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To recognize February as Black History Month and to celebrate the contributions that the NAACP has made to Civil Rights in America
(AMENDED BY RES. 0055X-2015 ADOPTED 2/23/2015)
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WHEREAS, The National Alliance for the Advancement of Colored People was founded in 1909, and is the nation’s largest civil rights organization committed to the fight for social justice; and
WHEREAS, The NAACP was formed partly in response to the continuing horrific practice of lynching, as well as the 1908 race riot in Springfield, Illinois; and
WHEREAS, The Great Depression of 1930’s influenced the NAACP to implement a focus on economic justice in an effort to secure jobs for African Americans who were disproportionately affected by the economic downturn; and
WHEREAS, During the Civil Rights Era, the NAACP was instrumental in advocating for equal rights for African Americans, and for urging the passage of monumental legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1957,1964, and 1968, as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and
WHEREAS, The NAACP’s principal objective is to ensure the political, educational and social economic equality of ethnic-minorities in the United States and to eliminate racial prejudice through the democratic process; and
WHEREAS, Black History Month, originally named Negro History Week is celebrated during the month of February, and dates back to 1926 when Dr. Carter G. Woodson set aside a special period of time in February to recognize the heritage and achievement of African Americans; and
WHEREAS, The NAACP along with other prominent civil rights advocates such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B Du Bois, Dorothy Height, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Alex Haley, Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and countless others fought against the cancer that is racism, and paved a way for future generations to succeed.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That this Co...
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