I also want to thank Joseph Davis Jr. - who is the son of one of our Baltimore County correction officers, Joseph Davis Sr. - for being here to perform for us. He is a true child prodigy, and I know we're going to enjoy his talent.

Over 75 years ago, Dr. Carter Woodson recognized the need to set aside time to recognize the important contributions made to our nation's life and culture by our African American citizens - achievements that were either ignored or minimized for far too long. What began as a weeklong celebration has quite appropriately turned into a month-long observance - a month when we come together as a community to recognize and honor the impressive contributions of African-Americans to our national life and culture.  This is also a month for learning. Black history belongs to all of us, no matter what color we are, no matter where we come from. Black history is American history.

We all need to deepen our appreciation of the suffering and sacrifices of African-Americans. Because of where we lived or who our families were, some of us grew up with a shallow understanding of the long struggle for civil rights. The road toward racial harmony requires that we continue learning about the struggle for equality - that we try to understand how it has shaped the our lives and minds. 

Today, we do indeed have much to celebrate during Black History Month. One hundred and thirty years after the end of the Civil War, America has evolved into a nation that sees strength in diversity.  Black Americans serve at the highest levels of government and in the corporate world.   And, by and large, we've learned to get along, to work with each other, to depend on each other. Race didn't matter in the cockpit of the Columbia, or in the terror-stricken stairwells of the World Trace Center on September 11, 2003. More and more, in our courtrooms, on the police beat, in offices, in schools and on playgrounds we treat ourselves simply as fellow Americans.

Yet divisions and inequities do still exist. This month is not just for celebrating; it is also a time to pledge to bridge those divisions and correct inequities.  It's a time for thoughtful discussion about why too many minority children struggle in school...a time to talk about providing opportunity and to explore the emotions surrounding affirmative action efforts...a time to examine policies whose fairness is suspect.

Above all, we need to take a close look at who we are, and try to understand each other better. The words of Abraham Lincoln (whose birthday we celebrate today) seem to me to truly capture the spirit of this month's celebration:  "To correct the evils, great and small, which spring from want of sympathy and from positive enmity among strangers, as nations or as individuals, is one of the highest functions of civilization."

America is a great nation because we have striven to correct the "great and small evils of our history" - though the struggle has been painful, difficult and ongoing.  Today, together, we resolve to keep striving.

Revised February 25, 2003