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NAACP Fundraising 12/15/89 [OA 3540] [2]
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097233SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
12/13/89
12/13/89 5:00 PM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NAACP
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
WINSTON
DEMAREST
PINKERTON
BOSKIN
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, no later than 5:00 PM TODAY, December 13, with a copy to
my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
S.R.
Thousand Points has focused
in areas that affect be
minor, ties It may
James W. Cicconi
worthwhile to include and Assistant Deputy Ext. to to the the 2702 Chief President of Staff
mention here with some
examples, etc.
Davis/Martin
Title: NAACP
1989 DEC 13 AM 9: 05
Dec. 12, 1989
Draft: Four
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: NAACP FUNDRAISING, WALDORF, NEW YORK
Friday, December 15, 1989
( (Maybe we should take our act on the road. They can bill
us as: "The Coz and Mister Smooth. ))\\
Ben Hooks, good to see you again. David Dinkins, Doug
Wilder, congratulations on your victories. Governor Cuomo, great
to be back in New York ((other acknowledgements to come.) )
Lionel Hampton -- thank you. Good vibes from a good
friend.
((You know, when I was ambassador to the United Nations,
Barbara and I lived in this very hotel, in room 42 A. And
whenever I complained about anything, Barbara would just roll her
eyes and say: "Just where do you think we live? The Waldorf
Astoria?") )
All in all, this is a wonderful evening, a time when
Americans from different professions and political parties can
come together to celebrate common ideals.
Nowhere are these ideals more visible than in the commitment
and social concerns of this great association. Since the early
days of the Niagara Movement, the NAACP has challenged the
conscience of a nation. You have provided leadership -- not just
for one people within America -- but for all of America.
2
Your leadership was born of troubled times, and sharpened by
adversity. You've known persecution, and through it, you gained
compassion. You've been without power, and through it, you won
empowerment. You've suffered the ignorance and bigotry of small
minds, and because of them, you built pride and respect.
Go to Montgomery, Alabama, today. Stand before the granite
wall of the new civil rights memorial. And through a veil of
flowing water you will read these words from the Bible:
II
let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty
stream.
Like a mighty river, justice can cut a channel through the
hardest of stone. Like a mighty river seeking the sea, justice
will, in the end, find fulfillment. It has been slow in coming.
It has been impeded. But its journey is inexorable because
justice cannot be denied.
Because of the activism of the NAACP, justice is on the
rise. On November 17, I met with Ben and the leaders of the
other major civil rights organizations. You challenged me with
the highest ideals of your movement. Now let me challenge you to
work with me and my Cabinet, from this day forward, on a campaign
to build a better America.
I seek a new partnership, one that draws inspiration from
the achievement of the civil rights and Solidarity movements.
For after all, from the country roads of Selma twenty years ago
to the city streets of Eastern Europe today, a common refrain
echoes through the history of our times: "We shall overcome."
3
Has the world known more improbable heroes than Rosa Parks and
Lech Walesa? But make no mistake, heroes they are.
So let us emulate them by working together. For in
solidarity, we can reasonably hope that in the new century, just
a decade away, we will finally attain the fondest dream of the
founders of the NAACP -- a society blind to bigotry, a society
open to all. 11
The fight against discrimination has been the historic
mission of the civil rights movement -- a mission that has yet to
be completely fulfilled. That is why I reauthorized the Civil
Rights Commission. ((And that is why I have a surprise for you
tonight in announcing a major appointment -- that of ((name)) to
the Civil Rights Commission. He is a good man. He deserves your
support. ))\\
But I am told by many of you that there are other missions
for the civil rights movement in the 1990s. From now on, the
protection of civil rights must also mean the removal of all
barriers to opportunity.
Of course, the barriers to opportunity for black Americans
were much more prevalent in the past, even in the recent past.
From 1973 to 1981, black employment growth lagged behind that of
whites. And real black income declined sharply between 1973 to
1981 -- even as government was spending more on new social
programs.
But black Americans have enjoyed enormous employment and
income gains during the 1980s. Disparities remain, but they've
4
been narrowed by the rate of progress. Since 1981, black
employment has grown 27 percent -- nearly twice the 15 percent
growth in white employment. Between 1981 and 1988, the real
median income for black families has grown 12 percent, compared
with 10.5 percent for white families.
Some would say this signals the victory of the War on
Poverty. But we know better. It was in 1965 that Lyndon Johnson
declared his war -- a war of liberation -- a war he said was a
struggle not to simply support people, but a struggle to give
people a chance. It was a noble effort, but despite of all the
good news I just relayed to you, the War on Poverty fell short.
It fell short because the cruelest forms of poverty cannot be
fought with dollars alone.
First and foremost -- there is a poverty of the spirit.
Government can't teach young men and women to have faith in
themselves if their mothers and fathers have lost all faith.
Government can't teach that achievement is to be found in quiet
moments and subtle rewards, instead of the murderous materialism
of easy drug money. But, in a new solidarity, we can teach these
values -- as leaders, as parents, as communities working with our
churches.
Let me give you another example of another form of poverty -
- the higher incidence of disease and early death in the black
community is a kind of poverty, a poverty of health. Cancer,
strokes, heart disease -- all afflict black Americans in greater
proportions. This shameful disparity in the health of black
5
Americans is the foremost concern of our Secretary of Health and
Human Services, Doctor Louis Sullivan. And so let us tonight to
join in solidarity against disease and early death.
There are other forms of poverty. When people, going about
the ordinary business of their lives -- waiting for a bus,
walking to a corner grocery store -- must fear for their lives --
then fear has stolen a most precious possession -- their freedom.
Last week, in Houston, I saw such a community when I
revisited the district I represented as a Congressman. I also
saw a community that had enough of fear, had enough of crime, had
enough of dope. Just as the people of Berlin are standing up for
freedom, so the people of this poor Houston neighborhood are
rallying together, using people power to fight for another kind
of freedom -- freedom from fear, crime and drugs. Their journey
to this freedom is long and hard. But you and I must march with
them in solidarity, side by side, block by block, city by city.
Let us declare tonight our new solidarity against drugs.
Then there is yet another kind of poverty, a growing poverty
of knowledge and skills.
A whole generation of young men and women in this country -
white, as well as black -- are simply not learning -- not
learning -- the basic skills they need to hold down a job or to
raise a family. That is a national disgrace. For the first
time in history, we face the prospect that the sons and daughters
of America could be less educated than their mothers and fathers.
6
Well, let me tell you -- that is unacceptable and this
President is not going to sit by and watch that happen.
Neither will American business, because business needs new
talent as never before. There is a coming labor shortage in this
country, of a kind which we have rarely seen before. Women,
minorities and immigrants will comprise eight out of ten new
entrants into the job market. Yet the new service and
manufacturing industries will also require higher skills, more
training and, at the very least, literacy. Education -- quality
education is a prerequisite to making a decent living in America.
So we must work together, as never before, to reform our
schools. Our mission must be to find a way to bring knowledge
and enlightenment to a new generation of Americans. Let us stand
in solidarity for the liberation of young minds.
You know my proposals. First, I believe parents deserve
choice. They deserve the power to choose their children's child-
care, whether that means a grandparent or a church-affiliated
center. And then they deserve the power to choose their
children's school.
And where disadvantaged children are concerned, Congress
wants to provide an increase of $151 million in the funding of
Head Start to serve up to 37,500 more eligible 4-year-olds. I
want to go further. I challenge Congress to increase Head Start
funding by $250 million, to serve up to 95,000 more children.
To provide opportunity to our young people, we need new and
innovative economic tools. The training wage, just passed by
7
Congress, is one such tool. But we need more, much more, from
enterprise zones, to merit pay and magnet schools, to more
effective programs to fight illiteracy. And I believe you are
aware of my many actions this year to strengthen and support the
Historically Black Colleges and Universities of America. In all
these measures and so much more, I want and need your active
support, your solidarity.
( (Ben, as a Baptist minister, I'm sure you heard the story
of the young preacher who was well into a sermon, and more than a
little nervous about how he was doing, when he noticed his wife
in the congregation holding up a little sign with the word "Kiss"
scrawled on it. Inspired, he went on to speak for another half
hour, and afterwards, asked his wife what she thought of the
sermon. "Awful," she said. "Don't you know what I mean by
'Kiss.' It stands for 'Keep It Short Stupid. '"))
So in this same spirit, I want to say something in
conclusion, but straight from the heart. In November, we started
a new era of cooperation, the first of many working sessions on
the problems that plague America. Now is no time for mere
politics. Now is the time to band together -- not for our sake -
- not for temporary partisan gain -- but in solidarity, for
generations to come.
When I talk to young people about what they want out of
life, one word keeps cropping up -- adventure. The generation
that is coming of age today is poised for a truly great
adventure. The world they will know will be as different from
8
today's world as ours is from that of W.E.B. Du Bois. Winds of
freedom are sweeping the globe. New democracies are being born.
Technology is leading us toward new worlds. And Americans must
be prepared, as never before, to provide the leadership for the
new century.
To take the lead, young Americans must be healthy, in body
and mind. They must be ready, in knowledge and purpose. They
must be free of soul-sapping poverty. And they must be free from
discrimination.
I spoke earlier of the Biblical proverb that compared
righteousness to a mighty stream. This same vision can be found
in a poem by Langston Hughes, who compared the odyssey of black
men and women to the crossing of many rivers. And with each
crossing, their souls have grown deep -- deep, like the rivers.
This odyssey shaped the soul of a people, and because of
your leadership, it also shaped the soul of our nation. Thank
you, God bless you, and God bless America.
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
December 13, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
FROM:
AUSTEN FURSE A7
SUBJECT:
NAACP Draft Speech
The current draft succeeds in shifting our stance away from
simply repeating the Administration's position on affirmative
action and quotas and instead moves toward a positive, concrete
agenda on civil rights.
Making the connection between Eastern Europe and the
domestic challenges in the U.S. serves to strengthen this aspect
not just because it is topical, but because it underscores the
hopefulness of individual aspiration, (as did the "people power"
rhetoric in the Acres Homes speech), it raises the resonant
theme of individual empowerment which we have captured from Left;
and it subtly hints that, at a fundamental level, the forces of
decentralization and an economy based on knowledge are operating
both in Eastern Europe and here at home. The "solidarity"
language, in short, is a deft stroke.
The draft could be made even more pro-active, while avoiding
the inadvertent creation of new policy, by fleshing out three
particular points:
pg. 4, para. 3, line 2 "Government can't teach young men and
women to have faith in themselves if their mothers and fathers
have lost all faith."
This sentence poses the danger of sounding as if the
President is being patronizing, and invites the charge of
"blaming the victim." It also makes the problem of "poverty of
spirit" one of lack of self-esteem, whereas inner-city drug
dealers, for example, are not famous for their lack of "faith in
themselves. Accordingly, we suggest addressing poverty of
spirit in terms of personal character, e.g.,
"Government can't teach young men and women about the
importance of good character -- that's a job for parents and
teachers, ministers and coaches -- people that kids look up to in
order to establish their spiritual moorings. Only people can
cultivate character."
(more)
2
Note that the phrase "cultivating character" evokes the
importance of individual responsibility without sounding
patronizing. It also revives the word "character, " which we
should return to use as has been done with previously moribund
words like "excellence" and "capitalism."
5,2 Second, in the section on fighting crime and drugs, the
draft ably draws from the President's speech last week to the
Acres Homes community in Houston. We could restress the point of
that speech that such community-based efforts to fight crime and
drugs are prime examples of the Thousand Points of Light, and the
New Activism referred to in the Inaugural. Last Friday's news
reports on that speech all made this connection, which is
important in two aspects: 1) it toughens the idea of A Thousand
Points of Light while softening, in a sense, the anti-
crime/drugs message; and 2) it makes clear that the Thousand
Points of Light is not limited to the stereotype of voluntarism
as the domain of the socially-privileged.
