Florida Senate - 2017                       CS for CS for SM 572
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Rules; and Commerce and Tourism; and
       Senators Campbell and Rodriguez
       
       
       
       
       595-03521-17                                           2017572c2
    1                           Senate Memorial                         
    2         A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
    3         urging Congress to recognize January 1 as “Haitian
    4         Independence Day,” the month of May as “Haitian
    5         Heritage Month” and “Haitian American Heritage Month,”
    6         May 18 as “Haitian Flag Day,” and the month of June as
    7         “Caribbean American Heritage Month.”
    8  
    9         WHEREAS, the United States of America has thrived as a
   10  country of immigrants, united by common values and the promise
   11  of a better tomorrow, and
   12         WHEREAS, the Republic of Haiti, an island nation located in
   13  the West Indies on the western third of the Island of
   14  Hispaniola, declared its independence from French colonial rule
   15  on January 1, 1804, following a slave revolt under the
   16  leadership of Generals Toussaint L’Ouverture, Jean-Jacques
   17  Dessalines, and Alexandre Pétion, becoming the first and only
   18  nation created from a successful slave rebellion, and
   19         WHEREAS, Haiti was the first independent nation in Latin
   20  America and the first postcolonial independent nation led by
   21  blacks in the world, and
   22         WHEREAS, as educators, authors, community leaders,
   23  activists, athletes, artists, musicians, and politicians,
   24  Haitian Americans have made their mark in every facet of society
   25  and have contributed to the betterment and diversity of this
   26  nation, and
   27         WHEREAS, the close proximity of Haiti to American shores,
   28  in conjunction with our common bond of mutual values and
   29  commitment to democracy, ensures lasting comity of nations and
   30  continued trade and diplomatic relations, and
   31         WHEREAS, an estimated 1.5 million persons of Haitian
   32  descent now live throughout this nation, and
   33         WHEREAS, the United States and Haiti share a history of
   34  freedom, a common belief in human rights, and diverse, complex,
   35  and resilient peoples who have impacted the world through
   36  vibrant cultures, democracy, and a wealth of talent and
   37  achievement, and
   38         WHEREAS, Haitian Independence Day is globally acknowledged
   39  and annually celebrated on January 1 as an affirmation of
   40  equality, freedom, and the abolition of slavery, and
   41         WHEREAS, Haitian Heritage Month is a jubilant celebration
   42  in the United States, embracing Haitian heritage and culture,
   43  and
   44         WHEREAS, first celebrated in Boston, Massachusetts, in
   45  1998, Haitian Heritage Month is observed nationwide in the month
   46  of May from Florida to New York with parades, festivals, and
   47  school activities, and
   48         WHEREAS, the importance of Haitian Heritage Month is
   49  exemplified by South Florida Congressman Kendrick B. Meek’s
   50  introduction of bills in the United States House of
   51  Representatives in 2004 and 2006 to recognize the month of May
   52  as Haitian Heritage Month; by a letter from former President
   53  George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, sent in May 2005,
   54  which congratulated the Haitian-American community on the
   55  occasion of the heritage month; and by the organization of a
   56  celebration at the White House that same year, and
   57         WHEREAS, Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson and Congressman
   58  Kendrick B. Meek, having acknowledged the importance of Haitian
   59  Americans in this nation’s history and diversity, have proposed
   60  resolutions in the United States House of Representatives to
   61  recognize the month of May as “Haitian American Heritage Month”
   62  in the United States, and
   63         WHEREAS, Haitian American Heritage Month is held to salute
   64  the Haitian and Haitian American communities and to exhibit
   65  appreciation for their culture and heritage, which have
   66  immeasurably enriched the lives of the people of this nation,
   67  and
   68         WHEREAS, the Haitian flag known today, a variant of which
   69  first came into use in 1806, is emblazoned with the country’s
   70  coat of arms and the colors red and blue, adopted from the flag
   71  of France, the country from which Haiti gained its independence,
   72  and
   73         WHEREAS, General Jean-Jacques Dessalines is regarded as the
