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2021 ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION 10
March 1, 2021 - Introduced by Representatives STUBBS, BOWEN, HAYWOOD, L.
MYERS, BALDEH, DRAKE, MOORE OMOKUNDE, SHANKLAND, MILROY, HEBL, S.
RODRIGUEZ, ANDRACA, SNODGRASS, OHNSTAD, VRUWINK, POPE, ORTIZ-VELEZ,
DOYLE, HESSELBEIN, NEUBAUER, SUBECK, HONG, CABRERA, SPREITZER, SHELTON,
ANDERSON, RIEMER, GOYKE, VINING, BROSTOFF, CONLEY, MCGUIRE and EMERSON,
cosponsored by Senators JOHNSON, CARPENTER, SMITH, AGARD, WIRCH,
RINGHAND, ERPENBACH, ROYS and LARSON. Referred to Committee on Rules.
1 Relating to: proclaiming February 2021 as Black History Month.
2 Whereas, Black History Month provides a deliberate opportunity to reflect on
3 the common humanity underlying all people and to raise awareness and foster
4 respect for the heritage and contributions of people of African descent; and
5 Whereas, this year marks over 400 years since the arrival of enslaved Africans
6 in Virginia. The existence of Africans in North America can be traced back to 1525,
7 and through 1866 the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade is estimated to have ensnared
8 more than 12 million African people, with an estimated 10 million surviving the
9 unconscionable Middle Passage, landing in North America, the Caribbean, and
10 South America; and
11 Whereas, Wisconsin history first references African descendants in a speech
12 given in 1725 by a chief of the Illinois Indians, in which he said, “a negro belonging
13 to Monsieur de Boisbriant" at Green Bay; and
14 Whereas, the United States has recognized black history annually since
15 February 12, 1926, first as “Negro History Week" and later as “Black History Month,"
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1 by noted Harvard scholar and historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson, celebrating the
2 ethnic and racial diversity that enriches and strengthens our nation; and
3 Whereas, both enslaved and free people of African descent have participated in
4 every aspect of America's effort to secure, protect, and advance the cause of freedom
5 and civil rights, and have stories that are an inspiration to all citizens, that reflect
6 the triumph of the human spirit, and offer the hopes of everyday people to rise above
7 both prejudice and circumstance and to build lives of dignity; and
8 Whereas, people of African descent or African Americans have made
9 measurable differences in their respective industries, such as:
10 PROFESSIONAL TRAILBLAZERS
11 Naomi Carter—first African American nurse in Madison;
12 Grant Gordon—first African American principal in Milwaukee and is active
13 in the NAACP;
14 Dr. Kwasi Obeng—first African American to serve as chief of staff for the
15 Madison Common Council;
16 Judson Walter Minor Jr.—first Black police officer to serve in the Milwaukee
17 Police Department;
18 Vernice E Chenault Gallimore—first Black police woman to serve in the
19 Milwaukee Police Department;
20 COMMUNITY LEADERS
21 Linda Hoskins—former NAACP of Madison president;
22 Sabrina Madison—Black Women's Wellness pioneer of change in Black
23 Women's Health and Black Women's Leadership Development;
24 John Givens III—NAACP Youth Council advisor and chair of the Milwaukee
25 Council on Racial Equality;
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1 Ali Muldrow—Madison School Board member;
2 Torre Johnson Sr.—founder of X-Men United and community and youth
3 advocate;
4 Gab Taylor—cofounder of Program the Parks and member of Standing Up for
5 Racial Justice MKE;
6 Amani Latimer Burris—small business owner and journalist;
7 Detria Hassel—former Health Committee chair, NAACP of Madison;
8 ACTIVISTS AND ORGANIZATIONS
9 Khalil Coleman—law enforcement reform activist, founder of CLTC, and
10 author;
11 Vaun Mayes—Milwaukee community activist and founder of Parks MKE, a
12 nonprofit organization;
13 The People's Revolution—Black Lives Matter and government
14 accountability organization; a global network that builds power to bring justice,
15 healing, and freedom to Black people across the globe, whose activism includes
16 marching for over 250 consecutive days, the most since the civil rights and fair
17 housing movements of the 1960s;
18 Tory Lowe—Wisconsin community activist and member of the Speaker's Task
19 Force on Racial Disparities;
20 Tracey Dent—activist, Coalition Against Hate, and CEO of the Peace for
21 Change Alliance;
22 Rebecca Burrell—Wisconsin community activist and member of the
23 Speaker's Task Force on Racial Disparities;
24 Mattie Reese—community activist;
25 Sadie Pearson—grassroots community activist;
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1 ATHLETE
2 Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron—professional baseball player for the Milwaukee
3 Braves and Brewers;
4 RELIGIOUS LEADER
5 Dr. Apostle Bishop Godfrey A. Stubbs—Senior Pastor of End Times
6 Ministries International;
7 GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
8 Vice President Kamala Devi Harris—first woman and African American
9 vice president of the United States;
10 Stacey Yvonne Abrams—American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist,
11 and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives;
12 VICTIMS AND FAMILIES OF POLICE BRUTALITY
13 Jacob Blake Jr., Jacob Blake Sr., and Justin Blake—a Black father of
14 three who was shot in the back seven times by a Kenosha police officer in front of his
15 children, and his father and uncle, who have taken on public advocacy roles for police
16 reform;
17 Tony Robinson—an unarmed 19-year-old Madison young Black man who
18 was killed by Madison police during a “check person” call placed by his concerned
19 friends and bystanders;
20 Alvin Cole—a 17-year-old Black teenager who was shot and killed by
21 Wauwatosa police while on his hands and knees;
22 Sylville Smith—a 23-year-old Black father of one who was shot in the back
23 and killed by Milwaukee police following a traffic stop for “suspicious behavior”;
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1 Dontre Hamilton—an unarmed 31-year-old Black Milwaukee man with
2 mental illness who was shot 14 times and killed by Milwaukee police after being
3 checked on three times in one day for sleeping in a park;
4 Jay Anderson, Jr.—a 25-year-old Black man who was shot and killed by
5 Wauwatosa police during an after-hours loitering check after being woken up from
6 trying to sleep off intoxication in his car;
7 Daniel Bell—a 22-year-old Black Milwaukee man who was shot and killed by
8 Milwaukee police following a traffic stop in 1958. Milwaukee police planted a knife
9 on Bell's body at the scene and attempted to cover up the shooting for decades;
10 Ernest Lacy—a 22-year-old Black Milwaukee man who was arrested in 1981
11 in a case of mistaken identity, who died in police custody after having a knee placed
12 on his back by officers. This led to one of the few times Wisconsin legislators worked
13 on bipartisan police reform legislation (Lacy's Law) to require that police seek
14 medical help for anyone in their custody; and
15 Whereas, while acknowledging the work of these leaders, it is equally critical
16 to appreciate, both past and present, the long list of contributions of our fellow
17 citizens; Black History Month gives Wisconsinites an occasion to recognize the
18 significant influence people of African heritage have made, and continue to make, in
19 the areas of medicine, art, politics, human rights, education, sports, and economic
20 development; now, therefore, be it
21 Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the Wisconsin
22 Legislature recognizes February 2021 as Black History Month and extends
23 appreciation to the above-named persons for their contributions to the state of
24 Wisconsin, the country, and their fellow citizens.
25 (END)