Presidential Documents

25145

Federal Register

Vol. 63, No. 87

Wednesday, May 6, 1998

Title 3—

The President

Proclamation 7089 of April 30, 1998

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, 1998

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Like millions of others who left their homelands to come to America, the

first Asian and Pacific Island immigrants who arrived here in the 19th

century were seeking a better life than the one they left behind. Many

were poor; many had suffered oppression; but all were strengthened by

a rich culture, an ancient heritage, a belief in freedom’s promise, and a

willingness to work for their share of the American Dream.

For many, however, that dream was deferred. These courageous men and

women from Asia and the Pacific Islands were met in America by prejudice

as they strived to make a living and establish a home in their adopted

country.

These brave new Americans would prevail over every hardship. Whether

working in the gold fields of California, laboring on the sugar and pineapple

plantations of Hawaii, constructing the transcontinental railway, or creating

their own businesses, Asian and Pacific Americans succeeded in building

new lives for themselves and their families.

Today, Asian and Pacific Americans are helping to build a vibrant America.

They are leaders in medical and scientific research, in the halls of Congress,

in the classrooms of our educational institutions, in business, labor, the

arts, and every other human endeavor. They are building economic and

technological bridges across the Pacific and beyond, which will ensure America’s leadership well into the next millennium. These sons and daughters

of Cambodia, China, Indonesia, India, Japan, Korea, Laos, the Philippines,

Thailand, Vietnam, and so many other Asian and Pacific lands have enriched

our national life and culture with their energy and talents, with their commitment to family and community, and with their enduring reverence for freedom.

As we approach the 21st century, Asian and Pacific Americans are playing

an increasingly important role in the life of our Nation, helping us to

maintain our leadership in the global economy. More important, they are

inspiring us to embrace the wider world, to recognize and appreciate the

blessing of our great diversity, and to become one America.

To honor the accomplishments of Asian and Pacific Americans and to recognize their many contributions to our Nation, the Congress, by Public Law

102–450, has designated the month of May as ‘‘Asian/Pacific American

Heritage Month.’’

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States

of America, do hereby proclaim May 1998 as Asian/Pacific American Heritage

Month. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this month

with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.
25146 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 87 /Wednesday, May 6, 1998 / Presidential Documents

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

of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and

of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred

[FR Doc. 98–12216

Filed 5–5–98; 8:45 am]

Billing code 3195–01–P

and twenty-second.

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