Edwards Statement In Honor Of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – John Edwards released the following statement in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday.

"Today we honor the incredible life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was a man of peace, a man of principle and a man of profound conscience.

"As someone who grew up in the segregated South, I have seen firsthand the change we have achieved thanks to Dr. King and all those who shed their blood, sweat and tears. Our country is forever changed thanks to Dr. King's work and the work of so many other Americans who were determined to restore the promise of America.

"If we are going to truly honor Dr. King, the heroes of Greensboro, Selma, Birmingham and Orangeburg, and all the heroes of the civil rights movement, then we must be honest that we still have work to do. The fight for civil rights and equal rights and economic and social justice is still going on across our country. Today, we still live in two different Americas – one America for those who are doing extraordinarily well and one for everybody else. We still have two school systems, two health care systems, two systems of justice and two economies.

"America can do better than this. We've seen that a group of people with the courage to stand up for what's right can struggle and survive, and even change the course of history. Today, let's commit ourselves to igniting the revolution of values that Dr. King dreamed about, to speaking out against unfairness and injustice, to making sure the voice of every American is heard and to building One America."