* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: President Dixon
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
Title
Black History Month - February 2006
FOR the purpose of paying tribute to people of African descent by celebrating their indomitable spirit, sustaining faith, and indefatigable psyche that enabled them to overcame the horrors of their plight in the diaspora, celebrating the many positive contributions that they have made to our nation and to our City despite the nearly insurmountable odds of legislatively sanctioned bigotry, prejudice, and segregation, and encouraging residents of, and visitors to, our great city to visit the many historical and cultural attractions that are the legacy of our proud black ancestors.
Body
Recitals
We owe the celebration of Black History Month, and the study of black history, to Dr. Carter G. Woodson who was born to parents who were former slaves. He spent his childhood working in the Kentucky coal mines and did not enroll in high school until the age of 20. After graduating from high school in 2 years, Dr. Woodson earned a Ph.D. from Harvard. During his time at Harvard, the scholar found that history books largely ignored the black American population - and when blacks were included they were portrayed as inferiors and in negative stereotypes.
Dr. Woodson undertook the challenge of writing black Americans into the nation's history by establishing the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now called the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, in 1915, and a year later founded the widely regarded Journal of Negro History. In 1926, he launched Negro History Week as an initiative to bring national attention to the contributions of black people throughout American history, choosing the second week of February because it marks the birthdays of 2 men who played an important part in that history, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
As part of the nation's 1976 bicentennial, Negro History Week was expanded into Black History Month. In 2006, the National Theme for the celebration is - Celebrating Community: A Tribute to Black Fraternal, Social, and Civic Institutions. In our City, there is much to celebrate as our Black population, which is now the proud majority, has played an essential role in the rich past, the exciting present, and the promising future. To become acquainted with this rich cultural, religious, and education history, one need only partake of the offerings of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association.
The Center proudly offers the Baltimore's African American Heritage & Attractions Guide's:
"Welcome to Baltimore!:
Baltimore is a city where legends are made and legacies are born. During the 1930s and 1940s, jazz legends like Pearl Bailey, Count Basie and Duke Ellington performed at the legendary Royal Theatre on Baltimore's Pennsylvania Avenue. Billie Holiday became the incomparable "Lady Day" right here in Charm City. Baltimore-born composer and pianist Eubie Blake is honored, along with many of his colleagues, at the Eubie Blake Cultural Center on North Howard Street. All of these stories have helped shape Baltimore's, and our nation's, history.
Baltimore is also the proud home of the NAACP headquarters, and the birthplace of Thurgood Marshall, one of our early pioneers in the movement for civil rights. You'll also find The National Great Blacks In Wax Museum, the country's first wax museum of African American history; the Baltimore Civil War Museum, which was once a stop on the Underground Railroad; and opening early 2005, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture. This $33 million facility will be the East Coast's largest museum chronicling the history of African Americans and will house artifacts and exhibits covering more than 350 years of Maryland African American history and culture.
Also, opening in 2005 is the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park. The park honors Frederick Douglass, considered one of the most prominent African American leaders of the 19th century, and Isaac Myers, the first black owner of a marine railway shipyard in the United States.
We hope you will discover some of these stories while you are here, and come back to Baltimore again to create a legacy of your own."
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That this Body hereby pays tribute to people of African descent by celebrating their indomitable spirit, sustaining faith, and indefatigable psyche that enabled them to overcame the horrors of their plight in the diaspora, celebrates the many positive contributions that they have made to our nation and to our City despite the nearly insurmountable odds of legislatively sanctioned bigotry, prejudice, and segregation, and encourages residents of, and visitors to, our great city to visit the many historical and cultural attractions that are the legacy of our proud black ancestors.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Director of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Center, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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