    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [January 15, 1998]
    [Pages 56-60]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom
    January 15, 1998

        The President. Thank you very much. I want to begin with a warm
    welcome to all of our guests here, our honorees and their family
    members, members of the administration, Members of Congress, other
    distinguished officials.
        It is fitting that today this ceremony occurs on the birthday of Dr.
    Martin Luther King, Jr., who 21 years ago was granted this award by
    President Carter posthumously, to ensure that his legacy would live on.
    Until every child has the opportunity to live up to his or her God-given
    potential, free from want in a world at peace, Dr. King's work and our
    work is not yet done. He once said that ``No social advance rolls on the
    wheels of inevitability.'' After 5 years in Washington, I know that is
    true. [Laughter] Humanity makes progress through decades of sweat and
    toil by dedicated individuals who give freely of themselves and who
    inspire others to do the same, the kind of heroic men and women we honor
    today.
        All of our honorees has helped America to widen the circle of
    democracy by fighting for human rights, by righting social wrongs, by
    empowering others to achieve, by preserving our precious environment, by
    extending peace around the world. Every person here has done so by
    rising in remarkable ways to America's highest calling, the calling, as
    the First Lady said, of active citizenship.
        On behalf of a grateful Nation, I would like to bestow the
    Presidential Medal of Freedom on these courageous citizens. Let me say,
    as I begin, that I am grateful to all of them who are here and those who
    are not.
        First, Arnie Aronson, who unfortunately
    is ill and is represented here by his wife, Annette, his son, Bernie, his
    granddaughter, Felicia. Arnie Aronson, a
    glowing symbol of the coalition of conscience linking black and white
    communities, began his career in civil rights in 1941 when he and A.
    Philip Randolph secured a landmark Executive order banning
    discrimination on the basis of race. He later cofounded the Leadership
    Conference on Civil Rights, helping hundreds of disparate groups keep
    their eyes on the prize and speak with one booming voice. As the
    legendary leader Clarence Mitchell, Jr., said of him, ``There would not
    have been a civil rights movement without the Leadership Conference, and
    there would not have been a Leadership Conference without Arnie
    Aronson.''
        Commander Huey, please read the citation.

    [At this point, Lt. Comdr. Wesley Huey, USN, Naval Aide to the
    President, read the citation, and the President congratulated Mr.
    Aronson's family and presented the medal.]

        The President. I never contradict my wife in public, but I couldn't
    help thinking when she said we were honoring 15 ordinary American
    citizens today, I thought, yes, people like Brooke Astor and David
    Rockefeller. [Laughter] But I say that to make this point: In some ways,
    we honor them more, because they certainly had other options. [Laughter]
    And that is important to remember.
        At the age of 15, about eight decades ago, Brooke Astor wrote a wise poem. In that poem, an elderly
    man implores a young girl, ``Take thy spade and take thine ax. Make the
    flowers bloom.'' With her legendary largesse and unequaled grace, she
    has made more flowers bloom than anyone, not only at such recognizable
    landmarks as the New York Public Library and the Metropolitan Museum of
    Art but also in forgotten homeless shelters, youth centers, and nursing
    homes. She is not only New York's unofficial First Lady, she has become
    America's guardian angel.
        Commander, read the citation.

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    [Lieutenant Commander Huey read the citation, and the President
    congratulated Ms. Astor and presented the medal.]

        The President. In 1961, a young Air Force psychiatrist in New
    Orleans saw a 6-year-old black girl being heckled by an angry crowd. The
    girl--Ruby Bridges was her name--did not yell back but instead knelt
    down to pray. The doctor, Robert Coles, was
    greatly moved. From that moment on, he dedicated his life to healing
    racial wounds, aiding children in crisis, and inspiring Americans to
    answer the call of citizen service. As a Harvard professor and a
    prolific documentarian of the American spirit, he has been the beacon of
    social consciousness for more than two generations of Americans, from
    Robert Kennedy to the freshmen in college today. There is hardly a
    person I know who has ever read his books who has not been profoundly
    changed. Hillary and I are personally grateful to him just for those
    books, but his life has elevated the morality and the spirituality of
    the United States.
        Commander, read the citation.

    [Lieutenant Commander Huey read the citation, and the President
    congratulated Dr. Coles and presented the medal.]

