African-American Music Appreciation Month, 2017

Vol. 82

Monday,

No. 106

June 5, 2017

Part II

The President

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Proclamation 9618--African-American Music Appreciation Month, 2017

Proclamation 9619--Great Outdoors Month, 2017

Proclamation 9620--National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, 2017

Proclamation 9621--National Homeownership Month, 2017

Proclamation 9622--National Ocean Month, 2017

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 9618 of May 31, 2017

African-American Music Appreciation Month, 2017

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

During June, we pay tribute to the contributions
African Americans have made and continue to make to
American music. The indelible legacy of these
musicians--who have witnessed our Nation's greatest
achievements, as well as its greatest injustices--give
all Americans a richer, deeper understanding of
American culture. Their creativity has shaped every
genre of music, including rock and roll, rhythm and
blues, jazz, gospel, hip hop, and rap.

In March, rock and roll lost Chuck Berry, one of its
founding fathers. Berry's signature style on the
guitar, on display in classics like ``Johnny B.
Goode,'' ``Roll Over Beethoven,'' ``Maybellene,'' and
``Carol,'' came to define the explosive new sound of
rock and roll. As Keith Richards, guitarist for the
Rolling Stones said while introducing Berry into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: ``This is the gentleman who
started it all.''

We also take time this month to recognize the musical
influence of two of the greatest jazz musicians of all
time, Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald, as this year
marks their centennial birthdays. Gillespie, through
his legendary trumpet sound and Fitzgerald, through her
pure, energetic voice, treated people around the world
to spirited and soulful jazz music. Their work has
influenced countless musicians, and continues to
inspire listeners young and old.

The contributions of Berry, Gillespie, Fitzgerald, and
other African-American musicians shine as examples of
how music can bring us together. These musicians also
remind us of our humanity and of our power to overcome.
They expressed the soul of blues, gospel, and rock and
roll, which has so often captured the hardships of
racism and injustices suffered by African Americans, as
well as daily joys and celebrations. Their work
highlights the power music has to channel the human
experience, and they remain a testament to the
resilience of all freedom-loving people. We are
grateful for their contribution to the cannon of great
American art.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, 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 2017 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
appreciation of African-American Music.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two
thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
first.