Fiscal Note
No appropriation required.
Title
Recognizing the significance of February 2017 as Black History Month.
Body
WHEREAS, the theme of Black History Month for 2017 is ‘‘The Crisis in Black Education’’, which aims to further the dialogue on the critical role education plays in the advancement of the African-American community; and,
WHEREAS, the first Africans were brought involuntarily to the shores of the Americas as early as the 17th century; and,
WHEREAS, these Africans in America and their descendants are now known as African-Americans; and,
WHEREAS, African-Americans suffered enslavement and subsequently faced the injustices of lynch mobs, segregation, and denial of basic, fundamental rights; and,
WHEREAS, despite slavery, African-Americans in all walks of life have made significant contributions throughout the history of the United States, including through the-
· Writings of Booker T. Washington, Phyllis Wheatley, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Ralph Ellison,
· Zora Neale Hurston, and Alex Haley;
· Music of Mahalia Jackson, Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, BB King, and Louis Armstrong;
· Resolve of athletes such as Jackie Robinson, Althea Gibson, Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph, and Muhammad Ali;
· Scientific advancements of George Washington Carver, Charles Drew, Benjamin Banneker, and Mae
· Jemison;
· Vision of leaders such as Frederick Douglass, Mary McLeod Bethune, Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King, Jr., Shirley Chisholm and Barbara Jordan;
· Bravery of those who stood on the front lines in the battle against oppression, such as Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Fannie Lou Hammer, and Rosa Parks;
· Contributions of local Madison residents including, William H. Noland, first black mayoral candidate, Carson Gulley, UW-Madison’s famous chef and first black TV personality (with his wife, Beatrice), Helen McLean, the first black teacher in the Madison School District, Les Ritcherson, the first black assistant footbal...
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