        The President. Justin Dart literally
    opened the doors of opportunities to millions of our citizens by
    securing passage of one of the Nation's landmark civil rights laws, the
    Americans with Disabilities Act. Throughout his career, he has worn many
    hats, and he's wearing one of them today. [Laughter] At the University
    of Houston, he led bold efforts to promote integration. He went on to
    become, in his own words, ``a full-time soldier in the trenches of
    justice,'' turning every State in the Nation to elevate disability
    rights to the mainstream of political discourse. He once said, ``Life is
    not a game that requires losers.'' He has given millions a chance to
    win. He has also been my guide in understanding the needs of disabled
    Americans. And every time I see him, he reminds me of the power of heart
    and will. I don't know that I've ever known a braver person.
        Commander, read the citation.

    [Lieutenant Commander Huey read the citation, and the President
    congratulated Mr. Dart and presented the medal.]

        The President. In the spring of 1942, a man fresh out of theology
    school sat down at the counter of Chicago's Jack Spratt Coffee Shop and
    ordered a doughnut. Because he was black, he was refused. Because his
    name was James Farmer, he did not give in. He
    and the other founders of the Congress of Racial Equality organized the
    Nation's first sit-in and launched an era of nonviolent protests for
    civil rights. He went on to help bring down Jim Crow by leading freedom
    rides, voter drives, and marches, enduring repeated beatings and
    jailings along the way. He has never sought the limelight and, until
    today, I frankly think he's never gotten the credit he deserves for the
    contribution he has made to the freedom of African-Americans and other
    minorities and their equal opportunities in America. But today he can't
    avoid the limelight, and his long-overdue recognition has come to pass.
        Read the citation, Commander.

    [Lieutenant Commander Huey read the citation, and the President
    congratulated Mr. Farmer and presented the medal.]

        The President. In 1976 the Girl Scouts of America, one of our
    country's greatest institutions, was near collapse. Frances
    Hesselbein, a former volunteer from
    Johnstown, Pennsylvania, led them back, both in numbers and in spirit.
    She achieved not only the greatest diversity in the group's long history
    but also its greatest cohesion and, in so doing, made a model for us
    all. In her current role as the president of the Drucker Foundation for
    Nonprofit Management, she has shared her remarkable recipe for inclusion
    and excellence with countless organizations whose bottom line is
    measured not in dollars but in changed lives. Since Mrs. Hesselbein
    forbids the use of hierarchical words like ``up'' and ``down'' when
    she's around--[laughter]--I will call this pioneer for women,
    voluntarism, diversity, and opportunity not up but forward to be
    recognized.
        Commander, read the citation.

    [Lieutenant Commander Huey read the citation, and the President
    congratulated Mrs. Hesselbein and presented the medal.]

        The President. In 1942 an ordinary American took an extraordinary
    stand. Fred Korematsu boldly opposed the
    forced internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. After being
    convicted for failing to report for relocation, Mr. Korematsu took his
    case all the way to the Supreme Court. The high court ruled

    [[Page 58]]

    against him. But 39 years later, he had his conviction overturned in
    Federal court, empowering tens of thousands of Japanese-Americans and
    giving him what he said he wanted most of all, the chance to feel like
    an American once again. In the long history of our country's constant
    search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions
    of souls: Plessy, Brown, Parks. To that distinguished list, today we add
    the name of Fred Korematsu.
        Commander, read the citation.

    [Lieutenant Commander Huey read the citation, and the President
    congratulated Mr. Korematsu and presented the medal.]

        The President. As our mutual friend Mack McLarty once said,
    ``Receiving advice from Sol Linowitz on
    international diplomacy is like getting trumpet lessons from the Angel
    Gabriel.'' [Laughter] Sol Linowitz has answered his call--his Nation's
    call many, many times. Over his distinguished career, he has always been
    willing to extend the hand of peace, freedom, and prosperity to our
    neighbors all over the world. With his admired style of quiet and
    conciliatory diplomacy, he has helped President Carter negotiate the
    Panama Canal treaties. He made great strides in the peace process in the
    Middle East. He worked to provide aid to starving Cambodians. He has
    been our administration's guiding spirit for expanding cooperation
    throughout our hemisphere. If every world leader had half the vision Sol
    Linowitz does, we'd have about a tenth as many problems as we've got in
    this whole world today. He's also led here at home, working to address
    problems of racism and poverty, always giving generously of his time no
    matter how busy he is. Sol Linowitz is an American patriot of the
    highest order.
        Commander, read the citation.

