[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 180 (Friday, September 17, 2004)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 56149-56150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-21123]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 180 / Friday, September 17, 2004 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 56149]]


                Proclamation 7814 of September 14, 2004

                
National Historically Black Colleges and 
                Universities Week, 2004

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                This year, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of 
                Brown v. Board of Education and the 40th anniversary of 
                the Civil Rights Act of 1964, we recognize our 
                Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) 
                for their extraordinary accomplishments in education 
                and for extending the promise of our Nation's founding 
                to all of our citizens. Historically Black Colleges and 
                Universities were created to educate African Americans 
                when they were wrongly denied the opportunity to attend 
                school during the 19th century. Today, these great 
                institutions continue to advance equal opportunity and 
                excellence in education. In 2002, HBCUs enrolled 14 
                percent of all African Americans attending college. 
                Their graduates are leaders in medicine, education, 
                government, the military, business, the arts, the law, 
                and many other fields. They include such heroes as 
                Thurgood Marshall, who led the struggle for equal 
                justice under law for African Americans and 
                successfully represented African-American 
                schoolchildren in Brown.

                Half a century after the Supreme Court's historic 
                decision in Brown, America is still working to reach 
                the high calling of its ideals. Education remains the 
                path to equality and opportunity, and HBCUs are a vital 
                part of our national commitment to improving education 
                for all of our citizens. Funding for HBCUs is now at an 
                all-time high. By providing students with a quality 
                education, HBCUs are continuing to help America remain 
                a place of opportunity and hope for every citizen.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, 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 12 through 
                September 18, 2004, as National Historically Black 
                Colleges and Universities Week. I call upon public 
                officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of 
                the United States to observe this week with appropriate 
                ceremonies, activities, and programs to show our 
                respect and appreciation for these remarkable 
                institutions and their graduates.

[[Page 56150]]

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

                    (Presidential Sig.)B

[FR Doc. 04-21123
Filed 9-16-04; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P