IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 160 

Recognizing Black History Month as an important time to celebrate the 

remarkable and unique contributions of all LGBTQI+ Black Americans 

in United States history. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 24, 2023 

Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. POCAN, 

Ms. ADAMS, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. BUSH, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. CARTER of 

Louisiana, Mr. CASE, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. EVANS, Mr. GREEN

of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. JACOBS, Mr. JOHNSON of 

Georgia, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. MENG, 

Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PORTER, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mrs. 

WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, and Ms. WILSON of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing Black History Month as an important time to 

celebrate the remarkable and unique contributions of all 

LGBTQI+ Black Americans in United States history. 

Whereas Black History Month is a historic tradition beginning in 1926 to honor and celebrate the aspirations and 

accomplishments of Black individuals, both past and contemporary; 


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Whereas our Nation has been enriched by the countless contributions of generations of LGBTQI+ Black individuals, 

most of whom have never been seen or recognized; 

Whereas untold LGBTQI+ Black individuals have experienced the compounding impacts of racism and antiLGBTQI+ bias and hatred, but nonetheless continued to 

fight for justice and equity; 

Whereas it is critically important to reflect upon and celebrate the unique contributions that Black LGBTQI+ 

leaders have made throughout the history of our Nation; 

Whereas Alvin Ailey was a famed dancer and choreographer, 

who moved audiences with his thrillingly theatrical dance 

moves for decades; 

Whereas James Baldwin was a powerful novelist, playwright, 

and social critic, who educated and prodded our Nation’s 

conscience with his words; 

Whereas Glenn Burke, a Major League Baseball player for 

the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics, was the 

league’s first openly gay player and delighted the world 

by inventing the high-five; 

Whereas Patrisse Cullors and Alicia Garza, two of the three 

founders of Black Lives Matter, inspired a civil rights 

movement grounded in justice and equality; 

Whereas Andrea Jenkins is the first openly transgender 

woman to be elected to public office in the State of Minnesota and the first Black transgender woman elected to 

public office in the Nation; 

Whereas Martin Jenkins made history in 2020 as the first 

openly gay California Supreme Court Justice and just the 

third Black man to serve on the State’s highest court; 


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Whereas Marsha P. Johnson was a transgender rights activist and drag performer who fought anti-LGBTQI+ police 

raids and helped lead the Stonewall Uprising in June 

1969; 

Whereas Barbara Jordan was a lawyer, civil rights leader, 

and the first African American elected to the House of 

Representatives from Texas; 

Whereas Simone Bell made history as the first out Black lesbian ever elected to serve in a State legislature; 

Whereas Storme ́ DeLarverie, born in 1920, was a drag king 

performer of the Jewel Box Revue and a community advocate; 

Whereas Lori Lightfoot made history in 2019, when she was 

elected the first openly LGBTQI+ person and first Black 

woman to serve as mayor of Chicago, the Nation’s third 

largest city; 

Whereas Karine Jean-Pierre made history in 2022, when she 

was selected the first openly LGBTQI+ person and first 

Black woman to serve as White House Press Secretary; 

Whereas Angela Davis has been a radical champion of civil 

rights and social justice as an author, professor, scholar, 

and activist for LGBTQI+ rights, gender equity, and 

anti-racism; 

Whereas Audre Lorde, an acclaimed poet, author, and essayist, gave countless readers the gift of her insights on 

race, class, and gender; 

Whereas Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a transgender activist 

and Stonewall Uprising veteran, has spoken out for justice for marginalized communities for decades; 


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Whereas Frances Thompson, a former slave, made history as 

the first transgender woman to testify before a congressional committee in 1886; 

Whereas Pauli Murray, LGBTQI+ feminist, author, lawyer, 

and minister was the first Black woman to be ordained 

an Episcopal priest; 

Whereas Ron Oden made history in Palm Springs, California, 

as the first Black openly gay mayor of a United States 

city; 

Whereas Bayard Rustin was a civil rights activist who stood 

shoulder-to-shoulder with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 

and the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington; 

Whereas Sean Saifa Wall, a Black intersex and transgender 

activist, speaks out against surgical and medical interventions on intersex infants and fights for intersex liberation 

entwined with Black liberation; 

Whereas Bria Brown-King was the first intersex person to 

speak about intersex issues on the steps of the Supreme 

Court; 

Whereas Jewel Thais-Williams founded Jewel’s Catch One in 

1973 as an inclusive, welcoming space for Black 

LGBTQI+ Angelenos to gather and celebrate alongside 

legendary performers such as Whitney Houston, Janet 

Jackson, Donna Summer, and Whoopi Goldberg; 

Whereas Jahni Leggett is a passionate advocate for intersex 

youth of color and fights against medically unnecessary 

surgeries performed on intersex babies and children; 

Whereas Black advocates have deep and valuable experience 

promoting equality and are now leading major 

LGBTQI+ advocacy groups, including Kelley Robinson 

at the Human Rights Campaign, Imani Rupert-Gordon 


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at National Center for Lesbian Rights, Kierra Johnson 

at National LGBTQ Task Force, David Johns at National Black Justice Coalition, Gabriel Foster at Trans 

Justice Funding Project, Carter Brown at Black 

TransMen Inc., Melanie Willingham-Jaggers at GLSEN, 

and Stacey Stevenson at Family Equality Council; and 

Whereas Phill Wilson is the visionary founder of the Black 

AIDS Institute and a tireless advocate for people living 

with HIV: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives recog2 nizes Black History Month as an important time to cele3 brate the remarkable and unique contributions of all 

4 LGBTQI+ Black Americans in United States history— 

5 those whose names we easily recognize and those whose 

6 names we will never know. 

Æ 


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