20th Annual Drum Major Inter-Faith Empower the Dream Service Remarks

January 18, 2026

Good afternoon.

Thank you, Elder and First Lady Hennessee, for that generous introduction and thank you to everyone who made this service possible. I am deeply honored to be with you today.

I want to begin by acknowledging the young people who have led us this afternoon through song, prayer, welcome, and reflection. Your voices matter. Your leadership matters. And your presence here reminds us exactly why we gather on Dr. King’s birthday weekend: not only to remember his words, but to invest in the next generation who will carry them forward.

It is especially meaningful to be here in this church. The only church in Oregon where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself spoke. That history matters. Sacred spaces matter. And what you have built here honors both the legacy of Dr. King and the future he believed was possible.

Today is about unity. Unity across faiths. Unity across generations. Unity across race, gender, and background. Unity across neighborhoods, counties, and communities.

Dr. King understood something that still challenges us today: unity is not passive. It does not happen by accident. Unity is a choice we must make again and again, especially when it feels difficult.

Dr. King warned us about the danger of division when he said: “Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity… It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false.”

Those words feel painfully relevant. Hate still corrodes. Division still distorts truth. Fear still tempts us to turn away from one another instead of toward one another.

But Dr. King also gave us a clear alternative. He said: “We must learn to live together as brothers—or perish together as fools.”

That is not just a moral statement. It is a practical one. Because the truth is: we rise or fall together. That is as true for Oregon today as it was for the nation Dr. King challenged to do better.

I believe deeply in a simple idea: there is no such thing as an unimportant community in Oregon.

Every community is essential to our shared success. Every person belongs. Every voice matters.

When we honor that and see each other fully, we do great things together.

In Oregon, we have seen what unity can accomplish. We have come together to expand access to housing, to invest in mental and behavioral health, to rebuild after wildfires, and to stand up for workers, families, and young people. None of that happens without partnership. None of it happens without trust. And none of it happens without a belief that our differences do not weaken us—they strengthen us.

This service embodies that belief. Here, faith leaders from different traditions stand side by side. Elected leaders come not to divide, but to affirm hope. And young people are not on the sidelines—they are at the center.

That matters. Because Dr. King did not believe in symbolic unity. He believed in lived unity that shows up in opportunity, in justice, and in action.

That is why the Drum Major Scholarship Fund is so powerful. Dr. King spoke about the idea of being a “drum major”—not for self-importance, but for service. This scholarship program honors that idea by lifting up students who already embody compassion, leadership, creativity, and courage. You are not only investing in education, you are investing in the moral leadership of Oregon’s future.

To the scholarship recipients and honorees: Oregon believes in you. And Oregon needs you.

As Governor, I carry a responsibility not only to govern, but to protect the values that make this state a place where people can thrive. Values like dignity. Fairness. Compassion. And shared responsibility.

Those values are tested in moments of uncertainty and change. They are tested when it would be easier to retreat into our own corners, to listen only to voices that sound like our own, or to give in to cynicism.

Dr. King rejected cynicism. He rejected the idea that injustice was inevitable. And he rejected the lie that we are destined to remain divided.

Instead, he offered us the vision of the Beloved Community. The Beloved Community is one where conflicts are resolved peacefully, where systems are shaped by justice, and where love is not weak, but transformative.

Building the Beloved Community is not the work of one faith. It is not the work of one generation. And it is certainly not the work of one political party.

It is the work of all of us. It is the work of standing up for one another when it is uncomfortable. It is the work of listening with humility. It is the work of refusing to let fear define who belongs. 

I want to close by speaking directly to the young people here today.

Dr. King was only 26 years old when he led the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He did not wait for permission to lead. He did not wait for the world to be ready. He stepped forward because he believed that ordinary people working together could change the course of history.

You are part of that same legacy. Your creativity, your compassion, your insistence on justice—these are not inconveniences to be managed. They are gifts to be embraced.

Oregon’s future depends on your leadership. And my commitment to you is this: as Governor, I will continue working to make this state one where every young person, no matter their zip code, race, faith, or family income, has the opportunity to live with dignity and purpose.

Dr. King saw the world as “a great opportunity to do good.” He lost his life advancing that vision but he did not lose his dream.

That dream lives on in this church, in this service, in these scholarships, and in each of you.

Let us leave here today united in purpose. United in values. And united in the belief that together, we can continue bending Oregon and our nation toward justice.

Thank you. May we continue the work—together.