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United Negro College Fund, 3/9/89 [2]
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014059 SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
3/7/89
3/7/89 2:00 PM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
POGERS
BREEDEN
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, by 2:00 PM TODAY, March 7, 1989, with an info copy to my
office. Thanks.
RESPONSE:
plo
you amends Cown cuts
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
1989 MAR M913
(Smith)
March 6, 1989
9:00 pm
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
United Negro College Fund
New York, NY
Thursday, March 9, 1989
Congressman Hawkins, Mr. Rawl, Mr. Simon, ladies and
gentlemen, my fellow citizens.
Thank you for that introduction, and for the warmth of your
reception. Paul Simon once wrote a song titled, simply, "Old
Friends." Tonight, flanked by old friends and, in a real sense,
family, I am grateful for your company.
Our paths first crossed many years ago, when I was an
organizer for the United Negro College Fund during my student
days at Yale. It was there that I first saw the Fund invest in
higher education, and in America. Then, as now, it insisted that
excellence become a way of life, and higher learning a bequest.
As an undergraduate, I came to grasp what Churchill meant
when he said, "Personally, I am always ready to learn, though I
do not always enjoy being taught." Well, for nearly
half-a-century, this Fund has taught, so that America could
learny the gentler impulses of mankind.
Buist
You have helped society's disadvantaged cast off despair and
poverty. And through such friends as Bill Trent and Frederick D.
Patterson -- and, yes, how we miss him -- you have endorsed
liberty, opportunity, and the dignity of work.
2
But most of all, you have shown how conscience and education
can fulfill the promise of America: to right wrong, love freedom,
and demand equality for all.
For that, I congratulate you -- and yet, I challenge you,
too.
for Equal oppurtunity
Black and white, together -- we want an America of
(Raul)
affirmative action, and affirmative lives. But America will not
be a good place for any of us to live in until it is a good place
for all of us to live in. Yes, let us reach beyond government, as
you have, to shape our Nation's character. But let us not ignore
government -- for it can nurture the decency which makes human
progress possible.
Most Americans, I'm convinced, believe that government can
Holen
there are
x5178
government must step in where others fear to tread.
be an instrument of healing. And they believe that, at times when
Raul
My friends, them. I share those beliefs: As President, I will act act
And,
5644
on their behalf.
For America, it seems to me, means pride -- individually and
Holen
H means
5178
racially. And opportunity for those who need jobs and who dream
of owning homes. America means, in the words of Dr. King, that
it hopes
Choppy
"injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
And hope:
the hope that tomorrow will be brighter than today.
Think of America as a congregation. Now, think of its
Holen
members as kindness, courage, service, enterprise. What agenda
x5178
can best inspire them, and secure the promise of America? You
know the answer, for I've pledged to be the Education President.
And I'll let you in on a secret: I mean exactly what I say.
is broad?r than
agenda of this speece
3
Education knows no barriers, accepts no limits. Education is
a ladder; it embodies self-respect, not dependency. Education can
give minorities a greater voice -- and make sure that voice is
heard.
Since 1944, when Dr. Patterson founded the UNCF, your voice
has resounded from colleges like Tuskegee, Morehouse, Spellman,
and Fisk. And its lyrics have ennobled such Americans as Leontyne
Price, Andrew Young, Frank Yerby, and Azie Taylor Morton.
Well, I'm pleased to tell you: Under our Administration,
your voice will ring yet louder.
As you know, in September 1981, President Reagan signed
Executive Order 12320, committing the Federal government to
increase its support of Historically Black Colleges and
Universities.
Our goal was to identify, and eliminate, unfair barriers to
your participation in Federally-sponsored programs. Our means was
to involve the private sector, and to motivate the 27 Federal
agencies which provide nearly all the Federal funding.
Did it work? Did it ever.
In Fiscal Year 1982, HBCUs received $545 million in Federal
In Fiscal year 1987,
assistance last year, that sum totaled $684 million, [scientific] Scientific
Holen
NOTE: The
5178
dept
research leaped by 38 per cent, and by FY X87 research and
Educationping
and development, which includes funds for non scientific institutional developm
ment
FY1988 has notatayet.
development comprised nearly half of all funding. Our White House
Science and Technology Committee fostered science, mathematics,
and engineering programs and curricula. And our larger HBCU work
attacked the Four Horsemen of the American Night -- illiteracy
and inequality, indigence and fear.
Holan
NOT2 The "research { development" category includes THESIII grants for
any
institutional development generally as tined. This is not scientific research
4
Great beginnings, yes. Now, let us build upon them. We have
done much. But there remains will always be so much more
Hoken
left to do.
5178
That is why, six weeks ago, I met with 26 Presidents of
HBCUs to probe where we are going, and how. We discussed faculty
development and merit scholarships, community college grants and
institutional planning. In each case, we explored Federal
government support of public/private partnerships, task forces,
conferences, technical assistance, and the use of Federal
research and development funds.
From that meeting, and others like it, came steps which I am
Steps
proud to announce tonight, and which will help do, nationally,
what you have done, historically: Enrich education, so that
education can enrich our lives.
I refer to a new Executive Order which I will sign next
week, replacing Executive Order 12320, and which will be
effective immediately.
Specifically:
O
This Order will create a President's Board of Advisors
on Historically Black Colleges and Universities to reside within
the Department of Education.
Our board will be composed of representatives ot f HBCUs,
Holen
5178
other institutions of higher learning, of business, finance,
private foundations, and of secondary education. It will review
work toward
Rad
the annual report of Federal aid to HBCUs. And it will increase
504
technical assistance and business and foundation support.
5
Secondly, more than ever, this Executive Order will
link HBCUs to the private sector. How? Through your presence on
the Board of Advisors. And through placing HBCUs on the agenda of
the newly created Office of National Service, which will lead my
Administration's community and national-service programs.
We should work together; under this Executive Order, we
will. For example, after listening to your Presidents, I proposed
that Congress fund $60 million over four years in endowment
matching grants for HBCUs. We have put our money on the table.
THOKEN 98 Hoken 578
Now, I challenge the private sector: The time has come for yours.
SEEK to stimulate increased private sector support for
Our Executive Order will facilitate this approach, and spur
HBCU'S including increased financial support for Endowments and increa SEd
non-Federal involvement in technical assistance and funding.
teanical assistance
work to
O
This Executive Order will also bring more of your
students into Federal internship programs. Our effort will be
headed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. And
I've asked that Office to also approach Congress about increasing
its number of HBCU interns. With both the executive branch and
the Congress joining hands to increase opportunities, we can give
minority students a special experience today that will enrich
their lives tomorrow.
O
Fourthly, our Board of Advisors will find ways to
Holden
requitment?
support the long-term faculty endowment plans of each HBCU. For 5178
the pursuit of excellence--student, faculty, and
administrative--is central to America.
My friends, if excellence breeds achievement, that
excellence should be rewarded--in grade school, in high school,
and at our colleges and universities.
6
Accordingly, I want Congress to create a $500 million
program to reward America's "merit schools" the schools which
improve the most. I want it to found special Presidential awards
for the best teachers in every State. And I want the expanded use
to give
of magnet schools -- giving parents and students the freedom of
choice.
Moreover, I propose a new program to encourage "alternative
to
certification m allowing talented Americans from every field to
teach in America's classrooms. Consider that today, in many
areas, a John Updike, an Alex Haley, couldn't qualify to teach
high-school creative writing. When rules are so inflexible that
creativity, talent, and imagination aren't welcome in our
schools, it's time to change the rules.
And through a new program of National Science Scholars, I
seek to give America's youth a special incentive to excel in
science and mathematics. The National Science Foundation predicts
a shortage of 400,000 scientists by the year 2000. Through
excellence in education, we must X and will reverse that trend.
all of thisis
Holen
And, yet, it's not enough. It never is. As Americans, we are
5178
never satisfied. We know that when a dream comes true, it gives
rise to even bigger and better dreams. Perhaps the former Dean of
Howard University, John Mercer Langston, put it best. He wrote,
simply, "Want makes us all work."
Let us work, then, to make America a better place to live,
dream, invest, and build. And let us begin by ending drug abuse.
My friends, drug abuse is America's Twentieth-Century
version of human slavery. It chains the spirit, and imperils the
7
ability to learn. To combat drugs, we must mobilize our resources
-- fiscal, moral, economic -- and wage unconditional war. And we
must fight on every front: education, treatment, interdiction,
enforcement.
Last month, I asked Congress for an increase of $1 billion
in budget outlays to escalate our war. This is a war we must and
will win. The future of our nation and the lives of our children
depend on it.
Earlier, I mentioned the promise of America: hope, pride,
opportunity, justice. A drug-free America fulfills that promise.
So, too, do Enterprise Zones.
Enterprise Zones are a pioneering initiative to establish a
number of Federally-designated zones -- or areas -- in highly
distressed communities. By providing tax breaks and relief from
regulation, they foster a climate where new businesses can be
created, and existing businesses expanded. These businesses
create new jobs, especially for disadvantaged workers.
Hale 3120
Already, 31 States have developed Enterprise Zone programs.
It's time we put them to work at the Federal level. Local
communities will benefit. But, more importantly, those who need a
helping hand--the unemployed, the dispossessed--will gain new
hope and opportunity: Not across town, but in their own back
yards.
