[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 90 (Thursday, June 30, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1414]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   ACKNOWLEDGING AFRO-DESCENDANT POPULATION IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE 
                               CARIBBEAN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 29, 2005

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to begin a formal acknowledgment of 
the injustices imposed on African descendants of the transatlantic 
slave trade in all of the Americas, with an emphasis on populations in 
Latin America and the Caribbean, and to encourage United States and 
international efforts to work to improve the situation of Afro-
descendant communities in these regions.
  In the 108th Congress, my colleagues and I concluded that, for too 
long, this country and other nations had ignored the struggle and 
challenges faced by Afro-descendant populations in the Americas. While 
the U.S. has been compelled to take steps to address our race problem 
in this country, we have often unintentionally forgotten or 
deemphasized the impact of that struggle throughout the Western 
Hemisphere.
  The transatlantic slave trade had a devastating impact on the 
region's economies. While the exact events and conditions of slavery 
that dominated the U.S. did not necessarily permeate into Latin America 
and the Caribbean directly, Central and South America did have to deal 
with its own ``peculiar institution.'' Slavery transforms the body 
politic and the institutions of power and culture. It lifts one group 
of nations above another group, makes some the superior to others, and 
discriminates against those in the minority.
  In this country, it led to three centuries of segregation, 
discrimination, and prejudice. It remains a battle that African-
Americans continue to suffer through today. Rising above the harmful 
effects of centuries of racism has not been easy for us; neither has it 
been for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
  In 2005, the struggle of Afro-descendants in Latin America and the 
Caribbean continues. Representing the largest population of African 
descendants outside of Africa, Afro-descendants have not fared well in 
the region. Afro-Latinos for instance account for about 30 percent of 
the Latin American population and make up over 60 percent of its poor. 
Afro-Latinos also have extreme high rates of suicide, homicide, infant 
mortality, and illiteracy.

  Brazil has the largest population of Afro-descendants in Latin 
America and the Caribbean. Shockingly, only one in three Afro-
Brazilians attends secondary schools. Colombia has the second largest 
Afro-descendant population in the region and Afro-Colombians have 
shorter life expectancies, limited access to medical and health care 
facilities, and the highest rates of illiteracy.
  Our involvement, dependency, and complicity in the transatlantic 
slave trade require action by this country to help address the issues 
of Afro-descendant populations. With my House colleagues, I have 
introduced legislation (H. Con. Res. 175) to call for the recognition 
by this Congress of the struggle of Afro-descendant populations and to 
encourage and promote efforts to assist Afro-descendant communities. 
The resolution calls on the President, the Congress, and the 
international community to devote resources and services to help 
eradicate the economic and social disparities that exist in Latin 
America and the Caribbean.
  I also must acknowledge the productive support, insights, and 
assistance of the Afro-Latino Working Group: The Honorable Mr. John 
Conyers, Mr. Donald Payne, Ms. Barbara Lee, Mr. William Jefferson, and 
Mr. Gregory Meeks. Their counsel, advocacy, and commitment to these 
issues have been instrumental in raising the importance and awareness 
of this cause to me and this Congress. I appreciate their support.
  I would also like to thank the number of colleagues that have 
extended their support to this resolution and are currently listed as 
cosponsors to the legislation. They are a sign of the bipartisan and 
broad support of this resolution by this Chamber. Today, the 
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere of the International Relations 
Committee marked up this legislation and voted to support it. I hope 
the 109th Congress will give it the same attention and support.
  I would like to submit the text of House Concurrent Resolution 157 
for the Record.


                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

       Acknowledging African descendants of the transatlantic 
     slave trade in all of the Americas with an emphasis on 
     descendants in Latin America and the Caribbean, recognizing 
     the injustices suffered by these African descendants, and 
     recommending that the United States and the international 
     community work to improve the situation of Afro-descendant 
     communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
       Whereas during Black History Month it is important that we 
     not forget that African-Americans are not the only survivors 
     of the transatlantic slave trade;
       Whereas like the United States, many European nations 
     benefited greatly from the colonization of Latin America and 
     the Caribbean and their participation in the slave trade;
       Whereas the story of African descendants in all of the 
     Americas remains untold, leading them to be forgotten, made 
     invisible, and allowed to suffer unjustly;
       Whereas it is important to acknowledge that as a result of 
     the slave trade and immigration, approximately 80,000,000 to 
     150,000,000 persons of African descent live in Latin America 
     and the Caribbean, making them the largest population of 
     persons of African descent outside of Africa;
       Whereas Afro-descendants are present in most all Latin 
     American countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, 
     Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, 
     Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela;
       Whereas the size of Afro-descendant populations vary in 
     range from less than 1 percent in some countries to as much 
     as 30 percent in Colombia and 46 percent in Brazil and make 
     up the majority in some Spanish speaking Caribbean nations, 
     such as Cuba and the Dominican Republic;
       Whereas Afro-descendant populations have made significant 
     economic, social, and cultural contributions to their 
     countries and the Western Hemisphere from their unfortunate 
     involvement in the transatlantic slave trade to their recent 
     contributions to trade, tourism, and other industries;
       Whereas although persons of African descent have made 
     significant achievements in education, employment, economic, 
     political, and social spheres in some countries, the vast 
     majority are marginalized--living in impoverished communities 
     where they are excluded from centers of education, 
     government, and basic human rights based upon the color of 
     their skin and ancestry;
       Whereas Afro-descendants have shorter life expectancies, 
     higher rates of infant mortality, higher incidences of HIV/
     AIDS, higher rates of illiteracy, and lower incomes than do 
     other populations;
       Whereas Afro-descendants encounter problems of access to 
     healthcare, basic education, potable water, housing, land 
     titles, credit, equal justice and representation under the 
     law, political representation, and other economic, political, 
     health, and basic human rights; and
       Whereas skin color and ancestry have led African-Americans 
     in the United States and African descendants in Latin America 
     and the Caribbean to share similar injustices, leading to 
     economic, social, health, and political inequalities: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) recognizes and honors African descendants in the 
     Americas for their contributions to the economic, social, and 
     cultural fabric of the countries in the Americas, 
     particularly in Latin American and Caribbean societies;
       (2) recognizes that as a result of their skin color and 
     ancestry, African descendants in the Americas have wrongfully 
     experienced economic, social, and political injustices;
       (3) urges the President to take appropriate measures to 
     encourage the celebration and remembrance of the achievements 
     of African descendants in the Americas and a resolution of 
     injustices suffered by African descendants in the Americas;
       (4) encourages the United States and the international 
     community to work to ensure that extreme poverty is 
     eradicated, universal education is achieved, quality 
     healthcare is made available, sustainable environmental 
     resources, including land where applicable, is provided, and 
     equal access to justice and representation under the law is 
     granted in Afro-descendant communities in Latin America and 
     the Caribbean; and
       (5) encourages the United States and the international 
     community to achieve these goals in Latin America and the 
     Caribbean by--
       (A) promoting research that focuses on identifying and 
     eradicating racial disparities in economic, political, and 
     social spheres;
       (B) promoting, funding, and creating development programs 
     that focus on Afro-descendant communities;
       (C) providing technical support and training to Afro-
     descendant advocacy groups that work to uphold basic human 
     rights in the region;
       (D) promoting the creation of an international working 
     group that focuses on problems of communities of Afro-
     descendants in the Americas; and
       (E) promoting trade and other bilateral and multilateral 
     agreements that take into account the needs of Afro-
     descendant communities.




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