III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 261 

Recognizing the contributions of African Americans to the musical heritage 

of the United States and the need for greater access to music education 

for African-American students, and expressing support for the designation of June as African-American Music Appreciation Month. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2019 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. JONES, Mr. CARPER, Mr. COONS, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. KAINE, and Mr. BROWN) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the contributions of African Americans to the 

musical heritage of the United States and the need for 

greater access to music education for African-American 

students, and expressing support for the designation of 

June as African-American Music Appreciation Month. 

Whereas spirituals, ragtime, blues, jazz, gospel, classical composition, and countless other categories of music have 

been created or enhanced by African Americans, and are 

etched into the history and culture of the United States; 

Whereas the first Africans transported to the United States 

came from a variety of ethnic groups with a long history 

of distinct and cultivated musical traditions, brought muVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Jun 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR261.IS SR261

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•SRES 261 IS 

sical instruments with them, and built new musical instruments in the United States; 

Whereas spirituals were a distinct response to the conditions 

of African slavery in the United States, and expressed 

the longing of enslaved people for spiritual and bodily 

freedom, for safety from harm and evil, and for relief 

from the hardships of slavery; 

Whereas jazz, arguably the most creative and complex music 

that the United States has produced, combines the musical traditions of African Americans in New Orleans with 

the creative flexibility of blues music; 

Whereas masterful trumpeters Louis Armstrong and Miles 

Davis achieved national and international recognition 

with the success of ‘‘West End Blues’’ by Louis Armstrong in the 1920s and ‘‘So What’’ by Miles Davis in 

the late 1950s; 

Whereas talented jazz pianist and vocalist Nathaniel Adams 

Coles recorded more than 150 singles and sold more than 

50 million records; 

Whereas the talent of Ella Fitzgerald, winner of 13 

Grammys, is epitomized by a rendition of ‘‘Summertime’’, a bluesy record accompanied by melodic vocals; 

Whereas Natalie Cole, the daughter of Nathaniel Adams 

Coles, achieved musical success in the mid-1970s as a 

rhythm and blues artist with the hits ‘‘This Will Be’’ and 

‘‘Unforgettable’’; 

Whereas in the 1940s, bebop evolved through jam sessions, 

which included trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and the alto 

saxophonist Charlie Parker, that were held at clubs in 

Harlem, New York, such as Minton’s Playhouse; 


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•SRES 261 IS 

Whereas earlier classical singers such as Elizabeth Taylor 

Greenfield, one of the first widely known African-American vocalists, and other early African-American singing 

pioneers, including Nellie Mitchell Brown, Marie Selika 

Williams, Rachel Walker Turner, Marian Anderson, and 

Flora Batson Bergen, paved the way for female AfricanAmerican concert singers who have achieved great popularity during the last 50 years; 

Whereas the term ‘‘rhythm and blues’’ originated in the late 

1940s as a way to describe recordings marketed to African Americans and replaced the term ‘‘race music’’; 

Whereas lyrical themes in rhythm and blues often encapsulate the African-American experience of pain, the quest 

for freedom, joy, triumphs and failures, relationships, economics, and aspiration, and were popularized by artists 

such as Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, Etta James, and Otis 

Redding; 

Whereas soul music originated in the African-American community in the late 1950s and early 1960s and combines 

elements of African-American gospel music, rhythm and 

blues, and jazz, and was popularized by artists such as 

Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam 

Cooke, and Jackie Wilson; 

Whereas Motown, founded as a record label in 1959, evolved 

into a distinctive style known for the ‘‘Motown Sound’’, 

a blend of pop and soul musical stylings made popular 

by prominent Black artists such as Marvin Gaye, James 

Mason, and Mary Wells; 

Whereas in the early 1970s, the musical style of disco 

emerged and was popularized by programs such as Soul 

Train and by artists such as Donna Summer; 


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Whereas reggae is a genre of music that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s and incorporates some of the musical elements of rhythm and blues, jazz, mento, calypso, 

and African music, and was popularized by artists such 

as Bob Marley; 

Whereas rock and roll was developed from African-American 

musical styles such as gospel and rhythm and blues, and 

was popularized by artists such as Chuck Berry, Bo 

Diddley, and Jimi Hendrix; 

Whereas rap, arguably the most complex and influential form 

of hip-hop culture, combines elements of the AfricanAmerican musical tradition (blues, jazz, and soul) with 

Caribbean calypso, dub, and dance hall reggae; 

Whereas the development and popularity of old style rap combined confident beats with wordplay and storytelling, 

highlighting the struggle of African-American youth 

growing up in underresourced neighborhoods; 

Whereas contemporary rhythm and blues, which originated in 

the late 1970s and combines elements of pop, rhythm 

and blues, soul, funk, hip hop, gospel, and electronic 

dance music was popularized by artists such as Whitney 

Houston and Aaliyah; 

Whereas Prince Rogers Nelson, who was known for electric 

performances and wide vocal range, pioneered music that 

integrated a wide variety of styles, including funk, rock, 

contemporary rhythm and blues, new wave, soul, 

psychedelia, and pop; 

Whereas a recent study by the Department of Education 

found that only 28 percent of African-American students 

receive any kind of arts education; 


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•SRES 261 IS 

Whereas African-American students scored the lowest of all 

ethnicities in the most recent National Assessment for 

Educational Progress arts assessment; 

Whereas students who are eligible for the school lunch program established under the Richard B. Russell National 

School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) have significantly lower scores on the music portion of the National 

Assessment for Educational Progress arts assessment 

than students that are ineligible for that program, which 

suggests that students in low-income families are disadvantaged in the subject of music; 

Whereas a recent study showed that nearly 2⁄3 of music ensemble students were White and middle class and only 15 

percent were African-American; 

Whereas the same study found that only 7 percent of music 

teacher licensure candidates were African-American; and 

Whereas students of color face many barriers to accessing 

music education and training, especially students in large 

urban public schools: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate recognizes— 

2 (1) the contributions of African Americans to 

3 the musical heritage of the United States; 

4 (2) the wide array of talented and popular Afri5 can-American musical artists, composers, song6 writers, and musicians who are underrecognized for 

7 contributions to music; 

8 (3) the achievements, talent, and hard work of 

9 African-American pioneer artists, and the obstacles 

10 that those artists overcame to gain recognition; 


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•SRES 261 IS 

1 (4) the need for African-American students to 

2 have greater access to and participation in music 

3 education in schools across the United States; and 

4 (5) Black History Month and African-American 

5 Music Appreciation Month as an important time— 

6 (A) to celebrate the impact of the African7 American musical heritage on the musical herit8 age of the United States; and 

9 (B) to encourage greater access to music 

10 education so that the next generation may con11 tinue to greatly contribute to the musical herit12 age of the United States. 

Æ 


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