District Of Columbia 2025-2026 Regular Session

District Of Columbia Council Bill CER26-0007 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	~~ENROLLED ORIGINAL~~
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	1	+	___________________________ ____________________________
	2	+	Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie Chairman Phil Mendelson
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	5	+	____________________________ ____________________________
	6	+	Councilmember Anita Bonds Councilmember Christina Henderson
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	9	+	____________________________ ____________________________
	10	+	Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau
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	13	+	____________________________ ____________________________
	14	+	Councilmember Brooke Pinto Councilmember Matthew Frumin
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	17	+	___________________________ _____________________________
	18	+	Councilmember Janeese Lewis George Councilmember Zachary Parker
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	21	+	___________________________ ___________________________
	22	+	Councilmember Charles Allen Councilmember Wendell Felder
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	24	+
	25	+	____________________________
	26	+	Councilmember Trayon White, Sr.
4	27
5	28
6	29		A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION
7		-	~~26-7~~
	30	+
8	31
9	32		COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
10	33
11		-	February 4, 2025
12	34
13	35		To celebrate the legacy, achievements, and contributions of African Americans in the
14	36		District of Columbia, to recognize the important role African Americans played in
15	37		American history and to celebrate February as Black History Month.
16	38
17	39		WHEREAS, in 1926 scholar and historian, Dr. Carter G. Woodson and the Association
18	40		for the Study of Negro Life and History (currently known as the Association for the Study of
19	41		African American Life and History (ASALH)) initiated the celebration of "Negro History Week”
20	42		during the second week of February;
21	43
22	44		WHEREAS, Black History Month was first proposed by Black educators and the Black
23	45		United Students at Kent State University in February 1969, and the first celebration of Black
24	46		History Month took place at Kent State one year later, in February 1970;
	47	+
25	48		WHEREAS, this tradition became a nationally recognized occurrence during the United
26	49		States Bicentennial celebration in 1976. President Gerald Ford said the nation should “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area
27		-	of endeavor throughout our history”; WHEREAS, Black History Month is celebrated in several countries around the world, including Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands;
	50	+	of endeavor throughout our history”;
	51	+
	52	+	WHEREAS, Black History Month is celebrated in several countries around the world,
	53	+	including Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands;
	54	+
28	55		WHEREAS, Africans were first brought involuntarily to the shores of the now United
29	56		States by the Spanish as early as the 16th century when Spanish King Charles V gave Hernando
30		-	DeSoto permission to bring 50 African slaves to Florida; WHEREAS, in 1776, people envisioned the United States as a new nation dedicated to the proposition stated in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness …”; WHEREAS, in contravention of those stated ideals, African Americans suffered
31		-	enslavement and subsequently faced the injustices of lynch mobs, segregation, and denial of the basic and fundamental rights of citizenship; ENROLLED ORIGINAL
32		-	2
	57	+	DeSoto permission to bring 50 African slaves to Florida;
33	58
	59	+	WHEREAS, in 1776, people envisioned the United States as a new nation dedicated to
	60	+	the proposition stated in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal, that
	61	+	they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
	62	+	Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness …”;
34	63
	64	+	WHEREAS, in contravention of those stated ideals, African Americans suffered
	65	+	enslavement and subsequently faced the injustices of lynch mobs, segregation, and denial of the
	66	+	basic and fundamental rights of citizenship;
35	67
36	68		WHEREAS, in 2025, African Americans still suffer from the effects of those injustices
37	69		and inequalities, which remain apparent in the society of the United States;
38	70
39	71		WHEREAS, in the face of injustices, people of good will and of all races in the United
40	72		States have distinguished themselves with a commitment to the noble ideals on which the United
41	73		States was founded and have fought courageously for the rights and freedom of African
42	74		Americans and others;
43	75
44	76		WHEREAS, Washington, DC has an abhorrent history of slavery and racial segregation;
45	77
46	78		WHEREAS, The DC Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862, signed by President
47	79		Abraham Lincoln on April 16, 1862, ended slavery in Washington, DC, freed 3,100 individuals,
48	80		reimbursed those who had legally owned them and offered the newly freed women and men
49	81		money to emigrate;
50	82
51	83		WHEREAS, in spite of its history, Washington, DC serves as a center of African
52	84		American culture and the epicenter of the historical struggles for abolition, civil rights, and racial
53	85		equity;
54	86
55	87		WHEREAS, Washington, DC is home to countless destinations devoted to educating
56	88		visitors from around the world on Black history and the accomplishments of Black Americans,
57	89		including the National Museum of African American History and Culture, National Museum of
58	90		African Art, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, the
59	91		Anacostia Community Museum, the District’s African American Heritage Trail, and the African
60	92		American Civil War Museum and Memorial;
61	93
62	94		WHEREAS, Howard University and Howard University School of Law were founded in
63	95		Washington, DC as historically Black institutions of higher education to offer high-quality
64	96		education to African American students at a time when they were not welcome at other
65		-	educational institutions;
66		-
67		-	WHEREAS, in 1870, the Preparatory High School for Negro Yout h (now Dunbar High
	97	+	educational institutions; WHEREAS, in 1870, the Preparatory High School for Negro Youth (now Dunbar High
68	98		School) was founded as the first public high school for African Americans in the United States;
69	99
70	100		WHEREAS, in 1871, Frederick Douglass was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant to
71	101		serve on the eleven-member Legislative Council of the District of Columbia, and U.S. Marshal
72	102		for the District of Columbia. In 1877, Mr. Douglass became the first African American
73	103		confirmed for a presidential appointment by the United States Senate;
74	104
75	105		WHEREAS, in 1896, Mary Church Terrell, educator and civil and women’s rights
76	106		advocate, was the first Black woman appointed to the District of Columbia Board of Education.
