cummings of the world. thank you both. thank you. thank all of you and thank you. president truman. i absolutely absolutely. good evening. as the member of congress representing independence missouri, harry truman told, i've spent a lot of time over.

the years just thinking about president truman's legacy. when people think about harry, some remember his defense of democracy. some remember fair deal in the face of economic. tonight, we'll all remember humanity in the face of discrimination. when i think of harry truman, i'm also reminded of joe biden, who us here tonight. well, when i think harry truman, i'm reminded that there are a lot of similarities. both men from working class background and they used grit and determination to ascend to presidency. they were drawn to public service not by ego, but the need to go. they swore their oaths as

americans and they lived as americans during. their time mothers, fathers, sons, daughters found themselves a global war. now generations may divide, but decency unites. truman and biden. president biden's commitment to the working class, affordable education and social equality embodies. president truman's view of the fair deal. and it calls us to build back better. you never heard that term before. i'm creative. reading reading today's newspaper will no doubt remind

us that president truman is needed as much today, as it was in 1947. too often my colleagues turn to scripture without their own hypocrisy. blessed are the poor in spirit unless they need some income assistance. blessed are those who mourn unless they saying black lives matter. blessed are the meek unless they're gay, trans female, black or brown. blessed be the leader whose spirit can do both things. thank you for joining us tonight. when i think about the short program tonight and the president being here with us reminds me of my grandpa, almost anything will my was a great

preacher and he would have grandchild sitting in front and he a cane. so we knew what that meant and one sunday, grandpa did stood up as did every sunday for the offering, and the ushers came down, got the plates. many of you who were in protestant churches, you've seen it. we go out and pass the tray and they look the tray down to the front for the blessing of the offering. and grandpa said, get it out of here. and everybody looks quizzical. so i said, get it out of you. get those plates out of here right. and so they turned to leave and one of them had enough gumption. he turned around, said pastor cleaver, what do you want us to get out of here? he said, it's tainted. this is a tainted offering. and they said, what do you mean

it is tainted? he said it taint enough. president truman and president biden realized enough to just go into the oval office. you got to do something. jim clyburn, my friend. realized that at ten enough to just get one self elected, you have to help get somebody elected. and so truman taint enough.

thank you. thank you very much. i hope i'm enough. good evening to all of you. and thank you for joining us. as we gather to celebrate the civil rights, the third honorary president of these united states. i've spent a great deal of my 30 plus years in congress reflecting upon consequences of harry truman's presidency and its impact on our nation's pursuit of a more union. president truman's heritage would suggest that he would be an unwise reckless champion for a civil rights. he grew up in a segregated town in missouri, in a family of slave owners and among friends

who were herons to white supremacy. but when he learned of the fate that fallen sergeant isaac woodard junior a decorated black world war two veteran who upon being honorably discharged was traveling home to winnsboro, south carolina. president truman except there is a soul to pull transform nation. sergeant, while proudly wearing his adorn with combat ribbons, have been brutally attacked and intentionally blinded by a police in base burg, carolina. when you heard of the incident president truman is reported to have exclaimed my god, i had no

idea it was this terrible. is that we have got to do something. he followed that explanation by stepping outside his comfort zone and becoming the first president to address the national conference of the. signing executive. orders 1990 980 and 9981 which desegregate the armed forces and, the federal workforce, and appointing the first federal commission to address the issue of equal treatment and fair play. in short, he saved imo perfect union tonight.

