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Mount Zion Church--Los Angeles 5/7/92 [OA 7573]
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26
22
5
3
MAY-07-1992 14:37 FROM LOS ANGELES PRESS OFFICE TO
MARLIN
P.03
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Los Angeles, California)
For Immediate Release
May 7, 1992
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT MOUNT ZION MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
LOS Angeles, California
9:10 A.M. PDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Reverend Hill. Let me just
say to his parishioners and to his fellow members of the clergy that
we Bushes have great respect for your pastor, respect for what he
stands for, respect for his leadership and respect for his emphasis
on family values.
I listened to prayers with wonder, admiration. I think
we got a pretty good start, don't you, with Miss Elmore singing
-- (applause) -- but I heard what His Eminence, Colonel Mahoney said
about racial tension; we must address that. What Bishop McMurray and
Dr. Billy Ingram said about healing; we've got to address that.
What Dr. Massey said about the importance of the church. And as you
look at the chaos and turmoil in this country, not just in the wake
of the riots of Los Angeles, but all the problems we face in the
country, the problems we face internationally, I keep coming back to
my own thinking: to the importance of the church, the importance of
our faith.
And then Reverend Massey talked about this is no time
for blame. And he's right about that. This is not a time for blame.
And I am not here in the mode of politics, I am not here in the mode
of partisanship, I am not here in the mode of blame. I'm here to
learn from the community, and at this moment to tell you of the
values that I strongly believe in.
When Reverend Hill and other national leaders came last
Friday to the White House, I reminded the group of what Mayor TOM
Bradley and other mayors -- urban mayors, rural mayors -- had to tell
me not so many months ago. They told me of their concerns for their
cities, their municipalities. But they came together on one key
point: They told me that their major concern about the problems in
the cities was the decline of the American family, the fact that the
to help strengthen the American family. This church does that for
family is weaker today. I think that we have simply got to find ways
the immediate family; all of your churches do that for the families
of your parishioners. But we've got to broaden it out.
great-grandparents and grandkids -- here to work within this church.
This church brings the generations -- grandparents,
That strengthens the American family. And to give the kids not
church helps kids understand the larger family. We are one nation
indoctrination into faith and into the teachings of the Lord, but only the
under God. We must remember that. We must advocate that. We must
continue to state that we are one nation under God.
Not to to keep him down. But to keep him well and to keep him safe, and
And we are our brother's keeper. Not to keep him back.
give him a shot at the American dream. Family values, that means
respect father. for one another, and it does mean honor thy mother and thy
MORE
- 2 -
I talked to Barbara this morning and told her a little
bit -- I didn't know it fully -- about what Reverend E.V. Hill had in
store for all of us today, but particularly for me. He had failed to
point out that he had the distinguished leaders of various
denominations here and that I would be flanked behind me by people
who are active pastors in the wonderful churches of this area. And
she told me, she said, you've got your nerve -- you've got a lot of
nerve to stand up in front of all those people and tell them what you
think about values. (Laughter.) But I'm going to try anyway.
(Laughter.)
I do want to single out Reverend Jones and Mrs. Jones
for what they do -- reaching across the states, bringing help to
others. That's family. That's God's family. Family values means
the church must continue to teach the kids right from wrong.
I was over at a supermarket, and the guy with tears in
his eyes was telling me, one of my own employees came in and took
stuff out of this store. And he couldn't understand it. We've got
to teach right from wrong. Government cannot do that. We can try,
those of us in public life, to set reasonably good examples of family
and faith. But the values have to be taught, and the church has a
tremendously important role on that.
I think that when Barbara reads to kids that she is
emphasizing not just the importance of education that we all believe
in -- so many of you working with children -- but she's emphasizing
the importance of the role of grandparents; even more, the importance
of love.
To struggle against hard times, to overcome the
devastation of poverty, of racism or of riots, we need our family.
We need our own family, we need our church family, and we must find
ways to strengthen America as a family. Back to what the Cardinal
said: We are embarrassed by interracial violence and prejudice.
We're ashamed. We should take nothing but sorrow out of all of that
and do our level best to see that it's eliminated from the American
dream. A family that respects the law, a family that can lift others
up. We need a family that is truly committed to faith; for, again,
we are one nation under God -- a family that says "I'm my brother's
keeper." But it's here -- it was here in the ugliest moments of the
rioting, the brother's keeper aspect. I saw it in a police station
just now. And God bless the honest policemen that are defending the
families of the neighborhood -- all of them. (Applause.)
But the message they got to me this morning was a little
different than the one that I see in that first two minutes on the
evening news. This was a message of forgiving and healing. How
neighbors had called in and said, here's where you can go and pick up
some looted goods, or brought them to the police station so that they
could be returned to their owners. We don't hear enough of that kind
of family action or that kind of fellowship.
Another pastor, Reverend Bennie Newton, laid his life on
the line for his brother. He saw a man literally beaten into the
ground. And he waded through the fray and he laid his body on top of
the victim until the beating stopped. And here's what he said. He
said, "MY heart was crying, but the bottom line is, he saved that
man's life. He was his brother's keeper. These are the stories that
I think America needs to know about. We saw the violence. We've
seen the hatred. And we've got to heal, to see the love.
Los Angeles is going to recover. This is a great city.
(Applause.) And I have pledged to the Governor, to the Mayor the
full support of the federal government. And if I might take one
mention of personal pride here to say that I'm very pleased the way
these departments in the federal government have responded. Not to
preempt, not to get credit -- again, not to assign blame, but to
supplement the work in the communities, the work of the Mayor, the
MORE
MAY-07-1992 14:39 FROM LOS ANGELES PRESS OFFICE TO
MARLIN
P.05
- 3 -
work of the Council and the work of the Governor. And I'm proud that
Lou Sullivan, our Secretary of HHS; and Jack Kemp, our Secretary of
HUD are here today. And many others wanted to be with me, but
somebody had to mind the store back there. (Laughter.)
NOW, Los Angeles will recover. I believe it is well on
its way to recovery, thanks to what the local government and the
state government and the federal presence are doing. And as Los
Angeles comes back to its glory, all of us must ask ourselves: What
can we do to help?
This 1s no time to outline federal programs. This is a
National Day of Prayer. This is a day to give our thanks. But we
will do what we can to help and to assist and to lead in this
reconciliation. To truly help, wa've got to understand the agony of
the depressed. You can't solve the problem if you don't feel its
heartbeat. You've got to understand the hopelessness of those who
literally have had no opportunity.
Trucks bringing food and bricks and mortar are rolling
into Los Angeles. And this city will be rebuilt. And I an confident
that new opportunities will arise. But all across this nation, we've
got to renew our fight to strengthen the American family. It isn't a
burnt-out area in Los Angeles. It isn't California. It is the
entire country. That's where everyone in this room, everyone in this
hallowed sanctuary comes in. We've got to find ways to do that.
We've got to fight against discrimination. We've go to continue to
speak out against bigotry. We've got to fight for justice and
equality. And on this National Day of Prayer it is fitting that we
pray to God to help us.
Abraham Lincoln was right -- you can't do it alone. If
we asked him what he did in times of turmoil -- you think of the
problems he faced -- he said, I spent a lot of my time on my knees.
We have to understand that that faith is still terribly important to
leaders, terribly important to citizens that lead these communities.
so I pray to God that he will give us the strength and
the wisdom to bring the family together -- the American family.
Barbara and I prayed that our personal family and your personal
families will be engulfed in God's love, and that every kid will have
someone who knows his name and really cares about him.
One little four-year-old girl -- maybe you heard the
story -- Ryan Bennett -- prayed special prayers as she saw her
neighborhood riddled with bullets, her candy store destroyed. And
Ryan said, "I asked God if he could make it so it's not dark
anymore." (Applause.) Let this nation VOW to help that it won't be dark.
END
9:30 A.M. PDT
African Nat'l History Month
Folder for MLK
quotes and Lift up
your voice and sing"
Acknowledgements
Mayor
elergy leadership
cardinal, bishops (general expression
Celeste King (sp?) NAME
12 people in holding room
including Mayor, Mr King
RNC 863-8500
California Republican Party
(818) 841-5210
Celes King III
Member of state CRP
central committee
Hilen Shell
contact person at
CRP
FACT CHECK COPY.
(Grossman)
May 5, 1992
Draft One
CHURCH
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
MOUNT ZION
will he intro POIUS ? other acknowledgemants?
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
THURSDAY, MAY 6, 1992
alt. Zion
213/235-2103 Rev. Hill, thank you for that introduction. Over the years
I've turned to the good reverend for advice. His guidance has
always echoed the words of another Baptist minister, a man from
2/17/12
Atlanta, Georgia. It was Martin Luther King who taught us that
speech
"the time is always ripe to do right. " That's why we're here.
I've come to Mount Zion on this National Day of Prayer, as a
man who cares about his family. Not just the one I share with my
wife and my children -- but the one I share with you. For better
or for worse, in sickness or in health, America is one family --
One Nation Under God. You see, I believe that we are our
brother's keeper. Not to keep him back. Not to keep him down.
But to keep him warm and safe. To keep him in our hearts and in
our counsel.
I've been keeping quite a bit of that counsel these past few
days. From the advice of Rev. Hill \ to the guidance of civil
rights leaders \ to the letters of thousands of Americans just
like you. The cynics can paint it any which way they like --
that won't change what I know to be right, and how I've fought to
do right. In ways small and large, I have spent a good part of
my life working on something we want to give to our
grandchildren: an America where they can work and play -- freely
safely and together. I've said it before and I'll say it
2
again: we must not and will not tolerate racism, bigotry, or
anti-semitism in America.
I believe we've made progress. We killed Jim Crow. We
leveled the legal walls that divided us. Most recently, we took
another step: last Novémber I was proud to sign ground-breaking Nov, 21 1991
Pres Documents
civil rights legislation -- not because it was the easy thing to
do not because it was the political thing to do but because
it was the right thing to do.
But law alone won't solve our problems. No law can reach
what we have in our hearts or change what we have on our
conscience. Government can abolish "back of the bus" rules --
but it can't make people share a seat. It can punish cruel acts
-- but it can't silence cruel words. Government can make good
laws -- but it can't make men good.
I heard a story about one good man. Another man of the
cloth, Rev. Bennie Newton, laid his life -- literally -- on the
line because he believed he was his brother's keeper. During the
riots he saw a man being beaten to the ground. Despite the
threats and the blows, Bennie walked into the fray and laid his
body over the bloody man until the beating stopped. "My heart
Mayon
Bradleys
was crying," said the pastor. He saved the man's life.
office
(IS he acive Mr.Lopez
Preso secy
A terrible thing happened to the family we call America, a val
dark hour that left many wondering what to do. But it's people 213/485- Bunting
like Rev. Newton that carried part of the answer within them all 3311
along. While some lit fires of hatred, others lit candles of
prayer. While some shut their eyes, others opened their
Mount Zion 02
Bradley's office:
example of a church that stayed open &
can they give 112 a specific
active during niots?
