[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 24 (Friday, February 6, 2009)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 6345-6346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-2707]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 24 / Friday, February 6, 2009 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 6345]]


                Proclamation 8345 of February 2, 2009

                
National African American History Month, 2009

                By the President of the United States of America

                 A Proclamation

                 The history of African Americans is unique and rich, 
                and one that has helped to define what it means to be 
                an American. Arriving on ships on the shores of North 
                America more than 300 years ago, recognized more as 
                possessions than people, African Americans have come to 
                know the freedoms fought for in establishing the United 
                States and gained through the use of our founding 
                principles of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, 
                the right to assembly, and due process of law. The 
                ideals of the Founders became more real and more true 
                for every citizen as African Americans pressed us to 
                realize our full potential as a Nation and to uphold 
                those ideals for all who enter into our borders and 
                embrace the notion that we are all endowed with certain 
                unalienable rights.

                 Since Carter G. Woodson first sought to illuminate the 
                African American experience, each February we pause to 
                reflect on the contributions of this community to our 
                national identity. The history is one of struggle for 
                the recognition of each person's humanity as well as an 
                influence on the broader American culture. African 
                Americans designed our beautiful Capital City, gave us 
                the melodic rhythms of New Orleans Jazz, issued new 
                discoveries in science and medicine, and forced us to 
                examine ourselves in the pages of classic literature. 
                This legacy has only added luster to the brand of the 
                United States, which has drawn immigrants to our shores 
                for centuries.

                 This year's theme, ``The Quest for Black Citizenship 
                in the Americas,'' is a chance to examine the evolution 
                of our country and how African Americans helped draw us 
                ever closer to becoming a more perfect union.

                 The narrative of the African American pursuit of full 
                citizenship with all of the rights and privileges 
                afforded others in this country is also the story of a 
                maturing young Nation. The voices and examples of the 
                African American people worked collectively to remove 
                the boulders of systemic racism and discrimination that 
                pervaded our laws and our public consciousness for 
                decades. Through the work of Frederick Douglass and 
                Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington and George 
                Washington Carver, Martin Luther King and Thurgood 
                Marshall, the African American community has steadily 
                made progress toward the dreams within its grasp and 
                the promise of our Nation. Meanwhile, the belief that 
                those dreams might one day be realized by all of our 
                citizens gave African American men and women the same 
                sense of duty and love of country that led them to shed 
                blood in every war we have ever fought, to invest hard-
                earned resources in their communities with the hope of 
                self empowerment, and to pass the ideals of this great 
                land down to their children and grandchildren.

                 As we mark National African American History Month, we 
                should take note of this special moment in our Nation's 
                history and the actors who worked so diligently to 
                deliver us to this place. One such organization is the 
                National Association for the Advancement of Colored 
                People--the NAACP--which this year will witness 100 
                years of service to the Nation on February 12. Because 
                of their work, including the contributions of those 
                luminaries on the front lines and great advocates 
                behind the scenes, we as a Nation were able to take the 
                dramatic steps we have in recent history.

[[Page 6346]]

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim February 2009 as 
                National African American History Month. I call upon 
                public officials, educators, librarians, and all the 
                people of the United States to observe this month with 
                appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs that 
                raise awareness and appreciation of African American 
                history.

                 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                second day of February, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. E9-2707
Filed 2-5-09; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3195-W9-P