Senate Resolution No. 54

Introduced by Senators Hall and Mitchell

January 4, 2016

Senate Resolution No. 54—Relative to Black History Month.

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 and noble men and 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 the holds of 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 various 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, Jessie 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; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate
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 Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.