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February 2000-WH: African American History [Radio Address]
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CLINTON LIBRARY PHOTOCOPY
�Margaret M. Suntum
02/18/2000 07:07:34 PM
Record Type:
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To:
See the distribution list at the bottom of this message
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Subject:
Embargoed Transcript: Radio Address of the President
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
Embargoed For Release
Until 10:06 A.M. EST
Saturday, February 19, 2000
RADIO ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT
TO THE NATION
The East Room
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.
On February 12, 1926, as
a tribute to the birthdays of Frederick Douglas and Abraham
Lincoln, the noted African American scholar and historian, Carter
G. Woodson, initiated Black History Week, the forerunner of what
has become Black History Month.
This observance is important because many of the
stereotypes and much of the distrust between the races are the
result of historical inaccuracies or omissions that have
persisted over too many years.
The truth is, whether we 1 re
talking about the heroic freedom-fighting efforts of the Black
Moses, Harriet Tubman, or the landmark legal accomplishments of
Thurgood Marshall, we 1 re really talking about vital aspects of
all Americans history.
But too many Americans are not aware of
the extraordinary contributions African Americans have made to
the life of our nation, and that s a tragedy.
1
1
Together, we have come a mighty long way.
Today, we 1 re
in the midst of the longest and strongest economic expansion in
our nation 1 s history-- nearly 21 million new jobs; unemployment
�at 4 percent, the lowest rate in 30 years; incomes up across all
groups of American workers; and among African Americans, poverty
and unemployment rates at the lowest levels ever recorded.
Crime, which has been especially devastating to many African
American neighborhoods, is now the lowest it's been in 25 years.
We've cut taxes for millions of hard-pressed working families and
cut the welfare rolls in half, while moving millions of people -almost 7 million of them -- from welfare to work.
But still there are wide and disturbing disparities in
health, income, perceptions of justice and educational
achievements that break down along the color line.
It is clear
we must do more to close these gaps and give all our citizens a
chance both to contribute to and share in our growing prosperity
and promise.
That is one of the reasons I created a One America
Office in the White House last year, and why the Vice President
and I have worked so hard to bring loans and new investments to
distressed communities, through empowerment zones, the Community
Reinvestment Act, community development banks, and now, through
our New Markets Initiative.
Especially we need to make sure our young people are
prepared for this new economy, by helping every child enter
school ready to learn and graduate ready to succeed.
More
Americans -- and more African Americans -- are going on to
college than ever before.
But we must give every child that
chance and we must help their families shoulder the burden.
Today I'm pleased to announce that the Department of
Labor is awarding $223 million in Youth Opportunity grants to
bring education and job training to up to 44,000 young people in
36 communities -- from Watts to the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation.
This will provide a lifeline of opportunity to any
young person willing to work for a better future.
And it's a key
component of our broader Youth Opportunity agenda.
We've requested an increase of $1.3 billion this year
to bring an array of education and training assistance to at-risk
youth, from the Gear-Up and TRIO mentoring and support programs
to get more kids on the right track to success, to an increase in
Pell grants to help more of them afford the cost of college.
These Youth Opportunity grants will draw on the
experience and dedication of people like Jacquelene Sharp Massey
of Baltimore's Career Academy.
For 20 years, Jacquelene has made
history of her own by helping literally hundreds of young people
to turn their lives around -- people like 20-year-old Michael
Dupree, who, with the help of the Academy, has gone from being a
high school dropout to a biotechnology lab assistant and a member
of Baltimore's Youth Council.
Sixty years ago today, the Army Air Corps activated its
second squadron of African American fighter pilots in Tuskegee,
Alabama.
That squadron and three others fought fascism in the
�air, and racism on the g~ound.
As Tuskegee Airmen, the sky was
their limit.
And they helped to lead the way to this modern
digital age in which there are virtually no limits to how high
our people can fly.
Their story is a precious contribution to
our common history, and very much worth remembering this Black
History Month.
Their belief in an America that would respect their
courage and honor their service is the foundation of the America
we all want to live in -- one where every person is treated with
dignity and respect, and all our children have the chance to live
their dreams.
That's the America we should work for in the new
millennium.
Thank's for listening.
END
Message Sent To:
�PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE:
Working on Behalf of African Americans
"f{eveJy American really believed that we were one nation under God; !fevery person really believed that we
are all created equal; (fevelJl person really believed that we have an obligation to try to draw closer together
and to be better neighbors with others throughout the world, then all the rest ofour problems would more easily
melt away. And so I ask you ... keep in your mind ... the enormous potential you have to reach the heart and soul
ofAmerica, to remind them that we must be one."
-- President Clinton
Remarks to the Congressional Black Caucus
September 20, 1999
EXPANDING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES:
Historic Economic Gains. The unemployment rate and poverty rate for African Ame1icans are both at the
lowest levels on record, with an 8.2 1% unemployment rate in January 2000 (down from 14.2% in 1992) and a
26.1% pove1iy rate in 1998 (down from 33.1% in 1993). Median household income for African Americans
is up 15.1% (or $3,317) since 1993.
