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FOIA Number: 2006-0462-F
FOIA
MAR
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
. administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Rcco'rd Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Speech\vriting
Series/Staff Member:
Terry Edmonds
Subseries:
10981
OA/ID Number:
FolderiD:
Folder Title:
I 0/16/95 Liz Carpenter Lecture Austin, TX [2]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
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�10/15/95 7:30 P.M.
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
REMARKS FOR THE LIZ CARPENTER LECTURE
COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
OCTOBER 16, 1995
�- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Acknowledgments: [The First Lady spoke in 1993];
resident Robert Berdahl ["Bird-All"]; Bernard Rappaport
[chairman, Board of Regents]; Nicole Bell [student;
introduces you]; Chancellor Bill Cunningham; Barbara
Jordan; Lucy Johnson; Congressman Pickle; Sheldon
Eklund [Dean of Liberal Arts]; Jane Cummings
[Chairperson of Students Distinguished Lectures]; Gary
Mauro; and, most of all, Liz Carpenter.
Liz said she has a file longer than War and Peace of
letters inviting me to come here. [This plays off joke in
Liz Carpenter's intra.] Liz: We all know that you didn't
need anything that long. The minute she asked me to
come to Austin, I knew I was going.
2
�After all, anyone whose life has been touched by this
remarkable woman -- a woman who worked side-byside with President and Mrs. Johnson, who mastered the
White House press corps, who reared not only her own
children, but, at the age of 70, her late brother's teenage
children, too -- knows there is one word that is simply
not in her vocabulary, and that word is "no."
Come to think of it, I don't know all that many Texans
who take "no" for an answer.
My dear friends and fellow Americans, in recent weeks
every one of us has been made aware of a simple truth.
3
�We have been made aware of it so clearly that there is
no excuse to avert our eyes: white Americans and black
Americans often see the same world in drastically
different ways. The question today is equally clear:
What do we do now? This is not about any one recent
event or episode that has captured the national attention.
It is about the rift that we see before us.
While many hearts are sore, let us take a moment to
give thanks for the fact that we have made progress up
that mountain Dr. King described so eloquently in 1968.
I have seen this in my own life.
4
�I remember a time not so long ago when our
neighborhoods, businesses, schools, jobs, and voting
booths were closed to many Americans simply because
of the color of their skin. I remember a time when there
were hardly any people of color serving in our state
houses, our school boards, our city halls, and even our
Congress. No one can deny that we have come a long
way.
Almost 30 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King marched
with sanitation workers in Memphis. They marched for
dignity, equality, and economic justice. The placards
they carried read, simply: "I am a man."
5
�Most of the men marching in Washington today are
doing so for the same reason. For them, it's about pride,
it's about respect, it's about taking responsibility for
themselves and their families. I honor their presence in
our nation's capital today. I urge all Americans to
embrace these principles.
It is my job to support efforts that lift us up. But it is
also my job to speak out against anyone who would
attempt to rally people around the flag of hate. One
million men are right to be standing up for
pers~
responsibility. But one million men do not make one
-~h
~+~t.. .... + __...1__ , message Is. one
. of rna1'Ice an d
man'!ri~t..ll~M~~-Hatt-S
division.
6
�No good house was ever built on a bad foundation. L ;t
9~vU4 f;wy-;; -r~
Nothing good ever came of hate. I challenge you today
A
to embrace your communities and repudiate the
hatemongers.
Today, we face a choice. One way leads to further
separation and bitterness. The other way, the path we
~~
must take, is the path of courage that leads to unity.
Now more than ever, we do not have a person to waste.
We must understand that our diversity is our greatest
strength. We will go up or down together.
7
�I must tell you today that the racial debate need not be a
setback for us, but a great opportunity -- one that we
cannot let pass us by.
Some of our best moments as Americans have come
when we have had the courage to face the truth about
those times when we have failed to live up to our own
best ideals. That act is not one of weakness, but of
proud American optimism.
These confrontations with the truth bring about what
historians call "open moments."
8
~-~--~~-- - - - - - ____ _j
�At such turning points, Americans moved against
slavery, struggling away from the horror that one
American could hold another captive; they moved to
embrace women's suffrage, recognizing at last that we
don't have an American to waste.
These moments left us with a legacy of greatness
because we looked in the national mirror and were
brave enough to say: "This is not who we are. We are
better than that."
As Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, reminded
us, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
9
�---------------------------.
The two worlds we see now each contain both truth and
~
truths about racism to both black and white Americans.
.fi.;J ~
Fanly this honesty is the gateway to the many acts of
reconciliation that will unite both these worlds at last
into one America.
White people must understand and acknowledge the
roots of black pain. African Americans have indeed
lived long with a justice system that in too many cases
has been less than just. The record of abuses extends
from lynchings and trumped-up charges to false arrests
and police brutality. The tragedies of Emmett Till and
Rodney King are bloody markers on that road.
