In three years, it will be the four hundredth anniversary of the arrival of African slaves on United States soil - in fact, Virginia soil. Virginia lawmakers are trying to set up a commission to mark the anniversary with honor.
In 1619, 20 Africans were brought to Point Comfort, Virginia. It marked the first time - at least on record - that African freemen were turned into American slaves. Virginia Democratic Congressman Bobby Scott says people should pause to remember the moment.
“The history of Virginia and our nation cannot be fully understood without recognizing the role played by the slave trade. Slavery was an important institution, but for hundreds of years it was a foundation of the colony and early American agricultural system and essential to its economic sustainability,” says Scott. “From slavery to fighting the Civil War, to working through the oppression of Jim Crow segregation, through the Civil Rights Movement, the rich history of African Americans and their contributions to our nation began in 1619, but obviously did not end there.”
Scott and other Virginia lawmakers are pushing a bill called the 400 years of African American History Commission Act. Scott says, “[The] Commission established by our legislation will be charged with the important task of planning, developing and implementing programs and activities throughout 2019 that fully tell the story of African Americans, their contributions and their resilience over the last 400 years.”
Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine says a part of the reason he’s passionate about the legislation to set up the commission is that he’s been a part of these in the past.
Kaine says, “When I was the governor of Virginia in 2007, we had a massive celebration around the 400th anniversary of the English contributions to the United States of America beginning with the summoning of Jamestown in 1607. And it wasn’t just a celebration, there was also a federal commission voted on, passed and funded by Congress that was part of those events to say these contributions are worthy of recognition.”
"From slavery to fighting the Civil War, to working through the oppression of Jim Crow segregation, through the Civil Rights Movement, the rich history of African Americans and their contributions to our nation began in 1619, but obviously did not end there."
Kaine says it’s also a matter of fairness. He says, “As a senator last year in 2015, I played a role in the celebration about 450 years of the Hispanic roots of the United States with the founding of St. Augustine, Florida by the Spaniards in 1565. And I was in St. Augustine in September with the King and Queen of Spain to do that. Again, it wasn’t just a celebration. It was a federal commission, voted on, passed and funded by Congress that said the contributions of the Hispanic uh, settlement are worthy of recognition today.”
Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner says the commission won’t be limited to studying the nineteenth century. He says, “In the 21st century it took us two tries in the Virginia legislature to provide some level of compensation for those individuals that were turned away from public education facilities in the 50s and the 60s in Virginia, during the actions of massive resistance.”
Warner says it’s also a matter of fully understanding our shared American history. Warner says, “There would be no American history story without the full story of the contribution of Africans and African Americans to our combined history. And I can think of nothing more appropriate than taking this moment and starting now to create this commission-a federal commission that would celebrate this story.”
It’s unclear if the legislation will come up for a vote, but it has the backing of the Congressional Black Caucus and leading civil rights groups.
