Hillary Clinton: Let us remember how Dr. King’s faith connects us through time and place and history

In taking a pause from the campaign trail Friday, Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton remembered Dr. Martin Luther King.

Friday marked the 40th anniversary of King's assassination.

"While our problems were grave, he saw us not as we were, but as we could and should be," Clinton said about King.

"Dr. King saw the darkness of a nation torn apart by petty human differences, but he imagined one knit back together by our shared humanity," said Clinton.

"Because of him, after 219 years and 43 presidents who have been white men, this next generation will grow up taking for granted that a woman or an African American can be president of the United States of America," she said.

"But as far as we have come, we know the journey is far form over. Some days when you open up the newspaper and you read the headlines, it feels like we have tumbled right back down that mountaintop."



"It is heartbreaking to know that Dr. King has been gone from this earth longer than he was here," Clinton said at the Mason Temple in Memphis.

She called for the creation of a Cabinet-level position devoted to ending poverty, a move that would continue King's legacy.

"I believe that we should appoint a Cabinet-level position that should be solely and fully devoted to ending poverty as were know it in America," Clinton said.

It would be "a position that will focus the attention of our nation on this issue and never let it go," she said. The post would be filled by "a person whom I would see being asked by the president every single day, 'What have you done to end poverty in America?' No more excuses, no more whining -- instead, a concerted effort."




"Isn’t it about time we came together as we have in Memphis to find the solutions to make America what it can and should be?" Clinton asked. "When I say solutions, I mean good jobs. Jobs you can raise a family on. Jobs that give people a shot at the middle class, to be able to stay there and live with dignity and respect. When I say solutions, I mean respecting the role of the American labor movement that has given that dignity and respect to so many. This time, once again, to give back the support we need to those who help workers organize and demand their rights."

"When I say solutions, I mean finally addressing the scourge of poverty that stalks so many," she said." "I believe, mayor, Memphis has about a 25% poverty rate, down over the last years, but still far too high. I believe we should appoint a cabinet level position that will be solely and fully devoted to ending poverty as we know it in America."

"It’s the kind of solution that Dr. King's son Martin has been passionately advocating for," she said. "When I say solutions, I mean schools worthy of our children that give each child a chance to live up to his or her God-given potential. How about appointing Supreme Court justices who will actually uphold Brown versus Board of Education and not reverse the progress that has been made? When I say solutions, I mean quality, affordable health care for every American. No exceptions. Everyone entitled to health insurance."

"I mean restoring America’s moral leadership in the world, leading the fight against AIDS, Malaria and TB, against poverty and genocide. We cannot let our brothers and sisters in Africa and around the world continue to suffer needlessly. And I mean ending the war that has claimed too many of our precious sons and daughters; ending it as quickly and responsibly as humanly possible. And yet we must demand that our government pass laws that reflect our values. Hate crimes laws, anti-discrimination laws, equal pay laws and so much more. But that is not enough. The solutions we seek are not just about what government does or business does or labor unions or even faith-based institutions do. It is what each and every one of us is called to do," she said.




Clinton, who took a red-eye flight from California to speak at the Mason Temple: Church of God in Christ, recalled the moment she found out about the death of Dr. King.

"Like many of you here who are of a certain age, I will never forget where I was when I heard Dr. King had been killed. I was junior in college and I remember hearing about it and just feeling such despair,” Clinton said, pausing.

“I walked into my dorm room and took my book bag and hurled it across the room. It felt like everything had been shattered, like we would never be able to put the pieces together again."

Clinton said King inspired her to ``confront a world bigger and broader than the one I inhabited'' and opened the way for this year's historic presidential campaign.

``Because of him, after 219 years and 43 presidents who have been white men, this next generation will grow up taking for granted that a woman or a black man can be president of the United States of America,'' Clinton said.




"I joined a protest march in Boston," she said I wore a black armband. I worked to convince my college to recruit more students and faculty of color, but it felt like it wasn't enough. And then a few months later we heard of the assassination of Robert Kennedy, whose eloquence and courage had helped to persuade the people of Indianapolis to follow Dr. King's example of non-violence. I remember wandering through the encampments of the Poor People's March on Washington talking with those who had come from literally around the world to witness against poverty and injustice. It felt like the doors had closed on the hope that so many had felt. But that would have been such a disservice to Dr. King. To have taken the despair, the outrage and just ended with that."

"Dr. King taught us everything we needed to know about his legacy and how to carry it forward, but in the end it is up to each of us to walk that path. It is not an easy path. It was hard for him. It is hard for us. Sometimes we take steps backwards so maybe then we can figure out a new way forward. But I have abiding confidence, and yes, faith that we can make our way to higher ground. Whether or not we make it to the mountain top, whether we make it to the Promised Land is not for us to know, but I believe with all my heart it is for us to try. And when we get tired and when our faith starts to waiver, we can of course remember Dr. King's faith in us."

