[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 44 (Monday, November 7, 1994)]
[Page 2194]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6752--The Year of Gospel Music, 1994

October 28, 1994

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Born in the soul of America's churches, Gospel music is an integral 
part of liturgy and spirituality in parishes from Atlanta to Dallas, 
Detroit to Baton Rouge, the heart of New York City to the smallest 
hamlets of our country. It is a music of the people, one that has 
provided hope and inspiration for generations of Americans.
    Gospel music has come to influence singers and composers of all 
popular forms, including jazz, the blues, and soul music. The rhythm and 
expressiveness--the very feeling--has become an important part of our 
culture and a vital part of our heritage.
    Our Nation owes a great debt of gratitude to those who preserve and 
bring to life Gospel music in our churches, in recordings, in concerts, 
and through the media. It is in our national interest to promote and 
support Gospel music so that generations to come may enjoy and 
appreciate it. In so doing, we will gain a greater understanding of the 
breadth and vitality of the human spirit and its indomitable faith as it 
is expressed through the beauty of song.
    The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 157, has designated the 
year of 1994 as ``The Year of Gospel Music'' and has authorized and 
requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this 
year.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim the year of 1994 as The Year of 
Gospel Music. I urge all Americans to celebrate Gospel music with 
appropriate ceremonies and activities and to reflect on the role that 
this music has in reinvigorating and renewing our souls and our 
communities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth 
day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-
four, and of the independence of the United States of America the two 
hundred and nineteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 1:40 p.m., October 28, 
1994]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
November 1. This item was not received in time for publication in the 
appropriate issue.