Statement by Wade Henderson on Today???s On Nation Working Together March

Wade Henderson, president & CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and NEA President Dennis Van Roekel will speak at today’s One Nation Working Together march on the importance of civil engagement and educating every child in America. They are scheduled to speak between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. Mr. Henderson will be available for comment before and after his remarks. Call 202-302-3553 to reach his staff at the march site.

“Today’s One Nation march on the National Mall is a powerful reminder that there is far more that unites us in America than divides us. We share common dreams for excellent education for our children, jobs that provide living wages, and an immigration system that is fair to all. We share common values. We share a common belief that one nation working together can build a better world for us all.

Across our country, unemployment numbers hover around the double digits and poverty continues to rise. While our economy is no longer on the brink of collapse, it should be obvious to everyone that the pace of the recovery is not generating jobs fast enough to sustain our growing workforce. That’s why it’s a moral imperative for Congress and the Administration to take bold, meaningful action to ensure that our nation’s working families survive this crisis and to create jobs now that put us on a sound foundation for future prosperity.

While today’s march is unprecedented in unifying Americans from all corners, it alone will not create the change that our country so desperately deserves.  In today’s speeches and community building, we must remind each other time and time again that we must vote in November.

As the great Frederick Douglass reminds us, power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has, it never will.  Voting is the language of democracy. If we don’t vote, we don’t count. The choice is ours.”

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Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.