3
churches. The Bible tells us, "He has showed you, O man, what is
good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, Micah 7:8
and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
These are words to remember on this National Day of Prayer.
All across our land, thousands of houses of worship are filled
with the prayers of our citizens. Prayers, like the words of the
Black Nat"
Arthen
great spiritual anthem, "full of the faith that the dark past has
excerpt in
taught us X and the hope that the present has brought us. " If we
X
Wast
"lift every voice, I believe we will be heard.
I heard about the prayers of one little girl, 4-year-old
Ryan Bennett -- about the age of my granddaughter Ashley. During
the nights of rioting, Ryan's neighborhood was sprayed with
Post
bullets, her candy store was looted, her nightmares were real.
was/4/92
"I'm saying special prayers," she said, "I asked [God] if He
could make it so that it's not dark anymore." Let's make a
promise to Ryan and to all the children like her: never again
will we let it become that dark again. Never again as dark as
the darkest nights of that young life.
We've made a start. As I speak the trucks are arriving --
18 truckloads of food from Oklahoma city, from Albuquerque, from
Tuscon and Biloxi. A convoy of caring organized by Feed the
Children International, a non-profit church group. Churches
throughout the southland are collecting money, food, and clothing
-- reaching out to the community. That's the America we know.
The America we're praying for. Thank you. God bless you, and
God bless the United States of America.
Children's Perspective
WASH. POST: 05/04/92
A Riot's Scar: One Small Witness
Prays for God to 'Stop the Fire'
By Avis Thomas-Lester
Washington Post Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES, May 3-Four-
year-old Ryan Bennett has been
trying to strike a bargain with God:
She'll be an extra-good girl if God
will just make it possible for it nev-
er to be dark again.
Nighttime is when the vandals
and rioters came out, spraying her
neighborhood with gunfire and loot-
ing the 7-Eleven store where she
and her twin sister, Morgan, used
to buy candy.
Ife Mohammed, age 9, can't
sleep. Klarissa Valenzuela, 4, wants
to know if Disneyland is going to
burn down. And 5-year-old David
Reyes wants to join the National
Guard so he can help protect his
community, near Koreatown, where
Twins Ryan, left, and Morgan Bennett, 4, wait for a bus near burned-out store.
he has been awakened four nights
straight by shots and sirens.
have been depressed by the turn of
at police and some said they now
These are the littlest victims of
events.
fear police.
the violence that has ravaged Los
Unlike adults, parents and ex-
"I am afraid of police because
Angeles since angry protesters took
perts said, children don't have the
they have guns and they shoot peo-
to the streets Wednesday after the
reasoning mechanisms to help them
ple," said Morgan Bennett, who said
not-guilty verdicts in the trial of four
understand.
the sounds of guns and helicopters
white police officers charged with
"All they want to know is why is
and sirens that now permeate her
beating black motorist Rodney G.
this happening, and there are no an-
community after dark remind her of
King.
swers," said Nancy Timmons, 34, of
a "war movie."
"I'm saying special prayers asking
the upscale suburb Woodland Hills,
When a helicopter flew overhead,
God to stop the fire because I know
who took her son Jack, 7, on a tour of
the child leaped into the air on white
God can stop the fire," said Ryan.
burned-out Crenshaw Boulevard Sat-
plastic sandals to see where the cop-
For the moment, she has suspended
urday afternoon before dropping off
ter was headed. "Uh-oh! Uhhh-
the ordinary pastimes of childhood to
food at a disaster relief shelter.
ohhhhhh! Maybe they're coming!"
look at newspaper pictures and tele-
She took him there, she said, be-
Parents said that just like adults,
vision broadcasts of the riots. "I kept
cause her son demanded to see the
children have been drawn to tele-
asking Him to stop the fire, but He
devastation firsthand. "Maybe he
vised images of looting and beat-
didn't answer that prayer, so I said
thought if he could see it, he could
ings. Some parents said they are
another prayer. I asked Him if he
understand it better, but he didn't. I
planning to save newspapers as me-
could make it so that it's not dark
have no answers. How do you explain
mentos for their children, who will
anymore. When it's dark that's when
despair to a 7-year-old? How do you
undoubtedly study the riots in
the bad people come out."
explain intolerance or injustice?"
classes someday.
From San Pedro to Santa Mon-
But Brock Cardwell, 11, of Ingle-
Yolanda Valenzuela, 25, of West
ica, Los Angeles area children are
wood, a predominantly minority,
Los Angeles, fears her daughter
struggling to cope with the events
middle-class enclave in the city,
Klarissa never will forget. Her
that rocked their world last week.
thinks children do understand. To
daughter "shook like a leaf" Thurs-
And their parents secretly worry
him, the riots and vandalism are
day when their building was evac-
that the devastation will leave a leg-
nothing more than "acting out" by
uated because of a fire nearby. "She
acy of intolerance.
people who are "overdoing it."
was so frightened. I've never seen
The city will try to return to some
Brock attended services today at
her like that. I don't know how to
semblance of normalcy today when
Brookins Community African Meth-
help her forget."
people return to work and children
odist Episcopal Church.
Klarissa wanted to go to Chuck E.
to school.
"I think it started by a lot of peo-
Cheese's pizza restaurant on Friday
When doors open Monday morn-
ple just getting mad at what hap-
to make sure it did not burn down
ing, special crisis management teams
pened with Rodney King's case,"
along with the building on her street.
will be on hand in Los Angeles
Brock said. "But now they are over-
"A whole bunch of people have
schools to help children "understand
doing it. They are setting stuff on
been burning the buildings and loot-
and deal with their feelings," said
fire. That won't help, even little
ing so they could get, stuff free," Ife
school board member Leticia Que-
children know that."
Mohammed said.
zada.
Like Brock, several children
"There are old people who live
Parents describe their children as
blamed "bad people" for the prob-
near my house who used to go to
tearful and troubled by nightmares.
lems. "There are bad people taking
stores where they looted. Now they
Two of the more than 25 parents
advantage of the riot," said Randall
have to go far, real far. Some of them
interviewed said their children have
Kiev, 10. "They were mostly adults,
don't have cars and the buses aren't
asked to sleep with them out of
but there were some little kids, too."
running. What are they supposed to
fear. Several said their children
Several children also lashed out
do?"
MAY 5 '92 12:23 FROM GOVERNORS OFFICE SF
PAGE. 001
CALIFORNIA 185
XXXVI
THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
DATE: May 5 '92
TO: carol Blymire
COMPANY:
MESSAGE: More clips
FROM: Carolyn
PHONE: 415/703-2218
3
PAGES INCLUDING COVER SHEET:
GOVERNOR PETE WILSON
455 GOLDEN GATE AVENUE, SUITE 3200, SAN FRANCISCO. CALIFORNIA 94102 (415) 703-2218
MAY
5 92 12:24
FROM GOVERNORS OFFICE SF
PAGE. 002
RODNEY KING CASE
THE
San Francisco
Donations
L.A.
Examiner
May 5, 1992
"It seemed that half of our con-
P-A-11
San Jose church
gregation knew somebody affected
- either friends or relatives - in
gives $50,000 of
the Los Angeles area," Bernal said.
"It hit us hard emotionally."
its building fund
He said he hoped his donation
to Los Angeles prompted other
By Gregory Lewis
churches to contribute money.
OF THE EXAMINER STAFF
"Sixty million people go to
church in this country," he said.
The humanitarian effort to re-
store rebellion-torn Los Angeles
may be hampered by the contro-
versial nature of the disaster, at
least one relief organization fears.
"It's a unique situation," said
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
Pamela Corante, spokeswoman for
the American Red Cross in Los
Angeles. "Because the disaster was
AFTERMATH
a result of civil unrest and not a
natural disaster, people may be a
little hesitant to contribute because
of the controversy."
Corante said Monday that the
organization's Disaster Relief
'trickling in'
Fund, which raises money for di-
sasters throughout the world, was
"So what if every church took up a
White, a clerical supervisor at the
asking that donors give in the form
collection next Sunday for Mayor
Oakland church.
of checks and money orders. How-
Bradley or the city of Los Ange-
However, money is not the only
ever, the fund has received few do-
les?"
donation needed in Los Angeles;
nations earmarked for the Los An-
Some churches took up collec-
humanitarian efforts include re-
geles emergency.
tions during services Sunday. Allen
quests for food, clothing, furniture,
"Donations are trickling in," she
Temple Baptist Church in Oak-
baby food, diapers, nonperishable
said. "There hasn't been an over-
land is working with a Los Angeles
canned goods and volunteers.
whelming response, but we haven't
Baptist church to raise money for
"There's been a tremendous ef-
issued a plea for responses. People
those in need, said Madeline
fort from Caucasian, Filipino and
are still getting over the initial
shock, attending to their immedi-
ate needs and getting their lives
N
Tuesday, May 5, 1992 A-11
back in order."
But some churches and organi-
zations already have rushed to the
aid of victims of the violence.
Dick Bernal, senior pastor of
black churches," said Mary Fam-
cese, announced Monday it would
the Jubilee Christian Center in San
bro of the Seventh-Day Adventist
launch a comprehensive range of
Jose, said he would travel to Los
Church in Inglewood, Los Angeles
services to help victims of the re-
Angeles Wednesday to deliver a
County. "Donations are coming in.
bellion.
$50,000 check to Mayor Tom
People are making out checks and
Cardinal Roger Mahony said
Bradley or Peter Ueberroth, who
has been commissioned by Bradley
bringing fresh milk. We've been
the $1 million-plus effort would in-
able to to give families nice boxes
clude such services as food and
to lead reconstruction offorts.
of food they can use even if they
transportation for frail, home-
The church - made up of mul-
don't have any (electrical) power."
bound elderly and temporary fi-
tiracial parishioners including Af-
Fambro said volunteers from all
nancial help to victims who lost
rican Americans, Korean Ameri-
over the greater Los Angeles area
their jobs because of the rebellion.
cans, whites and Latinos - is do-
had shown up to do such things as
The funds will come from an
nating money previously
help clean the streets of debris.
annual collection taken in all Cath-
earmarked for its building fund.
Catholic Charities, the social
olic parishes in Los Angeles during
agency of the Los Angeles Archdio-
May.
