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Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Digital Library Collections
This is a PDF of a folder from our textual collections.
Collection: Roberts, John G.: Files
Folder Title: JGR/Presidential Remarks,
[Statements, & Addresses] (12/21/1985-01/20/1986)
Box: 41
To see more digitized collections visit:
https://reaganlibrary.gov/archives/digital-library
To see all Ronald Reagan Presidential Library inventories visit:
https://reaganlibrary.gov/document-collection
Contact a reference archivist at: [email protected]
Citation Guidelines: https://reaganlibrary.gov/citing
National Archives Catalogue: https://catalog.archives.gov/
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
December 23, 1985
MEMORANDUM FOR BEN ELLIOTT
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
DIRECTOR, PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHWRITING
FROM:
JOHN G. ROBERTS
236
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: Luncheon Toast
for Meeting with De La Madrid
Counsel's Office has reviewed the above-referenced Presidential
remarks, and finds no objection to them from a legal perspective.
CC: David L. Chew
ID #.
CU
WHITE HOUSE
CORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET
o
OUTGOING
H - INTERNAL
I
- INCOMING
Date Correspondence
Received (YY/MM/DD)
/
/
Name of Correspondent: Dave Chew
MI Mail Report
User Codes: (A)
(B)
(C)
Subject: Presidential Remarks. Lunchean
Loast madrid far meeting with ae in
ROUTE TO:
ACTION
DISPOSITION
Tracking
Type
Completion
Action
Date
of
Date
Office/Agency
(Staff Name)
Code
YY/MM/DD
Response
Code
YY/MM/DD
CUNOM
ORIGINATOR 85/12/23
/ /
Referral Note:
cuat 18
B 85/12/23
5,85,12,23
Referral Note:
4pM
/ /
/ /
I
Referral Note:
/ /
/ /
I
Referral Note:
/ /
/ /
Referral Note:
ACTION CODES:
DISPOSITION CODES:
A - Appropriate Action
I Info Copy Only/No Action Necessary
A Answered
C Completed
C Comment/Recommendation
R Direct Reply w/Copy
B . Non-Special Referral
S Suspended
D Draft Response
S - For Signature
F Furnish Fact Sheet
X - Interim Reply
to be used as Enclosure
FOR OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE:
Type of Response - Initials of Signer
Code = "A"
Completion Date = Date of Outgoing
Comments:
Keep this worksheet attached to the original incoming letter.
Send all routing updates to Central Reference (Room 75, OEOB).
Always return completed correspondence record to Central Files.
Refer questions about the correspondence tracking system to Central Reference, ext. 2590.
5/81
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 12/23/85
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: 4:00 P.M. TODAY
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: LUNCHEON TOAST FOR MEETING WITH DE LA MADRID
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
McFARLANE
REGAN
OGLESBY
MILLER
RYAN
BUCHANAN
SPEAKES
CHAVEZ
SPRINKEL
CHEW
P
SS SVAHN
DANIELS
THOMAS
FIELDING
TUTTLE
HENKEL
ELLIOTT
HICKS
KINGON
LACY
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to
Ben Elliott by 4:00 p.m. TODAY, with an information copy
to my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
David L. Chew
Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Rohrabacher/BE)
December 23, 1985
Received 20
1:00 p.m.
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: ARRIVAL CEREMONY
MEETING WITH PRESIDENT DE LA MADRID
MEXICALI, MEXICO
FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 1986
President de la Madrid, distinguished guests, citizens of
Mexico. It is a special privilege for me to begin my new year
with you. As one year becomes another, we are reminded that time
is passing. We are also reminded of those meaningful items in
our lives that remain constant. I think we can all be grateful,
on both sides of the border, for one thing that has remained
constant over these many years -- the good will between our
peoples. Good relations have been part of our past, they are an
important part of our present, and will most assuredly be part of
our future.
The trust and cooperation between our two countries are
mirrored in the solid personal and professional relationship
President de la Madrid and I have developed. I have met with him
on three occasions, and the telephone line between Mexico City
and Washington, D.C. has been kept busy with our calls.
