Our Tomorrow: The Power of Possibility0

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Dear Friends & Family:

It was an honor. I was empowered by the opportunity to be apart of our city’s King Week celebrations, sponsored by the City of New Orleans MLK Holiday Planning Commission. To view photos from the speech & week of events, visit: MLKweek.com

Speech Excerpt:
“As we gather during the aftermath of the devastation in Haiti and on the eve of the most important election season in the rich history of New Orleans, it is fitting for us to delve into one of Dr. King’s most seminal themes: the Power of Possibility.

Overstanding the triumphant success of Brown V. Board of education, the end of Jim Crow and the passage of voting rights act, Dr. King said “There are those all over who are telling us that we must slow up, that we must slow down. But we cannot afford to slow up because we have a moral obligation to press on. We must keep moving; we must keep going.”

When we reflect on the relevance of King’s quote about the power of possibility within the context of the current condition of our own recovery, we too know there were some who told us to “slow down, don’t rebuild.” Some told us we would never rebuild, shouldn’t rebuild and couldn’t rebuild. But the power of possibility and your spirit defied the odds. In the face of your darkest moment, you showed the world (perharps our brothers and sisters in Haiti) how to suffer, how to find grace and desire, humility and the strength of determination.

Friends, we face serious challenges that require serious sacrifice and serious leadership. Let us seize this moment where we stand at the crossroads of where a dream might be and renew our committment, sending a clear signal to our neighbors throughout the Gulf Coast and our supporters around the world we are ready to rebuild New Orleans, The American city.”