September 17th is Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. I was alerted about this important day through the Latina Initiative, which is an organization founded “to more fully engage and empower Latinas in the issues and decisions that impact their lives and the health and well-being of their families and communities. LI recognizes the culturally-respected and influential role Latinas play as leaders and role models.” They have registered thousands of latinas to vote, and are helping many latinas get citizenship in the US> I’ve included an overview of the history of this important day from the Library of Congress below:
Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is observed each year on September 17 to commemorate the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787 and “recognize all who, by coming of age or by naturalization, have become citizens.”
This commemoration had its origin in 1940, when Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing and requesting the President to issue annually a proclamation setting aside the third Sunday in May for the public recognition of all who had attained the status of American citizenship. The designation for this day was “I Am An American Day.”
In 1952 Congress repealed this joint resolution and passed a new law moving the date to September 17 to commemorate “the formation and signing, on September 17, 1787, of the Constitution of the United States” but the day was designated “Citizenship Day” and also retained its original purpose of recognizing all those who had attained the status of American citizenship.
The law urged civil and educational authorities of States, counties, cities and towns to make plans for the proper observance of the day and “for the complete instruction of citizens in their responsibilities and opportunities as citizens of the United States and of the State and locality in which they reside.”
In 2004, Congress changed the designation of this day to “Constitution Day and Citizenship Day” and also added two additional provisions: first, that the head of each federal agency provide each new employee with educational and training materials concerning the Constitution and also provide such materials to every employee on September 17 of each year; and second, that each educational institution that receives Federal funds shall hold an educational program on the Constitution for students on September 17 of each year.
For more information, visit the Library of Congress website and the Latina Initiative.
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