For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 28, 2001
President Proclaims National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week, 2001
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
For more than a century, our Nation's Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) have played a vital role in providing opportunities
for excellence in higher education to millions of African American
students.
Throughout their history, these
institutions of higher learning persevered in the face of many
obstacles, offering university degrees to African Americans at a time
when most schools refused them admission. Some of our HBCUs
began when society was deeply segregated; and some were founded when
the Nation still permitted the scourge of slavery. The Civil
War eradicated slavery in America; and the United States Supreme Court
ended the racial segregation of our
schools. Notwith-standing the removal of these blights from
the American scene, HBCUs have remained committed to providing African
American students with extraordinary educational
opportunities. The HBCUs' consistent tradition of offering
high-quality, academic programs has enabled their students and
graduates to prosper.
The success of our HBCUs should be a
source of great pride for all Americans. Almost 300,000
African Americans currently are enrolled in HBCUs, and among their
graduates are Members of Congress, hundreds of elected officials,
military officers, physicians, teachers, attorneys, judges,
ambassadors, and business executives.
Committed to excellence as well as to
opportunity, our HBCUs reflect the determination and spirit that are
essential to achieving my Administration's goal of educational success
at every level. All Americans should have opportunities to
pursue the American dream. Historically Black Colleges and
Universities play an essential role in providing access to that dream
for African Americans, and I salute them for their continuing
commitment to serving African American students.
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 laws of the United States, do
hereby proclaim September 24 through September 30, 2001, as National
Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week. I call
upon the people of the United States, including government officials,
educators, and administrators, to observe this week with appropriate
programs, ceremonies, and activities, thereby demonstrating our
appreciation of and support for these important educational
institutions.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my
hand this twenty-eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord two
thousand one, and of the Independence of the United States of America
the two hundred and twenty-sixth.
GEORGE W. BUSH
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