[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 194 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                         July 29, 2008.
Whereas millions of Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United 
        States and the 13 American colonies from 1619 through 1865;
Whereas slavery in America resembled no other form of involuntary servitude 
        known in history, as Africans were captured and sold at auction like 
        inanimate objects or animals;
Whereas Africans forced into slavery were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, 
        and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and 
        heritage;
Whereas enslaved families were torn apart after having been sold separately from 
        one another;
Whereas the system of slavery and the visceral racism against persons of African 
        descent upon which it depended became entrenched in the Nation's social 
        fabric;
Whereas slavery was not officially abolished until the passage of the 13th 
        Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865 after the end of the 
        Civil War;
Whereas after emancipation from 246 years of slavery, African-Americans soon saw 
        the fleeting political, social, and economic gains they made during 
        Reconstruction eviscerated by virulent racism, lynchings, 
        disenfranchisement, Black Codes, and racial segregation laws that 
        imposed a rigid system of officially sanctioned racial segregation in 
        virtually all areas of life;
Whereas the system of de jure racial segregation known as ``Jim Crow,'' which 
        arose in certain parts of the Nation following the Civil War to create 
        separate and unequal societies for whites and African-Americans, was a 
        direct result of the racism against persons of African descent 
        engendered by slavery;
Whereas a century after the official end of slavery in America, Federal action 
        was required during the 1960s to eliminate the dejure and defacto system 
        of Jim Crow throughout parts of the Nation, though its vestiges still 
        linger to this day;
Whereas African-Americans continue to suffer from the complex interplay between 
        slavery and Jim Crow--long after both systems were formally abolished--
        through enormous damage and loss, both tangible and intangible, 
        including the loss of human dignity, the frustration of careers and 
        professional lives, and the long-term loss of income and opportunity;
Whereas the story of the enslavement and de jure segregation of African-
        Americans and the dehumanizing atrocities committed against them should 
        not be purged from or minimized in the telling of American history;
Whereas on July 8, 2003, during a trip to Goree Island, Senegal, a former slave 
        port, President George W. Bush acknowledged slavery's continuing legacy 
        in American life and the need to confront that legacy when he stated 
        that slavery ``was . . . one of the greatest crimes of history . . . The 
        racial bigotry fed by slavery did not end with slavery or with 
        segregation. And many of the issues that still trouble America have 
        roots in the bitter experience of other times. But however long the 
        journey, our destiny is set: liberty and justice for all.'';
Whereas President Bill Clinton also acknowledged the deep-seated problems caused 
        by the continuing legacy of racism against African-Americans that began 
        with slavery when he initiated a national dialogue about race;
Whereas a genuine apology is an important and necessary first step in the 
        process of racial reconciliation;
Whereas an apology for centuries of brutal dehumanization and injustices cannot 
        erase the past, but confession of the wrongs committed can speed racial 
        healing and reconciliation and help Americans confront the ghosts of 
        their past;
Whereas the legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia has recently taken the 
        lead in adopting a resolution officially expressing appropriate remorse 
        for slavery and other State legislatures have adopted or are considering 
        similar resolutions; and
Whereas it is important for this country, which legally recognized slavery 
        through its Constitution and its laws, to make a formal apology for 
        slavery and for its successor, Jim Crow, so that it can move forward and 
        seek reconciliation, justice, and harmony for all of its citizens: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) acknowledges that slavery is incompatible with the basic 
        founding principles recognized in the Declaration of Independence that 
        all men are created equal;
            (2) acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and 
        inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow;
            (3) apologizes to African Americans on behalf of the people of the 
        United States, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors 
        who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow; and
            (4) expresses its commitment to rectify the lingering consequences 
        of the misdeeds committed against African Americans under slavery and 
        Jim Crow and to stop the occurrence of human rights violations in the 
        future.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.