HomeMy WebLinkAboutBlack History Month - February 2022"Black History Month
February 2022
WHEREAS, in 1926 the Association for the Study of African American Life and History
sponsored a national history week to celebrate and promote achievements by Black Americans and
other peoples of African descent which inspired schools and communities nationwide to organize
local celebrations, establish history clubs and host performances and lectures; and
WHEREAS, in the decades that followed, many college campuses began recognizing Black
History Month; and
WHEREAS, in 1976, President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month and called
upon the public to "seize the opportunity to honor the too -often neglected accomplishments of Black
Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history"; and
WHEREAS, since 1976, during the month of February our Nation takes pause to reflect on the
injustices and struggles fought and overcome by African Americans throughout our Nation's history,
and to pay tribute to the battles they have fought in the name of equality; and
WHEREAS, our community, and lives, are shaped by the tremendous contributions of African
Americans who have used art as a vehicle for communicating beliefs, aspirations, observations,
joys, despair, resistance, and inequality; and
WHEREAS, the 2022 theme, Black Health and Wellness, acknowledges the legacy of not only
Black scholars and medical practitioners in Western medicine, but also other ways of knowing e.g.,
birth workers, doulas, midwives, naturopaths, and herbalists, considering activities, rituals, and
initiatives that Black communities have done to be well; and
WHEREAS, the City of Pasco has its own experience with some of the first African Americans
settling in Pasco to work in the rail industry and followed by greater numbers to contribute to the
Manhattan Project in the 1940's and in the process have deeply enriched Pasco's history with
culture, skill, and service; and
NOW, THEREFORE, Blanche Barajas, Mayor of the City of Pasco, Washington, on behalf of
the entire City Council, do hereby proclaim February 2022 as
"Black History Month".
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Official Seal of the City of
Pasco, State of Washington, to be affixed this 10' day of January 2022.
nji
Blanche Barajas, Mayor
City of Pasco