Dear friends:
We have come a long way since Dr. King outlined his dream so eloquently. Last year, we elected our first African American President, illustrating for the first time in our history, perhaps, that collectively, we have the ability to look beyond race and elect the best person for the job.
But sadly, even as I write this, more than half our schools have at least 70 percent of their students living in poverty. Fifty-eight percent of our students last month were on free and reduced lunch. Nearly 10,000 children in our public schools are homeless. There are schools along the Corridor of Shame and elsewhere with holes in the walls, leaking roofs, broken toilets, and other third-world-like conditions.
And if you look at who’s attending these broken down schools, who’s falling into the achievement gap, which students are learning and which ones are being left behind, who’s getting suspended and expelled, who’s being disproportionately put in our special needs classes, and who’s ending up in our state’s prisons, it’s our African American children.
We can do better. Now is the time to complete the dream.
Exactly one year to the day before his life was taken in Memphis, Dr. King spoke from the pulpit of the Riverside Church in New York City, and he said, “Silence is betrayal.” He said that in the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
It’s time to break the silence in South Carolina. In my first six months as Governor, I will moderate a live, televised call-in discussion of the challenges and opportunities that diversity provides in our state. I will ask a diverse panel of participants to assist me in that effort.
Today, as we honor the life of Dr. King, I want to challenge you to speak out for those who have no voice – our children. It’s their future we are sacrificing every moment we delay reform in South Carolina. It’s time to turn our state around in order to create jobs and a growing economy, a government committed to accountability, a state committed to improving schools, and leadership that accurately reflects our values. For too long, our government has been distracted and defined by narrow special interests, and it’s time to put our people first. That’s what Martin Luther King, Jr. challenged us to do.
Dr. King also said that there is such a thing as being too late. In his words: “We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.”
We have a responsibility – and an opportunity – to change things. The time is now to stand up, speak out, get involved, and be counted.
Together, I know we can complete the dream in South Carolina.
Sincerely,
Jim Rex
A great opportunity to show who you are and become the favorite of the working people . Incredible as it sounds –Duke Energy has been granted a nearly 10 percent rate hike on residential users by the public service commissioners yet not a single peep out of any candidate for governor . WHY not? The Democratic party must show support for the working people of this state or there is no reason to vote for a democrat . Better late than never . I would suggest you come out strong now against this rate increase even if it is too late to stop it .. People are very very angry . If you can be the voice of the people you can get elected . If not you will not and you will have missed a chance and wasted your time . This is the most important thing you can do for your campaign to show people that you are for real and not just ambitious for your own career Thanks and good luck ROBERT