I am looking forward to our meeting today. We have much to
discuss. The economies of our countries are already closely
linked. As we prepare for a better future, we should explore new
ways of improving the well-being of both our peoples by enhancing
the business, trade, and financial ties that bind us. In our
relationship, clearly, we help ourselves by helping each other.
I also look forward to discussing with you, President
de la Madrid, other areas of mutual concern and cooperation. The
Page 2
good and decent people of both our countries have made a strong
commitment to fight the scourge of narcotics and drug
trafficking. This battle continues. Issues of regional and
global peace are of intense interest to us both, as is the
expansion of democracy in this hemisphere. Cross-border
environmental questions are important. As one would expect of
close neighbors, we have much to talk about. As one would expect
between friends, I am certain our exchange will be in the spirit
of mutual respect and understanding.
Citizens of Mexico and the United States share a very human
relationship. This was never clearer than when earthquakes
savaged your country a few months ago. The heart of the American
people went out to you. Nancy returned home from visiting the
devastation with stories of the quiet dignity and perseverance
displayed by your people in the face of great personal tragedy.
We are proud to be friends with such people. Again, it is a
pleasure to be here with you today. There is every reason to
look to the future with optimism and confidence. Thank you and
God bless you.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
December 23, 1985
MEMORANDUM FOR BEN ELLIOTT
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
DIRECTOR, PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHWRITING
FROM:
JOHN G. ROBERTS
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: Arrival
Ceremony in Mexicali, Mexico
Counsel's Office has reviewed the above-referenced Presidential
remarks, and finds no objection to them from a legal perspective.
CC: David L. Chew
ID #.
CU
WHITE HOUSE
CORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET
0 # OUTGOING
H . INTERNAL
I . INCOMING
Date Correspondence
Received (YY/MM/DD)
/
/
Name of Correspondent: Dave chew
Mt Mail Report
User Codes: (A)
(B)
(C)
Subject: presidential remarks: animal
ceremony in medicale, medico
ROUTE TO:
ACTION
DISPOSITION
Tracking
Type
Completion
Action
Date
of
Date
Office/Agency
(Staff Name)
Code
YY/MM/DD
Response
Code
YY/MM/DD
CUNTOM
ORIGINATOR 85,12,23
/ /
Referral Note:
cuat 18
B 85,12,23
585,12,23
Referral Note:
4 pm
/ /
/ /
I
Referral Note:
/ /
/ /
Referral Note:
/ /
/ /
Referral Note:
ACTION CODES:
DISPOSITION CODES:
A - Appropriate Action
I - Info Copy Only/No Action Necessary
A Answered
C Completed
C . Comment/Recommendation
R - Direct Reply w/Copy
B Non-Special Referral
S Suspended
D Draft Response
S For Signature
F - Furnish Fact Sheet
X . Interim Reply
to be used as Enclosure
CORDS
FOR OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE:
Type of Response = Initials of Signer
Code = "A"
Completion Date = Date of Outgoing
Comments:
Keep this worksheet attached to the original incoming letter.
Send all routing updates to Central Reference (Room 75, OEOB).
Always return completed correspondence record to Central Files.
Refer questions about the correspondence tracking system to Central Reference, ext. 2590.
5/81
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 12/23/85
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: 4:00 P.M. TODAY
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: ARRIVAL CEREMONY IN MEXICALI, MEXICO
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
McFARLANE
REGAN
OGLESBY
MILLER
RYAN
BUCHANAN
SPEAKES
CHAVEZ
SPRINKEL
CHEW
P
SS SVAHN
DANIELS
THOMAS
FIELDING
TUTTLE
HENKEL
ELLIOTT
HICKS
KINGON
LACY
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations directly to
Ben Elliott, with an info copy to my office, by 4:00 P.M.
TODAY. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
David L. Chew
Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Rohrabacher/BE)
December 23, 1985
1:00 p.m.
