[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 20 (Thursday, February 16, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1447-S1448]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 380, which was submitted
earlier today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 380) celebrating Black History Month.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider
be laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 380) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 380
Whereas the first African Americans were brought forcibly
to the shores of America as early as the 17th century;
Whereas African Americans were enslaved in the United
States and subsequently faced the injustices of lynch mobs,
segregation, and denial of basic, fundamental rights;
Whereas in spite of these injustices, African Americans
have made significant contributions to the economic,
educational, political, artistic, literary, scientific, and
technological advancements of the United States;
Whereas in the face of these injustices, United States
citizens of all races distinguished themselves in their
commitment to the ideals on which the United States was
founded, and fought for the rights of African Americans;
[[Page S1448]]
Whereas the greatness of the United States is reflected in
the contributions of African Americans in all walks of life
throughout the history of the United States, including
through--
(1) the writings of Booker T. Washington, James Baldwin,
Ralph Ellison, and Alex Haley;
(2) the music of Mahalia Jackson, Billie Holiday, and Duke
Ellington;
(3) the resolve of athletes such as Jackie Robinson, Jesse
Owens, and Muhammed Ali;
(4) the vision of leaders such as Frederick Douglass,
Thurgood Marshall, and Martin Luther King, Jr.; and
(5) the bravery of those who stood on the front lines in
the battle against oppression, such as Sojourner Truth and
Rosa Parks;
Whereas the United States of America was conceived, as
stated in the Declaration of Independence, as a new country
dedicated to the proposition that ``all Men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and
the Pursuit of Happiness'';
Whereas United States citizens of all races demonstrate
their commitment to that proposition through actions such as
those of--
(1) Allan Pinkerton, Thomas Garrett, and the Rev. John
Rankin, who served as conductors in the Underground Railroad;
(2) Harriet Beecher Stowe, who shined a light on the
injustices of slavery;
(3) President Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation
Proclamation, and Senator Lyman Trumbull, who introduced the
13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States;
(4) President Lyndon B. Johnson, Chief Justice Earl Warren,
Senator Mike Mansfield, and Senator Hubert Humphrey, who
fought to end segregation and the denial of civil rights to
African Americans; and
(5) Americans of all races who marched side-by-side with
African Americans during the civil rights movement;
Whereas, since its founding, the United States has been an
imperfect work in making progress towards those noble goals;
Whereas the history of the United States is the story of a
people regularly affirming high ideals, striving to reach
them but often failing, and then struggling to come to terms
with the disappointment of that failure before recommitting
themselves to trying again;
Whereas, from the beginning of our Nation, the most
conspicuous and persistent failure of United States citizens
to reach those noble goals has been the enslavement of
African Americans and the resulting racism;
Whereas the crime of lynching succeeded slavery as the
ultimate expression of racism in the United States following
Reconstruction;
Whereas the Federal Government failed to put an end to
slavery until the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865,
repeatedly failed to enact a Federal anti-lynching law, and
still struggles to deal with the evils of racism; and
Whereas the fact that 61 percent of African American 4th
graders read at a below basic level and only 16 percent of
native born African Americans have earned a Bachelor's
degree, 50 percent of all new HIV cases are reported in
African Americans, and the leading cause of death for African
American males ages 15 to 34 is homicide, demonstrates that
the United States continues to struggle to reach the high
ideal of equal opportunity for all citizens of the United
States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) acknowledges the tragedies of slavery, lynching, and
segregation, and condemns them as an infringement on human
liberty and equal opportunity so that they will stand forever
as a reminder of what can happen when the citizens of the
United States fail to live up to their noble goals;
(2) honors those United States citizens who--
(A) risked their lives during the time of slavery,
lynching, and segregation in the Underground Railroad and in
other efforts to assist fugitive slaves and other African
Americans who might have been targets and victims of lynch
mobs; and
(B) those who have stood beside African Americans in the
fight for equal opportunity that continues to this day;
(3) reaffirms its commitment to the founding principles of
the United States of America that ``all Men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and
the Pursuit of Happiness'';
(4) commits itself to addressing those situations in which
the African American community struggles with disparities in
education, health care, and other areas where the Federal
Government can help improve conditions for all citizens of
the United States; and
(5) calls on the citizens of the United States to observe
Black History Month with appropriate programs, ceremonies,
and activities.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, on S. Res. 380, I ask unanimous consent
that I be added as a cosponsor, if I am not currently one.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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