Presidential Document2024-09808
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, 2024
Primary source
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Published
May 3, 2024
Signed
April 30, 2024
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 87 (Friday, May 3, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 87 (Friday, May 3, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 36651-36653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09808]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 87 / Friday, May 3, 2024 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 36651]]
Proclamation 10735 of April 30, 2024
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific
Islander Heritage Month, 2024
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
This month, we celebrate the Asian American, Native
Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI)
communities, whose ingenuity, grit, and perseverance
have pushed our great American experiment forward.
From Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders whose
ancestors have called their lands home for hundreds of
years to Asian immigrants who have newly arrived and
those whose families have been here for generations--AA
and NHPI heritage has long been a part of the history
of our great country and a defining force in the soul
of our Nation. As artists and journalists, doctors and
engineers, business and community leaders, and so much
more, AA and NHPI peoples have shaped the very fabric
of our Nation and opened up new possibilities for all
of us. I am proud that they serve at the highest levels
of my Administration, including Vice President Kamala
Harris, Ambassador Katherine Tai, Acting Secretary of
Labor Julie Su, and Director of the White House Office
of Science and Technology Policy Arati Prabhakar, who
make this country a better place each and every day.
This year, we are also celebrating the 25th anniversary
of the White House Initiative and President's Advisory
Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and
Pacific Islanders, who work across government to
advance equity, opportunity, and justice for AA and
NHPI communities.
I have always believed that diversity is our Nation's
greatest strength. That is why I launched the first-
ever National Strategy to Advance Equity, Justice, and
Opportunity for AA and NHPI Communities. This strategy
works to harness the full potential of these
communities--from combating anti-Asian hate to making
government services accessible in more languages. To
ensure the legacies of AA and NHPI peoples are properly
honored in the story of America, I signed historic
legislation that will bring us closer to a National
Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture. I
also issued a Presidential Memorandum to consider
expanding protections for the Pacific Remote Islands to
conserve this unique area's significant natural and
cultural resources and honor the traditional practices
and ancestral pathways of Pacific Island voyagers, and
I signed the Amache National Historic Site Act to
establish a memorial honoring the 10,000 Japanese
Americans who were unjustly incarcerated there during
World War II. Throughout my time in office, the First
Lady and I have hosted celebrations at the White House
that highlight the incredible diversity of AA and NHPI
communities, like Diwali and the first-ever White House
Lunar New Year celebration. This year, to ensure that
the full diversity of AA and NHPI communities is seen
and valued as new policy is being made, we updated the
Federal Government's standards for collecting data on
race and ethnicity for the first time in over 25 years.
[[Page 36652]]
Meanwhile, we are creating new opportunities for AA and
NHPI communities by building an economy that works for
everyone, including investing in AA and NHPI small
businesses and entrepreneurs. Since I took office, the
Small Business Administration provided over $22 billion
in loans to AA and NHPI entrepreneurs. We have seen the
results: During my Administration, we achieved the
highest Asian American employment and entrepreneurship
rates in over a decade.
Last year, the First Lady and I witnessed the absolute
courage of the Native Hawaiian people and Hawaii's
Asian American and Pacific Islander communities when we
visited Maui in the wake of the devastating fires. The
destruction upended so many lives, and yet the
community showed up ready to help rebuild stronger than
before. My Administration has their backs--we are
committed to making sure Maui has everything the
Federal Government can offer to heal and build back
better and as fast as possible. Throughout these
efforts, we remain focused on rebuilding the way the
people of Maui want to build by respecting sacred
lands, cultures, and traditions.
Racism, harassment, and hate crimes against people of
AA and NHPI heritage also persist--a tragic reminder
that hate never goes away; it only hides. Hate must
have no safe harbor in America--that is why I signed
the bipartisan COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which makes it
easier for Americans to report hate crimes, and I also
hosted the first-ever White House summit against hate-
fueled violence. We are also working to address the
scourge of gun violence, which takes the lives of too
many AA and NHPI loved ones. I signed the most
significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years. My
Administration has taken actions to expand background
checks and fund efforts to strengthen red flag laws to
keep Americans out of harm's way. There is still so
much to do, and I continue to urge the Congress to ban
assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Our Nation was founded on the idea that we are all
created equal and deserve to be treated equally
throughout our lives. We have never fully realized this
promise, but we have never fully walked away from it
either. As we celebrate the historic accomplishments of
AA and NHPIs across our Nation, we promise we will
never stop working to form a more perfect Union.
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 May 2024 as
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander
Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to learn more
about the histories of the AA and NHPI community and to
observe this month with appropriate programs and
activities.
[[Page 36653]]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirtieth day of April, 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. 2024-09808
Filed 5-2-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 3, 2024.
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