Presidential Documents

3533 

Federal Register 

Vol. 89, No. 13 

Friday, January 19, 2024 

Title 3— 

The President 

Proclamation 10696 of January 12, 2024 

Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2024 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

Today, we reflect on the life and legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther 

King, Jr. and recommit to honoring his moral vision on the path to redeeming 

the soul of our Nation. 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born into America when racial segregation 

was the law of the land. He had every reason to believe that history had 

already been written and division would be our Nation’s destiny. But Dr. 

King rejected that outcome. He heard Scripture’s command to do justice, 

love mercy, and walk humbly. He clung to the Declaration of Independence’s 

promise of equality for all people. 

Dr. King’s mission was a moral one: from bridges and ballot boxes to 

pulpits, protests, and courthouses, he courageously stood for the sacred 

idea that embodies the soul of our Nation—we are all created equal in 

the image of God and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. 

He vocalized that idea on an August day in 1963 when he told our Nation 

about his dream. He saw that idea realized for many Americans with the 

passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 

ushering in a new era of greater equality and opportunity in our country. 

That work is not yet finished. It is the task of our time to take up Dr. 

King’s mantle and make his dream a reality. 

The battle for the soul of our Nation is perennial—a constant struggle between 

hope and fear, kindness and cruelty, and justice and injustice. There are 

still those who seek to thwart progress and roll back our rights as Americans. 

But Dr. King and countless crusaders across the span of American history 

teach us that each generation must answer the call to perfect our Union. 

We must heed the whispers of our better angels. We must see each other 

as neighbors and not enemies. We must do our best to seek a life of 

light, hope, and truth. Because nothing is guaranteed about our democracy. 

We must fight to keep, defend, and protect it. 

On this day, may we recommit to being guided by Dr. King’s light and 

by the charge of Scripture: ‘‘Let us never grow weary in doing what is 

right, for if we do not give up, we will reap our harvest in due time.’’ 

We must continue Dr. King’s march forward by choosing democracy over 

autocracy and a ‘‘Beloved Community’’ over chaos. We must be believers, 

doers, and, most of all, dreamers. We must be repairers of the breach 

and remember that the power to redeem the soul of America lies in all 

of us—‘‘We the People.’’ 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 Monday, January 

15, 2024, 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 MLKDay.gov to find Martin 

Luther King, Jr., Day of Service projects across our country. 


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3534 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2024 / Presidential Documents 

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

of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the 

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

[FR Doc. 2024–01114 

Filed 1–18–24; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3395–F4–P 


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