[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 169 (Wednesday, September 2, 2009)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 45527-45528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-21327]



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Part II





The President





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Proclamation 8404--National Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities Week, 2009



Proclamation 8405--To Adjust the Rules of Origin Under the North 
American Free Trade Agreement and for Other Purposes
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  Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 169 / Wednesday, September 2, 2009 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Proclamation 8404 of August 30, 2009

                
National Historically Black Colleges and 
                Universities Week, 2009

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                For generations, education has opened doors to untold 
                opportunities and bright futures. Through quality 
                instruction and a personal commitment to hard work, 
                young people in every part of our Nation have gone on 
                to achieve success. Established by men and women of 
                great vision, leadership, and clarity of purpose, 
                Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) 
                have provided generations of Americans with 
                opportunity, a solid education, and hope.

                For more than 140 years, HBCUs have released the power 
                of knowledge to countless Americans. Pivotal in the 
                Civil Rights Movement, HBCUs offer us a window into our 
                Nation's past as well as a path forward. Graduates of 
                HBCUs have gone on to shape the course of American 
                history--from W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington, 
                to Langston Hughes and Thurgood Marshall. Today, in 
                twenty States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. 
                Virgin Islands, these colleges and universities are 
                serving hundreds of thousands of students from every 
                background and have contributed to the expansion of the 
                African American middle class, to the growth of local 
                communities, and to our Nation's overall economy.

                This week, we celebrate the accomplishments of HBCUs 
                and look to the future with conviction and optimism. 
                These institutions will play a key role in reaching our 
                ambitious national education goals, including having 
                the highest proportion of college graduates in the 
                world by 2020. As our Nation strives toward this goal, 
                we invite HBCUs to employ new, innovative, and 
                ambitious strategies to help the next generation of 
                Americans successfully complete college and prepare 
                themselves for the global economy. During National 
                Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week, we 
                recommit ourselves to never resting until equality is 
                real, opportunity is universal, and all citizens can 
                realize their dreams.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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 30 through September 
                5, 2009, as National Historically Black Colleges and 
                Universities Week. I call upon public officials, 
                educators, and all the people of the United States to 
                observe this week with appropriate programs, 
                ceremonies, and activities that acknowledge the 
                tremendous contributions these institutions and their 
                graduates have made to our country.

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

[FR Doc. E9-21327
Filed 9-1-09; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-W9-P