Do States Owe an Apology for Slavery?

Although slavery was abolished hundreds of years ago, it seems that it is still a topic that is continually popping up in the media today. The latest issue has been whether or not the states within the US that participated in slavery should now issue a formal apology for it. This is creating much controversy and being reported on by news sources such as The New York Times, CNN, and most recently in Time Magazine. This past Monday, Maryland became the second state to officially seek atonement for slavery. Virginia was the first. The House of Delegates officially approved a measure, already passed by the senate to express their profound regret for the role the state played in instituting and maintaing slavery and its legacy. Many people who are not black though are saying that they do not believe that they should have to apologize for something they did not do. Virginia legislator Frank Hargrove has even gone as far to say that "black citizens should get over slavery". The repercussions of slavery though have affected many black people even up until today. Once slavery was abolished there was still a great deal of discrimination in the every day lives of black people as well as in education and attaining jobs. The United States did not do a very good job of converting former slaves to adequate citizens and if you compare rates of achievement, poverty and imprisonment by race today, the black race is still far behind. The legacy of slavery is still afflicting citizens of our nation. Delegate Michael L. Long, who is black, believes that state's owe an apology to help bridge the racial divide. Missouri and Georgia are now considering issuing their own apologies as well as Tennessee. While some still do not believe that an apology is necessary, others agree that an apology is the first step to healing an issue that should of been taken care of a long time ago.

Being a white American, I have not personally experienced the repercussions of slavery. I do though know about the issue and sympathize greatly. Slavery was a horrible thing for our nation to do to its own people, and even though it was abolished, the effects of it never really went away. I understand why some states feel that they do not owe an apology for something that has not taken place in their lifetime, but the repercussions have, and are still taking place, and not a lot has ever really been done about it. No apologies have ever been made and I think that they should have been a long time ago. Late though, is better then never. Even if it is just a small measure, it could make a lot of people feel a bit better, and that is something.