Bill Clinton

“ Let us make this year's observance the beginning of a broader effort to improve our communities and the lives of our fellow Americans, to make the personal choices and take the personal actions that will bridge the gaps-racial and otherwise-that keep us from becoming the people we were meant to be. Working together, joining our hearts and our hands, we will succeed in building One America for the 21st century and in fulfilling the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr. ”

“ Now it is our turn to answer the question, "What are you doing for others?" As part of our response, each year since 1994 we have made the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday a national day of service, a day on which to honor Dr. King's legacy through service projects across our country. Instead of taking a day off, millions of our fellow Americans respond to the needs of their communities, through activities like tutoring children, sheltering the homeless, making schoolyards safer, or making public parks more inviting. ”

“ Today, as our Nation becomes increasingly multiracial and multiethnic, his compelling vision is more important than ever, and the means for realizing it are now within our reach. This past year, as part of my Initiative on Race, Americans across the country participated in thousands of honest and open conversations about race in a sincere effort to heal our divisions and move toward genuine reconciliation. ”