[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 42 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 42

    Recognizing the contributions of the New York Public Library's 
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in educating the people 
 of the United States about the African-American migration experience, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 10, 2009

  Mr. Rangel submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
    Recognizing the contributions of the New York Public Library's 
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in educating the people 
 of the United States about the African-American migration experience, 
                        and for other purposes.

Whereas, during Black History Month, it is important that we acknowledge the 
        struggle and suffering of the more than 12,000,000 men, women, and 
        children, who were transported in bondage from their African homelands 
        to the Americas, and the native-born 1,200,000 men, women, and children, 
        who were displaced in the forced migration that was the domestic slave 
        trade, but also to acknowledge migrations of African-Americans between 
        the regions and continents that were voluntary and motivated by free 
        will, ambition, and courage;
Whereas an estimated 50,000 African-Americans attempted or succeeded in running 
        away to freedom to northern cities, Canada, the western territories of 
        the United States, and Mexico;
Whereas discrimination, political suppression, and economic privation led 
        thousands of African-Americans to search for equality and freedom 
        through emigration or colonization in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Haiti, and 
        other African and Caribbean countries;
Whereas political unrest and revolution led to a wave of black immigrants from 
        Haiti to the United States, and these immigrants settled in Georgia, New 
        York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, but primarily 
        in Louisiana, bringing with them a commitment to the principles of a 
        free and mobile society, a legacy of revolutionary republicanism, an 
        unflagging commitment to the democratic ideals of the romantic era, and 
        the courage to challenge racial oppression;
Whereas the search for freedom and opportunity led African-Americans in years 
        before the Civil War and in the antebellum era to engage in a series of 
        migrations, with the western migration moving to California, the 
        Dakotas, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, 
        Utah, and Washington, and the northern migration populating cities in 
        the east and west, including Boston, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, New 
        Bedford, New York, Philadelphia, and Providence;
Whereas the ongoing quest for economic opportunity and equality inspired the 
        Great Migration, from 1916 to 1930, when more than one-tenth of the 
        country's black population moved northward and began the nationalization 
        of the African-American population, and was followed by the Second Great 
        Migration, from 1946 to the 1970s, when 5,000,000 African-Americans left 
        the South for urban centers in the North and West, leading to the 
        concentration of these populations in cities, and a growing political, 
        social and cultural movement;
Whereas 4,500,000 United States residents traced their national origins to 
        Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic by 2000, and these 
        immigrants and their descendents reshaped the cultural landscape of 
        American communities and contributed to eroding the traditional 
        dichotomy between Black and White people that has been prevalent in 
        United States history;
Whereas, over the past 30 years, more Africans have come voluntarily to the 
        United States than came during the era of the transatlantic slave trade, 
        and these immigrants, often from Sub-Saharan Africa, have been quick to 
        seize educational and professional opportunities and have established 
        themselves as one of the most dynamic and entrepreneurial groups in the 
        country;
Whereas the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black 
        Culture has created an Internet presentation called ``In Motion: The 
        African-American Migration Experience'' that presents the history of the 
        great migrations of the African-American people across oceans and over 
        continents to diverse countries, regions, and island nations, and back 
        across geographic divides, from rural agricultural lands to urban 
        landscapes, from slavery and debasement to freedom and triumph; and
Whereas based on the resources of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black 
        Culture, ``In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience'' 
        describes 13 defining migrations that transformed the United States, 
        Africa, and the Caribbean using 13 individual narratives, with more than 
        16,500 pages of texts, 8,300 illustrations, 60 maps, and provides 
        additional resources for students, including essays, books, articles, 
        and manuscripts, as well as lesson plans for teachers: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) recognizes the contributions of the New York Public 
        Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in 
        educating the people of the United States about the African-
        American migration experience;
            (2) acknowledges the displacement, suffering, and loss of 
        life and freedom that forced the movement of populations from 
        the lands of their birth in the transatlantic and domestic 
        slave trade, and reaffirms the commitment to achieving racial, 
        social, and political equality in the memory of those who lived 
        and died in bondage;
            (3) honors the courage, initiative, and self-reliance of 
        immigrants who left their homeland in search of opportunity, 
        prosperity, and social justice, and braved hardships, inequity, 
        violence, and discrimination, while recommitting the United 
        States to relieving inequities and conquering injustices that 
        pressure migrations and displace people from their homes; and
            (4) recommits itself to the goal of educating the racially 
        diverse population of the United States to honor African-
        American migration as part of a common migratory tradition and 
        to providing further support for library projects that provide 
        a comprehensive history that illuminates the past and informs 
        our common future.
                                 <all>