Congressman Al Green Hosts First Slavery Remembrance Day Breakfast and Legislative Update for Houston Community

(Houston, TX) — On Saturday, August 20, 2022, Congressman Al Green released the following statement:

“This morning, some 400 years after slavery was first introduced in the United States, hundreds of people––including pastors, local elected officials, and community activists––came together to commemorate the lives of enslaved people while condemning the act and perpetuation of slavery in the United States. I am exceedingly grateful for the outpouring of support that my efforts to establish a National Day of Remembrance for slavery have received. One day, people will look back through the vista of time and realize the difference that today’s historic event made in the lives of people across the length and breadth of our nation.”

“National days of remembrance are a means by which to commemorate those impacted by horrific events, as well as prevent tragedies from fading from our memory. The U.S. currently has remembrance days for the Holocaust, Pearl Harbor, and 9/11. But at the moment, it does not have an official day of remembrance to honor the millions of African persons who were abducted and shipped to the Americas to be sold as property as part of the Atlantic Slave Trade,” Congressman Al Green reflected. “This is why I introduced my Original Slavery Remembrance Day Resolution: because the horrific institution of slavery should not be minimized and its victims should be accorded the respect and solemn remembrance they deserve. Now that my resolution has passed in the House, the next step is to have President Biden issue a proclamation declaring August 20 as Slavery Remembrance Day.”

“It is our moral imperative to ensure future generations understand the full weight of slavery and grasp its modern-day implications, because regrettably, the legacy of slavery and its perfidious prodigies are still evident in our society. Slavery is the root cause of the current social standing of Black people in the United States, especially as it continues in contemporary insidious transformations, including invidious discrimination in lending, housing, incarceration, and healthcare, together with an ongoing nationwide campaign to limit and distort what is taught in our classrooms (such as attempts at renaming slavery to “involuntary relocation”).”

“It is for these and a multiplicity of other reasons that I must thank all people who were in attendance today at my Slavery Remembrance Day Breakfast and Legislative Update, as well as all individuals who helped make this event a success. I also thank my friend Majority Leader Steny Hoyer for being an honorable man of his word and being instrumental in helping America recognize its past while attempting to build a better future for posterity.”

Congressman Al Green sponsored H.Res.517 – The Original Slavery Remembrance Day in the 117^th Congress of the United States. His bill passed in the House on July 27, 2022 with 218 YEAs to 207 NAYs. It proposes to designate August 20 as Slavery Remembrance Day because on that day in 1619, the White Lion ship arrived to Point Comfort, near present day Norfolk, Virginia, carrying the first enslaved Africans brought to the English-speaking American colonies. Congressman Green’s resolution has over 130 co-sponsors in Congress. It has also gathered support by pastors and organizations nationwide, including the National Action Network, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the Anti-Defamation League. To view the text of H.Res.517 – The Original Slavery Remembrance Day Resolution click here.