Video of Mayor Dinkins at the
Baha'i World Congress
THE CITY OF NEW YORK OFFICE OF THE MAYOR DAVID N. DINKINS
For Immediate Release:
Monday, November 23rd, 1992, 10:10 AM
REMARKS BY MAYOR DAVID N. DINKINS
THE BAHA'I WORLD CONGRESS
JACOB JAVITS CENTER
Welcome to the City of New York!
A quarter of a century ago, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that "the next thing we must be concerned about if we are to have peace on earth and good will toward men is the nonviolent affirmation of the sacredness of all human life. Every man is somebody because he is a child of God."
New York is a city that has taken that advice to heart. Yes, we are the international capital of commerce, culture, and communication. and yes, as the home of our nation's media, we offer the potential of national coverage for events that take place here as you saw during the very successful Democratic National Convention we hosted this summer.
But our city is also a cultural crossroads and a center of tolerance a gorgeous mosaic of 178 different ethnic groups, and the proud home of the United Nations. We welcomed a million new immigrants during the 1980's, and some 30 percent of our population is foreign-born. This diversity is what makes New York special - -New Yorkers relish the polyglot, multiethnic nature of our city.
We are pleased that you have chosen New York as the venue for the Baha'i World Congress celebrating racial and ethnic unity. Although we are not yet free of all racial and ethnic problems, New York ranks as one of the most tolerant towns in the world.
There is no excuse for official intolerance, whether in the form of outright persecution of those of a different faith, or by placing a bounty on the head of a writer of fiction. It is my hope that the spirit of tolerance and respect that we continue to establish in New York will someday be mirrored throughout the world.
And it is in that spirit that I once again welcome you to New York.