IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 155 
Recognizing and celebrating the significance of Black History Month. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 27, 2019 
Mr. GREEN of Texas (for himself, Mr. COHEN, Mr. VELA, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. 
BASS, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. 
CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. DANNY K. 
DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. 
JEFFRIES, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of 
Georgia, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. 
VEASEY, Ms. WATERS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, and Ms. WILSON of 
Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing and celebrating the significance of Black History 
Month. 
Whereas the theme for Black History Month 2019 is ‘‘Black 
Migrations’’, which emphasizes the movement of people of 
African descent to new destinations and to new social re-
alities; 
Whereas this resolution focuses primarily on the migration of 
African Americans, which is one of the important phases 
in American history; 
Whereas inclusive of earlier centuries, this theme focuses spe-
cifically on the 20th century through today; 
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Whereas, beginning in the 20th century, African-American 
migration patterns included relocation from Southern 
farms to Southern cities, from the South to the North-
east, Midwest, and West, and from the Caribbean to 
United States cities; 
Whereas the relocation of formerly enslaved individuals and 
their descendants also included unfavorable interactions 
with law enforcement that often resulted in imprisonment 
and convict leasing; 
Whereas the remains of 95 persons, thought to be of African 
ancestry, who were subjected to the State’s convict-leas-
ing system were discovered at the construction site of 
Fort Bend Independent School District’s James Reese 
Career and Technical Center in Sugar Land, Texas; 
Whereas this movement known as the ‘‘Great Migration’’ was 
caused by a lack of economic opportunities, harsh seg-
regationist laws, and the terror perpetrated against Afri-
can-American communities by the Ku Klux Klan; 
Whereas the Great Migration exposed the racial divisions and 
disparities that continue to plague the Nation and domi-
nate headlines today, from police killings of unarmed Af-
rican Americans to mass incarceration to widely docu-
mented biases in employment, housing, health care, and 
education; 
Whereas, prior to 1910, more than 90 percent of the African- 
American population lived in the South, but by the 
1970s, 47 percent of all African Americans were living in 
the North and West; 
Whereas, during World War I, when slowing immigration 
from Europe created a labor shortage in the North, com-
panies began recruiting African Americans to fill the as-
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sembly lines and work the steel mills, railroads, and fac-
tories; 
Whereas African Americans who migrated to the North still 
faced racial discrimination in the form of redlining, ra-
cially based housing ordinances, higher rent based on 
race, the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan, and rising in-
stances of race riots; 
Whereas African Americans created their own cities and 
neighborhoods free of discrimination where their culture 
expanded, for example in Harlem in New York City that 
housed over 200,000 African Americans during the 
1920s; 
Whereas at the end of the Civil War, many of Durham’s Afri-
can Americans left the plantations as free persons, cre-
ating their own communities and opportunities, and 
formed the Hayti neighborhood, which developed into a 
thriving business and residential district, and around the 
same time, efforts were made to provide educational op-
portunities for Blacks, including the founding of what is 
now North Carolina Central University (NCCU); 
Whereas Greenwood, Oklahoma, part of Tulsa, became home 
to thriving Black businesses also known as ‘‘Black Wall 
Street’’ until the Tulsa race riot of 1921, in which a 
White mob burned down Greenwood, the site of the worst 
race riot in United States history; 
Whereas in Freedmen’s Town, Texas, thousands of freed 
slaves purchased land and built their homes along the 
Buffalo Bayou at the end of the Civil War, and over six 
decades the town thrived, with churches, schools, stores, 
theaters, and jazz spots lining the cobblestone roadways 
until the Great Depression caused many to lose their 
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homes and some longtime residents moved to other Hous-
ton neighborhoods; 
Whereas, in 1984, Freedmen’s Town, Texas, was designated 
a historic district; 
Whereas Judge Frank Minis Johnson, Jr., served on the U.S. 
