1 | 1 | | III |
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2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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3 | 3 | | 1 |
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4 | 4 | | STSESSION S. RES. 99 |
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5 | 5 | | Celebrating Black History Month. |
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6 | 6 | | IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES |
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7 | 7 | | FEBRUARY26, 2025 |
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8 | 8 | | Mr. B |
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9 | 9 | | OOKER(for himself, Mr. SCOTTof South Carolina, Mr. WARNOCK, Mr. |
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10 | 10 | | C |
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11 | 11 | | RAMER, Mr. COONS, Mr. WICKER, Mr. REED, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mrs. SHA- |
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12 | 12 | | HEEN, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. TILLIS, Ms. |
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13 | 13 | | D |
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14 | 14 | | UCKWORTH, Mrs. BRITT, Ms. BLUNTROCHESTER, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. |
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15 | 15 | | H |
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16 | 16 | | EINRICH, Mr. MORAN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. SCOTTof Florida, Mr. LUJA´N, |
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17 | 17 | | Mr. K |
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18 | 18 | | ING, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. CORTEZMASTO, Mr. VANHOLLEN, Mr. |
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19 | 19 | | D |
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20 | 20 | | URBIN, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. PADILLA, |
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21 | 21 | | Mr. H |
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22 | 22 | | ICKENLOOPER, Mr. BENNET, Mr. OSSOFF, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. |
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23 | 23 | | B |
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24 | 24 | | ALDWIN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. WARNER, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. |
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25 | 25 | | W |
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26 | 26 | | YDEN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. PETERS, and Ms. ALSOBROOKS) submitted |
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27 | 27 | | the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to |
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28 | 28 | | RESOLUTION |
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29 | 29 | | Celebrating Black History Month. |
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30 | 30 | | Whereas, in 1776, people envisioned the United States as a |
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31 | 31 | | new nation dedicated to the proposition stated in the |
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32 | 32 | | Declaration of Independence that ‘‘all men are created |
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33 | 33 | | equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with cer- |
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34 | 34 | | tain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Lib- |
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35 | 35 | | erty and the pursuit of Happiness’’; |
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36 | 36 | | Whereas Africans were first brought involuntarily to the |
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37 | 37 | | shores of the United States as early as the 17th century; |
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40 | 40 | | •SRES 99 ATS |
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41 | 41 | | Whereas African Americans suffered enslavement and subse- |
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42 | 42 | | quently faced the injustices of lynch mobs, segregation, |
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43 | 43 | | and denial of the basic and fundamental rights of citizen- |
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44 | 44 | | ship; |
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45 | 45 | | Whereas, in 2025, the vestiges of those injustices and in- |
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46 | 46 | | equalities remain evident in the society of the United |
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47 | 47 | | States; |
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48 | 48 | | Whereas, in the face of injustices, people of good will and of |
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49 | 49 | | all races in the United States have distinguished them- |
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50 | 50 | | selves with a commitment to the noble ideals on which |
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51 | 51 | | the United States was founded and have fought coura- |
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52 | 52 | | geously for the rights and freedom of African Americans |
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53 | 53 | | and others; |
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54 | 54 | | Whereas African Americans, such as Lieutenant Colonel |
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55 | 55 | | Allen Allensworth, Maya Angelou, Arthur Ashe, Jr., |
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56 | 56 | | James Baldwin, James Beckwourth, Clara Brown, |
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57 | 57 | | Blanche Bruce, Ralph Bunche, Shirley Chisholm, Holt |
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58 | 58 | | Collier, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Larry Doby, |
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59 | 59 | | Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison, |
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60 | 60 | | Medgar Evers, Aretha Franklin, Alex Haley, Dorothy |
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61 | 61 | | Height, Jon Hendricks, Olivia Hooker, Lena Horne, |
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62 | 62 | | Charles Hamilton Houston, Mahalia Jackson, Stephanie |
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63 | 63 | | Tubbs Jones, B.B. King, Martin Luther King, Jr., |
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64 | 64 | | Coretta Scott King, Thurgood Marshall, Constance |
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65 | 65 | | Baker Motley, Rosa Parks, Walter Payton, Bill Pickett, |
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66 | 66 | | Homer Plessy, Bass Reeves, Hiram Revels, Amelia Platts |
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67 | 67 | | Boynton Robinson, Jackie Robinson, Aaron Shirley, So- |
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68 | 68 | | journer Truth, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, |
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69 | 69 | | the Greensboro Four, the Tuskegee Airmen, Prince Rog- |
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70 | 70 | | ers Nelson, Recy Taylor, Fred Shuttlesworth, Duke |
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71 | 71 | | Ellington, Langston Hughes, Muhammad Ali, Elijah |
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72 | 72 | | Cummings, Ella Fitzgerald, Mamie Till, Toni Morrison, |
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75 | 75 | | •SRES 99 ATS |
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76 | 76 | | Gwen Ifill, Diahann Carroll, Chadwick Boseman, John |
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77 | 77 | | Lewis, Katherine Johnson, Rev. C.T. Vivian, Hank |
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78 | 78 | | Aaron, Edith Savage-Jennings, Septima Clark, Mary |
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79 | 79 | | Mcleod Bethune, Cicely Tyson, John Hope Franklin, |
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80 | 80 | | Colin Powell, bell hooks, Bob Moses, Sidney Poitier, Bill |
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81 | 81 | | Russell, Chief Justice of South Carolina Ernest Finney, |
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82 | 82 | | Willie Mays, Jr., and James Earl Jones, along with many |
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83 | 83 | | others, worked against racism to achieve success and to |
