[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1040 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1040
Recognizing and celebrating the significance of Black History Month.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 29, 2024
Mr. Green of Texas (for himself, Ms. Adams, Mr. Amo, Ms. Barragan, Mr.
Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Bowman, Ms. Brown,
Ms. Brownley, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Cardenas, Mr. Carson, Mr. Carter of
Louisiana, Mr. Case, Mr. Costa, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Davis of Illinois,
Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Ms. DelBene, Mr.
Deluzio, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Doggett, Ms. Escobar, Mr.
Espaillat, Mrs. Fletcher, Mr. Frost, Mr. Garamendi, Ms. Garcia of
Texas, Mr. Goldman of New York, Mr. Ivey, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Johnson
of Georgia, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Landsman, Ms.
Lee of California, Ms. McCollum, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin,
Mr. Morelle, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Mullin, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. Norton, Ms.
Omar, Mr. Peters, Mr. Phillips, Ms. Porter, Ms. Pressley, Ms. Salinas,
Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Mrs.
Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Stansbury, Ms. Titus, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Trone,
Mr. Vargas, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mrs. Watson Coleman,
Ms. Williams of Georgia, and Ms. Wilson of Florida) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight
and Accountability
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing and celebrating the significance of Black History Month.
Whereas this resolution may be cited as the Original Black History Month
Resolution of 2024;
Whereas this resolution has been endorsed by the Association for the Study of
African American Life and History;
Whereas the theme for Black History Month 2024 is ``African Americans and the
Arts'', which commemorates the influence of African Americans to
artistic and cultural movements in all fields, including visual and
performing arts, literature, fashion, folklore, language, film, music,
architecture, cuisine, and other forms of cultural expression;
Whereas African-American art has a long and extensive history, imbued with the
experiences of African, Caribbean, and Black Americans' lived
experiences;
Whereas many cultural and artistic genres have been created and pioneered by
people of African descent throughout history;
Whereas this resolution highlights Black artists and creators in various fields
and their contributions to larger African-American movements;
Whereas enslaved Africans brought the tradition of sweetgrass basket weaving
from West Africa to the low country of the American colonies over 300
years ago, a visual artistry which predates the American Revolution;
Whereas the enslaved Africans created the musical form of spirituals, religious
folksong often sung during hours of manual labor;
Whereas famous spirituals include songs such as ``Swing Low, Sweet Chariot'',
composed by Wallace Willis;
Whereas some spirituals served as a means of communication between liberators
and seekers of freedom;
Whereas Robert Johnson, the Mississippi-born musician, was an elusive and
influential early Blues musician who has since been inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame;
Whereas McKinley ``Muddy Waters'' Morganfield, another Blues musician inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, released the songs ``I Can't Be
Satisfied'' and ``I Feel Like Going Home'';
Whereas early Blues musicians, who were also often gospel performers, created
the foundation for jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and other forms of music that are
continuing to develop;
Whereas Phillis Wheatley, an educated and enslaved poet, published ``Poems on
Various Subjects, Religious and Moral in 1773'', the first volume of
poetry by an African American published in the modern era;
Whereas David Walker, a free Black man, wrote for the Freedom's Journal, an
antislavery weekly, as well as wrote and circulated abolitionist
literature in the 1820s;
Whereas one such piece of literature was ``Walker's Appeal, in Four Articles;
Together with a Preamble, to the Colored Citizens of the World, but in
Particular, and Very Expressly, to Those of the United States of
America'', a widely circulated abolitionist pamphlet which called for
the enslaved to rebel against their enslavers;
Whereas Maria Stewart, an abolitionist and women's rights advocate, contributed
to the literary world by being the first Black American woman to write
and publish a political manifesto;
Whereas Edmonia Lewis created the sculpture The Death of Cleopatra in 1876,
challenging contemporary society's norms on death in art by depicting
the moment after the snake's venom had taken its toll instead of the
more traditional depiction of her contemplating suicide;
Whereas Henry Ossawa Tanner painted The Banjo Lesson in 1893 shedding light on
the poverty in which so many African Americans of the time lived while
still maintaining their dignity and grace;
Whereas the Black Renaissance and New Negro Movement gained momentum in the
1920s and 1930s, bringing the Black arts to the international stage;
Whereas the novel ``The Fire in the Flint'' was a powerful view of 20th century
racial oppression written by Walter White in 1924 and translated into
French, spreading to the Black population in France and French-speaking
colonies in Africa and the Caribbean;
Whereas, due to World War I, Black soldiers in the Armed Forces such as James
Reese Europe brought Black culture and music with them when they were
sent abroad;
Whereas Langston Hughes, the poet, social activist, playwright, and columnist,
was a powerful figure during the Harlem Renaissance and spread Black
culture and art through his travels to West Africa and Europe;
Whereas the Harlem Renaissance was a significant and pivotal cultural movement
that influenced the Black Renaissance;
Whereas cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New Orleans were home to many
Black artists whose creations also contributed greatly to the Black
Renaissance;
Whereas the Black arts movement began in the 1960s as a way to artistically
explore the themes and issues that were advocated by the Black power
movement;
Whereas the poet Amiri Baraka is widely considered to be the father of the Black
arts movement;
Whereas this cultural movement emphasized the autonomy of Black artists to
create their art for Black people with the goal of awakening Black
consciousness and ultimately liberation;
Whereas the Black arts movement brought about artists such as Audre Lorde, Alvin
Ailey, Judith Jamison, Nikki Giovanni, and Sonia Sanchez;
Whereas, in 1973, a new genre of music called hip-hop was created in the Bronx,
New York, in part by Black musicians DJ Kool Herc and Coke La Rock;
Whereas five foundational elements of hip-hop include: MCing, DJing, graffiti
art, breakdancing, and knowledge of self;
Whereas hip-hop, since its inception, has been a central force in political,
social, and cultural spaces and has continued to be a space in which
issues such as racism, violence, sexism, economic disinvestment, and
others have taken center stage;
Whereas Afrofuturism is a term used to describe creative works that envision
liberated futures for Black and oppressed peoples, usually including
elements of science fiction, fantasy, or technological advancements,
ranging across all fields of the arts;
Whereas examples of Afrofuturism can be found in the music of artists such as
Sun Ra, Rashan Roland Kirk, Jimi Hendrix, and Janelle Monae;
Whereas Octavia Butler's science fiction novels such as ``Kindred'' and the
``Xenogensis'' series feature elements of Afrofuturism;
Whereas recent films such as Marvel's ``Black Panther'' and the Oscar-winning
``Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'' also prominently feature examples
of Afrofuturism;
Whereas Afrofuturistic elements can also be found in the paintings of British-
Liberian artist Lina Iris Viktor, the sculptures of Kenyan-born sculptor
Wangechi Mutu, as well as the creations of Caribbean writers and artists
like Nalo Hopkinson and Grace Jones;
Whereas the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass inspired the
creation of Negro History Week, the precursor to Black History Month;
and
Whereas the month of February is officially celebrated as Black History Month,
which dates to 1926 when Dr. Carter G. Woodson set aside the second week
in February as Negro History Week to recognize the heritage and
achievement of Black Americans: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives recognizes the
importance of commemorating Black History Month as it acknowledges the
achievements of Black Americans throughout the Nation's history and
encourages the continuation of its celebration to raise the awareness
of this community's accomplishments for all Americans.
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