H. Res. 320 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

April 21, 2009. 

Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin was born on January 2, 

1915, in Rentiesville, Oklahoma, the grandson of a slave 

and the son of Buck Colbert Franklin, one of the first 

Black lawyers in the Oklahoma Indian territory, and 

Mollie Parker Franklin, a schoolteacher and community 

leader; 

Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin, a noted historian, made 

significant academic and civic contributions that helped 

integrate the African-American narrative into American 

history; 

Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin was a graduate of Fisk 

University and a recipient of a Ph.D. degree in history 

from Harvard University; 

Whereas in 1936, Dr. John Hope Franklin was appointed to 

the faculty of Fisk University as Instructor of History 

and subsequently served as Professor of History at St. 

Augustine’s College, North Carolina Central University, 

and Howard University; 

Whereas in 1956, Dr. John Hope Franklin became the 

Chairman of the Department of History at Brooklyn College, the first African-American to lead a department at 

a predominately White institution and later became the 
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first African-American professor to hold an endowed 

chair at Duke University; 

Whereas in 1964, Dr. John Hope Franklin joined the faculty 

of the University of Chicago, serving as Professor of 

American History, Chairman of the Department of History from 1967 to 1970, and the John Matthews Manly 

Distinguished Service Professor from 1969 to 1982 when 

he became Professor Emeritus of History; 

Whereas in 1982, Dr. John Hope Franklin joined the faculty 

at Duke University and served until his passing, holding 

such positions as the James B. Duke Professor of History, Professor of Legal History at Duke University Law 

School, the James B. Duke Professor of History Emeritus, Duke University; 

Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin’s numerous publications 

include ‘‘From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro 

Americans’’, widely considered the preeminent history of 

the African-American experience in the United States, 

‘‘The Emancipation Proclamation’’, ‘‘The Militant 

South’’, ‘‘The Free Negro in North Carolina’’, ‘‘Reconstruction After the Civil War’’, ‘‘A Southern Odyssey: 

Travelers in the Ante-bellum North’’, and his influential 

autobiography ‘‘Mirror to America: The Autobiography of 

John Hope Franklin’’; 

Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin’s research contributed to 

the success of Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP’s legal 

victory in the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case, 

Brown v. Board of Education, which ended the ‘‘separate 

but equal’’ doctrine in America’s public schools; 

Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin was active in numerous 

professional and educational organizations including serv-
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ing as President of The Organization of American Historians, the American Studies Association, the Southern 

Historical Association, the United Chapters of Phi Beta 

Kappa, and the first African-American to serve as President of the American Historical Association; 

Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin served on many national 

commissions and delegations, including the National 

Council on the Humanities, Advisory Commission on 

Public Diplomacy, and as chair of President Clinton’s 

Race Initiative Advisory Board in 1997; 

Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin was the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including the Presidential 

Medal of Freedom in 1995, the inaugural W.E.B. 

DuBois Award from Fisk University Alumni Association, 

the Organization of American Historians’ Award for Outstanding Achievement, the Alpha Phi Alpha Award of 

Merit, the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal, and Lifetime 

Achievement Awards from the American Academy of Arts 

and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society in 

2007; 

Whereas in 1996, Dr. John Hope Franklin was named ‘‘Historian of the Century’’ by Duke University, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central University, 

and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; 

Whereas in 1998, Dr. John Hope Franklin was inducted into 

the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame; 

Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin inspired the John Hope 

Franklin Center for Interdisciplinary & International 

Studies at Duke University, a consortium of academic 

programs that encourage creative scholarship, the exchange of ideas, and a variety of perspectives and meth-
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odologies to revitalize notions of how knowledge is gain 

and shared; 

Whereas Dr. Franklin described historians as ‘‘the conscience 

of the nation, if honesty and consistency are factors that 

nurture the conscience’’, and his contributions to the 

study of American history fundamentally challenged and 

changed the manner in which the Nation collectively interprets its past and understands its present; 

Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin was a true scholar and soldier for justice whose chronicling of American history affirmed the dignity of Black people while giving us all a 

richer understanding of who we are as Americans and 

our journey as a people; 

Whereas generations of young historians have been inspired 

and personally influenced by Dr. Franklin’s keen intellect, graceful humility, and humor in the classroom, and 

will ensure the endurance of his towering legacy; and 

Whereas Dr. John Hope Franklin passed away on March 25, 

2009, in Durham, North Carolina, and will be deeply 

missed: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) honors the life and achievements of Dr. John 

Hope Franklin; and 
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(2) encourages the Nation to recognize his academic 

contributions, scholarship, and service to the American 

society and history. 

Attest: 

Clerk.