Franklin D. Roosevelt

Greeting on the Seventy-fourth Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

September 16, 1936

My dear Bishop Wright:

I appreciated the opportunity of extending greetings to all those who are planning to participate in the celebration of the Seventy-fourth Anniversary of the issuance of the Preliminary Proclamation of Emancipation by President Lincoln.

It is an occasion for recalling the great progress which Negroes have made as citizens of our Republic. It also is an occasion for remembering that in the truest sense freedom cannot be bestowed, it must be achieved; and that there must be constant vigilance if it is to be maintained. The record which our Negro citizens have made in their own personal and racial development and their contribution to the material advancement of our country and to the promotion of its ideals are well known.

I heartily congratulate them on their record, and hope that in the future, as in the past, they will continue to show intelligence, industry and fortitude in striving for the best our Democracy offers.

Very sincerely yours,

Right Reverend R. R. Wright, Jr.,

Bishop, African Methodist Episcopal Church,

New York, N. Y.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Greeting on the Seventy-fourth Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/209078

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