Good evening. I’m Jamee Decio—born and raised in Elkhart, and I’m running for Congress in Indiana’s 2nd District.
I am humbled and honored to join you tonight as we celebrate the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. A man with a dream, he convinced millions of Americans — including all of us — to believe we possessed the power to create a more just and righteous nation.
I grew up in a family that didn’t judge people by the color of their skin, where they were born, where they worshipped, or what political party they belonged to. All were welcome at our table.
My father, Arthur Decio, grew up during the Great Depression on Indiana Avenue, where Black and white families, including Italian immigrants, struggled to make a living.
When I was in pre-school, my father would drive my brother and me on Sunday afternoons to his old neighborhood, pointing out homes of his friends and sharing stories – one about a barefoot boy whose family couldn’t afford shoes I’ve never forgotten. He also talked to his parents, giving out free meals.
Somehow, my dad made his old neighborhood seem special, filled with hope, love, and kindness.
During our rides, my dad often spoke about his friend Bill Phillips, who was five years older and someone my dad looked up to.
His deep admiration and respect for Bill only grew when Bill joined the Navy, earned college and graduate degrees, and became Elkhart’s first Black city councilman. My father served with Bill on the Elkhart Urban League, something neither could have imagined as kids.
On my father’s 90th birthday, his health failing, he took calls from friends. After his last call, he leaned back in his chair, lost in thought for a few moments. Then he nodded at me and said, “I miss Bill Phillips.”
I was moved, recognizing that my dad had drifted back to his childhood and his formative friendship with Bill.
It was not lost on me that with their commitment to helping others, their lifelong friendship was in fact the embodiment of Rev. King’s dream.
I am honored to be my father’s daughter, running to serve northern Indiana and to advocate for everyone in this congressional District.
My father demonstrated by his life the importance of honesty and fairness, community service, and faith.
When those overlap, as they did for Rev. King, they can be powerful drivers of change.
I have vivid memories of lying on the floor watching TV as Rev. King delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial. Although I was young and did not understand all that he expressed, I was mesmerized, especially when he spoke of equality and justice.
My favorite Rev. King quote has always been “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
It’s probably the reason I became a lawyer and worked at Elkhart Legal Aid.
People need justice and equality as much as the other necessities of life.
Injustice anywhere still troubles me, and it’s another reason I feel compelled to run.
I want to restore fairness to our laws, raise the minimum wage, make health care a right – not a privilege, and pay attention to those Americans who feel ignored—or left behind.
It’s inspiring how Rev. King’s dream lives on in this community. There is so much to be proud of — Rod Roberson, our city’s first Black mayor. Tonya Hines, our city’s first Black woman council member. Faith Mission, where caring people lend a hand and inspire hope. Church Community Services, where volunteers provide food to families in need.
As we embrace Rev. King’s fight for a better America and move our community forward, we can see change everywhere, yet at times it seems nowhere.
The current administration has made it clear that its vision for America is not the vision Rev. King laid out when he told us that “the arc of a moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
The President has eliminated decades of initiatives designed to address racial inequality.
That’s wrong; it threatens the fabric of our democracy.
As Rev. King said on that August day almost 63 years ago: “We shall always move ahead. We cannot turn back.”
This administration also seeks to deny women and people of color the right to vote.
“We cannot turn back.”
We need to defend and protect Rev. King’s vision of America as “a great nation,” and summon the courage of our better angels to stop present leaders from doing more damage.
Our mission starts with peaceful protests and everyone exercising our sacred right to vote.
As Rev. King said, “You can kill the dreamer, but you can’t kill the dream.”
Our effort begins here in Elkhart, where we join hands—black, brown, and white, native-born and immigrant, young and old — with our brothers and sisters — all God’s children, and rededicate ourselves to being “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
May God bless the memory of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and may God bless America. Thank you.