75 years and 13 administra nations later, we are honored to have with us another president who is not afraid to step outside his comfort zone. not unlike truman, 46 president joseph robinette is constantly by the pundit class. according to them, he could not win the presidency. the headlines were not all that different from that iconic headline. dewey defeats truman. in the november 3rd, 1948 edition of the chicago tribune. like truman. joe biden has proved the naysayers wrong when he came into office.

prognosticators opined that it would take years to regain the jobs and economic footing. lost during the once in a century caravan coronavirus pandemic and an inept response. president biden responded with the american rescue plan that put shots in arms reopened, schools and child poverty in half. it spurred and historic and economic recovery the bipartisan law that provides long overdue to repair roads and bridges provide much needed public transit and high speed rail. makes the largest investor in clean drinking water in american history and help ensure every american has access to

affordable, high speed internet. the chips and science that is bringing semiconductor manufacturing back to american soil and creating regional tech hubs to ensure silicon valley's prosperity will be shared across the country. the inflation reduction act, which includes historic in clean energy manufacturing and takes on big pharma to bring the costs of insulin and, other prescription drugs down. the safer communities act to tighten the loopholes. background checks for firearm and break the cycle of violence through crime prevention and mental health treatment investments. the pact act upholds.

our sacred commitment. our veterans. by expanding health care screenings, assistance for iraq and afghanistan veterans and surviving families impacted by toxic exposure. the past. thank you. but the patriot act does something else. it went back and grabbed those vietnam veterans who did not get proper assessments. and i've talked several in my congressional district who said to me that when the patriot act passed, the benefits went from 15 and 20% up to 95 and 100%. now president was doing all of

this while implementing. $116 million in student loan debt forgiveness for 3.4 million borrowers and bending the long arc of the moral universe toward justice by fulfilling the campaign promise that shocked the prognosticators, when he it. putting the first black woman on of high school in this country. president biden has repeatedly stepped outside of his comfort zone and for the american because of his wisdom, courage and determination. unemployment is at a 50 year

low. . 13.2 million new jobs have been created. and consumer confidence is high and rising for the first time in generations. we are bringing men of factory jobs back to america. and last month, the economy grew. 2.4%, exceeding expectations and inflation dropped 3%. in short, biden nomics is working. and the american are beginning to respond because of his temperament, temerity and tenaciousness. joe biden has restored our

preeminence around the world and rejuvenate dated the american people. ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to present the 46th president of the united states of america, joe biden. thank. please be seated. you know, had an opportunity to meet members of the truman board and are talking about all that harry truman did and i was reminded and i will i'm to send

to the truman library a copy of it. my grandpop was an irishman named ambrose finnegan, and i lived in scranton to tell the economy just drew down and there was no work. my dad was a salesperson and we moved down to delaware, claymont, delaware. we go home all the time, scranton and one day we went back. i was back in scranton and a lot of my friends moved there to delaware. i was in third grade, but we went home a lot. we still call scranton home and we were up there on st patrick's day when i was a 14 years old, and i was standing on the corner watching everybody go there, going to the events and harry

truman was a speaker at the truman dinner that year. and the sort of the david broder, the scranton times was a guy named phillips who was a elderly man younger than me, but elderly man who was the chief political reporter. and they got a picture and i hadn't thought about in a long time, but i'll send it over to the library of may at 14 years old, standing on the corner, it was a warm day for february and. i'm standing on the corner, a long sleeve shirt with my buddies and president was coming around the corner. come over demi avenue and he was in a convertible and purely by accident i assume it was accident the photographer from a newspaper got a picture of me making eye contact with harry truman. it was just i'm sure a lot of people made eye contact him. but i was looking and you could see in the photograph we're

looking at one another eye to eye, and that's when this tommy phillips, the david broder of, the day in scranton wrote, that's when joe biden knew, he was going to be president. i knew i going to be president when jim clyburn went ahead and endorsed me. that's when i knew i was going to be president. thank jim. it's a great honor to be here tonight. and i mean that sincerely. summer, 1980. first of all, a war. war train moves through the outskirts of paris. an american army captain alongside an all white regiment heading to the front lines. the son of a slave state, the grandson, slave owners. captain harry is truman looks through his glasses toward

bloodstained soil of the second battle of the marne that ended just a few before. it a pivotal victory that led to a vital part of america's led by the vital part of america's 369th infantry regiment, the harlem hellfighters, an all black regiment that spent 191 days on the front longer than any unit of its size in history. a link in the distinguished line of in descendant enslaved and free. risking their lives in every war since our founding for ideals they hadn't fully known on american soil. equality and freedom. a fearless captain on a consecrated battlefield. in a segregated military. a snapshot in time of the work of all time to redeem the soul of america. which are still struggling to do. representative clyburn cleaver,