"How being dog-tired that night, he left the Lorraine Motel and came here. I’m sure he would have liked a good night's sleep. I’m sure he thought Reverend Abernathy had done a fine job and there were so many good preachers there. But he felt called and he answered the call. As the Scripture tells us, when we are called, we must answer. Who will you send? Send me."



"So here we are. Let us remember and return to the Well Springs of faith from which he drew. One should re-read Dr. King’s last speech, just as we ask children to memorize the ""I have a dream"" speech. One should re-read that last speech. Be reminded of the prophet Amos who did shout and commend us to let justice run down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. One can remember the sacrifice and suffering of Jesus Christ, who taught us to love our enemies. What an absurd teaching. At the time it was given, it was not even in the consciousness of humanity. Love our enemies? Turn the other cheek? What was he talking about? And yet, that has been a prophetic call that has echoed throughout the generations. One that Dr. King took to heart."

"And let us remember the faith and courage of Dr. King’s brave widow. She returned to this city less than a week after his death to lead the march – the march for justice. She had not yet buried her husband and she was determined to carry on his work. With three of her children at her side, she did so with tens of thousands of people in solidarity with those striking workers."

"Let us remember how Dr. King’s faith connects us through time and place and history. The notes of "We shall overcome"" were sung in Berlin as the wall came down, by Chinese students marching in Tiananmen Square, in South Africa at President Mandela’s inauguration. I even had that song sung to me by a group of women, poor, desperately poor women in India, who sang it in Gujarati, their native tongue. From the prisoner of conscience in a Birmingham jail, to a prisoner of conscience on Robin Island, from the students sitting at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, to the students blocking the path of a tank in Beijing."

"Whether we are oppressed by tyranny, poverty, war or discrimination, that faith, that determination to keep fighting, working, building and believing has and always will carry us forward as long as we remember and as long as we remain committed to fulfilling Dr. King’s legacy and dream."






Hillary Clinton Video Tribute to the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Remembrance of the 40th Anniversary of His Death
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=6890

Senator Hillary Clinton Remarks on the 40th Anniversary of Dr. King’s Death Memphis, Tennessee April 4, 2008
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/speech/view/?id=6929

It is good to know that our candidates are respecting this anniversary, even if most DUers are not.

I strongly support the idea of a Cabinet-level position devoted to ending poverty.

the Obama thread fall to the second page __

I'm surprised, I guess.

Senator Clinton wants to honor Dr King? Well funny that. IMO, neither she, nor any of you who have been bashing Obama for the church that he attended look like anything other than hypocrites for honoring Dr King. You sully King's legacy with your sanitized version of him, you sully his message when you have done nothing but attack Senator Obama for attending a church that shared the same philosophy as Rev King.

Pathetic. The lot of you.

with the divisiveness you demonstrate in your answer here?

You do realize that Obama, himself, condemned the Pastor's words. Just because he doesn't feel uncomfortable listening to Wright's sermons and contributing tens of thousands of dollars to him doesn't mean that the rest of the folks who are offended by his words have to be so tolerant and accepting of the reverend. After all, it was Obama who condemned the statements as 'inflammatory'. Anyone else who criticizes the pastor is just reflecting the revulsion with the sentiments that Obama already took pains to denounce.

“I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue,” he wrote in a campaign statement.

"I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies," he added. "I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it's on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue."

Did Obama 'sully' Martin's memory when he denounced Wright's statements? The hypocrisy here is astounding.

--any person.

1) Three lines out of 30+ years of Rev Wright's sermons were so outrageous that his congregation should have walked out on him. And we should destroy the Democratic front runner for not leaving the church.

2) I honor Rev King for his life's work.


Those two sentiments, imo, are mutually exclusive. The hypocrisy lies in those who claim both positions.

It's possible to accept that someone may have been offended enough to leave the church, just based on the same objections Obama says he had with the statements. In fact, Obama said . . .

"Had the reverend not retired and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn't have felt comfortable staying there at the church."

The folks insisting that anyone who had objections to his staying, or expressed that they would not have stayed with the church are out of line, ignore the fact the critics are just reflecting Obama's own expressed reservations and rebukes. Why should Obama's own judgment of Wright's words, which he's so thoroughly repudiated, be the ONLY expression of disagreement which is acceptable?

Peace!

peace.

she was very cool. Inspiring.

:kick:

very warm and inspiring

It takes a president to get things done.

but, it takes a village

:kick:

:kick:

You are one of the few who make GD-P worth coming to. :loveya:



I love this:

I need the encouragement to keep me on the positive tip. I'm generally an insufferable hothead and a political fool :hi:

i'm always happy to kick a bigtree thread! thanks for your efforts!

Such a refreshing OP to see in this normally ultra negative forum. :thumbsup:

It's always nice to see and hear them without the media's (and others') negative filter mucking them up.

His message is STILL CENSORED, and deemed radically left, by the power elites and forces of status quo.

I think Dennis Kucinich represented a great deal of King's agenda in his campaign.

. . . paying tribute to King. Amazing how the divisiveness is used to defend King and his efforts to unify.