Acknowledging African descendants of the transatlantic slave trade in all of the Americas with an emphasis on descendants in Latin America and the Caribbean, recognizing the injustices suffered by these African descendants, and recommending that the United States and the international community work to improve the situation of Afro-descendant communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in praise of an article written by Howard Dodson in Africana Heritage, a periodical from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, in New York City. I praise the piece because it touches on a very little known subject, that being the lives of Afro-Colombians in the Americas, a people with a rich and radiant culture who are so often ignored by mainstream Colombia.

Their presence in the region dates back to the age of European exploration of the Americas and, in particular, the transatlantic slave trade. Dodson pointed out in his article that, ``the Afro-Colombian population had become so marginalized that for the overwhelming majority of Colombians as well as the world's people they were invisible.'' With over a quarter of the population being of African descent, there is no way this society should have been treated the way they were for so many years.

He also describes how the system might now be changing: ``presence of Afro-Colombians as part of the Colombian nation may be at an all time high.'' The Afro-Colombian people understand their history, their identity and national heritage and the need to keep it alive for the generations to come. For such a rich and vibrant culture to dissolve with time would be a detriment to an entire race of people.

What makes these people so unique is the one thing that may have kept them in isolation for so many years, their African ancestry. For years, the nation has been in denial about its connection to the people of Africa. However, the connection is so strong that, ``what makes Colombia's culture distinctly Colombian is likely the African presence in it,'' as noted by Dodson. The people of African descent in the Americas have carried with them over the Atlantic aged traditions and concepts unknown to the western hemisphere prior to their arrival.

The plight of Afro-Descendent populations in Latin America and the Caribbean is one that I take special interest in, for their struggles have long gone on ignored for so many years. That was why I sponsored the bipartisan historic resolution H. Con. Res. 175 recognizing, for the first time ever, the struggles of African-descendent populations in Latin America and the Caribbean. This in turn urged the United States and the international community to support social development and economic programs targeting these groups.

Usually denied the most basic necessities, African-Descendent populations, particularly in Latin America, are among the poorest, least educated, and most marginalized groups in the region. In terms of the Afro-Colombian population, they have the shortest life expectancies and the lowest literacy rates of any group in Colombia. Displacement, guerilla and military violence, and fragile economics make the struggle of these groups even more difficult.

I enter into the Record the article by Howard Dodson for his continuing effort to give a face to the often ignored Afro-Descendent population in Latin America. Dodson took it upon himself to research and get a first hand account about the situation below our borders. I believe that this is an ideal opportunity for African Americans to reach out to their brothers and sisters in Haiti, Cuba, Brazil, Colombia and the rest of the hemisphere, for they are experiencing the same second-class treatment African Americans received in this country forty years ago. We need to come together to safeguard access to healthcare, education and basic human rights.

[From the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 2006]

Colombians Rediscover Their African Roots

(By Howard Dodson)

I returned to Colombia after a 40-year hiatus this past

November. What was new there that I did not see during my

visits from decades ago was the emergence of the

consciousness of the Afro-Colombian population within the

nation and an Afro-Colombian consciousness among Afro

descendants. Forty years ago, indeed 10 years ago, the Afro-

Colombian population had become so marginalized that for the

overwhelming majority of Colombians as well as the world's

people they were invisible. This is no longer the case.

Consciousness of the presence of Afro-Colombians as a part of

the Colombian nation may be at an all time high. And Afro-

Colombians' consciousness of themselves as a critical but

neglected segment of the Colombian national identity,

heritage, and future is also at an all time high.

When I visited Colombia in the 1960s, I was a Peace Corps

volunteer in Ecuador. All of my travels in Latin America

during my two-and-a-half-year tour of duty were partially a

mission of discovery. As an African American living and

traveling in South America for the first time, I was

especially interested in meeting and learning more about

people of African descent who lived in Latin America. In

Colombia, I traveled to the Caribbean and Pacific Coasts and

visited Cartagena, Barranquilla, Santa Marta, Cali, Medellin,

Manizales, etc. I also spent some time in Bogota where I met

a lot of Afro-Colombians, but at the time even they were

reluctant to discuss their Africanness.

