The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Transcript Spencer Michels reports on Clinton's last day in Africa and reviews the highlights of the President's trip. An island in the Atlantic ocean, evoking painful memories of slavery, was the last stop on President Clinton's 11-day, six nation visit to Africa. It was the most extensive tour of the continent ever made by an American president and covered agendas that ranged from America's centuries-old relationship with Africa to such modern issues as trade and economics, education, and environmental protection. Goree Island, off Senegal's coast, where millions of Africans began forced journeys to the new world that ended either in their death or in slavery on plantations in America or islands in the Caribbean. In these dramatic surroundings, Mr. Clinton delivered the final speech of his African tour.
Gore Island is as much a part of our history as a part of Africa's history.
From Goree and other places Africa's sons and daughters were taken through the door of no return, never to see their friends and families again. America's struggle to overcome slavery and its legacy forms one of the most difficult chapters of that history. Yet, it is also one of the most heroic, a triumph of courage, persistence, and dignity. The long journey of African-Americans proves that the spirit can never be enslaved. From the start of the trip in Ghana, where the Clintons received an enthusiastic welcome, to the end, Mr. Clinton mused about the present and the past.