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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in |
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America (N'COBRA) is a group founded for the purpose of obtaining |
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reparations for Americans of African descent in consequence of the |
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injury done by slavery and its continuing vestiges; and |
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WHEREAS, It is estimated that by the end of the |
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trans-Atlantic slave trade, between 8 and 12 million Africans had |
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been wrenched from their homes and shipped to various ports in the |
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New World, and that a like number died in the process of capture and |
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transport; from 1619, when the first Africans were landed in |
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Virginia, until 1865, more than 8 million Africans and their |
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descendants lived in the United States as property; and |
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WHEREAS, Under slavery, people of African origin and descent |
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produced the chief commercial crops of the South, built public |
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works, and labored in a number of skilled and unskilled |
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occupations; the value of their unpaid toil amounted to as much as |
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$40 million, a figure equivalent today, some have figured, to more |
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than $1 trillion; and |
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WHEREAS, Deprived of compensation for their work, slaves were |
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also vulnerable to the most capricious brutality; to the sundering |
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of their families, especially after the interstate slave trade |
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became a major enterprise; and, always, to a continuing denial of |
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their basic human rights and dignity; and |
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WHEREAS, Even after slavery was abolished, African Americans |
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continued to endure institutionalized forms of discrimination that |
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constrained educational and economic opportunities, consigned them |
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to unequal treatment in accommodations and social services, and |
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deprived many of the right to vote; the threat of violence, too, |
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remained a looming presence: between 1865 and 1965, more than 2,400 |
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African Americans were lynched; today, at the beginning of the 21st |
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century, the deprecation and unequal treatment of African Americans |
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is a habit of mind and practice that has yet to be fully expunged; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Created in 1987 by several organizations, among them |
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the National Conference of Black Lawyers, N'COBRA works to educate |
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the public about the legal principle of reparations and about the |
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need for such a remedy in the case of African Americans; in |
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addition, the organization advocates in behalf of federal, state, |
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and municipal resolutions supporting reparations and cooperates |
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with other groups in seeking redress through the courts; it is also |
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active in the international reparations movement; and |
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WHEREAS, N'COBRA seeks reparations from two entities: |
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governments and corporations that once profited from slavery; the |
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form such reparations might take varies widely, from cash payments |
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to funding for scholarships and community development, the creation |
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of textbooks, museums, and other channels for telling the history |
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of African Americans from their perspective, and the elimination of |
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practices that result in the disparate treatment of African |
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Americans in the country's health, education, economic, and justice |
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systems; and |
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WHEREAS, While reparations are envisioned as a crucial means |
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of repairing the damage done to a people by slavery and its long |
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aftermath, it is expected that reparations may also be a way to make |
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peace with the past; by bringing to the forefront of public |
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awareness the full story of slavery's impact on those kept in |
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bondage, of the oppression African Americans continued to suffer |
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after emancipation, and of the ways in which white skin color |
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continues to confer privileges, reparations may enable this country |
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at last to acknowledge the pain of slavery and its legacy and to |
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move on; and |
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WHEREAS, N'COBRA believes that telling the truth about wrongs |
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and making atonement are essential characteristics of a just |
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society, and the organization is dedicated to helping Americans |
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overcome the continuing effects of a baneful institution; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby recognize the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations |
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in America for its commitment to fostering national healing and |
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reconciliation; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for N'COBRA as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives and Senate. |