BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    ACR 118


                                                                    Page  1


          Date of Hearing:   January 21, 2016


                             ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES


                                    Gordon, Chair


          ACR  
                    118 (McCarty) - As Introduced  January 13, 2016


          SUBJECT:  Black History Month.


          SUMMARY:  This bill recognizes February 2016 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. Specifically, this resolution makes  
          the following legislative findings:


          1. In 1926, Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson founded Negro History  
             Week, 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 U.S., 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.

          3. There is even greater cause for a 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.








                                                                    ACR 118


                                                                    Page  2



          4. From the earliest days of the U.S., 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.  

          5. 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.

          FISCAL EFFECT:  None 


          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:


          Support


          None on file


          Opposition
          None on file


          Analysis Prepared by:Nicole Willis / RLS. / (916) 319-2800


















                                                                    ACR 118


                                                                    Page  3