While my most recent visit was limited to Bogota and Quibdo

in the Choco region, the context in which it occurred

announced for me the existence of a new era in Afro-Colombian

history and culture. The Universidad Technologica del Choco,

the country's major black university, has launched an

initiative to establish a National Center for Documenting

Afro-Colombian Cultural Expressions. I was invited, in my

capacity as Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in

Black Culture, to participate in a two-day planning symposium

to continue to develop the concept and program for this new

national initiative. I have devoted over 20 of the last 40

years of my life developing the Schomburg Center into the

world's leading research library devoted exclusively to

documenting the global black experience. Organizers of the

planning symposium thought the Center's and my experiences

might be helpful in developing the Center in Quibdo. Over the

last decade, we've placed a special emphasis on the Afro

Latino or Afro descendant populations in South and Central

America.

One recent collaborative effort took place in Colombia. The

staff of the National Archives of Colombia in Bogota

unearthed a plethora of historic documents on slavery and

black people in Colombia during the colonial period. With

funding from the Schomburg Center and York University in

Toronto, Canada the Archives staff was able to digitize

these records. A grant from UNESCO made it possible to

develop these digitized resources into a robust website

and now these historic documents on AfroColombians'

colonial past are accessible to the world on the Internet.

This project was an important beginning, but documenting

the centrality of the African presence in the development

of Colombia's national history and culture will require

much more research and documentation. This is what the

Universidad Technologica del Choco proposes to spearhead

through its National Center for Documenting Afro-Colombian

Cultural Expressions.

Why is such an effort warranted at this time? First of all,

recent scholarship on the African presence in the Americas

has unearthed a startling demographic fact that is forcing

scholars to rethink their understanding of the African

presence in the Americas as well as the historical and

cultural development of the Americas themselves. Between 1492

and 1776, or roughly the first 300 years of what is commonly

referred to as the European colonization of the Americas, 6.5

million people survived the crossing of the Atlantic and

settled in the Americas-North, Central and South America, and

the Caribbean. Of those original 6.5 million settler

pioneers, only 1 million were Europeans.

The other 5.5 million were African. This simple demographic

fact challenges all of our conventional notions about who

were the principle history-and-culture-makers in the Americas

during the colonial period.

Cartagena, Colombia was the principle entrepot for the

Africans who would eventually populate the Pacific Coast of

South America and Colombia (or New Grenada as it was called).

Two hundred plus years later, Colombia's Caribbean and

Pacific Coast provinces still have the overwhelming majority

of the nation's African descended population. Their

marginalized and seemingly invisible state notwithstanding,

they still constitute over 25 percent of the nation's 40

million people.

Of equal importance, over the last decade and a half,

thanks to the Constitution of 1991 and Law 70 of 1993, the

nation has committed itself to ending black marginalization,

integrating the African descended population into the

national body politic. While fulfilling those commitments has

been fraught with difficulty, the Afro-Colombian population

has developed a new sense of entitlement and consciousness of

its rights and is actively seeking to have the nation correct

the consequences of centuries of neglect, discrimination, and

invisibility.

While the nation has been in a state of denial about the

African roots of its past, the African presence in the

national culture has been undeniable. Indeed, in the realm of

culture--be it art, music, religion, dance, language,

cuisine, etc.--what makes Colombia's culture distinctly

Colombian is likely the African presence in it. Recent

scholarship has begun this process of documentation, but

more, much more needs to be done if the total integration of

the society is to be realized.

Finally, Afro-Colombians themselves have been in denial

about their African heritages. As a consequence, they

frequently know little or nothing about it. Their historical

and cultural heritage are not included in the textbooks or

taught in the schools. Stereotypical representations of

African descended Colombians have all too frequently

dominated the public media. And Afro-Colombians' unique

cultural heritages have all too frequently been mocked or

denigrated.

The National Center proposes to foster the development of

new scholarship that will reveal the true nature of the Afro-

Colombian historical and cultural legacy. The project is

off to an excellent start. During the two-day planning

symposium, representatives of the National Library, The

Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History, the National

Archives and the Ministry of Culture were in attendance as

were some of the country's leading scholars in the field of

Afro-Colombian Studies. All have gone on record in support of

this effort. Eduardo Garcia Vega, Director of the Universidad

Technologica del Choco, has made a major commitment to the

effort. There is already an academic program in Afro-

Colombian Studies and plans are underway to offer a Masters

Degree in the field. A full floor of the new technology

building that is currently under construction has been

designated to house the Center. It is scheduled for

completion and occupancy in June 2006. Members of the faculty

and staff of the University are already working with the

Rector to make the Center a reality. Finally, Georgetown

University's (Washington, D.C.) Colombia Program and the U.S.

Embassy in Bogota have thrown their full support behind this

effort.

