Activists and community leaders joined US Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) at his 4th Annual Slavery Remembrance Day event in Houston on Aug. 16. (Photo by ShaVonne Herndon)
The Houston Democrat wants Congress to designate Aug. 20 as Slavery Remembrance Day and recognize enslaved Americans with a Congressional Gold Medal.
US Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) honored the victims of slavery and called on attendees and elected officials to fight racism and hate during his annual Slavery Remembrance Day in Houston.
Green’s event, held Aug. 16, also highlighted his efforts to designate Aug. 20 as Slavery Remembrance Day. He filed a resolution in Congress to establish the day to “serve as a reminder of the evils of slavery.” The resolution, filed Aug. 15, was referred to a US House committee.
“Many of the current administration’s policies infused with racism pose a risk of regressing to a more troubling era in American history,” Green said. “We must honor the more than 10 million lives sacrificed to slavery by continuously sharing the true history of Black people enslaved in America.”
Green said honoring the lives of enslaved people is long overdue and that his resolution will help Congress confront the legacy of slavery.
“If you’re not fighting for the rights of people who don’t look like you, you’re participating in the erosion of your own rights. We must stand firmly and collectively against hate and racism in all its forms.” Green said. “At some point, we have to demand that those who hold public trust also hold a responsibility to combat these injustices. That means allocating real resources, a budget to fight hate, a budget to fight racism just as they do for infrastructure or defense.”
Green also called for enslaved people to be honored with a Congressional Gold Medal, which is a civilian honor given by Congress to honor the contributions of individuals or groups of people to American society. Green described enslaved people as “America’s economic foundational mothers and fathers.”
“We must protect the advancements our ancestors lived and died for to prevent history from repeating itself,” Green said. “I will continue fighting for Congress to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the enslaved, as it did for Confederate soldiers in 1956.”
NAACP Houston President James Dixon emphasized the significance of confronting historical injustice to shape a more equitable future during his remarks at the event.
“On this day, we decree and declare that Slavery Remembrance carries with it the momentum to never go back,” Dixon said. “We move forward with unity, conviction, and the unwavering belief that history must not repeat itself.”
Dixon told the crowd of nearly 1,500 people that remembrance must be paired with action, solidarity, and a shared commitment to justice.
“If we don’t stand together, we risk falling back together back into the very struggles our ancestors fought to overcome,” Dixon said. “If we don’t pray together, protest together, and move with purpose, we’ll find ourselves offering apologies instead of demanding justice.”