   74  father of the Haitian flag, known to have dramatically cut the
   75  French tricolor with his saber at the May 1803 Congress of
   76  Arcahaie, ripping away the white of the French flag to symbolize
   77  an end to European influence and leaving two strips that
   78  Catherine Flon then sewed back together: the blue, which
   79  represented the former African slaves brought to Haiti by
   80  colonial powers, and the red, which symbolized a people of mixed
   81  ancestry, and
   82         WHEREAS, the Haitian flag is a definitive symbol of pride
   83  for the Caribbean nation, having become the second republic,
   84  after the United States, to defeat a European colonial power in
   85  the Americas, and
   86         WHEREAS, Haitian Flag Day events are annually observed and
   87  celebrated with pride and enthusiasm throughout the United
   88  States, and
   89         WHEREAS, from a region that conjures images of a scenic
   90  paradise, Caribbean Americans are as vibrant as the islands from
   91  which they come, possessing a wealth of talent and history that
   92  reverberates throughout this great state and nation, and
   93         WHEREAS, emigration from the Caribbean region to the
   94  American colonies began as early as 1619, with the arrival of
   95  indentured workers in Jamestown, Virginia, and since 1820,
   96  millions of people have emigrated from the Caribbean region to
   97  the United States, and
   98         WHEREAS, as educators, authors, community leaders and
   99  activists, musicians, and politicians, Caribbean Americans have
  100  made their mark on every facet of our society and have
  101  contributed to the betterment and diversity of our state and
  102  nation, and
  103         WHEREAS, counted among the many famous sons and daughters
  104  of the Caribbean are activist W. E. B. Du Bois; Secretary of the
  105  Treasury Alexander Hamilton; the first African American
  106  Secretary of State, Colin Powell; actress Cicely Tyson; actor
  107  Sidney Poitier, the first African American actor to receive the
  108  Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role; author, poet,
  109  and civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson; musician, actor,
  110  and activist Harry Belafonte; athlete Roberto Clemente, the
  111  first Latino inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame;
  112  and numerous others who have displayed great strength and
  113  resiliency while serving as pioneers among the people of the
  114  Caribbean, and
  115         WHEREAS, the modern political influences of Caribbean
  116  Americans are evident in the election of a former member of the
  117  Florida House of Representatives, Jennifer Carroll of Trinidad
  118  and Tobago, as Florida’s first Caribbean American Lieutenant
  119  Governor; the election of former Maryland Lieutenant Governor
  120  Anthony G. Brown, who is of Jamaican descent; and the continued
  121  representation in local, state, and national governments by
  122  members from the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Haiti, Jamaica,
  123  and other Caribbean nations, and
  124         WHEREAS, in June 2005, the United States House of
  125  Representatives unanimously adopted a concurrent resolution
  126  recognizing the significance of Caribbean people and their
  127  descendants in the history and culture of the United States and
  128  observing the month of June as “Caribbean American Heritage
  129  Month,” and
  130         WHEREAS, on February 14, 2006, the United States Senate
  131  unanimously passed the resolution, culminating a two-year
  132  bicameral effort, and
  133         WHEREAS, since the passage of the resolution in 2005, the
  134  White House has issued an annual proclamation recognizing June
  135  as “Caribbean American Heritage Month,” exemplifying the
  136  importance of this observance across the nation, NOW, THEREFORE,
  137  
  138  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
  139  
  140         That the Congress of the United States is urged to
  141  recognize January 1 as “Haitian Independence Day,” the month of
  142  May as “Haitian Heritage Month” and “Haitian American Heritage
  143  Month,” May 18 as “Haitian Flag Day,” and the month of June as
  144  “Caribbean American Heritage Month.”
  145         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State is
  146  directed to dispatch copies of this memorial to the President of
  147  the United States, to the President of the United States Senate,
  148  to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,
  149  and to each member of the Florida delegation to the United
  150  States Congress.