Clinton Calls His Library
a Gift to Arkansas
Bill Clinton returned to his home state August 2 and said the $200-million Clinton presidential library would be a “gift for the people of Arkansas who have been so good to me.” Standing before a crowd of about 1,100 in Little Rock, the former president made his first major address on the ideas for the William J. Clinton Presidential Center, which is scheduled for a groundbreaking this fall on a site in the River Market District.
“We want a library that people would want to come into 100 years from now,” Clinton said, “that would be beautiful and architecturally significant.” He added that he hoped the library will become home base for the global mission he has planned for his post-presidency, the August 3 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. From promoting racial and religious reconciliation to expanding economic opportunity, “the heartbeat will be here,” Clinton said.
The library, to be built with private funds raised by the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, will house the largest collection of presidential papers and artifacts in U.S. history. The building is expected to be finished in 2004, though ongoing legal challenges may delay construction. One Little Rock resident has filed suit over how the city has paid for the land; another has appealed to the state supreme court to keep the city from seizing his property.
“I know some of you have taken some heat on this,” Clinton remarked, “but when this building is done, I think people will say you did the right thing.”
Posted August 6, 2001.
|
