[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 297 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 297

            Supporting the goals and ideals of Jubilee Day.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 9, 2019

   Mr. Hastings (for himself, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Thompson of 
  Mississippi, Mrs. McBath, and Mrs. Beatty) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
            Supporting the goals and ideals of Jubilee Day.

Whereas six months after the end of the Civil War, the Fisk School was 
        established in Nashville, Tennessee;
Whereas the Fisk School was designed by its founders to be an educational 
        institution open to all, regardless of race or age;
Whereas the Fisk School was incorporated as Fisk University in 1867;
Whereas funding for the opening of the school was secured through the sale of 
        slave paraphernalia;
Whereas in 1871, a group of students at Fisk University formed a choral group, 
        the Fisk Jubilee Singers, with the goal of raising money to finance the 
        institution;
Whereas in that same year, the Fisk Jubilee Singers took all the funds in the 
        University treasury with them for travel expenses and set off on a tour 
        of the United States and Europe;
Whereas during their first tour, the Jubilee Singers raised enough money to 
        preserve their university and pay for the construction of Jubilee Hall, 
        the South's first permanent structure built for the education of 
        African-American students;
Whereas the Jubilee Singers introduced the world to the spiritual as a musical 
        genre, emerging as the first internationally recognized group of 
        African-American musicians;
Whereas the Fisk Jubilee Singers continue to tour and perform and have received 
        countless awards and honors;
Whereas, on every October 6, Fisk University celebrates the original group of 
        nine students and their music professor, George L. White, who toured 
        internationally in hopes of raising money to save Fisk University from 
        closing; and
Whereas, on October 6, 2019, the Fisk University community will celebrate its 
        148th Jubilee Day: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the contributions of the Jubilee Singers to 
        the United States musical landscape;
            (2) celebrates the hard work, perseverance, and 
        accomplishments of the original Jubilee Singers and the 
        continued success of the generations of Jubilee Singers who 
        followed; and
            (3) supports the goals and ideals of Jubilee Day.
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