[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 9, 2005)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 46401-46402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15911]



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Part VIII





The President





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Proclamation 7916--40th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
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  Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 152 / Tuesday, August 9, 2005 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 46401]]

                Proclamation 7916 of August 5, 2005

                
40th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                In America, we believe in the freedom of every 
                individual. This freedom includes the ability to 
                participate in one of the most cherished rights and 
                fundamental responsibilities of citizenship: the right 
                to vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped ensure 
                that all citizens would have the opportunity to vote, 
                regardless of race. As President Lyndon Johnson said 
                when he signed the Act, ``Millions of Americans are 
                denied the right to vote because of their color. This 
                law will ensure them the right to vote. The wrong is 
                one which no American, in his heart, can justify. The 
                right is one which no American, true to our principles, 
                can deny.'' As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of 
                this historic act, we reaffirm this bedrock commitment 
                to equality and justice for all.

                America's history is a story of people working for 
                freedom, justice, and equality. We have made great 
                progress toward achieving these ideals. In the middle 
                of the 20th century, the conscience of America was 
                awakened by the struggles and the courage of those who 
                overcame racial slurs, fire hoses, and burning crosses. 
                Brave men and women held sit-ins at lunch counters, 
                rode buses on Freedom Rides, and marched in our 
                Nation's Capital and throughout our country to demand 
                the full promise of the Declaration of Independence. 
                The work of these courageous Americans led to the 
                Voting Rights Act of 1965, and we remember their 
                heroism on this anniversary.

                America is a stronger and better Nation because of the 
                Voting Rights Act of 1965. As President Johnson said 
                upon signing the Act, it is ``a triumph for freedom as 
                huge as any victory that has ever been won on any 
                battlefield.'' The Act was a great step forward in the 
                history of our Nation, and it remains essential as we 
                continue our progress toward a society in which every 
                person of every background can realize the American 
                Dream.

                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 August 6, 2005, as a day of 
                celebration in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the 
                Voting Rights Act of 1965. I call upon all Americans to 
                observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, 
                and activities.

[[Page 46402]]

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

                    (Presidential Sig.)B

[FR Doc. 05-15911
Filed 8-8-05; 11:21 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P