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MEETING WITH PRESIDENT-DE LA MADRID
LUNCHEON TOAST
MEXICALI, MEXICO
FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 1986
President de la Madrid, Secretaries Sepulveda and Shultz,
Ambassadors Espinosa de los Reyes and Gavin, members of the
delegations, and friends. This visit marks the fourth meeting
that I have had with President de la Madrid. I hope you agree,
Mr. President, that each meeting seems more productive than the
last. I deeply appreciate the open and candid manner in which we
are able to discuss the issues at hand. It speaks well of our
personal relationship and that of our countries.
We examined, in our meeting, trade and investment between
the United States and Mexico. This is an area in which I believe
more progress can be made with great benefits to both our
peoples. The debt remains a serious challenge. I was impressed
today with the commitment you have made, President de la Madrid,
to meet this challenge and to take the necessary steps to achieve
a robust, growing Mexican economy. The United States remains
ready and willing to work with you to reach that goal.
We also discussed today the considerable progress made since
the signing of the border environmental agreement in 1983. Men
may have drawn a line in the ground to determine the boundary
between us, but God made the land on both sides of that line. It
is up to us to take care of resources placed in our care. With a
2,500-mile border, there is considerable room for expanding our
cooperation in this area. I took special note, Mr. President, of
Page 2
the recent agreement to proceed with a major reconstruction of
bridges.
We also had an opportunity today to review the ongoing
battle with the drug traffickers, a fight in which Attorneys
General Garcia and Meese are playing a leading role. Cleansing
our societies of this evil is not without cost. America joins
with you in mourning the death of those valiant Mexican officals
who have been killed in the struggle against narcotics. There
are tears on both sides of the border for the Mexican policemen
killed recently in the state of Veracruz. They have shown honor
and courage that transcends international boundries. Our own
D.E.A. agent, Enrique Camarena, brutally murdered in the line of
duty, exemplifies this. He is an American hero, born here in
Mexicali, buried in neighboring Calexico.
Our meeting today has afforded us a great opportunity to
discuss our differences and expand our cooperation in those many
areas of mutual interest. It appears that our areas of mutal
interest are expanding. That, I believe, should surprise no one.
We share many fundamental values, and in the end, these values
will draw us closer.
Exemplifying this, President de la Madrid, was an interview
you recently conducted with a Mexican newspaper. In it you
applauded the progress toward democracy being made throughout
Latin America and concluded that the tendancy of all the world is
to seek democracy. When the interviewer shot back with a
question suggesting authoritarian regimes, regimes of force,
might better solve economic problems, you didn't back down an
Page 3
inch. "Democracy," you said, "is more effective in accomplishing
these aims in a lasting way than the authoritarian regimes.'
Your words ring true, Mr. President. A commitment to
democracy is the only true path to justice, and to economic
progress. Mexico and the United States can and should stand
shoulder to shoulder in support of democracy in the hemisphere.
Outside this building is a bell, symbolic of the bell rung
by a historic champion of human freedom, Father Hidalgo. This
priest rang his bell in 1810 to rally the Mexican people to fight
against oppression. He gave his life for this cause and on
September 16th the bells are rung to commemorate your country's
independence day.
We in the United States also have a bell symbolic of our
liberty and independence. It is called the Liberty Bell. It is
a national treasure, kept in Philadelphia at our Independence
Hall. As we leave here today, let us pledge to each other that
Mexico and the United States will ring the bells of freedom as
Hidalgo, Jefferson, Juarez, and Lincoln did before us. It is a
sound sweet to the ear of all who long to be free. Let us ring
the bell of freedom so that all citizens of this hemisphere --
Americans all -- will hear.
I ask you all to join me in a toast to my friend, the great
leader of the Mexican people, President de la Madrid, and to the
friendship between our peoples.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
December 23, 1985
MEMORANDUM FOR DAVID L. CHEW
STAFF SECRETARY
FROM:
JOHN G. ROBERTS 226R
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Presidential Statement: U.S. --
Japan Trade Agreement on Leather
Counsel's Office has reviewed the above-referenced
Presidential statement, and finds no objection to it
from a legal perspective.
