Memorial which you might recognize as the building right behind us. I want to start by lets have a rounder applause for the United States marine band. Band. The president s own brass quintet. And we will hear a lot more from them over the course of the next couple of hours. So dont go away. They have a lot more to do. So ill start by introducing who i am and why im here. My name is david j kent. Im the president of the Lincoln Group of the District Of Columbia or the Lincoln Group of dc. I assume thats for the Lincoln Group and not for me in particular. Lincoln group is one of the most active lincoln organizations in the country and even though we are based here in dc. Our membership is worldwide and really worldwide but especially countrywide so weve been around since the 1930s. So we are very happy today to have helped organize this program. Along with the National Park service, and i especially want to call out jamie boyle who without whom this none of this would have happened. And
States marine band. Band. The president s own brass quintet. And we will hear a lot more from them over the course of the next couple of hours. So dont go away. They have a lot more to do. So ill start by introducing who i am and why im here. My name is david j kent. Im the president of the Lincoln Group of the District Of Columbia or the Lincoln Group of dc. I assume thats for the Lincoln Group and not for me in particular. Lincoln group is one of the most active lincoln organizations in the country and even though we are based here in dc. Our membership is worldwide and really worldwide but especially countrywide so weve been around since the 1930s. So we are very happy today to have helped organize this program. Along with the National Park service, and i especially want to call out jamie boyle who without whom this none of this would have happened. And and cosponsored by the Lincoln Forum of which harold holder is the chair and harold youll be hearing from harold in a shortly. So i
The only way to meet the power of violence is with nonviolence. There one of them Major Repairs of this was a man named pirate ruston, a protege of a. Philip randolph who organized the march on washington. And what he argued was that nonviolent resistance was critical to any kind of success of his Civil Rights Movement for tomb two reasons. One of them is what questions are aware of. But the other is much more strategic. Will you do when you resist power and do it non violently and except the consequences of it is essentially withdraw consent from the state. I do not accept the legitimacy of this power that is putting me below. And so if enough people withdraw consent the regime crumbles or at least that part of the regime, that law can crumble. The only way that the apartheid terrorist system which existed for the black community for much of American History, the only way that it could crumble is if enough people with drug concern to. Of course you do not have to participate in a cons
Members were contingent and unsecure with their jobs. Now its over 70 . That trend seems to be continuing. The trend of state legislatures defunding Higher Education gradually shifting the cost from taxpayers to students, thats now a 25 year trend. Trends like that dont always and quickly. I think theres a future for state funding in higher Public Education is not great. Both of those things do not mind mote bode well for maintaining Higher Education. If i were to recommend anything i would recommend the federal government pay for public Higher Education and make it freeforall children come to all americanamerican s. 60 billion a year and a couple of battleships left, we have actually made public Higher Education a genuine public good. I think without some fundamental change the quality is going to erode. Scientists all over the country having to choose the basic research that will bring in the most dollars. Rather they choose the research that will do the most good for the people in t