[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 10829-10835]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      COMMEMORATING THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ABOLITION OF THE 
                       TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE

  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 272) commemorating the 200th anniversary of the 
abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 272

       Whereas the United Kingdom outlawed the African slave trade 
     in 1807 by passing the Slave Trade Abolition Act which 
     recognized that ``the African Slave Trade, and all manner of 
     dealing and trading in the Purchase, Sale, Barter, or 
     Transfer of Slaves, or of Persons intended to be sold, 
     transferred, used, or dealt with as Slaves, practiced or 
     carried on, in, at, to or from any Part of the Coast or 
     Countries of Africa, shall be, and the same is hereby utterly 
     abolished, prohibited, and declared to be unlawful'';
       Whereas the transatlantic slave trade entailed the 
     kidnapping, purchase and commercial export of Africans, 
     mostly from West and Central Africa, to the European colonies 
     and new nations in the Americas, including the United States, 
     where they were enslaved in forced labor between the 15th and 
     late 19th centuries;
       Whereas the term ``Middle Passage'' refers to the horrific 
     part of the transatlantic slave trade when millions of 
     Africans where chained together and stowed by the hundreds in 
     overcrowded ships where they were forced into small spaces 
     for months without relief as they were transported across the 
     Atlantic Ocean to the Americas;
       Whereas historians claim that it is not possible to give an 
     accurate number of slaves imported to the Americas from 
     Africa, but scholars estimate that, at minimum, between 
     10,000,000 and 15,000,000 Africans survived the Middle 
     Passage, were imported as chattel through customs houses and 
     ports across the Americas, and were sold into slavery;
       Whereas historians agree that many slaves arrived in the 
     Americas ill with infections and diseases, disabled from the 
     iron chains that bound them or from the physical abuse they 
     endured, or traumatized by rape;
       Whereas historians estimate that 10 to 50 percent of the 
     Africans who were shipped from the continent perished during 
     the Middle Passage as a result of physical abuses, torture, 
     malnutrition, disease, infection, suicide or repercussions 
     from their resistance to their bondage;
       Whereas Africans' resistance to the transatlantic slave 
     trade culminated in revolts--collective acts of rebellion--
     against slave ships and their crews during the Middle 
     Passage, and rebellions against slavery occurred frequently 
     on colonial and post-colonial plantations throughout the 
     Americas;
       Whereas historians estimate that 1,200,000 men, women, and 
     children were later separated from their families and 
     displaced from their communities by being sold to 
     slaveholders in other regions, colonies, States, and nations 
     in the inter-American and domestic slave trade that took 
     place through much of the 19th century;
       Whereas the transatlantic slave trade is commonly 
     recognized by historians as the largest forced migration in 
     world history;
       Whereas, as a result of the slave trade, an estimated 
     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 the institution of slavery, which enslaved 
     Africans, their progeny and later generations for life, was 
     legally sanctioned by the colonial governments and later the 
     nations and States engaged in slavery, including the 
     Government of the United States, through most of the 19th 
     century;
       Whereas slavery in the United States, during and after 
     British colonial rule, included the sale and acquisition of 
     Africans and African Americans as chattel property in 
     interstate and intrastate commerce;
       Whereas enslaved Africans and African Americans were 
     defined as property that passed to heirs under inheritance 
     laws of the British colonial rule and later under the laws of 
     the various States;
       Whereas enslaved Africans adapted to their environment and 
     created a new, rich culture that marked the development of 
     the African American community and continues to strongly 
     impact culture and society in the United States today;
       Whereas the slavery that flourished in the United States 
     constituted an immoral and inhumane dispossession of human 
     life, liberty, and citizenship rights and denied Africans and 
     African Americans the fruits of their own labor;
       Whereas the treatment of enslaved Africans and African 
     Americans in the colonies and the United States included the 
     deprivation of their freedom, exploitation of their labor, 
     psychological and physical abuse, separation of families, and 
     the targeted efforts to repress their culture, language, and 
     religion through legal and social restrictive measures;
       Whereas enslavement has been defined as a crime against 
     humanity pursuant to the Nuremberg Charter (Agreement for the 
     Prosecution and Punishment of the Major War Criminals of the 
     European Axis, entered into force on August 8, 1945 (82 
     U.N.T.S. 279)), and subsequent international tribunals for 
     war crimes;
       Whereas the United Nations has adopted various treaties, 
     declarations, and conventions and hosted conferences that 
     condemn slavery and the slave trade, including the 
     transatlantic slave trade, and has acknowledged that such 
     acts were barbaric in their nature and were appalling 
     tragedies;
       Whereas the slave trade and the legacy of slavery continue 
     to have a profound impact on social and economic disparity, 
     hatred, bias, racism, and discrimination, and continue to 
     affect people of African descent throughout the Americas 
     today; and
       Whereas March 25, 2007, marked the 200th anniversary of the 
     Slave Trade Abolition Act enacted by the British Parliament: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,  That the House of Representatives--
       (1) recognizes the historical significance of the 200th 
     anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade 
     to the people of the United States and to the world;
       (2) respects the memory of those who died as a result of 
     slavery, including through exposure to the horrors of the 
     Middle Passage and in revolt against, and resistance to, 
     enslavement;
       (3) supports the preservation of historical records and 
     documents in private collections, local and State 
     governments, shipping ports, and corporations in the United 
     States and throughout the Americas relating to the 
     transatlantic slave trade and the centuries of slavery that 
     followed; and
       (4) urges increased education of current and future 
     generations about slavery and its vestiges by honoring their 
     significance in United States history and the history of 
     other nations of the Americas with appropriate research, 
     scholarship, curriculum, textbooks, museum exhibits and 
     programs, library resources and programs, and cultural 
     programs and activities.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Payne) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution 
and yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  I would like to first commend our distinguished colleague and former 
member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. Lee of California, for 
introducing this very important resolution.
  I am honored and humbled to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the 
abolition of transatlantic slave trade with this resolution, for its 
legacy continues to reflect the racial biases and socioeconomic 
disparities that still exist in this country and throughout the 
Americas.
  As we consistently admonish the prevalence of modern-day slavery 
worldwide, because it still exists in some parts of the world, it would 
be hypocritical if we did not acknowledge the history of transatlantic 
slave trade which existed for so long in this country, and therefore it 
is appropriate that we speak about it at this time, its 200th 
anniversary.
  For over 300 years the United Kingdom and other European countries 
kidnapped and sold millions of Africans into slavery. The transatlantic 
slave trade is known as the largest forced migration in the history of 
the world. Estimates range from 25 to 50 million Africans were forcibly 
brought to the United States, the Caribbean, Central and South America 
and to Europe. Sharks migratory patterns were changed because these 
predators followed the ships in the Middle Passage because when a slave 
died they were thrown overboard, or if they were killed because they 
were protesting, or if they committed suicide, the sharks knew that 
they could follow the ships, and it changed the migratory patterns of 
sharks during this period of time.

