Op-Ed Columns

Virginia has proclaimed its “profound regret” over its role in slavery.

Maryland's state Senate has approved a similar resolution.

The mayor of Macon, Ga., has apologized on behalf of his city's role in slavery.

Georgia's Legislature is under pressure from lawmakers and the Georgia branch of the NAACP to issue a formal apology for that state's participation in slavery.

Lawmakers in Delaware, New York, Missouri, Massachusetts and Vermont are debating how to, and whether to, apologize for the slavery that occurred in their states.

And Alabama?

What should we do? Something? Nothing?

Let's agree on this much: The existence of slavery in America represents a horrible legacy for our nation. Humans should not own humans. That blacks were bought, sold and traded — not to mention mistreated, beaten and worked like animals in states north and south — in our country is something we must recognize and acknowledge.

You don't live down the legacy of slavery. You try to understand it, comprehend it, and use that knowledge to ensure it never happens again. I believe our nation long ago reached that point.

The United States outlawed the international slave trade in 1807, and slavery was abolished in America in 1865, but this spring slavery has figuratively bled its way onto statehouse agendas across the nation. Virginia's “profound regret” resolution, which coincided with its recognition of the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, returned the legacy of U.S. slavery to our mainstream conversations. Maryland already has passed an apology resolution. The legislatures of Northern states are debating the issue.

But nowhere is slavery's legacy a hotter issue this spring than in Georgia, where the debate is causing residents to vehemently defend their positions — believe me, Southern heritage demonstrators are defending theirs — legislators both Republican and Democrat to announce their controversial positions, and Gov. Sonny Perdue to admit that he has concerns about a slavery apology. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has even taken a stance: Georgia should apologize.

“Repentance comes from the heart,” Perdue told The Associated Press. “I'm not sure about public apologies on behalf of other people.”

You want controversy? You've got it.

If you believe your state should follow Virginia's lead, then you might be criticized for needlessly dredging up past pains, for refusing to let the sins of former centuries remain buried. You'll be asked, “Why now? What good does this do? I didn't enslave anyone, so why should my state apologize on my behalf?”

If you believe your state should not apologize, you can be criticized for not understanding the suffering of America's slave-era blacks, for being too narrow-minded to see the larger picture of racial harmony and the need for reconciliation, or — brace yourself — for being a blatant, unrepentant racist.

Historian James C. Cobb, a professor at the University of Georgia, explained it this way to the Los Angeles Times: “Certainly, for many people, it's not much of an emotional concession to apologize for something you don't really feel responsible for.”

I must admit, I'm torn. I'm a white guy from a lineage of Mississippians who, if I cared to look, may have owned slaves during the 18th and 19th centuries. (I think my family was typically Southern, poor farmers who got by with no slaves and little money.) But if my family did own slaves, does that make me a complicit accomplice? If one of my ancestors owned another man, should I apologize? If my ancestors were slave owners, and I don't apologize, does that make me any less horrified that blacks were treated as chattel?

See? There's no way to discuss this without either being offended or getting spittin' mad. And I understand both emotions.

My concern isn't over slavery's legacy or the relations between our races. It's politics and sincerity. Call me a cynic, but I would have less problem with an apology for slavery if it was the product of a grassroots movement of residents and not something voted on by legislators. Did a majority of Virginians want their state to pass a resolution of regret? Did most Marylanders ask for their state to apologize? Do a preponderance of Georgians think Perdue should get on board?

Because most politicians are politicians — follow the logic here — they often vote not with their heart. Did all 44 Maryland lawmakers who voted unanimously in favor of the slavery apology feel that state had a moral obligation to apologize? And Virginia, which had a similar unanimous vote? I doubt it. I'm sure a few simply got on board and voted yes, whether they believed in it or not. Which hardly makes for a sincere apology.

I talked to a friend of mine — he's black — about all this. We debated it for a while, and had differing thoughts. I thought an apology, if on a personal level, had some merit. He questioned the necessity, since he's never been enslaved and I've never been a slave owner.

So I asked him, what would you do if I apologized to you for slavery?

He said he wouldn't want it.

That's good enough for me.