Ambassador
Ambassador Speech
Remarks by Ambassador Wayne
Black History Month Celebration
March 13, 2009
Good Afternoon.
Thank you for coming to this year’s Black History Celebration. It’s great to see so many people here. We have a lot to celebrate this year, don't we? The world recently witnessed one of the most important presidential elections in the history of the United States. Two centuries after Abraham Lincoln’s birth, our nation is still a work in progress, but President Barack Obama stands as an example of our country's ability to rise above its tragic history of slavery and prejudice. For centuries, people wondered if this day would ever come, but the inauguration of our President earlier this year is a critical step towards the realization of Dr. Martin Luther King's vision, "deeply rooted," as he noted, "in the American dream," in which our "nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'" With President Obama's election, the evidence of the great potential for the future is before us all.
President Barack Obama said it well in 2005, “The true test of the American Ideal is whether we’re able to recognize our failings and then rise together to meet the challenges of our time. Whether we allow ourselves to be shaped by events and history, or whether we act to shape them. Whether chance of birth or circumstances decides life’s big winners and losers, or whether we build a community where, at the very least, everyone has a chance to work hard, get ahead, and reach their dreams.” I think that this message of social inclusion and opportunity is an important factor in the President's popularity around the world, including in Argentina.
And so we have a lot to celebrate today. We intend to do it in style. First of all, we are fortunate to have with us the very talented Fidel Nadal, one of Argentina's top singers. In addition to being a talented pop star, Fidel is also the son of the great afro-Argentine leader Enrique Nadal, who led Argentine efforts to protest apartheid in South Africa and also inspired today’s activists to fight against racism in Argentina. We're grateful to you, Fidel, for joining us and sharing your amazing voice with us.
Secondly, our friends at Hymars are offering us a chance to enjoy some real soul food -- a traditional barbeque, the kind you might eat in some of our southern states. Last but not least, I invite you to join us in the Auditorium at 2:00 for a video conference by Sheila Walker from the University of Texas's Center of African and African American Studies. Dr. Walker will discuss President Obama and the quest for black citizenship in the Americas. I hope to see you there as we continue to celebrate this unique moment in time in which, thanks to an African-American leader few had heard of just a few short years ago, American history is unfolding right before our very eyes.