Politics, history help explain stream of apologies for slavery
America is once again struggling to atone for slavery and its aftermath.
In a nation with an unquenchable need to analyze its racial past, there is now a fresh flow of contrition from public officials for the many wrongs of U.S. history. ...
Why are public officials making amends now?
Because revelations about the past are pushing some people to think about race in America in new ways. Plus, echoes of racial bias remain all too obvious, and politicians may be grasping for new ways to show concern.
Generations after the civil rights movement began, blacks generally remain poorer, less educated and more likely to be in prison than whites.
Many historians, political scientists and public policy experts argue that this is rooted in blacks' unhealed wounds from slavery, combined with widespread tactics during the century or so that followed to keep blacks from equal education, jobs and housing.
“This country is built on their (blacks') backs, so when you talk about some of the ills that we face now in society, I'm sure that some of it's got to trace back to that,” said Maryland Sen. Nathaniel Exum, sponsor of his state's resolution, which will likely be voted on this month.
Sometimes a here-and-now incident casts a long shadow.
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In a nation with an unquenchable need to analyze its racial past, there is now a fresh flow of contrition from public officials for the many wrongs of U.S. history. ...
Why are public officials making amends now?
Because revelations about the past are pushing some people to think about race in America in new ways. Plus, echoes of racial bias remain all too obvious, and politicians may be grasping for new ways to show concern.
Generations after the civil rights movement began, blacks generally remain poorer, less educated and more likely to be in prison than whites.
Many historians, political scientists and public policy experts argue that this is rooted in blacks' unhealed wounds from slavery, combined with widespread tactics during the century or so that followed to keep blacks from equal education, jobs and housing.
“This country is built on their (blacks') backs, so when you talk about some of the ills that we face now in society, I'm sure that some of it's got to trace back to that,” said Maryland Sen. Nathaniel Exum, sponsor of his state's resolution, which will likely be voted on this month.
Sometimes a here-and-now incident casts a long shadow.