Bill Text: CA AR22 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relative to the March on Washington 50th anniversary.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 55-21)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-08-26 - Read. Amended. Adopted. (Page 2696.). [AR22 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AR22-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: HR 22 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 26, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 20, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members John A. Pérez and Weber
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Achadjian, Alejo, Allen,
Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta,
Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez,
Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman,
Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez,
Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Grove, Hagman, Hall,
Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder,
Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Medina, Melendez, Mitchell,
Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan,
Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Wieckowski,
Wilk, Williams, and Yamada )
AUGUST 5, 2013
Relative to the March on Washington 50th anniversary.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST
WHEREAS, The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August
28, 1963, was one of the largest rallies for human rights in United
States history and called for civil and economic rights for African
Americans; and
WHEREAS, The March on Washington included musical performances by
Marian Anderson, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Mahalia Jackson, and a
series of speeches by various civil rights leaders, including
Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish religious leaders, as well as now
Congressman John Lewis and the only female speaker, Josephine Baker;
and
WHEREAS, At the March on Washington, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, delivered one
of the most famous speeches in American history, his "I Have a Dream"
speech, advocating racial harmony and social justice; and
WHEREAS, The March on Washington was organized by a group of civil
rights, labor, and religious organizations, under the theme "jobs
and freedom," with an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people
participating; and
WHEREAS, The 1963 March on Washington played an important part in
the rapidly expanding civil rights movement, and it also marked the
100th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by
President Abraham Lincoln; and
WHEREAS, The March on Washington was planned and initiated by A.
Philip Randolph, the President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car
Porters -- the first predominantly black labor union. He was also
President of the Negro American Labor Council and Vice President of
the AFL-CIO; and
WHEREAS, When schools in the South resisted school integration
following Brown v. Board of Education, Randolph organized a Prayer
Pilgrimage with Martin Luther King, Jr., and in 1958 and 1959,
Randolph organized youth marches for integrated schools in
Washington, D.C.; and
WHEREAS, Randolph inspired the "Freedom Budget," sometimes called
the "Randolph Freedom Budget," which aimed to deal with the economic
problems facing the African American community, particularly workers
and the unemployed; and
WHEREAS, Bayard Rustin was the chief organizer of the March on
Washington and instrumental in organizing its logistics. He drafted
off-duty police officers to be marshals and bus captains to direct
traffic, and scheduled the podium speakers; and
WHEREAS, Rustin was an American leader in social movements for
civil rights, nonviolence, and gay rights and became a leading
strategist in the civil rights movement from 1955 to 1968, helping to
organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to strengthen
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s leadership and promote the philosophy and
practice of nonviolent resistance; and
WHEREAS, Commemorating the 1963 March on Washington affirms our
nation's and our state's commitment to achieving the social and
economic justice sought by the marchers and their vision of social
equality, opportunity, and racial harmony embodied in the Martin
Luther King, Jr.'s captivating "I Have A Dream" speech; and
WHEREAS, Bayard Rustin proclaimed the demands of the March on
Washington to be "effective civil rights legislation," an end to
segregation "in every school district in the year 1963," "the
enforcement of the Fourteenth Amendment" to the United States
Constitution, a ban on "discrimination in all housing supported by
federal funds," "an increase in the national minimum wage so that men
may live in dignity," and that "all of the rights that are given to
any citizen be given to black men and men of every minority group"
including a strong Fair Employment Practices Commission; and
WHEREAS, The March on Washington is widely credited with helping
to pave the way for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the
Voting Rights Act of 1965; and
WHEREAS, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 laid the foundation of civil
rights legislation in the United States when it outlawed major forms
of discrimination against racial, ethnic, national, and religious
minorities, and women; and
WHEREAS, In addition, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 became the
landmark federal legislation in the United States to prohibit
discrimination in voting. This act, echoing the language of the
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibits
states and local governments from imposing any "voting qualification
or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure ... to
deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to
vote on account of race or color"; and
WHEREAS, In recent years, states have enacted voting laws that
could potentially disenfranchise voters; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, By the Assembly of the State of California, That the
Assembly commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on
Washington for Jobs and Freedom and how it served as a catalyst for
the passage of landmark legislative reforms, such as the Voting
Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and be it
further
Resolved, That the sacrifices made by the leaders and participants
of the March on Washington 50 years ago are recognized and honored
for their role in the advancement of civil rights and social justice
in the United States; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
