Minority Enterprise Development Week, 2011

Proclamation 8721 of September 23, 2011

Minority Enterprise Development Week, 2011

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Our Nation is guided by the simple promise that no
matter our origins, we can provide a better life for
our children. We have long believed in a fair America,
where, with hard work and determination, anyone can
succeed. Our story has been written by generations who
have put their shoulders to the wheel of history to
move our country forward.

Today, this legacy continues. Our strength comes from
individuals from all walks of life, and of every race
and creed. Minority-owned businesses are engines of job
creation and backbones of communities across America--
from Main Street to Wall Street, and from country
markets to Silicon Valley. They are on the cutting edge
of development, and are strong competitors at home and
abroad. Small businesses, including minority-owned
enterprises, are where most new jobs begin. To recover
from this economic crisis and improve our
competitiveness, we must help these job creators hire,
grow, and revitalize our economy.

My Administration is working to make this growth a
reality. Our Start-up America initiative connects
established private sector mentors to entrepreneurs,
helping accelerate innovation through coordination.
Last year, I signed the Small Business Jobs Act,
providing billions of dollars in lending support and
tax cuts for small businesses. The Federal Government
is also the Nation's largest purchaser of goods and
services, and every Federal agency is taking aggressive
steps to improve contracting with small businesses,
including minority-owned firms.

Even in challenging times, American entrepreneurs
consistently respond to adversity with brighter ideas,
more ambitious innovations, and smarter technology than
the world has ever seen. These businesses create jobs
and support our communities. As a Nation, we must
continue to remove barriers to these opportunities, and
ensure they remain open to all Americans.

The task of making America more competitive is a job
for everyone. To build an economy that lasts, we must
all work to create the well-paying jobs that will
sustain us. During Minority Enterprise Development
Week, we honor minority enterprises as vital to our
economic success, and recommit to ensuring minority
business owners have the information, tools, and
resources they need to help America win the future.

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 September 25, 2011,
through October 1, 2011, as Minority Enterprise
Development Week. I call upon all Americans to
celebrate this week with appropriate programs,
ceremonies, and activities to recognize the many
contributions of our Nation's diverse enterprises.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-third day of September, in the year of our Lord
two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
sixth.