HRES173-119

That the House of Representatives— affirms, that on Juneteenth 2024, 158 years after the 250,000 enslaved in Galveston Bay, Texas, received the news from Union troops that they were freed, that the efforts for racial justice after 250 years of United States slavery did not end on June 19, 1865; acknowledges that following Juneteenth, many African Americans faced terror and repression which suppressed their ability to create stable and resilient communities or freedmen’s settlements after the Civil War; honors the rich history of emancipated African Americans who built communities by acquiring land and housing security for freedmen’s settlements; supports preserving freedmen’s settlements through comprehensive documentation that utilizes oral histories and existing records as well as physical commemoration of settlement remnants; encourages investing in the lasting legacies of freedmen’s settlements with designated funding for historic preservation and funding economic justice initiatives to support the descendants and remaining residents of these communities; recognizes the need for coordination amongst the Federal Government, State governments, agencies, and nonprofit organizations is warranted to better understand the power dynamics of the historical injustices that have taken place in the freedmen’s settlements; expresses a commitment to identify United States freedmen’s settlements to enshrine their historic community preservation, including protecting communities from development, gentrification, and environmental hazards through strategic investment, external development regulation, community-led and driven economic development, small business creation, workforce development, and education; urges the Federal Government, States, localities, nonprofit organizations, schools, and community organizations to provide ongoing support to the residents and descendants of the founders of freedmen’s settlements who hold long-standing knowledge of the history of their communities to preserve the historical foundation of this Nation; recognizes that coordination among the Federal Government, State governments, agencies, and nonprofit organizations is warranted to support freedmen’s settlement communities and municipalities, including, but not limited to, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, food assistance programs, historic land preservation, and clean water foundations; affirms that freedmen’s settlements in the United States have fair standards of living, including sewage, roads, emergency services, climate-resilient infrastructure, and an overall focus on the health, well-being, sustainability, and resilience of these communities; recognizes that recognizing and providing resources for freedmen’s settlements will lead to greater equity and investment in historically disadvantaged communities that have faced centuries of racism, discrimination, environmental and climate injustices, and violence, as conceived since the colonization of the Americas and is continually built upon today; and honors the legacies of freedom, ingenuity, resilience, and community care created by the communities in the freedmen’s settlements and brings recognition and honor to the efforts of these formerly enslaved people on Juneteenth 2024.