PRINTER'S NO. 2025

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

No.

216

Session of

2023

INTRODUCED BY SAPPEY, D. WILLIAMS, DONAHUE, HANBIDGE, KINSEY,

HADDOCK, MADDEN, KHAN, FREEMAN, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, SANCHEZ,

MAYES, CONKLIN, SHUSTERMAN, BOROWSKI, M. MACKENZIE,

WHEREAS, The trans-Atlantic slave trade began as early as the

15th century, introducing a system of slavery that was

commercialized, racialized and inherited; and

WHEREAS, People were forcefully abducted from Africa,

enslaved in the American colonies and exploited to work in the

production of crops, such as tobacco and cotton; and

WHEREAS, Although the Commonwealth passed a law in 1780 that

gradually eliminated slavery, the existing 6,000 enslaved people

in this Commonwealth remained enslaved and the enslaved people's

registered children would be enslaved until their 28th

from the labor of enslaved people for decades and many

Commonwealth cities enacted legislation that restricted and

oppressed free people of color; and

WHEREAS, During the era of slavery in the United States, the

Underground Railroad covertly operated as a network of places,

routes and people that assisted African Americans who were

enslaved to escape to freedom; and

WHEREAS, The term Underground Railroad was used

metaphorically as "conductors," which included a racially

diverse group of abolitionists that transported and guided the

WHEREAS, This Commonwealth was a strategic and historic

location of freedom through the Underground Railroad; and

WHEREAS, The Underground Railroad traced across this

Commonwealth in a clandestine network that helped African

Americans realize freedom in this Commonwealth and elsewhere;

and

WHEREAS, Organizations such as the American Anti-Slavery

Society, the Free Produce Society of Pennsylvania, the

Philadelphia Free Produce Association of Friends, the

Pennsylvania Hall Association, the Pennsylvania Society for

WHEREAS, Events and sites associated with the Underground

Railroad can be found in every county in this Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, The Underground Railroad was integral in the freedom

and advancement of African Americans in the past, as well as

today; and

WHEREAS, The Commonwealth should show appreciation for the

inspiring efforts of the people of this Commonwealth and all of

those from around the world who have committed themselves to

document and share the Underground Railroad through the

Pennsylvania Civil War Sesquicentennial and Quest for Freedom

WHEREAS, Commonwealth agencies, institutions and

organizations such as the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum

Commission, the Department of Community and Economic Development

and the 14 Frederick Douglass Institutes across the Pennsylvania

State System of Higher Education continue to educate young

people about the Commonwealth's role and leadership; and

WHEREAS, "Transcontinental Underground Railroad Month"

provides an opportunity for a worldwide open dialogue that

illuminates the hopes that arise from freedom for all people;

therefore be it

those who have fought and continue to fight for the freedom of

all people.