“I Have a Dream”

[성김 대사]

The past couple weeks have been particularly eventful, both here at the Embassy and in Washington.  At the end of August, people around the world – including here in Seoul – tuned in to the “Let Freedom Ring” ceremony in Washington.

Fifty years after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, President Obama followed in his footsteps to speak from that same ground.

President Obama and Dr. King speaking in Washington, D.C.

Dr. King spoke decades ago of dreaming that one day the United States would live up to the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

But as President Obama celebrated the achievements of Dr. King and the civil rights leaders who marched for equality in America, he also noted that we still have “unfinished business.”

As the President said, “And so as we mark this anniversary, we must remind ourselves that the measure of progress for those who marched 50 years ago was not merely how many blacks could join the ranks of millionaires.  It was whether this country would admit all people who are willing to work hard regardless of race into the ranks of a middle-class life.”

 
America has come a long way in the past 50 years, but we still have a long way to go.  That is why I was pleased recently to welcome to Seoul a groundbreaking U.S. legislator, Congressman Charles Rangel.  A Korean War veteran and 22-term lawmaker, Congressman Rangel is a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the first African-American member of Congress to lead the powerful Ways and Means Committee.
 

With Congressman Charles Rangel

Congressman Rangel has long been a champion for diversity, a cause that I strongly identify with as a Korean-American.  In fact, his longstanding and vocal support for diversity as one of America’s great strengths inspired the Rangel Program. 

A collaborative effort between the State Department and Howard University, a prestigious, historically black college in Washington, D.C., the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program seeks to increase diversity in the Foreign Service.  The program hand-picks high-achieving young people, especially from minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service and those with financial need, and grooms them for careers as U.S. diplomats.

In my years in the Foreign Service, I have been pleased to see the U.S. diplomatic corps become increasingly representative of our very multicultural and diverse nation.  Where once there were few minorities, and married women were not allowed to serve in the Foreign Service, now these groups are quite well-represented in our State Department.  My hope is that the Foreign Service will continue to reflect the rich makeup of American society.  As Korea, too, becomes more multicultural, I hope that together we are able to celebrate diversity as a national strength.