Itellyouallthisbecauseit’simportanttonoteprogress.Becausetodenyhowfarwe’vecomewoulddoadisservicetothecauseofjustice,tothelegionsoffootsoldiers;tonotonlytheincrediblyaccomplishedindividualswhohavealreadybeenmentioned,butyourmothersandyourdads,andgrandparentsandgreatgrandparents,whomarchedandtoiledandsufferedandovercametomakethisdaypossible.Itellyouthisnottolullyouintocomplacency,buttospuryouintoaction–becausethere’sstillsomuchmoreworktodo,somanymoremilestotravel.AndAmericaneedsyoutogladly,happilytakeupthatwork.Youallhavesomeworktodo.Soenjoytheparty,becauseyou’regoingtobebusy.(Laughter.)
Yes,oureconomyhasrecoveredfromcrisisstrongerthanalmostanyotherintheworld.Buttherearefolksofallraceswhoarestillhurting–whostillcan’tfindworkthatpaysenoughtokeepthelightson,whostillcan’tsaveforretirement.We’vestillgotabigracialgapineconomicopportunity.Theoverallunemploymentrateis5percent,buttheblackunemploymentrateisalmostnine.We’vestillgotanachievementgapwhenblackboysandgirlsgraduatehighschoolandcollegeatlowerratesthanwhiteboysandwhitegirls.HarrietTubmanmaybegoingonthetwenty,butwe’vestillgotagendergapwhenablackwomanworkingfull-timestillearnsjust66percentofwhatawhitemangetspaid.(Applause.)
We’vegotajusticegapwhentoomanyblackboysandgirlspassthroughapipelinefromunderfundedschoolstoovercrowdedjails.Thisisoneareawherethingshavegottenworse.WhenIwasincollege,abouthalfamillionpeopleinAmericawerebehindbars.Today,thereareabout2.2million.Blackmenareaboutsixtimeslikeliertobeinprisonrightnowthanwhitemen.