[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 155 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 155

  Recognizing and celebrating the significance of Black History Month.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 27, 2019

 Mr. Green of Texas (for himself, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Vela, Ms. Adams, Ms. 
 Bass, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Butterfield, Ms. Clarke 
of New York, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Clyburn, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, 
 Ms. Fudge, Mr. Hastings, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Jeffries, Mr. Richmond, 
   Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Ms. Sewell of 
  Alabama, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Veasey, Ms. Waters, Mrs. 
  Watson Coleman, and Ms. Wilson of Florida) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing and celebrating the significance of Black History Month.

Whereas the theme for Black History Month 2019 is ``Black Migrations'', which 
        emphasizes the movement of people of African descent to new destinations 
        and to new social realities;
Whereas this resolution focuses primarily on the migration of African Americans, 
        which is one of the important phases in American history;
Whereas inclusive of earlier centuries, this theme focuses specifically on the 
        20th century through today;
Whereas, beginning in the 20th century, African-American migration patterns 
        included relocation from Southern farms to Southern cities, from the 
        South to the Northeast, Midwest, and West, and from the Caribbean to 
        United States cities;
Whereas the relocation of formerly enslaved individuals and their descendants 
        also included unfavorable interactions with law enforcement that often 
        resulted in imprisonment and convict leasing;
Whereas the remains of 95 persons, thought to be of African ancestry, who were 
        subjected to the State's convict-leasing system were discovered at the 
        construction site of Fort Bend Independent School District's James Reese 
        Career and Technical Center in Sugar Land, Texas;
Whereas this movement known as the ``Great Migration'' was caused by a lack of 
        economic opportunities, harsh segregationist laws, and the terror 
        perpetrated against African-American communities by the Ku Klux Klan;
Whereas the Great Migration exposed the racial divisions and disparities that 
        continue to plague the Nation and dominate headlines today, from police 
        killings of unarmed African Americans to mass incarceration to widely 
        documented biases in employment, housing, health care, and education;
Whereas, prior to 1910, more than 90 percent of the African-American population 
        lived in the South, but by the 1970s, 47 percent of all African 
        Americans were living in the North and West;
Whereas, during World War I, when slowing immigration from Europe created a 
        labor shortage in the North, companies began recruiting African 
        Americans to fill the assembly lines and work the steel mills, 
        railroads, and factories;
Whereas African Americans who migrated to the North still faced racial 
        discrimination in the form of redlining, racially based housing 
        ordinances, higher rent based on race, the resurgence of the Ku Klux 
        Klan, and rising instances of race riots;
Whereas African Americans created their own cities and neighborhoods free of 
        discrimination where their culture expanded, for example in Harlem in 
        New York City that housed over 200,000 African Americans during the 
        1920s;
Whereas at the end of the Civil War, many of Durham's African Americans left the 
        plantations as free persons, creating their own communities and 
        opportunities, and formed the Hayti neighborhood, which developed into a 
        thriving business and residential district, and around the same time, 
        efforts were made to provide educational opportunities for Blacks, 
        including the founding of what is now North Carolina Central University 
        (NCCU);
Whereas Greenwood, Oklahoma, part of Tulsa, became home to thriving Black 
        businesses also known as ``Black Wall Street'' until the Tulsa race riot 
        of 1921, in which a White mob burned down Greenwood, the site of the 
        worst race riot in United States history;
Whereas in Freedmen's Town, Texas, thousands of freed slaves purchased land and 
        built their homes along the Buffalo Bayou at the end of the Civil War, 
        and over six decades the town thrived, with churches, schools, stores, 
        theaters, and jazz spots lining the cobblestone roadways until the Great 
        Depression caused many to lose their homes and some longtime residents 
        moved to other Houston neighborhoods;
Whereas, in 1984, Freedmen's Town, Texas, was designated a historic district;
Whereas Judge Frank Minis Johnson, Jr., served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for 
        the Fifth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and 
        the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, and in each 
        capacity, Judge Johnson courageously worked to advance the 
        constitutional principles of freedom and equality;
Whereas the insight and constitutional judgment of Judge Johnson were invaluable 
        and aided the Supreme Court as it recognized the violations and 
        injustices in our Nation during the civil rights movement, and without 
        Judge Johnson's judicious temperament, constitutional mindset, and 
        dedication to rule of law, the civil rights movement would have been at 
        a great disadvantage;
Whereas Senator Edward Brooke III became the first African American popularly 
        elected to the Senate and the first Black politician from Massachusetts 
        to serve in Congress, and prior to being elected to the Senate, he was 
        the first African-American attorney general of any State in 1962;
Whereas Senator Brooke's election ended an 85-year absence of African-American 
        Senators and he represented Massachusetts in the Senate from 1967 to 
        1979, and during his senatorial career, he co-wrote the Civil Rights Act 
        of 1968, which prohibited discrimination in housing;
Whereas Senator Brooke also became a prominent critic of President Richard Nixon 
        and was the first Senate Republican to call for Nixon's resignation in 
        light of the Watergate scandal;
Whereas African-American migration led to the emergence of both Black industrial 
        workers and Black entrepreneurs, resulting in the formation of a new 
        society, which included a variety of urban churches and new 
        denominations but also new music forms like ragtime, blues, and jazz;
Whereas African Americans in all walks of life have made significant 
        contributions throughout the history of the United States, including 
        through the--

