Melanie Stansbury: “I stand before you tonight to honor and to celebrate Black History Month. Black History Month is not just a celebration…”

“I stand before you tonight to honor and to celebrate Black History Month. Black History Month is not just a celebration, but a reminder of the struggles, achievements, resilience, and contributions of Black Americans throughout our Nation's history. In New Mexico, it is the opportunity to honor and celebrate that Black history is not only American history, it is New Mexico history, especially as so many Black leaders are blazing the way for future generations: Judge Shammara Henderson, the first Black judge to serve in the New Mexico Court of Appeals; Senator Harold Pope, the first Black State senator to serve in the history of the State of New Mexico; Councilor Nichole Rogers, the first Black woman to serve on Albuquerque's City Council; and Representative Pamelya Herndon, who is the first Black State house representative to represent New Mexico State House District 28, which is my State house representative in Albuquerque. These are just a few of the New Mexico leaders who are making history as we stand on this floor tonight, who are leading the way, whose voices are not only needed but necessary and who must be at all the tables where decisions are being made.…”