Sec. 3. Establishment and duties

460 words·~2 min read·/bill/114/hr/40/ih/section-3

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There is established the Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the Commission ). The Commission shall perform the following duties: Examine the institution of slavery which existed within the United States and the colonies that became the United States from 1619 through 1865. The Commission’s examination shall include an examination of— the capture and procurement of Africans; the transport of Africans to the United States and the colonies that became the United States for the purpose of enslavement, including their treatment during transport; the sale and acquisition of Africans as chattel property in interstate and intrastate commerce; and the treatment of African slaves in the colonies and the United States, including the deprivation of their freedom, exploitation of their labor, and destruction of their culture, language, religion, and families.

Examine the extent to which the Federal and State governments of the United States supported the institution of slavery in constitutional and statutory provisions, including the extent to which such governments prevented, opposed, or restricted efforts of freed African slaves to repatriate to their homeland. Examine Federal and State laws that discriminated against freed African slaves and their descendants during the period between the end of the Civil War and the present. Examine other forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed African slaves and their descendants during the period between the end of the Civil War and the present.

Examine the lingering negative effects of the institution of slavery and the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and

(4)on living African-Americans and on society in the United States. Recommend appropriate ways to educate the American public of the Commission’s findings. Recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the Commission’s findings on the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4). In making such recommendations, the Commission shall address among other issues, the following questions: Whether the Government of the United States should offer a formal apology on behalf of the people of the United States for the perpetration of gross human rights violations on African slaves and their descendants. Whether African-Americans still suffer from the lingering effects of the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4). Whether, in consideration of the Commission’s findings, any form of compensation to the descendants of African slaves is warranted. If the Commission finds that such compensation is warranted, what should be the amount of compensation, what form of compensation should be awarded, and who should be eligible for such compensation. The Commission shall submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the Congress not later than the date which is one year after the date of the first meeting of the Commission held pursuant to section 4(c).