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Congressman Al Green Introduces Historic Original Slavery Remembrance Day Resolution with 77 Cosponsors

July 1, 2021

(Washington, D.C.) – On Thursday, July 1, 2021, Congressman Al Green released the following statement after introducing the Original Slavery Remembrance Day Resolution:

“Today, I introduced the Original Slavery Remembrance Day Resolution to establish August 20 (recognized as the day in 1619 that the first 20 enslaved Africans were brought to what is now the United States) as an annual day of pause to remember and commemorate the lives of those forced to live as chattels, bought, owned, sold, and dehumanized at the hands of inhumanity,” Congressman Al Greens said in a statement. “The Original Slavery Remembrance Day Resolution calls for August 20 to be designated as Slavery Remembrance Day to serve as a reminder of the evils of slavery. The resolution posthumously recognizes former Black Members of Congress, who served during and after the Reconstruction era, as honorary cosponsors.”

Congressman Green continued, “Days of remembrance provide us with a conduit to commemorate rather than celebrate the unforgettable ills of society. We observe: the Trail of Tears Remembrance Day to remember the forcible removal of nearly 20,000 Native Americans from their homelands; Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day to remember the 2,403 servicemembers killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor; Holocaust Remembrance Day to never forget the horrors of the Holocaust; and Patriot Day to remember the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. Humanity deserves and justice demands that we have a Slavery Remembrance Day to remember the injustices of slavery, our nation’s seminal sin.”