; Whereas Mr. Aaron is an integral part of Mobile, Alabama, history and has been recognized by the city through the construction of a stadium, opening of a museum, and naming of a park, in his honor; Whereas, in 1982, his first year of eligibility, Mr. Aaron was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 97.8 percent of the vote, the second-highest tally at the time only to Ty Cobb; Whereas, on the 25th anniversary of Mr. Aaron’s 715th home run, Major League Baseball created the Hank Aaron Award, given annually to the players with the best overall offensive performances in each league; Whereas, in 2002, Mr. Aaron received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest civilian award, from President George W. Bush, with the citation noting that Mr. Aaron embodies the true spirit of our Nation ; Whereas, in 2015, Mr. Aaron was an inaugural recipient of the Portrait of a Nation Prize from the National Portrait Gallery commemorating exemplary achievements in the fields of civil rights, business, entertainment, science, and sports ; Whereas, in 2022, the Library of Congress elected to preserve the television broadcast of Mr. Aaron’s 715th home run within the National Recording Registry as an event of great cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance in the history of the United States; and Whereas, at the time of his passing, Mr. Aaron was long renowned for having uplifted the Black community and improved human relations over his career through his tremendous display of dignity and long record of achievement in the face of racism and hate, cementing his legacy as a leading figure for civil rights: Now, therefore, be it