6,4 Third, in the itemizing of the President's programs which
address the poverty of knowledge and skills, we could add that
the President believes that the coming skills shortage requires
an economy in which people are judged more for what skills they
have rather than what credentials they possess. In one crucial
area, education jobs, the President has put forward a proposal to
permit alternative certification of teachers and principals in
order to broaden the pool of available talent. This will
particularly benefit minorities and the poor, who could not
otherwise find time or resources to spend in order to obtain the
necessary credentials, but who deserve the chance to serve
America's future generations as much as any American.
If space permitted, the President could add that his own
glowing credentials were insufficient to allow him to volunteer
to teach in the public schools when he first moved to Texas in
the 40's. The point will be obvious: if a privileged white male
could not use his skills as a volunteer, what chance have the
less fortunate who wish to use their skills for pay?
The President could even tell the story of Ego Brown, a
young black man who was prevented from opening shoe shine stands
on the streets of Washington because of a Jim Crow-era law. It
took a court decision merely to allow someone to start a small
business (one that employed the homeless, incidentally). The
over-emphasis on licenses, permits, and other types of
credentials disproportionately affect minorities and the poor,
depriving them of the opportunity to be judged on the basis of
what skills they have to offer. This is not just a matter of a
skills shortage, it is a matter of simple justice.
(more)
3
One other point:
The draft's mention of the new appointment to the Civil
Rights Commission and its noting of the HBCU's initiatives, which
have also involved a recent appointment, suggest that the
President would be well served to underscore the number of black
and minority appointments in his Administration. The quality of
his appointments has proven to be impressive -- so will the
actual quantity.
The themes of the draft as it now stands appear as follows,
with the additional themes contemplated in this memo noted in
bold:
I.
Civil Rights and Solidarity
II.
Reauthorization of CRC; Announce appointment
III.
Remove barriers to opportunity
A.
Black economic achievement
B.
War On Poverty; Money alone is insufficient
C.
Poverty of spirit
i.
"Cultivating Character" (instead of countering lack of faith in oneself)
D.
Poverty of health
E.
Poverty of "freedom" (personal security from drugs/crime)
i.
Community-based efforts are part of the Thousand Points of Light/New Activism
F.
Poverty of knowledge and skills:
i.
Evaluating people more by skills than by credentials:
Alternative Certification
ii.
Increased (parental) choice:
a.
Child Care
b.
Education
iii.
Head Start
iv.
Training wage
V.
Enterprise Zones
vi.
Merit Pay
vii.
Magnet Schools
viii.
Literacy
ix.
HBCU's
a.
Quantity and Quality of Presidential Appointments of Minorities
###
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
December 13, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
FOR COMMUNICATIONS
FROM:
FREDERICK D. NELSON
Fan.
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: NAACP
The Counsel's Office makes no legal objections to this draft
presidential address. I do offer a few minor rhetorical
comments.
You might consider changing the last sentence on page one to
begin with the word "Historically" and to substitute "people"
with "race."
On page three, first full paragraph, perhaps the last sentence
might read "a society open to all without reference to race,
gender, or creed." In the third paragraph, the words "I am told
by many of you that" implies that the President would not
otherwise be aware of further civil rights goals.
The first full paragraph on page four may seem to give too much
credit to President Johnson's War on Poverty. Many of those
programs, after all, are thought by very respected scholars to
have been highly counterproductive in several respects. We
cannot gloss over the real problems that beset inner city
families, notwithstanding the gains in black employment to which
the speech refers.
On a related point, the address might refer in somewhat greater
detail to the contrasting solutions that President Bush supports
in promoting greater opportunity, choice, and independence. The
housing ideas contained in the H.O.P.E. program, for example,
could merit attention here, in conjunction with further
discussion of enterprise zones, magnet schools, and so forth.
We appreciate the opportunity to have seen this draft.
CC: James W. Cicconi
097233SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
12/13/89
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
12/13/89 5:00 PM
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NAACP
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
WINSTON
DEMAREST
PINKERTON
FITZWATER
BOSKIN
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, no later than 5:00 PM TODAY, December 13, with a copy to
my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
Davis/Martin
Title: NAACP
1989 DEC 13 AM 9: 05
Dec. 12, 1989
Draft: Four
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: NAACP FUNDRAISING, WALDORF, NEW YORK
Friday, December 15, 1989
( (Maybe we should take our act on the road. They can bill
us as: "The Coz and Mister Smooth. ) )
Ben Hooks, good to see you again. David Dinkins, Doug
Wilder, congratulations on your victories. Governor Cuomo, great
to be back in New York ((other acknowledgements to come.))
Lionel Hampton -- thank you. Good vibes from a good
friend. 11
( (You know, when I was ambassador to the United Nations,
Barbara and I. lived in this very hotel, in room 42 A. And
whenever I complained about anything, Barbara would just roll her
eyes and say: "Just where do you think we live? The Waldorf
Astoria?"))\\
All in all, this is a wonderful evening, a time when
Americans from different professions and political parties can
come together to celebrate common ideals.
Nowhere are these ideals more visible than in the commitment
and social concerns of this great association. Since the early
days of the Niagara Movement, the NAACP has challenged the
conscience of a nation. You have provided leadership -- not just
for one people within America -- but for all of America.
2
Your leadership was born of troubled times, and sharpened by
adversity. You've known persecution, and through it, you gained
compassion. You've been without power, and through it, you won
empowerment. You've suffered the ignorance and bigotry of small
minds, and because of them, you built pride and respect.
Go to Montgomery, Alabama, today. Stand before the granite
wall of the new civil rights memorial. And through a veil of
flowing water you will read these words from the Bible:
"
let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty
stream. "\\
Like a mighty river, justice can cut a channel through the
hardest of stone. Like a mighty river seeking the sea, justice
will, in the end, find fulfillment. It has been slow in coming.
It has been impeded. But its journey is inexorable because
justice cannot be denied.
Because of the activism of the NAACP, justice is on the
rise. On November 17, I met with Ben and the leaders of the
other major civil rights organizations. You challenged me with
the highest ideals of your movement. Now let me challenge you to
work with me and my Cabinet, from this day forward, on a campaign
to build a better America.
I seek a new partnership, one that draws inspiration from
the achievement of the civil rights and Solidarity movements.
For after all, from the country roads of Selma twenty years ago
to the city streets of Eastern Europe today, a common refrain
echoes through the history of our times: "We shall overcome."
3
Has the world known more improbable heroes than Rosa Parks and
Lech Walesa? But make no mistake, heroes they are.
So let us emulate them by working together. For in
solidarity, we can reasonably hope that in the new century, just
a decade away, we will finally attain the fondest dream of the
founders of the NAACP -- a society blind to bigotry, a society
open to all.
The fight against discrimination has been the historic
mission of the civil rights movement -- a mission that has yet to
be completely fulfilled. That is why I reauthorized the Civil
Rights Commission. \\ ( (And that is why I have a surprise for you
tonight in announcing a major appointment -- that of ( (name)) to
the Civil Rights Commission. He is a good man. He deserves your
support. )) 11
But I am told by many of you that there are other missions
for the civil rights movement in the 1990s. From now on, the
protection of civil rights must also mean the removal of all
barriers to opportunity.
Of course, the barriers to opportunity for black Americans
were much more prevalent in the past, even in the recent past.
From 1973 to 1981, black employment growth lagged behind that of
whites. And real black income declined sharply between 1973 to
1981 -- even as government was spending more on new social
programs.
But black Americans have enjoyed enormous employment and
income gains during the 1980s. Disparities remain, but they've
4
owed by the rate of progress. Since 1981, black
nt has grown 27 percent -- nearly twice the 15 percent
in white employment. Between 1981 and 1988, the real
me. n income for black families has grown 12 percent, compared
with 10.5 percent for white families.
Some would say this signals the victory of the War on
Poverty. But we know better. It was in 1965 that Lyndon Johnson
declared his war -- a war of liberation -- a war he said was a
struggle not to simply support people, but a struggle to give
people a chance. It was a noble effort, but despite of all the
good news I just relayed to you, the War on Poverty fell short.
It fell short because the cruelest forms of poverty cannot be
fought with dollars alone.
First and foremost -- there is a poverty of the spirit.
Government can't teach young men and women to have faith in
themselves if their mothers and fathers have lost all faith.
Government can't teach that achievement is to be found in quiet
moments and subtle rewards, instead of the murderous materialism
of easy drug money. But, in a new solidarity, we can teach these
values -- as leaders, as parents, as communities working with our
churches.
Let me give you another example of another form of poverty -
- the higher incidence of disease and early death in the black
community is a kind of poverty, a poverty of health. Cancer,
strokes, heart disease -- all afflict black Americans in greater
proportions. This shameful disparity in the health of black
5
is the foremost concern of our Secretary of Health and
rvices, Doctor Louis Sullivan. And so let us tonight to
&
solidarity against disease and early death.
There are other forms of poverty. When people, going about
the ordinary business of their lives -- waiting for a bus,
walking to a corner grocery store -- must fear for their lives --
then fear has stolen a most precious possession --- their freedom.
Last week, in Houston, I saw such a community when I
revisited the district I represented as a Congressman. I also
saw a community that had enough of fear, had enough of crime, had
enough of dope. Just as the people of Berlin are standing up for
freedom, so the people of this poor Houston neighborhood are
rallying together, using people power to fight for another kind
of freedom -- freedom from fear, crime and drugs. Their journey
to this freedom is long and hard. But you and I must march with
them in solidarity, side by side, block by block, city by city.
Let us declare tonight our new solidarity against drugs.
Then there is yet another kind of poverty, a growing poverty
of knowledge and skills.
A whole generation of young men and women in this country -
white, as well as black -- are simply not learning -- not
learning -- the basic skills they need to hold down a job or to
raise a family. That is a national disgrace. For the first
time in history, we face the prospect that the sons and daughters
of America could be less educated than their mothers and fathers.
6
Well, let me tell you -- that is unacceptable and this
President is not going to sit by and watch that happen.
Neither will American business, because business needs new
talent as never before. There is a coming labor shortage in this
country, of a kind which we have rarely seen before. Women,
minorities and immigrants will comprise eight out of ten new
entrants into the job market. Yet the new service and
manufacturing industries will also require higher skills, more
training and, at the very least, literacy. Education -- quality
education is a prerequisite to making a decent living in America.
So we must work together, as never before, to reform our
schools. Our mission must be to find a way to bring knowledge
and enlightenment to a new generation of Americans. Let us stand
in solidarity for the liberation of young minds.
You know my proposals. First, I believe parents deserve
choice. They deserve the power to choose their children's child-
care, whether that means a grandparent or a church-affiliated
center. And then they deserve the power to choose their
children's school.
And where disadvantaged children are concerned, Congress
wants to provide an increase of $151 million in the funding of
Head Start to serve up to 37,500 more eligible 4-year-olds. I
want to go further. I challenge Congress to increase Head Start
funding by $250 million, to serve up to 95,000 more children.
To provide opportunity to our young people, we need new and
innovative economic tools. The training wage, just passed by
7
Congress, is one such tool. But we need more, much more, from
enterprise zones, to merit pay and magnet schools, to more
effective programs to fight illiteracy. And I believe you are
aware of my many actions this year to strengthen and support the
Historically Black Colleges and Universities of America. In all
these measures and so much more, I want and need your active
support, your solidarity.
( (Ben, as a Baptist minister, I'm sure you heard the story
of the young preacher who was well into a sermon, and more than a
little nervous about how he was doing, when he noticed his wife
in the congregation holding up a little sign with the word "Kiss"
scrawled on it. Inspired, he went on to speak for another half
hour, and afterwards, asked his wife what she thought of the
sermon. "Awful," she said. "Don't you know what I mean by
'Kiss.' It stands for 'Keep It Short Stupid. '")) 11
So in this same spirit, I want to say something in
conclusion, but straight from the heart. In November, we started
a new era of cooperation, the first of many working sessions on
the problems that plague America. Now is no time for mere
politics. Now is the time to band together -- not for our sake -
- not for temporary partisan gain -- but in solidarity, for
generations to come.
