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US House of Representatives Resolution Apologizing For Slavery and Segregation
Authored by The Hon. US
Congressman, Steve Cohen, [Edited Version]
The
full text of the slavery measure, House Resolution
194, is as follows: 1. Whereas millions of
Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United
States
and the 13 American colonies from 1619 through 1865;
2. Whereas slavery in
known in history, as Africans were captured and sold at auction
like inanimate
objects or animals; 3. Whereas Africans
forced into slavery were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, and
subjected to
the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage; 4. Whereas enslaved
families were torn apart after having been sold separately from one
another;
5. Whereas the system of
slavery and the visceral racism against persons of African
descent upon
which it depended became entrenched in the Nation's social fabric;
6. Whereas slavery was
not officially abolished until the passage of the 13th
Amendment to
the United States Constitution in 1865 after the end of the
Civil War,
which was
fought over the slavery issue;
7.
Whereas after emancipation from 246 years of slavery,
African-Americans soon saw
the
fleeting political, social, and economic gains they made during
Reconstruction
eviscerated by
virulent racism, lynchings, disenfranchisement, Black Codes, and
racial
segregation laws that imposed a rigid system of officially sanctioned
racial
segregation in
virtually all areas of life; 8. Whereas the system
of de jure racial segregation known as `Jim Crow,' which arose in
certain parts
of the Nation following the Civil War to create separate and unequal
societies for
whites and African-Americans, was
a
direct result of the racism
against
persons of African descent engendered by slavery ;
9.
Whereas the system of Jim Crow laws officially existed into the
1960's--a century
after
the official end of slavery in
the
vestiges of Jim Crow continue to this day;
10.
Whereas African-Americans
continue to suffer from the consequences of
slavery and Jim Crow--long after both systems were formally abolished—
through enormous damage and loss, both tangible and intangible,
including the
loss of human dignity and liberty, the frustration of careers and
professional
lives, and the long-term loss of income and opportunity;
11. Whereas the story
of the enslavement and de jure segregation of African-Americans
and the dehumanizing atrocities committed against them
should not be purged
from or minimized in the telling of American history;
12. Whereas on
President George W. Bush acknowledged
slavery's continuing legacy
in American
life and the need to confront that legacy when he stated that slavery
`was . . .
one of the greatest crimes of history . . .
…The racial bigotry fed by slavery did not end with slavery or with
segregation.
And
many of the issues that still trouble
experience of other times.
But
however long the journey, our destiny is set: liberty
and
justice for all.';
13. Whereas President
Bill Clinton also acknowledged the
deep-seated problems
caused by the continuing legacy of racism against African-Americans that
began with slavery when he
initiated a national dialogue about race;
14. Whereas a genuine
apology is an important and necessary first step in the process of
racial reconciliation; 15. Whereas an apology
for centuries of brutal dehumanization and injustices cannot
erase the past, but confession of the wrongs committed can speed racial
healing and
reconciliation and help Americans confront the ghosts of their past; 16. Whereas the
legislature of the Commonwealth
of Virginia has recently taken the
lead in adopting a resolution officially expressing appropriate remorse
for slavery
and other
State legislatures are considering similar resolutions; and 17. Whereas it is
important for this country, which legally recognized slavery through
its Constitution and its laws, to make a formal apology for slavery and
for its
successor, Jim Crow, so that it
can move forward and seek reconciliation,
justice, and harmony for all of its citizens:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of
Representatives-- (1) acknowledges the
fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of
slavery and Jim Crow; (2) apologizes to
African-Americans on
behalf of the people of
the
the
wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under
slavery
and Jim
Crow; and (3)
expresses its commitment to rectify the lingering consequences
of the misdeeds
committed against African-Americans under slavery and Jim Crow and
to stop the occurrence of human rights violations in the future. |
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Front Page S Senate Resolution [unedited] |
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