September 19, 2019 (Anchorage, AK) – At a signing ceremony held today at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Living Memorial in Anchorage, Alaska Governor Michael J. Dunleavy signed into law Senate Bill 40 establishing the month of February each year as Black History Month in Alaska.  SB 40, sponsored by Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson, honors and recognizes the contributions that African Americans have made in Alaska and the United States.
“We become a greater country and a greater state when we recognize all of our cultures, all of our races, all of our ancestry and their contributions to history—because if you don’t do that, you have a big hole in history. With the bill that Senator Gray-Jackson carried, with the help of Representative Story and others that supported this bill, we come close to the closing of those gaps in history and our understanding of each other. This is what is going to help make us a better country and a better state,” said Governor Dunleavy at today’s SB 40 bill signing ceremony. “SB 40, will now become law—we won’t just be talking about it. It will be something that is part of our own fabric here in the state of Alaska, and quite honestly, it should be. There is no higher cause than honoring the contributions of all Alaskans, all Americans, to this great state. Every February, Alaska will now celebrate Black History Month.”
Senate Bill 40 passed the Alaska State Legislature in May 2019. Click here for more information.
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