President Bush
Celebrates
African American
History Month
Office of the Press
Secretary, February 12, 2007
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White House photo by Eric Draper |
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THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all.
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 and applause.) 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 -- (applause.) 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. (Applause.)
I'm proud to be here with Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State.
(Applause.) 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.
(Applause.) 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, thanks for coming.
(Applause.) From the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, one of the most
important benches in America, Justice Janice Rodgers Brown. Good to see
you -- thank you. (Applause.)
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President
George W. Bush, standing with members of the Jackson High School
Black History Tour Group of Jackson, Mich., welcomes guests to the
East Room of the White House, Monday, Feb. 12, 2007, during the
celebration of African American History Month.
White House photo by Eric Draper |
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And Dewey -- good move, Dewey.
Dewey tried to lead the standing ovation. That was -- (laughter.) Loyal
husband.
I appreciate Doctor Dorothy Height. Thank you for coming, Dr. Height.
(Applause.) Roslyn Brock, who is the Vice Chairman of the Board of
Directors for the NAACP. Roslyn, it's great to see you. Thanks for
coming. (Applause.) I'm 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. Thank you for
coming. I'm looking forward to hearing you. I'm proud you're here.
(Applause.)
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 -- 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 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
I think sending a hand signal to you, Mr. Chairman. So was I, by the way.
(Laughter.) I love you, man. (Laughter and applause.) 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 set for young and old, black, white, anybody in the United States of
America. Welcome back here. (Applause.)
I want to tell you the story of Bonnie St. John. She grew up in
California, which is -- most places in California are not very close to the
snow. But she wanted to be a skier. The problem was at age five 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 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 Paralympics. 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. (Applause.)
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 Cub 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.)
Mudcat, don't sit down yet -- sit up yet. Mudcat Grant, everybody. (Applause.)
There happens to be other Black Aces in baseball, one of whom joined us --
Dontrelle Willis, of the Florida team. Dontrelle, 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. (Applause.) Dontrelle, welcome.
Thank you, Mudcat, for bringing your friends, and thank you for bringing class
to the baseball diamond. (Applause.)
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 was one of the most challenging missions in NASA's history.
They did their job and, country is unlimited in its opportunities for people
from all walks of life. We're really proud you're here. Thanks for coming.
(Applause.)
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 picked 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.
(Applause.)
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. (Applause.)
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