Black Music Month, 2001

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Part III

The President

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Proclamation 7453--Black Music Month, 2001

Notice of June 30, 2001--Continuation of Emergency With Respect to the
Taliban

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7453 of June 29, 2001

Black Music Month, 2001

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

America's rich musical heritage reflects the diversity
of our people. Among many influences, the cultural
traditions brought to this land from Africa more than
four centuries ago and the remarkable musical
achievements of African Americans since then have
strongly and unmistakably improved the sound of
American music.

From historical burdens such as slavery and injustice
to the celebration of faith, much of the origin of
African-American music reflects our national story. The
work songs, shouts and hollers, spirituals, and ragtime
of an earlier era laid the creative foundation for many
of America's most distinctive and popular musical
genres. These include rhythm and blues, jazz, hip hop,
gospel, rap, and the roots of rock and roll.

Jazz, often called America's classical music, so
influenced our culture that Americans named a decade
after it. Like the country of its birth, jazz blends
many traditions, such as African-American folk, rhythm
and blues, French Creole classical form, and gospel.
Through the creation and performance of music like
jazz, black Americans were better able to exchange
ideas freely across racial and cultural barriers.
Before our Nation made significant strides in truly
promoting equal justice and opportunity for all, black
and white musicians in the genres of jazz, blues, and
country played together in jam sessions, recording
studios, and small bands. In many ways, their art
preceded social change, allowing black and white
musicians to meet as equals and to be judged on their
musical ability, rather than the color of their skin.
Their music also provided an outlet for African
Americans to speak passionately and brilliantly to the
rest of the Nation and the world.

From New Orleans and the back roads of the Mississippi
Delta to Harlem and Chicago, black musicians set
enduring and distinctive standards for American
creativity. The blues of Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith,
the gospel of Mahalia Jackson, the jazz of Duke
Ellington, and the soul of Marvin Gaye claim fans of
all ages from around the world. The trumpeting genius
of Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie illustrate the
exceptional musicianship so prominent in various genres
of African-American music.

The career of Marian Anderson, the world-class
contralto who was denied permission to sing in
Constitution Hall because of her race, symbolizes the
achievements of so many black American musicians.
Performing instead at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, she
drew an audience of 75,000 and inspired the world not
only with her rich musical gifts, but also with her
determination and courage.

The music of Marian Anderson and other African-American
artists has greatly enriched our quality of life and
created one of our Nation's most treasured art forms.
As universal and original expressions of the human
experience, their body of work, both past and present,
entertains, inspires, and thrills countless people
around the world.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, 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 2001, as Black Music Month. I encourage all
Americans to learn more about the contributions of
black artists to America's musical heritage and to
celebrate their remarkable role in shaping our history
and culture.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-ninth day of June, in the year of our Lord two
thousand one, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.

(Presidential Sig.)B