I am an optimist by nature. And I am a patriot. I believe that all the progress that we have made in recent decades is just a harbinger of things to come. J.P. Morgan reportedly said once, “Don’t sell America short.” I believe that. Despite the challenges that we face—problems in the stock market, fear of terrorism, and uncertainty over possible war in Iraq—I am confident that in this country, we have the leadership, the vision, and the sense of purpose to manage our way forward. As I am fond of saying, America is a great nation with an imperfect history. We are a noble people, not a perfect people. There is much good in us, and we should resist the temptation to focus always on our faults. I believe that we continue to be a beacon of light and a symbol of hope. For humanity, I believe, as Thomas Jefferson once said, that we are the last, best hope of mankind, and I believe Ronald Reagan was right when he said our best days lie ahead.

5th Annual Investment Education Symposium
New Orleans, Louisiana
February 28, 2003

As the great theologian Dr. Samuel Proctor said, "we are heirs to a faith that gave us a sense of eternity, the capacity to turn pain into song and agony into a durable, resilient quest for complete humanity." Faith in a "God of our weary years, the God of our silent tears." The kind of faith that brought Frederick Douglass from bondage to emancipation and kept his mind stayed on the freedom and redemption of our people. The kind of faith that moved Fanny Lou Hamer from sharecropper to organizer, caused her to get sick and tired of being sick and tired and changed the face of Mississippi.

Faith, that old landmark, faith that old milestone, the faith with which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. triumphantly proclaimed, "he would go out and turn dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows, and carve a tunnel of hope through a mountain of despair." A faith that helped us endure those painful days, "when hope unborn had died." Yes, we are a people of faith still traveling freedom’s road.

Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration
Prince Hall Grand Lodge
New York, New York
January 21, 2002