II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4193 

To develop and nationally disseminate accurate, relevant, and accessible 

resources to promote understanding about African-American history. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 2, 2020 

Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. CASEY, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. 

WYDEN, Ms. BALDWIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BROWN, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Mr. WARNER, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and 

Administration 

A BILL 

To develop and nationally disseminate accurate, relevant, 

and accessible resources to promote understanding about 

African-American history. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘1619 Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The United States has demonstrated a com8 mitment to remembrance and education about the 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 4193 IS

1 experiences of African Americans in the United 

2 States. 

3 (2) Congress has played a critical role in pre4 serving the memory of the African-American experi5 ence in the United States and promoting awareness 

6 by recognizing African-American History Month in 

7 1976 to ‘‘seize the opportunity to honor the too8 often neglected accomplishments of black Americans 

9 in every area of endeavor throughout our history.’’. 

10 (3) 400 years after the first slaves were brought 

11 to American shores, and growing distance of stu12 dents and their families from this history, it is im13 portant to institutionalize education about the events 

14 of African-American history such as slavery, the 

15 Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Civil 

16 Rights Movement, which led to monumental legisla17 tion like the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights 

18 Act, among other notable events. 

19 (4) As intolerance, bigotry, and racism are pro20 moted by hate groups, African-American history 

21 education provides a context in which to learn about 

22 the danger of what can happen when hate goes un23 challenged and there is indifference in the face of 

24 the oppression of others. The African-American exVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:51 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4193.IS S4193

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 4193 IS

1 perience is an important component of the education 

2 of citizens of the United States. 

3 (5) Today, those who deny the importance of 

4 African-American history or distort the true nature 

5 of the Africa-American experience continue to find 

6 forums, especially online. This denial and distortion 

7 dishonors those who were persecuted and murdered, 

8 making it even more of a national imperative to edu9 cate students in the United States so that they may 

10 explore the lessons that African-American history 

11 provides for all people, sensitize communities to the 

12 circumstances that gave rise to the African-Amer13 ican experience, and help youth be less susceptible to 

14 the falsehood about African-American history and 

15 destructive messages of hate that arise from Afri16 can-American history denial and distortion. 

17 (6) Currently, 7 States (Arkansas, Florida, Illi18 nois, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode 

19 Island) require by law that schools, in collaboration 

20 with special K–12 Black history oversight commit21 tees, teach students about African-American history. 

22 More schools and teachers, including those in under23 served communities, can and should deliver quality 

24 African-American history education. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 4193 IS

1 (7) For more than 4 years, the National Mu2 seum of African American History and Culture has 

3 worked to build and support the field of African4 American history education, and advance the quality 

5 and sustainability of African-American history edu6 cation at the local, State, and national levels, by en7 gaging teachers and students across disciplines and 

8 grade levels. 

9 (8) The Federal Government, through support 

10 for educational activities of national museums estab11 lished under Federal law, can assist teachers in ef12 forts to incorporate historically accurate instruction 

13 on human rights atrocities, including the African14 American experience, in curricula. 

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY.—The term 

18 ‘‘African-American history’’ means the systematic, 

19 bureaucratic, State-sponsored enslavement of Afri20 cans brought to the United States, the era of the 

21 Civil War, Reconstruction, segregation, and the 

22 modern experience of African Americans as equal 

23 citizens under the law. 

24 (2) AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY EDUCATION

25 CENTER.—The term ‘‘African-American history eduVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:51 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4193.IS S4193

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 4193 IS

1 cation center’’ means an institution that furthers the 

2 teaching and learning about African-American his3 tory by offering programs for students and training 

4 for teachers and other types of professional leader5 ship audiences. 

6 (3) AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY EDUCATION

7 PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘African-American history 

8 education program’’ means a program that has as 

9 its specific and primary purpose to improve aware10 ness and understanding of the African-American ex11 perience and educate individuals on the lessons of 

12 African-American history as a means to raise aware13 ness about the importance of preventing oppression, 

14 hate, and bigotry against any group of people. 

15 (4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

16 the Director of the National Museum of African 

17 American History and Culture. 

18 (5) ELIGIBLE PROGRAM PARTICIPANT.—The 

19 term ‘‘eligible program participant’’ means— 

20 (A) a high school teacher, a teacher of one 

21 of the middle grades, or a school leader of a 

22 high school or a school that includes one of the 

23 middle grades (as such terms are defined in 

24 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

25 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)); 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 4193 IS

1 (B) an educational leader or expert who is 

2 not employed by a local educational agency (as 

3 defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and 

4 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

5 7801)) or an elementary school or secondary 

6 school (as such terms are so defined) that is 

7 independent of any local educational agency; or 

8 (C) a prospective teacher enrolled in a pro9 gram of postsecondary education coursework or 

10 preservice clinical education. 

11 (6) RACISM.—The term ‘‘racism’’ means a cer12 tain perception of African Americans, which may be 

13 expressed as hatred or discrimination, and the rhe14 torical and physical manifestations of which are di15 rected toward African-American or non-African16 American individuals or their property, and African17 American community institutions and religious facili18 ties, exacerbating an inequitable distribution of re19 sources, opportunity, and power that is detrimental 

20 to African-American communities. 

