|
|
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
|
|
|
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, 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 similar efforts be undertaken to document and |
|
|
publicize the experiences and contributions of Hispanics and Native |
|
|
Americans in Texas during the 18th and 19th centuries. |