Original Black History Month Resolution of 2022

Whereas the theme for Black History Month 2022 is Black Health and Wellness Whereas Black communities continue to face health challenges unique in their severity in the United States; Whereas COVID–19 data show that Black-American populations in the United States experience higher rates of COVID–19-related hospitalization and death compared with non-Hispanic White populations; Whereas, in Michigan, Black Americans are 133 percent more likely to contract the novel coronavirus and are overrepresented for deaths related to COVID–19, accounting for 40 percent of all deaths statewide; Whereas structural racism and residential segregation have forced a disproportionate number of Black Americans into low-income neighborhoods that make social isolation practices more challenging to implement due to physical crowding and lack of resources; Whereas a national analysis of county-level data confirmed that these adverse socioeconomic conditions have caused counties with higher proportions of Black Americans to have higher numbers of COVID–19 cases and deaths; Whereas inequities in education, employment, income, policing and incarceration, health care access, chronic stress, and multiple other factors that affect health increase, to varying degrees, Black Americans’ risk for morbidity and mortality in general; Whereas on average, although Black women are younger (36.1 years) than United States women overall (39.6 years), they have a higher prevalence of many health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, cancers, diabetes, maternal morbidities, obesity, and stress; Whereas infant mortality rates for children born to non-Hispanic Black women are twice as high as those for children born to non-Hispanic White women; Whereas it is estimated that non-Hispanic Black women are three to almost four times more likely to die while pregnant or within one year postpartum than their non-Hispanic White and Latina counterparts; Whereas research suggests that chronic exposure to environmental stressors, such as racism, across the life span contributes to the weathering of the health of Black women, increasing their allostatic load and, consequently, compromising their reproductive health; Whereas obesity is a major source of morbidity and mortality for all United States populations, but non-Hispanic Black Americans have a higher age-adjusted prevalence of obesity than any other racial/ethnic group, with estimates ranging from 34 percent to 50 percent; Whereas there are numerous institutions and individuals fighting to improve these health outcomes for Black individuals; Whereas four historically Black (HBCU) medical schools are currently in operation: Meharry Medical College (Meharry), Howard University College of Medicine (Howard), Morehouse School of Medicine (Morehouse), and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU); Whereas 13 other HBCU medical schools were operating in the late 1800s to early 1900s and were closed owing to low enrollment and limited resources; Whereas HBCU medical schools have a two-fold mission: to diversify the health care workforce and deliver high-quality and compassionate care to underserved and underprivileged populations; Whereas Morehouse School of Medicine’s M.D. program is noted for its low student-faculty ratio and for successfully matching nearly 70 percent of its graduates in primary care specialties; Whereas notable alumni of Meharry Medical College include the first Black-American woman epidemiologist, Theresa Green Reed, and the first Black-American president of the American Heart Association, Edward S. Cooper; Whereas Bernard Tyson (1959–2019) was the first Black chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente and was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2017 for his dedicated mission to provide quality and affordable health care for all; Whereas Dr. Ala Stanford, a pediatric surgeon in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, launched the Black Doctors COVID–19 Consortium (BDCC), an independent testing effort that has tested over 10,000 people; Whereas Dr. Betty Smith Williams is not only the first Black person to graduate from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing in Cleveland, Ohio, but she also went on to become the first Black person to teach at the college or university level in the entire State of California; Whereas Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the first Black woman to be the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is well-known for playing a major part in implementing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) during the Obama administration; Whereas Tracey D. Brown is the first Black woman and person living with type 2 diabetes to be CEO of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the largest voluntary health organization in the United States; Whereas because of the efforts of these and other heroic individuals, health outcomes for Black Americans have seen massive improvement; Whereas according to the National Center for Health Statistics, the infant mortality rate among Black Americans has dropped by more than 20 percent since the late 1990s; Whereas, since 1990, the overall cancer death rate has dropped faster in Black Americans than White Americans among both men and women, largely driven by more rapid declines in cancers of the lung, colorectum, and prostate for Black Americans; Whereas, from 2006 to 2014, the teen birth rate among Black Americans declined by 44 percent; Whereas of the more than 20,000,000 people who have gained health care coverage under the ACA, 2,800,000 of them are Black Americans; Whereas due to improvements in hygiene, medicine, and other public health measures, life expectancy for Black Americans has nearly doubled since the turn of the 20th century, a win for Black health which cannot be overstated; Whereas the month of February is officially celebrated as Black History Month, which dates to 1926 when Dr. Carter G. Woodson set aside a special period in February to recognize the heritage and achievement of Black Americans; and Whereas the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass inspired the creation of Negro History Week, the precursor to Black History Month: Now, therefore, be it 1. Short title This resolution may be cited as the Original Black History Month Resolution of 2022 2. Recognizing and celebrating the significance of black history month The House of Representatives recognizes the importance of commemorating Black History Month as it acknowledges the achievements of Black Americans throughout our Nation’s history and encourages the continuation of its celebration to raise the awareness of this community’s accomplishments for all Americans.

Summary: Original Black History Month Resolution of 2022 This resolution recognizes the importance of commemorating Black History Month to acknowledge the achievements of Black Americans throughout history.