Introduction of A Resolution Recognizing People of African Descent and Black Europeans

Floor Speech

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Mr. HASTINGS. Madam Speaker, rise today to introduce a resolution with my colleagues, Representatives Gregory Meeks, Sheila Jackson Lee, Gwen Moore, and Bobby Rush. The Honorable John Lewis of Georgia was a previous cosponsor of this legislation. Even as we honor him during Black History Month, I also urge my colleagues to join us in recognizing People of African Descent and Black Europeans.

Our resolution observes the history and current situation of People of African Descent living in Europe and Black Europeans during the United Nations designated International Decade for People of African Descent. It also encourages the U.S. Secretary of State to take a number of steps to ensure their situation is improved following recommendations from the Anti-racism and People of African Descent Weeks (PADWEEK) held with our colleagues in the European Parliament over the past few years and anti-racism measures discussed at the September 2020 Joint Meeting I hosted in my capacity as Chair of the U.S. Helsinki Commission with my European colleagues ``Reinforcing U.S.-EU Parliamentary Coordination to Combat Racism and Systemic Discrimination.''

Recommendations from these efforts have included the implementation of EU-wide anti-racism strategies; European Black History Month and Remembrance Day for Victims of Colonialism and Enslavement; a fund for Black European led initiatives to address continuing disparities and discrimination and support for empowerment initiatives; European-wide strategies for the inclusion of People of African Descent; and support for transatlantic exchanges on common issues of racial prejudice and discrimination.

The need for recognition of Black populations in Europe became clear more than a decade ago when I chaired a U.S. Helsinki Commission hearing entitled, ``The State of (In)visible Black Europe: Race, Rights, and Politics'', where we learned that the situation in Europe is very similar to the one in the United States. A number of these similarities were most recently highlighted by global racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd.

While the presence of Blacks in Europe can be traced to enslavement, colonization, military deployments, voluntary or forced migration, the movement of refugees and asylum seekers, or educational and other professional exchanges, the story of Europeans of African Descent and Black Europeans still remains largely untold--rendering many of their past and present contributions to the very fabric of Europe unseen or forgotten, which is unacceptable.

Madam Speaker, it is my hope that when we gather in the years to come to review the efforts of the United Nations designated International Decade for People of African Descent, we will not only speak of how our efforts resulted in our respective nations publicly recognizing the injustices and long-term impact of slavery and colonialism, but also of how our societies reconciled these issues in a manner that ensured equal opportunity, access, and justice for all people of African descent.

I am greatly encouraged by recent Executive Orders from President Biden focused on equity and justice in this country, and see the adoption of this resolution on Black Europeans as well as a bill I have introduced calling for the creation of a State Department Office on Global African Descent Affairs as complementary to the President's domestic efforts. I urge you to join me in supporting this resolution recognizing Black Europeans and other efforts in support of achieving racial justice.

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