When I talk to young people about what they want out of
life, one word keeps cropping up -- adventure. The generation
that is coming of age today is poised for a truly great
adventure. The world they will know will be as different from
8
today's world as ours is from that of W.E.B. Du Bois. Winds of
freedom are sweeping the globe. New democracies are being born.
Technology is leading us toward new worlds. And Americans must
be prepared, as never before, to provide the leadership for the
new century.
To take the lead, young Americans must be healthy, in body
and mind. They must be ready, in knowledge and purpose. They
must be free of soul-sapping poverty. And they must be free from
discrimination.
I spoke earlier of the Biblical proverb that compared
righteousness to a mighty stream. This same vision can be found
in a poem by Langston Hughes, who compared the odyssey of black
men and women to the crossing of many rivers. And with each
crossing, their souls have grown deep -- deep, like the rivers.
This odyssey shaped the soul of a people, and because of
your leadership, it also shaped the soul of our nation. Thank
you, God bless you, and God bless America.
#
#
#
097233SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
12/13/89
DATE:
12/13/89 5:00 PM
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NAACP
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
WINSTON
DEMAREST
PINKERTON
FITZWATER
BOSKIN
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, no later than 5:00 PM TODAY, December 13, with a copy to
my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
See comments
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
Davis/Martin
Title: NAACP
1989 DEC 13 AM 9: 05
Dec. 12, 1989
Draft: Four
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: NAACP FUNDRAISING, WALDORF, NEW YORK
Friday, December 15, 1989
( (Maybe we should take our act on the road. They can bill
us as: "The Coz and Mister Smooth. ) )
Ben Hooks, good to see you again. David Dinkins, Doug
Wilder, congratulations on your victories. Governor Cuomo, great
to be back in New York ((other acknowledgements to come.) )
Lionel Hampton -- thank you. Good vibes from a good
friend. 11
((You know, when I was ambassador to the United Nations,
Barbara and I lived in this very hotel, in room 42 A. And
whenever I complained about anything, Barbara would just roll her
eyes and say: "Just where do you think we live? The Waldorf
Astoria?") ))\\
All in all, this is a wonderful evening, a time when
Americans from different professions and political parties can
come together to celebrate common ideals.
Nowhere are these ideals more visible than in the commitment
and social concerns of this great association. Since the early
days of the Niagara Movement, the NAACP has challenged the
conscience of a nation. You have provided leadership -- not just
for one people within America -- but for all of America. 11
2
Your leadership was born of troubled times, and sharpened by
adversity. You've known persecution, and through it, you gained
compassion. You've been without power, and through it, you won
empowerment. You've suffered the ignorance and bigotry of small
minds, and because of them, you built pride and respect.
Go to Montgomery, Alabama, today. Stand before the granite
wall of the new civil rights memorial. And through a veil of
flowing water you will read these words from the Bible:
"
let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty
stream.
Like a mighty river, justice can cut a channel through the
hardest of stone. Like a mighty river seeking the sea, justice
will, in the end, find fulfillment. It has been slow in coming.
It has been impeded. But its journey is inexorable because
justice cannot be denied.
Because of the activism of the NAACP, justice is on the
rise. On November 17, I met with Ben and the leaders of the
other major civil rights organizations. You challenged me with
the highest ideals of your movement. Now let me challenge you to
work with me and my Cabinet, from this day forward, on a campaign
to build a better America.
I seek a new partnership, one that draws inspiration from
the achievement of the civil rights and Solidarity movements.
For after all, from the country roads of Selma twenty years ago
to the city streets of Eastern Europe today, a common refrain
echoes through the history of our times: "We shall overcome."
3
Has the world known more improbable heroes than Rosa Parks and
Lech Walesa? But make no mistake, heroes they are.
So let us emulate them by working together. For in
solidarity, we can reasonably hope that in the new century, just
a decade away, we will finally attain the fondest dream of the
founders of the NAACP -- a society blind to bigotry, a society
open to all.
The fight against discrimination has been the historic
mission of the civil rights movement -- a mission that has yet to
be completely fulfilled. That is why I reauthorized the Civil
Rights Commission. ( (And that is why I have a surprise for you
tonight in announcing a major appointment -- that of ( (name) ) to
the Civil Rights Commission. He is a good man. He deserves your
support. ))
But I am told by many of you that there are other missions
for the civil rights movement in the 1990s. From now on, the
protection of civil rights must also mean the removal of all
barriers to opportunity.
Halen
5178
Of course, the barriers to opportunity for black Americans
were much more prevalent in the past, even in the recent past.
Note:We not
From 1973 to 1981, black employment growth lagged behind that of
did
whites. And real black income declined sharply between 1973 to
have stics
verif,
1981 -- even as government was spending more on new social
programs.
these
But black Americans have enjoyed enormous employment and
cw
income gains during the 1980s. Disparities remain, but they've
#'s
from
carrysey
5
Ruts shop
4
been narrowed by the rate of progress. Since 1981, black
employment has grown 27 percent -- nearly twice the 15 percent
growth in white employment. Between 1981 and 1988, the real
median income for black families has grown 12 percent, compared
with 10.5 percent for white families.
Some would say this signals the victory of the War on
Poverty. But we know better. It was in 1965 that Lyndon Johnson
declared his war -- a war of liberation -- a war he said was a
struggle not to simply support people, but a struggle to give
Holen
people a chance. It was a noble effort, but despite of all the
good news I just relayed to you, the War on Poverty fell short.
It fell short because the cruelest forms of poverty cannot be
fought with dollars alone.
First and foremost -- there is a poverty of the spirit.
Government can't teach young men and women to have faith in
themselves if their mothers and fathers have lost all faith.
Government can't teach that achievement is to be found in quiet
moments and subtle rewards, instead of the murderous materialism
of easy drug money. But, in a new solidarity, we can teach these
values -- as leaders, as parents, as communities working with our
churches.
Let me give you another example of another form of poverty -
- the higher incidence of disease and early death in the black
community is a kind of poverty, a poverty of health. Cancer,
strokes, heart disease -- all afflict black Americans in greater
proportions. This shameful disparity in the health of black
5
Americans is the foremost concern of our Secretary of Health and
Human Services, Doctor Louis Sullivan. And so let us tonight to
join in solidarity against disease and early death.
There are other forms of poverty. When people, going about
the ordinary business of their lives -- waiting for a bus,
walking to a corner grocery store -- must fear for their lives --
then fear has stolen a most precious possession -- their freedom.
Last week, in Houston, I saw such a community when I
revisited the district I represented as a Congressman. I also
saw a community that had enough of fear, had enough of crime, had
enough of dope. Just as the people of Berlin are standing up for
freedom, so the people of this poor Houston neighborhood are
rallying together, using people power to fight for another kind
of freedom -- freedom from fear, crime and drugs. Their journey
to this freedom is long and hard. But you and I must march with
them in solidarity, side by side, block by block, city by city.
Let us declare tonight our new solidarity against drugs.
Then there is yet another kind of poverty, a growing poverty
of knowledge and skills.
A whole generation of young men and women in this country -
white, as well as black -- are simply not learning --- not
learning -- the basic skills they need to hold down a job or to
raise a family. That is a national disgrace. For the first
time in history, we face the prospect that the sons and daughters
well
of America could be less educated than their mothers and fathers.
6
Well, let me tell you -- that is unacceptable and this
President is not going to sit by and watch that happen.
Neither will American business, because business needs new
talent as never before. There is a coming labor shortage in this
country, of a kind which we have rarely seen before. Women,
Note:
minorities and immigrants will comprise eight out of ten new
we not did have
entrants into the job market. Yet the new service and
figures
manufacturing industries will also require higher skills, more
verify this projecti,
training and, at the very least, literacy. Education -- quality
Holen
education is a prerequisite to making a decent living in America.
5178
So we must work together, as never before, to reform our
schools. Our mission must be to find a way to bring knowledge
and enlightenment to a new generation of Americans. Let us stand
in solidarity for the liberation of young minds.
You know my proposals. First, I believe parents deserve
choice. They deserve the power to choose their children's child-
care, whether that means a grandparent or a church-affiliated
center. And then they deserve the power to choose their
children's school.
And where disadvantaged children are concerned, Congress
appropriated
wants to provide an increase of $151 million in the funding of
Head Start to serve up to 37,500 more eligible 4-year-olds. I
want to go further. I challenge Congress to increase Head Start
funding by $250 million, to serve up to 95,000 more children.
To provide opportunity to our young people, we need new and
innovative economic tools. The training wage, just passed by
7
Congress, is one such tool. But we need more, much more, from
enterprise zones, to merit pay and magnet schools, to more
effective programs to fight illiteracy. And I believe you are
aware of my many actions this year to strengthen and support the
Historically Black Colleges and Universities of America. In all
these measures and so much more, I want and need your active
support, your solidarity.
( (Ben, as a Baptist minister, I'm sure you heard the story
of the young preacher who was well into a sermon, and more than a
little nervous about how he was doing, when he noticed his wife
in the congregation holding up a little sign with the word "Kiss"
scrawled on it. Inspired, he went on to speak for another half
hour, and afterwards, asked his wife what she thought of the
sermon. "Awful," she said. "Don't you know what I mean by
'Kiss.' It stands for 'Keep It Short Stupid. ) )
So in this same spirit, I want to say something in
conclusion, but straight from the heart. In November, we started
a new era of cooperation, the first of many working sessions on
the problems that plague America. Now is no time for mere
politics. Now is the time to band together -- not for our sake -
- not for temporary partisan gain -- but in solidarity, for
generations to come.
When I talk to young people about what they want out of
life, one word keeps cropping up -- adventure. The generation
that is coming of age today is poised for a truly great
adventure. The world they will know will be as different from
8
today's world as ours is from that of W.E.B. Du Bois. Winds of
freedom are sweeping the globe. New democracies are being born.
Technology is leading us toward new worlds. And Americans must
be prepared, as never before, to provide the leadership for the
new century.
To take the lead, young Americans must be healthy, in body
and mind. They must be ready, in knowledge and purpose. They
must be free of soul-sapping poverty. And they must be free from
discrimination.
I spoke earlier of the Biblical proverb that compared
righteousness to a mighty stream. This same vision can be found
in a poem by Langston Hughes, who compared the odyssey of black
men and women to the crossing of many rivers. And with each
crossing, their souls have grown deep -- deep, like the rivers.
This odyssey shaped the soul of a people, and because of
your leadership, it also shaped the soul of our nation. Thank
you, God bless you, and God bless America.
#
#
#
Davis/Martin
Title: NAACP
Dec. 12, 1989
Draft: Four
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: NAACP FUNDRAISING, WALDORF, NEW YORK
Friday, December 15, 1989
((Maybe we should take our act on the road. They can bill
us as: "The Coz and Mister Smooth. ))\\
Ben Hooks, good to see you again. David Dinkins, Doug
Wilder, congratulations on your victories. Governor Cuomo, great
to be back in New York ((other acknowledgements to come.) )
Lionel Hampton -- thank you. Good vibes from a good
friend. 11
((You know, when I was ambassador to the United Nations,
Barbara and I lived in this very hotel, in room 42 A. And
whenever I complained about anything, Barbara would just roll her
eyes and say: "Just where do you think we live? The Waldorf
Astoria?") 1\\
All in all, this is a wonderful evening, a time when
Americans from different professions and political parties can
come together to celebrate common ideals.
