Res. No. 6
Title
Resolution calling upon the State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign A.7274/S.5624, which would establish the Commission to Study Reparations for African-Americans and to Recommend Remedies.
Body
By Council Member Barron
Whereas, In 1991, during an excavation in preparation for the construction of a new federal building in Lower Manhattan, remains were unearthed revealing one of the largest, known early African-American cemeteries; and
Whereas, The African Burial Ground yielded the intact remains of over 400 men, women and children of African descent, spanning 6.6 acres and dating from the 1690s to the 1790s; and
Whereas, The burial ground served as a reminder that, although slavery in the United States is frequently associated with the early colonies and states of the South, until July 4, 1827 the owning of slaves was legal in New York; and
Whereas, According to the New York Historical Society, 41% of colonial New York City households owned slaves-a level of urban societal penetration that has been compared to Charleston, South Carolina, and
Whereas, At the time of the American Revolution over 10,000 African-Americans inhabited New York City; and
Whereas, In 1626, 11 African slaves were brought to New Amsterdam, as New York City, founded by the Dutch, was originally called, by the Dutch West India Company; and
Whereas, Slave labor cleared the land and built the walls along what would later become Wall Street, the City's first city hall, Trinity Church and Fraunces Tavern among other structures; and
Whereas, In 1711, a slave market was officially established on Wall Street between Pearl and Water Streets, which according to some reports operated for about 50 years; and
Whereas, During the American Revolution, the British dealt slavery in New York City a blow by offering freedom to slaves who would join their ranks; and
Whereas, Over 10,000 slaves came to New York, which was under British control an...
Click here for full text