ID #.
CU
WHITE HOUSE
CORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET
0 * OUTGOING
H - INTERNAL
I - INCOMING
Date Correspondence
Received (YY/MM/DD)
/
/
Name of Correspondent: Name Chew
MI Mail Report
User Codes: (A)
(B)
(C)
Subject: Presidential statement U.S. Jupan
Trade agreement on Leather
ROUTE TO:
ACTION
DISPOSITION
Tracking
Type
Completion
Action
Date
of
Date
Office/Agency
(Staff Name)
Code
YY/MM/DD
Response
Code
YY/MM/DD
CUITOLL
ORIGINATOR 85,12,23
/ /
-
cuat 18
Referral Note:
R 85,12,23
585112101
12 N
Referral Note:
/ /
/ /
Referral Note:
/ /
/ /
I
Referral Note:
/ /
/ /
Referral Note:
ACTION CODES:
DISPOSITION CODES:
A Appropriate Action
1. Info Copy Only/No Action Necessary
A Answered
C Completed
C Comment/Recommendation
R Direct Reply w/Copy
B Non-Special Referral
S Suspended
D Draft Response
S For Signature
F - Furnish Fact Sheet
X - Interim Reply
to be used as Enclosure
FOR OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE:
Type of Response = Initials of Signer
Code = "A"
Completion Date = Date of Outgoing
Comments:
Keep this worksheet attached to the original incoming letter.
Send all routing updates to Central Reference (Room 75, OEOB).
Always return completed correspondence record to Central Files.
Refer questions about the correspondence tracking system to Central Reference, ext. 2590.
5/81
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 12/21/85
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: NOON TODAY
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT: U.S. JAPAN TRADE AGREEMENT ON LEATHER
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
McFARLANE
REGAN
OGLESBY
MILLER
RYAN
BUCHANAN
SPEAKES
CHAVEZ
SPRINKEL
CHEW
P
SS SVAHN
DANIELS
THOMAS
FIELDING
TUTTLE
HENKEL
HICKS
KINGON
LACY
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments/recommendations by NOON on
Saturday, December 21st. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
David L. Chew
Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
17-DEC/20
December 20, 1985
DRAFT STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
I am pleased to announce that the United States and Japan have
today settled an unfair trade practices case brought under
Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 concerning Japanese
restrictions on importing leather and leather footwear.
The United States has agreed to accept $236 million of compensation
and will withdraw $24 million of trade concessions that together
will satisfy the United States fully for trade damage caused by
import restrictions on leather and leather footwear. The
settlement involves tariff reductions on $2.9 billion worth of
U.S. exports to Japan in 1984.
Today's agreement is a significant victory for the principle
of free and fair trade. The settlement will increase opportunities
for American producers to sell products in Japan. This is far
preferable to protectionist measures that would restrict imports
without increasing U.S. exports.
This settlement is fair to producers in both our countries. It
underlines my Administration's commitment to challenge unfair
trading practices wherever they exist, and it underlines the
effectiveness of the 301 process in opening world markets to
increased trade. We believe that American exporters can compete
successfully in the world market as long as they have the
opportunity to compete fairly.
-30-
FACT SHEET
Since 1963, Japan has maintained identical restrictive quota
systems on imports of leather and leather footwear which have
limited U.S. market penetration to one percent or less. The
quota restricting access to Japan's $1.6 billion leather market
has been found by a GATT panel to be in violation of Japan's
international trade obligations. Although GATT has not reviewed
the quota for the $2.7 billion leather footwear market, a GATT
panel would likely find that it is inconsistent with Japan's
international trade obligations because it is conceptually
identical to the leather quota.
Until now, Japan had resisted meaningful corrective action,
despite repeated U.S. efforts over the past eight years to
negotiate a solution, and despite a 1984 GATT panel report
recommending that Japan eliminate the leather quota. The U.S. also
initiated a Section 301 investigation of the footwear quota in
1982, and had filed a GATT complaint which was still pending.
