Senate Apologizes for Slavery, Beating Juneteenth by a Day

Today, on June 18, 2009, the Senators of the one hundred and eleventh United States Congress, for the first time, issued a formal apology to African-Americans for the institutions of slavery and segregation.

Tomorrow, June 19, 2009, will mark the one hundred and forty-fourth anniversary of the date when slavery ended in the state of Texas. Phew. They beat it by one day…except for the representatives. The bill received unanimous support (really? All one hundred senators were in support?) and “acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow laws.” As well, Congress is taking the initiative of apologizing to African-Americans on behalf of the United States, because, obviously, no one outside of Congress ever apologized for slavery. President Barack Obama’s signature will not be needed for the bill to pass, just in case he would not sign it. Furthermore, the bill calls for lawmakers to commit themselves "to the principle that all people are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and calls on all people of the United States to work toward eliminating racial prejudices, injustices, and discrimination from our society." Sonia Sotomayor may or may not have missed the memo. Tom Harkin, the Democratic Senator from Iowa, as well as Republican Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, bravely (?) crossed party lines to head the bill. One can hopefully presume that the first apology was to Illinois Senator, Democrat Roland Burris, who is the only African-American on the Senate, thanks in part to the shunned former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. “We pledge to move beyond this shameful period,” Brownback vowed, “and we officially acknowledge and apologize for the institution of slavery in this country what many refer to as 'the original sin of America.’” The bill’s approval in the House of Representatives is still pending. Juneteenth, the informal name of the holiday based on the freeing of slaves in Galveston, Texas, has become unanimous with celebrating the emancipation of all slaves, which happened in all southern states around the same time, all in accordance with Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. In the past century, festivities revolving around Juneteenth have diminished, but the importance of the holiday has not. Texas declared Juneteenth a state holiday on January 1, 1980. So perhaps the celebration tomorrow might be a little more colorful. On behalf of all of us, the United States Senate apologized for the institution of slavery and segregation, but then again, we elected an African-American to the position many decree as “the leader of the free world,” and undoubtedly the most important position in this nation’s federal government. So thanks for representing us well, Senators.