Martin Luther King, Jr.
Diversity Day Speech
Buckeye, AZ

We are gathered here today to celebrate the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

But, we’re also here to celebrate the birth of his dream, his enduring dream that everyone will be judged not by their color or creed, ethnicity or beliefs, but by their character.

Those essential qualities of a person’s morals and ethics and how we treat each other.

As we come together and consider the legacy of Dr. King and the movement he championed, we may be tempted to ask why a God of infinite wisdom would make everybody different.

We may be tempted to ask why a God of infinite wisdom wouldn’t foresee the problems that we would face by being different.

Finally, we may ask why a God of infinite wisdom wouldn’t just make everybody the same to avoid the troubles we have seen and felt in our life times.

The answer is obvious for those of us who are believers.

God is all of us.

Our Creator made us all in his image, and in his infinite wisdom:

He wants us to find love for one another because to love one another is to love God in all of his colors. 

As a keeper of the peace, I believe this to be true.

I am a police officer and I am a leader of police officers.

I believe I am a man of peace with the obligation to serve and protect.

That is the duty of a police officer and it should not be anything else.

We enforce laws to serve and protect you; our mission is to be your guardian.

Your police department is working hard to maintain your trust and make our community safer and friendlier with our Community Policing Programs.

Community Policing is both a philosophy and an organizational strategy that allows the police and community residents to work closely together in new ways to solve the problems of crime, fear of crime, physical and social disorder, and neighborhood decay.

This philosophy rests on the belief that law-abiding people in our community deserve input into the police process, in exchange for their participation and support.

Our Community Policing Strategy stresses the need to explore new ways to protect and enhance the lives of those who are most vulnerable:

juveniles, the elderly, minorities, the poor, the disabled, and the homeless.

We strive to involve all members of your Police Department in efforts to prevent and control crime in ways that encourage us and all of you law-abiding citizens to work together with mutual respect and to hold each other accountable.

I recognize that we as the police cannot impose order on our community from the outside, but that people must be encouraged to think of us as a resource they can use in helping us solve contemporary community concerns.

We are working diligently to make our community safer and friendlier through partnerships with businesses, schools and churches.

Our Faith-Builders Public Safety Partnership is a group of churches that work with us and has established itself as the premier shepherd of crime prevention programs to eliminate violence and drug use from our neighborhoods.

Our school programs are reinforcing values that are designed to build character and keep kids on the path of making good choices and to becoming productive citizens of our community.

We are making our community safer and friendlier by solving crimes and taking people off the streets who are harming our families and friends.

We are making our community safer and friendlier by advocating for rights and fair treatment for all.

As police officers we are defenders of your right to liberty.

As police officers we are your guardians. 

Our place in the community is to ensure your protection.

Dr. King wanted us to live in God’s love.

He wanted us to live in the glory of God’s promise of freedom for all men and women.

As police officers, we are here to serve each of you:

to guarantee that freedom rings.