I
117TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1394
To authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to eligible entities
to carry out educational programs that include the history of peoples
of African descent in the settling and founding of America, the economic
and political environments that led to the development, institutionaliza-
tion, and abolition of slavery and its impact on all Americans, the
exploration and expansion of America, impact on and contributions to
the development and enhancement of American life, United States his-
tory, literature, the economy, politics, body of laws, and culture, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 26, 2021
Mrs. BEATTY (for herself, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. SABLAN, Mr.
COOPER, Mr. SUOZZI, Mrs. DEMINGS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Miss RICE of
New York, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs.
CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. HOULAHAN, Ms. DELBENE,
Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. CARSON, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. RUSH, Ms.
KAPTUR, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia,
Mr. BROWN, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. KILMER, Mr. SEAN PAT-
RICK MALONEY of New York, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms.
CLARKE of New York, Ms. BASS, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. KELLY
of Illinois, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. NORTON, Mr. SIRES, Ms. MENG, Ms.
CASTOR of Florida, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr.
PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. POCAN, Mr. HORSFORD, and Ms. ROSS)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and Labor
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants
to eligible entities to carry out educational programs
that include the history of peoples of African descent
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•HR 1394 IH
in the settling and founding of America, the economic
and political environments that led to the development,
institutionalization, and abolition of slavery and its im-
pact on all Americans, the exploration and expansion
of America, impact on and contributions to the develop-
ment and enhancement of American life, United States
history, literature, the economy, politics, body of laws,
and culture, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Black History is Amer-
4
ican History Act’’.
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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Congress finds the following:
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(1) Whereas since before its founding, the
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United States of America has benefited from and
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been enhanced by the integral role African Ameri-
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cans have played in our country’s history and con-
11
tributions to the world.
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(2) Whereas African American history does not
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begin in the Americas. It can be traced back to the
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great empires of West Africa beginning in A.D. 790,
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which aided the establishment and survival of colo-
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nies in America and the New World, generally, and
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fought against European oppression.
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•HR 1394 IH
(3) Whereas African Americans have rep-
1
resented a significant portion of the American popu-
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lation from nearly 20 percent at the signing of the
3
Declaration of Independence, almost all of whom, if
4
not all, were victims of the largest forced deporta-
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tions in recorded history, the transatlantic slave
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trade and resulting African diaspora. It is estimated
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over 10,000,000 free Africans were enslaved between
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the mid-fifteenth and nineteenth centuries during
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the diaspora.
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(4) Whereas slavery was not abolished and Afri-
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can Americans not acknowledged as American citi-
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zens until the mid-nineteenth century, servitude did
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not abate their contributions to the settlement,
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growth, and development of the United States,
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which continued through Post-Reconstruction, Jim
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Crow, industrialization, World Wars and conflicts,
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innovation
and
inventiveness,
constitutional
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progress, and every aspect of American society.
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(5) Whereas during the civil rights movement of
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the 1950s and 1960s, civil rights leaders and activ-
21
ists championed the fight for equal rights, including
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voting rights, for all African Americans.
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(6) Whereas the seminal case of Brown v.
24
Board of Education, decided May 17, 1954, found
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•HR 1394 IH
that the decades old policy of separate but equal ac-
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cess to education was inherently unequal, and the
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segregation of Black public-school students was no
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longer the law of the land.
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(7) Whereas African Americans continue to
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fight discrimination, structural racism, economic in-
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equities, and benign and overt omission of the inte-
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gral role they played in our country’s rise to great-
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ness.
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(8) Whereas currently, 12 States (Arkansas,
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California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey,
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New York, Michigan, Mississippi, Rhode Island,
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South Carolina, and Texas) have passed educational
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laws requiring Black history be incorporated into the
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curricula of all public schools.
