[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.