[[Page 10830]]

  African labor was an essential feature of economic development in 
Europe and her former colonies, including the United States. All of the 
nations involved flourished economically as a result of slave labor.
  The fact that slavery was not abolished in the United States until 
Abraham Lincoln declared to end slavery in the Confederacy in 1863 with 
the Emancipation Proclamation. However, slavery was really not 
abolished in the Union.
  Interestingly enough, in my State of New Jersey, slavery continued 
until 1866. In New Jersey, a mother, a woman could become free at the 
age of 21, and a man at the age of 25, but their children had to 
continue in slavery. And so the emancipation only freed slaves in the 
Confederacy, and did not free slaves in the Union. And so, as I have 
indicated in New Jersey, there were still slaves a year after the end 
of the Civil War in 1866.
  The dignity of our Nation demands our recognition of this tragic part 
of American history. I extend my highest respect and appreciation for 
the contributions and struggles of African Americans to create an 
equitable and just society from which we all benefit today.
  I strongly support this resolution, and urge my colleagues to do the 
same.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, thank you for bringing up this 
important resolution to this floor today. And I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 272, which 
recognizes the historical significance of the abolition of 
transatlantic slave trade. It respects the memory of those who perished 
as a result of slavery. It supports preservation of related historical 
documents, and it urges greater education about this sad period in 
history for both current and future generations.

                              {time}  1430

  While addressing the Community of Democracies' opening plenary in 
Chile on April 29, 2005, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated: 
``We at the Community of Democracies must use the power of our shared 
ideals to accelerate democracy's movement to ever more places around 
the globe. We must usher in an era of democracy that thinks of tyranny 
as we thought of slavery today: a moral abomination that could not 
withstand the natural desire of every human being for a life of liberty 
and of dignity.''
  While Secretary Rice's remarks were specifically on the promotion of 
democracy around the world, she reminded us of a very unsettling fact. 
Even 200 years after the abolition of the slave trade in the United 
Kingdom and nearly 145 years after the Emancipation Proclamation in our 
United States, slavery still exists in the modern world. It exists 
through tyranny. It exists through oppression. It exists where human 
rights and freedom are systematically repressed.
  Secretary Rice's statement serves as a call to action for those of us 
who would seek to break the shackles of tyranny and promote human 
dignity around the world.
  I appreciate the bipartisan fashion by which we have sought to heed 
the Secretary's call and to recognize the significance of the abolition 
of the transatlantic slave trade, as evidenced by our consideration 
today of both this resolution by the Congresswoman from California (Ms. 
Lee) and House Resolution 158, offered by the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts). Collectively, these resolutions remind us of 
the courage and the fortitude of those who came before us to fight the 
scourge of slavery, while helping us come to terms with our own 
shameful past.
  I believe that there would be no better way to respect the memory of 
those forced to suffer under the horrors of the transatlantic slave 
trade, or to honor those who dedicated themselves to its abolition, 
than to stand together today in a bipartisan fashion and publicly 
recommit ourselves to the eradication of slavery and the promotion of 
human rights around the world.
  Madam Speaker, I again thank you for bringing this important 
resolution to the floor.
  Madam Speaker, because I know that the gentleman from New Jersey and 
the gentlewoman from California have many speakers on their side, 
except for the 2 minutes that I would like to yield to the gentleman 
from Indiana (Mr. Burton) to comment on this important resolution, I 
yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Payne), and I ask unanimous consent that he be allowed to control that 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from New 
Jersey will control the balance of the time except for 2 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her generosity.
  Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 7 minutes to the 
sponsor of the resolution, Representative Barbara Lee from the Ninth 
District of California, member of the Committee on Appropriations.
  Ms. LEE. Madam Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from New Jersey 
for yielding and for your leadership, Mr. Payne, in making sure that 
this resolution came to the floor today in a bipartisan way and also 
for making sure that the history of African Americans, which, of 
course, started during the Middle Passages, is told not only here on 
the floor of Congress but in our public schools. So thank you very 
much.
  Let me thank our ranking member, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, 
and also Mr. Lantos for their leadership and for their assistance.
  And let me take a moment to acknowledge our staff, because they have 
worked very diligently. And not only do they work for us. They really 
do believe in what we are doing, Madam Speaker: Kristin Wells, Pearl 
Alice Marsh, Joan Condon, Genora Reed, and Ven Neralla from my office. 
They have done remarkable work in a bipartisan fashion to get this 
resolution to the floor.
  This resolution, Madam Speaker, H. Res. 272, commemorates a very 
somber and very serious occasion, the 200th anniversary of the 
abolition of the transatlantic slave trade by the United Kingdom. Two 
hundred years ago on March 25 in 1807, Great Britain abolished the 
transatlantic slave trade in England and its colonies. This act began a 
worldwide revolt against the trade of human beings by other European 
nations.
  This is a very important milestone because it represents the 
beginning of the end of one of the most deplorable, deplorable chapters 
in human history.
  Madam Speaker, on several occasions, like many of my colleagues, I 
have had the overwhelmingly heart-wrenching, and I mean heart-
wrenching, experience of traveling to the areas from where slaves were 
captured and put on ships for that deadly passage to America from 
Africa. And this is called, of course, the Middle Passage. One of my 
most distinct memories was standing on several occasions at the ``doors 
of no return'' in Ghana and in Senegal. Every slave castle has such a 
door. This door represents so many things to me. At this door my 
ancestors stood on the shores of their homeland for the last time in 
their lives. At this door a fate awaited them that I wouldn't wish on 
my worst enemy. And over 400 years later, there I was standing in the 
doors as one of their descendants who survived and returned.
  Standing in front of those doors, it is really impossible for me to 
ignore the fact that those who walked chained through those doors laid 
the foundation of many modern nations that have a colonial past, 
including the United States of America.
  The slave trade was vital to England and other European colonial 
powers. It provided the basis for modern capitalism to take root, 
generating immense wealth for business enterprises in colonial America 
and Europe. In many ways the industrial strength of our Nation was 
built on the blood, sweat, and tears of African American free labor. 
Free labor. Today, this great country of ours, the United States of 
America, reaps the fruits of