10
�----------
---
- - - - - - - - - - -
Still today, too many of our police officers play by the
rules of the bad old days. It is beyond wrong when lawabiding black parents have to tell their law-abiding
children to fear the police whose salaries are paid by
their taxes.
Blacks are right to think something is terribly wrong
when African American men are many times more
likely to be the victims of homicide than any other
group in this country ... when there are more African
American men in our prisons than in our colleges.
When one in three African American men in their
twenties were either in jail, on parole, or otherwise
under the supervision of the criminal justice system.
11
�Nearly one in three. I would like every white person in
America to take a moment to think how he or she
would feel if one in three white men were in a similar
position.
Second, and even more fundamental: there is an
unacceptable economic disparity between blacks and
whites. It is fashionable to talk about African Americans
as if they were part of a protected class. Many whites
think blacks are getting more than their fair share in
terms of jobs and promotions. The truth is African
Americans still make an average of 60 percent less than
white people. More than half of African American
children live in poverty.
12
�Blacks must understand and acknowledge the roots of
white fear. There is a legitimate fear of the violence that
is too prevalent in urban areas.
It is not racist for any parent to pull his or her child
close when walking through a high-crime neighborhood.
It is not racist to reject the few black leaders who -- in
contrast to the vast majority of African Americans -want to play on hatred and venom to do the work of
inspiration.
~ wU~(?Jifb
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Finally, then~1S~e ''fei"hhal both sides will n be able ~'
to see each other as more than enemy faces, all of
whom carry a sliver of bigotry in their hearts.
13
tu<-
if
�This gap between the two realities is inconsistent with
democracy. It impedes our growth and prosperity.
And it dims the bright example we have always set for
the rest of the world. As Dr. King said, "We must learn
to live together as brothers, or [we will] perish as
fools."
But recognizing one another's real grievances is not
enough. We must also take responsibility for ourselves.
No one is entitled to complain about grievances without
first cleaning out their own house. America: we must
clean our house of racism.
14
�To our white citizens I say: clean your house of racism.
Too many destructive ideas are gaining currency in our
midst. The taped voice of one policeman should fill you
with outrage. Stand up and be heard denouncing this
sort of rhetoric ... so loudly and clearly that your black
fellow citizens can hear you. White racism may be black
people's burden, but it is white people's problem.
Again, I say: clean your house.
To our black citizens: I honor the presence of hundreds
of thousands of men in Washington today committed to
atonement and personal responsibility. I call on you to
build on this effort to share equally in the promise of
America.
15
�But to do that you must also clean your own house of
racism. Again, I say: clean your house.
There are too many today -- white and black, on the left
and the right, on street comers and on the radio waves - who for their own purposes sow division. To them I
say: No more. We are one family. One family. Not just
neighbors, not fellow citizens; not separate camps; but
family: white, black, Latino, men, women, able-bodied,
disabled. When a child is gunned down on a street in
the Bronx, no matter what our race, he is our child.
'
When a woman dies from a beating, no matter what our
. race, she is our. sister.
16
,.n
�We are one nation. One family -- indivisible. Divorce or
separation are simply not an option.
Here, in 1995, we dare not tolerate the existence of two
Americas. Under my watch, I will do everything in my
power to see that soon there is only one. One America
under the rule of law; one justice system; one social
contract; equal opportunity; one America.
_)
about opportunity for black Americans or white
Americans.
17
�------------~------------_,_
~~~~· O!f#~v ~ ~~-
~tT---~~-l ~/ r~ ~
I'm talking about opportunity for all Americans. I will
fight to increase the minimum wage that holds families
I
together.
I will fight to defend tax relief that helps li(t 14 million
.r~~
low-income, working Americans out of povertv fffo;
a- t4M
~ ~~ ~-W~~~--- ~
~~
~-d~~~~~
~--- . s~-r~. /~frl·
)?~
~ -~ ~ v ~c ~ - dfJJ11~ ? _fjJ
_ a.~m, by insis ing on real responsil'>ility.-NoWliere i~
that responsibility more important than in our efforts to ~
promote public safety and preserve the rule of law.
~
Citizens must respect the law and those who enforce it. ~
Police have a life and death responsibility never to
abuse the power granted them by the people.
18
~
�.------------------------------------------------
We know what works in fighting crime: community
policing. We've seen it working all across this country
where the violent crime rate is going down.
But for it to work, police departments must be
scrupulously fair and engaged with -- not estranged
from -- the communities they serve. I am committed to
\
, making community policing a reality across this nation.
We must crush the remnants of racism in our police
departments and throughout our criminal justice system.
The police have the sacred duty to protect the
community fairly -- but the citizens of our communities
�Finally, I want to speak for a moment about a crucial
area of responsibility: the responsibility of fatherhood. I
want to speak to all Americans about this issue.
The single biggest social problem our society faces is
the growing absence of fathers in our nation's homes.
One child in four grows up in a fatherless home -without a father to help guide the child, without a father
to care for the child, without a father to teach boys to
be men and to teach girls to expect respect from men.
