Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.
Posted by Brooklyn Young Republican Club
Jonathan J. Judge, President of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club, released the following statement in remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr.:
"The United States is a nation that promises freedom and justice for all, but throughout history, it has been an imperfect deliverer of those ideals. Societies and governments are sometimes only as good as their best leaders at the time, but there are always certain individuals willing to bring about change and reform despite enormous opposition and the forces of status quo. In our nation’s history, it has taken many great individuals to overcome these obstacles and begin to make America’s promises real for all of its people. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of our greatest.
"A minister and leader, Dr. King inspired generations of Americans to fulfill the promises of this Nation’s founding and demolish the barriers of racial bigotry and hatred still in place a century after the Civil War. His iconic image as a magnificent orator and a moralist is most deserving in that his activism allowed generations of young Americans to realize their great potential and equal worth. Unfortunately, his death served as a tragic reminder of the work still unfinished to expunge our country of its worst demons.
"In our history, the Republican Party was founded on principles that constituted the earliest embodiment of civil rights. It was Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president, who so eloquently decried the sin of slavery as “open war with the very fundamental principles of civil liberty.” Republican representatives and senators were at the heart of every piece of congressional civil rights legislation after the Civil War. While not better recognized today, the Brooklyn Young Republican Club is mindful of our party’s great history in civil rights and we remain as a club committed to the ideals of Dr. King in the 21st century. Because he gave his life to so righteous a cause, no man is more deserving of the great national holiday that we recognize today. And as we are on the eve of the inauguration of America’s first African-American President, it is clear that his spirit and message continue to live on in all of us. So today, let us all remember his tremendous deeds and commit ourselves to ensuring that his dream fully becomes a reality for all."
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