Recognizing the significance of National Caribbean American Heritage Month.

IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 480 Recognizing the significance of National Caribbean American Heritage Month. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 7, 2023 Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mrs. CHERFILUS- MCCORMICK, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. NORTON, and Ms. CLARKE of New York) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability RESOLUTION Recognizing the significance of National Caribbean American Heritage Month. Whereas people of Caribbean heritage are found in every State of the Union; Whereas emigration from the Caribbean to the American colonies began as early as 1619 with the arrival of inden- tured workers in Jamestown, Virginia; Whereas, during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a signifi- cant number of slaves from the Caribbean were brought to the United States; Whereas millions of people have emigrated from the Carib- bean to the United States; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR480.IH HR480 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 480 IH Whereas the current population of people in the United States who were born in or have ancestry from the Carib- bean is estimated at over 8,500,000; Whereas, like the United States, the countries of the Carib- bean faced obstacles of slavery and colonialism and strug- gled for independence; Whereas, also like the United States, the people of the Carib- bean have diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds; Whereas independence movements throughout the Caribbean and the consequential establishment of independent democratic countries in the Caribbean strengthened ties between the Caribbean and the United States; Whereas Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father of the United States and the first Secretary of the Treasury, was born in the Caribbean; Whereas many influential Caribbean Americans have contrib- uted to the rich history of the United States, including Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, the pioneer settler of Chi- cago; Claude McKay, a poet of the Harlem Renaissance; James Weldon Johnson, the writer of the Black National Anthem; Celia Cruz, the world-renowned queen of Salsa music; Sylvia Winter, influential feminist, writer, and human rights activist; Cicely Tyson, legendary star of stage and screen; John Russworm, co-founder of Free- dom’s Journal, the first Black-owned newspaper; Mervyn Dymally, the first African-American Lieutenant Governor of California and first Caribbean immigrant to serve in Congress, and Shirley Chisholm, the first African-Amer- ican Congresswoman and first African-American woman candidate for President; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR480.IH HR480 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 480 IH Whereas the many influential Caribbean Americans in the history of the United States also include Kamala Harris, the first African-American Vice President; Colin Powell, the first African-American Secretary of State; Eric Hold- er, the first African-American Attorney General; Karine Jean-Pierre, the first African-American White House Press Secretary; Patrick Gaspard, labor union organizer and social justice advocate; Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart, the first Black director of the Defense Intel- ligence Agency; Sandra Lindsay, a nurse in Queens, New York and the first person in the United States to receive a COVID–19 vaccine; Robert Rashford, an internation- ally known aerospace engineer and coinventor of the sin- gle person spacecraft; Harry Belafonte, a legendary musi- cian, actor, and activist; and Sir Sydney Poitier, the first Black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, film director, and diplomat; Whereas Caribbean Americans have played an active role in the civil rights movement and other social and political movements in the United States; Whereas Caribbean Americans have contributed to every as- pect of our society, including greatly to the fine arts, edu- cation, business, literature, journalism, sports, fashion, politics, government, the military, music, science, medi- cine, engineering, technology, and other fields in the United States; Whereas Caribbean Americans share their culture through festivals, carnivals, music, dance, film, food, and lit- erature, which enrich the cultural landscape of the United States; Whereas the countries of the Caribbean are important eco- nomic partners of the United States; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR480.IH HR480 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 480 IH Whereas the members of the Caribbean diaspora contribute to prosperity in the United States and the sustainable economic development of the Caribbean, and for 30 years the Institute of Caribbean Studies has encouraged the community’s civic engagement through research, advo- cacy, education, and action; Whereas the countries of the Caribbean represent the United States third border; Whereas the people of the Caribbean share the hopes and as- pirations of the people of the United States for peace and prosperity throughout the Western Hemisphere and the rest of the world; and Whereas, since the passage of H. Con. Res. 71 in the 109th Congress by both the Senate and the House of Rep- resentatives, a proclamation has been issued annually by the President declaring June National Caribbean Amer- ican Heritage Month: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) supports the goals and ideals of Caribbean 2 American Heritage Month; 3 (2) encourages the people of the United States 4 to observe Caribbean American Heritage Month with 5 appropriate ceremonies, celebrations, and activities; 6 and 7 (3) affirms that— 8 (A) the contributions of Caribbean Ameri- 9 cans are a significant part of the history, 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR480.IH HR480 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 480 IH progress, and heritage of the United States; 1 and 2 (B) the ethnic and racial diversity of the 3 United States enriches and strengthens the Na- 4 tion. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR480.IH HR480 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS