Obama Commemorates King Assassination in Indiana
FT. WAYNE, IND. -- Barack Obama commemorated the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in northeastern Indiana as opposed to Memphis, where his opponents Hillary Clinton and John McCain are observing the day. Obama said he felt it was important to discuss Dr. King's efforts in places where his work has not come to fruition.
"I spoke at Dr. King's church on his birthday, was with the King family then. I obviously gave a fairly fulsome speech on the state of race relations just two weeks ago. And I think it's important to spread the message that Dr. King's work is unfinished in places like Indiana and North Dakota."
Nevertheless, Indiana is significant to King's death because it is where Robert Kennedy first spoke about the assassination. Kennedy, who was running for president at the time, was campaigning in the state when the news broke. Obama spoke of Kennedy in his remarks.
"And in few places was the pain more pronounced than in Indianapolis, where Robert Kennedy happened to be campaigning. And it fell to him to inform a crowded park that Dr. King had been killed. And as the shock turned toward anger, Kennedy reminded them of Dr. King's compassion, and his love. And on a night when cities across the nation were alight with violence, all was quiet in Indianapolis."
Obama used his speech on King to address the current economic crisis, saying that the recession and the housing crisis are proof that King's work is unfinished.
"The struggle for economic justice remains an unfinished part of the King legacy because the dream is still out of reach for too many Americans," Obama said.
"Just this morning, it was announced that more Americans are unemployed now than at any time in years. And all across this country, families are facing rising costs, stagnant wages, and the terrible burden of losing a home. That is why the great need of this hour is much the same as it was when Dr. King delivered his sermon in Memphis."
Obama said he was inspired to run for president because Dr. King's belief in the "fierce urgency of now."
"Dr. King wrote a famous book about why we can't wait. We can't wait to fix our schools, we can't wait to fix our health care system, we can't wait to end global warming, we can not wait to put this war to a close and go after the terrorists who actually killed 3,000 Americans. So that's why I am running."