May 3, 1988
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
We do well to salute Americans of Asian and Pacific ancestry for their accomplishments and for those of their forebears who through the decades have offered our land their talents, their determination, and a truly immeasurable gift, the treasure of their ancient heritages.
The contributions of Asian and Pacific Americans and their cultural vitality have benefited the United States in countless ways. Not least among them have been deep appreciation of the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that form the core of the American ethos, and the willingness and ability to defend these treasures always. Asian and Pacific Americans have won distinction in every field, and continue to strengthen our Nation with industry, initiative, and love of country; that is cause for rejoicing among all Americans, during Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week and the entire year.
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, 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 the week beginning May 8, 1988, as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 3rd day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twelfth.
Ronald Reagan
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:51 p.m., May 4, 1988]