Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 6

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 6-Senators Neal, Adler, Augustine, Coffin, Jacobsen, James, Mathews, McGinness, O'Connell, O'Donnell, Porter, Raggio, Rawson, Regan, Rhoads, Schneider, Shaffer, Titus, Townsend, Washington and Wiener

February 5, 1997
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Read and adopted

SUMMARY--Commemorates African-American History Month. (BDR R-1009)

EXPLANATION - Matter in italics is new; matter in brackets [ ] is material to be omitted.

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION--Commemorating African-American History Month.

Whereas, African-American History Month will be celebrated in Nevada throughout the month of February; and
Whereas, Although African-Americans have made significant contributions to the history of Nevada, little significant study has been accomplished in the area of western African-American history, especially in Nevada; and
Whereas, Nevadans will have more of an opportunity to become aware of the African-American influence on the history of Nevada during this month than ever before; and
Whereas, African-Americans participated in the exploration and settlement of the Utah Territory in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and among the African-American explorers and settlers of Nevada were miners, mountain men, cowboys, ranchers, physicians and artists; and
Whereas, When the West was first settled, African-Americans, although legally free and legally citizens, were nevertheless effectively disenfranchised throughout many states and subjected to various types of discrimination and segregation, legal and extralegal, throughout most of the other states; and
Whereas, The small but active population of African-American settlers in Northern Nevada included Benjamin Palmer, who purchased his freedom from slavery and moved to the Carson Valley to become a successful cattle rancher on his 400 acres, and James P. Beckwourth, who operated a ranch in the Sierra Valley and after whom a mountain pass north of Reno is named; and
Whereas, The McWilliams and Clark townsites in Southern Nevada were settled in 1905 by a number of African-American residents, including railroad employees, ranchers and numerous business owners; and
Whereas, African-Americans in this state have a long and active history of protesting against racial prejudice and social injustice through writing, community organization and oration and have had among their leaders people such as the Reverend Bill Stevens of Las Vegas, who, in the 1940's, went daily to restaurants that discriminated against African-Americans to attempt to order a meal or a cup of coffee, and Alice Smith, who founded the Reno-Sparks branch of the NAACP in 1945 and organized many religious and community activities throughout her life; and
Whereas, History demonstrates that the African-American residents of Nevada have maintained a solid social, religious and cultural identity while aggressively asserting rights to legal and educational equality; and
Whereas, While much more should be done to acknowledge the importance of minorities in both the history and the future of this state, our recognition and observance of African-American History Month is a step in that direction; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of Nevada, the Assembly Concurring, That African-American History Month be celebrated throughout Nevada during the month of February; and be it further
Resolved, That the residents of this state join in this observance and celebration of the history of African-Americans in the United States and especially in Nevada.