[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 38 (Monday, September 21, 1998)]
[Pages 1801-1802]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7122--National Historically Black Colleges and Universities 
Week, 1998

September 15, 1998

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Education has always been at the heart of opportunity in America. 
That has never been more true than today, when a revolution in 
technology is fundamentally changing the way we live and work and learn. 
In this new era of dynamic challenge and possibility, we recognize that 
the best opportunities for personal and professional success will go to 
those who are well educated. Our Nation's Historically Black Colleges 
and Universities (HBCUs) play a vital role in helping to extend access 
to a quality education.
    Established before and just after the Civil War to educate free 
black students, these institutions have been African Americans' primary 
route--and for many the only route--to higher education. Struggling to 
exist in a segregated society, striving to keep tuition affordable 
despite limited financial resources, these schools nonetheless upheld 
their mission of academic excellence and equal opportunity.
    Even after the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that ended legal 
segregation of America's public schools, the need for HBCUs did not 
disappear. These schools continue to provide young African Americans and 
other students with a nurturing and affirming environment.

[[Page 1802]]

Today, America's 105 HBCUs are educating almost 300,000 African 
Americans, and they count among their graduates the majority of our 
Nation's African American military officers, physicians, Federal judges, 
elected officials, and business executives. The distinguished faculty 
members at HBCUs serve as role models and mentors, challenging students 
to reach their full potential and to refuse to set limits on their 
dreams. HBCUs are a source of great pride and a symbol of economic, 
social, and political growth.
    As our Nation grows increasingly diverse in race, culture, and 
ethnic background, these institutions are a valuable source of knowledge 
about the history and heritage of African Americans, serving as keepers 
of significant archives and centers for the study of African Americans' 
many contributions to the life of our Nation. Most important, these 
schools continue to champion the cause of equal access to education. 
With a notable past, a dynamic present, and a promising future, 
America's HBCUs are helping to prepare our Nation's young people for the 
challenges and opportunities of the new millennium.
    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 September 
20 through September 26, 1998, as National Historically Black Colleges 
and Universities Week. I call upon the people of the United States, 
including government officials, educators, and administrators, to 
observe this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities 
honoring America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities and 
their graduates.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day 
of September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and twenty-third.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., September 16, 
1998]

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