House apologizes for slavery

WASHINGTON – The House on Tuesday apologized to black Americans, more than 140 years after slavery was abolished, for the “fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow” segregation.

The resolution, which passed on a voice vote late in the day, was sponsored by Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., a white Jewish lawmaker who represents a majority-black district in Memphis. Cohen tried unsuccessfully to join the Congressional Black Caucus this year.

“I hope that this is part of the beginning of a dialogue that this country needs to engage in, concerning what the effects of slavery and Jim Crow have been,” Cohen said. “I think we started it and we’re going to continue.”

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, is considering introducing a companion measure in the Senate, he said.

In February, the Senate apologized for atrocities committed against Native Americans, and the body apologized in 2005 for standing by during a lynching campaign against African-Americans throughout much of the past century. Twenty years ago, Congress apologized for interning Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War II.

Congress has considered a similar apology for the slavery and Jim Crow eras, a gesture long sought by African-Americans. Such efforts were always bogged down by concerns that the apology would prompt a greater call for reparations for slavery.

Several states, including Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Alabama, have issued apologies for slavery.

“They had a greater moral authority on this issue than the United States Congress,” Cohen said. “I’m proud we did this as a part of this Congress.”