Where King Once Marched, Now a Dedication!

[Gerald]

WASHINGTON — Promising that “change can come if you don’t give up,” President Obama, the man who is perhaps the biggest beneficiary of the civil rights movement, on Sunday called on Americans to use the memory of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to help push for progress in today’s economically tough times. Speaking at the dedication of the monument to Dr. King on the National Mall, Mr. Obama, at times adopting the cadence of Dr. King, said Americans must celebrate all that the civil rights movement accomplished even as they understand that the work is not done. Standing under the new monument, the first on the mall to honor an African-American, Mr. Obama struck tones that veered from the church pulpit to the floors of the nearby Capitol. “I know there are better days ahead,” Mr. Obama said, his voice rising. “I know this because of the man towering above me.”

At times, Mr. Obama appeared to be drawing a comparison between himself and Dr. King. Often when he spoke of Dr. King’s struggles, it was impossible not to think that he was speaking of himself.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/us...n.html?_r=1&hp

Note: October 16, 2011