Among the unique features of the Center is that it will

house a 21st century archive. The Center will conduct oral

histories and document through film, audio, and audiovisual

media contemporary Afro-Colombian cultural expressions. And

it will collect and preserve some printed records. But the

central archive of the Center will be a virtual one. Using

the 21st century Internet technology, the Center will

assemble a comprehensive virtual archive of print, audio, and

audiovisual resources documenting Afro-Colombian history and

culture. Developing a virtual resource will allow libraries,

museums and archives that currently house Afro-Colombian

materials to participate in the development of this national

program without having to give up their original materials.

Once online, the materials will be accessible throughout the

country as well as throughout the world. Researchers and

scholars will be able to conduct their research without

having to leave their homes or their institutions. This

national digital archive on Afro-Colombian cultural

expressions will be the centerpiece of the Center's larger

program of research, education, and celebration.

I cannot begin to underscore the importance of this

initiative. While we at the Schomburg Center attempt to

document the global black experience, we are clear that no

single institution can carry out such an ambitious agenda.

Every country in the world that has large African descended

populations needs a Center that is focused on preserving the

records of their past. We have done an extraordinary job of

documenting the African-American experience in the United

States and our collections contain representative

documentation of black people around the world. A national

documentation center such as the one contemplated in Colombia

will go a long way toward preserving the Afro-Colombian

heritage for the Colombian people as well as filling this

important gap in the documentation of the global black

experience.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring to the attention of my colleagues an important visit by a delegation of Afro-Colombian leaders to Washington this week. The Vice President of the Colombian House of Representatives, the Honorable Dr. Edgar Torres, and the Governor of Choco, the Honorable Dr. Julio Ibarguen are the leaders of this auspicious delegation. These Afro-Colombian leaders have come to the United States to raise the awareness of the conditions of the Afro- Colombian community in Colombia, most specifically the province of Choco, and to request congressional assistance in obtaining and directing resources to the problems of this community.

Representing a quarter of Colombia's population, Afro-Colombians are two-thirds of the nation's extreme poor, have illiteracy of 45 percent, and have inadequate access to health care. They have lower standards of living than most other groups in Colombia. They often live in isolated and remote communities with little access for advancement and improvement.

As a leader in the legislative chamber, Dr. Torres is one of the most influential Afro-Colombians in the nation and has worked to raise awareness of the struggle of Afro-Colombians. He has championed and pursued greater multinational awareness and assistance for the people of Colombia. He has worked to raise the issue to the global community of the impoverishment and challenges facing his people. Dr. Torres has been a powerful, important and poignant voice for the struggle and desire for equality among Afro-Colombians.

The department of Choco has the highest percentage of Afro-Colombians in the country. It also has the lowest per-capita level of government investment in health, education, and infrastructure. The people of Choco suffer daily with poverty, illiteracy, lack of medical care, and lack of opportunity. They have great plans for advancement but little opportunity.

Governor Ibarguen has worked to improve the infrastructure for the province. He has advanced plans and strategies designed to provide new hope and opportunity to the people of Choco and to address the pressing and urgent needs of the community. He has seen firsthand the hardship and misery of Afro-Colombians and works with local, national, and international agencies to overcome these daunting challenges. He nonetheless could use the assistance and aid of the 109th Congress and the American people.

These Afro-Colombian leaders are here in Washington to build a dialogue with the international community on behalf of the people of Colombia. They are trying to find allies and alliances with leaders of this country and the international community to help wage the fight for self-sufficiency and equal treatment of Afro-Colombians. They should be commended in their efforts to reach out and ask for our assistance. We should be gracious in our commitment to help their cause. They are trying to reach out to us and we must be prepared to respond.

There are a number of opportunities available to this Congress to reach out to the Colombian people, and Afro-Colombians in particular. In August, there will be a dialogue hosted in Colombia to raise the awareness of the Afro-Colombian challenge. I and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus have extended our support to these efforts and I hope my colleagues in the House will join us. My colleague, the Honorable Gregory Meeks, is already planning a congressional delegation to visit the country and to participate in the dialogue on race.

In addition to these congressional activities, the Pan American Development Foundation and the Afro-Latino Development Alliance are providing important information, awareness, and assistance to the Afro- Colombian struggle. They are hosting Dr. Torres and Dr. Ibarguen in their visit and tour this week. They have played an indomitable role in finding opportunities for assisting Afro-Colombians. I expect that these organizations will continue their hard work on behalf of Afro- Colombians.

