Mayor Newberry challenges citizens to remember fallen soldiers by exercising rights

Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry addressed a gathering at the Lexington Cemetery on Memorial Day, encouraging the audience to honor fallen soldiers by exercising the freedoms the men and women of the United States military fought and died for.

Newberry quoted from Lincoln's Gettysburg address, saying the words still hold relevance today.

"After acknowledging this country was founded on the proposition that all men are created equal, Lincoln noted that it was fitting and proper for the living to gather to memorialize that battlefield and the sacrifice of those who fought there. But then he went on to issue a challenge to those who lived," Newberry said.

Newberry called Lincoln's challenge a "duty" for all American citizens.

"So to honor these who have died, let us exercise our rights to live and worship as we please, to assemble peaceably, to speak our minds, and, in this presidential election year, to vote our conscience. Let us as a community, state and nation work to ensure that not only we enjoy these freedoms, but that the right to liberty, justice and equality are also made available to all of our fellow citizens. As American citizens, that is our call to duty," he said.