A word about our host country. Perhaps alone among South American countries, Venezuela welcomed the immigration of persons of African descent. As all Americans know, we still have not eradicated color prejudice in our country. But we also know that in spite of the painful part of our past that includes bigotry, Jim Crow laws, indifference and the disenfranchisement of minorities, we can celebrate the unprecedented gains since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Not only has the economic status of the African-American improved materially in the last 30 years or so, but also the social climate of America has been transformed.
Racism is no longer a tolerated point of view.
What's more, increasing numbers of Americans claim close friendships across the color line. I believe so. Those means include, I believe, our common adherence to an American ideal of equality. That ideal is not some Pollyanna platitude. While the ideal has been redefined in every generation, it remains an ideal that still is worthy of our striving for, the principle of equality.