[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 12 (Thursday, January 19, 2017)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 7615-7616]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01484]
[[Page 7613]]
Vol. 82
Thursday,
No. 12
January 19, 2017
Part XIX
The President
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Proclamation 9568--Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2017
Proclamation 9569--Religious Freedom Day, 2017
Executive Order 13762--Providing an Order of Succession Within the
Department of Justice
Executive Order 13763--Providing an Order of Succession Within the
Environmental Protection Agency
Memorandum of January 13, 2017--Continuing To Expand Opportunity for
All Young People
Memorandum of January 13, 2017--Designation of Officers or Employees of
the Office of Science and Technology Policy To Act as Director
Memorandum of January 13, 2017--Providing an Order of Succession Within
the Council on Environmental Quality
Memorandum of January 13, 2017--Providing an Order of Succession Within
the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 82 , No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2017 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
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Proclamation 9568 of January 13, 2017
Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2017
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
When the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., shared
his dream with the world atop the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial, he gave mighty voice to our founding ideals.
Few could have imagined that nearly half a century
later, his iconic profile would forever be memorialized
in stone, standing tall and gazing outward, not far
from where he stirred our collective conscience to
action. In summoning a generation to recognize the
universal threat of injustice anywhere, Dr. King's
example has proven that those who love their country
can change it.
A foot soldier for justice and a giant of the Civil
Rights Movement, Dr. King lifted the quiet hopes of our
Nation with the powers of his voice and pen. Whether
behind his pulpit in Montgomery, at a podium on the
National Mall, or from his jail cell in Birmingham, he
beckoned us toward justice through non-violent
resistance and oratory skill. Dr. King fought not
merely for the absence of oppression but for the
presence of opportunity. His soaring rhetoric impelled
others to take up his cause, and with struggle and
discipline, persistence and faith, those who joined him
on his journey began to march. America was watching,
and so they kept marching; America was listening, and
so they kept sounding the call for justice. Because
they kept moving forward with unwavering resistance,
they changed not only laws but also hearts and minds.
And as change rippled across the land, it began to
strengthen over time, building on the progress realized
on buses, in schools, and at lunch counters so that
eventually, it would reverberate in the halls of
government and be felt in the lives of people across
our country.
Those who dismiss the magnitude of the progress that
has been made dishonor the courage of all who marched
and struggled to bring about this change--and those who
suggest that the great task of extending our Nation's
promise to every individual is somehow complete neglect
the sacrifices that made it possible. Dr. King taught
us that ``The ultimate measure of a man is not where he
stands in moments of convenience and comfort, but where
he stands at times of challenge and controversy.''
Although we do not face the same challenges that
spurred the Civil Rights Movement, the fierce urgency
of now--and the need for persistence, determination,
and constant vigilance--is still required for us to
meet the complex demands and defeat the injustices of
our time. With the same iron will and hope in our
hearts, it is our duty to secure economic opportunity,
access to education, and equal treatment under the law
for all. The arc of the moral universe may bend toward
justice, but it only bends because of the strength and
sacrifice of those who reject complacency and drive us
forward.
As we reflect on Dr. King's legacy, we celebrate a man
and a movement that transformed our country, and we
remember that our freedom is inextricably bound to the
freedom of others. Given the causes he championed--from
civil rights and international peace to job creation
and economic justice--it is right that today we honor
his work by serving others. Now more than ever, we must
heed his teachings by embracing our convictions. We
must live our values, strive for righteousness, and
bring goodness to
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others. And at a time when our politics are so sharply
polarized and people are losing faith in our
institutions, we must meet his call to stand in another
person's shoes and see through their eyes. We must work
to understand the pain of others, and we must assume
the best in each other. Dr. King's life reminds us that
unconditional love will have the final word--and that
only love can drive out hate.
Only by drawing on the lessons of our past can we
ensure the flame of justice continues to shine. By
standing up for what we know to be right and speaking
uncomfortable truths, we can align our reality closer
with the ideal enshrined in our founding documents that
all people are created equal. In remembering Dr. King,
we also remember that change has always relied on the
willingness of our people to keep marching forward. If
we do, there is no mountaintop or promised land we
cannot reach.
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 January 16, 2017, as
the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday. I
encourage all Americans to observe this day with
appropriate civic, community, and service projects in
honor of Dr. King and to visit www.MLKDay.gov to find
Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service projects across
our country.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two
thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
first.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2017-01484
Filed 1-18-17; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F7-P