Enterprise Zones can serve the most vulnerable among us. And
we will assist these other things, as well:
)
As part of our new child-care initiative, targeted at
low-income families, we have asked for $250 million more for
8
Project Head Start. This Federal program must, and will, serve
increasing numbers of four-year-olds.
Holder
age
5178
For parents with children under four, we've proposed a new retundable
tax credit to make child care more affordable. And we want to
make the existing child care credits refundable to families who
don't pay taxes. Our proposal puts money in the hands of
low-income parents, limits Federal intervention, and increases
options -- a church can help; or grandparents; or professional
nursery. In short, we say: Let the parents decide.
variable of
To us, child care means options. Well, so does the privilege
-- the inalienable right -- of every American to live where he
chooses, when he chooses, for as long as he chooses, and can
afford to do so. It's as simple as it sounds -- a simple matter
Hale 3/20
of what's right, and what's wrong. Under this Administration, you
vigorously
have my pledge: We will enforce the letter and the spirit of the
Federal Fair Housing Act.
Finally, four days ago, the Office of Minority Business
Enterprise, renamed the Minority Business Development Agency,
Hale
0218
marked its 20th birthday. We will expand increasingly its involvement in the
MBDA
free enterprise system. And we'll promote other programs which
Holan
spur housing, investment, jobs, and training. The Jobs Training
5178
(what is
Partnership Act, for instance. The Minority Youth Training
(is.ut
Initiative. The SBA.
Yes, hope, pride, opportunity, justice. I thought of those
qualities when I received a letter, recently, from a mother in
New Orleans. She is 48 years old, and widowed. She has four sons,
9
and her family is in debt. But they are proud and unafraid,
because education is their ally.
The mother is pursuing a Masters Degree in Social Work; last
year, her eldest son graduated from the University of Chicago.
And the three other kids are college students -- including, she
wrote, "the baby of the family: a 6-foot-6, 240-pound freshman at
Grambling State University."
"I implore you,' the mother asked, "to think about
people such as myself and my sons." " And then she added: "P.S.
We're black but optimistic that we can be a part of the American
Dream. "
My friends, I want an America where this dedicated mother
does not have to choose between "black" and "optimistic." The
words are not mutually exclusive -- not a contradiction in terms.
And I want our policies to serve and encourage this family, and
millions like it everywhere. Because they reflect the promise of
that promise
America
Holen
and we must help make it a reality.
5178
The promise of America says that by assuring equality, we
can enhance greater opportunity. It says that our destiny is not
divisible, and that we are children of the same humane and loving
God.
The promise of America demands that we aid our communities
and assist our neighbors. It rests less on promises and
politicians than on the primacy of the heart.
The promise of America knows neither race, creed, sex, or
color. It is collective and individual, and as boundless as our
history. The promise of America says that government is but a
10
custodian of America's future -- but that you -- the people --
you are her architects.
Dr. Benjamin E. Mays once observed, "It must be borne in
mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your
goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach." "
My fellow citizens, to open wide the door of opportunity and
equality to all Americans -- this is our goal, and the true
promise of America. Let us achieve it, together, as Americans and
as friends.
Thank you for inviting me, God bless you all, and God bless
the United States of America.
# # #
014059 SS
V
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
3/7/89
3/7/89 2:00 PM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
POGERS
BREEDEN
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS: Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, by 2:00 PM TODAY, March 7, 1989, with an info copy to my
office. Thanks.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext 2702
1989 MAR - NII 9:
(Smith)
March 6, 1989
9:00 pm
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
United Negro College Fund
New York, NY
Thursday, March 9, 1989
Congressman Hawkins, Mr. Rawl, Mr. Simon, ladies and
gentlemen, my fellow citizens.
Thank you for that introduction, and for the warmth of your
reception. Paul Simon once wrote a song titled, simply, "Old
Friends." Tonight, flanked by old friends and, in a real sense,
family, I am grateful for your company.
Our paths first crossed many years ago, when I was an
organizer for the United Negro College Fund during my student
days at Yale. It was there that I first saw the Fund invest in
higher education, and in America. Then, as now, it insisted that
excellence become a way of life, and higher learning a bequest.
As an undergraduate, I came to grasp what Churchill meant
when he said, "Personally, I am always ready to learn, though I
do not always enjoy being taught." Well, for nearly
half-a-century, this Fund has taught, so that America could
learn, the gentler impulses of mankind.
You have helped society's disadvantaged cast off despair and
poverty. And through such friends as Bill Trent and Frederick D.
Patterson -- and, yes, how we miss him -- you have endorsed
liberty, opportunity, and the dignity of work.
2
But most of all, you have shown how conscience and education
can fulfill the promise of America: to right wrong, love freedom,
and demand equality for all.
For that, I congratulate you -- and yet, I challenge you,
too.
Black and white, together -- we want an America of
affirmative action, and affirmative lives. But America will not
be a good place for any of us to live in until it is a good place
for all of us to live in. Yes, let us reach beyond government, as
you have, to shape our Nation's character. But let us not ignore
government -- for it can nurture the decency which makes human
progress possible.
Most Americans, I'm convinced, believe that government can
be an instrument of healing. And they believe that, at times,
government must step in where others fear to tread.
My friends, I share those beliefs: As President, I will act
on their behalf.
For America, it seems to me, means pride --
racially. And opportunity for those who need jobs and who dream
of owning homes. America means, in the words of Dr. King, that
"injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." And hope:
the hope that tomorrow will be brighter than today.
Think of America as a congregation. Now, think of its
members as kindness, courage, service, enterprise. What agenda
can best inspire them, and secure the promise of America? You
know the answer, for I've pledged to be the Education President.
And I'll let you in on a secret: I mean exactly what I say.
3
Education knows no barriers, accepts no limits. Education is
a ladder; it embodies self-respect, not dependency. Education can
give minorities a greater voice -- and make sure that voice is
heard.
Since 1944, when Dr. Patterson founded the UNCF, your voice
has resounded from colleges like Tuskegee, Morehouse, Spellman,
and Fisk. And its lyrics have ennobled such Americans as Leontyne
Price, Andrew Young, Frank Yerby, and Azie Taylor Morton.
Well, I'm pleased to tell you: Under our Administration,
your voice will ring yet louder.
As you know, in September 1981, President Reagan signed
Executive Order 12320, committing the Federal government to
increase its support of Historically Black Colleges and
Universities.
Our goal was to identify, and eliminate, unfair barriers to
your participation in Federally-sponsored programs. Our means was
to involve the private sector, and to motivate the 27 Federal
agencies which provide nearly all the Federal funding.
Did it work? Did it ever.
In Fiscal Year 1982, HBCUs received $545 million in Federal
assistance; last year, that sum totaled $684 million. Scientific
research leaped by 38 per cent, and by FY '87 research and
development comprised nearly half of all funding. Our White House
Science and Technology Committee fostered science, mathematics,
and engineering programs and curricula. And our larger HBCU work
attacked the Four Horsemen of the American Night -- illiteracy
and inequality, indigence and fear.
4
Great beginnings, yes. Now, let us build upon them. We have
done much. But there remains -- will always be -- so much more
left to do.
That is why, six weeks ago, I met with 26 Presidents of
HBCUs to probe where we are going, and how. We discussed faculty
development and merit scholarships, community college grants and
institutional planning. In each case, we explored Federal
government support of public/private partnerships, task forces,
conferences, technical assistance, and the use of Federal
research and development funds.
From that meeting, and others like it, came steps which I am
herold
proud to announce tonight, and which will help do, nationally,
what you have done, historically: Enrich education, so that
education can enrich our lives.
shortly
I refer to a new Executive Order which I will, sign, next
week, replacing Executive Order 12320, and which will be
effective immediately.
Specifically:
o
This Order will create a President's Board of Advisors
on Historically Black Colleges and Universities to reside within
the Department of Education.
Our board will be composed of representatives ot HBCUs,
other institutions of higher learning, of business, finance,
private foundations, and of secondary education. It will review
the annual report of Federal aid to HBCUs. And it will increase
technical assistance and business and foundation support.
[Insert]
5
Secondly, more than ever, this Executive Order will
link HBCUs to the private sector. How? Through your presence on
the Board of Advisors. And through placing HBCUs on the agenda of
the newly created Office of National Service, which will lead my
Administration's community and national-service programs.
We should work together; under this Executive Order, we
will. For example, after listening to your Presidents, I proposed
that Congress fund $60 million over four years in endowment
matching grants for HBCUs. We have put our money on the table.
Now, I challenge the private sector: The time has come for yours.
Our Executive Order will facilitate this approach, and spur
non Federal involvement in technical assistance and funding.
This Executive Order will also bring more of your
students into Federal internship programs. Our effort will be
headed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. And
I've asked that Office to also approach Congress about increasing
its number of HBCU interns. With both the executive branch and
the Congress joining hands to increase opportunities, we can give
minority students a special experience today that will enrich
their lives tomorrow.
O
Fourthly, our Board of /Advisors will find ways to
support the long-term faculty endowment plans of each HBCU. For
the pursuit of excellence--student, faculty, and
administrative--is central to America.
My friends, if excellence breeds achievement, that
excellence should be rewarded--in grade school, in high school,
and at our colleges and universities.
6
Accordingly, I want Congress to create a $500-million
program to reward America's "merit schools" the schools which
improve the most. I want it to found special Presidential awards
for the best teachers in every State. And I want the expanded use
of magnet schools -- giving parents and students the freedom of
choice.
