[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 24 (Monday, February 5, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 7601-7602]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02344]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 24 / Monday, February 5, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 7601]]


                Proclamation 10699 of January 31, 2024

                
National Black History Month, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                This National Black History Month, we celebrate the 
                vast contributions of Black Americans to our country 
                and recognize that Black history is American history 
                and that Black culture, stories, and triumphs are at 
                the core of who we are as a Nation.

                The soul of America is what makes us unique among all 
                nations. We are the only country in the world founded 
                on an idea. It is the idea that we are all created 
                equal and deserve to be treated with equal dignity 
                throughout our lives. While we still grapple today with 
                the moral stain and vestiges of slavery--our country's 
                original sin--we have never walked away from the fight 
                to fully realize the promise of America for all 
                Americans. Throughout our history, Black Americans have 
                never given up on the promise of America. Unbowed by 
                the forces of hate and undaunted as they fought for 
                centuries against slavery, segregation, and injustice, 
                Black Americans have held a mirror up to our Nation, 
                allowing our country to confront hard truths about who 
                we are and pushing us to live up to our founding 
                ideals. They have helped redeem the soul of our Nation, 
                ensuring the promises in our founding documents were 
                not just words on a page but a lived reality for all 
                people. In the process, the vibrancy of Black history 
                and culture has enriched every aspect of American life.

                Since taking office, the Vice President and I have 
                worked to continue this legacy of progress and lay down 
                a foundation for a stronger, more equitable Nation. On 
                my first day as President, I signed a historic 
                Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support 
                for Underserved Communities Through the Federal 
                Government. In February 2023, I signed an additional 
                Executive Order to acknowledge the unbearable human 
                costs of systemic racism and to direct the entire 
                Federal Government to advance equity for those who have 
                been historically underserved, marginalized, and 
                adversely affected by persistent discrimination, 
                poverty, and inequality, including the Black community. 
                That includes building an economy that grows from the 
                middle out and bottom up, not the top down. So far, we 
                have created over 14 million jobs and in 2023, the 
                Black unemployment rate was lower than in any other 
                year on record.

                We are addressing historic health inequities for Black 
                Americans by making systemic changes to our health care 
                systems that increase healthcare access while lowering 
                costs. Today, more Black Americans have health 
                insurance than at any previous time in American 
                history. We are working to address the Black maternal 
                health crisis--ensuring dignity, safety, and support 
                for Black moms. The Vice President has helped elevate 
                this critical issue to a national priority by calling 
                on States to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage from 
                two months to one year.

                My Administration is also working to close racial gaps 
                in education and economic opportunity. To that end, we 
                have delivered over $7 billion in funding for 
                Historically Black Colleges and Universities and are 
                working to expand access to home-ownership--a major 
                source of generational wealth for families--while 
                aggressively combating racial discrimination in 
                housing. Our update to the Thrifty Food Plan is keeping 
                400,000 Black kids out

[[Page 7602]]

                of poverty every month and making sure millions more 
                have enough food to eat. By 2025, we are working to 
                ensure that 15 percent of Federal contracting dollars 
                goes to small disadvantaged businesses, including 
                Black-owned small businesses. We are also replacing 
                poisonous lead pipes so every American can turn on a 
                faucet at home or school and drink clean water.

                To deliver equal justice under the law, we are 
                appointing judges to the Federal bench who reflect all 
                of America, including Supreme Court Justice Ketanji 
                Brown Jackson and more Black women to the Federal 
                circuit courts than all previous administrations 
                combined. I also signed a historic Executive Order that 
                implemented key elements of the George Floyd Justice in 
                Policing Act: banning chokeholds and restricting no 
                knock warrants by Federal law enforcement, creating a 
                national database of officer misconduct, and promoting 
                effective and accountable community policing that 
                advances public trust and safety. I also signed the 
                first major gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years 
                as well as a long-overdue law to make lynching a 
                Federal hate crime in Emmett Till's name. My 
                Administration continues to call on the Congress to 
                pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and 
                the Freedom to Vote Act to secure the right to vote for 
                every American.

                Today, I am reminded of something Amelia Boynton said 
                when reflecting on her march across the Edmund Pettus 
                Bridge on what would be known as Bloody Sunday: ``You 
                can never know where you're going unless you know where 
                you've been.'' America is a great Nation because we 
                choose to learn the good, the bad, and the full truth 
                of the history of our country--histories and truths 
                that we must preserve and protect for the next 
                generation. This National Black History Month, as we 
                remember where we have been, may we also recognize that 
                our only way forward is by marching together.

                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 February 2024 
                as National Black History Month. I call upon public 
                officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of 
                the United States to observe this month with relevant 
                programs, ceremonies, and activities.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirty-first 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. 2024-02344
Filed 2-2-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P