    (1) music of Louis Armstrong, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, 
John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie 
Holiday, Mahalia Jackson, Francis Johnson, Prince, and Bessie Smith;

    (2) writings of Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ralph 
Ellison, Alex Haley, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, 
Alice Walker, Booker T. Washington, and Richard Wright;

    (3) publications of The North Star, The Crisis Magazine, Ebony 
Magazine, Jet Magazine, Essence Magazine, Black Enterprise Magazine, The 
National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), Sister 2 Sister Magazine, 
and Uptown Magazine;

    (4) resolve of athletes such as Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe, Althea 
Gibson, Lebron James, Michael Jordan, Colin Kaepernick, Joe Louis, Jesse 
Owens, Frederick ``Fritz'' Pollard, Jackie Robinson, Wilma Rudolph, Bill 
Russell, Venus Williams, and Serena Williams;

    (5) scientific advancements of Benjamin Banneker, George Washington 
Carver, George Crum, Charles Drew, Sarah Goode, Euphemia Lofton Haynes, Mae 
Jemison, Thomas Jennings, Katherine Johnson, Norbert Rillieux, Neil 
deGrasse Tyson, and Granville T. Woods;

    (6) vision of leaders such as Mary McLeod Bethune, Shirley Chisholm, 
Frederick Douglass, Fred Hampton, Marsha P. Johnson, Martin Luther King, 
Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Huey Newton, and Malcolm X; and

    (7) bravery of those who stood on the front lines in the battle against 
oppression, such as Sojourner Truth, Fannie Lou Hammer, and Rosa Parks;

Whereas the period when Northern African Americans returned to the South led to 
        racial suburbanization, inner-city hyper ghettoization, health and 
        environment and civil rights and protest activism, electoral politics, 
        mass incarceration, and dynamic cultural production;
Whereas Negro History Week represented the culmination of 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;
Whereas the month of February is officially celebrated as Black History Month, 
        which dates 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; and
Whereas the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass inspired the 
        creation of Negro History Week, the precursor to Black History Month: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This resolution may be cited as the ``Original Black History Month 
Resolution of 2019''.

SEC. 2. RECOGNIZING AND CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH.

    Congress--
            (1) recognizes the importance of commemorating Black 
        History Month as it acknowledges the achievements of African 
        Americans throughout our Nation's history and encourages the 
        continuation of its celebration to raise the awareness of this 
        community's accomplishments for all Americans;
            (2) recognizes that racial diversity is what empowers the 
        heritage of the United States and strengthens the bonds of our 
        people; and
            (3) encourages for the continued spread of knowledge 
        regarding Black history and not limit it to a month during the 
        year.
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