Should New Jersey, Georgia, Missouri, and every single state (with the exception of perhaps Hawaii and Alaska) make an apology, I think so. Each and every one has benefited and could not exist without the efforts of slaves and Jim Crow era African Americans.
Should the American government make an apology? I cannot see a justification why it has not already. Nor can I find a single reason why reparations have not been made as precedence exists.
“Yet reparations have been made to Japanese Americans and Native American Indians, at least to some degree."
and a means of reparation exists. Not only the one I outlined at Black & White Blog (where I am co-author), which was challenged and questioned as any controversial idea should be – but it must be discussed, but also elsewhere.
We can do a lot of things. But the first thing must be acknowledging the wrongs done and APOLOGIZING for them. And along with that must be the major media and news covering this issue and presenting it to the American public.
Skeletons in the closet may be a reality of life, but they never benefit anyone. They always come out, and in doing so strife is usually attached when they are forced out against our will. There is no difference in governments and people in this regard.
2 comments:
Comment as found at Black and White Blog, where I am co-author.
Mark Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:57 pm e
why not a “thank you america”?? i’d be grateful we were taken away from africa, where many countries are still very poor and are going nowhere, unfortunately. africa is a beautiful continent and history pretty much began there. but those are the facts. i’d rather be chillin’ at home in san diego with my dogs, having a cold beer, and swimming in my pool, rather than speaking swahili and chasing some rat around a tree hoping for dinner.
Mark Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 7:59 pm e
an apology?? since when were you a slave owner and since when were you a slave????? uhhh, never. if you want to go there, then the u.s. should apologize to the american indian, mexico, for taking their land, and the list can go on and on and on and on and on and on and on!!…….useless article.
Mark,
The question is not slavery today, but the past. A past that has created everything we have today. Without which you could not have your beer or swimming pool.
As I stated in the post, and gave links to in support of my statement, America HAS made apologies - and reparations - to Native American Indians and the interred Japanese. The precedent has been established long ago. I am only asking for the same respect and acknowledgement that this nation has given others before. Is that too harsh to ask for?
I am amazed by the arrogance and dismissal some place to this issue. It is a reflection of the natioanl disavowment of our past and how that past affects the nation today. Your justification for just forgetting the past is weak and invalid, as the post itself directly states.
And Africa is not the issue here. Especially not the modern day Africa that exists after centuries of interference and abuse from European nations. Least of all the Africa you imagine from a 1930’s Tarzan movie. Which is an insulting comment in every way.
But how about this. Let someone take your family - your kids, father, mother, wife, siblings, or even you - by force from San Diego to say Switzerland (just as an example). In Switzerland they will be beaten every day. They will have no rights, nor will they be allowed to see or contact each other. They will be paid nothing, and will work everyday for the rest of their lives - 18 hours a day, 7 days a week at least. Would you say they should be greatful because they were living in a nation that has free healthcare and socialized government? I think not, because it’s absurd.
You think this post is useless. I think that is because you do not wish to deal with the consequences of admitting a past wrong has never been corrected. That the past is affecting every American today, and we don’t want to see it. For this post to be useful to you, is the same as having to understand the true past and not some Hollywood movie. And that just takes too much work for you it seems.
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