THE OBENSON REPORT

Covering Cinema From All Across The African Diaspora

I'm Sorry... So Sorry... Please Accept My Apology

My immediate response to this was, "so the hell what?" What does it mean? Does this really change anything? It's about 150 years too late, isn't it. I certainly wasn't one of those people hoping for an eventual formal apology from any arm of the government.

If my mother were still alive, she'd smack my hand and remind me of the importance of knowing how to accept an apology. So, in her honor only, I say to the House of Representatives, I accept your apology...

*Rolling my eyes*

Now where are my freaking reparations :o)

From HuffPo:

- The House on Tuesday issued an unprecedented apology to black Americans for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow segregation laws.

"Today represents a milestone in our nation's efforts to remedy the ills of our past," said Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich., chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

The resolution, passed by voice vote, was the work of Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen, the only white lawmaker to represent a majority black district. Cohen faces a formidable black challenger in a primary face-off next week.

Congress has issued apologies before to Japanese-Americans for their internment during World War II and to native Hawaiians for the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893. In 2005, the Senate apologized for failing to pass anti-lynching laws.

Five states have issued apologies for slavery, but past proposals in Congress have stalled, partly over concerns that an apology would lead to demands for reparations payment for damages.

The Cohen resolution does not mention reparations. It does commit the House to rectifying "the lingering consequences of the misdeeds committed against African-Americans under slavery and Jim Crow."


The last sentence above carries much more weight than any apology ever will. What's that age-old aphorism... oh yeah... actions speak louder than words.


Take us away Brenda Lee:



The rest here: House Formally Apologizes For Slavery And Jim Crow

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