The city was actually poised to deal with the issue in a positive way, but the actions of a few encouraged the lesser angels of our nature to manifest themselves. So people like Daisy Bates in Little Rock and Rosa Parks in Birmingham had to take a stand. And we are all better off because they did. Today, we are enjoying significant prosperity as a nation. Under President Clinton's leadership, we have begun to narrow income inequality.
Unemployment is at one of the lowest points it has been since the civil rights movement began.
And I want to reach out to a million students, some of you in this room, to get you interested in transportation careers, where the pay is good and jobs are open. Yet despite our programs, this is a time when we are talking less to each other and more at each other. The hostility hides reality. The face of America is changing. Today in Hawaii, everyone is a minority.