sunnykerr

House apologizes for slavery, 'Jim Crow' injustices - CNN.com

WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a resolution apologizing to African-Americans for slavery and the era of Jim Crow.

The nonbinding resolution, which passed on a voice vote, was introduced by Rep. Steve Cohen, a white lawmaker who represents a majority black district in Memphis, Tennessee.

While many states have apologized for slavery, it is the first time a branch of the federal government has done so, an aide to Cohen said.

In passing the resolution, the House also acknowledged the "injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow."

"Jim Crow," or Jim Crow laws, were state and local laws enacted mostly in the Southern and border states of the United States between the 1870s and 1965, when African-Americans were denied the right to vote and other civil liberties and were legally segregated from whites.

The name "Jim Crow" came from a character played by T.D. "Daddy" Rice who portrayed a slave while in blackface during the mid-1800s.

The resolution states that "the vestiges of Jim Crow continue to this day."

"African-Americans continue to suffer from the consequences of slavery and Jim Crow -- long after both systems were formally abolished -- through enormous damage and loss, both tangible and intangible, including the loss of human dignity and liberty, the frustration of careers and professional lives, and the long-term loss of income and opportunity," the resolution states.

The House also committed itself to stopping "the occurrence of human rights violations in the future."

The resolution does not address the controversial issue of reparations. Some members of the African-American community have called on lawmakers to give cash payments or other financial benefits to descendents of slaves as compensation for the suffering caused by slavery.

It is not the first time lawmakers have apologized to an ethnic group for injustices.

In April, the Senate passed a resolution sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, that apologized to Native Americans for "the many instances of violence, maltreatment and neglect."

In 1993 the Senate also passed a resolution apologizing for the "illegal overthrow" of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893.

In 1988, Congress passed and President Reagan signed an act apologizing to the 120,000 Japanese-Americans who were held in detention camps during World War II. The 60,000 detainees who were alive at the time each received $20,000 from the government.

I highlighted the passes that struck me particularly.

I find it interesting that even a "mere" apology can only happen if it's a nonbinding resolution.

I also find it endlessly ironic that the House commits to stop future human-rights violations, and apologizes about past ones, but won't do anything about the ones currently being committed by the very governmental body they are meant to legislate for.

vc318

I wonder if this would be from Jesse Jackson who just threw a racial slur at Obama like last week.

No amount of money can make up for what blacks went through during the 50's and before that. How can a price tag be placed on that sort of pain?
As a Black person, I'm a little annoyed that just because you're a certain race, you should be given a hand out. I'm not sure what substance the apology holds, but the suggestion that money should be given is ridiculous. With the way that the country is in debt, it'll be years before they finish giving compensation to ALL the descendants of slaves. How about a promise to do away with racial profiling? That would be a more effective strategy.

ceilirose

It's a symbolic gesture but considering this government condones torture it seems a bit two-faced.

They should be apologizing to the people of New Orleans.

I think the bottom line is that this is an election year and it will look good on their resumes.

aerisVII

I completely agree.

Ruby_Slippers

I don't think there is anything wrong with an apology because it was the american government who enforced those laws and therefore it would only be fitting that they apologize for them....however centuries late.

I don't see how apologies offend anyone.

ceilirose

Because our government enforced these laws. It's a matter of looking at history and learning from mistakes.

I don't think it's much more than a symbolic act but an apology isn't going to hurt anyone.

vc318

Yes, I understand an apology but when you start apologizing, people want more or just don't believe you. Cellirose, I'm really sure the people of New Orleans are still pretty annoyed at Bush for not doing a darn thing to help them after the hurricane. It would be a slap in the face for him to come now and offer up an apology. I'm sure the people have moved on and have formed their own opinion of him and his actions that day.

Really, why should the House apologize when the same hatred is going on today towards Blacks fromother Black people themselves! They're hating on each other each day - that's no secret. I doubt Black people are suffering mentally from the mistreatment they were dealt years ago. Just my opinion.

ceilirose

Sarcasm was my intent on the New Orleans comment. I know Bush still doesn't think he did anything wrong. But maybe someday he can or the Government can make an admission of neglect. I don't think that it would be such a big thing or that bad either.

However Congress apologizes all the time and salutes various people/entities all the time. It's symbolic as I've said before and I take it at that.

I've lived in Hawaii for over 20 years all told. Trust me the Government screwed people here big time. For a long time their language and culture was hidden and people were made to be ashamed for it. Land was taken away from the people who were born and raised on it. The Government apologized for it - as they should have.

sunnykerr

I don't think an apology is out of place, per se. Yeah, slavery is long gone, as are Jim Crow laws, but we still live in a world where they have rammifications. Look at the debates sparked by the N word. Look at the debates over affirmative action. Look at the facts of our society where the inmate population ratio is demonstrably higher when it comes to black men.

