Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HR288 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	IV
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. RES. 288
5	5	Expressing the sense that there should be established a ‘‘National Garifuna
6	6	Immigrant Heritage Month’’ in April to celebrate the great contributions
7	7	of Americans of Garifuna immigrant heritage in the United States who
8	8	have enriched the history of the Nation.
9	9	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
10	10	APRIL1, 2025
11	11	Mr. T
12	12	ORRESof New York submitted the following resolution; which was
13	13	referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
14	14	RESOLUTION
15	15	Expressing the sense that there should be established a ‘‘Na-
16	16	tional Garifuna Immigrant Heritage Month’’ in April
17	17	to celebrate the great contributions of Americans of
18	18	Garifuna immigrant heritage in the United States who
19	19	have enriched the history of the Nation.
20	20	Whereas the history of Americans of Garifuna immigrant
21	21	heritage in the United States is inextricably tied to the
22	22	story of the Nation;
23	23	Whereas Americans of Garifuna immigrant heritage in the
24	24	United States come from the Central American region
25	25	and have a common heritage and language that goes be-
26	26	yond national borders;
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29	29	•HRES 288 IH
30	30	Whereas Americans of Garifuna immigrant heritage came to
31	31	the United States voluntarily, and are distinct from, but
32	32	have an origin similar to most African Americans, as
33	33	both are descendants of mostly West and Central Afri-
34	34	cans who were involuntarily brought to the North Amer-
35	35	ican Continent by means of the historic Atlantic slave
36	36	trade;
37	37	Whereas the West African slaves that escaped to the island
38	38	eventually intermarried with the Caribs and the Arawaks’
39	39	Indigenous native people, giving rise to what today we
40	40	know as the Garifuna people;
41	41	Whereas after a battle against the British that resulted in
42	42	the surrender of the Garifuna people, the defeated
43	43	Garifuna leaders were transported to England and the
44	44	rest of the Garifuna people to the island of Roatan, Hon-
45	45	duras, arriving there on April 12, 1797, which began
46	46	their settlement in Central America;
47	47	Whereas this year we commemorate the 228th anniversary of
48	48	the arrival of the Garifuna people in Central America;
49	49	Whereas ‘‘National Garifuna Immigrant Heritage Month’’
50	50	would provide an opportunity to commemorate and recog-
51	51	nize the contributions of the Garifuna people, and high-
52	52	light the history and culture of Central American Black
53	53	Indigenous immigrants in the United States;
54	54	Whereas language, dance, and music of the Garifuna people
55	55	from Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua have
56	56	been inscribed on a List of Intangible Cultural Heritage
57	57	of Humanity, first proclaimed in 2001 by the United Na-
58	58	tions Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;
59	59	Whereas the House of Representatives recognizes that the
60	60	celebration of Garifuna Heritage Month started in New
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63	63	•HRES 288 IH
64	64	York City since 2009 and in the State of New York since
65	65	2010, thanks to the dedicated efforts of community lead-
66	66	ers who have tirelessly advocated for this recognition, cul-
67	67	minating in the month of April as a time to honor and
68	68	celebrate Garifuna culture, history, and contributions;
69	69	Whereas people should be aware of the Garifuna people’s
70	70	fight for land rights against tourism, developers, and
71	71	drug traffickers in the region of Pintadillera, Playa Blan-
72	72	ca, Puerto Grande, La Flor, Ciudad Moraza´n (Choloma),
73	73	Orquı´dea (Colo´n), and Pro´spera (Islas de la Bahı´a); and
74	74	Whereas raising awareness about Garifuna immigrant herit-
75	75	age is crucial to effectively fighting disparities and injus-
76	76	tices against Black and Indigenous populations in the
77	77	United States, Latin America, and across the world:
78	78	Now, therefore, be it
79	79	Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-1
80	80	resentatives that— 2
81	81	(1) a ‘‘National Garifuna Immigrant Heritage 3
82	82	Month’’ should be established to celebrate the sig-4
83	83	nificant contributions of Americans of recent 5
84	84	Garifuna immigrant heritage to the history of the 6
85	85	United States; and 7
86	86	(2) the people of the United States should ob-8
87	87	serve the month with appropriate ceremonies, cele-9
88	88	brations, and activities to recognize that Americans 10
89	89	of recent Garifuna immigrant heritage enhance the 11
90	90	rich diversity of and strengthen the United States. 12
91	91	Æ
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