H. Con. Res. 175
Agreed to November 16, 2006
One Hundred Ninth Congress
of the
United States of America 
AT THE SECOND SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 
the third day of January, two thousand and six 
Concurrent Resolution
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, Guate-
mala, 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 eco-
nomic, 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
H. Con. Res. 175—2
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 concur-
ring), That Congress—
(1) recognizes and honors African descendants in the Amer-
icas 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 achieve-
ments 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 eradi-
cated, universal education is achieved, quality healthcare is 
made available, 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 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
H. Con. Res. 175—3
(E) promoting trade and other bilateral and multilat-
eral agreements that take into account the needs of Afro-
descendant communities. 
Attest:
Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Attest:
Secretary of the Senate.