[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
[January 19, 1998]
[Page 79]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 79]]


Remarks to Volunteers at Cardozo High School
January 19, 1998

    The President. Thank you. Are you having a good day?
    Audience members. Yes!
    The President. Me, too. I want to thank Mr. Ballard, the principal, and I want to say a special word 
of appreciation to the officials who are here with me today: first, the 
head of the Corporation for National Service, Harris Wofford; DC City Council Chairperson Charlene Drew 
Jarvis; General Becton; School Board President Harvey; Terri Green, the PTA president; 
the other school board members; and representatives of council members. 
And especially I want to thank all the volunteers in the AmeriCorps NCC 
program. And thanks for this; I like my little jacket here.
    Thirty-one years ago Martin Luther King came to this very 
neighborhood and urged the people here to engage in citizen service to 
rebuild their lives and their community and their future. That's what 
you're doing here today. You are honoring the legacy of Martin Luther 
King and answering the highest calling of citizenship in this country.
    My staff did a little research to illustrate what we could all do if 
we just gave back a little to our community. And they swear that if just 
everybody with the last name of Clinton and Gore in America--just the 
people whose last name is Clinton and Gore in America--would put in 2 
hours a week, they could paint every classroom and every public high 
school in America by Martin Luther King's next birthday.
    Now, that gives you an idea of what we can do if we serve and work 
together. That's why I have invested so much in AmeriCorps, our national 
service program that I'm so proud of. And all of you who are involved in 
the program, let me thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope that 
you're getting a lot out of it. I know the AmeriCorps volunteers I 
painted with today made me feel proud that we started this.
    That's why I have strongly supported, along with all the 
former Presidents, 
General Colin Powell 
and the Presidents' Summit on Service and the work that he is doing and 
that tens of thousands of people across America are doing to give all of 
our children a good chance in life.
    But finally let me say that this country will never be all that it 
can be and your future will never be all that it can be unless we decide 
we're going to build that future together. We will never be able to 
bridge the racial and other divides in this country unless we decide 
we're not only going to work together and learn together but we're going 
to serve together.
    We actually have to believe that we're all better off when our 
neighbors are better off. We actually have to believe that we'll do 
better if we go forward together. We actually have to believe that this 
diversity we have is a blessing; and that the fact that some of us start 
out life poorer than others is a condition that can be overcome if we 
work hard to give people who deserve it a hand up; and that as we do 
that, we are all happier, more fulfilled, and living in a stronger 
America. That's what this is about.
    This is not just about painting the walls of a school, although I 
passionately believe it's important. I, personally, as a student, 
preferred old buildings to new ones, but every student deserves to go 
into a clean building with bright walls and clear windows, sending a 
signal that the student and his or her future is important.
    But you're not just painting a school today, you're painting a very 
different picture for America's future. And it's a beautiful one because 
of you.
    Thank you, and God bless you.

Note: The President spoke at 12:49 p.m. in the cafeteria. In his 
remarks, he referred to Reginald C. Ballard, principal, and Terri Green, 
Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) president, Cardozo High School; Wilma 
Harvey, president, District of Columbia school board; former Presidents 
Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George Bush; and Gen. Colin Powell, 
USA (Ret.), chairman, America's Promise--The Alliance For Youth. The 
President also referred to the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community 
Corps (NCCC) program of the Corporation for National and Community 
Service.