,,iv #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,,res4 #cfi ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,september #cj1 #bjac,ms4 ,clarke 7for herself and ,ms4 ,bass7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform ,,resolution ,expressing the sense of the ,house of ,representatives that there should be established a ,national ,americans of ,african ,immigrant ,heritage ,month in ,september to celebrate the great contributions of ,americans of ,african immigrant heritage in the ,united ,states who have enriched the history of the ,nation4 ,whereas people of recent ,african immigrant heritage are found in every ,state of the ,union2 ,whereas the history of ,americans of ,african immigrant heritage in the ,united ,states is inextricably tied to the story of the ,nation2 ,whereas the community of ,americans of ,african immigrant heritage in the ,united ,states is an inherently diverse population comprised of more than #de distinct ethnicities and more than #ejj language dialects2 ,whereas ,americans of ,african immigrant heritage in the ,united ,states come from all regions in ,africa and do not constitute a homogeneous group1 including people from different national1 linguistic1 ethnic1 racial1 cultural1 and social backgrounds2 ,whereas ,americans of ,african immigrant heritage in the ,united ,states came to the ,united ,states voluntarily1 and are distinct from ,african-,americans1 the latter of whom are descendants of mostly ,west and ,central ,africans who were involuntarily brought to the ,united ,states by means of the historic ,atlantic slave trade2 ,whereas the month of ,september has been celebrated by the ,africans of ,montgomery ,county1 ,maryland1 since #bjjh1 because ,african ,union ,day is on ,september #ith2 ,whereas recent ,african immigrants have made significant contributions to ,american culture such as having high educational and income levels1 as well as contributing to many areas of ,american life such as the military1 health care1 arts1 education1 community service1 and public policy2 ,whereas raising awareness about ,african immigrant heritage is crucial to effectively fighting disparities within the greater ,black population in the ,american narrative and is essential to building a stronger community and a stronger ,america2 ,whereas during the #agth1 #ahth1 and #aith centuries1 a significant number of slaves from the ,africa region were brought to the ,united ,states2 ,whereas ,african immigrants from ,cape ,verde first came to the ,united ,states in the #agijs2 ,whereas the ,cape ,verdean immigrants arrived aboard ,new ,england whaling ships1 which would often pick up crewmen off the coast of ,cape ,verde in ,africa and their descendants include the legendary ,lena ,horne and sailors who fought in the ,union ,navy2 ,whereas in #aibb1 the ,united ,states ,government restricted the immigration of peoples of color1 greatly reducing ,cape ,verdean immigration2 ,whereas the new regulations also prevented ,cape ,verdean ,americans from visiting ,africa for fear of being denied re-entry into the ,united ,states2 ,whereas in the #aifjs to #aigjs1 due to the more racially inclusive regulations of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act of #aife1 more ,african immigrants from across the continent came to the ,united ,states primarily as students2 ,whereas in the #aihjs and #aiijs1 ,africans in the ,united ,states were primarily refugees1 who were fleeing hardships from countries such as ,ethiopia1 ,liberia1 ,sierra ,leone1 ,somalia1 and ,sudan2 ,whereas in the #bjjjs1 ,africans in the ,united ,states were largely beneficiaries of the highly popular ,department of ,state program known as the ,diversity ,visa ,lottery ,program2 ,whereas much like the ,united ,states1 the countries in ,africa faced obstacles of in-country slavery and colonialism and struggled for independence2 ,whereas the independence movements in many countries in ,africa during the #aifjs and the consequential establishment of independent democratic countries in ,africa strengthened ties between the region and the ,united ,states2 ,whereas there have been many influential ,americans of recent ,african immigrant heritage in the history of the ,united ,states in academia1 including ,jem ,spectar1 ,elfatih ,a4,b4 ,eltahir1 and ,ahmed ,zewail2 ,whereas there have been many achievements of ,americans of recent ,african immigrant descent in sports1 including ,betty ,okino1 ,yoakim ,noah1 ,hakeem ,olajuwon1 ,ndamukong ,suh1 ,luc ,mbah a ,mboute1 ,freddy ,adu1 and ,alfred ,aboya2 ,whereas there have been many achievements of ,americans of recent ,african immigrant descent in the arts1 entertainment1 and fashion1 including ,akon1 ,charlize ,theron1 ,dave ,matthews1 ,djimon ,hounsou1 ,karine ,plantadit1 ,idris ,elba1 ,wale1 ,anika ,noni ,ross1 ,iman1 ,kibonen ,nfi1 ,oluchi1 ,bertini ,wandja ,heumegni1 ,liya ,kebede1 ,be,be ,zahara ,benet1 and ,bertrand ,fote2 ,whereas there have been many achievements of ,americans of recent ,african immigrant descent in media1 including ,sade ,baderinwa1 ,yves ,bollanga1 ,lola ,ogunnaike1 ,pamela ,anchang1 ,celestin ,ngoa1 and ,omoyele ,sowore2 ,whereas there have been many achievements of ,americans of recent ,african immigrant descent who are successful entrepreneurs1 including ,jessica ,matthews1 ,kase ,lukman ,lawal1 ,christopher ,che1 ,elon ,musk1 and ,noah ,a4 ,samara2 ,whereas there have been many achievements of ,americans of recent ,african immigrant descent in government1 such as members of the ,montgomery ,county ,executive's ,african ,advisory ,group 7,,md71 ,washington1 ,,dc1 ,mayor's ,commission of ,african ,affairs1 the ,newark ,mayor's ,african ,commission 7,,nj71 the ,philadelphia ,mayor's ,african and ,caribbean ,commission 7,,pa71 the ,bronx ,borough ,president's ,african ,advisory ,council 7,,ny71 ,council ,member ,edoaurd ,haba1 and ,judge ,nina ,ashenafi ,richardson2 ,whereas there have been many achievements of ,americans of recent ,african immigrant descent as ,african immigrant activists1 including ,tsehaye ,teferra of ,ethiopian ,community and ,development ,center and ,sylvie ,bello of ,cameroon ,american ,council2 ,whereas ,americans of recent ,african immigrant heritage have played an active role in the civil rights movement and other social and political movements in the ,united ,states2 ,whereas the #ddth ,president of the ,united ,states1 ,barack ,hussein ,obama1 is of ,kenyan descent2 ,whereas the countries in ,africa are important economic partners of the ,united ,states2 ,whereas the people of ,africa share the hopes and aspirations of the people of the ,united ,states for peace and prosperity throughout the world1 but there remains much to be done to ensure that ,americans of recent ,african immigrant heritage have access to resources and a voice in the ,united ,states ,government and continue to advance in the political1 social1 and economic landscape of the ,united ,states2 and ,whereas celebrating ,national ,americans of ,african ,immigrant ,heritage ,month in ,september would provide the people of the ,united ,states with an opportunity to recognize the achievements1 contributions1 and history of and to appreciate the challenges faced by ,americans of recent ,african immigrant heritage3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that it is the sense of the ,house of ,representatives that-- 7#a7 a ,national ,americans of ,african ,immigrant ,heritage ,month should be established to celebrate the significant contributions of ,americans of recent ,african ,immigrant ,heritage to the history of the ,united ,states2 and 7#b7 the people of the ,united ,states should observe the month with appropriate ceremonies1 celebrations1 and activities to recognize that ,americans of recent ,african ,immigrant ,heritage enhance the rich diversity of and strengthen the ,united ,states4