d.c. memorial. take your seat at the table on august 28. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome eric peterson, u.s. vice president diversity general motors. [applause] >> thank you and i have to tell you that i am very honored but i'm humbled to be up here this evening to represent the men and women of chevrolet, of the g.m. foundation and general motors. he spent a lot of time in detroit. it was very humbling in his "i have a dream" speech that was made famous in washington, but he had a preliminary speech than he did in detroit that attracted

hundreds of thousands of people because the man and the message resonated with the people of detroit. when i compared both speeches and i also looked at a letter from birmingham, the one thing i did find out and i watched was i understood better as to what our general motors leadership, the issues that they had to address and how they addressed them. the historic fact that is important especially for general motors is that our chairman at the time stood on the top of the general motors building and watched a city burning, which was deployed, during the 1968 riots. at that time he made a decision and said this has to stop. "we cannot let this happen to our beloved city." essentially, by him taking that

step, general motors decided that we wanted to bring leaders in that would help us either from the private sector or from the government to help us. that led to us bringing rev. leon sullivan on to our board. the significance of that was rev. solomon was the first african-american, the very first black person to be on our board or of of any major corporation, he was the first one. that was important. [applause] that feeling that we had by our leadership at that particular time has terminated throughout our organization as we have moved fort. i have to tell you that it is not by chance that general motors started the first minority supplier organization within the automotive industry. it is not by chance that general motors started the first minority dealer program within

the automotive industry. it was not by chance that our then-chairman tom murphy stood with rev. solomon and gave the support and commitment that general motors would stand with him in regard to the solomon principles. i think that any of view who have followed rev. solomon have understood the solomon principles helped lift apartheid in south africa. that was good for being a good corporate citizen and a good community citizen. [applause] the one thing i continue to remember as i think of dr. king is him locked arm in arm with people that he represented. he did not know a lot of them but he represented them for a cause. on behalf of general motors and to the memorial board, that general motors is committed to

lock arms with you as we move forward, because if the celebration stops this weekend, then the dreams fails. from our perspective at general motors, this has to go for it. -- forward. we have to educate our children as to the significance of this event, of the shoulders that we stand on. on behalf of general motors, we are willing to do that. that is part of what we do. we are committed to work with the boards to move forward. on behalf of chevrolet, general motors, and the gm foundation, we are pleased to be year this evening. we ask that you enjoy this weekend because it's a point to be a great weekend. thank you very much. [applause] >> please welcome the president of the tommy hilfiger corporate foundation, guy vickers.

>> good evening. it is an honor to be here this evening. i am going to be very brief. i will wear two hats. 1 as vice chair of the mlk memorial board. on behalf of the board of directors i would like to welcome everyone to these festivities and to a wonderful week and weekend of activities that we have planned for you. and as president of the tommy hilfiger corporate foundation i want to say how deeply honored i am and our company is to be involved in this momentous occasion. tommy hilfiger and i grew up together in new york and of money to other since we were 10 years old. it is kind of cool to be able to run the corporate foundation. when i began as president of the foundation in december of 1999 i will never forget in march of 2000 tommy hilfiger and bill

called me and said we have to get involved and i want you to research how to get involved in this organization, in building this memorial for dr. king. one of the things that resonates with me today that they said that we have been true to, that i am proud of in my company, and the thing that they emphasized was it is about dr. king and not tommy hilfiger, not the company. so i am very proud to say that our company has been involved a little over 11 years. it has been a labor of love. to be here today, i really cannot express how wonderful it is. i want to say to terry johnson and to the staff, the very small staff of the memorial, and believable. they are hard workers, they are tenacious. they bring everything they have every day. i salute them. on behalf of the corporate foundation and our company, we say thank you and god bless.

