Bill Text: NY J00314 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim February 2023, as Black History Month in the State of New York

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 42-21)

Status: (Passed) 2023-01-31 - ADOPTED [J00314 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-J00314-Introduced.html

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Senate Resolution No. 314

BY: Senator STEWART-COUSINS

        MEMORIALIZING  Governor  Kathy  Hochul to proclaim
        February 2023, as Black History Month in  the  State
        of New York

  WHEREAS,  Black  History  Month,  previously  known as Negro History
Week, was founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, and was first celebrated  on
February  1,  1926;  since  1976,  it has become a nationally recognized
month-long celebration, held each year during the month of  February  to
acknowledge  and  pay  tribute  to  African-Americans  neglected by both
society and the history books; and

  WHEREAS, The  month  of  February  observes  the  rich  and  diverse
heritage of our great State and Nation; and

  WHEREAS,  Black  History  Month  seeks to emphasize Black History is
American History; and

  WHEREAS, Black History Month is a time to reflect on  the  struggles
and  victories of African-Americans throughout our country's history and
to recognize their numerous valuable contributions to the protection  of
our democratic society in war and in peace; and

  WHEREAS,  Some African-American pioneers whose many accomplishments,
all which took place during the month of  February,  went  unnoticed  as
well  as  numerous  symbolic  events  in  February,  that  deserve to be
memorialized include: John Sweat Rock, a noted Boston lawyer who  became
the  first  African-American  admitted  to argue before the U.S. Supreme
Court on February 1, 1865, and the first African-American to be received
on the floor of the  U.S.  House  of  Representatives;  Jonathan  Jasper
Wright,  the  first  African-American to hold a major judicial position,
who was elected to the South Carolina Supreme Court on February 1, 1870;
President Abraham Lincoln submits the proposed  13th  Amendment  to  the
U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery, to the states for ratification on
February  1,  1865;  civil rights protester Jimmie Lee Jackson dies from
wounds inflicted during a protest on February 26, 1965, leading  to  the
historic  Selma,  Alabama  civil rights demonstrations, including Bloody
Sunday in which 600 demonstrators, including  Martin  Luther  King,  Jr.
were   attacked   by   police;   Autherine  J.  Lucy  became  the  first
African-American student to attend the University of Alabama on February
3, 1956, she was expelled three days  later  "for  her  own  safety"  in
response to threats from a mob; in 1992, Autherine Lucy Foster graduated
from  the  University  with a Master's degree in Education, the same day
her daughter, Grazia Foster,  graduated  with  a  Bachelor's  degree  in
Corporate  Finance; the Negro Baseball League was founded on February 3,
1920; Jack Johnson, the first African-American World Heavyweight  Boxing
Champion,  won  his  first  title  on  February 3, 1903; and Reginald F.
Lewis, born on December 7, 1942, in Baltimore,  Maryland,  received  his
law degree from Harvard Law School in 1968, and was a partner in Murphy,
Thorpes  &  Lewis, the first Black law firm on Wall Street, and in 1989,
he became President and CEO of TLC Beatrice International Food  Company,
the largest Black-owned business in the United States; and

  WHEREAS,    In    recognition   of   the   vast   contributions   of
African-Americans, a joyful month-long celebration is  held  across  New
York  State  and across the United States with many commemorative events
to honor and display the cultural heritage of African-Americans; and

  WHEREAS,   This   Legislative  Body  commends  the  African-American
community for preserving,  for  future  generations,  its  centuries-old
traditions  that  benefit  us all and add to the color and beauty of the
tapestry which is our American society; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
memorialize  Governor  Kathy  Hochul to proclaim February 2023, as Black
History Month in the State of New York; and be it further

  RESOLVED, That copies of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted  to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York; and to the events commemorating Black History Month throughout New
York State.