This website will be unavailable from Thursday, May 30, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, June 3, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.

	
Amend SR 941 on page 2, line 5 insert the following:                         
	WHEREAS, Slavery was a morally abominable institution; and                     
	WHEREAS, Slavery as practiced in the United States was 
especially brutalizing and dehumanizing, permitting as it did the 
denial to slaves of all human rights, including the right to marry 
and to maintain families; and
	WHEREAS, Slavery was introduced into Texas by American 
settlers in the early 1820s and persisted until June, 1865, more 
than two years after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation; 
and
	WHEREAS, on May 1, 1834 slavery was abolished in the 
non-American British colonies; and
	WHEREAS, Through 1865, the institution of slavery was 
protected by the constitution and laws of the State of Texas; and
	WHEREAS, The experience of slavery in Texas should be 
adequately reflected in the teaching of the state's history; and
	WHEREAS, In spite of the suffering that they were forced to 
endure, slaves contributed greatly to the economic and cultural 
development of the state; and
	WHEREAS, The contributions made by slaves should be 
adequately reflected in the teaching of the state's history; and
	WHEREAS, The experiences and contributions of Hispanics and 
Native Americans in Texas should also receive appropriate 
recognition in the teaching of the state's history; now, therefore, 
be it
	RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas 
hereby express profound regret for the role that the government of 
Texas played in maintaining the institution of slavery; and, be it 
further
	RESOLVED, That, in order to document and publicize the 
experience of slavery in Texas and to help the public appreciate the 
contributions that slaves and former slaves made to the economic 
and cultural development of the state throughout the 19th century 
and beyond, the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Historical 
Commission, and other appropriate state agencies shall cooperate in 
designing and developing public exhibits and/or acknowledgments at 
the State Capitol, at the Bob Bullock Museum, and at certain public 
institutions of higher education to recognize the contributions of 
slaves in Texas history, with the initial public exhibits and 
acknowledgments to be in place not later than December 31, 2008; 
and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That the legislature hereby request that the 
lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of representatives 
create a joint interim committee to study and document the specific 
contributions of African slaves and their descendants to the 
economic and cultural development of the State of Texas; and, be it 
further
	RESOLVED, That the Senate of Texas, 80th Legislature, hereby 
recognize May 1, 2007 as Texas Regret for Slavery Day, to document 
and publicize the experiences and contributions of Hispanics and 
Native Americans in Texas during the 18th and 19th centuries; and, 
be it further