FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Julian Teixeira
jteixeira@nclr.org
(202) 776-1812
Remarks from Janet Murguía, President and CEO of NCLR
Washington, D.C.—NCLR (National Council of La Raza) joined with millions of Americans across the country today in celebrating this weekend’s dedication of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington; it is the first monument in our nation’s capital to honor a civil rights leader. Below are remarks from NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguía, which she made at a luncheon—Honoring Civil Rights Leaders Past, Present, and Future—held today at the Washington Convention Center:
“Thank you. It is an honor for me to be here today during this historic week for our country. I, like millions of Americans, am filled with joy that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is finally receiving the permanent tribute he deserves in our nation’s capital. I look forward to welcoming members of my community to Washington to visit our newest monument.
“We all know that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man of great faith. That faith included his unshakable belief in our country. He revered the majestic documents of this great nation’s founding such as the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. He knew that the path to equality and justice lay in embracing our country’s most fundamental values and principles.
“In his iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, whose anniversary we commemorate this week, he spoke eloquently about the Declaration of Independence. Part of his dream, in fact, was that this nation would one day live up to the creed, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’
“I believe that he did this, in part, to demonstrate that these core tenets of our democracy do not belong just to a few, or to just one party, or to just one group of Americans. They belong to all of us. And I think there is no better time to remind us all of that than right now.
“He quoted from these cherished documents to reaffirm to other Americans that democracy and living up to our ideals are not simply abstract concepts but a living, breathing reality. It is why his words also resonated so deeply with the Latino community. Thousands were on the Mall that day, including my predecessor Raul Yzaguirre, who marched with Dr. King.
“I am a child of Dr. King’s hope. I know about the power of his dream.
“Dr. King’s dream was an inclusive dream and spoke to more than one community. It was universal and transcendent.
“And he lived his words, ‘We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny,’ when he wrote to one of our community’s great leaders, Cesar Chavez, during Cesar’s fast. In that telegram, he said, ‘Our separate struggles are really one. A struggle for freedom, for dignity and humanity.’
“Dr. King’s telegram was a call to action. And his words are just as relevant today as we continue to fight to make the promises of democracy real for all Americans. It is why we are working so hard to make sure all of us have a voice and that all of us exercise our right to vote.
“Because nothing is stronger than our commitment to civil rights and human dignity. Nothing is stronger than our commitment to full and equal political participation. Nothing is stronger than our commitment to increased opportunity for all.
“Nearly 50 years have passed since Dr. King’s legendary speech. So much has been accomplished. Yet, it is clear that there is so much left to do. It is my hope that, 50 years from now, we will be able to look back on this time and that historians will say that, together, we wrote a special chapter in our country’s history.
“That we came together and stepped up to build the coalitions, the bridges, the understanding that allowed us to not only advance our respective communities but to move our entire nation forward.
“Together we can move mountains!”
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