04/04/2019 01:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS

                   SB  40-BLACK HISTORY MONTH                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
2:24:57 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR SHOWER announced  the consideration of SENATE  BILL NO. 40,                                                               
"An  Act establishing  the  month of  February  as Black  History                                                               
Month."                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:25:21 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  ELVI  GRAY-JACKSON,  Alaska State  Legislature,  Juneau,                                                               
sponsor  of  SB  40,  introduced   the  legislation  stating  the                                                               
following:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Alaska continues to face  monumental challenges. We all                                                                    
     recognize  that and  there  are  more important  issues                                                                    
     this   legislature  has   been  working   through  this                                                                    
     session. But, at the same  time we can't forget matters                                                                    
     that  recognize our  citizens within  the many  diverse                                                                    
     communities that exist throughout our state.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     Anchorage  happens  to  be  one  of  the  most  diverse                                                                    
     communities in  the nation.  When I  was growing  up in                                                                    
     New Jersey,  Black history was  not taught  in schools.                                                                    
     Fortunately,   it  is   now   and   our  children   are                                                                    
     discovering that  many household  and other  items were                                                                    
     invented by a Black person.  For example, Sarah Boone -                                                                    
     ironing board,  Richard Spikes - automatic  gear shift,                                                                    
     George  T Sampson  - clothes  drier, Alexander  Miles -                                                                    
     automatic elevator  doors, Alice  Parker -  gas heating                                                                    
     furnace, Dr. George Grant -  golf tee, Philip Downing -                                                                    
     mailbox,  Washington  Martin   -  modern  toilet,  Otis                                                                    
     Boykin  -  pacemaker,  George  Crumb  -  potato  chips,                                                                    
     Garrett Morgan - traffic light.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     In  January we  celebrated Dr.  Martin Luther  King Jr.                                                                    
     Day of  service. Dr. King  was my personal hero  and he                                                                    
     paved the way  for me to be here today,  serving in the                                                                    
     Alaska State Senate. There are  also many other African                                                                    
     American  leaders that  continue to  shape this  nation                                                                    
     and Alaska. One  of those leaders was  the late Senator                                                                    
     Bettye Davis. She devoted her  life to helping the poor                                                                    
     and  the  disenfranchised.  She was  a  staunch  public                                                                    
     health  advocate while  also  doing  everything in  her                                                                    
     power  to  develop  a strong  public  education  system                                                                    
     where everyone,  no matter your background,  would have                                                                    
     an opportunity to succeed. She  was awesome and she was                                                                    
     someone we all knew and  respected. For me to follow in                                                                    
     the legacy of the late  Senator Bettye Davis, the first                                                                    
     African American  woman to serve  in the Senate,  it is                                                                    
     truly an honor.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     Mr. Chairman and members of  the committee, please join                                                                    
     me in  recognizing the many accomplishments  of African                                                                    
     Americans throughout  Alaska by enshrining  in statute,                                                                    
     Black History Month.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:27:44 PM                                                                                                                    
JAYDEN  HODGSON,  Intern,   Senator  Grey-Jackson,  Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature,  Juneau,   stated  that   Black  History   Month  is                                                               
currently  recognized by  resolution,  not state  statute. SB  40                                                               
would change  that. Nationally, February  has been  celebrated as                                                               
Black History Month since 1976. He noted the zero fiscal note.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:28:55 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  COGHILL asked  the  sponsor  if she  sees  any value  in                                                               
continuing  to introduce  a resolution  every year  to keep  more                                                               
attention on  the topic. He warned  that once this is  in statute                                                               
it might be largely forgotten.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MS.  GREY-JACKSON replied  she brought  a resolution  forward for                                                               
Black  History Month  each  of  the nine  years  she  was on  the                                                               
Anchorage  Assembly and  she decided  that if  she ever  became a                                                               
legislator,  she would  introduce a  bill  to place  it in  state                                                               
statute. She  noted that in  Anchorage there  is a full  month of                                                               
activities  that  recognize  Black  History  Month  and  she  can                                                               
guarantee the month will be  similarly recognized if this becomes                                                               
statute.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  COGHILL  commented  that  your  tenacity  will  probably                                                               
prevail.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:30:47 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR KAWASAKI asked  if the month is  recognized nationally as                                                               
African American Heritage Month or Black History Month.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR. HODGSON related his understanding  that the annual observance                                                               
is called Black History Month.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SHOWER  said he does  not oppose  the bill but  he's always                                                               
cautious about  anything that could  serve to divide  people. But                                                               
celebrating  the history  of what  a culture  has brought  to the                                                               
overall culture is  a different matter. He related  that he looks                                                               
at  everyone as  American first  and  everything else  is just  a                                                               
qualifier.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  GREY-JACKSON  said  she  agrees but  the  fact  is  that                                                               
everyone has not always been the same.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SHOWER said  he understands racism and he  realizes that it                                                               
exists  worldwide, but  he is  cognizant  of trying  to keep  the                                                               
nation united.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:33:58 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR SHOWER opened public testimony on SB 40.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:34:13 PM                                                                                                                    
CELESTE  HODGE  GROUWDEN,  representing self,  Anchorage,  stated                                                               
that she has served as the  president of NAACP for about a decade                                                               
and  most  recently as  the  president  of the  Shiloh  Community                                                               
Development   Inc.   (SCDI).   It  is   a   501(c)(3)   nonprofit                                                               
organization   that   empowers   youth,   minorities,   and   the                                                               
disadvantaged  to improve  lives. Their  goal is  to enhance  the                                                               
quality of life  of the less fortunate  by providing transitional                                                               
assistance,  economic and  educational opportunities,  job search                                                               
support, health education, prevention  and wellness programs, and                                                               
youth  mentorships. The  major  emphasis of  SCDI  is to  develop                                                               
programs for  this population. She  highlighted that  in February                                                               
in celebration of Black History  Month. Through community support                                                               
they raised  enough money to  pay for the day-long  program. SCDI                                                               
also  received a  $10,000 grant  to support  their media  justice                                                               
project that is designed to  communicate throughout the state the                                                               
contributions  of local  African Americans.  She emphasized  that                                                               
the vignettes  aired statewide throughout  the month  of February                                                               
and provided  learning experiences  about the  accomplishments of                                                               
10  African  American  individuals, including  the  late  Senator                                                               
Bettye Davis. She urged the passage of SB 40.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SHOWER  related the  conversations he  had with  several of                                                               
the  Tuskegee airmen  and commented  on the  divides some  people                                                               
have had to overcome.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
2:38:29 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR SHOWER found  no one else who wished to  comment and closed                                                               
public testimony on SB 40.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:38:40 PM                                                                                                                    
At ease                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:38:54 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  SHOWER   reconvened  the   meeting.  Finding   no  further                                                               
questions or discussion, he asked the will of the committee.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
2:39:01 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR COGHILL moved to report  SB 40, version A, from committee                                                               
with individual recommendations and no fiscal note.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
2:39:25 PM                                                                                                                    
At ease                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:39:46 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR SHOWER reconvened the meeting  and asked Senator Coghill to                                                               
restate the motion acknowledging the fiscal note.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR COGHILL moved to report  SB 40, version A, from committee                                                               
with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s).                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SHOWER  stated that  without objection,  SB 40  passed from                                                               
the Senate State Affairs Standing Committee.