    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 13 (Monday, March 29, 2004)]
    [Pages 450-451]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks on Presenting the Congressional Gold Medal to Dorothy Height

    March 24, 2004

        Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker and Leader Frist, distinguished
    Members of Congress, I want to thank the authors of the bill that
    bestowed this high honor, Senator Clinton and Senator Levin and
    Congresswoman Watson. Thank you all for being here to honor such a fine
    American.
        Since the American Revolution, Congress has awarded Gold Medals to
    the heroes of our country. And today we recognize a citizen who has
    helped to extend the promise of our founding to millions. We recognize a
    hero.
        I'm so pleased to join with the Congress in honoring this good and
    gracious woman and the great life she has lived. And what a life it's
    been. If you know--in the presence of Dorothy Height, you kind of--she's
    such a calming influence. You realize you're in the presence of grace.
    But you've got to understand what she's done to realize that behind the
    grace, there's a will of steel and absolute determination.
        She's been a leader and a witness to a lot of our great history.
    We've heard a lot of talk about the ``Big Six.'' As Leader Pelosi said--
    I think it was Leader Pelosi--``I sure would have liked to have been in
    the room. I would have liked to have seen Dorothy Height interface with
    some of the giants of the civil rights movement.'' The truth of the
    matter is, she was the giant of the civil rights movement. They were
    interfacing with her. [Laughter]
        She was there when they planned the march. She was a few steps away
    from Dr. King's great speech at the Lincoln Memorial. She helped
    integrate the YWCA. She was in the South during the sixties setting up
    freedom schools and voter registration drives. She was in Mississippi
    bringing white and

    [[Page 451]]

    black women together. She was in Birmingham in 1963 comforting the
    mothers of that city. Condi Rice was there at the time. She's told me
    the story about what it was like. It would have taken a presence like
    Dorothy Height to instill hope and calm and confidence during that very
    troubled time. She helped create the Black Family Reunion. She's done a
    lot.
        She's a woman of enormous accomplishment. She's a friend of First
    Ladies like Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Rodham Clinton. She's known
    every President since Dwight David Eisenhower. She's told every
    President what she thinks since Dwight David Eisenhower. [Laughter]
        I find it really interesting that Dorothy Height has always stressed
    the importance of institutions closest to us, our families, our
    churches, and our neighborhoods. She understands that those institutions
    are important in shaping the character of an individual and, therefore,
    the character of the Nation.
        In her recently published memoir, Dr. Height wrote, ``It is in the
    neighborhood and communities where the world begins. That is where
    children grow and families are developed, where people exercise their
    power to change their lives.'' Incredibly wise words from a strong
    leader.
        Few Americans have done more than Dorothy Height to help their
    fellow citizens discover and exercise their own life-changing power.
    Dorothy has always remembered what her mother told her when she was a
    girl of 8 in 1920. She recalls, ``My mother, always so gentle and so
    firm, put her arms around me. She said, `You're a nice girl, Dorothy.
    You're a smart girl. And there are many things you can do.' '' Mom was
    right. There was a lot of things she could do, and she did them, and
    America is a better place for it.
        We're proud of you, Dorothy. We're honored to be in your presence.
    You're about to receive a Gold Medal, but perhaps the best medal we can
    give as a society is to continue to work for equality and justice for
    all.
        It's now my honor to join Speaker Hastert and Senator Stevens, the
    Senate--the President pro tem of the Senate, in presenting this high
    award, this important award, to a great American.
        May God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:02 p.m. in the Rotunda at the U.S.
    Capitol.