[applause] >> and now please welcome myrtle potter, board member of medco health solutions, this evening's sponsor. >> good evening. we are honored to be here with you tonight. we are thrilled to be gathering to commence five days of celebration of a life, dream, and the legacy of dr. martin luther king jr.. i am a board member of medco health solutions, the world's leading pharmacy benefit management company. we are thrilled to have the foundation served as this evening's platinum sponsor. on behalf of the board of directors, are chairman and ceo david snow, our executive team

and over 20,000 associates, we welcome you to this historic night and to this week's landmark commemoration of one of history's greatest leaders, reverend dr. martin luther king. [applause] dr. king challenged us to become a better nation and a better whirlpool by honoring and respecting each other's humanity and by eliminating injustice wherever it exists, whether that is in education, health care, housing, employment. meco strives to honor the vision of dr. king by providing the highest quality and most innovative drug therapies and management services of our over 60 million members. we do this by addressing health-

care disparities and also by helping people manage their chronic health care conditions. we also addressed the health care needs of the most vulnerable populations and support high-performing, low- income students in reaching their goals to become nurses, doctors, and pharmacists. we are very proud, very, very proud to be tonight's platinum sponsor and to be a part of celebrating the life, dream, and legacy of an extraordinary man. thank you so much for joining us in this celebration of dr. martin luther king. i hope you truly enjoy this momentous evening. thank you. [applause] all of you for your

extraordinary support for this memorial and for this evening celebration. archbishop desmond tutu is at the forefront of world leaders who followed in dr. king's footsteps. the first black south african archbishop of cape town south africa if spent his life in defense of human rights of the oppressed. like dr. king, a man of faith, unbounded coverage, and a nobel peace prize recipient. mr. he received the presidential medal of freedom from president obama in 2009. he could not be with us in person, but sent a special message for this important occasion. >> welcome to the first of the events celebrating the dedication of the martin luther king jr. memorial.

i regret not being able to attend in person, but i am honored to be able to bring you greetings to share on this historic occasion. i am one of the millions who oppose their freedom to dr. king's advocacy of democracy, justice, hope, and love. dr. king's teachings inspired and established a new era of civil rights in america. his spirit has encouraged new democracies around a world, including here in south africa. the power of his legacy continues to inspire and guide people searching for freedom and equality. this wonderful memorial will permanently stand in the heart , anderica's capital city

the values that it represents will reach and resound around the walt. -- world. for those who stood with dr. king and heard him speak in prophetic words, it must be hard to believe that 48 years have passed since he shared his dream on the steps of the memorial of the steps of america's great to emancipat or. we have waited a long time for this moment. if there's one message of dr. king, we must always remember that what is good and what is right will always but one day prevail. this lesson has kept hope alive in many of the world's darkest corners and has encouraged those

following in dr. king's footsteps to continue his commitment to resolving conflict without violence. wisdom anddr. king's sacrifice, our world is a free r and more peaceful one. every day we see the legacy of his hope and vision as people around the world seek freedom, equality, and opportunity through non-violence. this magnificent memorial to dr. king is well-deserved. the world needs the messages enshrined today as much as ever. god bless you. [applause]

>> desmond tutu expires us with his gentle strength and courage. an anti-apartheid movement in south africa was the crucible of his leadership. our next bishop is a south african who follows in the footsteps of dr. king. he has known prison and house arrest and his social and political involvement has consistently been driven by faith. recognized with numerous honors and awards for his humanitarian leadership and achievements, he founded the world for all foundation to create cooperative relations between states, cultures, and communities at a global level. it is my great honor to introduce the honorable ebrahim rasool, ambassador to the united states from south africa. ambassador rasool. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you very much, andrea. it is difficult speaking in the

shadow of archbishop desmond tutu. almost five decades later, we all gather in washington to memorialize in stone the values for which martin luther king stood and died. and this is a long time in the memory of some, but it could not be more timely that we do it in this era to memorialize those values, because we live in a world where the values of truth, peace, forgiveness, compassion, reconciliation, and so forth are seen as weaknesses, for they are denigrated. they're seen as values of exit values of exigency it

is increasing. reconciliation, peace, and compassion are the values for which martin luther king lived and they are the foundation from which apartheid was defeated. they are in the dna of leaders like archbishop desmond tutu, rk, and others. they had non-violence espoused by mahatma gandhi and practiced by martin luther king. they confronted the segregation of apartheid with the reconciliation that martin luther king did not fully see not fullyof, but to that south africa today tries to hold up in a world that is polarized in so

