House Resolution 24-1003 Summary

• Recognizes February 2024 as Black History Month and honors Black Americans' contributions to Colorado and the United States

• Acknowledges the history of Black History Month, originating from Dr. Carter G. Woodson's 1915 initiative to create "Negro History Week" in 1926, which evolved into Black History Month by the late 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement

• Highlights notable Black Coloradans including Nat Love, James Beckwourth, Barney Ford, Clara Brown, Dr. Justina Ford, Oliver Toussaint Jackson, Hattie McDaniel, Cleo Parker Robinson, and Civil Rights activists like James Reynolds and Wilma and Wellington Webb

• Recognizes Colorado's first two Black state representatives, John T. Gunnell (1881-1883) and Joseph H. Stuart (1895-1897), and their legislative work on tenant rights and equal access to public places

• Endorses the Association for the Study of African American Life and History's 2024 theme of "African Americans and the Arts"