The United States has provided substantial assistance to the Government of Colombia, most of it through Plan Colombia to assist the Government of Colombia in waging war against political insurgents and narcotics traffickers. The Afro-Colombian delegation believes that a shift in resources from military to economic development purposes in communities such as the Choco province will achieve greater success than our military assistance.

It is important that this Congress take action to help the Afro- Colombian people. It is unconscionable to think that an entire group of people would suffer in this manner in this day and age. We must do more as the representatives of this caring and loving nation. I urge my colleagues to reach out to Dr. Torres and Dr. Ibarguen while they are here this week. I urge my colleagues to extend aid and assistance to Afro-Colombian populations.

I have introduced the following resolution (House Concurrent Resolution 175) to encourage greater assistance and recognition to Afro-descendant populations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. This resolution is another step in addressing the Afro-Colombian struggle. I submit this copy of the resolution into the Record.

Concurrent Resolution

Acknowledging African descendants of the transatlantic

slave trade in all of the Americas with an emphasis on

descendants in Latin America and the Caribbean, recognizing

the injustices suffered by these African descendants, and

recommending that the United States and the international

community work to improve the situation of Afro-descendant

communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Whereas during Black History Month it is important that we

not forget that African-Americans are not the only survivors

of the transatlantic slave trade;

Whereas like the United States, many European nations

benefited greatly from the colonization of Latin America and

the Caribbean and their participation in the slave trade;

Whereas the story of African descendants in all of the

Americas remains untold, leading them to be forgotten, made

invisible, and allowed to suffer unjustly;

Whereas it is important to acknowledge that as a result of

the slave trade and immigration, approximately 80,000,000 to

150,000,000 persons of African descent live in Latin America

and the Caribbean, making them the largest population of

persons of African descent outside of Africa;

Whereas Afro-descendants are present in most all Latin

American countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile,

Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama,

Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela;

Whereas the size of Afro-descendant populations vary in

range from less than 1 percent in some countries to as much

as 30 percent in Colombia and 46 percent in Brazil and make

up the majority in some Spanish speaking Caribbean nations,

such as Cuba and the Dominican Republic;

Whereas Afro-descendant populations have made significant

economic, social, and cultural contributions to their

countries and the Western Hemisphere from their unfortunate

involvement in the transatlantic slave

trade to their recent contributions to trade, tourism, and

other industries;

Whereas although persons of African descent have made

significant achievements in education, employment, economic,

political, and social spheres in some countries, the vast

majority are marginalized--living in impoverished communities

where they are excluded from centers of education,

government, and basic human rights based upon the color of

their skin and ancestry;

Whereas Afro-descendants have shorter life expectancies,

higher rates of infant mortality, higher incidences of HIV/

AIDS, higher rates of illiteracy, and lower incomes than do

other populations;

Whereas Afro-descendants encounter problems of access to

healthcare, basic education, potable water, housing, land

titles, credit, equal justice and representation under the

law, political representation, and other economic, political,

health, and basic human rights; and

Whereas skin color and ancestry have led African-Americans

in the United States and African descendants in Latin America

and the Caribbean to share similar injustices, leading to

economic, social, health, and political inequalities: Now,

therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

concurring), That Congress--

(1) recognizes and honors African descendants in the

Americas for their contributions to the economic, social, and

cultural fabric of the countries in the Americas,

particularly in Latin American and Caribbean societies;

(2) recognizes that as a result of their skin color and

ancestry, African descendants in the Americas have wrongfully

experienced economic, social, and political injustices;

(3) urges the President to take appropriate measures to

encourage the celebration and remembrance of the achievements

of African descendants in the Americas and a resolution of

injustices suffered by African descendants in the Americas;

(4) encourages the United States and the international

community to work to ensure that extreme poverty is

eradicated, universal education is achieved, quality

healthcare is made available, sustainable environmental

resources, including land where applicable, is provided, and

equal access to justice and representation under the law is

granted in Afro-descendant communities in Latin America and

the Caribbean; and

(5) encourages the United States and the international

community to achieve these goals in Latin America and the

Caribbean by--

(A) promoting research that focuses on identifying and

eradicating racial disparities in economic, political, and

social spheres;

(B) promoting, funding, and creating development programs

that focus on Afro-descendant communities;

(C) providing technical support and training to Afro-

descendant advocacy groups that work to uphold basic human

rights in the region;

(D) promoting the creation of an international working

group that focuses on problems of communities of Afro-

descendants in the Americas; and

(E) promoting trade and other bilateral and multilateral

agreements that take into account the needs of Afro-

descendant communities.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to begin a formal acknowledgment of the injustices imposed on African descendants of the transatlantic slave trade in all of the Americas, with an emphasis on populations in Latin America and the Caribbean, and to encourage United States and international efforts to work to improve the situation of Afro- descendant communities in these regions.

