Proclamation 5530 --
Ethnic American Day, 1986
September 20, 1986
By
the President of the United States of
America
A
Proclamation
Americans
are a unique people, a colorful tapestry of traditions and cultures woven into
one vibrant society. The motto graven on our coins -- E Pluribus Unum --
reflects the rich diversity from which America draws its strength and
vitality.
Since
the founding of our Republic more than 200 years ago, millions of immigrants
have made the journey of freedom to our shores. America has drawn the stoutest
hearts from every corner of the globe, from every Nation on earth. Some came to
escape the chains of religious persecution, others to flee the bonds of
political oppression, and still others came seeking a land of opportunity, the
chance to begin life anew. Some of the most recent have scaled walls and
crawled under barbed wire and through mine fields, while others risked their
lives in makeshift boats on perilous seas.
No
matter how they came, today they are all Americans who take pride in the
traditions of their ancestral homeland while at the same time dedicating
themselves wholeheartedly to the principles for which our Nation stands. They
now are taking their full and rightful place in America's social and political
life. Their contributions are legion in every area of endeavor: science, the arts,
medicine, business, government, sports, religion, and the media. The efforts of
ethnic Americans in bolstering the values of faith, freedom, family, work, and
country have served to strengthen the fabric of our national life and have made
America a culturally richer and
more vibrant land in which to live.
The
Congress, by Public Law 99 - 206, has designated September
21, 1986,
as ``Ethnic American Day'' and authorized and requested the President to issue
a proclamation in observance of this event.
Now,
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of
America, do hereby proclaim September
21, 1986,
as Ethnic American Day. I call upon the people of the United States to acknowledge and
advance mutual understanding and friendship among all Americans regardless of
their ethnicity.
In
Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of September,
in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and
eleventh.
Ronald
Reagan
[Filed
with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:47 p.m., September
23, 1986]
Note:
The proclamation was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on September
22.