[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4193 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4193
To develop and nationally disseminate accurate, relevant, and
accessible resources to promote understanding about African-American
history.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 2, 2020
Mr. Peters (for himself, Mr. Casey, Ms. Rosen, Ms. Duckworth, Mr.
Wyden, Ms. Baldwin, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Stabenow, Ms.
Sinema, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Brown, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr.
Warner, and Ms. Warren) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To develop and nationally disseminate accurate, relevant, and
accessible resources to promote understanding about African-American
history.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``1619 Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States has demonstrated a commitment to
remembrance and education about the experiences of African
Americans in the United States.
(2) Congress has played a critical role in preserving the
memory of the African-American experience in the United States
and promoting awareness by recognizing African-American History
Month in 1976 to ``seize the opportunity to honor the too-often
neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of
endeavor throughout our history.''.
(3) 400 years after the first slaves were brought to
American shores, and growing distance of students and their
families from this history, it is important to institutionalize
education about the events of African-American history such as
slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Civil
Rights Movement, which led to monumental legislation like the
Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, among other notable
events.
(4) As intolerance, bigotry, and racism are promoted by
hate groups, African-American history education provides a
context in which to learn about the danger of what can happen
when hate goes unchallenged and there is indifference in the
face of the oppression of others. The African-American
experience is an important component of the education of
citizens of the United States.
(5) Today, those who deny the importance of African-
American history or distort the true nature of the Africa-
American experience continue to find forums, especially online.
This denial and distortion dishonors those who were persecuted
and murdered, making it even more of a national imperative to
educate students in the United States so that they may explore
the lessons that African-American history provides for all
people, sensitize communities to the circumstances that gave
rise to the African-American experience, and help youth be less
susceptible to the falsehood about African-American history and
destructive messages of hate that arise from African-American
history denial and distortion.
(6) Currently, 7 States (Arkansas, Florida, Illinois,
Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island) require by
law that schools, in collaboration with special K-12 Black
history oversight committees, teach students about African-
American history. More schools and teachers, including those in
underserved communities, can and should deliver quality
African-American history education.
(7) For more than 4 years, the National Museum of African
American History and Culture has worked to build and support
the field of African-American history education, and advance
the quality and sustainability of African-American history
education at the local, State, and national levels, by engaging
teachers and students across disciplines and grade levels.
(8) The Federal Government, through support for educational
activities of national museums established under Federal law,
can assist teachers in efforts to incorporate historically
accurate instruction on human rights atrocities, including the
African-American experience, in curricula.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) African-american history.--The term ``African-American
history'' means the systematic, bureaucratic, State-sponsored
enslavement of Africans brought to the United States, the era
of the Civil War, Reconstruction, segregation, and the modern
experience of African Americans as equal citizens under the
law.
(2) African-american history education center.--The term
``African-American history education center'' means an
institution that furthers the teaching and learning about
African-American history by offering programs for students and
training for teachers and other types of professional
leadership audiences.
(3) African-american history education program.--The term
``African-American history education program'' means a program
that has as its specific and primary purpose to improve
awareness and understanding of the African-American experience
and educate individuals on the lessons of African-American
history as a means to raise awareness about the importance of
preventing oppression, hate, and bigotry against any group of
people.
(4) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
(5) Eligible program participant.--The term ``eligible
program participant'' means--
(A) a high school teacher, a teacher of one of the
middle grades, or a school leader of a high school or a
school that includes one of the middle grades (as such
terms are defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801));
(B) an educational leader or expert who is not
employed by a local educational agency (as defined in
section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)) or an elementary school
or secondary school (as such terms are so defined) that
is independent of any local educational agency; or
(C) a prospective teacher enrolled in a program of
postsecondary education coursework or preservice
clinical education.
