Thurgood Marshall Attorney, Civil Rights Activist   1^st African American United States Supreme Court Justice

Hattie McDaniel Actor, Singer-Songwriter, Comedian    1^st Black woman to sing on the radio in the United States      1^st Black actor to be nominated for, and win, an Oscar

Barack Obama Attorney, Community Organizer, Politician    1^st African American to be President of Harvard Law Review     1^t Black President of the United States of America

Debi Thomas Figure Skater, Physician    1^st African American to hold U.S. National titles in ladies’ singles figure skating   1^st Black athlete to win any medal in the Winter Olympics

Tuskegee Airmen  1^st African American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces

Doug Williams  Football Player, Executive, and Coach     1^st Black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl

WHEREAS, the colorful tapestry that is American Black History is interwoven with extraordinary works of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), with nine (9) in the State of Texas alone, and civil rights organizations and the bravery of the Little Rock 9, the Greensboro Sit-Ins, and the Selma to Montgomery Marches while interspersed with horrific actions thrust upon it, like the Tulsa Race Massacre, the 16^th Street Baptist church bombing, lynchings, assassinations, and America’s original sin, slavery, which this country, this state, and this county are still struggling with today; and

WHEREAS, Black lives, stories, ideas, art, and voices are an integral part of the breadth of the American Experience; and

WHEREAS, Texas Black History can be traced back to 1528 when people of African descent, enslaved and free, were instrumental in the settlement of Spanish Texas;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, for the first time in its own history, that the Williamson County Commissioners Court proclaim February 2021 Black History Month in Williamson County.