As Black History Month Begins, Booker, Bowman Reintroduce African American History Act

 U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ). and U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY-16) reintroduced the African American History Act. This legislation provides important resources to help educate the American public about the richness and complexity of African American history and the impacts of racism, white supremacy, and the struggle for justice on the fabric of America.  

Black Americans and those of the African Diaspora have made countless contributions since the founding of the United States. Unfortunately, throughout history, there have been attempts to purposefully revise or remove African American history within our school curriculums. As recent as this year, those attempts are still being pursued after news of the state of Florida attempting to ban an AP course on African American studies.

“The story of Black people in America is inextricably linked to the story of America. The fullness of this rich history must be told -- both its dark chapters and the light brought by generations of people determined to overcome and make our country better through an ongoing quest for justice,” said Senator Booker. “We have seen this happen far too many times throughout history – where some dismiss our important stories and intentionally change the way history is told to fit political agendas. As we begin Black History Month, I am proud to reintroduce this legislation that will invest in initiatives to make African American history education programs more accessible to the public, help educators incorporate these programs into their curriculum, and develop additional resources focused on Black History for students and families to engage with.”

“It is our moral imperative to tell the truth about our past to finally reconcile with this nation’s history of racism and white nationalism, and our legislation will serve as a vital component in our fight to do just that,” said Representative Jamaal Bowman Ed.D (NY-16). “The truth is under attack by white supremacists attempting to ban Black history at all levels of education, but we know that a democracy cannot exist without access to truth. As a Black man and an educator, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for this nation to collectively commit to learning from our past. Senator Booker’sand my legislation invests $10 million over 5 years to support African American history education programs that will be available for students, parents, and teachers. The moment we are in requires a clear-eyed effort to ensure that everyone has access to resources and education that accurately recount African American history – including how the Black struggle for freedom has strengthened our society for all Americans, and brought us closer to realizing the potential of our democracy.”

Booker and Bowman’s legislation invests $10 million over 5 years in the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) to support African American history education programs that are voluntarily available for students, parents, and educators. 

This bill will help the NMAAHC expand and improve upon their work in a variety of ways, including:

• Developing and maintaining a variety of accessible resources to promote an understanding of African American history. This includes a collection of digital content, housed on the NMAAHC website, to assist educators, students, and families across the country in teaching about and engaging with African American history
• Engaging with the public through programming, resources, and social media to increase awareness of African American history through a social justice and anti-bias lens
• Convening experts and creating and disseminating scholarly work
• Translating new and existing NMAAHC work into multiple languages

Further, the bill supports the NMAAHC’s work to increase national capacity for African American history education, including:

• Developing and disseminating high-quality pedagogy related to teaching African American history
• Providing opportunities for Professional Development for early childhood, elementary, and secondary teachers
• Designing and implementing a teacher fellowship program
• Engaging with local and state leaders interested in incorporating these resources in curricula

The Original Co-sponsors of this legislation in the Senate include Senators: Menendez (D-NJ), Feinstein (D-CA), Padilla (D-CA), Klobuchar (D-MN), Murphy (D-CT), Van Hollen (D-MD), Sanders (I-VT), Welch (D-VT), and Brown (D-OH).

The full text of the legislation can be viewed here.

For a section-by-section on the legislation, click here.

Sen. Cory Booker statement on Senate Passage of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act

U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement on U.S. Senate Passage of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act:

“After 200 failed attempts and over a century’s worth of efforts, I am proud to say that Congress has finally passed legislation to criminalize lynching, a shameful instrument of terror used to intimidate and oppress Black Americans. During the 19th and 20th centuries, more than 4,000 African-American men, women, and children were lynched and between 1936 and 1938, the national headquarters of the NAACP hung a flag with the words ‘A man was lynched yesterday’, solemn reminders of the dark eddies of our nation’s past. Although no legislation will reverse the pain and fear felt by those victims, their loved ones, and Black communities, this legislation is a necessary step America must take to heal from the racialized violence that has permeated its history.

