What are your thoughts on this?

JIM CROW: House apologizes for slavery, Jim Crow segregation -- chicagotribune.com

I put undecided, because while I don't think it's a 'bad' idea, I think that many many others deserve an apology as well! First and foremost, women, who weren't allowed to vote for so many years, and were also treated like property. That goes way before slavery, IMO. Sure, our lives could be very different as well if women were given the same opportunities as men then And now.

To me this is no other than a campaign tactic, at This time.

IMHO (please don't burn me for this)- if there was an apology on slavery- it is a little bit too late for that! I am sure there are people out there who would enjoy an apology BUT the people who truly deserve it are long gone- KWIM?

I also chose "undecided". I don't see how an apology is going to help anything nowadays.

And the people who truly OWE the apology have since gone on to the hereafter.

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"I learned the hard way that they all say things you want to hear." ~ Sara Bareilles

A lot of issues that happen in the past, should stay in the past.

There is nothing that can undo what is already done.

Usually all it does is bring up bad memories and then people turn those bad memories into hate wars and grudges.

Yes it was a horrible part of our history, but bringing it up every so often doesn't help any either. Move on and try and make things a more equal playing field now.

I see how this can serve no purpose. The people who were slaves are dead and the simple fact is you cannot change the past. I agree that somethings in the past should be left in the past. It just brings up sour feelings on issues that cannot be changed.

I see absolutely no purpose for this either. Lets leave the past in the past. Congress's time would be better spent working on the future of the country!!

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~Happiness is a large family~

I think that an apology would be absolutely ludicrous. As aforementioned, both those who were slaves and those who took advantage of the slaves are dead and gone.
Our generation has nothing to do with slavery. It is in the past. Those who deserve to receive the apology are not here to benefit from it.
Our generation today, the ones who would be "offering" the apology, had nothing to do with the slavery. How is it "fair" to make anyone that was never even involved in the process apologize for it? It's NOT fair.
That would be like someone telling me that I, personally, had to go to all of the family of a murdered person & apologize on behalf of the killer, even though I did not know the killer & had never met them in my whole life. What would that prove? Coming from me, someone who was not directly involved with the murder, that apology would mean absolutely NOTHING to the victims relatives.
Likewise, an apology from anyone other than those who actually committed the offense themselves, and an apology given to anyone other than those who the offense was committed against, means nothing. It's pointless.

I am not a racist, prejudice person...never have been & never will be. I believe that God loves each & every person on this Earth the same and that ALL persons were CREATED by Him to be treated equally by this world. Unfortunately, that has not happened. many, many people have been abused, mistreated & taken advantage of. That is not the way God intended for his people to be treated or to treat others.
I have lived in South Alabama ALL my life and all my family lives here & always have. That being said, I am positive that my ancestors, probably even my Great-Grandparents who were born in the late 1800's and early 1900's, partook in the slavery process. However, I MYSELF never did so, therefore, why should I have to apologize for something THEY did. I shouldn't! WE, today's generation, should not be held accountable or be made to offer an apology, for what our ancestors done. We were not alive at the time & could do nothing to prevent it then and there is nothing we can do about it now.

I hope this message does not offend anyone, as it was never intended to do so. This is just one topic that really bothers me. I guess being that I live in the South, this subject is coming out of someones mouth every time you turn around and I never hear the end of it!

"The resolution, passed by voice vote, was the work of Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen, the only white lawmaker to represent a majority black district. Cohen faces a formidable black challenger in a primary face-off next week."

I can't image what inspired Steve Cohen to do this, especially now...