House Resolution 14 - Introduced HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 14 BY ABDUL-SAMAD , H. MILLER , BERRY , GAINES , and THEDE A Resolution designating February 2011 as Black History 1 Month. 2 WHEREAS, Black History Month in the United States 3 dates back to 1926, based upon the efforts of Dr. 4 Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard-educated scholar descended 5 from slave parents; and 6 WHEREAS, Black History Month is traditionally 7 observed in February of each year; and 8 WHEREAS, Black History Month is designated to 9 recognize and pay tribute to many African Americans 10 long neglected by society and the history books; and 11 WHEREAS, Black History Month aims to bridge the gap 12 created by American history’s failure to accurately 13 acknowledge, portray, and record the contributions of 14 Blacks in society; and 15 WHEREAS, Black History Month acknowledges the 16 achievements of Blacks in the military, the arts, 17 civil rights, education, entertainment, history, law, 18 literature, medicine, music, politics, science, sports, 19 and other areas; and 20 WHEREAS, the African American population in Iowa has 21 grown from 1.4 percent of the state population in 1980 22 to 2.9 percent in 2010, to almost 90,000 Iowans; and 23 WHEREAS, African Americans in Iowa are increasingly 24 assuming leadership roles in law, medicine, sports, 25 government, education, the arts, and other areas; and 26 WHEREAS, the five African American sponsors 27 of this resolution currently serving in the House 28 -1- LSB 2708HH (4) 84 jr/rj 1/ 2
H.R. 14 of Representatives constitute one of the largest 1 delegations of African Americans ever to serve in the 2 House of Representatives; NOW THEREFORE, 3 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 4 That the House of Representatives designates February 5 2011 as Black History Month and encourages schools, 6 community leaders, religious leaders, and all 7 Iowans to take this opportunity to embrace the rich 8 history of African Americans in Iowa, from George 9 Washington Carver to James B. Morris to Simon Estes 10 to Luther and Willie Glanton, and to rediscover the 11 contributions African Americans continue to make to 12 Iowa’s educational, economic, and cultural well-being. 13 -2- LSB 2708HH (4) 84 jr/rj 2/ 2