at the ground seeing those little impressions of their prints and i thought back to 1969 when neil armstrong stepped on the moon and said one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind. one tiefu tiny little print for girl walking in the dirt but years later, dozens of other girls will be behind her and eventually hundreds and it will be one giant leap for they're community. it really was the peaks that first brought me there but the people that bring me back again. when i got to corefa in the spring. kanle was very sad. his wife passed away. first we embrace each other and there's dust flying around and tiers in our ayes and then we go over to the local graveyard. as we walked to the graveyard we saw her buried in the box in the ground facing the sunset. and out of sentiment he said without her, i'm nothing and then he said something that i would never forget. he said very soon you're going to be standing here and i'm going to be in the ground. and he kind of chuckled and i didn't think that was very funny because i lost my father in his 40's from cancer in 1981 and my sister and you

pepper with regards, neil armstrong.e's a liv anything to myself, there is a living america in one lifetimeeo of the person who learned to fight and the person who flew to the moon.progressn think of the unbelievable progress in a lifetime. arning and what is the distance between learning to fly and flying to thet moon?those well, it was was a measure that. will interest some of those those those photographs are only four or five inches apart. it's measured in education, knowledge and unprecedented century.le in ssthis country has been enormously blessed during this period. a hallmark, it seems to me of the century that we just sen completed was self-sacrificing country, common purpose, a sense of community, commitment to country and especially, especially leadership.so in america, leadership has been so important in this governmentl recall self-government. and there's aoh book written by tion o wcola about john adams. and john adams described the question of leadership. he would travel in europe, represented in this new

for me, it is the political equivalent of seeing neil armstrong climbed down from apollo 11 to be the first human being to step on the surface of the ming. that is how extraordinary that event was. real life is not a fairy tale. this is a work in progress. there is much unfinished business that must be done to move african-americans into the mainstream. we have concentrated on african- americans entering the mainstream. we spoke on campus a couple of days ago. she chronicled the great migration during the 20th century. affiliate's were created all around the country to greet and help them are roundly for -- to help greet them when they arrived. when i headed the national urban league, we are often accused of being a middle class organization. if you are accusing us of trying to help low-income and middle- class folks get into the middle class, we are guilty. that is what we do. african-americans are struggling like everyone else but only worse. despite our historic leap forward, one out of four african american mi arered -- are mired in poverty. this will get worse by 2012. last month

and beneath it, a photograph of neil armstrong, signed "to congressman pepper, with regards." and i'm thinking to myself, here's a living american in one life time, has an autographed picture of the person who learned to fly and the person who flew to the moon. think of the unbelievable progress in a lifetime. and what is the distance between learning to fly and flying to the moon? well it wasn't measured on that wall in inches, although those photographs were only four or five inches apart. it is measured in education, in knowledge, in a burst of accomplishments, in an unprecedented century. and this country has been enormously blessed during this period. the hallmark, it seems to me, of the century that we just completed was self-sacrifice and common purpose, a sense of community, commitment to country, and especially -- especially -- leadership. in america, leadership has been so important in this government we call "self-government." and there was a book written by mccullough about john adams and john adams described that question of leadership. he would travel in europe r

and beneath it, a photograph of neil armstrong, signed "to congressman pepper, with regards." and i'm thinking to myself, here's a living american in one life time, has an autographed picture of the person who learned to fly and the person who flew to the moon. think of the unbelievable progress in a lifetime. and what is the distance between learning to fly and flying to the moon? well it wasn't measured on that wall in inches, although those photographs were only four or five inches apart. it is measured in education, in knowledge, in a burst of accomplishments, in an unprecedented century. and this country has been enormously blessed during this period. the hallmark, it seems to me, of the century that we just completed was self-sacrifice and common purpose, a sense of community, commitment to country, and especially -- especially -- leadership. in america, leadership has been so important in this government we call "self-government." and there was a book written by mccullough about john adams and john adams described that question of leadership. he would travel in europe r

and beneath it, a photograph of neil armstrong, signed "to congressman pepper, with regards." and i'm thinking to myself, here's a living american in one life time, has an autographed picture of t person who learned to fly and the person who flew to the moon. think of the unbelievable progress in a lifetime. and what is the distance between learning to fly and flying to the moon? well it wasn't measured on that wall in inches, although those photographs were only four or five inches apart. it is measured in education, in knowledge, in a burst of accomplishments, in an unprecedented century. and this country has been enormously blessed durg this period. the hallmark, it seems to me, of the century that we just completed was self-sacrifice and common purpose, a sense of community, commitment to country, and especially -- especially -- leadership. in america, leadership has been so important in this government we call "self-government." and there was a book written by mccullough about john adams and john adams described tt question of leadehip. he would travel in europe represent