Tax Cuts For Working Families. President Clinton's 1993 Economic Plan provided tax cuts to 15 million
hard-pressed working families by expanding the Eamed Income Tax Credit (EITC). The average family
with two children who received the EITC received a tax cut of$1,026. In 1997, the EITC lifted 1.1 million
African Americans out of poverty. This year the President proposed expanding the EITC to provide tax
relief to 6.4 million additional working families.
Minimum Wage Increased. The President raised the minimum wage to $5.15 an hour-- directly benefiting
1.3 million African American workers -- and called for passage of an additional $1.00 an hour increase.
Creating New Tools to Help Families Move from Welfare to Work. Since enactment of the 1996 welfare
reform law, millions of families have moved from welfare to work. With the President's leadership, the
1997 Balanced Budget Act included $3 billion to move long-term welfare recipients and low-income noncustodial f~1thers into jobs. The Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit provides tax incentives to encourage businesses
to hire long-term welfare recipients. The President's Access to .lobs initiative helps communities design
innovative transpOiiation solutions, such as van services, to help former welfare recipients and other lowincome workers get to work, and this year the President is proposing $150 million for this initiative, double
last year's level. President Clinton has secured 110,000 new housing vouchers in the last two years to help
welhne recipients and hard-pressed working families move closer to job opportunities, and this year he is
proposing $690 million for 120,000 new housing vouchers.
More Than Three Times the Number of Small Business Loans. Between 1993 and 1999 the Small
Business Administration (SBA) approved more than 13,000 loans to African American entrepreneurs under
the 7(a) and 504 loan programs. In 1999 alone, the SBA granted 2,181loans, worth $383.2million, to
African American small business owners --more than three times the number of loans granted in 1992.
Expanding Investment in Urban and Rural Areas. Spuning economic development in distressed
communities, the Clinton-Gore Administration has created 31 Empowem1ent Zones and more than 100
Enterprise Communities, including 20 rural ECs that are creating new jobs, new opportunities and stronger
communities. ln the FYO 1 budget, the expanded wage credits and tax incentives will extend economic
growth in the existing urban and rural Empowerment Zones ai1d suppo1i the proposed third round of 10 new
·
Empowem1ent Zones.
Encouraging Investment in Underserved Communities with New Markets. President Clinton's New
Markets Initiative is bringing economic development and renewal to communities that have not benefited
�-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
from the soaring economy. This year, the President is proposing to more than double the New Markets tax
credit to spur $15 billion in new community development investment in economically distressed areas.
Closing the Digital Divide. Increasing access to technology and bridging the growing "digital divide" has
been a top priority for President Clinton and Vice President Gore. The Clinton-Gore Administration's FYO 1
budget includes a comprehensive initiative to bridge the digital divide, broaden access to computers and
training, and create new opportunity tor all Americans.
BUILDING ONE AMERICA:
President's One America Initiative. President Clinton has led the nation in an eff01i to become One
America: a place where we respect others' differences and embrace the common values that unite us. The
President has been actively involved in public outreach efforts to engage Americans in this historic effort,
and toll owed up on the work of the Initiative on Race by appointing Robeti B. (Ben) Johnson as Assistant to
the President and Director of the new White House Office on the President's Initiative tor One America.
The oftice is working to ensure that we have a coordinated strategy to close the opportunity gaps that exist
for minorities and the underserved in this country, and build the One America we want for all of our nation's
children.
An Administration that Looks Like Ame.-ica. The President has appointed the most diverse Cabinet and
Administration in history, with twice as many African American appointees as any previous administration.
African Americans make up 12 percent of the Clinton Cabinet, 14 percent of Administration appointees, and
17 percent of Federal bench nominations.
Working to Ensure a Fair, Accurate and Complete Census. The Clinton-Gore Administration is working
to ensure that Census 2000 is as accurate as possible using the best, most up-to-date scientific methods as
recommended by the National Academy of Sciences. The 1990 Census had a net undercount of 4 million
and 4.4 percent of African Americans were not counted. A fair and accurate Census is a fundamental part
of a representative democracy and is the basis tor providing equality under the law. The President is
determined to have a fair and full count in 2000, and in February 2000 he announced new steps to encourage
all Americans to participate in Census 2000. The President launched a Census in the Schools Challenge, to
ensure that children are counted and educate both students and parents; reiterated that Census infom1ation is
strictly confidential; and directed federal agencies to step up activities in support of the Census.