This is not a black problem or a Latino problem or a
white problem, it is an American problem.
I know this from my own life.
20
�My father died before I was born. My stepfather's battle
~~~
with alcohol kept him from being the father I
needed~
But as an adult, a father in tum, I committed myself to
doing what countless men do every day.
Parenting is never easy. I know what it's like to stay up
until dawn rocking a sick child. I know what it's like to
watch my child go out to play -- a child whom I would
defend with my life -- and know that there may be
danger down the street. Every parent makes mistakes.
But the point is to stay there for your child day after
day. Building a family is the hardest job a man can do.
But it is also the most important.
21
�And let me say that we can only build strong families
"
when men and women respect each other in partnership.
That means men must move as much into the
hoineplace as women have moved into the workplace.
And it also means that we must end domestic violence
against women and children. Men must pledge never,
never to raise their hand against a
So today, I honor
the~o~immh'eds>of --j;;
tJmusands~ladc
demonstrat.~
woma~.
mea-marching in Washington
ag
a,
their commitment to themselves, their
families, and their communities.
22
�They understand that, while we all
hav~;;~ . ..,ponsibilities
to each other, it is they who old the key to their
progress in this countr . They understand that the march
is not about the fe
at the podium. It is about the
many who ha e come from all across the country to
take a ste in the name of what they know is right.
~ honor the millions throughout America --
men of every color who without fanfare or recognition
do what it takes to be good fathers to their
~
~
~ (~~p!k.~-tct-~~
I
~
all men, wherever you are: step up and be the
kind of father you needed and, if you were lucky,
actually had.
23
�I say to those men who
~
the· r
children~
reach out to them. Be there for them. Your child,
you~
flesh and blood, needs you.
I say to those men who only send money to support
their kids: Keep sending those checks.
Your children count on them. We' 11 enforce the law and
catch you if you stop. But your money is no
replacement for your guiding, your caring, and for your
loving your child.
And I say to those men who go horne every night and
love and care for their children.
24
�I say to them as a former fatherless child, as a father
myself, and as the President of a country that needs
you: Thank you and God bless you.
[NON-RIBBON ENDING: No one walks through this
world alone. And when we choose those leaders to light
our way, let them be leaders of unity, not division -leaders like Lyndon Johnson. President Johnson, son of
Texas, dedicated himself to the promise of equal
opportunity and compassion for all. He said, "I want to
be the President who helped to end hatred among his
fellow men and who promoted love among the people
of all races and all regions."
25
�If President Johnson were here today, we could tell him
that though we may not yet have realized that dream,
we will not rest until it is made real.
Yes, there are those who would poison our progress by
selling short the great character of the American people.
But they will not win the day. We will win the day.
And, with your help, that day will come soon. I will do
�[RIBBON ENDING: So many of us ask ourselves:
Where can we even begin -- those of us who want to
stand up against racism?
So many of us now are looking at the faces of strangers
of other races on the street, and wondering: Do you fear
~e?
Think I'm ·less than you? Have you given up on me
altogether?
I urge every American who wants to end racism to
reach out to one another, to try and understand the
people you work with, the people you ride the bus or
subway with, the people who live down the street or
even next door.
27
�We can and will legislate a just America. But there are
some things that family's need to do for themselves.
That is why I ask you to make a symbolic statement.
Right here on your lapels, your shirts. Bring about a day
of reconciliation -- pin a black and white ribbon
together. [Time? Two weeks from today? Every
community chooses for itself?] Let those ribbons be a
statement for the world to see that you long for the
races -- all races -- to live together.
If millions of Americans take this small step, we can,
without saying a word, send a message to one another:
we do not join with those who hate.
28
�We have the courage to open our hearts and embrace
one another as fellow citizens. We can walk together -shoulder-to-shoulder -- toward a brilliant future as one
nation, one people, and one family.]
Thank you and God bless America.
29
�
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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Terry Edmonds
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Office of Speechwriting
James (Terry) Edmonds
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1995-2001
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36090" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763294" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Identifier
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2006-0462-F
Description
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Terry Edmonds worked as a speechwriter from 1995-2001. He became the Assistant to the President and Director of Speechwriting in 1999. His speechwriting focused on domestic topics such as race relations, veterans issues, education, paralympics, gun control, youth, and senior citizens. He also contributed to the President’s State of the Union speeches, radio addresses, commencement speeches, and special dinners and events. The records include speeches, letters, memorandum, schedules, reports, articles, and clippings.
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
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William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Extent
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635 folders in 52 boxes
Text
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Paper
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
A name given to the resource
10/16/95 Liz Carpenter Lecture Austin, TX [2]
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Office of Speechwriting
James (Terry) Edmonds
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0462-F
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Box 12
<a href="http://www.clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/2006/2006-0462-F.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763294" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
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William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
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Adobe Acrobat Document
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Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
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12/9/2014
Source
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42-t-7763294-20060462F-012-002-2014
7763294