[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 188 (Thursday, September 26, 1996)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 50419-50420]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24872]


      
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  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 188 / Thursday, September 26, 1996 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 50419]]

                Proclamation 6921 of September 20, 1996

                
National Historically Black Colleges and 
                Universities Week, 1996

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                 Since the Reconstruction period, when 24 private black 
                colleges were founded within 10 years, our Nation's 
                Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) 
                have played a central role in providing access to 
                higher education for many Americans. Growing steadily 
                after this early burst, HBCUs fought a hard struggle 
                for survival over many decades, ultimately proving 
                themselves to be not only factories of learning, but 
                also bastions of the core American ideals of freedom, 
                diversity, and enterprise.

                 Today, more than 100 HBCUs throughout our country 
                serve a unique role in educating African Americans. 
                Although as a group they make up only 3 percent of 
                American institutions of higher learning, they award 
                one-third of all bachelor's degrees--and a major 
                proportion of the graduate degrees--earned by African 
                Americans each year. Their alumni rolls include scores 
                of leaders in fields ranging from law to the sciences, 
                and from the arts to medicine. Often working with 
                limited resources, these institutions have earned a 
                reputation for achieving ``the most with the least'' 
                public dollars--consistently keeping tuition costs 
                affordable, for example, or accepting higher numbers of 
                students who need special educational or financial 
                assistance.

                 Our Historically Black Colleges and Universities are 
                an enduring beacon of hope offering thousands of our 
                citizens a critical opportunity to achieve their full 
                potential. HBCUs give these students not only access to 
                a quality education, but also a supportive environment 
                in which to learn and positive role models whose lives 
                they can strive to emulate. In addition, these 
                institutions contribute to the pluralism of American 
                education, giving students a broader choice. 
                Ultimately, they also help instill and preserve the 
                African American cultural heritage, in the process 
                educating all Americans to the richness of the Black 
                experience.

                 The future of HBCUs is as bright as their past, and 
                they are busy developing ways to meet the challenges of 
                a new century: special outreach initiatives designed to 
                spread their wealth of resources into the communities 
                that have grown up around them; cutting-edge projects 
                in science and technology involving corporate and 
                governmental partnerships; and international 
                educational efforts spanning the entire globe.

                They will continue at the creative forefront of 
                American education, offering the tools and skills 
                necessary to prepare students for today's competitive 
                and technological society. In this coming week, let us 
                honor the contributions--past and present--of 
                Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and let 
                us treasure forever the rich resource they provide to 
                our Nation: a proud tradition of well-educated 
                Americans, eager to make this a better world for all of 
                us.

                 NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of 
                the United States, do hereby proclaim September 22 
                through September 28, 1996, as National Historically 
                Black Colleges and Universities Week. I call upon the 
                people of the United States, including government

[[Page 50420]]

                officials, educators, and administrators, to observe 
                this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and 
                activities honoring America's black colleges and 
                universities, and their graduates.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twentieth day of September, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-first.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 96-24872
Filed 9-25-96; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P