On September 7, 1985, President Reagan set a December 1 deadline
for negotiating an end to the long-pending case. Consultations
ensued between the U.S. and Japan but broke off without a
resolution on December 3. However, before retaliatory action could
be taken by the U.S. government, Japanese trade officials returned
to Washington with a new offer that met U.S. requirements for
settlement.
Today's settlement includes a trade package that will provide
compensation and withdrawal of concessions totaling $260 million.
The major elements of the package include:
Additional market access in Japan for U.S. leather.
Reductions or elimination of tariffs on 142 items, including
paper, glass, industrial diamonds, engines, automotive
equipment, film, pumps, machinery and parts, silicon wafers,
telecommunications equipment and parts, scientific equipment
and sports equipment.
Guarantees by Japan to make earlier tariff reductions on
242 other items permanent.
Reduction of Japanese tariffs on five aluminum products and
a commitment to consult on other issues affecting U.S. -Japan
aluminum trade. This would bring Japanese duties on these
products into line with U.S. duties.
U.S. withdrawal of concessions on Japanese leather imports
through significantly higher duties.
Under Section 301, the President could have imposed duties, fees
or restrictions on products and services from Japan, equal in
value to the full amount of damage to U.S. exports from the
leather and leather footwear restrictions.
This is the second Section 301 case that has been settled this
month. On December 3, the European Community agreed to eliminate
those elements of its canned fruit subsidy program that the
U.S. considered to be an unfair trade practice.
-30-
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
January 8, 1986
MEMORANDUM FOR BEN ELLIOTT
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
DIRECTOR, PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHWRITING
FROM:
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
JOHN G. ROBERTS PZR
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: Students
at Martin Luther King Elementary
Counsel's Office has reviewed the above-referenced remarks, and
finds no objection to them from a legal perspective.
CC: David L. Chew
ID #.
CU
WHITE HOUSE
CORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET
0 OUTGOING
H INTERNAL
I * INCOMING
Date Correspondence
Received (YY/MM/DD)
/
/
Name of Correspondent:
Dave Chew
MI Mall Report
User Codes: (A)
(B)
(C)
Subject:
Presidential Remarks: Students at
Martin Luther King Elementary
ROUTE TO:
ACTION
DISPOSITION
Tracking
Type
Completion
Action
Date
of
Date
Office/Agency
(Staff Name)
Code
YY/MM/DD
Response
Code
YY/MM/DD
CUHOLL
ORIGINATOR 860108
/ /
Referral Note:
CUAT18
B 86/0/108
586101109
Referral Note:
11AM
/ /
11
-
Referral Note:
/ /
/ /
I
-
Referral Note:
/ /
/ /
I
Referral Note:
ACTION CODES:
DISPOSITION CODES
A Appropriate Action
I Info Copy Only/No Action Necessary
A Answered
C Completed
C Comment/Recommendation
R Direct Reply w/Copy
B Non-Special Referral
S Suspended
D Draft Response
S For Signature
F Furnish Fact Sheet
x Interim Reply
to be used as Enclosure
FOR OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE
Type of Response = Initials of Signer
Code = "A"
Completion Date = Date of Outgoing
Comments:
Keep this worksheet attached to the original incoming letter.
Send all routing updates to Central Reference (Room 75, OEOB).
Always return completed correspondence record to Central Files.
Refer questions about the correspondence tracking system to Central Reference, ext. 2590.
5/81
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 1/8/86
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: 11:00 a.m. 1/9/86
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: STUDENTS AT MARTIN LUTHER KING ELEMENTARY
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
OGLESBY
REGAN
POINDEXTER
MILLER
RYAN
BUCHANAN
SPEAKES
CHAVEZ
SPRINKEL
CHEW
P
5S STEELMAN
DANIELS
SVAHN
FIELDING
THOMAS
HENKEL
TUTTLE
ELLIOTT
HICKS
KINGON
LACY
REMARKS:
Please provide any comments directly to Ben Elliott by
11:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 9th, with an information
copy to me. Thanks.
