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 Home > News & Policies > January 2008

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 21, 2008

President Bush Visits Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library
Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library
Washington, D.C.

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     Fact sheet In Focus: African American History

9:42 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for having us. Listen, Laura and I are thrilled to be with you. Proud to be with the Mayor and Councilman Jack Evans. We appreciate very much the Serve D.C. that is working to inspire volunteerism, and I want to thank this beautiful library for hosting us.

I just got a couple of comments I want to say. First of all, Martin Luther King Day means two things to me. One is the opportunity to renew our deep desire for America to be a land of promise for everybody, a land of justice, and a land of opportunity. It's also an opportunity to serve our fellow citizens. They say Martin Luther King Day is not a day off, it should be a day on. And so today Laura and I witnessed acts of compassion as citizens were here in the library volunteering their time, and that's what's happening all across America today.

President George W. Bush and Laura Bush are joined by Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, right, and Ginnie Cooper, Chief Librarian for the Washington, D.C. libraries, left, posing for photos with children and staff at a reading class commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Monday, Jan. 21, 2008, at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library. White House photo by Eric Draper But a day on should be not just one day. It really ought to be every day. And our fellow citizens have got to understand that by loving a neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself, by reaching out to someone who hurts, by just simply living a life of kindness and compassion, you can make America a better place and fulfill the dream of Martin Luther King.

Martin Luther King is a towering figure in the history of our country. And it is fitting that we honor his service and his courage and his vision. And today we're witnessing people doing just that by volunteering their time.

So we're honored to be with you. We're proud to be with you on this important national holiday. Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming. Jack, glad you're here. Appreciate you all taking time out of your day to visit with us.

Thank you.

END 9:44 A.M. EST