Title: 1619 Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
1619 Act
This bill expands the National Museum of African American History and Culture's educational programming.
Specifically, the bill requires the museum to develop and nationally disseminate accurate, relevant, and accessible resources to promote understanding of notable events in African American history. It also authorizes various African American history education program activities to engage prospective and current teachers and educational leaders.
Additionally, the museum must maintain on its website a special section designated for African American history education resources.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4193 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4193

     To develop and nationally disseminate accurate, relevant, and 
 accessible resources to promote understanding about African-American 
                                history.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 2, 2020

   Mr. Peters (for himself, Mr. Casey, Ms. Rosen, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. 
Wyden, Ms. Baldwin, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Stabenow, Ms. 
  Sinema, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Brown, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
 Warner, and Ms. Warren) introduced the following bill; which was read 
    twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To develop and nationally disseminate accurate, relevant, and 
 accessible resources to promote understanding about African-American 
                                history.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``1619 Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States has demonstrated a commitment to 
        remembrance and education about the experiences of African 
        Americans in the United States.
            (2) Congress has played a critical role in preserving the 
        memory of the African-American experience in the United States 
        and promoting awareness by recognizing African-American History 
        Month in 1976 to ``seize the opportunity to honor the too-often 
        neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of 
        endeavor throughout our history.''.
            (3) 400 years after the first slaves were brought to 
        American shores, and growing distance of students and their 
        families from this history, it is important to institutionalize 
        education about the events of African-American history such as 
        slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Civil 
        Rights Movement, which led to monumental legislation like the 
        Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, among other notable 
        events.
            (4) As intolerance, bigotry, and racism are promoted by 
        hate groups, African-American history education provides a 
        context in which to learn about the danger of what can happen 
        when hate goes unchallenged and there is indifference in the 
        face of the oppression of others. The African-American 
        experience is an important component of the education of 
        citizens of the United States.
            (5) Today, those who deny the importance of African-
        American history or distort the true nature of the Africa-
        American experience continue to find forums, especially online. 
        This denial and distortion dishonors those who were persecuted 
        and murdered, making it even more of a national imperative to 
        educate students in the United States so that they may explore 
        the lessons that African-American history provides for all 
        people, sensitize communities to the circumstances that gave 
        rise to the African-American experience, and help youth be less 
        susceptible to the falsehood about African-American history and 
        destructive messages of hate that arise from African-American 
        history denial and distortion.
            (6) Currently, 7 States (Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, 
        Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island) require by 
        law that schools, in collaboration with special K-12 Black 
        history oversight committees, teach students about African-
        American history. More schools and teachers, including those in 
        underserved communities, can and should deliver quality 
        African-American history education.
            (7) For more than 4 years, the National Museum of African 
        American History and Culture has worked to build and support 
        the field of African-American history education, and advance 
        the quality and sustainability of African-American history 
        education at the local, State, and national levels, by engaging 
        teachers and students across disciplines and grade levels.
            (8) The Federal Government, through support for educational 
        activities of national museums established under Federal law, 
        can assist teachers in efforts to incorporate historically 
        accurate instruction on human rights atrocities, including the 
        African-American experience, in curricula.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) African-american history.--The term ``African-American 
        history'' means the systematic, bureaucratic, State-sponsored 
        enslavement of Africans brought to the United States, the era 
        of the Civil War, Reconstruction, segregation, and the modern 
        experience of African Americans as equal citizens under the 
        law.
            (2) African-american history education center.--The term 
        ``African-American history education center'' means an 
        institution that furthers the teaching and learning about 
        African-American history by offering programs for students and 
        training for teachers and other types of professional 
        leadership audiences.
            (3) African-american history education program.--The term 
        ``African-American history education program'' means a program 
        that has as its specific and primary purpose to improve 
        awareness and understanding of the African-American experience 
        and educate individuals on the lessons of African-American 
        history as a means to raise awareness about the importance of 
        preventing oppression, hate, and bigotry against any group of 
        people.
            (4) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
            (5) Eligible program participant.--The term ``eligible 
        program participant'' means--
                    (A) a high school teacher, a teacher of one of the 
                middle grades, or a school leader of a high school or a 
                school that includes one of the middle grades (as such 
                terms are defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and 
                Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801));
                    (B) an educational leader or expert who is not 
                employed by a local educational agency (as defined in 
                section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
                Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)) or an elementary school 
                or secondary school (as such terms are so defined) that 
                is independent of any local educational agency; or
                    (C) a prospective teacher enrolled in a program of 
                postsecondary education coursework or preservice 
                clinical education.
            (6) Racism.--The term ``racism'' means a certain perception 
        of African Americans, which may be expressed as hatred or 
        discrimination, and the rhetorical and physical manifestations 
        of which are directed toward African-American or non-African-
        American individuals or their property, and African-American 
        community institutions and religious facilities, exacerbating 
        an inequitable distribution of resources, opportunity, and 
        power that is detrimental to African-American communities.
            (7) Slavery.--The term ``slavery'' means the legal 
        institution of human chattel enslavement, primarily of Africans 
        and African Americans prior to the passage of the 13th 
        Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this Act $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2021 and 
each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.
    (b) Donations, Gifts, Bequests, and Devises of Property.--In 
accordance with section 5 of the National Museum of African American 
History and Culture Act (20 U.S.C. 80r-3), and in furtherance of the 
purposes of this Act, the Director is authorized to solicit, accept, 
hold, administer, invest, and use donated funds and gifts, bequests, 
and devises of property, both real and personal.
    (c) Use of Funds.--The Director, using funds appropriated under 
subsection (a) and resources received under subsection (b), and 
including through the engagement of eligible program participants as 
appropriate--
            (1) shall develop and nationally disseminate accurate, 
        relevant, and accessible resources to promote understanding 
        about how and why notable events in African-American history 
        happened in the manner that it did, which shall include digital 
        resources and may include other types of resources, such as 
        print resources and traveling exhibitions; and
            (2) may carry out one or more of the following African-
        American history education program activities:
                    (A) Development, dissemination, and implementation 
                of principles of sound pedagogy for teaching about 
                African-American history.
                    (B) Provision of professional development for 
                eligible program participants, such as through--
                            (i) local, regional, and national 
                        workshops;
                            (ii) teacher trainings in conjunction with 
                        African-American history education centers and 
                        other appropriate partners;
                            (iii) engagement with--
                                    (I) local educational agencies (as 
                                defined in section 8101 of the 
                                Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
                                of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)); and
                                    (II) high schools and schools that 
                                include one of the middle grades (as so 
                                defined) that are independent of any 
                                local educational agency; and
                            (iv) operation and expansion of a teacher 
                        fellowship program to cultivate and support 
                        leaders in African-American history education.
                    (C) Engagement with State and local education 
                leaders to encourage the adoption of resources 
                supported under this Act into curricula across diverse 
                disciplines.
                    (D) Evaluation and research to assess the 
                effectiveness and impact of African-American history 
                education programs, which may include completion of the 
                report required under section 8.
    (d) Applications.--The Director may seek the engagement of an 
eligible program participant under subsection (c) by requiring 
submission of an application to the Director at such time, in such 
manner, and based on such competitive criteria as the Director may 
require.

