[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 755 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 755
Recognizing and celebrating Black History Month.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 27, 2018
Mr. Al Green of Texas submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing and celebrating Black History Month.
Whereas the theme for Black History Month 2018 is ``African Americans in Times
of War,'' which commemorates the centennial of the end of the First
World War in 1918, and explores the complex meanings and implications of
this international struggle and its aftermath;
Whereas this resolution will focus primarily on African Americans in the
military, which is but one historically important aspect of this far
reaching exploration of African-American history;
Whereas African Americans have fought for the United States throughout its
history;
Whereas despite racial segregation and discrimination, African Americans have
played a significant role from the colonial period forward;
Whereas Crispus Attucks was a fugitive slave working outside of Boston,
Massachusetts, as a sailor and during his time off, he worked as a rope
maker near the wharf;
Whereas in early 1770, competition for work and wages became stiff as British
soldiers were contending for the same unskilled positions as the locals;
Whereas this situation created tension which slowly escalated to violent
confrontations;
Whereas on March 5, 1770, Attucks led a group of rope makers and sailors into a
confrontation with a group of British soldiers and subsequently was shot
and killed;
Whereas Crispus Attucks, a Black man, is generally considered to be the first
casualty of the Revolutionary War and is remembered as the first of many
notable African-American heroes;
Whereas Araminta Ross, better known as Harriet Tubman, was born into slavery in
Maryland and escaped to freedom in the North in 1849 to become the most
famous conductor on the Underground Railroad;
Whereas Araminta Ross was a leading abolitionist before the American Civil War
and also helped the Union Army during the war, working as a spy among
other roles;
Whereas Araminta Ross, a Black woman, was the first woman to lead an armed
expedition during the Civil War;
Whereas Araminta Ross guided the Combahee River Raid, which liberated more than
700 slaves in South Carolina;
Whereas Powhatan Beaty was born a slave in Richmond, Virginia, in 1837;
Whereas when the Civil War broke out, Beaty enlisted in the Union army;
Whereas Powhatan Beaty, a Black man, was quickly promoted to sergeant and
oversaw 47 other Black recruits in noncombat jobs;
Whereas in September 1864, Beaty's division attacked the enemy at Chaffin's
farm, near Richmond, Virginia;
Whereas with all of the unit's officers and most of its enlisted men dead or
wounded, Beaty took over and led a second charge, driving the enemy
back;
Whereas for his heroism, Beaty was awarded the Medal of Honor;
Whereas during the Civil War, approximately 40,000 African Americans were killed
in action;
Whereas Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr., entered the military service on July 13,
1898, during the Spanish-American War as a temporary first lieutenant of
the 8th United States Volunteer Infantry;
Whereas on June 18, 1899, he enlisted as a private in the 9th Calvary of the
Regular Army;
Whereas Davis eventually came under the command of Charles Young, whom at the
time was the only African-American Officer serving in the U.S. military;
Whereas Young took Davis under his tutelage and helped him to prepare to take
his officer candidate test;
Whereas in only two years, he rose to sergeant major and earned a commission as
a second lieutenant in 1901;
Whereas Benjamin Oliver Davis, a Black man, rose through the ranks and became
the first African American to achieve the rank of brigadier general in
the U.S. military;
Whereas during World War I, approximately 800 African Americans were killed in
action;
Whereas Doris Miller enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Mess Attendant where he
served on the USS West Virginia when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
on December 7, 1941;
Whereas Miller was assigned to carry the wounded sailors to safer quarters;
Whereas he returned to the deck and picked up a 50-caliber Browning antiaircraft
machine gun that he had never been trained to shoot and managed to shoot
down enemy aircraft;
Whereas Doris Miller, a Black man, was commended by the Secretary of the Navy
and became the first African American to be presented with the Navy
Cross;
Whereas before 1940, African Americans were barred from flying for the U.S.
military;
Whereas civil rights organizations and the Black press exerted pressure on
President Roosevelt, which resulted in the formation of the Tuskegee
Airmen based in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1941;
Whereas the Tuskegee Airmen included pilots, navigators, bombardiers,
maintenance and support staff, instructors, and the personnel who kept
the planes and pilots in the air;
Whereas the Black Tuskegee Airmen overcame segregation and prejudice to become
one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II;
Whereas the Tuskegee Airmen's achievements helped pave the way for full
integration of the U.S. military;
Whereas during World War II, approximately 700 African Americans were killed in
action;
Whereas Cornelius Charlton, a career military man, served in the Army during the
Korean War;
Whereas on June 2, 1951, his platoon encountered heavy resistance while
attempting to take Hill 543 and the leader of his platoon was wounded;
Whereas Charlton took command, regrouped his men and led an assault on the hill;
Whereas he single-handedly attacked and disabled the last remaining enemy gun
encampments;
Whereas he subsequently died from the wounds inflicted by a grenade but he is
credited with saving much of his platoon;
Whereas Cornelius Charlton, a Black man, posthumously received the Medal of
Honor for his actions near Chipo-ri, South Korea;
Whereas African Americans literally fought for the right to die in defense of
their country;
Whereas in the face of injustices, many African Americans distinguished
themselves with their commitment to the noble ideas upon which the
United States was founded and courageously fought for the rights and
freedom of all Americans;
Whereas the preservation and teaching of Black history are nationally recognized
due to the efforts of Dr. Carter G. Woodson and his establishment of
Negro History Week, the precursor to Black History Month;
Whereas Black History Month, which represents Dr. Carter G. Woodson's efforts to
enhance knowledge of Black history, started through the Journal of Negro
History, published by Woodson's Association for the Study of African-
American Life and History; and
Whereas the month of February is officially celebrated as Black History Month,
which dates back to 1926 when Dr. Carter G. Woodson set aside a special
period of time in February to recognize the heritage and achievement of
Black Americans: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This resolution may be cited as the ``Original Black History Month
Resolution of 2018''.
SEC. 2. RECOGNIZING AND CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH.
Congress--
(1) recognizes the significance of Black History Month as
an important time to acknowledge and celebrate the
contributions of African Americans in the Nation's history, and
encourages the continued celebration of this month to provide
an opportunity for all peoples of the United States to learn
more about the past and to better understand the experiences
that have shaped the Nation;
(2) recognizes that ethnic and racial diversity of the
United States enriches and strengthens the Nation; and
(3) encourages all States to include in their year-round
educational curriculum the history and contributions of African
Americans in the United States and around the world.
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