Putting a presidential seal on a celebration that has been practiced annually in the black community for decades, President Barack Obama officially proclaims June 2010 as African American Music Appreciation Month.
Obama said black music has helped provide a colorful and unforgettable soundtrack to the lives of tens of millions worldwide. He also cited the transcendent and uplifting properties in the music that helped buoy an oppressed people through an assortment of atrocities throughout the annals of American history.
“African American music has conveyed the hopes and hardships of a people who have struggled, persevered and overcome. Through centuries of injustice, music comforted slaves, fueled a cultural renaissance, and sustained a movement for equality,” the President said in an official statement distributed by the White House.
In a twist of fate that’s ironic, tragic and somehow fitting, June 2010 also marks the one-year anniversary of the death of the artist who arguably best exemplified what Obama talked about: Michael Jackson.
Below, tead the rest of the President’s words celebrating black music during the month of June. —terry shropshire
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Music can tell a story, assuage our sorrows, provide
blessing and redemption, and express a soul’s sublime and
powerful beauty. It inspires us daily, giving voice to the
human spirit. For many, including the African-American
community, music unites individuals through a shared heritage.
During African-American Music Appreciation Month, we celebrate the extraordinary legacy of African-American singers, composers, and musicians, as well as their indelible contributions to our Nation and our world.
Throughout our history, African-American music has
conveyed the hopes and hardships of a people who have struggled, persevered and overcome. Through centuries of injustice, music comforted slaves, fueled a cultural renaissance, and sustained a movement for equality.
Today, from the shores of Africa and the islands of the Caribbean to the jazz clubs of New Orleans and the music halls of Detroit, African-American music reflects the
rich sounds of many experiences, cultures, and locales.
African-American musicians have created and expanded
a variety of musical genres, synthesizing diverse artistic
traditions into a distinctive soundscape. The soulful strains of gospel, the harmonic and improvisational innovations of jazz, the simple truth of the blues, the rhythms of rock and roll, and the urban themes of hip-hop all blend into a refrain of song and narrative that traces our Nation’s history.
These quintessentially American styles of music have helped
provide a common soundtrack for people of diverse cultures and backgrounds, and have joined Americans together not just on the dance floor, but also in our churches, in our public spaces, and in our homes. This month, we honor the talent and genius of African-American artists who have defined, shaped, and enriched our country through music, and we recommit to sharing their splendid gifts with our children and grandchildren.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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 June 2010 as African-American Music Appreciation Month. I call upon public officials, educators, and the people more of the United States to observe this month with appropriate activities and programs that raise awareness and foster appreciation of African-American music.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord
two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
BARACK OBAMA
