Lynch: Cause of justice transcends a single administration

In her final address as attorney general, Loretta Lynch commemorated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday, in a speech in which she warned that while America has made great progress in civil rights, the country still has a “long way to go.”

“We have come a long way, a mighty long way, in our struggle to build a society worthy of the promises set forth in our founding documents.” Lynch said to a crowd at the historic 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., on Sunday. “But there is no doubt that we still have a long way to go.” 

While Lynch never mentioned President-elect Donald Trump by name, the attorney general referred to the “difficult days” ahead. 

“I know that we are in difficult days now. Many worry that Dr. King’s dream – and all that has flowed from it – is at risk like never before,” she said, speaking one day before the federal holiday honoring the civil rights leader. 

“In my travels I have seen the disconnect between the forces of our government and the communities we serve; I have seen the concerns that the voting booth will be moved out of reach, that our hearts will close along with our borders, that a prayer in a different tongue or posture will place one at risk.”

Lynch referenced the history of Birmingham throughout the speech, noting its role in the Civil Rights Movement. 

Last week, President Obama announced the creation of several national monuments, including protecting civil rights landmarks such as the church in Birmingham, which was the target of a Ku Klux Klan bombing that killed four girls in 1963.

She emphasized that while her time serving as attorney general is about to end, “the cause of justice” surpass “any temporal bounds.”

“It transcends the work of a single administration, or even of a generation,” Lynch said. “And if it comes to pass that we do enter a period of darkness, let us remember – that is when dreams are best made.”