Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 9

Introduced by Senator Wright

(Principal coauthor: Senator Price)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bradford, Brown, Hall, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Mitchell, and Weber)

January 28, 2013

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 9—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.