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|NEXT STORY »

Senate Apologizes for Slavery

By Harry Kimball| Posted Jun 18, 09 1:45 PM CDT|

(Newser) – The Senate today apologized for slavery and civil rights abuses against African-Americans, CNN reports. The unanimous gesture—it comes on the eve of Juneteenth, which marks the end of the Civil War—carries a disclaimer that it's not meant to authorize reparations, notes the Chicago Tribune. The House will vote on its own measure, but because it's a non-binding resolution, it won't require the signature of the nation's first black president.

"In the nearly 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, America has taken serious and sincere steps to heal the deep wounds of one of history's greatest crimes against humanity,'' said Harry Reid. "This resolution is another one of those steps.''

Slave quarters at the Hampton Mansion in Towson, MD. (AP Photo)

Abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass. (AP Photo/File)

A Ku Klux Klan outfit. (AP Photo)

Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King leading freedom marchers in Montgomery, Ala. in 1965. (AP Photo)

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95 comments

VIEWING:

Citrixguy
Jun 18, 09 2:01 PM CDT

it was 150 years ago...NO ONE ALIVE today had anything to do with it. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 2:47 PM CDT

First of all, slavery did not end 150 years ago. It ended at the earliest with World War II. See Douglas A. Blackmon, Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II (Anchor Books 2009), which won a Pulitzer. Second of all, if you're white--and I strongly suspect you are--then you have reaped the benefits of slavery, neoslavery, Jim Crow, restrictive covenants, white flight, and all the other crimes and abuses your white predecessors heaped on blacks from day one, even if you have never enslaved anyone. Whites have always had a shot at upward mobility--blacks only very recently have had that chance. So you'd do well to thank black America for all the sacrifices its made on your (and not on its own) behalf, maybe make a donation to the NAACP, and keep your mouth shut.

-2

IN RESPONSE:

foodchain11
Jun 18, 09 3:03 PM CDT

and yet SC gop says Michelle Obama is related to a gorilla, Tennessee rep asst sends "keepsake" photo w/Obama as white eyes; TX would seceed as hinted SC. I think the WAR GOES ON. I think you guys are all kidding yourselves

IN RESPONSE:

Abdulsamadabdul
Jun 19, 09 12:05 AM CDT

Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionairy: 1. money or property that is given to you by somebody when they die: 2. a situation that exists now because of events, actions, etc. that took place in the past: Is this explicit enough for your ignorant ass to grasp? No forty acres, no mule, no accrued interest = meaningless bullshit!

-2

IN RESPONSE:

kokuaguy
Jun 19, 09 3:27 AM CDT

Anchovie-- this first comment was basically all that needed to be said. But you really damaged it by using those five fatal words to end it. If there one thing most everyone on this site agrees about it's the right to sound off and make a fool of one's self.

-2

| 0 minutes ago

paul123
Jun 18, 09 2:04 PM CDT

So after the apology, can we as a nation finally put this issue to rest, save for the history classes? Reply

+11

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 2:55 PM CDT

No. Reparations are on order. Harper's has put the amount owed to black America at some $100 trillion. That comes to $2.5 million for each and every black American man, woman, and child. Once that's been paid, we can leave slavery in the history books, because then we'll have something like an even playing field. But as long as slavery's effects continue to be felt today, no, the issue won't be put to rest.

-14

IN RESPONSE:

ClearSight
Jun 18, 09 3:21 PM CDT

Screw reparations, not one damn dime!

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 3:26 PM CDT

This comment has been removed by Newser’s community. You must be logged in to view this comment.

-2

IN RESPONSE:

Chilblain
Jun 18, 09 3:51 PM CDT

anchower , That argument only works for Americans who have ancestors that immigrated here before about 1890 or so. It would be ridiculous to blame and punish the ones that came after. As a Jew/Cherokee mix what am I owed, how about the Japanese interned during WWII ? You see this is a slippery slope. The best solution is to sincerely apologize and ensure this sort of crime never happens again.

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 3:58 PM CDT

Chilblain, so because it's hard to pay reparations, we shouldn't do it? I strongly disagree. I frankly don't care if the entire country goes bankrupt doing it, but every wrong requires a remedy, no matter how old that wrong is or how painful the remedy. Apologies are at best a start. (Incidentally, Japanese Americans have received some $1.6 billion in reparations, and Native Americans at least have some sovereignty, not to mention casinos. Black Americans have gotten NOTHING.)

