[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 186 (Thursday, September 25, 1997)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 50471-50472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25697]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 186 / Thursday, September 25, 1997 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 50471]]
Proclamation 7025 of September 19, 1997
National Historically Black Colleges and
Universities Week, 1997
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
we are a few short years away from the dawn of the 21st
century, yet much of the challenge and change we have
been anticipating is already upon us. We are competing
today in a truly global economy, an economy based on
information and technology as well as agriculture and
industry. We are living in the age of the information
revolution, the era of the World Wide Web, of daily
advances in communications technology where a universe
of knowledge is only a keyboard and a modem away. We
are crossing the frontier into a new world, and our
only map and compass in that world will be education.
We must build an educational system that prepares our
young people for the jobs of the future. We must
empower them with the values, experiences, and self-
confidence to succeed in our diverse society. We must
provide them with the knowledge and motivation to reach
their full human potential--and we must leave no one
behind. In devising such an educational system, we need
only look to America's Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) for a model of excellence.
This extraordinary network of institutions, more than a
century old, has created a legacy of unquestioned
accomplishment in fostering student success. Founded to
educate African Americans in a segregated society,
these colleges and universities have flourished and
built an enviable record of achievement in educating
America's black scientists, doctors, teachers, lawyers,
artists, entrepreneurs, community and religious
leaders, and other professionals. They have provided
generations of students with access to highly
supportive environments for learning. The experience
and expertise of HBCUs make them an invaluable resource
to our Nation during this period of significant change.
America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities
daily demonstrate effective leadership in a multitude
of ways: they develop and practice innovative academic
approaches to ensure student success; they create
campus programs that offer new solutions to critical
social problems; they produce cutting-edge research
with practical applications; and they forge strong
global relationships from a myriad of international
activities. Moreover, against formidable financial
odds, they have persisted in keeping education
affordable for the constituencies they serve, without
sacrificing quality. They have never allowed scarce
funding, poor educational preparation, or societal
disadvantage to get in the way of their mission to
educate and nurture the intellectual potential of the
black community.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities have done
more to make the American Dream a reality for African
Americans than has any other set of institutions in our
country. These institutions are poised to enter the
21st century, ready to build on this tradition of
excellence, achievement, and reverence for education.
We can count on them to continue to make vital
contributions to our Nation's success and to ensure
that America lives up to our fundamental values of
equality and opportunity.
[[Page 50472]]
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 21 through
September 27, 1997, 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
nineteenth day of September, 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-second.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 97-25697
Filed 9-24-97; 8:59 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
