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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, In 2018, the discovery of an unmarked burial ground |
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at the former Imperial State Prison Farm site in Sugar Land drew |
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national attention to an abhorrent chapter in history; and |
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WHEREAS, Archeologists at the site found the skeletal remains |
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of 95 victims of the convict leasing system, which was used after |
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the Civil War to replicate the oppression that existed under |
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slavery; although the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution |
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prohibited involuntary servitude, it created an exemption for |
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people convicted of crimes; Southern states took advantage by |
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enacting "Black Codes," laws that applied only to African |
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Americans, who could be prosecuted criminally for such offenses as |
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loitering, breaking curfew, or not carrying proof of employment; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Prisoners of the state were leased as cheap labor to |
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private railways, mines, and agricultural operations, including |
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the sugar plantations along the Brazos River; while receiving no |
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pay, convicts often endured conditions even more brutal than |
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slavery, given that contractors had no financial interest in their |
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well-being; more than 3,500 Texas prisoners died between 1866 and |
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1912, when the legislature outlawed convict leasing; and |
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WHEREAS, While the state and employers profited, the families |
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and communities of victims suffered damage that spanned |
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generations; a full understanding of the convict leasing system and |
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its aftereffects is vital to addressing issues that continue to |
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plague society today, including mass incarceration, convict labor, |
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prison privatization, and entrenched poverty; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby request the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house |
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of representatives to create a joint interim committee to study the |
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legacy of convict leasing in Texas; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the committee examine the treatment of victims |
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of the convict leasing system, the extent to which the State of |
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Texas supported the system, and the lingering negative effects of |
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the system; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the committee determine appropriate ways to |
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educate the general public about the convict leasing system; and, |
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be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the committee submit a full report, including |
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findings and recommendations, to the 88th Texas Legislature in |
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January 2023; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the committee's proceedings and operations be |
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governed by such general rules and policies for interim committees |
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as the 87th Texas Legislature may adopt. |