On February 18th, Secretary of State Condi Rice gave a speech at the State Department in celebration of African-American History month. This paragraph captures the powerful sentiments expressed in the talk:

Rice said: "When we talk about family, we mean extended family in the African-American experience," she continued. "So black Americans, African-Americans, have always depended on faith and family and education. In the most hostile times, in the most difficult times, that’s what saw us through. But something else saw us through. And that was a belief in America and its values and its principles - even when America didn’t believe in us. ... Speaking of African-American civil rights leaders, she said black Americans’ belief in America and its faith and its principles "was so strong that [the great black 19th century abolitionist] Frederick Douglass didn’t appeal outside of America’s principles and values, he appealed to America’s principles and values for America to be true to itself. It was such that Martin Luther King didn’t appeal outside of America’s principles and values, he appealed to America to be true to itself in [promoting] progress for black Americans."

Here is a news report on the speech.

The complete text is here.

Thanks to Prof. David Bobb, Director of Hillsdale’s Center for Teacher Excellence.