“Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

“Almost 40 years ago, a few months before the assassination of Dr. King, our nation was suffering under civil rights injustices, violations and annihilations that had remained essentially unaddressed — certainly unaddressed by any comprehensive governmental action — since the Emancipation Proclamation of
1862. Dr. King and the millions of people he inspired helped turn the national attention toward this national shame. During this era, civil rights took a few steps forward, at the cost of the blood and tears of many brave Americans.

“But that advancement was not enough.

“Over the last several decades, conservative economic theory has given us a series of economic policies that have worsened economic inequality in the US. The growing concentration of wealth among the already-rich strengthens the economic divide between disenfranchised people and the strong, largely White high-net-worth class in this nation. Millions of Americans still live in communities that are separate and unequal.”