-4

IN RESPONSE:

Chilblain
Jun 18, 09 5:11 PM CDT

anchower, That is not my point at all. It is not the difficulty of paying reparations, only the fact that once you start trying to pay off this problem you will find that humankind has done this sort of evil to each other since the beginning of society. Read your history. By your argument the native African Slave trader's descendants would have to pony up for their crimes too, and all the descendants of Romans, and the Spaniards, and Aztecs, Mongols, and Persians, and Babylonians etc. And to say "the Native Americans got casinos is an absurd argument. Only time can truly heal these wounds. And Forgiveness which you seem incapable of.

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Jun 18, 09 5:18 PM CDT

anchower, I sympathize with what you say, and agree with much of it, but saying Blacks have gotten NOTHING is wrong. Affirmative Action laws surely count as something. No?

IN RESPONSE:

npkimmey
Jun 18, 09 5:26 PM CDT

But if we are saying that each African American person is owed money, that's saying that each one was involved in slavery, and saying that every white person is responsible for slavery. That's not true.

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 5:54 PM CDT

shonangreg, I don't believe that on the whole, affirmative action has benefited the black community. So, all things considered, it's worse than nothing. But, even if it carried no stigma and didn't lead to even more racism (witness the questioning of Sonia Sotomayor's intelligence), it would be like offering a gunshot victim a Band-Aid. (Not to mention, it reeks of paternalism, and has been attacked from day one as so-called "reverse racism.") So I think I'm entirely justified in saying that, affirmative action included, "[b]lack Americans have gotten NOTHING."

-6

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 5:56 PM CDT

npkimmey: No one is saying that whites today are directly responsible for slavery. All I am saying is that they've unjustly benefited from slavery, and as such, should disgorge a great deal of their wealth. There's a huge difference.

-3

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Jun 18, 09 6:02 PM CDT

anchower, reparations would encumber blacks with the same stigma and lead to more racism just as you claim affirmative action has done, would it not?

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 6:44 PM CDT

No, shonangreg. Take Japanese-Americans: Do they face any stigma or racism because of the reparations they received? No, to the contrary, they suffered far more prejudice before they were compensated. In fact, reparations to black Americans would remove what should be a stigma on white wealth, seeing as how so much of it wasn't earned. Furthermore, let's face facts: If black America suddenly had another $100 trillion to its name, who could afford to be bigoted against it? Rather, everyone would be trying to work with black Americans in an effort to tap into their wealth. (And before you ask, yes, it would be a windfall, but better a windfall to the descendants of slaves than the retention of a windfall in the hands of the descendants of slaveowners, Confederates, Klansmen, and racists.)

-2

IN RESPONSE:

Nagual
Jun 18, 09 9:48 PM CDT

Trollin is a art.

| 0 minutes ago

Are_you--Nobody--Too
Jun 18, 09 2:28 PM CDT

As terrible as slavery in the United States was, it was sadly not "one of history's greatest crimes against humanity," but one of many. And terrible things are still going on in the world. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 3:01 PM CDT

SuperReader: "It's not one of, it's one of." Are you retarded? In any case, there's no such thing as "history's greatest crimes against humanity." There's only one segment of humanity's greatest crimes against another segment. Regardless, you've got a lot of balls trying to downplay something that dwarfs the Holocaust not only in the numbers of people affected, but in its reverberations through the years. The Jews at least got Israel and billions upon billions of dollars in US aid after the Holocaust (and the US wasn't even responsible for the Holocaust). What did black Americans get after emancipation? That's right, re-enslavement, Jim Crow, restrictive covenants, white flight, &c., &c.

-6

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Jun 19, 09 9:00 AM CDT

I don't like what anchower is saying, nor do I particularly agree. However, he/she appears to be arguing in good faith, so I don't get why his/her comments are getting so many thumbs down. ........ When I saw living in Oregon, I got to tutor some South Korean students. They were all very interested in race relations in America. I explained how slavery had put blacks at an enduring disadvantage, and how the welfare state and affirmative action was blamed for creating a sense of dependency (among poor whites too). I said the situation seems almost intractable. Only education, time, continued affirmative action even in the face of criticism, and resolve on the part of the black community could overcome the historical disadvantage blacks found themselves in America. My students understood. I haven't hear anyone say anything better since then. Reparations? There is certainly a case to be made for it. My family was somewhat poor and never benefitted greatly from the slaves, so I don't see how I should pay -- and that might be the crux of the problem for reparations. There were so many people hurt by slavery that reparations would be massive. And deciding who benefitted just seems near impossible.