INVESTING IN EDUCATION:
Established the First African American Advisory Board. Established the President's Board of Advisors
for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to strengthen the capacity of historically black
colleges and universities to provide quality education and advised on ways to increase the private sector's
role in these institutions. In addition, the Oftice tor Civil Rights at the Depmiment of Education has been
vigilant in its efforts to expand college opportunities through enforcement to eliminate vestiges of
discrimination in formerly racially segregated higher education systems. The Office for Civil Rights at
[ducation works to ensure minority student access to higher education, impacting both HBCUs and
historically white universities.
Increased Funding and Grants for HBCUs. President Clinton and Vice President Gore have increased
funding for Historically Black Colleges by over $250 million between FY92 and FY98 -- an increase of
nearly 25 percent. Today, America's 105 HBCUs are educating almost 300,000 African American students.
Record Enrollment. The number of African American high school graduates going on to college increased
li·om 39 percent in 1983 to 60 percent in 1997 --the highest number ever.
Proposing the Largest Head Start Expansion in History. Since 1993, this Administration has increased
l'uncling for Head Start by 90 percent. The President's FYO I budget increases funding for Head Start by
2
�another $1 bill ion- the largest increase ever proposed for the program- to provide Head Start and Early
Head Start to approximately 950,000 children. This funding will bring within reach the President's goal of
serving one million children in 2002 and builds the foundation for the long-term goal of universal pre-school.
Turning Around Failing Schools. 11 million low-income students now benefit from Title 1- Aiel to
Disadvantaged Students, and all our children are benefiting from higher expectations and a challenging
curriculum geared to higher standards. In the 1994-95 school year, 26 percent of the children benefiting from
Ti tie I were African American. Last year the President won $134 million for an accountability fund to help
turn around the worst performing schools and hold them accountable for results. This year, the President is
proposing to double funding to turn around.the nation's failing schools to ensure all children receive a quality
education.
Class Size Reduction Initiative. Last year President Clinton and Vice President Gore won a second
installment of$1.3 billion for the President's plan to help school districts hire and train an additional 100,000
well-prepared teachers to reduce class size in the early grades. Already, 29,000 teachers have been hired
through this initiative. This year, the FYO I budget includes $1.75 billion for this program, an $450 million
increase- enough to fund about 49,000 teachers.
New Plan to Get Quality Teachers to Underserved Areas. This year, the President and Vice President
proposed a new $1 billion teacher quality plan to recruit, train and reward good teachers. The Teaching to
1-1 igh Standards Initiative includes a Hometown Teacher Recruitment program to empower high-pove1iy
school districts to develop programs to recruit homegrown teachers to address the shortage of qualified
teachers. It also includes $50 million for Teacher Quality Rewards, which will reward school districts that
have made exceptional progress in reducing the number of uncertified teachers and teachers teaching outside
their subject area.
Establishing the GEAR-UP Mentoring Program for Middle School Children. The President and Vice
President created and expanded GEAR-UP, a mentoring initiative, to help over 750,000 low-income middle
school children finish school and prepare for college. This year the President has proposed a 62.5 percent
increase to serve 1.4 million students.
New Tax Incentives to Make College More Affordable. President Clinton has proposed the College
Opportunity T<1x Cut, which would give families the option of taking a tax deduction or claiming a 28
percent credit for tuition and fees to pay for higher education. When fully phased in, this proposal would
provide up to $2,800 in tax relief annually to help American families pay for college.
Helping Students Finish College. This year, the President proposed new College Completion Challenge
Grants to help reduce the college drop-out rate, with pre-freshman summer programs, suppoti services and
increased grant aid to students. This $35 million initiative will improve the chances of success for nearly
18,000 students. Cunently, 29 percent of African Americans drop out of college after less than one year,
compared to 18 percent of whites.
Dual Degree Programs for Minority-Serving Institutions. The Clinton-Gore Administration has
proposed a new program to increase opportunities tor students at minority-serving institutions that otTer fouryear degrees. Students would receive two degrees within tive years: one from a minority-serving institution,
ancl one from a partner institution in a field in which minorities are undenepresented. This new $40 million
program will serve an estimated 3,000 students.
IMPROVING OUR NATION'S HEALTH:
Extended Health Care to Millions of Children with the Children's Health Insurance Program. ln the
Balanced Budget of 1997, President Clinton won $24 billion to provide health care coverage to up to five
million uninsured children. In October 1999 the President announced new outreach efforts to enroll millions
of eligible, uninsured children. African American children make up 25 percent of all uninsured children-3
�--------------
more than twice their percentage of the overall population. To reach this vulnerable population, the
Administration and states have made special efforts to advertise the availability of the program and provide
enrollment materials printed in Spanish. This year, the budget includes several ofVice President Gore's
proposals to accelerate enrollment of children in CHIP. The President is also proposing a new FamilyCare
program, which would give States the option to cover parents in the same plan as their children
New Initiative to Expand Health Coverage to Uninsured Americans. This year, the President and Vice
President have proposed a 10-year, $110 billion initiative that would dramatically improve the affordability
of and access to health insurance. The proposal would expand coverage to at least 5 million uninsured
Americans and expand access to millions more.
Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities by 2010. President Clinton's initiative will help
eliminate racial disparities in six key health areas: infant mortality, diabetes, cancer screening and
management, heart disease, AIDS and immunizations. President Clinton won a 200% increase for this
initiative in FYOO, and this year he has proposed $35 million in funding to continue the effort.
Providing Access to Health Care Services for Uninsured Workers. Last year, the President proposed and
won $125 million in funding for a program to coordinate systems of care, increase the number of services
delivered and establish an accountability system to assure adequate patient care for the uninsured and lowincome. This year, the President has proposed funding this initiative at $125 million, representing a
substantial down payment on the President's plan to invest $1 billion over 5 years.
Addressing HIV/AIDS in the Minority Community. Minority communities make up the fastest growing
portion of the HIV/AIDS caseload. Last year, the President won a $210 million investment-- a 45 percent
increase-- to improve prevention efforts in high-risk communities and expand access to new HIV therapies.
'fhis year's budget continues that investment.
MAKING OUR COMMUNITIES SAFER:
Putting I 00,000 More Police on the Streets. Jn 1999, ahead of schedule and under budget, the ClintonCore Administration met its commitment to fund an additional 100,000 police officers for our communities.
As a part of the COPS Program, the President announced new grants to increase community policing in highcrime and underserved neighborhoods. To help keep crime at record lows, the President won funding for the
first installment toward his goal to hire up to 50,000 more otlicers by 2005. This year, President Clinton's
budget includes $650 million to continue this work and hire, train and equip more community police officers.
Preventing Hate Crimes. The President signed the Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhimcement Act, which
provides for longer sentences for hate crimes, and hosted the first White House Conference on Hate Crimes.
President Clinton has repeatedly called for passage of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act in order to strengthen
hate crimes laws.
Expanding Civil Rights Enforcement. In his FYO I budget, President Clinton has proposed $698 million in
funding for civil rights enforcement agencies, a 13 percent increase, to expand investigations and
prosecutions of criminal civil rights cases (including hate crimes and police misconduct) and fair housing
and lending practices; help the EEOC reduce the backlog of private-sector cases; and allow HUD to take
steps to reduce housing discrimination.
Wo.-Idng to End Racial Profiling. To help determine where and when racial profiling occurs, the President
directed Cabinet agencies to collect data on the race, ethnicity, and gender of individuals subject to certain
stops by federal law enforcement. The President has also supported increased resources for police integrity
and ethics training and to improve the diversity of local police forces.
4
�Calling for Common-Sense Gun Safety Legislation. The President has called on Congress to complete
work on common-sense gun legislation that includes closing the gun show loophole by requiring background
checks and records at gun shows; requiring child safety locks for handguns sold; banning the importation of
large-capacity ammunition magazines; and banning violent juveniles from owning guns for life.
More than 470,000 Felons, Fugitives and Domestic Abusers Denied Guns. Since the President signed the
Brady Bill into law, more than 470,000 felons, fugitives and domestic abusers have been prevented from
purchasing guns through Brady background checks. This year, the President has proposed a State-based
Iicensing system for handgun purchases. Under the proposal, every purchaser of a handgun must first have a
valid state-issued photo license, showing that the buyer has passed a Brady background check and a gun
safety training requirement.
Largest Gun Enforcement Initiative in History. This year, President Clinton has proposed the largest gun
enforcement initiative ever. The initiative would provide a record $280 million to add 500 new federal ATF
agents and inspectors to target violent gun criminals and illegal gun traffickers, and fund over 1,000 new
federal, state, and local prosecutors to take dangerous gun offenders off the streets. This initiative will build
on the Administration's success in cracking clown on serious gun criminals: the number of federal firearms
cases prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys increased 2YYc1, from 4,754 in 1992 to 5,500 in 1999.
5
�Revised Final 02/18/00 2:00pn1
Edmonds/Hurlburt
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
RADIO ADDRESS
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON, DC
February 18, 2000
Good morning. On February 12, 1926, as a tribute to the birthdays of Frederick Douglas
and Abraham Lincoln, the noted African American scholar and historian Carter G. Woodson
initiated Black History Week, the forerunner to what has become Black History Month.
I believe this observance is important because many of the stereotypes and much of the
distrust between the races are the result of historical inaccuracies or omissions that have persisted
over many years. The truth is, whether we are talking about the heroic freedom-fighting efforts
of the Black Moses, Harriet Tubman, or the landmark legal accomplishments of Thurgood
Marshall, we are really talking about vital aspects of American history. But too many Americans
are not aware of the extraordinary contributions African Americans have made to the life of our
nation. And that is a tragedy.
