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[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 54 Introduced in House (IH)]

107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 54

          Commemorating African American pioneers in Colorado.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 26, 2001

Mr. Schaffer submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                       the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
          Commemorating African American pioneers in Colorado.

Whereas February is Black History Month, a month-long celebration for Americans 
        to reflect on both the history and teachings of African Americans whose 
        contributions are still too little known;
Whereas Black History Month was started in 1976 and February was chosen because 
        the birthdays of both Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln fall in 
        that month;
Whereas African Americans were an integral part of settling the West, arriving 
        in covered wagons, establishing self-sufficient settlements, and filling 
        numerous jobs from barber to teacher, doctor to State legislator;
Whereas nearly one-third of the cowboys who helped build the American West were 
        of African American descent;
Whereas one of the best examples of an African American prairie settlement is 
        Dearfield, Colorado, an African American agriculture community;
Whereas Oliver T. Jackson, an African American, inspired by Booker T. 
        Washington's book Up From Slavery that urged African Americans to return 
        to the land and earn their own way with their own hands, took these 
        ideas to heart and established Dearfield, Colorado, in 1910;
Whereas Oliver T. Jackson inspired 60 African American settlers to join in his 
        agriculture colony, live off the land, and become self-sufficient;
Whereas within 5 years, Dearfield, Colorado, had 44 wooden cabins, over 600 farm 
        acres, 2 churches, a school, a boarding house, a blacksmith shop, a 
        doctor's office, a cement factory, and a filling station;
Whereas Oliver T. Jackson and those at Dearfield, Colorado, reached their goal 
        of becoming a prosperous, self-sufficient community, with a peak 
        population of 700;
Whereas by the mid-1930's, plagued by drought and the Great Depression, the 
        community dwindled down to 12, including Oliver T. Jackson and his wife; 
        and
Whereas Dearfield, Colorado, was subsequently abandoned and is now in need of 
        restoration in order to help fulfill the goal of Black History Month and 
        educate Americans about the role of African Americans in the settling of 
        the American West: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) encourages all Americans to learn about the history of 
        African Americans whose contributions are still too little 
        known;
            (2) recognizes the role that African Americans, like those 
        at Dearfield, Colorado, greatly contributed to settling and 
        shaping the American West; and
            (3) supports the restoration of the site at Dearfield, 
        Colorado, in order to educate the American public about the 
        history and contributions of African Americans to the West and 
        the United States.
                                 <all>
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