NAACP President Says We Must Continue to Seek Justice

The excitement of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial dedication events have passed. The crews have packed up, the parties are over, President Obama has delivered his message and, now, the memorial stands alone.

The celebration may be over, but NAACP President Benjamin Jealous says that there is still work to be done.

“Yesterday was a day of great pride and humility. A day that reminded us of how far we’ve come and how far we have to go,” Jealous told BET.com. “But moving forward is what Dr. King urged us to do.”

Jealous says that two months before his assassination, King said that it would be tragic to stop fighting now, and that his words are still relevant today.

The head of the NAACP says that the Occupy Wall Street Movement is very much in the same spirit that inspired King and his peers, and though the dedication may now be over, America, now more than ever, must continue to carry his vision forward.

“We have to stay focused in fighting for justice — fighting for democracy, fighting to stop these vicious attacks on our right to vote, fighting to stop these vicious attacks on the right of brown people in the South to live with dignity, fighting to stop segregation in North Carolina and fighting to ensure that every person who is willing to work can find a job,” he said.

Losing the excitement over the fight for justice simply because the memorial dedication events have concluded is unjustified, he says.

“You look at the struggle in this country right now to move beyond racial discrimination in employment and you realize that as much has been done, there’s much to do,” he said.  

To contact or share story ideas with Danielle Wright, follow and tweet her at @DaniWrightTV.

(Photo: REUTERS /FRED PROUSER /LANDOV)