Remarks prepared for U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive Dedication Ceremony |
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Rodney E. Slater, United States Secretary of Transportation
November 10, 2000
REMARKS AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
U.S. SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION RODNEY E. SLATER
DAISY L. GATSON BATES DRIVE DEDICATION CEREMONY
NOVEMBER 10, 2000
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS
I am honored to be here today to celebrate the life and legacy of a civil rights pioneer as we dedicate Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive.
Mrs. Bates, in so many ways, touched each and every one of us. To the students who led the way in integrating Little Rock’s schools, she was a nurturing mentor. She was the angel who taught them to behave with dignity and respect, and to maintain an inner peace when the world around them got ugly and crazy.
To me, Mrs. Bates was a mother figure -- a maternal force of nature sitting at the table with my wife, Cassandra, and me, educating us -- and usually offering a little motherly advice. I always benefitted from her wisdom and appreciated her insight into the human condition.
And to America, Mrs. Bates was the woman who helped open wide the doors of opportunity and equality. Through word and deed and sacrifice, through her mentoring and a sense of mission, she helped America understand its potential and to embrace its diversity.
Mrs. Bates and her husband were the voice of reason and of inclusion through their newspaper, The Arkansas State Press, one of the first in Arkansas owned by African-Americans. The Bates published an article in 1946 about how a handpicked jury was used to convict some striking workers. The circuit judge tried to find Mr. and Mrs. Bates in contempt of court, but the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the couple. Mrs. Bates won a quiet but significant victory that kept us on the road to equality and justice.
Mrs. Bates’ legacy is one of determination and strong-will. It is the legacy of acting with unflinching grace and dignity in the face of personal threats and financial ruin. Mrs. Bates did not, however, want to be known as fearless. To the contrary, Mrs. Bates stated, "Who said I wasn’t afraid? You acted because you believed, because you were committed."
And this dignified commitment to tolerance and racial equality lives on. Mrs. Bates’ commitment thrives in the work of others trying to make this an even better nation. Mrs. Bates’ commitment thrives in the sons and daughters of Arkansas who have served in Washington under the leadership of President Clinton. I have been proud to serve as the United States Secretary of Transportation. And I am even prouder still, knowing that my own journey to Washington began here in Little Rock, through not only Mrs. Bates’ courageous actions, but also by her help in getting me involved in the political process.
Now, thanks to her courage, each and every one of us has an opportunity to fulfill Mrs. Bates’ vision and to make this world a better place. At the United States Department of Transportation, we have built on her dream, viewing our destiny as providing all Americans with access to opportunity, to all that is possible in this great country. Transportation is more than concrete, asphalt and steel -- transportation is the means with which we can get ahead and expand our horizons.
Mrs. Bates always persevered. After the Supreme Court decision in Brown Versus the Topeka Board of Education, Mrs. Bates began to take African-American children to white schools to be registered. When the school refused, Mrs. Bates would report this fact in The Arkansas State Press. She knew that the journey to the Promised Land, where black children would learn alongside white children, moves steadily on a path lined with seemingly small but significant acts.
But let us today take joy in remembering her as one of us. Arkansas, to Mrs. Bates, is "the home of my birth, my growth and my identity as a woman in this world. Arkansas means a lot to me. It has claimed me from birth and I have claimed it for life."
And we here in Little Rock take great pride and honor in claiming Mrs. Bates for life.
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Source: U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)