21 (7) SLAVERY.—The term ‘‘slavery’’ means the 

22 legal institution of human chattel enslavement, pri23 marily of Africans and African Americans prior to 

24 the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitu25 tion of the United States. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 4193 IS

1 SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

3 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 

4 $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2021 and each of the 4 suc5 ceeding fiscal years. 

6 (b) DONATIONS, GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES OF

7 PROPERTY.—In accordance with section 5 of the National 

8 Museum of African American History and Culture Act (20 

9 U.S.C. 80r–3), and in furtherance of the purposes of this 

10 Act, the Director is authorized to solicit, accept, hold, ad11 minister, invest, and use donated funds and gifts, be12 quests, and devises of property, both real and personal. 

13 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—The Director, using funds ap14 propriated under subsection (a) and resources received 

15 under subsection (b), and including through the engage16 ment of eligible program participants as appropriate— 

17 (1) shall develop and nationally disseminate ac18 curate, relevant, and accessible resources to promote 

19 understanding about how and why notable events in 

20 African-American history happened in the manner 

21 that it did, which shall include digital resources and 

22 may include other types of resources, such as print 

23 resources and traveling exhibitions; and 

24 (2) may carry out one or more of the following 

25 African-American history education program activi26 ties: 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 4193 IS

1 (A) Development, dissemination, and im2 plementation of principles of sound pedagogy 

3 for teaching about African-American history. 

4 (B) Provision of professional development 

5 for eligible program participants, such as 

6 through— 

7 (i) local, regional, and national work8 shops; 

9 (ii) teacher trainings in conjunction 

10 with African-American history education 

11 centers and other appropriate partners; 

12 (iii) engagement with— 

13 (I) local educational agencies (as 

14 defined in section 8101 of the Ele15 mentary and Secondary Education 

16 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)); and 

17 (II) high schools and schools that 

18 include one of the middle grades (as 

19 so defined) that are independent of 

20 any local educational agency; and 

21 (iv) operation and expansion of a 

22 teacher fellowship program to cultivate and 

23 support leaders in African-American his24 tory education. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 4193 IS

1 (C) Engagement with State and local edu2 cation leaders to encourage the adoption of re3 sources supported under this Act into curricula 

4 across diverse disciplines. 

5 (D) Evaluation and research to assess the 

6 effectiveness and impact of African-American 

7 history education programs, which may include 

8 completion of the report required under section 

9 8. 

10 (d) APPLICATIONS.—The Director may seek the en11 gagement of an eligible program participant under sub12 section (c) by requiring submission of an application to 

13 the Director at such time, in such manner, and based on 

14 such competitive criteria as the Director may require. 

15 SEC. 5. ONLINE AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY EDUCATION 

16 RESOURCES. 

17 (a) WEBSITE.—The Director shall maintain on the 

18 website of the National Museum of African American His19 tory and Culture a special section designated for African20 American history education resources to improve aware21 ness and understanding of African-American history and 

22 educate individuals on the lessons of the African-American 

23 experience as a means to raise awareness about the impor24 tance of preventing hate and bigotry against any group 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 4193 IS

1 of people. The website and resources shall be made pub2 lically available. 

3 (b) INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION.—The Director 

4 shall distribute information about the activities funded 

5 under this Act through the website of the National Mu6 seum of African American History and Culture, and shall 

7 respond to inquiries for supplementary information con8 cerning such activities. 

9 (c) BEST PRACTICES.—The information distributed 

10 by the Director shall include best practices for educators. 

11 SEC. 6. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HIS12 TORY AND CULTURE COUNCIL. 

13 The National Museum of African American History 

14 and Culture Council established under section 5 of the Na15 tional Museum of African American History and Culture 

16 Act (20 U.S.C. 80r–3), shall have governance responsi17 bility for the programs and activities carried out under 

18 this Act in accordance with the National Museum of Afri19 can American History and Culture Act (20 U.S.C. 80r). 

20 SEC. 7. ENGAGEMENT OF ELIGIBLE PROGRAM PARTICI21 PANTS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible program participant 

23 shall be engaged at the discretion of the Director to par24 ticipate in African-American history education program 

25 activities authorized under this Act and approved by the 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 4193 IS

1 Director pursuant to an application described in section 

2 4(d). 

3 (b) ENGAGEMENT PERIOD.—Engagement of eligible 

4 program participants under this Act shall be for a period 

5 determined by the Director. 

6 (c) PRIORITY.—In engaging eligible program partici7 pants under section 4, the Director shall give priority to 

8 applications from such participants who work for or with 

9 a local educational agency, or a school that is independent 

10 of any local educational agency, that does not, at the time 

11 application is made, offer any African-American history 

12 education programming. 

13 SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORT. 

14 Not later than February 1 of each year, the Director 

15 shall submit to Congress a report describing the activities 

16 carried out under this Act. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS