[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 19 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 19

 Honoring and praising the National Association for the Advancement of 
        Colored People on the occasion of its 102nd anniversary.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 17, 2011

Mr. Al Green of Texas (for himself, Mr. Baca, Ms. Matsui, Ms. Bordallo, 
 Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. 
  Ross of Arkansas, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Ms. Brown of 
Florida, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Norton, Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas, Mr. Johnson 
of Georgia, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Cummings, Ms. Sewell, Ms. Lee of 
   California, Mr. Filner, Ms. Moore, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Rangel, Mrs. 
 Napolitano, Mr. Honda, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, 
  Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. 
   Markey, Mr. Watt, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of 
 California, Ms. Fudge, Mr. Richmond, Mr. Holt, Mr. Clay, Ms. Woolsey, 
Ms. Richardson, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Waters, 
 and Ms. Chu) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Honoring and praising the National Association for the Advancement of 
        Colored People on the occasion of its 102nd anniversary.

Whereas the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 
        originally known as the National Negro Committee, was founded in New 
        York City on February 12, 1909, the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's 
        birth, by a multiracial group of activists who met in a national 
        conference to discuss the civil and political rights of African-
        Americans;
Whereas the NAACP was founded by a distinguished group of leaders in the 
        struggle for civil and political liberty, including Ida Wells-Barnett, 
        W.E.B. DuBois, Henry Moscowitz, Mary White Ovington, Oswald Garrison 
        Villard, and William English Walling;
Whereas the NAACP is the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the 
        United States;
Whereas the NAACP National Headquarters is located in Baltimore, Maryland;
Whereas the mission of the NAACP is to ensure the political, educational, 
        social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate 
        racial hatred and racial discrimination;
Whereas the NAACP is committed to achieving its goals through nonviolence;
Whereas the NAACP advances its mission through reliance upon the press, the 
        petition, the ballot, and the courts, and has been persistent in the use 
        of legal and moral persuasion, even in the face of overt and violent 
        racial hostility;
Whereas the NAACP has used political pressure, marches, demonstrations, and 
        effective lobbying to serve as the voice, as well as the shield, for 
        minorities in the United States;
Whereas after years of fighting segregation in public schools, the NAACP, under 
        the leadership of Special Counsel Thurgood Marshall, won one of its 
        greatest legal victories in the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. 
        Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954);
Whereas in 1955, NAACP member Rosa Parks was arrested and fined for refusing to 
        give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, an act of 
        courage that would serve as the catalyst for the largest grassroots 
        civil rights movement in the history of the United States;
Whereas the NAACP was prominent in lobbying for the passage of the Civil Rights 
        Acts of 1957, 1960, and 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Fannie 
        Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, Cesar E. Chavez, Barbara C. 
        Jordan, William C. Velasquez, and Dr. Hector P. Garcia Voting Rights Act 
        Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006, and the Fair Housing Act, 
        laws that ensured Government protection for legal victories achieved;
Whereas in 2005, the NAACP launched the Disaster Relief Fund to help hurricane 
        survivors in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, and Alabama to 
        rebuild their lives;
Whereas in the 110th Congress, the NAACP was prominent in lobbying for the 
        passage of H. Res. 826, whose resolved clause expresses that the hanging 
        of nooses is a horrible act when used for the purpose of intimidation 
        and which under certain circumstances can be criminal, this conduct 
        should be investigated thoroughly by Federal authorities, and any 
        criminal violations should be vigorously prosecuted;
Whereas in 2008, the NAACP vigorously supported the passage of the Emmett Till 
        Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007, a law that puts additional 
        Federal resources into solving the heinous crimes that occurred in the 
        early days of the civil rights struggle that remain unsolved and 
        bringing those who perpetrated such crimes to justice;
Whereas the NAACP has helped usher in the new millennium by charting a bold 
        course, beginning with the appointment of the organization's youngest 
        President and Chief Executive Officer, Benjamin Todd Jealous, and its 
        youngest female Board Chair, Roslyn M. Brock;
Whereas under their leadership, the NAACP has outlined a strategic plan to 
        confront 21st century challenges in the critical areas of health, 
        education, housing, criminal justice, and environment;
Whereas, on July 16, 2009, the NAACP celebrated its centennial anniversary in 
        New York City, highlighting an extraordinary century of Bold Dreams, Big 
        Victories with a historic address from the first African-American 
        President of the United States, Barack Obama; and
Whereas as an advocate for sentencing reform, the NAACP applauded the passage of 
        the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-220; 124 Stat. 2372), a 
        landmark piece of legislation that reduces the quantity of crack cocaine 
        that triggers a mandatory minimum sentence for a Federal conviction of 
        crack cocaine distribution from 100 times that of people convicted of 
        distributing the drug in powdered form to 18 times that sentence: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) recognizes the 102nd anniversary of the historic 
        founding of the National Association for the Advancement of 
        Colored People; and
            (2) honors and praises the National Association for the 
        Advancement of Colored People on the occasion of its 
        anniversary for its work to ensure the political, educational, 
        social, and economic equality of all persons.
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