NY State Senate Bill 2025-S5116

Senate Bill S5116

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to the documentation and preservation of Black history in New York state by the state university of New York

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 19, 2025	referred to higher education

2025-S5116 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Higher Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Add §351-a, Ed L

2025-S5116 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes the Black history preservation commission to ensure the documentation and preservation of Black history in New York state within the state university of New York.

2025-S5116 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5116

SPONSOR: CLEARE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to the documentation and
preservation of Black history in New York state by the state university
of New York

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To create an official state mechanism to capture, record and preserve
the history of Black New Yorkers, particularly those who are Older New
Yorkers, and who, in their collective lifetimes have witnessed the
entire continuum from Slavery to Jim Crow, Migration, Civil Rights, The
Great Society, Obamacare, et al.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

The Black History Preservation Commission is created. Before extending
to other campuses, the commission will first collaborate with SUNY Alba-
ny, SUNY Buffalo, and SUNY Stony Brook to evaluate the project's effica-

cy. Through collaborative research projects, public awareness campaigns,
and the development of instructional resources, the State University of
New York will support the commission in accomplishing these goals.
Making people more conscious about the unique singularity of Black
history is the objective.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

From slavery to Reconstruction, the injustices of Jim Crow, the Civil
Rights Movement, and the ongoing fight for equity today, Black people
have played a significant role in the development of New York. The state
recognizes that the Black community has been uprooted and its history
has been lost due to gentrification and the underrepresentation of Black
history. Therefore, a commission must be established in order to prevent
Black communities from losing their history. We wouldn't know our
origins or how to resolve problems that have arisen in the past if
history didn't exist. By establishing this commission, we will document,
preserve, and distribute historical resources about Black history in New
York, as well as increase knowledge and awareness of Black history.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S5116 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5116
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 19, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the documentation  and
   preservation of Black history in New York state by the state universi-
   ty of New York

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section  351-a
 to read as follows:
   §  351-A.  THE  DOCUMENTATION AND PRESERVATION OF BLACK HISTORY IN NEW
 YORK STATE BY THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK. 1.  LEGISLATIVE  INTENT.
 THE  STATE OF NEW YORK RECOGNIZES HOW BLACK NEW YORKERS AND PARTICULARLY
 COMMUNITIES LIKE HARLEM HAVE SHAPED THE STATE'S  CULTURAL,  SOCIAL,  AND
 HISTORICAL  IDENTITY.  BLACK  COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN A PART OF NEW YORK'S
 DEVELOPMENT FROM ENSLAVEMENT TO RECONSTRUCTION, THROUGH  THE  INEQUITIES
 OF  JIM CROW, THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, AND THE CONTINUOUS STRUGGLE FOR
 EQUITY TODAY. THE STATE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT GENTRIFICATION AND THE  UNDER-
 REPRESENTATION  OF  BLACK  HISTORY HAVE CAUSED THE BLACK COMMUNITY TO BE
 UPROOTED AND TO LOSE ITS HISTORY. FORTUNATELY,  WE  CURRENTLY  HAVE  THE
 PRIVILEGE  OF HEARING FIRST-HAND STORIES FROM PEOPLE WHO WERE PRESENT AT
 IMPORTANT MOMENTS IN  THE  BLACK  LIBERATION  MOVEMENT.  THEIR  PERSONAL
 ACCOUNTS   ARE   PRICELESS  EVIDENCE  OF  DETERMINATION,  ADVOCACY,  AND
 PROGRESS. IF WE DO NOT TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION TO PROTECT THESE VOICES  WE
 RUN  THE  RISK OF LOSING AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF OUR HISTORY. THIS SECTION
 AIMS TO BUILD A RECORD OF THE IMPACT OF THESE COMMUNITIES ON THE  FORMA-
 TION  OF  THE  STATE AND TO PROVIDE METHODS FOR THE TEACHING, RECORDING,
 AND PRESERVATION OF BLACK HISTORY.
   2. BLACK HISTORY PRESERVATION COMMISSION. (A)  IN  ORDER  TO  COLLECT,
 PRESERVE, AND DOCUMENT BLACK HISTORY IN NEW YORK STATE, THE BLACK HISTO-
 RY  PRESERVATION COMMISSION IS HEREBY CREATED. INITIALLY, THE COMMISSION
 SHALL PARTNER WITH THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT ALBANY, THE STATE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09879-01-5

 S. 5116                             2
 
 UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO, AND THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW  YORK
 AT STONY BROOK TO ASSESS THE PROJECT'S EFFECTIVENESS BEFORE EXPANDING TO
 ADDITIONAL CAMPUSES.
   (B)  THE  COMMISSION  SHALL CONSIST OF THE FOLLOWING NINE MEMBERS: (I)
 ONE MEMBER APPOINTED BY THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE; (II)  ONE
 MEMBER  APPOINTED  BY  THE  SPEAKER  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY; (III) ONE MEMBER
 APPOINTED BY  THE  MINORITY  LEADER  OF  THE  SENATE;  (IV)  ONE  MEMBER
 APPOINTED  BY  THE  MINORITY  LEADER  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY; (V) TWO MEMBERS
 APPOINTED BY THE CHANCELLOR OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF  NEW  YORK;  (VI)
 TWO  MEMBERS  APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR; AND (VII) THE CHANCELLOR OF THE
 STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK.
   (C) THE CHANCELLOR OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK SHALL SERVE  AS
 CHAIR  OF THE COMMISSION TO PROVIDE INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT AND ENSURE THE
 PROJECT ALIGNS WITH THE GOALS  OF  THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEW  YORK
 SYSTEM.
   (D)  THE  COMMISSION  SHALL ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING AND AWARENESS OF
 BLACK HISTORY, PARTICULARLY  THE  HISTORY  AND  CONTRIBUTIONS  OF  BLACK
 COMMUNITIES   IN   NEW  YORK  STATE  THROUGH  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRAMS  AND
 RESOURCES.
   (E) THE COMMISSION SHALL BE IN CHARGE OF DOCUMENTING, PRESERVING,  AND
 CIRCULATING HISTORICAL MATERIALS ABOUT BLACK HISTORY IN NEW YORK.
   (F)  THE  COMMISSION  SHALL GUARANTEE THAT BLACK NEW YORKERS' PERSPEC-
 TIVES AND CONTRIBUTIONS ARE HEARD BY COLLABORATING WITH CULTURAL  INSTI-
 TUTIONS AND HISTORICAL GROUPS.
   (G)  THE  COMMISSION  SHALL  ADVOCATE FOR LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT TO FUND,
 PROMOTE, AND SUSTAIN INITIATIVES RELATED TO THE PRESERVATION AND  EDUCA-
 TION OF BLACK HISTORY WITHIN NEW YORK.
   (H)  THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK SHALL ASSIST THE COMMISSION IN
 ACHIEVING THESE OBJECTIVES THROUGH JOINT  RESEARCH  INITIATIVES,  PUBLIC
 AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS, AND THE CREATION OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS TO ENSURE
 GREATER  AWARENESS  AND  UNDERSTANDING  OF BLACK HISTORY CREATING A MORE
 INCLUSIVE AND ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF NEW YORK'S DIVERSE HISTORY.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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