my fellow americans, this was not a riot. this was a massacre. [applause] [applause] among the worst in our history, but not the only one, and for too long, forgotten by our history. as soon as it happened, there was a clear effort to erase it from our memory, our collective

memories, from the news and everyday conversations. for a long time, schools in tulsa did not even teach it, let alone schools elsewhere, and most people did not realize that this -- that a century ago, the second ku klux klan was founded. when i ran, i said i was running to restore the soul of america. there is a book called "soul of america," not because what i said, and there is a picture showing over 30,000 ku klux klan members in full regalia, pointed hats, robes, marching down pennsylvania avenue in washington, d.c. -- you know about this -- washington, d.c. if my memory is correct, there were 37 members of the house of

representatives who were open members of the clan. there were five, if i'm not mistaken -- five members of the united states senate, open members of the clan -- open members of the klan. multiple governors, open members of the klan. most people don't realize the klan was founded just six years after reconstruction. one of the reasons it was founded, it was about making sure that all those polish and irish and italian and eastern european catholics who came to the united states after world war i were knocked below christianity. the flames of those burning crosses torched every region of the country.

millions of white americans belong to the klan, and they were not even embarrassed by it. that hate came embedded systematically and systemically in our laws and culture. we do ourselves no favors by pretending none of this ever happened for it does not impact us today because it does still impact us. we cannot just change to learn what we want to know and not what we should know. [applause] we should know the good, the bad, everything. that's what great nations do -- they come to terms with their

dark sides. and we are a great nation. the only way to build a common ground is to truly repair and rebuild. i come here to help fill the silence because in silence, wounds deepen. [applause] as painful as it is, only in remembrance do wounds heal. just have to choose to remember. we memorialize what happened here in tulsa, so it cannot be a race. we know here in this hallowed place, we simply cannot bury pain and trauma forever. at some point, there will be a reckoning, an inflection point, like we are facing right now as a nation. many people had not seen before

or simply refuse to see -- what many people had not seen before or had to see cannot be ignored anymore. there's greater recognition that for too long, we have allowed a narrowed, cramped view of the promise of this nation to fester, the view that america is a zero-sum game where there is only one winner. "if you succeed, i failed. if you get ahead, i will fall behind. if you get a job, i will lose mine, and maybe worst of all, if i hold you down, i lift myself up. instead of "it well, we all do well." [applause] this story is not about a

loss-of-life but a loss of living, of wealth and posterity that still reverberate today. a mother told me how she was only able to school -- to attend school until the fourth grade and then found work in a shipyard. a man even after serving in world war ii still came home to struggle in a segregated america. imagine all those in mom-and-pop shops that could have been passed down this past 100 years. imagine what have -- what could have been done for greenwood -- generational wealth. imagine what they contributed then and what they could have contributed all these years. imagine a thriving greenwood and

north tulsa for the last 100 years. that was meant for all of us, including the white community. the people did rebuild again, but it did not last. eventually, neighborhoods were redlined on maps, locking black tulsa out of homeownership's. a highway was built right through the heart of the community. [applause] we talk about what 95 did after we were occupied by the military after dr. king was murdered. the community could not help black businesses with jobs and opportunity. chronic underinvestment from state and local government denied people the chance to get ahead. [applause] we must find the courage to change the things we know we can change. that's what vice president harris and i are focused on, along with our entire

administration, including our housing and development secretary, who is here today. [applause] -- including our housing and urban development secretary, who is here today. today, we are announcing two expanded efforts targeted toward black wealth creation that will also help the entire community. first is my administration has launched an aggressive effort to back -- two combat racial discrimination in housing including everything from redlining to the fact that a home owned by a black family is too often appraised at a lower value than a similar home owned by a white family. [applause] i might add -- i may need help with the answer to this. i cannot figure this one out,

but if you live in a black community and there's is another one on the other side of the highway that's a white community built by the same contractor and you have a better driving record then your white neighbor, you will have higher auto insurance. shockingly, the percentage of black homeownership is lower today in america than when the fair housing act was passed 50 years ago. lower today. that's wrong. we are committed to changing that. just imagine, instead of 9 million americans unable to build their own home, we provided equity for them to buy into that home and build equity. as president, my administration oversees hundreds of billions of dollars in federal contracts every day from installing

railings in federal buildings to professional services. we have a thing called -- i won't go over it all, there's not enough time now, but i'm determined to use every taxpayer dollar that is assigned to me to spend going to american companies and american workers that build american products, and as part of that, i'm going to increase the shares per dollar the federal government spends to small, disadvantaged businesses, including black and brown small businesses. right now, close to 10% and moving to 15% of every dollar spent. [applause] it is my priority to do that. just imagine, instead of denying millions of entrepreneurs the ability to access capital in contracting, we made it possible to make their dreams to the

