US: Obama vows to renew America's promise
20 Jan 2009 2:04 AM
WASHINGTON, Jan 19 AFP - Barack Obama, in a tribute to civil rights hero Martin Luther King, says his inauguration as America's first black president will extend the work of "renewing the promise of this nation".
"Tomorrow, we will come together as one people on the same mall where Dr King's dream echoes still. As we do, we recognize that here in America, our destinies are inextricably linked," he said in a statement on Monday.
"We resolve that as we walk, we must walk together. And as we go forward in the work of renewing the promise of this nation, let's remember King's lesson -- that our separate dreams are really one."
On the eve of his historic inauguration, Obama was on Monday marking Martin Luther King Jr Day with a series of community events in Washington under the banner of "Renew America Together: A Call to Service".
On Sunday, Obama stood in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial, dedicated to the slain president who brought the United States intact through the Civil War and abolished slavery, to deliver a sombre view of the perils ahead.
The site was where King in 1963, five years before his assassination, gave his legendary "I Have a Dream" speech, a dream where his children would be judged by the content of their character and not the colour of their skin.
"His was a vision that all Americans might share the freedom to make of our lives what we will; that our children might climb higher than we would," Obama said in his statement.
"Dr Martin Luther King's was a life lived in loving service to others. As we honour that legacy, it's not a day just to pause and reflect - it's a day to act," he said.
"And I ask the American people to turn today's efforts into an ongoing commitment to enriching the lives of others in their communities, their cities, and their country."