I'm not saying an apology changes anything. And I'm not saying we should even consider financial reparation (both because it would be the final nail on the coffin of this economy and also because times have changed enough since then).

But I do think those laws still have a trickle down effect to this day and I don't think there's any wrong in acknowledging that.

For myself, though, I'd rather they focus on their commitment to avoiding human-rights abuses. Because that's one thing they could do something about right now.

vc318

I just don't understand the apology itself. It falls flat, is all. I mean, some slaves were entrusted by their owners to beat other slaves and they did it! So, I guess those slaves need to apologize too. Today, there are even Black people trying to join KKK gangs because they hate their color so much or people bleaching their skins so they don't associate themselves with being Black anymore. Why apologize now? Does that mean the House plans to erase the criticism of Blacks all over the world and here in our own backyard? That will never happen. Just as with any ethnic group, you learn to deal with the mistreatment and move on. You take life's lessons and make the best of it. That is what Black people and other ethnic groups have done - with or without the apology of the House many years later.

sunnykerr

Well, I think the article makes it clear that this isn't the first apology that's been issued. So, you know, the only reason it's happening NOW is either politics or the need to have the federal government address the issue one way or another. Me, I'm guessing it's more about re-election than anything.

Besides, this is an easy resolution to pass. It's nonbinding and it doesn't cost them anything. Not to mention that it gives them an excuse to do something besides, you know, deal with real issues.

But I don't think that the need to apologize for slavery is about the physical human-rights abuses so much as it is about the endemic spiritual and psychological abuses that framed the physical stuff. I mean, people who were shackled and beaten and raped and put to hard labour and hung because of their skin colour... I mean, sure, they're owed an apology. But, for me anyway, the real crime here was the framework that allowed for that sort of behaviour. The idea that you could own person because of their ancestry. That you could treat them as second-class citizens because of it. To me, that's what merits an apology.

But more than an apology, though, we need to acknowledge the ways in which the descendants of these practices still cloud our society today. Blacks trying to bleach their skin and joining the KKK out of hate for thei skin colour... how's that not a remnant of slavery and Jim Crow laws? Tell me we didn't get the ball rolling by institutionalizing laws and policies that addressed human beings differently based on their skin colour.

I don't know. I guess I'm hoping that this empty gesture is a sign that we can all learn from our history.

sunnykerr

I have no idea.

But the House wastes time ALL the time on stupid stuff. Just a quick Google search brought up this stuff:

Taxpayers for Common Sense

Resolutions "expressing the sense of Congress regarding the importance of motor sports."

Congress "voted to recognize Dinah Washington as 'one of the most talented vocalists in American popular music history' and voted on a resolution "honoring the 50th anniversary of Marshmallow Peeps."

Stupid Congress Tricks

I mean, it goes on and on. But before I get fired from wasting my time looking up ways that Congress wastes your taxpayers' dollars... I'll just say this, at least a resolution to apologize for slavery and segregation as some ethical merits to it, you know?

ceilirose

Marshmellow Peeps?

The person who owns that company must have made a good sized donation to someone's campaign.

vc318

Sunny, I've never laughed so hard in my life! That list is just classic. With watermelon and marshmallow peeps on their agenda all day long, I'm surprised they took the time to address the slavery issue then.

sunnykerr

I don't think it's about apologizing at all.

But I do think we should all be aware of how freaking fortunate we are that none of our ancestors ever had to go through that. (Assuming none of them did, skin tones change through the ages...)

To make a rather gauche comparison, to me it's a bit like the Holocaust. Yeah, the Nazis did the actual nasty stuff. But it took literally centuries of anti-Semitism before someone got to that point. And it's not like the rest of the world didn't know what was going on and it's not like did all we could to stop it either. The Allies knew where the train tracks were, they knew what the train cargo was, they knew where it was headed. And we didn't stop it.

Now, do I think we should all spend the rest of of eternity (whether German or not) apologizing to the global Jewish population (and the gay population, and the gypsy population, and the handicapped population, etc. etc.)? No.

But I do think that the worst of the worst of our global history --- be it slavery, segregation, the slaughtering of the Native Americans, the Holocaust and so on and so forth --- is part of our global history. Should we spend the rest of our days beating ourselves up over it and apologizing over and over again? No.

I just don't think it hurts to remind ourselves of it once in a while, though.