[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 19, 2000)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 56457-56458]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-24175]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 182 / Tuesday, September 19, 2000 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 56457]]

                Proclamation 7338 of September 14, 2000

                
National Hispanic Heritage Month, 2000

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                American society today embraces a remarkable breadth of 
                cultures, and Hispanics are an integral part of this 
                diversity. The Hispanic American community is a collage 
                of distinct groups, including people with roots in 
                Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean, and 
                Spain. Hispanics have been an important part of the 
                history and heritage of the Americas since the earliest 
                days of European colonization, and today Hispanic 
                Americans are the youngest and fastest-growing minority 
                community in our Nation. Devoted to family, faith, 
                country, and hard work, they bring unique perspectives 
                and experiences to our national community and 
                character.

                The vibrant Hispanic influence can be seen in all 
                aspects of American life and culture, from distinctive 
                cuisine to colorful festivals, and from the rhythms and 
                melodies of traditional music to the contagious beat of 
                today's most popular songs. Throughout our Nation, 
                Hispanic men and women have distinguished themselves in 
                every endeavor and, with our cultural and linguistic 
                ties to our trading partners throughout the Western 
                Hemisphere, Hispanic Americans are crucial to 
                maintaining our Nation's competitiveness and prosperity 
                in the global economy of the 21st century.

                Not long ago I had the privilege of awarding the 
                Presidential Medal of Freedom, our Nation's highest 
                civilian honor, to Cruz Reynoso, a man who has devoted 
                his life to promoting civil rights and championing 
                equal opportunity for all our people. A son of Mexican 
                immigrants, he has lived the American Dream, going to 
                college and working his way up to become the first 
                Hispanic American to serve on the California Supreme 
                Court. A force for positive social change in our 
                Nation, he is just one of many talented Hispanic 
                Americans enriching our national life.

                Cruz Reynoso's success underscores what we already 
                know: education and equal opportunity are the keys to 
                ensuring that people of Hispanic heritage can take full 
                advantage of America's promise. My Administration has 
                focused on improving educational opportunities for 
                Hispanic children through the Hispanic Education Action 
                Plan, as well as by reducing class sizes across our 
                Nation, greatly expanding the Head Start program, 
                working to turn around failing schools, and making 
                college more affordable through tax incentives and 
                scholarships. By expanding the Earned Income Tax 
                Credit, raising the minimum wage, and moving people 
                from welfare to work, my Administration has also helped 
                expand economic opportunity for Hispanic American 
                working families. We have brought the Hispanic 
                unemployment rate to its lowest level on record and the 
                Hispanic poverty rate to a 20-year low. We have also 
                worked hard to create an Administration that truly 
                reflects America, with the most Hispanic appointees and 
                the most Hispanic judicial nominees in our Nation's 
                history.

                Even as Hispanic Americans grow in number and influence 
                in our country, they have not forgotten their roots; 
                they have not forgotten the pain of discrimination, of 
                being ignored or left behind. Instead, millions of 
                courageous and compassionate Hispanic men and women 
                across our country are working to create a just and 
                equal society, uniting around a firm commitment to 
                build One America in this new century.

[[Page 56458]]

                In honor of the many contributions that Hispanic 
                Americans have made and continue to make to our Nation 
                and culture, the Congress, by Public Law 100-402, has 
                authorized and requested the President to issue 
                annually a proclamation designating September 15 
                through October 15 as ``National Hispanic Heritage 
                Month.''

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 
                15 through October 15, 2000, as National Hispanic 
                Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to observe 
                this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and 
                activities.

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

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 00-24175
Filed 9-18-00; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P