[indiscernible crowd noise] indiscernible crowd noise] indiscernible crowd noise] looking at downtown d. C. Just off the National Mall commemorating the march on washington for jobs and freedom led by Martin Luther king jr. On august 28, 1963. The anniversary itself is wednesday when another gathering is planned and president obama will be here. Well have live coverage on cspan and cspan radio of that appearance. If you missed any of the rally that just ended well show you ighlights from that rally. For those of us who are from the south, 50 years ago we received our marching orders hen the prophet dr. King jr. Quoted the prophet isiah, that have a dream. This is our hope. This is the faith that we go back to the south with. Those are our marching orders. This is the faith that we go back to the south with. Yes, the south where some are still trying to fight the civil war. Yes, the south. Where we are witnessing this vicious attack on Voting Rights and the blatant Voter Suppression by one particular political party. Es, the south where young boys cant walk the street of his fathers neighborhood without eing profiled, confronted, stalked, and finally murdered. Watched over 45 days where governor because of the relentless protests of 20 plus,000 people reluctantly appointed a reluctant prosecutor who reluctantly put together a prosecuting team who did a poor job in presenting their case. Watching a murderer go free, watching our community and our country try to go back 50 years. We walk away with the faith in the words of the prophet isiah once again that they that wait upon the lord shall renew their strength, they shall line up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Ladies and gentlemen, joe madison. 1963, there was not a Congressional Black Caucus. 2013, we have a Congressional Black Caucus and they are here. And let me at least acknowledge them over to my right. Ladies and gentlemen, representatives of the 43 members of the congressional lack caucus. Ago in ago, 50 years lets hold d. C. This commemoration and continuation the citizens of this city did not have the right to vote. In congress. 50 years later, we still dont have a right to vote and we are demanding as dr. King demanded that washington, d. C. Should be the 51st state of the United States of america. Statehood for 600,000 residents. Finally, let it go forth that this is not only a commemoration, a continuation, but what you have here are two generations that have come together. Theres a lot said about the joshua generation, the younger people. But i remind them it was the moses generation that pointed the way. We need both generations working side by side together and so let this be a day in which moses points the way for joshua and the walls of segregation, of racism, materialism come tumbling down. With that, let me introduce our first speaker for this segment, the director of Foreign Policy, committee of the national egislation, dr. Michael chang. The day after king died, Robert Kennedy spoke on the mindless men as of violence. Here is what he said. What has violence accomplished . What has it created . We tolerate a rising level of violence. We flor if i killing on movie screens and call it entertainment. We make it easy for men to acquire weapons. We honor swagger and wielders of force. We excuse those who are willing to build their lives on the shattered dreams of others. But there is another kind of violence just as deadly. This is the violence of institutions, indifference and inaction. President kennedy was equally unequivocal. The pursuit of peace is not as dramatic but we have no more urgent task. Not enforced on the world by american weapons of war but the kind of peace that makes life worth living. Too many of us think its impossible. But that is a dangerous defeatist belief, said the president. Dr. King called america the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today. He is right, and still is today. When profit motives and Property Rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, and milt tarism are incapable of being conquered. Will look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. The way of settling differences is not just. America can lead the way in this revolution of values. We are called to speak for the voseless, for victims of our nation, for those it calls enemy. For no document can make these humans any less of our brothers. The true compassion is helps up to see our enemys point of view. So the pursuit of pass will take precedence over the pursuit of war. Et us now practice what rfk, jfk ladies and gentlemen, the president of the National Black justice coalition, sharon hicks. One of my mentors Bishop Yvette flunder once told me in order to truly be free you must goif causes greater than yourself. Every day, i educate, advocate, and celebrate the contributions of the black lesbian, gay, bisexual you will and Transgender Community because if any are not equal and free, none of us are truly equal and free. Today i lift up the contributions of a black gay man unsung leader of the Civil Rights Movement. Mr. Rusten lives at the intersection of these identities while fighting for the freedoms of all oppressed people. Rusten was a radical visionary, a black gay activist for freedom and justice during a time when the conditions of both of these identities were perilous. Rusten owned his power. As a black openly gay man to fiercely challenge the status quo and fight on behalf of the oppressed and marginal liesed while at the same time refusing to be defined by any single aspect of his identity. Rusten was as unah poll jetically black as he was gay and by his very presence challenged the evils of homophobia and racism. Is legacy our next speaker, the esident of habitat for umanity, jonathan recford. What does