WASHINGTON – Former President Bill Clinton on Monday said America’s diversity makes it “the best positioned country in the world for the 21st century.”
Speaking at an event to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Clinton said he agrees with studies that prove diverse teams make better decisions than homogeneous groups. And yet, he stressed the value of unity amidst difference.
“America at its best is a country of inclusive tribalism,” he said. “We like diversity, but it only works if our common humanity matters more,” said the former president in a speech at the Martin Luther King Day civil rights breakfast organized by the National Action Network.
The civil rights organization honored several humanitarian leaders, including Clinton, for their work in promoting equality and for uplifting the disadvantaged in communities across the country. At the event, speakers and honorees said that issues like gun control, accessible education and other equity-promoting measures are even more important at a time like the present when the country has become acutely polarized.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, said that America is “at a crossroads.” On the one hand, there is a push toward civil rights, and on the other, rising divisiveness in a climate of increased anti-Semitism and racist hate crimes, he said.
“We need a spirit of civility and reconciliation. In the middle of all that’s going on, there are those who have shone a light,” he said.
Clinton and Sharpton highlighted their long relationship as an example of constructive debate, describing their ability to both admire and disagree with each other on points of policy while working toward the same goals – or as Sharpton put it, driving on “different lanes on the same highway going the same way.”
