Senate Bill sb0508

    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 508

    By Senator Hill





    1-246A-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to African-American History and

  3         Cultural Heritage Month; authorizing the

  4         Governor to annually recognize the month of

  5         February as "African-American History and

  6         Cultural Heritage Month"; providing an

  7         effective date.

  8  

  9         WHEREAS, long ago, approximately 12 million

10  African-American men, women, and children were forced to enter

11  European ships for lives of slavery in the Western Hemisphere,

12  10 million of whom survived the Middle Passage to arrive in

13  America, and

14         WHEREAS, the Civil War erupted because the ideals upon

15  which this country was founded are in direct conflict with

16  slavery, resulting in the ratification of the 13th Amendment,

17  abolishing slavery in the United States of America, and

18         WHEREAS, the civil rights movement of the 20th century

19  began in an effort to correct the failures of Reconstruction

20  and erase the remnants of slavery still evident in Jim Crow

21  laws, in continued segregation in nearly every aspect of daily

22  life, and in the persistence of second-class citizenship for

23  African Americans, and

24         WHEREAS, as a testament of strength throughout these

25  struggles, African Americans such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner

26  Truth, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T.

27  Washington, George Washington Carver, Carter G. Woodson,

28  Malcolm X., Thurgood Marshall, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther

29  King, Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, Shirley Chisholm, and Barbara

30  Jordan have contributed to the political and social growth of

31  American society, and

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 508
    1-246A-05




 1         WHEREAS, through the contributions of African-American

 2  musicians and writers such as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie,

 3  Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Ella

 4  Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Leontyne Price, Marian Anderson,

 5  Andre Watts, Phyllis Wheatley, Langston Hughes, James Baldwin,

 6  Richard Wright, Alex Haley, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker,

 7  Gwendolyn Brooks, and Toni Morrison, the culture of the United

 8  States of America has been vitally enriched, and

 9         WHEREAS, African-American sports figures, such as Jesse

10  Owens, Arthur Ashe, Muhammad Ali, Robert "Bullet Bob" Hayes, a

11  Florida native who still is the only athlete to earn both an

12  Olympic Gold Medal and an NFL Super Bowl Ring, Tiger Woods,

13  Venus Williams, and Serena Williams, have demonstrated their

14  ability to be role models on and off the field, in and out of

15  the ring, as they stood up for their rights and beliefs, and

16         WHEREAS, the fields of medicine, science, and

17  technology have all been advanced by the contributions of such

18  African-American men and women as Dr. Charles Drew, Dr. Daniel

19  Hale Williams, Garrett Morgan, George Washington Carver, Dr.

20  Mae C. Jemison, and Dr. Benjamin Carson, and

21         WHEREAS, African Americans who are native to Florida,

22  such as Zora Neale Hurston, Charles Kenzie Steele, Sr., Jesse

23  K. McCrary, Jr., Joseph E. Lee, Asa Philip Randolph, and Mary

24  McLeod Bethune, have proudly represented our state as they

25  contributed to the history and culture of the United States of

26  America, and

27         WHEREAS, it is important to celebrate the many

28  achievements of African Americans in an effort to offer each

29  American a broader perspective of our history and an

30  appreciation for the diversity that makes our country strong,

31  and

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 508
    1-246A-05




 1         WHEREAS, February is the birth month of both Abraham

 2  Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, two of the leaders in the

 3  movement to abolish slavery, and has been recognized at the

 4  local, state, and national levels as an appropriate month for

 5  commemoration of African-American contributions to our society

 6  since 1926 when Dr. Carter G. Woodson, historian and founder

 7  of the Journal of Negro History, initiated the observance with

 8  Negro History Week, NOW, THEREFORE,

 9  

10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

11  

12         Section 1.  African-American History and Cultural

13  Heritage Month.--

14         (1)  The month of February of each year is recognized

15  as African-American History and Cultural Heritage Month.

16         (2)  The Governor may issue annually a proclamation

17  recognizing the month of February as "African-American History

18  and Cultural Heritage Month" and urging public and private

19  institutions and organizations to recognize and observe this

20  month through appropriate programs, meetings, or celebrations.

21         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

22  law.

23  

24            *****************************************

25                          SENATE SUMMARY

26    Authorizes the Governor to recognize the month of
      February each year as "African-American History and
27    Cultural Heritage Month."

28  

29  

30  

31  

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