Fiscal Note
No appropriation required.
Title
Recognizing February 2019 as Black History Month in the City of Madison.
Body
WHEREAS, the theme of Black History Month for 2019 is "Black Migrations" emphasizing the movement of people of African descent to new destinations and subsequently to new social realities; and,
WHEREAS, beginning in the early decades of the twentieth century, African American migration patterns included relocation from southern farms to southern cities; from the South to the Northeast, Midwest, and West; from the Caribbean to US cities as well as to migrant labor farms; and the emigration of noted African Americans to Africa and to European cities, such as Paris and London, after the end of World War I and World War II; and,
WHEREAS, the theme Black Migrations equally lends itself to the exploration of the century’s later decades from spatial and social perspectives, with attention to “new” African Americans because of the increase in the African and Caribbean population in the US; Northern African Americans’ return to the South, racial suburbanization, inner-city hyperghettoization, health and environment, civil rights and protest activism; electoral politics, mass incarceration, and dynamic cultural production; and,
WHEREAS, August 2019 will mark 400 years since the first arrival of Africans to present-day America, and the United States Congress has established the 400 Years of African-American History Commission to commemorate the historic heritage and contributions that Americans of African descent have made to help shape the cultural, academic, social, economic, and moral attributes of this nation; and
WHEREAS, the month of February is officially celebrated as Black History Month, which dates back to 1926 when Dr. Carter G. Woodson set aside a one week of time in February, which 51 years later extended to a month in order to recognize the heritage and achievement of Black Americans,
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor ...
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