Bolling Remarks at Living the Dream Mass Meeting

Lieutenant Governor Bolling’s remarks to 30th Annual Living the Dream Mass Meeting observing Martin Luther King Jr. Day
(As prepared)

 

Thank you all very much and good morning.

What a pleasure it is for me to be here this morning and join you on this very special day.

Today, we pause to remember the life, lessons and legacy of a great leader of men, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Through courage, perseverance and faith Dr. King fought to overcome discrimination and inequality in the world in which he lived.  Dr. King sought to undo seen and unseen barriers among his fellow man.

Ironically, Dr. King lived almost 200 years after the founders of our nation told us that all men were created.  While those were noble ideals upon which our nation was based, Dr. King knew that not everyone had realized those goals in the world in which he lived.

Dr. King lived 100 years after thousands of brave Americans, black and white, had died to end the institution of slavery, which had held far too many Americans in bondage for too long.  While their efforts were likewise noble, Dr. King knew that not all those bonds had been broken in the world in which he lived.  

He sought to change that world.

He came into a world that had promised to promote equality for 200 years and had failed to achieve that dream.  He challenged our conscious by appealing to the spirit of justice, and the good nature of man; and encouraged us to rise above the division and prejudice of his day.  

He reminded us that we should be judged by the content of our character, not the color of our skin, a lesson that we should all, black and white, still remember today.  

He waved a colorblind banner of equality in the face of hard-line politicians, segregated social standards, and institutionalized racism.

He rallied America to reconcile its words and its deeds.  

From the pulpit of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church he proclaimed the righteousness of his cause.  His words brought rebuke and retribution, but he spoke on.

In the Birmingham jail he experienced persecution for the cause firsthand.  The cell he sat in was cold and unwanting, but he carried on.

From Selma to Montgomery, he marched to carry the message of the cause.  The naysayers jeered from the sidewalks, but he marched on.

From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he declared the victorious vision of the cause.  

The road he traveled was treacherous and trying, but he traveled on.

And although an assassin’s bullet ended his life before his dream had been realized, his voice was not stilled; it continued to be heard and when the dust of the opposition had settled, the case of equality won the day.

History will record the facts, figures and deeds of Martin Luther King, Jr.  But history will be hard-pressed to adequately convey the impact that his legacy had in the hearts of all Americans.  

Dr. King was an eloquent orator whose teachings should be remembered and practiced today.  His quotation that I recall most fondly was:

‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

Dr. King proved this lesson everyday, for he lived in a world of challenge and controversy, and he stood tall; ushering an era where more men were more free and more equal than they had ever been before.  

For that, it is right that we remember his legacy on this day, and live by his vision every day.

Thank you all very much for letting me be with you this morning.

Date Published: 2008-01-23 05:00:00

Section: Politics, Photos: Lt. Gov. Bolling,