Asa Hutchinson: “Forty-one years ago, nine youths walked through the doors of Little Rock Central High School and forever changed…”

“Forty-one years ago, nine youths walked through the doors of Little Rock Central High School and forever changed American culture. The Little Rock Nine as they are known today forced this Nation to examine its soul and decide whether ours would be a society of hostility and division or a society of tolerance and unity. The images of those youths facing an angry and defiant mob at the door of Central High are forever burned into our national consciousness. They are images of fear and hesitation. They are images of a crossroads in our Nation's history. While we cannot and should not ever forget those painful images of four decades ago, we should today celebrate the fact that this great Nation made the right choice and took the right path. We decided that ours would be a Nation of unity, not division; a Nation of tolerance, not hate. Madam Speaker, all Americans today owe a debt of gratitude to those nine youths who forced this Nation to look inward and make that decision. For that, I am proud to rise today in support of this legislation to award them the Congressional Gold Medal.”