Senate Bill sb1994
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Florida Senate - 2007 (NP) SR 1994
By Senator Joyner
18-1851A-07
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing February 2007 as
3 "Black History Month" in Florida.
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5 WHEREAS, our nation has celebrated Black History Month
6 during the month of February since 1976, and the theme for
7 this year's celebration is "From Slavery to Freedom: The Story
8 of Africans in the Americas," and
9 WHEREAS, long ago, approximately 12 million African
10 American men, women, and children were forced to enter ships
11 for lives of slavery in the Western Hemisphere, 10 million of
12 whom survived the Middle Passage to arrive in America, and
13 WHEREAS, the Civil War erupted because the ideals upon
14 which this country was founded are in direct conflict with
15 slavery, resulting in the ratification of the 13th Amendment,
16 abolishing slavery in the United States of America, and
17 WHEREAS, the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century
18 began in an effort to correct the failures of Reconstruction
19 and erase the remnants of slavery still evident in Jim Crow
20 laws, in continued segregation in nearly every aspect of daily
21 life, and in the persistence of second-class citizenship for
22 African Americans, and
23 WHEREAS, as a testament of strength throughout these
24 struggles, African Americans such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner
25 Truth, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T.
26 Washington, George Washington Carver, Carter G. Woodson,
27 Malcolm X., Thurgood Marshall, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther
28 King, Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, Shirley Chisholm, and Barbara
29 Jordan have contributed to the political and social growth of
30 American society, and
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Florida Senate - 2007 (NP) SR 1994
18-1851A-07
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,
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Florida Senate - 2007 (NP) SR 1994
18-1851A-07
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 to
5 commemorate the contributions of African Americans to our
6 society since 1926 when Dr. Carter G. Woodson, historian and
7 founder of the Journal of Negro History, initiated the
8 observance with Negro History Week, NOW, THEREFORE,
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10 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
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12 That February 2007 is recognized as "Black History
13 Month" in the State of Florida, and the Florida Senate calls
14 upon the people of this state to observe Black History Month
15 through programs, ceremonies, and activities celebrating the
16 historical and cultural contributions of African Americans.
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