1.1A house resolution
1.2commending African Americans on their contributions to Minnesota and American
1.3life.
1.4WHEREAS, America is a nation of immigrants, and the rich history of African Americans
1.5predates their importation to American soil over 400 years ago; and
1.6WHEREAS, the historical experience of Americans of African descent began more than
1.75,000 years before the Christian Era, with notable scientists, mathematicians, and inventors such
1.8as Imhotep, who is recognized by contemporary historians as the first architect, a pioneer in
1.9mathematics, an eminent sage and patron of scribes, a respected leader among early Egyptian and
1.10Greek civilizations, builder of the first pyramid, and the physician upon whose knowledge and
1.11teachings about human anatomy and the functions of the major organs modern medicine rests; and
1.12WHEREAS, although the vast majority of African Americans have been educated to
1.13believe that there have been only three great civilizations in the world -- Greek, Roman, and
1.14British Empire -- the African American history and experience overflows with great achievements
1.15and the creation of magnificent empires, nations, and civilizations, and is characterized by
1.16outstanding leaders, statesmen, inventors, builders, scientists, doctors, historians, craftsmen,
1.17philosophers, artisans, musicians, explorers, scholars, and militarists; and
1.18WHEREAS, African Americans have earned an undeniable role in the development of
1.19Minnesota and the nation, and, with home a tender and distant memory, by the sweat of their brow
1.20under the master's whip built American towns and cities, roadways and railways, buildings and
1.21facilities, served the owners of farms and great plantations, and cultivated the land to enable the
1.22survival of and to perpetuate a quality of life to which their owners were privileged; and
2.1WHEREAS, too many discoveries and contributions of African Americans to the world
2.2are absent from history books, have been ignored, marginalized, or denied by the majority
2.3culture, and significant inventions and scientific discoveries that enrich the quality of life for all
2.4mankind were prohibited by law to be patented, and continue to be shrouded in misinformation
2.5and misrepresentation; and
2.6WHEREAS, the ethos of this rich and proud people, descendants of kings and queens, has
2.7been passed down to generations through whispered tales by a remnant of African American
2.8ancestors who understood the relationship between honor, respect, and appreciation of the
2.9heritage and culture, and the vision and success of future generations; and
2.10WHEREAS, it is with this spirit that we recognized and celebrate the creative genius
2.11and contributions of Annie Easley, Sharon J. Barnes, Thomas L. Jennings, Dr. Benjamin S.
2.12Carson, David Blackwell, David N. Crosthwait, Elijah McCoy, Clarence A. Ellis, Phillip
2.13Emeagwali, Charles R. Drew, Sarah E. Goode, Granville T. Woods, Lewis H. Latimer, Meredith
2.14C. Gourdine, Ernest E. Just, Evelyn Boyd Granville, Norbert Rillieux, Mae C. Jemison, George
2.15Carruthers, Garret A. Morgan, J. Ernest Wilkins, Sarah Boone, Aaron Douglas, Claude Clark,
2.16Marian Anderson, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Thomas A. Dorsey, Barbara
2.17Jordan, Vernon Johns, Colin Powell, W.E.B. Du Bois, Sojourner Truth, Hiram R. Revels, and
2.18numerous other African Americans whose great achievements represent a vast pool of untapped
2.19intellect and gifts; and
2.20WHEREAS, it is vital that young African Americans be revitalized and challenged with
2.21the message that they are descendants of a proud and noble people who expected and settled for
2.22nothing less than excellence in every endeavor, and whose greatness is an indelible mark on
2.23Minnesota, the nation, and the world; NOW, THEREFORE,
2.24BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the State of Minnesota that African
2.25Americans be commended on their contributions to Minnesota and American life.
2.26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives is
2.27directed to prepare enrolled copies of this resolution, to be authenticated by his signature and that
2.28of the Speaker, and transmit them to the Executive Secretary of the Council on Black Minnesotans.
