Virginia's Slavery Apology

   It was bound to happen sooner or later with all of the crying that various groups in the country tend to do. Eventually, it will get so bad with the apologies that we will be having to say sorry to the homeless man on the street that we didn't give a dollar to one morning.

    Virginia General Assembly, in a unanimous vote, passed a measure today expressing "profound regret"  for Virginia's role in slavery back in the day.

   Missouri also has the same kind of measure on the table but Virginia is the only state to do this, thus far. Those who supported this idea says that it carries a symbolic message.

A. Donald McEachin (D), "This session will be remembered for a lot of things, but 20 years hence I suspect one of those things will be the fact that we came together and passed this resolution."

The resolution passed the House 96-0 and cleared the 40-member Senate on a unanimous voice vote. It does not require Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's approval.

   One of the better things that happened, so far as that goes, is that the resolution also express regret over the " the exploitation of Native Americans."

   Part of the resolution say that government-sanctioned slavery "ranks as the most horrendous of all depredations of human rights and violations of our founding ideals in our nation's history, and the abolition of slavery was followed by systematic discrimination, enforced segregation, and other insidious institutions and practices toward Americans of African descent that were rooted in racism, racial bias, and racial misunderstanding."

Among those voting for the measure was Delegate Frank D. Hargrove, an 80-year-old Republican who infuriated black leaders last month by saying "black citizens should get over" slavery.

After enduring a barrage of criticism, Hargrove successfully co-sponsored a resolution calling on Virginia to celebrate "Juneteenth," a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

 

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