Moreover, I propose a new program to encourage "alternative
certification" -- allowing talented Americans from every field to
teach in America's classrooms. Consider that today, in many
?
areas, a John Updike, an Alex Haley couldn't qualify to teach
high-school creative writing. When rules are so inflexible that
creativity, talent, and imagination aren't welcome in our
schools, it's time to change the rules.
And through a new program of National Science Scholars, I
seek to give America's youth a special incentive to excel in
science and mathematics. The National Science Foundation predicts
a shortage of 400,000 scientists by the year 2000. Through
excellence in education, we must, and will, reverse that trend.
And, yet, it's not enough. It never is. As Americans, we are
never satisfied. We know that when a dream comes true, it gives
rise to even bigger and better dreams. Perhaps the former Dean of
Howard University, John Mercer Langston, put it best. He wrote,
simply, "Want makes us all work."
Let us work, then, to make America a better place to live,
dream, invest, and build. And let us begin by ending drug abuse.
My friends, drug abuse is America's Twentieth-Century
version of human slavery. It chains the spirit, and imperils the
7
ability to learn. To combat drugs, we must mobilize our resources
-- fiscal, moral, economic -- and wage unconditional war. And we
must fight on every front: education, treatment, interdiction,
enforcement.
Last month, I asked Congress for an increase of $1 billion
in budget outlays to escalate our war. This is a war we must and
will win. The future of our nation and the lives of our children
depend on it.
Earlier, I mentioned the promise of America: hope, pride,
opportunity, justice. A drug-free America fulfills that promise.
So, too, do Enterprise Zones.
Enterprise Zones are a pioneering initiative to establish a
number of Federally-designated zones -- or areas -- in highly
distressed communities. By providing tax breaks and relief from
regulation, they foster a climate where new businesses can be
created, and existing businesses expanded. These businesses
create new jobs, especially for disadvantaged workers.
Already, 31 States have developed Enterprise Zone programs.
It's time we put them to work at the Federal level. Local
communities will benefit. But, more importantly, those who need a
helping hand--the unemployed, the dispossessed--will gain new
hope and opportunity: Not across town, but in their own back
yards.
Enterprise Zones can serve the most vulnerable among us. And
we will assist these other things, as well:
As part of our new child-care initiative, targeted at
low-income families, we have asked for $250 million more for
8
HAM Head Start. This Federal program must, and will, serve
increasing numbers of four-year-olds.
For parents with children under four, we've proposed a new
tax credit to make child care more affordable. And we want to
make the existing child care credits refundable to families who
don't pay taxes. Our proposal puts money in the hands of
low-income parents, limits Federal intervention, and increases
options -- a church can help; or grandparents; or professional
nursery. In short, we say: Let the parents decide.
To us, child care means options. Well, so does the privilege
-- the inalienable right -- of every American to live where he
chooses, when he chooses, for as long as he chooses, and can
afford to do SO. It's as simple as it sounds -- a simple matter
of what's right, and what's wrong. Under this Administration, you
have my pledge: We will vigorously enforce the letter and the spirit of the
Federal Fair Housing Act.
Finally, four days ago, the Office of Minority Business
Enterprise, renamed the Minority Business Development Agency,
marked its 20th birthday. We will expand its involvement in the
free enterprise system. And we'll promote other programs which
spur housing, investment, jobs, and training. The Jobs Training
Partnership Act, for instance. The Minority Youth Training
Initiative. The SBA.
Yes, hope, pride, opportunity, justice. I thought of those
qualities when I received a letter, recently, from a mother in
New Orleans. She is 48 years old, and widowed. She has four sons,
9
and her family is in debt. But they are proud and unafraid,
because education is their ally.
The mother is pursuing a Masters Degree in Social Work; last
year, her eldest son graduated from the University of Chicago.
And the three other kids are college students -- including, she
wrote, "the baby of the family: a 6-foot-6, 240-pound freshman at
Grambling State University."
"I implore you,' the mother asked, "to think about
people such as myself and my sons." And then she added: "P.S.
We're black but optimistic that we can be a part of the American
Dream. "
My friends, I want an America where this dedicated mother
does not have to choose between "black" and "optimistic." The
words are not mutually exclusive -- not a contradiction in terms.
And I want our policies to serve and encourage this family, and
millions like it everywhere. Because they reflect the promise of
America
and we must help make it a reality.
The promise of America says that by assuring equality, we
can enhance greater opportunity. It says that our destiny is not
divisible, and that we are children of the same humane and loving
God.
The promise of America demands that we aid our communities
and assist our neighbors. It rests less on promises and
politicians than on the primacy of the heart.
The promise of America knows neither race, creed, sex, or
color. It is collective and individual, and as boundless as our
history. The promise of America says that government is but a
10
custodian of America's future -- but that you -- the people --
you are her architects.
Dr. Benjamin E. Mays once observed, "It must be borne in
mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your
goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach."
My fellow citizens, to open wide the door of opportunity and
equality to all Americans -- this is our goal, and the true
promise of America. Let us achieve it, together, as Americans and
as friends.
Thank you for inviting me, God bless you all, and God bless
the United States of America.
# # #
March 7, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR JIM CICCONI
FROM;
DENISE SCHWARZ
OFFICE OF CABINET AFFAIRS
SUBJECT;
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS; UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND
LOG# 014059SS
We have reviewed the attached and have incorporated the
suggested changes.
See small charges/questions py 2,3,7,8
Attachment
CC: Chriss Winston
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
CABINET AFFAIRS STAFFING MEMORANDUM
Date:
Number:
Due By:
1:00.
Subject:
Action
FYI
Action
FYI
ALL CABINET MEMBERS
CEA
Vice President
CEQ
State
OSTP
Treasury
smallis
Defense
Justice
Interior
Agriculture
Commerce
Labor
Scowcroft
HHS
Porter
HUD
Breeden
Transportation
Cicconi (For WH Staffing)
Energy
Education
Veterans
OMB
USTR
Chief of Staff
UN
Executive Secretary for:
CIA
DPC
National Drug Policy
EPC
EPA
GSA
NASA
OPM
SBA
REMARKS:
RETURN TO:
David Q. Bates
Associate Director
Cabinet Secretary
Office of Cabinet Affairs
456-2174
456-2800
(1st Floor, West Wing)
(Room 235, OEOB)
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March 6, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR
FROM:
DENISE SCHWARZ
CABINET AFFAIRS
THE WHITE HOUSE
SUBJECT:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS; UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND
Please review the attached and phone your comments to Denise
Schwarz by 1:00 P.M. today, Tuesday, March 7, 1989 at 456-2174.
SORRY FOR THE SHORT TURN AROUND.
Attachment
014059 SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
3/7/89
3/7/89 2:00 PM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
P.OGERS
BREEDEN
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930 by 2:00 PM TODAY, March 7, 1989, with an info copy to my
office. Thanks.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
1003 MAR = 9
(Smith)
March 6, 1989
9:00 pm
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
United Negro College Fund
New York, NY
Thursday, March 9, 1989
Congressman Hawkins, Mr. Rawl, Mr. Simon, ladies and
gentlemen, my fellow citizens.
Thank you for that introduction, and for the warmth of your
reception. Paul Simon once wrote a song titled, simply, "Old
Friends." Tonight, flanked by old friends and, in a real sense,
family, I am grateful for your company.
Our paths first crossed many years ago, when I was an
organizer for the United Negro College Fund during my student
days at Yale. It was there that I first saw the Fund invest in
higher education, and in America. Then, as now, it insisted that
excellence become a way of life, and higher learning a bequest.
As an undergraduate, I came to grasp what Churchill meant
when he said, "Personally, I am always ready to learn, though I
do not always enjoy being taught." Well, for nearly
half-a-century, this Fund has taught, so that America could
learn, the gentler impulses of mankind.
You have helped society's disadvantaged cast off despair and
poverty. And through such friends as Bill Trent and Frederick D.
Patterson -- and, yes, how we miss him -- you have endorsed
liberty, opportunity, and the dignity of work.
2
But most of all, you have shown how conscience and education
can fulfill the promise of America: to right wrong, love freedom,
and demand equality for all.
For that, I congratulate you -- and yet, I challenge you,
too.
Program
Black and white, together -- we want an America of
[affirmative action, and affirmative lives. But America will not
(quotice)
be a good place for any of us to live in until it is a good place
for all of us to live in. Yes, let us reach beyond government, as
you have, to shape our Nation's character. But let us not ignore
government -- for it can nurture the decency which makes human
progress possible.
Most Americans, I'm convinced, believe that government can
be an instrument of healing. And they believe that, at times,
government must step in where others fear to tread.
My friends, I share those beliefs: As President, I will act (Roper
on their behalf.
For America, it seems to me, means pride -- individually (culturally and
racially. And opportunity for those who need jobs and who dream
of owning homes. America means, in the words of Dr. King, that
"injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." And hope:
the hope that tomorrow will be brighter than today.
Think of America as a congregation. Now, think of its
members as kindness, courage, service, enterprise. What agenda
can best inspire them, and secure the promise of America? You
know the answer, for I've pledged to be the Education President.
And I'll let you in on a secret: I mean exactly what I say.
3
Education knows no barriers, accepts no limits. Education is
a ladder; it embodies self-respect, not dependency. Education can
give minorities a greater voice -- and make sure that voice is
heard.
