A Holiday For Freedom
November 17, 2016
Angelia Washington
Council Woman
Jacksonville, NC
Jerome Willingham
Councilman
Jacksonville, NC
#NLCU
A HOLIDAY FOR FREEDOM
TH
13 AMENDMENT
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been
duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation
Human trafficking
Victims of human trafficking and other conditions of forced labor are commonly coerced by threat of legal actions
to their detriment. Victims of forced labor and trafficking are protected by Title 18 of the U.S. Code.
Title 18, U.S.C., Section 241 – Conspiracy Against Rights:
Conspiracy to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person's rights or privileges secured by the Constitution
or the laws of the United States
Title 18, U.S.C., Section 242 – Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law:
It is a crime for any person acting under color of law (federal, state or local officials who enforce statutes,
ordinances, regulations, or customs) to willfully deprive or cause to be deprived the rights, privileges, or
immunities of any person secured or protected by the Constitution and laws of the U.S. This includes willfully
subjecting or causing to be subjected any person to different punishments, pains, or penalties, than those
prescribed for punishment of citizens on account of such person being an alien or by reason of his/her color or
race.
Especially in light of the 150th Anniversary of The Thirteenth Amendment to the United
States Constitution, the following resolution is proposed:
RESOLUTION ON A NATIONAL HOLIDAY FOR
THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT
WHEREAS, The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished
slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime;
WHEREAS, In the United States of America Congress, The Thirteenth Amendment was
passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865;
WHEREAS, The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified by the required number of states on
December 6, 1865;
WHEREAS, On December 18, 1865, Secretary of State, William H. Seward, proclaimed
the adoption of The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution;
WHEREAS, President Abraham Lincoln’s resolution to adopt the 13 Amendment is
celebrated as an observance on 1 February, but is not a holiday;
WHEREAS, Liberated countries customarily celebrate their independence with a national
holiday;
WHEREAS, Human freedom is an inalienable right superior to any other;
WHEREAS, Human bondage and trafficking continues to be an epidemic problem
worldwide;
WHEREAS, The United States of America has deployed, and continues to deploy, its
Armed Forces to promote and establish freedom around the world.
WHEREAS, It behooves every respectable society to celebrate human freedom, and to
commit to ensuring human freedom everywhere;
IT IS THEREFORE RESOLVED, That the adoption and enactment of the Thirteenth
Amendment to the United States Constitution should be celebrated as a holiday in the
United States of America, to be celebrated on the Second Monday of December, which will
always fall between the date the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
was ratified by the States, on December 6, 1865, and the date of the Proclamation of The
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, December 18, 1865.
OVERCOMING THE
CIVIL WAR
There were approximately 750,000 casualties
during the Civil War; the Vietnam War had
approximately 58,000 American casualties.
It is a tremendous blessing that this nation was
able to overcome that kind of death toll, and
heal as one nation, carrying on the quest
proclaimed in the preamble to the United
States Constitution “to form a more perfect
union.”
REV. RICHARD R.
WRIGHT, SR.
•
A former slave, banker, Bishop, Army officer, and founder of Savannah State
University led an effort to establish a National Freedom Holiday in the1930’s.
•
Reverend Wright’s efforts led to Congress’ adopting 1 February as an observation
in 1948, one year after his death.
•
This observation relates to the 13th Amendment, not Emancipation Day celebrations
which occur on various dates based on local history.
•
There is no holiday in the U.S. for the 13th Amendment although Texas, Puerto
Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have holidays for respective emancipation dates.
•
The Emancipation Proclamation in 1864 did not make slavery illegal, and it only
freed slaves in limited areas; the 13th Amendment made slavery illegal in the entire
U.S.
RESPECT THE SACRIFICE
• African Americans fought in the Revolutionary
war, and couldn’t enjoy the liberation for which
they fought; Peter Salem, Crispus Attucks, and
Prince Hall, to name a few.
• They died in World Wars I and II, and survivors
returned to this country as second class citizens.
• Recently, we contributed to a monument which
celebrated the achievement and marked the
injustice of the treatment of the Montford Point
Marines.
• How do we tell them their ancestors’ history of
freedom is not as important?
PROMISE
Let us never again allow a
Marine to return to Jacksonville,
from defending us, with second
class citizenship or a
disrespected heritage!
POLITICAL
INDEPENDENCE
• When asked how the slaves felt about
Independence Day (4th of July), Frederick
Douglass stated, “[T]hey probably liked the
fireworks.”
• African Americans remained in a state of human
bondage for almost 100 years after American
Independence from Britain.
• After losing the Revolutionary War, even Britain
freed its slaves 31 years before America!
WHEN WILL WE
GET OVER THIS?
• One of the comments from our earlier discussion
was when do we get over this. One of the ways is
by showing empathy and doing the right thing.
• But I don’t’ think that is the proper perspective.
When we celebrate the 4th of July, we don’t
celebrate colonialism. We celebrate
independence.
• Therefore, we don’t ask when will we get over
celebrating the 4th of July. Analogously, we
should not ask when will we get over slavery. We
are not celebrating slavery; we are celebrating
freedom.
SOURCE OF RAYS
13TH Amendment was to address
slavery, but the benefits and
applicability redound to every
race, ethnicity, religion, sex, etc.
This holiday honors the troops;
this holiday impacts more
people without ancestral slavery.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Imagine having a loved one kidnapped and relegated to slavery via human
trafficking. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO),
forced labor alone (one component of human trafficking) generates an
estimated $150 billion in profits per annum as of 2014. In 2012, the ILO
estimated that 21 million victims are trapped in modern-day slavery. Of
these, 14.2 million (68%) were exploited for labor, 4.5 million (22%) were
sexually exploited, and 2.2 million (10%) were exploited in state-imposed
forced labor.
Human trafficking is thought to be one of the fastest-growing activities of
trans-national criminal organizations. Human trafficking includes child
forced labor, participation in war, and sex. 2 million children are
subjected to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade (UNICEF) Is
this issue worth our focus? Is this issue worth our leadership?
EMPATHY
We cannot be a “caring community,” without
empathy. The lack of empathy allows us to find
colonialism unacceptable when we were the subjects,
yet comfortable when others are subjected. The
absence of empathy leads to our assuming this “us”
versus “them” posture which annihilates the possible
existence of empathy. Empathy allows us to feel or
understand what someone else is experiencing from
their reference. If you are empathetic, you can do
unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Whenever you see examples of man’s inhumanity to
man, empathy is necessarily missing.
WHEN THEY CAME
FOR THE JEWS
• First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
• Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
• Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
• Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
•
by Rev. Martin Niemöller
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
No man is an island, entire of itself;
every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less,
as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's
or of thine own were:
any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind,
and therefore
never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.
by John Donne
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