heart health and end childhood obesity within a generation, First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative is encouraging healthy eating habits and promoting physical activity among families and young people. The National Institutes of Health is pursuing cutting-edge research to unlock new treatments for cardiovascular disease. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working in communities across our country to help reduce risk factors and prevent heart disease.
During American Heart Month, we also highlight The Heart Truth, a national awareness campaign that urges women of all ages to know their risk for heart disease. In recognition of this vital task, I encourage men and women across America to observe National Wear Red Day on Friday, February 3, and to show their support by wearing red or the campaign’s Red Dress Pin. To learn more about The Heart Truth or National Wear Red Day, visit: www.HeartTruth.gov.
In acknowledgement of the importance of the ongoing fight against cardiovascular disease, the Congress, by Joint Resolution approved December 30, 1963, as amended (77 Stat. 843; 36 U.S.C. 101), has requested that the President issue an annual proclamation designating February as ‘‘American Heart Month.’’
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim February 2012 as American Heart Month, and I invite all Americans to participate in National Wear Red Day on February 3, 2012. I also invite the Governors of the States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, officials of other areas subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and the American people to join me in recognizing and reaffirming our commitment to fighting cardiovascular disease.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.
Proclamation 8776 of January 31, 2012
National African American History Month, 2012
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
The story of African Americans is a story of resilience and perseverance. It traces a people who refused to accept the circumstances under which they arrived on these shores, and it chronicles the generations who fought for an America that truly reflects the ideals enshrined in our founding documents. It is the narrative of slaves who shepherded others along the path to freedom and preachers who organized against the rules of Jim Crow, of young people who sat-in at lunch counters and ordinary men and women who took extraordinary risks to change our Nation for the better. During National African American History Month, we celebrate the rich legacy of African Americans and honor the remarkable contributions they have made to perfecting our Union.
4
