[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 167 (Wednesday, August 28, 2013)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 53235-53236]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-21189]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 28, 2013 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 53235]]


                Proclamation 9004 of August 23, 2013

                
50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for 
                Jobs and Freedom

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                On August 28, 1963, hundreds of thousands converged on 
                the National Mall to take part in what the Reverend Dr. 
                Martin Luther King, Jr., called ``the greatest 
                demonstration for freedom in the history of our 
                nation.'' Demonstrators filled the landscape--from the 
                steps of the Lincoln Memorial, alongside the still 
                waters of the reflecting pool, to the proud base of the 
                Washington Monument. They were men and women; young and 
                old; black, white, Latino, Asian, and Native American--
                woven together like a great American tapestry, sharing 
                in the dream that our Nation would one day make real 
                the promise of liberty, equality, and justice for all.

                The March on Washington capped off a summer of 
                discontent, a time when the clarion call for civil 
                rights was met with imprisonment, bomb threats, and 
                base brutality. Many of the marchers had endured the 
                smack of a billy club or the blast of a fire hose. Yet 
                they chose to respond with nonviolent resistance, with 
                a fierce dignity that stirred our Nation's conscience 
                and paved the way for two major victories of the Civil 
                Rights Movement--the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 
                Voting Rights Act of 1965.

                Today, we remember that the March on Washington was a 
                demonstration for jobs as well as freedom. The 
                coalition that brought about civil rights understood 
                that racial equality and fairness for workers are bound 
                together; when one American gets a raw deal, it 
                jeopardizes justice for everyone. These are lessons we 
                carry forward--that we cannot march alone, that America 
                flourishes best when we acknowledge our common 
                humanity, that our future is linked to the destiny of 
                every soul on earth.

                It is not enough to reflect with pride on the victories 
                of the Civil Rights Movement. In honor of every man, 
                woman, and child who left footprints on the National 
                Mall, we must make progress in our time. Let us guard 
                against prejudice--whether at the polls or in the 
                workplace, whether on our streets or in our hearts--and 
                let us pledge that, in the words of Dr. King, ``we will 
                not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters 
                and righteousness like a mighty stream.''

                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 August 28, 2013, as 
                the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for 
                Jobs and Freedom. I call upon all Americans to observe 
                this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and 
                activities that celebrate the March on Washington and 
                advance the great causes of jobs and freedom.

[[Page 53236]]

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

[FR Doc. 2013-21189
Filed 8-27-13; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F3