400 Years of Slavery

Councilmember Will Jawando presented a proclamation on behalf of the Council marking 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived in the United States. In late August of 1619, a ship carrying 20 enslaved Africans arrived in present-day Hampton, Virginia, marking the beginning of more than three centuries of brutal and dehumanizing chattel slavery in the United States. More than 12.5 million Africans were captured, sold and transported to the Americas during that time.

Watch the proclamation