Together, we have come a mighty long way. Today, we are in the midst of the longest
and strongest economic expansion in our nation's history: nearly 21 million new jobs;
unemployment at 4.0 percent- the lowest rate in 30 years. Incomes are up across all groups of
American workers. And among African Americans, poverty and unemployment are at the
lowest levels ever recorded. Crime, which has been especially devastating to many African
American neighborhoods, is now the lowest it has been in 25 years. We have cut taxes for
millions of hard-pressed working families and we have cut the welfare rolls in half while moving
millions of people from welfare to work.
But there are still wide and disturbing disparities in health, income, perceptions of justice
and educational achievement that break down along the color line. It is clear: We must do more
to close these gaps and give all our citizens a chance to both contribute to and share in the
growing promise and prosperity of America. That is one of the reasons I created a One America
Office in the White House last year. And it is why the Vice President and I have worked so hard
to bring loans and new investment to distressed communities, through empowerment zones, the
Community Reinvestment Act, community development banks and our New Markets initiative.
We especially need to make sure our young people are prepared for the new economyby helping every child enter school ready to learn, and graduate ready to succeed. More
Americans- and more African-Americans- are going on to college than ever before. But we
must give every child that chance and we must help their families shoulder the burden.
Today, 1 am pleased to announce that the Department of Labor is awarding $223 million
in Youth Opportunity Grants to bring education and job training opportunities to up to 44,000
young people in 36 communities- from Watts to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. This will
�provide a lifeline of opportunity to any young person who is willing to work for a better future.
And it is a key component of our broader Youth Opportunity Agenda. We have requested an
increase of $1.3 billion this year to bring an array of education and training assistance to at-risk
youth- from Gear Up and TRIO mentoring and support, to get more kids on the right track to
success, to an increase in Pell Grants to help more of them afford the cost of college.
These Youth Opportunity Grants will draw on the experience and dedication of people
like .Jacquelene Sharp Massey of Baltimore's Career Academy. For 20 years, Jacquelene has
made history of her own by helping hundreds of young people turn their lives around -people
like 20-year-old Michael Dupree, who, with help from the Academy, has gone from being a high
school dropout to a biotechnology lab assistant and a member ofBaltimore's Youth Council.
Sixty years ago today, the Army Air Corps activated its second squadron of AfricanAmerican fighter pilots in Tuskegee, Alabama. That squadron and three others fought fascism in
the air, and racism on the ground. As the Tuskegee Airmen, the sky was their limit. And they
helped lead the way to this modern digital age in which there are virtually no limits to how high
our people can fly. Their story is a precious contribution to our common history.
And their belief in an America that would respect their courage and honor their service is
the foundation of the America we all want to live in- one where every person is treated with
dignity and respect, and all our children have the chance to live their dreams.
Thanks for listening.
# # #
�·Sear~l- 101 Results- tuskegee airmen and february 19
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San Antonio Express-News September 25, 1999, Saturday
Copyright 1999 San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio Express-News
September 25, 1999, Saturday, METRO
SECTION: A SECTION; Pg. 1A
LENGTH: 621 words
HEADLINE: Tuskegee squadron is reborn
BYLINE: Sig Christenson
BODY: More than a half-century has passed since the Tuskegee Airmen tookwing, conquering
prejudice at home and Nazi enslavement abroad, buttheir legacy lives on.
The saga of the all-black unit - famed for never losing a bomber inits many escort missions during
World War II - continued Friday as250 officers, enlistees and civilians joined 16 Tuskegee Airmen
atRandolph AFB to activate the 100th Flying Training Squadron.
When it was born Feb. 19, 1942, at Tuskegee Army Air Base inAiabama, the original 100th Fighter
5_quadron was part of theall-black 332nd Fighter Group.
1
"This represents a true monument to our history," one-time captainand squadron commander
Roscoe C. Brown Jr. told the crowd.
"You're not only airmen and pioneers in the business that we arein, but your courage in battle
stands alongside your courage inpioneering the desegregation of our armed forces," Col. Patrick
A.Collins, commander of the 340th Flying Training Group, told theairmen. "You gentlemen led the
way for our nation to build thepremier, total Air Force that we have now."
Tuskegee alumnus Spann Watson, 83, of Westbury, N.Y., felt a surgeof pride as the old squadron
was reborn in an hourlong ceremonythat came more than 50 years after he'd urged that the
unit,disbanded in 1945, stay in the air.
But it was hard reality, not sentimentality, that prompted the AirForce to unfurl the unit's blue
pennant and nine service streamersdetailing its history in war and peace.
The squadron, part of the Air Force Reserve's 340th Flying TrainingGroup, will train instructor pilots
as the Pentagon works tocounter a critical pilot shortfall. This year alone, the Air Forceexpects to
come up about 1,400 pilots short.
As the squadron's pilots and enlistees stood at parade rest, facinga larger-than-life U.S. flag, the
1 of3
2/18/2000 5:25 PM
�''
j..seari.h - I 0 I Results -tuskegee airmen and tebruary 19
;
·.
