•  Summary 
  •  
  •  Actions 
  •  
  •  Committee Votes 
  •  
  •  Floor Votes 
  •  
  •  Memo 
  •  
  •  Text 
  •  
  •  LFIN 
  •  
  •  Chamber Video/Transcript 

A06583 Summary:

BILL NOA06583A
 
SAME ASSAME AS S01480-A
 
SPONSORShrestha
 
COSPNSRBichotte Hermelyn, Raga, Meeks, Anderson, Cunningham, Hyndman, Kim, Rajkumar, Shimsky, Gallagher, Mamdani, Simon, Dickens, Gonzalez-Rojas, Levenberg, Weprin, Simone, Alvarez, Septimo, Joyner, Beephan, Thiele, Gunther, Aubry, Lunsford, Mitaynes, O'Donnell, Reyes, Darling, Rosenthal L, Bores, Zinerman, Rivera, Jacobson, Ramos, Fahy, Peoples-Stokes, Kelles, Walker, Forrest, Vanel, Clark, Epstein, Lavine, Lucas, Sillitti, Sayegh, Wallace, Stirpe
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd 168-a, Exec L
 
Establishes November twenty-sixth of each year as a day of commemoration known as "Sojourner Truth Day".
Go to top

A06583 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A6583A
 
SPONSOR: Shrestha
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing November twenty-sixth of each year as a day of commemoration known as "Sojourner Truth Day"   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: This legislation would establish the twenty-sixth of November as a day of commemoration known as "Sojourner Truth Day" in honor of the prolific abolitionist and women's rights advocate. A commemoration is an official day of remembrance the state recognizes. It is neither a holiday nor a resolution. In New York State, 36 commemorations are recognized in Subdivision 3 of section 168-a of the executive law. Examples include March 10th as Harriet Tubman Day and the 4th Saturday of September as Native American Day.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1: List of days of commemoration as defined by subdivision 3 of section 168-a of the executive law, including November twenty-sixth as "Sojourner Truth Day". Section 2: Effective Date.   JUSTIFICATION: Sojourner Truth was a New York-born abolitionist who escaped slavery with her infant daughter in 1826 and dedicated the remainder of her life to fighting for equality. Truth was born into slavery in 1797 in the Hudson Valley and was sold multiple times to slave owners there. In 1828, she became the first Black woman to successfully sue white men to get her son released from slavery-a historic lawsuit that took place at the Ulster County Courthouse in Kingston, New York. Truth is one of the best known African-Americans of the 19th century and the first Black woman to have a statue in the U.S. Capitol building, unveiled in 2009 by first lady Michelle Obama. Along with Joan of Arc, Harriet Tubman, Sacagawea, and Rosa Parks, Truth is one of the women most represented in statues in the United States. Smithsonian magazine listed Truth as one of the "100 Most Significant Americans of All Time." She is one of the three 19th century abolitionists to be commemorated by a U.S. postage stamp, along with Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. In 2016, the U.S. The Treasury Department announced that an image of Sojourner Truth will appear on the back of a newly designed $10 bill along with other prominent women, such as Susan B. Anthony. Truth's significance is also found in cultural works, such as being illustrated on the cover of New Yorker magazine, being referenced .in the Broadway musical, The Civil War, and almost having Gloria Steinheim's magazine named after her-it was eventually named Ms. instead of Sojourner. And yet, of the well-known black abolitionists of the 19th century, Maryland-born Harriet Tubman is the only one New York State'commemorates. Susan B. Anthony, who is associated with Truth in their struggle for women's suffrage, is also commemorated by New York, but Sojourner Truth is not, despite experiencing and fighting slavery right here in our state, and going on to gain national prominence as one of the best known social reformers of the era. New York's history of emancipation and women rights is incomplete without the story of Sojour- ner Truth. We must commemorate November 26th, the date of her death, as Sojourner Truth Day, so that we can anchor her story to the story of our state. Unlike a resolution, which is one-time, a commemoration is an annual remembrance day. Such an official day of remembrance would encourage the re-telling and celebration of Truth's story and her role in our state's history every year, such as with programming and events at cultural centers, libraries, schools, parks, and more.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 01/31/22A9052 - referred to governmental operations   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This bill is effective immediately.
Go to top

