Bush NAACP

Governor George W. Bush

NAACP Annual Convention

Baltimore, Maryland

July 10, 2000

Thank you for the generous introduction. I'm pleased to be here. I'm also reminded of what the

great Jackie Robinson once said when President Kennedy did something that upset him. Robinson

said that he was sure the President was a "fine man" &endash; but he reserved the right to change his

opinion.

For those who support me &endash; I see one or two here &endash; I hope you won't change your opinion. For

those who don't, I hope you take Jackie's position as your own and give me the chance to tell you

what is in my heart.

The history of the Republican Party and the NAACP has not been one of regular partnership. But

our nation is harmed when we let our differences separate us and divide us. So, while some in my

party have avoided the NAACP, and while some in the NAACP have avoided my party, I am

proud to be here today.

I am here today because I believe there is much we can do together to advance racial harmony and

economic opportunity.

But before we get to the future, we must acknowledge our past. In the darkest days of the Civil

War, President Lincoln pleaded to our divided nation to remember that "We cannot escape

history...[that] we will be remembered in spite of ourselves." One hundred and forty years later,

that is still true.

For our nation, there is no denying the truth that slavery is a blight on our history. And that racism,

despite all our progress, still exists.

For my party, there's no escaping the reality that the Party of Lincoln has not always carried the

mantle of Lincoln.

Recognizing and confronting our history is important. Transcending our history is essential. We

are not limited by what we have done, or what we have left undone. We are limited only by what

we are willing to do.

Our nation must make a new commitment to equality and upward mobility for all our citizens.

This is a great moment of national prosperity. But many still live in prosperity's shadow. The same

economy that is a miracle for millions is a mystery to millions as well.

From the beginning of this campaign, I have said that prosperity must have a purpose. The

purpose of prosperity is to ensure that the American Dream touches every willing heart. We cannot

afford to have an America segregated by class, by race or by aspiration. America must close the

gap of hope between communities of prosperity and communities of poverty.

We have seen what happens when African-American citizens have the opportunity they have

earned and the respect they deserve. Men and women once victimized by Jim Crow have risen to

leadership in the halls of Congress. Professionals and entrepreneurs have built a successful,

growing African-American middle class.

It must be our goal to expand this opportunity &endash; to make it as broad and diverse as American itself.

And this begins with enforcing our civil rights laws.

Discrimination is still a reality, even when it takes different forms. Instead of Jim Crow, there is

racial redlining and profiling. Instead of "separate but equal," there is separate and forgotten.

Strong civil rights enforcement will be a cornerstone of my administration.

I will confront another form of bias &endash; the soft bigotry of low expectations in education.

Several months ago I visited Central High School in Little Rock, where African-Americans

confronted injustice and white Americans confronted their conscience. In 43 years, we've come so

far in opening the doors of our schools.

Yet today we have a challenge of our own: while all can enter our schools, many are not learning

there. There is a tremendous gap of achievement between rich and poor, white and minority. This,

too, leaves a divided society. And whatever the cause, the effect is discrimination.

My friend Phyllis Hunter, a teacher in Texas, calls reading "the new civil right." Equality in our

country will remain a distant dream until every child, of every background, has a chance to learn

and strive and rise in the world. No child in America should be segregated by low expectations…

imprisoned by illiteracy… abandoned to frustration and the darkness of self-doubt.

And there is reason for optimism. A great movement of education reform has begun in this

country, built on clear principles: Raise the bar of standards. Give schools the flexibility to meet

them. Measure progress. Insist on results. Blow the whistle on failure. Provide parents with

options to increase their influence. And don't leave any child behind.

I believe in these principles. I have seen them turn around troubled schools in my state. I've seen

them bring hope into the lives of children &endash; inspiring confidence and ambition. I'm especially

proud that the performance of minority students in my state is improving at one of the fastest rates

in the country. African-American fourth-graders in Texas have better math skills than any other

state.

We can make the same kind of progress at the national level. A central part of my agenda is

changing Title One to close the achievement gap. All students will be tested. Low-performing

schools will have three years to produce results. If they do not, then these resources will go

directly to the parents.

Every child can learn. Every child in this country deserves to grow in knowledge and character and

ideals. Nothing is more important to our prosperity and goodness than cultivated minds and

courageous hearts. As W. E. B. Du Bois said a century ago, "Either the United States will destroy

ignorance, or ignorance will destroy the United States."

Education is the essential beginning &endash; but we must go further. To create communities of promise,

we must help people build the confidence and faith to achieve their own dreams. We must put

government squarely on the side of opportunity.

This is a higher and older tradition of my party. Lincoln argued that "every poor man should have a

chance." He defended a "clear path for all." He financed colleges, welcomed immigrants,

promoted railroads and economic development. Through the Homestead Act, he gave countless

Americans a piece of land a start in life.

I have proposed a New Prosperity Initiative that reflects the spirit of Lincoln's reforms. A plan to

remove obstacles on the road to the Middle Class. Instead of helping people cope with their need,

we will help them move beyond it.

We must provide a Family Health Credit that covers 90 percent of the cost of a basic health policy

for low-income families.

We must make it possible for more people to become homeowners, to own a part of the American

Dream. So we'll allow low-income families to use up to a year's worth of Section 8 rental

payments to make a down payment on their own home &endash; then use five years of those payments to

help with the mortgage.

We'll start an American Dream Down Payment Fund, matching individual savings for the down

payment on a home.

Behind all these proposals is a simple belief: I believe in private property. I believe in private

property so strongly, I want everyone to have some.

Education helps the young. Empowerment lifts the able. But there are those who need much more.

Children without role models. Young people captured by gangs or addiction or despair.

Government can spend money, but it cannot put hope in someone's heart or a sense of purpose in

their lives. This is done by caring communities &endash; by churches, synagogues, mosques and charities

that serve their neighbors because they love their God. Every day they prove that our worst

problems are not hopeless or endless. Every day they perform miracles of renewal.

What we need is a new attitude that welcomes the transforming power of faith. In the words of a

writer who visited the Mott Haven section of the Bronx: "the beautiful old stone church … is a

gentle sanctuary from the terror of the streets outside."

In city after city, for the suffering and the hurting, the most hopeful passageway is the door to the

house of God. We are going to extend the role and reach of charities and churches, synagogues

and mosques, mentors and community healers, in our society. As President, I intend to rally these

armies of compassion in the neighborhoods of America.

I will lift the regulations that hamper private and faith-based programs. I will involve them in

after-school programs, maternity group homes, drug treatment, prison ministries. I have laid out

specific incentives to encourage an outpouring of giving in America.

Here's an example. More than a million children have one or both parents in prison. These are

forgotten children &endash; almost six times more likely to go to prison themselves. And they should not

be punished for the sins of their fathers. We should give grants to ministries and mentoring

programs that offer support to these children. Let us bring help and hope to these other innocent

victims of crime.

I'm not calling for government to step back from its responsibilities, but to share them. We'll

always need government to raise and distribute funds, monitor success and set standards. But we

also need what no government can provide: the power of compassion and prayer and love.

These are some of my goals for America &endash; to help make opportunity not only a hope and a

promise, but a living reality.

The NAACP and the GOP have not always been allies. But recognizing our past and confronting

the future with a common vision, I believe we can find common ground.

This will not be easy work. But a philosopher once advised: "When given a choice, prefer the

hard." We will prefer the hard because only the hard will achieve the good. That is my

commitment. That is our opportunity. Thank you.

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