Interesting article.



http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2008/0729/1217279096058.html

-- 
Dr John Watson
Baker Street

> House apologizes for slavery, 'Jim Crow' injustices

>  a.. It is the first time federal government has apologized for slavery
>
>  b.. House acknowledges "injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity" of 
> slavery
>
>  c.. Resolution states that effects of slavery and Jim Crow are still 
> present today
>
>  d.. Measure does not address the issue of reparations
>
> WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a 
> resolution apologizing to African-Americans for slavery and the era of Jim 
> Crow.
>
> The nonbinding resolution, which passed on a voice vote, was introduced by 
> Rep. Steve Cohen, a white lawmaker who represents a majority black 
> district in Memphis, Tennessee.
>
> While many states have apologized for slavery, it is first time a branch 
> of the federal government has done so, an aide to Cohen said.
>
> In passing the resolution, the House also acknowledged the "injustice, 
> cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow."
>
> "Jim Crow," or Jim Crow laws, were state and local laws enacted mostly in 
> the Southern and border states of the United States between the 1870s and 
> 1965, when African-Americans were denied the right to vote and other civil 
> liberties and were legally segregated from whites.
>
> The name "Jim Crow" came from a character played by T.D. "Daddy" Rice who 
> portrayed a slave while in blackface during the mid-1800s.
>
> The resolution states that "the vestiges of Jim Crow continue to this 
> day."
>
> "African-Americans continue to suffer from the consequences of 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 and liberty, the frustration of careers and professional 
> lives, and the long-term loss of income and opportunity," the resolution 
> states.
>
> The House also commited itself to stopping "the occurrence of human rights 
> violations in the future."
>
> The resolution does not address the controversial issue of reparations. 
> Some members of the African-American community have called on lawmakers to 
> give cash payments or other financial benefits to descendents of slaves as 
> compensation for the suffering caused by slavery.
>
> It is not be the first time lawmakers have apologized to an ethnic group 
> for injustices.
>
> In April, the Senate passed a resolution sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback, 
> R-Kansas, that apologized to Native Americans for "the many instances of 
> violence, maltreatment and neglect."
>
> In 1993 the Senate also passed a resolution apologizing for the "illegal 
> overthrow" of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893.
>
> In 1988, Congress passed and President Reagan signed an act apologizing to 
> the 120,000 Japanese-Americans who were held in detention camps during 
> World War II. The 60,000 detainees who were alive at the time each 
> received $20,000 from the government.
>
>