“font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>First of all, I want to congratulate Harris-stowe’s outstanding new president, Dr. Albert walker. “font-size: 9pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Dr. Walker, welcome back to St. Louis.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>I also want to congratulate the new chairman of Missouri’s Dr. Martin Luther king state holiday commission, Constance Gully.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>And I would be remiss if I did not mention our keynote speaker, who is a long-time friend of my family … the incredible Dick Gregory.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Tonight’s theme is strength, sacrifice and service.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>And as I was thinking about what message I might bring you,
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>I considered how much strength we all will need in this New Year to confront a growing menace in this country … “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>the anger and blind hatred that is coming from so many extreme voices.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Just a few days ago, I was appalled to learn that a fellow Member of Congress, James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>had the nerve to make a crude comment referring to the anatomy of our wonderful first lady, Michelle Obama.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Can you imagine what would have happened if an African-American congressman had made a similar comment about former first lady Laura Bush?
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>And then there was the conduct of another one of my colleagues, “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>the Republican leader in the U.S. Senate, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who took to the Senate floor to state that his number one national priority was making sure that Barack Obama will be a one term president.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Not jobs,
not
healthcare, not education, not even national security. Just a blind
hatred of the president.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>And yet, in both instances, “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>there was very little outrage expressed. And that’s a symptom of a much bigger problem in this country that Dr. King would expect us to stand up against …. a growing atmosphere of hate, intolerance and disrespectful conduct designed to delegitimize President Obama and all of that he has accomplished.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Certain extreme voices in politics, on cable TV, on the internet and on the radio,
have turned
blind hatred and division into a growth industry … and they’re
getting rich off of it.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Of course, those of us who have been in this struggle for a while have seen this all before. “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The climate of hate, intolerance and extremism that is so prevalent today is really just an ugly echo from another time.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Dr. King faced this same blind hatred, over and over again. “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Dick Gregory faced it too. My father, former Congressman Bill Clay, faced it when he broke the back of segregation in St. Louis during the Jefferson bank protests.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>So now, it’s our turn. It’s up to us to tell the truth. “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>And over the next year, I am going to remind people in Washington, in St. Louis and everywhere else, that the power of love is stronger than hate.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>That hate prevents vision which makes the whole world blind. “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>And that ultimately, hate destroys the hater too.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>In 1962, Dr. King said: “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>That was true 50 years ago. It was true 2,000 years ago when Christ told us to love our seen brothers and sisters as we love our unseen god. And it is still true today.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>In 2012, we have the opportunity to take the hatred, injustice and intolerance that persists in this country, “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>and—confront it head on with our courage, with our faith and with an unyielding demand for justice and equality.
“font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana;”>Edited slight from remarks made January 7 at the statewide MLK Commission kickoff at Harris-Stowe State University.
