    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 9 (Monday, March 7, 2005)]
    [Pages 349-350]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks on Presenting the Congressional Gold Medal Posthumously to
    Jackie Robinson

    March 2, 2005

        Members of Congress, Mrs. Robinson, and Sharon and Dave, Laura and I
    are honored to be with you all as we honor your husband and your dad.
    Reverend Jackson. You know, I figure I'm the ninth speaker. [Laughter] I
    spent a little time in baseball. Commissioner, it's good to see you, and
    appreciate the McCourts being here, of the great Los Angeles Dodgers
    family. But a lot of times, the ninth hitter was told by the manager,
    ``Keep your swing short.'' [Laughter] I kind of guess that's what Nancy
    Pelosi meant when I got up here. She said, ``You are the ninth
    speaker.'' [Laughter] ``How about keeping it short?''
        I'm honored to be here for the--to present the Congressional Gold
    Medal to Mrs. Robinson. It's a great tradition of our Congress to honor
    fantastic and noble Americans, and we're doing just the thing today with
    Jack Roosevelt Robinson.
        You know, he was a great ballplayer. Anybody who follows baseball
    knows how great he was--fantastic statistics, MVP, all the big honors
    you could get. But his electricity was unbelievable. Think about this.
    This is a guy who inspired little 7-year-olds to dream of wearing ``42''
    and dashing for home in Brooklyn, and a 7-year-old like me hoping to get
    his Topps baseball card, even though I was an avid Giants fan. He was an
    amazing guy. And his story was powerful then, and it is powerful today.
        His story is one that shows what one person can do to hold America
    account--to account to its founding promise of freedom and equality.
    It's a lesson for people coming up to see. One person can make a big
    difference in setting the tone of this country.
        He always fought for what he called ``first-class citizenship.''
    That's an interesting phrase, isn't it, ``first-class citizenship,'' not

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    second-class, not third-class--first-class citizenship for all. As John
    Kerry mentioned, it started in the Army. Obviously, it really manifested
    itself on the baseball field. After all, it was Branch Rickey who said
    he was looking for a man to cross the color line who could play baseball
    and had the character necessary to do so. Jackie Robinson had both. And
    that's why we're honoring him today.
        I found Martin Luther King's quote about him interesting. I'm sure
    you will too. He said, ``He was a freedom rider before freedom rides.''
    That's a pretty high compliment, when you think about it. He was--to me,
    it just says courage and decency and honor.
        This son of Georgia sharecroppers was taught by his mother that the
    best weapon against racism was the use of his talent, his God-given
    talent, not to waste a minute, and he didn't. And that spirit, passed on
    from mother to son and now son to family, still lives through the Jackie
    Robinson Foundation. The Jackie Robinson Foundation is a noble cause to
    help academically gifted students of color go to college. I know the
    Dodgers will continue to support that foundation. I hope baseball
    continues to do so as well.
        It is my honor now to join Speaker Hastert and Senator Stevens in
    presenting the Congressional Gold Medal to Rachel Robinson, in the name
    of her husband, the great baseball star and great American, Jackie
    Robinson.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:18 p.m. at the U.S. Capitol. In his
    remarks, he referred to Rachel Robinson, widow of Jackie Robinson, and
    their daughter, Sharon Robinson, and son David Robinson; Allan H.
    ``Bud'' Selig, commissioner, Major League Baseball; Rev. Jesse L.
    Jackson, Sr., founder and president, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Inc.; and
    Frank McCourt, chairman, and Jamie McCourt, vice chairman, Los Angeles
    Dodgers.