many other ways. we confronted the conflict of apartheid with the values of peace and coexistence that martin luther king john of and saw on the mountaintop but that archbishop tutu, nelson mandela, and others would start building on the southern tip of africa. add to this the values of truth , the values of mahatma gandhi, martin luther king, nelson mandela, and desmond tutu, not as a commodity to compromise but as something that they could trade for reconciliation, if you told the truth, you would not be venged against, but you would be reconciled with. the truth would truly set you free. south africa is regarded as a

miracle. what we do a search in south africa is that our transformation was divinely inspired, but not a miracle out of reach of ordinary human beings. south africa and the life of dr. martin luther king has to confirm for us that human beings are capable of being good, that human beings are capable of working for values, in the midst of harshness and violence. the example that runs like a golden thread from asia through mahatma gandhi and through america through martin luther king, through africa, through a number of leaders culminating in nelson mandela tells us that faith is not only the rituals of

warships, nor the polarizing -- not only the rituals of worship, but it is a rememberence that our relationship with god must reflect in our relationship with other human beings. [applause] that faith and religion in the works of mahatma gandhi, of martin luther king, and of nelson mandela was not to understand yourself as chosen and others as frozen, but to understand that under god's canopy there's room for everyone in respective of color, language, creed, hair or any

other thing that marks a difference between people. the difference is the reason to engage, not the reason to polarize and another reason to isolate. [applause] as south african ambassador, as i stand every day, the statue of mahatma gandhi is there. in the next week we have officially will add to the memorial of washington the one outstanding memorial of martin luther king, we are challenged that the golden triangle of peace, compassion, non-violence, and struggle against adversity, that the third point in the triangle must be completed. in the year of 2012, the third step of that triangle will be completed outside the embassy of south africa to build a golden

triangle by completing the memorial to nelson mandela in washington, because washington is the place. [applause] -- that determines so much, where we stand between peace and war, where we stand between reconciliation and vengeance, where we stand between compassion and harshness. if this triangle can guide the leaders who make decisions, then 50 years is not a long time to wait for the statue and memorial to dr. martin luther king. thank you very much. and let the celebrations begin. [applause] >> ambassador, thank you for setting the tone, for inspiring us. enjoy your dinner. we will be back later. thank you.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome again ms. andrea mitchell. >> thank you all. [inaudible] it is my great pleasure to introduce the great poet behind

this monument and the mortal that we are about to dedicate to this weekend. the president of the martin luther king jr. national project. who successfully led the campaign to build the memorial, mr. harry johnson. [applause] >> thank you so much. thank you so much. thank you so much. [applause] thank you, thank you, thank you. your excellencies, members of the king family, other special guests that are with us tonight,

hello, everyone. and thank you for joining us tonight on this most auspicious occasion. to our mistress of ceremonies andrea mitchell, ambassador dr. suzan johnson cook, thank you. honored guests, we thank you. all of you assembled tonight, i say, how is everyone doing this evening? [applause] during his short time here on earth dr. martin luther king jr. once said, "our lives begin to end the day we become solid about things that matter -- silent about things that matter." tonight as we celebrate that world vision and commitment to peace and justice that guided dr. king and inspires the leaders here with us this evening, we are mindful of the

fact that we stand on the shoulders of those who refuse to be silent about things that mattered most. truth, justice, equality, and opportunity for all. to that end, as we begin making our plans for the dedication week, we wanted to be sure that our celebration included time to remember dr. king as a leader with world vision, his concern was for the rights of all people, not just here in our own country, but those who live across the globe. for that we owe him a continuous debt of gratitude. [applause] finally, my friends, as i take my seat, it is truly an honor and no doubt a privilege for me to introduce our next guest, who like our other distinguished speakers this evening is a trailblazer in his own right.

the former mayor of dallas, texas, our current united states representative, the honorable ron kirk, serving as the president's principal trade advisor, negotiator, and spokesperson on trade issues. to me he is just a great friend. ron kirk told me once when we were at the democratic national convention a few years ago, "i am proud of you sending me those letters asking me for money -- i am tired of view sending me those letters asking me for money, i have given you all the money i am going to." ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome ambassador ron kirk. >> join me. as a fellow texan, i am proud of harry johnson for his love and commitment and stored ship of this wonderful project. [applause] even though that was the trickiest -- cheekiest way for

him to ask me for more money again, i would give it. [laughter] i'm proud to be a part of the kickoff for this wonderful event. as i listened to the remarks from my brothers from general motors and tommy hilfiger, i started ripping pages out of my speech, because so much of what i wanted to say, they said. it has caused me to reflect on what i could perhaps add that you had not heard before. i could not help but think about my own experience growing up in austin, texas, which at that time was as segregated as any other city in america. like so many of you here, i grew up very much the first generation beneficiary of the civil rights movement. before i go further, if for me to comment on what an honor it is for me to be here as the son of the civil rights movement, it is my privilege to honor and acknowledged the children of dr.