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ceremony offered Watson and otherformer Tuskegee Airmen 0. Oliver Goodall, Leo Gray and
WalterPalmer, among others, a chance to look back on their unit's manyfirsts - firsts that helped
win hearts and minds, as well as enemyterritory years before segregated schools were banned and
civilrights legislation became law.
"I think you have to say this was a pivotal experience in America,"said Maj. Gen. Daniel James III,
adjutant general of the TexasNational Guard and son of Daniel "Chappie" James, a member of
theTuskegee squadron who became the nation's first black four-stargeneral in 1975.
"The Tuskegee Airmen made my history possible," said Gen. Lloyd W."Fig" Newton, commander
of the Randolph-based AETC and the nation'sseventh African-American four-star commander.
But the Tuskegee Airmen, raised in a racist nation during thedepths of the Depression, didn't
always get a warm reception aftertheir return home.
Former P-51 pilot Gray, 75, a member of the 100th Fighter Squadron,recalled the time he'd formed
a fist and prepared to fight whentold to move ~o the back of a bus.
"It's dehumanizing," he said. "But what can you do?"
Gray found his answer in the trigger of a fighter plane.
"We were the first to really show that we had the intelligence tobecome pilots and officers," he
said.
That in itself was an achievement in a service where some whitesweren't sure blacks could make
good artillerymen. But Goodall, 77 ,of Altadena, Calif., waved off the idea that bitterness lingered
ashe and others climbed into their planes.
"You had to focus on your flying."
Wearing the signature red jackets that identify them as members ofa select group, the surviving
airmen laughed and swapped tales of awar that won more than peace.
Said Goodall: "We have a camaraderie that's lasted more than 50years that will keep on going as
long as we live."
GRAPHIC: Photo: Tom Reel I Staff; Graphic: Express-News: Roscoe C. Brown, former commander
of the 100th Fighte·r Squadron, gives a salute after speaking Friday at the 100th Flying Training
Squadron activation ceremony at Randolph AFB.; Tuskegee Airmen
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
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Quotes From Martin Luther King Jr.
Quotes From Martin Luther King Jr.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be
judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Our nettlesome task is to discover how to organize our strength into compelling power.
A man who won't die for something is not fit to live.
There is nothing more dangerous than to build a society, with a large segment of people in that
society, who feel that they have no stake in it; who feel that they have nothing to lose. People who
have a stake in their society, protect that society, but when they don't have it, they unconsciously
want to destroy it.
If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or
Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all
the host of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job
well.
I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism
and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become reality. I believe
that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.
Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical
because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to
humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to
convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love.
Last Updated 7115197 at 19:35
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�http:/ /www.pub.whitehouse.gov/uri- ... oma.eop.gov .us/2000/1/31116. text.]
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
January 31, 2000
For Immediate Release
NATIONAL AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH,
2000
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Each year during National African American History Month, as we
explore the history and culture of African Americans, we discover anew a
treasure of stories about the triumph of the human spirit, inspiring
accounts of everyday people rising above the indignities imposed by
prejudice.
These stories are not only an important part of African
funerican history, but an essential part of American history.
We are awakened to such stories through the power, beauty, and
unflinching witness of poets and writers like Maya Angelou, Gwendolyn
Brooks, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson,
Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker. We find them in the lives and voices
of Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Booker T. Washington, and others
who, rising above slavery, brutality, and bigotry, became great American
champions of liberty, equality, and dignity.
We see them written in the
achievements of civil rights leaders like Daisy Bates, James Farmer,
John Lewis, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Mary Church
Terrell, Roy Wilkins, and Whitney Young.
Forty years ago this month, a new chapter in African American history
was written.
On February 1, 1960, four courageous young men -- freshmen
at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro -sat down at a segregated lunch counter in a local store and politely
refused to leave until they were served.
Their nonviolent action
challenged a barrier that, symbolically and practically, had separated
black and white Americans for decades and denied equal treatment to
African American citizens.
The extraordinary bravery and determination
of Ezell Blair, Jr., Franklin McCain, Joseph M~Neil, and David Richmond
galvanized young men and women of conscience across Americ·a, setting in
motion a series of student sit-ins in more than 50 cities and 9 States.
Subjecting themselves to verbal abuse, physical violence, and unjust
arrest, thousands of black and white students peacefully demonstrated to
end segregation in restaurants, theaters, concert halls, and public
transportation and called for equality in housing, health care, and
education.
Their story of conscience and conviction and their ultimate
triumph continue to inspire us today.
