Congressman Al Green Introduces Resolutions to Recognize Black History Month and Honor the NAACP on its 105th Anniversary

(Washington, DC)--On February 11, 2014, Congressman Al Green (TX-09) introduced resolutions recognizing the significance of Black History Month and honoring the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on its 105^th anniversary. The resolutions were introduced with 36 original cosponsors.

Black History Month is celebrated annually in the United States in the month of February; this year the theme is “Civil Rights in America.” Black History Month was originally established as Negro History Week in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, an African American author and scholar. Dr. Woodson established the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915. He worked tirelessly to highlight the contributions of African Americans to our nation’s history.

“This resolution allows Members of Congress to once again reaffirm the importance and story of African Americans in the development of our great nation,” Congressman Al Green said. “Black History Month is relevant to all Americans and for that reason I have introduced this resolution since 2007.”

Since the NAACP was founded on February 12, 1909, it has been committed to eliminating invidious discrimination.  Its accomplishments include its prominence in lobbying for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, 1960, and 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, laws which ensured government protection for legal victories. More recently, the NAACP has been a leader in the struggle to preserve and strengthen the Voting Rights Act as well as in reforming Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to better serve underrepresented communities.

"Throughout its history, the NAACP has changed the face of America.  As someone who has worked as part of the NAACP, serving as a branch president for approximately ten years, I have seen first-hand how instrumental the NAACP is in securing the rights of all Americans," Congressman Al Green said. “If the truth be told, we live where we live, we eat where we eat, and we sleep where we sleep because of the NAACP.”