[[Page 10831]]

labor of these enslaved Africans, and we cannot forget that.
  However, in spite of the considerable riches enslaved Africans 
created for others, what the slave trade also represented was really 
the lowest expression of humanity, and I mean the lowest expression. 
Captured Africans were subjected to the worst forms of cruelty and 
inhumanity. Millions were crammed in the hulls of slave ships like 
sardines in a can. The stench of filth and death reeked from the ships. 
Disease ran rampant through the ships. Traders used any means of 
violence to subdue insurrection, including torture, mutilations, and 
rape. The death rate during transport would reach as high as 50 
percent. The world will never know really the exact number of enslaved 
Africans transported to America, but it is estimated that between 10 to 
15 million were brought here to the United States, making it the 
largest forced migration in history.
  Given its immense significance, it is unfortunate that the 
transatlantic slave trade is a subject only briefly discussed in our 
Nation's classrooms, and the study of the transatlantic slave trade 
really, if you ask me, should be a requirement for all of our public 
schools. It is essential that we acknowledge how slavery created 
attitudes of racism that persist in our society today.
  Sadly, the legacy of the slave trade and slavery are with us to this 
day. Just consider these facts: nearly one quarter of African Americans 
in the United States live in poverty. African Americans have one of the 
highest unemployment rates at 9.6 percent, and of the 46 million who 
lack health insurance, about 20 percent are African American and many 
of these are children.
  Slavery may be over, at least legalized slavery may be over, but in 
many ways the vestiges remain. That is why, Madam Speaker, it is 
important that we are considering this resolution today. We must honor 
the memory and the legacy and the courage of those who died in slavery 
and those who worked to end it. But at the same time, we must use this 
occasion to recommit ourselves to eliminating the disparities that 
exist in our society. We must not let their sacrifices be in vain.
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I would like to claim my 2 
minutes, and then I will yield to my colleague.
  First of all, let me just say that this is a very important 
resolution. I don't think many people in America really understand or 
remember all of the horrible things that occurred during the slave 
trading that took place in the past.
  There is a movie out right now that talks about the slave trade and 
how horrible it was. It is called ``Amazing Grace.'' And I don't tout 
movies very much, but I would submit to all of my colleagues they ought 
to go see that movie. It is about William Wilberforce, who has been a 
hero of mine for a long time since I was a State legislator, and he led 
the fight in England to abolish slave trading; and it took him, I 
think, 18 years to get it done. But he was a real crusader for the 
rights of man and for the ending of slave trading.
  So I would say to my colleague, Ms. Lee, I think this is a great bill 
you introduced. I whole heartedly support it, and I hope everybody in 
this House will. And as I said before, we ought to remember the 
horrible fight, the great fight that took place in ending slavery in 
England and in subsequent years.
  So this is a great resolution. I really appreciate your bringing it 
forward.
  And I hope everybody will remember William Wilberforce and the fight 
he made to end slavery and slave trading in England.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New Jersey will control 
the remainder of the time, and there are 23\1/2\ minutes remaining in 
this debate.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas, Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, chairman of the 
Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Water Resources and 
Environment.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, let me say thanks 
to Mr. Payne and Ms. Lee for bringing this forth.
  I rise today in support of this resolution to commemorate the 200th 
anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
  This anniversary marks a significant moment in not only American 
history but the history of the world. For 300 years the transatlantic 
slave trade represented one of the most horrific periods in the history 
of human events. During this time, 12 million Africans were captured 
and brought to America as slaves. Millions more did not survive this 
horrific trip overseas, which could have lasted as long as 3 months. 
These individuals forcibly gave their lives and freedom to build the 
economic future of America, which includes this Capitol.
  While nothing can replace lives or freedom, it is important to 
acknowledge that the consequences of slavery still exist. While 200 
years may have passed since the end of the transatlantic slave trade, 
the legacy of racism still persists. Today we take a step forward in 
healing those wounds by recognizing the past and acknowledging the 
impact it still has on our Nation.
  I would like to thank Representative Lee for writing this and 
bringing it forth. Because all too often, we think nobody remembers but 
us, those who still suffer from this horrific period in our history.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
North Carolina, Representative G. K. Butterfield, the vice chairman of 
the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Madam Speaker, I also want to thank the gentleman 
from New Jersey, my friend Congressman Donald Payne, for his tireless 
efforts on behalf of the continent of Africa and other related issues. 
I also want to thank the gentlewoman from California for her work on 
this resolution. And, hopefully, we will pass this resolution and move 
forward with greater work of this Congress.
  Madam Speaker, this Nation has yet to fully come to terms with and 
recognize the institution of slavery that existed in this country for 
so long. Slavery is perhaps the most underrecognized crime against 
humanity in the history of the world.
  Madam Speaker, I am often asked about my light complexion. Some 
people do it out of curiosity and it does not offend me, but I am often 
asked about my complexion. It is a fact that I am indeed an African 
American. My great-grandmother was a slave.