RESPONSE:
David L. Chew
Staff Secretary
(Noonan/BE)
January 8, 1986
10:30 a.m.
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: STUDENTS AT MARTIN LUTHER KING
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
WASHINGTON, D.C.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1986
Thank you very much and a special hello to my pen pal, Rudy
Hines.
It's wonderful to be here today at your fine school. I just
wanted to come by and say a few words about the man for whom it
was named. I have a hunch we can all learn a few things from his
life and the things he believed in and fought for. I can't help
but feel there are some lessons we can all remember together.
You all know the facts of Martin Luther King's life. He was
born down in Atlanta on January 15th, 1929 -- this day 57 years
ago. His mother's maiden name was Alberta Christine Williams.
His dad, Martin Luther King, was a preacher of the Baptist
church.
Martin Luther King, Jr. went to Booker T. Washington High
School. And then, as many of you will, I hope, he went on to
college, to Morehouse College. He became a preacher and went to
work as an assistant to his father at the Ebenezer Baptist
Church. After that the story kind of heats up, the facts and
events come thick and fast. The South was about to become the
location of a great revolution, and young Martin Luther King, Jr.
was about to become its most forceful and effective leader.
I wonder now if some of you know the place names that for
another generation -- for your parents' generation -- will always
be unforgettable. Montgomery, Alabama, -- and Selma -- and
Page 2
Little Rock, Arkansas. A lot of hearts were broken in those
places, but a lot of history was made too, and a lot of justice
grew out of the pain that happened in those towns.
Montgomery is where a tired old black woman named Rosa Parks
refused to get up and give her seat to a white man on a bus.
That was the beginning of the famous Mointgomery bus boycott.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of its leaders. He and his
followers just refused to take the city buses anywhere as long as
blacks had to sit in the back. They just wouldn't accept it
anymore. They said, "Enough." They walked everywhere -- they'd
walk for miles rather than take that bus. And they went to the
courts where one day in June, six months after the boycott began,
a U.S. District Court made a ruling. They said that racial
segregation on the city bus lines was umconstitutional.
All of a sudden it was segregation that was being told to
sit in the back of the bus.
Martin Luther King, Jr. first became famous in America
during the Montgomery strike. It wasn't an easy time for him. A
bomb was thrown on the porch of his house and it was only a
matter of luck that no one was hurt. I suppose that's the point
when he realized exactly how dangerous it is to be an
"unreasonable man." I use that term in the sense that George
Bernard Shaw used it. Shaw once said, "The reasonable man adapts
himself to the world. The unreasonable one persists in trying to
adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on
the unreasonable man.
Page 3
Martin Luther King, Jr. pursued progress all over the South,
in freedom marches and on freedom rides, in speeches and
demonstrations, at the pulpit and in private conversation. And
he was much loved and much hated. But I think it's true that
those who loved him and those who hated him were pretty much
united in agreement on this: Martin Luther King was right to
insist that the civil rights movement be non-violent. He was
right to categorically reject violence as part of the movement's
strategy. He was brave to reject violence, and not only in the
sense that it takes a lot of guts not to hit back when someone
with a night stick is hitting you -- and he had that kind of
guts. He was also brave in the sense that there were some in the
civil rights movement who began to put down non-violence as
ineffective. And some of them let King know that he could lose
his honored place as leader of the movement if he didn't start to
march to their tune. But he didn't -- he stuck with what he knew
to be right. He had moral courage.
I hope that's something you'll be able to emulate in your
lives. And if you can emulate another thing about Martin Luther
King, Jr., I would hope it would be his passion. He was a
passionate man, he really cared, and not in an abstract or
superficial way -- he cared deeply and personally and he really
felt the injustice he talked about and he really felt the dreams
he shared. You could see it in his words, in the way he used
them.
