[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 21, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 3245-3246]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-1610]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 13 / Wednesday, January 21, 1998 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 3245]]
Proclamation 7064 of January 16, 1998
Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 1998
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
America has been blessed with heroes throughout our
history, men and women of vision and courage who have
set our feet firmly on the path of freedom and
equality. Some became heroes by leading us in times of
struggle; some by shaping our values and challenging us
to greatness. And a few, like Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., have done all this and more.
A thoughtful man and one of deep personal faith, his
conscience called him into action for the soul of our
Nation. He mobilized thousands of other brave and
principled Americans--black and white, renowned and
unknown--and began a crusade for justice that continues
today. In sit-ins, marches, demonstrations, and
boycotts, he and many others met violence with
nonviolence and ignorance with determination. They
awakened the conscience of our Nation and succeeded in
winning passage of historic civil rights legislation:
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of
1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Pouring out his
life in service, Dr. King made enormous and lasting
contributions to improve the lives of millions of his
fellow Americans.
Almost 35 years have passed since Dr. King challenged
us from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to live out
the true meaning of our creed--that all men are created
equal--and almost 30 years have passed since he was
taken from us after an all-too-brief sojourn on this
earth. A generation of young Americans has come of age
without experiencing firsthand the power of his vision
or the eloquence of his voice. Much has changed for the
better in that time, but we still have much to do if we
are to finish the work of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Following his example of service, we must build
communities where everyone shares an equal opportunity
for a good education and a good job, where our children
can grow up without living in the shadow of guns,
gangs, and drugs, and where we reject separation and
isolation and instead celebrate together the blessing
of our diversity. Last June, I established my
initiative, ``One America in the 21st Century,'' to
encourage a national dialogue among Americans about
race and to spur concerted action that will bring
Americans together. We must put aside the bitter
refrains of accusation and recrimination and instead
discuss and implement new ideas for forging a single
Nation in the 21st Century out of our ever-increasing
racial and ethnic diversity. By learning to talk to one
another, to trust one another, and to work together in
hope, we can and will come to the time Dr. King foresaw
when ``justice rolls down like waters.''
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 Monday, January 19, 1998, as
the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday. I call
upon the people of the United States to observe this
occasion with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and
activities and to participate in the many community
service activities taking place across the country on
this day.
[[Page 3246]]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
sixteenth day of January, 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-second.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 98-1610
Filed 1-20-98; 11:19 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
