Photos : Isseu Diouf Campbell
The City of New York observed on March 5th the annual “Three-Fifths Clause Awareness Day” with a free program hosted by NYC Council Member Andy King at The National Black Theatre in Harlem.
The Three-Fifths Clause (Article 1, Section2, of the U.S. Constitution of 1787) was demanded by Southern supporters of slavery as a way of increasing their congressional representation and political power. They wanted slaves to be counted as full persons but settled on three-fifths. People of African descent would have had no real rights either way. The three-fifths clause was enforced until the post-Civil War 13th Amendment freed all enslaved people in the United States, the 14th amendment gave them full citizenship, and the 15th Amendment granted black people the right to vote. However, the “three-fifths clause” language was never removed from the Constitution.
In 2016, Council Member Andy King introduced legislations in the City Council calling on the federal government to add an amendment to add language that directly negates the Three-Fifths Clause by stating that African-Americans are 100 percent whole individuals and declare March 5th as “Three Fifths Clause Awareness Day” in New York City. The New York City Council unanimously passed both legislations and March 5, 2017, began the first official observance of “Three Fifths Clause Awareness Day” in New York City.
The panelists included Courtney Bennett, One Hundred Black Men Inc.; Keisha Sutton James, Inner City Broadcasting; the Rev. Dr. Deborah Jenkins, Faith @Work Christian Center; Bertha Lewis, the Black Institute; Tyesha Maddox, Fordham University and Minister Dr. Abdul H. Muhammad, Mosque No. 7. The conversation was moderated by Vanessa Tyler.
