The Senate may be unable to come to a consensus on a health care reform bill, but they were able Thursday to agree on a resolution offering a formal apology for slavery and the Jim Crow segregation laws that followed.
The non-binding move rankled some black lawmakers because it was worded to exclude support for reparations for slavery that some in Congress have been seeking, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich.
But the Senate’s lone black lawmaker, the embattled Roland Burris, D-Ill., took to the floor to praise the bill.
“Some in the black community will dismiss this resolution and some will say that words don’t matter and the actions of our forefathers cannot be undone,” Burris said. “But words do matter. They matter a great deal.”
The House passed an apology resolution last year, but it did not mention reparations.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said passage of the resolution was long overdue.
“No one pretends that a mere apology or any words can right the wrongs of the past,” Reid said. “But it represents our recognition of that past and our commitment to more fully live up to our nation’s promise in the future. We should live in a way so that 150 years from today, those who come after us will not have to apologize for our actions.”but won’t go for repa
