IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 755 
Recognizing and celebrating Black History Month. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 27, 2018 
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing and celebrating Black History Month. 
Whereas the theme for Black History Month 2018 is ‘‘Afri-
can Americans in Times of War,’’ which commemorates 
the centennial of the end of the First World War in 
1918, and explores the complex meanings and implica-
tions of this international struggle and its aftermath; 
Whereas this resolution will focus primarily on African Amer-
icans in the military, which is but one historically impor-
tant aspect of this far reaching exploration of African- 
American history; 
Whereas African Americans have fought for the United 
States throughout its history; 
Whereas despite racial segregation and discrimination, Afri-
can Americans have played a significant role from the co-
lonial period forward; 
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Whereas Crispus Attucks was a fugitive slave working outside 
of Boston, Massachusetts, as a sailor and during his time 
off, he worked as a rope maker near the wharf; 
Whereas in early 1770, competition for work and wages be-
came stiff as British soldiers were contending for the 
same unskilled positions as the locals; 
Whereas this situation created tension which slowly escalated 
to violent confrontations; 
Whereas on March 5, 1770, Attucks led a group of rope mak-
ers and sailors into a confrontation with a group of Brit-
ish soldiers and subsequently was shot and killed; 
Whereas Crispus Attucks, a Black man, is generally consid-
ered to be the first casualty of the Revolutionary War 
and is remembered as the first of many notable African- 
American heroes; 
Whereas Araminta Ross, better known as Harriet Tubman, 
was born into slavery in Maryland and escaped to free-
dom in the North in 1849 to become the most famous 
conductor on the Underground Railroad; 
Whereas Araminta Ross was a leading abolitionist before the 
American Civil War and also helped the Union Army dur-
ing the war, working as a spy among other roles; 
Whereas Araminta Ross, a Black woman, was the first 
woman to lead an armed expedition during the Civil War; 
Whereas Araminta Ross guided the Combahee River Raid, 
which liberated more than 700 slaves in South Carolina; 
Whereas Powhatan Beaty was born a slave in Richmond, Vir-
ginia, in 1837; 
Whereas when the Civil War broke out, Beaty enlisted in the 
Union army; 
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Whereas Powhatan Beaty, a Black man, was quickly pro-
moted to sergeant and oversaw 47 other Black recruits 
in noncombat jobs; 
Whereas in September 1864, Beaty’s division attacked the 
enemy at Chaffin’s farm, near Richmond, Virginia; 
Whereas with all of the unit’s officers and most of its enlisted 
men dead or wounded, Beaty took over and led a second 
charge, driving the enemy back; 
Whereas for his heroism, Beaty was awarded the Medal of 
Honor; 
Whereas during the Civil War, approximately 40,000 African 
Americans were killed in action; 
Whereas Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr., entered the military 
service on July 13, 1898, during the Spanish-American 
War as a temporary first lieutenant of the 8th United 
States Volunteer Infantry; 
Whereas on June 18, 1899, he enlisted as a private in the 
9th Calvary of the Regular Army; 
Whereas Davis eventually came under the command of 
Charles Young, whom at the time was the only African- 
American Officer serving in the U.S. military; 
Whereas Young took Davis under his tutelage and helped him 
to prepare to take his officer candidate test; 
Whereas in only two years, he rose to sergeant major and 
earned a commission as a second lieutenant in 1901; 
Whereas Benjamin Oliver Davis, a Black man, rose through 
the ranks and became the first African American to 
achieve the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. military; 
Whereas during World War I, approximately 800 African 
Americans were killed in action; 
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Whereas Doris Miller enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Mess At-
tendant where he served on the USS West Virginia when 
the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 
1941; 
Whereas Miller was assigned to carry the wounded sailors to 
safer quarters; 
Whereas he returned to the deck and picked up a 50-caliber 
Browning antiaircraft machine gun that he had never 
been trained to shoot and managed to shoot down enemy 
aircraft; 
Whereas Doris Miller, a Black man, was commended by the 
Secretary of the Navy and became the first African 
American to be presented with the Navy Cross; 
Whereas before 1940, African Americans were barred from 
flying for the U.S. military; 
Whereas civil rights organizations and the Black press ex-
erted pressure on President Roosevelt, which resulted in 
the formation of the Tuskegee Airmen based in 
Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1941; 
Whereas the Tuskegee Airmen included pilots, navigators, 
bombardiers, maintenance and support staff, instructors, 
and the personnel who kept the planes and pilots in the 
air; 
Whereas the Black Tuskegee Airmen overcame segregation 
and prejudice to become one of the most highly respected 
fighter groups of World War II; 
Whereas the Tuskegee Airmen’s achievements helped pave 
the way for full integration of the U.S. military; 
Whereas during World War II, approximately 700 African 
Americans were killed in action; 
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Whereas Cornelius Charlton, a career military man, served in 
the Army during the Korean War; 
Whereas on June 2, 1951, his platoon encountered heavy re-
sistance while attempting to take Hill 543 and the leader 
of his platoon was wounded; 
Whereas Charlton took command, regrouped his men and led 
an assault on the hill; 
Whereas he single-handedly attacked and disabled the last re-
maining enemy gun encampments; 
Whereas he subsequently died from the wounds inflicted by 
a grenade but he is credited with saving much of his pla-
toon; 
Whereas Cornelius Charlton, a Black man, posthumously re-
ceived the Medal of Honor for his actions near Chipo-ri, 
South Korea; 
Whereas African Americans literally fought for the right to 
die in defense of their country; 
Whereas in the face of injustices, many African Americans 
distinguished themselves with their commitment to the 
noble ideas upon which the United States was founded 
and courageously fought for the rights and freedom of all 
Americans; 
Whereas the preservation and teaching of Black history are 
nationally recognized due to the efforts of Dr. Carter G. 
Woodson and his establishment of Negro History Week, 
the precursor to Black History Month; 
Whereas Black History Month, which represents Dr. Carter 
G. Woodson’s efforts to enhance knowledge of Black his-
tory, started through the Journal of Negro History, pub-
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lished by Woodson’s Association for the Study of African- 
American Life and History; and 
Whereas the month of February is officially celebrated as 
Black History Month, which dates back to 1926 when 
Dr. Carter G. Woodson set aside a special period of time 
in February to recognize the heritage and achievement of 
Black Americans: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That— 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Original Black 
History Month Resolution of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. RECOGNIZING AND CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY 
MONTH. 
Congress— 
(1) recognizes the significance of Black History 
Month as an important time to acknowledge and cel-
ebrate the contributions of African Americans in the 
Nation’s history, and encourages the continued cele-
bration of this month to provide an opportunity for 
all peoples of the United States to learn more about 
the past and to better understand the experiences 
that have shaped the Nation; 
(2) recognizes that ethnic and racial diversity of 
the United States enriches and strengthens the Na-
tion; and 
(3) encourages all States to include in their 
year-round educational curriculum the history and 
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contributions of African Americans in the United 
States and around the world. 
Æ 
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