Monday, February 2nd, 2009 at 12:00 am
National African American History Month, 2009
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
------------------------------------
For Immediate Release
February 2, 2009
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
The history of African Americans is unique and rich, and one that has
helped to define what it means to be an American. Arriving on ships on
the shores of North America more than 300 years ago, recognized more as
possessions than people, African Americans have come to know the
freedoms fought for in establishing the United States and gained
through the use of our founding principles of freedom of speech,
freedom of the press, the right to assembly, and due process of law.
The ideals of the Founders became more real and more true for every
citizen as African Americans pressed us to realize our full potential
as a Nation and to uphold those ideals for all who enter into our
borders and embrace the notion that we are all endowed with certain
unalienable rights.
Since Carter G. Woodson first sought to illuminate the African American
experience, each February we pause to reflect on the contributions of
this community to our national identity. The history is one of struggle
for the recognition of each person's humanity as well as an influence
on the broader American culture. African Americans designed our
beautiful Capital City, gave us the melodic rhythms of New Orleans
Jazz, issued new discoveries in science and medicine, and forced us to
examine ourselves in the pages of classic literature. This legacy has
only added luster to the brand of the United States, which has drawn
immigrants to our shores for centuries.
This year's theme, "The Quest for Black Citizenship in the Americas,"
is a chance to examine the evolution of our country and how African
Americans helped draw us ever closer to becoming a more perfect union.
The narrative of the African American pursuit of full citizenship with
all of the rights and privileges afforded others in this country is
also the story of a maturing young Nation. The voices and examples of
the African American people worked collectively to remove the boulders
of systemic racism and discrimination that pervaded our laws and our
public consciousness for decades. Through the work of Frederick
Douglass and Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington and George Washington
Carver, Martin Luther King and Thurgood Marshall, the African American
community has steadily made progress toward the dreams within its grasp
and the promise of our Nation. Meanwhile, the belief that those dreams
might one day be realized by all of our citizens gave African American
men and women the same sense of duty and love of country that led them
to shed blood in every war we have ever fought, to invest hard-earned
resources in their communities with the hope of self empowerment, and
to pass the ideals of this great land down to their children and
grandchildren.
As we mark National African American History Month, we should take note
of this special moment in our Nation's history and the actors who
worked so diligently to deliver us to this place. One such organization
is the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People --
the NAACP -- which this year will witness 100 years of service to the
Nation on February 12. Because of their work, including the
contributions of those luminaries on the front lines and great
advocates behind the scenes, we as a Nation were able to take the
dramatic steps we have in recent history.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution
and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2009 as
National African American History Month. I call upon public officials,
educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to
observe this month with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and
programs that raise awareness and appreciation of African American
history.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
second day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
thirty-third.
BARACK OBAMA
art by Kyle F. Anderson