We've all been hearing a lot of quotations from Dr. King the
past few days and I suppose the most famous is the "I have a
Page 4
dream" speech from the March on Washington. But the one I think
of sometimes, the one that really shook you up in the days after
his death, was the speech he gave at his home church, the
Ebenezer Baptist, on February 4, 1968, just two months before he
was shot. Perhaps you know that in those days before he died he
seemed to have a sense, a strange sense that the shadows were
lengthening and he didn't have long. And in his speeches he
seemed to be saying goodbye.
And in this speech at the Ebenezer Baptist he said, "Every
now and then I think about my own death and I think about my own
funeral
I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody
to deliver the eulogy, tell them not too long
(Just) say that
I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for
peace. That I was a drum major for righteousness. And all the
other shallow things will not matter. I won't have any money to
leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life
to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life
behind."
Well -- those are great words. "I want to live a committed
life behind" -- I want my life to have meaning, I want it to be a
statement. That's a wonderful way to feel. In fact I think it's
the only way to feel. Our country is different because that was
his attitude. And that's not just a phrase, "our country is
different" -- that's a literal truth, our country is different
because Martin Luther King, Jr. made it different by the way he
lived his life.
Page 5
And that gets me to my last point -- and the reason I'm here
today. It's something I've been thinking a lot about recently
and I wanted to share it with you.
It is this:
The civil rights workers of the 1950's and '60's
succeeded -- they won their great battle -- for one great reason.
Not because they were smart, though they were, not because they
were committed, though they were that too, and not because they
had courage -- though, believe me, they had the courage of a
pride of lions. The civil rights workers of the 1950's and '60s
won their great battle for one reason: Because they made their
appeal to a nation that had a conscience.
America had a conscience to which a just appeal could be
made. And it was a strong good conscience that our Nation had --
it couldn't hide forever from the truth, and it wouldn't let any
of us sleep until we all, together, as a Nation, admitted that
white people were wrong to treat black people as second class
citizens. White people were wrong to make believe black men and
women weren't our brothers and sisters. And the conscience of
the Nation said: change it, now, and start to be fair. And we
changed; and we started to be fair.
I hope you know your history, because if you do then you
know very few countries have done what America did. Look around
the world. You'll see that the western democracies, for all
their flaws, are countries that can change themselves, and for
the best and most moral reasons. Look at other countries -- the
communist countries, for instance. Stand up and ask for social
Page 6
justice and human liberty in a communist country and you'll
likely spend the rest of your days talking to your fellow
prisoners in jail. If you're lucky enough not to be in solitary;
if you're lucky enough not to be dead.
Ultimately, the great lesson of Martin Luther King's life
was this: He was a great man who wrested justice from the heart
of a great country
and he succeeded because that great country
had a heart to be seized.
And now, after his work, and the work of so many other good
and fair people, we are all equal partners in this great
experiment called democracy in America. And when we bow our
heads today -- and I hope all of us will -- and say, "God bless
Martin Luther King, Jr.", we'll also be saying "God bless
America." And may her conscience stay strong, forever; and may
her children always recognize that conscience, and thank God for
it; and may their appeals continue to be just.
Thanks so much for inviting me here today. This is where I
wanted to be. So thank you, my friends, and God bless you.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
January 13, 1986
MEMORANDUM FOR BEN ELLIOTT
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
DIRECTOR, PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHWRITING
FROM:
ASSOCIATE JOHN G. ROBERTS COUNSEL DJC TO
THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Remarks: Ceremony for Presentation
of Young American Medals
Counsel's Office has reviewed the above-referenced draft remarks.
The last two sentences on page 4 should be deleted unless Research
can confirm that the driver of the vehicle either was convicted
of or pled guilty to (not merely was arrested for) hit-and-run
and drunk driving.
CC: David L. Chew
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
January 17, 1986
MEMORANDUM FOR BEN ELLIOTT
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
DIRECTOR, PRESIDENTIAL SCHEDULING
FROM:
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL 820R TO THE PRESIDENT
JOHN G. ROBERTS
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: Dropby
Inaugural Dinner Hosted by Eagles
Counsel's Office has reviewed the above-referenced remarks, and
finds no objection to them from a legal perspective.
cc: David L. Chew
ID #
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