MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., FEDERAL HOLIDAY, 2014
(Alpine Township Offices Are Open)
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Each year, America sets aside a day to remember a giant of our
Nation's history and a pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement. During his lifelong
struggle for justice and equality, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
gave mighty voice to the quiet hopes of millions, offered a redemptive path for
oppressed and oppressors alike, and led a Nation to the mountaintop. Behind the
bars of a Birmingham jail cell, he reminded us that "injustice anywhere is a
threat to justice everywhere." On a hot summer day, under the shadow of the
Great Emancipator, he challenged America to make good on its founding promise,
and he called on every lover of freedom to walk alongside their brothers and
sisters.
As we marked the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for
Jobs and Freedom last August, we noted the depth of courage and character
assembled on the National Mall that day. We honored all who marched, bled, and
died for civil rights. And we celebrated the great victories of the last half
century -- civil rights and voting rights laws; new opportunities in the
classroom and the workforce; a more fair and free America, not only for African
Americans, but for us all.
We were also reminded that our journey is not complete. It is our
task to build on the gains of past generations, from challenging new barriers to
the vote to ensuring the scales of justice work equally for all people. And we
must advance another cause central to both Dr. King's career and the Civil
Rights Movement -- the dignity of good jobs, decent wages, quality education,
and a fair deal. Because America's promise is not only the absence of oppression
but also the presence of opportunity, we must make our Nation one where anyone
willing to work hard is admitted into the ranks of a rising, thriving middle
class.
Dr. King taught us that "an individual has not started living until
he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the
broader concerns of all humanity." In honor of this spirit, Americans across the
country will come together for a day of service. By volunteering our time and
energy, we can build stronger, healthier, more resilient communities. Today, let
us put aside our narrow ambitions, lift up one another, and march a little
closer to the Nation Dr. King envisioned.
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 January 20, 2014, as the Martin
Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday. I encourage all Americans to observe this day
with appropriate civic, community, and service projects in honor of Dr. King and
to visit www.MLKDay.gov
to find Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service projects across our country.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day
of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
thirty-eighth.
BARACK OBAMA
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