Nowhere are these ideals more visible than in the commitment
and social concerns of this great association. Since the early
days of the Niagara Movement, the NAACP has challenged the
conscience of a nation. You have provided leadership -- not just
for one people within America -- but for all of America. 11
2
Your leadership was born of troubled times, and sharpened by
adversity. You've known persecution, and through it, you gained
compassion. You've been without power, and through it, you won
empowerment. You've suffered the ignorance and bigotry of small
minds, and because of them, you built pride and respect.
Go to Montgomery, Alabama, today. Stand before the granite
wall of the new civil rights memorial. And through a veil of
flowing water you will read these words from the Bible:
"
let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty
stream.
Like a mighty river, justice can cut a channel through the
hardest of stone. Like a mighty river seeking the sea, justice
will, in the end, find fulfillment. It has been slow in coming.
It has been impeded. But its journey is inexorable because
justice cannot be denied.
Because of the activism of the NAACP, justice is on the
rise. On November 17, I met with Ben and the leaders of the
other major civil rights organizations. You challenged me with
the highest ideals of your movement. Now let me challenge you to
work with me and my Cabinet, from this day forward, on a campaign
to build a better America.
I seek a new partnership, one that draws inspiration from
the achievement of the civil rights and Solidarity movements.
For after all, from the country roads of Selma twenty years ago
to the city streets of Eastern Europe today, a common refrain
echoes through the history of our times: "We shall overcome."
3
Has the world known more improbable heroes than Rosa Parks and
Lech Walesa? But make no mistake, heroes they are.
So let us emulate them by working together. For in
solidarity, we can reasonably hope that in the new century, just
a decade away, we will finally attain the fondest dream of the
founders of the NAACP -- a society blind to bigotry, a society
open to all.
The fight against discrimination has been the historic
mission of the civil rights movement -- a mission that has yet to
be completely fulfilled. That is why I reauthorized the Civil
Rights Commission. ( (And that is why I have a surprise for you
tonight in announcing a major appointment -- that of ( (name) ) to
the Civil Rights Commission. He is a good man. He deserves your
support. )) 11
But I am told by many of you that there are other missions
for the civil rights movement in the 1990s. From now on, the
protection of civil rights must also mean the removal of all
barriers to opportunity.
Of course, the barriers to opportunity for black Americans
were much more prevalent in the past, even in the recent past.
From 1973 to 1981, black employment growth lagged behind that of
whites. And real black income declined sharply between 1973 to
1981 -- even as government was spending more on new social
programs.
But black Americans have enjoyed enormous employment and
income gains during the 1980s. Disparities remain, but they've
4
been narrowed by the rate of progress. Since 1981, black
employment has grown 27 percent -- nearly twice the 15 percent
growth in white employment. Between 1981 and 1988, the real
median income for black families has grown 12 percent, compared
with 10.5 percent for white families.
Some would say this signals the victory of the War on
Poverty. But we know better. It was in 1965 that Lyndon Johnson
declared his war -- a war of liberation -- a war he said was a
struggle not to simply support people, but a struggle to give
people a chance. It was a noble effort, but despite of all the
good news I just relayed to you, the War on Poverty fell short.
It fell short because the cruelest forms of poverty cannot be
fought with dollars alone.
First and foremost -- there is a poverty of the spirit.
Government can't teach young men and women to have faith in
themselves if their mothers and fathers have lost all faith.
Government can't teach that achievement is to be found in quiet
moments and subtle rewards, instead of the murderous materialism
of easy drug money. But, in a new solidarity, we can teach these
values -- as leaders, as parents, as communities working with our
churches.
Let me give you another example of another form of poverty -
- the higher incidence of disease and early death in the black
community is a kind of poverty, a poverty of health. Cancer,
strokes, heart disease -- all afflict black Americans in greater
proportions. This shameful disparity in the health of black
5
Americans is the foremost concern of our Secretary of Health and
Human Services, Doctor Louis Sullivan. And so let us tonight to
join in solidarity against disease and early death.
There are other forms of poverty. When people, going about
the ordinary business of their lives -- waiting for a bus,
walking to a corner grocery store -- must fear for their lives --
then fear has stolen a most precious possession -- their freedom.
Last week, in Houston, I saw such a community when I
revisited the district I represented as a Congressman. I also
saw a community that had enough of fear, had enough of crime, had
enough of dope. Just as the people of Berlin are standing up for
freedom, so the people of this poor Houston neighborhood are
rallying together, using people power to fight for another kind
of freedom -- freedom from fear, crime and drugs. Their journey
to this freedom is long and hard. But you and I must march with
them in solidarity, side by side, block by block, city by city.
Let us declare tonight our new solidarity against drugs.
Then there is yet another kind of poverty, a growing poverty
of knowledge and skills.
A whole generation of young men and women in this country -
white, as well as black -- are simply not learning -- not
learning -- the basic skills they need to hold down a job or to
raise a family. That is a national disgrace. For the first
time in history, we face the prospect that the sons and daughters
of America could be less educated than their mothers and fathers.
6
Well, let me tell you -- that is unacceptable and this
President is not going to sit by and watch that happen.
Neither will American business, because business needs new
talent as never before. There is a coming labor shortage in this
country, of a kind which we have rarely seen before. Women,
minorities and immigrants will comprise eight out of ten new
entrants into the job market. Yet the new service and
manufacturing industries will also require higher skills, more
training and, at the very least, literacy. Education -- quality
education is a prerequisite to making a decent living in America.
So we must work together, as never before, to reform our
schools. Our mission must be to find a way to bring knowledge
and enlightenment to a new generation of Americans. Let us stand
in solidarity for the liberation of young minds.
You know my proposals. First, I believe parents deserve
choice. They deserve the power to choose their children's child-
care, whether that means a grandparent or a church-affiliated
center. And then they deserve the power to choose their
children's school.
And where disadvantaged children are concerned, Congress
wants to provide an increase of $151 million in the funding of
Head Start to serve up to 37,500 more eligible 4-year-olds. I
want to go further. I challenge Congress to increase Head Start
funding by $250 million, to serve up to 95,000 more children.
To provide opportunity to our young people, we need new and
innovative economic tools. The training wage, just passed by
7
Congress, is one such tool. But we need more, much more, from
enterprise zones, to merit pay and magnet schools, to more
effective programs to fight illiteracy. And I believe you are
aware of my many actions this year to strengthen and support the
Historically Black Colleges and Universities of America. In all
these measures and so much more, I want and need your active
support, your solidarity.
( (Ben, as⁶ a Baptist minister, I'm sure you heard the story
of the young preacher who was well into a sermon, and more than a
little nervous about how he was doing, when he noticed his wife
in the congregation holding up a little sign with the word "Kiss"
scrawled on it. Inspired, he went on to speak for another half
hour, and afterwards, asked his wife what she thought of the
sermon. "Awful," she said. "Don't you know what I mean by
'Kiss.' It stands for 'Keep It Short Stupid. ) )
So in this same spirit, I want to say something in
conclusion, but straight from the heart. In November, we started
a new era of cooperation, the first of many working sessions on
the problems that plague America. Now is no time for mere
politics. Now is the time to band together -- not for our sake -
- not for temporary partisan gain -- but in solidarity, for
generations to come.
When I talk to young people about what they want out of
life, one word keeps cropping up -- adventure. The generation
that is coming of age today is poised for a truly great
adventure. The world they will know will be as different from
8
today's world as ours is from that of W.E.B. Du Bois. Winds of
freedom are sweeping the globe. New democracies are being born.
Technology is leading us toward new worlds. And Americans must
be prepared, as never before, to provide the leadership for the
new century.
To take the lead, young Americans must be healthy, in body
and mind. They must be ready, in knowledge and purpose. They
must be free of soul-sapping poverty. And they must be free from
discrimination.
I spoke earlier of the Biblical proverb that compared
righteousness to a mighty stream. This same vision can be found
in a poem by Langston Hughes, who compared the odyssey of black
men and women to the crossing of many rivers. And with each
crossing, their souls have grown deep -- deep, like the rivers.
This odyssey shaped the soul of a people, and because of
your leadership, it also shaped the soul of our nation. Thank
you, God bless you, and God bless America.
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
Dec. 14, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
at
Through:
CHRISS WINSTON
From:
MARK DAVIS MD
Subject:
NAACP Dinner
I. SUMMARY: You will address more than a thousand people --
major donors, CEOs and NAACP leaders -- before dinner, at the
Waldorf Astoria at 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 15. This is a
fundraising event, marking the NAACP's 80th year. At the moment,
you are scheduled to be introduced by Bill Cosby. Music will be
provided by Stevie Wonder and Lionel Hampton. Your remarks will
be teleprompted.
II. DISCUSSION: This speech discusses the whole array of
Administration initiatives on civil rights, housing, drugs and
crime, health and the struggle for opportunity.
Educ. crime charac.
health.
Headtart
VALUEROGRAM OVER
Dable check
nimas season
close w/
speaking
to
V
had planed talk
you
longheast
longer
hypdwhy
Davis/Martin
Title: NAACP
Dec. 14, 1989
Draft: Five
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: NAACP FUNDRAISING, WALDORF, NEW YORK
8 p.m. Friday, December 15, 1989
((Maybe we should take our act on the road. They can bill
us as: "The Coz and Mister Smooth. ) ) 11
Ben Hooks, good to see you again. David Dinkins, Doug
Wilder, congratulations on your victories. Governor Cuomo, great
to be back in New York ( (other acknowledgements to come.) )
Lionel Hampton -- thank you. Good vibes from a good
friend. 11
( (You know, when I was ambassador to the United Nations,
Barbara and I lived in this very hotel, in room 42 A. And
whenever I complained about anything, Barbara would just roll her
eyes and say: "Just where do you think we live? The Waldorf
Astoria?"))\\
All in all, this is a wonderful evening, a time when
Americans from different professions and political parties can
come together to celebrate common ideals.
Nowhere are these ideals more visible than in the commitment
and social concerns of this great association. Since the early
days of the Niagara Movement, the NAACP has challenged the
conscience of a nation. You have provided leadership -- not just
for one people within America -- but for all of America. \\
2
Your leadership was born of troubled times, and sharpened by
adversity. You've known persecution, and through it, you gained
compassion. You've been without power, and through it, you won
empowerment. You've suffered the ignorance and bigotry of small
minds, and because of them, you built pride and respect.
Go to Montgomery, Alabama, today. Stand before the granite
wall of the new civil rights memorial. And through a veil of
flowing water you will read these words from the Bible:
"
let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty
stream.
Like a mighty river, justice can cut a channel through the
hardest of stone. Like a mighty river seeking the sea, justice
will, in the end, find fulfillment. It has been slow in coming.
It has been impeded. But its journey is inexorable because
justice cannot be denied.
Because of the activism of the NAACP, justice is on the
rise. On November 17, I met with Ben and the leaders of the
other major civil rights organizations. You challenged me with
the highest ideals of your movement. Now let me challenge you to
work with me and my Administration, from this day forward, on a
campaign to build a better America.
I seek a new partnership, one that draws inspiration from
the achievement of the civil rights and Solidarity movements.
For after all, from the country roads of Selma twenty years ago
to the city streets of Eastern Europe today, a common refrain
echoes through the history of our times: "We shall overcome."
3
Has the world known more improbable heroes than Rosa Parks and
Lech Walesa? But make no mistake, heroes they are.
So let us emulate them by working together. For in
solidarity, we can reasonably hope that we will finally attain
the fondest dream of the founders of the NAACP -- a society blind
to bigotry, a society open to all.
The fight against discrimination has been the historic
mission of the civil rights movement -- a mission that has seen
great success, but a mission that has yet to be completely
fulfilled. We know that prejudice and racial tensions still
exist in America. That is why I support, and intend to sign into
law, a measure to collect as much information as we can on crimes
motivated by religious, racial or ethnic animosity -- the Hate
Crimes Bill.
