RESOLUTION NO. 220040

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Designating January 13, 2022, through March 1, 2022, to observe and celebrate achievements of African Americans and recognizing Black History Month. 

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WHEREAS, in February 1926, Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson announced the first Negro History Week because the month contained the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass--two prominent men whose historic achievements African Americans already celebrated; and

WHEREAS, on January 20, 1986, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was first celebrated as a federal holiday twenty- years after introduced for observation; and

WHEREAS, the African American Support Success and Encouragement Team (ASSET), an Employee Resource Group within the City of Kansas City, Missouri has joined these two celebratory periods by declaring January 13, 2022, through March 1, 2022 as a time of enlightenment and celebration; and

WHEREAS, to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Day and Black History Month, ASSET will host Black Health and Wellness events, including a hybrid of virtual and live Lunch & Learn sessions featuring local experts speaking on relative topics; and

WHEREAS, the sessions will culminate with a “Day O” Celebration saluting the city workforce and their heroic commitment to city service.  The keynote speaker is trailblazing Dr. Anne Lambert Johnson at the Robert J. Mohart Multipurpose FOCUS Center.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:

That the Mayor and Council hereby declare January 13, 2022 through March 1, 2022, as the time period to observe the achievements of local African Americans and Black History Month.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Resolution be spread upon the Minutes of the Council in testimony thereof and that a copy hereof be presented to Robert Woods, Chairman of the African American Support Success and Encouragement Team

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