[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 121, 110th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 8103--JAN. 26, 2007

Proclamation 8103 of January 26, 2007
National African American History Month, 2007
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
African Americans have been an integral part of America for generations,
and our Nation is stronger because of their contributions. During
National African American History Month, we honor the achievements of
African Americans and recognize our continued responsibility to strive
for equality for all our citizens.
With grace and determination, African-American men and women have shaped
our Nation and influenced American life. Frederick Douglass, W.E.B.
DuBois, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King, Jr., advanced the cause of
civil rights for all Americans and helped change the course of American
history. Educators Booker T. Washington and Carter G. Woodson helped
break down racial barriers in education to provide opportunity for all
people. Americans have benefited from the achievements of scientists
like George Washington Carver. Artists such as Pearl Bailey, Ella
Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong inspired Americans and created some of
the most celebrated music this Nation has ever produced.
The theme of this year's National African American History Month, ``From
Slavery to Freedom: Africans in the Americas,''; recalls African
Americans' long journey to justice and commemorates the courage and
persistence of the heroes who called on our Nation to live up to its
founding promise. A century after African-American soldiers fought for
their freedom on the battlefields of the Civil War, African Americans
struggled peacefully for their rights in the streets of Birmingham,
Alabama, and on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Courageous civil rights
leaders answered hate and discrimination with love and dignity, top

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pled segregation laws, and worked to make America a more just and
hopeful Nation.
All Americans can be proud of the progress we have made, yet the work
for a more perfect union is not done. As we celebrate National African
American History Month, we reaffirm our commitment to build a society
where every individual has the opportunity to achieve the promise of
this great land.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2007 as National
African American History Month. I call upon public officials, educators,
and all the people of the United States to observe this month with
appropriate programs and activities that honor the significant
contributions African Americans have made to our Nation.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of
January, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
first.
GEORGE W. BUSH