IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1040 
Recognizing and celebrating the significance of Black History Month. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 29, 2024 
Mr. GREEN of Texas (for himself, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. AMO, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. 
BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BOWMAN, 
Ms. BROWN, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. CAR-
SON, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. CASE, Mr. COSTA, Ms. CROCKETT, 
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, Ms. DEAN of Penn-
sylvania, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DELUZIO, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mrs. DIN-
GELL, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mrs. FLETCHER, 
Mr. FROST, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GOLDMAN of 
New York, Mr. IVEY, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. 
KAMLAGER-DOVE, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. LANDSMAN, Ms. LEE of 
California, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, 
Mr. MORELLE, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. MULLIN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. 
NORTON, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PETERS, Mr. PHILLIPS, Ms. PORTER, Ms. 
PRESSLEY, Ms. SALINAS, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. DAVID 
SCOTT of Georgia, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Ms. STANSBURY, Ms. 
TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TRONE, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. 
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WILLIAMS of Geor-
gia, and Ms. WILSON of Florida) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing and celebrating the significance of Black History 
Month. 
Whereas this resolution may be cited as the Original Black 
History Month Resolution of 2024; 
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•HRES 1040 IH 
Whereas this resolution has been endorsed by the Association 
for the Study of African American Life and History; 
Whereas the theme for Black History Month 2024 is ‘‘Afri-
can Americans and the Arts’’, which commemorates the 
influence of African Americans to artistic and cultural 
movements in all fields, including visual and performing 
arts, literature, fashion, folklore, language, film, music, 
architecture, cuisine, and other forms of cultural expres-
sion; 
Whereas African-American art has a long and extensive his-
tory, imbued with the experiences of African, Caribbean, 
and Black Americans’ lived experiences; 
Whereas many cultural and artistic genres have been created 
and pioneered by people of African descent throughout 
history; 
Whereas this resolution highlights Black artists and creators 
in various fields and their contributions to larger African- 
American movements; 
Whereas 
enslaved 
Africans 
brought 
the 
tradition 
of 
sweetgrass basket weaving from West Africa to the low 
country of the American colonies over 300 years ago, a 
visual artistry which predates the American Revolution; 
Whereas the enslaved Africans created the musical form of 
spirituals, religious folksong often sung during hours of 
manual labor; 
Whereas famous spirituals include songs such as ‘‘Swing 
Low, Sweet Chariot’’, composed by Wallace Willis; 
Whereas some spirituals served as a means of communication 
between liberators and seekers of freedom; 
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•HRES 1040 IH 
Whereas Robert Johnson, the Mississippi-born musician, was 
an elusive and influential early Blues musician who has 
since been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; 
Whereas McKinley ‘‘Muddy Waters’’ Morganfield, another 
Blues musician inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of 
Fame, released the songs ‘‘I Can’t Be Satisfied’’ and ‘‘I 
Feel Like Going Home’’; 
Whereas early Blues musicians, who were also often gospel 
performers, created the foundation for jazz, R&B, hip- 
hop, and other forms of music that are continuing to de-
velop; 
Whereas Phillis Wheatley, an educated and enslaved poet, 
published ‘‘Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and 
Moral in 1773’’, the first volume of poetry by an African 
American published in the modern era; 
Whereas David Walker, a free Black man, wrote for the 
Freedom’s Journal, an antislavery weekly, as well as 
wrote and circulated abolitionist literature in the 1820s; 
Whereas one such piece of literature was ‘‘Walker’s Appeal, 
in Four Articles; Together with a Preamble, to the Col-
ored Citizens of the World, but in Particular, and Very 
Expressly, to Those of the United States of America’’, a 
widely circulated abolitionist pamphlet which called for 
the enslaved to rebel against their enslavers; 
