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A RESOLUTION celebrating Black History Month. 1
WHEREAS, the European transatlantic slave trade, a segment of the global slave 2
trade, forcibly removed 12 to 16 million enslaved Africans and transported them to the 3
Americas and European possessions from the 16th century through its eventual outlawing 4
in the 19th century; and 5
WHEREAS, the first enslaved Africans to arrive in what would become the United 6
States were brought to the Spanish colony of St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565; and 7
WHEREAS, the oppression and exploitation of the Black community did not end 8
with the abolition of slavery and the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to 9
the United States Constitution, as Southern states passed the racial segregation codes that 10
constituted the Jim Crow regime, enforced by white Southerners against their Black 11
counterparts through both state power and terroristic violence; and 12
WHEREAS, due to the heroic activism of Black community leaders and their allies, 13
the U.S. government began taking significant action against racial segregation in the 14
1950s and 1960s, culminating in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act 15
of 1965; and 16
WHEREAS, understanding Black history is critical to understanding the broader 17
narrative of the history of the United States; and 18
WHEREAS, the celebration of Black History Month originated in 1915 when Black 19
academics and activists led by Carter G. Woodson, who earned a bachelor’s degree in 20
literature from Berea College, established the Association for the Study of Negro Life 21
and History; and 22
WHEREAS, Woodson and other Black leaders working with the Association for 23
the Study of Negro Life and History announced Negro History Week in February, 1926, 24
in order to popularize and celebrate the study of Black history and culture; and 25
WHEREAS, the movement to study and teach Black history grew across the United 26
States, resulting in President Gerald Ford recognizing the first national Black History 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS BR 1056
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Month in February, 1976; and 1
WHEREAS, the Kentucky General Assembly recognizes the courage and lasting 2
influence of pioneering Black public servants such as former Governor Lawrence 3
Douglas Wilder of Virginia, who was elected the first Black governor of a U.S. state in 4
1990, former Senator Hiram Revels of Mississippi, who was elected the first Black U.S. 5
Senator in 1870, and former Representative Joseph Rainey of South Carolina, who was 6
elected the first Black member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1870; and 7
WHEREAS, Black Kentuckians have played a critical role in the history and 8
leadership of our Commonwealth, overcoming great adversity to become leaders in our 9
political, academic, spiritual, artistic, and cultural experience; and 10
WHEREAS, one such influential Black Kentuckian was Charles W. Anderson, Jr., 11
who became the first Black legislator elected in the South since Reconstruction when he 12
ran for and won a seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1935, and spent his 13
tenure in office working to improve educational opportunities and better access to public 14
facilities for Black Kentuckians; and 15
WHEREAS, Georgia Davis Powers became the first woman and first person of 16
color elected to the Kentucky Senate in 1967. She spent her tenure in office championing 17
the Civil Rights movement as a strong supporter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 18
sponsoring legislation to improve educational opportunities for disabled Kentuckians, to 19
enact fair housing regulations, and to prohibit discrimination based on factors such as age 20
and sex; and 21
WHEREAS, Attorney General Daniel Cameron was elected the Commonwealth’s 22
first Black Attorney General and the first elected Black statewide officer in 2019, and 23
was selected to speak at the 2020 Republican National Convention; and 24
WHEREAS, the Kentucky General Assembly is committed to the preservation and 25
recognition of Black history, recognizing its importance in our collective story; 26
NOW, THEREFORE, 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS BR 1056
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Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of 1
Kentucky: 2
Section 1. The members of the Senate, individually and collectively, hereby 3
celebrate and recognize February as Black History Month. 4
Section 2. The Clerk of the Senate is directed to transmit a copy of this 5
Resolution to Senator Donald Douglas. 6