AR SR9

Arkansas Senate resolution celebrating Black History Month during February 2025, recognizing African American contributions to social growth, economy, military, sciences, and arts

Black History Month originated from "Negro History Week" established in 1926 and has been celebrated annually since 1976, inspired by the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass

Highlights notable African Americans with Arkansas connections: Dorothy McFadden Hoover (NASA physicist who developed the "thin sweptback tapered wing"), Maya Angelou (author/poet from Stamps), Revoyda Frierson/Ketty Lester (singer/actress from Hope), John H. Johnson (publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines from Arkansas City), and Raye Montague (Little Rock native who reduced Navy ship design time from 2 years to 18 hours)

Notes the U.S. Armed Forces were not integrated until President Truman's 1948 executive order

Resolves that the Arkansas Senate celebrate Black History Month and recognize the sacrifices and contributions of African Americans throughout state and national history