Bill Clinton: “South Carolina June 12, 1996 Thank you very much, Bishop and Reverend Mackey. Let me begin by thanking you all for being…”

“South Carolina June 12, 1996 Thank you very much, Bishop and Reverend Mackey. Let me begin by thanking you all for being here and making us all feel so welcome. And before I--and thank you for that--[laughter]--before I go into my remarks, I want to present the Reverend Mackey a little plaque I brought that is dedicated to the congregation of this church, Mount Zion A.M.E. It says, ``We must come together as one America to rebuild our churches, restore hope, and show the forces of hatred they cannot win.'' I hope you will put this up in your church, Reverend Mackey, and remember this day always. I'm honored to be here with you. You know, first of all, let me say I'm honored to be here with so many distinguished Americans. I thank Senator Hollings and Congressman Clyburn for coming down here with me today. I thank Congressman Inglis for being here. And our good friend John Conyers, from Michigan, is either here or on his way here--Congressman Conyers, I thank him. I want to thank all the dignitaries who have come to join us: Reverend Jesse Jackson for coming back home to South Carolina, and thank you for being here. And I want to thank Reverend Joseph Lowery, the very first person who wrote me to say that our National Government needed to do more about these church burnings. Thank you, Reverend Lowery, for doing that. And I thank my old friend Bishop James for coming back here, and Reverend Joan Campbell, Mayor Riley, Mayor Coble, Mayor Kellahan, and others who are here.…”