WHEREAS:

            After the Civil War, Congress established the Freedom Bureau which was authorized to give every freed slave forty acres and a mule; and

WHEREAS:

            Corrupt army officers along with President Andrew Johnson's Restoration Policy failed to enforce this lawful edict, which allowed the kin of displaced plantation owners and land speculators to take over property which rightfully belonged to ex-slaves; and

WHEREAS:

            The descendants of ex-African-American slaves deserve compensation for the historical ill-treatment of their fore-parents whose labor was the foundation for the growth and development of this country; and

WHEREAS:

            The damage of slavery still causes injury to the descendants of African­Americans; and

WHEREAS:

            The United States government has set precedent in its recognition of the damage its actions have done to other people of color including Native Americans and more recently the descendants of Japanese-Americans; and

WHEREAS:

            A bill H.R. 40 introduced by Congressman John Conyers, acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery in the United States between the years 1619 and 1865; and

WHEREAS:

            H.R. 40 establishes a commission to examine the institution of slavery arid empowers the commission to make recommendations to Congress on appropriate remedies to be taken on behalf of the descendants of slavery.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

            The AFSCME will fully support H.R. 40.

SUBMITTED BY:

Brenda Stokely, President and Delegate
Local 215, Council 1707
New York