Bill Text: NY K00082 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim February 2019, as Black History Month in the State of New York

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 107-43)

Status: (Passed) 2019-02-11 - adopted [K00082 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-K00082-Introduced.html

Assembly Resolution No. 82

BY: M. of A. Heastie

        MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim
        February  2019,  as Black History Month in the State
        of New York

  WHEREAS, Black History Month,  previously  known  as  Negro  History
Week,  was founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, and was first celebrated on
February 1, 1926; since 1976, it  has  become  a  nationally  recognized
month-long  celebration,  held each year during the month of February to
acknowledge and pay  tribute  to  African-Americans  neglected  by  both
society and the history books; and

  WHEREAS,  The  month  of  February  observes  the  rich  and diverse
heritage of our great State and Nation; and

  WHEREAS, Black History Month seeks to  emphasize  Black  History  is
American History; and

  WHEREAS,  Black  History Month is a time to reflect on the struggles
and victories of African-Americans throughout our country's history  and
to  recognize their numerous valuable contributions to the protection of
our democratic society in war and in peace; and

  WHEREAS, Some African-American pioneers whose many  accomplishments,
all  which  took  place  during the month of February, went unnoticed as
well as numerous  symbolic  events  in  February,  that  deserve  to  be
memorialized  include: John Sweat Rock, a noted Boston lawyer who became
the first African-American admitted to argue  before  the  U.S.  Supreme
Court on February 1, 1865, and the first African-American to be received
on  the  floor  of  the  U.S.  House of Representatives; Jonathan Jasper
Wright, the first African-American to hold a  major  judicial  position,
who was elected to the South Carolina Supreme Court on February 1, 1870;
President  Abraham  Lincoln  submits  the proposed 13th Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery, to the states for ratification on
February 1, 1865; civil rights protester Jimmie Lee  Jackson  dies  from
wounds  inflicted  during a protest on February 26, 1965, leading to the
historic Selma, Alabama civil rights  demonstrations,  including  Bloody
Sunday  in  which  600  demonstrators, including Martin Luther King, Jr.
were  attacked  by  police;  Autherine  J.   Lucy   became   the   first
African-American student to attend the University of Alabama on February
3,  1956,  she  was  expelled  three  days later "for her own safety" in
response to threats from a mob; in 1992, Autherine Lucy Foster graduated
from the University with a Master's degree in Education,  the  same  day
her  daughter,  Grazia  Foster,  graduated  with  a Bachelor's degree in
Corporate Finance; the Negro Baseball League was founded on February  3,
1920;  Jack Johnson, the first African-American World Heavyweight Boxing
Champion, won his first title on  February  3,  1903;  and  Reginald  F.
Lewis,  born  on  December 7, 1942, in Baltimore, Maryland, received his
law degree from Harvard Law School in 1968, and was a partner in Murphy,
Thorpes & Lewis, the first Black law firm on Wall Street, and  in  1989,
he  became President and CEO of TLC Beatrice International Food Company,
the largest Black-owned business in the United States; and

  WHEREAS,   In   recognition   of   the   vast    contributions    of
African-Americans,  a  joyful  month-long celebration is held across New
York State and across the United States with many  commemorative  events
to honor and display the cultural heritage of African-Americans; and

  WHEREAS,   This   Legislative  Body  commends  the  African-American
community for preserving,  for  future  generations,  its  centuries-old
traditions  that  benefit  us all and add to the color and beauty of the
tapestry which is our American society; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim February 2019, as Black
History Month in the State of New York; and be it further

  RESOLVED,  That  copies  of  this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the  State  of
New York, and to the events commemorating Black History Month throughout
New York State.
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