Quiet Los Angeles
WASH. POST: 05/04/92
182
Ends Curfew Today
Schools, Electricity, Buses to Resume
21/122
By Paul Taylor and Lou Cannon
Washington Post Staff Writers
LOS ANGELES, May 3-After
three days of terror and a weekend
On one of the warmest, muggiest
By 4 p.m. Pacific time, the Los
weekends of the year, with temper-
of eerie quiet, the City of Angels
Angeles Times reported, the num-
atures around 80 degrees, the most
anticipated a dose of normalcy Mon-
ber of inmates in Los Angeles
vivid casualty of the riots was the
day when schools are to reopen, a
County jails had passed 25,000 and
famous Southern California sense of
dusk-to-dawn curfew is to be lifted
approached the system's legal ca-
mobility and personal freedom.
and bus service, most electricity
pacity of 25,488, set by a federal
and freeway access are expected to
City beaches were closed, parks
judge in response to complaints of
be restored in areas most savaged
were nearly empty, Cinco de Mayo
overcrowding in 1988.
by the deadliest civil disorder in the
festivals were postponed, and all
Anticipating the influx, sheriff's
nation's modern history.
professional sporting events were
officials hurriedly shipped out before
canceled or diverted to other cities.
A massive riot-control force of
today 1,073 inmates sentenced and
22,000 people-police, highway
Virtually all restaurants and night
awaiting transfer, the Times said.
patrol, National Guard, Army, Ma-
spots were dark throughout the
The Criminal Courts building
weekend because of a curfew that
rines and riot-trained FBI, Border
downtown was heavily protected by
remained in effect here and in 25
Patrol and Alcohol, Tobacco and
National Guard troops and attracted
Firearms agents-is expected to
nearby communities through Sun-
a stream of friends and family mem-
remain in place at least through
day night and added to the riot's
bers of suspects in custody. One
economic toll.
midweek, Mayor Tom Bradley an-
spectator, Kevin Heard, 18, who said
nounced today.
Gov. Pete Wilson (R), supportive
he is a gang member from the Haw-
For the first time, Marines left
of Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl
thorne area, arrived in a shirt that he
staging areas Saturday night and to-
F. Gates in the past, today cautious-
said he had taken during looting in
day and began to take up positions in
ly criticized the police department's
his neighborhood. "I was like a street
Compton, Long Beach and the Watts
performance during the first hours
sweeper," he explained. "I was pick-
neighborhood of Los Angeles. The
of the disturbances.
2,500 Army troops deployed to this
Appearing on ABC's "This Week
ing up everything people [looters]
area remained in a staging area in El
With David Brinkley," Wilson side-
were dropping."
Monte northeast of here.
stepped direct criticism of the em-
At the court session, District At-
Five slayings today increased the
battled chief but said there was "a
torney Ira Reiner promised no le-
death toll to at least 51 since vio-
basic misassumption on the part of
niency for looters, "The essential
lence began Wednesday, according
local law enforcement as to the
crime is one of disorder," he said,
to the county coroner. It was not
magnitude of the response that
"and any act of looting encouraged
immediately clear whether some of
would be required" if four white Los
others in the mob to come storming
the most recent deaths-including
Angeles officers were not found
in behind them."
three in unrelated shooting inci-
guilty in the beating of black motor-
Not only were churches popular
dents and one in an arson brush
ist Rodney G. King.
gathering places for Sunday ser-
fire-were the product of rioting or
Gates, interviewed separately on
vices and spiritual guidance, but
the normal violence endemic to
CBS's "Face the Nation," defended
they also continued to serve as
large cities.
his actions on the night that violence
command posts in cleanup and food-
Tonight, at least two National
erupted. "We were as shocked as
relief efforts.
Guard soldiers fired eight shots,
everyone" by the verdict and the re-
"People need the church right
fatally wounding a Hispanic man
action to it and were "in the first
now," the Rev. T. Larry Kirkland
driving a car who tried to run them
stages of this, overwhelmed," he ac-
told the congregation at the Brookins
down after curfew in south-central
knowledged.
Community African Methodist Epis-
Los Angeles, police said. It was the
Were he able to relive last Wed-
copal Church. "People need to know
first reported use of deadly force by
nesday, Gates said, he would not
God is in charge. The Bible said, 'I
Guard troops on patrol here.
have attended a political fund-raiser
have come that you may have life and
Earlier, Angelenos of all races
two hours after the disturbances
have it abundantly.' But some people
and creeds flocked to churches in
began. He spoke there against a
are feeling, where is life when four
large numbers to pray for a resto-
June 2 initiative that would revamp
men can beat a black man and get off
police organization.
scot-free? People need to be reas-
ration of order, a spirit of forgive-
But he dismissed his appearance
sured that God is still in charge, not
ness and a rebuilding of a city in
as having had no effect on the de-
white people."
which unofficial damage estimates
partment's response to the unrest.
At the gymnasium-sized
approach $1 billion.
"We were not engaged in a full-
Maranatha Church in the hard-hit
Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger
scale riot at this time," he said.
Crenshaw district, usher DeWayne
Mahony, celebrating Mass in four
The tedious process of arraigning
churches in hard-hit south-central
more than 9,000 people arrested
Los Angeles, made an unusual invi-
since Wednesday continued during
tation to looters: Return stolen
an unusual Sunday court session
goods to any area church, no ques-
today as authorities in the district
tions asked. There was no immediate
attorney's office had trouble match-
indication that he had any takers.
ing arrest records with individuals
who were charged. The state Su-
preme Court has authorized dou-
bling the normal arraignment pe-
riod for suspects arrested during
the riot to 96 hours.
WASH. POST: 05/04/92
insist that the Bush administration
establish an urban policy.
Although the day generally was
quiet, some churchgoers were not
immune to reminders of the terror of
the last week. As parishioners at
Greater Ebenezer Missionary Baptist
Church in south-central Los Angeles
were about to leave the building,
shots were fired at a passing police
car. No injuries were reported.
Deputy District Attorney Terry
White, chief prosecutor in the King
beating case, said today on "Face
the Nation" that his boss, Reiner,
had not decided whether Officer
Laurence M. Powell, who struck
most of 56 baton blows against
King, should be retried on the one
count that ended in a mistrial, Ju-
rors split 8 to 4 for acquittal on a
charge that he committed assault
under color of authority,
A hearing to determine whether
Powell should be retried is sched-
uled here May 15 before Superior
Court Judge Stanley M, Weisberg,
who presided at the trial of the of-
ficers in suburban Simi Valley in
Ventura County.
As insurance adjusters began fan-
ning out all over the city this week-
end, officials said losses from the riot
could approach $1 billion, almost
double the city's current estimate of
$550 million, "Undercoverage will be
a major problem," Bill Rake, presi-
dent of a local adjusting company,
told the Los Angeles Times,
City officials said they have no way
of knowing the long-term impact on
tourism, second only to the enter-
tainment industry as the county's
largest. Many tour operators, includ-
ing the Japan Travel Bureau, the
largest inbound operator from Japan,
have temporarily suspended tours.
The disturbance continued to be
grist for the national political mill.
Bill Clinton, the Democratic front-
runner, mentioned the riots in
Frelow preached positivism while
speeches at two black churches and a
pastor Billy Ingram prayed with
labor rally in Washington before fly-
1,000 parishioners.
ing here. "There's some chance, if
"L.A, stands for living alive," said
we come out with an agenda, the
Frelow, a gospel rap singer also
current administration will adopt it,"
known as MC Doc. "Some people
he said, "There's some precedent for
may have died, but L.A. is alive."
that in this election. Maybe by just
In Koreatown, where rioters tar-
going there and just coming up with
geted businesses, the Rev, Jang
some things to do, we'll be able to
Kyun of the Central Evangelical
alter this in a nonpartisan way."
Church told his congregation: "We
Appearing on NBC's "Meet the
cannot escape this kind of difficulty,
Press," potential presidential can-
this kind of danger
but we have
didate Ross Perot said that, if he
to forgive those who have been vi-
were president, he would have gone
olent and pray for them."
to the scene of the riots to get a
On Saturday, an estimated 30,000
"hands-on" feel for the situation,
Korean Americans, many wearing
The campaign of Democrat Ed-
white headbands, had marched
mund G. "Jerry" Brown Jr. took a
downtown for peace. Today, commu-
different hands-on approach as more
nity leaders met with Jesse L. Jack-
than 100 staff members and volun-
son, the District's shadow U.S. sen-
teers from the former California gov.
ator, to seek ways to improve tense
ernor's Santa Monica headquarters
relations with blacks.
drove to south-central Los Angeles
"We must go from pain to part-
and participated in the cleanup,
nership, not pain to polarization,'
Staff writers Donna Britt, Lynne
Jackson said. In an interview, he
Duke, Carlos Sanchez and Avis
said he planned to try to convene a
Thomas-Lester contributed to this
meeting of national black leaders to
report.
MAY-01-1900 01:29 FROM
TO
4562317
P.02
HILLAND KNOWLTON
Hill and Knowlton, Inc.
International Public Relations/
Public Affairs Counsel
Washington Harbour
901 31st Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20007-3838
202-333-7400
Telecopy 202-333-1638
Robert Keith Gray
Chairman
May 5, 1992
- Ellen Latham
The Honorable
Bob witeck
Samuel K. Skinner
Chief of Staff
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Chief:
As the President departs now for the west coast to address the challenges and relief efforts
urgently needed in Los Angeles, I know how critical it will be to communicate his message
of concern.
I also recognize staff is knee-deep in advance preparations and scheduling, therefore, I felt it
important to make you aware of information that may be instrumental as a humanitarian
backdrop to his visit.
Last Friday, I'm told reliably, President Bush met here with several Los Angeles leaders
including the Reverend Dr. E.V. Hill, a prominent clergyman and community figure. Dr.
Hill specifically has requested the intervention and support of our client, Larry Jones, the
founder and president of FEED THE CHILDREN (a nonprofit, volunteer-driven hunger
relief organization based in Oklahoma), to provide immediate food supplies to the hard-hit
neighborhoods of Los Angeles. As he has done following the havoc from the San Francisco
earthquake, Hurricane Hugo, or when similar calamities strike other spots on the globe,
Larry Jones quickly set things in motion.
Six massive trailer-trucks are heading to the city now from Oklahoma, providing 200,000
pounds of food and 40,000 pounds of clothing. We expect the FEED THE CHILDREN
donations [supported by voluntary corporate and individual contributions] will arrive at their
destination on Thursday, May 7. I understand NBC network television is following the
progress of the convoy and we expect a healthy degree of media attention for this singular
contribution, along with many other private relief efforts.
MAY-01-1900 01:30 FROM
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4562317
P.03
HILL AND KNOWLTON
The Honorable
Samuel K. Skinner
May 5, 1992
Page Two
While I do not know what plans are now in place, I know the Reverend Dr. Hill and Mr.
Jones will be pleased to work with your team to offer a suitable camera opportunity for this
welcome donation and visit for President Bush's arrival to encourage the community
recovery efforts. The publicity generated by this effort invariably promotes a high measure
of public generosity and added contributions, and such a gesture will be deeply welcomed by
the community organizers and by the families they serve. [The organizers are not looking
for Presidential thanks, but to help spread the word that contributions and volunteers are at
work and more is needed.]
