SENATE RESOLUTION
8672
By Senators Nobles, Liias, Nguyen, Saldaña, Valdez, Hasegawa, Shewmake, Salomon, J.
Wilson, Lovelett, Dhingra, Stanford, Keiser, Wellman, Hunt, Kuderer, Pedersen,
Frame, Robinson, Rivers, Billig, Boehnke, Lovick, Wagoner, Mullet, Kauffman, Holy,
Trudeau, Hansen, Cleveland, C. Wilson, Van De Wege, Muzzall, and Warnick
1 WHEREAS, Carter G. Woodson and Jesse E. Moorland founded the
2 organization, Study of Negro Life and History, dedicating the
3 association to research and promote achievements by Black people; and
4 WHEREAS, It was the organization, Study of Negro Life and
5 History, that sponsored the Negro History Week in 1926; to honor the
6 achievements and lives of Black people; and
7 WHEREAS, In 1976, the Negro History Week evolved into the Black
8 History Month to honor the contributions and accomplishments of Black
9 people in every area of endeavor in our history; and
10 WHEREAS, It was Carter G. Woodson's hope that by celebrating this
11 month we could celebrate heroic Black figures, whether they were
12 inventors, soldiers, or entertainers, to preserve Black history; and
13 WHEREAS, Martha Jones became the first Black woman to receive a
14 patent for her application for "Improvement to the Corn Husker
15 Sheller" in 1868, just three years after the passage of the 13th
16 Amendment; and
17 WHEREAS, Ida B. Wells, an activist and investigative journalist
18 who documented and reported the horrors of lynching post-Civil War,
19 she was one of the founders of the National Association for the
20 Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Wells was a civil rights
21 pioneer and she did not allow herself to be silenced, even though she
22 faced threats, lost property, and endured criticism; and
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 1 WHEREAS, At the tender age of six, Ruby Bridges advanced the
2 cause of civil rights in 1960 when she became the first Black
3 student to integrate elementary school in the American South;
4 she then went on to graduate from a desegregated high school,
5 became a traveler, married, and had four sons, Bridges was a
6 lifelong activist for racial equity, and in 1999, Bridges
7 established the Ruby Bridges Foundation to promote tolerance and
8 create change through education; and
9 WHEREAS, Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman
10 elected to Congress in 1968, where she worked on the Education
11 and Labor Committee and helped form the Black Caucus, and she
12 made history again in 1972 when she became the first Black woman
13 of a major party to run for a presidential nomination; and
14 WHEREAS, Nina Simone was one of the most extraordinary
15 artists of the twentieth century and an icon of American music;
16 Simone was a singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights
17 activist who spoke out about the Black freedom struggle, her
18 albums covered a wide range of styles and included both
19 politically motivated songs and reimaginations of popular songs;
20 and
21 WHEREAS, Audre Lorde, who said, "while we wait in silence
22 for that final luxury of fearlessness, the weight of that
23 silence will choke us," used her writing to shine a light on her
24 experiences as a Black lesbian, a mother, and person battling
25 cancer, she was one of the founding members of the Sisterhood in
26 Support of Sisters in South Africa who advocated on behalf of
27 women living under the Apartheid; and
28 WHEREAS, Mae Jemison entered orbit aboard the space shuttle
29 Endeavour in 1992, becoming the first Black woman in space,
30 where she orbited Earth 127 times, she also trained as a medical
31 doctor and engineer who frequently speaks to students and
32 encourages women and people of the global majority to enter math
33 and science; and
34 WHEREAS, In 1993, Rosa Franklin was the first Black woman to
35 serve as a Washington State Senator, winning reelection three
36 times; during her term, she established the Governor's
37 Interagency Council on Health Disparities and the Washington
38 Housing Policy Act, from being a nurse and volunteer to a long-
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1 time politician, Franklin has been deeply involved in service
2 and community work;
3 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That this Black History
4 Month, we honor and celebrate Black people's contributions to
5 our state and country; let us remember how far we have come and
6 that the work continues.
7 I, Sarah Bannister, Secretary of the Senate,
8 do hereby certify that this is a true and
9 correct copy of Senate Resolution 8672,
10 adopted by the Senate
11 February 19, 2024
12 SARAH BANNISTER
13 Secretary of the Senate
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