And that is why I worked with the Congress in a bipartisan
effort to reauthorize the Commission on Civil Rights. I will
appoint to that Commission men and women who will fight against
discrimination, and fight for the civil rights of all
Americans.
But there are other missions for the civil rights movement
in the 1990s. From now on, the protection of civil rights must
also mean the removal of all barriers to opportunity.
Of course, the barriers to opportunity for black Americans
were much more prevalent in the past, even in the recent past.
From 1973 to 1981, black employment growth lagged behind that of
whites. And real black income declined sharply between 1973 to
4
1981 -- even as government was spending more on new social
programs.
But black Americans have enjoyed enormous employment and
income gains during the 1980s. Disparities remain, but they've
been narrowed by the rate of progress. Since 1981, black
employment has grown 27 percent -- nearly twice the 15 percent
growth in white employment. Between 1981 and 1988, the real
median income for black families has grown 12 percent, compared
with 10.8 percent for white families.
Some would say this signals the victory of the War on
Poverty. But we know better. It was in 1965 that Lyndon Johnson
declared his war -- a war of liberation -- a war he said was a
struggle not simply to support people, but a struggle to give
people a chance. It was a noble effort, but despite all the good
news I just relayed to you, the War on Poverty fell short. It
fell short because the cruelest forms of poverty cannot be fought
with dollars alone.
First and foremost -- there is a poverty of the spirit.
Government can't teach young men and women to have faith in
themselves if their mothers and fathers have lost all faith.
Government can't teach that achievement is to be found in quiet
moments and subtle rewards, instead of the murderous materialism
of easy drug money. But, in a new solidarity, we can instill
these values. We can cultivate character -- as leaders, as
parents, as teachers, as communities working with our churches.
5
Let me give you another example of another form of poverty -
- the higher incidence of disease and early death in the black
community is a kind of poverty, a poverty of health. Cancer,
strokes, heart disease -- all afflict black Americans in greater
proportions. This unacceptable disparity in the health of black
Americans is the foremost concern of our Secretary of Health and
Human Services, Doctor Louis Sullivan. And so let us tonight
join in solidarity against disease and early death.
There are other forms of poverty. Many Americans lack
basic shelter and affordable housing. My HOPE initiative --
Homeownership and Opportunity for People Everywhere -- seeks
shelter for the homeless, affordable housing and homeownership
for low-income families, help for first-time home-buyers and up
to 50 new enterprise zones to create jobs in our most distressed
communities.
But opportunity in jobs and housing is not enough. When
people, going about the ordinary business of their lives --
waiting for a bus, walking to a corner grocery store -- must fear
for their lives -- then fear has stolen a most precious
possession -- freedom. And it is always these communities that
can least afford it, that are already economically depressed --
that are the most tragic victims of crime and drugs.
Last week, in Houston, I saw such a community when I
revisited the district I represented as a Congressman. I also
saw a community that had enough of fear, had enough of crime, had
enough of dope. Just as the people of Berlin are standing up for
6
freedom, so the people of this poor Houston neighborhood are
rallying together, using people power to fight for another kind
of freedom -- from crime, from drugs -- freedom from fear.
You've heard me speak of the thousand points of light.
Well, there is no brighter stars than those brave men and women
who lead their communities to stand up to drugs and crime. Their
journey to this freedom is long and hard. But you and I must
march with them in solidarity, side by side, block by block, city
by city. Let us declare tonight our new solidarity against crime
and drugs
Then there is yet another kind of poverty, a growing poverty
of knowledge and skills.
Many young men and women in this country -white, as well as
black -- are simply not learning -- not learning -- the basic
skills they need to hold down a job or to raise a family. That
is a national disgrace. For the first time in history, we face
the prospect that the sons and daughters of America could be less
educated than their mothers and fathers. Well, let me tell you -
- that is unacceptable and this President is not going to sit by
and watch that happen.
Neither will American business, because business needs new
talent as never before. We are used to thinking of unemployment
as a case of too many people, and too few jobs -- a game of
musical chairs. All too often, it is minorities who are left
standing when the music stops.
7
But the in the years to come, our problem will be just the
opposite: more than enough jobs -- and too few people qualified
to fill them. New workers will be in demand -- and the simple
fact is that eight of every ten new workers will be women,
immigrants or minorities.
Think about what that means. For every child growing up
today -- black or white -- there will be a job waiting. The
question is whether they will have the education and the skills
to seize that opportunity. The new service and manufacturing
industries will require higher skills, more training and, at the
very least, literacy. Education -- quality education -- is a
prerequisite to making a decent living in America.
So we must work together, as never before, to reform our
schools. Our mission must be to find a way to bring knowledge
and enlightenment to a new generation of Americans. Let us stand
in solidarity for the liberation of young minds.
You know my proposals. First, I believe parents deserve
choice. They deserve the power to choose their children's child-
care, whether that means a grandparent or a church-affiliated
center. And then they deserve the power to choose their
children's school.
And where disadvantaged children are concerned, Congress
appropriated an increase of $151 million in the funding of Head
Start to serve up to 37,500 more eligible 4-year-olds. I want to
go further. I challenge Congress, when it reconvenes, to
8
increase Head Start funding by $250 million, to serve up to
95,000 more children.
To provide opportunity to our young people, we need new and
innovative economic tools. The training wage, just passed by
Congress, is one such tool. But we need more, much more, from
merit pay, to magnet schools, to more effective programs to fight
illiteracy. And I believe we need the steps we've taken this
year to strengthen and support the Historically Black Colleges
and Universities of America. Our proposals respond to the needs
of many communities -- of every color. They seek to provide
opportunity because civil rights means opportunity, and
opportunity requires education, safe streets, and a drug-free
community for all Americans. In each these measures and so many
more, I want and need your active support, your solidarity.
((Ben, as a Baptist minister, I'm sure you heard the story
of the young preacher who was well into a sermon, and more than a
little nervous about how he was doing, when he noticed his wife
in the congregation holding up a little sign with the word "Kiss"
scrawled on it. Inspired, he went on to speak for another half
hour, and afterwards, asked his wife what she thought of the
sermon. "Awful," she said. "Don't you know what I mean by
'Kiss.' It stands for 'Keep It Short Stupid. ) )
So in this same spirit, I want to say something in
conclusion, but straight from the heart. In November, we started
a new era of cooperation, the first of many working sessions on
the problems that plague America. Now is no time for mere
9
politics. Now is the time to band together -- not for our sake -
- not for temporary partisan gain -- but in solidarity, for
generations to come.
When I talk to young people about what they want out of
life, one word keeps cropping up -- adventure. The generation
that is coming of age today is poised for a truly great
adventure. The world they will know will be as different from
today's world as ours is from that of W.E.B. Du Bois. Winds of
freedom are sweeping the globe. New democracies are being born.
Technology is leading us toward new worlds. And Americans must
be prepared, as never before, to provide the leadership for the
new century.
To take the lead, young Americans must be healthy, in body
and mind. They must be ready, in knowledge and purpose. They
must be free of soul-sapping poverty. And they must be free from
discrimination.
I spoke earlier of the Biblical proverb that compared
righteousness to a mighty stream. This same vision can be found
in a poem by Langston Hughes, who compared the odyssey of black
men and women to the crossing of many rivers. And with each
crossing, their souls have grown deep -- deep, like the rivers.
This odyssey shaped the soul of a people, and because of
your leadership, it also shaped the soul of our nation. Thank
you, God bless you, and God bless America.
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
SCHEDULE OF THE PRESIDENT
FOR
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
DECEMBER 15, 1989
EVENTS:
Staff Photo
NAACP 80th Anniversary Dinner
DRESS:
Men
- Black Tie
Women
- Long Dress
CONTACT:
Office of Presidential Advance
John G. Keller, Jr.
- 202/456-7565
Trip Coordinator
Kristin Goodwin
- 202/456-7565
New York, New York Signal
- 212/980-4477
ADVANCE:
Mel Lukens
- LEAD
Chris Molineaux
- PRESS
J.C. Carmichael
- USSS
Larry Feast
- WHCA
Bruce Caughman
- MIL. AIDE
Nick Schubert
- HMX
Rick Betz
- AFI
WEATHER:
Cold/Mid 20's
SCHEDULE OF THE PRESIDENT
FOR
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
DECEMBER 15, 1989
GUEST AND STAFF INSTRUCTIONS:
5:15 pm
Vans depart West Basement
en route Andrews Air Force
Base.
5:55 pm
Those with own transportation
should arrive Andrews Air Force
Base, Distinguished Visitors
Lounge, for check-in.
6:10 pm
THE PRESIDENT departs White House en route Andrews
Air Force Base.
MARINE ONE MANIFEST:
THE PRESIDENT
A. Card
R. Porter
S. Hart
T. McBride
D. Valdez
Doctor
Mil. Aide
2 USSS
(Flying Time: 10 Minutes)
6:20 pm
THE PRESIDENT arrives Andrews Air Force Base and
proceeds to board Air Force One.
is
6:25 pm
THE PRESIDENT departs Andrews Air Force Base
en route Newark, New Jersey.
(Flying Time: 45 Minutes)
(Interchange: No)
(Time Change: None)
(Food Service: Light Dinner)
7:10 pm
THE PRESIDENT arrives Newark International
Airport, Newark, New Jersey and proceeds to board
Marine One.
Met by:
The Honorable Frank Graves
Mayor of Patterson, New Jersey
The Honorable Ed Englehardt
Sheriff, Passaic County New Jersey
Mrs. Helen VerDuin Palit
Executive Director, City Harvest
7:15 pm
THE PRESIDENT departs Newark International
Airport en route Central Park Landing Zone,
New York, New York.
HELICOPTER ASSIGNMENTS:
Marine One:
THE PRESIDENT
Sec. Sullivan
G. Sullivan
A. Card
S. Hart
T. McBride
Doctor
Mil. Aide
2 USSS
Nighthawk II:
WHMO Director
WHCA T.O.
Page Two
2
COL Nickel
Medic
8 USSS
Nighthawk III:
J. Parmer
B. Zanca
M. Lukens
R. Porter
J. Watkins
B. Montagne
C. Martin
Nighthawk IV:
G. Fendler
J. Allison
Official Photographer
2 WHVD
1 WHCA AV
2 USSS
26 Press
(Flying Time: 20 Minutes)
7:35 pm
THE PRESIDENT arrives Central Park Landing Zone
and proceeds to Motorcade.
7:40 pm
THE PRESIDENT boards Motorcade and departs
Central Park Landing Zone en route Waldorf Astoria
Hotel.
MOTORCADE ASSIGNMENTS:
Lead
M. Lukens
Spare
T. McBride
Doctor
LIMO
THE PRESIDENT
Follow Up
Page Three
Control
A. Card
Mil. Aide
Support
S. Hart
B. Zanca
J. Parmer
Official Photographer
Medic
WHCA
Staff I
Camera I
Camera II
G. Fendler
Wire I
Wire II
Staff Van
All Remaining Staff
Guest Van
All Remaining Guests
Press Van I
J. Allison
Press Van II
Press Van III
(Drive Time: 5 Minutes)
GUEST AND STAFF INSTRUCTIONS:
Upon arrival at the Waldorf Astoria,
Guests and Staff will be escorted to
Holding Room or Staff Viewing Area.
Please board Motorcade no later than
8:55 pm for transport to Central Park
Landing Zone.
7:45 pm
THE PRESIDENT arrives Waldorf Astoria Hotel and
proceeds to Holding Room.
Page Four
Met by:
Mr. Richard Kotter
General Manager
Waldorf Astoria Hotel
Mr. Per Hellman
Vice President and Managing Director
Waldorf Astoria Hotel
7:47 pm
THE PRESIDENT arrives Holding Room and holds
briefly.
7:49 pm
THE PRESIDENT departs Holding Room and proceeds
to West Foyer.