I leave to you and your colleagues this decision, of course, however, I can reassure you we
will assist in any way appropriate or necessary to accommodate the White House schedule
and logistics.
Please do not hesitate to contact me directly at 944-5100 and I will do whatever I can to
assist.
Best,
Bar
MAY-01-1900 01:30 FROM
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4562317
P.04
HILL AND KNOWLTON
Hill and Knowiton
Public Affairs Worldwide Co.
Washington Harbour
901 31st Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20007-3838
202-333-7400
Memorandum
Telecopy 202-333-1638
Telex 440143 HKDC
Memo to:
Lessandra Machamer, NBC Today Show
From:
Ellen Lathem, Hill and Knowlton
Subject:
LOS ANGELES RIOTS/HUNGER RELIEF EFFORTS
Date:
May 5, 1992
Copies:
Now that the massive rebuilding efforts have just begun in downtown Los Angeles, the
immediate need to supply food to families in the inner city is even more critical. Larry
Jones, president and founder of the international hunger relief organization, FEED THE
CHILDREN, is planning a major food shipment immediately to Los Angeles a community
he and his volunteer organization have served for over the past decade.
FEED THE CHILDREN now offers free pick-up and transportation to any corporation or
food company that wishes to send aid to the people of Los Angeles. They will accept phone
calls from anywhere in the United States throughout the next week from those wishing to
help: 405-942-0228, or by writing P.O. Box 36, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73101.
Three years ago, Willard Scott and the NBC TODAY SHOW came to the rescue of
Americans devastated by Hurricane Hugo and its aftermath - - in part, by announcing FEED
THE CHILDREN's food relief program for the people of the shore communities in the
Carolinas and encouraging corporations to call with supplies in response to FEED THE
CHILDREN'S offer to truck them for free.
We would like to request Willard Scott, once more, back these humanitarian food relief
efforts by announcing this offer made by FEED THE CHILDREN and by stating the
phone number on air during one of his breaks. We also will present him with a 28-inch
replica of the massive FEED THE CHILDREN trailer-truck that displays the
organization's logo, that he may use during his stand-up. Trucks like these will arrive
in Los Angeles quickly to distribute the food donated.
STATUS REPORT: At 1 PM Central Time, Tuesday, May 5, 1992, six tractor-trailers left
Oklahoma City bound for Los Angeles. They are loaded with 200,000 pounds of food and
40,000 pounds of clothing. The Oklahoma City NBC Affiliate (Channel 4) is accompanying
the FEED THE CHILDREN trucks, and will feed stories and live remotes along the way.
Estimated day of arrival in Los Angeles is Thursday, May 7, 1992.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, and follow-up, please contact Ellen Lathem in Washington at
202-944-5101 or Bob Witeck at 202-944-5130.
A Division of Hill and Knowlton, Inc.
TOTAL P.04
MAY-01-1900 01:29 FROM
TO
4562317
P.01
HILL AND KNOWLTON
Hill and Knowiton
Public Affairs Worldwide Co.
Washington Harbour
901 31st Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20007-3838
202-333-7400
Telecopy 202-333-1638
Telex 440143 HKDC
Telecopiers:
(202) 298-6693
(202) 334-4999
625-0259
TELECOPY TRANSMISSION COVER SHEET
Please deliver immediately upon receipt
Number of pages (including cover sheet)
4
Date:
may 6, 1992
Time:
n am
To:
PEGGY HAZELRIGG
White House Advance
Bob Witeck
Bob
From:
Hill and Knowlton/Washington, D.C.
Thanks -
Message: Here's the scoop ow Tary's
involvement with Dr. E. V. Hill this
week. and Larry Jones will be there
tomorrow at 8 AM when the President
visits Hill's church and sees the massive
food donations - Hope twis is helpful the speech to
please call Rajini Wycliffe at (202) 944-5174.
If you have trouble receiving this transmission or you did not receive the specified number of pages writers. shown above,
A Division of Hill and Knowlton, Inc.
(Grossman)
May 5, 1992
Draft One
CHURCH
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
MOUNT ZION
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
THURSDAY, MAY 6, 1992
Rev. Hill, thank you for that introduction. Over the years
I've turned to the good reverend for advice. His guidance has
always echoed the words of another Baptist minister, a man from
Atlanta, Georgia. \ It was Martin Luther King who taught us that
"the time is always ripe to do right." That's why we're here.
I've come to Mount Zion on this National Day of Prayer, as a
man who cares about his family. Not just the one I share with my
wife and my children -- but the one I share with you. For better
or for worse, in sickness or in health, America is one family --
One Nation Under God. You see, I believe that we are our
brother's keeper. Not to keep him back. Not to keep him down.
But to keep him warm and safe. To keep him in our hearts and in
our counsel.
I've been keeping quite a bit of that counsel these past few
days. From the advice of Rev. Hill \ to the guidance of civil
rights leaders \ to the letters of thousands of Americans just
like you. The cynics can paint it any which way they like --
that won't change what I know to be right, and how I've fought to
do right. In ways small and large, I have spent a good part of
my life working on something we want to give to our
grandchildren: an America where they can work and play -- freely
\ safely \ and together. I've said it before and I'll say it
2
again: we must not and will not tolerate racism, bigotry, or
anti-semitism in America.
I believe we've made progress. We killed Jim Crow. We
leveled the legal walls that divided us. Most recently, we took
another step: last November I was proud to sign ground-breaking
civil rights legislation -- not because it was the easy thing to
do \ not because it was the political thing to do \ but because
it was the right thing to do.
But law alone won't solve our problems. No law can reach
what we have in our hearts or change what we have on our
conscience. Government can abolish "back of the bus" rules --
but it can't make people share a seat. It can punish cruel acts
-- but it can't silence cruel words. Government can make good
laws -- but it can't make men good.
I heard a story about one good man. Another man of the
cloth, Rev. Bennie Newton, laid his life -- literally -- on the
line because he believed he was his brother's keeper. During the
riots he saw a man being beaten to the ground. Despite the
threats and the blows, Bennie walked into the fray and laid his
body over the bloody man until the beating stopped. "My heart
was crying," said the pastor. He saved the man's life.
A terrible thing happened to the family we call America, a
dark hour that left many wondering what to do. But it's people
like Rev. Newton that carried part of the answer within them all
along. While some lit fires of hatred, others lit candles of
prayer. While some shut their eyes, others opened their
3
churches. The Bible tells us, "He has showed you, O man, what is
good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice,
and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
These are words to remember on this National Day of Prayer.
All across our land, thousands of houses of worship are filled
with the prayers of our citizens. Prayers, like the words of the
great spiritual anthem, "full of the faith that the dark past has
taught us and the hope that the present has brought us." If we
"lift every voice," I believe we will be heard.
I heard about the prayers of one little girl, 4-year-old
Ryan Bennett -- about the age of my granddaughter Ashley. During
the nights of rioting, Ryan's neighborhood was sprayed with
bullets, her candy store was looted, her nightmares were real.
"I'm saying special prayers," she said, "I asked [God] if He
could make it so that it's not dark anymore." Let's make a
promise to Ryan and to all the children like her: never again
will we let it become that dark again. Never again as dark as
the darkest nights of that young life.
We've made a start. As I speak the trucks are arriving --
18 truckloads of food from Oklahoma city, from Albuquerque, from
Tuscon and Biloxi. A convoy of caring organized by Feed the
Children International, a non-profit church group. Churches
throughout the southland are collecting money, food, and clothing
-- reaching out to the community. That's the America we know.
The America we're praying for. Thank you. God bless you, and
God bless the United States of America.
INOV 21
- Dor
Rhodes Ashly ?.
Gout can X but it cant 7 Y
"back-of-tho-bus taws
- Government can abolish
on buses, but it can't make people
Share a seat. Government can
punish cruel acts, but it can't
silence cruel words. Government can
designegate the schools, but it can't
make students get along.
Government can make good laws
but it can't make men good.
Govt manches vs. peoples roots
In the end no number of government manches
can take the place of comming noots.
- can't give men courage
- make men strong
Government can do mary things but
it camot nais families, it cannot
teach values
Ryan Bennet, Marshall years old --
? = does Bush have a B-5 yr old
grandchild?
E.V.NOT
"full of the faith that the dark past has taught us and the
hope that the present has brought us. "
--another man of the cloth a man who prayed for justice and
told us "that the time is always ripe to do right. "
it are
--Moses proclaimed the Ten Commandments "
out
of
the
midst
of
the fire, of the clouds, and of the thick darkness." "
and
--E.E. Hale: "To look up and not down. To look forward and not
back. To look out and not in, and to lend a hand. "
--MLK: "Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent
attitude"
-MLK: "Every man is somebody because he is a child of God.
-MLK: "Our destinies are tied together."
by
--Another pastor, Reverend Bennie Newton, believed that he was
his brother's keeper and laid his life on the line for this
belief. During the rioting he walked into what he called "a
street storm" of violence and saw a man being beaten to the
ground. Despite the threats, despite the blows, the reverend
walked into the fray, and laid his body over the bloody man.
When the beating stopped, Reverend Newton drove the man to
safety.
--I believe that I am and we are our brother's keeper. Not to
keep him back. Not to keep him down. But to keep him safe, to
keep him warm, and to keep him in our hearts.
--I heard a story about a little girl, four-year-old Ryan
Bennett, who tried to strike a bargain with God. Her
neighborhood was sprayed with bullets; her candy store, gutted,
looted. "I'm saying special prayers," said Ryan, "I asked Him if
he could make it so that it's not dark anymore. When it's dark
that's when the bad people come out. " Let's make a promise to
Ryan, and to all the little girls and boys like her: We must
never again let it become that dark between us. Never again as
dark as the darkest nights of that young life.
--A verse in the Old Testament tells us: "If my people, which are
called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my
face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." "
--There is a song written almost a century ago called "Lift Every
Voice and Sing. We know it well. It asks this: "God of weary
years, God of our silent tears; Though who has brought us thus
far on the way; Thou who has by Thy might, led us into the light,
Keep us forever in Thy path, we pray. "
--Pastor Hills has been a POTUS friend for years.
DAY OF PRAYER: thousands of churches and synagogues all accross
our land are filled with the prayers of our citizens. People are
praying in their offices, in their shops, in their homes. Could
so many voices not be heard?
--America is great because America is good.
E.V.OUT
I.
Convey a sense of POTUS's standing in the civil rights
community
his meetings with civil rights leaders last
week
not as a white man
why he's there, why he cares.
his
II. How we're going to deal with discrimination
we've removed
the legal barriers
signed landmark civil rights
legislation
we've made great progress
but there's more
to do
must keep us the vigilance
win mistory butthe a the 5 family have me a wife
III. But the solution is more than legal obstacles: law can't
reach what we have in our hearts
the need to build a
show
culture of character
the civil rights movement of the 1960's killed Jim
you
Crow
but divisions and suspicions still live.
quiet acts of violence: when people cross the street to
avoid walking too near to a person of violence they commit
quiet violence. When a clerk treats someone as a color
rather than as a customer, he commits quiet violence. When
any of us listens to racist talk without speaking out, we
commit quiet violence. And we must stop.
