A Holiday For Freedom November 17, 2016 Angelia Washington Council Woman Jacksonville, NC Jerome Willingham Councilman Jacksonville, NC #NLCU
A HOLIDAY FOR FREEDOM
13 TH AMENDMENT Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation Human trafficking Victims of human trafficking and other conditions of forced labor are commonly coerced by threat of legal actions to their detriment. Victims of forced labor and trafficking are protected by Title 18 of the U.S. Code. Title 18, U.S.C., Section 241 Conspiracy Against Rights: Conspiracy to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person's rights or privileges secured by the Constitution or the laws of the United States Title 18, U.S.C., Section 242 Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law: It is a crime for any person acting under color of law (federal, state or local officials who enforce statutes, ordinances, regulations, or customs) to willfully deprive or cause to be deprived the rights, privileges, or immunities of any person secured or protected by the Constitution and laws of the U.S. This includes willfully subjecting or causing to be subjected any person to different punishments, pains, or penalties, than those prescribed for punishment of citizens on account of such person being an alien or by reason of his/her color or race.
Especially in light of the 150 th Anniversary of The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the following resolution is proposed: RESOLUTION ON A NATIONAL HOLIDAY FOR THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT WHEREAS, The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime; WHEREAS, In the United States of America Congress, The Thirteenth Amendment was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865; WHEREAS, The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified by the required number of states on December 6, 1865; WHEREAS, On December 18, 1865, Secretary of State, William H. Seward, proclaimed the adoption of The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution; WHEREAS, President Abraham Lincoln s resolution to adopt the 13 Amendment is celebrated as an observance on 1 February, but is not a holiday; WHEREAS, Liberated countries customarily celebrate their independence with a national holiday; WHEREAS, Human freedom is an inalienable right superior to any other; WHEREAS, Human bondage and trafficking continues to be an epidemic problem worldwide; WHEREAS, The United States of America has deployed, and continues to deploy, its Armed Forces to promote and establish freedom around the world. WHEREAS, It behooves every respectable society to celebrate human freedom, and to commit to ensuring human freedom everywhere; IT IS THEREFORE RESOLVED, That the adoption and enactment of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution should be celebrated as a holiday in the United States of America, to be celebrated on the Second Monday of December, which will always fall between the date the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified by the States, on December 6, 1865, and the date of the Proclamation of The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, December 18, 1865.
OVERCOMING THE CIVIL WAR There were approximately 750,000 casualties during the Civil War; the Vietnam War had approximately 58,000 American casualties. It is a tremendous blessing that this nation was able to overcome that kind of death toll, and heal as one nation, carrying on the quest proclaimed in the preamble to the United States Constitution to form a more perfect union.
REV. RICHARD R. WRIGHT, SR. A former slave, banker, Bishop, Army officer, and founder of Savannah State University led an effort to establish a National Freedom Holiday in the1930 s. Reverend Wright s efforts led to Congress adopting 1 February as an observation in 1948, one year after his death. This observation relates to the 13 th Amendment, not Emancipation Day celebrations which occur on various dates based on local history. There is no holiday in the U.S. for the 13 th Amendment although Texas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have holidays for respective emancipation dates. The Emancipation Proclamation in 1864 did not make slavery illegal, and it only freed slaves in limited areas; the 13 th Amendment made slavery illegal in the entire U.S.
RESPECT THE SACRIFICE African Americans fought in the Revolutionary war, and couldn t enjoy the liberation for which they fought; Peter Salem, Crispus Attucks, and Prince Hall, to name a few. They died in World Wars I and II, and survivors returned to this country as second class citizens. Recently, we contributed to a monument which celebrated the achievement and marked the injustice of the treatment of the Montford Point Marines. How do we tell them their ancestors history of freedom is not as important?
PROMISE Let us never again allow a Marine to return to Jacksonville, from defending us, with second class citizenship or a disrespected heritage!
POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE When asked how the slaves felt about Independence Day (4 th of July), Frederick Douglass stated, [T]hey probably liked the fireworks. African Americans remained in a state of human bondage for almost 100 years after American Independence from Britain. After losing the Revolutionary War, even Britain freed its slaves 31 years before America!
WHEN WILL WE GET OVER THIS? One of the comments from our earlier discussion was when do we get over this. One of the ways is by showing empathy and doing the right thing. But I don t think that is the proper perspective. When we celebrate the 4 th of July, we don t celebrate colonialism. We celebrate independence. Therefore, we don t ask when will we get over celebrating the 4 th of July. Analogously, we should not ask when will we get over slavery. We are not celebrating slavery; we are celebrating freedom.
SOURCE OF RAYS 13 TH Amendment was to address slavery, but the benefits and applicability redound to every race, ethnicity, religion, sex, etc. This holiday honors the troops; this holiday impacts more people without ancestral slavery.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING Imagine having a loved one kidnapped and relegated to slavery via human trafficking. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), forced labor alone (one component of human trafficking) generates an estimated $150 billion in profits per annum as of 2014. In 2012, the ILO estimated that 21 million victims are trapped in modern-day slavery. Of these, 14.2 million (68%) were exploited for labor, 4.5 million (22%) were sexually exploited, and 2.2 million (10%) were exploited in state-imposed forced labor. Human trafficking is thought to be one of the fastest-growing activities of trans-national criminal organizations. Human trafficking includes child forced labor, participation in war, and sex. 2 million children are subjected to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade (UNICEF) Is this issue worth our focus? Is this issue worth our leadership?
EMPATHY We cannot be a caring community, without empathy. The lack of empathy allows us to find colonialism unacceptable when we were the subjects, yet comfortable when others are subjected. The absence of empathy leads to our assuming this us versus them posture which annihilates the possible existence of empathy. Empathy allows us to feel or understand what someone else is experiencing from their reference. If you are empathetic, you can do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Whenever you see examples of man s inhumanity to man, empathy is necessarily missing.
WHEN THEY CAME FOR THE JEWS First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me. by Rev. Martin Niemöller
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee. by John Donne
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