                              {time}  1445

  And my great grandfather was the slave master. And my situation is 
not unique. The enslavement of millions of people who were taken from 
the west coast of Africa still affects millions of Americans today.
  I represent the First Congressional District of North Carolina. My 
area of the country was one of the destinations of the slave trade. My 
congressional district today suffers from the effects from slavery. My 
constituents, half of whom are African American, suffer from 
disparities across the spectrum. I can trace directly these conditions 
to the fact that their foreparents were legally denied citizenship and 
the benefits of citizenship. Even after slavery ended, the United 
States continued to disrespect black citizens and forced them to endure 
inferior schools, health care, income and the like.
  In my hometown of Wilson, North Carolina, my mother did not have 
access to a public education beyond the sixth grade. Had she lived in 
the rural area of my county, she would not have had the benefit of any 
education, save only a token opportunity offered by black churches. 
When my mother left the sixth grade, she was given an opportunity to 
move to another city to get an education, and it made a difference. She 
returned to our home community and became a teacher for 48 years and 
instilled in my generation the importance of education. There were 
hundreds of thousands who were denied educational opportunities, and 
their descendants today continue to suffer.

[[Page 10832]]

  Madam Speaker, we have a tremendous responsibility as a Nation to 
remedy past wrongs. This resolution commemorating the 200th anniversary 
of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade is a step in the 
right direction. We must do more. Poverty is pervasive. This Congress 
must set the tone and begin the process of healing and remedy the 
cruelty of slavery and racial discrimination.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
the 11th District of New York, Representative Yvette Clarke, a member 
of the Commerce and Small Business Committee.
  Ms. CLARKE. Thank you very much to Representative Payne and to the 
gentlelady from California.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 272, a resolution 
commemorating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the 
transatlantic slave trade.
  The abolition of the trade was an important milestone in the fight 
against slavery, but that campaign continued throughout the 19th 
century and it still continues today.
  Currently, 27 million people are held in slavery around the world. 
Like the slaves of the past, slaves of today are controlled by 
violence, and suffer the theft of their labor and humanity.
  Our commemoration today rings hollow if we do not learn from the 
lessons of the abolition movement of the past. That botched 
emancipation of 1865 forced four million ex-slaves into the economic 
social society with no access to education, political participation or 
equal citizenship, nor a true recognition of their humanity.
  As I reflect on my own history as a descendant of African slaves who 
were survivors of the Middle Passage, my ancestors, kidnapped, 
brutalized and brought to the island Nation of Jamaica West Indies 
where centuries later my parents were born, who then migrated as 
subjects of the Queen to Brooklyn, New York, where I was born.
  The history of Africans in the Americas has been suppressed as 
evidenced by the lack of presence in our school's curriculums. Today, 
we see the results of granting freedom without dignity. People of 
African descent still face economic inequality, social inequality and 
racism.
  Slavery can be brought to an end within our lifetime. Madam Speaker, 
it is my prayer that someday soon this body will be celebrating of the 
global eradication of slavery. And in the spirit of the liberation and 
suffrage of my ancestors, the Civil Rights movement, human rights for 
every man, woman and child will be recognized. The liberty and the 
dreams of all will be attained through their collective will will not 
go unnoticed. We are not going to achieve true liberty unless and until 
we all embrace our collective and diverse humanity together.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from the 
Seventh District of Illinois, chairman of the Oversight and Government 
Reform Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the 
District of Columbia, Representative Danny K. Davis.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. 
Res. 272, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the 
transatlantic slave trade. I also rise in honor of my forefathers and 
foremothers who were captured through raids and kidnappings, sold to 
Europeans and subjugated to four and a half centuries of the 
transatlantic slave trade.
  The transatlantic slave trade is sometimes called ``Maafa,'' meaning 
``holocaust'' or ``great disaster'' in Kiswahili by African and African 
American scholars because it resulted in a vast loss of life for 
African captives both in Africa and in America. It is believed that 50 
percent of African deaths, 10 million, occurred in Africa as a result 
of wars between native tribes. 4.5 percent, around 900,000 deaths, 
occurred in large forts called factories. Around 2.5 million Africans 
died during voyages through the infamous Middle Passage, where they 
were packed into tight, unsanitary spaces on ships for months at a 
time.
  While estimates of the number of slaves brought to North America vary 
from a few hundred thousand to a few million, the slave population in 
the United States had grown to 4 million by the 1860s. From the latter 
18th century, and possibly before that even, until the Civil War, the 
rate of natural growth of North American slaves was much greater than 
