[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 5 (Monday, February 5, 1996)]
[Pages 133-134]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6863--National African American History Month, 1996

January 30, 1996

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Today's schoolchildren are fortunate to grow up in classrooms where 
they are taught to appreciate all of the many heroes of American 
history. While previous generations read textbooks that told only part 
of our Nation's story, materials have been developed in recent years 
that give our students a fuller picture--textured and deepened by new 
characters and themes. African American History Month provides a special 
opportunity for teachers and schools to celebrate this ongoing process 
and to focus on the many African Americans whose lives have shaped our 
common experience.
    This year, our observance emphasizes black women and the strides 
made to bring their achievements to the fore. From Sojourner Truth's 
sermons, to Mary McLeod Bethune's speeches, to the contemporary novels 
of Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, the voices of African American women 
have called attention to the twin burdens of racism and sexism and have 
invited listeners to discover the richness of traditions kept alive in 
back kitchens and workrooms. In churches and communities, and more 
recently in universities and statehouses across America, these women 
have fought extraordinary battles for social, economic, and political 
empowerment.
    Barbara Jordan once wrote,
      `We the people'; it is a very eloquent beginning. But when the 
      Constitution of the United States was completed on the seventeenth 
      of September, 1787, I was not included in that `We the people.'
As we mourn the loss of this great American, let us honor her by seeking 
to further the progress made since those early days toward true equality 
and inclusion. During African American History Month and throughout the 
year, we must embrace the diverse strands of our story so that all 
children can see themselves in our Nation's past and know that they have 
a role to play in seizing the future's countless opportunities.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, 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 
1996, as National African American History Month. I call upon Government 
officials, educators in schools, colleges, universities, and libraries, 
and all the people of the United States to observe this month with 
appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs that raise awareness of 
African American history and invite further inquiry into this area of 
study.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day 
of January, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and 
of the Independence of the United

[[Page 134]]

States of America the two hundred and twentieth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., February 1, 
1996]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on January 31, and it was published in the Federal Register on 
February 2.