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Authorizing the creation of the "Special Committee on 400 Years of African American History" to evaluate the impact African Americans have had on the history of this country and acknowledging the creation of the Federal Commission by the same name that was formed in recognition of the 400-year Anniversary of the arrival of Africans in the English colonies at Old Point Comfort, Virginia, in 1619.
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WHEREAS, On August 20, 1619, Free Africans arrived for the first time on the North American Coast at Old Point Comfort, present day Fort Monroe, Virginia; and
WHEREAS, This was the first slave ship on record in the North American British Colonies. The group of "20 and odd Negros", was part of a larger group of West Africans aboard a Portuguese ship, that was captured by an English Warship flying a Dutch flag; and
WHEREAS, The group of captives was brought to Old Point Comfort Virginia and were sold as involuntary laborers or indentured servants. At the time, slavery had not yet been institutionalized in North America, thus, these Africans were told they would work under contract with the possibility of earning their freedom; and
WHEREAS, The arrival of the group of "20 and odd Negros" marked the beginning of the trend in colonial America of bringing Free Africans, unwillingly taken from their homeland, transported across the ocean, and forced into a life of servitude and oppression; and
WHEREAS, On January 8, 2018, President Donald Trump signed into law a bill introduced by Congressman Bobby Scott on February 28, 2017, establishing the "400 Years of African-American History Commission".
WHEREAS, The purpose of this Commission is "to develop and carry out activities throughout the United States to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of the arrival of Africans in the English colonies"; and
WHEREAS, According to Representative Scott, "[t]he history of Virginia and our nation cannot be fully understood or appreciated without knowing abo...
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