[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 108 (Thursday, July 25, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S5970]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 199--CELEBRATING THE 200TH AUGUST QUARTERLY FESTIVAL 
    TAKING PLACE FROM AUGUST 18, 2013, THROUGH AUGUST 25, 2013, IN 
                          WILMINGTON, DELAWARE

  Mr. COONS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary.:

                              S. Res. 199

       Whereas, 200 years before the date of agreement to this 
     resolution, in 1813, Peter Spencer founded the African Union 
     Church, 1 of the first African-American institutions legally 
     incorporated within the United States;
       Whereas, 1 year later, in 1814, Spencer and the African 
     Union Church convened the first August Quarterly meeting and 
     festival in Wilmington, Delaware, bringing thousands of 
     African Americans together to celebrate their faith;
       Whereas the August Quarterly (or ``Big Quarterly'') 
     Festival became a meeting place for African Americans 
     celebrating freedom, sharing in solidarity, and looking for 
     relatives lost or sold in the institution of slavery, and a 
     means through which Harriett Tubman and other conductors and 
     station masters of the Underground Railroad met with those 
     looking to escape the bonds of slavery;
       Whereas the August Quarterly Festival is well recognized as 
     the longest continuously celebrated African-American festival 
     in the United States; and
       Whereas, from August 18, 2013, through August 25, 2013, 
     thousands of people will come together in Wilmington, 
     Delaware to celebrate the 200th August Quarterly Festival: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) celebrates the 200th August Quarterly Festival taking 
     place from August 18, 2013, through August 25, 2013;
       (2) recognizes the historical significance of the August 
     Quarterly Festival and the role the festival has played since 
     1814 in celebrating faith, community, culture, and freedom;
       (3) honors the life of leadership, faith, and service of 
     Peter Spencer, founder of the African Union Church and of the 
     August Quarterly Festival; and
       (4) recognizes the service volunteers and religious leaders 
     who ensure that the legacy of Peter Spencer lives on through 
     the continuation of the August Quarterly Festival.

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