ABC News September 10, 2019

Congressional Black Caucus marks 400th anniversary of established slavery in America

WATCH: Hearing to raise issue of reparations for slavery

The Congressional Black Caucus on Tuesday gathered in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol, in a vestibule built by African slaves, to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the beginning of institutionalized American slavery in America.

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In August 1619, more than 20 African slaves were brought to Virginia and sold to English colonists, marking the first recorded, forced arrival of enslaved African people in what was to become the United States.

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Rep. Jahana Hayes, center, wipes away a tear during an event at Emancipation Hall in the Capitol, Sept. 10, 2019, in Washington, DC.

Four hundred years later, prominent figures in the black community praised abolitionists and civil rights leaders at the commemoration in Washington and recounted the history of American slavery and the lasting effects it has had on racial injustice in the United States.

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrives for the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) ceremony to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first recorded forced arrival of enslaved Africans in the Emancipation Hall of the Capitol, Sept. 10, 2019.
(MORE: My ancestors were owned by Georgetown University, I soon graduate from there: COLUMN)
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks at the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) ceremony to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first recorded forced arrival of enslaved Africans in the Emancipation Hall of the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., Sept. 10, 2019.

"Owning our history allows us to break free from its shadow, empowering every American of goodwill to have the courage to challenge every day expressions of bigotry and hatred," said Johnetta Cole, president emerita of Spelman and Bennett Colleges.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Majority Whip John Thune also made remarks about congressional efforts to achieve racial and social equality.

"This is not history, this is today," Schumer said. "We cannot separate the story of slavery from the story of America, nor shrink from the hypocrisy embedded from our founding documents."

AP
A newspaper advertisement circa 1780 announces the arrival of African slaves to the American colonies at Ashley Ferry outside of Charleston, S.C.
(MORE: McConnell acknowledges he's the descendant of slave owners, compares himself to Obama )

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who did not attend because aides said he had a scheduling conflict, did address the anniversary on the Senate floor Tuesday morning.

"We should take pride that our American ideals of equality and justice -- not the sins of our forefathers -- are the true, deepest bedrock of this great nation," said McConnell, who has opposed proposed reparations to the descendants of slaves.

(MORE: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says slavery reparations are not a 'good idea' )