February 2, 1984
On February 1st we began the Fifty-eighth Annual Black History Month, a national celebration of
the role of Black Americans in all segments of life in this nation and in Black culture around the
globe.
Launched in 1926 by Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, founder of the Association for the Study of
Afro-American Life and History, Inc., Black History Month provides opportunities for our
nation's schools, institutions of higher learning, and the public to gain a deeper understanding and
knowlege of the diverse contributions of Black Americans to our country and the world.
This year's Black History Month theme, ``Black Americans and the Struggle for Excellence in
Education,'' is particularly timely, coinciding with efforts across the land to reexamine public
education and reinforce excellence for all students.
It is a very special privilege for me to call on the people of the United States to join in this
important time of exploring, learning, appreciating, and saluting all that Black Americans have
done to help build this great nation.
As we celebrate Black History Month, 1984, let us also share a prayerful thought for the memory
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was brutally gunned down by an assassin in 1968, his life
cut short at the age of 39. But his leadership and devotion in the cause of human rights changed
America forever. In this, the fifty-fifth year since his birth, may Black History Month be an
especially meaningful and productive time for all of us.
Ronald Reagan