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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 3
<br /> 400 Years Proclamation
<br /> WHEREAS, in 1619 unfree Africans, "some 20. and odd Negroes," arrived in the English settlement
<br /> that would become Virginia; and
<br /> WHEREAS, this historic arrival marked the beginning of the period in America where people of Africa
<br /> were forcibly taken from their homeland, transported to the American colonies and later the United
<br /> States, and committed to lifelong slavery and racial discrimination; and
<br /> WHEREAS, after the Civil War, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S.
<br /> Constitution were ratified, ending slavery in the U.S. and granting the newly freed slaves freedom,
<br /> citizenship, the equal protection of law, and the right to vote; but despite these Amendments, Blacks
<br /> were quickly subjected to Jim Crow, a legally sanctioned institutionalized system of racial segregation
<br /> and subordination, as well as white resistance and violence; and
<br /> WHEREAS, despite efforts such as the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, anti-racism advocacy,
<br /> progressive legislation, and the election of President Barack Obama, Blacks continue to face oppression
<br /> and inequities across systems and institutions; and
<br /> WHEREAS, Orange County is home to Black citizens who are descendants of Africans who were
<br /> kidnapped and enslaved 400 years ago; and
<br /> WHEREAS, Blacks are diverse, respected residents who have worked to transcend the continuing
<br /> impacts of slavery and racial segregation and contribute to our community's economic, political, social,
<br /> and spiritual well-being; and
<br /> WHEREAS, Blacks, whose experiences, generational wisdom, and work to triumph over racial
<br /> oppression, connect us to the past and help us meet the challenges of the future; and
<br /> WHEREAS, our community must strive to understand and address the history and legacy of racism, its
<br /> impacts, and the evolving challenges and needs of all its residents as a result of those impacts, and
<br /> WHEREAS, today, and every day, let us remember the harrowing experience of the Africans who first
<br /> came to the shores of English North America and the plight and burden of their descendants;
<br /> NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, do hereby proclaim August 1,
<br /> 2019 through July 31, 2020 as a year of remembrance to commemorate the 400th anniversary of unfree
<br /> Africans first arriving in English North America by working towards racial healing and justice through
<br /> revisiting the past and learning about efforts to win freedom and equality, and encourage the Orange
<br /> County Human Relations Commission to, over this anniversary year and beyond, to:
<br /> • plan programs to acknowledge the impact that slavery and laws that enforced racial
<br /> discrimination and inequity had on the United States; and
<br /> • encourage civic, patriotic, historical, educational, artistic, religious, and economic organizations
<br /> to organize and participate in anniversary activities.
<br /> This 3rd day of September 2019.
<br /> Penny Rich, Chair
<br /> Orange County Board of Commissioners
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