In the 108th Congress, my colleagues and I concluded that, for too long, this country and other nations had ignored the struggle and challenges faced by Afro-descendant populations in the Americas. While the U.S. has been compelled to take steps to address our race problem in this country, we have often unintentionally forgotten or deemphasized the impact of that struggle throughout the Western Hemisphere.

The transatlantic slave trade had a devastating impact on the region's economies. While the exact events and conditions of slavery that dominated the U.S. did not necessarily permeate into Latin America and the Caribbean directly, Central and South America did have to deal with its own ``peculiar institution.'' Slavery transforms the body politic and the institutions of power and culture. It lifts one group of nations above another group, makes some the superior to others, and discriminates against those in the minority.

In this country, it led to three centuries of segregation, discrimination, and prejudice. It remains a battle that African- Americans continue to suffer through today. Rising above the harmful effects of centuries of racism has not been easy for us; neither has it been for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In 2005, the struggle of Afro-descendants in Latin America and the Caribbean continues. Representing the largest population of African descendants outside of Africa, Afro-descendants have not fared well in the region. Afro-Latinos for instance account for about 30 percent of the Latin American population and make up over 60 percent of its poor. Afro-Latinos also have extreme high rates of suicide, homicide, infant mortality, and illiteracy.

Brazil has the largest population of Afro-descendants in Latin America and the Caribbean. Shockingly, only one in three Afro- Brazilians attends secondary schools. Colombia has the second largest Afro-descendant population in the region and Afro-Colombians have shorter life expectancies, limited access to medical and health care facilities, and the highest rates of illiteracy.

Our involvement, dependency, and complicity in the transatlantic slave trade require action by this country to help address the issues of Afro-descendant populations. With my House colleagues, I have introduced legislation (H. Con. Res. 175) to call for the recognition by this Congress of the struggle of Afro-descendant populations and to encourage and promote efforts to assist Afro-descendant communities. The resolution calls on the President, the Congress, and the international community to devote resources and services to help eradicate the economic and social disparities that exist in Latin America and the Caribbean.

I also must acknowledge the productive support, insights, and assistance of the Afro-Latino Working Group: The Honorable Mr. John Conyers, Mr. Donald Payne, Ms. Barbara Lee, Mr. William Jefferson, and Mr. Gregory Meeks. Their counsel, advocacy, and commitment to these issues have been instrumental in raising the importance and awareness of this cause to me and this Congress. I appreciate their support.

I would also like to thank the number of colleagues that have extended their support to this resolution and are currently listed as cosponsors to the legislation. They are a sign of the bipartisan and broad support of this resolution by this Chamber. Today, the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere of the International Relations Committee marked up this legislation and voted to support it. I hope the 109th Congress will give it the same attention and support.

I would like to submit the text of House Concurrent Resolution 157 for the Record.

Mr. Speaker, on August 17th a very important occasion will be observed--the 118th birthday of Marcus Garvey. Marcus Garvey is widely considered a monumental figure in world and American history. In the 1920's, his message of unity, cultural pride, and self-sufficiency inspired millions of people around the world.

In this country, Garvey's message of pride in heritage and identification with African roots inspired African Americans at a time when we were oppressed by the impact of slavery and segregation. The Harlem based movement he started with the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) during the early 1900's is still the largest that the modern Black world has ever seen.

His efforts would be a major impetus in the later movements that would free black peoples from the shackles of colonization and legalized discrimination. Indeed, his life and philosophy were embraced by influential Black leaders of the 20th century such as Kwame Nkrumah, Malcom X, and Martin Luther King. He is a national hero of almost mythic proportions in his native Jamaica, and was an inspiration for the Rastafarian movement in Jamaica during the 20th century. Indeed, his praises have been sung in reggae songs up to the present day.

Despite his future impact, the America in which he lived was a much different place then it is today. African Americans did not have rights, and were expected to accept their inequitable position in society. Many became threatened by the size and implications of Marcus Garvey's movement, and he soon became the target of significant government harassment, led by a young J. Edgar Hoover. Eventually, Mr. Garvey was convicted on a single charge of mail fraud--a charge that experts agree was spurious.

