and they roused a dozing conscience of a complacent
nation. By calling us to be true to our founding promise of equality,
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Parks helped African Americans gain
their God-given rights.
As leaders, Martin Luther King and Mrs. Parks believed their calling
was to be involved, to be active, to work for change. Long before Mrs.
Parks refused to move from her bus seat, she'd been active in community
efforts to advance opportunities for African Americans and to register
them to vote.
At the dawn of this new century, America can be proud of the progress
we have made toward equality, but we all must recognize we have more to
do. (Applause.) The reason to honor Martin Luther King is to remember
his strength of character and his leadership, but also to remember the
remaining work. The reason to honor Mrs. Parks is not only to pay homage
to her strength of character, but to remember the ideal of active
citizenship. Active citizens in the 1960s struggled hard to convince
Congress to pass civil rights legislation that ensured the rights of
all, including the right to vote. And Congress must renew the Voting
Rights Act of 1965. (Applause.)
Martin Luther King did not live to celebrate his 40th birthday. Yet
in the short time he walked upon this earth, he preached that all the
powers of evil are ultimately no match for one individual armed with
eternal truths. And one evening, on a bus ride home from work, a tired
but brave woman named Rosa Parks proved that Dr. King was right.
And so today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. We ask
for God's blessings on their legacy, and we ask for God's blessings on
our great nation.
Thank you. (Applause.)