115 STAT. 2600 PROCLAMATION 7405—FEB. 5, 2001 yet stories of everyday people rising above their circumstances and the prejudice of others to build lives of dignity. This month, and throughout the year, let us celebrate and remember these stories, which reflect the history of African Americans and all Americans. We can all enjoy the vk^orks of writers like Paul Laurence Dunbar, James Weldon Johnson, Zora Neale Hurston, and Langston Hughes. In our Nation's schools, our children can learn to admire Booker T. Washington, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, and others. And Americans from all backgrounds can be ennobled by the examples of Thurgood Marshall, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, Mary Church Terrell, and other civil rights leaders. As we celebrate African American History Month, let us commit ourselves to raising awareness and appreciation of African American history. Let us teach our children, and all Americans, to rise above brutality and bigotry and to be champions of liberty, human dignity, and equality. And let us rededicate ourselves to affirming the promise of our Constitution. NOW, THEREFORE, L GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2001 as National African American History Month. I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all of the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth. GEORGE W. BUSH Proclamation 7405 of February 5, 2001 National Consumer Protection Week By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation More Americans than ever are realizing the American dream of homeownership. At the same time, an increasing number of homeowners are living the nightmare of overwhelming debt and home foreclosure resulting from fraudulent lending practices. Subprime lending—the extension of high-rate, high-fee loans to people considered to be high-risk borrowers—has grown substantially in recent years. Unfortunately, fraudulent and abusive lending practices have also grown. High-cost lending is not limited to home mortgages. Check cashing outlets, payday loan companies, rent-to-own stores, subprime auto lenders, and pawn shops are additional examples of high-cost lenders. While it is crucial that as many consumers as possible have access to credit, their access must not be hindered by unlawful lending practices. Federal law enforcement agencies have increased their enforcement activities to stop lenders who engage in fraudulent and abusive
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