The Matter of Black Lives


Please Know That...The Proverbial White Man Has Apologized
(But Was Kept Secretly Hidden From White and Black US Citizens)
Finally In June 2008, After 145 Years of Black Leaders Demanding It and Not Receiving It, The Proverbial White Man, On Behalf of All White Citizens, By Congressional Resolution, Acknowledged, Apologized, Asked Forgiveness, and Reconciliation For Generations-Destroying, Chattel Slavery and Jim Crowism.

This Resolution Document Is The Part II of the January 1, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln's Executive Ordered Emancipation Proclamation

US House of Representatives

Authored by The Hon. US Congressman, Steve Cohen, Democrat- Kentucky

 

Resolution Apologizing For Slavery and Segregation

 

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 America resembled no other form of involuntary servitude

    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 America--until Congress took action to end it, but

     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 July 8, 2003, during a trip to Goree Island, Senegal, a former slave port,

      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 America have roots in the bitter

     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 United States, for

     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.

 

See undedtited version of Resolution...>>>