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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, In 1619 the first African slaves arrived at |
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Virginia's Jamestown settlement to be sold into involuntary |
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servitude throughout the North American colonies; the ensuing |
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Atlantic slave trade saw millions of Africans captured, brutalized, |
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and sold or traded at auction as nothing more than a commodity, |
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distinguished only by their particular value to the plantation |
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system and developing agricultural economy of the southern |
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colonies; and |
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WHEREAS, Slaves in the Americas were bought and sold as |
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chattel, subject to absolute legal ownership by another person; as |
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such, this "Peculiar Institution," as the American slave trade has |
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been called, depended on the deprivation of the most basic human |
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rights and a systemic dehumanization of slaves whereby they were |
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stripped of their names, denied their heritage, and disassembled |
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from their families; and |
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WHEREAS, While importing slaves into the United States became |
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illegal in 1808, the domestic slave trade persisted for decades; |
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Texas was the final frontier for the domestic slave trade, which |
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arrived in 1821 when Stephen F. Austin agreed to confer on settlers |
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80 acres of land for each slave they brought to his colony; and |
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WHEREAS, Slavery was guaranteed to be institutionalized in |
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Texas when it was enshrined in the 1836 constitution of the new |
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republic; the Texas constitution prohibited the Texas Congress from |
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proscribing the immigration of slaveholders into the republic, |
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provided that slaves remained the property of their owners, and |
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permitted the further importation of slaves from the United States; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, As a result of these constitutional protections, |
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slavery expanded rapidly in Texas during the 1840s and 1850s; |
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according to the census of 1850, slaves accounted for 27.4 percent |
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of the Texas population in that year; that percentage grew to 30.2 |
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percent as reported in the census of 1860, with a total of 182,566 |
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slaves in the state, indicating that the slave population grew at a |
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higher rate than the general population during that decade; and |
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WHEREAS, Regrettably, slavery was no less inhumane in Texas; |
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slave-owners had broad powers of discipline, demanded that slaves |
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work from "sun to sun" six days per week, and confined their slaves |
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to deplorable living quarters; and |
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WHEREAS, As was the case throughout the southern United |
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States, slaves in Texas could be bought, sold, and mortgaged, and |
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were denied the right to own property, forbidden to marry, and |
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barred from any legal means to gain their freedom; nonetheless, |
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slaves still managed to maintain a semblance of family life and |
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humanity, drawing on religion and music for spiritual and |
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psychological strength; and |
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WHEREAS, Operating primarily in Galveston and Houston, the |
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Texas slave trade provided the labor that fueled a 600 percent |
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increase in the state's cotton production during the 1850s; |
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although its economic impact is undeniable, slavery also became a |
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key social influence as slaveholders were among the state's |
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wealthiest class and represented a social ideal to the state's |
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general populace; and |
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WHEREAS, Even following the Civil War, the emancipation of |
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the slaves on June 19, 1865, "Juneteenth," and the ratification of |
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the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the |
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entrenched social influence of slavery and its underlying racial |
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presumptions contributed to a series of laws designed specifically |
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to denigrate former slaves to maintain social inequities; after 246 |
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years of captivity, the vestiges of slavery haunted the daughters |
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and sons of Africa with lynchings, Black Codes, Jim Crow |
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segregationist laws, voter disenfranchisement, broken promises, |
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such as the 40 acres and a mule, and other examples of overt racism; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Despite sweeping legislative efforts such as the |
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Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the |
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indignity of slavery and the virulent prejudice it spawned remain; |
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the explicit bigotry of hate groups or the less obvious racism |
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encountered when requesting public health care, purchasing a home, |
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seeking quality education or college admission, or enduring |
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pretextual traffic stops are all present-day injustices born of |
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slavery; and |
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WHEREAS, President George W. Bush recently acknowledged |
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slavery's enduring legacy when he declared during a 2003 trip to |
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Senegal that, as "one of the greatest crimes of history," slavery |
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and the racial bigotry it fed still vexes the United States; |
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President Bush also alluded to the Declaration of Independence and |
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the ideals that bind all Americans and upon which our nation was |
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founded--the "self-evident" truth "that all men are created equal, |
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that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable |
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Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of |
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Happiness"; and |
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WHEREAS, In recent decades the people of Texas have shown |
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their commitment to those fundamental ideals expressed by the |
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Declaration of Independence and upon which our nation was founded; |
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Texas has produced some of our country's foremost guardians of |
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civil rights and political trailblazers, such as the late Honorable |
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Barbara Jordan, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace |
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Jefferson, the first African American to be appointed and elected |
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to the state's highest court and a descendent of a former slave |
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owned by Judge Nicolas Battle who served on the state's highest |
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court in the 19th century, and Judge Morris L. Overstreet, the first |
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African American elected by popular vote to a statewide office when |
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he became a member of the court of criminal appeals; and |
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WHEREAS, The story of Texas' role in the enslavement of |
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Africans and their descendents, the dehumanizing atrocities |
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committed during slavery, and the resulting human carnage must be |
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confronted; in the same way, the faith, perseverance, triumphs, and |
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contributions of the African slaves and their descendents to the |
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State of Texas and the nation must be embraced, celebrated, and |
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retold for generations to come; and |
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WHEREAS, While past injustices cannot be erased by a mere |
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apology, such a simple act can promote reconciliation and healing |
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and help our great nation avert any recurrence of past iniquity and |
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blatant injustices that have plagued our national history; and |
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WHEREAS, Although many quarters of our great nation have yet |
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to express contrition for their participation in the institution of |
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slavery, it is fitting at this time that Texas follow the example |
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set by European and African nations that have made formal apologies |
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for their involvement in the Atlantic slave trade and the moral and |
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legal injustices perpetrated against African slaves and their |
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African American descendents; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby acknowledge with profound regret the involuntary servitude |
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of the African slaves and call for reconciliation among all Texans; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of |
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the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, the legislature hereby |
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express gratitude for the contributions of African Americans to the |
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State of Texas and the United States; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the legislature hereby request that the |
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lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of representatives |
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create a joint interim committee to study and document the specific |
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contributions of African slaves and their descendents to the |
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economic and cultural development of the State of Texas. |