Whereas human beings were systematically taken from the continent of Africa and against their will forced onto ships through what is known today as the middle passage; Whereas the horrific act of slavery impacted race relations in the United States and shaped the geographic, political, social, and economic conditions of Black people in ways that are still relevant today; Whereas slave labor was critical to the functioning of many farms and plantations and therefore was critical to the development of the United States economy as a whole; Whereas, in 1811, from January 8 to January 10, the largest slave uprising in the United States occurred in Louisiana; Whereas the slave revolt was led by an enslaved person by the name of Charles Deslondes from the Destrehan Plantation; Whereas the insurrection began at the plantation of Manuel Andry in St. John the Baptist Parish; Whereas 500 enslaved people rebelled against their owners and walked downstream toward New Orleans recruiting additional enslaved people; Whereas the enslaved people were stopped where what is now known as Jefferson Parish after a rough battle against the local militia and troops under the command of General Wade Hampton; Whereas many enslaved people were killed during the altercation or deemed missing; Whereas dozens of enslaved people were condemned to death, executed, and beheaded at the plantations to which they belonged; Whereas the heads were planted on stakes at places where each of the enslaved people had undergone punishment; Whereas in New Orleans, St. Charles parish, St. John the Baptist Parish and St. James Parish people were executed from the Jacques Deslondes Plantation; and Whereas the treatment of enslaved people continued to be horrendous in nature, including exploitation, family separation, rape, torture, and degradation, among other cruelties: Now, therefore, be it—