SENATE RESOLUTION 779--RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF BLACK PEOPLE TO THE MUSICAL HERITAGE OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE NEED FOR GREATER ACCESS TO MUSIC EDUCATION FOR BLACK STUDENTS AND...

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Record: Senate Floor
Section type: Recognition
Chamber: Senate
Date: June 18, 2026
Congress: 119th Congress
Why this source matters: This section came from the Senate floor portion of the record.

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Bills and resolutions: S.Res. 779 (119th Congress)
Committees: Committee on the Judiciary

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SENATE RESOLUTION 779—RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF BLACK PEOPLE TO

The Musical Heritage Of The United States And The Need For Greater

ACCESS TO MUSIC EDUCATION FOR BLACK STUDENTS AND DESIGNATING JUNE 2026

AS “BLACK MUSIC MONTH”

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Van Hollen, and Ms. Klobuchar) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

S. Res. 779

Whereas spirituals, ragtime, blues, jazz, gospel, classical

composition, and countless other categories of music have

been created or enhanced by Black people and are etched into

the history and culture of the United States;

Whereas the first Africans transported to the United States

came from a variety of ethnic groups with a long history of

distinct and cultivated musical traditions, brought musical

instruments with them, and built new musical instruments in

the United States;

Whereas spirituals were a distinct response to the

conditions of slavery in the United States and expressed the

longing of the enslaved for spiritual and bodily freedom, for

safety from harm and evil, and for relief from the hardships

of slavery;

Whereas jazz, arguably the most creative and complex music

that the United States has produced, combines the musical

traditions of Black people in New Orleans with the creative

flexibility of blues music;

Whereas masterful trumpeters Louis Armstrong and Miles

Davis achieved national and international recognition with

the success of “West End Blues” by Louis Armstrong in the

1920s and “So What” by Miles Davis in the late 1950s;

Whereas Thomas Dorsey, the “Father of Gospel Music”, used

his composing talents to merge sacred and secular styles that

created a revolution in music;

Whereas talented jazz pianist and vocalist Nat King Cole

recorded more than 150 singles and sold more than 50,000,000

records;

Whereas the talent of Ella Fitzgerald, a winner of 13

Grammy Awards, is epitomized by a rendition of

“Summertime”, a bluesy record accompanied by melodic

vocals;

Whereas Natalie Cole, the daughter of Nat King Cole,

achieved musical success in the mid-1970s as a rhythm and

blues artist with the hits “This Will Be” and

“Unforgettable”;

Whereas, in the 1940s, bebop evolved through jam sessions,

which included trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and alto saxophonist

Charlie Parker, held at clubs in Harlem, New York, such as

Minton's Playhouse;

Whereas earlier classical singers such as Elizabeth Taylor

Greenfield, one of the first widely known Black vocalists,

and other early Black singing pioneers, including Nellie

Mitchell Brown, Marie Selika Williams, Rachel Walker Turner,

Marian Anderson, and Flora Batson Bergen, paved the way for

the female Black concert singers who have achieved great

popularity during the last 50 years;

Whereas the term “rhythm and blues” originated in the

late 1940s as a way to describe recordings marketed to Black

people and replaced the term “race music”;

Whereas lyrical themes in rhythm and blues often

encapsulate the Black experience of pain, the quest for

freedom, joy, triumphs and failures, relationships,

economics, and aspiration and were popularized by artists

such as Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, Etta James, and Otis

Redding;

Whereas the musical virtuoso Reverend Richard Smallwood, a

composer and arranger of classical gospel music, continues to

inspire audiences and performers worldwide;

Whereas soul music originated in the Black community in the

late 1950s and early 1960s, combines elements of Black gospel

music, rhythm and blues, and jazz, and was popularized by

artists such as Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles,

Sam Cooke, Bill Withers, and Jackie Wilson;

Whereas Motown, founded as a record label in 1959, evolved

into a distinctive style known for the “Motown Sound”, a

blend of pop and soul musical stylings made popular by

prominent Black artists such as Marvin Gaye, James Mason, and

Mary Wells;

Whereas go-go, developed by Black musicians in the mid-

1960s and combining funk, soul, and Latin music, was

popularized by artists such as Chuck Brown and Rare Essence,

and is the “official music of Washington, DC”;

Whereas Harry Belafonte, a singer, actor, activist, and a

supporter and confidant of Martin Luther King, Jr.,

throughout the civil rights movement, influenced by his

Caribbean roots, popularized calypso music in the United

States;

Whereas, in the early 1970s, the musical style of disco

emerged and was popularized by programs such as Soul Train

and by artists such as Donna Summer;

Whereas reggae is a genre of music that originated in

Jamaica in the late 1960s and incorporates some of the

musical elements of rhythm and blues, jazz, mento, calypso,

and African music, and was popularized by artists such as Bob

Marley;

Whereas rock and roll was developed from Black musical

styles such as gospel and rhythm and blues and was

popularized by artists such as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley,

Little Richard, and Jimi Hendrix;

Whereas rap, arguably the most complex and influential form

of hip-hop culture, combines blues, jazz, and soul and

elements of the Black musical tradition with Caribbean

calypso, dub, and dance hall reggae;

Whereas the development and popularity of old-style rap

combined confident beats with wordplay and storytelling,

highlighting the struggle of Black youth growing up in

underresourced neighborhoods;

Whereas Dayton, Ohio, known as the “Land of Funk”, helped

give rise to the genre of funk as a mixture of soul, jazz,

and rhythm and blues and popularized bands such as the Ohio

Players, Heatwave, Roger and Zapp, and Lakeside;