Since 1944, when Dr. Patterson founded the UNCF, your voice
has resounded from colleges like Tuskegee, Morehouse, Spellman,
and Fisk. And its lyrics have ennobled such Americans as Leontyne
Price, Andrew Young, Frank Yerby, and Azie Taylor Morton.
Well, I'm pleased to tell you: Under our Administration,
your voice will ring yet louder.
As you know, in September 1981, President Reagan signed
Executive Order 12320, committing the Federal government to
increase its support of Historically Black Colleges and
Universities.
Our goal was to identify, and eliminate, unfair barriers to
your participation in Federally-sponsored programs. Our means was
to involve the private sector, and to motivate the 27 Federal
agencies which provide nearly all the Federal funding.
Did it work? Did it ever.
In Fiscal Year 1982, HBCUs received $545 million in Federal
Education the d 8\ the
assistance; last year, that sum totaled $684 million. Scientific
research leaped by 38 per cent, and by FY '87 research and
development comprised nearly half of all funding. Our White House
Science and Technology Committee fostered science, mathematics,
3
and engineering programs and curricula. And our larger HBCU work
attacked the Four Horsemen of the American Night -- illiteracy
and inequality, indigence and fear.
4
Great beginnings, yes. Now, let us build upon them. We have
done much. But there remains -- will always be -- so much more
left to do.
That is why, six weeks ago, I met with 26 Presidents of
HBCUs to probe where we are going, and how. We discussed faculty
development and merit scholarships, community college grants and
institutional planning. In each case, we explored Federal
government support of public/private partnerships, task forces,
conferences, technical assistance, and the use of Federal
research and development funds.
a
sumber of 6 new mitratines
From that meeting, and others like it, came steps which I am
proud to announce tonight, and which will help do, nationally,
what you have done, historically: Enrich education, so that
education can enrich our lives.
I refer to a new Executive Order which I will phartly sign next
week, replacing Executive Order 12320, and which will be
effective immediately.
Specifically:
O
This Order will create a President's Board of Advisors
on Historically Black Colleges and Universities to reside within
the Department of Education.
Our board will be composed of representatives ot HBCUs,
other institutions of higher learning, of business, finance,
private foundations, and of secondary education. It will review
the annual report of Federal aid to HBCUs. And it will increase
technical assistance and business and foundation support.
5
Secondly, more than ever, this Executive Order will
link HBCUs to the private sector. How? Through your presence on
the Board of Advisors. And through placing HBCUs on the agenda of
the newly created Office of National Service, which will lead my
Administration's community and national-service programs.
We should work together; under this Executive Order we
will. For example, after listening to your Presidents, I proposed
that Congress fund $60 million over four years in endowment
matching grants for HBCUs. We have put our money on the table.
Now, I challenge the private sector: The time has come for yours.
Our Executive Order will facilitate this approach, and spur
non-Federal involvement in technical assistance and funding.
O
This Executive Order will also bring more of your
students into Federal internship programs. Our effort will be
headed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. And
I've asked that Office to also approach Congress about increasing
its number of HBCU interns. With both the executive branch and
the Congress joining hands to increase opportunities, we can give
minority students a special experience today that will enrich
their lives tomorrow
Fourthly, our Board of Advisors will find ways to
support the long-term faculty endowment plans of each HBCU. For
the pursuit of excellence--student, faculty, and
administrative--is central to America.
My friends, if excellence breeds achievement, that
excellence should be rewarded--in grade school, in high school,
and at our colleges and universities.
6
Accordingly, I want Congress to create a $500-million
program to reward America's "merit schools" the schools which
improve the most. I want it to found special Presidential awards
for the best teachers in every State. And I want the expanded use
of magnet schools -- giving parents and students the freedom of
choice.
Moreover, I propose a new program to encourage "alternative
certification" -- allowing talented Americans from every field to
teach in America's classrooms. Consider that today, in many
areas, a John Updike, an Alex Haley, couldn't qualify to teach
high-school creative writing. When rules are so inflexible that
creativity, talent, and imagination aren't welcome in our
schools, it's time to change the rules.
And through a new program of National Science Scholars, I
seek to give America's youth a special incentive to excel in
science and mathematics. The National Science Foundation predicts
a shortage of 400,000 scientists by the year 2000. Through
excellence in education, we must, and will, reverse that trend.
And, yet, it's not enough. It never is. As Americans, we are
never satisfied. We know that when a dream comes true, it gives
rise to even bigger and better dreams. Perhaps the former Dean of
Howard University, John Mercer Langston, put it best. He wrote,
simply, "Want makes us all work."
Let us work, then, to make America a better place to live,
dream, invest, and build. And let us begin by ending drug abuse.
My friends, drug abuse is America's Twentieth-Century
version of human slavery. It chains the spirit, and imperils the
7
ability to learn. To combat drugs, we must mobilize our resources
-- fiscal, moral, economic -- and wage unconditional war. And we
must fight on every front: education, treatment, interdiction,
enforcement.
Last month, I asked Congress for an increase of $1 billion
in budget outlays to escalate our war. This is a war we must and
will win. The future of our nation and the lives of our children
depend on it.
Earlier, I mentioned the promise of America: hope, pride,
opportunity, justice. A drug-free America fulfills that promise.
So, too, do Enterprise Zones.
Enterprise Zones are a pioneering initiative to establish a
number of Federally-designated zones -- or areas -- in highly econor
distressed communities. By providing tax breaks and relief from
regulation, they foster a climate where new businesses can be
created, and existing businesses expanded. These businesses
in these designated areas,
sill
create new jobsA especially for disadvantaged workers.
Already, 31 States have developed Enterprise Zone programs.
It's time we put them to work at the Federal level. Local
communities will benefit. But, more importantly, those who need a
helping hand--the unemployed, the dispossessed--will gain new
hope and opportunity: Not across town, but in their own back
yards.
Enterprise Zones can serve the most vulnerable among us. And
ment A (cunt
we will assist these other things, as well:
As part of our new child-care initiative, targeted at
low-income families, we have asked for $250 million more for
(Roper)
Program.
8
the
Project Head Start This Federal program must, and will, serve
increasing numbers of four-year-olds.
For parents raparking with children under four, we've proposed a new
tax credit to make child care more affordable. And we want to
make the existing child care credits refundable to families who
don't pay taxes. Our proposal puts money in the hands of
low-income parents, limits Federal intervention, and increases
options -- a church can help; or grandparents; or professional
nursery. In short, we say: Let the parents decide.
To us, child care means options. Well, so does the privilege
-- the inalienable right -- of every American to live where he
chooses, when he chooses, for as long as he chooses, and can
afford to do so. It's as simple as it sounds -- a simple matter
of what's right, and what's wrong. Under this Administration, you
have my pledge: We will enforce the letter and the spirit of the
Federal Fair Housing Act.
Finally, four days ago, the Office of Minority Business
Enterprise, renamed the Minority Business Development Agency,
marked its 20th birthday. We will expand its involvement in the
free enterprise system. And we'll promote other programs which
spur housing, investment, jobs, and training. The Jobs Training
Partnership Act, for instance. The Minority Youth Training
Initiative. The SBA.
Yes, hope, pride, opportunity, justice. I thought of those
qualities when I received a letter, recently, from a mother in
New Orleans. She is 48 years old, and widowed. She has four sons,
9
and her family is in debt. But they are proud and unafraid,
because education is their ally.
The mother is pursuing a Masters Degree in Social Work; last
year, her eldest son graduated from the University of Chicago.
And the three other kids are college students -- including, she
wrote, "the baby of the family: a 6-foot-6, 240-pound freshman at
Grambling State University."
"I implore you, the mother asked, "to think about
people such as myself and my sons. " And then she added: "P.S.
We're black but optimistic that we can be a part of the American
Dream. "
My friends, I want an America where this dedicated mother
does not have to choose between "black" and "optimistic." " The
words are not mutually exclusive -- not a contradiction in terms.
And I want our policies to serve and encourage this family, and
millions like it everywhere. Because they reflect the promise of
America
and we must help make it a reality.
The promise of America says that by assuring equality, we
can enhance greater opportunity. It says that our destiny is not
divisible, and that we are children of the same humane and loving
God.
The promise of America demands that we aid our communities
and assist our neighbors. It rests less on promises and
politicians than on the primacy of the heart.
The promise of America knows neither race, creed, sex, or
color. It is collective and individual, and as boundless as our
history. The promise of America says that government is but a
10
custodian of America's future -- but that you -- the people --
you are her architects.
Dr. Benjamin E. Mays once observed, "It must be borne in
mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your
goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach." "
My fellow citizens, to open wide the door of opportunity and
equality to all Americans -- this is our goal, and the true
promise of America. Let us achieve it, together, as Americans and
as friends.
Thank you for inviting me, God bless you all, and God bless
the United States of America.
###
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March 7, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
FOR COMMUNICATIONS
FROM:
MICHAEL J. ASTRUE MHA
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: United Negro College Fund
Counsel's office has reviewed the above-referenced remarks, and
we have the following suggestions and comments:
In the next-to-last-line on page 4V, we would substitute "work
toward increasing" for "increase." In the first line of the
third paragraph of page 5, we would add "work to" after "also."
In the second full paragraph on page 8, we would ask that you not
equate "privilege" with "inalienable right,' and would suggest
deletion of "privilege." Later in the same sentence, the phrase
"and can afford to do so" lacks proper parallelism and lacks a
clear meaning. It could be construed as advocating a
constitutional right to government-provided affordable housing
and, accordingly, we would strongly urge its deletion.
