IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 184 

Recognizing and celebrating the significance of Black History Month. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 

Mr. GREEN of Texas (for himself, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. ALLRED, Mr. 

AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. BALINT, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. 

BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWN, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Ms. BUSH, Mr. 

CARBAJAL, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. 

CASAR, Mr. CASTEN, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. CLARKE of New York, 

Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. COHEN, Mr. COSTA, Ms. CROCKETT, 

Mr. CROW, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Ms. 

DELBENE, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. 

ESHOO, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. FLETCHER, Mrs. FOUSHEE, 

Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, 

Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. 

HORSFORD, Ms. JACOBS, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAMLAGERDOVE, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. LARSEN

of Washington, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mr. 

LYNCH, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MENG, Mr. 

MFUME, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. 

NADLER, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. 

PAYNE, Ms. PETTERSEN, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. PLASKETT, Ms. PORTER, 

Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. ROSS, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. 

SA ́NCHEZ, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SOTO, Ms. 

STANSBURY, Ms. STEVENS, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TONKO, Mr. TORRES of 

New York, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. TRONE, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. 

VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. WATERS, Mrs. WATSON

COLEMAN, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Mr. 

JACKSON of Illinois) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 


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RESOLUTION 

Recognizing and celebrating the significance of Black History 

Month. 

Whereas this resolution may be cited as the Original Black 

History Month Resolution of 2023; 

Whereas this resolution has been endorsed by the Association 

for the Study of African American Life and History; 

Whereas the theme for Black History Month 2023 is ‘‘Black 

Resistance’’, which chronicles how African Americans 

have resisted oppression in all its invidious forms including: enslavement, lynching, mob violence, police brutality, 

Black codes, convict leasing, Jim Crow laws, lawful segregation, and invidious discrimination; 

Whereas slavery was a brutal and inhumane system that 

treated human beings as property and stripped them of 

their inalienable human rights of life, liberty, and the 

pursuit of happiness; 

Whereas the history of Black resistance in the United States 

predates the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 

1960s, as it historically spans centuries from colonial 

slavery through contemporary invidious discrimination; 

Whereas this resolution illuminates some of the momentous 

recondite history of Black resistance that predates the resistance movements of the 20th and 21st centuries; 

Whereas Black resistance to slavery was a constant presence 

throughout the history of enslavement in the United 

States, and it took many forms, including acts of rebellion, escape, suicide, sabotage, litigation, work slowdowns, 

feigning illness, misplacing or damaging tools, and other 

forms of noncompliance; 


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Whereas there is historical evidence of as many as 250 instances of slave revolts involving 10 or more slaves during the history of American slavery; 

Whereas the Nat Turner and Gabriel Prosser rebellions were 

two of the most significant acts of armed resistance to 

slavery in the United States, inspiring other enslaved 

people to resist and making clear the determination of 

enslaved people to fight for their freedom; 

Whereas Gabriel Prosser’s rebellion against Virginia and the 

United States in 1800 was a landmark event in the history of Black resistance to slavery in the United States 

and, although he and his followers were hanged, his bravery and leadership continue to inspire generations of activists and advocates; 

Whereas the Stono Rebellion, the New York City Conspiracy, 

and the German Coast Uprising are other instances of 

significant slave uprisings in the United States and its 

predecessor colonies; 

Whereas in the fight for freedom, liberty, justice, and equality the righteous resistance of many Black freedom fighters has been depreciated, downplayed, deprecated, disparaged, denigrated, disrespected, and demonized; 

Whereas the story of Claudette Colvin who refused to give up 

her seat on a segregated bus months before the famous 

incident where Rosa Parks refused to do the same has 

been deprecated, downplayed, and disrespected; 

Whereas Bayard Rustin, a lifelong civil rights advocate and 

lead organizer of the March on Washington, was nearly 

written out of history merely because of his sexual orientation; 


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Whereas religion was a form of resistance to slavery as it allowed the enslaved to assert their humanity, dignity, and 

independence; 

Whereas spiritual songs were often used as a form of resistance by building community and maintaining good spirits, as a means of healing, and even to communicate secret messages; 

Whereas the song ‘‘Steal Away’’ was used by Nat Turner to 

call people to him to discuss plans for his rebellion, and 

the same song was also sung by slaves who planned on 

escaping soon; 

Whereas a song, ‘‘Get on the Gospel Train’’, provided courage for slaves to escape, citing room for many people, a 

train available to everyone, and a promise that also alluded to the fact that both Blacks and Whites provided 

assistance to fugitive slaves as they traveled the Underground Railroad; 