-some say racism is on the rise. I pray that it is not.
Some say police brutality is all to prevalent. I pray
.
CLOSE:
"One nation under God"
what does he see when he looks
down on us?
The church is the center of community. It is our
conscience.
II CHRONICLES 7
448
God's glory fills the temple
S
David, and to Solomon, and to
CHAPTER 7
of
Israel his people.
fo
Now when Solomon had made
11 Thus Solomon finished the
la
an end of praying, the fire came
house of the LORD, and the king's
sh
down from heaven, and consumed
house: and all that came into Sol-
the burnt offering and the sacrifices;
omon's heart to make in the house
and the glory of the LORD filled the
of the LORD, and in his own house,
house.
he prosperously effected.
2 And the priests could not enter
12 "IT And the LORD appeared to
into the house of the LORD, because
Solomon by night, and said unto
the glory of the LORD had filled the
him, I have heard thy prayer, and
h
LORD'S house.
have chosen this place to myself for
a
3 And when all the children of
an house of sacrifice.
Israel saw how the fire came down,
13 If I shut up heaven that there
and the glory of the LORD upon the
be no rain, or if I command the
house, they bowed themselves with
locusts to devour the land, or if I
their faces to the ground upon the
send pestilence among my people;
pavement, and worshipped, and
14 If my people, which are called
praised the LORD, saying, For he is
by my name, shall humble them-
good; for his mercy endureth for
selves, and pray, and seek my face,
ever.
and turn from their wicked ways;
4 "I Then the king and all the peo-
then will I hear from heaven, and
ple offered sacrifices before the
will forgive their sin, and will heal
ORD.
their land.
5 And king Solomon offered a
15 Now mine eyes shall be open,
sacrifice of twenty and two thou-
and mine ears attent unto the prayer
sand oxen, and an hundred and
that is made in this place.
twenty thousand sheep: so the king
16 For now have I chosen and
and all the people dedicated the
sanctified this house, that my name
house of God.
may be there for ever: and mine
6 And the priests waited on their
eyes and mine heart shall be there
offices: the Levites also with instru-
perpetually.
ments of music of the LORD, which
17 And as for thee, if thou wilt
David the king had made to praise
walk before me, as David thy father
the LORD, because his mercy endur-
walked, and do according to all that
eth for ever, when David praised
I have commanded thee, and shalt
by their ministry; and the priests
observe my statutes and my judg-
sounded trumpets before them,
ments;
and all Israel stood.
18 Then will I stablish the throne
7 Moreover Solomon hallowed
of thy kingdom, according as I have
the middle of the court that was be-
covenanted with David thy father,
fore the house of the LORD: for
saying, There shall not fail thee a
there he offered burnt offerings, and
man to be ruler in Israel.
the fat of the peace offerings, be-
19 But if ye turn away, and for-
cause the brasen altar which Solo-
sake my statutes and my command-
mon had made was not able to re-
ments, which I have set before you,
ceive the burnt offerings, and the
and shall go and serve other gods,
meat offerings, and the fat.
and worship them;
8 Also at the same time Solo-
20 Then will I pluck them up by
mon kept the feast seven days, and
the roots out of my land which I
all Israel with him, a very great
have given them; and this house,
congregation, from the entering
which I have sanctified for my name,
in of Hamath unto the river of
will I cast out of my sight, and will
Egypt.
make it to be a proverb and a by-
9 And in the eighth day they made
word among all nations.
a solemn assembly: for they kept
21 And this house, which is high,
the dedication of the altar seven
shall be an astonishment to every
days, and the feast seven days.
one that passeth by it; so that he
10 And on the three and twentieth
shall say, Why hath the LORD done
day of the seventh month he sent the
thus unto this land, and unto this
people away into their tents, glad
house?
and merry in heart for the goodness
22 And it shall be answered, Be-
that the LORD had shewed unto
cause they forsook the LORD God
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Los Angeles, California)
For Immediate Release
May 7, 1992
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN MEETING WITH BLACK COMMUNITY LEADERS
Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church.
Los Angeles, California
9:15 A.M. PDT
REVEREND E.V. HILL: May I give the ground rules,
please. The persons who are seated in this assembly have been
selected across from young people to business people to leaders.
The President wanted to meet just a few. He will not have an.
opportunity to hear a long question, but if you can make short
your statement, the President of the United States would like to
hear you.
Mr: President, we are honored again to have you.
THE PRESIDENT: Reverend Hill, let me -- I would
never, ever correct E.V. Hill, especially in his own church in
its centennial year, but rather than questions -- and I will be
glad to answer them -- what I really would like to get is the
heartbeat of the community, hear from you all as to what you
think can best help, where matters stand.
It's hard on a short visit to get all this. I will
assure you -- and I hope that Pete, sitting here, and Tom Bradley
would agree -- that we have tried to bring federal resources to
bear in a timely fashion. It' been done pretty low-key in the
sense that the federal officers out here have been not seeking a
limelight. 'But under David Kearns they've put together a good
task force, and I've been very gratified that the leaders, both
from City Council and the Mayor's Office, as well as the
Governor's Office, feel the federal government is responding --
whether it's from FEMA, or whether it's from Jack Kemp's HUD, or
whether it's from Lou Sullivan's HHS, or the Department of
Education: Leading the fray was Pat Saiki out here very early
for the SBA -- small business loans.
So I don't want to go into all these programs,
although I'd be glad to have our experts respond to any questions
on them at all. But what I'd like to do is, first, to say thank
you; second, to let vou know that justice will prevail, that we
will follow through with my responsibilities under the law, and
the Department of Justice is following through on the justice
side of the equation to see that -- to examine to see if civil
rights of anybody have been violated -- King or anybody, Rodney
King or anyone else -- that there be fair play and equity there.
But having said all that, let me, tell you something:
And you know it better than I. There is no way, really, I guess,
that the President can come here in an every four-year situation
and not have it be accused by some of being political. I-don't
want it to be political. I want to get by this. We've got
plenty of time later on in the year for the politics. I want to
hear from you, just all the bark off as to what you think we can
do. And please speak frankly about it.
If your comments have a political ring it will not
offend because, as I say, it's a hard year to stay out of it.
But we're here to help and-we're here to learn. And that's it.
- 2 -
MR. JOHN MACK: Mr. President -- and obviously, this
is not a political situation, even though I handled your campaign
in South Central -- (laughter) -- a few years ago, and I may do
it again. But it's under consideration, depending on a few
things.
Let's get to the bottom line on this situation.
There are going to be many resources that are brought into the
Los Angeles area. We have, time and time again, seen resources
come in and they not adequately benefit the community. I serve
on a committee here that was put together by the federal
government. It's called the Century Freeway Affirmative Action
Committee.
What we do is we examine the dollars that come in to
see to that at least a portion of that money, it goes to people
who live in this corridor that are involved. It is important to
understand that merely allocating resources, sending them in does
not mean that we will not be excluded from the process of being
able to help rebuild this community.
I encourage you to take a look at the Century
Freeway Action program. It's been in existence now 10 years.
It's a federal decree. And we will see to it that the dollar
allocation is fair. We will not allow people from outside of the
community to economically sweep all this money away.
That goes for you, too, Pete. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: That's a good opening comment.
MR. ROD DAVIS: Good morning, Mr. President. My
name is Rod Davis. I'm a small-businessman in the community and
I have come here today not representing any organization, not
looking for any political office, but asking for help. I spent
nine years building a small business in South Central Los
Angeles. My family and I gave it everything we had. We are now
totally burned out. I don't know what resources I have to
rebuild.
so I'm just here today thanking you for coming and
asking that the help will come forward. We would like to stay in
South Central Los Angeles. We have an investment in the
community. But now it's time that someone has to come to my aid.
I've never had a small business loan. I've never had to come to
the government for anything. But now I don't know where to turn
because I do not have the resources to put my business back
together, put my family back together. And we appreciate you
coming out.
THE PRESIDENT: May I make a comment on that,
Reverend?
REVEREND HILL: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Because there are a lot of others
like you and you're not here as a special pleader. But I -- the
federal government can in a situation like this be of real
assistance. It is largely through SBA, but perhaps other
facilities, agencies can help, too.
Certainly. this is one, this type of experience is
one where the federal government has resources available, pumping
them in now -- I outlined the programs last night; I won't go
through them here, although Pat Saiki is here now. And to others
like you, whose life has gone up in smoke, we can get assistance,
no strings attached to it, largely through SBA, but not only SBA.,
And so we can get, in your case obviously, somebody
in touch with you, But others like you, the Small Business
Administration and other federal, agencies can help. I know that
- 3 -
Pete or Tom Bradley can speak for the city. But this is clearly
one where we have the resources.
DR. CLYDE ODEN: Mr. President, I'm Dr. Clyde oden,
President of the Watts Health Foundation. We operate a community
health center in the community. We operate a number of programs
in the community.
One thing we would like to just impress upon you and
the rest of the leaders, that in the building of Los Angeles
there has to be ownership by the residents. Existing
institutions need to see the resources come their way. The
savings and loans, the banks -- we need not have Bank of America
or any of the other -- Wells Fargo Bank -- see the federal monies
come through their sources. They ought to come through local
resources.
Local community people want to own in their
community. They find that the walls are there. The walls need
to be removed so that we can have ownership in our community, we
can build our own jobs, and we can build our community back. We
want to do it. And if you look and see the community, you'll see
that by and large people want to protect what is theirs. When
they have an investment in it they will make sure that it works
and that it grows.
Thank you, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Let me comment on that one. I
strongly agree with that concept and we will, again, push for the
concept at the federal level But I am told by city officials
that you are absolutely correct, that where ownership has been
involved; there has been much more respect for property. And
certainly this concept of ownership in the community -- the
businesses -- is something I strongly endorse. And we will find
ways to implement that at the federal level, I promise you.
MS. LOIS HILL: My name is Lois Hill, and I'm a
resident of South Central Los Angeles: I don't have a political
axe to grind, but I do live in the heart of South Central Los
Angeles. And in the rebuilding of Los Angeles I would like to be
a part of -- I would like to see the number of unfavorable
elements limited in my neighborhood.
I worked on the board of education; I am not a
teacher, I'm a little person. Right now we need $6 million or
$10 million to keep our after-school program together. Our
children -- the safest place for the children in the community is
in the after-school program. That's being cut. I work with the
child development division -- one of the places that provide
child care for children. Part of their program is being cut.
The biggest component -- we have a feeding program where you are
fed as a family-style feeding. It's being cut because there is
no money to fund it.
