BILL NUMBER: ACR 118 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 7
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE MARCH 3, 2016
ADOPTED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 25, 2016
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 12, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 12, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members McCarty, Brown, Burke, Cooper,
Gipson, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Ridley-Thomas, Thurmond, and Weber
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Alejo, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez,
Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Gallagher,
Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gray, Hadley, Harper, Irwin, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Rendon,
Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Wilk, Williams, and Wood)
JANUARY 13, 2016
Relative to Black History Month.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 118, McCarty. Black History Month.
This measure would recognize February 2016 as Black History Month,
urge all citizens 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.
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 2016, which has been proclaimed as Black History Month; and
WHEREAS, There is even greater cause for reverent celebration in
2016 as Americans reflect on the significance of the 150th
anniversary of the proposal of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United
States Constitution, which granted due process and equal protection
under the law to all citizens, and at the same time granted
citizenship to African Americans; 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, 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, the Battle of Rhode Island on August 29, 1778,
the battles of Ticonderoga, White Plains, Bennington, Brandywine,
Saratoga, Savannah, Yorktown, Bunker Hill, 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 the Vietnam War; 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, 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
Henson, 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 Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature takes great pleasure in
recognizing February 2016 as Black History Month, urges all citizens
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 Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.