Hillary Rodham Clinton

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

February 25, 2011

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     "The United States welcomes today’s action by the UN Human Rights Council condemning human rights violations and violence committed by the Libyan government against its own people, and we strongly support the Council’s establishment of an independent commission of inquiry to investigate these violations with a view towards ensuring that those responsible are held accountable. The Council also recommended suspending Libya’s membership and our Mission at the United Nations in New York is working with partners in the General Assembly to build support for a resolution to do so.

     These steps underscore the international community's profound concern about the abuses in Libya, and we urge all nations to speak with one voice in support of universal human rights. That includes an immediate end to Libyan government violence against the Libyan people and support for the universal rights of peaceful assembly, free speech, and self-determination. The Libyan people should be able to determine their own destiny.

Today’s vote must be followed by sustained commitment and consistent action, and I will discuss this challenge with my colleagues at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday."

Schedule for the Week of February 28, 2011 - March 4, 2011

 

     On Monday, February 28, 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama and the Vice President Joe Biden will host a meeting with a bipartisan group of governors at the White House in Washingrton, DC. First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Biden will participate at the meeting. Later, President Obama will meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon at the White House and will discuss Libya, stopping the violence against civilians in Libya, and the humanitarian, diplomatic, legal and other actions needed to ensure that UN agencies and UN members mobilize to provide humanitarian assistance to Libya’s people. 

     On Tuesday, March 1,  2011 President Obama will attend meetings at the White House.

     On Wednesday, the March 2, 2011 President Obama will award the 2010 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal in a ceremony at the White House. Mrs. Obama will also attend.

     On Thursday, March 3, 2011 President Obama will meet with his national security team for his monthly meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Later, in the evening President Obama will welcome President Calderón of Mexico to the White House to discuss key global issues.

     On Friday, March 4, 2011 President Obama will travel to Miami, Florida to discuss his plan for winning the future. While in Miami, President Obama will attend a DSCC fundraiser.

7:31 P.M. EST

U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:
     Good evening, everybody.  Please have a seat.  Tonight we continue one of my favorite traditions here at the White House by celebrating the music that’s at the heart of the American story.  And as we come to the end of Black History Month, I can’t think of a better way to do it than by honoring the legendary sound of Motown. 
 
I want to start by thanking our performers here tonight:  Natasha Bedingfield, Sheryl Crow, Jamie Foxx, Gloriana, Nick Jonas, Ledisi, John Legend, Amber Riley, Mark Salling, Seal, Jordin Sparks, Smokey Robinson and because we weren’t sure that was enough, we thought we might throw Stevie Wonder in there. And obviously we are grateful for all the other Motown legends who are gracing us with their presence.  Thank you for being here.
 
     Over the years, this room has hosted some of the most talented musicians in the world, from classical to country.  But Motown is different.  No one knows exactly when jazz began.  Nobody knows who the first person was to sing a freedom song.  But we know where Motown came from.  We know it was born in the basement of a house on West Grand Boulevard in the Motor City -- Detroit.  And we know it started with a man named Berry Gordy, who is here with us tonight.  Stand up, Berry. 
 
     Now, apparently Berry tried a lot of things before following his heart into music.  A high school dropout, he failed as a record store owner, competed as an amateur boxer, finally took a job earning $85 a week on the assembly line at the local Lincoln-Mercury plant.  And it was there, watching the bare metal frames transformed into gleaming automobiles, that Berry wondered why he couldn’t do the same thing with musicians, and help turn new talent into stars.
 
     And before long, he quit his job at the plant, borrowed $800, and set up shop in a little house with a banner across the front that read “Hitsville, U.S.A.”  His family thought he was delusional.  (Laughter.)  But as Berry said, “People thought the Wright Brothers had a stupid idea, so I say, ‘Bring on the stupid ideas.’”
 
     As it turned out, Berry could recognize talent and potential better than anybody else in the business.  It began with Smokey Robinson, who stopped by the Motown house with a group of friends calling themselves the Miracles.  Then came one of Smokey’s neighbors -– a high school senior named Diana Ross, who started out working as a secretary.  One of the Miracles brought along his little brother, who invited a 10-year-old blind kid named Stephen Hardaway Judkins to tag along.  And then there was a group called the Jackson Five, fresh from amateur night at the Apollo, that Gladys Knight told Berry he just had to see. 
 
     Pretty soon, the basement studio was turning out hits faster than Detroit was turning out cars.  From 1961 to 1971, Motown produced 110 Top 10 hits from artists like Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops and The Supremes.  In the process, Motown’s blend of tight lyrics, catchy melodies and deep soul began to blur the line between music that was considered either “black” or “white.”  As Smokey Robinson said, “I recognized the bridges that were crossed, the racial problems and the barriers that we broke down with music.  I recognized that because I lived it.”
 
     Along the way, songs like “Dancing in the Streets” and “What’s Going On” became the soundtrack of the civil rights era. Black artists began soaring to the top of the pop charts for the first time.  And at concerts in the South, Motown groups literally brought people together –- insisting that the ropes traditionally used to separate black and white audience members be taken down.
 
     So, today, more than 50 years later, that’s the Motown legacy.  Born at a time of so much struggle, so much strife, it taught us that what unites us will always be stronger than what divides us.  And in the decades since, those catchy beats and simple chords have influenced generations of musicians, from Sheryl Crow to the Jonas Brothers.
 
     So to everybody watching, both here and at home, let’s take a trip back to that little studio in Detroit and enjoy the unmistakable sound of Motown.  Thank you very much.

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