luther king jr. starting the poor people s campaign and dreaming of an america, of equality and opportunity. you have to look at marion s life and ask how did she beat the odds when so many gave up the hopes of those early days? for marion, it has always been about children and families. that s what matters and that s what has kept her going, helping to open public schools to children with disabilities in the 1970s, an effort i was honored to be part of. working to expand medicaid in the 1980s to cover more pregnant women and more children in need. standing with me and others in the 1990s to create the children s health insurance program, improve foster care and create early headstart. fighting in recent years to build a bipartisan movement to dismantle the school-to-prison
of dr. king often repeated by president obama, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. now, sometimes it can feel awfully long. believe me, i know. but i also know it does bend. it bends toward justice because people like marion and so many of you, and there are people in this audience i have had the privilege of working with and admiring for so many decades. you refuse to stop pushing. when you get knocked down, you get back up. i often quote marion when she says that service is the rent we pay for living. well, you don t get to stop paying rent just because thins don t go your way. i know many of you are deeply disappointed about the results of the election. i am, too. more than i can ever express. but as i said last week, our
pipeline and reform our criminal justice system especially for juveniles and spending countless hours mentoring and training the next generation of leaders and activists at haley farm. under marion s leadership, the children s defense fund works to give every child a healthy start, a headstart, a fair start, a safe start and a moral start in life. and i cannot think of a more noble or necessary mission. no matter what the setbacks, she has always believed in the words of dr. king often repeated by president obama, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. now, sometimes it can feel awfully long. believe me, i know. but i also know it does bend. it bends toward justice because
people like marion and so many of you, and there are people in this audience i have had the privilege of working with and admiring for so many decades. you refuse to stop pushing. when you get knocked down, you get back up. i often quote marion when she says that service is the rent we pay for living. well, you don t get to stop paying rent just because thins don t go your way. i know many of you are deeply disappointed about the results of the election. i am, too. more than i can ever express. but as i said last week, our campaign was never about one person or even one election. it was about the country we love and about building an america that is hopeful, inclusive and big hearted. i didn t get into public service to hold high office. [ applause ]
past week when all i wanted to do is just to curl up with a good book or our dogs and never leave the house again. but if there s anyone who knows how to pick yourself up and get back on your feet and get to work, it is marion. [ applause ] she has been doing it all her life. and she has been helping the rest of us do it, too. i am as inspired by marion today as i was the first time i met her 45 years ago. and she told the story. i was a young law student. i had lots of hopes and expectations about what a law degree would enable me to do. i had the words of my methodist faith ringing in my ears, do all the good you can for all the people you can for as long as you can.