AR SCR5

Declares that the General Assembly celebrates Black History Month during February 2023 and recognizes African American contributions to Arkansas and the nation.

Acknowledges that "Negro History Week" began in 1926, inspired by the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, and evolved into Black History Month celebrated annually since 1976.

Highlights notable African Americans with Arkansas connections, including Dorothy McFadden Hoover (NASA physicist who developed the "thin sweptback tapered wing"), Maya Angelou (author and poet from Stamps), Ketty Lester (singer and actress from Hope), John H. Johnson (influential publisher from Arkansas City), and Raye Montague (Little Rock native who revolutionized Navy ship design by reducing draft design time from 2 years to 18 hours 26 minutes).

Notes that the United States Armed Forces were not integrated until 1948 through President Harry S. Truman's executive order, and recognizes the ongoing struggle for recognition of African American soldiers' accomplishments.

Calls for recognition of lesser-known historical figures including Crispus Attucks, William Harvey Carney, the Greensboro Four, and Constance Baker Motley.