[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 182 (Wednesday, September 21, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 57567-57568]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20581]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 87 , No. 182 / Wednesday, September 21, 2022 
/ Presidential Documents  

[[Page 57567]]


                Proclamation 10451 of September 16, 2022

                
National Historically Black Colleges and 
                Universities Week, 2022

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) 
                help prepare their students to excel in every 
                profession, and they foster transformative movements 
                for greater justice and equality in our democracy. 
                During National Historically Black Colleges and 
                Universities Week, we celebrate HBCUs for their 
                longstanding legacy of molding trailblazers, 
                visionaries, and public servants; for enabling students 
                to make immense contributions to this country as Black 
                professionals and tradespeople; and for bringing us 
                closer to the promise of an America for all Americans.

                HBCUs have produced 40 percent of all Black engineers 
                and 50 percent of all Black lawyers in America. Seventy 
                percent of Black doctors in our country attended an 
                HBCU, and 80 percent of Black judges are alumni of 
                these schools. From the Fisk Jubilee Singers who 
                performed for Queen Victoria to the female 
                mathematicians who offered critical intelligence to 
                NASA's first human space flights, to the brilliant 
                legal scholars who helped dismantle structural 
                segregation, and so many of the giants of the Civil 
                Rights movement who dedicated their lives to lifting up 
                the rights and dignity of all Americans, HBCUs have 
                empowered graduates to form America's cultural 
                identity, write our national story, and safeguard this 
                country's most fundamental values. Our historic Vice 
                President Kamala Harris is a HBCU graduate, as well as 
                Michael Regan, Administrator of the Environmental 
                Protection Agency.

                My Administration is helping HBCUs weather the pandemic 
                and make tuition more affordable for their students to 
                continue this legacy of excellence and inclusion. Since 
                taking office, we have invested a historic $5.8 billion 
                to support staffing, teaching, and campus operations at 
                these institutions. This includes providing HBCU 
                students with emergency financial aid during the 
                pandemic and forgiving over $1.6 billion in debt held 
                by nearly half of all HBCUs to help them finance 
                infrastructure improvement projects. This summer, I 
                announced debt relief of up to $20,000 for low- and 
                middle-income borrowers with Federal student loans, 
                easing the burden of student loan debt for so many HBCU 
                students and alumni. Students also have more financial 
                resources because my Administration increased the 
                maximum Pell Grant by $400 to $6,895--the largest 
                increase in over a decade--helping 75 percent of 
                students enrolled in HBCUs pay for their education. 
                Additionally, I reestablished the President's Board of 
                Advisors on HBCUs to bridge relationships between these 
                schools and the private sector, and we launched a White 
                House initiative to help HBCUs secure additional 
                Federal funding. Further, I am proposing a historic 
                investment to create and expand HBCU programs in fields 
                like cybersecurity, engineering, and health care.

                This is only the start of my Administration's campaign 
                to empower HBCUs and expand their capacity to make even 
                greater contributions to our society. This week and 
                every week, we celebrate HBCUs for helping to make this 
                country stronger and more inclusive, and we continue to 
                champion and reinforce the ongoing achievements of 
                these institutions--because we know that when they 
                succeed, America succeeds.

[[Page 57568]]

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 September 18 
                through September 24, 2022, as National Historically 
                Black Colleges and Universities Week. I call upon 
                educators, public officials, professional 
                organizations, corporations, and all Americans to 
                observe this week with appropriate programs, 
                ceremonies, and activities that acknowledge the 
                countless contributions these institutions and their 
                alumni have made to our country.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                sixteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                seventh.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2022-20581
Filed 9-20-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P