[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 123, 111th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 8404--AUG. 30, 2009

Proclamation 8404 of August 30, 2009
National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week, 2009
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

For generations, education has opened doors to untold opportunities and
bright futures. Through quality instruction and a personal commitment to
hard work, young people in every part of our Nation have gone on to
achieve success. Established by men and women of great vision,
leadership, and clarity of purpose, Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) have provided generations of Americans with
opportunity, a solid education, and hope.
For more than 140 years, HBCUs have released the power of knowledge to
countless Americans. Pivotal in the Civil Rights Movement, HBCUs offer
us a window into our Nation's past as well as a path forward. Graduates
of HBCUs have gone on to shape the course of American history-from
W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington, to Langston Hughes and Thurgood
Marshall. Today, in twenty States, the District of Columbia, and the
U.S. Virgin Islands, these colleges and universities are serving
hundreds of thousands of students from every background and have
contributed to the expansion of the African American middle class, to
the growth of local communities, and to our Nation's overall economy.
This week, we celebrate the accomplishments of HBCUs and look to the
future with conviction and optimism. These institutions will play a key
role in reaching our ambitious national education goals, including
having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.
As our Nation strives toward this goal, we invite HBCUs to employ new,
innovative, and ambitious strategies to help the next generation of
Americans successfully complete college and prepare themselves for the
global economy. During National Historically Black Colleges and
Universities Week, we recommit ourselves to never resting

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until equality is real, opportunity is universal, and all citizens can
realize their dreams.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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 August 30 through
September 5, 2009, as National Historically Black Colleges and
Universities Week. I call upon public officials, educators, and all the
people of the United States to observe this week with appropriate
programs, ceremonies, and activities that acknowledge the tremendous
contributions these institutions and their graduates have made to our
country.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of
August, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
fourth.
BARACK OBAMA