African-American Music Appreciation Month, 2012

Proclamation 8832 of June 1, 2012

African-American Music Appreciation Month, 2012

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

As a long-cherished piece of American culture, music
offers a vibrant soundtrack to the story of our people
and our Union. At times when words alone could not
bring us together, we have found in melodies and
choruses the universal truths of our shared humanity.
African-American musicians have left an indelible mark
on this tradition, and during African-American Music
Appreciation Month, we pay special tribute to their
extraordinary contributions.

Generations of African Americans have used music to
share joy and pain, triumph and sorrow. Spiritual hymns
gave hope to those laboring under the unrelenting
cruelty of slavery, while gospel-inspired freedom songs
sustained a movement for justice and equality for all.
The smooth sounds of jazz and the soulful strain of the
blues fed a renaissance in art and prose. The rhythm
and blues that began in a basement in Detroit brought
people together when laws would have kept them apart,
while the urban beats and young wordsmiths from cities
coast-to-coast gave voice to a new generation. And on
stages and in concert halls around the world, African-
American singers and composers have enhanced opera,
symphony, and classical music by bringing energy and
creativity to traditional genres.

At its core, African-American music mirrors the
narrative of its original creators--born of humble
beginnings and raised to refuse the limitations and
circumstances of its birth. This month, we honor the
African-American musicians, composers, singers, and
songwriters who have forever shaped our musical
heritage, and celebrate those who carry this rich
legacy forward.

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 June 2012 as African-
American Music Appreciation Month. I call upon public
officials, educators, and all the people of the United
States to observe this month with appropriate
activities and programs that raise awareness and foster
appreciation of music that is composed, arranged, or
performed by African Americans.

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