IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 869 
Recognizing and celebrating the significance of Black History Month. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 27, 2020 
Mr. GREEN of Texas (for himself, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. WILD, Mr. 
ESPAILLAT, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. 
DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. COSTA, Ms. MOORE, Mr. DAVID SCOTT 
of Georgia, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsyl-
vania, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. TRONE, 
Mrs. HAYES, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. BASS, Ms. WATERS, Ms. 
NORTON, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. SMITH of 
Washington, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and 
Ms. CASTOR of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing and celebrating the significance of Black History 
Month. 
Whereas the theme for Black History Month 2020 is ‘‘Afri-
can Americans and the Vote,’’ which emphasizes the les-
sons we have learned from the struggle for voting rights 
for African-American men and women, and the continued 
challenges they face in exercising that right; 
Whereas African-American men first obtained the right to 
vote following the Civil War with the ratification of the 
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15th Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
States in 1870; 
Whereas this year marks the 150th anniversary of the ratifi-
cation of the 15th Amendment; 
Whereas the 15th Amendment states that the ‘‘right of citi-
zens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or 
abridged by the United States or by any State on account 
of race, color, or previous condition of servitude’’; 
Whereas following the ratification of the 15th Amendment, 
many States, particularly in the South, enacted poll 
taxes, literacy tests, and other means of disenfranchising 
African Americans; 
Whereas women of all ethnicities gained the right to vote in 
1920 when the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of 
the United States was ratified; 
Whereas this year marks the centennial of the ratification of 
the 19th Amendment; 
Whereas the 19th Amendment states that the ‘‘right of citi-
zens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or 
abridged by the United States or by any State on account 
of sex’’; 
Whereas, in 1965, nearly a century after the ratification of 
the 15th Amendment, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was 
signed into law; 
Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited the use of 
literacy tests and provided for Federal oversight of voter 
registration in areas where less than 50 percent of the 
non-White population had not registered to vote, among 
other provisions; 
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Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 also required juris-
dictions with a history of voter suppression to obtain 
‘‘preclearance’’ from the Federal Government for any 
new voting practice or procedure; 
Whereas, in 1969, 4 years after the enactment of the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965, 61 percent of nationwide voter-age 
African Americans were registered to vote, up substan-
tially from the pre-1965 level of 23 percent nationally; 
Whereas, in 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States, 
in the case Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, invali-
dated the preclearance provision of the Voting Rights Act 
of 1965; 
Whereas, since 2013, States that were previously subject to 
preclearance have enacted strict voter identification re-
quirements, restricted opportunities for people to register 
to vote, reduced early or absentee voting, and made it 
harder to restore voting rights to people with criminal 
convictions; 
Whereas, in 1870, Senator Hiram Revels of Mississippi and 
Congressman Joseph Rainey of South Carolina became 
the first African Americans to serve in the United States 
Congress; 
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 
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his senatorial career, he co-wrote the Civil Rights Act of 
1968, which prohibited discrimination in housing; 
Whereas Judge Frank Minis Johnson, Jr., served on the 
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 
and the United States District Court for the Middle Dis-
trict of Alabama, and in each capacity, Judge Johnson 
courageously worked to advance the constitutional prin-
ciples 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 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 Maga-
zine, Ebony Magazine, Jet Magazine, Essence Magazine, 
Black Enterprise Magazine, the National Association of 
Black Journalists (NABJ), Sister 2 Sister Magazine, and 
Uptown Magazine; 
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(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; 
(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 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, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Original Black 
History Month Resolution of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. RECOGNIZING AND CELEBRATING THE SIGNIFI-
CANCE OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH. 
The House of Representatives recognizes the impor-
tance of commemorating Black History Month as it ac-
knowledges the achievements of African Americans 
throughout our Nation’s history and encourages the con-
tinuation of its celebration to raise the awareness of this 
community’s accomplishments for all Americans. 
Æ 
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