    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [January 5, 2000]
    [Page 10]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Videotaped Remarks for Dr. George Washington Carver National Recognition
    Day
    January 5, 2000

        It's an honor for me to send my greetings to all of you in Santa
    Clara. I thank you for what you're doing to help instill the joy of
    science in our children, to help close the digital divide, and to honor
    the legacy of George Washington Carver.
        Dr. Carver overcame enormous obstacles to become one of our greatest
    scientists and teachers. He was born to a slave mother on a Missouri
    farm, orphaned from an early age, survived great illness, and often was
    the victim of bigotry and hate. It wasn't until his late twenties that
    he was able to obtain a high school education.
        And even as a child, Dr. Carver was known for talking to God through
    flowers and other plants. It's no wonder that agriculture became his
    ministry to mankind. At Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee Institute,
    Carver applied the almost magical possibilities of chemistry to the
    fields and farms of the South. He created 300 useful products from
    peanuts and more than 100 from sweet potatoes, spawning numerous
    industries. He helped save the South's depleted soils. And no person
    deserves more credit for liberating the South from its reliance on
    cotton.
        Dr. Carver was also a great humanitarian. In everything he did, he
    was motivated by a deep desire to help poor, struggling farmers lead
    healthier, happier, more prosperous lives. And as if his scientific
    contributions were not great enough, he donated his entire life savings
    to help establish the Carver Research Foundation at Tuskegee.
        Dr. Carver once said that he tried to lead his life ``in the spirit
    of a little child seeking only to know the truth and follow it.'' That
    is the spirit of discovery that the Healing Institute and the Santa
    Clara Alliance of Black Educators are helping to nurture in our children
    today. I am deeply grateful for that.
        Congratulations to all the Carver scholars and to all of you who are
    helping our children soar beyond limitations. God bless you all.

    Note: The President's remarks were videotaped at approximately 12:30
    p.m. in the Roosevelt Room on December 16, 1999, for transmission on
    January 5, 2000, to the Santa Clara County Carver Scholars Program
    meeting at the Santa Clara County Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
    The transcript was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    January 5. A tape was not available for verification of the content of
    these remarks.