IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 463 
Recognizing the contributions of African Americans to the musical heritage 
of the United States and the need for greater access to music education 
for African-American students, and expressing support for the designa-
tion of June as African-American Music Appreciation Month. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 25, 2019 
Mr. MEEKS (for himself, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. THOMPSON 
of Mississippi, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. MOORE, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. HASTINGS, 
Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 
SOTO, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. SEWELL of Ala-
bama, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. NORTON, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. 
RUSH, and Mr. CLAY) submitted the following resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the contributions of African Americans to the 
musical heritage of the United States and the need for 
greater access to music education for African-American 
students, and expressing support for the designation of 
June as African-American Music Appreciation Month. 
Whereas spirituals, ragtime, blues, jazz, gospel, classical com-
position, and countless other categories of music have 
been created or enhanced by African Americans, and are 
etched into the history and culture of the United States; 
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•HRES 463 IH 
Whereas the first Africans transported to the United States 
came from a variety of ethnic groups with a long history 
of distinct and cultivated musical traditions, brought mu-
sical instruments with them, and built new musical in-
struments in the United States; 
Whereas spirituals were a distinct response to the conditions 
in the United States, and expressed the longing of slaves 
for spiritual and bodily freedom, for safety from harm 
and evil, and for relief from the hardships of slavery; 
Whereas jazz, arguably the most creative and complex music 
that the United States has produced, combines the musi-
cal traditions of African Americans in New Orleans with 
the creative flexibility of blues music; 
Whereas masterful trumpeters Louis Armstrong and Miles 
Davis achieved national and international recognition 
with the success of ‘‘West End Blues’’ by Louis Arm-
strong in the 1920s and ‘‘So What’’ by Miles Davis in 
the late 1950s; 
Whereas talented jazz pianist and vocalist Nathaniel Adams 
Coles recorded more than 150 singles and sold more than 
50 million records; 
Whereas the talent of Ella Fitzgerald, winner of 13 
Grammys, is epitomized by a rendition of ‘‘Summer-
time’’, a bluesy record accompanied by melodic vocals; 
Whereas Natalie Cole, the daughter of Nathaniel Adams 
Coles, achieved musical success in the mid-1970s as a 
rhythm and blues artist with the hits ‘‘This Will Be’’ and 
‘‘Unforgettable’’; 
Whereas in the 1940s, bebop evolved through jam sessions, 
which included trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and the alto 
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saxophonist Charlie Parker, that were held at clubs in 
Harlem, New York, such as Minton’s Playhouse; 
Whereas earlier classical singers such as Elizabeth Taylor 
Greenfield, one of the first widely known African-Amer-
ican vocalists, and other early African-American singing 
pioneers, including Nellie Mitchell Brown, Marie Selika 
Williams, Rachel Walker Turner, Marian Anderson, and 
Flora Batson Bergen, paved the way for female African- 
American concert singers who have achieved great popu-
larity during the last 50 years; 
Whereas the term ‘‘rhythm and blues’’ originated in the late 
1940s as a way to describe recordings marketed to Afri-
can Americans and replaced the term ‘‘race music’’; 
Whereas lyrical themes in rhythm and blues often encap-
sulate the African-American experience of pain, the quest 
for freedom, joy, triumphs and failures, relationships, ec-
onomics, and aspiration, and were popularized by artists 
such as Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, Etta James, and Otis 
Redding; 
Whereas soul music originated in the African-American com-
munity in the late 1950s and early 1960s and combines 
elements of African-American gospel music, rhythm and 
blues, and jazz, and was popularized by artists such as 
James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, and Jackie Wil-
son; 
Whereas Motown, founded as a record label in 1959, evolved 
into a distinctive style known for the ‘‘Motown Sound’’, 
a blend of pop and soul musical stylings made popular 
by prominent Black artists such as Marvin Gaye, James 
Mason, and Mary Wells; 
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Whereas in the early 1970s, the musical style of disco 
emerged and was popularized by programs such as Soul 
Train and by artists such as Donna Summer; 
Whereas reggae is a genre of music that originated in Ja-
maica in the late 1960s and incorporates some of the mu-
sical elements of rhythm and blues, jazz, mento, calypso, 
and African music, and was popularized by artists such 
as Bob Marley; 
Whereas rock and roll was developed from African-American 
musical styles such as gospel and rhythm and blues, and 
was popularized by artists such as Chuck Berry, Bo 
Diddley, and Jimi Hendrix; 
Whereas rap, arguably the most complex and influential form 
of hip-hop culture, combines elements of the African- 
American musical tradition (blues, jazz, and soul) with 
Caribbean calypso, dub, and dance hall reggae; 
Whereas the development and popularity of old style rap com-
bined confident beats with wordplay and storytelling, 
highlighting the struggle of African-American youth 
growing up in struggling neighborhoods; 
Whereas contemporary rhythm and blues, which originated in 
the late 1970s and combines elements of pop, rhythm 
and blues, soul, funk, hip hop, gospel, and electronic 
dance music was popularized by artists such as Whitney 
Houston and Aaliyah; 
Whereas Michael Jackson, one of the most popular enter-
tainers of all time, profoundly shaped music, dance, fash-
ion, and popular culture around the world; 
Whereas Prince Rogers Nelson, who was known for electric 
performances and wide vocal range, pioneered music that 
integrated a wide variety of styles, including funk, rock, 
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contemporary rhythm and blues, new wave, soul, 
psychedelia, and pop; 
Whereas a recent study by the Department of Education 
found that only 28 percent of African-American students 
receive any kind of arts education; 
Whereas African-American students scored the lowest of all 
ethnicities in the most recent National Assessment for 
Educational Progress arts assessment; 
Whereas students who are eligible for the school lunch pro-
gram established under the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) have signifi-
cantly lower scores on the music portion of the National 
Assessment for Educational Progress arts assessment 
than students that are ineligible for that program, which 
suggests that students in low-income families are dis-
advantaged in the subject of music; 
Whereas a recent study showed that nearly 2⁄3 of music en-
semble students were Caucasian and middle class and 
only 15 percent were African American; 
Whereas the same study found that only 7 percent of music 
teacher licensure candidates were African American; and 
Whereas minority students face many barriers to accessing 
musical training, especially students in large urban public 
schools: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives recog-
nizes— 
(1) the contributions of African Americans to 
the musical heritage of the United States; 
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(2) the wide array of talented and popular Afri-
can-American musical artists, composers, song-
writers, and musicians who are underrecognized for 
contributions to music; 
(3) the achievements, talent, and hard work of 
African-American pioneer artists, and the obstacles 
that those artists overcame to gain recognition; 
(4) the need for African-American students to 
have greater access to and participation in music 
education in schools across the United States; and 
(5) Black History Month and African-American 
Music Appreciation Month as an important time— 
(A) to celebrate the impact of the African- 
American musical heritage on the musical herit-
age of the United States; and 
(B) to encourage greater access to music 
education so that the next generation may con-
tinue to greatly contribute to the musical herit-
age of the United States. 
Æ 
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