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Nine years ago Gov. Jeanne Shaheen successfully pushed for and signed into law Martin Luther King Day, ending New Hampshire's status as the only state to not have an offical Martin Luther King holiday.
This morning Jeanne Shaheen spoke at the kickoff of City Year's Young Heroes program in Portsmouth.
City Year Young Heroes Opening Day Ceremony
Portsmouth Middle School
January 21, 2008 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
This ceremony combines two things that are very special to me - Martin Luther King Jr. Day and service.
When I was governor, I signed into law the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, ending a twenty-year battle over whether New Hampshire would have an official Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
Signing Martin Luther King Jr. Day into law was especially important to me because I grew up in the South during segregation. I attended segregated schools. In the town there were separate drinking fountains for black and white. At the local movie theater white residents could sit on the main level of the theater but people of color could only sit in the balcony.
Dr. King's leadership helped end segregation, changing lives and changing our country for the better.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrates the legacy of a man who worked tirelessly - who gave his life - to forge a common ground for all people. It is a day to commemorate the values Dr. King exemplified throughout his life: compassion, courage, justice and service.
As Dr. King demonstrated, we are a people who recognize that through serving side by side we can bridge barriers between us, and we can overcome obstacles as a community. We can create what Dr. King called "the beloved community."
Today, as City Year Young Heroes, you, like Dr. King, are committing to put your idealism to work through community service. That work may meet a tangible need, like fixing up a public park or volunteering at a shelter, or it may meet an intangible need, such as building a sense of mutual responsibility and respect within a community that is born from the act of service.
As City Year Young Heroes, you will make a positive difference in your communities. Through your commitment to the Young Heroes Program and your promise to complete 80 hours of volunteer service in your communities, you demonstrate that you understand the importance of serving the public good. You have accepted the challenge of giving back to society and demonstrate the spirit that Dr. King embodied.
The service you perform will make a positive difference to each of you as individuals as well. It will empower you to become the committed and compassionate leaders we need in New Hampshire and in America.
Your service will be a powerful example to your friends and classmates. You will show them, and all of us, that young people are motivated and capable leaders, and that they have the potential to be part of the solution in our communities. You remind all of us that regardless of age, gender or race, we have the capacity to serve.
I want to acknowledge the great organization that is giving you this wonderful opportunity to serve and to grow, City Year. There is a special connection between New Hampshire and City Year. The co-founder of City Year, Alan Khazei, like you, grew up in New Hampshire. The premise of City Year is simple and so powerful - that through service young people can gain the skills and opportunities to change the world.
In his stirring "I Have a Dream" speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. included these words "let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire."
The service and activism you begin today will help bring freedom to the communities you will serve and to your own spirit. I applaud you and your parents for making the choice to give so much of your time to service and I hope service becomes a lifelong habit for you. You can change the world.
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