| 1 | 1 | | 86R10059 BPG-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Reynolds H.C.R. No. 51 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, In 2018, the discovery of an unmarked burial ground |
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| 7 | 7 | | at the former Imperial State Prison Farm site in Sugar Land drew |
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| 8 | 8 | | national attention to an abhorrent chapter in history; and |
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| 9 | 9 | | WHEREAS, Archeologists at the site found the skeletal remains |
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| 10 | 10 | | of 95 victims of the convict leasing system, which was used after |
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| 11 | 11 | | the Civil War to replicate the oppression that existed under |
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| 12 | 12 | | slavery; although the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution |
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| 13 | 13 | | prohibited involuntary servitude, it created an exemption for |
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| 14 | 14 | | people convicted of crimes; Southern states took advantage by |
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| 15 | 15 | | enacting "Black Codes," laws that applied only to African |
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| 16 | 16 | | Americans, who could be prosecuted criminally for such offenses as |
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| 17 | 17 | | loitering, breaking curfew, or not carrying proof of employment; |
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| 18 | 18 | | and |
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| 19 | 19 | | WHEREAS, Prisoners of the state were leased as cheap labor to |
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| 20 | 20 | | private railways, mines, and agricultural operations, including |
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| 21 | 21 | | the sugar plantations along the Brazos River; while receiving no |
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| 22 | 22 | | pay, convicts often endured conditions even more brutal than |
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| 23 | 23 | | slavery, given that contractors had no financial interest in their |
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| 24 | 24 | | well-being; more than 3,500 Texas prisoners died between 1866 and |
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| 25 | 25 | | 1912, when the legislature outlawed convict leasing; and |
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| 26 | 26 | | WHEREAS, While the state and employers profited, the families |
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| 27 | 27 | | and communities of victims suffered damage that spanned |
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| 28 | 28 | | generations; a full understanding of the convict leasing system and |
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| 29 | 29 | | its aftereffects is vital to addressing issues that continue to |
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| 30 | 30 | | plague society today, including mass incarceration, convict labor, |
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| 31 | 31 | | prison privatization, and entrenched poverty; now, therefore, be it |
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| 32 | 32 | | RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 33 | 33 | | hereby request the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house |
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| 34 | 34 | | of representatives to create a joint interim committee to study the |
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| 35 | 35 | | legacy of convict leasing in Texas; and, be it further |
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| 36 | 36 | | RESOLVED, That the committee examine the treatment of victims |
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| 37 | 37 | | of the convict leasing system, the extent to which the State of |
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| 38 | 38 | | Texas supported the system, and the lingering negative effects of |
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| 39 | 39 | | the system; and, be it further |
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| 40 | 40 | | RESOLVED, That the committee determine appropriate ways to |
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| 41 | 41 | | educate the general public about the convict leasing system; and, |
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| 42 | 42 | | be it further |
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| 43 | 43 | | RESOLVED, That the committee submit a full report, including |
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| 44 | 44 | | findings and recommendations, to the 87th Texas Legislature in |
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| 45 | 45 | | January 2021; and, be it further |
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| 46 | 46 | | RESOLVED, That the committee's proceedings and operations be |
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| 47 | 47 | | governed by such general rules and policies for interim committees |
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| 48 | 48 | | as the 86th Texas Legislature may adopt. |
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