martin luther king and criticized king, who are here with us tonight. [applause] you have heard from previous speakers and will certainly hear from all of us how each of us used dr. king's work and how it is either inspired our lives work or informed it. i cannot help but think about how dr. king's galvanizing work demonstrated a powerful combination of theology and and ideas to inspire individuals to take action both collectively and individually to transform our society. i was reminded, as i had a conversation with one of our good friends who was saying that they hoped the weather would not ruin the beacon. i told him that if any group of , itle knows about praying an

ought to be those of us gathered in this room today. whatever storms,, god will take care of it cove. i grew up in a little church in the south and all we had was our faith and hope. i grew up in a church that my family built by hand. it was like every little shotgun surge that you see in the south. if we had a wooden block letters with scriptures on the wall. in my church we recited john 3:16 every week, every sunday, every permitting. we said so many times that we began to play around with it. one of our times that we were reciting are scripture, one of my cousins nudged me and said you know what this means, don't you? i said yes. he said, "god so loved the world, he did not send a committee." [laughter] when i think about dr. king, god

does not send a committee. a committee would never have moved america to move past segregation and jim crow. it took fannie lou hamer and martin luther king and so many other people we know. as i am privileged to travel all around the world as the face of the united states in our commercial relations, i am inspired and tumbled to see that same spirit of self- determination and faith in the work and in the lives of the people, as you have heard from our wonderful ambassador from south africa, and we are witnessing now the breath of dr. king's work come into life in places like libya and egypt and the middle east and north africa. as mothers and fathers all embrace their global principle of self-determination and self empowerment. to me that is the spirit of dr. king's work. that is the genius of the

globalness of his message. people intuitively understand to the democratic rights, give people the power to shape our own destiny and our own future. they also understand that increasing individual freedom helps to unleash liberty and gives entrepreneurs the freedom to empower themselves to create a better life not only for themselves but for their families and for their friends and for their neighbors. so it seems fair to me to say that dr. king's life and work helped to shape a strong foundation for global development. his efforts inspired a universal call for social justice that has helped move hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in just a few generations. we all know there's so much more to do. but tonight is an opportunity to celebrate the genius of dr.

king's mission. i am honored to also have the privilege to introduce our evening's final speaker. the 64th secretary of state of the united states of america, the fabulous, the wonderful, the brilliant, intelligent, the gorgeous madeleine albright. [applause] throughout her extraordinary life and career in public service, the doctor has been committed to the idea that america should lead the world even as we strive to perfect our own union and live up to the highest principles here and all. she continues to pursue these goals today in both her public and private careers. as chair of the albright stone bridge group and albright capital management, she provides strategic perspective to dynamic leaders who are driving the global economy and creating

jobs around the world. as chair of both the national democratic institute for international affairs and the pew global attitudes project, she helped guide institutions dedicated to giving individuals a greater voice in shaping their futures. friends, please join me in welcoming madam secretary, dr. madeleine albright. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much, ambassador ron kirk. my good friend. thank you very much for your kind words. i am delighted to be here. andrea, is a pleasure to be with you and your excellency is, and friends. if you are wondering which pin i

have on, it is a lincoln pin. it's as "one country, one destiny." i am honored to join with all of you in celebrating the life and legacy of dr. martin luther king jr.. harry johnson, thank you so much for your amazing effort to make this all work. this is your week. [applause] we have already heard a lot about dr. king and much more will be said between now and sunday when a long-awaited memorial it is officially dedicated. as we share our thoughts we should never lose sight of his core mission. as the leader of the african- american community and of the quest for racial equality and social progress in the united states. it is appropriate that we highlight his inspirational role in south africa's struggle against apartheid, as the

