President Bush's decision to take a stand that would push America backwards, while shocking, is just the latest blow against the advancements of women, people of color, workers and the poor. He has nominated judges and other top leaders with abysmal civil and human rights records, rolled back workers' safety protections and other workplace rights, and cut programs that help poor families. He is once again pushing a giant tax giveback to the rich that provides little or nothing for most working families and that exacerbate the terrible fiscal crisis facing the states.
In his letter from Birmingham jail, Dr. King counseled "progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability." Our history of regrettable and deplorable segregation and discrimination, which in many arenas continues today, makes it impossible to build diverse institutions and achieve a diverse society with true equality unless we make conscious and deliberate efforts to do so. That’s what affirmative action is all about, and that is why it remains an essential tool if we are to win our longstanding fight for equality.
The AFL-CIO is proud to stand with citizens who are gathering during the King holiday week to remember Dr. Martin Luther King and the whole generation of Civil Rights heroes and all that they stood for, and to challenge this Administration to build policies that reflect their dream.
Contact Lane Windham 202-637-5018
