纪念华盛顿大游行50周年公告
2013.08.26
白宫
新闻秘书办公室
2013年8月23日
争取工作和自由华盛顿大游行50周年
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美利坚合众国总统
公告
1963年8月28日，成千上万的民众在国家大草坪（National Mall）举行集会，参加牧师马丁·路德·金博士（Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr.）所说的“我国历史上最伟大的争取自由的示威活动”。大草坪四周示威者云集——从林肯纪念堂（Lincoln Memorial）前的台阶、倒影池（reflecting pool）平静的池水四周，到华盛顿纪念碑（Washington Monument）令人自豪的底座。参加集会的民众有男有女；有年轻人也有老人；有黑人、白人、拉美裔、亚裔及美国原住民（Native American）。他们宛如编织而成的宏伟的美国织锦，心怀同一个梦想，希望我们的国家将来有一天实现人人获得自由、平等和公正的承诺。
华盛顿大游行使整个夏季表达不满情绪的活动达到最高潮。当时人们争取民权的嘹亮呼声遭遇到监禁、炸弹威胁及卑劣的暴行。许多游行民众遭到警棍的殴打或消防水龙头的冲击。然而，他们选择了非暴力的方式进行抵抗，以高度的尊严激起我们国家的良知，为民权运动（Civil Rights Movement）的两项重大胜利，1964年的《民权法案》（Civil Rights Act）和1965年的《投票权法》（Voting Rights Act）铺平了道路。
今天，我们纪念华盛顿大游行，这是一次争取工作和自由的示威游行。这个发起民权运动的联盟懂得，种族平等和工人的公平待遇两者密不可分，当一位美国人遭遇不公平待遇，所有人的公正都受到危害。我们铭记这些教训——我们不能踽踽独行，我们只有承认我们共同的人性，美国才能繁荣鼎盛；我们的未来与地球上每一个人的命运息息相关。
仅仅自豪地回顾民权运动取得的胜利是不够的。为了纪念那些在国家大草坪上留下足迹的每一名男女老少，我们必须在我们的时代取得进步。让我们抵制偏见——无论在投票站还是在职场上，无论在我们的街道上还是在我们心中；让我们以金博士的话为我们的誓言，“不达到公正似水奔流，正义如泉喷涌，我们决不会满意。”
为此，我，美利坚合众国总统巴克拉‧欧巴马，以宪法和美国法律赋予我的权力，特此宣布2013年8月28日为“争取工作和自由华盛顿大游行”（March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom）50周年纪念日。我呼吁美国人民通过适当的节目、仪式和活动来纪念华盛顿大游行，推进争取工作和自由的伟大事业。
我谨于公元2013年，即美利坚合众国独立238年之8月23日，亲笔在此签名为证。
巴克拉‧欧巴马（BARACK OBAMA）
Proclamation on 50th Anniversary of March on Washington
23 August 2013
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
August 23, 2013
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON
FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM
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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
On August 28, 1963, hundreds of thousands converged on the National Mall to take part in what the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., called "the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation." Demonstrators filled the landscape -- from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, alongside the still waters of the reflecting pool, to the proud base of the Washington Monument. They were men and women; young and old; black, white, Latino, Asian, and Native American -- woven together like a great American tapestry, sharing in the dream that our Nation would one day make real the promise of liberty, equality, and justice for all.
The March on Washington capped off a summer of discontent, a time when the clarion call for civil rights was met with imprisonment, bomb threats, and base brutality. Many of the marchers had endured the smack of a billy club or the blast of a fire hose. Yet they chose to respond with nonviolent resistance, with a fierce dignity that stirred our Nation's conscience and paved the way for two major victories of the Civil Rights Movement -- the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Today, we remember that the March on Washington was a demonstration for jobs as well as freedom. The coalition that brought about civil rights understood that racial equality and fairness for workers are bound together; when one American gets a raw deal, it jeopardizes justice for everyone. These are lessons we carry forward -- that we cannot march alone, that America flourishes best when we acknowledge our common humanity, that our future is linked to the destiny of every soul on earth.
It is not enough to reflect with pride on the victories of the Civil Rights Movement. In honor of every man, woman, and child who left footprints on the National Mall, we must make progress in our time. Let us guard against prejudice -- whether at the polls or in the workplace, whether on our streets or in our hearts -- and let us pledge that, in the words of Dr. King, "we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream."
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 August 28, 2013, as the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that celebrate the March on Washington and advance the great causes of jobs and freedom.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-third day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.
BARACK OBAMA |
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