A06583 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         6583--A
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     April 19, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. SHRESTHA, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, RAGA, MEEKS, ANDER-
          SON, CUNNINGHAM, HYNDMAN, KIM, RAJKUMAR, SHIMSKY, GALLAGHER,  MAMDANI,
          SIMON,  DICKENS,  GONZALEZ-ROJAS,  LEVENBERG, WEPRIN, SIMONE, ALVAREZ,
          SEPTIMO,  BEEPHAN,  THIELE,  GUNTHER,   AUBRY,   LUNSFORD,   MITAYNES,
          O'DONNELL,  REYES,  DARLING,  L. ROSENTHAL,  BORES,  ZINERMAN, TAYLOR,
          RIVERA,  JACOBSON,  RAMOS,  FAHY,  PEOPLES-STOKES,   KELLES,   WALKER,
          FORREST,  VANEL,  CLARK, EPSTEIN, LAVINE, LUCAS, SILLITTI -- read once
          and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations --  recommit-
          ted  to  the  Committee  on Governmental Operations in accordance with
          Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing  November
          twenty-sixth  of each year as a day of commemoration known as "Sojour-
          ner Truth Day"
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  3  of section 168-a of the executive law, as
     2  amended by chapter 652 of the laws  of  2023,  is  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    3.  The  following  days  shall be days of commemoration in each year:
     5  January sixth, to be known as "Haym Salomon  Day",  January  twenty-sev-
     6  enth, to be known as "Holocaust Remembrance Day", February fourth, to be
     7  known  as "Rosa Parks Day", February fifteenth, to be known as "Susan B.
     8  Anthony Day", February sixteenth, to be known as  "Lithuanian  Independ-
     9  ence  Day",  February  twenty-eighth, to be known as "Gulf War Veterans'
    10  Day", March fourth, to be known as "Pulaski Day", March  eighth,  to  be
    11  known  as  "International  Women's  Day",  March  tenth,  to be known as
    12  "Harriet Tubman Day", March twenty-ninth, to be known as "Vietnam Veter-
    13  ans' Day", April ninth, to be known  as  "POW  Recognition  Day",  April
    14  twenty-seventh,  to  be known as "Coretta Scott King Day", April twenty-
    15  eighth, to be known as "Workers' Memorial Day", the first Tuesday in May

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05369-02-4

        A. 6583--A                          2
 
     1  to be known as "New York State Teacher  Day",  May  seventeenth,  to  be
     2  known  as "Thurgood Marshall Day", the first Sunday in June, to be known
     3  as "Children's Day", June second, to be known as  "Italian  Independence
     4  Day",  June  twelfth,  to  be known as "Women Veterans Recognition Day",
     5  June nineteenth, to be known as "Juneteenth Freedom Day",  June  twenty-
     6  fifth,  to  be known as "Korean War Veterans' Day", the second Monday in
     7  July, to be known  as  "Abolition  Commemoration  Day",  August  twenty-
     8  fourth,  to  be  known  as  "Ukrainian Independence Day", August twenty-
     9  sixth, to be known as "Women's Equality Day", September eleventh, to  be
    10  known  as "Battle of Plattsburgh Day" and also to be known as "September
    11  11th Remembrance Day", September thirteenth, to be known as "John  Barry
    12  Day"  and  also to be known as "Uncle Sam Day in the State of New York",
    13  September seventeenth, to be known as  "Friedrich  Wilhelm  von  Steuben
    14  Memorial  Day",  the  third Friday in September to be known as "New York
    15  State POW/MIA Recognition Day" except  if  such  date  of  commemoration
    16  cannot  be  observed  due to a religious holiday, such observances shall
    17  then be conducted on the second Friday of September, the  last  Saturday
    18  in  September,  to be known as "War of 1812 Day", the fourth Saturday of
    19  September, known as "Native-American Day", the last Sunday in September,
    20  to be known as "Gold Star Mothers' Day", October fifth, to be  known  as
    21  "Raoul Wallenberg Day", October eleventh, to be known as "New Netherland
    22  Day in the State of New York", October eighteenth, to be known as "Disa-
    23  bilities  History Day", October twenty-seventh, to be known as "Theodore
    24  Roosevelt Day", November ninth, to be known as  "Witness  for  Tolerance
    25  Day", November twelfth, to be known as "Elizabeth Cady Stanton Day", the
    26  third  Tuesday in November to be known as "New York State School-Related
    27  Professionals Recognition Day", November twenty-sixth, to  be  known  as
    28  "Sojourner  Truth  Day",  November  thirtieth,  to  be known as "Shirley
    29  Chisholm Day", December third, to be  known  as  "International  Day  of
    30  Persons  with  Disabilities",  December  seventh,  to be known as "Pearl
    31  Harbor Day", December sixteenth, to be known as "Bastogne Day" and  that
    32  day  of  the  Asian lunar calendar designated as new year to be known as
    33  "Asian New Year".
    34    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Go to top