[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 26 (Monday, July 2, 2001)]
[Pages 990-991]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Black Music
Month Celebration

June 29, 2001

    Please be seated. Well, thank you all very much, and welcome to the 
White House, the people's house. It is my honor today to sign a 
proclamation celebrating Black Music Month and also to welcome some of 
the finest entertainers in America to the people's room, people who 
brought a lot of joy and heart and energy to the American scene, folks 
who have enriched our country's culture. And so, Laura and I welcome you 
here, and thank you for coming.
    I also want to thank Debbie Allen, our emcee, who will be making 
sure that--[applause]--and the Members of Congress who are here. I want 
to thank our entertainers who are going to entertain today who are here. 
I want to thank some of the entertainers who entertained me who are 
here--James Brown, the Four Tops--[applause].
    We're honoring all-stars today. I want to welcome the student 
honorees: Danielle Weatherford, Regina De Ocampo, and Lauren Dawson--who 
are here on the stage with me. I want to thank you all for being here. I 
want to thank Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff. I want to welcome 
representatives of the industry, producers and directors who are here, 
as well. Thank you all for coming.
    This is an appropriate place to host an event, right here in the 
East Room, because so many of the world's great artists have preceded 
us. And we're also welcoming the talent of a new generation, who I just 
introduced.
    Let me talk about some of the music legends who are here on the 
stage. First, I'm so thankful that Shirley Caesar and Bobby Jones are 
here. Their voices are a part of a ministry that has had a profound 
effect on people's lives. It is fitting we honor gospel music in the 
White House and in our country.
    Lena Horne and Nancy Wilson are honorees, and they are unable to 
join us today. But they sang some sweet music for the American people. 
And finally, Lionel Hampton is here, and it's such an honor. Laura and I 
are honored to welcome him to Washington, just like Harry and Bess 
Truman did when he played at their inaugural ball in 1949. The Johnsons, 
the Nixons, and the Reagans all invited Lionel here, as well. Presidents 
come and go, but there's only one ``Vibes'' President of the United 
States. [Laughter]
    Lionel Hampton is an old friend of our family's, going all the way 
back to my dad's boyhood. On a couple of occasions, he and my 
grandfather did a few numbers together. My grandfather was quite a 
singer, as Lionel would tell you. And as Laura would tell you, the gene 
pool didn't spread this far. [Laughter]
    A lot of other greats have passed through the White House, including 
America's Ambassador of Goodwill, Louis Armstrong. In this room, Pearl 
Bailey was introduced to Mikhail Gorbachev by Ronald Reagan, who said, 
simply, ``This is our Pearl.'' [Laughter] Eubie Blake played ragtime 
piano on the South Lawn. And these chandeliers, I can assure you, 
trembled when Ella Fitzgerald sang here. It was here that Duke Ellington 
received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was a fitting tribute 
to the son of a White House butler.
    Today we pay homage to an American tradition, a tradition that only 
America could have produced. Spirituals, jazz, R&B, hip-

[[Page 991]]

hop are performed, heard and loved in every part of the world--every 
part of the world. But they belong to our country in a unique way. And 
as the President of this country, I'm proud to herald that uniqueness 
today.
    You trace the roots of black American music, you arrive at the same 
place--with the people held in bondage, denied schooling, and kept away 
from opportunity. Yet, out of all that suffering came the early 
spirituals, some of the sweetest praise ever lifted up to heaven. In 
those songs, humanity will always hear the voice of hope in the face of 
injustice.
    Since those early days, the music of black Americans has told many 
other stories, in many other styles: Scott Joplin to Jelly Roll Morton, 
from Marion Anderson to Aretha Franklin, from Nat King Cole to the 
Neville Brothers, from Dizzy Gillespie to Sam Cook, Kathleen Battle to 
Gladys Knight, from James Brown to the Four Tops. It is music that is 
always easy to enjoy, yet impossible to imitate.
    Stories told about Louis Armstrong--someone came up to the legendary 
giant one day and asked him to define jazz. They wanted to understand 
it, so they came to the master, himself. And he replied, ``Man, if 
you've got to ask, you'll never know.'' [Laughter]
    Well, there's some things I know today. I know America is a richer 
place for the musicians and the music that we honor today. Again, I 
welcome you to the White House. And it's now my honor to sign the 
executive proclamation.

Note: The President spoke at 3:20 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, 
founders, Philadelphia International Records.