[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 16 (Thursday, January 24, 2002)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 3575-3576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-1969]



[[Page 3573]]

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Part III





The President





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Proclamation 7518--Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2002



Proclamation 7519--National Mentoring Month, 2002



Proclamation 7520--National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2002
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  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 16 / Thursday, January 24, 2002 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 3575]]

                Proclamation 7518 of January 17, 2002

                
Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2002

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                For too brief a time, our Nation was blessed by the 
                life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was a 
                modern American hero whose leadership rallied people of 
                all races to rise up against injustice. His commitment 
                to stand peacefully for the conviction that all men are 
                created equal brought about changes in the laws of our 
                Nation, and he paid the ultimate price for the courage 
                he demonstrated in attempting to ensure that all men 
                and women were treated equally in the eyes of the law 
                and by their fellow citizens. It is with a great sense 
                of pride and gratitude that we celebrate this 17th 
                national holiday in honor of Dr. King's life and work. 
                Let us take this opportunity to recall his vision and 
                renew his call for equal justice for all.

                We enter this new year and this annual celebration with 
                a revived national spirit. The events of September 11, 
                2001, have drawn us closer as a Nation and increased 
                our resolve to protect the life and liberty we cherish. 
                And while our patriotism and neighborly affections run 
                high, these circumstances have given us renewed purpose 
                in rededicating ourselves to Dr. King's ``dream.'' As 
                he said on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 
                28, 1963: ``I have a dream my four little children will 
                one day live in a nation where they will not be judged 
                by the color of their skin but by content of their 
                character.'' Dr. King's words were not just a call to 
                change our laws, but they also served as a challenge to 
                all Americans to change their hearts by refusing to 
                judge people by their skin color or their national 
                origin, by their race or their religion. For while we 
                have made progress, there is much work to be done, both 
                at home and abroad.

                In the face of massive injustice, Dr. King's unwavering 
                commitment to nonviolent means of bringing the people 
                of our Nation together provided a foundation for 
                healing and trust. That trust brought us through our 
                recent tragedy as we reached out to each other without 
                regard to race or religion. Dr. King spent his life 
                working for those who held the uncelebrated jobs in our 
                communities--people who simply performed their work 
                with dignity and pride. The words from his Nobel Peace 
                Prize acceptance speech of 1964, spoken about the 
                workers in the freedom movement, still ring true for 
                those men and women who unselfishly attempted to rescue 
                innocent persons in the World Trade Center buildings 
                and at the Pentagon:

                Most of these people will never make the headlines and 
                their names will not appear in Who's Who. Yet when 
                years have rolled past and when the blazing light of 
                truth is focused on this marvelous age in which we 
                live--men and women will know and children will be 
                taught that we have a finer land, a better people, a 
                more noble civilization--because these humble children 
                of God were willing to suffer for righteousness' sake.

                We are so thankful for those ``humble children of 
                God,'' and we are thankful for the life and times of 
                Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His abiding faith in 
                America has helped us become a fairer and more 
                colorblind society.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution

[[Page 3576]]

                and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim 
                Monday, January 21, 2002, as the Martin Luther King, 
                Jr., Federal Holiday. I encourage Americans to observe 
                this day with appropriate community programs, 
                gatherings, and civic activities that honor the memory 
                and the legacy of Dr. King.

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

                    (Presidential Sig.)B

[FR Doc. 02-1969
Filed 1-23-02; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P