[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 520 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 520

  Commending the National Association for the Advancement of Colored 
            People on the occasion of its 103rd anniversary.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 16, 2012

   Mr. Cardin (for himself and Mr. Grassley) submitted the following 
             resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Commending the National Association for the Advancement of Colored 
            People on the occasion of its 103rd anniversary.

Whereas the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (referred 
        to in this preamble as the ``NAACP''), originally known as the National 
        Negro Committee, was founded in New York City on February 12, 1909, the 
        centennial of the date on which President Abraham Lincoln was born, 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 people 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 on the press, the 
        petition, the ballot, and the courts;
Whereas the NAACP 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 decision issued by the Supreme Court 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--

    (1) the Civil Rights Act of 1957 (Public Law 85-315; 71 Stat. 634);

    (2) the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (Public Law 86-449; 74 Stat. 86);

    (3) the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-352; 78 Stat. 241);

    (4) the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.);

    (5) 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 (Public Law 
109-246; 120 Stat. 577); and

    (6) the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.);

Whereas in 2005, the NAACP launched the Disaster Relief Fund to help hurricane 
        survivors rebuild their lives in the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, 
        Texas, Florida, and Alabama;
Whereas in the 110th Congress, the NAACP was prominent in lobbying for the 
        passage of H. Res. 826, the resolved clause of which expresses that--

    (1) the hanging of nooses is a horrible act when used for the purpose 
of intimidation;

    (2) under certain circumstances, the hanging of nooses can be criminal; 
and

    (3) the hanging of nooses 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 (28 U.S.C. 509 note), a law that 
        puts additional Federal resources into solving the heinous crimes that 
        occurred during the early days of the civil rights struggle that remain 
        unsolved and brings those who perpetrated those crimes to justice;
Whereas the NAACP has helped usher in the new millennium by charting a bold 
        course, beginning with the appointment of the youngest President and 
        Chief Executive Officer in the history of the organization, Benjamin 
        Todd Jealous, and its youngest female Board Chair, Roslyn M. Brock;
Whereas under the leadership of Benjamin Todd Jealous and Roslyn M. Brock, the 
        NAACP has outlined a strategic plan to confront 21st century challenges 
        in the critical areas of health, education, housing, criminal justice, 
        and the 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 enactment 
        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, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the 103rd anniversary of the historic 
        founding of the National Association for the Advancement of 
        Colored People; and
            (2) commends 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 people.
                                 <all>