Bill Text: DE SCR5 | 2019-2020 | 150th General Assembly | Draft
Bill Title: Honoring The Leadership And Achievements Of African Americans And Urging The Celebration Of Black History Month.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-01-24 - Passed In House by Voice Vote [SCR5 Detail]
Download: Delaware-2019-SCR5-Draft.html
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SPONSOR: |
Sen. Brown & Sen. Lockman on behalf of all Senators & Rep. K. Johnson on behalf of all Representatives |
DELAWARE STATE SENATE
150th GENERAL ASSEMBLY
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 5
HONORING THE LEADERSHIP AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS AND URGING THE CELEBRATION OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH.
WHEREAS, in 1776, the United States was envisioned as a new nation, dedicated to the principle set forth in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”; and
WHEREAS, Africans were first brought involuntarily to the shores of the United States as early as the 17th century; and
WHEREAS, African Americans suffered enslavement and subsequently faced the injustices of lynch mobs, segregation, and denial of the basic and fundamental rights of citizenship; and
WHEREAS, in 2019, the vestiges of those injustices and inequalities remain evident in the society of the United States; and
WHEREAS, in the face of injustices, people of good will and of all races in the United States have distinguished themselves with a commitment to the noble ideals on which the United States was founded, and have fought courageously for the rights and freedom of African Americans and people of all races; and
WHEREAS, African Americans, such as Lieutenant Colonel Allen Allensworth, Maya Angelou, Arthur Ashe, Jr., James Baldwin, James Beckwourth, Clara Brown, Blanche Bruce, Ralph Bunche, Shirley Chisholm, Holt Collier, Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison, Medgar Evers, Alex Haley, Dorothy Height, Jon Hendricks, Lena Horne, Charles Hamilton Houston, Mahalia Jackson, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, B.B. King, Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King, Thurgood Marshall, Constance Baker Motley, Rosa Parks, Walter Payton, Bill Pickett, Homer Plessy, Bass Reeves, Hiram Revels, Amelia Platts Boynton Robinson, Jackie Robinson, Aaron Shirley, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, the Greensboro Four, the Tuskegee Airmen, Prince Rogers Nelson, Recy Taylor, Fred Shuttlesworth, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Muhammad Ali, Ella Fitzgerald, Mamie Till, and Edith Savage-Jennings, along with many others, worked against racism to achieve success and to make significant contributions to the economic, educational, political, artistic, athletic, literary, scientific, and technological advancement of the United States; and
WHEREAS, African Americans, such as Louis L. Redding, Peter Spencer, Mary Ann Shadd Carey, Henrietta Johnson, Herman Holloway, Sr., William J. Winchester, and James Sills, along with many others, worked against racism and made significant contributions to improve the lives of Delawareans; and
WHEREAS, the contributions of African Americans, from all walks of life and throughout the history of the United States, reflect the greatness of the United States; and
WHEREAS, many African Americans lived, toiled, and died in obscurity, never achieving the recognition those individuals deserved, yet paving the way for future generations to succeed; and
WHEREAS, African Americans continue to serve the United States at the highest levels of business, government, and the military; and
WHEREAS, the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass inspired the creation of Negro History Week, the precursor to Black History Month; and
WHEREAS, Negro History Week represented the culmination of the efforts of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, considered the father of Black history, to enhance knowledge of Black history through “The Journal of Negro History”, published by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, an association founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson and Jesse E. Moorland; and
WHEREAS, Black History Month, celebrated during the month of February, originated in 1926 when Dr. Carter G. Woodson set aside a special period in February to recognize the heritage and achievements of Black people in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Carter G. Woodson stated, “We have a wonderful history behind us . . . If you are unable to demonstrate to the world that you have this record, the world will say to you, ‘You are not worthy to enjoy the blessings of democracy or anything else’.”; and
WHEREAS, since its founding, the United States has imperfectly progressed toward noble goals; and
WHEREAS, the history of the United States is the story of people regularly affirming high ideals, striving to reach those ideals but often failing, and then struggling to come to terms with the disappointment of that failure, before committing to try again; and
WHEREAS, on November 4, 2008, the people of the United States elected Barack Obama, an African-American man, as President of the United States; and
WHEREAS, on February 22, 2012, people across the United States celebrated the groundbreaking of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened to the public on September 24, 2016, on the National Mall in Washington, District of Columbia; and
WHEREAS, Black History Month is observed annually during the month of February.
NOW, THEREFORE:
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the 150th General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that the General Assembly acknowledges that all people of the United States are the recipients of the wealth of history provided by Black culture and recognizes the importance of Black History Month as an opportunity to reflect on the complex history of the United States, while remaining hopeful and confident about the path ahead; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State of Delaware acknowledges the significance of Black History Month as an important opportunity to commemorate the tremendous contributions of African Americans to the history of the United States and encourages the celebration of Black History Month to provide a continuing opportunity for all people in the United States to learn from the past and understand the experiences that have shaped the United States; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State of Delaware agrees that, while the United States began as a divided country, the United States should honor the contribution of all pioneers in the United States who have helped to ensure the legacy of the great United States move forward with purpose, united tirelessly as a nation “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”.
SYNOPSIS
This Senate Concurrent Resolution honors and recognizes the leadership and achievements of African Americans and urges the celebration of Black History Month.
Author: Senator Brown