the population of any nation in Europe and was nearly twice as rapid as 
that in Europe. In North America, the treatment of slaves was very 
harsh and inhumane. Whether laboring or walking about in public, slaves 
were regulated by legally authorized violence. On large plantations, 
slave overseers were authorized to whip and brutalize noncompliant 
slaves. Significantly, slave codes authorized, indemnified or even 
required the use of violence and were denounced by abolitionists for 
their brutality.
  In the present phase of society, we must recognize the historical 
significance of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the 
transatlantic slave trade to the world. More broadly, respect the 
memories of those who gave their lives in the fight for freedom, and 
make sure that no generations yet to come will ever experience this 
kind of inhumane brutality.
  And so I commend Representative Lee for introducing this resolution, 
commend Representative Payne for his tremendous leadership in human 
rights.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the 
Representative from the Sixth District of California, Representative 
Lynn Woolsey.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. I want to thank Chairman Payne and Congressman Barbara 
Lee for bringing this important issue before us today.
  Madam Speaker, I rise as a cosponsor and in support of H. Res. 272, 
which celebrates the end of what was one of the most horrific and 
immoral human rights abuses in history, slavery.
  The slave trade must be remembered. It has to be remembered for its 
brutality, for its inhumane cruelty, and for the injustices that it 
caused millions of families. I say families, because for every one of 
the more than 12 million Africans forced from his or her homeland, 
subjected to the Middle Passage, that terrifying journey on slave 
ships, overwhelmed by disease and left in famine, every one of those 
folks left a family behind in grief or they were separated by slave 
traders. These human beings taken from their homeland and stripped of 
their freedom suffered more than a loss of their humanity and of their 
families, however; many times they lost their very culture, their 
language, their religion and their true homeland.
  It is important to remember that many of those captured in the slave 
trade did not survive the journey. Indeed, for every 100 slaves who 
reached the new world, another 40 died in Africa or during the Middle 
Passage.
  This resolution, H.R. 272, is important because it recognizes the 
injustices of the transatlantic slave trade and the historical 
significance of its abolition. In order to come to terms with slavery 
and the impression of black Americans in our past, it is also important 
that we acknowledge not only the historical events of the slave trade 
and of slavery, but also its legacy, its lasting effects on the lives 
of every single American.
  We see even today the long-term consequences of slavery in the 
persistent inqualities between black and white Americans, the economic 
disparities, poverty rates, and the discrimination that still lives in 
our country today. Educating and teaching future generations about the 
historical wrongs of the slave trade can help because it could help 
prevent such crimes against humanity in the future, but it will also 
identify many forms of slavery that still exist, forms that we pretend 
aren't there.
  So I urge my colleagues, support H.R. 272.
  Mr. PAYNE. I yield 3 minutes to the gentlelady from the 18th District 
of Texas, Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee, chairwoman of the Homeland 
Security Subcommittee on Transportation, Security and Infrastructure 
Protection.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Let me thank the distinguished gentleman

[[Page 10833]]

from New Jersey, the chairman of the Africa Subcommittee on the Foreign 
Affairs Committee. I thank the author and sponsor of this legislation, 
it is historic. And certainly, I thank the ranking member of the full 
committee for her leadership and presence here on the floor today and 
our full committee Chair.
  This is a day that really emphasizes the long and diverse history of 
this Nation. It is a day that I hope that members of this body will 
unanimously pass this legislation, H. Res. 272.
  Certainly, the historic aspect of it has already been noted, some 10 
million to 15 million Africans were transported as slaves across the 
Atlantic. It does not, however, add all of the history when you look at 
the broadness of this question of slavery and America. What it really 
did to America was carve out this issue of race. And Judge Higgenbotham 
made it very clear as he rendered decisions on segregation and 
separation, that in this Nation, race matters. This historical 
perspective now puts all of this horrible legacy in place, and it does 
so as America. It does so, it speaks to America about the horribleness 
of the slave trade. It adds that this was not a very positive part of 
America's history, but it is part of America's history. It does so in 
the backdrop of the commemoration of the 400th year of Jamestown, 1607. 
And the first slaves that came over were actually from Angola. The 
person who fought against the slaves who were being taken was a woman 
warrior of the tribes in that part.
  Just a few weeks ago, I saw the reenactment or the refilming, if you 
will, or the reshowing of Roots, the Alex Haley Roots, on TV1, 
interestingly enough, a station and a company owned by an African 
American woman. And it brought home again the fierceness of slavery, 
the violence of slavery, and in fact, that these slaves were taken and 
violated and abused. And those that came over and made it here were 
infected with disease, they were suffering from rape and they had been 
brutalized.