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Jun 19, 09 9:34 AM CDT

Typos, Sorry. "I WAS living in Oregon..." and "I haven't HEARD anyone say ..." Oh, and my recounting of the tutoring is actually a bit simplified as I wrote it above, but the gist is there.

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Jun 19, 09 9:42 AM CDT

UPDATE: Anchower, you WERE arguing well, and I did respect you. But down below here, you sink to gross insults and over-the-top name-calling too. ................... If you have right on your side, you don't need to succumb to adolescent screaming matches. It is not respectable. Far more people are watching than commenting here, and you have lost the respect of many of them by the way you've responded to criticism -- the criticism be fair or not. Please, step back and try again, though not here. The discussion is already too damaged.

-2

| 0 minutes ago

skeptik
Jun 18, 09 2:33 PM CDT

Long overdue Reply

| 0 minutes ago

kokuaguy
Jun 18, 09 2:40 PM CDT

" The African-American case is unique: There is nothing to compare with centuries of state-sponsored slavery followed by a century of state-sponsored discrimination." Charles Krauthammer http://townhall.com/columnists/CharlesKrauthammer/ 2001/04/08/david_horowitz_and_reparations Reply

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 19, 09 9:01 PM CDT

Link doesn't work, fool.

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 19, 09 9:17 PM CDT

Found the column anyway (at http://townhall.com/columnists/CharlesKrauthammer/2001/04/08/david_horowitz_and_reparations (cockuaguy was off by one space)), and I agree with pretty much everything Krauthammer says but for his gratuitous dig at Salvadoran immigrants and his $50,000-per-family-of-four proposal, which would give black Americans half a penny on the dollar, a return few creditors would settle for. Anyway, K-hammer's two best points are (a) that black Americans have been singularly f'ed over, and so should get priority over other groups as far as compensation goes, and (b) that people like ClearSight can't and won't repudiate the national debt to, say, China just because they had little to do with racking it up, and so should not repudiate the national debt to their own fellow citizens--in this case, black Americans.

| 0 minutes ago

psycada
Jun 18, 09 3:24 PM CDT

Slavery is not dead even to this day. The slaveowner's just changed from wealthy farm owners to the Federal Reserve and IMF. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 4:28 PM CDT

You're seriously comparing the enslavement of black Americans with the actions of the Fed and the IMF? What a tool!

-2

IN RESPONSE:

psycada
Jun 18, 09 4:51 PM CDT

I cannot keep educating you. Read a fucking book.

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 5:04 PM CDT

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-7

| 0 minutes ago

rajanKazhmin
Jun 18, 09 3:27 PM CDT

More liberal garbage. Fact of the matter is most slave owners were hard working christians that took good care of their property. I am so sick of having to apologize. I can't wait until we chase the lefties out of DC and get our god given right to own slaves back. Reply

-8

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 3:41 PM CDT

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-7

IN RESPONSE:

rajanKazhmin
Jun 18, 09 3:46 PM CDT

Hey man, stop oppressing my right to oppress.

-1

IN RESPONSE:

Fondue
Jun 18, 09 3:52 PM CDT

This comment has been removed by Newser’s community. You must be logged in to view this comment.

-4

IN RESPONSE:

aces8908
Jun 18, 09 7:34 PM CDT

i applaud you rajanKazhmin for this statement "Hey man, stop oppressing my right to oppress." I think what you original said was dumb and ignorant because slaves were not treated good and "hard working Christians" basically says "person who uses the bible to enslave, torture, and abuse other human beings. but telling people to stop oppressing your right to oppress was classic. And most likely this whole comment was a satire and that is why im laughing.

| 0 minutes ago

TerrifiedCitizen
Jun 18, 09 3:28 PM CDT

Now, why was this necessary this long after the fact? Did it have anything to do with no longer having to fight a southern plantation GOP? Reply

