[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 97 (Tuesday, May 20, 2014)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 29067-29068]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11842]
[[Page 29065]]
Vol. 79
Tuesday,
No. 97
May 20, 2014
Part IV
The President
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Proclamation 9125--60th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 79 , No. 97 / Tuesday, May 20, 2014 /
Presidential Documents
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Title 3--
The President
[[Page 29067]]
Proclamation 9125 of May 15, 2014
60th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
May 17, 1954, marked a turning point in America's
journey toward a more perfect Union. On that day, the
Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision in Brown
v. Board of Education, outlawing racial segregation in
our Nation's schools. Brown overturned the doctrine of
``separate but equal,'' which the Court had established
in the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson. For more than
half a century, Plessy gave constitutional backing to
discrimination, and civil rights organizations like the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People faced an uphill battle as they sought equality,
opportunity, and justice under the law.
Brown v. Board of Education shifted the legal and moral
compass of our Nation. It declared that education
``must be made available to all on equal terms'' and
demanded that America's promise exclude no one. Yet the
Supreme Court alone could not destroy segregation.
Brown had unlocked the schoolhouse doors, but even
years later, African-American children braved mobs as
they walked to school, while U.S. Marshals kept the
peace. From lunch counters and city streets to buses
and ballot boxes, American citizens struggled to
realize their basic rights. A decade after the Court's
ruling, Brown's moral guidance was translated into the
enforcement measures of the Civil Rights Act and the
Voting Rights Act.
Thanks to the men and women who fought for equality in
the courtroom, the legislature, and the hearts and
minds of the American people, we have confined
legalized segregation to the dustbin of history. Yet
today, the hope and promise of Brown remains
unfulfilled. In the years to come, we must continue
striving toward equal opportunities for all our
children, from access to advanced classes to
participation in the same extracurricular activities.
Because when children learn and play together, they
grow, build, and thrive together.
On the 60th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education,
let us heed the words of Justice Thurgood Marshall, who
so ably argued the case against segregation, ``None of
us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by
our bootstraps. We got here because somebody . . . bent
down and helped us pick up our boots.'' Let us march
together, meet our obligations to one another, and
remember that progress has never come easily--but even
in the face of impossible odds, those who love their
country can change it.
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 May 17, 2014, as the
60th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. I call
upon all Americans to observe this day with programs,
ceremonies, and activities that celebrate this landmark
decision and advance the causes of equality and
opportunity for all.
[[Page 29068]]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fifteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord two
thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
eighth.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2014-11842
Filed 5-19-14; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F4