the chairman of families, leader of the truman institute. distinguished guests, my fellow americans, i speak to you not from a battlefield, but from another sacred place. the national archives, home of timeless words, point to our north star, a light for the dreams and the pains. centuries of enslaved people in america. and idea. once the most simple, the most powerful idea. the history of the world. that we're all created equal. endowed by our creator with. certain inalienable rights to deserve to be treated. equality not the beginning, but throughout our lives. a covenant. a covenant we made with each so central to who we are. and we enshrined it in our declaration of independence. we hold these truths to be self-evident. our constitution. we the people. our bill of rights. with the freedom of religion. speech, press, assembly and

more. all safeguard it in this hallowed place history requires to acknowledge that we've never lived up to the promise of america capturing the essence of these documents. but our aspirations to be more union ensure that never fully walked away from it either. just like army. like the army captain who became president. united states of america walked toward our north star when he signed executive order. as jim mentioned, nine nine, eight one. that desegregated the united states armed forces. july 26, 1948, 75 years as of yesterday. harry truman, born in missouri. your family and community embraced, the confederate sympathies but savage violence and vendetta are black veterans in the power the civil rights movement. changed his mind and his heart. guided by a prayer he as a child in the prairie went like this

all mighty and everlasting god creator of heaven, earth and universe. help me to be, to think, act what is right because it is right. that was a prairie memorized. history says he spoke to when the time came, harry truman did the very american thing. he rose to the occasion and he chose to do right the american military been so good since our founding. yet hundreds of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people of color, men and women, still courageously served with love of country that often didn't love them back. they served in our revolutionary war, declared independence from a king only to be enslaved by a master to protect the union in the civil war, only to face under jim crow. they sacrificed during two world

wars, fighting against autocracy, only to be denied the freedom of their own democracy, their patriots like the buffalo soldiers. legends for the valor and combat. the tuskegee airmen flying more than 50,000 sorties in the battle. native americans in our military at the highest rate of any demographic and nearly five times the national average. hispanic americans, like those of the 65th regiment, infantry regiment, helping liberate a nazi concentration camp and protect allied roads and airfields and post asian americans native hawaiians, pacific islanders like the four and 42nd regimental combat team, liberated europe, a team that included one of my dearest closest friends and a mentor of mine. when i got here, as a 29 year old kid. the late senator danny. no way. who served in the senate with his mother friend, a great hawaiian veteran of the late senator daniel akaka.

the list goes on, including rank and file cooks, secretaries, mailman, too often overlooked and forgotten but made it work. yet these came home. they were still denied equal opportunity in housing. education jobs, even marriage. families held in incarceration camps. many of them denied the benefits the gi bill because the states the states put up barriers to be able to collect that gi benefit. and targeted racist violence. that was callous and all too often casual and common. let me take you back to 1946. jim, already spoke to this february. south carolina sergeant isaac woodard, a decorated black world war two veteran. so our three years of war in the pacific returning home to

finally see his family, he asked the bus driver to stop so he could use the restroom instead. the driver called the police. on arrival, the pulled him off the bus while he was still in uniform. beat him badly. they permanently blinded him. beat him so badly they blinded him. and he was in his uniform. i'm still astounded by the cruelty and viciousness sergeant would reunited his family. but could never look into their eyes again. five months later, july, georgia army veteran george dorsey, who spent five years the pacific home of his wife for just ten months there driving with his brother in law and sister was seven months pregnant when a white mob attacked them, pulled them from their car and fired 60 shots, 60, 60 shots at close range, leaving their bodies barely identifiable. my god, how sick john.