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, U.S. Court of Ap-
peals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the U.S. District 
Court for the Middle District of Alabama, and in each 
capacity, Judge Johnson courageously worked to advance 
the constitutional principles of freedom and equality; 
Whereas the insight and constitutional judgment of Judge 
Johnson were invaluable and aided the Supreme Court as 
it recognized the violations and injustices in our Nation 
during the civil rights movement, and without Judge 
Johnson’s judicious temperament, constitutional mindset, 
and dedication to rule of law, the civil rights movement 
would have been at a great disadvantage; 
Whereas Senator Edward Brooke III became the first African 
American popularly elected to the Senate and the first 
Black politician from Massachusetts to serve in Congress, 
and prior to being elected to the Senate, he was the first 
African-American attorney general of any State in 1962; 
Whereas Senator Brooke’s election ended an 85-year absence 
of African-American Senators and he represented Massa-
chusetts in the Senate from 1967 to 1979, and during 
his senatorial career, he co-wrote the Civil Rights Act of 
1968, which prohibited discrimination in housing; 
Whereas Senator Brooke also became a prominent critic of 
President Richard Nixon and was the first Senate Repub-
lican to call for Nixon’s resignation in light of the Water-
gate scandal; 
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Whereas African-American migration led to the emergence of 
both Black industrial workers and Black entrepreneurs, 
resulting in the formation of a new society, which in-
cluded a variety of urban churches and new denomina-
tions but also new music forms like ragtime, blues, and 
jazz; 
Whereas African Americans in all walks of life have made 
significant contributions throughout the history of the 
United States, including through the— 
(1) music of Louis Armstrong, Chuck Berry, James 
Brown, Ray Charles, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Duke 
Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Mahalia Jack-
son, Francis Johnson, Prince, and Bessie Smith; 
(2) writings of Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, 
W.E.B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison, Alex Haley, Langston 
Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, Alice Walk-
er, Booker T. Washington, and Richard Wright; 
(3) publications of The North Star, The Crisis Mag-
azine, Ebony Magazine, Jet Magazine, Essence Maga-
zine, Black Enterprise Magazine, The National Associa-
tion of Black Journalists (NABJ), Sister 2 Sister Maga-
zine, and Uptown Magazine; 
(4) resolve of athletes such as Muhammad Ali, Ar-
thur Ashe, Althea Gibson, Lebron James, Michael Jor-
dan, Colin Kaepernick, Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, Fred-
erick ‘‘Fritz’’ Pollard, Jackie Robinson, Wilma Rudolph, 
Bill Russell, Venus Williams, and Serena Williams; 
(5) scientific advancements of Benjamin Banneker, 
George Washington Carver, George Crum, Charles Drew, 
Sarah Goode, Euphemia Lofton Haynes, Mae Jemison, 
Thomas Jennings, Katherine Johnson, Norbert Rillieux, 
Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Granville T. Woods; 
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(6) vision of leaders such as Mary McLeod Bethune, 
Shirley Chisholm, Frederick Douglass, Fred Hampton, 
Marsha P. Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood 
Marshall, Huey Newton, and Malcolm X; and 
(7) bravery of those who stood on the front lines in 
the battle against oppression, such as Sojourner Truth, 
Fannie Lou Hammer, and Rosa Parks; 
Whereas the period when Northern African Americans re-
turned to the South led to racial suburbanization, inner- 
city hyper ghettoization, health and environment and civil 
rights and protest activism, electoral politics, mass incar-
ceration, and dynamic cultural production; 
Whereas Negro History Week represented the culmination of 
Dr. Carter G. Woodson’s efforts to enhance knowledge of 
Black history started through the Journal of Negro His-
tory, published by Woodson’s Association for the Study 
of African American Life and History; 
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 of time 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 
Resolved, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Original Black 
History Month Resolution of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. RECOGNIZING AND CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY 
MONTH. 
Congress— 
(1) recognizes the importance of commemo-
rating Black History Month as it acknowledges the 
achievements of African Americans throughout our 
Nation’s history and encourages the continuation of 
its celebration to raise the awareness of this commu-
nity’s accomplishments for all Americans; 
(2) recognizes that racial diversity is what em-
powers the heritage of the United States and 
strengthens the bonds of our people; and 
(3) encourages for the continued spread of 
knowledge regarding Black history and not limit it 
to a month during the year. 
Æ 
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