IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 541 

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 supporting the designation of June 

2023 as African-American Music Appreciation Month. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 22, 2023 

Mr. MEEKS (for himself, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. LEE of California, and 

Ms. NORTON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

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 supporting the designation of June 2023 

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 04:28 Jun 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR541.IH HR541

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•HRES 541 IH 

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 slaves 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 Thomas Dorsey, the father of gospel music, used his 

composing talents to merge sacred and secular styles that 

created a revolution in music; 

Whereas talented jazz pianist and vocalist Nathaniel Adams 

Coles recorded more than 150 singles and sold more than 

50,000,000 records; 

Whereas the talent of Ella Fitzgerald, a 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 


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•HRES 541 IH 

saxophonist Charlie Parker, that were held at clubs in 

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

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 the female African-American 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, 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, Bill Withers, 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; 


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•HRES 541 IH 

Whereas Go-Go, developed by African-American musicians in 

the mid 1960s, combines funk, soul, and Latin music, 

popularized by artists such as Chuck Brown and Rare 

Essence, went on to become the ‘‘official music of Washington DC’’; 

Whereas Harry Belafonte, a singer, actor, and activist, a supporter and confidant of Martin Luther King, Jr., 

throughout the civil rights movement, influenced by his 

Caribbean roots, popularized calypso music in the United 

States; 

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; 

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, Little Richard, and Jimi Hendrix; 

Whereas rap, arguably the most complex and influential form 

of hip-hop culture, combines blues, jazz, and soul and elements of the African-American musical tradition 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; 


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•HRES 541 IH 

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 a 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 the incredible Billie Holiday created a cultural reset 

by recording ‘‘Strange Fruit’’, originally a poem that depicted lynching in the southern United States, that became the first protest song of the civil rights era; 

Whereas the talented jazz artist Duke Ellington pushed 

boundaries with his hits ‘‘It Don’t Mean a Thing if It 

Ain’t Got That Swing’’ and ‘‘Sophisticated Lady’’ and received 13 Grammys as well as the Presidential Gold 

Medal; 

Whereas Sister Rosetta Tharpe, known as the Godmother of 

Rock ‘N Roll, combined her distinctive guitar style with 

melodic blues and traditional gospel music that influenced the likes of Aretha Franklin and Chuck Berry; 

Whereas Tina Turner, the queen of rock and roll, stunned 

audiences with her powerful vocals, the first women or 

African-American musician to be featured on the cover of 

Rolling Stone, receiving 12 Grammys during her lifetime; 

Whereas trailblazer Florence Price is the first noted AfricanAmerican female composer to gain national status and 

the first African-American woman to have her composed 

work performed by a major national symphony orchestra; 


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•HRES 541 IH 

Whereas the classical singer Marian Anderson broke down racial barriers by performing at the Lincoln Memorial in 

1939 after being denied to sing in front of an integrated 

audience at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, 

DC; 

Whereas country music singer Charley Pride was inducted 

into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000 and has 

over 40 number 1 country hits; 

Whereas Nina Simone, one of the most prominent and extraordinary soul singers, has music spanning over 4 decades that has impacted generations with her detailed 

story telling; 

Whereas musician Bobby McFerrin brought joy to audiences 

everywhere with his smash hit ‘‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’’; 

Whereas famous saxophone player John Coltrane made his 

impact on genres like bebop, jazz, and rhythm and blues 

through his work such as ‘‘A Love Supreme’’; 

Whereas David Jolicoeur, also known as Trugoy the Dove, a 

founding member of hip-hop group De La Soul and Native Tongues, used his passion for rap music to spread 

positive messages within his community; 

Whereas musical force Marvin Gaye used his versatility as an 

artist to produce hits like ‘‘I Heard It Through the 

Grapevine’’ and ‘‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’’; 

Whereas a recent study by the National Arts Education Data 

Project found that 13 percent of schools with a predominately African-American student population have no access to music education; 

Whereas African-American students scored the lowest of all 

ethnicities in the most recent National Assessment for 

Educational Progress arts assessment; 


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•HRES 541 IH 

Whereas African-American students often receive a music 

education that does not reflect their own culture; 

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 who are ineligible for that program, which 

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

Whereas a study found that— 

(1) nearly 2⁄3 of music ensemble students were White 

and middle class, and only 15 percent of those students 

were African American; and 

(2) 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 House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes— 

3 (A) the contributions of African Americans 

4 to the musical heritage of the United States; 

5 (B) the wide array of talented and popular 

6 African-American musical artists, composers, 

7 songwriters, and musicians who are underrecog8 nized for contributions to music; 

9 (C) the achievements, talent, and hard 

10 work of African-American pioneer artists and 


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1 the obstacles that those artists overcame to 

2 gain recognition; 

3 (D) the need for African-American stu4 dents to have greater access to, and participa5 tion in, music education in schools across the 

6 United States; and 

7 (E) Black History Month and African8 American Music Appreciation Month as an im9 portant time— 

10 (i) to celebrate the impact of the Afri11 can-American musical heritage on the mu12 sical heritage of the United States; and 

13 (ii) to encourage greater access to 

14 music education so that the next genera15 tion may continue to greatly contribute to 

16 the musical heritage of the United States; 

17 and 

18 (2) supports the designation of ‘‘African-Amer19 ican Music Appreciation Month’’. 

Æ 


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