NATION : Bush Vows to ‘Bring to Justice the Bigots’ in Recent Bombings
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WASHINGTON — President Bush, signing a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday proclamation, today vowed to “bring to justice the bigots” responsible for the recent wave of bombings against civil rights figures.
Bush invited more than 125 civil rights activists to the White House for the signing ceremony and later met privately with Dr. Benjamin Hooks, executive director of the NAACP, whose organization has been a main bombing target.
Hooks said after meeting with Bush that they had discussed what the White House, the FBI and the attorney general could do about the threats and bombings, which Bush called an “outrage.”
Next Monday, the 61st anniversary of King’s birth, will be a federal holiday, as each Jan. 15 has been since 1986.
Bush paid tribute to King, saying “his life was central to the story of America. . . . His life was a metaphor for courage.”
” . . . While he did so much, there is much that remains to be done . . . particularly when we hear of bombings, obscene phone calls, hate mail, each one of us must speak out.”
He promised to use the “bully pulpit” of the presidency “always to denounce and work to bring to justice the bigots who stain this good and decent land.”
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