Full Text of SJR0031 94th General Assembly
SJ0031 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Approximately 4,000,000 Africans and their | 3 |
| descendants were enslaved in the United States and colonies | 4 |
| that became the United States from 1619 to 1865; and
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| WHEREAS, The institution of slavery was constitutionally | 6 |
| and statutorily sanctioned by the Government of the United | 7 |
| States from 1789 through 1865; and
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| WHEREAS, The slavery that flourished in the United States | 9 |
| constituted an immoral and inhumane deprivation of Africans' | 10 |
| life, liberty, African citizenship rights, and cultural | 11 |
| heritage, and denied them the fruits of their own labor; and
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| WHEREAS, Sufficient inquiry has not been made into the | 13 |
| effects of the institution of slavery on living | 14 |
| African-Americans and society in the United States;
therefore, | 15 |
| be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | 17 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 18 |
| CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is established the Commission to | 19 |
| Study the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its Past and Present | 20 |
| Effects on African-Americans (hereinafter referred to as the | 21 |
| Commission); and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Commission shall perform the following | 23 |
| duties:
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| (1) Examine the institution of slavery which existed | 25 |
| within the United States and the colonies that became the | 26 |
| United States from 1619 through 1865; the Commission's | 27 |
| examination shall include an examination of: | 28 |
| (A) the capture and procurement of Africans;
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| (B) the transport of Africans to the United States | 30 |
| and the colonies that became the United States for the |
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| purpose of enslavement, including their treatment | 2 |
| during transport;
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| (C) the sale and acquisition of Africans as chattel | 4 |
| property in interstate and intrastate commerce; and
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| (D) the treatment of African slaves in the colonies | 6 |
| and the United States, including the deprivation of | 7 |
| their freedom, exploitation of their labor, and | 8 |
| destruction of their culture, language, religion, and | 9 |
| families; | 10 |
| (2) Examine the extent to which the Federal and State | 11 |
| governments of the United States supported the institution | 12 |
| of slavery in constitutional and statutory provisions, | 13 |
| including the extent to which such governments prevented, | 14 |
| opposed, or restricted efforts of freed African slaves to | 15 |
| repatriate to their homeland;
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| (3) Examine Federal and State laws that discriminated | 17 |
| against freed African slaves and their descendants during | 18 |
| the period between the end of the Civil War and the | 19 |
| present;
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| (4) Examine other forms of discrimination in the public | 21 |
| and private sectors against freed African slaves and their | 22 |
| descendants during the period between the end of the Civil | 23 |
| War and the present; | 24 |
| (5) Examine the lingering negative effects of the | 25 |
| institution of slavery and the matters described in | 26 |
| paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) on living | 27 |
| African-Americans and on society in the United States; | 28 |
| (6) Recommend appropriate ways to educate the general | 29 |
| public of the Commission's findings; | 30 |
| (7) Examine whether African-Americans still suffer | 31 |
| from the lingering effects of the matters described in | 32 |
| paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4); and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the members of the Commission shall include | 34 |
| the President
of the Senate or his or her designee and the | 35 |
| Speaker of the House of
Representatives or
his or her designee, |
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| each serving as co-chairpersons, the Governor or his
or her | 2 |
| designee,
one vice-chairperson appointed by each of the | 3 |
| co-chairpersons, and 25 appointed
members,
with
the Governor, | 4 |
| the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
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| Representatives,
the Minority Leader of the Senate, and the | 6 |
| Minority Leader of the House of
Representatives appointing 5 | 7 |
| members each; and be it further | 8 |
| RESOLVED, That the appointed members shall be from diverse | 9 |
| backgrounds
so as to reflect the diverse citizenry of Illinois | 10 |
| working together, and that their individual qualifications | 11 |
| shall include varying
educational,
professional, and civic | 12 |
| experiences that bring different perspectives and
cooperative
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| outlooks to the Commission; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Commission shall broaden outreach by | 15 |
| using
established
channels, including publicly-supported media | 16 |
| and electronic, computer-assisted
communication systems, and | 17 |
| elicit voluntary assistance from educational, legal,
civic,
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| and professional organizations and institutions as well as | 19 |
| notable individuals;
and be it
further
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| RESOLVED, That no later than December 1, 2006, the | 21 |
| Commission shall report to
the General Assembly, the Governor, | 22 |
| and the general public on its activities, accomplishments,
and | 23 |
| recommendations; and that
the Commission shall be dissolved | 24 |
| after the filing of this report; and be it
further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 26 |
| delivered to the
Governor of the State of Illinois.
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