WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray joined their Senate Democratic colleagues in a joint resolution to designate August 20th as Slavery Remembrance Day.
“On August 20, 1619, the first 20 enslaved Africans were brought to what is now Fort Monroe, then Point Comfort, in Hampton, Virginia against their will. Whereas the House of Representatives and the Senate recognize August 20th, as ‘‘Slavery Remembrance Day’’ and commemorate the lives of all enslaved people while also condemning the act and perpetuation of slavery in the United States of America and across the world.
“Despite the horrors of slavery and against all odds, enslaved people became thought leaders and revolutionaries and changed the course of American history,” the resolution reads.
In addition to Senators Cantwell and Murray, the legislation is cosponsored by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Dick Durbin (D-IL).
The full text of the resolution can be found HERE.