State of Virgina 1st to Regret Slavery and Indian Exploitation

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Va. 1st state to express 'regret' over slavery Posted 2/25/2007 10:27 PM ET

swapContent('firstHeader','applyHeader'); By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY

"Sorry" may be too expensive a word.

Once the heart of the Confederacy, Virginia has become the first state to express remorse for its past support of slavery, an action other states are in line to follow. The General Assembly passed a resolution of "profound regret" for "the involuntary servitude of Africans and the exploitation of Native Americans."

Virginia, which passed its resolution without objection Saturday, went further than any state has gone. This year, though, states and cities across the country are considering resolutions, launching studies and taking other actions to recognize slavery in their history.

Most are stopping short of apologizing. The Virginia resolution's authors, both great-grandsons of slaves, sought "atonement" for slavery but say they were told the word could prompt claims for reparations — monetary compensation — to the descendants of slaves. The definition of "atonement," according to Webster's New World College Dictionary, includes "satisfaction given for wrongdoing."

"This is as close as we can get to an apology in Virginia," says the Senate author, Democrat Henry Marsh III, a civil rights lawyer. "I feel vindicated."

He says the possibility of reparations would have sunk the effort he led with Delegate Donald McEachin, also a Democrat. After lawmakers objected to the term "atonement," Marsh proposed "contrition." The House changed it to "regret" and merged it with a resolution on Native Americans.

Marsh says Virginia needs to acknowledge its support of the slave trade as it celebrates the 400th anniversary this year of the founding of Jamestown, the first permanent British settlement and an entry point for slaves.

No state has apologized for slavery, although a measure to do so is pending in Missouri. No U.S. president or Congress has apologized. In 1988, Congress apologized to Japanese-Americans who were held in camps during World War II and gave each surviving internee $20,000.

"Regret" is a form of apology, but it does not suggest the level of responsibility that could trigger reparations, says Ron Walters of the African American Leadership Institute at the University of Maryland. He says Americans may never agree on reparations, but "the discussion about it is extremely important" for national healing, especially during February, Black History Month.

Mississippi is considering a commission to study whether slave descendants should receive reparations. Massachusetts is considering a resolution to review its history of slavery. Measures are pending in New York, Washington and Utah to observe June 19, a date called "Juneteenth" that is the anniversary of the day the last slaves were freed. Similar past efforts failed.

In Maryland, Democratic state Sen. Nathaniel Exum is proposing a resolution that expresses "regret" for the state's role in slavery. Similarly worded proposals in the past three years did not get traction.

In Missouri, state Rep. Talibdin El-Amin, a Democrat, is seeking an outright apology for the state's role in slavery. He has prominent backers in both parties, including Republican House Speaker Rod Jetton.

"We're talking about accountability," El-Amin says. "This is an opportunity for us to move forward."

Several states have tried to right some of slavery's wrongs without apologizing. In 2000, California passed a law requiring insurance companies that do business with the state to disclose past ties to slavery, based on the fact that they built their business partly on profits from insuring slaveholders. In 2003, Illinois adopted a similar law.

Since 2002, a dozen cities — including Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit and Philadelphia — have passed laws requiring companies doing business with them to disclose slavery ties. Several lawsuits to compensate African-Americans have been filed against corporations that profited from slavery. None has succeeded. Some of the companies — including J.P. Morgan, Aetna and Wachovia — have apologized and donated money to black education.

The Episcopal Church has apologized for ties to slavery. Colleges have disclosed their histories with slavery. They include Brown University, University of Alabama and the University of North Carolina.

Some members of Congress have sought a national apology for slavery. Every year since 1989, Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan has unsuccessfully proposed a bill that would establish a presidential commission to study remedies, including reparations.

Charles Ogletree, a Harvard law professor and reparations activist, expects hearings and possibly a vote this year now that Conyers chairs the Judiciary Committee.

A USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll in 2002 found that nine out of 10 white Americans said the U.S. government should not pay reparations, but 55% of black respondents said it should.

"I admire Virginia's courage in addressing this issue as a Southern state," Ogletree says, although he calls the resolution "modest."

Delegate Vincent Callahan, ranking Republican in Virginia's General Assembly, says he could have supported an apology, but he thought "regret" was more appropriate.

Virginia's expression of regret is a "very positive step," says Vonita Foster of the U.S. National Slavery Museum, slated to open next year in Fredericksburg, Va. She says reparations are not necessary but learning about America's history is.

Census records show Virginia had the most slaves of any state.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-02-25-apology_x.htm

 

 

 

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