Senate passes apology for slavery
By William Douglas
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a resolution Thursday calling on the United States to apologize officially for the enslavement and segregation of millions of African Americans and to acknowledge "the fundamental injustice, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow laws."
The resolution, sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, passed on a voice vote. It is headed to the House, where it may meet an unlikely foe: members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Several caucus members expressed concerns Thursday about a disclaimer that states that "nothing in this resolution authorizes or supports any claim against the United States; or serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States."
Caucus members think the disclaimer is an attempt to stave off reparations claims from the descendants of slaves. Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said her organization is studying the language of Harkin's resolution.
Other caucus members said they've read it and don't like it.
"Putting in a disclaimer takes away from the meaning of an apology," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. "A number of us are prepared to vote against it in its present form."
Thompson and other Black Caucus members noted that a 1988 apology that the government issued to the Japanese Americans held in U.S. camps during World War II had no disclaimer and didn't prevent them from receiving compensation.
"The language is unacceptable," said Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., "I'm a reparations man; how else do you repair the damage?"
Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., the Senate's lone African American, went to the floor after the Harkin resolution passed and said, "I want to go on record making sure that that disclaimer in no way would eliminate future actions that may be brought before this body that may deal with reparations."
Such concerns by the Black Caucus could slow a resolution that many lawmakers and civil-rights groups considered such a slam-dunk that plans are under way for an elaborate signing and apology ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda early next month.
However, some African Americans hailed the Senate vote as a monumental achievement. Charles Ogletree, a Harvard University law professor who mentored President Obama, placed it on par with the government's apology to Japanese Americans and said it comes at a time of significant milestones for African Americans.
"This year we're celebrating the 80th birthday of Martin Luther King, the 200th birthday of Lincoln and the 100th anniversary of the NAACP," Ogletree said.
Harkin's resolution states that Africans and their descendants were forced into slavery in the U.S. and the original 13 colonies from 1619 through 1865 and "were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage."
To that end, the resolution "apologizes to African Americans on behalf of the people of the United States for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow laws."
By William Douglas
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a resolution Thursday calling on the United States to apologize officially for the enslavement and segregation of millions of African Americans and to acknowledge "the fundamental injustice, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow laws."
The resolution, sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, passed on a voice vote. It is headed to the House, where it may meet an unlikely foe: members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Several caucus members expressed concerns Thursday about a disclaimer that states that "nothing in this resolution authorizes or supports any claim against the United States; or serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States."
Caucus members think the disclaimer is an attempt to stave off reparations claims from the descendants of slaves. Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said her organization is studying the language of Harkin's resolution.
Other caucus members said they've read it and don't like it.
"Putting in a disclaimer takes away from the meaning of an apology," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. "A number of us are prepared to vote against it in its present form."
Thompson and other Black Caucus members noted that a 1988 apology that the government issued to the Japanese Americans held in U.S. camps during World War II had no disclaimer and didn't prevent them from receiving compensation.
"The language is unacceptable," said Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., "I'm a reparations man; how else do you repair the damage?"
Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., the Senate's lone African American, went to the floor after the Harkin resolution passed and said, "I want to go on record making sure that that disclaimer in no way would eliminate future actions that may be brought before this body that may deal with reparations."
Such concerns by the Black Caucus could slow a resolution that many lawmakers and civil-rights groups considered such a slam-dunk that plans are under way for an elaborate signing and apology ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda early next month.
However, some African Americans hailed the Senate vote as a monumental achievement. Charles Ogletree, a Harvard University law professor who mentored President Obama, placed it on par with the government's apology to Japanese Americans and said it comes at a time of significant milestones for African Americans.
"This year we're celebrating the 80th birthday of Martin Luther King, the 200th birthday of Lincoln and the 100th anniversary of the NAACP," Ogletree said.
Harkin's resolution states that Africans and their descendants were forced into slavery in the U.S. and the original 13 colonies from 1619 through 1865 and "were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage."
To that end, the resolution "apologizes to African Americans on behalf of the people of the United States for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow laws."