Marcus Garvey has been an inspiration to me since I was a child. I was born, raised, and still live in Harlem, where Garvey established the Headquarters for the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Though I was born three years after Garvey was, deported from the United States, his imprint on Harlem was still evident throughout my childhood and adolescence. I often met followers of Garvey's movement, known as Garveyites, who would preach his philosophy. Their words encouraged me to do my own research. As I grew older, I came to fully understand the importance of Garvey and the injustice of his wrongful conviction.

Since 1987, I have endeavored to restore the good name of Marcus Garvey, and my effort is continuing in the 109th Congress. I now have the support of an ever-increasing number of individuals, organizations, constituencies and legislators. Cities from Hartford, Connecticut to Lauderhill, Florida have passed resolutions calling for Mr. Garvey's exoneration, and Rep. Rangel's current Marcus Garvey resolution, H. Con. Res. 57, has garnered the most House support since it was first introduced in 1987.

A Presidential pardon is the final and most important step in restoring the good name of Marcus Garvey and preserving his legacy for future generations. To that end, I sent an official request to President Bush this week urging the granting of a posthumous Presidential pardon to Marcus Garvey. It is my hope that President Bush will take the time to investigate the merits of my request, as such consideration on behalf of Marcus Garvey is long overdue. I will also attend a ceremony in St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica--the birthplace of Marcus Garvey--in August, to commemorate the 118th anniversary of Mr. Garvey's birth.

We here in the House recently passed a resolution, H. Con. Res. 175, which acknowledged African descendants of the transatlantic slave trade in all of the Americas and recommended that the United States and the

international community work to improve the situation of Afro- descendants in our hemisphere. That was one of the goals of Marcus Garvey--the improvement of Afro-descendents. As we continue to make progress on that front, we must continue to remember Marcus Garvey, and restore to him the honor which he deserves.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 175 and extend my thanks to my friend from New York for bringing this resolution before the House. The dark, sordid history of slavery in this country continues to reverberate throughout society--economically, culturally, socially. What too many in our country do not know is that the enslavement of Africans was a tragedy throughout this hemisphere, not just in the United States. This important resolution shines a bright light on the injustices suffered by the descendants of the transatlantic slave trade throughout the Americas, and particularly in Latin America and Caribbean. The United States must join with the international community to improve the living conditions of and to empower the Afro-Latino communities throughout the Americas.

As a result of the slave trade and immigration, approximately 80,000,000 to 150,000,000 persons of African descent live in Latin America and the Caribbean, representing the largest concentration of persons of African ancestry outside of Africa. Individuals of African descent are a vital part of the population and economy of almost every country in Latin America, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. By way of example, Brazil has the largest population of Afro-descendants in Latin America and the Caribbean, yet, tragically, only one in three Afro-Brazilians attend secondary schools.

Although Afro-descendants in Latin America and the Caribbean have made significant economic, social, and cultural contributions to their respective countries, a large percentage of these Afro-descendants community live in extremely poor conditions, in marginal communities with little or no access to education, healthcare, equal employment. As a result, Afro-descendants have shorter life expectancies, higher infant mortality rates, higher incidences of HIV/AIDS, higher rates of illiteracy, and lower incomes than do other populations. Afro- descendants, for instance, account for about 30 percent of the Latin American population, yet make up over 60 percent of its poor. Afro- descendants also have extreme high rates of suicide and homicide.

We, as African-Americans, share similar histories and civil rights struggles and experience similar disparities with Afro-descendants in Latin America and the Caribbean. In recognizing this, we are also recognizing that America shares similar experience with our neighbors in the Hemisphere.

While we have taken strides to address racial and ethnic disparities here in the United States, our struggle continues. Unfortunately, in Latin America and the Caribbean, similar transformations and recognitions of the need to address many of these racial and ethnic disparities have yet to occur.

Today, with this important resolution, we demonstrate our solidarity and we confirm our commitment to help facilitate these transformations in Latin America. Supporting this Resolution is a mutually-beneficial goal for those of us in the United States and those populations residing to our neighboring South. Creating economic opportunities, expanding growth, eliminating racial and ethnic disparities leads to greater stability and democracy in the Hemisphere.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to again thank my friend and colleague from New York, Mr. Rangel, for his leadership in bringing this

historic resolution to the floor. However imperfect, ours is a nation of laws committed to equal justice for all. That commitment has never ended at the border, and it certainly should extend to our neighbors throughout the Americas. This resolution reminds us to heed the sage words Dr. King wrote from the Birmingham jail 42 years ago: ``Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.''

Let us remember that wisdom as we cast our votes for this resolution.