We have got to lay aside politics, get to the root
of the matter and come together and heal our community. I live
in South Central LOS Angeles T don't want to move out of South
Central Los Angeles. And I don't want the people living on the
outskirts of South Central Los Angeles telling me what's
necessary in South Central Los Angeles.
I live on 89th and Avalon. 1 cannot go to the park
at because it's too dangerous. My grandkids come over to my
house and say, can I go to the park? No, you can't. But the
people from outside the community are going to tell me how my
community is supposed to be run. I need to know what you're
going to do for my community?
MR. JIM FLOURNOY: One of the things that I think is
sorely needed is there are a lot of funds available, but the
trouble is who knows where they are. We don't know where they
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- 4 -
are. I think that it's critical that there be a communication
network that will let -- like this man said -- I don't know where
to go. There should be someplace where the people like that will
know where to go to take advantage of those kinds of funds.
THE PRESIDENT: The things were trying to work out
for the federal government is that kind of, like a what you call
a one-stop shopping approach. And David Kearns, who is our
number two in the Department of Education -- some may remember
him through his work with the Urban League and others when he was
the Chairman of Xerox, a very large company, but a great manager
-- is working that problem right now. And it would include not
just the kind of services that this lady talked about, but all of
it, including what the private sector can do to help.
I know Peter Ueberroth's getting involved in that,
and we have a national office on that. But I think that the plea
here is a very good one for letting people know what's out there.
MR. WARREN VALDRY: Mr President, my name is Warren
Valdry, the President of the One Hundred Black Men of Los
Angeles. Again, we're very pleased that you have taken the time
to come here to validate the involvement of the federal
government. Yet, on the other hand, we, the One Hundred Black
Men, lost its building. And as you know, we have been working
with the very model program called the Young Black Scholars --
THE PRESIDENT: I know it.
MR. VALDRY: -- putting kids in college and
universities all around the country. Governor Wilson has been
very supportive of that concept. And one of the things that we'd
like to see, as these resources come forward that it begins to
build a relationship, build a partnership whereby the community
is empowered to become stakeholders in that process. The One
Hundred Black Men building was burned to the ground. We spent
seven years getting that building together. It was a mini-city
hall for the community people -- the elderly, the young folk --
to come in there. There was a model room where they could come
in and watch City Hall in action. It was bringing City Hall to
the community.
The organization is ready to go again. We want to
rebuild. And the organization stands ready to be a part of that
collective group that you want to put together. And we just say
thanks, again, for being here. We want to work. We want to mend
the relationship of this community. We want to be part of it.
THE PRESIDENT: May I ask you a question before you
sit down? And it may be an impossible one to answer. But here's
One Hundred Black Men, a respected organization that has no
enemies. Why would someone target -- no matter what the rage,
why would somebody target that building? We've seen this --
gentlemen -- what's your name again?
MR. DEREKE CARR: Dereke.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, Dereke. He was telling me this
morning about -- he was the one I was referring to about who saw
one of his own employees taking stuff out of the store. We went
around and talked about the different -- the ownership and the
different facilities there. One was a dentist's office. The
dentist and his wife stood out there with a dog trying to keep
people from coming in and taking --
Where is he -- Dr. Faulkner right here. An amazing
story. But why -- maybe that one is messed up because it was
next door to a supermarket where people can go and get food. But
why the Hundred Black Men? Why would somebody destroy that
building? Can you --
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- 5 -
MR. VALDRY: The only thing that I think that it
might have had, the city was leasing the building. It might have
had the city emblem up there, I don't know. But I want to just
conclude with the fact that, the Young Black scholars, a model
program that is really being modeled by the state now with senate
bill 1114; and it also reflects the Education 2000 vision that
you are really pushing forward.
DR. LARRY KIRKLAND: I simply want to thank the
President for coming and we're privileged that you've come. But
to answer your question that you asked a minute ago, when people
have been neglected and when people have been pressed down for so
long, they do not think rationally. And that's why that building
was burned. And that's a question I really wanted to encourage
you to raise.
We need economic empowerment and we need educational
opportunities. I'm sure the resources will be released that will
restore this community. I know a lot of members who lost their
businesses, and I'm sure that will be restored. But we need to
more long-range planning. We're living in a postindustrial
period and we are educating our people to deal with a bygone era.
We need to look at how we train our people so that they can have
the educational advantages, so that they can deal with the
contemporary generation.
And that's what we need to look at today, Mr.
President. I encourage you, hopefully, that we could look at
training lab technicians. We can look at training physician
assistants. We can look at training people for this contemporary
society so they can meet the needs of that --
MR. BAXTER SINCLAIR: I'm Baxter Sinclair, owner of
a pipeline company and we've come to hear you. And you're here
to get some answers, how can you help? I think that's what you
want.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, sir.
MR. SINCLAIR: I have been hearing about
infrästructure. I think that the infrastructure, the sewer lines
and the water lines are badly depleted. And this state just
don't have the money. Pete just does not have the money. The
federal government needs to place some money in there quickly.
And along with that is that we devise some plans to see that the
community works on these projects. What has happened here before
has not been that way mounted the frustration.
Last question, you always said a kinder, gentler
nation, okay? The people that have been arrested, it's wrong
what they did, but if I were you, Governor, I'd put every one of
them out there to clean the mess up that they did. It cost too
much to keep them in prison. We cannot afford it no more. Just
my suggestion, sir. Work, employment is the answer now, you see.
The money in infrastructure certainly, surely would help. And I
know the government can handle that
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, sir.
MR. CELES KING: Mr. President, fortunately, we had
an opportunity to talk earlier. I won't repeat a number of
things we already said. But I would like to just reiterate a
couple of points that I think are absolutely essential; one has
been touched upon by several people. As we go through this
rebuilding process it's absolutely essential that additional ways
and new and different kinds of ways be found to put more African
Americans into business. There are problems of lack of access to
capital, discrimination, and other kinds of problems -- but
that's an important thing.
The question about why would people strike at their
own --
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- 6 -
THE PRESIDENT: A friendly building -- yes.
MR. KING: That's a good question -- one of the
black men, Paul Hudson -- a, savings and loan, an outstanding
institution in our city, an outstanding man in our city. And I
think that may be a reflection of the class problem we have here.
One of the tragedies of this riot was that it was integration at
its worst. Even though there's been an image that it was mainly
African Americans, but across the board -- Latinos, whites. I
think these were people who were alienated, disaffected. They
had no stake in the process, in the system. They had no faith.
so we've got to provide training. We've got to
provide jobs for these youth, And we have to have ownership and
we have to develop some hope and some confidence. And I believe
if we do that, we may be on our way.
REVEREND ALBERT NICHOLSON: Mr. President, I'm
Pastor Albert Nicholson, St. Peter's Baptist Church of L.A. --
and we understand that there are at least 25 churches in the city
that were also burned. And one of my churches was burned. We
also understand that there will be .low-interest rates coming
through because of the $600 million that you allocated from the
federal government for small businesses. Will this also apply
for the churches?
THE PRESIDENT: I think the answer would be yes, but
do you know the answer to that, Pat, whether SBA can apply to the
reconstruction of churches?
ADMINISTRATOR SAIKI: We'll look into it, Mr.
President.
THE PRESIDENT: she doesn't know offhand, but it
ought to and we ought -- there's a place, if we need change,
there's something we ought to change.
MR. LEON WATKINS: My name is Leon Watkins, and I'm
with the Family Help-Line. The Help-Line is a counseling service
that helps families in the inner city. We've been doing this for
the past several years as a volunteer group.
I was in Washington with a HUD summit for youth, in
February. I'd like to commend Secretary Kemp for having the
vision to understand that we've got to invest in our youth and
public housing -- I know we're talking about rebuilding the
buildings, but we've got to begin to rebuild our young people,
the ones who have slipped through the cracks.
Right now, today, there are thousands of people who
have just gotten out of jail. We talk about the Crips and the
Bloods, but we have got to invest in these people. God loves
these people. But we don't know how to deal with them. We've
got to put out positive programs. I don't expect you to do it,
but to enforce the Governor and the Mayor.
And the last thing I'd like to say that the Crips
and the Bloods had a peace treaty yesterday. We need to take
advantage of that and try to go to them and try to reach out to
them and give them some kind of hope that we are capable of
dealing with their problems.
DR. THELMA EATON: Mr. President, I'm Dr. Thelma
Eaton, and I'm President of the Coalition of 100 Black Women.
Three points: One, I think we need to take a comprehensive
approach to these problems; that is a bio-psycho-social approach,
because when one quantity or body is damaged and you don't have
service to the other parts, that part cannot heal properly. So
we need to have a comprehensive approach -- housing, health,
economics empowerment, et cetera: so we have to deal with these
needs from a very comprehensive perspective.
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Second point: We need to approach these needs from
a preventive -- this is l'ong-term preventive -- rather than
residual because what we do is we have a Band-Aid approach. We
wait for it to happen then we go in and we try to fix it.
Third comment: The Coalition has a mentoring
program and the Governor is promoting a comprehensive mentoring
program. And I think that kind of effort also, in addition to
what has been said, can be very helpful. The one-to-one, one-
to-one kind of effort, along with the wider institution, can be
meaningful to meet these needs.
REVEREND HILL: I'd like to point out, Mr.
President, the first Afro-American queen of USC.
MS. CHERYL WALKER: Good morning, my name of Cheryl
Walker, and I'm a marketing representative from the Quiet Storm
radio station. And my comment is that throughout the pages of
history we see disenfranchisement on both sides, when there have
been Democrats in power and also when there have been
Republicans. The Democrats have poured in a lot of programs that
make -- continue to make blacks to be dependent, while
Republicans say pull yourselves up by your boot straps -- and
then we say we have no boot straps.
My challenge to you today is that instead of having
partisan politics that we have people politics. With a program
like welfare, rather than making people dependent and constantly
just giving them money, if there was a set limit of time, say
three years in which they would receive monies while they're
going to school or while they re training so that they could be
dependent upon themselves and that they would be progressing and
be able to use the resources that we have. And that's my
challenge to you this morning. And I thank you for being here.
MR. WALTER GOODMAN: My name is Walter Goodman. I
think I'm one of the few who is an unemployed construction worker
that has worked in the metrorail. And us men, we take a lot of
pride in what we do. And I would like for you, Mr. President, to
understand that we -- I don't think you know of the
discrimination that has been done to us in that department,
because there are very few blacks that are able to get into that
kind of work, and we'd like to see if somebody can help us get
that taken care of. Because there's a lot of work there.
I've been out of work for over a year. I know I'm
qualified. I've tried to get a job on the freeway, and it just
won't happen. I think we need to look at that.