unbelievable. what races them fueled by ignorance, can unleash in this country. the next month, august 1946. in response to similar acts of racist terror, a 17 year old college student wrote a letter to the atlantic constitution. and here's what he said. he said quote, we want in are entitled to the basic rights and opportunities every american citizen, end of quote. i was a college student at morehouse college. his name was martin luther jr. but a young king wasn't the only person awakened. a president was awakened as. harry truman felt a moral imperative to the mistreatment of black veterans. he heard their calls for a double victory to win freedom abroad. and at home, he felt the urgency

from civil rights leaders like philip randolph and the acp and unlikely character in the civil rights story of america, harry truman. his sights on our north star. he created the president's commission, civil rights. this is the groundbreaking report entitled to secure these rights was entitled to secure these rights condemning segregation and outlawing outlining the necessary changes in law and policy. protecting right to vote. prohibiting discrimination in jobs, etc.. desegregating military. and much more. but as you might guess, the backlash was instant. instead, a friend wrote ten pleading to change course. but president truman wrote back, quote, i'm asking for equality of opportunity for all human beings. and as long as i stay here, i'm going to continue to fight. end of quote. memories of old members of the

military rejected a civil his civil rights agenda. undeterred, harry truman acted. and we're much better nation, a much better nation for his courage, commitment and for sacrifice and service of all our patriots fought for our democracy this year commemorates two other significant milestones the 75th anniversary of women in military and the 50th anniversary of an all volunteer force. and as commander chief, i'm honored oversee the greatest fighting force, literally, frequently in the history of the world. and that's not hyperbole. and i might add, the most diverse fighting force in the history of the world world who fought these two parts are not. these two points are not unrelated. more than 40% of our active duty

force are people of color. 40%. about 20% are women. not from just 2%. and 48 of fighting force. and those native born hailing from big cities, suburbs small towns, tribal communities as our military became more diverse, you became stronger tougher and more capable. proving our diversity is a not a weakness, a necessary of our war fighting, deterrence, and our successful military operations and our unity. out of many not division ensures good order and discipline. unico he's ineffective as a military readiness. we've seen it with generations of patriots regardless of who they mentored by and trained by fellow servicemen from every background. like my friend the late colin powell. he was a friend like many veterans, i read the privilege

to award our nation's highest honors working toward the same forming lifelong friendships, returning home to put on civilian clothes in a every part of american life, bonding through a deep love of our nation that draws our greatest strength on our greatest strategic asset, the full talents of all the american people. and i mean, i think about the full of all american people. some of your tired hear me same as i've been said for many years. we have many obligations as government. we only have one truly sacred to prepare and equip those we send into harm's way and care for them and their families when they come home and when they don't. for me and, my wife jill, for our families, personal like many of you. one of the most important duties, jill and i have stood at arlington to undertake the rite of remembrance. so we have back home as we have back home in delaware for our

major beau biden, bronze star, conspicuous service medal in joe could be here tonight because he just returned from europe where she paid her respects at the brittany american cemetery, the final resting place of thousands of americans who world war two troops. it matters to vice president harris and our entire administration. it matters that we have the best to lead, the best force in the world that represent our entire country. from my perspective, america. that's america. it includes the first ever black secretary of defense. wanted to be here tonight. he's traveling to the indo-pacific to strengthen our security ties in the region. lloyd austin, a decorated former four star general. a war fighter with more than 40 years of service, embodying the very spirit of why we're here tonight.

there's deputy defense secretary kathleen hicks, a prodigious scholar and leader. the first woman confirmed as deputy secretary of defense. and so also i got confirmed to four star generals that lead our our combatant commands second and third women in the history to do so. it matters. but something dangerous is happening. i've worked across the aisle. my career and then my colleagues will attest to that. i have good friends of republicans. we disagree. a guy disagree like the devil was, but he's a decent, not old does what he says is a republican leader in the senate. we disagree on almost everything repub the republican party used to always support the military. but today they're undermining the military. the senior senator from alabama who claims to support our troops is now blocking more than 300