marketplace to create jobs and invest in our communities. data shows young on trip -- young black entrepreneurs are just as capable of succeeding if given the chance as young white entrepreneurs. but they don't have lawyers. they don't have accountants, but they have great ideas. does anyone doubt this whole nation would be better in -- would be better off from that investment? that's why we set up a national small business administration that is much broader. they are going to get those loans. instead of consigning millions of american children to under regional schools, let's give every three and four-year-old child access to school -- not daycare, school. studies done by the university's show that an increase but 50% the possibility a child, no matter what background they come

from, if they start school at three years old, they have a 56% chance of going all through all 12 years without any trouble and being able to do well. and a chance to learning grow and thrive in a school and throughout their lives. let's unlock more than the incredible creativity and innovation that has come from the nation's historically black colleges and universities. let's invest in research centers and laboratories and high demand areas to compete for good-paying jobs. their students are able to learn as well and get good-paying jobs, but they don't have the money to build those laboratories, so guess what? they are going to get the money. [applause]

instead of just talking about infrastructure costs let's go but the business of actually rebuilding roads and highways -- and highways. creating space to live and work and play safely, such as your access to health care, clean water, clean air, nearby grocery stores stocked with fresh vegetables and. these are all things we can do. does anyone doubt this whole nation will be better off with these investments? the rich will be just as well off, the middle class will do better and everybody will do better. it is about good paying jobs, financial stability, being able to build some generational wealth. it is about economic growth for our country and out--- outcompeting the rest of the world which is now outcompeting

us. just as fundamental as any of these investments i have discussed is maybe the most fundamental, the right to vote. [applause] the right to vote. a lot of the members of the black caucus new john lewis better than i did, but i knew him. on his deathbed, i called john to speak to him. all john wanted to do was talk about how i was doing. he died i think about 25 hours later. you know what john said? he called the right to vote precious, almost sacred. he said the most powerful, nonviolent tool we have in democratic society, this sacred

right is under assault with incredible intensity like i have never seen, even though i got started as a public defender in the civil rights era. with intentional aggressions we have not seen in a long, long time. it is simply un-american. it is not, however, sadly, unprecedented. the creed "we shall overcome" is a long time mainstay of the civil rights movement. the obstacles to progress that have to be overcome are a constant challenge. we saw the 1960's. however, the current assault is not just an echo of a distant history. in 2020, we face the tireless assault on our right to vote, restrictive law, lawsuits, threats of intimidation, voter purges, and more. the result, more americans voted in last election amidst a

pandemic than any election in american history. [applause] we got voters registered. we got voters to the polls. the rule of law held. democracy prevailed. we overcame, but today, let me be unequivocal. i have been engaged in this work my whole career, and we will be ramping up efforts to overcome again. i will have more to say about this at a later date, the truly unprecedented assault on our democracy, and effort to replace nonpartisan election administrators and to intimidate those charged with tallying and reporting election results, but today, as for the act of voting itself, i urge voting rights groups in this country to begin to redouble their efforts now to register voters. june should be a month of action on capitol hill.

[applause] i hear all the folks on tv saying, why doesn't biden get this done? because biden only has a majority of effectively for votes in the house and a tie in the senate with two members of the senate who vote more with my republican friends, but we are not giving up. early this year, the house of representatives passed for the people act to protect our democracy. the senate will take it up leader this month, and i'm going to put every tool at my disposal toward its passage. a new voting act put forth by the house is critical. to signify our efforts today, i'm asking vice president harris to help these efforts and lead, among her other responsibilities.

but it's going to take a hell of a lot of work. finally, we must address what remains of the stain on the soul of america. what happened in greenwood was an act of hate and domestic terrorism. remember what you saw in charlottesville 4 years ago on television. neo-nazis, white supremacists, the kkk, coming out of those fields at night in virginia with lighted torches, veins bulging -- do you remember this? close your eyes and picture what it was. other fletcher said when she saw the insurrection at the capitol on january 9, it broke her heart. a mob of white extremists and thugs.

look around at the various hate crimes against asian american and jewish americans. hate that never goes away. it only hides. i saw it after you guys pushed through with dr. king the voting rights act and the civil rights act. i did not realize until we had made enormous progress, and i'm so proud to be a little part of it, but you know what? i did not realize hate is never defeated. it only hides. it hides. given a little bit of oxygen, just a little bit of oxygen by its leaders, it comes out from among the rocks like it was happening again because it never went away. so, folks, we can't, we must not give hate a safe harbor. as i said in my address at the joint session of congress,

according to the intelligence community, terrorism from white supremacy is the most lethal threat of the homeland today. night -- not isis. not al qaeda. domestic terrorism. that is not me. that's the intelligence community. they have both shocked and undermined my administration. two weeks ago, i signed into law the hate crimes act passed by the house and senate. my administration will soon lay out a plan to defeat domestic terrorism and other forms of bigotry, but i will close where i started. to mother randall, mother fletcher, to mr. simmons, you are all survivors. thank you for giving me the honor of being able to spend some time with you earlier today. thank you for your courage. thank you for your commitment.

