Women's Equality Day, 1996

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Part V

The President

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Proclamation 6912--Women's Equality Day, 1996

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 6912 of August 21, 1996

Women's Equality Day, 1996

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Since America's earliest days, our citizens have
engaged in a passionate struggle to create a Nation
where all can enjoy the benefits of democracy in equal
measure. In 1920, we took a great step toward that
noble goal by declaring that the right to vote could
not be denied on the basis of gender. This 76th
anniversary of the adoption of the 19th Amendment to
the Constitution gives us an opportunity to celebrate
the advances made in empowering women to fully
participate in the political, cultural, social, and
economic life of our country.

At long last we are seeing the fruits of our efforts to
establish a society made strong by its vast diversity--
a place where women not only make gains in
traditionally male fields, but also use their talents
and perspectives to enlarge the scope of public life.
The extraordinary success of our female athletes at the
Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta is one stirring
example of this progress. Historically excluded from so
many arenas, today's women are carrying a shining torch
of hope for younger generations to follow.

Now the challenge is to keep the doors of opportunity
open and to build on the changes begun by the
ratification of the 19th Amendment. We must continue to
encourage women to pursue elected office and to
contribute to the civil discourse. Every American
stands to gain when women and men of all backgrounds
participate in the political process and exercise their
right to vote. This is a right that we must never take
for granted-- and a responsibility we must never
shirk--because it gives each of us a voice in our
national debate and calls every citizen to join in the
pursuit of our Nation's fundamental ideals.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim August 26, 1996, as Women's
Equality Day. I call upon all Americans to reflect on
both the struggles and accomplishments of all women and
to promote the observance of this day with appropriate
programs and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-first.