First Regular Session
Seventy-fourth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
REVISED
LLS NO. R23-0833.01 Faith Marcovecchio x4331
HJR23-1009
House Committees Senate Committees
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 23-1009
C
ONCERNING RECOGNITION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN VETERANS .101
WHEREAS, The military history of African Americans spans from1
the arrival of the first enslaved Africans during the colonial history of the2
United States to the present day; and3
WHEREAS, African Americans have participated in every war4
fought by or within the United States, including the Revolutionary War,5
the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, the6
Spanish-American War, the Indian Wars, World Wars I and II, the7
Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the wars in8
Afghanistan and Iraq; and9
WHEREAS, Nearly 198,000 African-American soldiers served10
during the Civil War, roughly 350,000 African-American soldiers served11
during World War I, and another 1.25 million African-American soldiers12
served during World War II, with many more African Americans serving13
in the years since World War II; and14
WHEREAS, On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed15
Executive Order 9981, integrating the military and mandating equality of16
SENATE
Final Reading
February 13, 2023
HOUSE
Final Reading
February 10, 2023
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Herod and Joseph, Amabile, Armagost, Bacon, Bird, Bockenfeld, Boesenecker, Bottoms,
Bradfield, Bradley, Brown, Catlin, Daugherty, DeGraaf, deGruy Kennedy, Dickson, Duran,
English, Evans, Frizell, Froelich, Garcia, Hamrick, Hartsook, Holtorf, Jodeh, Kipp, Lieder,
Lindsay, Lindstedt, Luck, Lukens, Lynch, Mabrey, Marshall, Martinez, Mauro, McCluskie,
McCormick, McLachlan, Michaelson Jenet, Ortiz, Parenti, Pugliese, Ricks, Sharbini, Sirota,
Snyder, Soper, Story, Taggart, Titone, Valdez, Vigil, Weinberg, Weissman, Willford, Wilson,
Woodrow, Young
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Exum and Fields, Baisley, Bridges, Buckner, Coleman, Cutter, Danielson, Fenberg,
Gardner, Ginal, Gonzales, Hansen, Hinrichsen, Jaquez Lewis, Kirkmeyer, Kolker, Lundeen,
Marchman, Moreno, Mullica, Pelton B., Pelton R., Priola, Rich, Roberts, Rodriguez,
Simpson, Smallwood, Van Winkle, Will, Winter F., Zenzinger
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law. treatment and opportunity for African-American soldiers; and1
WHEREAS, Desegregation of the military was not complete for2
several years, and all-African-American units persisted well into the3
Korean War; and4
WHEREAS, The last all-African-American unit was not disbanded5
until 1954; and6
WHEREAS, Until the Korean War, African-American veterans7
were precluded from direct access to benefits from the Veterans8
Administration, which included VA housing loans, employment9
assistance, unemployment benefits, and health care; and10
WHEREAS, African Americans continue to serve in the United11
States military, providing exemplary service, duty, integrity, dedication,12
and commitment to our great nation; and13
WHEREAS, Currently, seventeen percent of the United States14
Armed Forces are African American; now, therefore,15
Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the16
Seventy-fourth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate17
concurring herein:18
That we, the General Assembly, in recognition of the heroic efforts19
and great sacrifice of African-American veterans, hereby encourage this20
commemoration throughout the Senate and House of Representatives.21
Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent22
to the Congressional Black Caucus; the National Black Caucus of State23
Legislators; the Retired Enlisted Association; the Tuskegee Airmen; the24
Colorado Black Women for Political Action; the National Association for25
Black Veterans, Inc.; the Colorado Veterans of Foreign Wars; the26
Colorado American Legion; the United Veterans Committee of Colorado;27
the Colorado Disabled American Veterans; and the Mountain States28
Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America.29
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