IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 541 
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 supporting the designation of June 
2023 as African-American Music Appreciation Month. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 22, 2023 
Mr. MEEKS (for himself, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. LEE of California, and 
Ms. NORTON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
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 supporting the designation of June 2023 
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; 
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-
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•HRES 541 IH 
sical instruments with them, and built new musical in-
struments in the United States; 
Whereas spirituals were a distinct response to the conditions 
of African slavery 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 hard-
ships 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 Thomas Dorsey, the father of gospel music, used his 
composing talents to merge sacred and secular styles that 
created a revolution in music; 
Whereas talented jazz pianist and vocalist Nathaniel Adams 
Coles recorded more than 150 singles and sold more than 
50,000,000 records; 
Whereas the talent of Ella Fitzgerald, a 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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•HRES 541 IH 
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 the female Afri-
can-American concert singers who have achieved great 
popularity 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, combines ele-
ments of African-American gospel music, rhythm and 
blues, and jazz, and was popularized by artists such as 
Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam 
Cooke, Bill Withers, and Jackie Wilson; 
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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•HRES 541 IH 
Whereas Go-Go, developed by African-American musicians in 
the mid 1960s, combines funk, soul, and Latin music, 
popularized by artists such as Chuck Brown and Rare 
Essence, went on to become the ‘‘official music of Wash-
ington DC’’; 
Whereas Harry Belafonte, a singer, actor, and activist, a sup-
porter and confidant of Martin Luther King, Jr., 
throughout the civil rights movement, influenced by his 
Caribbean roots, popularized calypso music in the United 
States; 
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, Little Richard, and Jimi Hendrix; 
Whereas rap, arguably the most complex and influential form 
of hip-hop culture, combines blues, jazz, and soul and ele-
ments of the African-American musical tradition 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 underresourced neighborhoods; 
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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 Prince Rogers Nelson, who was known for electric 
performances and a wide vocal range, pioneered music 
that integrated a wide variety of styles, including funk, 
rock, contemporary rhythm and blues, new wave, soul, 
psychedelia, and pop; 
Whereas the incredible Billie Holiday created a cultural reset 
by recording ‘‘Strange Fruit’’, originally a poem that de-
picted lynching in the southern United States, that be-
came the first protest song of the civil rights era; 
Whereas the talented jazz artist Duke Ellington pushed 
boundaries with his hits ‘‘It Don’t Mean a Thing if It 
Ain’t Got That Swing’’ and ‘‘Sophisticated Lady’’ and re-
ceived 13 Grammys as well as the Presidential Gold 
Medal; 
Whereas Sister Rosetta Tharpe, known as the Godmother of 
Rock ‘N Roll, combined her distinctive guitar style with 
melodic blues and traditional gospel music that influ-
enced the likes of Aretha Franklin and Chuck Berry; 
Whereas Tina Turner, the queen of rock and roll, stunned 
audiences with her powerful vocals, the first women or 
African-American musician to be featured on the cover of 
Rolling Stone, receiving 12 Grammys during her lifetime; 
Whereas trailblazer Florence Price is the first noted African- 
American female composer to gain national status and 
the first African-American woman to have her composed 
work performed by a major national symphony orchestra; 
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Whereas the classical singer Marian Anderson broke down ra-
cial barriers by performing at the Lincoln Memorial in 
1939 after being denied to sing in front of an integrated 
audience at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, 
DC; 
Whereas country music singer Charley Pride was inducted 
into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000 and has 
over 40 number 1 country hits; 
Whereas Nina Simone, one of the most prominent and ex-
traordinary soul singers, has music spanning over 4 dec-
ades that has impacted generations with her detailed 
story telling; 
Whereas musician Bobby McFerrin brought joy to audiences 
everywhere with his smash hit ‘‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’’; 
Whereas famous saxophone player John Coltrane made his 
impact on genres like bebop, jazz, and rhythm and blues 
through his work such as ‘‘A Love Supreme’’; 
Whereas David Jolicoeur, also known as Trugoy the Dove, a 
founding member of hip-hop group De La Soul and Na-
tive Tongues, used his passion for rap music to spread 
positive messages within his community; 
Whereas musical force Marvin Gaye used his versatility as an 
artist to produce hits like ‘‘I Heard It Through the 
Grapevine’’ and ‘‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’’; 
Whereas a recent study by the National Arts Education Data 
Project found that 13 percent of schools with a predomi-
nately African-American student population have no ac-
cess to music education; 
Whereas African-American students scored the lowest of all 
ethnicities in the most recent National Assessment for 
Educational Progress arts assessment; 
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•HRES 541 IH 
Whereas African-American students often receive a music 
education that does not reflect their own culture; 
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 who are ineligible for that program, which 
suggests that students in low-income families are dis-
advantaged in the subject of music; 
Whereas a study found that— 
(1) nearly 2⁄3 of music ensemble students were White 
and middle class, and only 15 percent of those students 
were African American; and 
(2) only 7 percent of music teacher licensure can-
didates were African American; and 
Whereas students of color face many barriers to accessing 
music education and training, especially students in large 
urban public schools: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes— 
(A) the contributions of African Americans 
to the musical heritage of the United States; 
(B) the wide array of talented and popular 
African-American musical artists, composers, 
songwriters, and musicians who are underrecog-
nized for contributions to music; 
(C) the achievements, talent, and hard 
work of African-American pioneer artists and 
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the obstacles that those artists overcame to 
gain recognition; 
(D) the need for African-American stu-
dents to have greater access to, and participa-
tion in, music education in schools across the 
United States; and 
(E) Black History Month and African- 
American Music Appreciation Month as an im-
portant time— 
(i) to celebrate the impact of the Afri-
can-American musical heritage on the mu-
sical heritage of the United States; and 
(ii) to encourage greater access to 
music education so that the next genera-
tion may continue to greatly contribute to 
the musical heritage of the United States; 
and 
(2) supports the designation of ‘‘African-Amer-
ican Music Appreciation Month’’. 
Æ 
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