Senate call for slavery apology meets unlikely foe

Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus object to a disclaimer about possible reparations.

By WILLIAM DOUGLAS, McClatchy News Service

Last update: June 19, 2009 - 11:45 AM

WASHINGTON - The Senate passed a resolution on Thursday calling on the United States to apologize officially for the enslavement and segregation of millions of blacks and to acknowledge "the fundamental injustice, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow laws."

The resolution, sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, passed on a voice vote. It now moves to the House, where it may meet an unlikely foe: members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Several caucus members expressed concerns about a disclaimer that states that "nothing in this resolution authorizes or supports any claim against the United States; or serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States." Those caucus members say the disclaimer is an attempt to stave off reparations claims from the descendants of slaves.

"Putting in a disclaimer takes away from the meaning of an apology," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.

Thompson noted that a 1988 apology that the government issued to Japanese-Americans held in U.S. camps during World War II had no disclaimer and didn't prevent them from receiving compensation.

"The language is unacceptable," said Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., "I'm a reparations man -- how else do you repair the damage?"

Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., the Senate's lone black, went to the floor after the Harkin resolution passed and said, "I want to go on record making sure that that disclaimer in no way would eliminate future actions that may be brought before this body that may deal with reparations."

Not a slam-dunk

Such concerns could slow a resolution that many lawmakers and civil rights groups had considered such a slam-dunk that plans already were under way for an elaborate signing and apology ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda next month.

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., who's shepherding the Harkin resolution in the House, sponsored a slavery apology bill that excluded a disclaimer and passed in that chamber last year. He described the scheduled Rotunda event as "an understanding, a beginning of a dialogue."

But instead of making preparations for the event, Cohen found himself Thursday trying to convince Congressional Black Caucus members that the disclaimer is simply ultra-careful legalese that senators insisted upon and doesn't affect the drive for reparations.

"It doesn't set reparations back," Cohen said, his voice trailing. "But to be against an apology. ... "

Some blacks hailed the Senate vote as a monumental achievement. Charles Ogletree, a Harvard University law professor who mentored President Obama, placed it on par with the government's apology to Japanese-Americans and said it comes at a time of significant milestones for blacks. "This year we're celebrating the 80th birthday of Martin Luther King, the 200th birthday of Lincoln and the 100th anniversary of the NAACP," Ogletree said.

Forceful language

Harkin's resolution was blunt and direct. It states that Africans and their descendants were forced into slavery in the original 13 colonies and the United States from 1619 through 1865 and "were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage."

To that end, the resolution "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 laws."

"A wrong of segregation was done by the federal government of the United States of America, and we acknowledge that," said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., a co-sponsor of the resolution. "We say it was wrong, and we ask forgiveness for that."

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