African-American Music Appreciation Month, 2015

Vol. 80

Wednesday,

No. 106

June 3, 2015

Part V

The President

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Proclamation 9288--African-American Music Appreciation Month, 2015

Proclamation 9289--Great Outdoors Month, 2015

Proclamation 9290--Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month,
2015

Proclamation 9291--National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, 2015

Proclamation 9292--National Oceans Month, 2015

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 9288 of May 29, 2015

African-American Music Appreciation Month, 2015

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

For centuries, African-American musicians have shaped
our Nation and helped tell our story. By melding
enduring truths with new sounds, they have pioneered
entire genres and contributed to the foundation of our
musical landscape--capturing an essential part of who
we are as Americans. During African-American Music
Appreciation Month, we recognize the artists who have
enriched our lives and the ways their beats and
harmonies have advanced our unending journey toward a
more perfect Union.

With all the energy and diversity of our great Nation,
the stirring sounds of the American experience have
expanded our minds and lifted our souls, helping us
better understand ourselves and one another. When the
tides of injustice and hardship have seemed too great,
melodies of hope have given us strength, and in moments
of joy, powerful songs speak to the audacity that fuels
our dreams. Through momentous change--above the
jangling discord of a people determined to write their
own destiny and the consonance of great progress--our
music has remained a constant source of inspiration,
bringing us together and empowering us to reach for
what we know is possible.

By honoring the timeless sounds that define our past
and help transform our future, we celebrate not only
the musicians who move us, but also the spirit of
resilience and renewal they embody. This month, let us
remember the essential role music plays in breaking the
barriers of our time and guiding us toward a more
inclusive and more equal tomorrow.

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 2015 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
twenty-ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord two
thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth.