Florida Legislature Apologizes for State’s History of Slavery

[Skinner]

Source: New York Times

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Legislature formally apologized Wednesday for the state’s “shameful” history of slavery, joining five other states that have expressed public regret for what Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate, recently called America’s “original sin.”

The two-page resolution passed overwhelmingly in the Senate and then the House, bringing at least one lawmaker to tears. Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican, called it a “significant step” toward reconciliation.

“All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing,” Mr. Crist said in an interview, quoting the philosopher Edmund Burke. “I think we are reminded of that today because it takes courage to do the right thing, and it’s not always easy.”

Several black lawmakers, especially Senator Anthony C. Hill Sr., Democrat of Jacksonville, have been pushing for a public apology since last year. What eventually passed on Wednesday resembled statements issued by North Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey, the last state to apologize for slavery with a resolution in January.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/us/27florida.html

[leftofcool]

1. Good, maybe these same states will apologize to Americans Indians next

that would be nice.

[SwampG8r]

2. yeah

id sure like at least some of my continent back tho

[Ordr]

3. I don't get it.

Does apologizing for it make anyone feel better?
Especially an apology from someone that had nothing to do with it whatsoever?

[BumRushDaShow]

6. It's symbollic and puts it on the record for history's sake.

It certainly makes ME feel better that the country is acknowledging, state by state, what happened in the past. And although nothing is going to reverse history, it's the thought that counts and is of course coming on behalf of "the state" (state as an entity).

[Ordr]

7. I guess you're right. It's the only thing anyone can do, really.

[acmavm]

4. Hey, hey, hey! When do we women get our apology? We're still

being shit on too.

[flashl]

5. Florida is the home base of for-profit prisons and is second to California in prison population

of minority males.

Tomes of information is available from ACLU, Human Rights Watch, the UN, and other organization which establishes that the Prison Industrial Complex as it operates today is modern day slavery.

Florida has a school-to-prison pipeline that targets minority males that warranted national attention.

In response, Florida established a panel to review its racially biased criminal justice system that begins to target minority males in school but the study group never received appropriation and lies dormant.

When brought to Florida's attention that it had one of the nation's highest minority infant mortality rates again Florida offered to study it and that too seem to be going no where. The same is true for AIDS.

Minority voting right? Well there is voter caging that is acknowledged but there is no action there either.

And, if anyone wants to believe that slavery is in the past, there were several high profile slavery cases in Florida as recently as a year ago.

The question is, what is the state of Florida expecting to benefit from this announcement not the African American community.

[fascisthunter]

8. I Think This is a Very Good Thing

Nothing wrong with making ammends.