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Special recognition celebrating February 2023 as Black History Month.
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SPECIAL RECOGNITION
WHEREAS, Africans were first brought involuntarily to the shores of the United States as early as the 17th century; and
WHEREAS, much of the wealth that allowed this nation to thrive, in the South and in the North, at the time of its founding and for the generations that followed until this day, was created by slave labor; and
WHEREAS, African Americans suffered enslavement and subsequently faced the injustices of lynch mobs, segregation, and denial of the basic and fundamental rights of citizenship; and
WHEREAS, in 2023, the vestiges of those injustices and inequalities remain evident in the society of the United States; and
WHEREAS, African Americans, such as Lieutenant Colonel Allen Allensworth, Maya Angelou, Arthur Ashe, Jr., James Baldwin, James Beckwourth, Clara Brown, Blanche Bruce, Ralph Bunche, Shirley Chisholm, Holt Collier, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Larry Doby, Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison, Medgar Evers, Aretha Franklin, Alex Haley, Dorothy Height, Jon Hendricks, Olivia Hooker, Lena Horne, Charles Hamilton Houston, Mahalia Jackson, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, B.B. King, Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King, Thurgood Marshall, Constance Baker Motley, Rosa Parks, Walter Payton, Bill Pickett, Homer Plessy, Bass Reeves, Hiram Revels, Amelia Platts Boynton Robinson, Jackie Robinson, Aaron Shirley, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, the Greensboro Four, the Tuskegee Airmen, Prince Rogers Nelson, Recy Taylor, Fred Shuttlesworth, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Muhammad Ali, Elijah Cummings, Ella Fitzgerald, Mamie Till, Edith Savage-Jennings, Toni Morrison, Gwen Ifill, and Diahann Carroll, along with many others, worked against racism to achieve success and to make significant contributions to the economic, educational, political, artistic, athletic, literary, scientific, and technological advancement of the United States; and
WHEREAS, the contributions of African Americans from all walks of life throughout the history of the United States reflect the greatness of the United States; and
WHEREAS, many African Americans lived, toiled, and died in obscurity, never achieving the recognition those individuals deserved, and yet paved the way for future generations to succeed; and
WHEREAS, African Americans continue to serve the United States at the highest levels of business, government, and the military; and
WHEREAS, Black History Month, celebrated during the month of February, originated in 1926 to set aside a special period in February to recognize the heritage and achievements of Black people in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the history of the United States is the story of people regularly affirming high ideals, striving to reach those ideals but often failing, and then struggling to come to terms with the disappointment of that failure, before committing to try again.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RECOGNIZED, that the Lake County Board: acknowledges that all people of the United States are the recipients of the wealth of history provided by Black culture and recognizes the importance of Black History Month as an opportunity to reflect on the complex history of the United States, while remaining hopeful and confident about the path ahead.
BE IT FURTHER RECOGNIZED, the County Board acknowledges the significance of Black History Month as an important opportunity to commemorate the tremendous contributions of African Americans to the history of the United States.
BE IT FURTHER RECOGNIZED, the County Board encourages the celebration of Black History Month to provide a continuing opportunity for all people in the United States to learn from the past and understand the experiences that have shaped the United States.
BE IT FURTHER RECOGNIZED, the County Board agrees that, while the United States began as a divided country, the United States must honor the contribution of all pioneers in the United States who have helped to ensure the legacy of the great United States; and move forward with purpose, united tirelessly as a nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
DATED, at Waukegan, Illinois, on February 21, 2023.