African-American Music Appreciation Month, 2014

Proclamation 9134 of May 30, 2014

African-American Music Appreciation Month, 2014

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Our country is home to a proud legacy of African-
American musicians whose songs transcend genre. They
make us move, make us think, and make us feel the full
range of emotion--from the pain of isolation to the
power of human connection. During African-American
Music Appreciation Month, we celebrate artists whose
works both tell and shape our Nation's story.

For centuries, African-American music has lifted the
voices of those whose poetry is born from struggle. As
generations of slaves toiled in the most brutal of
conditions, they joined their voices in faithful chords
that both captured the depths of their sorrow and wove
visions of a brighter day. At a time when dance floors
were divided, rhythm and blues and rock and roll helped
bring us together. And as activists marched for their
civil rights, they faced hatred with song. Theirs was a
movement with a soundtrack--spirituals that fed their
souls and protest songs that sharpened their desire to
right the great wrongs of their time.

The influence of African-American artists resounds each
day through symphony halls, church sanctuaries, music
studios, and vast arenas. It fills us with inspiration
and calls us to action. This month, as we honor the
history of African-American music, let it continue to
give us hope and carry us forward--as one people and
one Nation.

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 2014 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
thirtieth 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.