[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1085 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1085

Honoring and celebrating the contributions of African-Americans to the 
        transportation and infrastructure of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 22, 2010

Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida (for herself, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Cummings, 
 Ms. Richardson, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mrs. Napolitano, 
   Mr. Hare, Mr. Perriello, Mr. Boswell, Mr. Sires, Mr. Filner, Ms. 
Norton, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Edwards of Maryland, Mr. Shuler, Ms. Hirono, Mr. 
 Holden, Mr. Costello, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Johnson 
  of Georgia, Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas, Mr. Meek of Florida, and Mr. 
 Towns) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Honoring and celebrating the contributions of African-Americans to the 
        transportation and infrastructure of the United States.

Whereas African-Americans have played an instrumental role in developing and 
        improving the transportation and infrastructure of the United States 
        through leadership, design, and innovation;
Whereas the contributions of African-Americans have had significant and far-
        reaching impacts on modern transportation systems, including airways, 
        highways, and railways, and have led to momentous improvements to 
        transportation safety and security;
Whereas, in aviation, for example, Elizabeth ``Bessie'' Coleman, a daring stunt 
        pilot known as ``Queen Bess'', was the first African-American woman to 
        become a licensed airplane pilot in 1921 and the first United States 
        citizen of any race or gender to hold an international aviation license 
        from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale;
Whereas Eugene Jaques Bullard was the first African-American military pilot in 
        history, serving as a United States volunteer in the French army during 
        World War I;
Whereas Cornelius R. Coffey established the Coffey School of Aeronautics at 
        Harlem Airport in Chicago, where more than 1,500 African-American 
        students trained as pilots and mechanics from 1938 to 1945, including 
        many who would later become Tuskegee Airmen;
Whereas Willa Beatrice Brown, the first African-American woman to receive a 
        United States private pilot license in 1938, helped found the National 
        Airmen's Association of America in 1939, later became the coordinator of 
        war-training service for the Civil Aeronautics Authority, and served as 
        the first African-American female officer in the Civil Air Patrol;
Whereas Neil V. Loving helped form an all African-American Civil Air Patrol 
        Squadron in Detroit, established the Wayne School of Aeronautics in 
        1946, designed and built several experimental aircraft, and performed 
        critical research as an aerospace engineer for the United States Air 
        Force;
Whereas Marlon Green became the first African-American pilot for a major airline 
        in 1965 after winning a landmark racial discrimination employment case 
        in the Supreme Court of the United States, and served earlier in his 
        career as a Captain in the United States Air Force for 9 years;
Whereas the Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American airmen, aircraft and 
        engine mechanics, armament specialists, radio repairmen, parachute 
        riggers, control tower operators, policemen, and administrative clerks 
        during World War II, and whose service and performance were instrumental 
        in ending segregation in the United States military;
Whereas Dr. Lewis A. Jackson, an aviation pioneer and educator, was the director 
        of training at the Army Air Force 66th Flight Training Detatchment at 
        Moton Field, the primary flight training site for the Tuskegee Airmen, 
        and also pursued designing an experimental aircraft called a roadable 
        airplane;
Whereas Elinor Williams became the first African-American woman to be an air 
        traffic controller in 1968 and the first African-American woman to 
        manage an Air Route Traffic Control Center, who then went on to become 
        the regional administrator of the Great Lakes Region for the Federal 
        Aviation Administration;
Whereas LeRoy Wilton Homer, Jr., courageously served as the first officer of 
        United Airlines Flight 93, which was overtaken by terrorists on 
        September 11, 2001, and previously served in the United States Air Force 
        in the Persian Gulf War;
Whereas Barrington Irving became the first African-American and youngest 
        individual at 23 to fly solo around-the-world in his custom-built 
        Columbia 400 named Inspiration in June 2007, and founded the non-profit 
        organization Experience Aviation, Inc. to introduce youth to aviation 
        and aerospace and to address the shortage of young people pursuing 
        careers in those fields;
Whereas African-Americans have also played important roles in shaping the 
        Nation's highways, bridges, and transit and rail systems throughout the 
        country's history through innovation, pioneering new technologies, and 
        building the infrastructure that connects the Nation and enables 
        economic growth and prosperity;
Whereas Garrett A. Morgan invented the Automatic Traffic Signal, a precursor to 
        the modern traffic light;
Whereas Horace King became known as ``The Bridge Builder'' for his work 
        rebuilding bridges throughout Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, 
        Alabama, New York, and many other States and passed on his legacy to his 
        children through the family business, the Bridge Company;