ambassador said so eloquently. but tonight we place special emphasis on the universal relevance of. dr. king's ofhe was a man who spoke to all races, genders, and creeds and to every generation. the words that once filled atlantic's ebenezer baptist church and that were proclaimed from the steps of the lincoln memorial have not lost any of their power. the message that ultimately prevailed over enormous odds in birmingham, montgomery, and selma is vital wherever people yearn to live together in dignity, freedom, and peace. dr. king was, as we all know, a dreamer. but this does not mean that he was not leave. -- that he was naiive. he was threatened and beaten in

jail. while still in seminary, he wrote about the viciousness of racism and it made in doubt the essential goodness of man. one month before his untimely death, he preached in atlanta that life is a continual story of shattered dreams. he spoke often from the pulpit about the war that rages within each of us between our nobler inclinations and the temptations of evil. dr. king had seen too much of life to believe in the finality of any victory or in the moral purity of any nation or people. this knowledge of human character and his realism about the obstacles to progress make even more compelling the prescription that he offered. hope, faith, commitment, and compassion towards one another. he knew that a world of peace and justice could not be achieved by small steps or by

minor adjustments to our thinking and policy. he told us that such a world could not be invented even by the most startling advances of modern technology. he warned us that we could not break through as a society if we were always looking around to see what everyone else was doing. so that we would be shielded from the criticism that true leaders face. dr. king did not ask us to become a flock of good cheap. he asked us to join in creating a revolution, a non-violent revolution based on the principles of true democracy. -- -- a flock of good sheep. recognition that we are equal not just because we are all the same, but we are equal in are intrinsic -- our intrinsic dignity and worth.

now we may wonder today whether he had a reasonable standard to set. after all, nations have economic, political, and security interests that often come into conflict. we americans have enemies who have attacked us and it who openly proclaimed their hate. it is far easier to talk about the redemptive power of love than it is to apply that concept world.hallenging and sho we can not always live up to his standard. if we ever fail to acknowledge morality as a guiding light, then we are truly lost and we should never forget that. dr. king did not expect to see a universal brotherhood and sisterhood descend from the clouds to cleanse the earth of

suffering and strife, but he asked each of us to put aside our arrogance and to accept the fundamental proposition that every individual counts or "that we are tied together at in a single garment of destiny." this is the principle that every individual counts, that must be a part of everything that we do. if we truly believe in that and act on it, we will have the firmest possible platform for building world peace. we will have the unity we need to attack global problems such as underdevelopment, religious conflict, environmental degradation, and bigotry. we will have the capacity to reach across social and political boundaries so that we might benefit from the contributions of all people. we will live up to our nation's highest ideals and we will honor

in the best possible way the life and legacy of dr. martin luther king jr. thank you so much for letting me participate in this. thank you. [applause] >> madam secretary, thank you so much for those wonderful words of inspiration, and things that we need to remember for the rest of this week. please give the secretary another round of applause. [applause] i would ask that martin king iii, bernice king, ms. christine farris join us on stage for a very special presentation. [applause]

latest and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage mrs. christine king farris, dr. bernice king, and martin king iii. [applause] i would like to present to the secretary of state one of our awards that the sculpture carved.

it sits on a base of stone that came from the same quarry where the stone of hope came from. madam secretary, you cannot hold this because i can barely lift it. i would like to present this on behalf of the foundation and the king family and all the guests tonight. i would like to call to the stage the master sculptor and others. and mr. ron kirk, ambassador.

[applause] and now as we take our seats --

all of you are very special tonight. i do hope that you have a wonderful evening. but before we close the evening, we are honored to have a very special guest. would you please welcome to the stage mr. stevie wonder? [applause] [cheers] [applause] stevie, thank you so much for coming tonight. we appreciate you.

