Martin Luther King day commemorated by US citizens

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Monday, January 21, 2008

Today is Martin Luther King day in the USA. The day has been commemorated by many people including US president George Bush. In a visit to the Martin Luther King Memorial Library, Mr Bush said that he believed "Martin Luther King is a towering figure in the history [of the USA]." Barack Obama also marked the event by delivering a speech from the church which is seen by many to be the place where King became a prominent figure in the politics of the US.

New York

	The message of Dr. King was that everyone can be great because everyone can serve.
—Hanako Ikeno

An event in New York was organized that involved attempting to get thousand citizens to perform activities that were intended to help the community. Hanako Ikeno, who helped co-ordinate the event said that this event was organized because she believed "that the message of Dr. King was that everyone can be great because everyone can serve."

George Bush

	Martin Luther King Day means two things to me.
—George W Bush

President George W. Bush attended the Martin Luther King Memorial Library and gave a speech to mark the event. Bush said that "Martin Luther King Day means two things to me. One is the opportunity to renew our deep desire for America to be a land of promise for everybody, a land of justice, and a land of opportunity. It's also an opportunity to serve our fellow citizens."

Later in the speech Bush continued, "Martin Luther King is a towering figure in the history of our country. And it is fitting that we honor his service and his courage and his vision. And today we're witnessing people doing just that by volunteering their time."

US Democratic party presidential candidates

Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and John Edwards took part in a rally to commemorate Martin Luther King day.

	It's not always easy to see past our differences, every day our politics fuels and explores these kinds of divisions.
—Barack Obama

In the event Hilary Clinton asked the crowd to "Let us just take a moment to marvel at the progress we have made together." After saying that she added "But the work is far from finished, the dream is not fulfilled." The use of the word dream was widely interpreted as reference to Martin Luther King.

Obama added to Clinton's speech by saying "It's not always easy to see past our differences, every day our politics fuels and explores these kinds of divisions."

John Edwards said that "All three of us [Democratic presidential candidates] are on the journey with you on the march to justice and equality."

US Republican party presidential candidates

	The great civil rights issue of our time, is making sure our inner-city schools are up to the task.
—Mitt Romney

Mike Huckabee made a speech from a church that was near the former home of Martin Luther King.

Mitt Romney also discussed Martin Luther King and civil rights. In his speech he stated that he believed "the great civil rights issue of our time, is making sure our inner-city schools are up to the task." He added that he believed inner-city schools fail in "too many ways."

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Sources

George Bush. "President Bush Visits Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library" — whitehouse.gov, January 21, 2008
Sheldon Alberts. "Obama evokes King in appeal to black voters" — Canwest News Service, January 21, 2008
David Freelander. "New Yorkers mark King Day with service, activism" — Newsday, January 21, 2008
Ralph Berrier. "Achieving the dream of Martin Luther King Jr." — The Roanoke Times, January 21, 2008
John Whitesides and Ellen Wulfhorst. "WRAPUP 1-U.S. White House contenders celebrate King legacy" — Reuters, January 21, 2008

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