Commission hears both sides of slavery apology debate

The Dover Human Relations Committee has reopened debate over a proposed city resolution that would urge the state legislature apologize for slavery in Delaware.

In 2007, the commission vetted a similar resolution, but City Council tabled the matter until the issue could be discussed further in the community.

Since then, both houses of Congress have issued formal apologies for slavery and the commission has decided to consider a new resolution.

Dozens of citizens filled council chambers Nov. 18 for the first of two public forums on the issue. Debate was polite and civil, but there was no consensus among the mostly black crowd as to whether an apology for slavery would be appropriate or serve its intended purpose.

Some who spoke in opposition to the apology said it would not be viewed as genuine, nor would it do anything to combat the ongoing vestiges of slavery.

“There is no need for an apology from Delaware, the most racist state in America,” said Eshed Alston, whose great-great-grandfather was a slave owned by a Smyrna family. “An apology only has weight if it’s sincere. There’s no sincerity if you’re still making me a victim.”

Though not mentioned at the meeting, at least one person argued in a letter to the commission that the wrongs done to the black community have since been righted, and an apology is not necessary.

“White Delaware Americans need to be heard from, not just lectured to,” wrote Rick Laird. “Untold trillions have been spent since the ’60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.”
Others argued an apology for slavery and its aftermath, segregation and Jim Crow, is long overdue.

James Brooks said the resolution has a special meaning for those who, though born long after abolition, still suffered in slavery’s wake.

“Many won’t know what good it will do, but for those of us who remember ‘Whites Only’ signs, sitting in the back of the bus, having to endure the jeers while walking down the street, it’s high time,” Brooks said. “We should have apologized decades ago when we realized it was wrong.”

Joseph Dolley, an 81-year-old Dover resident, said an apology would serve as a tool for teaching young people about the history of prejudice and discrimination in America.

“I think now is as good a time as ever,” he said. “It’s time for our young kids coming up now to know what we went through.”

Campus Community High School social studies teacher Kathy Doyle brought her class to the meeting and said the educational aspect of the debate is valuable, and an apology is necessary to move forward.

“An apology is symbolic, it’s an act of justice,” she said. “I think the next step should be to ask for forgiveness.”

Commission chair Dr. Sam Hoff said the resolution certainly will not be the end of the debate, but it is an important place to start.

“Not only does it provide the first step to reconciliation, but it begins the healing,” he said.

The commission will hold one more forum on the issue, after which the resolution will be revised to reflect public comments and forwarded to the city council for action.

A date for that forum will be announced.

Text of the proposed resolution being considered by the Dover Human Relations Commission:

Whereas human beings were enslaved and sent from Africa and other parts of the world to North American, including Delaware;

Whereas Delaware legalized slavery and practiced it throughout its colonial period;

Whereas Delaware maintained the inhuman and immoral institution of slavery from the time the state ratified the federal Constitution until slavery was outlawed in 1865 by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which Delaware voted to reject that year;

Whereas Delaware continued to discriminate against those of color by approving segregation of education in its 1897 state Constitution, a practice that lasted until Brown V. Board of Education in 1954;

Whereas Delaware passed and enforced Jim Crow laws to deny the rights of black citizens for much of the 20th century;

Be it therefore resolved that the Dover Human Relations Commission urges the Delaware General Assembly to pass a resolution acknowledging and expression its profound apology for the state’s practice of slavery and for the historic wrongs committed against all persons who suffered discrimination and injustice under this dehumanizing system;

Be it further resolved that the DHRC implores all citizens of the state of Delaware to be tolerant and understanding of one another so as to eliminate all bias, prejudice and discriminatory behavior.

Email Doug Denison at doug.denison@doverpost.com.