Met by:
Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin Hooks (Frances)
Executive Director, NAACP
EVENT:
STAFF PHOTO
OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER ONLY
7:50 pm
THE PRESIDENT, accompanied by Dr. and Mrs. Hooks,
arrives West Foyer and begins participation in
Staff Photo.
8:15 pm
THE PRESIDENT concludes participation in Staff
Photo, departs West Foyer, and proceeds to Holding
Room.
8:17 pm
THE PRESIDENT arrives Holding Room and holds
briefly.
Page Five
8:19 pm
THE PRESIDENT, accompanied by Dr. Hooks, departs
Holding Room and proceeds to Main Ballroom Off-
Stage Announcement Area.
8:20 pm
THE PRESIDENT, accompanied by Dr. Hooks, arrives
Main Ballroom Off-Stage Announcement Area and
holds briefly.
EVENT:
NAACP 80TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER
OPEN PRESS
RUFFLES AND FLOURISHES
OFF-STAGE ANNOUNCEMENT
HAIL TO THE CHIEF
REMARKS
TELEPROMPTER
BLACK TIE
8:21 pm
THE PRESIDENT, accompanied by Dr. Hooks,
is announced into Main Ballroom and proceeds to
Seat at Head Table.
8:22 22 pm
THE PRESIDENT arrives Seat and remains Standing.
8:23 pm
Presentation of Colors
8:25 pm
National Anthem performed by Ms.
Dawnn Lewis
8:27 pm
Retirement of Colors
8:28 pm
Invocation by Dr. James Alexander
Forbes, Jr., Pastor, Riverside Church
Page Six
8:30 pm
THE PRESIDENT is introduced for Remarks by
Dr. Hooks.
NOTE: Dr. Hooks will acknowledge The Honorable and
Mrs. Lewis Sullivan (Ginger), Secretary of
Health and Human Services, Mayor-Elect David
N. Dinkins (D-NY), Governor-Elect Douglas
Wilder (D-VA), and Mr. and Mrs. John W.
Kluge (Patricia).
8:35 pm
THE PRESIDENT Remarks.
8:50 pm
THE PRESIDENT concludes Remarks and returns to
Head Table.
8:52 pm
THE PRESIDENT arrives Head Table and bids Farewell
to Head Table participants.
8:55 pm
THE PRESIDENT concludes participation in NAACP
80th Anniversary Dinner, departs Main Ballroom
and proceeds to Holding Room.
8:57 pm
THE PRESIDENT arrives Holding Room and holds
briefly.
8:59 pm
THE PRESIDENT departs Holding Room and proceeds
to Motorcade.
9:00 pm
THE PRESIDENT boards Motorcade and departs
Waldorf Astoria Hotel en route Central Park
Landing Zone.
MOTORCADE ASSIGNMENTS:
Same as on Arrival.
Page Seven
(Drive Time: 5 Minutes)
9:05 pm
THE PRESIDENT arrives Central Park Landing Zone
and proceeds to board Marine One.
9:10 pm
THE PRESIDENT departs Central Park Landing Zone
en route Newark International Airport.
HELICOPTER ASSIGNMENTS:
Same as on Arrival.
(Flying Time: 20 Minutes)
9:30 pm
THE PRESIDENT arrives Newark International
Airport and proceeds to board Air Force One.
9:35 pm
THE PRESIDENT departs Newark, New Jersey en
route Andrews Air Force Base.
(Flying Time: 50 Minutes)
( Interchange: No)
(Time Change: None)
(Food Service: Snacks)
10:25 pm
THE PRESIDENT arrives Andrews Air Force Base and
proceeds to board Marine One.
10:30 pm
THE PRESIDENT departs Andrews Air Force Base en
route White House.
MARINE ONE MANIFEST:
THE PRESIDENT
A. Card
Page Eight
R. Porter
S. Hart
T. McBride
D. Valdez
Doctor
Mil. Aide
2 USSS
(Flying Time: 10 Minutes)
10:40 pm
THE PRESIDENT arrives White House.
Page Nine
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
December 14, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
FROM:
ROGER B. PORTER
RBP
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: NAACP
I have one additional comment on the NAACP speech. I
believe it would be helpful to mention the Black Leadership
Forum by name in the fourth paragraph of page four. I suggest
substituting the following text for what currently appears in
the draft. "On November 17, I met with Ben and other members
of the Black Leadership Forum."
If you have any questions or we can help in any other way,
please let me know.
CC: James W. Cicconi
Davis/Martin
Title: NAACP
Dec. 12, 1989
Draft: Four
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: NAACP FUNDRAISING, WALDORF, NEW YORK
Friday, December 15, 1989
( (Maybe we should take our act on the road. They can bill
us as: "The Coz and Mister Smooth. ") )
Ben Hooks, good to see you again. David Dinkins, Doug
Wilder, congratulations on your victories. Governor Cuomo, great
to be back in New York ( (other acknowledgements to come.) )
Lionel Hampton -- thank you. Good vibes from a good
friend. 11
( (You know, when I was ambassador to the United Nations,
Barbara and I lived in this very hotel, in room 42 A. And
whenever I complained about anything, Barbara would just roll her
eyes and say: "Just where do you think we live? The Waldorf
Astoria?") ) \\
All in all, this is a wonderful evening, a time when
Americans from different professions and political parties can
come together to celebrate common ideals.
Nowhere are these ideals more visible than in the commitment
and social concerns of this great association. Since the early
days of the Niagara Movement, the NAACP has challenged the
conscience of a nation. You have provided leadership -- not just
for one people within America -- but for all of America. 11
2
Your leadership was born of troubled times, and sharpened by
adversity. You've known persecution, and through it, you gained
compassion. You've been without power, and through it, you won
empowerment. You've suffered the ignorance and bigotry of small
minds, and because of them, you built pride and respect.
Go to Montgomery, Alabama, today. Stand before the granite
wall of the new civil rights memorial. And through a veil of
flowing water you will read these words from the Bible:
II
let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty
stream.
Like a mighty river, justice can cut a channel through the
hardest of stone. Like a mighty river seeking the sea, justice
will, in the end, find fulfillment. It has been slow in coming.
It has been impeded. But its journey is inexorable because
justice cannot be denied.
Because of the activism of the NAACP, justice is on the
rise. On November 17, I met with Ben and the leaders of the
other major civil rights organizations. You challenged me with
the highest ideals of your movement. Now let me challenge you to
work with me and my Cabinet, from this day forward, on a campaign
to build a better America.
I seek a new partnership, one that draws inspiration from
the achievement of the civil rights and Solidarity movements.
For after all, from the country roads of Selma twenty years ago
to the city streets of Eastern Europe today, a common refrain
echoes through the history of our times: "We shall overcome."
3
Has the world known more improbable heroes than Rosa Parks and
Lech Walesa? But make no mistake, heroes they are.
So let us emulate them by working together. For in
solidarity, we can reasonably hope that in the new century, just
a decade away, we will finally attain the fondest dream of the
founders of the NAACP -- a society blind to bigotry, a society
open to all.
The fight against discrimination has been the historic
mission of the civil rights movement -- a mission that has yet to
be completely fulfilled. That is why I reauthorized the Civil
Rights Commission. ( (And that is why I have a surprise for you
tonight in announcing a major appointment -- that of ( (name)) to
the Civil Rights Commission. He is a good man. He deserves your
support. ))
But I am told by many of you that there are other missions
for the civil rights movement in the 1990s. From now on, the
protection of civil rights must also mean the removal of all
barriers to opportunity.
Of course, the barriers to opportunity for black Americans
were much more prevalent in the past, even in the recent past.
From 1973 to 1981, black employment growth lagged behind that of
whites. And real black income declined sharply between 1973 to
1981 -- even as government was spending more on new social
programs.
But black Americans have enjoyed enormous employment and
income gains during the 1980s. Disparities remain, but they've
4
been narrowed by the rate of progress. Since 1981, black
employment has grown 27 percent -- nearly twice the 15 percent
growth in white employment. Between 1981 and 1988, the real
median income for black families has grown 12 percent, compared
with 10.5 percent for white families.
Some would say this signals the victory of the War on
Poverty. But we know better. It was in 1965 that Lyndon Johnson
declared his war -- a war of liberation -- a war he said was a
struggle not to simply support people, but a struggle to give
people a chance. It was a noble effort, but despite of all the
good news I just relayed to you, the War on Poverty fell short.
It fell short because the cruelest forms of poverty cannot be
fought with dollars alone.
First and foremost -- there is a poverty of the spirit.
Government can't teach young men and women to have faith in
themselves if their mothers and fathers have lost all faith.
Government can't teach that achievement is to be found in quiet
moments and subtle rewards, instead of the murderous materialism
of easy drug money. But, in a new solidarity, we can teach these
values --- as leaders, as parents, as communities working with our
churches.
Let me give you another example of another form of poverty -
- the higher incidence of disease and early death in the black
community is a kind of poverty, a poverty of health. Cancer,
strokes, heart disease -- all afflict black Americans in greater
proportions. This shameful disparity in the health of black
5
Americans is the foremost concern of our Secretary of Health and
Human Services, Doctor Louis Sullivan. And so let us tonight to
join in solidarity against disease and early death.
There are other forms of poverty. When people, going about
the ordinary business of their lives -- waiting for a bus,
walking to a corner grocery store -- must fear for their lives --
then fear has stolen a most precious possession -- their freedom.
Last week, in Houston, I saw such a community when I
revisited the district I represented as a Congressman. I also
saw a community that had enough of fear, had enough of crime, had
enough of dope. Just as the people of Berlin are standing up for
freedom, so the people of this poor Houston neighborhood are
rallying together, using people power to fight for another kind
of freedom -- freedom from fear, crime and drugs. Their journey
to this freedom is long and hard. But you and I must march with
them in solidarity, side by side, block by block, city by city.
Let us declare tonight our new solidarity against drugs. 11
Then there is yet another kind of poverty, a growing poverty
of knowledge and skills.
A whole generation of young men and women in this country -
white, as well as black -- are simply not learning -- not
learning -- the basic skills they need to hold down a job or to
raise a family. That is a national disgrace. For the first
time in history, we face the prospect that the sons and daughters
of America could be less educated than their mothers and fathers.
6
Well, let me tell you -- that is unacceptable and this
President is not going to sit by and watch that happen.
Neither will American business, because business needs new
talent as never before. There is a coming labor shortage in this
country, of a kind which we have rarely seen before. Women,
minorities and immigrants will comprise eight out of ten new
entrants into the job market. Yet the new service and
manufacturing industries will also require higher skills, more
training and, at the very least, literacy. Education -- quality
education is a prerequisite to making a decent living in America.
So we must work together, as never before, to reform our
schools. Our mission must be to find a way to bring knowledge
and enlightenment to a new generation of Americans. Let us stand
in solidarity for the liberation of young minds.
You know my proposals. First, I believe parents deserve
choice. They deserve the power to choose their children's child-
care, whether that means a grandparent or a church-affiliated
center. And then they deserve the power to choose their
children's school.
And where disadvantaged children are concerned, Congress
wants to provide an increase of $151 million in the funding of
Head Start to serve up to 37,500 more eligible 4-year-olds. I
want to go further. I challenge Congress to increase Head Start
funding by $250 million, to serve up to 95,000 more children.
To provide opportunity to our young people, we need new and
innovative economic tools. The training wage, just passed by
7
Congress, is one such tool. But we need more, much more, from
enterprise zones, to merit pay and magnet schools, to more
effective programs to fight illiteracy. And I believe you are
aware of my many actions this year to strengthen and support the
Historically Black Colleges and Universities of America. In all
these measures and so much more, I want and need your active
support, your solidarity.
