Administration of George Bush, 1992 / Feb. 19 companies that have moved to your area for ment by as much as 20 percent. American the same reason. And that’s the bottom line businesses must be able to plan for the fu- of these agreements: jobs for Knoxville, jobs ture knowing those savings are secure. for America. Each one of these measures has world- Our national technology initiative brings shaping implications. There is a strategy for Government officials together with private a competitive, vigorous America, and it businesses to let them know what Govern- springs from a vision of what our future ment can offer in new technology. This ini- should be. The great blessing of our country tiative will take advantage of the irreplace- is that we Americans have the power to cre- able resources at our national labs, including ate our own future. We have that extraor- Oak Ridge, to foster technological excel- dinary opportunity, once again, to guarantee lence. that when our children attend school, they But make no mistake, Government has receive the best education in the world and no business setting what’s known as an in- that when they leave school, they enter a dustrial policy, where you pick winners and growing economy with good jobs of their losers and protect favorite industries from choosing. Let us never forget, the future market forces, no business doing that. The we plan for today belongs to them. lightning pace of today’s economy is too I am fortunate, very, very fortunate to be quick. It’s too vital for the deadening hand President of the United States at an exciting of the bureaucrat. We will continue to lead time in our country’s marvelous history. The only if we give the marketplace full play. world still looks to this great country for A competitive market cuts fat, it encourages leadership. And we have so much to be efficiency, and it rewards innovation. grateful for, and I am proud to serve as That’s why for 3 years we’ve tried to en- your President. courage private venture capital. You know, May God bless you, and God bless the America taxes capital gains at a rate higher United States of America. Thank you very, than any of our world competitors. And yet very much. the same pessimists who complain we can’t compete still stand in the way of lower cap- Note: The President spoke at 12:06 p.m. at ital gains taxes. So, let’s put an end to that the Knoxville Auditorium-Coliseum. In his self-defeating nonsense. Congress must remarks, he referred to former Senator lower that capital gains tax to create jobs, Howard Baker; Jack Hammontree, presi- and the time to lower it is right now. dent, Larry Martin, chairman, and Susan Finally, we’ve asked Congress to make the Shay, member of the board of directors, R&E tax credit a permanent part of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce; and John Tax Code. For private companies, this cred- B. Waters, member of the Board of Direc- it reduces the cost of research and develop- tors, Tennessee Valley Authority.

Remarks on the Observance of African-American History Month February 19, 1992

Welcome to the White House, and thank here, very famous, all. Welcome. you all very, very much for coming. The And to Mr. Justice White and members finalists and the semifinalists of the McDon- of our Cabinet, Chairman Powell, and others, ald’s Black History Makers of Tomorrow are let me just say that I am honored to join here, and I want to salute them right off you in celebrating African-American History hand, over here. Welcome to the White Month. I’m especially proud to introduce two House. And next let me single out, as a special guests that we’re going to hear fan, the representatives of the Negro League Baseball Players Association, over

281 Feb. 19 / Administration of George Bush, 1992 from in a minute, Maya Angelou and Shir- people like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., ley Caesar, right here. who realized ‘‘that the time is always ripe Dr. Angelou, an author, editor, dancer, to do right.’’ And we think of Alex Haley; producer, now the Reynolds professor of a writer described him as a man who American studies at Wake Forest Univer- ‘‘turned loss into pride, history into heritage, sity, she built a career exploring the promise and helped make black America a family of freedom. And her book ‘‘I Know Why again.’’ I’ll never forget ‘‘Roots.’’ You’ll the Caged Bird Sings’’ has thrilled readers never forget Alex Haley. And then we think and students by making the case for de- of A. Philip Randolph, the labor leader who cency and courage and hope and determina- fought to desegregate the military. Jesse tion. Owens, whose triumph humiliated Hitler, And our other guest is, of course, one before the entire world, I might add. of America’s greatest gospel singers. George Washington Carver, Rosa Parks, Dr. Grammy award-winning—brought some Charles Drew, Benjamin Banneker, the leg- family along to celebrate, I see, but never acy of the Tuskegee airmen. We think of mind, that’s fine even in the White House, Mr. Justice, right here in the front row, our Shirley—Grammy award-winning Shirley dear friend Clarence Thomas. And we Caesar has long lifted her voice to sing the think, of course, of Colin Powell. bittersweet song of gospel. And her mes- These pioneers and many like them sage, like the words of the well-known an- peered over the rim of the possible and them, is ‘‘full of the faith that the dark past dared to walk where others had only has taught us and the hope that the present dreamed. We, too, stand at the edge of a has brought us.’’ frontier, the frontier of brotherhood, the African-American History Month lets us frontier of a better tomorrow. It’s up to us reflect on our past, its triumphs and its trag- to see beyond old divides and set our sights edies, and it bids us to celebrate and to on new common ground. And as we con- remember. But while we may use this time tinue our efforts to create prosperity for all, to stop and take stock of race relations, we we must also create new trust, a new toler- must guard against the trap of viewing black ance, a new opportunity. And we will. experience solely against the backdrop of There is not, and there will never be, a race. place in America for hatred, for prejudice, Too often the book of black history is de- for intolerance. And this is not America; this fined only by the chapters, important is not us. And let’s push back the small though they may be, of slavery and emanci- crowds who preach hatred. Let’s create pation and civil rights. African-American room for the American dream, for a land History Month puts on view a whole world where all God’s children sing in the joyous of African-American experience, experience songs of freedom. And so, that’s our chal- that has often pushed back the boundaries lenge. And I hope it will form the next of race relations, but that is not always and chapter of our national history. only defined by them. And so, thank you all very, very much. This month explores another chapter, Af- And now for what we all came to hear. ricans’ roots explore new worlds. It cele- First, I’ve introduced you to Dr. Angelou, brates the black pathfinders and trailblazers but I believe, Shirley, you are the lead-off who pushed back the bounds of the un- hitter. And these guys would know exactly known and expanded the boundaries of what that means. So come on up, Shirley knowledge. Explorers like Pedro Nin˜ o, who Caesar. followed the stars to a new world; pioneers like Guion Bluford, Jr., who parted the stars toward the unknown; or Arctic explorer Matthew Henson, who braved the edge of creation at the newfound North Pole. And then, of course, we salute other black pioneers, pioneers whose compass was cour- Note: The President spoke at 5 p.m. in the age, whose map, moral vision. These are East Room at the White House.

282