[Pages S3391-S3392]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 273--RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF BLACK PEOPLE TO 
  THE MUSICAL HERITAGE OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE NEED FOR GREATER 
ACCESS TO MUSIC EDUCATION FOR BLACK STUDENTS AND DESIGNATING JUNE 2025 
                        AS ``BLACK MUSIC MONTH''

  By Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. 
Durbin, and Ms. Blunt Rochester) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 273

       Whereas spirituals, ragtime, blues, jazz, gospel, classical 
     composition, and countless other categories of music have 
     been created or enhanced by Black people and are etched into 
     the history and culture of the United States;
       Whereas the first Africans transported to the United States 
     came from a variety of ethnic groups with a long history of 
     distinct and cultivated musical traditions, brought musical 
     instruments with them, and built new musical instruments in 
     the United States;
       Whereas spirituals were a distinct response to the 
     conditions of African slavery in the United States and 
     expressed the longing of slaves for spiritual and bodily 
     freedom, for safety from harm and evil, and for relief from 
     the hardships of slavery;
       Whereas jazz, arguably the most creative and complex music 
     that the United States has produced, combines the musical 
     traditions of Black people in New Orleans with the creative 
     flexibility of blues music;
       Whereas masterful trumpeters Louis Armstrong and Miles 
     Davis achieved national and international recognition with 
     the success of ``West End Blues'' by Louis Armstrong in the 
     1920s and ``So What'' by Miles Davis in the late 1950s;
       Whereas Thomas Dorsey, the father of gospel music, used his 
     composing talents to merge sacred and secular styles that 
     created a revolution in music;
       Whereas talented jazz pianist and vocalist Nathaniel Adams 
     Coles recorded more than 150 singles and sold more than 
     50,000,000 records;
       Whereas the talent of Ella Fitzgerald, a winner of 13 
     Grammy Awards, is epitomized by a rendition of 
     ``Summertime'', a bluesy record accompanied by melodic 
     vocals;
       Whereas Natalie Cole, the daughter of Nathaniel Adams 
     Coles, achieved musical success in the mid-1970s as a rhythm 
     and blues artist with the hits ``This Will Be'' and 
     ``Unforgettable'';
       Whereas, in the 1940s, bebop evolved through jam sessions, 
     which included trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and the alto 
     saxophonist Charlie Parker, that were held at clubs in 
     Harlem, New York, such as Minton's Playhouse;
       Whereas earlier classical singers such as Elizabeth Taylor 
     Greenfield, one of the first

[[Page S3392]]

