Louisiana HCR74

From: Jim Hofmann (jhofmann@fullerton.edu)
Date: Wed Apr 18 2001 - 18:43:48 EDT

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    Here's the rather depressing text of a Bill in committee in the
    Louisiana Legislature.
    It rated an article in this morning's Baton Rouge Morning Advocate:

     BR legislator calls theory racist
      http://www.theadvocate.com/news/story.asp?StoryID=20792

    HLS 01-2652 ORIGINAL
    Page 1 of 2
    Regular Session, 2001
    HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 74
    BY REPRESENTATIVE BROOME
    CIVIL RIGHTS: Provides relative to racism and education about racism
    A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1
    To provide relative to racism and education about racism. 2
    WHEREAS, America’s foundational document, The Declaration of 3
    Independence, expresses the self-evident truth that all men are created
    equal, 4
    that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
    and 5
    that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness; and 6
    WHEREAS, the Constitution of the State of Louisiana of 1974 declares 7
    that the only legitimate ends of government are to secure justice for
    all, 8
    preserve peace, protect the rights, and promote the happiness and
    general 9
    welfare of the people; and 10
    WHEREAS, empirical science has documented an indisputable 11
    commonality among all people groups, or races, and has demonstrated that
    12
    normal variations in the human gene pool account for our differences, of
    13
    which racial differences are a trivial portion; and 14
    WHEREAS, the writings of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, 15
    promoted the justification of racism, and his books On the Origin of
    Species 16
    by Means of Natural Selection: or the Preservation of Favoured Races in
    the 17
    Struggle for Life and The Descent of Man postulate a hierarchy of
    superior and 18
    inferior races; and
    Page 2 of 2
    WHEREAS, Adolf Hitler and others have exploited the racist views of 1
    Darwin and those he influenced, such as German zoologist Ernst Haekel,
    to 2
    justify the annihilation of millions of purportedly racially inferior
    individuals. 3
    THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana 4
    does hereby deplore all instances and ideologies of racism, does hereby
    reject 5
    the core concepts of Darwinist ideology that certain races and classes
    of 6
    humans are inherently superior to others, and does hereby condemn the
    extent 7
    to which these philosophies have been used to justify and approve racist
    8
    practices. 9
    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature does also hereby 10
    urge and request the public education system of Louisiana, as
    appropriate in 11
    the curriculum, to address the commonalities of people groups and the 12

    weaknesses of Darwinian racism. 13
    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution 14
    be transmitted to the commissioner of administration, who will make its
    15
    contents known to the heads of each Louisiana state department and
    agency; 16
    to the Board of Regents, who will make its contents known to each
    college and 17
    university president or chancellor; and to the state superintendent of
    education, 18
    who will make its contents known to the superintendent of each city,
    parish, 19
    or other local public school system. 20
    DIGEST
    The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It
    constitutes no part of the legislative instrument.
    Broome HCR No. 74
    Provides relative to racism and education about racism. Deplores racism,

    rejects Darwin’s concepts of superior and inferior races and classes of
    humans,
    and condemns the use of these philosophies to justify racist practices.
    Also
    urges and requests the state’s public education system, as appropriate
    in the
    curriculum, to address the commonalities of people and the weaknesses of

    Darwinian racism.



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