Recently, a young man named David rushed up to my car in the Caribbean Festival Parade. We all need to listen to his words:

"Mr. Cummings, I need a job," he cried. "I have three children to feed. I just can’t find work. I need a job, man. You’ve got to help me."

I agreed to help David; and I am confident that his determination to support his children will be rewarded. We must never forget, however, that David’s problem is our problem as well.

As we mark the 35th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, we must rededicate our efforts on behalf of all of the David’s in our community. Dr. King’s soaring words must guide America toward a future of better education and full employment.

For people who struggle just to feed and clothe their families, however, the future is now. As a community, we have a present obligation to lift the crushing weight of our neighbors’ poverty.

It would be morally unacceptable to delay. Even when I succeed in the Congress with job-creating legislation like the new federal transportation bill, I know that long-term successes are not enough.

Elderly cleaning ladies, waiting under the street lamps for the bus home from work at 3:00 in the morning, young people standing idle on our street corners at 3:00 in the afternoon, fathers like David, tormented by large bills and low wages - these are the images which fill my dreams and drive my days....

Every year, in addition to the ongoing employment efforts of my office, I plan and sponsor a "Jobs Fair." Many who attend are unemployed like David, but even more of the job-seekers are underemployed - people who work hard at two or more jobs without ever getting ahead.

My 3^rd annual Jobs Fair will take place next Monday, October 26^th. From 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., over 100 major employers will be posting their "help wanted" signs in the Fifth Regiment Armory near Eutaw and Preston Streets. Each of the companies and government agencies which accepted my invitation has promised me that they have jobs available.

I believe them. I continue to receive letters and calls from people who obtained good jobs by attending my 1996 and 1997 Jobs Fairs.

I expect a large group of job-seekers to attend this year’s Jobs Fair on Monday, so I recommend that people plan to arrive early. Public transportation to the event is readily available by any Eutaw Street bus, by subway to State Center and by light rail to Cultural Center.

In addition to easy, one-stop access to job interviews for a wide variety of positions, experts will be on hand to provide valuable information about how to prepare a winning résumé and how to succeed in job interviews. Baltimore City Community College also will be there to help, committed to making needed job training a reality.

Thirty-five years ago, Dr. King declared, "I have a dream;" and it continues to be our job in life to make that dream a reality. It was no accident that this stirring declaration of our equal right to the American dream concluded the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

When Dr. King declared in 1963, "We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote," he spoke to the condition of our lives today.

Jobs and freedom are intertwined in our lives - our ability to support our families secures our liberty as a people. Dr. King understood that his dream of love, tolerance and freedom cannot prosper in an impoverished land.

Today, someone who shares Dr. King’s heritage has invited 100 employers into our community to work, hand-in-hand, with those of us who need a better job. Please help by telling someone who is out of work or seeking a better job that "you can get a job at Congressman Cummings’ Jobs Fair."