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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
<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 . pjq���
<br /> Penny Rich , Chair
<br /> Orange County Board of Commissioners
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