Senate Resolution No. 314

BY: Senator STEWART-COUSINS

MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
February 2023, as Black History Month in the State
of New York

WHEREAS, Black History Month, previously known as Negro History
Week, was founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, and was first celebrated on
February 1, 1926; since 1976, it has become a nationally recognized
month-long celebration, held each year during the month of February to
acknowledge and pay tribute to African-Americans neglected by both
society and the history books; and

WHEREAS, The month of February observes the rich and diverse
heritage of our great State and Nation; and

WHEREAS, Black History Month seeks to emphasize Black History is
American History; and

WHEREAS, Black History Month is a time to reflect on the struggles
and victories of African-Americans throughout our country's history and
to recognize their numerous valuable contributions to the protection of
our democratic society in war and in peace; and

WHEREAS, Some African-American pioneers whose many accomplishments,
all which took place during the month of February, went unnoticed as
well as numerous symbolic events in February, that deserve to be
memorialized include: John Sweat Rock, a noted Boston lawyer who became
the first African-American admitted to argue before the U.S. Supreme
Court on February 1, 1865, and the first African-American to be received
on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives; Jonathan Jasper
Wright, the first African-American to hold a major judicial position,
who was elected to the South Carolina Supreme Court on February 1, 1870;
President Abraham Lincoln submits the proposed 13th Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery, to the states for ratification on
February 1, 1865; civil rights protester Jimmie Lee Jackson dies from
wounds inflicted during a protest on February 26, 1965, leading to the
historic Selma, Alabama civil rights demonstrations, including Bloody
Sunday in which 600 demonstrators, including Martin Luther King, Jr.
were attacked by police; Autherine J. Lucy became the first
African-American student to attend the University of Alabama on February
3, 1956, she was expelled three days later "for her own safety" in
response to threats from a mob; in 1992, Autherine Lucy Foster graduated
from the University with a Master's degree in Education, the same day
her daughter, Grazia Foster, graduated with a Bachelor's degree in
Corporate Finance; the Negro Baseball League was founded on February 3,
1920; Jack Johnson, the first African-American World Heavyweight Boxing
Champion, won his first title on February 3, 1903; and Reginald F.
Lewis, born on December 7, 1942, in Baltimore, Maryland, received his
law degree from Harvard Law School in 1968, and was a partner in Murphy,
Thorpes & Lewis, the first Black law firm on Wall Street, and in 1989,
he became President and CEO of TLC Beatrice International Food Company,
the largest Black-owned business in the United States; and

WHEREAS, In recognition of the vast contributions of
African-Americans, a joyful month-long celebration is held across New
York State and across the United States with many commemorative events
to honor and display the cultural heritage of African-Americans; and

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body commends the African-American
community for preserving, for future generations, its centuries-old
traditions that benefit us all and add to the color and beauty of the
tapestry which is our American society; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim February 2023, as Black
History Month in the State of New York; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York; and to the events commemorating Black History Month throughout New
York State.