Thank you, Reverend (Ronald) Myers. Thank you for your hard work in organizing this holiday event. I am proud to share it with all of you.

We gather here, in the heart of our democracy, across from a great symbol of our freedom, to celebrate a day of emancipation.

On June 19th, 1865, 139 years ago, we were free at last. But our freedom came at a steep price. Millions of African Americans died in bondage. And freedom came after a terrible and divisive civil war, with deadly struggle on battlefields such as Manassas and Gettysburg. Freedom was won with a brutal victory over the force of arms, innocent suffering, and discredited ideas. And freedom's cost was the martyrdom of President Lincoln, just a few blocks from this spot.

For this country, for all Americans, June 19th, 1865 was a day of glory, a step closer to the promises contained in our Constitution. For that, we must be thankful. God's glory shown brightly on that day in Galveston and throughout a war-torn, devastated land.

But we learned freedom is not won in a day or in a year. Not even in a century. The fight for freedom goes on and begins with a good education. Education has always been the most powerful tool in the fight for freedom. Every freedom grows out of the seeds planted by education. Newly emancipated African Americans understood this fact. One of the first actions by freed slaves was to establish schools--institutions of learning started on plantations, in rural communities, in large cities and in churches everywhere. African Americans knew that a quality education was the path to freedom. It was the way to secure the full promise of choice, opportunity, equality and justice. Education was emancipation; it was life itself.

And what was true then is also true today. Without an education, our people cannot secure their freedom.

Education is often the battleground for freedom. The swift and powerful means to enslave a people is to deny education. So, last month, we celebrated an historic anniversary: the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Fifty years ago the Supreme Court, sitting up on Capitol Hill, just over there, declared segregation unconstitutional. That day was also a milestone in our fight for freedom. But the Court only opened the doors to the schools; it couldn't guarantee that a student would receive a quality education after walking through those doors.

So segregation continues by proxy; African Americans are often given a substandard or partial education in formerly separate schools. Today, many of our children read below grade level, some several grades below. Many are years behind in mathematics. Many have below-average scores in science. Many drop out, few go on to college, even fewer attend graduate school. Our children have become what Ralph Ellison might have called "the invisible student," hidden in the shadows, under-educated, then passed on and passed out of the school system.

It is an outrage! In my view, the achievement gap is the civil rights issue of our time. Opportunity is only a word on paper when a student can't read or do mathematics. Equality is a fraud when the scales have already been tipped against you. There is no justice when a poor education divides people. There is no empowerment when the tools of freedom have been denied. The diploma itself is a cruel lie if you can't read it.

History repeats itself. In many parts of the country, our schools have become re-segregated. There is even internal segregation within some schools. In my view, our schools often breed racism. Prejudice will not end until we close the achievement gap--not by lowering standards but by raising all children to meet the highest standards of education.

Well, we know the remedy. We've been there before. It's time to fight for our children.

I look over at the White House and think about the president. He's been fighting for more resources for our schools, more emphasis on reading and more quality teaching. That's right! And we need all that. But he has also joined with a bipartisan majority in the Congress to make quality education available to all students and to guarantee that every single child receives a good education. The No Child Left Behind Act is the next logical step after the Brown decision, because it puts a spotlight on every student, examines every student, gives attention to every student, and educationally enfranchises every student. Personally, I believe it is a vital action to secure the full promise of educational, civil, and human rights.

No Child Left Behind has already improved academic scores in our urban schools. It has given parents more choices. In fact, in the first year of the law, more than 160,000 children across America received after-school tutoring or the opportunity to transfer to a public school that better suits their needs. And the law has targeted billions of dollars to help poorly performing schools get back on track. Here in the District of Columbia, we have instituted a separate program to help African American and other students have access to private schools. This program is really one of social justice. It allows low-income and minority parents the same options as their better-off peers. It allows parents to choose a school that is right for their child. Just because you may be poor doesn't mean you can't be a good parent and one who is involved in your child's education.

Like any fight for something important, there is opposition, struggle, confusion, and even anger. I understand. We are rooting out indifference and disregard, the business-as-usual practices that harm our children. There are some who believe that African American children can't learn. That's not true. Every child can learn.

Juneteenth is about freedom. It is a celebration of freedom. Today, let us remember the costs of freedom and the many blessings of freedom.

And we invite all Americans to this celebration. This is about America. You don't have to be African American to be shackled by the chains of poverty, poor health, lack of education, or denial of opportunity. And you don't have to be black, Hispanic or Asian to fight for freedom. You don't have to be poor or a victim of discrimination to feel alienated or alone. The human condition is shared by all people. The American promise is fulfilled whenever we advance freedom. And all people benefit when we empower those left out or left behind. In this country, we all must have freedom, or none of us has it.

Forty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke of a day when all God's children would be free. Today, let us again remember the children, and let us remember that their freedom begins with an inclusive, fair, and successful education. And let us promise to leave no one behind.

Thank you and God bless all of you. God bless America.

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