IN RESPONSE:

triordan
Jun 18, 09 3:31 PM CDT

No it's the continuance of the Apology Tour 2009: A Superpower on it's knees

-2

| 0 minutes ago

triordan
Jun 18, 09 3:29 PM CDT

anchower has to be the most racist person on this website. The "white people" you refer to today are not the ones responsible for the enslavement of black people. You need to get over yourself and unless you were enslaved...I don't owe you anything. Stop whining and work for YOURSELF, I work for MYSELF, & stop asking for handouts. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

triordan
Jun 18, 09 3:33 PM CDT

Correction: Obviously rajanKazhmin takes the title of most racist person.

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 3:40 PM CDT

Learn to read, triordan. I said, in effect, that whites are, as a group, in a much, much better position today than they would've been if some of them had never enslaved blacks, and that blacks, as a group, are in a much, much worse position because whites enslaved their ancestors and subsequently re-enslaved them and subjected them to Jim Crow, restrictive covenants, &c., &c. There is absolutely nothing racist about pointing out those facts, nor is there anything racist about pointing out that reparations would equalize the black and white positions. Your assumption that I'm black, however, is a little racist. I'm not.

-3

IN RESPONSE:

rajanKazhmin
Jun 18, 09 3:45 PM CDT

Yes, my racist talk is matched only by my sarcasm. Sometimes I even confuse myself.

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 3:47 PM CDT

Oh, and "I work for MYSELF, & stop asking for handouts"? How about you work for me for free 20 hours a day and I beat you with five-pound whips when you don't do what I tell you, and all your children belong to me? Try a little empathy, bitch.

-5

IN RESPONSE:

Fondue
Jun 18, 09 3:55 PM CDT

rajan, an apology is in order for your ingnorance

IN RESPONSE:

rajanKazhmin
Jun 18, 09 5:22 PM CDT

I apologize you can't see how smart and right I am all the time.

IN RESPONSE:

triordan
Jun 19, 09 10:42 AM CDT

No anchower, that's not how it works. Because if you use the same logic than "blacks" would still be in the position of Africa. Instead of brought into the United States though the slave trades. Not that I agree with method of immigration or support it at all. -- And you're assumption that the other poster was "white" isn't? I was simply making a point by repeating what you said in your original post. -- I'm of Irish descent, do you see me asking for any kind of reparations because of their treatment during early immigration? No because I wasn't involved, nor were the people that would be forced to give me money. We all work for ourselves. It's bad enough that I have to work harder (prove myself more valuable) in school and employment because I'm white (I don't get any Bonus Affirmative Action points.)

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 19, 09 10:22 PM CDT

Yet again, you miss the point, triordan. Which is not to put black Americans in the position they'd have been in had there been no slavery, but to compensate them for all their ancestors' unpaid labor and for all the torts and crimes committed against their ancestors. As far as your Irish antecedents go, yes, they were not treated all that well on arrival. But what they went through, while bad enough, doesn't even begin to compare to what black Americans endured. And so, while I'd have no problem with reparations for the Irish, inasmuch as they came here after the Africans and suffered far less on the whole, and inasmuch as there will have to be a line for compensation, those of Irish descent will have to get behind black Americans (and behind native Americans, too, for that matter).

| 0 minutes ago

anchower
Jun 18, 09 3:53 PM CDT

The alternative to reparations is that black America enslaves white America for the next 250 years, and follows that up with another 175 years of re-enslavement, discrimination, &c., &c. "Oh, but we didn't do anything to deserve either enslavement or having to pay reparations!!!" Not exactly true on the second count, but regardless, black Africans didn't do anything to deserve how white America brutalized them, either. Reply

-5

IN RESPONSE:

psycada
Jun 18, 09 4:08 PM CDT

Not sure if you know this, but it was Africans who sold their own people to the white men for slavery. If you really want to get reparations, start asking your ancestors,l since it was them who enable the white men. And also, africans are not the only race to have been enslaved, but are the only race still crying about it. Same with Jewish people. Many races have had genocide committed against them, but the Jewish genocide is the only one I am reminded of.........DAILY! I'm not racist, just sick of being reminded of a couple atrocities, when those reminding don't even consider the other times in history this shit has happened. Just cry cry cry about their own plight. Can we STFU already and move on as a human race?

