...I am deeply honored to be receiving this award from the American Jewish Committee. For me the success and excitement of an evening such as this has less to do with who is on the podium than who is in the audience. It is the presence of all of you that brings honor to this occasion. I also want to acknowledge several special people.....

....As my guide in the world of philanthropy, I have had the good fortune to have met Anna Faith Jones [President, the Boston Foundation] in 1984. .....for the past 15 years, Anna Faith Jones has helped me institutionalize my giving. Every step of the way she has guided and inspired me. Much of what The Boston Foundation is today is a tribute to her energy. Much of the institutional legacy I hope to create at the Bank has been informed by her vision.

....I wanted to thank the Senator [Kerry] for his kind remarks. When I think of John Kerry, my thoughts go back to the time that he made that riveting TV appearance in front of Senator Fulbright's Foreign Relations Committee during the Vietnam War. The statements that day galvanized a nation and it must be a source of great satisfaction to him today to be the ranking Democrat on that Senate Committee. In some ways, John may be `in politics', but he is not `of it'. He does not need a pollster to know what he believes in. He has a core set of values that does not vary with the national mood. Even in the case of his position on the death penalty he courageously stands firm on an issue that is not popular. He truly stands head and shoulders above his peers. I am pleased that he is here tonight and proud to call him my friend...

There are many people who supported tonight's event but none have done so for more personal reasons than Marshall Carter, the Chairman of State Street Bank. His Vietnam experience as seen through a larger lens is really a shared veteran's experience. (An experience that transcends race, class and political viewpoint..) As I look out toward State Street's table I would like to acknowledge Ernie Washington, who served in Marshall Carter's platoon. This table is further graced by the presence of Thomas Hurdner, State Commissioner of Veteran's Services and a Congressional Medal of Honor winner in the Korean War; and, finally, in attendance is Paul Parks, who, as a World War II soldier, was part of the unit that liberated Dachau. The presence of these men is not only noteworthy, but it also lends poignancy and special meaning to this evening. It is as much a tribute to these gentlemen that a Joiner Center [an advocacy organization for American Vietnam veterans co-founded by Glassman] exists and it is with this thought in mind that I acknowledge the Center.

As the Director of the Joiner Center at UMass Boston, Kevin Bowen has, for the past 13 years, spearheaded important work on the study of war and its social consequences. He and UMass Boston under Sherry Penney's leadership have developed a unique relationship with a generation of writers and poets in Vietnam. I feel privileged to have assisted Kevin in this work, but the lion's share of credit for the success of Joiner belongs to UMass Boston and Kevin. He has opened his home and his heart to Vietnamese writers. Many have stayed with Kevin at his home in Dorchester and returned to Vietnam with fond memories, some of which have now become part of their literature. These writers are now a part of the political leadership in Vietnam. Kevin's work, the work of Joiner, and the exquisite work of these writers, poets and artists have been instrumental in creating change. As author Larry Heinemann recently wrote to us, "Your assistance helped make possible extended visits to the United States of some of the most important and progressive voices writing in Vietnam, as well as reciprocal visits by Americans.... An essential byproduct of these exchanges has been the publication both here and in Vietnam of writing and poetry, what I can only characterize as a cultural rapprochement.".... The institutional courage demonstrated by UMass Boston to have developed these relationships 10 years ahead of normalization while facing many obstacles, is an enormous achievement....

In 1995 I gave a speech that included the following passage from a poem by Maya Angelou [a poem written for and delivered at President Clinton's inauguration]. Surely she was looking out on a gathering such as this when she spoke these words from "On the Pulse of the Morning:"

"There is a true yearning to respond to
The singing River and the wise Rock,
So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew
The African, the Native American, the Sioux
The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher,
The privileged, the homeless, the Teacher: They all hear"....

As do you, the quiet cadence of social justice.

To this very special audience and to the American Jewish Committee, my family and I are profoundly grateful for this honor. Thank you.

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