(6) Racism.--The term ``racism'' means a certain perception
of African Americans, which may be expressed as hatred or
discrimination, and the rhetorical and physical manifestations
of which are directed toward African-American or non-African-
American individuals or their property, and African-American
community institutions and religious facilities, exacerbating
an inequitable distribution of resources, opportunity, and
power that is detrimental to African-American communities.
(7) Slavery.--The term ``slavery'' means the legal
institution of human chattel enslavement, primarily of Africans
and African Americans prior to the passage of the 13th
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this Act $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2021 and
each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.
(b) Donations, Gifts, Bequests, and Devises of Property.--In
accordance with section 5 of the National Museum of African American
History and Culture Act (20 U.S.C. 80r-3), and in furtherance of the
purposes of this Act, the Director is authorized to solicit, accept,
hold, administer, invest, and use donated funds and gifts, bequests,
and devises of property, both real and personal.
(c) Use of Funds.--The Director, using funds appropriated under
subsection (a) and resources received under subsection (b), and
including through the engagement of eligible program participants as
appropriate--
(1) shall develop and nationally disseminate accurate,
relevant, and accessible resources to promote understanding
about how and why notable events in African-American history
happened in the manner that it did, which shall include digital
resources and may include other types of resources, such as
print resources and traveling exhibitions; and
(2) may carry out one or more of the following African-
American history education program activities:
(A) Development, dissemination, and implementation
of principles of sound pedagogy for teaching about
African-American history.
(B) Provision of professional development for
eligible program participants, such as through--
(i) local, regional, and national
workshops;
(ii) teacher trainings in conjunction with
African-American history education centers and
other appropriate partners;
(iii) engagement with--
(I) local educational agencies (as
defined in section 8101 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)); and
(II) high schools and schools that
include one of the middle grades (as so
defined) that are independent of any
local educational agency; and
(iv) operation and expansion of a teacher
fellowship program to cultivate and support
leaders in African-American history education.
(C) Engagement with State and local education
leaders to encourage the adoption of resources
supported under this Act into curricula across diverse
disciplines.
(D) Evaluation and research to assess the
effectiveness and impact of African-American history
education programs, which may include completion of the
report required under section 8.
(d) Applications.--The Director may seek the engagement of an
eligible program participant under subsection (c) by requiring
submission of an application to the Director at such time, in such
manner, and based on such competitive criteria as the Director may
require.
SEC. 5. ONLINE AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY EDUCATION RESOURCES.
(a) Website.--The Director shall maintain on the website of the
National Museum of African American History and Culture a special
section designated for African-American history education resources to
improve awareness and understanding of African-American history and
educate individuals on the lessons of the African-American experience
as a means to raise awareness about the importance of preventing hate
and bigotry against any group of people. The website and resources
shall be made publically available.
(b) Information Distribution.--The Director shall distribute
information about the activities funded under this Act through the
website of the National Museum of African American History and Culture,
and shall respond to inquiries for supplementary information concerning
such activities.
(c) Best Practices.--The information distributed by the Director
shall include best practices for educators.
SEC. 6. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
COUNCIL.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture Council
established under section 5 of the National Museum of African American
History and Culture Act (20 U.S.C. 80r-3), shall have governance
responsibility for the programs and activities carried out under this
Act in accordance with the National Museum of African American History
and Culture Act (20 U.S.C. 80r).
SEC. 7. ENGAGEMENT OF ELIGIBLE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.
(a) In General.--An eligible program participant shall be engaged
at the discretion of the Director to participate in African-American
history education program activities authorized under this Act and
approved by the Director pursuant to an application described in
section 4(d).
(b) Engagement Period.--Engagement of eligible program participants
under this Act shall be for a period determined by the Director.
(c) Priority.--In engaging eligible program participants under
section 4, the Director shall give priority to applications from such
participants who work for or with a local educational agency, or a
school that is independent of any local educational agency, that does
not, at the time application is made, offer any African-American
history education programming.
SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORT.
Not later than February 1 of each year, the Director shall submit
to Congress a report describing the activities carried out under this
Act.
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