April 19-25 is National Crime Victims’ Rights Week

This year marks the 45th annual National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, first proclaimed in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan. The 2026 theme is “Listen. Act. Advocate. Protect victims, serve communities.”

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is an important time to honor the strength and resilience of survivors, recognize the dedicated professionals and organizations that support them, and reaffirm our commitment to ensuring victims’ voices are heard in the justice system. Crime affects people physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually, and no one should face those impacts alone.
The week highlights the more than 12,000 victim service programs nationwide that provide critical support, backed by more than 32,000 laws protecting victims’ rights. It also encourages communities to confront barriers to justice, forge partnerships and strengthen services for survivors.
For more information about National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, resources and ways to get involved, visit the Office for Victims of Crime website at ovc.ojp.gov/ncvrw2026 or the National Center for Victims of Crime at victimsofcrime.org.

President's Day: President Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Speech, 1984

In Ronald Reagan's State of the Union speech, delivered on January 25, 1984, the 40th president championed peace, democracy, and freedom in a time of global tension:

President's Day: President Ronald Reagan's Farewell Address to the Nation. January 11, 1989

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Ronald Reagan:

"Each year on Martin Luther King Day, let us not only recall Dr. King, but rededicate ourselves to the Commandments he believed in and sought to live every day: Thou shall love thy God with all thy heart, and thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. And I just have to believe that all of us -- if all of us, young and old, Republicans and Democrats, do all we can to live up to those Commandments, then we will see the day when Dr. King's dream comes true, and in his words, "All of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning. . . land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

(President Reagan, Coretta Scott King, Bob Dole and others at the signing ceremony for HR 3706 making the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. a national holiday. 11/2/1983)

Memorial Day: Honor the Fallen

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Ronald Reagan:

"Each year on Martin Luther King Day, let us not only recall Dr. King, but rededicate ourselves to the Commandments he believed in and sought to live every day: Thou shall love thy God with all thy heart, and thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. And I just have to believe that all of us -- if all of us, young and old, Republicans and Democrats, do all we can to live up to those Commandments, then we will see the day when Dr. King's dream comes true, and in his words, "All of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning. . . land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

(President Reagan, Coretta Scott King, Bob Dole and others at the signing ceremony for HR 3706 making the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. a national holiday. 11/2/1983)

Happy Independence Day

Memorial Day, 2022

Ronald Reagan Memorial Day Remarks at Arlington National Cemetery, 1986:

Martin Luther King Day

Ronald Reagan:

"Each year on Martin Luther King Day, let us not only recall Dr. King, but rededicate ourselves to the Commandments he believed in and sought to live every day: Thou shall love thy God with all thy heart, and thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. And I just have to believe that all of us -- if all of us, young and old, Republicans and Democrats, do all we can to live up to those Commandments, then we will see the day when Dr. King's dream comes true, and in his words, "All of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning. . . land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

(President Reagan, Coretta Scott King, Bob Dole and others at the signing ceremony for HR 3706 making the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. a national holiday. 11/2/1983)