WHEREAS, in 1925, Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History and conceived and announced Negro History Week to be celebrated during the week encompassing the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas in February, 1926; and

WHEREAS, in 1976, then-President Gerald R. Ford expanded the celebration to a month and urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every endeavor throughout our history”; and

WHEREAS, all Hennepin County students, educators, and residents should know and pay tribute to our community’s rich Black History, and rededicate ourselves to nurturing a bright future for our Black students; therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Hennepin County Board of Commissioner hereby proclaims February as National Black History Month to recognize the amazing and everlasting efforts and accomplishments of Black descendants of the African diaspora in Hennepin County, Minnesota, and the United States of America.