Ambassador Perry's Speeches

Martin Luther King Celebration

Honorable Ministers,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Morning and Welcome.

Earlier this week, on January 21st, people in the United States and all over the world commemorated the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the leader of the non-violent civil rights movement in the United States and an advocate for human rights around the world.  His vision of all people working together in harmony was recognized when he received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Dr. King worked to gain equal protection and rights under United States law for African Americans.  He organized and led marches for blacks' right to vote, to end segregation, to guarantee labor rights and to protect other basic civil rights of all Americans.  Many of these rights were guaranteed with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

My own involvement with the civil rights movement was kindled during my early years in Texas and continued when we lived in Chicago.  My family was active in civil rights for many years and my grandfather was sitting in the front of the bus in segregated Texas long before Rosa Parks made her historic stand in Alabama.  My parents read the works of W. E. B. DuBois and the speeches of Frederick Douglass.  They were active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and I was one of the NAACP youth organization representatives in the historic March on Washington.

Dr. King’s efforts in Chicago sought to change the abominable housing practices in the city and its suburbs.  Real estate agents kept the suburbs segregated by refusing to sell or rent housing in white neighborhoods to minority families, regardless of their economic or employment status.

I participated in Dr. King’s Chicago March to protest those practices as well as in media outreach campaigns alongside activists like future Congressmen John Lewis and Andrew Young.  Equal access to land and credit became the driving issue for the civil rights movement in Chicago and remains an issue in many countries around the world today.

Dr. King’s struggle did not stop at the U.S. border.  He advocated for equality in Southeast Asia, in Latin America, and everywhere in the world where he saw injustice.  I think his words and works are as relevant today as they have ever been, especially as I look across this continent and see nation after nation plagued by civil rights abuses and atrocities. 
While there is a temptation among oppressed peoples to rise up violently against their oppressors, violent methods have been shown to be ineffective throughout history. 

Violence begets violence.  The way to see real change in a society is through nonviolent, rationally-based resistance against unjust laws and unjust leaders and on-going dialogue between all parties.

To put Dr. King’s ideas to practical use, however, it is crucial to understand his methods.  Dr. King was a great admirer of Mahatma Gandhi, whom he met on his trip to India in 1959.  King’s own civil disobedience philosophy was based on Gandhi’s principle of nonviolent activism, and his movement was staunchly committed to that ideal.  On his final evening in India, Dr. King said he was:

“more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity. In a real sense, Mahatma Gandhi embodied in his life certain universal principles that are inherent in the moral structure of the universe, and these principles are as inescapable as the law of gravitation.”

Over the summer, we saw Sierra Leoneans peacefully voice their opinions in a successful national election.  There was a threat of violence, there was fear in the international community that violence would erupt, but the people of Sierra Leone united in peace and voiced their opinions in the polls.  It is of the utmost importance that the upcoming elections reinforce the message to the world that Sierra Leone is ready to move forward as a fully functioning, peaceful, democratic nation.

Today, our panelists will share with us their views on the relevance of Dr. King’s work in today’s society.  Minister Kabia spent many years in the southern United States before becoming the Minister of Health, Mr DeSouza George has created a drama based on the life and words of Dr. King, and Mr. Kormoh, a lecturer and historian from the University of Sierra Leone, has studied Dr. King’s place in the history of the world.  I invite you to join me in welcoming these distinguished panelists and to participate in a question and answer session following their presentations.

In conclusion, let us remember the work of Dr. Martin Luther King today and every day of the year.  Let his principles of nonviolent protest be a shining light in our lives and the future of our countries.