[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 13 (Friday, January 19, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 3533-3534]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01114]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 3533]]

                Proclamation 10696 of January 12, 2024

                
Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Today, we reflect on the life and legacy of Reverend 
                Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and recommit to honoring 
                his moral vision on the path to redeeming the soul of 
                our Nation.

                Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born into America when 
                racial segregation was the law of the land. He had 
                every reason to believe that history had already been 
                written and division would be our Nation's destiny. But 
                Dr. King rejected that outcome. He heard Scripture's 
                command to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly. He 
                clung to the Declaration of Independence's promise of 
                equality for all people.

                Dr. King's mission was a moral one: from bridges and 
                ballot boxes to pulpits, protests, and courthouses, he 
                courageously stood for the sacred idea that embodies 
                the soul of our Nation--we are all created equal in the 
                image of God and deserve to be treated equally 
                throughout our lives. He vocalized that idea on an 
                August day in 1963 when he told our Nation about his 
                dream. He saw that idea realized for many Americans 
                with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 
                the Voting Rights Act of 1965, ushering in a new era of 
                greater equality and opportunity in our country. That 
                work is not yet finished. It is the task of our time to 
                take up Dr. King's mantle and make his dream a reality.

                The battle for the soul of our Nation is perennial--a 
                constant struggle between hope and fear, kindness and 
                cruelty, and justice and injustice. There are still 
                those who seek to thwart progress and roll back our 
                rights as Americans. But Dr. King and countless 
                crusaders across the span of American history teach us 
                that each generation must answer the call to perfect 
                our Union. We must heed the whispers of our better 
                angels. We must see each other as neighbors and not 
                enemies. We must do our best to seek a life of light, 
                hope, and truth. Because nothing is guaranteed about 
                our democracy. We must fight to keep, defend, and 
                protect it.

                On this day, may we recommit to being guided by Dr. 
                King's light and by the charge of Scripture: ``Let us 
                never grow weary in doing what is right, for if we do 
                not give up, we will reap our harvest in due time.'' We 
                must continue Dr. King's march forward by choosing 
                democracy over autocracy and a ``Beloved Community'' 
                over chaos. We must be believers, doers, and, most of 
                all, dreamers. We must be repairers of the breach and 
                remember that the power to redeem the soul of America 
                lies in all of us--``We the People.''

                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 Monday, 
                January 15, 2024, 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 MLKDay.gov 
                to find Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service 
                projects across our country.

[[Page 3534]]

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

[FR Doc. 2024-01114
Filed 1-18-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P