Congressman Al Green Recognizes the Significance of Black History Month

(Washington, DC)—On Wednesday, February 4, 2015, following a request from Congressman Al Green (TX-09), the House of Representatives conducted a special order session honoring Black History Month. Earlier in the year, Congressman Al Green introduced a resolution recognizing the significance of Black History Month. He has introduced the resolution every year since 2007.

During his remarks in honor of Black History Month, Congressman Al Green discussed lesser known events and figures from the Civil Rights Movement.

"We stand on the shoulders of giants--we all do--people who have done great things to make it possible for us to have these great opportunities that we have, people who suffered many of the slings and arrows of life so that others could have a better quality of life,” Congressman Al Green said. “Many of them are well known. We stand on the shoulders tonight of giants.”

Congressman Al Green also recognized this year’s Black History Month theme “A Century of Black Life, History, and Culture” and the 100^th Anniversary of the Association for the Study of African American Life, the organization that originally established Black History Month. The Association was founded in 1915 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, an African American author and scholar who originally established Negro History Week in 1926, which later became Black History Month.

“I am honored that we have come a long way from a point wherein we were rarely included to a point where we are included, but I think not enough yet. My hope is that at some point in time we won't have a Black History Month, we won't have any type of history month other than history on a daily basis because at that point in time we will have included all persons and all of the great cultures in this country in the history of our great nation.”