Harris, Booker Introduce Resolution Designating June as African American Music Appreciation Month

Statement

U.S. Senators Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) on Tuesday introduced a resolution honoring the contributions of African Americans to America's musical heritage. The resolution also calls for greater access to music education for African American students, who received the lowest scores of all ethnicities on the most recent National Assessment for Educational Progress arts assessment. Another recent Department of Education study found that only seven percent of music teacher licensure candidates were African American.

The resolution is also co-sponsored by Senators Doug Jones (D-AL), Tom Carper (D-DE), Chris Coons (D-DE), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

An excerpt from the resolution follows:

"The Senate recognizes the contributions of African Americans to the musical heritage of the United States; the wide array of talented and popular African-American musical artists, composers, song-writers, and musicians who are underrecognized for contributions to music; the achievements, talent, and hard work of African-American pioneer artists, and the obstacles that those artists overcame to gain recognition; the need for African-American students to have greater access to and participation in music education in schools across the United States; and Black History Month and African-American Music Appreciation Month as an important time to celebrate the impact of the African- American musical heritage on the musical heritage of the United States; and to encourage greater access to music education so that the next generation may continue to greatly contribute to the musical heritage of the United States."

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