Proclamation 6752

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

Born in the soul of America's churches, Gospel music is an integral part of liturgy and spirituality in parishes from Atlanta to Dallas, Detroit to Baton Rouge, the heart of New York City to the smallest hamlets of our country. It is a music of the people, one that has provided hope and inspiration for generations of Americans.

Gospel music has come to influence singers and composers of all popular forms, including jazz, the blues, and soul music. The rhythm and expressiveness-the very feeling-has become an important part of our culture and a vital part of our heritage.

Our Nation owes a great debt of gratitude to those who preserve and bring to life Gospel music in our churches, in recordings, in concerts, and through the media. It is in our national interest to promote and support Gospel music so that generations to come may enjoy and appreciate it. In so doing, we will gain a greater understanding of the breadth and vitality of the human spirit and its indomitable faith as it is expressed through the beauty of song.

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 157, has designated the year of 1994 as "The Year of Gospel Music" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this year.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the year of 1994 as The Year of Gospel Music. I urge all Americans to celebrate Gospel music with appropriate ceremonies and activities and to reflect on the role that this music has in reinvigorating and renewing our souls and our communities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and of the independence of the United States of America the two hundred and nineteenth.

William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 1:40 p.m., October 28, 1994]