>> it is truly an honor to be here at the beginning of this celebration of the memorial of dr. martin luther king jr. i want to personally and emotionally thank you, harry johnson, for making it possible for me to see the monument. he made it possible for me to go up and check it out and touch the face of dr. king. [applause] what i would like to do before i say any more is, through the wonder foundation commit to the

foundation $10,000 per year that will allow as many people that are blind to go up in a cherry picker to see it. [applause] >> amazing. >> if that does not cover it, i guess i will have to sell some or records. [laughter] this memorialhed hi of dr. king, i think of what i hope we all will do. i hope we will remember the meaning behind the monument. i hope that we will remember to

touch the face of it. the people who are poor, the country's that are suffering, and that --as tall as the monument stands and do anything about that. as i touched the body i hoped that all of us will remember the meaning behind this memorial, the monument, and remember those who are without health care and be tall enough and big enough, as tall as the monument, to do something about it. [applause] as i touch his face, i want us to remember the.

meaning behind. the meaning behind the monument. i want us to be tall enough to remember the young people that will determine the destiny ultimately of how and what we do today to make sure they have education and that those who don't have the funds, to be sure that they have money enough. and me in my life, i have been blessed by the grace of god. as we celebrate this. of those who are muslim and those who are christian, as you celebrate ramadan, that all of you all over the world, christians, muslims, and other faiths, will remember that it is not about their religion, it is about the relationship.

god bless you and thank you. >> thank you so much, stevie. thank you. [applause] [unintelligible] >> ♪ >> i wanted to do this song because i actually wrote it in 1972 on the birthday of dr. martin luther king jr.

honey land where the dream of heaven stands is this a vision in my mind? a law was never passed

of all men truly free at last have we really gone this far in time or is this a vision in my mind? i'm not one who makes believe i know that leaves are green they only turn to brown when autumn comes around i know just what i say today's not yesterday and all things have an ending knowhat i'd like to

good a place like this exist so beautiful? or do we have defined our place in time away in a vision in our mind? who makes believe i know that leaves are green they only turn to brown when autumn comes around you see, i know just what i say today's not yesterday and all things have and endi eng

but what i'd like to know could a place like this exist so beautiful? or do we have to find our wings and fly away to the vision in our mind ♪ division ithe vision in our mind

vision in our mind to the vision and our miin our d to the vision in our mind ♪ [applause] [cheers] thank you. >> would you please thank the great and wonderful stevie wonder? [cheers] i would like ambassador cooked

to join us again for the benediction, please, at this time. >> thank you, harry. from the mountains to the perry, to the monument, god has blessed america with a wonderful leader dr. martin luther king and it with terry johnson and all of you. several ministers here, and two of them who marched with dr. king are with us. ambassador andrew young and the rev. jesse jackson. ambassador young. [applause] the closing prayer? once again, why don't we stand? to the wonderful king family, thank you for sharing your father, your uncle, your brother

with us. we love you so much, all the king family. take the hands again. shall we pray? >> accept our petition, dear god. forgive us for the foolishness of our ways. touched our hearts and always make us better and never bitter. tonight we have an awesome celebration from the hopes and dreams of unborn generations. help to transform america and the world for the better. dr. king will be a force against injustice and willingness to maintain his dignity after the bombing of this house.

those who lived in the aftermath of his life, thank you tonight. [unintelligible] as we celebrate this weekend, we want to remember to feed the hungry, to help the poor, and war no more. amen. >> amen. >> thank you, lord. you brought us from a mighty long way. god bless you. night.ni >> the official dedication of the martin luther king jr. memorial will take place this sunday, which is the 48th anniversary of the march o

washington and dr. king's "i have a dream" speech. president obama and members of the king family are scheduled to speak. you can watch a live coverage at 11:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. this morning we will get an update on the war in afghanistan from the pentagon. the eastern afghanistan regional commander will brief reporters and a question. live coverage at 10:30 eastern on c-span3. and at 11:00 eastern on c-span 2, a discussion on global and domestic terrorism over the years.fforts you ar watch live coverage from the heritage foundation. >> for politics and public affairs, nonfiction books and american history, it is the c- span networks. it's all available if on television, radio, and online, and on social media sites. search, watch, and share all our programs anytime with c-span posted video library, and on the

road with our c-span digital bus and local content vehicles, bringing our resources to local communities if and showing events from around the country. it is washington your way, the c-span networks, created by cable, provided as a public service. >> , up next, "washington journal" will take your calls. with the new king of national memorial set to officially open this weekend, we have a forum on civil-rights leader today. they will recognize a number of individuals who have made civil rights contributions, including reverend jesse jackson and u.s. attorney general eric holder. live coverage here on c-span and 12 noon eastern. we will look at the u.s. economy and the latest congressional budget office report. report. steve