BySenators Nobles, Liias, Nguyen, Saldaña, Valdez, Hasegawa, Shewmake, Salomon, J. Wilson, Lovelett, Dhingra, Stanford, Keiser, Wellman, Hunt, Kuderer, Pedersen, Frame, Robinson, Rivers, Billig, Boehnke, Lovick, Wagoner, Mullet, Kauffman, Holy, Trudeau, Hansen, Cleveland, C. Wilson, Van De Wege, Muzzall, and Warnick

WHEREAS, Carter G. Woodson and Jesse E. Moorland founded the organization, Study of Negro Life and History, dedicating the association to research and promote achievements by Black people; and

WHEREAS, It was the organization, Study of Negro Life and History, that sponsored the Negro History Week in 1926; to honor the achievements and lives of Black people; and

WHEREAS, In 1976, the Negro History Week evolved into the Black History Month to honor the contributions and accomplishments of Black people in every area of endeavor in our history; and

WHEREAS, It was Carter G. Woodson's hope that by celebrating this month we could celebrate heroic Black figures, whether they were inventors, soldiers, or entertainers, to preserve Black history; and

WHEREAS, Martha Jones became the first Black woman to receive a patent for her application for "Improvement to the Corn Husker Sheller" in 1868, just three years after the passage of the 13th Amendment; and

WHEREAS, Ida B. Wells, an activist and investigative journalist who documented and reported the horrors of lynching post-Civil War, she was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Wells was a civil rights pioneer and she did not allow herself to be silenced, even though she faced threats, lost property, and endured criticism; and

WHEREAS, At the tender age of six, Ruby Bridges advanced the cause of civil rights in 1960 when she became the first Black student to integrate elementary school in the American South; she then went on to graduate from a desegregated high school, became a traveler, married, and had four sons, Bridges was a lifelong activist for racial equity, and in 1999, Bridges established the Ruby Bridges Foundation to promote tolerance and create change through education; and

WHEREAS, Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968, where she worked on the Education and Labor Committee and helped form the Black Caucus, and she made history again in 1972 when she became the first Black woman of a major party to run for a presidential nomination; and

WHEREAS, Nina Simone was one of the most extraordinary artists of the twentieth century and an icon of American music; Simone was a singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist who spoke out about the Black freedom struggle, her albums covered a wide range of styles and included both politically motivated songs and reimaginations of popular songs; and

WHEREAS, Audre Lorde, who said, "while we wait in silence for that final luxury of fearlessness, the weight of that silence will choke us," used her writing to shine a light on her experiences as a Black lesbian, a mother, and person battling cancer, she was one of the founding members of the Sisterhood in Support of Sisters in South Africa who advocated on behalf of women living under the Apartheid; and

WHEREAS, Mae Jemison entered orbit aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in 1992, becoming the first Black woman in space, where she orbited Earth 127 times, she also trained as a medical doctor and engineer who frequently speaks to students and encourages women and people of the global majority to enter math and science; and

WHEREAS, In 1993, Rosa Franklin was the first Black woman to serve as a Washington State Senator, winning reelection three times; during her term, she established the Governor's Interagency Council on Health Disparities and the Washington Housing Policy Act, from being a nurse and volunteer to a long-time politician, Franklin has been deeply involved in service and community work;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That this Black History Month, we honor and celebrate Black people's contributions to our state and country; let us remember how far we have come and that the work continues.