    [Lieutenant Commander Huey read the citation, and the President
    congratulated Mr. Linowitz and presented the medal.]

        The President. When Wilma Mankiller was
    10, she and her family were relocated from Cherokee lands in Oklahoma to
    San Francisco. But it was in San Francisco during the civil rights era
    that she found her voice and a belief in the power to make change.
    Later, Wilma Mankiller returned to Oklahoma and became chief of the
    Cherokee Nation. During her two terms in office--and I might add, she
    won reelection by 82 percent--[laughter]--she was not only the guardian
    of the centuries-old Cherokee heritage but a revered leader who built a
    brighter and healthier future for her nation. When she stepped down as
    chief, the Cherokee Nation wept. We know today's honor will bring tears
    of joy to many in both our Nations.
        Commander, read the citation.

    [Lieutenant Commander Huey read the citation, and the President
    congratulated Ms. Mankiller and presented the medal.]

        The President. For Mardy Murie,
    wilderness is personal. She and her husband, Olaus, spent their
    honeymoon--listen to this--on a 550-mile dogsled expedition--
    [laughter]--through the Brooks Mountain Range of Alaska--fitting for a
    couple whose love for each other was matched only by their love of
    nature. And they certainly must have known each other better after the
    trip was over. [Laughter] After her husband died, Mrs. Murie built on
    their five decades of work together. She became the prime mover in the
    creation of one of America's great national treasures, the Arctic
    National Wildlife Refuge, and blazed trails for generations of
    conservationists. Today, amidst the fir and spruce of the high Tetons,
    she shares her wisdom with everyone who passes by, from ordinary hikers
    to the President and the First Lady, inspiring us all to conserve our
    pristine lands and preserve her glorious legacy.
        Commander, read the citation.

    [Lieutenant Commander Huey read the citation, and the President
    congratulated Mrs. Murie and presented the medal.]

        The President. In 1970 Mario Obledo
    received a complaint that a public swimming pool in Texas was barring
    Mexican-Americans at the gate. He decided to travel 200 miles to take a
    swim. [Laughter] He was turned away and he filed suit. When Mr. Obledo
    won, even the joy in the courthouse could not match that of Mexican-
    American children whose civil rights had been defended as, finally, they
    had a chance to jump into that public pool. As cofounder of the Mexican
    American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the National Hispanic Bar
    Association, as chairman of the Rainbow Coalition, Mario Obledo has
    expanded opportunity for Americans of every race and ethnic background.
    Through the force of law and the power of the vote, he has enhanced the
    character and condition of America.

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        Commander, read the citation.

    [Lieutenant Commander Huey read the citation, and the President
    congratulated Mr. Obledo and presented the medal.]

        The President. After he was decorated on the beaches of Normandy and
    had begun to serve as a law clerk for Justice Felix Frankfurter, Elliot
    Richardson had a strange request for his
    distinguished boss. The brilliant young renaissance man asked if he
    could have an uninterrupted hour every morning to read poetry. Alas, he
    was refused. [Laughter] That effort failed, but little else has failed
    in Elliot Richardson's versatile, indefatigable career. He gave
    courageous and deeply moral service to our Nation as Secretary of
    Health, Education, and Welfare; Secretary of Defense; Ambassador to the
    United Kingdom; Secretary of Commerce--where he actually painted his own
    official portrait--[laughter]--and of course, as Attorney General, where
    on one difficult Saturday night, he saved the Nation from a
    constitutional crisis with his courage and moral clarity. No public
    servant is more beloved by those who have served him. No public servant
    has shown greater respect for the Constitution he has served. And it is
    my great honor to award him the Medal of Freedom today.
        Commander, please read the citation.

    [Lieutenant Commander Huey read the citation, and the President
    congratulated Mr. Richardson and presented the medal.]

        The President. Rockefeller is a name that resonates throughout
    American history. It means not only private success and wealth but also
    an abiding sense of public responsibility. David
    Rockefeller is the standard-bearer of this
    family and this tradition for making unprecedented commitments to
    biomedical research, to sending tens of thousands of retired
    executives--all volunteers--to developing nations in need of advice and
    skills. In every region of the world, heads of state seek his counsel.
    But whether he is addressing the King of Spain or a fellow beetle
    collector he meets by chance, he treats everyone with exactly the same
    impeccable courtesy and respect, as I learned when I met him a good
    while before anyone but my mother thought I could become President.
    [Laughter] David Rockefeller is a gentleman, a statesman, a scholar, and
    most important, a genuine humanitarian of the likes our Nation has
    rarely seen.
        Commander, read the citation.