The theme of this year's African American History Month is "Heritage
and Horizons:
The African American Legacy and the Challenges of the
21st Century." It is a reminder that the new century on which we have
just embarked offers us a unique opportunity to write our own chapter in
the history of African Americans and of our Nation. We can use this
time of extraordinary prosperity and peace to widen the circle of
opportunity in America, to recognize that our society's rich diversity
is one of our greatest strengths, and to unite around the fundamental
values that we all share as Americans. We can teach our children that
funerica's story has been written by men and women of every race and
creed and ethnic background. And we can ensure that our laws, our
actions, and our words honor the rights and dignity of every human
being.
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NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States
of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution
and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2000 as
National African American History Month.
I call upon public officials,
educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to
observe this month with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs
that raise awareness and appreciation of African American history.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day
of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
twenty-fourth.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
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�Martin Luther King
•
We have to be careful taking vengeance in the name of God, because the old law of an eye
for an eye leaves everybody blind.
Remarks at National Prayer Breakfast 1999-02-04
Remarks at AmeriCorps Event 1999-02-10
Remarks to Palestinian National Council 1998-12-14
•
The only revolutionary is a man who has nothing to lose.
Remarks to 53rd UN 1998-09-21
•
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Remarks to Religious Leaders 1998-06-18
•
[People should be judged] not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
Remarks at DCCC Reception 1998-06-02
Remarks at UC San Diego Commencement 1997-06-14
•
After one has discovered what he is made for, he should seek to do it so well that no one
could do it better.
Remarks at National Medal of Arts Awards 1999-09-29
•
We are woven into a seamless gannent of destiny.
Remarks at Central High School 1997-09-25
•
[We must say to those who feed their neighbors with] the stale bread of hatred and spoiled
meat of racism [that is not America; that is not our way.]
Remarks for Radio Address on African American Church Fires 1996-06-08
•
Grant us all a chance to be participants in the newness and magnificent development of
America.
Remarks at Funeral of Sec. Ron Brown 1996-04-10
•
My dream is deeply rooted in the American dream.
Remarks at South Central MLK Birthday Celebration 1995-0L-16
Remarks at Denver Martin Luther King Commemoration 1995-01-16
21
�•
Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.
Remarks
Remarks
Remarks
Remarks
•
to AmeriCorps on MLK Day 1999-01-18
to St. Louis Residents 1994-06-24
at Howard University 1994-01-17
in National Service Address 1993-03-01
We have to ask ourselves what our personal responsibility is to serve in this time.
Remarks at Howard University 1994-01-17
•
Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless effort
and persistent work of dedicated individuals who are willing to be co-workers with God.
And without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the primitive forces of stagnation.
And so we must help time, and we must realize that the time is always rtght for one to do
right. Time is neutral. Time can either be used constructively or destructively.
Remarks at Howard University 1994-01-17
•
Community-based businesses, no matter how small are vital because they are strength
among the weak, though they are weak among the mighty.
Remarks in Community Empowerment Announcement1994-01-17
•
Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy ... now is the time to make justice a
reality for all God's children.
Remarks on the 30th Anniversary March 1993-08-28
22
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Quotes trom Martin Luther King, Jr .
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A collection of quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the
suffering poor of Vietnam. I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being
destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. I speak for the poor in America who are paying the double
price of smashed hopes at home and death and corruption in Vietnam. I speak as a citizen of the world,
for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as an American to the leaders of my
own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours. The initiative to stop it must be ours.
Martin Luther King, Jr., The Trumpet of Conscience, 1967.
A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of
social uplift is approaching spiritual death.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967.
The limitation of riots, moral questions aside, is that they cannot win and their participants know it.
Hence, rioting is not revolutionary but reactionary because it invites defeat. It involves an emotional
catharsis, but it must be followed by a sense of futility.
Martin Luther King, Jr., The Trumpet of Conscience, 1967.
Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time: the need for man to
overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Man must evolve for all
human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a
method is love.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Stockholm, Sweden, December 11, 1964.
Man was born into barbarism when killing his fellow man was a normal condition of existence. He
became endowed with a conscience. And he has now reached the day when violence toward another
human being must become as abhorrent as eating another's flesh.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can't Wait, 1963.
The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. It is socially as cruel and blind as the practice of
cannibalism at the dawn of civilization, when men ate each other because they had not yet learned to
take food from the soil or to consume. the abundant animal life around them. The time has come for us to
civilize ourselves by the total, direct and immediate abolition of poverty.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967.
[I]t is necessary to understand that Black Power is a cry of disappointment. The Black Power slogan did
not spring full grown from the head of some philosophical Zeus. It was born from the wounds of despair
and disappointment. It is a cry of daily hurt and persistent pain.
Martin LutherKing, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967.
Discrimination is a hellhound that gnaws at Negroes in every waking moment of their lives to remind
them that the lie of their inferiority is accepted as truth in the society dominating them.
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�Quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Martin Luther King, Jr., speech, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, August 16, 1967.