Except as noted above, we have no legal objection to these
proposed remarks being delivered by the President.
CC: James W. Cicconi
014059 SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
3/7/89
3/7/89 2:00 PM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
BREEDEN
POGERS
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, by 2:00 PM TODAY, March 7, 1989, with an info copy to my
office. Thanks.
Cluis some nice rhetoric
RESPONSE:
but has a Tendency
toward disorgangation - too way
seemingless unrelated uses
delite - affirmating James action W. Cicconi sentence let's
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff talk
1989 MAR
(Smith)
March 6, 1989
9:00 pm
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
United Negro College Fund
New York, NY
Thursday, March 9, 1989
Congressman Hawkins, Mr. Rawl, Mr. Simon, ladies and
gentlemen, my fellow citizens.
Thank you for that introduction, and for the warmth of your
reception. Paul Simon once wrote a song titled, simply, "Old
Friends." Tonight, flanked by old friends and, in a real sense,
family, I am grateful for your company.
Our paths first crossed many years ago, when I was an
organizer for the United Negro College Fund during my student
days at Yale. It was there that I first saw the Fund invest in
higher education, and in America. Then, as now, it insisted that
excellence become a way of life, and higher learning a bequest.
As an undergraduate, I came to grasp what Churchill meant
when he said, "Personally, I am always ready to learn, though I
do not always enjoy being taught." Well, for nearly
half-a-century, this Fund has taught, so that America could
learn, the gentler impulses of mankind.
You have helped society's disadvantaged cast off despair and
poverty. And through such friends as Bill Trent and Frederick D.
Patterson -- and, yes, how we miss him -- you have endorsed
liberty, opportunity, and the dignity of work.
2
But most of all, you have shown how conscience and education
can fulfill the promise of America: to right wrong, love freedom,
and demand equality for all.
For that, I congratulate you -- and yet, I challenge you,
too.
Black and white, together -- we want an America of
affirmative action, and affirmative lives. But America will not
be a good place for any of us to live in until it is a good place
for all of us to live in. Yes, let us reach beyond government, as
you have, to shape our Nation's character. But let us not ignore
government -- for it can nurture the decency which makes human
progress possible.
Most Americans, I'm convinced, believe that government can
be an instrument of healing. And they believe that, at times,
government must step in where others fear to tread.
My friends, I share those beliefs: As President, I will act
on their behalf.
For America, it seems to me, means pride -- individually and
racially. And opportunity for those who need jobs and who dream
of owning homes. America means, in the words of Dr. King, that
"injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." And hope:
the hope that tomorrow will be brighter than today.
Think of America as a congregation. Now, think of its
members as kindness, courage, service, enterprise. What agenda
can best inspire them, and secure the promise of America? You
know the answer, for I've pledged to be the Education President.
And I'll let you in on a secret: I mean exactly what I say.
3
Education knows no barriers, accepts no limits. Education is
a ladder; it embodies self-respect, not dependency. Education can
give minorities a greater voice -- and make sure that voice is
heard.
Since 1944, when Dr. Patterson founded the UNCF, your voice
has resounded from colleges like Tuskegee, Morehouse, Spellman,
and Fisk. And its lyrics have ennobled such Americans as Leontyne
Price, Andrew Young, Frank Yerby, and Azie Taylor Morton.
Well, I'm pleased to tell you: Under our Administration,
your voice will ring yet louder.
As you know, in September 1981, President Reagan signed
Executive Order 12320, committing the Federal government to
increase its support of Historically Black Colleges and
Universities.
Our goal was to identify, and eliminate, unfair barriers to
your participation in Federally-sponsored programs. Our means was
to involve the private sector, and to motivate the 27 Federal
agencies which provide nearly all the Federal funding.
Did it work? Did it ever.
In Fiscal Year 1982, HBCUs received $545 million in Federal
assistance; last year, that sum totaled $684 million. Scientific
research leaped by 38 per cent, and by FY '87 research and
development comprised nearly half of all funding. Our White House
Science and Technology Committee fostered science, mathematics,
and engineering programs and curricula. And our larger HBCU work
attacked the Four Horsemen of the American Night -- illiteracy
and inequality, indigence and fear.
4
Great beginnings, yes. Now, let us build upon them. We have
done much. But there remains -- will always be -- so much more
left to do.
That is why, six weeks ago, I met with 26 Presidents of
HBCUs to probe where we are going, and how. We discussed faculty
development and merit scholarships, community college grants and
institutional planning. In each case, we explored Federal
government support of public/private partnerships, task forces,
conferences, technical assistance, and the use of Federal
research and development funds.
From that meeting, and others like it, came steps which I am
proud to announce tonight, and which will help do, nationally,
what you have done, historically: Enrich education, so that
education can enrich our lives.
I refer to a new Executive Order which I will sign next
week, replacing Executive Order 12320, and which will be
effective immediately.
Specifically:
This Order will create a President's Board of Advisors
on Historically Black Colleges and Universities to reside within
the Department of Education.
Our board will be composed of representatives ot HBCUs,
other institutions of higher learning, of business, finance,
private foundations, and of secondary education. It will review
the annual report of Federal aid to HBCUs. And it will increase
technical assistance and business and foundation support.
5
Secondly, more than ever, this Executive Order will
link HBCUs to the private sector. How? Through your presence on
the Board of Advisors. And through placing HBCUs on the agenda of
the newly created Office of National Service, which will lead my
Administration's community and national-service programs.
We should work together; under this Executive Order, we
will. For example, after listening to your Presidents, I proposed
that Congress fund $60 million over four years in endowment
matching grants for HBCUs. We have put our money on the table.
Now, I challenge the private sector: The time has come for yours.
Our Executive Order will facilitate this approach, and spur
non-Federal involvement in technical assistance and funding.
This Executive Order will also bring more of your
students into Federal internship programs. Our effort will-be
headed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. And
I've asked that Office to also approach Congress about increasing
its number of HBCU interns. With both the executive branch and
the Congress joining hands to increase opportunities, we can give
minority students a special experience today that will enrich
their lives tomorrow.
Fourthly, our Board of Advisors will find ways to
support the long-term faculty endowment plans of each HBCU. For
the pursuit of excellence--student, faculty, and
administrative--is central to America.
My friends, if excellence breeds achievement, that
excellence should be rewarded--in grade school, in high school,
and at our colleges and universities.
6
Accordingly, I want Congress to create a $500-million
program to reward America's "merit schools" the schools which
improve the most. I want it to found special Presidential awards
for the best teachers in every State. And I want the expanded use
of magnet schools -- giving parents and students the freedom of
choice.
Moreover, I propose a new program to encourage "alternative
certification" -- allowing talented Americans from every field to
teach in America's classrooms. Consider that today, in many
areas, a John Updike, an Alex Haley, couldn't qualify to teach
high-school creative writing. When rules are so inflexible that
creativity, talent, and imagination aren't welcome in our
schools, it's time to change the rules.
And through a new program of National Science Scholars, I
seek to give America's youth a special incentive to excel in
science and mathematics. The National Science Foundation predicts
a shortage of 400,000 scientists by the year 2000. Through
excellence in education, we must, and will, reverse that trend.
And, yet, it's not enough. It never is. As Americans, we are
never satisfied. We know that when a dream comes true, it gives
rise to even bigger and better dreams. Perhaps the former Dean of
Howard University, John Mercer Langston, put it best. He wrote,
simply, "Want makes us all work."
Let us work, then, to make America a better place to live,
dream, invest, and build. And let us begin by ending drug abuse.
My friends, drug abuse is America's Twentieth-Century
version of human slavery. It chains the spirit, and imperils the
7
ability to learn. To combat drugs, we must mobilize our resources
-- fiscal, moral, economic -- and wage unconditional war. And we
must fight on every front: education, treatment, interdiction,
enforcement.
Last month, I asked Congress for an increase of $1 billion
in budget outlays to escalate our war. This is a war we must and
will win. The future of our nation and the lives of our children
depend on it.
Earlier, I mentioned the promise of America: hope, pride,
opportunity, justice. A drug-free America fulfills that promise.
So, too, do Enterprise Zones.
Enterprise Zones are a pioneering initiative to establish a
number of Federally-designated zones -- or areas -- in highly
distressed communities. By providing tax breaks and relief from
regulation, they foster a climate where new businesses can be
created, and existing businesses expanded. These businesses
create new jobs, especially for disadvantaged workers.
Already, 31 States have developed Enterprise Zone programs.
It's time we put them to work at the Federal level. Local
communities will benefit. But, more importantly, those who need a
helping hand--the unemployed, the dispossessed--will gain new
hope and opportunity: Not across town, but in their own back
yards.
Enterprise Zones can serve the most vulnerable among us. And
we will assist these other things, as well:
As part of our new child-care initiative, targeted at
low-income families, we have asked for $250 million more for
8
Project Head Start. This Federal program must, and will, serve
increasing numbers of four-year-olds.
For parents with children under four, we've proposed a new
tax credit to make child care more affordable. And we want to
make the existing child care credits refundable to families who
don't pay taxes. Our proposal puts money in the hands of
low-income parents, limits Federal intervention, and increases
options -- a church can help; or grandparents; or professional
nursery. In short, we say: Let the parents decide.
