Bill Text: CA SCR9 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Black History Month.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-02-11 - Ordered to inactive file on request of Senator Wright. [SCR9 Detail]
Download: California-2013-SCR9-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: SCR 9 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wright
(Principal coauthor: Senator Price)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bradford, Brown, Hall, Holden,
Jones-Sawyer, Mitchell, and Weber)
JANUARY 28, 2013
Relative to Black History Month.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 9, as introduced, Wright. Black History Month.
This measure would recognize February 2013 as Black History Month,
urge all residents to join in celebrating the accomplishments of
African Americans during Black History Month, and encourage the
people of California to recognize the many talents, achievements, and
contributions that African Americans make to their communities.
Fiscal committee: no.
WHEREAS, Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, distinguished African American
author, editor, publisher, and historian, who is known as the
"Father of Black History," founded Negro History Week in 1926, which
became Black History Month in 1976, intended to encourage further
research and publishing regarding the untold stories of African
American heritage; and
WHEREAS, The history of African Americans here in the United
States, as well as throughout the ages, is indeed unique and vibrant,
and it is appropriate to celebrate this history during the month of
February 2013, which has been proclaimed as Black History Month; and
WHEREAS, There is even greater cause for a reverent celebration in
2013 as Americans reflect on the significance of the 150th
anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the 50th anniversary of
the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and the 50th
anniversary of the death of civil rights leader Medgar Evers; and
WHEREAS, The history of the United States is rich with
inspirational stories of great men and noble women whose actions,
words, and achievements have united Americans and contributed to the
success and prosperity of the United States; and
WHEREAS, During the first millennium, the Catholic Church had
three popes who were either from Africa or of African descent: Saint
Victor I (189-99), Saint Miltiades (311-14), and Saint Gelasius I
(492-96); and
WHEREAS, The slave trade was a tragic episode in African history
and began before August 1619 when the first slaves arrived in
Jamestown, Virginia. During the course of the slave trade, an
estimated 50 million African men, women, and children were lost to
their native continent, though only about 15 million arrived safely
to a new home. The others lost their lives on African soil or along
the Guinea coast, or finally in holds on the ships during the dreaded
Middle Passage across the Atlantic Ocean; and
WHEREAS, The first American to shed blood in the revolution that
freed America from British rule was Crispus Attucks (March 5, 1770,
Boston Massacre), an African American seaman and slave. African
Americans also fought in wars including the Battles of Lexington and
Concord in April 1775, Ticonderoga, White Plains, Bennington,
Brandywine, Saratoga, Savannah, Yorktown, Bunker Hill, the Battle of
Rhode Island on August 29, 1775, and other revolutionary war battles,
the War of 1812, including, the Battle of New Orleans, the Civil
War, the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, Korea, and
Vietnam; and
WHEREAS, In spite of the African slave trade, many Africans and
African Americans continued to move forward in society; during the
Reconstruction period, two African Americans served in the United
States Senate and 14 sat in the House of Representatives; and
WHEREAS, From the earliest days of the United States, the course
of its history has been greatly influenced by Black heroes and
pioneers in many diverse areas, from science, medicine, business, and
education to government, industry, and social leadership; and
WHEREAS, Although the institutions of slavery and racial
segregation forced early African American culture to develop
independently of mainstream American culture, today African American
culture has become a significant part of this country's culture.
African American culture has made prevalent contributions to American
culture ranging from music, dance, clothing and hairstyle fashions,
cuisine, and holiday observances; and
WHEREAS, African American art has made vital contributions to the
art history of the United States. During the colonial era and the
early 1800s, African American art took the form of small drums,
quilts, wrought-iron figures, wood carvings, and ceramic vessels.
Soon thereafter, the earliest African American portrait artists
started to emerge, including G.W. Hobbs, William Simpson, Robert M.
Douglas Jr., Patrick Henry Reason, Joshua Johnson, Robert S.
Duncanson, and Scipio Moorhead; and
WHEREAS, In the post-Civil War period, African American artists
received increased recognition as it became more acceptable to
display African American art in museums and other art venues. Major
artists of the era include Edward Mitchell Bannister, Henry Ossawa
Tanner, and Edmonia Lewis; and
WHEREAS, The increased exposure of African American art ultimately
resulted in the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s, which was the
first major public recognition of African American art and produced
notable artists including, Richmond Barthe, Aaron Douglas, Lawrence
Harris, Palmer Hayden, William H. Johnson, Sargent Johnson, John
Biggers, Earle Wilton Richardson, Malvin Gray Johnson, Archibald
Motley, Augusta Savage, Hale Woodruff, and James Van Der Zee. This
era also introduced African American authors and poets, including
W.E.B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, Zora Neale Hurston, Nella
Larsen, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and Countee Cullen; and
WHEREAS, African American artists continued to influence art in
this country during the Civil Rights era. Major artists of the era
include Horace Pippin, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, William T.
Williams, Norman Lewis, and Sam Gilliam who were all successfully
received in galleries, and authors Richard Wright, James Baldwin, and
Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about the African American experience; and
WHEREAS, African American art and culture have not only been
incorporated and recognized in mainstream American art museums, but
most major cities have opened museums dedicated specifically to
African American art and artists. The National Endowment for the Arts
is also providing increased support for African American artists;
and
WHEREAS, Africans and African Americans have also been great
inventors, inventing and improving things such as the
air-conditioning unit, almanac, automatic gearshift, blood plasma
bag, clothes dryer, doorknob, doorstop, electric lamp bulb, elevator,
fire escape ladder, fountain pen, gas mask, golf tee, horseshoe,
lantern, lawnmower, lawn sprinkler, lock, lubricating cup,
refrigerating apparatus, spark plug, stethoscope, telephone
transmitter, thermostat control, traffic signal, and typewriter; and
WHEREAS, A number of these brave and accomplished individuals,
such as Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, Matthew
Hansen, Daniel Hale Williams, Dr. Charles Drew, Jackie Robinson,
Jesse Owens, Curt Flood, Medgar Evers, and, of course, Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., are noted prominently in the history books of
students nationwide, thus enabling them to learn about the important
and lasting contributions of these individuals; and
WHEREAS, Among those Americans who have enriched our society are
the members of the African American community--individuals who have
been steadfast in their commitment to promoting brotherhood,
equality, and justice for all; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature takes great pleasure in
recognizing February 2013 as Black History Month, urges all residents
to join in celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans
during Black History Month, and encourages the people of California
to recognize the many talents, achievements, and contributions that
African Americans make to their communities; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