When we ask Negroes to abide by the law, let us also declare that the white man does not abide by law
in the ghettos. Day in and day out he violates welfare laws to deprive the poor of their meager
allotments; he flagrantly violates building codes and regulations; his police make a mockery of law; he
violates laws on equal employment and education and the provisions of civil services. The slums are the
handiwork of a vicious system of the white society; Negroes live in them, but they do not make them,
any more than a prisoner makes a prison.
Martin Luther King, Jr., The Trumpet of Conscience, 1967.
It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I
think that's pretty important.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Wall Street Journal, November 13, 1962.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do
that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a
descending spiral of destruction .... The chain reaction of evil--hate begetting hate, wars producing more
wars--must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength To Love, 1963.
Success, recognition, and conformity are the bywords of the modem world where everyone seems to
crave the anesthetizing security of being identified with the majority.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963.
Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a
man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as
beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength To Love, 1963.
Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963.
I am aware that there are many who wince at a distinction between property and persons--.who hold both
sacrosanct. My views are not so rigid: A life is sacred. Property is intended to serve life, and no matter
how much we surround it with rights and respect, it has no personal being. It is part of the earth man
walks on; it is not man.
Martin Luther King, Jr., The Trumpet of Conscience, 1967.
The bombs in Vietnam explode at home; they destroy the hopes and possibilities for a decent America.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967.
We must combine the toughness of the serpent and the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender
heart.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963.
The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the
conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church
does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual
authority.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963.
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Quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr.
Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting
everything that stands against love.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967.
The Negroes of America had taken the President, the press and the pulpit at their word when they spoke
in broad terms of freedom and justice. But the absence ofbrutality and unregenerate evil is not the
presence of justice. To stay murder is not the same thing as to ordain brotherhood.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967.
Many of the ugly pages of American history have been obscured and forgotten .... America owes a debt of
justice which it has only begun to pay. If it loses the will to finish or slackens in its determination,
history will recall its crimes and the country that would be great will lack the most indispensable
element of greatness--justice.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967.
· Man is man because he is free to operate within the framework of his destiny. He is free to deliberate, to
make decisions, and to choose between alternatives. He is distinguished from animals by his freedom to
do evil or to do good and to walk the high road of beauty or tread the low road of ugly degeneracy.
Martin Luther King, Jr., The Measures of Man, 1959.
A good many observers have remarked that if equality could come at once the Negro would not be ready
for it. I submit that the white American is even more unprepared.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967.
Nonviolent action, the Negro saw, was the way to supplement, not replace, the progress of change. It
was the way to divest himself of passivity without arraying himself in vindictive force.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can't Wait, 1964.
If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live.
Martin Luther King, Jr., speech, Detroit, Michigan, June 23, 1963.
To be a Negro in America is to hope against hope.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We. Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967.
Being a Negro in America means trying to smile when you want to cry. It means trying to hold on to
physical life amid psychological death. It means the pain of watching your children grow up with clouds
of inferiority in their mental skies. It means having your legs cut off, and then being condemned for
being a cripple. It means seeing your mother and father spiritually murdered by the slings and arrows of
daily exploitation, and then being hated for being an orphan.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967.
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Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Letter from the Birmingham jail. In the Atlantic Monthly,
August, 1963
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be
demanded by the oppressed.
I have a dream, that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the
sons offormer slaves and the sons offormer slave owners will be
able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. .. .
I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character.
Speech at Civil Rights March on Washington, August 28, 1963
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance
and conscientious stupidity.
I refuse to accept the idea that the "is ness" of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of
reaching up for the "oughtness" that forever confronts him.
Acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, December 11, 1964
!just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've ·
seen the promised land! So I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything I'm not fearing any man.
Speech at Clayborn Temple, Memphis, Tennessee, April 3, 1968,
the evening before his assassination.
Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Heather Hurlburt
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Office of Speechwriting
Heather Hurlburt
Date
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1999-2001
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<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36161" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7431953" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Identifier
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2008-0700-F
Description
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Heather Hurlburt's speechwriting collection consists of speeches, drafts, correspondence, and background research. Hurlburt worked as Special Assistant and Speechwriter to President Clinton. Her speechwriting files date from 1999-2001. As a speechwriter, Hurlburt prepared remarks on primarily domestic issues ranging from health care to the Special Olympics to the Mississippi Delta Region to the Kennedy Center Awards. She wrote remarks for policy speeches, radio addresses, commencements, taped video remarks, and award ceremonies or tributes. She also prepared a few speeches for the First Lady, and one undelivered speech for Sandy Berger on the topic of military reform.
Provenance
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
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128 files in 11 boxes
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February 2000-WH: African American History [Radio Address]
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Office of Speechwriting
Heather Hurlburt
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2008-0700-F
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Box 6
<a href="http://www.clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/2008/2008-0700-F.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7431953" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Provenance
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
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Adobe Acrobat Document
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12/15/2014
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42-t-7431953-20080700F-006-003-2014
7431953