[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 19, 2000)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 2837-2838]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-1346]



[[Page 2837]]

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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2000 / 
Presidential Documents  

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                Proclamation 7268 of January 14, 2000

                
Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2000

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Just this month, thousands of Americans gathered at the 
                Lincoln Memorial to welcome a new year, a new century, 
                and a new millennium. There--where 37 years ago Martin 
                Luther King, Jr., so eloquently voiced his dream for 
                America's future--we pledged not only to keep Dr. 
                King's dream alive, but also to bring it to reality in 
                the 21st century.

                We are living in a time of unprecedented peace and 
                prosperity for our Nation, where the struggles of the 
                valiant and visionary men and women who came before us 
                have borne fruit with the guarantee of civil rights at 
                home and the triumph of freedom in nations across the 
                globe. But we cannot afford to become complacent. As 
                Dr. King so wisely observed, ``We have learned to fly 
                the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we 
                have not learned the simple art of living together as 
                brothers. Our abundance has brought us neither peace of 
                mind nor serenity of spirit.''

                We must seize this rare moment in our Nation's history 
                to build a society in which we accept our differences 
                and honor our common humanity. We must unite against 
                the forces of hatred, fear, and ignorance that seek to 
                divide us. We must use our economic success and our 
                technological prowess to widen the circle of 
                opportunity, to eliminate poverty, and to give all our 
                children the education, values, and encouragement they 
                need to reach their full potential.

                Each year since 1994, when I signed into law the King 
                Holiday and Service Act, Americans have marked this 
                observance by devoting the day to service projects in 
                their communities. By renovating schools, cleaning up 
                neighborhoods, tutoring children, donating blood, 
                organizing food drives, or reaching out in some other 
                way to those in need, our citizens can work together to 
                make this a day on, not a day off, and to make their 
                own contributions to Dr. King's legacy of service.

                Martin Luther King, Jr., was not content to rest on 
                past successes or to compromise his convictions. If he 
                were with us now to mark his 71st birthday, he would 
                exhort us not to grow weary in doing good but to reach 
                out to one another in the spirit of service and forge a 
                future in which all Americans are proud of our 
                diversity and united in our reverence for freedom, 
                justice, and equality.

                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 17, 2000, as 
                the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday. I call 
                upon all Americans to observe this occasion with 
                appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities in 
                honor of Dr. King's life and achievements and in 
                response to his call to service.

[[Page 2838]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fourteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand, and of the Independence of the United States 
                of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 00-1346
Filed 1-18-00; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P