House apologizes for slavery

[AteUp]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25921453/

Resolution does not mention reparations; commits to rectifying 'misdeeds'

updated 7:23 p.m. ET, Tues., July. 29, 2008

WASHINGTON - 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 face-off 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, but past proposals in Congress have stalled, partly over concerns that an apology would lead to demands for reparations — payment for damages.

No mention of 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 and Jim Crow laws that fostered discrimination and segregation.

The House "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."

"Slavery and Jim Crow are stains upon what is the greatest nation on the face of the earth," Cohen said. Part of forming a more perfect union, he said, "is such a resolution as we have before us today where we face up to our mistakes and apologize as anyone should apologize for things that were done in the past that were wrong."

White lawmaker reaches out
Cohen became the first white to represent the 60 percent black district in Memphis in more than three decades when he captured a 2006 primary in which a dozen black candidates split the vote. He has sought to reach out to his black constituents, and early in his term showed interest in joining the Congressional Black Caucus until learning that was against caucus rules.

Another of his first acts as a freshman congressman in early 2007 was to introduce the slavery apology resolution. His office said that the House resolution was brought to the floor only after learning that the Senate would be unable to join in a joint resolution.

More than a dozen of the 42 Congressional Black Caucus members in the House were original co-sponsors of the measure. The caucus has not endorsed either Cohen or his chief rival, attorney Nikki Tinker, in the Memphis primary, although Cohen is backed by several senior members, including Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. Tinker is the former campaign manager of Harold Ford, Jr., who held Cohen's seat until he stepped down in an unsuccessful run for the Senate in 2006.

[Art]

Does anyone actually believe that an apology 150 years after the fact is what most blacks were looking for and now they are willing to forgive?

Am I sorry that slavery happened? Sure, but it has nothing to do with me or any of my black friends. The slavery issue in 2008 is nothing more than a crutch to keep the racial divide and tensions alive. There's nothing anyone on this earth can do to change the past and those that want to keep this issue alive are the ones looking for a reason to hate America and white people in general. Yes, it happened, it was bad and it was wrong. Let's move on and worry about the present and the future and quit crying about the past.

There's nothing anyone can say or do that will change what happened 15 decades ago. I'm not going to apologize for something I didn't do.

[Jim in Annville]

AMEN Art. I could not agree more with you on this issue. This whole thing is stupid. No one living today in this country was ever a slave or ever owned a slave. Give it a rest. It was wrong but it's in the past.

[Willie]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25921453/

Resolution does not mention reparations; commits to rectifying 'misdeeds'



That is coming as soon as Obama gets in the Whitehouse.

SEE..


Obama notes ‘tragic’ US past

American history's "sad" aspects require action, the senator tells cheering journalists

By Laurie Au
lau@starbulletin.com
CHICAGO »

Sen. Barack Obama, speaking to a gathering of minority journalists yesterday, stopped short of endorsing an official U.S. apology to American Indians but said the country should acknowledge its history of poor treatment of certain ethnic groups.

"There's no doubt that when it comes to our treatment of Native Americans as well as other persons of color in this country, we've got some very sad and difficult things to account for," Obama told hundreds of attendees of UNITY '08, a convention of four minority journalism associations.

The Hawaii-born senator, who has told local reporters that he supports the federal recognition bill for native Hawaiians drafted by U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, noted other ethnic groups but did not mention native Hawaiians when answering a question about his thoughts on a formal U.S. apology to American Indians.

"I personally would want to see our tragic history, or the tragic elements of our history, acknowledged," the Democratic presidential hopeful said.

"I consistently believe that when it comes to whether it's Native Americans or African-American issues or reparations, the most important thing for the U.S. government to do is not just offer words, but offer deeds."

Obama, who appeared tired in his first major appearance since returning Saturday from a 10-day trip abroad, met with a receptive audience at the Chicago convention. Some journalists had waited three hours for the 40-minute appearance.

The group had expected Obama and Sen. John McCain to speak on Thursday night, but because of scheduling conflicts, only Obama could attend yesterday morning's talk.

When Obama walked on stage at the McCormick Center, [b]many journalists in the audience leapt to their feet and applauded enthusiastically [b]after being told not to do so. During a two-minute break halfway through the event, which was broadcast live on CNN, journalists ran to the stage to snap photos of Obama.

The Illinois senator talked about his trip overseas, reiterating his opinion that violence is down in Iraq but worsening in Afghanistan. And he expressed his approval of the Senate's passage of a major housing bill to help homeowners avert foreclosure.

Obama, who acknowledged that he needed a nap, stood up to say farewell to the audience of journalists, many of whom gave him another standing ovation.

http://starbulletin.com/2008/07/28/news/story05.html

[mrdux]

Watch the news for the next several months leading up to the election. The democraps will drag every skeleton out of the closet to try to make those who oppose them look bad. Watch for more GOP bad guys to be outed like Ted Stevens was yesterday. He had been under investigation for taking $$ from a contractor in Alaska for a couple of years. They wait till there's a slow news day to indict him for maximum coverage. What about all the democraps who took illegal loans from Countryside? Not a damn word being said about it. The media is busting their azzes to get the socialists in power and we are just seeing the beginnings of the worst.

[Snareman2]

Does anyone actually believe that an apology 150 years after the fact is what most blacks were looking for and now they are willing to forgive?

Am I sorry that slavery happened? Sure, but it has nothing to do with me or any of my black friends. The slavery issue in 2008 is nothing more than a crutch to keep the racial divide and tensions alive. There's nothing anyone on this earth can do to change the past and those that want to keep this issue alive are the ones looking for a reason to hate America and white people in general. Yes, it happened, it was bad and it was wrong. Let's move on and worry about the present and the future and quit crying about the past.

