[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 7 (Monday, February 19, 2007)]
[Pages 146-148]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Celebration of African American History Month

February 12, 2007

    Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks for coming. Welcome to the 
White House. I'm so pleased that you all have joined us for the 81st 
celebration of African American History Month. During this special 
month, we reflect on the many ways African Americans have shaped our 
Nation's history and we honor outstanding achievements by our fellow 
citizens.
    One of those achievements took place two Sundays ago in Miami, 
Florida--took place at a football game. [Laughter] It might just have 
been a game for some, but for a lot of folks, it was a moment, an 
historic moment. And we congratulate Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith for 
their strong leadership and their example they have set. That's an 
achievement.
    I'm also proud to be here with another football coach who deserves a 
lot of credit, Sylvester Croom, who is the head football coach from 
Mississippi State University. His achievement is the first African 
American coach in the Southeastern football league--Southeastern 
Conference. He was picked because he's a strong leader and a fine man. 
And I thank you for blazing trails.
    I'm proud to be here with Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State. So 
last night on this very stage, we celebrated Abraham Lincoln, and we 
welcomed Doris Kearns Goodwin, who wrote a book called ``The Team of 
Rivals.'' Abraham Lincoln surrounded himself with fine Cabinet officers, 
all of whom wanted one thing--his job. [Laughter] Not so fast, Madam 
Secretary. [Laughter]
    I appreciate so very much Members of the Congress for joining us--
first, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Charlie 
Rangel. That's an achievement. [Laughter] I'm looking forward to working 
with this achievement to get some things--[laughter]--to get some things 
done. He's a good man and a smart guy. Senator Norm Coleman from 
Minnesota--Senator, thank you for coming.
    From the U.S. Court of Appeals, DC Circuit, one of the most 
important benches in America, Justice Janice Rogers Brown. Good to see 
you, Janice; thank you. And Dewey--good move, Dewey. Dewey tried to lead 
the standing ovation. That was--[laughter]--a loyal husband.
    I appreciate Doctor Dorothy Height. Thank you for coming, Dr. 
Height. Roslyn Brock, who is the vice chairman of the board of directors 
of the NAACP. Roslyn, it's great to see you. Thanks for coming. Proud 
you're here. Thanks for taking time.
    I am so pleased that the Jackson High School Black History Tour 
Group from Jackson, Michigan, is with us, and Director Shirley Pitts. 
Thanks for coming. I'm looking forward to hearing you. Proud you're 
here.
    The theme of this year's African American History Month is ``From 
Slavery to Freedom: Africans in the Americas.'' For hundreds of years, 
the people of Africa were brought and--were bought and sold by colonial 
merchants and transported as cargo to this hemisphere. The journey 
endured by millions of Africans is one of the largest migrations of 
history and one of the great crimes of history. For the men, women, and 
children who survived this journey, life in the New World was a life in 
chains. They toiled for the bread that others would eat. They were often 
denied even the comfort of suffering together. And their families were 
broken up when a spouse or child was sold.
    Yet despite these assaults on culture and humanity, the children of 
Africa persevered. They kept faith that the freedom that God intended 
for all would one day be theirs. And across this hemisphere, in 
different places and at different times, that faith would be redeemed.
    In America, their first real hope of freedom came on New Year's Day 
in 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation 
Proclamation in a room right upstairs. The heroes of the civil rights 
movement continued the struggle for freedom, and by their courage, they 
changed laws and

