    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [June 7, 1997]
    [Pages 709-710]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    June 7, 1997

        Good morning. This morning I want to talk about one of America's
    greatest challenges and greatest opportunities: conquering the forces of
    hatred and division that still exist in our society so that we can move
    forward into the 21st century as one America.
        We are clearly the world's most diverse democracy, bound together
    across all of our differences by a belief in the basic dignity of every
    human being's life and liberty and the right of every American who lives
    by our laws and lives up to his or her responsibilities to share in the
    full promise of the greatest nation on Earth.
        Especially as we move into a new century, with its global economy
    and its global society, our rich diversity is a powerful strength, if we
    respect it. We are clearly stronger as a nation when we use the full
    talents of all of our people, regardless of race or religious faith,
    national origin or sexual orientation, gender or disability. Much of
    America's story is really the stories of wave after wave of citizens
    struggling over our full history for full equality of opportunity and
    dignified treatment.
        We stand today in sharp contrast to the racial, ethnic, tribal, and
    religious conflicts which continue to claim so many lives all around the
    world. But we have still not purged ourselves of all bigotry and
    intolerance. We still have our ugly words and awful violence, our burned
    churches and bombed buildings.
        In a predominantly white suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, last month, an
    African-American couple was greeted with racial epithets as they moved
    into their new home. Just a week later, their home was sprayed with
    gunfire in the middle of the night. In a recent incident right here in
    Washington, DC, three men accosted a gay man in a park, forced him at
    gunpoint to go under a bridge, and beat him viciously while using
    antigay epithets. Last fall in Los Angeles, a Jewish student's dormitory
    room was bombed with a quarter stick of dynamite, and a swastika was
    drawn near the door.
        Such hate crimes, committed solely because the victims have a
    different skin color or a different faith or are gays or lesbians, leave
    deep scars not only on the victims but on our larger community. They
    weaken the sense that we are one people with common values and a common
    future. They tear us apart when we should be moving closer together.
    They are acts of violence against America itself. And even a small
    number of Americans who harbor and act upon hatred and intolerance can
    do enormous damage to our efforts to bind together our increasingly
    diverse society into one nation realizing its full promise.
        As part of our preparation for the new century, it is time for us to
    mount an all-out assault on hate crimes, to punish them swiftly and
    severely, and to do more to prevent them from happening in the first
    place. We must begin with a deeper understanding of the problem itself.
    That is why I'm convening a special White House Conference on Hate
    Crimes this November 10th. We'll bring to the White House victims of
    hate crimes and their families to understand why the impact of these
    acts runs so much deeper than the crimes themselves. We'll bring
    together law enforcement experts and leading officials from Congress and
    the Justice Department to take a serious look at the existing laws
    against hate crime and consider ways to improve enforcement and to
    strengthen them. We'll

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    bring together community and religious leaders to talk about solutions
    that are already making a real difference in communities all across our
    Nation.
        In preparation for the conference, Attorney General Reno has begun a
    thorough review of the laws concerning hate crimes and the ways in which
    the Federal Government can make a difference to help us to build a more
    vigorous plan of action. But of course, the fight against hatred and
    intolerance must be waged not just through our laws but in our hearts as
    well.
        A newborn child today does not know how to hate or stereotype
    another human being; that behavior must be learned. And intolerance does
    not generally begin with criminal acts. Instead, it begins with quiet
    acts of indignity: the bigoted remark, the African-American who is
    followed around the grocery store by a suspicious clerk, the gay or
    lesbian who is denied a job, the Hispanic or Asian who is targeted
    because of unfair stereotypes. To truly move forward as one community,
    it is just not enough to prevent acts of violence to our bodies; we must
    prevent acts of violence to our spirits.
        By convening the very first White House Conference on Hate Crimes
    this November, America can confront the dark forces of division that
    still exists. We can shine the bright light of justice, humanity, and
    harmony on them. We'll take a serious look at the laws and remedies that
    can make a difference in preventing hate crimes. We'll have the frank
    and open dialog we need to build one America across all difference and
    diversity. And together, we will move closer to the day when acts of
    hatred are no longer a stain on our community or our conscience, closer
    to the day when we can redeem for ourselves and show to the world the
    220-year-old promise of our Founders, that we are ``One Nation under
    God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.''
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 11:47 a.m. on June 5 in the Oval
    Office at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 7.