     widely known Black vocalists, and other early Black singing 
     pioneers, including Nellie Mitchell Brown, Marie Selika 
     Williams, Rachel Walker Turner, Marian Anderson, and Flora 
     Batson Bergen, paved the way for the female Black concert 
     singers who have achieved great popularity during the last 50 
     years;
       Whereas the term ``rhythm and blues'' originated in the 
     late 1940s as a way to describe recordings marketed to Black 
     people and replaced the term ``race music'';
       Whereas lyrical themes in rhythm and blues often 
     encapsulate the Black experience of pain, the quest for 
     freedom, joy, triumphs and failures, relationships, 
     economics, and aspiration and were popularized by artists 
     such as Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, Etta James, and Otis 
     Redding;
       Whereas soul music originated in the Black community in the 
     late 1950s and early 1960s, combines elements of Black gospel 
     music, rhythm and blues, and jazz, and was popularized by 
     artists such as Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles, 
     Sam Cooke, Bill Withers, and Jackie Wilson;
       Whereas Motown, founded as a record label in 1959, evolved 
     into a distinctive style known for the ``Motown Sound'', a 
     blend of pop and soul musical stylings made popular by 
     prominent Black artists such as Marvin Gaye, James Mason, and 
     Mary Wells;
       Whereas Go-Go, developed by Black musicians in the mid-
     1960s, combines funk, soul, and Latin music, was popularized 
     by artists such as Chuck Brown and Rare Essence, and is the 
     ``official music of Washington, DC'';
       Whereas the National Museum of African American Music in 
     Nashville, Tennessee, serves as the official home of Black 
     Music Month and is dedicated to preserving and celebrating 
     the central role of Black music in American culture;
       Whereas Harry Belafonte, a singer, actor, and activist, and 
     a supporter and confidant of Martin Luther King, Jr., 
     throughout the civil rights movement, influenced by his 
     Caribbean roots, popularized Calypso music in the United 
     States;
       Whereas, in the early 1970s, the musical style of disco 
     emerged and was popularized by programs such as Soul Train 
     and by artists such as Donna Summer;
       Whereas reggae is a genre of music that originated in 
     Jamaica in the late 1960s and incorporates some of the 
     musical elements of rhythm and blues, jazz, mento, calypso, 
     and African music, and was popularized by artists such as Bob 
     Marley;
       Whereas rock and roll was developed from Black musical 
     styles such as gospel and rhythm and blues and was 
     popularized by artists such as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, 
     Little Richard, and Jimi Hendrix;
       Whereas rap, arguably the most complex and influential form 
     of hip-hop culture, combines blues, jazz, and soul and 
     elements of the Black musical tradition with Caribbean 
     calypso, dub, and dance hall reggae;
       Whereas the development and popularity of old-style rap 
     combined confident beats with wordplay and storytelling, 
     highlighting the struggle of Black youth growing up in 
     underresourced neighborhoods;
       Whereas Dayton, Ohio, known as the ``Land of Funk'', helped 
     give rise to the genre of funk as a mixture of soul, jazz, 
     and rhythm and blues and popularized bands such as the Ohio 
     Players, Heatwave, Roger and Zapp, and Lakeside;
       Whereas contemporary rhythm and blues, which originated in 
     the late 1970s and combines elements of pop, rhythm and 
     blues, soul, funk, hip hop, gospel, and electronic dance 
     music, was popularized by artists such as Whitney Houston and 
     Aaliyah;
       Whereas Prince Rogers Nelson, a Minnesota native, was a 
     one-of-a-kind artist who made ``Purple Rain'' a household 
     name, First Avenue a landmark, and brought international fame 
     to Minnesota's music scene;
       Whereas the incredible Billie Holiday created a cultural 
     reset by recording ``Strange Fruit'', originally a poem that 
     depicted lynching in the southern United States, which became 
     the first protest song of the civil rights era;
       Whereas the talented jazz artist Duke Ellington pushed 
     boundaries with his hits ``It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't 
     Got That Swing'' and ``Sophisticated Lady'' and received 13 
     Grammy Awards and the Presidential Gold Medal;
       Whereas Sister Rosetta Tharpe, known as the ``Godmother of 
     Rock 'n' Roll'', combined her distinctive guitar style with 
     melodic blues and traditional gospel music that influenced 
     the likes of Aretha Franklin and Chuck Berry;
       Whereas Tina Turner, known as the ``Queen of Rock 'n' 
     Roll'', stunned audiences with her powerful vocals, was the 
     first woman or Black musician to be featured on the cover of 
     Rolling Stone, and received 12 Grammy Awards during her 
     lifetime;
       Whereas trailblazer Florence Price was the first noted 
     Black female composer to gain national status and the first 
     Black woman to have her composed work performed by a major 
     national symphony orchestra;
       Whereas the classical singer Marian Anderson broke down 
     racial barriers by performing at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 
     after being denied the opportunity to sing in front of an 
     integrated audience at the Daughters of the American 
     Revolution Constitution Hall in Washington, DC;
       Whereas country music singer Charley Pride was inducted 
     into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000 and has had more 
     than 40 hits reach number 1 on the country charts;
       Whereas Nina Simone, one of the most prominent and 
     extraordinary soul singers, has music spanning more than 4 
     decades that impacted generations with detailed story-
     telling;
       Whereas musician Bobby McFerrin brought joy to audiences 
     everywhere with his smash hit ``Don't Worry Be Happy'';
       Whereas famous saxophone player John Coltrane made his 
     impact on genres like bebop, jazz, and rhythm and blues 
     through his work such as ``A Love Supreme'';
       Whereas David Jolicoeur, also known as Trugoy the Dove, was 
     a founding member of hip-hop groups De La Soul and Native 
     Tongues and used his passion for rap music to spread positive 
     messages within his community;
       Whereas musical force Marvin Gaye used his versatility as 
     an artist to produce hits like ``I Heard It Through the 
     Grapevine'' and ``Ain't No Mountain High Enough'';
       Whereas Sylvia Robinson, a New Jersey native, was an 
     American singer, record producer, and founder of Sugar Hill 
     Records and is widely credited with launching the hip-hop 
     genre internationally;
       Whereas New Jersey resident Q-Tip, also known as Kamaal 
     Fareed, along with his fellow members of A Tribe Called 
     Quest--Phife Dawg, Jarobi White, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad--
     helped define uplifting and conscious hip-hop;
       Whereas Camden, New Jersey native Leon Huff and his 
     longtime partner Kenny Gamble are Grammy-winning songwriters 
     and producers, who founded Philadelphia International Records 
     and produced over 170 gold and platinum records for artists 
     such as Billy Paul, Lou Rawls, The O'Jays, Patti LaBelle, and 
     Phyllis Hyman;
       Whereas Black Music Month was established 46 years ago by 
     songwriter and producer Kenny Gamble, broadcaster Dyana 
     Williams, and radio executive Ed Wright under the auspices of 
     the Black Music Association;
       Whereas a recent study by the National Arts Education Data 
     Project found that 49 percent of all students attending 
     schools with a predominately African-American student 
     population do not participate in school music programs;
       Whereas Black students scored the lowest of all ethnicities 
     in the most recent National Assessment for Educational 
     Progress arts assessment;
       Whereas Black students often receive a music education that 
     does not reflect their own culture;
       Whereas students who are eligible for the school lunch 
     program established under the Richard B. Russell National 
     School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) have significantly 
     lower scores on the music portion of the National Assessment 
     for Educational Progress arts assessment than students who 
     are ineligible for that program, which suggests that students 
     in low-income families are disadvantaged in the subject of 
     music;
       Whereas a study found that--
       (1) nearly \2/3\ of music ensemble students were White and 
     middle class, and only 15 percent of those students were 
     Black; and
       (2) only 7 percent of music teacher licensure candidates 
     were Black; and
       Whereas students of color face many barriers to accessing 
     music education and training, especially students in large 
     urban public schools: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes--
       (A) the contributions of Black people to the musical 
     heritage of the United States;
       (B) the wide array of talented and popular Black musical 
     artists, composers, songwriters, and musicians who are 
     underrecognized for contributions to music;
       (C) the achievements, talent, and hard work of Black 
     pioneer artists and the obstacles that those artists overcame 
     to gain recognition;
       (D) the need for Black students to have greater access to, 
     and participation in, culturally relevant music programs in 
     schools across the United States; and
       (E) Black History Month and Black Music Month as an 
     important time--
       (i) to celebrate the impact of the Black musical heritage 
     on the musical heritage of the United States; and
       (ii) to encourage greater access to music education so that 
     the next generation may continue to greatly contribute to the 
     musical heritage of the United States; and
       (2) designates June 2025 as ``Black Music Month''.

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