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opened up the promise for millions of our citizens.
    Today, African Americans are seizing opportunities gained at great 
price, and they're making their mark in this wonderful country in 
countless ways. We see their character and achievement in the 
neighborhoods across our Nation, and we see it right here in this room, 
right here in the White House.
    One of those faces is familiar to us, Wesley Autrey. You know, you 
might remember Wesley from the State of the Union Address. I remember 
Wesley was, like, I think, sending a hand signal to you, Mr. Chairman. 
So was I, by the way. [Laughter] I love you, man. [Laughter] Yes, not 
yet, Wesley. I've got to tell the story one more time. [Laughter]
    So in case you haven't heard the story, he was waiting at a Harlem 
subway station. He saw the guy fall into the path of a train. He had 
seconds to act. He jumped onto the track, and he pulled the man into a 
space between the rails, and he held him as a train went right over 
them. And so they said, ``You're a hero.'' He said, ``No.'' Yet Wesley--
I told him--I said, ``You're a hero.'' He told me, ``No.'' I said, 
``Wesley, I disagree, as do millions of our fellow citizens.'' 
[Laughter]
    And so we're proud you're here again. We thank you for your courage. 
We thank you for your commitment to a life of a stranger. What a 
wonderful example you've set for young and old, black, white, anybody in 
the United States of America. Welcome back here. Hey, buddy. Yes, sir. 
Thank you, man.
    I want to tell you the story about Bonnie St. John. She grew up in 
California, which is--most places in California are not very close to 
the snow. [Laughter] But she wanted to be a skier. The problem was, at 
age 5, she lost one of her legs, but she never lost her dream. She said 
she fell down a lot while learning to ski, but she also learned that the 
key to success was how fast she got up after the fall.
    And so she went to Harvard, and she became a Rhodes scholar. And 
then she won medals in downhill skiing in the Paralymics. She owns her 
own small business. She's writing an inspirational book to encourage 
others. She is the kind of person that you really want to be around and 
the kind of person that shows that individual courage matters in life. 
And so, Bonnie, thanks for coming. God bless.
    So at one time in my life, I was a baseball person. [Laughter] 
Nearly all my life I was a baseball fan. And so I remember a pitcher 
named Jim ``Mudcat'' Grant. Some of you baby boomers might remember 
Mudcat. He pitched for the Minnesota Twins. They went to the 1965 World 
Series, and he won 25 games. He founded what's called the Black Aces. 
This is an organization made up of African American pitchers who have 
won at least 20 games in a single season.
    I view the organization as a way not only to herald success but to 
inspire others. See, it wasn't all that often--let me just say this: At 
certain points in our past, we didn't have a lot of African American 
pitchers. And I want to thank you, Mudcat, for showing courage, 
character, and perseverance. And also, thank you for setting an example.
    With you today happens to be a--I like to call him a former Texas 
Ranger; Chicago Cubs fans remember him as a Chicago Cub. Any baseball 
fan knows he's a Hall of Famer--and that's Fergie Jenkins, a member of 
the Black Aces, as well as Mike Norris, former pitcher for the--
[applause].
    Sir--Mudcat, don't sit down yet--sit up yet. Mudcat Grant, 
everybody.
    There happens to be other Black Aces in baseball, one of whom joined 
us--Dontrelle Willis of the Florida team. Dontrelle can--he can throw. 
[Laughter] So I thought I was looking at a little, tiny left-hander when 
I first heard Dontrelle Willis was going to be here. No. You might stand 
up and show everybody that you're not a little, tiny left-hander. 
Dontrelle, welcome.
    Thank you, Mudcat, for bringing your friends. And thank you for 
bringing class to the baseball diamond.
    We've got two folks here who know how to reach for the stars, and 
that would be Robert Curbeam and Joan Higginbotham. And I really mean 
that literally. See, these are astronauts who went into space with the 
crew of the space shuttle in early December. Their job was not much of a 
job, just to rewire the International Space Station. [Laughter] It 
sounds complex--[laughter]--and it is. It

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was one of the most challenging missions in NASA's history.
    They did their job and, thankfully, came home. And in doing so, I 
suspect they've earned more frequent flier miles than anybody here. 
[Laughter] I really appreciate the fact that they are furthering 
humanity's path of discovery, and I appreciate the fact that you say 
loud and clear, our country is unlimited in its opportunities for people 
from all walks of life. We're really proud you're here. Thanks for 
coming.
    Tyrone Flowers is with us. His is an interesting story, one that 
speaks to a good heart, I suspect, a gracious and glorious God as well. 
You see, he was a basketball star, and he was headed for college and 
perhaps a scholarship. He was living the dream of a lot of folks. And he 
got shot, and he's paralyzed.
    The interesting thing about this good man is, a lot of people would 
have either quit or sought revenge. But not him. He took a different 
path and found a different calling. He went to a community college. He 
earned a bachelor's degree. And then he became a lawyer--nothing wrong 
with that. [Laughter] Fourteen years ago, he and his wife founded a 
group called Higher M-Pact. Higher M-Pact has this goal: to help today's 
high-risk urban youth become tomorrow's leaders. That is a noble goal. 
It is a necessary goal, and it's a goal that I suspect is more likely to 
be achieved because this good man has decided to turn a horrific act 
into an act of love. And we welcome you and thank you.
    So as you can see, this is a little different kind of speech. It's 
one where all I had to do was just simply talk about the accomplishments 
and lives of some of our citizens, and their stories speak a lot louder 
and a lot clearer than I could have. This is a--I always tell people, 
the strength of this country lies in the hearts and souls of our 
citizens. The strength of the African American community has always lied 
in the hearts and souls of our citizens, people who refuse to allow 
adversity to diminish the spirit and extinguish the drive to make 
America live up to its promise.
    And that's what we're honoring today--ordinary citizens who do 
unbelievably fine things. I can't think of any better way to celebrate 
African American History Month. And our call and our need is to continue 
to remember, promise belongs to everybody. And our call for this country 
is never to rest until equality is real, opportunity is universal, and 
every citizen can realize his or her dreams in the greatest country on 
the face of the Earth.
    And now it's my honor to introduce the Jackson High School Black 
History Tour Group. Thank you for coming.

Note: The President spoke at 2:30 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Tony Dungy, head coach, National 
Football League Indianapolis Colts; Lovie Smith, head coach, National 
Football League Chicago Bears; Doris Kearns Goodwin, member, Abraham 
Lincoln Bicentennial Advisory Committee; Dewey Parker, husband of Judge 
Janice Rogers Brown; civil rights leader Dorothy I. Height; Mike Norris, 
former pitcher, Major League Baseball Oakland Athletics; and Renee 
Flowers, wife of Tyrone J. Flowers, founder, Higher M-Pact.