[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 6 (Monday, February 18, 2008)]
[Pages 182-184]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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

February 12, 2008

    The President. Thank you all for coming. Good afternoon, and welcome 
to the White House. Laura and I are honored that you all came as we 
celebrate African American History Month. This is a month in which we 
recognize the many African Americans who've made great contributions to 
our country. We honor the talent and their courage. We renew our 
commitment to securing liberty and justice for every American. That's 
why we're here.
    I appreciate many of the notables who have joined us. Madam 
Secretary, appreciate you coming--Mr. Secretary, Alphonso Jackson, and 
Marcia. Thanks for coming, Mr. Secretary. Proud you're here.
    If I skip some of the notables, it's because I'm going to say 
something about them a little later on. [Laughter] So, Congressman, I'll 
be with you in a minute. [Laughter]
    I appreciate Dr. Leonard Haynes, who's the Executive Director of the 
White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. 
I am proud--Doc, thanks for coming. I'm proud to welcome all the 
presidents from the Historically Black Colleges and Universities here 
today; really appreciate your service to the country.
    I want to thank Ron Langston, National Director of the Minority 
Business Development Agency, Roslyn Brock, vice chairman of the NAACP. 
Roslyn, thank you for coming. Somewhere you are--there you are. I thank 
John Fleming, president, Association of the Study of African American 
Life and History. Yes, sir, Reverend Al Sharpton and his wife, 
Dominique; Reverend, it's good to see you.
    Audience member. Daughter.
    The President. Daughter. [Laughter] Daughter. [Laughter] I don't get 
them right all the time. [Laughter] But thank you for coming. And, 
Dominique, you're sure a lot prettier than your father. [Laughter]
    Thurgood Marshall, Jr., we're proud you're here. Yes, thanks for 
coming. Good to see you, sir. State Representative Calvin Smyre of the 
State of Georgia, who is the president

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of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. Sure proud you're 
here.
    Thank you all for coming. There's a lot of other notables here. Just 
consider yourself welcomed. [Laughter]
    The theme of this year's African American History Month is a 
celebration of America's cultural diversity. It is a tribute to a 
scholar who deepened our appreciation for diversity, Carter G. Woodson. 
When Dr. Woodson began his career in the early 20th century, most 
Americans knew little about African American heritage. Dr. Woodson set 
out to correct that. His scholarship helped pioneer the field of African 
American studies. And by the time he passed away in 1950, the son of 
freed slaves had become known as the Father of Black History.
    It is important for all our citizens to know the history of the 
African American struggle for equality. We must remember that the slave 
trade brought many Africans to America in chains, not by choice. We must 
remember how slaves claimed their God-given right to freedom. And we 
must remember how freed slaves and their descendants helped rededicate 
America to the ideals of its founding.
    Our Nation has come a long way toward building a more perfect Union. 
Yet as past injustices have become distant memories, there is a risk 
that our society may lose sight of the real suffering that took place. 
One symbol of that suffering is the noose. Recently, there have been a 
number of media reports about nooses being displayed. These disturbing 
reports have resulted in heightened racial tensions in many communities. 
They have revealed that some Americans do not understand why the sight 
of a noose causes such a visceral reaction among so many people.
    For decades, the noose played a central part in a campaign of 
violence and fear against African Americans. Fathers were dragged from 
their homes in the dark of the night before the eyes of their terrified 
children. Summary executions were held by torchlight in front of hateful 
crowds. In many cases, law enforcement officers responsible for 
protecting the victims were complicit in their deeds, and their deaths. 
For generations of African Americans, the noose was more than a tool of 
murder; it was a tool of intimidation that conveyed a sense of 
powerlessness to millions.
    The era of rampant lynching is a shameful chapter in American 
history. The noose is not a symbol of prairie justice but of gross 
injustice. Displaying one is not a harmless prank. Lynching is not a 
word to be mentioned in jest. As a civil society, we must understand 
that noose displays and lynching jokes are deeply offensive. They are 
wrong, and they have no place in America today.
    This afternoon we honor four Americans who understand what this 
symbol represents and who are leading the way toward ending racial 
injustice across our land.
    Congressman John Lewis earned his place in history long before 
winning a seat in the United States Capitol. As a young man, he became 
one of the leaders of the civil rights movement. He organized freedom 
rides and sit-ins and voter registration drives. One Sunday in 1965, he 
set out to lead a march from Selma to Montgomery. The marchers never 
made it past the rows of State troopers outside Selma, but their message 
made it all the way to Washington, DC. Five months later, Congress 
passed the Voting Rights Act. And more than 40 years later, John Lewis 
continues to inspire us, and we're blessed to have him here today.
    William Coleman has lived a life of many firsts. After graduating 
first in his class from Harvard Law School, he went on to become both 
the first black American to clerk on the Supreme Court and the first to 
hold a Cabinet post in a Republican administration, as Secretary of 
Transportation under President Gerald Ford. William Coleman has also 
helped open doors of opportunities for others. He worked alongside 
Thurgood Marshall, father of this good man, on the legal team that 
triumphed in Brown versus Board of Education. This ruling exposed the 
fallacy of separate but equal, and it helped return America to the great 
truth that all men are created equal. For this, we owe William Coleman 
our lasting thanks. We're honored to have you today, sir.
    Three years after Brown versus Board of Education, nine students in 
Little Rock stepped forward to test the Supreme Court's ruling. On 
September 25th, 1957, Federal

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troops escorted them into the city's all-white Central High School. Once 
inside, the Little Rock Nine were spit on, harassed, and called names. 
One of the students was a senior named Ernest Green. As graduation day 
approached, some suggested it might be safer for Ernest to receive his 
diploma in the mail. Many people would have taken this advice, not 
Ernest Green. In May of 1958, Martin Luther King, Jr., was on hand to 
watch Ernest become the first African American to graduate from Little 
Rock's Central High School. We're honored to welcome Ernest Green to the 
White House during the 50th anniversary--[applause].
    And finally, as a young boy, Otis Williams remembers his mother 
packing food for their move from Texas--oh, what a tragic mistake--
[laughter]--to Detroit. She did so because restaurants along the route 
refused to serve African Americans. In Detroit, Otis Williams grew up to 
become the leader of one of the most successful vocal groups in the 
history of our country, the Temptations. This group has recorded 37 top 
40 singles, including 4 number-one hits on the pop charts. Their success 
paved the way for other African American artists. Their melodies 
continue bringing Americans of all races together to this day.
    Otis can remember performing in a venue in South Carolina where 
blacks and whites in the crowd were separated by a barrier. The next 
year when the Temptations returned, the racial divide was gone. As Otis 
once put it, quote, ``The highest achievement for me has been to have 
our music penetrate all kinds of barriers, for it to be colorless.'' The 
music of the Temptations has given countless Americans sunshine on a 
cloudy day--[laughter]--and we cannot help ourselves from loving them. 
[Laughter]
    Throughout American--African American History Month, we remember how 
individuals, African American leaders of all kinds helped bring our 
Nation together. We recognize our Nation still has a long way to go. But 
in the example of the leaders like those we honor today, we see strength 
greater than any division, and we see hope for a day when freedom rings 
from every mountainside and every corner of the country.
    And now it is my great pleasure to introduce the Temptations.

Note: The President spoke at 3 p.m. in the East Room at the White House. 
In his remarks, he referred to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.