MR. LESLIE SMALL: Mr. President, my name is Leslie
Small, and I grew up on the streets of Los Angeles. I was in a
program when I was in high school that took me off the streets of
Los Angeles. It was a program that allowed me to go to college
in 10th grade and to experience college life as a youth, and then
paid us $400 every two months in order to stay in college. And
this program has given me the foresight and the ability to look
past the dregs of Los Angeles and try to build a solid
foundation.
And I would appeal to the government, instead of
putting together programs for survival in the black community, we
need programs of development -- the kind of development that
allows us as black youths and young people looking for a positive
future to see a brighter light at the end of the tunnel. And the
program that I came up under in high school is no longer there.
And I would see if those kinds of programs could be instituted
that allows us not only -- we're not saying give us a handout,
not a handout, but give us the opportunity to develop -- not just
to survive, but to develop educationally and economically
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MS. META CHAMBERLAIN: I'm Meta Chamberlain,
National Council of Negro Women. And I would like to comment,
Mr. President, on family strength, because there's an old saying
that money is the root of all evil, but fairly, it is the
destruction of the future. so what I would like to suggest is
that we need programs where the family is educating the child.
We need change in attitudes. We have a goal in this town, we
have a program; Education 2000. And what we say, Family
Education 2000, because the family comes along with the child.
And you would be surprised, it will develop better rapport with
family and child.
It also -- sometimes you hear kids say, mother,
they're not doing it that way anymore. They're really are not
because we're in a changing world. But if the child -- the
family goes on with the child and mentors come in, you'd be
surprised at the change in the relationship.
MR. ALLEN STINSON: Yes, Mr. President, my name is
Allen Stinson: I'm a mortgage banker in the area. And I'd like
to assist some of the businessmen like the gentlemen here that
was devastated with his building being burned down through the
SBA Will we be able to work with the SBA and acquire some loans
for these people in an expeditious manner? Is it going to be a
long, drawn-out process that it normally is with the SBA? or are
we going to be able to work with them a little faster?
THE PRESIDENT: No, we can get instructions to Pat
Saiki, who is here, to speed this process up. Now, I hope we're
successful. We will keep on it to see that we are. You might
ask her just on this one specific -- right behind you -- because
that is the underlying as to what we're trying to do here and it
is very, very important in the reconstruction.
REVEREND HILL: All have not spoken and I think
you' understand. We are honored to have the Governor and I
would like for him to be the last speaker.
GOVERNOR WILSON: Thank you, Reverend Hill.
Mr. President, I think you've heard that this is a
community that cherishes not only its roots, but the future of
this entire city. What you heard today are people who want to be
part of the solution. They believe, as Jack Kemp believes, that
ownership is part of that future. They believe that not just
educational opportunity, but real opportunity in an economic way
has to be an underpinning.
I think that Dr. Thelma and Warren have spoken to
another kind of rebuilding that has to occur, and that is we have
to see to it that young men can no longer casually father
children and walk away. We have to see to it that the family
does give the kind of support and kind of values that would
prevent someone from pulling out of the cab of a truck and
beating them senseless.
I think Reverend Hill has provided us with a forum
that is remarkable in many respects. What you've seen is
infinite goodwill, infinite desire to see a future for this
community in which white, black are disregarded as anything but
individuals who should be valued upon what they do, upon who they
are.
I think Reverend Hill, that this is a beginning.
It may be the centennial for Mt. Zion, but I think it is a new
beginning for Los Angeles.
REVEREND KIRKLAND: I think Dr. Hill is owed a
rising vote of thanks. (Applause.)
REVEREND HILL: Let me just say, Mr. President,
again, we'd like to be of help to you. One of my strong
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recommendations was and is -- and I think these people here will
back it -- that if the drug situation in this country demanded a
czar and a commission to find a solution, to flush out where it
is, to punish those; if every other major crisis in this world
you appoint a czar, a commission to find the solution and to
bring it to you; race relations in the United States today is
potentially more dangerous than drugs. (Applause.)
And I urge you as I did last week, to appoint a top
blue ribbon committee. Our people, if they knew where all of
this was that's available, would use it. We don't know. And
I'll give you a joke and I'm through. There was a Negro down in
Alabama who had never used a telephone before. And she picked it
up and she said, "Number, please.' He said, "What do you mean,
number?" She said, "What number do you want?" He said, "Don't
get smart with me. What numbers do you have?" (Laughter.)
Throughout this nation we have the equipment to find
the problem and support what's already on the books. Some of
it's no new money, we just don't know it's there. Some of it is
no new laws, they just need to be enforced.
For instance, for civil rights, if somebody had
explained thoroughly two weeks ago that there's another step,
that if this court situation didn't go over, we still can go
through the civil rights bill -- the streets didn't have that
knowledge. They felt that they had hit a blank wall and nothing
else could happen.
We need a blue ribbon committee to help you to point
out -- and we have the minds throughout this country -- to point
out what does Jack Kemp have. They think he has just trillions
of dollars and he's sitting on and won't let go. They think
Sullivan has a total gold mine and won't let the lever up. And
that creates tension. We need a top nonpolitical blue ribbon
committee to address -- the number one issue, besides salvation,
in this nation right now is race relations. And I don't see it
getting better until something gigantic speaks to it and show
that we probably have enough laws, we probably have enough money,
we probably have enough of this, but we've got to see that it's
there and get it out.
And I just reiterate that again. And thank you for
coming to Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church. (Applause.)
END
9:45 A.M. PDT
820
Ruler of Israel to Come
What the LORD Requires
821
MICAH 7
6 they shall rule the land of Assyria
and let the hills hear your voice. 10
Can I forgetr the treasures of
you,
with the sword,
2 Hear, you mountains, the contro-
wickedness in the house of the
ned,
and the land of Nim'rod with the
versy of the LORD,
wicked,
aze
upon
drawn sword;n
and you enduring foundations of
and the scant measure that is
and they° shall deliver us from the
the earth;
accursed?
Assyrian
for the LORD has a controversy with
11 Shall I acquit the man with wicked
RD,
when he comes into our land
his people,
scales
plan,
and treads within our border.
and he will contend with Israel.
and with a bag of deceitful
them
as
weights?
floor.
7 Then the remnant of Jacob shall be
3 "O my people, what have I done to
12 Yours rich men are full of violence;
in the midst of many peoples
you?
yours inhabitants speak lies,
like dew from the LORD,
In what have I wearied you?
and their tongue is deceitful in
iron
like showers upon the grass,
Answer me!
their mouth.
which tarry not for men
4 For I brought you up from the land 13 Therefore I have begunt to smite
peo-
nor wait for the sons of men.
of Egypt,
you,
8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be
and redeemed you from the house
making you desolate because of
gain
to
the
among the nations,
of bondage;
your sins.
in the midst of many peoples,
and I sent before you Moses,
14 You shall eat, but not be satisfied,
of
the
like a lion among the beasts of the
Aaron, and Miriam.
and there shall be hunger in your
forest,
5 my people, remember what Bā'lak
inward parts;
like a young lion among the flocks
king of Mō'ab devised,
you shall put away, but not save,
bout
with
of sheep,
and what Balaam the son of Bē'ôr
and what you save I will give to
which, when it goes through, treads
answered him,
the sword.
down
and what happened from Shit'tim
15 You shall sow, but not reap;
upon
the
and tears in pieces, and there is
to Gil'gàl,
you shall tread olives, but not
none to deliver.
that you may know the saving acts
anoint yourselves with oil;
9 Your hand shall be lifted up over
of the LORD.'
you shall tread grapes, but not
your adversaries,
drink wine.
h'rà-thàh,
and all your enemies shall be cut
6 "With what shall I come before the 16 For you have kept the statutes of
among
the
off.
LORD,
Om'ri,u
and bow myself before God on
and all the works of the house of
for
me 10 And in that day, says the LORD,
high?
A'hab;
in
Israel,
I will cut off your horses from
Shall I come before him with burnt
and you have walked in their
Id,
among you
offerings,
counsels;
and will destroy your chariots;
with calves a year old?
that I may make you a desolation,
them
up 11 and I will cut off the cities of your
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thou-
and your inhabitants a hissing;
land
sands of rams,
so you shall bear the scorn of the
ravail
has
and throw down all your strong-
with ten thousands of rivers of
peoples."
holds;
oil?
thren shall 12 and I will cut off sorceries from your
Shall I give my first-born for my
hand,
7
Woe is me! For I have become
transgression,
as when the summer fruit has
and you shall have no more sooth-
the fruit of my body for the sin
been gathered,
feed
his
sayers;
of my soul?"
as when the vintage has been
of
the
13 and I will cut off your images
8 He has showed you, o man, what
gleaned:
and your pillars from among you,
is good;
there is no cluster to eat,
ame
of
the
and you shall bow down no more
and what does the LORD require
no first-ripe fig which my soul
to the work of your hands;
of you
desires.
secure,
for
14 and I will root out your A.shë'rim
but to do justice, and to love kind-
2 The godly man has perished from
from among you
ness,
the earth,
and destroy your cities.
and to walk humbly with your
and there is none upright among
15 And in anger and wrath I will ex-
God?
men;
ecute vengeance
they all lie in wait for blood,
into
our
upon the nations that did not
9 The voice of the LORD cries to the
and each hunts his brother with a
obey.
city-
net.
oil,m
and it is sound wisdom to fear thy
3 Their hands are upon what is evil,
him
seven
Hear what the LORD says:
name:
to do it diligently;
6
Arise, plead your case before the
"Hear, o tribe and assembly of the
the prince and the judge ask for
en;
mountains,
city!
a bribe,
n Heb * Cn Compare Gk: Heb obscure / Ch 5.1 in Heb
Or steadfast love a Cn Compare Gk: Heb and who has appointed it yet , Cn: Heb uncertain
in
its
entrances
0
Heb
he
Heb whose , Gk Syr Vg: Heb have made sick M Gk Syr Vg Tg: Heb the statutes of Omri are kept
Heb its W Gk: Heb my people
(Grossman)
May 5, 1992
Draft One
CHURCH
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS:
MOUNT ZION
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
THURSDAY, MAY 6, 1992
[Acknowledgements]. Thank you Rev. Hill for those words of
guidance and of hope. They remind me of the words of another
Baptist minister, a man from Atlanta, Georgia. Rev. Martin
Luther King told us that "the time is always ripe to do right."
That's why we're here.
I've come to Mount Zion on this National Day of Prayer, as a
man who cares about his family. Not just the one I share with my
wife and my children -- but the one I share with you. For better
or for worse, in sickness or in health, America is one family --
One Nation Under God. You see, I believe that we are our
brother's keeper. Not to keep him back. Not to keep him down.
But to keep him warm and safe. To keep him in our hearts and in
our counsel.
I've been keeping quite a bit of that counsel these past few
days. From the advice of Rev. Hill \ to the guidance of civil
rights leaders \ to the letters of thousands of Americans just
like you. The cynics can paint it any which way they like. That
won't change what I feel, and that can't change what I've done.
