Chat Away

.@POTUS receives Ali cuff links from Muhammad Ali's family @WhiteHouse Eid reception pic.twitter.com/BZ9S6ken00

— Valerie Jarrett (@vj44) July 22, 2016

Let Freedom Ring: The Day in Images

President Obama talks with Yolanda Renee King, 5, granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr., her mother Arndrea Waters, and Martin Luther King III

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The complete ceremony, forward to 30 minutes for the start:

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President Obama’s speech:

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Excerpt:

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With Trayvon Martin’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, and Mark Barden, father of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim Daniel Barden, Peter Yarrow, left, and Paul Stookey, right, of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary

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Rev. Joseph Lowery

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Stunning: Pres. Obama, the First Lady & former Presidents Clinton & Carter walk past statue of Lincoln (@PeteSouza) pic.twitter.com/W1gER8VtFV

— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) August 29, 2013

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President Obama’s PBS Interview

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Let Freedom Ring: President Obama’s Address

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Lots more videos from today at the PBS YouTube channel

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Pete Souza

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All posts from the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington linked at the top of the sidebar on the right – this is the link image:

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The President’s speech took my breath away. For once, I’m actually speechless.

Back with more in a while.

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Let Freedom Ring, Part 3

11:0 – 4:0: The Let Freedom Ring Commemoration and Call to Action Ceremony, The Lincoln Memorial

2:45: President Obama delivers remarks

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White House Live, C-Span and CBS

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@whitehouse: President Obama’s framed copy of the original March on Washington program in the Oval Office

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I’m struggling to imagine we’ll see a more stunning image today:

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Let Freedom Ring, Part 2

11:0 – 4:0: The Let Freedom Ring Commemoration and Call to Action Ceremony, The Lincoln Memorial

2:45: President Obama delivers remarks

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White House Live, C-Span and CBS

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@Interior: Beautiful photo of the exact spot Dr. King delivered his “I Have a Dream speech” 50 years ago today

Let Freedom Ring, Part 1

11:0 – 4:0: The Let Freedom Ring Commemoration and Call to Action Ceremony, The Lincoln Memorial

2:45 (moved from 3:05): President Obama delivers remarks

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Live streaming starts at 11:0 on White House Live, C-Span and CBS

 

Rise and Shine: Let Freedom Ring

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Today (all times Eastern):

11:0 – 4:0: The Let Freedom Ring Commemoration and Call to Action Ceremony, The Lincoln Memorial

2:45 (moved from 3:05): President Obama delivers remarks

Live streaming starts at 11:0 on C-Span and CBS

6:0: President Obama is interviewed by Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff – the interview will air in full on PBS NewsHour and on the PBS website

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Dr Martin Luther King Jr, August 28, 1963:

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “For Whites Only”. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

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Five years ago today: Senator Barack Obama accepts the Democratic Party’s nomination for the American presidency:

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Morning everyone, it’s going to be a beautiful day

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Aug 28, 1955 – Emmett Till murdered Aug 28, 1963 – Dr King's 'I Have A Dream' speech Aug 28, 2008 – Barack Obama nominated by Dem. Party

— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) August 28, 2013

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Wednesday: ‘Let Freedom Ring’

The Obama family at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial, Oct. 14, 2011 (Photo by Pete Souza)

WH.gov: President Obama, President Clinton and President Carter to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington

This Wednesday will mark 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech at the base of the Lincoln Memorial; a moment which served to punctuate a movement that changed America.

To honor this occasion, President Obama will be joined Wednesday, August 28th, by President Jimmy Carter and President Bill Clinton, members of the King family and other civil rights leaders and luminaries at the Let Freedom Ring Commemoration and Call to Action event at the Lincoln Memorial, to commemorate Dr. King’s soaring speech and the 1963 March on Washington.

… This event is open to the public. Doors open at 9:00 AM, for an 11:00 AM program start on Wednesday, August 28th at the Lincoln Memorial. Guests arriving after 12:00 PM are not guaranteed admittance.  In order to access the venue, you must enter from the east side of the Reflecting Pool, on 17th street, near the World War II Memorial.

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Ebony: …… President Barack Obama and former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter will honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s call to “Let freedom ring” by ringing bells at 3:00 p.m. EDT, a half-century to the very minute after Dr. King delivered his historic address. Groups across the country will also pause to mark the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s speech by ringing bells at 3:00 p.m. EDT.

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MLKDream50.com

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Coming Up Today (EDT):

2:0 Secretary of State Kerry statement on Syria (CBS)

2:10: President Obama awards Staff Sergeant Ty M. Carter, U.S. Army, the Medal of Honor

3:0 (changed from 12:30): Jay Carney briefs the press

White House Live

News Of The Day

Pete Souza: President Obama shakes hands with troops at Camp Pendleton

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AP: Obama To Speak At ‘Let Freedom Ring’ Ceremony

President Barack Obama will speak later this month at a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. The White House says the speech will be delivered during the “Let Freedom Ring” ceremony on the Lincoln Memorial steps on Aug. 28. No other details were released.

Obama’s speech will come 50 years to the day after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led approximately 250,000 to the National Mall in a march for jobs and freedom. King also delivered his signature “I Have a Dream” speech from the memorial steps. The March on Washington helped pressure Congress to pass the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts in 1964 and 1965, respectively.

More here

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President Obama’s America. It’s Math, GOP!

So, it turns out that raising taxes is reducing the deficit. A lot. Per CBO: http://t.co/abYRXioAIA

— Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) August 7, 2013

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Conservatives Really Really Really Hate Women

The abortion fight unfolding in Iowa that could have huge implications for the rest of the country http://t.co/19fwtCEFdA

— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) August 7, 2013

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Way To Go North Carolina! This Is How You CRUSH The GOP

Your tax dollars at work: @drewreisinger registers new voters at #MoralMonday #avlnews pic.twitter.com/xg1mDumwUE

— Vonciel (@getrealvonciel) August 7, 2013

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What Do We Want? Immigration Reform. When Do We Want It? Now!

https://twitter.com/FardigJudith/status/365253047535939585

Congress is back home—you have their ear. Retweet to tell them #StandWithOurFuture on #immigration reform. pic.twitter.com/L1jKaDYIkE

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 7, 2013

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Yay ObamaCare!

Best #Obamacare event picture I've seen!#actionaugust pic.twitter.com/OAYDsV2QfU

— Jon Carson OFA (@JonCarsonOFA) August 7, 2013

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The GOP is a J-O-K-E

Issa's IRS investigation has been a complete bust. So he's decided to EXPAND IT.

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) August 7, 2013

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President Obama’s Response

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