“Progress was hard.  For every victory there were setbacks…there were defeats.. Dr. King was villified by many, denounced as a rabble rouser, a communist, a radical…he was even attacked by  his own people, by those who felt he was going too fast and those who felt he was going too slow..  Nearly 50 years after the march on Washington, our work is not yet complete. We gather here in a moment of great challenge, great change…

On this day… let us draw strength from those earlier struggles…let us remember that change has never been quick, simple or without controversy…change requires persistence…determination.  Dr. King refused to accept what he called the is-ness of today…but instead to focus on the ought-ness of tomorrow.

Let us not be trapped by what is, we’ve got to keep pushing for what ought to be, the America we ought to leave to our children.”