Florida Senate - 2017 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SM 572
Ì396826JÎ396826
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
.
.
.
.
.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
The Committee on Commerce and Tourism (Campbell) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the resolving clause
4 and insert:
5 That the Congress of the United States is urged to
6 recognize January 1 as “Haitian Independence Day,” the month of
7 May as “Haitian American Heritage Month,” May 18 as “Haitian
8 Flag Day,” and the month of June as “Caribbean American Heritage
9 Month.”
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State is
11 directed to dispatch copies of this memorial to the President of
12 the United States, to the President of the United States Senate,
13 to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,
14 and to each member of the Florida delegation to the United
15 States Congress.
16
17 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
18 And the title is amended as follows:
19 Delete everything before the resolving clause
20 and insert:
21 Senate Memorial
22 A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
23 urging Congress to recognize January 1 as “Haitian
24 Independence Day,” the month of May as “Haitian
25 American Heritage Month,” May 18 as “Haitian Flag
26 Day,” and the month of June as “Caribbean American
27 Heritage Month.”
28
29 WHEREAS, the United States of America has thrived as a
30 country of immigrants, united by common values and the promise
31 of a better tomorrow, and
32 WHEREAS, the Republic of Haiti, an island nation located in
33 the West Indies on the western third of the Island of
34 Hispaniola, declared its independence from French colonial rule
35 on January 1, 1804, following a slave revolt under the
36 leadership of Generals Toussaint L’Ouverture, Jean-Jacques
37 Dessalines, and Alexandre Pétion, becoming the first and only
38 nation created from a successful slave rebellion, and
39 WHEREAS, Haiti was the first independent nation in Latin
40 America and the first postcolonial independent nation led by
41 blacks in the world, and
42 WHEREAS, as educators, authors, community leaders,
43 activists, athletes, artists, musicians, and politicians,
44 Haitian Americans have made their mark in every facet of society
45 and have contributed to the betterment and diversity of this
46 nation, and
47 WHEREAS, the close proximity of Haiti to American shores,
48 in conjunction with our common bond of mutual values and
49 commitment to democracy, ensures lasting comity of nations and
50 continued trade and diplomatic relations, and
51 WHEREAS, an estimated 1.5 million persons of Haitian
52 descent now live throughout this nation, and
53 WHEREAS, the United States and Haiti share a history of
54 freedom, a common belief in human rights, and diverse, complex,
55 and resilient peoples who have impacted the world through
56 vibrant cultures, democracy, and a wealth of talent and
57 achievement, and
58 WHEREAS, Haitian Independence Day is globally acknowledged
59 and annually celebrated on January 1 as an affirmation of
60 equality, freedom, and the abolition of slavery, and
61 WHEREAS, Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson and Congressman
62 Kendrick B. Meek, having acknowledged the importance of Haitian
63 Americans in this nation’s history and diversity, have proposed
64 resolutions in the United States House of Representatives to
65 recognize the month of May as “Haitian American Heritage Month”
66 in the United States, and
67 WHEREAS, Haitian American Heritage Month is held to salute
68 the Haitian and Haitian American communities and to exhibit
69 appreciation for their culture and heritage, which have
70 immeasurably enriched the lives of the people of this nation,
71 and
72 WHEREAS, the Haitian flag known today, a variant of which
73 first came into use in 1806, is emblazoned with the country’s
74 coat of arms and the colors red and blue, adopted from the flag
75 of France, the country from which Haiti gained its independence,
76 and
77 WHEREAS, General Jean-Jacques Dessalines is regarded as the
78 father of the Haitian flag, known to have dramatically cut the
79 French tricolor with his saber at the May 1803 Congress of
80 Arcahaie, ripping away the white of the French flag to symbolize
81 an end to European influence and leaving two strips that
82 Catherine Flon then sewed back together: the blue, which
83 represented the former African slaves brought to Haiti by
84 colonial powers, and the red, which symbolized a people of mixed
85 ancestry, and
86 WHEREAS, the Haitian flag is a definitive symbol of pride
87 for the Caribbean nation, having become the second republic,
88 after the United States, to defeat a European colonial power in
89 the Americas, and
90 WHEREAS, Haitian Flag Day events are annually observed and
91 celebrated with pride and enthusiasm throughout the United
92 States, and
93 WHEREAS, from a region that conjures images of a scenic
94 paradise, Caribbean Americans are as vibrant as the islands from
95 which they come, possessing a wealth of talent and history that
96 reverberates throughout this great state and nation, and
97 WHEREAS, emigration from the Caribbean region to the
98 American colonies began as early as 1619, with the arrival of
99 indentured workers in Jamestown, Virginia, and since 1820,
100 millions of people have emigrated from the Caribbean region to
101 the United States, and
102 WHEREAS, as educators, authors, community leaders and
103 activists, musicians, and politicians, Caribbean Americans have
104 made their mark on every facet of our society and have
105 contributed to the betterment and diversity of our state and
106 nation, and
107 WHEREAS, counted among the many famous sons and daughters
108 of the Caribbean are activist W. E. B. Du Bois; Secretary of the
109 Treasury Alexander Hamilton; the first African American
110 Secretary of State, Colin Powell; actress Cicely Tyson; actor
111 Sidney Poitier, the first African American actor to receive the
112 Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role; author, poet,
113 and civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson; musician, actor,
114 and activist Harry Belafonte; athlete Roberto Clemente, the
115 first Latino inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame;
116 and numerous others who have displayed great strength and
117 resiliency while serving as pioneers among the people of the
118 Caribbean, and
119 WHEREAS, the modern political influences of Caribbean
120 Americans are evident in the election of a former member of the
121 Florida House of Representatives, Jennifer Carroll of Trinidad
122 and Tobago, as Florida’s first Caribbean American Lieutenant
123 Governor; the election of former Maryland Lieutenant Governor
124 Anthony G. Brown, who is of Jamaican descent; and the continued
125 representation in local, state, and national governments by
126 members from the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Haiti, Jamaica,
127 and other Caribbean nations, and
128 WHEREAS, in June 2005, the United States House of
129 Representatives unanimously adopted a concurrent resolution
130 recognizing the significance of Caribbean people and their
131 descendants in the history and culture of the United States and
132 observing the month of June as “Caribbean American Heritage
133 Month,” and
134 WHEREAS, on February 14, 2006, the United States Senate
135 unanimously passed the resolution, culminating a two-year
136 bicameral effort, and
137 WHEREAS, since the passage of the resolution in 2005, the
138 White House has issued an annual proclamation recognizing June
139 as “Caribbean American Heritage Month,” exemplifying the
140 importance of this observance across the nation, NOW, THEREFORE,