[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 32 (Monday, August 15, 2005)]
[Page 1261]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7916--40th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

 August 5, 2005

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    In America, we believe in the freedom of every individual. This 
freedom includes the ability to participate in one of the most cherished 
rights and fundamental responsibilities of citizenship: the right to 
vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped ensure that all citizens 
would have the opportunity to vote, regardless of race. As President 
Lyndon Johnson said when he signed the Act, ``Millions of Americans are 
denied the right to vote because of their color. This law will ensure 
them the right to vote. The wrong is one which no American, in his 
heart, can justify. The right is one which no American, true to our 
principles, can deny.'' As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of this 
historic act, we reaffirm this bedrock commitment to equality and 
justice for all.
    America's history is a story of people working for freedom, justice, 
and equality. We have made great progress toward achieving these ideals. 
In the middle of the 20th century, the conscience of America was 
awakened by the struggles and the courage of those who overcame racial 
slurs, fire hoses, and burning crosses. Brave men and women held sit-ins 
at lunch counters, rode buses on Freedom Rides, and marched in our 
Nation's Capital and throughout our country to demand the full promise 
of the Declaration of Independence. The work of these courageous 
Americans led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and we remember their 
heroism on this anniversary.
    America is a stronger and better Nation because of the Voting Rights 
Act of 1965. As President Johnson said upon signing the Act, it is ``a 
triumph for freedom as huge as any victory that has ever been won on any 
battlefield.'' The Act was a great step forward in the history of our 
Nation, and it remains essential as we continue our progress toward a 
society in which every person of every background can realize the 
American Dream.
    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 August 6, 2005, as a day 
of celebration in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act 
of 1965. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate 
programs, ceremonies, and activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of 
August, in the year of our Lord two thousand five, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
thirtieth.
                                                George W. Bush

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:21 a.m., August 8, 
2005]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on August 
9. This item was not received in time for publication in the appropriate 
issue.