                              {time}  1500

  This is an important statement. But a more important statement is the 
vestiges of slavery, and I am glad to have joined the Honorable 
Congresswoman Barbara Lee and a number of others who went to South 
Africa to the Conference on Racism, organized by the United Nations in 
2001. That was a very, very important effort, and I am glad that 
Members of Congress did not accept the administration's rejection of 
going to that conference. It was vital for us to be there. It was a 
vital part of the healing process, because it had to do with racism 
around the world. In fact, we know today that slavery still exists 
around the world.
  So as we stand here today, we acknowledge the horribleness of the 
slave history of this country, but we also condemn slavery that exists 
today around the world, in parts of Asia, in parts of Africa, in parts 
of South and Central America, in parts of all aspects of the world, 
possibly even in Europe, where people are held against their will.
  But the United Nations conference was to speak to the issue of 
stamping out the vestiges of slavery, so that we could do it in unity, 
so that we could respect each other for our dignity and for where we 
have come from, our religious difference, our racial difference, even 
our regional and country differences.
  That is why this resolution is so important, because it says to the 
world that the United States House of Representatives accepts and 
acknowledges the wrongness of slavery, but we are going forward. We 
also recognize the vestiges of slavery, and we must go forward to end 
that separation on the basis of race. We must be able to say that race 
matters in a positive way.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 272, commemorating 
the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
  When slavery was introduced into the European colonies in 1619, the 
dark days that followed ignited the faith and hope of our ancestors 
that one day their descendants would live in freedom and helped them 
bear the unbearable burden of bondage. For over 300 years, the United 
Kingdom and other European countries kidnapped and sold millions of 
Africans into slavery; contemporary historians estimate that between 
9.4 and 12 million Africans arrived in the new world. Although on March 
25, 1807, the United Kingdom outlawed the African Slave trade by 
passing the Slave Trade Abolition Act, the road to freedom was a 
perilous one, and without Abolitionist movements, protests, and 
opposition, would not have been realized.
  Madam Speaker, it is important to commemorate this occasion so that 
the world will not quickly forget the incorrigible injustices African-
Americans suffered as slaves and the humiliation and degradation they 
bore when they were taken and adjudged to be real estate, the same 
category as livestock, household furniture, wagons and goods.
  Although slavery was long, vicious and arduous, African slaves were 
instrumental in the economic development of this Nation and allowed 
Europe and the United States of America to be built. Slaves were the 
foundation of the country--today we recognize the end of this heinous 
trade of human cargo. It was from the institutional slave trade of 
Africans that the strong African-American people who have survived 
despite racism and second class citizenship emerged in the United 
States.
  As we condemn the atrocities, human rights abuses, and modern-day 
slavery worldwide, it would be hypocritical if we did not acknowledge 
the history of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery that existed 
not long ago in our country.
  The end of slavery did not come to pass until 1865, when the United 
States ratified the 13th amendment to the constitution. But the fight 
for equality against injustices, though easier today, still carries on. 
The consequences of the slave trade have been profound and the scars 
that it produced still have not healed. The most serious legacy is the 
endurance of racism in various forms that keep changing, but do not 
seem to dissipate.
  Madam Speaker, we are committed to overcoming this legacy and 
assuring a just world society. The dignity of African-Americans demands 
recognition of the tragic history of the slavery era. It is for that 
reason that I rise in strong support of H. Res. 272, commemorating the 
200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. I 
urge all members to do likewise.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from 
California (Ms. Solis), a member of the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce.
  Ms. SOLIS. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman of our subcommittee, 
and I stand in strong support of House Resolution 272.
  As the daughter of immigrants, I understand very clearly what it 
means when individuals are brought to a country either of their own 
free will or against their will. In the case of Latin American 
immigrants coming to this country, many fled because of poverty and 
injustices, sometimes civil wars.
  In the case of our brothers and sisters from Africa, many were 
brought here as slaves and were indentured and never were paid for the 
hard work that they provided. In fact, a large number, hundreds of 
thousands, reside in the Caribbean and in Latin America. We are also 
descendants of those individuals, and we should proudly proclaim that 
we not forget that part of our history and that it go down and be noted 
and that we do everything in our power to help educate future 
generations about the injustices that exist, existed, and continue to 
exist in this country now. Whether it be forced slave labor in our 
sweatshops or whether it be the maquiladoras in Mexico or Central 
America, there are many people who are still suffering from 
enslavement.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman 
from the 13th District of Michigan (Ms. Kilpatrick), the chairperson of 
the Congressional Black Caucus and a member of the Appropriations 
Committee.
  Ms. KILPATRICK. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, I also want to thank my colleague, Congresswoman 
Barbara Lee from the great State of California, for offering this 
resolution, House Resolution 272, commemorating the 200th anniversary 
of the end of the transcontinental slave trade for our country. Awesome 
that it is, we thank the President who signed that proclamation and 
that we began to work as one country with many ethnicities in our 
country.
  Slavery is a cruel, unusual, inhumane treatment. Many of us just 
returned from overseas and were in the

