[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 15 (Monday, April 13, 1998)]
[Pages 575-576]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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

[[Page 576]]

Note: This message was made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on April 4.