Presidential Document2024-02344
National Black History Month, 2024
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 5, 2024
Signed
January 31, 2024
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 24 (Monday, February 5, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 24 (Monday, February 5, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 7601-7602]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02344]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 24 / Monday, February 5, 2024 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 7601]]
Proclamation 10699 of January 31, 2024
National Black History Month, 2024
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
This National Black History Month, we celebrate the
vast contributions of Black Americans to our country
and recognize that Black history is American history
and that Black culture, stories, and triumphs are at
the core of who we are as a Nation.
The soul of America is what makes us unique among all
nations. We are the only country in the world founded
on an idea. It is the idea that we are all created
equal and deserve to be treated with equal dignity
throughout our lives. While we still grapple today with
the moral stain and vestiges of slavery--our country's
original sin--we have never walked away from the fight
to fully realize the promise of America for all
Americans. Throughout our history, Black Americans have
never given up on the promise of America. Unbowed by
the forces of hate and undaunted as they fought for
centuries against slavery, segregation, and injustice,
Black Americans have held a mirror up to our Nation,
allowing our country to confront hard truths about who
we are and pushing us to live up to our founding
ideals. They have helped redeem the soul of our Nation,
ensuring the promises in our founding documents were
not just words on a page but a lived reality for all
people. In the process, the vibrancy of Black history
and culture has enriched every aspect of American life.
Since taking office, the Vice President and I have
worked to continue this legacy of progress and lay down
a foundation for a stronger, more equitable Nation. On
my first day as President, I signed a historic
Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support
for Underserved Communities Through the Federal
Government. In February 2023, I signed an additional
Executive Order to acknowledge the unbearable human
costs of systemic racism and to direct the entire
Federal Government to advance equity for those who have
been historically underserved, marginalized, and
adversely affected by persistent discrimination,
poverty, and inequality, including the Black community.
That includes building an economy that grows from the
middle out and bottom up, not the top down. So far, we
have created over 14 million jobs and in 2023, the
Black unemployment rate was lower than in any other
year on record.
We are addressing historic health inequities for Black
Americans by making systemic changes to our health care
systems that increase healthcare access while lowering
costs. Today, more Black Americans have health
insurance than at any previous time in American
history. We are working to address the Black maternal
health crisis--ensuring dignity, safety, and support
for Black moms. The Vice President has helped elevate
this critical issue to a national priority by calling
on States to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage from
two months to one year.
My Administration is also working to close racial gaps
in education and economic opportunity. To that end, we
have delivered over $7 billion in funding for
Historically Black Colleges and Universities and are
working to expand access to home-ownership--a major
source of generational wealth for families--while
aggressively combating racial discrimination in
housing. Our update to the Thrifty Food Plan is keeping
400,000 Black kids out
[[Page 7602]]
of poverty every month and making sure millions more
have enough food to eat. By 2025, we are working to
ensure that 15 percent of Federal contracting dollars
goes to small disadvantaged businesses, including
Black-owned small businesses. We are also replacing
poisonous lead pipes so every American can turn on a
faucet at home or school and drink clean water.
To deliver equal justice under the law, we are
appointing judges to the Federal bench who reflect all
of America, including Supreme Court Justice Ketanji
Brown Jackson and more Black women to the Federal
circuit courts than all previous administrations
combined. I also signed a historic Executive Order that
implemented key elements of the George Floyd Justice in
Policing Act: banning chokeholds and restricting no
knock warrants by Federal law enforcement, creating a
national database of officer misconduct, and promoting
effective and accountable community policing that
advances public trust and safety. I also signed the
first major gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years
as well as a long-overdue law to make lynching a
Federal hate crime in Emmett Till's name. My
Administration continues to call on the Congress to
pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and
the Freedom to Vote Act to secure the right to vote for
every American.
Today, I am reminded of something Amelia Boynton said
when reflecting on her march across the Edmund Pettus
Bridge on what would be known as Bloody Sunday: ``You
can never know where you're going unless you know where
you've been.'' America is a great Nation because we
choose to learn the good, the bad, and the full truth
of the history of our country--histories and truths
that we must preserve and protect for the next
generation. This National Black History Month, as we
remember where we have been, may we also recognize that
our only way forward is by marching together.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 2024
as National Black History Month. I call upon public
officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of
the United States to observe this month with relevant
programs, ceremonies, and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord
two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of
the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
eighth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2024-02344
Filed 2-2-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 5, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.