    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [April 4, 1998]
    [Page 501]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the Pilgrimage to Memphis Celebrating the Life of Dr. Martin
    Luther King, Jr.
    April 4, 1998

        Warm greetings to everyone participating in the Pilgrimage to
    Memphis. As we commemorate the 30th anniversary of the death of Dr.
    Martin Luther King, Jr., I join you in celebrating his life and legacy.
        Dr. King awakened the conscience of our nation and summoned us to
    join a pilgrimage from which we have never turned back. With clear
    vision and an eloquent voice, he called on all Americans simply to be
    true to our promises. He called on us to confront injustice and to
    overcome it. He called on us to free all our people from the indignity
    of discrimination and the pain of poverty. He called on us to engrave on
    our hearts the words that our founders inscribed on paper: that all of
    us are created equal.
        Thirty years ago, Dr. King reassured us, in his final prophetic
    speech at Mason Temple Church of God in Christ, that he had seen the
    promised land and that ``we, as a people, will get to the promised
    land.'' But he was wrong when he said, ``I may not get there with you,''
    for he is with us still. He is with us as we strive to build communities
    of hope and opportunity for all; he is with us when we give all our
    children the care and support and education they need to reach their
    God-given potential. And he will be with us when we enter the next
    millennium as One America--a better, stronger, and more united nation
    because of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, courage and sacrifice.
        Hillary joins me in extending best wishes for a memorable
    observance.

                                                                Bill Clinton