There's nothing anyone can say or do that will change what happened 15 decades ago. I'm not going to apologize for something I didn't do.


Exactly what I was thinking. Our minds think alike. Art, are we kin?

[KYHUNTER14]

Personally I think that any black person who was a slave and had to wait until the Emancipation Proclamation to be freed should be entitled to 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 dollars. Heck, I will even pay them myself.

[CUZZIN]

Does anyone actually believe that an apology 150 years after the fact is what most blacks were looking for and now they are willing to forgive?

Am I sorry that slavery happened? Sure, but it has nothing to do with me or any of my black friends. The slavery issue in 2008 is nothing more than a crutch to keep the racial divide and tensions alive. There's nothing anyone on this earth can do to change the past and those that want to keep this issue alive are the ones looking for a reason to hate America and white people in general. Yes, it happened, it was bad and it was wrong. Let's move on and worry about the present and the future and quit crying about the past.

There's nothing anyone can say or do that will change what happened 15 decades ago. I'm not going to apologize for something I didn't do.
Very good post,couldnt agree more.I cannot help what happened in the past.

[Redlined]

America is not the only country that has slavery in its past, nor is the white race the only race to ever use slavery, yet it seems that everywhere else in the world EXCEPT America it has gone to the wayside. For some silly reason, the dead horse still gets beaten in this country even today.

A lot of folks may not know it, or even care to acknowledge it, but the majority of Africans brought over as slaves where "sold" into slavery by other Africans. Where is all the anger, and resentment toward these people/countries for this being allowed to happen? I don't hear any, just another reason to keep the racial divide in America alive and well.

I'm done ranting, and Art, you're spot on. An apology 150 years after the fact does nothing more than add fuel to the fire for those who like to play in it............

[naturalelite]

My ancestors were treated like PWT can I get an apology now?

[trust me]

Excellent point about where the slaves originally came from. One tribe would capture another tribe and sell the whole bunch to a Dutch or British trader, who then would take them to the Americas. Many were sold in the Caribbean to British sugar and tea plantation owners as well.

I guess the Netherlands and Britain have already made their reparations to the descendents of the actual slaves.

[semperhunting]

Let's not forget about the free blacks that also owned slaves.

Also there were about 2.2 million Union troops during the Civil War. Using the rationale the the Civil War was over slavery I would say if reparations are given to descendants of former slaves, those descendants would then have to give the money to the descendants of former Union troops who fought and died to free them. That would only be fair.

[killinmammals]

My ancestors were treated like PWT can I get an apology now?
Yeah, I'm waiting on mine too!!
Let's not forget about the free blacks that also owned slaves.
Yep
I have to ask...did anyone ever see the skit way back on the Chappell show that he did on blacks in america getting reperations? It was hilarious!!

[Baymont]

to add to the history lessons, I read not too long ago the majority of Africans in the US have come post-slavery. Slavery was pressed on a very small fraction of (hate the phrase) African Americans but they all appear to hold the grudge and feel entitled. Just don't make sense. There were plenty of Native American and Asian slaves as well. Why were they able to move on?

[kytrapper]

Yes, I think if I were watching " The honey people of Gambia" on TV where they were climbing 200 foot trees for honey to live on or chasing Zebras with a spear I'd be writing a letter of thanks to someone for bringing my reletavies over here.

[drakeshooter]

I guess the Netherlands and Britain have already made their reparations to the descendents of the actual slaves.

Great point. Slavery began in the early colonial period of America when we were still a part of the British Empire. Check out this:

Britain played a prominent role in the Atlantic slave trade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade). The "slave triangle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_trade)" was pioneered by Francis Drake (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Drake) and his associates. Slavery was a legal institution in all of the 13 American colonies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_colonies), and the profits of the slave trade and of West Indian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Indies) plantations amounted to 5% of the British economy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_Britain) at the time of the Industrial Revolution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution).[65] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery#cite_note-64) In 1807, following many years of lobbying by the Abolitionist movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionism), the British Parliament (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Parliament) voted to make the slave trade illegal anywhere in the empire. Thereafter Britain took a prominent role in combatting the trade, although it took another generation before slavery itself was abolished. Between 1808 and 1860, the West Africa Squadron (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Africa_Squadron) seized approximately 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 Africans who were aboard.[66] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery#cite_note-65) Action was also taken against African leaders who refused to agree to British treaties to outlaw the trade, for example against "the usurping King of Lagos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagos)", deposed in 1851. Anti-slavery treaties were signed with over 50 African rulers.[67 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery#cite_note-66)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery

[daking]

It's even simpler than that. No relative of mine lived in this country during slavery. They were still in Ireland or Lithuania. I'm not sorry for anything. We, like many Americans have no connection to slavery. We faced the no Irish need apply signs. We're not asking for an apology. We're going to move on. Our African friends should do the same.

[naturalelite]

They were still in Ireland

We have the best pick up line in the world. I might PM it to you if you don't already know it.

[thunderchicken09]

If it werent for slavery most african americans wouldnt be here living in this great country. Im not saying it was right because it wasnt im just speakin the truth. Get mad if you want but its the truth.

[Ky'sFinest]

Let's not forget about the free blacks that also owned slaves.

Also there were about 2.2 million Union troops during the Civil War. Using the rationale the the Civil War was over slavery I would say if reparations are given to descendants of former slaves, those descendants would then have to give the money to the descendants of former Union troops who fought and died to free them. That would only be fair.


ding,ding,ding,ding,ding,ding,ding,ding,ding,ding, ding....


Exactly what I was thinking!