I was doubly honored this year at the Dr. Martin Luther King Living the Dream Award celebration hosted by the City of Phoenix.

It was a privilege to speak at the event and pay tribute to Dr. King, his extraordinary life and his enduring influence.

And it was deeply appreciated to be among this year's honorees and receive the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award.

As a former Mayor, I am proud that Phoenix hosts this ceremony every year and led the movement to celebrate Dr. King’s birthday in Arizona.

Again this year we will march on Monday morning. Through wind and rain and hostile governors, we've marched! It’s the least we can do to pay honor to the man who has meant so much for the cause of justice in our State, our country and around our world. The kids have grown taller, some of us grayer or balder but, thankfully, the tradition endures.

There are parallels between the battles we fought when I was Mayor and the battles I fight today as your Attorney General.  It is the ongoing fight for justice.  I know it seems incomprehensible today, but when I signed the first ordinance creating a Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday in Arizona in the mid 1980s, it was very controversial.  It took years and many marches to win a state holiday honoring Dr. King.

We have come closer to fulfilling the dream of Dr. King, but we have a long way yet to go.  I see the need to stand up for Dr. King’s vision of equal justice every day as your Attorney General.

I see it in the faces of the abused women and children in Colorado City, where men hide behind false religious piety.  I see it in the victims of predatory mortgage loans and payday loans.  I see it in the victims of housing discrimination.  And I see it among our Latino fellow citizens who are terrorized by Sheriff Joe’s sweeps.

Dr. King said “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”

The advances we make in civil rights and justice are never inevitable. They are the product of people making conscious decisions to fight injustice -- often at great personal cost.  I am committed to continuing the fight.

Terry Goddard
Attorney General