Remarks at MLK Service Project - January 15, 2018

In 1968 when Dr. King's life was cut short, he was in the middle of important battles. He was fighting for civil rights, he was fighting for economic justice, he was fighting for a better America, and he did not say we may overcome, we could overcome, he said we shall overcome. We shall overcome. He said that, and people got out and worked for it. They voted, they marched, they were there on the front lines and they made a real difference, they changed the ark of American history. And now we face challenges 50 years later. We face the challenge of an America that is turning back away from voting rights for all. We face the challenge to civil rights, the challenge to economic equality, the challenge to social justice, the challenge of an openly racist President of the United States. Dr. King said, there comes a time when silence is betrayal. We will not be silent, we will raise our voices for an America that works not just for those at the top, but an America that works for all. That is why we are here to honor Dr. King We face fights in Washington, tough fights this very week, this very week we have the chance to protect 800,000 dreamers right here in America. We are waiting for… we have the chance this week to protect 300,000 people who are here from Nicaragua, from El Salvador, from Haiti, here on temporary protected status and we will fight for them. We have the chance this week to protect nine million children who count on the children's health insurance program for their doctors and for their medicine. We will fight for them. We have big fights in this country, fights that we will fight over this next year, that we will fight into the future, the fight to protect our children from gun violence, the fight to protect this earth so that it will be here for our children and our grandchildren, the fight to build an America that we can all believe in. It is an honor, an honor, to be here with you to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you and every one of these fights. We will resist, we will persist, and we will overcome.