military operations with his political agenda. like general cq brown, f-16 and a wing commander, the first african-american to lead any of the armed service to be the next of the joint chiefs of staff. that's who have nominated. he's waiting. admiral lisa franchetti, the second woman in our navy ever to achieve the rank of four star admiral who i chose to be, make history again as the woman as chief of naval operations. i've also nominated other outstanding leaders of all backgrounds. we need them right now. tens of thousands of. america's daughters and sons are deployed around the world tonight, keeping us safe from an immense national security. but the senator from, alabama is not for the first time in more than 100 years. we don't have a sitting commandant of the marine corps. by the fall, we may not have a chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. we may not have a military leaders from our army and navy

either. this partizan is already harming military readiness, leadership and troop morale. freezing pay. freezing people in place military families already sacrificed so much. unsure of where they change stations. unable to get housing or start kids in the new school. because they're not there yet. military spouses forced to take critical career decisions not where or if they can for a new job. a growing cascade of damage and disruption, all because senator from alabama and 48 republicans who refused to stand up to him to lift the blockade over the pentagon policy offering servicemen, women, their families access to reproductive health care rights they deserve if stationed in states to deny. i think it's outrageous. but don't just take it from me. hundreds of military spouses

petition to end the extreme blockade. one spouse referenced the senator from alabama said, quote, this isn't a football game. this nonsense must stop right now. yes. must. it's time for the to confirm the next chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the next commandant of the marine corps. it's time for servicemembers to receive the pay promotions they've earned and deserve. it's time for the senate alabama let these generals and admirals fully serve their country. and service members care themselves and their families. i urge senate to do what they know is right. keep our country safe. like harry truman approved all those outstanding nominees. now, now. now. which was routine in the past, i might add. enough of the attacks on our military from those voices. american military sailors

becoming weak soft and less capable. we hear from the senior senator from missouri who his fist high and salute on six even as veterans turned police officers protected him in our nation as insurrectionists held a dagger at the throat of democracy. we heard from the junior senator from texas who fell for a russian propaganda that their military the russian military's better than ours calling military emasculated. are they. sorry. frankly, they have no idea what guy's name they're talking about as commander in chief can tell you without reservation not just been in this business a long time, but been a student of history. we have and always will have the stronger est toughest grading

force, a fighting force in the history the world. and again, that's not hyperbole. that's real. i'm to go on. but as grandpop, i say, this gets my goat. let me close with this. in june of 65, maj from the union army arrived in texas to enforce the emancipation proclamation and free the last enslaved americans from bondage. juneteenth. a day that reflects the sum. the psalm tells us, quote, weeping may endure a night, but joy cometh in the morning. last. two years after i made juneteenth a federal holiday, the first new federal holiday since martin luther martin luther king day nearly 40 years

ago, i hosted a juneteenth congress at the white house, the beacon of our republic, i might add, built by enslaved people. watching their descendants, students, dancers, singers perform. and that lawn of the white house was spiritual to think thousands. thousands of black union soldiers killed during civil war. thank. enslaved people remain shackled. two years after emancipation. to think how many long nights they look to the light in the north star. to keep the faith that despite america's original of saving this nation could be saved. that is patriotism. that's patriotism. during that powerful concert we heard the great jennifer hudson sing from her soul. about the glory that will come and that go. an anthem of a movement.

i can't sing and i'm going to try. but i'll quote. it's a long time coming. but i know a change is going to come. oh, yes, it will. that's what happened five years ago. an american president to do right. and that's what we tonight. a forward march in our own lives, in the life of the nation toward the north star, the idea of america, a peace in heart of all of our people. i know we'll do this. i've never been more optimistic about america's future. let us reflect and repair. let us rise to the occasion and redeem the soul of this nation teaches our decency, respect. change the dialog. let's remember who in god's name we are. we're the united states of america. and there's nothing. think about this, literally. there's nothing ever said our

mind do. we haven't accomplished nothing ever. if we decided we're going to do it, nothing beyond our capacity, act together. so let's reach out even to those who have less generous try to pull them in so we can act together. and i mean this from the bottom my heart. may god bless you all. may god protect our troops.