119-hr844

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 844 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 844

 To authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to eligible 
entities to carry out educational programs that include the history of 
peoples of African descent in the settling and founding of America, the 
 economic and political environments that led to the development, 
 institutionalization, and abolition of slavery and its impact on all 
 Americans, the exploration and expansion of America, impact on and 
 contributions to the development and enhancement of American life, 
United States history, literature, the economy, politics, body of laws, 
 and culture, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 January 31, 2025

 Mrs. Beatty (for herself, Ms. Adams, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Bishop, Ms. 
Bonamici, Ms. Brown, Mr. Carson, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. Castor of 
Florida, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Cleaver, 
 Mr. Clyburn, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Ms. 
 DeGette, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Evans of 
Pennsylvania, Mrs. Foushee, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Mr. Frost, Mr. 
Goldman of New York, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Grijalva, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. 
 Horsford, Mr. Ivey, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, 
Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Kennedy of New York, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. 
 Larsen of Washington, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Magaziner, Mrs. McBath, Mrs. 
 McIver, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Meng, Ms. Norton, Ms. Plaskett, 
Ms. Pressley, Ms. Sewell, Ms. Strickland, Mrs. Sykes, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. 
 Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. 
Underwood, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Waters, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Williams 
 of Georgia, and Ms. Wilson of Florida) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to eligible 
entities to carry out educational programs that include the history of 
peoples of African descent in the settling and founding of America, the 
 economic and political environments that led to the development, 
 institutionalization, and abolition of slavery and its impact on all 
 Americans, the exploration and expansion of America, impact on and 
 contributions to the development and enhancement of American life, 
United States history, literature, the economy, politics, body of laws, 
 and culture, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Black History is American History 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) Since before its founding, the United States of America 
 has benefited from and been enhanced by the integral role 
 African Americans have played in our country's history and 
 contributions to the world.

    (2) African-American history does not begin in the 
 Americas. It can be traced back to the great empires of West 
 Africa beginning in A.D. 790, which aided the establishment and 
 survival of colonies in America and the New World, generally, 
 and fought against European oppression.

    (3) African Americans have represented a significant 
 portion of the American population from nearly 20 percent at 
 the signing of the Declaration of Independence, almost all of 
 whom, if not all, were victims of the largest forced 
 deportations in recorded history, the transatlantic slave trade 
 and resulting African diaspora. It is estimated over 10,000,000 
 free Africans were enslaved between the mid-fifteenth and 
 nineteenth centuries during the diaspora.

    (4) Slavery was not abolished and African Americans not 
 acknowledged as American citizens until the mid-nineteenth 
 century, servitude did not abate their contributions to the 
 settlement, growth, and development of the United States, which 
 continued through Post-Reconstruction, Jim Crow, 
 industrialization, World Wars and conflicts, innovation and 
 inventiveness, constitutional progress, and every aspect of 
 American society.

    (5) During the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 
 1960s, civil rights leaders and activists championed the fight 
 for equal rights, including voting rights, for all African 
 Americans.

    (6) The seminal case of Brown v. Board of Education, 
 decided May 17, 1954, found that the decades-old policy of 
 separate but equal access to education was inherently unequal, 
 and the segregation of Black public-school students was no 
 longer the law of the land.

    (7) African Americans continue to fight discrimination, 
 structural racism, economic inequities, and benign and overt 
 omission of the integral role they played in our country's rise 
 to greatness.

    (8) A number of States have passed educational laws 
 requiring Black history be incorporated into the curricula of 
 all public schools.

    (9) Congress established the National Museum of African 
 American History and Culture in 2003 after decades of efforts 
 to promote and highlight the contributions of African 
 Americans, which serves as an indication of the national 
 importance of examining Black history. Since opening in 2016, 
 the museum has worked to educate the public on the American 
 story through the lens of African-American history and culture 
 and provide educators, parents, caregivers, and students with 
 tools and resources on the African-American experience, its 
 national impact, race, racism, and the importance of tolerance 
 and inclusivity.

    (10) According to a 2015 research study conducted by the 
 National Museum of African American History and Culture and 
 reported in Research into the State of African American History 
 and Culture in K-12 Public Schools, key findings indicated that 
 teachers considered Black history as influential in 
 understanding the complexity of United States history.

    (11) The importance of Black history is reflected in the 
 National Assessment of Educational Progress United States 
 History framework, from pre-colonization through contemporary 
 America.

    (12) The Federal Government, through support for 
 educational activities of national museums established under 
 Federal law, can assist teachers in efforts to incorporate 
 historically accurate instruction on the comprehensive history 
 of African Americans and students in their exploration of Black 
 history as an integral part of American history.

SEC. 3. AMERICAN HISTORY AND CIVICS EDUCATION.

    (a) Program Authorized.--

Section 2231

    (a) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6661

    (a) ) is amended--

    (1) in the matter preceding paragraph

    (1) , by inserting ``, 
 which shall include Black history,'' after ``American 
 history''; and

    (2) in paragraph

    (2) --
        (A) by inserting ``which shall include Black 
 history,'' after ``American history,''; and
        (B) by inserting ``, which shall include Black 
 history'' after ``traditional American history''.

    (b) Presidential and Congressional Academies for American History 
and Civics.--

Section 2232 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6662) is amended--

    (1) in subsection

    (a) --
        (A) in paragraph

    (1) , by inserting ``, which shall 
 include Black history,'' after ``American History''; 
 and
        (B) in paragraph

    (2) , by inserting ``, which shall 
 include Black history,'' after ``American History'';

    (2) in subsection
            (c) (1) , by inserting ``, which shall 
 include Black history,'' after ``American history'';

    (3) in subsection

    (e) --
        (A) in paragraph

    (1) --
            (i) by inserting ``, which shall include 
 Black history,'' after ``American history'';
            (ii) in subparagraph
        (A) --
            (I) by inserting ``, which shall 
 include Black history,'' after 
 ``teachers of American history''; and
            (II) by inserting ``, which shall 
 include Black history,'' after 
 ``subjects of American history''; and
            (iii) in subparagraph
        (B) , by inserting ``, 
 which shall include Black history,'' after 
 ``American history'';
        (B) in paragraph

    (2) , by inserting ``, which shall 
 include Black history,'' after ``American history''; 
 and
            (C) in paragraph

    (4) , by inserting ``, and with the 
 Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African 
 American History and Culture initiative providing 
 programs and resources for educators and students'' 
 after ``National Parks''; and

    (4) in subsection

    (f) --
        (A) by inserting ``, which shall include Black 
 history,'' after ``American history'';
        (B) in subparagraph
        (A) , by inserting ``, which 
 shall include Black history,'' after ``American 
 history''; and
            (C) in subparagraph
        (B) , by inserting ``, which 
 shall include Black history,'' after ``American 
 history''.
            (c) National Activities.--

Section 2233 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6663) is amended--

    (1) in subsection

    (a) , by inserting ``which shall include 
 Black history,'' after ``American history,''; and

    (2) in subsection

    (b) , by inserting ``which shall include 
 Black history,'' after ``American history,''.
            (d) National Assessment of Educational Progress.--

Section 303

    (b)

    (2)
            (D) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress 
Authorization Act (20 U.S.C. 9622

    (b)

    (2)
            (D) ) is amended by inserting 
``(which shall include Black history)'' after ``history,''.
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