PRINTER'S NO. 4306
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
980
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY SAPPEY, HILL-EVANS, SHUSTERMAN, MADDEN, HENNESSEY,
YOUNGBLOOD, MURT, WILLIAMS, GALLOWAY, PASHINSKI, MENTZER,
HOWARD, SONNEY, SCHLEGEL CULVER, KINSEY, SANCHEZ, DeLUCA,
KIM, McCLINTON, HEFFLEY, WEBSTER, JONES, HOHENSTEIN, TOEPEL,
CIRESI, LONGIETTI, HARRIS, ROZZI, ROEBUCK, T. DAVIS,
DRISCOLL, THOMAS, BROOKS, DONATUCCI, SAMUELSON, NEILSON,
ZABEL, READSHAW, GREEN AND KIRKLAND, AUGUST 28, 2020
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
AUGUST 28, 2020
A RESOLUTION
Designating the month of September 2020 as "International
Underground Railroad Month" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania was a strategic and historic location
of freedom through the Underground Railroad; and
WHEREAS, Thousands of men and women risked their own freedom
to help freedom seekers escape bondage; and
WHEREAS, People such as Basil Biggs, Thomas and Frances
Scroggins Brown, Lucinda Bryant, Charles C. Burleigh, Martin R.
Delany, Robert Douglass, Jr., James Forten, William C.
Goodridge, Francis Ellen Watkins Harper, Dr. Francis J. LeMoyne,
Lucretia Mott, William Nesbit, William Parker, John Peck, Robert
Purvis, Sarah Forten Purvis, Dr. William Rutherford, Abraham
Shadd, Stephen Smith, Thaddeus Stevens, William Still, John
Vashon, Albert Vosburgh, William Whipper, John Greenleaf
Whittier, Lewis Woodson and others devoted their lives to this
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cause; and
WHEREAS, The American Anti-Slavery Society was an interracial
organization dedicated to the entire abolition of slavery in the
United States; and
WHEREAS, The American Anti-Slavery Society was founded in
Philadelphia in 1833; and
WHEREAS, In 1851, freedom seekers and abolitionists defended
freedom at Christiana in Lancaster County; and
WHEREAS, In 1838, when Black men were deprived of their
established right to vote in this Commonwealth, African
Americans in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and their allies in the
General Assembly advocated for the restoration of
enfranchisement 32 years before the ratification of the 15th
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States restored
voting rights, thus showing that Pennsylvanians valued and
advocated for civil and human rights; and
WHEREAS, The Underground Railroad traced across Pennsylvania
with lecturers and a series of safe houses, agents, conductors
and stations, in a clandestine network that helped freedom
seekers realize freedom in Pennsylvania and elsewhere; and
WHEREAS, This Commonwealth should show appreciation for the
inspiring efforts of the people of Pennsylvania and all those
from around the world who have committed themselves to document
and share the Underground Railroad through the Pennsylvania
Civil War Sesquicentennial and Quest for Freedom programs that
connected Underground Railroad sites across this Commonwealth,
the National Park Service's National Underground Railroad
Network to Freedom program that lists 51 sites and centers in
Pennsylvania, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization's Sites of Memory designations; and
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WHEREAS, Commonwealth agencies, institutions and
organizations such as the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
Commission, Department of Community and Economic Development,
and the 14 Frederick Douglass Institutes across the Pennsylvania
State System of Higher Education continue to educate young
people about Pennsylvania's role and leadership; and
WHEREAS, "International Underground Railroad Month" provides
an opportunity for worldwide open dialogue that illuminates the
hopes that arise from freedom for all people; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
month of September 2020 as "International Underground Railroad
Month" in Pennsylvania; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor all those
who have fought and continue to fight for the freedom of all
peoples.
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