[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 16803-16804]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 RECOGNIZING EUROPE'S BLACK POPULATION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 26, 2009

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce a 
resolution recognizing Europe's Black population and expressing 
solidarity with their struggle.
  Last year, on April 29, 2008, I chaired the U.S. Helsinki Commission 
hearing entitled, ``The State of (In)visible Black Europe: Race, 
Rights, and Politics'' which focused on the more than 7 million people 
who make up Europe's Black or Afro-descendant population.

[[Page 16804]]

  Despite their numerous contributions to European society, like 
African-Americans here, many Black Europeans face the daily challenges 
of racism and discrimination.
  This includes being the targets of violent hate crimes, many of which 
have resulted in death. Existing inequalities in education, housing, 
and employment remain a problem and racial profiling is a norm. Few 
Black Europeans are in leadership positions and political participation 
is also limited for many, providing obstacles for addressing these 
problems.
  In an effort to raise public awareness of these issues at the 
national and international level, the Black European Women's Council 
(BEWC) was launched on September 9, 2008 at the European Union's 
headquarters. More than 130 Black women from across Europe came to 
``insist on the recognition and inclusion of Black Europeans 
economically, politically, and culturally.''
  This resolution supports BEWC's fight for equality and urges European 
governments to implement anti-discrimination legislation and other 
plans of action, including a fund for victims incapacitated as a result 
of a hate crime.
  Given the history of our own country, an increase in transatlantic 
cooperative efforts between our government and European governments, 
U.S. and European based civil rights groups, and within the private 
sector would also provide useful partnerships and assistance in 
combating racism and discrimination abroad and at home.
  This resolution therefore also calls on the U.S. Government to 
increase support for public and private sector initiatives focused on 
combating racism and discrimination in Europe as part of our efforts to 
support global human rights.
  It is for this reason that on April 15-16, 2009, I also co-hosted the 
``Black European Summit: Transatlantic Dialogue on Political 
Inclusion'' at the European Parliament in Brussels with Black and other 
European minority parliamentarians to exchange information on the roles 
of racial and ethnic minority policymakers in developing and supporting 
policies and initiatives to address racism, discrimination, and 
inequality.
  As I continue to work on these initiatives, I urge my colleagues to 
join me in supporting this Resolution Recognizing Black Europeans and 
encourage them to review the statements and submissions from the 
Helsinki Commission's Black Europe Hearing at www.csce.gov.

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