Reparations for Unpaid Labor Rendered by Enslaved Persons of African Descent

WHEREAS, the enslavement of Africans and the Transatlantic Slave Trade were appalling tragedies in the history of our country, not only because of their abhorrent barbarism but also in terms of their magnitude, organized nature, and their complete negation of the humanity of the enslaved person; and

WHEREAS, the enslavement of Africans constituted an immoral and inhumane deprivation of a person's life, liberty, and cultural heritage; and

WHEREAS, the enslavement of Africans resulted in the annihilation of millions of Africans eviscerating whole cultures, languages, religions, morals, and customs, psychologically destroying its victims; and

WHEREAS, the enslavement of Africans wrenched its victims of their history, memories, and families on a scale never previously witnessed; and

WHEREAS, the enslavement of Africans fueled the prosperity of our young nation, allowing its economy to reap the benefits of unpaid labor of untold value.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP supports the United Nations World Conference on Racism's position that the enslavement of Africans and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade are crimes against humanity; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP supports efforts to establish responsibility and recover compensation in trust from private and public companies, agencies, and governmental entities that benefited from the enslavement of persons of African descent; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NAACP reaffirms its previous position on reparations, established in 1991, as embodied in H.R. 40 by representative John Conyers that demands the United States Government take immediate action to commence hearings and to establish a congressional commission to examine the issue of reparations for descendants of enslaved persons of African descent.