( (Ben, as a Baptist minister, I'm sure you heard the story
of the young preacher who was well into a sermon, and more than a
little nervous about how he was doing, when he noticed his wife
in the congregation holding up a little sign with the word "Kiss"
scrawled on it. Inspired, he went on to speak for another half
hour, and afterwards, asked his wife what she thought of the
sermon. "Awful," she said. "Don't you know what I mean by
'Kiss.' It stands for 'Keep It Short Stupid. '"))
So in this same spirit, I want to say something in
conclusion, but straight from the heart. In November, we started
a new era of cooperation, the first of many working sessions on
the problems that plague America. Now is no time for mere
politics. Now is the time to band together -- not for our sake -
- not for temporary partisan gain -- but in solidarity, for
generations to come.
When I talk to young people about what, they want out of
life, one word keeps cropping up -- adventure. The generation
that is coming of age today is poised for a truly great
adventure. The world they will know will be as different from
8
today's world as ours is from that of W.E.B. Du Bois. Winds of
freedom are sweeping the globe. New democracies are being born.
Technology is leading us toward new worlds. And Americans must
be prepared, as never before, to provide the leadership for the
new century.
To take the lead, young Americans must be healthy, in body
and mind. They must be ready, in knowledge and purpose. They
must be free of soul-sapping poverty. And they must be free from
discrimination.
I spoke earlier of the Biblical proverb that compared
righteousness to a mighty stream. This same vision can be found
in a poem by Langston Hughes, who compared the odyssey of black
men and women to the crossing of many rivers. And with each
crossing, their souls have grown deep -- deep, like the rivers.
This odyssey shaped the soul of a people, and because of
your leadership, it also shaped the soul of our nation. Thank
you, God bless you, and God bless America.
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
Dec. 14, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
at
Through:
CHRISS WINSTON
From:
MARK DAVIS MD
Subject:
NAACP Dinner
I. SUMMARY: You will address more than a thousand people --
major donors, CEOs and NAACP leaders -- before dinner, at the
Waldorf Astoria at 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 15. This is a
fundraising event, marking the NAACP's 80th year. At the moment,
you are scheduled to be introduced by Bill Cosby. Music will be
provided by Stevie Wonder and Lionel Hampton. Your remarks will
be teleprompted.
II. DISCUSSION: This speech discusses the whole array of
Administration initiatives on civil rights, housing, drugs and
crime, health and the struggle for opportunity.
Davis/Martin
Title: NAACP
Dec. 14, 1989
Draft: Five
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: NAACP FUNDRAISING, WALDORF, NEW YORK
8 p.m. Friday, December 15, 1989
((Maybe we should take our act on the road. They can bill
us as: "The Coz and Mister Smooth. ")) 11
Ben Hooks, good to see you again. David Dinkins, Doug
Wilder, congratulations on your victories. Governor Cuomo, great
to be back in New York ( (other acknowledgements to come.))
Lionel Hampton -- thank you. Good vibes from a good
friend. \\
((You know, when I was ambassador to the United Nations,
Barbara and I lived in this very hotel, in room 42 A. And
whenever I complained about anything, Barbara would just roll her
eyes and say: "Just where do you think we live? The Waldorf
Astoria?") 1\\
All in all, this is a wonderful evening, a time when
Americans from different professions and political parties can
come together to celebrate common ideals.
Nowhere are these ideals more visible than in the commitment
and social concerns of this great association. Since the early
days of the Niagara Movement, the NAACP has challenged the
conscience of a nation. You have provided leadership -- not just
for one people within America -- but for all of America. 11
2
Your leadership was born of troubled times, and sharpened by
adversity. You've known persecution, and through it, you gained
compassion. You've been without power, and through it, you won
empowerment. You've suffered the ignorance and bigotry of small
minds, and because of them, you built pride and respect.
Go to Montgomery, Alabama, today. Stand before the granite
wall of the new civil rights memorial. And through a veil of
flowing water you will read these words from the Bible:
"
let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty
stream.
Like a mighty river, justice can cut a channel through the
hardest of stone. Like a mighty river seeking the sea, justice
will, in the end, find fulfillment. It has been slow in coming.
It has been impeded. But its journey is inexorable because
justice cannot be denied.
Because of the activism of the NAACP, justice is on the
rise. On November 17, I met with Ben and the leaders of the
other major civil rights organizations. You challenged me with
the highest ideals of your movement. Now let me challenge you to
work with me and my Administration, from this day forward, on a
campaign to build a better America.
I seek a new partnership, one that draws inspiration from
the achievement of the civil rights and Solidarity movements.
For after all, from the country roads of Selma twenty years ago
to the city streets of Eastern Europe today, a common refrain
echoes through the history of our times: "We shall overcome." "
3
Has the world known more improbable heroes than Rosa Parks and
Lech Walesa? But make no mistake, heroes they are.
So let us emulate them by working together. For in
solidarity, we can reasonably hope that we will finally attain
the fondest dream of the founders of the NAACP -- a society blind
to bigotry, a society open to all.
The fight against discrimination has been the historic
mission of the; civil rights movement -- a mission that has seen
great success, but a mission that has yet to be completely
fulfilled. We know that prejudice and racial tensions still
exist in America. That is why I support, and intend to sign into
law, a measure to collect as much information as we can on crimes
motivated by religious, racial or ethnic animosity -- the Hate
Crimes Bill.
And that is why I worked with the Congress in a bipartisan
effort to reauthorize the Commission on Civil Rights. I will
appoint to that Commission men and women who will fight against
discrimination, and fight for the civil rights of all
Americans.
But there are other missions for the civil rights movement
in the 1990s. From now on, the protection of civil rights must
also mean the removal of all barriers to opportunity.
Of course, the barriers to opportunity for black Americans
were much more prevalent in the past, even in the recent past.
From 1973 to 1981, black employment growth lagged behind that of
whites. And real black income declined sharply between 1973 to
4
1981 -- even as government was spending more on new social
programs.
But black Americans have enjoyed enormous employment and
income gains during the 1980s. Disparities remain, but they've
been narrowed by the rate of progress. Since 1981, black
employment has grown 27 percent -- nearly twice the 15 percent
growth in white employment. Between 1981 and 1988, the real
median income for black families has grown 12 percent, compared
with 10.8 percent for white families.
Some would say this signals the victory of the War on
Poverty. But we know better. It was in 1965 that Lyndon Johnson
declared his war -- a war of liberation -- a war he said was a
struggle not simply to support people, but a struggle to give
people a chance. It was a noble effort, but despite all the good
news I just relayed to you, the War on Poverty fell short. It
fell short because the cruelest forms of poverty cannot be fought
with dollars alone.
First and foremost -- there is a poverty of the spirit.
Government can't teach young men and women to have faith in
themselves if their mothers and fathers have lost all faith.
Government can't teach that achievement is to be found in quiet
moments and subtle rewards, instead of the murderous materialism
of easy drug money. But, in a new solidarity, we can instill
these values. We can cultivate character -- as leaders, as
parents, as teachers, as communities working with our churches.
Y
5
Let me give you another example of another form of poverty -
- the higher incidence of disease and early death in the black
community is a kind of poverty, a poverty of health. Cancer,
strokes, heart disease -- all afflict black Americans in greater
proportions. This unacceptable disparity in the health of black
Americans is the foremost concern of our Secretary of Health and
Human Services, Doctor Louis Sullivan. And so let us tonight
join in solidarity against disease and early death.
There are other forms of poverty. Many Americans lack
basic shelter and affordable housing. My HOPE initiative --
Homeownership and Opportunity for People Everywhere -- seeks
shelter for the homeless, affordable housing and homeownership
for low-income families, help for first-time home-buyers and up
to 50 new enterprise zones to create jobs in our most distressed
communities.
But opportunity in jobs and housing is not enough. When
people, going about the ordinary business of their lives --
waiting for a bus, walking to a corner grocery store -- must fear
for their lives -- then fear has stolen a most precious
possession -- freedom. And it is always these communities that
can least afford it, that are already economically depressed --
that are the most tragic victims of crime and drugs.
Last week, in Houston, I saw such a community when I
revisited the district I represented as a Congressman. I also
saw a community that had enough of fear, had enough of crime, had
enough of dope. Just as the people of Berlin are standing up for
6
freedom, so the people of this poor Houston neighborhood are
rallying together, using people power to fight for another kind
of freedom -- from crime, from drugs -- freedom from fear.
You've heard me speak of the thousand points of light.
Well, there is no brighter stars than those brave men and women
who lead their communities to stand up to drugs and crime. Their
journey to this freedom is long and hard. But you and I must
march with them in solidarity, side by side, block by block, city
by city. Let us declare tonight our new solidarity against crime
and drugs
Then there is yet another kind of poverty, a growing poverty
of knowledge and skills.
Many young men and women in this country -white, as well as
black -- are simply not learning -- not learning -- the basic
skills they need to hold down a job or to raise a family. That
is a national disgrace. For the first time in history, we face
the prospect that the sons and daughters of America could be less
educated than their mothers and fathers. Well, let me tell you -
- that is unacceptable and this President is not going to sit by
and watch that happen.
Neither will American business, because business needs new
talent as never before. We are used to thinking of unemployment
as a case of too many people, and too few jobs -- a game of
musical chairs. All too often, it is minorities who are left
standing when the music stops.
-
7
But the in the years to come, our problem will be just the
opposite: more than enough jobs -- and too few people qualified
to fill them. New workers will be in demand -- and the simple
fact is that eight of every ten new workers will be women,
immigrants or minorities.
Think about what that means. For every child growing up
today -- black or white -- there will be a job waiting. The
question is whether they will have the education and the skills
to seize that opportunity. The new service and manufacturing
industries will require higher skills, more training and, at the
very least, literacy. Education -- quality education -- is a
prerequisite to making a decent living in America.
So we must work together, as never before, to reform our
schools. Our mission must be to find a way to bring knowledge
and enlightenment to a new generation of Americans. Let us stand
in solidarity for the liberation of young minds.
You know my proposals. First, I believe parents deserve
choice. They deserve the power to choose their children's child-
care, whether that means a grandparent or a church-affiliated
center. And then they deserve the power to choose their
children's school.
And where disadvantaged children are concerned, Congress
appropriated an increase of $151 million in the funding of Head
Start to serve up to 37,500 more eligible 4-year-olds. I want to
go further. I challenge Congress, when it reconvenes, to
1
8
increase Head Start funding by $250 million, to serve up to
95,000 more children.
To provide opportunity to our young people, we need new and
innovative economic tools. The training wage, just passed by
Congress, is one such tool. But we need more, much more, from
merit pay, to magnet schools, to more effective programs to fight
illiteracy. And I believe we need the steps we've taken this
year to strengthen and support the Historically Black Colleges
and Universities of America. Our proposals respond to the needs
of many communities -- of every color. They seek to provide
opportunity because civil rights means opportunity, and
opportunity requires education, safe streets, and a drug-free
community for all Americans. In each these measures and so many
more, I want and need your active support, your solidarity.
( (Ben, as a Baptist minister, I'm sure you heard the story
of the young preacher who was well into a sermon, and more than a
little nervous about how he was doing, when he noticed his wife
in the congregation holding up a little sign with the word "Kiss" "
scrawled on it. Inspired, he went on to speak for another half
hour, and afterwards, asked his wife what she thought of the
sermon. "Awful," she said. "Don't you know what I mean by
'Kiss.' It stands for 'Keep It Short Stupid. '"))
So in this same spirit, I want to say something in
conclusion, but straight from the heart. In November, we started
a new era of cooperation, the first of many working sessions on
the problems that plague America. Now is no time for mere
9
politics. Now is the time to band together -- not for our sake -
- not for temporary partisan gain -- but in solidarity, for
generations to come.
When I talk to young people about what they want out of
life, one word keeps cropping up -- adventure. The generation
that is coming of age today is poised for a truly great
adventure. The world they will know will be as different from
today's world as ours is from that of W.E.B. Du Bois. Winds of
freedom are sweeping the globe. New democracies are being born.
