[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 38 (Monday, September 20, 2004)]
[Page 1993]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7814--National Historically Black Colleges and Universities 
Week, 2004

 September 14, 2004

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    This year, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of 
Education and the 40th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, we 
recognize our Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) for 
their extraordinary accomplishments in education and for extending the 
promise of our Nation's founding to all of our citizens. Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities were created to educate African 
Americans when they were wrongly denied the opportunity to attend school 
during the 19th century. Today, these great institutions continue to 
advance equal opportunity and excellence in education. In 2002, HBCUs 
enrolled 14 percent of all African Americans attending college. Their 
graduates are leaders in medicine, education, government, the military, 
business, the arts, the law, and many other fields. They include such 
heroes as Thurgood Marshall, who led the struggle for equal justice 
under law for African Americans and successfully represented African-
American schoolchildren in Brown.
    Half a century after the Supreme Court's historic decision in Brown, 
America is still working to reach the high calling of its ideals. 
Education remains the path to equality and opportunity, and HBCUs are a 
vital part of our national commitment to improving education for all of 
our citizens. Funding for HBCUs is now at an all-time high. By providing 
students with a quality education, HBCUs are continuing to help America 
remain a place of opportunity and hope for every citizen.
    Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, 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 12 through 
September 18, 2004, as National Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities Week. I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, 
and all the people of the United States to observe this week with 
appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs to show our respect and 
appreciation for these remarkable institutions and their graduates.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day 
of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand four, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
ninth.
                                                George W. Bush

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., September 16, 
2004]

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