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 4:19 PM CDT

This comment has been removed by Newser’s community. You must be logged in to view this comment.

-8

IN RESPONSE:

psycada
Jun 18, 09 4:44 PM CDT

When were you on the other end...(that dick in your ass doesn't count) Not only do I have to hear them cry about it, I have to hear you cry about it for them. Amber said it well. I don't hear anyone crying for the Egyptian slaves who built the damn pyramids. Why aren't you mentioning them? They had to deal with it for thousands of years. And as far as my race being enslave, Italians have had there fair share of being slaves a time or two in history, and yes, before you say it, their share as slave-owners as well, but to reiterate my original point, Africans also had their share of being slave-owners. Learn some history before you spout off about that which you obviously know nothing. (And don't think we don't know you're thumbing your posts up while thumbing all of ours down. Little secret for you, thumbs don't mean shit, so don't bother.)

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 4:56 PM CDT

If you're referring to Barbary enslavement of Italians, you're a fucking retard. (Even if you're not, you're still a fucking retard.) That and what black Americans endured are not comparable. Not least because the Barbary nations didn't enslave millions of Italians on the Barbary coast, nor were the conditions of servitude the same, nor did the Barbary nations subject Italians to anything like Jim Crow or restrictive covenants or the Klan. Maybe read a book before you go around accusing others of not knowing their history. Shithead.

-9

| 0 minutes ago

Chilblain
Jun 18, 09 3:54 PM CDT

This issue is so much more complex than this petty bickering Reply

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 4:11 PM CDT

It's not at all complex (and at least have the decency not to engage in "petty bickering" if you're going to decry it). There are some 41 million black Americans. They are owed $100 trillion dollars. It's a matter of simple arithmetic. ("Oh, but some of them might not have slave ancestors, and some (though very, very few) might have slaveowning ancestors, and some might not even consider themselves black, blah blah blah," you say. Well, I don't think any slave dealers and owners and overseers discriminated so finely among blacks, so why should we? $2.5 million for every person in the U.S. who can prove African ancestry. That will do it.)

-7

| 0 minutes ago

Amber
Jun 18, 09 4:06 PM CDT

I think before any reparations are made to the black community perhaps they should address the American Indians. While we are at it perhaps they should send money to the descendants of the Vikings? On a better thought perhaps we should work to remove the chips off our respective shoulders and go to work as one people, Americans and try to make this a better country instead of waiting a handout or repayment of some past misdeed and if you get a payment perhaps you could trace down the owners of the majority of the slave ships and collect from those respective countries. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 4:15 PM CDT

You just don't get it, do you? The fact that you're even in a position to spew your ignorant bullshit is because black people were enslaved. So spare us all your sanctimonious illogic.

-9

IN RESPONSE:

psycada
Jun 18, 09 4:48 PM CDT

No sir, it is you who is not getting it. The fact that you're even in a position to spew your ignorant bullshit is because our founding fathers gave us the 1st amendment. Again, you failed history. So take you're own advice and spare US all your sanctimonious illogic(al BS). (WTF, illogic? illogic isn't even a word. You fucking failed English too)

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 5:00 PM CDT

Wrong again, punk. The "Founding Fathers" were also dependent on slavery, and as such, so is the First Amendment. When you know nothing, SAY nothing, asshole. (By the way, "illogic" is most certainly a word. (http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/unabridged?va=illogic&x=0&y=0) Take a class, bitch.)

-5

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 10:58 PM CDT

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-2

| 0 minutes ago

Sabrina
Jun 18, 09 4:46 PM CDT

go wait at the mailbox, I am sure the check is on it's way to make amends for whitties transgressions Reply

| 0 minutes ago

Chilblain
Jun 18, 09 5:16 PM CDT

anchower what makes your bickering petty is your use of personal attacks and insults. Way to win an argument. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

rajanKazhmin
Jun 18, 09 5:21 PM CDT

If you can't insult someone or hit them, how are you supposed to prove you are the one that is right? With fancy book words and reason? That is so stupid. You are stupid.

IN RESPONSE:

Chilblain
Jun 18, 09 5:23 PM CDT

Ignorance is bliss

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 5:47 PM CDT

This comment has been removed by Newser’s community. You must be logged in to view this comment.

