ICYMI: Shaheen Honored at National Cultural Diversity Council’s “Keeping the Dream Alive” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dinner

(Manchester, NH) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) was honored at the National Cultural Diversity Awareness Council’s (NCDAC) annual “Keeping the Dream Alive” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dinner. In her keynote address, Shaheen reflected on the legacy of Dr. King in the context of current challenges, while underscoring the importance of protecting civil rights and democratic participation in the United States. Photos from the event can be found HERE.

In 1999, then-Governor Shaheen made history by fighting for passage of, and signing, a resolution to officially recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day in New Hampshire – the last state in the nation to do so. Since then, Shaheen has remained a strong advocate for civil rights and the defense of democratic participation.

Key quotes from Senator Shaheen’s keynote:

• “It’s important to be clear-eyed about where we are as a nation right now. Across the country, hard-won civil rights protections are under pressure. This year, the Supreme Court is reviewing the section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that prevents voting practices that discriminate based on race. Seats held by members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Hispanic Caucus could be affected. At the same time that representation is being quietly eroded, immigration enforcement is escalating.”

• “This moment is a test. The question is—how do we respond? First, we have to tell the truth plainly, even when it’s uncomfortable. Second, when rights are violated, accountability can’t be optional. Investigations have to be real. Third, we have to defend democratic participation, because that is how we fight inequality without resorting to violence. And finally, we have to show up for communities under pressure.”

• “For years, we pushed to fully recognize Dr. King’s legacy. People organized and refused to let the issue drop. There was resistance—but the pressure paid off. And in 1999, as governor, I signed the bill officially creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day in New Hampshire. That change didn’t come easily. It happened because people would not accept that progress had limits. That’s the lesson I take into this moment. We don’t get through times like this by looking away. We get through them—By standing with people being marginalized…By staying engaged when the work gets hard…And by defending democratic participation at the ballot box.”

Full remarks as prepared for delivery:

Thank you for that introduction. And thank you to the National Cultural Diversity Awareness Council for hosting this event.

It’s good to be with you this evening.

More than sixty years ago, Dr. King stood at the Lincoln Memorial and said—

“…let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.”

And tonight, this room of many faiths and many backgrounds, shows what answering that charge looks like.

For over two decades you have worked to build understanding across racial, ethnic and religious lines in New Hampshire.

Education, youth leadership, business and community engagement—

Keeping Dr. King’s legacy active and grounded.

And precisely because of that progress, it’s important to be clear-eyed about where we are as a nation right now.

Across the country, hard-won civil rights protections are under pressure.

This year, the Supreme Court is reviewing the section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that prevents voting practices that discriminate based on race. Seats held by members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Hispanic Caucus could be affected.

At the same time that representation is being quietly eroded, immigration enforcement is escalating.

ICE has rapidly expanded its workforce, adding roughly 12,000 new officers in a short period of time. That expansion was driven by a recruitment campaign that included slogans like—

“Report All Foreign Invaders”

And—

“Remember Your Homeland’s Heritage”

Civil-rights groups, including the Southern Poverty Law Center, have warned that this language and imagery echo themes associated with white nationalist movements.

For communities of color, masked enforcement doesn’t feel neutral. It carries a long and painful history.

Moms are afraid to collect their kids from school. Dads are afraid to show up on the job site. Given what they’re seeing, that fear is understandable.

And when fear is deliberately stoked, it can turn into violence.

Just last week, a synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi was set on fire.

According to the federal charging documents—

The attack was motivated by the synagogue’s Jewish identity.

This moment is a test. The question is—how do we respond?

First, we have to tell the truth plainly, even when it’s uncomfortable.

Second, when rights are violated, accountability can’t be optional. Investigations have to be real.

Third, we have to defend democratic participation, because that is how we fight inequality without resorting to violence.

And finally, we have to show up for communities under pressure.

I grew up in Southeast Missouri, attending segregated schools as a child. Segregation wasn’t an idea to me. It was the environment.

Later, as a young teacher, I went to Mississippi. I was part of a program in a newly integrated classroom in the South. In the entire class, only four of my students were white. Everyone else was African-American.

I still remember the starkness of that inequality. It wasn’t an abstraction. My students struggled with it every day in their schoolwork.

Dr. King described that reality when he said—

“Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability.”

Progress—advancing equality and justice—it takes work. That is something our immigrant communities understand in this country better than anybody.

Immigrants have helped build America. In science, in business, in medicine, in the military, in caregiving. They start companies, strengthen communities and raise families.

Today, many of the CEOs leading Fortune 500 companies come from immigrant backgrounds. That’s not an accident. It reflects what happens when people are allowed to contribute fully.

And New Hampshire has seen that truth play out here at home.

For years, we pushed to fully recognize Dr. King’s legacy. People organized and refused to let the issue drop.

There was resistance—but the pressure paid off.

And in 1999, as governor, I signed the bill officially creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day in New Hampshire.

That change didn’t come easily. It happened because people would not accept that progress had limits.

That’s the lesson I take into this moment. We don’t get through times like this by looking away.

We get through them—

By standing with people being marginalized…

By staying engaged when the work gets hard…

And by defending democratic participation at the ballot box.

Dr. King told us to let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. That call still stands. And it’s our responsibility to answer it.

Thank you.

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