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104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 151
Recognizing the importance of African-American music to global culture and
calling on the people of the United States to study, reflect on, and
celebrate African-American music.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 12, 1996
Mr. FATTAH (for himself, Mr. HILLIARD, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. JEFFER-
SON, Mr. GORDON, Ms. NORTON, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr.
DELLUMS, Mr. FOGLIETTA, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHN-
SON of Texas, Mr. GONZALEZ, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. KLECZ-
KA, Mr. KLINK, Mr. PASTOR, Mrs. COLLINS of Illinois, Mr. BARRETT of
Wisconsin, Mr. COYNE, Mr. CLINGER, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr. QUINN,
Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania, Mr. OWENS, Mr. FRAZER, Mr.
RUSH, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. JACOBS, Mr. THOMPSON, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr.
HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey, Mr.
CLEMENT, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. NADLER, Mr. CON-
YERS, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. HORN, Mr. STOKES, Mr. BROWN of California,
Mr. FLAKE, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. FROST, Mr. BRYANT of Texas, Mr. KIL-
DEE, Mr. WYNN, Mr. RICHARDSON, Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana, Mr. LEWIS
of Georgia, Ms. WATERS, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. DIXON, Mr. LIPINSKI, and Mr.
ENGEL) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Recognizing the importance of African-American music to
global culture and calling on the people of the United
States to study, reflect on, and celebrate African-Amer-
ican music.
Whereas African-American music is indigenous to the United
States and originates from African genres of music;
HCON 151 IH1S
Whereas African-American genres of music such as gospel,
blues, jazz, rock, rhythm and blues, rap, and hip-hop
have their roots in the African-American experience;
Whereas African-American music has a pervasive influence
on dance, fashion, language, art, literature, cinema,
media, advertisements, and other aspects of culture;
Whereas the prominence of African-American music in the
20th century has reawakened interest in the legacy and
heritage of the art form of African-American music;
Whereas African-American music embodies the strong pres-
ence of, and significant contributions made by, African-
Americans in the music industry and society as a whole;
Whereas African-American music has a positive impact on
and broad appeal to diverse groups, both nationally and
internationally;
Whereas artists, songwriters, producers, engineers, educators,
executives, and other professionals in the music industry
provide inspiration and leadership through their creation
of music, dissemination of educational information, and
financial contributions to charitable and community-
based organizations;
Whereas the multibillion dollar African-American music in-
dustry contributes greatly to the worldwide economy:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress—
(1) recognizes the importance of the contributions of
African-American music to global culture and the positive
impact of African-American music on global culture; and
HCON 151 IH1S
(2) calls on the people of the United States to take
the opportunity to study, reflect on, and celebrate the maj-
esty, vitality, and importance of African-American music.
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