Commission on the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade Act

COMMISSION ON THE ABOLITION OF THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE ACT -- (House of Representatives - January 22, 2008)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3432, an act to establish a commission on the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

The House passed this bill on October 2nd of last year, and today we take it up again as amended by the Senate, which removed three lines of authorizing language.

For over 200 years, countless Africans died appalling deaths during the so-called ``Middle Passage,'' the inhumane overseas voyage of their lives to slavery. Many Africans never made it to the Americas because they died on the way.

In that era, as throughout history, man's inhumanity to man had a lot to do with money. The Middle Passage referred to a middle portion of a triangular trade in cargo and people that began and ended in Europe.

Portuguese, English, Spanish, French, Dutch and other traders, including Americans, arrived on the West Coast of Africa where they sold or traded European cargo of textiles, firearms and other goods for Africans, who had been enslaved or kidnapped in many cases by other Africans. From there, they began the inhumane ``Middle'' journey to the Caribbean Islands and the Americas, during which many of them died. In the New World, which included North and South America and the Caribbean Islands, the slaves were sold for profit and traded for colonial goods that traveled mainly back to Europe, such as rum, sugar, rice and molasses.

Most of the victims of the Atlantic slave trade ended up in the Caribbean Islands and South America. Approximately 5 percent ended up in North America. These humans served as cheap forced labor for profiteers.

As recognized in this bill, the Transatlantic Slave Act went into effect 200 years ago this month, prohibiting the importation of slaves into the United States. President Thomas Jefferson authorized this act in 1808. Sadly, in spite of the formal prohibition and the act of Congress, this shameful institution of slavery persisted in this country for nearly 6 decades afterwards.

This bill will establish a commission to ensure that this important anniversary is appropriately commemorated within the United States and abroad. It will help afford all Americans the opportunity to learn more about the institution of slavery and its vestiges so that we may understand this tragic aspect of history.

In addition to promoting greater tolerance and understanding within the United States, this commission can also help shed light on the fact that slavery still exists in the modern world 200 years after the transatlantic slave trade was abolished. It exists today as it did in the past because of greed. It exists in the form of human trafficking. It exists wherever any group is systematically robbed of their fundamental human rights. These problems are undeniably real for the hundreds and thousands of women and children who are trafficked internationally every year.

Madam Speaker, it is appropriate, on the day after we honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King, a humanitarian

[Page: H372]

and advocate of basic human rights, that we pass this legislation.

I want to thank the author of the bill, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) for his efforts.

I urge all colleagues to support this measure.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source