Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 196 / Thursday, October 12, 2023 / Presidential Documents 70571 

Proclamation 10648 of October 6, 2023 

Columbus Day, 2023 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

Today, we celebrate all the Italian Americans, whose courage and character 

reflect and help define our Nation. 

In 1891, 11 Italian Americans were murdered in one of the largest mass 

lynchings in our Nation’s history. In the wake of this horrific attack, President 

Benjamin Harrison established Columbus Day in 1892. For so many people 

across our country, that first Columbus Day was a way to honor the lives 

that had been lost and to celebrate the hope, possibilities, and ingenuity 

Italian Americans have contributed to our country since before the birth 

of our republic. 

More than a century later, we mark Columbus Day with that purpose— 

celebrating the heritage of Italian Americans, whose hands helped build 

our Nation and whose hearts have always carried faith in the American 

Dream. For many Italian Americans, the story of Christopher Columbus’ 

voyage—from the Spanish port of Palos de la Frontera on behalf of Queen 

Isabella I and King Ferdinand II—remains a source of pride. It reflects 

the stories of trips across the Atlantic that so many Italian Americans grew 

up hearing at the dinner table, whether tales of ancestors who set sail 

on wooden boats across rough waters to begin new lives on our shores 

or grandparents who immigrated here with little more than hope in their 

hearts. These are stories of people leaving everything they knew and loved 

behind for the promise of opportunity in the United States. 

Today, we honor those stories told around the dinner table and celebrate 

what these hopeful Italian American newcomers brought to our Nation. 

Italian Americans are educators, service members, doctors, engineers, artists, 

Government officials, and leaders and innovators in every field. The Italian 

American community is also a source of strength for our Nation’s enduring 

relationship with Italy—an essential NATO ally and partner in the European 

Union. Together, we are working to address the challenges of our time, 

especially supporting the people of Ukraine in defense of their freedom. 

America was founded on an idea: that we are all created equal, endowed 

by our creator with certain inalienable rights, and deserve to be treated 

equally throughout our lives. Though we have never fully lived up to that 

idea, our aspirations have never let us walk away from it either. Today, 

we honor all the Italian Americans who never walked away from our fundamental creed and who, for generations, have helped realize the full promise 

of our Nation. 

In commemoration of Christopher Columbus’ historic voyage 531 years ago, 

the Congress, by joint resolution of April 30, 1934, and modified in 1968 

(36 U.S.C. 107), as amended, has requested the President proclaim the second 

Monday of October of each year as ‘‘Columbus Day.’’ 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States 

of America, do hereby proclaim October 9, 2023, as Columbus Day. I direct 

that the flag of the United States be displayed on all public buildings 

on the appointed day in honor of our diverse history and all who have 

contributed to shaping this Nation. 


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70572 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 196 / Thursday, October 12, 2023 / Presidential Documents 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of 

October, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, and of the 

Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortyeighth. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22666 

Filed 10–11–23; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3395–F4–P 


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