When is this week celebrated? May 1-7
What is National Proud to Be An American Week?
We are all very fortunate to live in this great country. It is easy to lose sight of this in the current political climate and prevailing tide of partisanship and civil division. In fact, a recent Gallup Poll from July 2018 shows that, for the first time in Gallup’s polling history, only a minority of Americans said they were extremely proud to be an American. The Texas Young Lawyers Association (“TYLA”) signature public service project for 2019, Proud to Be an American, is designed to turn this tide and to demonstrate to students how truly lucky we are as citizens of this country to have the rights and freedoms that we all enjoy, and sometimes take for granted.
Our hope is that Proud to Be An American Week will be celebrated throughout all the schools as a way for students to be reminded of the privileges and rights that we all have. Most national holidays, those holidays that most of us consider to be “patriotic holidays,” fall during the summer months. Our hope is that by having Proud to Be An American Week during a time that children are still in school, will provide teachers the opportunity to emphasize how lucky we all are to call America home.
Why is this week being created?
The Texas Young Lawyers Association (“TYLA”) is set to launch its new signature project, Proud to Be an American, a duo of videos that educates students K-12 on the rights and responsibilities of being a U.S. Citizen. It is the brainchild of TYLA President Sally Pretorius, who came up with the project after touring detention centers along the Mexican border. After hearing the harrowing tales from refugee children and their motivations for coming to the U.S., President Pretorius was galvanized to remind students about the privileges and rights we are granted as American citizens. We should not take for granted all of the privileges and rights that we are afforded by living in the U.S.
How will this week be celebrated?
The Texas Young Lawyers Association (“TYLA”) will encourage all of its 27,000 members to go out to their local schools and present TYLA’s Proud to Be An American project. The goal is to make this into a big patriotic celebration and have the students understand and be proud of being Americans. We will encourage schools to have their students dress up in patriotic costumes during Proud to Be an American Week.