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84 | 84 | | make significant contributions to the economic, edu- |
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85 | 85 | | cational, political, artistic, athletic, literary, scientific, |
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86 | 86 | | and technological advancement of the United States; |
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87 | 87 | | Whereas the contributions of African Americans from all |
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88 | 88 | | walks of life throughout the history of the United States |
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89 | 89 | | reflect the greatness of the United States; |
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90 | 90 | | Whereas many African Americans lived, toiled, and died in |
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91 | 91 | | obscurity, never achieving the recognition those individ- |
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92 | 92 | | uals deserved, and yet paved the way for future genera- |
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93 | 93 | | tions to succeed; |
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94 | 94 | | Whereas African Americans continue to serve the United |
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95 | 95 | | States at the highest levels of business, government, and |
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96 | 96 | | the military; |
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97 | 97 | | Whereas the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick |
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98 | 98 | | Douglass inspired the creation of Negro History Week, |
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99 | 99 | | the precursor to Black History Month; |
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100 | 100 | | Whereas Negro History Week represented the culmination of |
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101 | 101 | | the efforts of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the ‘‘Father of |
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102 | 102 | | Black History’’, to enhance knowledge of Black history |
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103 | 103 | | through The Journal of Negro History, published by the |
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104 | 104 | | Association for the Study of African American Life and |
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105 | 105 | | History, which was founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson |
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106 | 106 | | and Jesse E. Moorland; |
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109 | 109 | | •SRES 99 ATS |
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110 | 110 | | Whereas Black History Month, celebrated during the month |
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111 | 111 | | of February, originated in 1926 when Dr. Carter G. |
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112 | 112 | | Woodson set aside a special period in February to recog- |
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113 | 113 | | nize the heritage and achievements of Black people in the |
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114 | 114 | | United States; |
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115 | 115 | | Whereas Dr. Carter G. Woodson stated, ‘‘We have a wonder- |
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116 | 116 | | ful history behind us. . . . If you are unable to dem- |
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117 | 117 | | onstrate to the world that you have this record, the world |
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118 | 118 | | will say to you, ‘You are not worthy to enjoy the bless- |
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119 | 119 | | ings of democracy or anything else.’’’; |
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120 | 120 | | Whereas, since its founding, the United States has imper- |
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121 | 121 | | fectly progressed toward noble goals; |
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122 | 122 | | Whereas the history of the United States is the story of peo- |
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123 | 123 | | ple regularly affirming high ideals, striving to reach those |
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124 | 124 | | ideals but often failing, and then struggling to come to |
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125 | 125 | | terms with the disappointment of that failure, before |
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126 | 126 | | committing to try again; |
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127 | 127 | | Whereas, on November 4, 2008, the people of the United |
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128 | 128 | | States elected Barack Obama, an African-American man, |
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129 | 129 | | as President of the United States; and |
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130 | 130 | | Whereas, on February 22, 2012, people across the United |
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131 | 131 | | States celebrated the groundbreaking of the National |
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132 | 132 | | Museum of African American History and Culture, which |
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133 | 133 | | opened to the public on September 24, 2016, on the Na- |
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134 | 134 | | tional Mall in Washington, District of Columbia: Now, |
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135 | 135 | | therefore, be it |
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136 | 136 | | Resolved, That the Senate— 1 |
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137 | 137 | | (1) acknowledges that all people of the United 2 |
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138 | 138 | | States are the recipients of the wealth of history 3 |
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139 | 139 | | provided by Black culture; 4 |
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142 | 142 | | •SRES 99 ATS |
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143 | 143 | | (2) recognizes the importance of Black History 1 |
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144 | 144 | | Month as an opportunity to reflect on the complex 2 |
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145 | 145 | | history of the United States, while remaining hope-3 |
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146 | 146 | | ful and confident about the path ahead; 4 |
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147 | 147 | | (3) acknowledges the significance of Black His-5 |
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148 | 148 | | tory Month as an important opportunity to com-6 |
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149 | 149 | | memorate the tremendous contributions of African 7 |
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150 | 150 | | Americans to the history of the United States; 8 |
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151 | 151 | | (4) encourages the celebration of Black History 9 |
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152 | 152 | | Month to provide a continuing opportunity for all 10 |
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153 | 153 | | people in the United States to learn from the past 11 |
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154 | 154 | | and understand the experiences that have shaped the 12 |
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155 | 155 | | United States; and 13 |
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156 | 156 | | (5) agrees that, while the United States began 14 |
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157 | 157 | | as a divided country, the United States must— 15 |
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158 | 158 | | (A) honor the contribution of all pioneers 16 |
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159 | 159 | | in the United States who have helped to ensure 17 |
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160 | 160 | | the legacy of the great United States; and 18 |
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161 | 161 | | (B) move forward with purpose, united 19 |
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162 | 162 | | tirelessly as a nation ‘‘indivisible, with liberty 20 |
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163 | 163 | | and justice for all.’’. 21 |
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164 | 164 | | Æ |
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