President George W. Bush is joined on stage by Elaine Steele during Georgetown University's "Let Freedom Ring" Celebration Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King at the John F. Kennedy Center, Monday, Jan. 16, 2006. Steele, Co-Founder of Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute, was presented with the "John Thompson Legacy of a Dream Award". | |
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On the U.S. holiday that honors the
life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., President Bush
paid tribute to two Americans who paved the way for civil
rights for all Americans at a January 16 ceremony.
"The reason to honor Martin Luther
King is to remember his strength of character and his leadership…[and]
[t]he reason to honor Mrs. Parks is not only to pay homage
to her strength of character, but to remember the ideal
of active citizenship," said the president at Georgetown
University’s "Let Freedom Ring" celebration.
Bush cited King’s efforts to convince
Congress to pass civil rights legislation during a time
of discrimination and segregation against blacks in the
United States. He also recalled Rosa Parks’s memorable
act of refusing to give up her seat in a bus to a white
man.
"When they made their appeal to equal
rights, they aimed straight for America's soul, and they
roused a dozing conscience of a complacent nation,"
the president said.
Bush added that progress still needs to
be made, and that both King and Parks, for all their hard
work, should best be remembered by continuing the work they
paved, and called on Congress must renew the Voting Rights
Act of 1965.
For additional information about the life
and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., see related
article.
Following is the transcript of the president’s
remarks:
(begin transcript)
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
January 16, 2006
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY'S
"LET FREEDOM RING" CELEBRATION
HONORING DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts
Washington, D.C.
3:50 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, all. Thanks for
the kind introduction. Thanks for the invitation to be here.
It's an honor to join you on this national holiday celebrating
one of America's most important lives: Martin Luther King,
Jr. (Applause.)
Every year on this day we reflect on the
great movement for civil rights that transformed our country.
We remember leaders like Rosa Parks, who today is being
honored with the John Thompson, Jr. Legacy of a Dream Award.
And we recommit ourselves to working for the dream that
Martin Luther King gave his life for: an America where the
dignity of every person is respected; where people are judged
not by the color of their skin -- by the content of their
character; and where the hope of a better tomorrow is in
every neighborhood in this country.
I'm sorry Laura is not with me. She's leading
a delegation to Liberia for the swearing-in of President
Johnson Sirleaf --(applause) -- who, by the way, is the
first elected woman President on the continent of Africa.
(Applause.)
I want to thank Dr. DeGioia and the good
folks at Georgetown University. I want to thank the members
of my Cabinet who are here. By the way, Condoleezza Rice
is not here, because she's with Laura. (Laughter.) I want
to thank Majority Leader Bill Frist and his wife, Karyn;
other members of Congress who are here. I appreciate Bruce
Gordon, the president of the NAACP, for his strong leadership.
(Applause.)
It is such an honor always to be in the
presence of Dorothy Height. (Applause.) And I want to thank
Tiffany Thompson for being here to represent her good dad
-- wonder where your brother was? (Laughter.) DeGioia hired
him and he's working. (Laughter.) Thank you all for being
here.
When our founders declared America's independence,
they invoked the self-evident truth that all men are created
equal. Our Constitution was written to put the principles
of a free and equal society into practice. It is a living
document. It required amendment to make sure that promise
was fulfilled, amendments like the abolishment of slavery,
the guarantee of equal protection, and the right to vote
for all Americans. Dr. King called these documents America's
great "charters of freedom," and he continued
to trust in their power even when the practice of America
did not live up to their promise.
As children of the South, Martin Luther
King and Rosa Parks both came to the civil rights movement
with long personal experience of the evils of discrimination
and segregation. Dr. King called the daily humiliations
endured by black Americans, "the jangling discords
of our nation." And Rosa Parks famously experienced
it when that bus driver had her arrested for refusing his
order to give up her seat to a white man.
But Mrs. Parks and Dr. King shared a deep
belief in a hopeful future. They strongly believed that
segregation could not stand once it was held up to the light
in all its ugliness. And because of their spirit and their
work, the cruelty and humiliation of Jim Crow is a thing
of the past.
As well, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mrs.
Parks’ faith in the future reflected their faith in
a higher being. Martin Luther King and Mrs. Parks both believed
that the answer to hate and discrimination was love. Dr.
King once wrote, "It is quite easy for me to think
of a God of love, mainly because I grew up in a family where
love was central and where lovely relationships were ever-present."
Mrs. Parks was a devout member all her life of the African
Methodist Episcopal Church, and a woman who saw the face
of God in every human being. These two leaders knew that
freedom was not a grant of government, but a gift from the
Author of all Life.
So when they made their appeal to equal
rights, they aimed straight for America's soul, and they
roused a dozing conscience of a complacent nation. By calling
us to be true to our founding promise of equality, Martin
Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Parks helped African Americans
gain their God-given rights.
As leaders, Martin Luther King and Mrs.
Parks believed their calling was to be involved, to be active,
to work for change. Long before Mrs. Parks refused to move
from her bus seat, she'd been active in community efforts
to advance opportunities for African Americans and to register
them to vote.
At the dawn of this new century, America
can be proud of the progress we have made toward equality,
but we all must recognize we have more to do. (Applause.)
The reason to honor Martin Luther King is to remember his
strength of character and his leadership, but also to remember
the remaining work. The reason to honor Mrs. Parks is not
only to pay homage to her strength of character, but to
remember the ideal of active citizenship. Active citizens
in the 1960s struggled hard to convince Congress to pass
civil rights legislation that ensured the rights of all,
including the right to vote. And Congress must renew the
Voting Rights Act of 1965. (Applause.)
Martin Luther King did not live to celebrate
his 40th birthday. Yet in the short time he walked upon
this earth, he preached that all the powers of evil are
ultimately no match for one individual armed with eternal
truths. And one evening, on a bus ride home from work, a
tired but brave woman named Rosa Parks proved that Dr. King
was right.
And so today we honor Dr. Martin Luther
King and Rosa Parks. We ask for God's blessings on their
legacy, and we ask for God's blessings on our great nation.
Thank you. (Applause.)
(end transcript)
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