African-American Music Appreciation Month, 2016

Vol. 81

Friday,

No. 107

June 3, 2016

Part VII

The President

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Proclamation 9455--African-American Music Appreciation Month, 2016

Proclamation 9456--Great Outdoors Month, 2016

Proclamation 9457--Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month,
2016

Proclamation 9458--National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, 2016

Proclamation 9459--National Oceans Month, 2016

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 9455 of May 31, 2016

African-American Music Appreciation Month, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

A vital part of our Nation's proud heritage, African-
American music exemplifies the creative spirit at the
heart of American identity and is among the most
innovative and powerful art the world has ever known.
It accompanies us in our daily lives, and it has rung
out at turning points in our history and demonstrated
how our achievements as a culture go hand-in-hand with
our progress as a Nation. During African-American Music
Appreciation Month, we honor the artists who, through
this music, bring us together, show us a true
reflection of ourselves, and inspire us to reach for
the harmony that lies beyond our toughest struggles.

Songs by African-American musicians span the breadth of
the human experience and resonate in every corner of
our Nation--animating our bodies, stimulating our
imaginations, and nourishing our souls. In the ways
they transform real stories about real people into art,
these artists speak to universal human emotion and the
restlessness that stirs within us all. African-American
music helps us imagine a better world, and it offers
hope that we will get there together.

This month, we celebrate the music that reminds us that
our growth as a Nation and as people is reflected in
our capacity to create great works of art. Let us
recognize the performers behind this incredible music,
which has compelled us to stand up--to dance, to
express our faith through song, to march against
injustice, and to defend our country's enduring promise
of freedom and opportunity for all.

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 2016 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
thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two
thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and fortieth.