The Commission to Study Slavery was established in 2020 by act of the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Ralph Northam. I had the privilege and honor of serving as Chair and Senator Mamie Locke as Co-Chair. The Commission was challenged by many issues of the time. COVID-19 created a slow start to our work. Another challenge was the issue of making certain that the appointment of individuals for this inaugural and historic work was clear about the vision and that the objectives and goals were understood.

The Commission makeup was inclusive of some of the greatest minds in academia and modern-day history. Many of the Commissioners are historians in their own rights and have for decades taught, researched, documented, and written enlightening and brilliant articles of American history as it relates to the daunting journey of Africans and Blacks in the 16th and 18th centuries in America. The credibility that their voices lend to this documented information is hard to dispute as we elevate the authenticity of this factual and documented information.

Virginia was fortunate to secure the expertise of such multitalented, multi-skilled, and knowledgeable experts in the field of academia who have long focused on African American history. Another radiating resource that served as our fiscal agent as well as a resourceful educational institution was the Library of Virginia. They were extraordinary in assisting us through the procedural effort of researching documented narratives of the human element. Their experience and expertise in this work in unparalleled. The archival collection of the information they shared was a major factor in the success of our work. In addition to our accomplishments and submission of the finished product, we owe a special thanks to Dominique Luster, a rising star in the collection and dissemination of this documented history. The information shared by the Library of Virginia and Dominique Luster included pertinent statistical data and previously researched and documented information useful for commissions across Virginia, especially for the Slavery Commission, as we conducted our research.

Although sometimes it was daunting to collect such a massive amount of information, the availability and enlightenment that we gleamed from the resources in our Commonwealth were priceless in nature. The intellectual property that already existed enabled us to collaborate and create an informational highway that we believed is necessary for generational understanding of this history. So much of our work was affirmed by commissioners, who were certainly endowed with a wealth of knowledge that helped us to move forward with some level of confidence that we were on the right pathway in sharing this public document.

We are grateful to both the Senate and the House, Virginians, and the many other participating stakeholders who entrusted our leadership to begin this worthy work and finish it. We pray that we have provided ample leadership in sharing this historical document that honors our ancestor’s legacy. We have concluded, after much insight into their lives, that we could never repay them for the depth of their sacrifices. We recognized that into their lives was woven a fate and a plight in which the prominence of it produced dark days of blood, sweat, and tears. What we were able to provide in this study is monumental, but to us, it is not sufficient in trying to make their lives relevant.

Our ancestors were left powerless to function outside of the construct of systems that deemed them less than human, enslaved in a common form of human bondage called “chattel slavery" from 1619 to 1865. The system that was constructed was an institutional framework that was “lawful and supported by the United States of America and Europe." It was an ungodly system, designed with the intent of breaking down the very essence of the human spirit based on the color of one’s skin. In perpetuity, this system was designed to operate and exist significantly longer, as laws in the General Assembly were invoked for the constitutional navigation of slavery in Virginia. The Commission was privileged to see the bright days that illuminated many of their actions, voices, and existence, as many of the stories and research highlighted a “Spirit of Hope and Determination."

In that same spirit, we present this final study of three years of research and development of their history. We thank you for the opportunity to share this work.