[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 7 (Monday, February 18, 2002)]
[Pages 210-211]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

February 9, 2002

    Good morning. Recently, I had the honor of welcoming Coretta Scott 
King and her children to the White House to observe Martin Luther King, 
Jr.'s birthday. Shortly after the holiday I visited the school that 
young Dr. King attended in Atlanta, Booker T. Washington High School. It 
was a moving experience to see the place where this great American began 
his life of learning.
    February is Black History Month, a time of learning for all of us. 
Ever since the historian and educator Carter Woodson put Black history 
on the calendar back in 1926, February has been a time to reflect on the 
contributions of African-Americans and the need to remember and 
celebrate all of our history.
    Nobody can understand this country without understanding the 
African-American experience. It began when America began. And throughout 
our history, the experience of Black Americans has challenged every 
American to live up to the best ideals of our country: freedom, 
equality, and justice.

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    We have come far, and we have a way yet to go. But our goal is the 
same goal that Dr. King set for us, to be one people in fact as well as 
in name. And one way to realize this goal is the same way that Carter 
Woodson showed us, education.
    Education is the beginning of opportunity. Through the historic 
education reform bill I recently signed, we are returning high standards 
and accountability to all our public schools. And my administration 
strongly supports the work and the mission of our historically Black 
colleges and universities.
    My first budget pledged a 30 percent increase over 4 years and 
Federal support for historically Black colleges and universities and 
Hispanic-serving institutions. And my new budget, even in a time of 
recession and war, keeps us on track to reach that target. These are 
schools like Morehouse College in Atlanta, where Dr. King earned his 
first degree, schools like Howard University in Washington, DC, where 
Carter Woodson was dean of the College of Liberal Arts.
    Our historically Black colleges and universities opened the door to 
knowledge when other doors were barred. And today, they offer exciting 
opportunities to young people to contribute to their country.
    February is a month rich in important anniversaries. It is the month 
in which Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass were born, two men, very 
different, who together ended slavery. It is the month of the birth of 
W.E.B. DuBois, whose eloquent histories opened our country's eyes to its 
own past and possibilities, and of the birth of Rosa Parks, who 
courageously refused to yield to injustice on a Montgomery, Alabama, 
bus.
    Today, we are fighting for freedom in a new way and on new 
battlefields. And we continue to press for equal opportunity for every 
American here at home. We want every American to be educated up to his 
or her full potential. We salute the accomplishments of our historically 
Black colleges and universities. And I hope all Americans will draw 
inspiration from the message of Black History Month.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 9:30 a.m. on February 7 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on February 9. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
February 8 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.