Cohen Commemorates the Fifth Anniversary of House of Representatives Apology for Slavery and Jim Crow
[WASHINGTON, DC] – Today on the Floor of the United States House of Representatives, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) commemorated the fifth anniversary of the passage of H.Res.194, the first official Congressional apology for slavery and Jim Crow laws. The text of the apology, which passed the House on July 29, 2008, is available here and video of the Congressman’s remarks on the House Floor today is available here.
The Congressman’s remarks as prepared follow:
“On Monday the 29th, it will be the 5th anniversary of the passage in this House of the first apology for slavery and Jim Crow laws in this nation’s history.”
“This nation had 246 years of slavery and over 100 years of Jim Crow.”
“The resolution which passed with only 2 Republican sponsors—Wayne Gilchrest and Phil English—said that we needed to rectify the lingering consequences of slavery and Jim Crow. Indeed, we still need to.”
“In the criminal justice system, there remain many lingering consequences: racial profiling, higher likelihood of being arrested—four times as much if you’re African American—for marijuana than white people, and longer sentences given to African Americans.”
“African Americans today also face higher needs for public health and public education, as well as for jobs. On average, African Americans have significantly lower net worth than Caucasians. These are all vestiges of Jim Crow and slavery.”
“As we look toward the 5th anniversary of that resolution and the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, both sides of the aisle need to do better by the least among us who have been discriminated against and enslaved by our nation’s laws.”
“We must rectify those lingering consequences.”