Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
5 <br /> Shameka Fairbanks, Chief Equity Officer, reviewed the background information for the <br /> item. <br /> Commissioner Richards, Commissioner Hamilton, and Commissioner Portie-Ascott read <br /> the following proclamation in turn: <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> BLACK HISTORY MONTH PROCLAMATION <br /> WHEREAS, it is essential to sustain a harmonious and inclusive society, Orange County <br /> discourage practices and actions deemed detrimental to the peace, welfare, and progress of our <br /> community; and <br /> WHEREAS, Orange County is home to Black Americans who descend from formerly enslaved <br /> peoples who were victims of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, captured and transported from the <br /> continent of Africa to the Americas where they were sold as property and endured brutal <br /> treatment while being forced to build and develop new lands which includes a country that they <br /> would have to fight to belong to; surviving more than 400 years of subjugation and oppression, <br /> all the while becoming a new and unique group whose lineage predates the founding of the <br /> United States of America; participants in every war fought to defend and protect this nation, even <br /> from itself, Black Americans hold a special place in the foundation of our country and continue <br /> to be the standard bearers of freedom and democracy despite the ever present residue and <br /> persistent ramifications associated with America's original sin of slavery; Black Americans <br /> worked and fought to improve their lives while facing down overt and systemic racism as well as <br /> racial violence and terror; Black Americans have, and continue to contribute to the nation's, and <br /> our community's social, economic, political, spiritual, and mental prosperity; and <br /> WHEREAS, Black Americans represent a diverse group of respected residents of this country <br /> and the Orange County community; and their contributions of humanitarian knowledge, <br /> technological and societal innovations are vital components of the cultural fabric of our County, <br /> nation and world; and <br /> WHEREAS, Black American experiences and unrelenting resilience inspire people in Orange <br /> County and around the world, we recognize a collective struggle for equality and inclusiveness <br /> now and into the future until our shared humanity is acknowledged and celebrated; and <br /> WHEREAS, every American recognizes the need for protest and the defying of cultural norms, <br /> practices, laws and systems that are unjust, oppressive, and exclusionary; we celebrate this <br /> year's Black History Month theme of"African Americans and the Arts"; <br /> NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Board of County Commissioners of Orange County, do proclaim <br /> February 2024 as "BLACK HISTORY MONTH" and encourage our residents to honor this <br /> distinctive month by becoming more enlightened as to the true history of Black Americans in this <br /> Country and in our community. <br />