[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 21, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 3245-3246]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-1610]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 13 / Wednesday, January 21, 1998 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 3245]]


                Proclamation 7064 of January 16, 1998

                
Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 1998

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                America has been blessed with heroes throughout our 
                history, men and women of vision and courage who have 
                set our feet firmly on the path of freedom and 
                equality. Some became heroes by leading us in times of 
                struggle; some by shaping our values and challenging us 
                to greatness. And a few, like Dr. Martin Luther King, 
                Jr., have done all this and more.

                A thoughtful man and one of deep personal faith, his 
                conscience called him into action for the soul of our 
                Nation. He mobilized thousands of other brave and 
                principled Americans--black and white, renowned and 
                unknown--and began a crusade for justice that continues 
                today. In sit-ins, marches, demonstrations, and 
                boycotts, he and many others met violence with 
                nonviolence and ignorance with determination. They 
                awakened the conscience of our Nation and succeeded in 
                winning passage of historic civil rights legislation: 
                the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 
                1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Pouring out his 
                life in service, Dr. King made enormous and lasting 
                contributions to improve the lives of millions of his 
                fellow Americans.

                Almost 35 years have passed since Dr. King challenged 
                us from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to live out 
                the true meaning of our creed--that all men are created 
                equal--and almost 30 years have passed since he was 
                taken from us after an all-too-brief sojourn on this 
                earth. A generation of young Americans has come of age 
                without experiencing firsthand the power of his vision 
                or the eloquence of his voice. Much has changed for the 
                better in that time, but we still have much to do if we 
                are to finish the work of Martin Luther King, Jr.

                Following his example of service, we must build 
                communities where everyone shares an equal opportunity 
                for a good education and a good job, where our children 
                can grow up without living in the shadow of guns, 
                gangs, and drugs, and where we reject separation and 
                isolation and instead celebrate together the blessing 
                of our diversity. Last June, I established my 
                initiative, ``One America in the 21st Century,'' to 
                encourage a national dialogue among Americans about 
                race and to spur concerted action that will bring 
                Americans together. We must put aside the bitter 
                refrains of accusation and recrimination and instead 
                discuss and implement new ideas for forging a single 
                Nation in the 21st Century out of our ever-increasing 
                racial and ethnic diversity. By learning to talk to one 
                another, to trust one another, and to work together in 
                hope, we can and will come to the time Dr. King foresaw 
                when ``justice rolls down like waters.''

                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 Monday, January 19, 1998, as 
                the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday. I call 
                upon the people of the United States to observe this 
                occasion with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and 
                activities and to participate in the many community 
                service activities taking place across the country on 
                this day.

[[Page 3246]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                sixteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-second.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 98-1610
Filed 1-20-98; 11:19 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P