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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | June 12, 2023 08:16 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Christopher M. Rabb and Rep. Morgan Cephas |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Recognizing the 200th anniversary of the birth of Mifflin Gibbs (1823 - 1915) |
| Pennsylvania was home to many important figures early in our nation’s history, including prominent leaders and activists in the nation’s Black community. It is essential we honor and remember such individuals, which is why we will be introducing a resolution to honor Mifflin Wistar Gibbs on the 200th anniversary of his birth. Mifflin Wistar Gibbs was born on April 27, 1823, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania into a free Black family. As a young man, Mr. Gibbs was an orator for the abolitionist movement, joining Frederick Douglas on speaking tours and helping in the Underground Railroad. He followed the California Gold Rush to San Francisco in 1850, where he became a successful entrepreneur. As a prominent leader of the city’s Black community, he co-founded the first Black-owned newspaper on the West Coast, which he used to wage a campaign against discrimination. Ultimately, Mr. Gibbs helped to lead an exodus of 800 Black Californians to British Columbia to escape the racism they faced in the United States. While in Canada, he became just the third Black elected official in North America, and he oversaw the construction of British Columbia’s first railroad. Mr. Gibbs returned to the United States in 1870 and studied law, later settling in Little Rock, Arkansas where he was the first Black elected municipal judge in the United States. Mifflin Wistar Gibbs passed away in Little Rock on July 11, 1915, at the age of 92. Please join us in co-sponsoring this important resolution honoring the remarkable life of Mifflin Wistar Gibbs—a groundbreaking Black public servant, activist, journalist and business owner. Your consideration is greatly appreciated. |