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(9) Whereas Congress established the National
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Museum of African American History and Culture
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in 2003 after decades of efforts to promote and
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highlight the contributions of African Americans,
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which serves as an indication of the national impor-
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tance of examining Black history. Since opening in
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2016, the museum has worked to educate the public
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on the American story through the lens of African
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American history and culture and provide educators,
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parents, caregivers, and students with tools and re-
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•HR 1394 IH
sources on the African American experience, its na-
1
tional impact, race, racism, and the importance of
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tolerance and inclusivity.
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(10) Whereas according to a 2015 research
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study conducted by the National Museum of African
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American History and Culture and reported in Re-
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search into the State of African American History
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and Culture in K–12 Public Schools, key findings in-
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dicated that teachers considered Black history as in-
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fluential in understanding the complexity of United
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States history.
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(11) Whereas the importance of Black history
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is reflected in the National Assessment of Edu-
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cational Progress United States History framework,
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from pre-colonization through contemporary Amer-
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ica.
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(12) Whereas the Federal Government, through
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support for educational activities of national muse-
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ums established under Federal law, can assist teach-
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ers in efforts to incorporate historically accurate in-
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struction on the comprehensive history of African
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Americans and students in their exploration of Black
22
history as an integral part of American history.
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•HR 1394 IH
SEC. 3. AMERICAN HISTORY AND CIVICS EDUCATION.
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(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—Section 2231(a) of the
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Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
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U.S.C. 6661(a)) is amended—
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(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by
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inserting ‘‘, which shall include Black history,’’ after
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‘‘American history’’; and
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(2) in paragraph (2)—
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(A) by inserting ‘‘which shall include Black
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history,’’ after ‘‘American history,’’; and
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(B) by inserting ‘‘, which shall include
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Black history’’ after ‘‘traditional American his-
12
tory’’.
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(b) PRESIDENTIAL AND CONGRESSIONAL ACADEMIES
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FOR AMERICAN HISTORY AND CIVICS.—Section 2232 of
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the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
16
U.S.C. 6662) is amended—
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(1) in subsection (a)—
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(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, which
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shall include Black history,’’ after ‘‘American
20
History’’; and
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(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, which
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shall include Black history,’’ after ‘‘American
23
History’’;
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•HR 1394 IH
(2) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘, which
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shall include Black history,’’ after ‘‘American his-
2
tory’’;
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(3) in subsection (e)—
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(A) in paragraph (1)—
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(i) by inserting ‘‘, which shall include
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Black history,’’ after ‘‘American history’’;
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(ii) in subparagraph (A)—
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(I) by inserting ‘‘, which shall in-
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clude Black history,’’ after ‘‘teachers
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of American history’’; and
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(II) by inserting ‘‘, which shall
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include Black history,’’ after ‘‘subjects
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of American history’’; and
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(iii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting
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‘‘, which shall include Black history,’’ after
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‘‘American history’’;
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(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, which
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shall include Black history,’’ after ‘‘American
19
history’’; and
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(C) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, and
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with the Smithsonian Institution’s National
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Museum of African American History and Cul-
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ture initiative providing programs and resources
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•HR 1394 IH
for educators and students’’ after ‘‘National
1
Parks’’; and
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(4) in subsection (f)—
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(A) by inserting ‘‘, which shall include
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Black history,’’ after ‘‘American history’’;
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(B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘,
6
which shall include Black history,’’ after
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‘‘American history’’; and
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(C) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘,
9
which shall include Black history,’’ after
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‘‘American history’’.
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(c) NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.—Section 2233 of the Ele-
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mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
13
6663) is amended—
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(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘which shall
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include Black history,’’ after ‘‘American history,’’;
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and
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(2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘which shall
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include Black history,’’ after ‘‘American history,’’.
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(d) NATIONAL
ASSESSMENT
OF
EDUCATIONAL
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PROGRESS.—Section 303(b)(2)(D) of the National As-
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sessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act (20
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U.S.C. 9622(b)(2)(D)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(which
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shall include Black history)’’ after ‘‘history,’’.
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Æ
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