IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 369 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there should 

be established a ‘‘National Americans of African Immigrant Heritage 

Month’’ in September to celebrate the great contributions of Americans 

of African immigrant heritage in the United States who have enriched 

the history of the Nation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013 

Ms. CLARKE (for herself and Ms. BASS) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

there should be established a ‘‘National Americans of 

African Immigrant Heritage Month’’ in September to 

celebrate the great contributions of Americans of African 

immigrant heritage in the United States who have enriched the history of the Nation. 

Whereas people of recent African immigrant heritage are 

found in every State of the Union; 

Whereas the history of Americans of African immigrant heritage in the United States is inextricably tied to the story 

of the Nation; 

Whereas the community of Americans of African immigrant 

heritage in the United States is an inherently diverse 


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•HRES 369 IH 

population comprised of more than 45 distinct ethnicities 

and more than 500 language dialects; 

Whereas Americans of African immigrant heritage in the 

United States come from all regions in Africa and do not 

constitute a homogeneous group, including people from 

different national, linguistic, ethnic, racial, cultural, and 

social backgrounds; 

Whereas Americans of African immigrant heritage in the 

United States came to the United States voluntarily, and 

are distinct from African-Americans, the latter of whom 

are descendants of mostly West and Central Africans who 

were involuntarily brought to the United States by means 

of the historic Atlantic slave trade; 

Whereas the month of September has been celebrated by the 

Africans of Montgomery County, Maryland, since 2008, 

because ‘‘African Union Day’’ is on September 9th; 

Whereas recent African immigrants have made significant 

contributions to American culture such as having high 

educational and income levels, as well as contributing to 

many areas of American life such as the military, health 

care, arts, education, community service, and public policy; 

Whereas raising awareness about African immigrant heritage 

is crucial to effectively fighting disparities within the 

greater Black population in the American narrative and 

is essential to building a stronger community and a 

stronger America; 

Whereas during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a significant number of slaves from the Africa region were 

brought to the United States; 


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•HRES 369 IH 

Whereas African immigrants from Cape Verde first came to 

the United States in the 1790s; 

Whereas the Cape Verdean immigrants arrived aboard New 

England whaling ships, which would often pick up crewmen off the coast of Cape Verde in Africa and their descendants include the legendary Lena Horne and sailors 

who fought in the Union Navy; 

Whereas in 1922, the United States Government restricted 

the immigration of peoples of color, greatly reducing 

Cape Verdean immigration; 

Whereas the new regulations also prevented Cape Verdean 

Americans from visiting Africa for fear of being denied 

re-entry into the United States; 

Whereas in the 1960s to 1970s, due to the more racially inclusive regulations of the Immigration and Nationality 

Act of 1965, more African immigrants from across the 

continent came to the United States primarily as students; 

Whereas in the 1980s and 1990s, Africans in the United 

States were primarily refugees, who were fleeing hardships from countries such as Ethiopia, Liberia, Sierra 

Leone, Somalia, and Sudan; 

Whereas in the 2000s, Africans in the United States were 

largely beneficiaries of the highly popular Department of 

State program known as the Diversity Visa Lottery Program; 

Whereas much like the United States, the countries in Africa 

faced obstacles of in-country slavery and colonialism and 

struggled for independence; 

Whereas the independence movements in many countries in 

Africa during the 1960s and the consequential establishVerDate Mar 15 2010 20:12 Oct 02, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR369.IH HR369

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•HRES 369 IH 

ment of independent democratic countries in Africa 

strengthened ties between the region and the United 

States; 

Whereas there have been many influential Americans of recent African immigrant heritage in the history of the 

United States in academia, including Jem Spectar, 

Elfatih A.B. Eltahir, and Ahmed Zewail; 

Whereas there have been many achievements of Americans of 

recent African immigrant descent in sports, including 

Betty Okino, Yoakim Noah, Hakeem Olajuwon, 

Ndamukong Suh, Luc Mbah a Mboute, Freddy Adu, and 

Alfred Aboya; 

Whereas there have been many achievements of Americans of 

recent African immigrant descent in the arts, entertainment, and fashion, including Akon, Charlize Theron, 

Dave Matthews, Djimon Hounsou, Karine Plantadit, 

Idris Elba, Wale, Anika Noni Ross, Iman, Kibonen Nfi, 

Oluchi, Bertini Wandja Heumegni, Liya Kebede, BeBe 

Zahara Benet, and Bertrand Fote; 

Whereas there have been many achievements of Americans of 

recent African immigrant descent in media, including 

Sade Baderinwa, Yves Bollanga, Lola Ogunnaike, Pamela 

Anchang, Celestin Ngoa, and Omoyele Sowore; 

Whereas there have been many achievements of Americans of 

recent African immigrant descent who are successful entrepreneurs, including Jessica Matthews, Kase Lukman 

Lawal, Christopher Che, Elon Musk, and Noah A. Samara; 

Whereas there have been many achievements of Americans of 

recent African immigrant descent in government, such as 

members of the Montgomery County Executive’s African 


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Advisory Group (MD), Washington, DC, Mayor’s Commission of African Affairs, the Newark Mayor’s African 

Commission (NJ), the Philadelphia Mayor’s African and 

Caribbean Commission (PA), the Bronx Borough President’s African Advisory Council (NY), Council Member 

Edoaurd Haba, and Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson; 

Whereas there have been many achievements of Americans of 

recent African immigrant descent as African immigrant 

activists, including Tsehaye Teferra of Ethiopian Community and Development Center and Sylvie Bello of 

Cameroon American Council; 

Whereas Americans of recent African immigrant heritage 

have played an active role in the civil rights movement 

and other social and political movements in the United 

States; 

Whereas the 44th President of the United States, Barack 

Hussein Obama, is of Kenyan descent; 

Whereas the countries in Africa are important economic partners of the United States; 

Whereas the people of Africa share the hopes and aspirations 

of the people of the United States for peace and prosperity throughout the world, but there remains much to 

be done to ensure that Americans of recent African immigrant heritage have access to resources and a voice in the 

United States Government and continue to advance in 

the political, social, and economic landscape of the United 

States; and 

Whereas celebrating ‘‘National Americans of African Immigrant Heritage Month’’ in September would provide the 

people of the United States with an opportunity to recognize the achievements, contributions, and history of and 


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to appreciate the challenges faced by Americans of recent 

African immigrant heritage: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) a ‘‘National Americans of African Immi4 grant Heritage Month’’ should be established to cele5 brate the significant contributions of Americans of 

6 recent African Immigrant Heritage to the history of 

7 the United States; and 

8 (2) the people of the United States should ob9 serve the month with appropriate ceremonies, cele10 brations, and activities to recognize that Americans 

11 of recent African Immigrant Heritage enhance the 

12 rich diversity of and strengthen the United States. 

Æ 


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