-7

IN RESPONSE:

rajanKazhmin
Jun 19, 09 12:04 AM CDT

ANCHOWER I AM HILARIOUS. DEAL WITH IT.

| 0 minutes ago

Kriticalthinker
Jun 18, 09 6:54 PM CDT

How does $100 Trillion make any reparation for slavery? I think that any monetary reparation is insufficient and completely misses the point. Forgiveness is not saying nothing happened, but calling for a repaired relationship. Reparations do nothing beneficial for a repaired relationship. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 8:16 PM CDT

No, you're missing the point. You can't just go around fucking people over and then apologize and demand forgiveness. The only way to make sure shit like this never happens again is to may the offenders pay, and pay dearly. (Oh, and what is this bullshit about "repaired relationship[s]"? Would you demand that a rape victim "repair" her relationship with her rapist, just because the rapist apologized decades after the fact? Get serious.)

-3

IN RESPONSE:

kokuaguy
Jun 19, 09 3:11 AM CDT

Read the Krauthammer link above.

-2

| 0 minutes ago

Mr.C
Jun 18, 09 7:20 PM CDT

150 years from now we will apologies to Africa for not lifting a finger for Darfur, Southern Sudan, Congo, or Rwanda. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 8:17 PM CDT

Exactly.

-1

| 0 minutes ago

aces8908
Jun 18, 09 7:27 PM CDT

So when will they apologize to the many many whites who where also in slavery? Reply

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 18, 09 8:19 PM CDT

Don't be a moron.

-5

| 0 minutes ago

cantfixthis
Jun 18, 09 9:55 PM CDT

i think anchower is right. whites should be enslaved for 250 years. that should fix everything. Reply

-2

| 0 minutes ago

Abdulsamadabdul
Jun 19, 09 12:12 AM CDT

Clearsight you are about a blind ignorant ass hillbilly, let you be the first of the ten taken- silly cocksucker. Reply

-1

| 0 minutes ago

United_States_of_Entertainment
Jun 19, 09 12:36 AM CDT

Thanks senate, you just made it OK for them to blame any non-african american person which is total bs. Why do YOU have to apologize for slavery? weren't they slaves in afirca too? didn't africa sell them to the fucking crazy europeans? what about NATIVE AMERICANS??? WHERE IS OUR FUCKING APOLOGY??!!! FURIOUS!! Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Serenity
Jun 19, 09 7:19 AM CDT

I would have to agree with you. Casinos and monthly stipends are a really crappy way of saying, "sorry we stole you land, killed your men, women and children with violence and disease. Put you on a postage stamp of designated land then kicked you off when we found gold/oil on it. Here is a casino to make it all better." Slavery has existed way before africans were brought to the U.S.

| 0 minutes ago

taiwokay
Jun 19, 09 2:21 AM CDT

I will only apologise for what my late father did it can be proven to me that he had acted wrongly.The whites now know that their predecessors are wicked monsters,devils.The apology I believe is accepted by Africans.But what have the whites got to show that it sincere.This is hypocrisy. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

kokuaguy
Jun 19, 09 3:07 AM CDT

Well said, sir.

| 0 minutes ago

kokuaguy
Jun 19, 09 3:06 AM CDT

Hey anchovie-- you have a lot to learn about the arts of debate and persuasion. You've done more to destroy the credibility of your argument (an essentially sound one) than anything else. I hope you get your jollies doing what you do, because nothing else has been accomplished. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Jun 19, 09 9:44 AM CDT

Hear hear, kokuaguy. You're right on.

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 19, 09 4:36 PM CDT

Calls me "anchovie" and then tells me to stick to the rules of debate. Well, I deal with as I'm dealt with, hypocriteguy. As for you, shonangreg, I treated you with nothing but respect above. Now you're on my ass, while giving a free pass to gaping assholes like psycada and ClearSight? Nice.

-1

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Jun 19, 09 7:13 PM CDT

No free pass for them. I jump in to help defend at times. I wish you would have held your own against the provocateurs and trolls. I did give them all a thumbs down . . . And I did address the even more subdued criticism of you at the top of the comments section beginning, "I don't like what anchower is saying, nor do I particularly agree. However, ..." You were arguing nearly alone quite valiantly against some valid criticism and against a lot of shit. The decent ones amongst us do take note of what you say and we ignore the trolls. I think you screwed up this balance by letting the trolls bring your message down. It is better to focus on the legitimate criticism . . .