[[Page 10834]]

slave dungeons, and to see the inhumane treatment that many of our 
ancestors felt then and some vestiges of it today is awesome. But we 
are still here. We are still here running businesses, contributing to 
America. We are still here attending universities and in the Halls of 
this Congress of the United States of America.
  We have much work to do, 200 years, and we hope thousands of years 
from now, because, you see, Africans brought the gifts of civilization, 
religion and science to the world, documented in anthropological 
studies, the first man.
  So it's unfortunate but it's past, chattel slavery, but we have much 
work to do. We need better schools. We have got to be the best that we 
can be, first class, no exceptions, and we accept that responsibility.
  To my young sisters and brothers across this Nation of all ethnic 
persuasions, rise up and be the very best that you can be. Never let 
anyone take the intellect, the intelligence or the mastery that God has 
given you to be the very best. Slavery is an abominable crime that we 
must never have again for any race of people, and in vestiges around 
the world, we see pockets of it.
  But we rise today to support House Resolution 272, and to ask as 
Americans and people of the world that we build together a stronger 
America, where people have access to quality education that helps us to 
compete with the Chinas and the Taiwans and the Indias of the world, 
that we rise as a Nation of Americans and that we never again forget 
that all people are created by one God known by many names.
  So I stand here as Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, one of 
435 Members of this Congress, one of 43 members of the Congressional 
Black Caucus, to say to America, we are still the best country in the 
world. We still have a lot to achieve, and as we improve our schools, 
as we invest our moneys, this $3 trillion budget that we have in this 
country, make sure that this Congress, this administration, the people 
rise up to have a fair immigration policy, to have fair schools that 
are funded, that are technologically sound to compete.
  And we pledge to you as African Americans, we will produce young 
people and others who are rising up, owning their own businesses, doing 
what we need to do to do our part so that our children know that we are 
the best, we intend to be the best, and we want the doors of 
opportunity to stay open so that access will be there.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, let me thank the gentlelady from California once 
again. As she said, we hope that the history will be integrated into 
our textbooks. In New Jersey, I am proud to say, William Payne, 
assemblyman, passed Amistad legislation that will integrate the history 
of African Americans in the history of New Jersey. Our current Member 
of Congress, Albio Sires, was the Speaker of the Assembly when that 
great legislation was brought through with his assistance.
  When we read about Patrick Henry, who said, ``Give me liberty or give 
me death,'' or Nathan Hale, who said ``I regret that I only have one 
life to give for my country,'' we will read about Crispus Attucks, the 
first person killed in the Revolutionary War on March 3, 1770. We will 
read about Peter Salem and Salem Poor at the Battle of Bunker Hill, 
that fired the shot. They said, ``Don't fire until you see the whites 
of their eyes.'' They killed Major Pitcairn, who led the Boston 
Massacre.
  When we hear about the Civil War, 50 percent of the Navy were African 
Americans, once Frederick Douglass convinced President Lincoln to allow 
them.
  In the Spanish-American War, as I conclude, we hear about the Rough 
Riders of Teddy Roosevelt, but it was the Buffalo Soldiers at the 
Battle of San Juan Hill that saved the Rough Riders of Teddy Roosevelt 
from annihilation, which has been kept from our history.
  I could go on and on, but since the time has expired, at another time 
I will hope to be able to get through World War I and World War II and 
to the present time.
  Mr. HONDA. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 272, a 
resolution offered by my fellow Californian Representative Barbara Lee 
to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the elimination of the 
transatlantic slave trade. I commend my colleague for introducing the 
resolution and I am proud to be a co-sponsor.
  As Chair and Founder of the Congressional Ethiopian American Caucus, 
I am particularly interested in the history of the African Diaspora. My 
experience has taught me that the history of the Diaspora is as complex 
and divergent as the communities themselves. Our challenge is to 
educate ourselves about the Diaspora and to understand how African 
Americans embrace and explore their heritage.
  To tell the story of African immigration to the United States, we 
have a moral and cultural obligation to acknowledge the transatlantic 
slave trade. Today, the House is recognizing an important milestone in 
world history by considering H. Res. 272, Commemorating the 200th 
Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. On March 
25, 1807, the transatlantic slave trade was abolished by the British 
Parliament, and the United States Government followed suit a year 
later. The transatlantic slave trade was the largest forced migration 
in the world history, and it accounted for nearly 12,000,000 people 
transported in bondage from their African homelands to the Americas.
  On this day, we pay our respects to those who died as a result of 
slavery, including through exposure to the horrors of the Middle 
Passage and in resistance to enslavement. As the resolution notes, the 
slave trade and its legacy continue to have a profound impact on social 
and economic disparity, racism and discrimination, and continue to 
affect people of African descent today. As a Nation we must move beyond 
telling the story about this crime against humanity, to empowering 
current and future generations to take action against the political and 
economic structures that impede our social progress.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to develop policies that 
will repair the damage that resulted from the devastating practice of 
transatlantic slave trade, and I urge my colleagues to support this 
resolution commemorating its abolition.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Madam Speaker, I stand before you today 
in support of H. Res. 272, drafted by my colleague Representative 
Barbara Lee from California. I would like to thank her for her 
leadership on this issue in recognition of this important part of our 
shared history.
  This year marks the 200th anniversary of the end of the transatlantic 
slave trade. In 1807 the United Kingdom outlawed slavery recognizing 
that the African slave trade and all manner of dealing and trading in 
the purchase, sale, barter, or transfer of slaves from any part of the 
coast or countries of Africa was unlawful and thereby abolished.
  The transatlantic slave trade conducted the capture of Africans, 
mostly from West Africa, for the purpose of enslavement in the colonies 
that would become the United States, during the 15th and late 19th 
centuries.
  The Middle Passage was the forced migration through overseas 
transport of millions of Africans to the Americas, many of whom 
suffered abuses of rape and perished as a result of torture, 
malnutrition, disease and resistance in transit. Those who survived 
this perilous journey were sold into slavery.
  More than 12,000,000 Africans were transported in bondage from their 
African homelands to the Americas, and an estimated 1,200,000 men, 
women, and children born in the Americas were displaced in the forced 
migration that was the domestic slave trade.
  It is important to acknowledge that as a result of the slave trade 
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.
  The transatlantic slave trade is characterized as the largest forced 
migration in world history.
  The institution of slavery which enslaved Africans, their progeny and 
later generations for life was constitutionally and statutorily 
sanctioned by the Government of the United States from 1789 through 
1865.
  Slavery in the United States during and after British colonial rule 
included the sale and acquisition of Africans as chattel property in 
interstate and intrastate commerce. However their presence in southern 
states posed a problem for representation when the Union solidified. 
The Great Compromise of 1787 declared that the enslaved Africans would 
be counted as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of 
representation in the House of Representatives as not to give undue 
representation to southern states.

