Statement from President Bill Clinton on Martin Luther King Day

As we commemorate what would have been Martin Luther King’s 81st birthday, I am proud of the great progress our nation has made toward becoming a 'beloved community' where people are judged by the content of character and not the color of their skin. Because of Dr. King and other courageous souls who worked realize his dream, America is a stronger, more diverse and tolerant nation than ever before.

Dr. King inspired me, a Southern boy growing up in the midst of the Civil Rights movement, to work for his dream through public service; to use the power of my presidency to help America achieve the lowest African-American and Latino unemployment rates and higher homeownership rates on record; to move nearly 8 million people out of poverty; to appoint a record number of African Americans to important federal positions; and to create an Initiative on Race to learn how we could do more to close economic, educational, health and other gaps in our nation.

Though we have advanced Dr. King’s dream, we are a long way from fulfilling it. Nearly half the world lives on less than $2 a day, and in America, searing inequalities persists in income, health care and education, making Dr. King’s message of equality, justice, opportunity, and nonviolence just as relevant – and as urgent – as it was a half-century ago. And the current humanitarian crisis in Haiti reminds us that we have a lot of work to do in order to expand the circle of opportunity and realize King’s dream worldwide.

King once said, 'Progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability.' Today, as we reflect on his life and legacy, and as we ask what we can do to help the people of Haiti in their time of great need, I urge us all – businesses, government, nonprofits like my Foundation, and private citizens – to rededicate ourselves to his unfinished work. It is the only way to keep his dream alive.

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