"WE MUST CLEAN OUR HOUSE"

Austin, Texas -- Though nearly 1,500 miles from Washington, President Clinton addressed the occasion with a major address that challenged whites to understand black suffering and blacks to understand legitimate white fears. "We must clean the house of white America from racism," Clinton said at the University of Texas in Austin. "White Americans must understand the roots of black pain. . . . Many whites think blacks are getting more than their fair share. That is not true. That is not true. " He said blacks earn 60 percent of what whites do, and more than half of black children live in poverty. On the other hand, Clinton said, blacks must "understand and acknowledge white fear. It isn't racist for a parent to pull his or her child close while walking through a high crime neighborhood. It's not racist for whites to assert that the culture of welfare dependency, out-of-wedlock pregnancy and absent fatherhood cannot be broken by social programs unless there is first more personal responsibility." His largest swipe, however was reserved for the growing ranks of white conservatives: "The great potential for this march today, beyond the black community, is that whites will come to see a larger truth: that blacks share their fears and embrace their convictions, openly assert that without changes in the black community and within individuals, real change for our society will not come. This march could remind white people that most black people share their old-fashioned American values -- for most black Americans still do work hard, care for their families, pay their taxes and obey the law, often under circumstances which are far more difficult than those white Americans face. Those people are the real heroes of America today, and we should recognize that."

STRONG PERSUADER? "Whenever Clinton puts himself in the position of calling for racial unity, he's always been very persuasive," says TIME Washington correspondent Jeffrey Birnbaum. "His best, most emotional speeches have been given in black churches, such as the one in Memphis several months ago. This one was not as focused as his previous statements on race, but still a good speech." Birnbaum notes that Clinton was careful to distance himself from Farrakhan in his speech. ("One million men are right to stand up for personal responsibility," the President said. "But one million men do not make right one man's message of malice and diversion.)

Full Text of the President's Speech



Million Man March


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