Technology is leading us toward new worlds. And Americans must
be prepared, as never before, to provide the leadership for the
new century.
To take the lead, young Americans must be healthy, in body
and mind. They must be ready, in knowledge and purpose. They
must be free of soul-sapping poverty. And they must be free from
discrimination.
I spoke earlier of the Biblical proverb that compared
righteousness to a mighty stream. This same vision can be found
in a poem by Langston Hughes, who compared the odyssey of black
men and women to the crossing of many rivers. And with each
crossing, their souls have grown deep -- deep, like the rivers.
This odyssey shaped the soul of a people, and because of
your leadership, it also shaped the soul of our nation. Thank
you, God bless you, and God bless America.
#
#
#
097233SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
12/15/89
----
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: NAACP
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
CICCONI
WINSTON
DEMAREST
PINKERTON
FITZWATER
BOSKIN
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
The attached has been forwarded to the President.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
1989 DEC 14 Py
Dec. 14, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
Through:
CHRISS WINSTON
From:
MARK DAVIS MD
Subject:
NAACP Dinner
I. SUMMARY: You will address more than a thousand people --
major donors, CEOs and NAACP leaders -- before dinner, at the
Waldorf Astoria at 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 15. This is a
fundraising event, marking the NAACP's 80th year. At the moment,
you are scheduled to be introduced by Bill Cosby. Music will be
provided by Stevie Wonder and Lionel Hampton. Your remarks will
be teleprompted.
II. DISCUSSION: This speech discusses the whole array of
Administration initiatives on civil rights, housing, drugs and
crime, health and the struggle for opportunity.
Davis/Martin
Title: NAACP
Dec. 14, 1989
Draft: Five
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: NAACP FUNDRAISING, WALDORF, NEW YORK
8 p.m. Friday, December 15, 1989
( (Maybe we should take our act on the road. They can bill
us as: "The Coz and Mister Smooth. "))\\
Ben Hooks, good to see you again. David Dinkins, Doug
Wilder, congratulations on your victories. Governor Cuomo, great
to be back in New York ((other acknowledgements to come.))
Lionel Hampton -- thank you. Good vibes from a good
friend. 11
((You know, when I was ambassador to the United Nations,
Barbara and I lived in this very hotel, in room 42 A. And
whenever I complained about anything, Barbara would just roll her
eyes and say: "Just where do you think we live? The Waldorf
Astoria?"))\\
All in all, this is a wonderful evening, a time when
Americans from different professions and political parties can
come together to celebrate common ideals.
Nowhere are these ideals more visible than in the commitment
and social concerns of this great association. Since the early
days of the Niagara Movement, the NAACP has challenged the
conscience of a nation. You have provided leadership -- not just
for one people within America -- but for all of America.\
2
Your leadership was born of troubled times, and sharpened by
adversity. You've known persecution, and through it, you gained
compassion. You've been without power, and through it, you won
empowerment. You've suffered the ignorance and bigotry of small
minds, and because of them, you built pride and respect.
Go to Montgomery, Alabama, today. Stand before the granite
wall of the new civil rights memorial. And through a veil of
flowing water you will read these words from the Bible:
let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty
stream.
Like a mighty river, justice can cut a channel through the
hardest of stone. Like a mighty river seeking the sea, justice
will, in the end, find fulfillment. It has been slow in coming.
It has been impeded. But its journey is inexorable because
justice cannot be denied. \\
Because of the activism of the NAACP, justice is on the
rise. On November 17, I met with Ben and the leaders of the
other major civil rights organizations. You challenged me with
the highest ideals of your movement. Now let me challenge you to
work with me and my Administration, from this day forward, on a
campaign to build a better America.
I seek a new partnership, one that draws inspiration from
the achievement of the civil rights and Solidarity movements.
For after all, from the country roads of Selma twenty years ago
to the city streets of Eastern Europe today, a common refrain
echoes through the history of our times: "We shall overcome."
3
Has the world known more improbable heroes than Rosa Parks and
Lech Walesa? But make no mistake, heroes they are.
So let us emulate them by working together. For in
solidarity, we can reasonably hope that we will finally attain
the fondest dream of the founders of the NAACP -- a society blind
to bigotry, a society open to all.
The fight against discrimination has been the historic
mission of the civil rights movement -- a mission that has seen
great success, but a mission that has yet to be completely
fulfilled. We know that prejudice and racial tensions still
exist in America. That is why I support, and intend to sign into
law, a measure to collect as much information as we can on crimes
motivated by religious, racial or ethnic animosity -- the Hate
Crimes Bill.
And that is why I worked with the Congress in a bipartisan
effort to reauthorize the Commission on Civil Rights. I will
appoint to that Commission men and women who will fight against
discrimination, and fight for the civil rights of all
Americans. \\
But there are other missions for the civil rights movement
in the 1990s. From now on, the protection of civil rights must
also mean the removal of all barriers to opportunity.
Of course, the barriers to opportunity for black Americans
were much more prevalent in the past, even in the recent past.
From 1973 to 1981, black employment growth lagged behind that of
whites. And real black income declined sharply between 1973 to
4
1981 -- even as government was spending more on new social
programs.
But black Americans have enjoyed enormous employment and
income gains during the 1980s. Disparities remain, but they've
been narrowed by the rate of progress. Since 1981, black
employment has grown 27 percent -- nearly twice the 15 percent
growth in white employment. Between 1981 and 1988, the real
median income for black families has grown 12 percent, compared
with 10.8 percent for white families.
Some would say this signals the victory of the War on
Poverty. But we know better. It was in 1965 that Lyndon Johnson
declared his war -- a war of liberation -- a war he said was a
struggle not simply to support people, but a struggle to give
people a chance. It was a noble effort, but despite all the good
news I just relayed to you, the War on Poverty fell short. It
fell short because the cruelest forms of poverty cannot be fought
with dollars alone.
First and foremost -- there is a poverty of the spirit.
Government can't teach young men and women to have faith in
themselves if their mothers and fathers have lost all faith.
Government can't teach that achievement is to be found in quiet
moments and subtle rewards, instead of the murderous materialism
of easy drug money. But, in a new solidarity, we can instill
these values. We can cultivate character -- as leaders, as
parents, as teachers, as communities working with our churches.
5
Let me give you another example of another form of poverty -
- the higher incidence of disease and early death in the black
community is a kind of poverty, a poverty of health. Cancer,
strokes, heart disease -- all afflict black Americans in greater
proportions. This unacceptable disparity in the health of black
Americans is the foremost concern of our Secretary of Health and
Human Services, Doctor Louis Sullivan. And so let us tonight
join in solidarity against disease and early death.
There are other forms of poverty. Many Americans lack
basic shelter and affordable housing. My HOPE initiative --
Homeownership and Opportunity for People Everywhere -- seeks
shelter for the homeless, affordable housing and homeownership
for low-income families, help for first-time home-buyers and up
to 50 new enterprise zones to create jobs in our most distressed
communities.
But opportunity in jobs and housing is not enough. When
people, going about the ordinary business of their lives --
waiting for a bus, walking to a corner grocery store -- must fear
for their lives -- then fear has stolen a most precious
possession -- freedom. And it is always these communities that
can least afford it, that are already economically depressed --
that are the most tragic victims of crime and drugs.
Last week, in Houston, I saw such a community when I
revisited the district I represented as a Congressman. I also
saw a community that had enough of fear, had enough of crime, had
enough of dope. Just as the people of Berlin are standing up for
6
freedom, so the people of this poor Houston neighborhood are
rallying together, using people power to fight for another kind
of freedom -- from crime, from drugs -- freedom from fear.
You've heard me speak of the thousand points of light.
Well, there is no brighter stars than those brave men and women
who lead their communities to stand up to drugs and crime. Their
journey to this freedom is long and hard. But you and I must
march with them in solidarity, side by side, block by block, city
by city. Let us declare tonight our new solidarity against crime
and drugs.
Then there is yet another kind of poverty, a growing poverty
of knowledge and skills.
Many young men and women in this country -white, as well as
black -- are simply not learning -- not learning -- the basic
skills they need to hold down a job or to raise a family. That
is a national disgrace. For the first time in history, we face
the prospect that the sons and daughters of America could be less
educated than their mothers and fathers. Well, let me tell you -
- that is unacceptable and this President is not going to sit by
and watch that happen.
Neither will American business, because business needs new
talent as never before. We are used to thinking of unemployment
as a case of too many people, and too few jobs -- a game of
musical chairs. All too often, it is minorities who are left
standing when the music stops.
7
But the in the years to come, our problem will be just the
opposite: more than enough jobs -- and too few people qualified
to fill them. New workers will be in demand -- and the simple
fact is that eight of every ten new workers will be women,
immigrants or minorities.
Think about what that means. For every child growing up
today -- black or white -- there will be a job waiting. The
question is whether they will have the education and the skills
to seize that opportunity. The new service and manufacturing
industries will require higher skills, more training and, at the
very least, literacy. Education -- quality education -- is a
prerequisite to making a decent living in America.
So we must work together, as never before, to reform our
schools. Our mission must be to find a way to bring knowledge
and enlightenment to a new generation of Americans. Let us stand
in solidarity for the liberation of young minds.
You know my proposals. First, I believe parents deserve
choice. They deserve the power to choose their children's child-
care, whether that means a grandparent or a church-affiliated
center. And then they deserve the power to choose their
children's school.
And where disadvantaged children are concerned, Congress
appropriated an increase of $151 million in the funding of Head
Start to serve up to 37,500 more eligible 4-year-olds. I want to
go further. I challenge Congress, when it reconvenes, to
8
increase Head Start funding by $250 million, to serve up to
95,000 more children.
To provide opportunity to our young people, we need new and
innovative economic tools. The training wage, just passed by
Congress, is one such tool. But we need more, much more, from
merit pay, to magnet schools, to more effective programs to fight
illiteracy. And I believe we need the steps we've taken this
year to strengthen and support the Historically Black Colleges
and Universities of America. Our proposals respond to the needs
of many communities -- of every color. They seek to provide
opportunity because civil rights means opportunity, and
opportunity requires education, safe streets, and a drug-free
community for all Americans. In each these measures and so many
more, I want and need your active support, your solídarity.
((Ben, as a Baptist minister, I'm sure you heard the story
of the young preacher who was well into a sermon, and more than a
little nervous about how he was doing, when he noticed his wife
in the congregation holding up a little sign with the word "Kiss"
scrawled on it. Inspired, he went on to speak for another half
hour, and afterwards, asked his wife what she thought of the
sermon. "Awful," she said. "Don't you know what I mean by
'Kiss.' It stands for 'Keep It Short Stupid. '"))
So in this same spirit, I want to say something in
conclusion, but straight from the heart. In November, we started
a new era of cooperation, the first of many working sessions on
the problems that plague America. Now is no time for mere
9
politics. Now is the time to band together -- not for our sake -
- not for temporary partisan gain -- but in solidarity, for
generations to come.
When I talk to young people about what they want out of
life, one word keeps cropping up -- adventure. The generation
that is coming of age today is poised for a truly great
adventure. The world they will know will be as different from
today's world as ours is from that of W.E.B. Du Bois. Winds of
freedom are sweeping the globe. New democracies are being born.
Technology is leading us toward new worlds. And Americans must
be prepared, as never before, to provide the leadership for the
new century.
To take the lead, young Americans must be healthy, in body
and mind. They must be ready, in knowledge and purpose. They
must be free of soul-sapping poverty. And they must be free from
discrimination.
I spoke earlier of the Biblical proverb that compared
righteousness to a mighty stream. This same vision can be found
in a poem by Langston Hughes, who compared the odyssey of black
men and women to the crossing of many rivers. And with each
crossing, their souls have grown deep -- deep, like the rivers.
This odyssey shaped the soul of a people, and because of
your leadership, it also shaped the soul of our nation. Thank
you, God bless you, and God bless America.
#
#
#