Bill Text: CA SCR2 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Black April Memorial Month.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 60-19)
Status: (Passed) 2021-05-14 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 34, Statutes of 2021. [SCR2 Detail]
Download: California-2021-SCR2-Chaptered.html
Senate Concurrent Resolution
No. 2
CHAPTER 34
Relative to Black April Memorial Month.
[
Filed with
Secretary of State
May 14, 2021.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 2, Umberg.
Black April Memorial Month.
This measure would proclaim the month of April 2021 as Black April Memorial Month, a special time for Californians to remember the countless lives lost during the Vietnam War era, and to hope for more justice and liberty for the people of Vietnam.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee: NOBill Text
WHEREAS, April 30, 2021, marks the 46th year since the Fall of Saigon, on April 30, 1975, to communism; and
WHEREAS, For many Vietnam and Vietnam-era veterans who were directly involved in the war, and Vietnamese Americans who have settled in the United States, the Vietnam War was a tragedy full of great suffering and loss of American, Vietnamese, and Southeast Asian lives; and
WHEREAS, The combined United States and South Vietnamese fatalities among service people during the Vietnam War reached more than 300,000, with approximately 1,000,000 additional troops being wounded in combat. Millions of Vietnamese civilians suffered casualties and death as a result of the extended conflict; and
WHEREAS, During the Fall of Saigon, millions of Vietnamese people and their families, including, but not limited to, former military personnel, government officials, and those who had worked for the United States during the war, fled Vietnam to surrounding areas and the United States; and
WHEREAS, In the late 1970s to mid-1980s, an estimated 500,000 Vietnamese people risked their lives by fleeing Vietnam aboard small boats in a mass exodus. These emigrants reached refugee camps in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Hong Kong, while approximately one-half of the people fleeing Vietnam in search of freedom and democracy perished at sea; and
WHEREAS, The Vietnam War is marked as a tragedy for not only Vietnam and Vietnam-era veterans who were directly involved in the war, it is one full of great suffering and loss for the Vietnamese civilians and the Vietnamese Americans who crossed the sea to find this land of freedom as their safe haven. These Vietnamese American refugees had soon become a part of, and continue to contribute to, our American diversified culture and economy today. According to the United States Census 2010, more than 580,000
Vietnamese live in California, with the largest concentration of Vietnamese found outside of Vietnam residing in the Counties of Orange and Santa Clara; and
WHEREAS, Human rights, religious freedom, democracy, and protection against threats of aggression are important concerns of Vietnamese Americans and Vietnamese communities worldwide as a result of human rights abuses that continue to occur in Vietnam in the following areas: child labor, human trafficking, religious and political persecution, suppression of the press, unlawful deprivation of life, forced disappearances, and land seizure, among others; and
WHEREAS, We must teach our children and future generations important lessons from the Vietnam War and the continuing situation in Vietnam, including how the plight of the Vietnamese refugees following the end of the war serves as a powerful example of the values of freedom and democracy; and
WHEREAS, We, the people of California, should actively rededicate ourselves to the principles of human rights, individual freedom, sovereignty, and equal protection under the laws of a just and democratic world. Californians should set aside moments of time every year on April 30 to give remembrance to the soldiers, medical personnel, and civilians who died during the Vietnam War in pursuit of freedom and democracy; and
WHEREAS, In commemoration of Black April, we would like to take a moment of silence for the veterans of the United States of America and the Republic of Vietnam in memory of the soldiers of the United States Army and Republic of Vietnam who died during the Vietnam War. With this moment of silence, we remember the countless innocent lives affected by the war, and those that continue to live with these traumatic experiences, and developed resilience to overcome these extreme challenges. We respect and honor the Vietnamese-American community in California that has grown steadily, greatly contributing to our society in every way; and
WHEREAS, Vietnamese American communities throughout California will commemorate April 30, 2021, as Black April, a day of remembrance and rededication to the principles of freedom, including freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and internet freedom; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That in recognition of the great tragedy and suffering and lives lost during the Vietnam War, the month of April 2021 shall be proclaimed Black April Memorial Month, a special time for Californians to remember the countless lives lost during the Vietnam War era, and to hope for more justice and liberty for the people of Vietnam; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
