[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 22 (Monday, June 3, 2002)]
[Pages 937-938]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Celebration of African American Music, History, and Culture

May 31, 2002

    The President. Good afternoon, and welcome to the people's house, 
the White House. Laura and I are so very pleased that you all came, and 
we're glad to see you. We had a wonderful time marking Black Music Month 
last year, and we had some pretty strong company--James Brown, Lionel 
Hampton, Shirley Caesar, the Four Tops--and we've got some great names 
with us today as well. And you're welcome. And we're looking forward to 
a fine afternoon, celebrating music loved by all the world and born 
right here in America.
    I want to thank Laura for escorting me in today. [Laughter] I 
appreciate so very much our Secretary of Education, Mr. Rod Paige. Thank 
you for being here, Rod. He carries a heavy burden, and that is to work 
with school districts and folks all around our country to achieve this 
noble goal: Every child educated in America--I mean every child--and not 
one child left behind.
    Dr. Bobby Jones is with us. I'm honored to welcome Bobby back. He 
was here for the gospel tribute, February 2002, and what a tribute that 
was. It was a fantastic evening.
    Dr. Jones. We shouted the roof off.
    The President. Yes, we did. [Laughter]
    I appreciate the members of the Presidential Commission on the 
African American Museum of History and Culture; I'll speak a little bit 
about that in a second. Thank you all for coming.
    Afterwards, there's a reception where the Robert E. Lee High School 
Chorale of Midland, Texas, will be singing. And what makes that 
interesting and important is that's the high school Laura graduated 
from. [Laughter] And so did Tommy Franks.
    I want to thank all the artists and record label representatives of 
the entertainment industry who are with us today. Thanks for being here.
    Today we'll be entertained by the famed Show Choir from the Duke 
Ellington School of the Arts. They're the bearers of one of America's 
oldest and finest musical legacies. We thank them for sharing their 
gifts, and of course, they're welcome here to the White House.
    We've also got some royalty with us, a woman known as the Queen of 
Gospel. For more than six decades--for more than six decades--I probably 
wasn't supposed to say that--[laughter]--since her first performance in 
Chicago's West Point Baptist Church, Albertina Walker has lifted the 
hearts everywhere.
    I reminded Albertina that my middle name was Walker. [Laughter] She 
now calls me ``Cousin.'' [Laughter] She reminded--her brother's name is 
George Walker. [Laughter] I call him ``W.'' [Laughter]
    But if you give this woman a song of praise, a song like ``Lord, 
Keep Me Day By Day'' or ``He Keeps On Blessing Me'' or ``Yes, God Is 
Real,'' you'll hear it like it was meant to be sung. Not since her 
friend and mentor Mahalia Jackson was last recorded has the good news 
sounded so convincing and so sweet. We're honored you're here, 
``Cousin.'' [Laughter] Welcome to the White House.
    In the history of Black music, some of the finest moments have taken 
place right here in this house. Among the first Black soloists to 
perform in the White House was the daughter of a slave; Sissieretta 
Jones sang ballads for three Presidents, including McKinley and 
Roosevelt. President Taft hosted the violinist Joseph Douglass, who was 
an ancestor of one of our guests today, Frederick Douglass IV. Welcome. 
Good to see you, sir.
    The first Black choir to sing here was the Jubilee Singers from Fisk 
University. That happened over 120 years ago, during a time when America 
wasn't a very hospitable place for a lot of Americans. After all, the 
kids couldn't find a hotel room in which to stay. The next day they were 
welcomed here by President Chester A. Arthur and touched him deeply with 
their rendition of the old spiritual ``Safe in the Arms of Jesus.''
    The spiritual has always had that power to move--to move many 
Americans. And they always will. The people who first sang them and 
taught them to their children knew the worst of human cruelty and 
earthly injustice. In their songs we hear the pain of separation, the 
bitterness of oppression, the troubles of the world. We also hear the 
courage

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of a soul, the strength of a faith, and the trust in God, who will right 
every wrong and wipe away every tear.
    Over many generations, in song both mournful and joyful, the music 
of Black America has created sounds like no other in America. From the 
deep South of another era to New Orleans to Chicago to Harlem, Black 
musicians have set a standard for originality and authenticity.
    Someone once described Louis Armstrong's music as always real and 
true, honest and simple and noble. The same may be said of Black music 
in so many forms, and the artists who compose it and play it and sing it 
with such style. How much richer we are to have known the voices of Nat 
``King'' Cole and Lena Horne, Diana Ross, Duke Ellington and their 
orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie on the horn, superb arrangements of Quincy 
Jones. America's a richer place for it.
    The music varies widely and keeps changing, while incredible talent 
keeps coming on. Yet, there is a continuous theme: Black music is the 
sound of experience, written, as Stevie Wonder would say, ``in the key 
of life.''
    For a long time, many citizens have hoped to see a museum in 
Washington that conveys the experience of African Americans. I'm pleased 
that Congress has authorized a Presidential commission, which I take 
very seriously, to take us closer to the goal of building a National 
Museum of African American History and Culture. I hope the museum, when 
it's built, will remind visitors of both the suffering and the triumph, 
the hurt that was overcome, the barriers that are being cast away.
    In the Black American experience, there has been a lot of pain, and 
America must recognize that. There's been progress, too, and there needs 
to be more. And always, there will be faith that mankind must be called 
to a higher calling--to be kind and just, if only he would follow what 
Martin Luther King, Jr., called the soul-saving music of eternity. The 
music and culture of Black Americans has brought great beauty into this 
world. Today, it brings great pride to our country. And for the 
contributions so many of you have made to that legacy, your fellow 
Americans are very grateful.
    I want to thank you for being here. And it is now my honor to bring 
to this podium the Queen herself, Albertina Walker.

Note: The President spoke at 2:20 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to gospel artist Bobby Jones; and 
Gen. Tommy R. Franks, USA, Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command.