Here's some of what he said:
On that hot August day, Whitney Young declared that the civil rights for which they were marching were "…not negotiable…." But he also described other marches that lay ahead: the march from "ghettos to decent, wholesome, unrestricted residential areas"; the march from "relief rolls" to "retraining centers"; the march from "ill-equipped schools which breed dropouts and which smother motivation" to "well-equipped, integrated facilities throughout the cities."
And he concluded, "Our march is a march for America."
Our march is a march for America.
Not black America or white America. Not rich America or poor America, rural America or urban America. But all America. An America where no child's destiny is determined before she's born – and no one's future is confined to the neighborhood he's born into. An America where hard work is still a ticket to the middle class – and you can make it if you try.
But somewhere along the way, we got off course. Somewhere along the way, we let a reckless few game the system, we let special interests tilt the scale and distort the free market, we stopped making the investments in our children and our workers to help us all rise together.
And today, we're all paying the price. Today, we stand at a defining moment in our history. With seven straight months of job losses; with the highest percentage of homes in foreclosure since the Depression; with family incomes down $1,000 and the costs of gas, groceries and health care up a whole lot more than that – so many people are looking at their children, wondering if they'll be able to give them the same chances they had.
Our cities have been especially hard hit – facing shrinking tax bases, growing budget deficits, and social services that just can't keep up with people's needs.
And let's be very clear: when more than 80 percent of Americans live in metro areas; when the top 100 metro areas generate two-thirds of our jobs; when 42 of our metro areas now rank among the world's 100 largest economies – the problems of our cities aren't just "urban" problems any more.
When rising foreclosures mean vacant homes, abandoned streets and rising crime that spills over city limits – that's a suburban problem and an ex-urban problem too.
When tens of millions of people in our cities are uninsured, and our urban emergency rooms are overflowing – that's a suburban and ex-urban problem too.