In ways small and large, I have spent a good part of my life
working on something we want to give to our grandchildren: an
America where they can work and play -- freely \ safely \ and
together.
2
I believe we've made progress. We killed Jim Crow. We
leveled the legal walls that divided us. Most recently, we took
another step: on [date] I was proud to sign ground-breaking civil
rights legislation -- not because it was the easy thing to do \
not because it was the political thing to do \ but because it was
the right thing to do. next 8am
But the real solution is more than tearing down bad laws --
it is building up good will. No law can reach what we have in
too
our hearts -- no code can change what we have in our conscience.
Government can abolish "back of the bus" rules -- but it can't
make people share a seat. It can punish cruel acts -- but it
can't silence cruel words. Government can make good laws -- but
it can't make men good.
I heard a story about one good man. Another man of the
cloth, Rev. Bennie Newton, laid his life -- literally -- on the
line because he believed he was his brother's keeper. During the
riots he saw a man being beaten to his knees, beaten to the
ground. Despite the threats and the blows, Bennie walked into
the fray and laid his body over the bloody man until the beating
stopped. "My heart was crying," said the pastor. He saved the
man's life.
May 1, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR DAVE
DAN
FROM:
JAG
SUBJECT:
TV INTERVIEWS WITH GOOD SAMARITANS
Culled from the tube: two interviews with two samaritans
(black) who aided two victims of mob violence.
CBS This Morning, Paula Zahn
Bennie Newton, an African-American pastor, arrived home
Wednesday night and watched with horror the violence on the
evening news. He and other preachers had been trying to come up
with answers. Bennie decided to become one. "I felt I had to go
down to do what I could, he recalled, "and I'm glad I did."
He walked downtown into the heart of the violence, "a street
storm," he called it. He saw a man being beaten by a crowd of
about 20. He moved to defend the man, saying, "Please stop,
let's bring some sense into this." They pushed him aside, and
were it not for his collar, would have probably beaten him too.
The beating continued, culminating when someone picked up a
speaker and threw it down on the victim's head. At this point,
the Reverend covered the man's body with his own -- shielding it
from the mob. When he got a chance, he dragged the man to a
gutted van and hid him there. Then he went to get his own car,
and drove him to the hospital. Later, when he saw the reaction
of the victim's family, he said "my heart was crying.' The man,
Mr. Lopez, is in stable condition.
Today Show, Bryant Gumbel
Greg Alan-Williams, an African-American actor and writer,
was driving by a violent intersection and saw a mob of angry men
swarming over a stalled car. The crowd was smashing and crawling
through the windows of the vehicle, beating its driver in the
face with beer bottles, and dragging him out of the car.
Our hero (sigh) got a hold of the man and started pulling
him across the street. The bleeding man could hardly stand, but
Williams told him: "You have to walk or you're going to die."
They struggled through the jeering crowd, trying to find safety.
Williams pulled him along the street, seeking shelter -- but no
one would take them in, no one would help (shades of the Seven
Stations). Finally, another good samaritan offered his van, and
they took the man to the hospital.
Mr. Williams said that he and his family stand ready to help
heal the victim and his family.
MAY-07-1992 14:37 FROM LOS ANGELES PRESS OFFICE
TO
MARLIN
P.03
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Los Angeles, California)
For Immediate Release
May 7, 1992
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT MOUNT ZION MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
Los Angeles, California
9:10 A.M. PDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Reverend Hill. Let me just
say to his parishioners and to his fellow members of the clergy that
we Bushes have great respect for your pastor, respect for what he
stands for, respect for his leadership and respect for his emphasis
on family values.
I listened to prayers with wonder, admiration. I think
we got a pretty good start, don't you, with Miss Elmore singing
-- (applause) -- but I heard what His Eminence, Colonel Mahoney said
about racial tension; we must address that. What Bishop McMurray and
Dr. Billy Ingram said about healing; we've got to address that.
What Dr. Massey said about the importance of the church. And as you
look at the chaos and turmoil in this country, not just in the wake
of the riots of Los Angeles, but all the problems we face in the
country, the problems we face internationally, I keep coming back to
my own thinking: to the importance of the church, the importance of
our faith.
And then Reverend Massey talked about this is no time
for blame. And he's right about that. This is not a time for blame.
And I am not here in the mode of politics, I am not here in the mode
of partisanship, I am not here in the mode of blame. I'm here to
learn from the community, and at this moment to tell you of the
values that I strongly believe in.
Friday to the White House, I reminded the group of what Mayor Tom
When Reverend Hill and other national leaders came last
Bradley and other mayors -- urban mayors, rural mayors -- had to tell
me not 50 many months ago. They told me of their concerns for their
point: They told me that their major concern about the problems in
cities, their municipalities. But they came together on one key
the cities was the decline of the American family, the fact that the
to family is weaker today. I think that we have simply got to find ways
help strengthen the American family. This church does that for
of your parishioners. But we've got to broaden it out.
the immediate family; all of your churches do that for the families
That great-grandparents and grandkids -- here to work within this church.
This church brings the generations -- grandparents,
church indoctrination into faith and into the teachings of the Lord, but only the
strengthens the American family. And to give the kids not
under helps kids understand the larger family. We are one nation
continue to state that we are one nation under God.
God. We must remember that. We must advocate that. We must
Not to to keep him down. But to keep him well and to keep him and
And we are our brother's keeper. Not to keep him back.
respect give him a shot at the American dream. Family values, that safe, means
father. for one another, and it does mean honor thy mother and thy
MORE
MAY-07-1992 14:38 FROM LOS ANGELES PRESS OFFICE TO
MARLIN
- 2 -
I talked to Barbara this morning and told her a little
bit -- I didn't know it fully -- about what Reverend E.V. Hill had in
store for all of us today, but particularly for me. He had failed to
point out that he had the distinguished leaders of various
denominations here and that I would be flanked behind me by people
who are active pastors in the wonderful churches of this area. And
she told me, she said, you've got your nerve -- you've got a lot of
nerve to stand up in front of all those people and tell them what you
think about values. (Laughter.) But I'm going to try anyway.
(Laughter.)
I do want to single out Reverend Jones and Mrs. Jones
for what they do -- reaching across the states, bringing help to
others. That's family. That's God's family. Family values means
the church must continue to teach the kids right from wrong.
I was over at a supermarket, and the guy with tears in
his eyes was telling me, one of my own employees came in and took
stuff out of this store. And he couldn't understand it. We've got
to teach right from wrong. Government cannot do that. We can try,
those of us in public life, to set reasonably good examples of family
and faith. But the values have to be taught, and the church has a
tremendously important role on that.
I think that when Barbara reads to kids that she is
emphasizing not just the importance of education that we all believe
in -- so many of you working with children -- but she's emphasizing
the importance of the role of grandparents; even more, the importance
of love.
To struggle against hard times, to overcome the
devastation of poverty, of racism or of riots, we need our family.
We need our own family, we need our church family, and we must find
ways to strengthen America as a family. Back to what the Cardinal
said: We are embarrassed by interracial violence and prejudice.
We're ashamed. We should take nothing but sorrow out of all of that
and do our level best to see that it's eliminated from the American
dream. A family that respects the law, a family that can lift others
up. We need a family that is truly committed to faith; for, again,
we are one nation under God -- a family that says "I'm my brother's
keeper." But it's here -- it was here in the ugliest moments of the
rioting, the brother's keeper aspect. I saw it in a police station
just now. And God bless the honest policemen that are defending the
families of the neighborhood -- all of them. (Applause.)
But the message they got to me this morning was a little
different than the one that I see in that first two minutes on the
evening news. This was a message of forgiving and healing. HOW
neighbors had called in and said, here's where you can go and pick up
some looted goods, or brought them to the police station so that they
could be returned to their owners. We don't hear enough of that kind
of family action or that kind of fellowship.
Another pastor, Reverend Bennie Newton, laid his life on
the line for his brother. He saw a man literally beaten into the
ground. And he waded through the fray and he laid his body on top of
the victim until the beating stopped. And here's what he said. He
said, "My heart was crying,' but the bottom line is, he saved that
man's life. He was his brother's keeper. These are the stories that
I think America needs to know about. We saw the violence. We've
seen the hatred. And we've got to heal, to see the love.
Los Angeles is going to recover. This is a great city.
(Applause.) And I have pledged to the Governor, to the Mayor the
full support of the federal government. And if I might take one
mention of personal pride here to say that I'm very pleased the way
these departments in the federal government have responded. Not to
preempt, not to get credit -- again, not to assign blame, but to
supplement the work in the communities, the work of the Mayor, the
MORE
MAY-07-1992 14:39 FROM LOS ANGELES PRESS OFFICE TO
MARLIN
P.05
- 3 -
work of the Council and the work of the Governor. And I'm proud that
Lou Sullivan, our Secretary of HHS; and Jack Kemp, our Secretary of
HUD are here today. And many others wanted to be with me, but
somebody had to mind the store back there. (Laughter.)
NOW, Los Angeles will recover. I believe it is well on
its way to recovery, thanks to what the local government and the
state government and the federal presence are doing. And as Los
Angeles comes back to its glory, all of us must ask ourselves: What
can we do to help?
This is no time to outline federal programs. This is a
National Day of Prayer. This is a day to give our thanks. But we
will do what we can to help and to assist and to lead in this
reconciliation. To truly help, we've got to understand the agony of
the depressed. You ean't solve the problem if you don't feel its
heartbeat. You've got to understand the hopelessness of those who
literally have had no opportunity.
Trucks bringing food and bricks and mortar are rolling
into Los Angeles. And this city will be rebuilt. And I an confident
that new opportunities will arise. But all across this nation, we've
got to renew our fight to strengthen the American family. It isn't a
burnt-out area in Los Angeles. It isn't California. It is the
entire country. That's where everyone in this room, everyone in this
hallowed sanctuary comes in. We've got to find ways to do that.
We've got to fight against discrimination. We've go to continue to
speak out against bigotry. We've got to fight for justice and
equality. And on this National Day of Prayer it is fitting that we
pray to God to help us.
Abraham Lincoln was right -- you can't do it alone. If
we asked him what he did in times of turmoil -- you think of the
problems he faced -- he said, I spent a lot of my time on my knees.
We have to understand that that faith is still terribly important to
leaders, terribly important to citizens that lead these communities.
so I pray to God that he will give us the strength and
the wisdom to bring the family together -- the American family.
Barbara and I prayed that our personal family and your personal
families will be engulfed in God's love, and that every kid will have
someone who knows his name and really cares about him.
One little four-year-old girl -- maybe you heard the
story -- Ryan Bennett -- prayed special prayers as she saw her
neighborhood riddled with bullets, her candy store destroyed. And
Ryan said, "I asked God if he could make it so it's not dark
anymore." (Applause.) Let this nation VOW to help that it won't be dark.
END
9:30 A.M. PDT