[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 15 (Thursday, January 23, 1997)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 3441-3442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-1743]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 15 / Thursday, January 23, 1997 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 3441]]
Proclamation 6967 of January 17, 1997
Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 1997
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
People throughout the world celebrate the birthday of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as a tribute to his
shining example of love and justice.
Dr. King was a man of clear and powerful vision who
offered an uncompromising message of brotherhood and
hope at a time when violence and racial intolerance
tore at the seams of our Nation. In addressing these
ills, he often referred to what he called the
``magnificent words'' of the Declaration of
Independence, which proclaimed that ``all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'' He
declared these words to be ``a promissory note to which
every American was to fall heir,'' and upon which
payment could no longer be delayed. Dr. King's struggle
made it possible for all of us to move closer to the
ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence and
in our Constitution.
Although ours is the most successful multiracial,
multicultural society in human history, in the words of
Dr. King, ``our work is not yet done.'' We have not yet
fully realized Dr. King's dream of a Nation of full
opportunity, genuine equality, and consistent fair play
for all.
Every citizen must rise to meet that challenge because
America's promise of freedom and opportunity cannot
truly be realized for any of us until it is realized
for every one of us. We all have an obligation to reach
out to one another--across the artificial barriers of
race, gender, religion, class, and age--so that each
member of our society shares fully in the promise of
the American Dream.
In the spring of 1963, Dr. King was arrested in
Birmingham, Alabama, while protesting discrimination in
public accommodations and employment. From his jail
cell, he wrote of his faith that ultimately what was
good in America would prevail over fear and prejudice:
We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all
over the nation, because the goal of America is
freedom. Abused and scorned though we may be, our
destiny is tied up with the destiny of America. . . .
We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of
our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in
our echoing demands.
As I begin my second term as the last President of the
20th century, I ask each American to work with me to
usher in a new era of hope, reconciliation, and
fellowship among all our people--rich and poor, young
and old, and men and women of every race. I urge all
Americans to put intolerance behind us, seek common
ground, and strive for justice and community in our
Nation.
[[Page 3442]]
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 20, 1997, 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.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
seventeenth day of January, 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-first.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 97-1743
Filed 1-22-97; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
