“In America, hate will not prevail,” Biden declares on a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

President Joe Biden declared Monday that “in America, hate will not prevail,” recalling the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at the national holiday commemorating the slain civil rights leader, and his quest for justice and equal rights for African Americans.

Biden, speaking in Washington to leaders of the National Action Network, a civil rights group, said Americans “should never get tired of doing the right thing.”

He cited some of the actions he has taken to improve the lives of African Americans during the first two years of his presidency, but acknowledged: “Friends, we have a lot of unfinished business; we can’t remain silent.”

The Democratic president promised to work with the new republican majority in the House of Representatives on issues on which they could reach an agreement. But he also said that he will veto legislation that he believes would hurt working-class families.

He attacked Republicans for passing a measure last week that seeks to kill off $80 billion in new funding for the nation’s tax agency, the IRS, and said the lack of new inspectors at the agency looking at tax returns “would cut taxes for the super-rich.”

Republicans say the additional funding would have led to burdensome audits of small businesses and middle-income taxpayers. Biden said he would veto the measure in the unlikely event that the Democratic-controlled Senate passes it. He also attacked a call by some Republicans for a national sales tax on almost all items purchased and to eliminate income taxes.

Biden said America’s recovery from the economic depths caused by the coronavirus pandemic has laid the foundation for a stronger and more equitable economy for decades to come.

“Unemployment among African-Americans is near record lows,” he said. “The wages of these workers have risen for two years stronger for the creation of small businesses, including the small businesses of those killed.”

“We are expanding efforts to build generational wealth like anyone else who built their wealth,” Biden concluded.

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