Apologies,Reparations,and the Continuing Legacy of the European Slave Trade in the United States

Abstract

Since Virginia’s legislative resolution apologizing for slavery in 2007, Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina as well as the U.S. House and Senate passed unprecedented legislative resolutions apologizing for their role in the perpetuation of enslavement. This article analyzes the apology resolutions of eight states as well as those of the U.S. House and Senate to argue that their failure to recognize the historical and ongoing effects of the European Slave Trade and slavery on the United States as a whole and, most importantly, the status and well-being of African Americans, or provide any concrete remedial measure raises questions about whether or not they were designed to actually atone for these atrocities.

Keywords

apologies reparations enslavement slavery European Slave Trade Jim Crow

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