H.Res. 1080

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1080 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1080

Recognizing and celebrating the significance of Black History Month 
2026 and its theme, ``A Century of Black History Commemorations''.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 25, 2026

Mr. Green of Texas (for himself, Ms. Adams, Mr. Amo, Ms. Ansari, Mrs. 
Beatty, Mr. Bell, Mr. Bera, Mr. Bishop, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Brownley, Ms. 
Bynum, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. Clarke of New York, 
Mr. Cohen, Mr. Conaway, Ms. Crockett, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
Deluzio, Mrs. Dingell, Ms. Elfreth, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Evans of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. Figures, Mrs. Fletcher, Mrs. Foushee, Mr. Frost, Mr. 
Garamendi, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Ms. Scanlon, 
Mr. Goldman of New York, Ms. Norton, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Ivey, Mr. Jackson 
of Illinois, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Ms. 
Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Landsman, 
Mr. Larsen of Washington, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Lieu, Ms. 
Lofgren, Mr. Lynch, Mrs. McClain Delaney, Ms. McClellan, Mr. McGarvey, 
Mr. McGovern, Mrs. McIver, Mr. Meeks, Ms. Meng, Mr. Mfume, Ms. Moore of 
Wisconsin, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Quigley, Mrs. 
Ramirez, Ms. Ross, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Sewell, Ms. Simon, Ms. 
Strickland, Mr. Swalwell, Ms. Titus, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Torres of New York, 
Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Vindman, Mr. Walkinshaw, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. 
Williams of Georgia, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. Brown, Ms. Wasserman 
Schultz, and Ms. Rivas) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION

Recognizing and celebrating the significance of Black History Month 
2026 and its theme, ``A Century of Black History Commemorations''.

