H.R. No. 573

	R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, Members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
	are gathering at the State Capitol on March 19, 2025, in
	celebration of AME Day; and
	WHEREAS, A denomination with a long and storied history, the
	African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in Philadelphia in
	1816 by Richard Allen, a previously ordained deacon of the
	Methodist Episcopal Church; it evolved out of the Free African
	Society, a group established in 1787 by Mr. Allen and other free
	Blacks in response to the discrimination and exclusion they faced
	in both social and religious spheres; born out of opposition to
	slavery and to the dehumanization of people of African descent, the
	AME Church carried forward the spirit of FAS in its dedication to
	reaching out to the marginalized; and
	WHEREAS, Mr. Allen was elected as the first bishop of the AME
	Church by the first General Conference, which included ministers
	from Methodist Episcopal congregations in the Philadelphia area, in
	Delaware, and in Baltimore, Maryland; the denomination then
	expanded westward and throughout the South, especially in the years
	following the American Civil War, becoming the largest major
	African American denomination in the Methodist tradition; and
	WHEREAS, Though it holds the distinction of being the first
	independent protestant denomination founded by Black people, the
	AME Church welcomes members of all ethnicities; today, the church
	continues to embrace its mission to minister to the spiritual,
	intellectual, physical, emotional, and environmental needs of all
	people by sharing the gospel through word and deed; and
	WHEREAS, For more than two centuries, the African Methodist
	Episcopal Church has been a vital force in promoting spiritual
	enrichment while championing the rights and dignity of Black
	communities, and the denomination has played a transformative role
	in the lives of its members and in the nation at large; now,
	therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas
	Legislature hereby recognize March 19, 2025, as AME Day at the
	State Capitol and extend a warm welcome to all those who are
	visiting Austin in observance of this occasion.
	Reynolds
	Burrows Guerra Morales Shaw
	Alders Guillen Morgan
	Allen Harless Muñoz
	Anchía Harris Noble
	Ashby Harris Davila Olcott
	Barry Harrison Oliverson
	Bell of Kaufman Hayes Ordaz
	Bell of Montgomery Hefner Orr
	Bernal Hernandez Patterson
	Bhojani Hickland Paul
	Bonnen Hinojosa Perez of El Paso
	Bowers Holt Perez of Harris
	Bryant Hopper Phelan
	Buckley Howard Pierson
	Bucy Hull Plesa
	Bumgarner Hunter Raymond
	Button Isaac Reynolds
	Cain Johnson Richardson
	Campos Jones of Dallas Rodríguez Ramos
	Canales Jones of Harris Romero
	Capriglione Kerwin Rose
	Cole King Rosenthal
	Collier Kitzman Schatzline
	Cook LaHood Schofield
	Cortez Lalani Schoolcraft
	Craddick Lambert Shaheen
	Cunningham Landgraf Shofner
	Curry Leach Simmons
	Darby Leo Wilson Slawson
	A. Davis of Dallas Little Smithee
	Y. Davis of Dallas Longoria Spiller
	Dean Lopez of Bexar Swanson
	DeAyala Lopez of Cameron Talarico
	Dorazio Louderback Tepper
	Dutton Lowe Thompson
	Dyson Lozano Tinderholt
	Fairly Lujan Toth
	Flores Luther Troxclair
	Frank Manuel Turner
	Gámez Martinez VanDeaver
	Garcia of Bexar Martinez Fischer Vasut
	Garcia of Dallas McLaughlin Villalobos
	Garcia Hernandez McQueeney Virdell
	Gates Metcalf Vo
	Gerdes Meyer Walle
	Geren Meza Ward Johnson
	Gervin-Hawkins Money Wharton
	González of Dallas Moody Wilson
	González of El Paso Morales of Harris Wu
	Goodwin Morales of Maverick Zwiener
	______________________________
	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.R. No. 573 was adopted by the House on March
	19, 2025, by a non-record vote.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House