To us, child care means options. Well, so does the privilege
-- the inalienable right -- of every American to live where he
chooses, when he chooses, for as long as he chooses, and can
afford to do so. It's as simple as it sounds -- a simple matter
of what's right, and what's wrong. Under this Administration, you
have my pledge: We will enforce the letter and the spirit of the
Federal Fair Housing Act.
Finally, four days ago, the Office of Minority Business
Enterprise, renamed the Minority Business Development Agency,
marked its 20th birthday. We will expand its involvement in the
free enterprise system. And we'll promote other programs which
spur housing, investment, jobs, and training. The Jobs Training
Partnership Act, for instance. The Minority Youth Training
Initiative. The SBA.
Yes, hope, pride, opportunity, justice. I thought of those
qualities when I received a letter, recently, from a mother in
New Orleans. She is 48 years old, and widowed. She has four sons,
9
and her family is in debt. But they are proud and unafraid,
because education is their ally.
The mother is pursuing a Masters Degree in Social Work; last
year, her eldest son graduated from the University of Chicago.
And the three other kids are college students -- including, she
wrote, "the baby of the family: a 6-foot-6, 240-pound freshman at
Grambling State University."
"I implore you, the mother asked, "to think about
people such as myself and my sons." And then she added: "P.S.
We're black but optimistic that we can be a part of the American
Dream. "
My friends, I want an America where this dedicated mother
does not have to choose between "black" and "optimistic." The
words are not mutually exclusive -- not a contradiction in terms.
And I want our policies to serve and encourage this family, and
millions like it everywhere. Because they reflect the promise of
America
and we must help make it a reality.
The promise of America says that by assuring equality, we
can enhance greater opportunity. It says that our destiny is not
divisible, and that we are children of the same humane and loving
God.
The promise of America demands that we aid our communities
and assist our neighbors. It rests less on promises and
politicians than on the primacy of the heart.
The promise of America knows neither race, creed, sex, or
color. It is collective and individual, and as boundless as our
history. The promise of America says that government is but a
10
custodian of America's future -- but that you -- the people --
you are her architects.
Dr. Benjamin E. Mays once observed, "It must be borne in
mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your
goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach."
My fellow citizens, to open wide the door of opportunity and
equality to all Americans -- this is our goal, and the true
promise of America. Let us achieve it, together, as Americans and
as friends.
Thank you for inviting me, God bless you all, and God bless
the United States of America.
# # #
3) Tues.
Newman 1 No comments
on United Negro Fund
Via phone toke.
3/7 No comment
/
on ON
\
proceder
014059 SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
07 MAR 1989
3/7/89
3/7/89 2:00 PM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
STUDDERT
BATES
UNTERMEYER
POGERS
BREEDEN
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
PINKERTON
DEMAREST
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, by 2:00 PM TODAY, March 7, 1989, with an info copy to my
office. Thanks.
Come
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext
what about See Sulliven?
1989 MAR
(Smith)
March 6, 1989
9:00 pm
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
United Negro College Fund
New York, NY
Thursday, March 9, 1989
Congressman Hawkins, Mr. Rawl, Mr. Simon, ladies and
gentlemen, my fellow citizens.
Thank you for that introduction, and for the warmth of your
reception. Paul Simon once wrote a song titled, simply, "Old
Friends." Tonight, flanked by old friends and, in a real sense,
family, I am grateful for your company.
Our paths first crossed many years ago, when I was an
organizer for the United Negro College Fund during my student
days at Yale. It was there that I first saw the Fund invest in
higher education, and in America. Then, as now, it insisted that
we
excellence become a way of life, and higher learning a bequest.
As an undergraduate, I came to grasp what Churchill meant
quote sue
when he said, "Personally, I am always ready to learn, though I
him
do not always enjoy being taught." Well, for nearly
frequenth
half-a-century, this Fund has taught, so that America could
learn, the gentler impulses of mankind.
You have helped society's disadvantaged cast off despair and
poverty. And through such friends as Bill Trent and Frederick D.
Patterson -- and, yes, how we miss him -- you have endorsed
liberty, opportunity, and the dignity of work.
2
But most of all, you have shown how conscience and education
can fulfill the promise of America: to right wrong, love freedom,
and demand equality for all.
For that, I congratulate you -- and yet, I challenge you,
too.
Black and white, together -- we want an America of
affirmative action, and affirmative lives. But America will not
be a good place for any of us to in until it is a good place
for all of us to live in. Yes, let us reach beyond government, as
you have, to shape our Nation's character. But let us not ignore
government -- for it can nurture the decency which makes human
progress possible.
Most Americans, I'm convinced, believe that government can
be an instrument of healing. And they believe that, at times,
government must step in where others fear to tread.
My friends, I share those beliefs: As President, I will act
on their behalf.
For America, it seems to me, means pride -- individually and
racially. And opportunity for those who need jobs and who dream
of owning homes. America means, in the words of Dr. King, that
"injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." And hope:
the hope that tomorrow will be brighter than today.
Think of America as a congregation. Now, think of its
members as kindness, courage, service, enterprise. What agenda
can best inspire them, and secure the promise of America? You
know the answer, for I've pledged to be the Education President.
And I'll let you in on a secret: I mean exactly what I say.
3
Inthinkable and
Education knows no barriers, accepts no limits. Education is
a ladder; it embodies self-respect, not dependency. Education can
Outrageous to include
give minorities a greater voice -- and make sure that voice is
heard.
him...
Since 1944, when Dr. Patterson founded the UNCF, your voice
should Noway
has resounded from colleges like Tuskegee, Morehouse, Spellman,
the ver
and Fisk. And its lyrics have ennobled such Americans as Leontyne
recoquize
Price, Andrew Young, Frank Yerby, and Azie Taylor Morton.
what about
him him!! !!
Well, I'm pleased to tell you: Under our Administration,
oursecof
your voice will ring yet louder.
HHS
As you know, in September 1981, President Reagan signed
what
about
an Executive Order 12320, committing the Federal government to
a woman
increase its support of Historically Black Colleges and
Universities.
Our goal was to identify, and eliminate, unfair barriers to
your participation in Federally-sponsored programs. Our means was
to involve the private sector, and to motivate the 27 Federal
agencies which provide nearly all the Federal funding.
Did it work? Did it ever.
acronymns!)
In Fiscal Year 1982, HBCUs received $545 million in Federal
assistance; last year, that sum totaled $684 million. Scientific
research leaped by 38 per cent, and by FY '87 research and
development comprised nearly half of all funding. Our White House
Science and Technology Committee fostered science, mathematics,
and engineering programs and curricula. And our larger HBCU work
attacked the Four Horsemen of the American Night -- illiteracy
and inequality, indigence and fear.
4
Great beginnings, yes. Now, let us build upon them. We have
done much. But there remains -- will always be -- so much more
left to do.
That is why, six weeks ago, I met with 26 Presidents of
HBCUs to probe where we are going, and how. We discussed faculty
development and merit scholarships, community college grants and
institutional planning. In each case, we explored Federal
government support of public/private partnerships, task forces,
conferences, technical assistance, and the use of Federal
research and development funds.
From that meeting, and others like it, came steps which I am
proud to announce tonight, and which will help do, nationally,
what you have done, historically: Enrich education, so that
education can enrich our lives.
I refer to a new Executive Order which I will sign next
week, replacing Executive Order 12320, and which will be
effective immediately.
Specifically:
o
This Order will create a President's Board of Advisors
on Historically Black Colleges and Universities to reside within
the Department of Education.
Our board will be composed of representatives ot HBCUs,
other institutions of higher learning, of business, finance,
private foundations, and of secondary education. It will review
the annual report of Federal aid to HBCUs. And it will increase
technical assistance and business and foundation support.
5
Secondly, more than ever, this Executive Order will
link HBCUs to the private sector. How? Through your presence on
the Board of Advisors. And through placing HBCUs on the agenda of
the newly created Office of National Service, which will lead my
Administration's community and national-service programs.
We should work together; under this Executive Order, we
will. For example, after listening to your Presidents, I proposed
that Congress fund $60 million over four years in endowment
matching grants for HBCUs. We have put our money on the table.
Now, I challenge the private sector: The time has come for yours.
Our Executive Order will facilitate this approach, and spur
non-Federal involvement in technical assistance and funding.
This Executive Order will also bring more of your
students into Federal internship programs. Our effort will be
headed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. And
wewill
I've asked that Office to also approach Congress about increasing
its number of HBCU interns. With both the executive branch and
the Congress joining hands to increase opportunities, we can give
minority students a special experience today that will enrich
their lives tomorrow.
O
Fourthly, our Board of Advisors will find ways to
support the long-term faculty endowment plans of each HBCU. For
the pursuit of excellence--student, faculty, and
administrative--is central to America.
My friends, if excellence breeds achievement, that
excellence should be rewarded--in grade school, in high school,
and at our colleges and universities.
6
7
have ashed
Accordingly, I want Congress to create a $500-million
program to reward America's "merit schools" the schools which
improve the most. I want it to found special Presidential awards
for the best teachers in every State. And I want the expanded use
of magnet schools -- giving parents and students the freedom of
choice.
have
Moreover, Apropose a new program to encourage "alternative
certification" -- allowing talented Americans from every field to
teach in America's classrooms. Consider that today, in many
areas, a John Updike, an Alex Haley, couldn't qualify to teach
high-school creative writing. When rules are so inflexible that
creativity, talent, and imagination aren't welcome in our
schools, it's time to change the rules.
