Slavery apology is quite clear

As a full-blooded descendant of Africans enslaved in Alabama, I admit to a cautious surprise Tuesday upon hearing that the U.S. House of Representatives passed an official apology for slavery, the segregated Jim Crow era and the “vestiges” of racial discrimination that “still linger to this day.”

“Whereas millions of Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and the 13 American colonies from 1619 through 1865,” read the prelude to H. Res. 194 that was generated by Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., and issued by voice vote.

The U.S. Senate will not join the resolution that, while not mentioning reparations, promises to rectify “lingering consequences of the misdeeds committed against African-Americans under slavery and Jim Crow.”

In the interest of public service, I offer the text of the resolution, edited for space:

“Whereas slavery in America resembled no other form of involuntary servitude known in history, as Africans were captured and sold at auction like inanimate objects or animals;

“Whereas Africans forced into slavery were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage;

“Whereas enslaved families were torn apart after having been sold separately from one another;

“Whereas the system of slavery and the visceral racism against persons of African descent upon which it depended became entrenched in the Nation’s social fabric;

“Whereas slavery was not officially abolished until the passage of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865 after the end of the Civil War;

“Whereas after emancipation from 246 years of slavery, African-Americans soon saw the fleeting political, social, and economic gains they made during Reconstruction eviscerated by virulent racism, lynchings, disenfranchisement, Black Codes, and racial segregation laws that imposed a rigid system of officially sanctioned racial segregation in virtually all areas of life;

“Whereas the system of de jure racial segregation known as ‘Jim Crow,’ which arose in certain parts of the Nation following the Civil War to create separate and unequal societies for whites and African-Americans, was a direct result of the racism against persons of African descent engendered by slavery;

“Whereas a century after the official end of slavery in America, Federal action was required during the 1960s to eliminate the de jure and de facto system of Jim Crow throughout parts of the Nation, though its vestiges still linger to this day;

“Whereas African-Americans continue to suffer from the complex interplay between slavery and Jim Crow – long after both systems were formally abolished – through enormous damage and loss, both tangible and intangible, including the loss of human dignity, the frustration of careers and professional lives, and the long-term loss of income and opportunity;

“Whereas the story of the enslavement and de jure segregation of African-Americans and the dehumanizing atrocities committed against them should not be purged from or minimized in the telling of American history; …

“Whereas a genuine apology is an important and necessary first step in the process of racial reconciliation;

“Whereas an apology for centuries of brutal dehumanization and injustices cannot erase the past, but confession of the wrongs committed can speed racial healing and reconciliation and help Americans confront the ghosts of their past; …

“Whereas it is important for this country, which legally recognized slavery through its Constitution and its laws, to make a formal apology for slavery and for its successor, Jim Crow, so that it can move forward and seek reconciliation, justice, and harmony for all of its citizens:

“Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives –

(1) acknowledges that slavery is incompatible with the basic founding principles recognized in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal;

(2) acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow;

(3) 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; and

(4) expresses its commitment to rectify the lingering consequences of the misdeeds committed against African-Americans under slavery and Jim Crow and to stop the occurrence of human rights violations in the future.”

Uproar about the apology is likely to flood in from those locked into denial about continuing post-Jim Crow villainies. The resolution, however, seems clear in its delineation, and proper consideration requires a sense of its tone, language, context and a reading of U.S. history.