[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 320 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 320

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                        April 21, 2009.
Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin was born on January 2, 1915, in Rentiesville, 
        Oklahoma, the grandson of a slave and the son of Buck Colbert Franklin, 
        one of the first Black lawyers in the Oklahoma Indian territory, and 
        Mollie Parker Franklin, a schoolteacher and community leader;
Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin, a noted historian, made significant academic and 
        civic contributions that helped integrate the African-American narrative 
        into American history;
Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin was a graduate of Fisk University and a recipient 
        of a Ph.D. degree in history from Harvard University;
Whereas in 1936, Dr. John Hope Franklin was appointed to the faculty of Fisk 
        University as Instructor of History and subsequently served as Professor 
        of History at St. Augustine's College, North Carolina Central 
        University, and Howard University;
Whereas in 1956, Dr. John Hope Franklin became the Chairman of the Department of 
        History at Brooklyn College, the first African-American to lead a 
        department at a predominately White institution and later became the 
        first African-American professor to hold an endowed chair at Duke 
        University;
Whereas in 1964, Dr. John Hope Franklin joined the faculty of the University of 
        Chicago, serving as Professor of American History, Chairman of the 
        Department of History from 1967 to 1970, and the John Matthews Manly 
        Distinguished Service Professor from 1969 to 1982 when he became 
        Professor Emeritus of History;
Whereas in 1982, Dr. John Hope Franklin joined the faculty at Duke University 
        and served until his passing, holding such positions as the James B. 
        Duke Professor of History, Professor of Legal History at Duke University 
        Law School, the James B. Duke Professor of History Emeritus, Duke 
        University;
Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin's numerous publications include ``From Slavery to 
        Freedom: A History of Negro Americans'', widely considered the 
        preeminent history of the African-American experience in the United 
        States, ``The Emancipation Proclamation'', ``The Militant South'', ``The 
        Free Negro in North Carolina'', ``Reconstruction After the Civil War'', 
        ``A Southern Odyssey: Travelers in the Ante-bellum North'', and his 
        influential autobiography ``Mirror to America: The Autobiography of John 
        Hope Franklin'';
Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin's research contributed to the success of Thurgood 
        Marshall and the NAACP's legal victory in the landmark 1954 Supreme 
        Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, which ended the ``separate but 
        equal'' doctrine in America's public schools;
Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin was active in numerous professional and 
        educational organizations including serving as President of The 
        Organization of American Historians, the American Studies Association, 
        the Southern Historical Association, the United Chapters of Phi Beta 
        Kappa, and the first African-American to serve as President of the 
        American Historical Association;
Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin served on many national commissions and 
        delegations, including the National Council on the Humanities, Advisory 
        Commission on Public Diplomacy, and as chair of President Clinton's Race 
        Initiative Advisory Board in 1997;
Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin was the recipient of numerous awards and 
        accolades, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1995, the 
        inaugural W.E.B. DuBois Award from Fisk University Alumni Association, 
        the Organization of American Historians' Award for Outstanding 
        Achievement, the Alpha Phi Alpha Award of Merit, the NAACP's Spingarn 
        Medal, and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the American Academy of Arts 
        and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society in 2007;
Whereas in 1996, Dr. John Hope Franklin was named ``Historian of the Century'' 
        by Duke University, North Carolina State University, North Carolina 
        Central University, and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill;
Whereas in 1998, Dr. John Hope Franklin was inducted into the North Carolina 
        Literary Hall of Fame;
Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin inspired the John Hope Franklin Center for 
        Interdisciplinary & International Studies at Duke University, a 
        consortium of academic programs that encourage creative scholarship, the 
        exchange of ideas, and a variety of perspectives and methodologies to 
        revitalize notions of how knowledge is gain and shared;
Whereas Dr. Franklin described historians as ``the conscience of the nation, if 
        honesty and consistency are factors that nurture the conscience'', and 
        his contributions to the study of American history fundamentally 
        challenged and changed the manner in which the Nation collectively 
        interprets its past and understands its present;
Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin was a true scholar and soldier for justice whose 
        chronicling of American history affirmed the dignity of Black people 
        while giving us all a richer understanding of who we are as Americans 
        and our journey as a people;
Whereas generations of young historians have been inspired and personally 
        influenced by Dr. Franklin's keen intellect, graceful humility, and 
        humor in the classroom, and will ensure the endurance of his towering 
        legacy; and
Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin passed away on March 25, 2009, in Durham, North 
        Carolina, and will be deeply missed: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) honors the life and achievements of Dr. John Hope Franklin; and
            (2) encourages the Nation to recognize his academic contributions, 
        scholarship, and service to the American society and history.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.