And through a new program of National Science Scholars, I
seek to give America's youth a special incentive to excel in
science and mathematics. The National Science Foundation predicts
a shortage of 400,000 scientists by the year 2000. Through
excellence in education, we must, and will, reverse that trend.
And, yet, it's not enough. It never is. As Americans, we are
never satisfied. We know that when a dream comes true, it gives
rise to even bigger and better dreams. Perhaps the former Dean of
Howard University, John Mercer Langston, put it best. He wrote,
simply, "Want makes us all work."
Let us work, then, to make America a better place to live,
dream, invest, and build. And let us begin by ending drug abuse.
My friends, drug abuse is America's Twentieth-Century
version of human slavery. It chains the spirit, and imperils the
spiritual
7
ability to learn To combat drugs, we must mobilize our resources
-- fiscal, moral, economic -- and wage unconditional war. And we
must fight on every front: education, treatment, interdiction,
enforcement.
Last month, I asked Congress for an increase of $1 billion
in budget outlays to escalate our war. This is a war we must and
will win. The future of our nation and the lives of our children
depend on it.
Earlier, I mentioned the promise of America: hope, pride,
opportunity, justice. A drug-free America fulfills that promise.
So, too, do Enterprise Zones.
Enterprise Zones are a pioneering initiative to establish a
number of Federally-designated zones -- or areas -- in highly
distressed communities. By providing tax breaks and relief from
regulation, they foster a climate where new businesses can be
created, and existing businesses expanded. These businesses
create new jobs, especially for disadvantaged workers.
Already, 31 States have developed Enterprise Zone programs.
It's time we put them to work at the Federal level. Local
communities will benefit. But, more importantly, those who need a
helping hand--the unemployed, the dispossessed--will gain new
hope and opportunity: Not across town, but in their own back
yards.
Enterprise Zones can serve the most vulnerable among us. And
we will assist these other things, as well:
As part of our new child-care initiative, targeted at
low-income families, we have asked for $250 million more for
8
Project Head Start. This Federal program must, and will, serve
increasing numbers of four-year-olds.
For parents with children under four, we've proposed a new
tax credit to make child care more affordable. And we want to
make the existing child care credits refundable to families who
don't pay taxes. Our my proposal puts money in the hands of
low-income parents, limits Federal intervention, and increases
options -- a church can help; or grandparents; or professional
nursery. In short, we say: Let the parents decide.
To us, child care means options. Well, so does the privilege
-- the inalienable right -- of every American to live where he
Does
this
chooses, when he chooses, for as long as he chooses, and can
mply
we
afford to do so. It's as simple as it sounds -- a simple matter
can
choose
of what's right, and what's wrong. Under this Administration, you
our
life
have my pledge: We will enforce the letter and the spirit of the
ength?
Federal Fair Housing Act.
Finally, four days ago, the Office of Minority Business
Enterprise, renamed the Minority Business Development Agency,
marked its 20th birthday. We will expand its involvement in the
free enterprise system. And we'll promote other programs which
spur housing, investment, jobs, and training. The Jobs Training
Partnership Act, for instance. The Minority Youth Training
Initiative. The SBA
?
Yes, hope, pride, opportunity, justice. I thought of those
qualities when I received a letter, recently, from a mother in
New Orleans. She is 48 years old, and widowed. She has four sons,
9
and her family is in debt. But they are proud and unafraid,
because education is their ally.
The mother is pursuing a Masters Degree in Social Work; last
year, her eldest son graduated from the University of Chicago.
And the three other kids are college students -- including, she
wrote, "the baby of the family: a 6-foot-6, 240-pound freshman at
Grambling State University."
"I implore you, the mother asked, "to think about
people such as myself and my sons." And then she added: "P.S.
We're black but optimistic that we can be a part of the American
Dream."
My friends, I want an America where this dedicated mother
does not have to choose between "black" and "optimistic." The
words are not mutually exclusive -- not a contradiction in terms.
And I want our policies to serve and encourage this family, and
millions like it everywhere. Because they reflect the promise of
America
and we must help make it a reality.
The promise of America says that by assuring equality, we
can enhance greater opportunity. It says that our destiny is not
divisible, and that we are children of the same humane and loving
God.
The promise of America demands that we aid our communities
and assist our neighbors. It rests less on promises and
politicians than on the primacy of the heart.
The promise of America knows neither race, creed, sex, or
color. It is collective and individual, and as boundless as our
history. The promise of America says that government is but a
10
custodian of America's future -- but that you -- the people --
you are her architects.
Dr. Benjamin E. Mays once observed, "It must be borne in
mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your
goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach."
My fellow citizens, to open wide the door of opportunity and
equality to all Americans -- this is our goal, and the true
promise of America. Let us achieve it, together, as Americans and
as friends.
Thank you for inviting me, God bless you all, and God bless
the United States of America.
###
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March 7, 1989
Memorandum to Chriss Winston
From:
Jim Pinkerton
Re:
UNCF Speech
A few comments.
Page 1, graf 4, line 5 It seems to me that we ought to
seize every opportunity to increase the resonance of the "kinder,
gentler" phrase. So I would add "kinder."
2,2,1 What are we "challenging" the audience to do? I
think we should challenge the audience to work with us to enact
Enterprise Zones, fight drugs, etc. If we are going to do this,
however, we should rethink the speech somewhat.
2,7,1 I don't think the repetition of "think" works
well rhetorically. I would start the second sentence with
"And its members
"
2,7,4 The rhetorical question ("What agenda?") is fine,
but the follow-up sentence is too coy. The President may know
the answer, but the answer is not self-evident because the took
the pledge to be the E.P. I would simplify this passage into:
"I say education is the answer
"
5,5,1-2 The phrase "if excellence breeds achievement"
throws the listener. The sentence would read better if it simply
said "My friends, excellence should be rewarded
"
I
would
move the "excellence breeds achievement" phrase to the fourth
graf of page 6, where talk about dreams, etc.
6,4,5 I don't think this is a very inspiring quote. Not at all.
6,5,1-2 Same point I made in the first comment re: page 1.
Why not turn "make America a better place to live
"
into "Building
a Better America"?
6,6,1-2 Picking up on the "challenge" we issued on p.2;
here's where the President, after telling the audience what he's
going to do for them, should turn the tables and ask for something
in return.
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March 7, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
FROM:
WILLIAM L. ROPER W2R
SUBJECT:
Draft Presidential Remarks: United Negro College
Fund
I have reviewed the draft remarks for the UNCF event. The
tone and spirit is very appropriate.
Here are a series of comments:
Page 2, paragraph 6, add culturally to the litany about
American pride, thusly: "individually, culturally,
and racially.'
Page 6, paragraph 2, check to make certain that neither
Updike nor Haley had teacher certificates.
Page 8, paragraph 1, strike the word "Project" from the
sentence about Head Start. It is the Head Start
Program.
Page 8, paragraph 3, change the last sentence about
Fair Housing to: "We will vigorously enforce the
Federal Fair Housing Act." "
The most substantive comment I have deals with the pledge in
the speech for a new executive order on historically black
colleges and universities. The order will not be ready to go by
Thursday, so I suggest the following changes to the text:
Page 4, paragraph 3, change "announce" to "herald."
out
paragraph 4, change to "
which I will shortly
sign
"
paragraph 5, strike the remainder of the page.
Page 5, insert at the top, "My new Executive Order will
build on the strengths of the past, and will launch
but
several new activities. It will provide the framework for
federal efforts and will facilitate linkages to the
private sector's efforts."
-2-
Page 5, strike paragraphs 1, 3, 4, and the last sentence of
2.
To summarize, this would have him saying that he will
shortly sign a new EO; it gives a brief summary statement; it
calls for working with the private sector.
I would be happy to discuss these with you.
CC: James W. Cicconi
(Smith)
March 6, 1989
9:00 pm
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
United Negro College Fund
New York, NY
Thursday, March 9, 1989
Congressman Hawkins, Mr. Rawl, Mr. Simon, ladies and
gentlemen, my fellow citizens.
Thank you for that introduction, and for the warmth of your
reception. Paul Simon once wrote a song titled, simply, "Old
Friends." Tonight, flanked by old friends and, in a real sense,
family, I am grateful for your company.
Our paths first crossed many years ago, when I was an
organizer for the United Negro College Fund during my student
days at Yale. It was there that I first saw the Fund invest in
higher education, and in America. Then, as now, it insisted that
excellence become a way of life, and higher learning a bequest.
As an undergraduate, I came to grasp what Churchill meant
when he said, "Personally, I am always ready to learn, though I
do not always enjoy being taught." Well, for nearly
half-a-century, this Fund has taught, so that America could
learn, the gentler impulses of mankind.
You have helped society's disadvantaged cast off despair and
poverty. And through such friends as Bill Trent and Frederick D.
Patterson -- and, yes, how we miss him -- you have endorsed
liberty, opportunity, and the dignity of work.
2
But most of all, you have shown how conscience and education
can fulfill the promise of America: to right wrong, love freedom,
and demand equality for all.
For that, I congratulate you -- and yet, I challenge you,
too.
Black and white, together -- we want an America of
affirmative action, and affirmative lives. But America will not
be a good place for any of us to live in until it is a good place
for all of us to live in. Yes, let us reach beyond government, as
you have, to shape our Nation's character. But let us not ignore
government -- for it can nurture the decency which makes human
progress possible.