thank your children, your grandchildren, your nieces, and your nephews. to see and learn from you is a gift. a genuine gift. dr. john hope franklin, one of america's greatest historians, tulsa's proud son, whose father was a greenwood survivor, said, and i quote, "whatever you do, it must be done with the spirit of goodwill, mutual respect, and even love. how else can we overcome the past and be worthy of our forebears and teach the future with confidence and with hope? on this sacred and solemn day, may we find that distinctly rained with spirit that defines the american spirit, the spirit that gives me so much confidence and hope for the future, that helps us see face to face the spirit that helps us know fully

who we are and who we can be as a people and as a nation. i have never been more optimistic about the future than i am today. i mean that. the reason is because of this new generation of young people. they are the best educated. they are the least prejudiced. they are the most open generation in american history. and although i have no scientific faces for what i'm about to say, but those of you who are over 50, how often did you ever see advertisements on television with black and white? not a joke. -- i have no scientific basis for what i'm about to say, but those of you who are over 50, how often did you ever see advertisements on television with black and white couples? not a joke. sit down and watch television

for an hour, and you will see two or three out of five ads have mixed race couples in them. remember old pat goodale used it say you want to know what's going on in america, watch advertising. because they want to sell what they have. we have hope, but we have got to give them support. we have got to give them the backbone to do what we know has to be done because i doubt any of you would be here if you did not care deeply about this. you should not come to hear me speak. [laughter] -- you sure did not come to hear me speak. [laughter] but i mean it. let's not give up. as the old saying goes, hope springs eternal. i know we talked a lot about

famous people. my colleagues in the senate used to always kid me because i was always quoting irish poets. they think i did it because i'm irish. they think i did it because we irish got a little bit of a chip on our shoulder a little bit sometimes. that's not why i did it. i did it because they are the best poets in the world. [laughter] there's a famous poet who worked a stanza that i think is the definition of what i think should be our call today for young people. it is that history teaches us not to hope on this side of the grave, but then, once in a lifetime, that long, forked tidal wave of justice rises up, and hope and history rhyme. let's make it rhyme. [applause]

♪ romaine: we are just now listening here to president joe biden. of course quoting a famous irish poem, speaking in tulsa at the site of one of the deadliest racial massacres in this nation. he started off by declaring that what happened was not a riot but massacre. that in itself was a relatively bold and rare statement by a public official, and it ends with the idea of safe harbor. in addition, he talked about efforts by his administration to increase the amount the federal government gives to small and disadvantaged businesses, saying he would raise federal community

dollars from 10% to 15%. for more, let's bring in our white house reporter. tell us a little bit about the proposal that president biden pitched out there today. josh: he focused a lot on the significance of the moment and rightly so. this is the first time a sitting president has gone to tulsa to mark the anniversary of the massacre, but he did tease out some policy differences or changes, i guess you could say. in particular around the appraisal, the black folks in america often find their homes appraised at lower values than homes -- then similar homes owned by white people. similar discrepancy for car insurance in neighborhoods that are mostly black compared to neighborhoods mostly white.

details are still to come on this. we do not know how publicly or how tangibly biden's actions will ramp up on this, but he is passing this as a way to tackle the black wealth gap in america, and mentioning that black homeownership has fallen of late instead of risen. joe: he made a point of identifying the difficult mess for him in the senate. saying it is 50/50, there are two democrats who vote mostly with republicans. what are things he could do on the ledge just -- legislative side? >> that is a really interesting case of break pumping -- brake

-pumping. i think he is looking more towards the realm of executive action on things like housing and insurance. normally, he does not like to put a lot of weight on the notion of a gridlocked congress, but we heard him making that statement because it is simply the reality. romaine: this comes against a backdrop where several states are passing legislation that would effectively, to a certain extent, restrict voting rights. josh: right. that is one area where there has not been a lot of progress from congress. biden has not commented that

much, nor has his press secretary, but the white house is stacked with people from the obama and clinton administrations who saw themselves lose majorities in the second term. i think that is why he is sort of going big across-the-board and trying to make a difference, i guess, on things he wants to. remember, this is an important trip and an important moment to mark in its own right, but black voters are a large reason why joe biden was the democratic nominee, a large reason why he is the president. black voters, including those who traveled with him today, have had a big voice in his ministration, and i think biden is at least pledging to follow through on that. joe: pretty extraordinary

speech. on voting rights specifically, it was striking to me, his statement in establishing the urgency of this issue and fighting some of the perceived assaults on him. romaine: it will be interesting to see what the administration can do and what congress will do. stay with us. "bloomberg technology" is starting right now. >> heart of where innovation and money combine in a silicon valley and beyond. this is "bloomberg technology" with emily chang.