Thank you for inviting me to participate in this One America conversation that you are sponsoring to commemorate the 50th anniversary of President Truman's signing of two executive orders -- one that led to the integration of our armed forces, and the other providing for nondiscrimination in Federal employment. We have come a long way since then and we still have a long way to go to achieve racial harmony in America. That is why President Clinton has called for America to engage in a conversation on race -- to build on the what has brought us this far and to forge ahead as we move into the next century. I am delighted to join my friend Bill Leftwich, in this One America conversation with you. Mr. Leftwich is President Clinton's point person in the Defense Department responsible for carrying out the President's One America agenda and by all accounts, he is doing a superb job of doing so.

I think it is fair to say that harmonious race relations will continue to grow in importance for us as Americans because we are becoming ever more diverse as a nation. Today, roughly 12 percent of our population is black, 12 percent is Hispanic, and 5 percent is Asian or Native American. This sums to 29 percent of our population and census projections indicate that by the year 2050, what we call minorities in the aggregate will pass the 50 percent mark. These demographic changes will be occur at a time when America will be engaging a rapidly changing world to build on its economic and political strength. But even with these changes, America will not look like the world of which it is a part.

Our world, reduced to a village of 100 would look like this: there would be 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 people from the western hemisphere (north and south America); 70 would be non white; 70 would be non Christians; half of the wealth would be in the hands of 6 people and all six would be from the United States; 70 would be unable to read; 50 would suffer from malnutrition; 80 would live in substandard housing; and only one would have a college education. That is the world village in which we live. We need to take this into account as we look inward at the demographic changes we will experience and determine how we can use our growing diversity to lead in a world that we do not represent.

That is the big picture. Now let me turn to the more narrow topic of the military experience in race relations and let that be a springboard for stimulating a conversation on race both from an inward looking and outward looking perspective.

Fair to say that those who forget the past may be doomed to repeat it. That is why I think race in the military from a historical perspective -- which chronicles a fairly successful struggle for human dignity and respect in a valued institution of American democracy -- is a good way to engage in this conversation. That history is a relatively well developed one for African Americans. Professor John Butler and Professor Charlie Moskos capture that history in their recent book "All That We Can Be." Less well known is the history of other minority groups -- Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Native Americans in serving their country in uniform in war and in peace.

As an Asian American, I'd like to touch briefly on the Asian American experience, which parallels the African American experience in many respects. Although Asian Americans have comprised no more than 3 percent of our population, their patriotism in war and in peace is a matter of record -- 9 individuals have won the nation's highest award for valor, the Congressional Medal of Honor -- spanning Wold War One, through the Vietnam War.

Most notable from the standpoint of performance as a group is the bravery of the 442nd Regimental Combat team, one of the most highly decorated Army units in our military history. The 442 as it was called by its members, was composed almost entirely of Japanese Americans who volunteered to serve their country in World War II. Most of them rose from the ashes of suspicion and fear from behind barbed wire internment camps to write their valorous deeds in blood.

In less than two years, the 442 engaged in seven major campaigns in Europe, and in the course of that short period, received among other awards and citations: a Congressional Medal of Honor; 52 Distinguished Service Crosses; 1 Distinguished Service Medal; 560 Silver Stars plus 28 Oak Leaf Clusters; 22 Legions of Merit; 15 Soldiers Medals; 4,000 Bronze Star medals with 1200 Oak Leaf Clusters; 9,486 Purple Hearts for wounds sustained in battle -- many mortal; 7 Presidential Unit Citations; 2 Meritorious Unit Service Plaques; 36 Army Commendations; 87 Division Commendations; 18 Decorations from Allied Nations; and a special plaque of appreciation from their fellow soldiers in the so called "Lost Texas Battalion" which the 442 shed blood to liberate.

As President Truman pinned the final Presidential Unit Citation on the colors of the 442, he remarked: "I can't tell you how much I appreciate the privilege of being able to show you just how much the United States thinks of what you have done. You fought not only the enemy, but you fought prejudice and won."

In subsequent conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, and most recently in the Persian Gulf, Asian Americans have carried on the military tradition established by the 442. That history of patriotism is also written in blood. Yet, like other minority groups who have proven their loyalty to our country in war, we must ask if President Truman's comment that they fought not only the enemy, but prejudice and won -- is truly accurate. I believe it is accurate with regard to the enemy, but I believe not with regard to prejudice. The fact is that despite a disproportionate share of fighting America's wars, and displaying the highest sense of duty to country, minority group veterans almost always returned to communities where deep racial divisions -- and even segregation -- continued to persist. In the case of the 442, many returned to live behind barbed wire in internment camps until the end of the war with Japan.

This also is a matter of a bitter sweet history, and that is why we need to revisit it to remind ourselves that even today the war on racial prejudice in America is yet to be won. There is no question in my mind that the military has led -- and continues to lead the way in improving racial harmony in America, but even that leadership is not free from blemish. For example, it was only last year that the heroic deeds of 13 African Americans in World War two were recognized by retroactive award of the Congressional Medal of Honor, and the controversy over the performance of the 24th Infantry in Korea (a segregated black unit) is still to be settled. Today, our military is still challenged by the issue of race and sustaining a force that is representative of America up and down the ranks, and must continue to work diligently to maintain racial harmony in its units. The good news is that our military does not look away from these challenges, but takes them on -- even though it may take years -- such as in the case of the retroactive award of the medals of honor -- to bring justice forward.

So, I would conclude my presentation by posing these questions around which we may have a conversation: Drawing on the military experience and your own experience, what is your perspective on the current and future prospects of improving racial harmony in our country? How should we deal with the two mind sets -- shaped by experience -- which values unit cohesion, loyalty, and belonging to the larger group on the one hand; and on the other, the sting of prejudice and discrimination which lead to insularity and even an ambivalence to serve? What institutional barriers do you believe block equal opportunity for all? I want to say again how delighted I am to be a part of this symposium. I look forward to the discussion.