Most Americans, I'm convinced, believe that government can
be an instrument of healing. And they believe that, at times,
government must step in where others fear to tread.
My friends, I share those beliefs: As President, I will act
on their behalf.
For America, it seems to me, means pride -- individually and
racially. And opportunity for those who need jobs and who dream
of owning homes. America means, in the words of Dr. King, that
"injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." And hope:
the hope that tomorrow will be brighter than today.
Think of America as a congregation. Now, think of its
members as kindness, courage, service, enterprise. What agenda
can best inspire them, and secure the promise of America? You
know the answer, for I've pledged to be the Education President.
And I'll let you in on a secret: I mean exactly what I say.
3
Education knows no barriers, accepts no limits. Education is
a ladder; it embodies self-respect, not dependency. Education can
give minorities a greater voice -- and make sure that voice is
heard.
Since 1944, when Dr. Patterson founded the UNCF, your voice
has resounded from colleges like Tuskegee, Morehouse, Spellman,
and Fisk. And its lyrics have ennobled such Americans as Leontyne
Price, Andrew Young, Frank Yerby, and Azie Taylor Morton.
Well, I'm pleased to tell you: Under our Administration,
your voice will ring yet louder.
As you know, in September 1981, President Reagan signed
Executive Order 12320, committing the Federal government to
increase its support of Historically Black Colleges and
Universities.
Our goal was to identify, and eliminate, unfair barriers to
your participation in Federally-sponsored programs. Our means was
to involve the private sector, and to motivate the 27 Federal
agencies which provide nearly all the Federal funding.
Did it work? Did it ever.
In Fiscal Year 1982, HBCUs received $545 million in Federal
assistance; last year, that sum totaled $684 million. Scientific
research leaped by 38 per cent, and by FY '87 research and
development comprised nearly half of all funding. Our White House
Science and Technology Committee fostered science, mathematics,
and engineering programs and curricula. And our larger HBCU work
attacked the Four Horsemen of the American Night -- illiteracy
and inequality, indigence and fear.
4
Great beginnings, yes. Now, let us build upon them. We have
done much. But there remains -- will always be -- so much more
left to do.
That is why, six weeks ago, I met with 26 Presidents of
HBCUs to probe where we are going, and how. We discussed faculty
development and merit scholarships, community college grants and
institutional planning. In each case, we explored Federal
government support of public/private partnerships, task forces,
conferences, technical assistance, and the use of Federal
research and development funds.
From that meeting, and others like it, came steps which I am
proud to announce tonight, and which will help do, nationally,
what you have done, historically: Enrich education, so that
education can enrich our lives.
I refer to a new Executive Order which I will sign next
week, replacing Executive Order 12320, and which will be
effective immediately.
Specifically:
O
This Order will create a President's Board of Advisors
on Historically Black Colleges and Universities to reside within
the Department of Education.
Our board will be composed of representatives ot HBCUs,
other institutions of higher learning, of business, finance,
private foundations, and of secondary education. It will review
the annual report of Federal aid to HBCUs. And it will increase
technical assistance and business and foundation support.
5
Secondly, more than ever, this Executive Order will
link HBCUs to the private sector. How? Through your presence on
the Board of Advisors. And through placing HBCUs on the agenda of
the newly created Office of National Service, which will lead my
Administration's community and national-service programs.
We should work together; under this Executive Order, we
will. For example, after listening to your Presidents, I proposed
that Congress fund $60 million over four years in endowment
matching grants for HBCUs. We have put our money on the table.
Now, I challenge the private sector: The time has come for yours.
Our Executive Order will facilitate this approach, and spur
non-Federal involvement in technical assistance and funding.
This Executive Order will also bring more of your
students into Federal internship programs. Our effort will be
headed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. And
I've asked that Office to also approach Congress about increasing
its number of HBCU interns. With both the executive branch and
the Congress joining hands to increase opportunities, we can give
minority students a special experience today that will enrich
their lives tomorrow.
Fourthly, our Board of Advisors will find ways to
support the long-term faculty endowment plans of each HBCU. For
the pursuit of excellence--student, faculty, and
administrative--is central to America.
My friends, if excellence breeds achievement, that
excellence should be rewarded--in grade school, in high school,
and at our colleges and universities.
6
Accordingly, I want Congress to create a $500-million
program to reward America's "merit schools" the schools which
improve the most. I want it to found special Presidential awards
for the best teachers in every State. And I want the expanded use
of magnet schools -- giving parents and students the freedom of
choice.
Moreover, I propose a new program to encourage "alternative
certification" -- allowing talented Americans from every field to
teach in America's classrooms. Consider that today, in many
areas, a John Updike, an Alex Haley, couldn't qualify to teach
high-school creative writing. When rules are so inflexible that
creativity, talent, and imagination aren't welcome in our
schools, it's time to change the rules.
And through a new program of National Science Scholars, I
seek to give America's youth a special incentive to excel in
science and mathematics. The National Science Foundation predicts
a shortage of 400,000 scientists by the year 2000. Through
excellence in education, we must, and will, reverse that trend.
And, yet, it's not enough. It never is. As Americans, we are
never satisfied. We know that when a dream comes true, it gives
rise to even bigger and better dreams. Perhaps the former Dean of
Howard University, John Mercer Langston, put it best. He wrote,
simply, "Want makes us all work."
Let us work, then, to make America a better place to live,
dream, invest, and build. And let us begin by ending drug abuse.
My friends, drug abuse is America's Twentieth-Century
version of human slavery. It chains the spirit, and imperils the
7
ability to learn. To combat drugs, we must mobilize our resources
-- fiscal, moral, economic -- and wage unconditional war. And we
must fight on every front: education, treatment, interdiction,
enforcement.
Last month, I asked Congress for an increase of $1 billion
in budget outlays to escalate our war. This is a war we must and
will win. The future of our nation and the lives of our children
depend on it.
Earlier, I mentioned the promise of America: hope, pride,
opportunity, justice. A drug-free America fulfills that promise.
So, too, do Enterprise Zones.
Enterprise Zones are a pioneering initiative to establish a
number of Federally-designated zones -- or areas -- in highly
distressed communities. By providing tax breaks and relief from
regulation, they foster a climate where new businesses can be
created, and existing businesses expanded. These businesses
create new jobs, especially for disadvantaged workers.
Already, 31 States have developed Enterprise Zone programs.
It's time we put them to work at the Federal level. Local
communities will benefit. But, more importantly, those who need a
helping hand--the unemployed, the dispossessed--will gain new
hope and opportunity: Not across town, but in their own back
yards.
Enterprise Zones can serve the most vulnerable among us. And
we will assist these other things, as well:
As part of our new child-care initiative, targeted at
low-income families, we have asked for $250 million more for
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Project Head Start. This Federal program must, and will, serve
increasing numbers of four-year-olds.
For parents with children under four, we've proposed a new
tax credit to make child care more affordable. And we want to
make the existing child care credits refundable to families who
don't pay taxes. Our proposal puts money in the hands of
low-income parents, limits Federal intervention, and increases
options -- a church can help; or grandparents; or professional
nursery. In short, we say: Let the parents decide.
To us, child care means options. Well, so does the privilege
-- the inalienable right -- of every American to live where he
chooses, when he chooses, for as long as he chooses, and can
afford to do so. It's as simple as it sounds -- a simple matter
of what's right, and what's wrong. Under this Administration, you
have my pledge: We will enforce the letter and the spirit of the
Federal Fair Housing Act.
Finally, four days ago, the Office of Minority Business
Enterprise, renamed the Minority Business Development Agency,
marked its 20th birthday. We will expand its involvement in the
free enterprise system. And we'll promote other programs which
spur housing, investment, jobs, and training. The Jobs Training
Partnership Act, for instance. The Minority Youth Training
Initiative. The SBA.
Yes, hope, pride, opportunity, justice. I thought of those
qualities when I received a letter, recently, from a mother in
New Orleans. She is 48 years old, and widowed. She has four sons,
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and her family is in debt. But they are proud and unafraid,
because education is their ally.
The mother is pursuing a Masters Degree in Social Work; last
year, her eldest son graduated from the University of Chicago.
And the three other kids are college students -- including, she
wrote, "the baby of the family: a 6-foot-6, 240-pound freshman at
Grambling State University."
"I implore you, the mother asked, "to think about
...
people such as myself and my sons." And then she added: "P.S.
We're black but optimistic that we can be a part of the American
Dream. "
My friends, I want an America where this dedicated mother
does not have to choose between "black" and "optimistic." The
words are not mutually exclusive -- not a contradiction in terms.
And I want our policies to serve and encourage this family, and
millions like it everywhere. Because they reflect the promise of
America
and we must help make it a reality.
The promise of America says that by assuring equality, we
can enhance greater opportunity. It says that our destiny is not
divisible, and that we are children of the same humane and loving
God.
The promise of America demands that we aid our communities
and assist our neighbors. It rests less on promises and
politicians than on the primacy of the heart.
The promise of America knows neither race, creed, sex, or
color. It is collective and individual, and as boundless as our
history. The promise of America says that government is but a
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custodian of America's future -- but that you -- the people --
you are her architects.
Dr. Benjamin E. Mays once observed, "It must be borne in
mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your
goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach."
My fellow citizens, to open wide the door of opportunity and
equality to all Americans -- this is our goal, and the true
promise of America. Let us achieve it, together, as Americans and
as friends.
Thank you for inviting me, God bless you all, and God bless
the United States of America.
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