Burgess Owens: “I wanted to talk about the closeout, the ending of Black History Month. February was proclaimed as Black History Month…”

“I wanted to talk about the closeout, the ending of Black History Month. February was proclaimed as Black History Month or African-American History Month for 1998. But since that time there have been a number of developments which I think are relevant to what I had to say at that time, so I am going to try to blend in some of these additional developments that have taken place with the statement that I originally wanted to make in connection with Black History Month. Some relevant developments include the conclusion of a peace mission to Iraq, which I think is relevant to what I have to say. Another development is the issuance of a report last week by the Milton S. Eisenhower Foundation and the Corporation for What Works. It is called 'The Millennium Breach,' in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders. The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders was better known as the Kerner Commission Report.”