“I first introduced legislation to make lynching a federal crime in 2018. Over the years, I have been proud to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make sure this bill passes Congress and heads to the President’s desk. The bipartisan support this bill has achieved underscores the importance of meeting this moment, of reckoning with the past, and of finally being able to say that we did the right thing.”

In 2018, Booker and then-Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) first introduced antilynching legislation and subsequently helped lead its unanimous passage in February 2019. After the effort stalled, Booker reintroduced the Emmett Till Antilynching Act last month to create a specific offense for lynching under existing federal hate crime statues.

In 1900, Congressman George Henry White of North Carolina introduced the first of what would ultimately become a series of more than 200 congressional bills that attempted to make a federal crime. Ninety members of the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan resolution in 2005 apologizing to the victims of lynching for the repeated failure of the Senate to enact anti-lynching legislation. These senators expressed their deepest sympathies and most solemn regrets of the Senate to the descendants of victims of lynching, the ancestors of whom were deprived of life, human dignity, and the constitutional protections accorded all citizens of the United States.

Full text of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act can be found here. The legislation is supported by: Equal Justice Initiative, The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, National Action Network, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Black Women’s Roundtable, Anti-Defamation League, and the National Urban League.

Congressional Gold Medal to be awarded posthumously to Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley

The Senate has passed a bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to Emmett Till, the Chicago teenager murdered by white supremacists in the 1950s, and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, who insisted on an open casket funeral to demonstrate the brutality of his killing.

Till was abducted, tortured and killed after witnesses said he whistled at a white woman in Mississippi, a scenario contradicted by others who were with Till at the time.

The killing galvanized the civil rights movement after Till’s mother insisted on an open casket and Jet magazine published photos of his brutalized body.

Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J. and Richard Burr, R-N.C., introduced the bill to honor Till and his mother with the highest civilian honor that Congress awards. They described the legislation as a long overdue recognition of what the Till family endured and what they accomplished in their fight against injustice.

“At the age of 14, Emmett Till was abducted and lynched at the hands of white supremacists. His gruesome murder still serves as a solemn reminder of the terror and violence experienced by Black Americans throughout our nation’s history,” said Sen. Booker. “The courage and activism demonstrated by Emmett’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, in displaying to the world the brutality endured by her son helped awaken the nation’s conscience, forcing America to reckon with its failure to address racism and the glaring injustices that stem from such hatred. More than six decades after his murder, I am proud to see the Senate pass long-overdue legislation that would award the Congressional Gold Medal to both Emmett and Mamie Till-Mobley in recognition of their profound contributions to our nation.”

The House version of the legislation is sponsored by Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill.

Cory Booker and Tim Scott Introduce Resolution Celebrating Black History Month

U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced a bipartisan resolution celebrating Black History Month and the important contributions made by Black Americans throughout United States history.

The resolution “acknowledges that all people of the U.S. are 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 U.S., while remaining hopeful and confident about the path ahead.”

It also “acknowledges the significance of Black History Month as an important opportunity to commemorate the tremendous contributions of African Americans to the history of the U.S.” and “encourages the celebration of Black History Month to provide a continuing opportunity for all people in the U.S. to learn from the past and understand the experiences that have shaped the U.S.”

Full text of the resolution can be viewed here.

The resolution is cosponsored by: Dick Durbin (D-IL), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D- CT), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Patty Murray (D-WA), Mark Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-AZ), Angus King (I-ME), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), John Ossoff (D-GA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob Casey (D-PA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), James Risch (R-ID), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Rob Portman (R-OH), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Todd Young(R-IN).

Cory Booker calls Donald Trump a liar

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., accused President Trump of repeatedly lying to the American people and using propaganda to stir confusion and mislead the public.

In a Thursday night interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett, Booker said the media coverage of Trump should resemble reporting on any other politician. He argued that liars should be called “liars” and propaganda should be called “propaganda.”

“I don’t understand why the media is treating Donald Trump with such kid gloves. These are not ‘untruths.’ These are not ‘alternate facts.’ These are lies and propaganda,” Booker said.

“We have seen the president of the United States and his officials repeatedly lying to the American public and pushing out … what could be called propaganda to mislead the public. He needs to be called on it, and we as the American public should not accept a president that routinely lies blatantly to the American people.”

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