[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 110 (Thursday, June 7, 2012)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 33595-33596]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-13944]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 110 / Thursday, June 7, 2012 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 33595]]

                Proclamation 8832 of June 1, 2012

                
African-American Music Appreciation Month, 2012

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                As a long-cherished piece of American culture, music 
                offers a vibrant soundtrack to the story of our people 
                and our Union. At times when words alone could not 
                bring us together, we have found in melodies and 
                choruses the universal truths of our shared humanity. 
                African-American musicians have left an indelible mark 
                on this tradition, and during African-American Music 
                Appreciation Month, we pay special tribute to their 
                extraordinary contributions.

                Generations of African Americans have used music to 
                share joy and pain, triumph and sorrow. Spiritual hymns 
                gave hope to those laboring under the unrelenting 
                cruelty of slavery, while gospel-inspired freedom songs 
                sustained a movement for justice and equality for all. 
                The smooth sounds of jazz and the soulful strain of the 
                blues fed a renaissance in art and prose. The rhythm 
                and blues that began in a basement in Detroit brought 
                people together when laws would have kept them apart, 
                while the urban beats and young wordsmiths from cities 
                coast-to-coast gave voice to a new generation. And on 
                stages and in concert halls around the world, African-
                American singers and composers have enhanced opera, 
                symphony, and classical music by bringing energy and 
                creativity to traditional genres.

                At its core, African-American music mirrors the 
                narrative of its original creators--born of humble 
                beginnings and raised to refuse the limitations and 
                circumstances of its birth. This month, we honor the 
                African-American musicians, composers, singers, and 
                songwriters who have forever shaped our musical 
                heritage, and celebrate those who carry this rich 
                legacy forward.

                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 June 2012 as African-
                American Music Appreciation Month. I call upon public 
                officials, educators, and all the people of the United 
                States to observe this month with appropriate 
                activities and programs that raise awareness and foster 
                appreciation of music that is composed, arranged, or 
                performed by African Americans.

[[Page 33596]]

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

[FR Doc. 2012-13944
Filed 6-6-12; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F2-P