the lord require of you . But to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your god. These words from mica 6 8 stir my heart just as much today as they did decades ago when i first heard them from my grandmother. Every time i saw her she would recite this verse and challenge me to be useful. My outspoken grandmother was millicent fen wick a congresswoman from new jersey who came through the Civil Rights Movement and marched with leon sullivan. She considered the Old Testament prophets instructions as marching orders, a mandate to fight vigorously against injustice and for equality. It habitat hor humanity our vision is similar to dr. Kings beloved community. We break down barriers as we build up walls, and we bring people together in an effort to create a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Since 1976, habitat has helped more than 3 Million People realize their dreams for a Better Future because no one should live in poverty housing. We will not let our hammers or our voices rest until the world believes that safe, decent Affordable Housing matters. The reality is that if children dont live in decent homes the odds of their staying healthy plummet. If they dont stay healthy they wont do well in school. Without a decent education they cant get jobs, they wont be able to provide for their families or break the stranglehold of poverty. E cannot abide that. The next speaker is the deputy u. S. Programs director r Human Rights Watch maria mcfarlnd sanchez marino. Good morning. I didnt grow up in the United States. But one of the thing that is impressed me the most about this country was a very simple fact. That all around me, in newspapers and college classrooms, on tv and radio, there was an act vive dialogue, sometimes frustrating but an active one about our rights. In law school we spent weeks talking about the 14th amendment to the constitution and guarantee of equal protection. People talked about race, gender, sexual orientation. Even more exciting to me, people seemed empowered. They knew that if they spoke up, they could change things. As a lat ma woman, i also realized that the opportunities opened to me were there thanks to the efforts of many other people who in more difficult times demanded a more just society. So its wonderful now to be with you to help honor those who marched 50 years ago in the name of equal rights for all. Yet in my work i also see that the u. S. Still has a long way to go. The u. S. Has the largest reported prison population in the world. People of color are far more likely to be arrested or imprisoned than white. Too many migrants live in fear of being torn away from their families. And that makes them easy prey for those who would abuse their rights. Poverty has increased in the recent decades. And far too many of the poorest are women and people of color. The list goes on. But we also have reasons for hope. Policy makers are starting to take steps. Our next speaker, a young lady who has kept the faith, has dealt with Voter Suppression, throughout this nation, the president and executive director of the National Lawyers committee for ivil rights, the dr. Barbara on lan. Good morning, everywhere. We are here today because theres a great spirit sweeping this land. Its the spirit demanding justice for all americans, a spirit that knows no boundaries based on race, color, or who you love, a spirit that demands that every human being be dignified, a spirit that says there is a right to be just in every aspect of our lives, a spirit that says we must have the right to vote, that nothing is more important than that everyone has a right to vote. A spirit that demands the end in our nation of Voter Suppression. It ends the Supreme Court injustice that sets an end to Voter Suppression in North Carolina, texas, alabama, georgia, florida, ohio, wisconsin, and anywhere where they attempt it. We must allow the people to vote. Everyone remember that if you remember nothing else, rise up. He serves with his father in ministry and his biological father the reverend Jasper Williams junior. He is the reverend pastor of the Salem Bible Church of leapt, georgia. Atlanta, georgia. God bless you. Why are you here in to commemorate or to participate . To commemorate means im celebrating something that has already occurred. But to participate means im actively involved within someone within a narrow time called right now. Are you here because you want to be seen or do you desire to be a part of change . Are you here to point fingers and blame or hold hands with your brother or your sister . 50 years ago, the works of our forefathers and mothers allowed us to see the realization of the first black president. But our country still has a race issue that all of us needs to be a part of. Why are you here . The change is not a black thing, its not a white thing. Its not a yellow thing. Its not a gay or straight thing. It is an american thing. And for us to eliminate racism, we must obliterate the concept of race to understand there is only one race, and that is the human race. God bless you. Our next speaker is the president of george mason niversity, dr. Cabrarea. Thousands of young men and women are denied a College Education every year. And they are shut out of the American Dream not because theyre not smart enough, not because theyre not talented enough. Not because theyre not ready to work hard enough. But because their parents may not be rich enough. Because they may not be american enough. Because they may not be documented enough. Dr. King said injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. He said the time is always right to do what is right. I say that the time to break down the barriers of access to education is now. I wouldnt a be here if it werent for education. Most of us wouldnt