An Apology For Slavery Has Been Issued By Congress!

On behalf of my slave ancestors,I accept the apology for slavery that Congress has offered African-Americans.It may have taken almost two centuries,but better late than never!I'm not sure how that will rectify the mental ramifications that slavery has had on past,present(and probably future) generations of black Americans.

Restoring a sense of cultural & racial worth is still a goal for 21st century African-Americans.That's why so many blacks felt proud when Barack Obama won!Many felt that black people were finally being accepted into an elite society that had despised them for so long.

But,being proud of oneself is still a struggle for oh so many black folks.And that lack of self-pride that still lingers from the days of the slave master & the whip will not return because of an apology for slavery.What the apology does do is it acknowledges the wrongs that America has done to some of its people.It does not right that wrong,though!

Here's more from ajc:

"The House on Tuesday issued an unprecedented apology to black Americans for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow segregation laws.

"Today represents a milestone in our nation's efforts to remedy the ills of our past," said Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

The resolution, passed by voice vote, was the work of Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen, the only white lawmaker to represent a majority black district.

Cohen faces a formidable black challenger in a primary election next week.

Congress has issued apologies before: to Japanese-Americans for their internment during World War II and to native Hawaiians for the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893. In 2005, the Senate apologized for failing to pass anti-lynching laws.

Five states have issued apologies for slavery and Georgia has considered one, but past proposals in Congress have stalled, partly over concerns that an apology would lead to demands for reparations.

The Cohen resolution does not mention reparations. It does commit the House to rectifying "the lingering consequences of the misdeeds committed against African-Americans under slavery and Jim Crow."

It says that Africans forced into slavery "were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage" and that black Americans today continue to suffer from the consequences of slavery, discrimination and segregation."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the rest here.