Fred Rogers Acceptance Speech - 1997

Fred Rogers Accepts the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 24th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards. Throughout his career Fred Rogers, both on television and off, emphasized the importance of creating a peaceful environment, and world where all children could grow and learn. “Our goal as a nation must be to make sure that no child is denied the chance to grow in knowledge and character from their very first years,“ Rogers said at a White House gathering for Early Childhood Initiative, a program for promoting literacy. “In Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, every child is welcome into the world of learning -- not just a few, not just ones from certain neighborhoods, but every child.“ Rogers was the recipient of two Peabody Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, and four Emmy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was bestowed to him in 1997. Rogers, known for always taking the time to remember, reminded the aud