Remarks During a Visit to the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library,
January 21, 2008

Thanks for having us. Listen, Laura and I are thrilled to be with you. We’re honored to be with the Mayor and Councilman Jack Evans. We appreciate very much the—Serve DC, that is working to inspire volunteerism, and I want to thank this beautiful library for hosting us.

I just got a couple of comments I want to say. First of all, Martin Luther King Day is—means two things to me. One is the opportunity to renew our deep desire for America to be a hope—a land of promise for everybody, a land of justice, and a land of opportunity. It’s also an opportunity to serve our fellow citizens. They say Martin Luther King Day is not a day off; it should be a day on. And so today Laura and I witnessed acts of compassion as citizens were here in the library volunteering their time, and that’s what’s happening all across America today.

But a day on should be not just one day; it really ought to be every day. And our fellow citizens have got to understand that by loving a neighbor like you’d like to be loved yourself, by reaching out to someone who hurts, by just simply living a life of kindness and compassion, you can make America a better place and fulfill the dream of Martin Luther King.

Martin Luther King is a towering figure in the history of our country. And it is fitting that we honor his service and his courage and his vision. And today we’re witnessing people doing just that by volunteering their time.

So we’re honored to be with you. We’re proud to be with you on this important national holiday. Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming. Jack, glad you’re here. Appreciate you all taking time out of your day to visit with us.

Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 9:42 a.m. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty of Washington, DC; and Jack Evans, councilmember, Council of the District of Columbia.