Florida Senate - 2021                            (NP)    SR 2052
       
       
        
       By Senator Brandes
       
       
       
       
       
       24-03587-21                                           20212052__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing June 2021 as “Caribbean
    3         American Heritage Month” in Florida.
    4  
    5         WHEREAS, from a region that conjures images of a scenic
    6  paradise, Caribbean Americans are as vibrant as the islands from
    7  which they come, possessing a wealth of talent and history that
    8  reverberates throughout this great state and nation, and
    9         WHEREAS, emigration from the Caribbean region to the
   10  American colonies began as early as 1619, with the arrival of
   11  indentured workers in Jamestown, Virginia, and since 1820,
   12  millions of people have emigrated from the Caribbean region to
   13  the United States, and
   14         WHEREAS, as educators, authors, community leaders,
   15  activists, athletes, artists, musicians, and politicians,
   16  Caribbean Americans have made their mark in every facet of our
   17  society and have contributed to the betterment and diversity of
   18  our state and nation, and
   19         WHEREAS, counted among many famous sons and daughters of
   20  the Caribbean are sociologist and civil rights activist W.E.B.
   21  Du Bois; United States Secretary of the Treasury Alexander
   22  Hamilton; United States Secretary of State Colin Powell; United
   23  States Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm; Oscar-nominated actress
   24  Cicely Tyson; Oscar-winning actor Sidney Poitier; author, poet,
   25  and civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson; musician, actor,
   26  and social activist Harry Belafonte; Haitian Revolution General
   27  Henri Christophe; actor and author Louise Bennett-Coverley;
   28  writer and nationalist leader José Martí; professor of
   29  literature Mayra Santos-Febres; and numerous others who have
   30  displayed great strength and resiliency while serving as
   31  pioneers among the people of the Caribbean, and
   32         WHEREAS, in June 2005, the United States House of
   33  Representatives unanimously adopted a concurrent resolution
   34  recognizing the significance of Caribbean people and their
   35  descendants in the history and culture of the United States and
   36  observing the month of June as “Caribbean American Heritage
   37  Month,” and
   38         WHEREAS, on February 14, 2006, the United States Senate
   39  unanimously passed the resolution, culminating a two-year
   40  bicameral effort, and
   41         WHEREAS, since the passage of the resolution by the United
   42  States House of Representatives in 2005, the White House has
   43  issued an annual proclamation recognizing June as “Caribbean
   44  American Heritage Month,” exemplifying the importance of this
   45  observance across the nation, and
   46         WHEREAS, the United States has thrived as a country of
   47  immigrants, united by common values and by the promise of a
   48  better tomorrow, NOW, THEREFORE,
   49  
   50  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   51  
   52         That June 2021 is recognized as “Caribbean American
   53  Heritage Month” in Florida.