BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SR 24|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SR 24
Author: Price (D) and Wright (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SUBJECT : Black History Month
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution proclaims February 2012 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.
ANALYSIS : This resolution makes the following
legislative findings:
1. 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.
2. 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 2012, which has
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been proclaimed as Black History Month.
3. 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.
4. 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).
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. From the earliest days of the United States, the course
of its history has been greatly influenced by Black
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heroes and pioneers in many diverse areas, from science,
medicine, business, and education to government,
industry, and social leadership.
9. 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.
10.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.
11.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.
12.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.
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13.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.
14.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.
15.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.
16.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.
17.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.
The following African Americans have served in the
Legislature:
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Marguerite Archie-Hudson (D) 1990-96Assembly
Service
Karen Bass (D) 2004-10 Assembly Service
Willie L. Brown (D) 1965-95 Assembly Service
Steven Bradford (D) 2010- Assembly Service
Yvonne Braithwaite Burke (D) 1967-74Assembly
Service
Wilmer Amina Carter (D) 2006- Assembly Service
Mike Davis (D) 2006- Assembly Service
Julian Dixon (D) 1973-78 Assembly Service
Mervyn Dymally (D) 1963-67 Assembly Service
1967-74 Senate Service
2002-08 Assembly Service
F. Douglas Ferrell (D) 1963-67 Assembly Service
Bill Greene (D) 1967-74 Assembly Service
1975-92 Senate Service
Isadore Hall (D) 2008- Assembly Service
Elihu Harris (D) 1978-90 Assembly Service
Augustus F. Hawkins (D) 1935-63 Assembly Service
Nate Holden (D) 1974-78 Senate Service
Frank Holomon (D) 1973-74 Assembly Service
Jerome Horton (D) 2000-06 Assembly Service
Teresa Hughes (D) 1975-92 Assembly Service
1992-2000 Senate Service
Barbara Lee (D) 1990-96 Assembly Service
1996-98 Senate Service
Juanita McDonald (D) 1992-96 Assembly Service
John J. Miller (D) 1967-78 Assembly Service
Holly J. Mitchell (D) 2010- Assembly Service
Gwen Moore (D) 1978-94 Assembly Service
Kevin Murray (D) 1994-98 Assembly Service
1998-2006 Senate Service
Willard Murray (D) 1988-96 Assembly Service
Curren D. Price (D) 2009- State Senate
2006-09 Assembly Service
Leon Ralph (D) 1967-77 Assembly Service
Laura Richardson (D) 2006-08 Assembly Service
Mark Ridley-Thomas (D) 2002-06 Assembly Service
2006-08 Senate Service
Frederick M. Roberts (R) 1919-33 Assembly Service
William Byron Rumford (D) 1949-67Assembly
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Service
Sandre Swanson (D) 2006- Assembly Service
Curtis R. Tucker (D) 1974-88 Assembly Service
Curtis R. Tucker, Jr. (D) 1988-96Assembly
Service
Edward Vincent (D) 1996-2000 Assembly Service
2000-08 Senate Service
Carl Washington (D) 1996-2002 Assembly Service
Maxine Waters (D) 1977-90 Assembly Service
Diane Watson (D) 1978-98 Senate Service
Herb Wesson, Jr. (D) 1998-2004 Assembly Service
Roderick Wright (D) 2008- State Senate
1996-2002 Assembly Service
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
PQ:mw 2/6/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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