Florida Senate - 2011 (NP) SR 540 By Senator Joyner 18-00633-11 2011540__ 1 Senate Resolution 2 A resolution recognizing February 2011 as “Black 3 History 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 “African Americans and the Civil War,” and 9 WHEREAS, long ago, approximately 12 million African men, 10 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 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 and 19 erase 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., 27 Thurgood Marshall, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Fannie 28 Lou Hamer, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, and Dorothy Height, 29 have contributed to the political and social growth of American 30 society, and 31 WHEREAS, through the contributions of African American 32 musicians and writers, such as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, 33 Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, 34 Dizzy Gillespie, Leontyne Price, Marian Anderson, Andre Watts, 35 James DePreist, Phyllis Wheatley, Langston Hughes, James 36 Baldwin, Richard Wright, Alex Haley, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, 37 Gwendolyn Brooks, and Toni Morrison, the culture of the United 38 States of America has been vitally enriched, and 39 WHEREAS, African American sports figures, such as Jesse 40 Owens, Arthur Ashe, Muhammad Ali, Robert “Bullet Bob” Hayes, a 41 Florida native who is the only athlete to earn both an Olympic 42 Gold Medal and an NFL Super Bowl Ring, Lee Roy Selmon, Venus 43 Williams, and Serena Williams, have demonstrated their ability 44 to be role models on and off the field and in and out of the 45 ring as they stood up for their rights and beliefs, and 46 WHEREAS, the fields of medicine, science, and technology 47 have all been advanced by the contributions of such African 48 American men and women as Dr. Charles Drew, Dr. Daniel Hale 49 Williams, Garrett Morgan, George Washington Carver, Dr. Mae C. 50 Jemison, and Dr. Benjamin Carson, and 51 WHEREAS, African Americans who are native to Florida, such 52 as Zora Neale Hurston, Charles Kenzie Steele, Sr., Jesse K. 53 McCrary, Jr., Joseph E. Lee, Asa Philip Randolph, and Mary 54 McLeod Bethune, have proudly represented our state as they 55 contributed to the history and culture of the United States of 56 America, and 57 WHEREAS, it is important to celebrate the many achievements 58 of African Americans in an effort to offer each American a 59 broader perspective of United States history and an appreciation 60 for the diversity that makes this country strong, and 61 WHEREAS, February is the birth month of both Abraham 62 Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, two of the leaders in the 63 movement to abolish slavery, and has been recognized at the 64 local, state, and national levels as an appropriate month to 65 commemorate the contributions of African Americans to our 66 society, NOW, THEREFORE, 67 68 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida: 69 70 That February 2011 is recognized as “Black History Month” 71 in the State of Florida, and the Florida Senate calls upon the 72 people of this state to observe Black History Month through 73 programs, ceremonies, and activities celebrating the historical 74 and cultural contributions of African Americans.