Whereas the song ‘‘Sweet Chariot’’ was said to be a personal 

favorite of Harriet Tubman’s as it indicated to slaves 

that they would be escaping soon; 

Whereas the song ‘‘Follow the Drinking Gourd’’ was used to 

remind slaves of the clues they would need to find their 

way north; 

Whereas those slaves who resisted their enslavement by running away were not only recaptured, punished, and returned to their torment, but also exposed in newspaper 

ads, which assured enslavers that all was well; 

Whereas the following is a selection of ads on captured suspected fugitive slaves run in the Montgomery Advertiser 

from 1849 to 1865; 


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Whereas John, 23, ran away from Levi Williams, and had a 

$25 reward offered for John’s return; 

Whereas George, 20, was captured in Mobile County after he 

had escaped from owner James Edward Wilson in Memphis, Tennessee; 

Whereas Hannah, arrested in Pickens County, was a 75-yearold woman who was said to belong to John Smith of 

Lowndes County, Mississippi; 

Whereas Frank, whose age was described only as a boy, was 

an at-large runaway with a $15 reward for his capture; 

Whereas Lucinda, 20, was jailed in Mobile County, Alabama, 

belonged to Mrs. Elizabeth Hinsley of Sumter County, 

Alabama, and had multiple scars on her right arm; 

Whereas Black resistance to slavery was confronted with 

harsh court decisions that stripped Blacks of their human 

rights; 

Whereas in the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, the 

Supreme Court ruled that having lived in a free State 

and territory did not entitle an enslaved person, Dred 

Scott, to his freedom; 

Whereas the Court further ruled in Dred Scott v. Sandford 

that people of African descent ‘‘are not included, and 

were not intended to be included, under the word ‘citizens’ in the Constitution, and can therefore claim none 

of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United States’’; 

Whereas in Dred Scott v. Sandford, Chief Justice Roger 

Taney declared, in the Supreme Court’s infamous majority opinion, that Dred Scott, a Black slave, ‘‘had no 

rights a white man was bound to respect’’; 


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Whereas the Supreme Court in the 1896 case Plessy v. Ferguson embraced legal segregation, which advanced constitutional justification for laws that allowed for separate 

and supposedly equal public facilities for White and 

Black Americans; 

Whereas the Underground Railroad, led by figures such as 

Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, played a vital 

role in resistance by helping enslaved people escape to 

freedom; 

Whereas, during the Civil War, Black soldiers made up approximately 10 percent of the Union Army, with approximately 180,000 Black soldiers enlisting to fight for their 

freedom and the abolition of slavery; 

Whereas despite facing discrimination and being paid less 

than White soldiers, Black soldiers played a crucial role 

in the Union’s victory in the Civil War by risking and in 

too many instances sacrificing their lives in the fight for 

the freedom of their fellow man; 

Whereas the Black soldiers’ participation in the Civil War 

was not only significant in terms of numbers, but also in 

terms of the impact their participation had on the fight 

for racial equality and civil rights, as it challenged the 

notion that Black Americans were not capable of fighting 

for their own freedom; 

Whereas the Civil War, as well as the 13th, 14th, and 15th 

Amendments, emanated from Black resistance to slavery 

in the United States; 

Whereas the abolition of slavery did not end White supremacy; 

Whereas the period between the end of the Civil War and the 

civil rights movement was marked by continued discrimiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:23 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR184.IH HR184

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•HRES 184 IH 

nation and oppression of African Americans, despite the 

abolition of slavery; 

Whereas the history of Black resistance in the United States 

has demonstrated that the fight for racial justice and 

equality is ongoing and multifaceted, and that despite the 

massive strides that have been made in the name of justice, there are still many areas where progress is needed; 

Whereas Black activists in the United States have inspired 

many other marginalized communities around the world 

to fight for their rights and equality; 

Whereas the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick 

Douglass inspired the creation of Negro History Week, 

the precursor to Black History Month; and 

Whereas the month of February is officially celebrated as 

Black History Month, which dates to 1926 when Dr. 

Carter G. Woodson set aside the second week in February as Negro History Week to recognize the heritage 

and achievement of Black Americans: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

3 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Original Black 

4 History Month Resolution of 2023’’. 

5 SEC. 2. RECOGNIZING AND CELEBRATING THE SIGNIFI6 CANCE OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH. 

7 The House of Representatives recognizes the impor8 tance of commemorating Black History Month as it ac9 knowledges the achievements of Black Americans through10 out the Nation’s history and encourages the continuation 


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1 of its celebration to raise the awareness of this commu2 nity’s accomplishments for all Americans. 

Æ 


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