[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.