JI stand before you like a proud American. I stand before you like the son of an African. Africa and its people have helped shape America and made it the great nation that it is. Africa and its people have helped shape who I am and how I see the world. In the villages in Kenya where my father was born, I learned about my ancestors and my grandfather's life, my father's dreams, the family ties that bind us all Africans and Americans.
As parents, Michelle and I want to make sure that our two daughters know their European and African heritage, in all its strengths and all in its struggle. So we took our daughters and were with them on the shores of West Africa, in the Gates of No Return, aware that their ancestors were slaves and slave owners. We booked with them in this little cell on Robben Island where Madiba showed the world that no matter what the nature of his physical isolation, he alone was the master of his destiny. For us, for our children, Africa and its people teach us a powerful lesson that we must uphold the inherent dignity of every human being.
This basic idea that by virtue of our common humanity, no matter where we come from, what we look like, we are all born equal, touched by the grace of God. Everyone is valuable. Every person counts. Everyone deserves to be treated with decency and respect. For much of history mankind has not seen this. Dignity was seen as a virtue reserved for those of rank and privilege, kings and elders. It took a revolution of the mind, over the centuries, to open our eyes to the dignity of each person. And all over the world, generations have struggled to put this idea into practice in laws and institutions.
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