Whereas this resolution may be cited as the ``Original Black History Month 
Resolution of 2026'';
Whereas the Association for the Study of African American Life and History is 
the preeminent organization of its kind;
Whereas the theme for Black History Month 2026 is ``A Century of Black History 
Commemorations'', which explores how Black history and life 
commemorations impact and transform the status of Black people in the 
United States and across the diaspora;
Whereas this resolution highlights aspects of momentous events, seminal moments, 
and historic personalities in Black history that have been historically 
denied a true and factual spotlight;
Whereas it is hereby declared and decreed that Black women and men of African 
ancestry whose historic records of accomplishments have not been proudly 
and widely celebrated shall be honored as ``unsung souls'';
Whereas history is impacted by heroic individuals who are not unsung souls that 
take extraordinary steps to ensure that our world imbues liberty and 
justice for people of African descent, they shall be celebrated as 
righteous intercessors;
Whereas all unsung souls and righteous intercessors deserve to be credited for 
their historic contributions, and their stories must be widely 
celebrated;
Whereas it should be understood that the untold or understated accomplishments 
of African Americans and historic events that follow are less than an 
introduction to the greatest story yet to be told;
Whereas, in spite of more than 240 years of enslavement, approximately 100 years 
of convict leasing, and centuries of lawful segregation and continued 
racism, Black history commemorations are transforming the incomplete 
collective narrative from one that minimizes Black identity to one that 
affirms the powerful reality that the unsung souls enslaved in America 
were America's economic foundational mothers and fathers who helped 
build and shape the Nation's prosperous history;
Whereas, on December 31, 1862, many free and enslaved unsung souls gathered in 
secret to await the news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken 
effect, marking the first ``Watch Night'', also known as ``Freedom's 
Eve'';
Whereas Watch Night remains a living tradition, with annual services held in 
African American churches on New Years Eve that extend through midnight 
and include praise and worship;
Whereas this celebration of freedom transformed January 1 from ``Heartbreak 
Day'', a painful and historically dreaded day when families of unsung 
souls were separated at slave auctions, into a day of liberation and 
commemoration;
Whereas, on May 1, 1865, following the end of the Civil War, newly freed unsung 
souls in Charleston, North Carolina organized one of the earliest 
commemorations for fallen soldiers in the Union Army;
Whereas the commemoration drew approximately 10,000 mostly Black participants 
and featured a parade, grave dedications, prayer, spiritual singing, and 
communal picnics;
Whereas this commemoration played a prominent role in the creation of Decoration 
Day, which later became the national holiday, Memorial Day;
Whereas the brigade of the 25th Army Corps of the Union Army, comprised of 
approximately 1,000 Black soldiers are unsung souls;
Whereas this brigade advanced Major General Gordon Granger, a righteous 
intercessor, to Galveston, Texas, prior to his arrival, captured 
Galveston, chased rebel soldiers into Mexico, spread news of 
emancipation, and liberated thousands of enslaved unsung souls;
Whereas the actions of the 25th Army Corps made it safe for Major General Gordon 
Granger to issue General Order Number 3 in Galveston, formally 
announcing freedom to formerly enslaved unsung souls, symbolizing the 
end of slavery in the United States and giving birth to Juneteenth;
Whereas Juneteenth was proclaimed a national holiday on June 17, 2021, after 
having been historically celebrated by people of African descent in 
Texas and the United States, as well as other countries such as Canada, 
Jamaica, and Nigeria;
Whereas, across the globe, commemorations marking the end of slavery, including 
the Haitian revolution, the abolition of the slave trade, and the end of 
slavery in Jamaica, serve to unite the diaspora through shared 
traditions of resistance and the celebration of freedom;
Whereas John Brown, an abolitionist, Christian, and radical opponent of slavery, 
is an exemplar of a righteous intercessor;
Whereas Brown led several armed anti-slavery movements, in accordance with his 
strongly held Christian beliefs, including during the 1850s Bleeding 
Kansas crisis and the 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia;
Whereas Brown's efforts led to his execution as the first person in the United 
States to be tried for treason, transforming him into a heroic martyr 
who inspired Union soldiers during the Civil War;
Whereas Frank M. Johnson, a White United States district and circuit judge known 
to have ``altered forever the face of the South'', is a preeminent 
exemplar of a righteous intercessor;
Whereas Judge Frank M. Johnson often faced death threats and intimidation from 
the Ku Klux Klan for issuing landmark civil rights rulings that ended 
segregation, advanced racial integration, and challenged state 
resistance, most notably in Browder v. Gayle and Williams v. Wallace;
Whereas Browder v. Gayle ended the invidious segregation of Alabama's public 
transportation system and brought closure to the historic Montgomery Bus 
Boycott led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.;
Whereas Williams v. Wallace provided for the safety of the historic Selma to 
Montgomery march which provided President Lyndon B. Johnson the 
political muscle necessary to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965;
Whereas Claudette Colvin is a preeminent exemplar of an unsung Black soul;
Whereas Colvin, a 15-year-old high school student and NAACP Youth Council 
member, is an exemplar of an unsung soul;
Whereas Colvin was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a White woman, 9 
months prior to Rosa Parks' refusal, and was a plaintiff in the Federal 
court case, Browder v. Gayle, referenced above, that subsequently led 
the Supreme Court to declare segregation on all public transportation 
unconstitutional;
Whereas, in the early 1900s, Black scholars worked to institutionalize the study 
of Black history, recognizing that the White-dominated historical spaces 
refused to develop the institutional infrastructure necessary to study 
Black history and often diminished, distorted, or intentionally deleted 
Black experiences;
Whereas Carter G. Woodson, the son of formerly enslaved unsung souls, is the 
``father of Black History Month'' and the supreme exemplar of an unsung 
Black soul;
Whereas Woodson founded the Journal of Negro History, and the Association for 
