Remarks on Receiving the Report of the President's Advisory Board On
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Administration of William J. Clinton, 1998 / Sept. 18 one, we couldn't solve every problem in America criticism is valid. But when you take it all and overnight related to race; number two, you shake it up, I think there is no question that could almost relate every problem in America what we did at this moment, in the absence to race; and number three, in a cynical and of a searing crisis, facing a future of incredible weary world, it's easy to devalue the importance kaleidoscopic diversity, was a very good thing of people going in good faith to raise the con- for our country. And I do think that we have sciousness and quicken the conscience and kind to keep it going, and I will take all these rec- of lift the spirits of other people and encourage ommendations seriously. them to do the right thing, and then to figure I hope you all meant what you said today. outÐit is a complex thing, figuring out how I hope it was a great gift for you, because for much of this is policy, how much of this is your country it was a great gift. dialog, how much of this is community, how Chairman Franklin. We are deeply grateful much of this is almost spiritual. to you, Mr. President. I think you have really made a heroic effort The President. Thank you. Well, I'll see you to come to grips with all of these elements and over thereÐexcept Linda, who has an excused to make this a very important milestone on absence. America's journey here, and I hope you'll always be proud of it. I really thinkÐyou know, it was a big risk. I knew a lot of people would NOTE: The President spoke at 2:20 p.m. in the say, well, we didn't do this; we didn't do that; Oval Office at the White House. A tape was not we didn't do the other thing; or we said this, available for verification of the content of these and it was wrong. And probably some of that remarks. Remarks on Receiving the Report of the President's Advisory Board on Race September 18, 1998 Thank you so much. Dr. Franklin, the Advi- I'm especially gratified by the presence of a sory Board, to the Members of the Congress large number of Cabinet members, Members who are here: Congresswoman Eddie Bernice of Congress, and local leaders here today. I Johnson, Congressman Amo Houghton, Con- thank the head of the Council of Economic Ad- gressman Jay Dickey, Congressman Ed Pastor, visers, Janet Yellen, for being here. I'll have Congressman Tom Sawyer, and Congressman more to say about that in a moment. Thank John Lewis, whose life could be a whole chapter you, Rosa Parks, for coming. of this report. We thank you for coming. We I want to say a special word of thanks to thank Mayor Archer, Mayor Webb, Mayor Bush, all the people who made this Board possible: Mayor Flores, Governor Thomas of the Gila to John Hope Franklin for his wise and patient, River Tribe, and other distinguished Americans but insistent, leadership; Reverend Suzan John- who are here todayÐbusiness, religious, com- son Cook; Angela Oh; Bob Thomas; Linda Cha- munity leaders. vez-Thompson, who was with us in the White I thank the Attorney General; the Deputy At- House just a moment ago but has what I called torney General, Eric Holder; the Secretary of an excused absenceÐ[laughter]Ðmy long-time Education; the Secretary of Housing and Urban friends and colleagues, the former Governors Development; the Secretary of Transportation; of Mississippi and New Jersey, Bill Winter and SBA Administrator Alvarez; Acting Assistant AG Tom Kean. I thank Laura Harris, who has been a wonderful consultant for us on Native Amer- Bill Lann LeeÐI hope I won't have to say that ican issues. My good friend Chris Edley, thank ``acting'' foreverÐ[laughter]Ðour Deputy SBA you for what you have done. I thank Judy Administrator, Fred Hochberg. Thank you all Winston and the staff of the President's Initia- for being here. tive on Race for the remarkable job they have 1615 Sept. 18 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1998 done, and I'd like to thank the people in the I want to say, I am especially proud of the White House who worked with them, but espe- work that every member of our administration cially Minyon Moore, Maria Echaveste, and be- has tried to do. When I look out here at the fore her, Sylvia Mathews. Thank you all so much Secretary of Labor, the Attorney General, Sec- for what you have done. retary Cuomo, Secretary Riley, Secretary Slater, Now, some time ago, John Hope Franklin Aida Alvarez, Janet Yellen, all these people who said, ``The task of trying to reshape our society work for me, they know that we care about to bring about a climate of racial healing is this, and they have really worked hard to do so enormous, it strains the imagination.'' Well, you proud, and I thank them, too. But we have again I'd say, I'd like to thank John Hope Frank- more to do. lin, the rest of this Board, and the staff for You know, for more than two centuries we straining their imaginations and finding the en- have been committed to the ideas of freedom ergy to take on this tremendous task of focusing and equality, but much of our history has been the Nation's attention on building one America defined by our struggle to overcome our stead- for the new century. Often, this has meant en- fast denial of those ideals and, instead, start during criticism, some of it perhaps justified; to live by them. It has been a hard road. It some of it I have questioned because, as Dr. is rooted deeply in our own history, as John Franklin said, no one could solve this problem Hope Franklin said. Indeed, I believe it is root- in 15 months since it has not been resolved ed in the deeper impulses that trace their begin- in all of human history to anyone's complete nings back to the dawn of human society: the satisfaction. But they have taken on the endeav- mistrust, the fear, the hatred of those who are or. the other, those who are them, not us. And it has been a magnificent journey. They have crossed this country, the length and In the area of race, it has been a special breadth of America. They have seen all different burden because you can see people who are kinds of people. For them, it has been a journey different from you. And with Native Americans, across our land, a journey across our culture, it's been a special burden because we took land a journey across our history, and a journey, I that was once theirs. With African-Americans, imagine, for all of them across their own per- it's been a special burden because we all have sonal lives and experiences. They've gone from to confront the accumulated weight of history Silicon Valley to Oxford, Mississippi, to the Fair- that comes from one people enslaving another. fax County school district across the river here, But with every area of racial tension, if you where there are students from more than 100 strip it all away, you can go back to the dawn different national and ethnic groups, 150 dif- of time, when people first began to live in soci- ferent national and ethnic groups. eties and learned they were supposed to mistrust We knew that no effort could solve all the and fear and hate people who were not in their challenges before us, but I thank this board crowd. We see it manifest around the world because they have helped America to take im- in our time. We've seen it between the Catholics portant steps forward. I also thank AmericansÐ and Protestants in Northern Ireland, going on unbelievable numbers of AmericansÐfrom all for hundreds of yearsÐthank God, I hope, across the country who have participated, all about to end. We've seen it with the Hutus those who wanted to tell their stories and all and the Tutsis in Rwanda. We've seen it with those who were willing to listen. the Arabs and the Jews in the Middle East; They have brought us closer to our one Amer- with the Serbs, the Croats, the Muslims in Bos- ica in the 21st century. Out in the country, nia; today, the Serbs and the Albanians in they found a nation full of people with common Kosovo. In America we see it manifest, still, sense, good will, a great hunger to move beyond in racial differences but also in religious and division to community, to move from the ab- political differences, as well. sence of discrimination to the presence of op- In whatever manifestation, I think we have portunity to the spirit of genuine reconciliation. to begin with one clear understanding: When This Board has raised the consciousness and we approach others with discrimination and dis- quickened the conscience of America. They have trust, when we demean them from the begin- moved us closer to our ideal, but we have more ning, when we believe our power can only come to do. from their subjugation, their weakness, or their 1616 Administration of William J. Clinton, 1998 / Sept. 18 destruction, as human beings and as citizens, We should not underestimate the power of we pay a terrible price.