[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 130, 114th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9390 of January 15, 2016

Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

With profound faith in our Nation's promise, the Reverend Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., led a non-violent movement that urged our country's
leaders to expand the reach of freedom and provide equal opportunity for
all. Dr. King joined a long line of heroes and vindicated the belief at
the heart of our founding: that humble citizens, armed with little but
faith, can come together to change the world and remake an America that
more closely aligns with our highest ideals.
Dr. King recognized that, as a country built on the foundation of self-
governance, our success rested on engaging ordinary citizens in the work
of securing our birthright liberties. Together, with countless unsung
heroes equally committed to the idea that America is a constant work in
progress, he heeded the call etched into our founding documents nearly
two centuries before his time, marching and sacrificing for the idea of
a fair, just, and inclusive society. By preaching his dream of a day
when his children would be judged by the content of their character--
rather than by the color of their skin--he helped awak

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en our Nation to the bitter truth that basic justice for all had not yet
been realized. And in his efforts, he peaceably yet forcefully
demonstrated that it is not enough to only have equal protection under
the law, but also that equal opportunity for all of our Nation's
children is necessary so that they can shape their own destinies.
Today, we celebrate the long arc of progress for which Dr. King and so
many other leaders fought to bend toward a brighter day. It is our
mission to fulfill his vision of a Nation devoted to rejecting bigotry
in all its forms; to rising above cynicism and the belief that we cannot
change; and to cherishing dignity and opportunity not only for our own
daughters and sons, but also for our neighbors' children.
We have made great advances since Dr. King's time, yet injustice remains
in many corners of our country. In too many communities, the cycle of
poverty persists and students attend schools without adequate
resources--some that serve as a pipeline to prison for young people of
color. Children still go to bed hungry, and the sick go without
sufficient treatment in neighborhoods across America. To put up blinders
to these realities or to intimate that they are inherent to a Nation as
large and diverse as ours would do a disservice to those who fought so
hard to ensure ours was a country dedicated to the proposition that all
people are created equal.
``We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat
now,'' Dr. King once said. As the most diverse country on Earth,
ensuring this creed is reflected in our hearts, minds, and policies is
the imperative of our citizenship. As Americans of all races and beliefs
come together on this day of service to honor the life and legacy of the
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., let us pledge to recognize the
common humanity of all people, regardless of the color of their skin or
the station into which they were born.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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 January 18, 2016, 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 www.MLKDay.gov
to find Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service projects across our
country.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of
January, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
fortieth.
BARACK OBAMA