the Study of Negro Life and History, now the Journal of African American 
History, and the Association for the Study of African American Life and 
History, respectively;
Whereas, in 1926, Woodson established Negro History Week, the precursor to what 
is now Black History Month, selecting the second week in February to 
coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass;
Whereas Woodson's Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now the 
Association for the Study of African American Life and History) helped 
legitimize the study of Black history within White academic circles and 
created the organizational structure to make Black history 
commemorations possible;
Whereas Woodson's Journal of Negro History (now the Journal of African American 
History) provided opportunities for women scholars to publish their 
work, free from ridicule, in the 1900s, and continues to advance 
research on all aspects of African-American life today;
Whereas Woodson's work has had a profound and lasting impact, fundamentally 
reshaping how Black history is researched, preserved, and shared in the 
United States today;
Whereas George Washington Williams, a Civil War soldier, Baptist minister, and 
historian, is an exemplar of an unsung soul;
Whereas Williams wrote pioneering histories on the contributions of African 
Americans in the United States, including the ``History of the Negro 
Race in America from 1619-1880'', one of the first overall histories of 
African Americans, recognizing Black agency and achievements in the 
broader public sphere;
Whereas Mary McLeod Bethune, an educator, institution builder, and civil rights 
leader, is an exemplar of an unsung soul;
Whereas Bethune founded several organizations including, the Aframerican Woman's 
Journal, the National Council of Negro Women, and Bethune-Cookman 
University, which expanded educational access to Black history in the 
United States institutions of higher education;
Whereas W.E.B. Du Bois, a sociologist, historian, scholar, and civil rights 
leader, is an exemplar of an unsung soul;
Whereas Du Bois advanced the academic study of African-American history and 
social conditions through pioneering works such as ``The Souls of Black 
Folk'', co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of 
Colored People (NAACP), advocated for the importance of academic 
intellect in the African-American society, and challenged racist systems 
by asserting the intellectual, political, and cultural equality of Black 
Americans;
Whereas Zora Neale Hurston, a prominent writer, anthropologist, and cultural 
preservationist, is an exemplar of an unsung soul;
Whereas Hurston documented the richness of African-American life, folklore, and 
culture through its own perspective, preserving the authenticity of 
Black cultural identity free from colonial distortions, laying the 
foundations for Africana Studies;
Whereas Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, a historian, writer, and collector, is an 
exemplar of an unsung soul;
Whereas Schomburg dedicated his life to preserving books, manuscripts, and 
artifacts on African and African diasporic history, leading to the 
foundation of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New 
York, which continues to ensure Black people can research, define, and 
tell their own stories;
Whereas these scholars rejected racist historical frameworks and built durable 
scholarly traditions that cultivate a comprehensive public education of 
Black history centered on self-representation and intellectual autonomy;
Whereas Black history and life commemorations are made possible today because of 
the foundational work of these and many other scholars as well as the 
Association for the Study of African American Life and History;
Whereas institutions such as museums, libraries, places of worship, parks, and 
cultural heritage sites annually celebrate and uplift Black history 
through programming, exhibitions, camps, and book displays;
Whereas national Black history and life commemoration sites include national 
monuments, such as the National Museum of African American History and 
Culture, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the African American Civil 
War Memorial, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and the 
African Burial Ground National Monument;
Whereas Black history and life commemorations are a moral imperative as they 
serve as a critical counterweight to recurring historical narratives 
that seek to whitewash, eradicate, or minimize the significance of Black 
people and their contributions to American history;
Whereas the intentional obfuscation and elimination of the truth about Black 
history serves to protect White supremacy, avoid societal reckoning on 
race relations, and set the conditions to preserve White superiority 
through a tradition of denying the true history of Black people;
Whereas, today, the Trump administration's attempts to erase and sanitize 
Blackness out of history, by removing the slavery exhibit at 
Independence National Historical Park, censoring content at institutions 
like the Smithsonian, banning books, and terminating Diversity, Equity, 
and Inclusion initiatives across sectors, represent the continuation of 
a tradition of diminishing and denying the true history of Africans in 
America;
Whereas Black life and history commemorations thwart these attempts to diminish 
African-American history by recognizing and recovering the legacies of 
unsung heroes who disrupted the forces of invidious discrimination and 
demanded systems of power to bend toward justice;
Whereas these Black history and life commemorations inspire the Nation to have 
the courage to look back thoughtfully so it can move forward with 
intentional resolve toward the American ideals of liberty, equality, 
justice, and freedom for all; and
Whereas, as the Nation marks its 250th year of independence, this resolution, 
grounded in a century-long tradition of commemorating Black history and 
life, recognizes Black people as unsung souls and the mothers and 
fathers whose more than 400 years of free labor, activism, and 
achievements are intrinsic to the United States history and success: 
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved,

short title

Section 1. 
This resolution may be cited as the ``Original Black History Month 
Resolution of 2026''.

supporting black history month

Sec. 2. 
The House of Representatives recognizes the importance of 
commemorating Black History Month as it acknowledges the achievements 
of Black American unsung souls throughout the Nation's history and 
encourages the continuation of Black history celebrations to raise the 
awareness of the great contributions and accomplishments of Africans in 
America that benefit all Americans.
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