; Whereas many of the most far-reaching victories for racial healing in the United States have been greatly enhanced by the involvement, support, and dedication of individuals from any and all racial groups; Whereas, at the same time, much of the progress toward racial healing and racial equity in the United States has been limited or reversed by our failure to address the root cause of racism, the belief in the myth of a hierarchy of human value based on superficial physical characteristics such as skin color and facial features; Whereas the United States institution of slavery, as well as other examples enumerated in this resolution, represents intentional and blatant violations of the most basic right of every individual in the United States to a free and decent life; Whereas the consequences of oppression against people of color have cascaded for centuries, across generations, beyond the era of active enslavement, imperiling for descendants of slaves and other targets of oppression what should have otherwise been the right of every individual in the United States to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; Whereas more than 40 countries have reckoned with historical injustice and its aftermath through forming truth and reconciliation commissions to move toward restorative justice and to return dignity to their citizens; Whereas for three decades there has been a growing movement inside and outside Congress to have the Federal Government develop material remedies for the institution of slavery, including through a Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans described in H.R. 40, 118th Congress, as introduced on January 9, 2023, and S. 40, 118th Congress, as introduced on January 24, 2023; Whereas the formation of a United States Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation does not supplant the formation of a Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans, but rather complements that effort