77		-	In that same year, she became the founding president of the National Association of Colored ENROLLED ORIGINAL
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	107	+	In that same year, she became the founding president of the National Association of Colored
82	108		Women, and also was a founder of the NAACP in 1909;
83	109
84	110		WHEREAS, world renowned jazz music pioneer Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington
85	111		was born in Washington, DC on April 29, 1899 and is honored with 14 Grammy Awards, a
86	112		Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom;
87	113
88	114		WHEREAS, by 1900, District of Columbia had the largest African American urban
89	115		population in the United States;
90	116
91	117		WHEREAS, in 1933, the New Negro Alliance launched the “Don’t Buy Where You
92	118		Can’t Work,” campaign to protest discriminatory hiring practices in white-owned businesses in
93	119		Washington, D.C.;
94	120
95	121		WHEREAS, Marvin Gaye, born in Washington, DC on April 2, 1939 at Freedmen’s
96	122		Hospital, now Howard University Hospital, and educated at Cardozo High School, is honored
97	123		with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the Rhythm and Blues Music
98	124		Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame;
99	125
100	126		WHEREAS, Chuck Brown, guitarist, bandleader, singer, and Godfather of Go-Go,
101	127		moved to the District in the 1940s and developed DC’s own musical genre, Go-Go, which
102	128		continues to influence artists and music across the country. Go-go has become a rallying cry to
103	129		defend and preserve local culture, and was designated as the official music of DC in 2020;
104	130
105	131		WHEREAS, in the early 1940’s, Mary McLeod Bethune, educator, stateswoman, and
106	132		philanthropist, operated the National Council of Negro Women in Washington, DC, and led
107	133		Franklin Roosevelt's Black Cabinet, advising his administration on issues facing Black people in
108	134		America;
109	135
110	136		WHEREAS, in the landmark case of Bolling v. Sharpe, the Supreme Court of the United
111	137		States held unanimously that the due process clause in the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution
112	138		prohibits segregated public schools in the District of Columbia. The case involved a group of
113	139		parents who petitioned the D.C. Board of Education to open the John Philp Sousa Junior High
114	140		School as an integrated school, and the Supreme Court’s decision was delivered on the same day
115	141		as that of Brown vs. Board of Education – May 17, 1954;
116	142
117	143		WHEREAS, in 1957, Washington, DC’s African American population grew to over 50
118	144		percent, making it the first predominantly Black major city in the nation, leading a nationwide
119	145		trend;
120		-
121	146		WHEREAS, on August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his renowned “I
122	147		Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC;
123		-	ENROLLED ORIGINAL
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127	148
128	149		WHEREAS, in 1967, the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now the Anacostia
129	150		Community Museum) was founded as part of the Smithsonian Institution to provide access to
130	151		exhibits and artifacts relevant to the history and experience of the local community;
131	152
132	153		WHEREAS, on March 30, 1971, the Congressional Black Caucus was established in
133	154		Washington, DC. The 13 founding members included the District’s then-delegate to the U.S.
134	155		House of Representatives -- Walter E. Fauntroy;
135	156
136	157		WHEREAS, in 1976, as a result of ASALH’s urging, President Gerald R. Ford issued a
137	158		Presidential message calling on the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often
138	159		neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our
139	160		history.” In 1986, Congress passed a Public Law designating February as “National Black
140	161		History Month.”; and
141	162
142	163		WHEREAS, Washington, DC’s Black residents have produced and sustained a rich
143	164		culture that permeates life in the District -- a culture that all residents and visitors can still access,
144	165		experience, appreciate, and benefit from today.
145	166
146		-	RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ~~Th at~~ this
	167	+	RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, This
147	168		resolution may be cited as the “Black History Month Recognition Resolution of 2025”.
148	169
149	170		Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia recognizes the exceptional contributions
150	171		of African Americans to the United States and to the District of Columbia, honors the countless
151	172		African Americans who have shaped the District’s history, and celebrates February as Black
152	173		History Month.
153	174
154	175		Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.