| R 134 |
| 2021 -- S 0693 Enacted 03/23/2021 |
| S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
| JOYOUSLY CELEBRATING "EMANCIPATION DAY OF PUERTO RICO" ON MARCH 22, 2021 |
Introduced By: Senators Mendes, Mack, Bell, Pearson, Euer, Quezada, DiMario, and Raptakis |
| Date Introduced: March 18, 2021 |
| WHEREAS, Emancipation Day is an official holiday of the Commonwealth of Puerto |
| Rico, commemorating the abolition of slavery on March 22, 1873, when the Island was still a |
| colony of Spain. On that day, the Spanish National Assembly banned slavery in Puerto Rico; and |
| WHEREAS, Twenty-five years later, in 1898, American troops defeated Spain in the |
| Spanish-American War, raised the flag in Puerto Rico, and the United States officially took |
| control of the former Spanish colony. On March 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed the |
| Jones-Shafroth Act into law, under which Puerto Rico became a United States Territory and |
| granted statutory citizenship to Puerto Ricans. The Act also created a bill of rights for the |
| territory, and separated its government into executive, legislative and judicial branches; and |
| WHEREAS, On May 18, 1917, President Wilson signed the Selective Service Act of |
| 1917 into law, and 20,000 Puerto Ricans were eventually drafted to serve during World War I. |
| Puerto Rican soldiers were sent to guard the Panama Canal which made Puerto Rico a critical part |
| of the United States war efforts; and |
| WHEREAS, The first Puerto Ricans in Providence arrived in the 1920s and moved into |
| the surrounding areas to work in the agricultural and manufacturing industries. Rhode Island is |
| now home to more than 40,000 Puerto Ricans, and Rhode Island served as a place of refuge for |
| many Puerto Rican friends and family members after Hurricane Maria devastated the Island in |
| 2017; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby recognizes the |
| territory of Puerto Rico for its major contributions in science and pharmaceutical development, |
| which have advanced our nation's ability to reduce our dependence on foreign pharmaceutical |
| ingredients and be on the cutting edge of pharmaceutical advancement; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby joyously celebrates March 22nd, 2021 as |
| "Emancipation Day of Puerto Rico" and furthermore recognizes Rhode Island's shared history |
| with the territory of Puerto Rico and its contributions to our country and our State; and be it |
| further; |
| RESOLVED, This Senate hereby further recognizes that over a century later, the citizens |
| of Puerto Rico, although Americans by birth, are not fully recognized and honored by being |
| denied full voting citizenship, because it is not guaranteed by the Constitution, nor are they |
| represented in our federal government with a voting delegation; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Governor of Puerto Rico, the Honorable |
| Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia. |
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| LC002172 |
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