[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 114 (Tuesday, July 17, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S9496]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petition or memorial was laid before the Senate and was 
referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-168. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of 
     Ohio urging Congress to pass legislation establishing a 
     Servitude and Emancipation Archival Research Clearinghouse in 
     the National Archives; to the Committee on Homeland Security 
     and Governmental Affairs.

                        Senate Resolution No. 18

       Whereas, Because of slavery and discrimination, African 
     Americans have been denied many of the benefits of 
     citizenship that produce traceable documentation; and
       Whereas, researching one's genealogy through old records 
     and documents is an arduous task even when the information is 
     readily available, and for African Americans, researching 
     their genealogies and making a connection to their past is 
     even more difficult because the relevant records often have 
     not been properly maintained; and
       Whereas, access to better organized documents relevant to 
     servitude and emancipation will assist African Americans in 
     search their family histories, of which, because of slavery 
     and segregation, are almost impossible to find in common 
     registers and census records; and
       Whereas, legislation has been introduced in the 110th 
     Congress to establish a Servitude and Emancipation Archival 
     Research Clearinghouse (SEARCH) in the National Archives and 
     to authorize appropriations to establish and fund the 
     national archives database of historic records regarding 
     servitude and emancipation; Now therefore be it
       Resolved, That we, the members of the Senate of the 127th 
     General Assembly of the State of Ohio, urge the Congress of 
     the United States to pass the legislation that has been 
     introduced to establish a Servitude and Emancipation Archival 
     Research Clearinghouse in the National Archives; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit duly 
     authenticated copies of this resolution to the Speaker and 
     Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, to the 
     President Pro Tempore and Secretary of the United States 
     Senate, and to the members of the Ohio Congressional 
     delegation.

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