1

Senate Resolution

2

A resolution recognizing February 2008 as "Black History

3

Month" in Florida.

4

5

     WHEREAS, our nation has celebrated Black History during the

6

month of February since 1926 when Carter G. Woodson established

7

Negro History Week, and the theme for this year's celebration is

8

"Carter G. Woodson and the Origins of Multiculturalism," and

9

     WHEREAS, long ago, approximately 12 million African American

10

men, women, and children were forced to enter ships for lives of

11

slavery in the Western Hemisphere, 10 million of whom survived

12

the Middle Passage to arrive in America, and

13

     WHEREAS, the Civil War erupted because the ideals upon which

14

this country was founded are in direct conflict with slavery,

15

resulting in the ratification of the 13th Amendment, abolishing

16

slavery in the United States of America, and

17

     WHEREAS, the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century began

18

in an effort to correct the failures of Reconstruction and erase

19

the remnants of slavery still evident in Jim Crow laws, in

20

continued segregation in nearly every aspect of daily life, and

21

in the persistence of second-class citizenship for African

22

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. Washington,

26

George Washington Carver, Carter G. Woodson, Malcolm X., Thurgood

27

Marshall, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer,

28

Shirley Chisholm, and Barbara Jordan have contributed to the

29

political and social growth of American society, and

30

     WHEREAS, through the contributions of African American

31

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

32

Ellington, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy

33

Gillespie, Leontyne Price, Marian Anderson, Andre Watts, Phyllis

34

Wheatley, Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Alex

35

Haley, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Toni

36

Morrison, the culture of the United States of America has been

37

vitally enriched, and

38

     WHEREAS, African American sports figures, such as Jesse

39

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

40

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

41

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

42

Williams, and Serena Williams, have demonstrated their ability to

43

be role models on and off the field and in and out of the ring as

44

they stood up for their rights and beliefs, and

45

     WHEREAS, the fields of medicine, science, and technology

46

have all been advanced by the contributions of such African

47

American men and women as Dr. Charles Drew, Dr. Daniel Hale

48

Williams, Garrett Morgan, George Washington Carver, Dr. Mae C.

49

Jemison, and Dr. Benjamin Carson, and

50

     WHEREAS, African Americans who are native to Florida, such

51

as Zora Neale Hurston, Charles Kenzie Steele, Sr., Jesse K.

52

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

53

Bethune, have proudly represented our state as they contributed

54

to the history and culture of the United States of America, and

55

     WHEREAS, it is important to celebrate the many achievements

56

of African Americans in an effort to offer each American a

57

broader perspective of our history and an appreciation for the

58

diversity that makes this country strong, and

59

     WHEREAS, February is the birth month of both Abraham Lincoln

60

and Frederick Douglass, two of the leaders in the movement to

61

abolish slavery, and has been recognized at the local, state, and

62

national levels as an appropriate month to commemorate the

63

contributions of African Americans to our society, NOW,

64

THEREFORE,

65

66

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:

67

68

     That February 2008 is recognized as "Black History Month" in

69

the State of Florida, and the Florida Senate calls upon the

70

people of this state to observe Black History Month through

71

programs, ceremonies, and activities celebrating the historical

72

and cultural contributions of African Americans.