87R20759 BPG-D     By: Davis H.R. No. 726       R E S O L U T I O N          WHEREAS, The belief in justice for all is foundational to our   democracy, yet more than 400 years after Africans were first   brought to these shores in chains, Black Americans continue to   struggle for full protection under the law and recognition as full   human beings; and          WHEREAS, For nearly 250 years, Black Americans were enslaved;   the passage of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1868   granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to all, but   oppression persisted under Jim Crow laws; in the 1890s, journalist   and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells decried the horrors of   lynching and the failure of the nation "to put a stop to this   wholesale slaughter"; almost 130 years after her call to action,   Black men, women, and children are still denied the right to live   safely and free from harm in their homes and communities, and the   youngest African Americans are growing up as witnesses to a level of   barbarous cruelty that Ida B. Wells would find all too familiar; and          WHEREAS, In contemporary America, the ease of video recording   has allowed ordinary citizens to document incident after incident   of horrific, often lethal violence against Black Americans; as a   result, public awareness of this brutality has grown, but attempts   to seek justice in these cases have exposed the deep, unhealed   wounds of systemic racism and left many to ask if Black lives will   ever matter in our state and in America; and          WHEREAS, The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated   long-standing and persistent inequities in health, education, and   economic security, while continual hate-fueled actions underscore   the destructive impact of systemic racism and bigotry; the culture   that enables white nationalism and white supremacy foments violence   not only against African Americans, but also other people of color   and vulnerable communities; a rise in anti-Asian rhetoric, in   particular, has caused racist extremists to increasingly target   Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; and          WHEREAS, The evils of oppression have taken a costly toll on   our state and nation, and justice and liberty are but empty promises   in a perpetual climate of hate and racial animus; although we   cannot legislate away racism, we can help expose it to the light; we   can adopt anti-racist policies and renew our commitment to end   systemic racism, eliminate discrimination, and ensure fair and   equitable treatment of people of color and members of other   marginalized communities; and          WHEREAS, Silence and inaction allow racism, bigotry, and   violence to fester at all levels of society, and by declaring that   "Black Lives Matter," we reinforce our understanding that every   American, no matter their race, religion, gender, language,   national origin, or sexual orientation, deserves protection from   inequities in health, education, and economic opportunity, and we   reaffirm that the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of   happiness belongs to each of us; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas   Legislature hereby express its support for the efforts of the Black   Lives Matter movement.