Georgia SR 537: Slavery and Jim Crow; apologize; state's commitment to freedom; reaffirm and enact

Bill Text

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S. R. 537 PF
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Senate Resolution 537 - Prefile
By: Senator James of the 35th
A RESOLUTION
Apologizing for slavery and Jim Crow and reaffirming this state's commitment to freedom;1
and for other purposes.2
WHEREAS, millions of Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States3
and the 13 American colonies, including the Georgia colony and the State of Georgia, from4
1619 through 1865; and5
WHEREAS, slavery in America resembled no other form of involuntary servitude known6
in history, as Africans were captured and sold at auction like inanimate objects or animals;7
and8
WHEREAS, Africans forced into slavery were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, and9
subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage; and10
WHEREAS, enslaved families were torn apart after having been sold separately from one11
another; and12
WHEREAS, the laws and institutions of this state supported and advanced the system of13
slavery and the visceral racism against persons of African descent; and14
WHEREAS, slavery was not officially abolished until the passage of the 13th Amendment15
to the United States Constitution in 1865 after the end of the Civil War; and16
WHEREAS, after emancipation from 246 years of slavery, African Americans soon saw the17
fleeting political, social, and economic gains they made during Reconstruction eviscerated18
by virulent racism, lynchings, disenfranchisement, Black Codes, and racial segregation laws19
that imposed a rigid system of officially sanctioned racial segregation in virtually all areas20
of life; and21

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WHEREAS, the system of de jure racial segregation known as "Jim Crow," which was22
supported and advanced by the laws and institutions of this state following the Civil War to23
create separate and unequal societies for whites and African Americans, was a direct result24
of the racism against persons of African descent engendered by slavery; and25
WHEREAS, a century after the official end of slavery in America, federal action was26
required during the 1960s to eliminate the de jure and de facto system of Jim Crow27
throughout parts of the Nation, though its vestiges still linger to this day; and28
WHEREAS, the story of the enslavement and de jure segregation of African Americans and29
the dehumanizing atrocities committed against them should not be purged from or minimized30
in the telling of American history; and31
WHEREAS, on December 9, 2015, while commemorating the 150th anniversary of the 13th32
Amendment, President Barack Obama observed that "the issue of chattel slavery seems so33
simple, so obvious – it is wrong in every sense . . . Tearing husband from wife, parent from34
child; stripped and sold to the highest bidder; shackled in chains and bloodied with the whip.35
It's antithetical not only to our conception of human rights and dignity, but to our conception36
of ourselves – a people founded on the premise that all are created equal"; and37
WHEREAS, on July 8, 2003, during a trip to Goree Island, Senegal, a former slave port,38
President George W. Bush acknowledged slavery's continuing legacy in American life and39
the need to confront that legacy when he stated that slavery "was . . . one of the greatest40
crimes of history . . . The racial bigotry fed by slavery did not end with slavery or with41
segregation. And many of the issues that still trouble America have roots in the bitter42
experience of other times. But however long the journey, our destiny is set: liberty and43
justice for all"; and44
WHEREAS, a genuine apology, not from individuals but from the governing institutions of45
this state, having already answered the call of freedom, is an important and necessary step46
in this process of developing a shared understanding and ensuring racial reconciliation47
among the citizens of Georgia; and48
WHEREAS, an apology for centuries of brutal dehumanization and injustices cannot erase49
the past, but confession of the wrongs committed can speed racial healing and reconciliation50
and help Georgians confront the ghosts of their past and to see ourselves in each other.51

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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AND ENACTED BY THE GENERAL52
ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that the State of Georgia hereby acknowledges with profound53
regret the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow54
and reaffirms this state's commitment to freedom and the inalienable rights of the men and55
women who pursue it.56
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed57
to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the Millennial Civil58
Rights Campaign, the public, and the press.59