Loyalty Day, 2016

Proclamation 9429 of April 27, 2016

Loyalty Day, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

America endures because of the generations of our
people who have endeavored alongside one another,
joining their voices and their efforts to ensure our
Nation lives up to its highest ideals. Driven by the
determination to continue making our society more just
and more equal, our work to fulfill our country's
potential has always relied on our willingness to see
ourselves in our fellow citizens.

Our Nation has always been at its finest when guided by
a spirit of shared sacrifice and common purpose. It is
that spirit that led a small band of patriots to
declare our fledgling democracy free from the grasp of
tyranny, that slaves and abolitionists carried in their
hearts as they marched forward on the long journey
toward freedom, and that guides the men and women who
wear our country's uniform in their selfless service.
From the unlit paths of the Underground Railroad to the
lunch counters of Greensboro, the first streets draped
in the colors of pride to the highest Court in our
land, we have seen throughout our history that America
is inexorably driven forward by those who commit
themselves to expanding our founding promise through
extraordinary acts of courage and heroism. We honor
that legacy--that demonstrates that the forces of hope
and love of country are strong enough to overcome even
our most deeply entrenched obstacles--by resolving to
carry it forward, by rejecting appeals to prejudice and
division in our time, and by drawing on the hopes and
dreams that bind us.

While ours has always been a large and complicated
democracy, full of differing views and boisterous
debates, our history also makes clear that we are
strongest when we find in our diversity a deeper,
richer unity, stemming from an overarching belief in
the possibilities our shared future holds. This Loyalty
Day, let us remember that what defines us as one
American people is our dedication to common ideals--
rather than similarities of origin or creed--and let us
reaffirm that embracing this truth lies at the heart of
what it means to be a citizen. As long as we stay true
to that mission and uphold our responsibility to
deliver a freer, fairer Nation to the next generation,
a future of ever greater progress will remain within
our reach.

In order to recognize the American spirit of loyalty
and the sacrifices that so many have made for our
Nation, the Congress, by Public Law 85-529 as amended,
has designated May 1 of each year as ``Loyalty Day.''
On this day, let us reaffirm our allegiance to the
United States of America and pay tribute to the
heritage of American freedom.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 1,
2016, as Loyalty Day. This Loyalty Day, I call upon all
the people of the United States to join in support of
this national observance, whether by displaying the
flag of the United States or pledging allegiance to the
Republic for which it stands.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-seventh day of April in the year of our Lord two
thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and fortieth.