[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 6504-6505]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 5216

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 27, 2006

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer my full support of 
legislation that Congressman Tom Lantos, Congressman Tom Davis, and I 
have crafted entitled the Preservation of Records of Servitude, 
Emancipation, and Post-Civil War Reconstruction Act (H.R. 5216). This 
legislation would preserve and make more accessible important pieces of 
personal and American history.
  By and large, Americans of non-African descent who research their 
genealogical history search through municipal birth, death, and 
marriage records. To the benefit of all Americans many of these records 
have been properly archived as public historical documents. However, 
African-Americans in the United States confront a unique challenge when 
conducting genealogical research due to the vestiges of slavery and 
discrimination.
  Accordingly, African-Americans were denied many of the benefits of 
citizenship that generate traceable documentation such as voter 
registration, property ownership, business ownership, and school 
attendance. As a result, traditional genealogical research documents 
can at times be of limited value to African-Americans. Fortunately, 
slavery, emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction records have 
proven themselves to offer a wealth of useful genealogical information 
that African-Americans can utilize to better understand their history. 
Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive national effort to preserve 
these important pieces of history or to make them easily accessible to 
all Americans. In the absence of congressional action, these records 
will remain inaccessible, poorly catalogued, and subject to the 
deteriorating affects of decay.
  The Preservation of Records of Servitude, Emancipation, and Post-
Civil War Reconstruction Act would address this troubling situation. 
Specifically, our bill would require the establishment of an 
electronically searchable national database in the National Archives to 
preserve records of servitude, emancipation, and post-Civil War 
reconstruction. It would also provide grants to State and local 
entities to establish similar local databases. The records that would 
be preserved and made more accessible include the Southern Claims 
Commission Records, Records of the Freedmen's Bureau, Slave 
Impressments Records, Slave Payroll Records, and Slave Manifests. This 
legislation would also authorize a total of $10 million to establish 
this national database and provide grants to states, academic 
institutions, and genealogical associations.
  Recognizing that we can ill afford to allow these irreplaceable 
stories to be lost to the withering decay of time, our bill takes 
meaningful steps to resurrect the rich history of African-Americans. 
Not only will it allow a means by which African-Americans can trace 
their lineage, but also as a means by which we can preserve 
historically comprehensive and accurate information about our 
collective history as a nation.
  As Author Maya Angelou once said, ``No man can know where he is going 
unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at 
his present place.'' On behalf of all Americans, join us in forging 
that essential nexus between the past and the present by cosponsoring 
this bi-partisan legislation.

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