By: Price H.R. No. 448 73R7445 SRD-F 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.