Jan. 20, 2014-Vice President Joe
Biden was the keynote speaker at the National Action Network's fourth
annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast. Biden may be
discounted in some circles, but he
has a wealth of experience and can deliver a powerful and moving
speech. The Vice President decried "the tide of new attempts–new
attempts–to restrict the right of our people to vote." "I never
thought we'd be fighting the fight again on voting rights," he
said.
Biden recounted working as a life guard in Wilmington. "I was the
only
white kid working in East Side, we called Price's Run and we now call
The Bucket, Reverend, I was a life guard in the big city swimming
pool." He said the experience was "a bit of an epiphany."
One of the highlights of Biden's speech was his account of a couple of
incidents he had with Sen. John Stennis, the long-serving
senator from Mississippi who was strong segregationist but later came
to a more inclusive view. Mimicking Stennis' gestures and
describing fine details, Biden brought
Stennis, who left the Senate more than two decades ago, to life and
illustrated how times have changed. |