Radio Address to the Nation

Good morning, this is John Kerry. I want to wish everyone a happy Fourth of July weekend.

Forty years ago, on July 2, 1964, Lyndon Johnson signed the most sweeping civil rights legislation since the end of the civil war. With a stroke of the pen, Johnson decreed that America would live up to its founding creed, "that all men are created equal." The bill was signed at the White House, but as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. understood, in truth, it "was written in the streets" of America. It was written by the foot soldiers in the sweltering heat of Birmingham and in cities and towns all across the South. It was written by freedom fighters armed only with the truth, who climbed aboard buses and marched into the blast of a fire hose...the bark of a dog, without ever resorting to violence. It was written by men and women like John Lewis, Dr. King, Dorothy Height and Jesse Jackson, who put their minds and their bodies into the crucible of hatred so we would all see a better day.

On this 40th anniversary of its passage, it is also important to remember that foot soldiers for freedom come in all colors. We should remember that for every Bull Connor or George Wallace standing in the schoolhouse door, there were scores of people like Viola Liuozzo, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, who along with James Chaney, gave their lives working to clear the path to freedom. We should not forget men of courage like Cesar Chavez who fought for the rights of immigrant workers or Rabbi Abraham Heschel who joined Dr. King and others in putting their lives on the frontlines of the often perilous march to freedom.

The truth is, while the civil rights act was primarily passed to ensure equal opportunity for African Americans, it has benefited all of us and made America a more perfect union. It was rooted in the fundamental ideal that every American, regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin, deserves an equal shot at the American Dream – at a good job, a good education, and the right to share in the promise of America.

As we celebrate our many freedoms this Fourth of July, we should remember that those freedoms are rooted in the courageous struggle for civil rights that reached a turning point 40 years ago this week. And we must not slumber under the false assumption that our work is done. As Dr. King told us, the Civil Rights Act was "only the beginning of a new day...not the end of a journey."

We have removed the barriers of hate that kept us from drinking at the same water fountain or attending the same school. The next step in our journey must be to remove the barriers that keep us from drinking at the same fountain of opportunity. Our work is not yet done when the current Administration refuses to back up its promise of quality education with funding that would truly leave no child behind.

Our work is not yet done when in the richest nation on earth, 44 million Americans don't have health insurance and people of color are significantly more likely to suffer and die from diseases like cancer and AIDS and diabetes.

Our work is not yet done when right-wing judges are turning back the clock, eroding many of the civil rights gains of the past 40 years. And when the Administration in Washington is sowing new seeds of division, not unity.

I believe in an America that fights to right those wrongs. And I have a plan to move us forward. It is a plan that puts and keeps good paying jobs at the heart of our economy. It closes loop holes that pay companies to move our jobs overseas. It is a plan that will make high-quality health care affordable and available to all. It is a plan that invests in the education of our children and workers and gives them the tools to succeed.

And it is a plan that strengthens our civil rights laws, including passage of the Fairness Act, which upholds our highest values of equality and opportunity for every American. Forty years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, I ask you to join me in re-dedicating ourselves to continuing the journey and making real our pledge of "liberty and justice for all."

Thanks for listening.