be here if it werent for education. The American Dream is not a destination, it is a struggle. It is a struggle that takes the work of all of us. Lets struggle together. Ets dream together. God bless. Our next speaker, professor jeffery sacks, economist and director of columbia university, earth institute. If the arc of the moral universe bends towards justice as Martin Luther king, jr. , reminded us, it is because righteous souls in each generation pulled that arc towards its hall od end. 50 years ago at this spot, king spoke to righteous men and women who braved police dogs and water can nns to fulfill their role in shaping the moral universe. They did their job bravely and well and we honor them today. Yet, the great task of moral construction is never finished. There is no final victory on earth. Only an inheritance of injustice that each generation must renew and pass to the next. 1963 was a year of moral crisis and renewal. It was a year to rescue americas soul and to move the world as john f. Kennedy did with the nuke cler test ban treaty. It was the year of martyrdom of that young president who told us that when one man is eslaved all are not free. 2013 is another year of moral crisis. America is mired in income inequality and poverty. America enslaves put tudes of black and hispanic young men to feed the freed of its privatized penitentiaries. America despoils the earth by its heedless fracking and burning of fossil fuels and america sends drone missiles that kills enemy wedding goers. It is our intent to bend the arc of the moral at tude. We must ban it from the lobies of congress and the white house. We too must be swords of the plow sharers joining together with others to honor the prophets of peace. And we must end our assault on nature, leaving oil and coal in the ground and harvesting the sun and the wind instead. In our age of greed and glitter, the work of justice often seems to be stilled but do not be deceived. For the ancient cries still moves us today. Justice. Justice shall you pursue so that you may live in the promised land. Our next speaker is the the president of youth build u. S. A. Please welcome dorothy stone man. Good morning. I am happy that we are back calling with one voice for the creation of the beloved community that reverend king named as our goal. Many of us have spent 50 years marching quietly toward that dream. I want to first honor all the millions of Unsung Heroes at the grass roots who have given their lives and hearts to help other people. Let me name just one. Leroy looper, my mentor in the movement. A great man who passed away in 2011 having done good. But his complete dream was unfulfilled. Reverend kings core message was about the power of love. We sang, if we had a hammer, we would hammer out love, between our brothers and our sisters all over this land. Well, we have been hammering out that love. My colleagues in the network have hammered out hundreds of safe owe acees for young people who grab that hammer and join hands building Affordable Housing for their neighbors while they complete their own High School Education and take leadership in their communities. They are now the young people the ones hammering out love between their brothers and their sisters. Their parents are proud, their younger siblings awed and their own children are thriving. But they are the lucky few. Millions of low income young people are being locked out of society or locked up. Many expect to be dead if or in jail by the time theyre 25. This is a national sin and shame. 7 million, 16 to 24yearolds out of school and out of work who have created a social burden, 5 trillion over their lifetime if we dont do something. They have talents, hearts, souls, intelligence, and dreams. Our nation needs them. Imagine hundreds of thousands of them. She must have been a baby when she started with pepsi co. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Senior Vice President of Global Diversity and inclusion officer pamela culpepper. Good morning. It is a privilege to join you today to celebrate this great milestone in american history. Thank you, reverend sharpton for your unwavering dedication and long commitment for improving opportunities for all disenfranchised people. Pepco is proud to partner with you and our appreciation goes out to everyone who fulfills a role. Martin luther king iii, thank you for carrying the torch lit by your parents, and for your role in creating and implementing strategic nonviolent actions to rid the world of social political and economic injustice. I am proud to be among the 60 plus pepco associates who are here today to celebrate, reflect, and reinforce the values of equality and fairness. While i cant introduce all of my colleagues, i would like to take a moment to recognize one. Let me tell you about wesley who is out of our washington, d. C. D. C. Operations. Wesley was 7 years old when he watched dr. Martin luther king deliver his, i have a dream, speech from on top of his fathers shoulders. He remembers his father telling him and his sistthear the march matters because it was about equality for all. 50 years later, wesley is here with us today and has been instrumental in making sure that the logistics were together for todays march. The principles of human dignity, civil equality, and Economic Empowerment for all are core values for peps co. Almost 75 years ago, we were the first Major Company to integrate its management and the first to elevate an African American to a Vice President. One year before the 1963 march on washington. We are dedicated to the ideals of this march and what it represents and i am proud to stand on behalf of all of peps cos associates that are here today and on the shoulders of those who made it possible for me to stand before you. I am deeply honored a