Whereas Archibald Alexander placed his mark on the Nation's capital by designing 
        the Tidal Basin Bridge and the Whitehurst Freeway in Washington, DC;
Whereas the all African-American 93rd, 95th, and 97th Army Engineer General 
        Service Regiments overcame harsh environmental conditions and racial 
        discrimination to help build the most difficult and hazardous portion of 
        the Alaska Highway;
Whereas Frederick M. Jones patented the air-conditioning controlling device to 
        enable the transportation of perishable food using trucks and rail cars, 
        and also patented the gas engine starter and a control device for 
        internal combustion engines;
Whereas Richard Spikes is credited with the invention of such advancements as 
        the automatic car washer, automobile directional signs, the automatic 
        gear shift and transmission, and the automatic safety brake system;
Whereas M.A. Cherry invented a device known as the Velocipede, a precursor to 
        the bicycle, and the streetcar fender, designed to prevent collisions 
        with debris on streetcar tracks;
Whereas Issac R. Johnson invented the bicycle frame in 1899;
Whereas Humphrey Reynolds invented the safety gate for bridges to prevent cars 
        and pedestrians from entering the tracks at the same time a train is 
        approaching;
Whereas Benjamin Banneker, an astronomer, surveyor, almanac author, and farmer, 
        helped survey the boundaries of what became the District of Columbia;
Whereas Walter McClennan invented the automatic railway car door in 1920;
Whereas Elijah McCoy, a fireman and oiler for the Michigan Central Railroad, 
        developed a ``lubricating cup'' in 1872 to automatically oil steam 
        engines on trains, which dramatically improved efficiency by eliminating 
        the frequent stopping necessary for lubrication of the engine;
Whereas other inventors attempted to sell their own versions of the 
        ``lubricating cup'' but most companies wanted the authentic device for 
        their trains, requesting ``the Real McCoy'';
Whereas according to Booker T. Washington, McCoy had produced more patents than 
        any other African-American inventor of his time, many of which 
        contributed to the railroad industry;
Whereas McCoy was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, 
        Ohio, in 2001;
Whereas Granville T. Woods invented over a dozen devices to improve the railroad 
        system including his most notable invention in 1887, the Synchronous 
        Multiplex Railway Telegraph, which enabled communications between moving 
        and stationary trains creating a system that enabled a railroad engineer 
        to determine the distance between trains to help improve accidents and 
        collisions;
Whereas Woods also founded the Woods Railway Telegraph Company and is credited 
        with the development of a system for overhead electrified railroads, 
        patented several overhead wire and third rail transmissions systems, and 
        made improvements to the steam-boiler furnace;
Whereas Andrew Beard, an ex-railroad worker who lost his leg in a car coupling 
        accident, invented a device in 1897 that automatically performs the 
        dangerous job of linking rail cars together, commonly called the Jenny 
        Coupler, the device served as the precursor for the modern system;
Whereas Lewis Howard Latimer, who drafted the patent drawings for Alexander 
        Graham Bell's patent application for the telephone and established 
        public lighting systems for entire cities like New York City, Montreal, 
        Paris, and London, invented a flushing water closet for trains in 1874;
Whereas, A.B. Blackburn patented a railway signal in 1888 designed to be 
        operated by the wheels of a train;
Whereas W.F. Burr invented a railway switching device in 1899;
Whereas Elbert R. Robinson invented the electric railway trolley in 1893;
Whereas the work of many influential African-Americans through the civil rights 
        movement and other social and political movements in the United States 
        led to desegregation in transportation as well as significant 
        improvements to the working conditions and rights of transportation 
        workers throughout the United States;
Whereas Rosa Parks, Homer Plessy, and many other civil rights activists insisted 
        on equitable access to public transportation;
Whereas Pullman Porters, which provided service to and attended to the needs of 
        passengers on board trains, became leaders in the civil rights movement 
        and formed the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925, under the 
        leadership of civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph, who fought 
        tirelessly to improve the working conditions and pay for the Pullman 
        Porters;
Whereas the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was the first African-American 
        labor union to sign a collective bargaining agreement with a major 
        United States corporation on August 25, 1937; and
Whereas National African American History Month is celebrated in February 2010: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of National African 
        American History Month;
            (2) honors and celebrates the important contributions that 
        African-Americans have made throughout history to the 
        transportation and infrastructure of the United States; and
            (3) urges citizens and communities throughout the United 
        States to join with representatives of the Federal Government 
        to recognize the substantial contributions that African-
        Americans have made and continue to make to the Nation's 
        transportation and infrastructure systems.
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