H.R. No. 448
                                  R E S O L U T I O N
    1-1        WHEREAS, The friendship and commerce program in the form of
    1-2  the sister city concept was inaugurated by the president of the
    1-3  United States in 1956 to promote greater friendship and
    1-4  understanding between the people of the United States and other
    1-5  nations through the medium of direct personal contact; and
    1-6        WHEREAS, All succeeding United States presidents have
    1-7  endorsed this program, which promulgates the useful exchange of
    1-8  ideas between the citizens of this state, the United States, and
    1-9  the people of other nations; and
   1-10        WHEREAS, The people of the Republic of Ghana and the people
   1-11  of Texas historically have made similar sacrifices for the sake of
   1-12  political liberty; they also have in common a reputation for hard
   1-13  work and industry that have made their respective countries
   1-14  well-established trading entities within their respective
   1-15  hemispheres; and
   1-16        WHEREAS, Echoing our own historical struggle for independence
   1-17  and our dedication to ensuring civil rights and liberties for all
   1-18  citizens, Ghana led the way for other African nations in their
   1-19  fight to secure freedom from European colonialism when it won its
   1-20  independence from England in 1957 and since then has remained at
   1-21  the forefront of the international Pan-African movement; and
   1-22        WHEREAS, The links between our two countries go beyond the
   1-23  historical parallels and extend to the personal level; Kwame
   1-24  Nkrumah, the first leader of independent Ghana, was a graduate of
    2-1  Lincoln University, a historic Black institution in Pennsylvania
    2-2  that for more than a century has produced some of the African and
    2-3  African-American communities' most outstanding leaders, including
    2-4  two African heads of state, Kwame Nkrumah and Nigeria's Nnamdi
    2-5  Azikiwe; and
    2-6        WHEREAS, The American civil rights struggle and the
    2-7  Pan-African movement also share a common history as leading African
    2-8  and African-American intellectuals and activists throughout the
    2-9  20th century contributed important ideas and provided the
   2-10  philosophical underpinnings for the two movements' records of
   2-11  accomplishment; and
   2-12        WHEREAS, Ghanaians recently erected a monument honoring three
   2-13  key individuals who have come to be regarded as the Fathers of
   2-14  Pan-Africanism:  the African-American activist W. E. B. Dubois,
   2-15  George Padmore of Trinidad, and Ghana's own Kwame Nkrumah; erected
   2-16  in the capital city of Accra, this monument is a tribute not only
   2-17  to these three men but to all of the people from the African
   2-18  Diaspora who have dedicated their lives to achieving independence,
   2-19  individual liberty, and a recognition of the human dignity of all
   2-20  races; and
   2-21        WHEREAS, The connections between the Republic of Ghana and
   2-22  the State of Texas were further emphasized during the 1993 Sweatt
   2-23  Symposium, which presented the African-American struggle for
   2-24  freedom and racial equality as part of this larger Pan-African
   2-25  struggle for human rights for all peoples of Africa and African
   2-26  descent; the historical and cultural kinship between the two
   2-27  peoples formed the basis for a fascinating presentation entitled
    3-1  "From Ghana to Texas"; and
    3-2        WHEREAS, Building on the traditions of the past, a friendship
    3-3  and commerce relationship between the Republic of Ghana and the
    3-4  State of Texas is in the best interest of both peoples and will
    3-5  greatly contribute to the continued growth and prosperity of all
    3-6  parties in this partnership; now, therefore, be it
    3-7        RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 73rd Texas
    3-8  Legislature hereby invite the people of the Republic of Ghana to
    3-9  join Texas in friendship and commerce and to conduct together with
   3-10  this state mutually beneficial social, economic, educational, and
   3-11  cultural programs in order to bring our citizens closer together
   3-12  and strengthen international understanding and goodwill; and, be it
   3-13  further
   3-14        RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared
   3-15  and forwarded to His Excellency, the Honorable Kofi Awoonor,
   3-16  Ghana's permanent representative and ambassador to the United
   3-17  Nations, and the Honorable Mohamed Ben-Abdullah, Minister of
   3-18  Culture, and for the government of the Republic of Ghana as an
   3-19  expression of the sentiment of the Texas House of Representatives.
   3-20  Culture, and for the government of the Republic of Ghana as an
   3-21  expression of the sentiment of the Texas House of Representatives.
   3-22                                                                Price
   3-23                                                      H.R. No. 448
   3-24  Laney                   Giddings                 Naishtat
   3-25  Alexander               Glaze                    Nieto
   3-26  Allen                   Goodman                  Oakley
   3-27  Alonzo                  Goolsby                  Ogden
    4-1  Alvarado                Granoff                  Oliveira
    4-2  Averitt                 Gray                     Park
    4-3  Bailey                  Greenberg                Parra
    4-4  Berlanga                Grusendorf               Patterson
    4-5  Black                   Gutierrez                Pitts
    4-6  Blackwood               Haggerty                 Place
    4-7  Bomer                   Hamric                   Price
    4-8  Bosse                   Harris                   Puente
    4-9  Brady                   Hartnett                 Rabuck
   4-10  Brimer                  Heflin                   Ramsay
   4-11  Cain                    Hernandez                Rangel
   4-12  Campbell                Hightower                Raymond
   4-13  Carona                  Hilbert                  Rodriguez
   4-14  Carter                  Hilderbran               Romo
   4-15  Chisum                  Hill                     Rudd
   4-16  Clemons                 Hirschi                  Sadler
   4-17  Coleman                 Hochberg                 Saunders
   4-18  Combs                   Holzheauser              Schechter
   4-19  Conley                  Horn                     Seidlits
   4-20  Cook                    Hudson                   Shields
   4-21  Corte                   Hunter of Taylor         Siebert
   4-22  Counts                  Hunter of Nueces         A. Smith of Harris
   4-23  Crabb                   Jackson                  D. Smith of Harris
   4-24  Craddick                James                    Smithee
   4-25  Cuellar of Webb         Johnson                  Solis
   4-26  Cuellar of Hidalgo      Jones of Lubbock         Stiles
   4-27  Culberson               Jones of Dallas          Swinford
    5-1  Danburg                 Junell                   Tallas
    5-2  Davila                  Kamel                    Talton
    5-3  Davis                   Krusee                   Telford
    5-4  De La Garza             Kubiak                   Thompson of Tarrant
    5-5  Dear                    Kuempel                  Thompson of Harris
    5-6  Delco                   Lewis                    Turner of Coleman
    5-7  Delisi                  Linebarger               Turner of Harris
    5-8  Denton                  Longoria                 Uher
    5-9  Driver                  McCall                   Van de Putte
   5-10  Duncan                  McCoulskey               Vowell
   5-11  Dutton                  McDonald                 West
   5-12  Earley                  Madden                   Williamson
   5-13  Eckels                  Marchant                 Willis
   5-14  Edwards                 Martin                   Wilson
   5-15  Erickson                Maxey                    Wolens
   5-16  Finnell                 Moffat                   Yarbrough
   5-17  Flores                  Moreno                   Yost
   5-18  Gallego                 Mowery                   Zbranek
   5-19  Gallegos                Munoz
   5-20                                                      H.R. No. 448
   5-21                                      _______________________________
   5-22                                            Speaker of the House
   5-23        I certify that H.R. No. 448 was adopted by the House on March
   5-24  23, 1993, by a non-record vote.
   5-25                                      _______________________________
   5-26                                          Chief Clerk of the House