A prominent Georgia Democrat wants the state government to formally apologize for slavery and segregation-era laws which has left behind “unbearable” scars for generations of blacks.
The proposal by state Rep. Tryone Brooks, D-Atlanta, expresses “profound regret for Georgia’s role in slavery” and acknowledges moral and legal injustices perpetrated by the state government on slaves.
Brooks, the head of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, said in an interview that he borrowed language for his proposal from Virginia, Alabama and other southern states that have adopted similar resolutions. He said the apology could be a "legacy project" for Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican about to start his second term who has pledged to make new inroads into minority communities.
It's not the first time Brooks has pushed Georgia to make formal amends. He introduced a similar idea in 2007, but it failed to reach a vote. At the time, then-House Speaker Glenn Richardson argued that he didn't see the purpose in an apology because "nobody here was in office."
Deal and other leaders have declined comment on his latest draft, House Resolution 3, which was pre-filed this month. It calls the Atlantic Slave Trade, which funneled an estimated 12 million Africans to the New World over more than three centuries, "the worst holocaust of humankind" and said Georgia's apology could ease the "perpetual pain, distrust, and bitterness of many African-Americans."
It comes as Brooks faces an April trial on federal fraud charges accusing him of bilking funds while working for nonprofits. He has pleaded not guilty and said the problems stem from poor bookkeeping skills, not a willful intention to break the law.
The apology said the vestiges of racism still linger, from the overt hatred from white supremacist groups to the “subtle racism encountered when requesting healthcare, transacting business, buying a home, seeking quality public education and college admission, and enduring pretextual traffic stops and other indignities.”
“An apology for centuries of brutal dehumanization and injustices cannot erase the past, but confession of the wrongs can speed racial healing and reconciliation and help African-American and white citizens confront the ghosts of their collective pasts together,” it said.
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