[[Page 10835]]

  The slavery that flourished in the United States constituted an 
immoral and inhumane dispossession of Africans' life, liberty, and 
citizenship rights and denied them the fruits of their own labor. The 
enslaved Africans in the colonies and the United States suffered 
psychological and physical abuse, destruction of their culture, 
language, religion, and families.
  I am disappointed that this body has been slow to act on the 
resolution denouncing slavery and offering an official apology to the 
descendants of slaves and the African American community. The 2001 
World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and 
Related Intolerance, held in Durban, South Africa, declared the slave 
trade and slavery a crime against humanity. The world recognizes the 
magnitude of this atrocity so why can't we make this simple step 
towards reconciliation?
  The slave trade and the legacy of slavery continue to have a profound 
impact on social and economic disparity, hatred, bias, racism and 
discrimination in the United States.
  I urge my colleagues to support this and other legislation that 
serves to educate and increase awareness of the history of the slave 
trade and its impact on American culture.
  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I wish to express my full support for 
commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the abolition of the 
Transatlantic Slave Trade as called for by H. Res. 272, which was 
introduced by Representative Barbara Lee.
  The Transatlantic Slave Trade is a very important part of world 
history that should never be forgotten. Millions of men, women, and 
children were forcibly removed from their homeland, packed into ships 
under inhumane conditions, and then after being lucky enough to survive 
the treacherous high seas, sold like pieces of disposable property to 
slave owners. Further, to add insult to injury, they were treated 
horribly by their masters throughout their lives. For those that 
survived the voyage, their strength is still unbelievable and nothing 
short of a miracle. For these and other reasons, Americans and people 
all over the world should be reminded of their immeasurable suffering 
and how the abolishment of the Transatlantic Slave Trade impacted the 
end of that atrocity.
  The abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade was a pivotal step to 
the full abolishment of slavery in Great Britain and the United States. 
Since this action was monumental, it needs to be commemorated. A 
commemoration offers an opportunity to educate youth and remind others 
of the importance of ending the Transatlantic Slave Trade. There simply 
is not enough attention given to educating people on the history of 
slavery. Although it represents a dark part of history, it needs to be 
highlighted and explained.
  It has been said and it is true, that America is a melting pot. Since 
our great country is so diverse and will continue to grow, every 
opportunity to commemorate and share history should be seized. I 
encourage my colleagues to support this important resolution.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I am proud to be a cosponsor of 
H. Res. 272, a resolution commemorating the 200th anniversary of the 
abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. The transatlantic slave 
trade was a crime against the humanity of Africans, mostly from 
Western, Central, and Eastern Africa, who were kidnapped and sent to 
the United States and the colonies that became the United States which 
occurred between the 15th and late 19th centuries. Millions of Africans 
were literally kidnapped and shipped like chattels to the Americas. In 
the process many were physically abused and raped. Many perished as a 
result of torture, malnutrition, disease and resistance in transit. 
Those who survived were forced into slavery. Slavery in the United 
States during and after British colonial rule included the sale and 
acquisition of Africans as chattel property in interstate and 
intrastate commerce.
  Humans of African origin here in the United States were robbed of 
their homes, family, language, culture, religion, and above all their 
freedom. The transatlantic slave trade is characterized as the largest 
forced migration in world history. What made the institution of slavery 
in the United States unique was that this particular form of slavery 
was in fact race based with `black' or `Negro' becoming synonymous with 
the word `slave'. Slaves were prevented by law from learning to read 
and marriage between two slaves was not recognized by the state. It is 
argued that the effects of slavery have affected African-Americans and 
American society to this very day.
  In 1807, Britain became the first European nation to ban the slave 
trade. France, Holland, and the United States soon thereafter passed 
legislation banning the trade. However, since Spain and Portugal did 
not follow this example, African slaves continued to be sent to 
countries in South America until near the end of the 19th century. Even 
with the end of the slave trade slavery would still be legal across a 
large part of the United States until the end of the Civil War.
  I am compelled to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition 
of the transatlantic slave trade because we as a country cannot ever 
forget this legalized horror and crime against humanity that was 
allowed to exist in our Nation. A horror that made our American union a 
less perfect one than it was initially set out to be. Mr. Speaker, I 
urge my colleagues to support and commemorate the 200th anniversary of 
the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 272, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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