Today We Honor An American Hero

So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!


Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!


Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!


But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!


Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!


Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.


And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"


Those are the final words of the speech given on the Washington Mall on August 28, 1963. It has been called the greatest speech of the 20th Century, and I see no reason to dispute that. The speech had, and still has, a profound effect on Americans of all colors and races. Today we honor the man who gave that speech -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King was not just a speech-maker, but a true American hero. He fought non-violently for a better America -- one in which all citizens could enjoy equal rights. And he put both his freedom and his life in jeopardy many times to fight for the equal rights of all Americans, regardless of class or color or race. In 1968, his life was needlessly taken by a racist gunman. But that could not stop the movement that Dr. King had helped to put in motion.

It is right that we should honor this great man. But we should also ask ourselves on this sacred day whether Dr. King's dream has come true in this country. If we are honest, we'll have to say that although progress has been made, we are still far from fulfilling that dream for equality and opportunity for all of the people in America. Much more remains to be done, and decent people across this country must re-double our efforts to see that it gets done. As Dr. King knew, no one is truly free or equal until all people are free and equal.

Take a little time today to remember this American hero -- and give thanks for his courage and leadership. He made the United States a better country.