[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 27 (Monday, July 8, 1996)]
[Pages 1164-1165]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6908--A National Month of Unity, 1996

July 1, 1996

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Our Nation was founded by people who sought the right to worship 
freely, and religious liberty is enshrined in our Constitution as the 
``first freedom'' granted by our Bill of Rights. The United States is 
now the most multi-ethnic, multi-religious democracy in history, and we 
must preserve this precious freedom while making the most of our 
diversity. Ours is a great and noble struggle to make our national voice 
a chorus of unity--varied by differing intonations, but carried and 
lifted by a rich harmony.
    The recent rash of arson attacks against black churches and other 
houses of worship is a stark reminder that our work to build common 
ground is far from over and that our progress can be threatened by 
forces that tear at the very fabric of our society. It is hard to think 
of a more heinous act than the destruction of a sacred structure. The 
violence that charred and defaced these buildings challenges our 
fundamental right to worship in safety, and has left us grim emblems of 
the hatred and alienation that too often darken our daily experience.
    And so we must look into our hearts as America approaches the new 
century, pledging to devote our energies to reinvigorating the shared 
values that will enable us to embrace the future together. We must never 
go back to the terrible days of racial and ethnic division, nor can we 
afford to dismiss our problems by ascribing them to isolated groups or 
areas of the country. Instead, let

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us join hands to lighten our burdens and build bridges among people and 
communities so that we can be one America--a Nation of extraordinary 
possibility with opportunity, freedom, and respect for all.
    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 July 
1996, as A National Month of Unity. I call upon religious leaders of all 
faiths to emphasize the need for healing and tolerance. I ask all 
Americans to join these efforts by working together to mend divisions 
and promote understanding; by reaching out to friends and neighbors of 
all races and faiths in a spirit of fellowship; and by seeking to 
strengthen, through words and actions, the ideals of equality and 
community cherished by generations of Americans. In this birth month of 
our Nation, let us set an example for the world we welcome to Atlanta 
for the Centennial Olympic Games by rededicating ourselves to America's 
fundamental truth: E pluribus unum--from many, one.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of 
July, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of 
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twentieth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:37 a.m., July 3, 
1996]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on July 2, and it was published in the Federal Register on 
July 5.