IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1592 
Recognizing persons of African descent in Europe. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 30, 2010 
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing persons of African descent in Europe. 
Whereas the 109th Congress passed H. Con. Res. 60 and S. 
Con. Res. 90, recognizing African descendants in Latin 
America and the Caribbean, raising awareness of the rac-
ism and discrimination faced by those communities, and 
leading to numerous public and private sector initiatives 
between the United States and Latin American and Car-
ibbean countries to improve the situation of African de-
scendants; 
Whereas the persistence of racism and discrimination in Eu-
rope similarly necessitates congressional action to raise 
awareness and promote public and private sector initia-
tives to stem this trend; 
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•HRES 1592 IH 
Whereas the terms ‘‘Afro-European’’, ‘‘African European’’, 
or ‘‘Black European’’ refers to people of African ancestry 
or descent born in, citizens of, or living in Europe; 
Whereas more than an estimated 7,000,000 individuals of Af-
rican descent currently live in and have long had a pres-
ence in Europe, forming an influential part of the Afri-
can diaspora; 
Whereas the story of Black Europeans remains untold, ren-
dering many of their past and present contributions to 
the political and social life of Europe invisible or forgot-
ten; 
Whereas, unlike more contemporary figures, largely unknown 
Blacks have made significant contributions to European 
history and culture, including Spanish poet Juan Latino, 
Italian 
Duke 
Alessandro 
Medici, 
French 
novelist 
Alexandre Dumas, German scholar Anthony William 
Amo, French Composer Le Chevalier de St. George, Brit-
ish abolitionist Oladuah Equiano, and Russian General 
and Governor Abram Hannibal, great-grandfather of 
Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin; 
Whereas the largest estimated populations of Black Euro-
peans can be found in France (approximately 2,500,000), 
the United Kingdom (approximately 1,500,000), and the 
Netherlands (approximately 500,000), in addition to size-
able populations in Germany, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, 
Norway, Ireland, Russia, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, 
Denmark, and Austria; 
Whereas the presence of Blacks in Europe can be traced to 
voluntary and forced migration resulting from the geo-
graphical proximity of Europe to Africa and the Middle 
East, including the transatlantic slave trade, the coloniza-
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•HRES 1592 IH 
tion of Africa and the Caribbean, African and African- 
American military deployments, the movement of refu-
gees and asylum seekers, and educational and other pro-
fessional exchanges; 
Whereas, although Black Europeans have made significant 
achievements in and contributions to European society, 
large numbers have and continue to be more likely than 
the general population to experience discrimination and 
be underrepresented in leadership roles in the public and 
private sector as a result of the color of their skin and 
ancestry; 
Whereas, on April 29, 2008, before the Commission on Secu-
rity and Cooperation in Europe, at a hearing entitled 
‘‘The State of (In)visible Black Europe: Race, Rights, 
and Politics’’, Dr. Philomena Essed stated, ‘‘Probably the 
only common European experience among many, if not 
all, Afro-descendants is their exposure to [. . .] racism 
and systemic discrimination, regardless of country, socio- 
economic conditions, gender, age, or level of education’’; 
Whereas racism has long been, and continues to be, a prob-
lem in Europe; 
Whereas the 1997 European Commission opinion poll entitled 
‘‘Racism and Xenophobia in Europe’’ reported a ‘‘wor-
rying level of racism and xenophobia in [European 
Union] Member States, with nearly 33% of those inter-
viewed openly describing themselves as ‘quite racist’ or 
‘very racist’ ’’; 
Whereas the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency 
(EUFRA), formerly the European Monitoring Center on 
Racism and Xenophobia, found in its 2007 through 2010 
annual reports that racial and ethnic minorities were dis-
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