SEC. 5. ONLINE AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY EDUCATION RESOURCES.

    (a) Website.--The Director shall maintain on the website of the 
National Museum of African American History and Culture a special 
section designated for African-American history education resources to 
improve awareness and understanding of African-American history and 
educate individuals on the lessons of the African-American experience 
as a means to raise awareness about the importance of preventing hate 
and bigotry against any group of people. The website and resources 
shall be made publically available.
    (b) Information Distribution.--The Director shall distribute 
information about the activities funded under this Act through the 
website of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, 
and shall respond to inquiries for supplementary information concerning 
such activities.
    (c) Best Practices.--The information distributed by the Director 
shall include best practices for educators.

SEC. 6. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE 
              COUNCIL.

    The National Museum of African American History and Culture Council 
established under section 5 of the National Museum of African American 
History and Culture Act (20 U.S.C. 80r-3), shall have governance 
responsibility for the programs and activities carried out under this 
Act in accordance with the National Museum of African American History 
and Culture Act (20 U.S.C. 80r).

SEC. 7. ENGAGEMENT OF ELIGIBLE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.

    (a) In General.--An eligible program participant shall be engaged 
at the discretion of the Director to participate in African-American 
history education program activities authorized under this Act and 
approved by the Director pursuant to an application described in 
section 4(d).
    (b) Engagement Period.--Engagement of eligible program participants 
under this Act shall be for a period determined by the Director.
    (c) Priority.--In engaging eligible program participants under 
section 4, the Director shall give priority to applications from such 
participants who work for or with a local educational agency, or a 
school that is independent of any local educational agency, that does 
not, at the time application is made, offer any African-American 
history education programming.

SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORT.

    Not later than February 1 of each year, the Director shall submit 
to Congress a report describing the activities carried out under this 
Act.
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