[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 120, 109th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
AFRICAN DESCENDANTS OF THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE--  NOTE: Nov. 16,
2006 -  [H.Con.Res.175]  ACHIEVEMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS

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;


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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, 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 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.

Agreed to November 16, 2006.