Good morning,

Today, I’m honored to celebrate the life of a great man and his impact on the life of our country -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1967, Dr. King created the Poor People’s Campaign, calling on the country and the American people to bridge race, class, and faith to live up to the teaching: “I was hungry and you fed me. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.”

And strange as it may seem right now, what I have seen in my life and my travels around this country fills me with hope. 

Because the story of America gives us reason to hope. And as troubled as these times are, I walk in hope that a better day is at hand. That one day we will tell our children that we did right by them in this decisive year to bring about a future where your race has no bearing on your health, or your wealth, or your life expectancy. And that we came together to build an American future defined not by exclusion, but by belonging.

The day after Donald Trump will be a relief. We’ll finally turn the page on the corruption and the chaos. We’ll turn the page on a president who wields race as a wedge to divide and harm. 

But on that day we will have to confront the burning question Dr. King posed in the summer of 1967: “Where do we go from here?” 

On that day, the sun will come up over a country even more torn up and polarized than before. And the challenges that have brought us to this point -- the unfinished work to reach the mountaintop -- haven’t taken a vacation during this presidency.

The sun will come up over a health care system where Black patients’ reports of pain are disbelieved, such that Black women die in childbirth at triple the rate of white women -- and it’s time we do something about that. 

The sun will come up over a democracy slipping away -- dollar after dark dollar, one suppressed vote and misshapen district at a time. We must act to change that.

The sun will come up over a nation beset by a gun violence epidemic that is stealing lives -- from Mother Emanuel to the streets of cities like mine every day. It is long past time we act on that.

In this divisive moment, we could let fear hold us back. We could give in to cynicism and hopelessness. Or we could see ourselves in each other, recognizing that each of us has a story that can either separate or connect us to those around us -- that we are all tied in that “single garment of destiny.”

I am running to be a president who will gather up the pieces of our divided country, and help put this nation back together to take on those challenges. 

Thank you for being a part of this vision.

Pete