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I had a dream!
2:05 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. We have just had a wonderful conversation. I want to just tell you a little bit about why we did this. I think sometimes in celebration of Dr. King's birthday we act as if this history was so long ago. And the reason we brought together some elders and some young people very briefly was not just to visit the Oval Office and see the Emancipation Proclamation, which is going to be on loan to us, but it's also just to remind us that there were some extraordinarily courageous young people like Dr. Dorothy Height, like Mrs. Eleanor Banks and Romaine Thomas and her husband, and others who were actively involved in bringing about one of the great moments in United States history. And so what we've done is we've heard some stories, shared -- Dr. Height has shared with us what it was like meeting Martin Luther King when he was a 15-year-old at Morehouse, visiting there. We heard from Ms. Glanton, Willie Glanton, who is a great activist in Iowa, about the work that she's done there on behalf of the civil rights movement, reminding us that it wasn't just isolated in some areas. I am especially proud to have the Harveys here -- Mr. Joseph Harvey and Ms. Mabel Harvey. Mr. Joseph Harvey is 105, and Ms. Mabel Harvey here is the spry young one at 102. (Laughter.) And Ms. Harvey just now was whispering in my ear, as you guys were walking in, that this must be the Lord's doing, because we've come a mighty long way. (Laughter.) That's what she said. And so that's wonderful to hear. We've heard from some young people who were sharing in these stories and understanding that this is a living history. And I was very pleased to hear from Taylor Branch, author of one of the definitive biographies of the civil rights movement and Dr. King. He shared, I thought, a really interesting idea, which is that not only is Dr. King's birthday a time to celebrate service, to reflect and study on how we had helped to perfect our union, but that it should be a day in which each of us individually also try to stretch out of our comfort zones and try to do something for others and to reach out and learn about things that maybe we've shied away from -- because part of what the civil rights movement was all about was changing people's hearts and minds and breaking out of old customs and old habits. That's, I think, an important lesson for all of us on this day -- are the things that we can try to do that might have seemed impossible but we know are worth doing, and can we apply those principles that we know to be true in our own lives and our society. So I'm just so grateful that we had this opportunity to share with everybody. And I want to wish everybody around the country a day in which they reflect on the extraordinary contributions that ordinary people can make each and every day to make America the most hopeful country in the world. Thank you very much, everybody. END
Atlanta (WiredPRNews.com) – Nationwide, rallies, parades, and other celebrations were held in observance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday on Monday. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), Princeton professor, Cornel West, who gave a keynote address on the 25th federal observance of the holiday, asked a crowd at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to remember King’s vitality and message in a non-sanitized way. West is quoted by the AP as stating, “I don’t want to sanitize Martin Luther King Jr.… I don’t know about you, but I don’t even mention his name without shivering and shuddering.” West is further quoted as advising individuals to hold
Obama and the current administration accountable on social issues, “Even
with your foot on the brake, there are too many precious brothers and
sisters under the bus… Where is the talk about poverty? We’ve got to
protect him and respect him, but we’ve also got to correct him if the
legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. is going to stay alive
This year our celebration of Dr. King's legacy has taken a solemn tone, as the unimaginable tragedy that has struck our brothers and sisters in Haiti weighs heavily on our hearts. It is, however, in these times of great suffering that we find comfort, leadership and inspiration from our heroes. As Dr. King said, "the time is always right to do what is right," and as Americans there can be no better way to celebrate Dr. King's life than to give what we can to assist the people of Haiti, who have lost their homes, businesses, family members, and livelihoods. The contributions made by the country of Haiti and Haitian Americans have helped shape our country into what it is today. The time is now for all of American and the world to band together to help relieve the suffering of the Haitian community, rebuild the nation, and renew the spirit of all Haitians and Haitian Americans.
Dr. King courageously raised his voice against war. He spoke of the destructive impact of the Vietnam war draining resources from the fight against poverty and exhorted people to see the war as "an enemy of the poor and to attack it as such." He spoke on behalf of the Vietnamese people that we were fighting. "They must weep as the bulldozers roar through their areas preparing to destroy the precious trees. They wander into the hospitals with at least twenty casualties from American firepower for one Vietcong-inflicted injury. So far, we may have killed a million of them, mostly children. They see the children selling their sisters to our soldiers, soliciting for their mothers. It is clear to them that we are on the side of the wealthy, and the secure, while we create a hell for the poor." Today, we are at war in two nations. Much of Dr. King's work was to end the scourge of poverty and he began to question the essence of our prevailing economic system. "We must ask the question why there are forty million poor people in America. And when you begin to ask that question, you are raising questions about the economic system, about a broader distribution of wealth. When you ask that question, you begin to question the capitalistic economy." Today, the forty million poor of whom Dr. King spoke have barely decreased in number, with 39.2 million Americans still living in poverty. The greed and excesses of our system has led to one of the worst recessions in history. Dr. King championed labor describing the labor movement as the "principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress. When in the thirties the wave of union organization crested over our nation, it carried to secure shores not only itself but the whole society," he said. Today, the laws on union organizing have been weakened and the percentage of unionized workers has fallen from 36 percent in 1945 to 12.4 percent of American workers, only 7.6 percent in the private sector. And Dr. King asked us all to give of our time and our voice to change the injustice around us. "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter" he said. Dr. King would be deeply satisfied at the progress we have made. The historic election of our nation's first African-American president, the rise of many prominent Black Americans to the pinnacle of politics and business. But Dr. King was a man of the poor and he would remind us that the struggle is not over. The dream has not yet been achieved. That the disparities in the criminal justice system, in poverty, in health and in employment that still plague our communities means that we have a long way to go. Dr. King won a Nobel Peace Prize, and the hearts and minds of millions of people around the world. He changed our country and our world for the better. He offered us a shining paragon that we can strive for and ideals that we should endeavor to live up to. Today, we can best honor Dr. King's life and commemorate his death by continuing his noble work for a just society with equal opportunity for all, humankind, peace, economic democracy and a political system within which the rights of all are enshrined. "In the end," said Dr. King, "we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends...Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Sincerely,
Check your local fuel prices. 
Missing Children
Code Amber News Service (CANS) issued this Missing Endangered person Alert after the girl disappeared from her bedroom some time after 3 AM Tuesday morning in Satsuma. Satsuma is approximately 75 miles east of Gainsville. Haleigh Cummings a white female, 3 feet tall, weighs 39 pounds and has blond hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink shirt and underwear. There are no suspects in this case at this time. However, due to the circumstances of the child's disappearance an abduction is strongly suspected. There is no suspect vehicle at this time. Anyone with information is asked to call the Putnam County Sheriff's office at (386) 329-0808 or dial 911. Download free video of missing Florida child Haleigh Cummings Email this alert to a friend in the area.
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