,,iv  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #ead  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,march #ab1 #bjad   
,mr4 ,jeffries 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,eddie
 ,bernice ,johnson of ,texas1 ,ms4      
,kelly of ,illinois1 ,ms4 ,lee of       
,california1 ,mr4 ,richmond1 ,ms4       
,clarke of ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,rangel1    
,ms4 ,fudge1 ,mr4 ,rush1 ,mr4 ,conyers1 
,mr4 ,scott of ,virginia1 ,mr4 ,nadler1 
,mr4 ,israel1 ,mr4 ,crowley1 ,mr4 ,sean 
,patrick ,maloney of ,new ,york1 ,mr4   
,tonko1 ,ms4 ,slaughter1 ,mr4 ,owens1   
and ,mr4 ,meeks7 submitted the following
 resolution2 which was referred to the  
,committee on the ,judiciary            
,,resolution  ,honoring ,thomas         
,jennings of ,new ,york ,city as the    
first ,african-,american to be granted a
 patent by the ,united ,states4         
,whereas ,thomas ,jennings was born a   
free ,african-,american in ,new ,york   
,city in #agia and became a successful  
tailor with a shop on ,church ,street in
 ,new ,york ,city2 ,whereas ,thomas     

,jennings invented a cleaning process   
called dry scouring1 which was the      
precursor to dry cleaning2 ,whereas1 on 
,march #c1 #ahba1 ,thomas ,jennings     
became the first ,african-,american to  
be granted a patent by the ,united      
,states for his cleaning process2       
,whereas1 before the ,civil ,war1 patent
 laws made it significantly hard1 if not
 impossible1 for slaves to hold a       
patent1 but ,thomas ,jennings was able  
to obtain a patent because of his free  
status2 and ,whereas ,thomas ,jennings  
utilized the earnings from his invention
 and business to help advance civil     
rights for ,african-,americans and to   
advocate for the abolition of slavery3  
,now1 therefore1 be it  ,that the ,house
 of ,representatives--  7#a7 honors     
,thomas ,jennings as the first          
,african-,american to be granted a      
patent by the ,united ,states ,patent   
and ,trademark ,office2  7#b7 commends  
,thomas ,jennings for his economic      
contributions to the ,united ,states    

through use of the patent system2 and   
7#c7 acknowledges that ,thomas          
,jennings' inventive contributions      
encourage ,americans to continue a      
legacy of innovation in the fields of   
science1 technoloy1 engineering1 and    
math4