[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 38 (Monday, September 22, 1997)]
[Pages 1328-1329]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7020--National Hispanic Heritage Month, 1997

September 12, 1997

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Throughout our history, America's promise of individual freedom and 
opportunity has drawn millions upon millions of immigrants from across 
the globe. As these newcomers arrived, they gradually wove their own 
traditions into the tapestry of our Nation's culture and society. The 
world's economy is becoming ever more interdependent and competitive, 
and these changes and others brought on by the revolution in 
communication technologies are lowering many of the old barriers to 
economic, cultural, and intellectual exchange among nations. In this new 
global community, we benefit greatly from the contributions that 
Hispanic Americans bring to our economy and our society.
    As the youngest and fastest-growing segment of our population, 
Hispanic Americans are an increasingly vital part of our economy. In the 
first 3 years of our Administration, more than 220,000 Hispanic-
American-owned businesses were created, and in recent years the number 
of companies owned by Hispanic women, in particular, has grown at three 
times the overall rate of business growth. Our citizens with roots in 
South and Central America, the Caribbean, and Spain have inherited an 
entrepreneurial spirit and an intense work ethic that have helped 
energize the strongest American economy in a generation. The new head of 
the Small Business Administration, Aida Alvarez, is a symbol of that 
spirit and its importance to America. Along with Secretary of Energy 
Federico Pena, Under Secretary of Agriculture I. Miley Gonzales, and 
Ambassador Bill Richardson, the United States Representative to the 
United Nations, Administrator Alvarez reflects my Administration's 
continuing commitment to bring highly qualified Hispanic Americans into 
the highest levels of Government.
    Our Hispanic citizens also are vital to America's success in 
expanding trade and developing closer ties with nations throughout the 
Western Hemisphere. Sharing a rich cultural and linguistic heritage with 
Hispanic Americans, these nations are already among our closest trading 
partners, and we hope to further expand our relationships with them at 
the Summit of the Americas next March.
    The contributions of Hispanic Americans to the life of our Nation 
are much more than economic. Their strong commitment to family, 
community, and country sets a shining example for all our people. 
Generations of Hispanic Americans have served and sacrificed in 
America's Armed Forces to defend liberty and advance democracy 
throughout the world. And Hispanic culture continues to deeply enrich 
our social, intellectual, and artistic life.
    To meet the challenges of the 21st century, we must create a society 
that offers opportunity to all Americans, requires responsibility from 
all Americans, and nurtures a community of all Americans. Hispanic 
Americans throughout our country are working to build such a society. To 
honor them for their dedication to this endeavor and for their many 
contributions to our Nation and our culture, the Congress, by Public Law 
100-402, has authorized and requested the President to issue annually a 
proclamation designating September 15 through October 15 as ``National 
Hispanic Heritage Month.''
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim September 15 through October 15, 
1997, as National Hispanic Heritage Month. I call upon all government 
officials, educators, and the people of the United States to honor this 
observance with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities, and I 
encourage all Americans to rededicate themselves to the pursuit of 
equality.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of 
September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and twenty-second.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with Office of the Federal Register, 9:04 a.m., September 16, 
1997]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
September 17. This item was

[[Page 1329]]

not received in time for publication in the appropriate issue.