Whereas contemporary rhythm and blues, which originated in

the late 1970s and combines elements of pop, rhythm and

blues, soul, funk, hip hop, gospel, and electronic dance

music, was popularized by artists such as Whitney Houston and

Aaliyah;

Whereas Prince Rogers Nelson, a Minnesota native, was a

one-of-a-kind artist who made “Purple Rain” a household

name, First Avenue a landmark, and brought international fame

to Minnesota's music scene;

Whereas the incredible Billie Holiday created a cultural

reset by recording “Strange Fruit”, originally a poem that

depicted lynching in the Southern United States, which became

the first protest song of the civil rights era;

Whereas the talented jazz artist Duke Ellington pushed

boundaries with his hits “It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't

Got That Swing” and “Sophisticated Lady” and received 13

Grammy Awards and the Presidential Gold Medal;

Whereas Sister Rosetta Tharpe, known as the “Godmother of

Rock 'n' Roll”, combined her distinctive guitar style with

melodic blues and traditional gospel music that influenced

the likes of Aretha Franklin and Chuck Berry;

Whereas Tina Turner, known as the “Queen of Rock 'n'

Roll”, stunned audiences with her powerful vocals, was the

first woman or Black musician to be featured on the cover of

Rolling Stone, and received 12 Grammy Awards during her

lifetime;

Whereas trailblazer Florence Price was the first noted

Black female composer to gain national status and the first

Black woman to have her composed work performed by a major

national symphony orchestra;

Whereas the classical singer Marian Anderson broke down

racial barriers by performing at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939

after being denied the opportunity to sing in front of an

integrated audience at the Daughters of the American

Revolution Constitution Hall in Washington, DC;

Whereas country music singer Charley Pride was inducted

into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000 and has had more

than 40 hits reach number 1 on the country charts;

Whereas Nina Simone, one of the most prominent and

extraordinary soul singers, has music spanning more than 4

decades that impacted generations with detailed storytelling;

Whereas musician Bobby McFerrin brought joy to audiences

everywhere with his smash hit “Don't Worry Be Happy”;

Whereas famous saxophone player John Coltrane made his

impact on genres like bebop, jazz, and rhythm and blues

through his work such as “A Love Supreme”;

Whereas David Jolicoeur, also known as Trugoy the Dove, was

a founding member of hip-hop groups De La Soul and Native

Tongues and used his passion for rap music to spread positive

messages within his community;

Whereas musical force Marvin Gaye used his versatility as

an artist to produce hits like “I Heard It Through the

Grapevine” and “Ain't No Mountain High Enough”;

Whereas Sylvia Robinson, a New Jersey native, was an

American singer, record producer, and founder of Sugar Hill

Records and is widely credited with launching the hip-hop

genre internationally;

Whereas New Jersey resident Q-Tip, also known as Kamaal

Fareed, along with his fellow members of A Tribe Called

Quest—Phife Dawg, Jarobi White, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad—

helped define uplifting and conscious hip-hop;

Whereas East Orange, New Jersey, native Whitney Houston,

one of the most recognizable voices in music, sold more than

220,000,000 records worldwide, making her one of the best-

selling artists of all time, and holds the Guinness World

Record as the most awarded female artist with more than 400

career awards.

Whereas Camden, New Jersey, native Leon Huff and his

longtime partner Kenny Gamble are Grammy-winning songwriters

and producers, who founded Philadelphia International Records

and produced more than 170 gold and platinum records for

artists such as Billy Paul, Lou Rawls, The O'Jays, Patti

LaBelle, and Phyllis Hyman;

Whereas Black Music Month was established 47 years ago by

songwriter and producer Kenny Gamble, broadcaster Dyana

Williams, and radio executive Ed Wright under the auspices of

the Black Music Association;

Whereas the National Museum of African American Music in

Nashville, Tennessee, serves as the official home of Black

Music Month and is dedicated to preserving and celebrating

the central role of Black music in American culture;

Whereas a recent study by the National Arts Education Data

Project found that 49 percent of all students attending

schools with a predominately African-American student

population do not participate in school music programs;

Whereas Black students scored the lowest of all ethnicities

in the most recent National Assessment for Educational

Progress arts assessment;

Whereas Black students often receive a music education that

does not reflect their own culture;

Whereas students who are eligible for the school lunch

program established under the Richard B. Russell National

School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) have significantly

lower scores on the music portion of the National Assessment

for Educational Progress arts assessment than students who

are ineligible for that program, which suggests that students

in low-income families are disadvantaged in the subject of

music;

Whereas a study found that—

(1) nearly \2/3\ of music ensemble students were White and

middle class, and only 15 percent of those students were

Black; and

(2) only 7 percent of music teacher licensure candidates

were Black; and

Whereas students of color face many barriers to accessing

music education and training, especially in large urban

public schools: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate—

(1) recognizes—

(A) the contributions of Black people to the musical

heritage of the United States;

(B) the wide array of talented and popular Black musical

artists, composers, songwriters, and musicians who are

underrecognized for contributions to music;

pioneer artists and the obstacles that those artists overcame

to gain recognition;

(D) the need for Black students to have greater access to,

and participation in, culturally relevant music programs in

schools across the United States; and

(E) Black History Month and Black Music Month as an

important time—

(i) to celebrate the impact of the Black musical heritage

on the musical heritage of the United States; and

(ii) 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; and

(2) designates June 2026 as “Black Music Month”.

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The Musical Heritage Of The United States And The Need For Greater

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