Wisconsin 2023-2024 Regular Session

Wisconsin Assembly Bill AJR138 Compare Versions

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

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3	3	2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
4	4	2023 ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTIO N 138
5	5	February 23, 2024 - Introduced by Representatives DRAKE, BALDEH, MYERS,
6	6	HAYWOOD, STUBBS, MOORE OMOKUNDE, MADISON, JOERS, GOYKE, RATCLIFF,
7	7	SINICKI, EMERSON, BARE, O'CONNOR, CLANCY, ANDRACA, SHANKLAND, SUBECK,
8	8	CONLEY, DOYLE, SHELTON, C. ANDERSON, CONSIDINE, J. ANDERSON, VINING,
9	9	NEUBAUER, SPIROS, RIEMER, MCGUIRE, PALMERI, HONG, BILLINGS, JACOBSON,
10	10	SNODGRASS, OHNSTAD and ORTIZ-VELEZ, cosponsored by Senators L. JOHNSON,
11	11	CARPENTER, AGARD, LARSON, ROYS, SPREITZER and SMITH. Referred to
12	12	Committee on Rules.
13	13	*AUTHORS SUBJECT TO CHANGE*
14	14	Relating to: recognizing February 2024 as Black History Month.
15	15	Whereas, Black History Month provides a deliberate opportunity to reflect on
16	16	the common humanity underlying all people and to raise awareness and foster
17	17	respect for the heritage and contributions of people of African descent; and
18	18	Whereas, this year marks over 400 years since the arrival of enslaved Africans
19	19	in Virginia. The existence of Africans in North America can be traced back to 1525,
20	20	and through 1866, the Transatlantic Slave Trade is estimated to have ensnared more
21	21	than 12 million African people, with an estimated 10 million surviving the
22	22	unconscionable Middle Passage, landing in North America, the Caribbean, and
23	23	South America; and
24	24	Whereas, Wisconsin history first references African descendants in a speech
25	25	given in 1725 by a chief of the Illinois Indians, in which he said, “a negro belonging
26	26	to Monsieur de Boisbriant" at Green Bay; and
27	27	Whereas, on February 12, 1926, noted Harvard scholar and historian Dr.
28	28	Carter G. Woodson founded “Negro History Week,” and since then, the United States
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47	47	has recognized first Negro History Week and then Black History Month and
48	48	celebrated the ethnic and racial diversity that enriches and strengthens our nation;
49	49	and
50	50	Whereas, both enslaved and free people of African descent have participated in
51	51	every aspect of America's effort to secure, protect, and advance the causes of freedom
52	52	and civil rights and have stories that are an inspiration to all citizens, that reflect
53	53	the triumph of the human spirit, and that offer hope to everyday people to rise above
54	54	both prejudice and circumstance and to build lives of dignity; and
55	55	Whereas, people of African descent or African Americans have made
56	56	measurable differences in their respective industries, such as:
57	57	1. Elisterine Clayton — 100-year-old Milwaukee resident who, along with her
58	58	husband Powell Clayton, was a part of building the historic Halyard Park
59	59	community. Halyard Park is one of the longest-standing African American middle
60	60	class neighborhoods within Milwaukee. Elisterine owned and operated a series of
61	61	grocery stores in underserved communities and ensured that residents had access
62	62	to healthy food options within their neighborhoods. She was a part of a pioneering
63	63	group that brought Black-owned banks, medical practices, and businesses to the
64	64	Bronzeville, Chicago, area.
65	65	2. Torre Johnson, Sr. — Founder of X-Men United and longtime community
66	66	and youth advocate. Torre was connected to Jeannetta Robinson and Career Youth
67	67	Development.
68	68	3. Gab Taylor — Cofounder of Program the Parks and member of Standing Up
69	69	for Racial Justice. Gab has held activities and programming for youth in Sherman
70	70	Park since 2016 and fed hundreds of young people from Sherman Park to Moody
71	71	Park.
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100	100	4. Paul Higginbotham — The first African American judge to serve on the
101	101	Wisconsin Court of Appeals. He was appointed to the court by Governor James Doyle
102	102	in 2003 and subsequently elected to the court in 2005.
103	103	5. Marcia Anderson — A retired senior officer of the U.S. Army Reserve from
104	104	Beloit, Wisconsin and the first African American woman to become a major general
105	105	in the U.S. Army Reserve.
106	106	6. Alonzo Robinson, Jr. — Wisconsin's first African American registered
107	107	architect and the City of Milwaukee's first Black registered municipal architect. On
108	108	Tuesday, November 30, 2021, the Milwaukee Fire Department Administration
109	109	Building was renamed after Alonzo Robinson.
110	110	7. Dr. William Rogers — A historian and educator, who was an integral part of
111	111	the formation of the Black Radio Network, an African studies educator, and made
112	112	significant contributions to the study of Black life, civil rights, and social justice.
113	113	8. Dr. Shawnee Daniels-Sykes — A professor of theology at Mount Mary
114	114	University who was the only Black Catholic female health care ethicist in the United
115	115	States at the time of her passing in October 2022.
116	116	9. Dr. Jacqueline Mann — Milwaukee Public Schools board clerk and currently
117	117	the only African American board clerk in Wisconsin; now, therefore, be it
118	118	Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the Wisconsin
119	119	Legislature recognizes February 2024 as Black History Month and extends
120	120	appreciation to the above-named persons for their contributions to the state of
121	121	Wisconsin, the country, and their fellow citizens.
122	122	(END)
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