[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 125 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 125
Expressing the sense of Congress that Congress encourages people
throughout the Nation to hold an annual commemorative event on or near
August 20th honoring Slavery Remembrance Day, featuring its Official
Remembrance Program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 9, 2024
Mr. Green of Texas submitted the following concurrent resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress that Congress encourages people
throughout the Nation to hold an annual commemorative event on or near
August 20th honoring Slavery Remembrance Day, featuring its Official
Remembrance Program.
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This resolution may be cited as the ``Original Slavery Remembrance
Day Commemorative Remembrance Program Resolution''.
SEC. 2. SLAVERY REMEMBRANCE DAY COMMEMORATIVE EVENTS.
(a) Encouraging People To Hold Events.--
(1) Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that Congress,
in consultation with the Library of Congress and the
Smithsonian Institution, encourages the holding of an annual
commemorative event on an appropriate day at a location in the
United States Capitol Complex to revere, honor, and remember
the victims of slavery.
(2) Others.--Congress encourages all people of good will
throughout the Nation to hold an annual commemorative event on
an appropriate day to revere, honor, and remember the victims
of slavery.
(b) Location of Events.--It is the sense of Congress that the
annual commemorative event described in this section should be held at
a location that can provide an appropriate degree of solemnity and
dignity for such an occasion.
(c) Featured Program at Event.--It is the sense of Congress that an
annual commemorative event described in this section should feature the
Remembrance Program recommended in section 3 or a variation of such
Program.
(d) Purpose.--The commemorative event described in this section is
designed to serve as a memorial to the victims of slavery, to educate
the public about the historical reality as well as the lasting impact
of slavery, and to inspire continued commitment to not only fight
contemporary racial injustice and inequality, but also to continue the
struggle for reverence and justice for the enslaved whose lives were
sacrificed to make America great.
SEC. 3. REMEMBRANCE PROGRAM.
(a) Contents.--The Remembrance Program recommended in this section
is as follows:
``Friends, thank you for your participation. If you can,
please join me by standing and placing your right hand over
your heart to indicate heartfelt sorrow for the millions who
suffered the horrors of slavery.
``Over the next few minutes, we will recall various well
documented aspects of the experiences of America's enslaved.
``At the end of each of these summarized experiences, I
will say the words `we must':
``Immediately after I say `we must', I would like you (each
of you) to, in unison, say `always remember'.
``Let's begin.
``To prevent the evils of slavery from being repeated, we
must:
``Always remember.
``To commemorate the suffering and the lives lost because
of slavery, we must:
``Always remember.
``For the first 20 enslaved Africans who arrived in the
British colonies at Point Comfort near what is now Norfolk
Virginia on August 20, 1619, we must:
``Always remember.
``For the 12 million humans from all walks of life whose
lives were stolen from them when they were kidnapped from
Africa and forced into slavery, we must:
``Always remember.
``For the Africans forced into slavery by other Africans,
we must:
``Always remember.
``For the approximately 2 million human beings who suffered
the deadly middle passage and did not survive the horrific
voyage to America, we must:
``Always remember.
``For the men, women, and children on slave ships, many of
whom were kept naked, packed close together with many shackled
and chained, we must:
``Always remember.
``For enslaved human beings who often worked from sunup to
after sundown, 6 to 7 days a week, often without food, we must:
``Always remember.
``For the mothers and fathers who were separated from their
children and sold on the auction blocks, we must:
``Always remember.
``For liberators such as Nat Turner, who fought to free
enslaved people; who lost their lives in the fight for freedom
and justice, we must:
``Always remember.
``For the tens of thousands of enslaved people who risked
their lives in search of freedom on the Underground Railroad,
we must:
``Always remember.
``For liberators such as Harriet Tubman, who escaped
slavery and dedicated her life to returning to the South no
less than 13 times liberating enslaved men women and children,
we must:
``Always remember.
``For the liberators such as John Brown, President Abraham
Lincoln, and countless others of all hues who lived and died
combating the horrific institution of slavery, we must:
``Always remember.
``To commemorate the centuries of suffering, the years of
tears shed, the history of hearts broken, the brutality of
blood spilled, and the grieving over lives lost because of
slavery we must:
``Always remember.
``Yet, in the spirit of righteous remembrance imbued with
love for our country that hasn't always loved its brothers and
sisters of African ancestry, we have to acknowledge that:
``In spite of slavery and despite its invidious offsprings:
mass lynchings, Black codes, convict leasing, lawful
segregation, and institutional racism, African Americans have
come a laudably long way.
``From our arrival on slave ships to our ascension to
judgeships,
``From surviving the Middle Passage to thriving among the
masses,
``From shackled in chains to creating societal change,
``From sitting in the back of buses to owning bus
companies,
``From having no house to residents in the White House,
``From painfully picking cotton, to proudly picking
Presidents,
``From adult males and females being disrespectfully called
boy and girl to being respectfully presented as Mr. President
and Madam Vice President.
``Laudably, the truth be told, although we have come a long
way, we still have a way to go.
``In closing, let us resolve that as we forge forward we
will commemorate our past and embrace our destiny, always
remembering the hardships people of African heritage have
endured in tandem with the victories won in spite of the
seemingly invincible challenges emanating from insidious
slavery and its invidious progenies!
``Through it all, we must:
``Always remember.
``We must:
``Always remember.
``We must:
``Always remember.
``If you are able, I would ask that you participate in a
moment of silent solemnity at noon on August 20th wherever you
may be.
``During this moment of silence, wherever you are, place
your right hand over your heart and with a moment of silence,
give thoughts to our economic foundational mothers and father,
to the millions who toiled and lost their lives under slavery,
and lovingly utter the phrase `Always remember'.''.
(b) Recitation.--The Remembrance Program set forth in subsection
(a), or some variation thereof, should be recited by the leader of the
event, except that each instance of ``Always remember.'' is to be
recited by the audience.
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