-1

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 19, 09 7:30 PM CDT

Fair enough, sg. I think Newser could use an "ignore" feature.

| 0 minutes ago

kokuaguy
Jun 19, 09 3:23 AM CDT

While you're at it maybe you all would like to express yourselves on this topic: http://www.newser.com/thread/2015/1/compensation- for-racism.html Reply

-2

| 0 minutes ago

CountChocula
Jun 19, 09 5:08 AM CDT

When did Jim Crow end?? On top of slavery were the LAWS on the books up until 1950 or so? How many other groups of people got repairations from this country and others for far less? I don't care about your racist attitude and don't expect them to change in fact it's apart of human nature, it's the fact that you won't pay up like you did in the other cases. If your going to apologize, do it with cash. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

psycada
Jun 19, 09 8:23 AM CDT

Clearsight - although annoying at first, I couldn't help but laugh harder and harder each time. Thanks for the morning chuckle.

IN RESPONSE:

ClearSight
Jun 19, 09 4:06 PM CDT

Psycada, I couldn't help myself, "some" of the comments above were so idiotic, that they deserve only one sentence in rebuttal. At some point people need to be realistic and reparations are NOT realistic, now or ever.

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 19, 09 4:39 PM CDT

Ah, psycada and ClearSight have made a love connection. How revolting.

-1

| 0 minutes ago

Serenity
Jun 19, 09 7:11 AM CDT

I want Reparations. Women weren't allowed to vate until the 19th Amendment, Black people with the 15th Amendment. Honeslty, I would have to say that women, of any race are the more oppressed and underappreciated. Why has everything come down to money? Why would I have to pay? My great-grandparents immigrated during WWII, so is it because I live here now, work and pay taxes that I have to pay for something that someone else did a century ago? I don't think so. If you want something, work for it. What about Oprah, Obama, Will Smith, The Williams sisters, Tiger Woods? What about the successful black people in this country, who don't want reparations? They ALL started out with nothing and worked for what they have. They didn't give up or let any discrimination get in their way. So I'm supposed to pay oprah, who is a billionaire, for something that I had nothing to do with? Still don't think so. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Serenity
Jun 19, 09 7:19 AM CDT

sorry, vote

-1

| 0 minutes ago

wrongblonde
Jun 19, 09 3:44 PM CDT

the apology is necessary for healing racism and sexism is rampant, deadly, alive and well in this country Reply

-2

IN RESPONSE:

anchower
Jun 20, 09 2:30 PM CDT

Whatever, Old Yeller.

| 0 minutes ago

yummines
Oct 7, 09 7:01 PM CDT

instead of giving money to people who were slaves, just give them equal treatment. the people today are the ancestors of the perpetrators, not the actual people so they do not owe them any debt. as long as everyone is treated equally, then all should be forgiven. Also instead of money, why not just punish violation of human rights? it should be left at that Reply

IN RESPONSE:

yummines
Oct 7, 09 7:01 PM CDT

sorry, ANCESTORS to slaves

| 0 minutes ago

View all 95 comments »

African Americans • civil rights • slavery • US Senate • reparations • Jim Crow laws • nonbinding resolution

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Senate Apologizes for Slavery

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First Lady's Roots Linked to Slave Girl

Genealogist fills in gaps of her lineage

MORE ABOUT: African Americans • Michelle Obama • segregation • slavery • ancestry

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Slavery Reparations Should Be Obama's Next Stimulus

Time for the president to break his long silence on America's racial divide

MORE ABOUT: Barack Obama • African Americans • race relations • slavery • President Obama • reparations

Medals of Freedom Will Go to Milk, Kennedy, Poitier

African Americans • civil rights • slavery • US Senate • reparations • Jim Crow laws • nonbinding resolution

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[ By Views ]

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from our news partners

Associated Press

About

Help

Tools

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What is Newser?

First Lady's
Roots Linked
to Slave Girl

MORE ABOUT:
African Americans • Michelle Obama • segregation • slavery • ancestry

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • African Americans • race relations • slavery • President Obama • reparations

Medals of Freedom Will Go
to Milk, Kennedy, Poitier