Whereas Maria Stewart, an abolitionist and women’s rights 
advocate, contributed to the literary world by being the 
first Black American woman to write and publish a polit-
ical manifesto; 
Whereas Edmonia Lewis created the sculpture The Death of 
Cleopatra in 1876, challenging contemporary society’s 
norms on death in art by depicting the moment after the 
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•HRES 1040 IH 
snake’s venom had taken its toll instead of the more tra-
ditional depiction of her contemplating suicide; 
Whereas Henry Ossawa Tanner painted The Banjo Lesson in 
1893 shedding light on the poverty in which so many Af-
rican Americans of the time lived while still maintaining 
their dignity and grace; 
Whereas the Black Renaissance and New Negro Movement 
gained momentum in the 1920s and 1930s, bringing the 
Black arts to the international stage; 
Whereas the novel ‘‘The Fire in the Flint’’ was a powerful 
view of 20th century racial oppression written by Walter 
White in 1924 and translated into French, spreading to 
the Black population in France and French-speaking 
colonies in Africa and the Caribbean; 
Whereas, due to World War I, Black soldiers in the Armed 
Forces such as James Reese Europe brought Black cul-
ture and music with them when they were sent abroad; 
Whereas Langston Hughes, the poet, social activist, play-
wright, and columnist, was a powerful figure during the 
Harlem Renaissance and spread Black culture and art 
through his travels to West Africa and Europe; 
Whereas the Harlem Renaissance was a significant and piv-
otal cultural movement that influenced the Black Renais-
sance; 
Whereas cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New Orleans 
were home to many Black artists whose creations also 
contributed greatly to the Black Renaissance; 
Whereas the Black arts movement began in the 1960s as a 
way to artistically explore the themes and issues that 
were advocated by the Black power movement; 
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•HRES 1040 IH 
Whereas the poet Amiri Baraka is widely considered to be the 
father of the Black arts movement; 
Whereas this cultural movement emphasized the autonomy of 
Black artists to create their art for Black people with the 
goal of awakening Black consciousness and ultimately lib-
eration; 
Whereas the Black arts movement brought about artists such 
as Audre Lorde, Alvin Ailey, Judith Jamison, Nikki 
Giovanni, and Sonia Sanchez; 
Whereas, in 1973, a new genre of music called hip-hop was 
created in the Bronx, New York, in part by Black musi-
cians DJ Kool Herc and Coke La Rock; 
Whereas five foundational elements of hip-hop include: 
MCing, DJing, graffiti art, breakdancing, and knowledge 
of self; 
Whereas hip-hop, since its inception, has been a central force 
in political, social, and cultural spaces and has continued 
to be a space in which issues such as racism, violence, 
sexism, economic disinvestment, and others have taken 
center stage; 
Whereas Afrofuturism is a term used to describe creative 
works that envision liberated futures for Black and op-
pressed peoples, usually including elements of science fic-
tion, fantasy, or technological advancements, ranging 
across all fields of the arts; 
Whereas examples of Afrofuturism can be found in the music 
of artists such as Sun Ra, Rashan Roland Kirk, Jimi 
Hendrix, and Janelle Mona´e; 
Whereas Octavia Butler’s science fiction novels such as ‘‘Kin-
dred’’ and the ‘‘Xenogensis’’ series feature elements of 
Afrofuturism; 
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•HRES 1040 IH 
Whereas recent films such as Marvel’s ‘‘Black Panther’’ and 
the Oscar-winning ‘‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’’ 
also prominently feature examples of Afrofuturism; 
Whereas Afrofuturistic elements can also be found in the 
paintings of British-Liberian artist Lina Iris Viktor, the 
sculptures of Kenyan-born sculptor Wangechi Mutu, as 
well as the creations of Caribbean writers and artists like 
Nalo Hopkinson and Grace Jones; 
Whereas the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick 
Douglass inspired the creation of Negro History Week, 
the precursor to Black History Month; and 
Whereas the month of February is officially celebrated as 
Black History Month, which dates to 1926 when Dr. 
Carter G. Woodson set aside the second week in Feb-
ruary as Negro History Week to recognize the heritage 
and achievement of Black Americans: Now, therefore, be 
it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives recog-
nizes the importance of commemorating Black History 
Month as it acknowledges the achievements of Black 
Americans throughout the Nation’s history and encour-
ages the continuation of its celebration to raise the aware-
ness of this community’s accomplishments for all Ameri-
cans. 
Æ 
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