    [Lieutenant Commander Huey read the citation, and the President
    congratulated Mr. Rockefeller and presented the medal.]

        The President. You know, I hate to break the gravity of the moment,
    but I have now something else to thank you for. David, I've been
    wondering how we can get this ceremony out into the popular
    consciousness. And with the mention in the citation of the Trilateral
    Commission, I know we're going to be on talk radio all over America
    today, so thank you very much. [Laughter]
        Albert Shanker illuminated our Nation's
    path toward educating our children with devastating honesty, sharp wit,
    and profound wisdom. He was one of the most important teachers of the
    20th century. In 1983, when the ``Nation At Risk'' report challenged us
    to do far more to raise educational standards for all our children, Al
    Shanker was one of the very first to answer the call. That began for me,
    a young Governor who cared a lot about education, one of the most
    remarkable working relationships of my entire life. For Al Shanker was
    for me and so many others a model, a mentor, a friend, a leader of
    immense stature who always spoke his mind, no matter how unpopular the
    thought. We miss him dearly, but we are comforted to know that many
    others carry on his mission and that his wife, Edie, is here with us today to accept this award, which he so
    richly deserves, in his honor.
        Commander, read the citation.

    [Lieutenant Commander Huey read the citation, and the President
    congratulated Mrs. Shanker and presented the medal.]

        The President. These days, Elmo ``Bud'' Zumwalt introduces himself as ``a former sailor.'' That's sort of
    like calling Henry Ford a former car salesman. [Laughter] In 1970 Bud
    Zumwalt became the youngest man in our country's history to rise to the
    rank of Commander of Naval Operations, the Navy's top post. There, he
    earned billing as the Navy's most popular leader since World War II for
    his bold efforts to modernize Navy life. He is a genuine patriot with an
    astonishing life story that includes a remarkable wife, whom we met a
    year or two ago in Russia--in China, I'm sorry. But more than most
    Americans who have served our country with distinction, Admiral Zumwalt
    paid a deeply

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    personal price for his leadership of the Navy during the Vietnam War,
    for his son, a junior officer in the war, died of a cancer linked to his
    exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. The remarkable thing was Admiral
    Zumwalt's response. He dedicated himself to fighting for those with war-
    related ailments. He established the first national marrow donor program
    to help cancer patients in need. He never stopped fighting for the
    interests, the rights, and the dignity of those soldiers and sailors and
    airmen and marines and their families. Hillary and I have been deeply
    blessed to know Bud Zumwalt and his wife, Mouza, and their family very well. Yes, he is a former sailor.
    He is also one of the greatest models of integrity and leadership and
    genuine humanity our Nation has ever produced.
        Commander, please read the citation.
        Did you think I was going to change my mind? [Laughter]

    [Lieutenant Commander Huey read the citation, and the President
    congratulated Admiral Zumwalt and presented the medal.]

        The President. Before we move to the State Dining Room for the
    reception in honor of our awardees, I'd like to close with a brief note
    about the future.
        Hillary and I and the Vice President, indeed, our entire
    administration, are going to be working hard in the coming months to
    help the American people imagine what the 21st century can bring. As of
    today, that new century is just a little more than 700 days away--which,
    as you reflect on the remarkable lives we have celebrated today, is not
    a lot of time.
        But I went back and checked. It's about the same amount of time
    that, from 1961 to 1963, an active citizen named King helped James
    Meredith go to college, stood up to Bull Connor, wrote a letter from a
    jail in Birmingham, helped to organize the March on Washington, and gave
    a little speech--his main line was ``I have a dream.'' Not a bad 700
    days' work.
        We must resolve to use our time just as wisely. As we have learned
    today from the remarkable lives of the people we celebrate, some of whom
    span nearly this entire century, even a long, long life doesn't take
    long to live, and passes in the flash of an eye. They have shown us that
    if we live it well, we can leave this Earth better for our children.
        Thank you, and God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 10 a.m. in the East Room at the White
    House.