[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 869 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 869

  Recognizing and celebrating the significance of Black History Month.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 27, 2020

 Mr. Green of Texas (for himself, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Ms. Wild, Mr. 
Espaillat, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Richmond, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Danny 
K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Costa, Ms. Moore, Mr. David Scott of Georgia, 
Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Payne, 
Mr. Jeffries, Mr. Brown of Maryland, Mr. Trone, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Veasey, 
  Mr. Hastings, Ms. Bass, Ms. Waters, Ms. Norton, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. 
   Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. 
 Sarbanes, Ms. Wilson of Florida, and Ms. Castor 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 2020 is ``African Americans and the 
        Vote,'' which emphasizes the lessons we have learned from the struggle 
        for voting rights for African-American men and women, and the continued 
        challenges they face in exercising that right;
Whereas African-American men first obtained the right to vote following the 
        Civil War with the ratification of the 15th Amendment to the 
        Constitution of the United States in 1870;
Whereas this year marks the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the 15th 
        Amendment;
Whereas the 15th Amendment states that the ``right of citizens of the United 
        States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or 
        by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of 
        servitude'';
Whereas following the ratification of the 15th Amendment, many States, 
        particularly in the South, enacted poll taxes, literacy tests, and other 
        means of disenfranchising African Americans;
Whereas women of all ethnicities gained the right to vote in 1920 when the 19th 
        Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified;
Whereas this year marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th 
        Amendment;
Whereas the 19th Amendment states that the ``right of citizens of the United 
        States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or 
        by any State on account of sex'';
Whereas, in 1965, nearly a century after the ratification of the 15th Amendment, 
        the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law;
Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited the use of literacy tests and 
        provided for Federal oversight of voter registration in areas where less 
        than 50 percent of the non-White population had not registered to vote, 
        among other provisions;
Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 also required jurisdictions with a history 
        of voter suppression to obtain ``preclearance'' from the Federal 
        Government for any new voting practice or procedure;
Whereas, in 1969, 4 years after the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 
        61 percent of nationwide voter-age African Americans were registered to 
        vote, up substantially from the pre-1965 level of 23 percent nationally;
Whereas, in 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States, in the case Shelby 
        County, Alabama v. Holder, invalidated the preclearance provision of the 
        Voting Rights Act of 1965;
Whereas, since 2013, States that were previously subject to preclearance have 
        enacted strict voter identification requirements, restricted 
        opportunities for people to register to vote, reduced early or absentee 
        voting, and made it harder to restore voting rights to people with 
        criminal convictions;
Whereas, in 1870, Senator Hiram Revels of Mississippi and Congressman Joseph 
        Rainey of South Carolina became the first African Americans to serve in 
        the United States Congress;
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 Judge Frank Minis Johnson, Jr., served on the United States Court of 
        Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, United States Court of Appeals for the 
        Eleventh Circuit, and the United States 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 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 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 2020''.

SEC. 2. RECOGNIZING AND CELEBRATING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BLACK HISTORY 
              MONTH.

    The House of Representatives 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.
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