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We should apologize for slavery, right after we give the native americans their country back. And we should apologize to the French,Mexicans,Spaniards,the British,the Japanese, Germans et al who we kept from taking control of the US. Slavery happened, it ended. Get over it. This touchy feely apologist state we have become is exactly what will lead us to be conquered in the end.

Yes, Black Americans are due an apology, at the least, and they got one. On Tuesday, July 29, 2008 the U.S. House issued a formal apology to Black Americans for years of slavery and injustices. No, blacks don't expect everyone to apologize, nor should everyone apologize, however, the American government allowed for hundreds of years of murder, mistreatment, and injustice towards the black community. Let's face it, being white can entitle you to certain priviledges, and most will never understand what it is like to walk in a black person's shoes. I've heard the phrase "get over it" in response to slavery and the mistreatment of blacks too many times. How can we as a community "get over" something or move past it when we are confronted with daily prejudices that's rooted in slavery.

I'm not sure what the point would be. Slavery in America is no longer an issue. Don't we have bigger problems right now? I want the human species to evolve and people want to drag us back to the dark ages. Let's move on people; always remember the lessons of history and MOVE ON.

OK, so what that blacks sold other blacks. It doesn't matter. What does matter is the fact that there was a supply and infrastructure to support it ready and available in the US. Slavery was even written into the Constitution as part of the Connecticut Compromise.

Slavery is a sin of our past, and it is obviously affecting our present, whether we like it or not. The mass ghetto-fication of the urban areas did not happen because blacks are inherently bad at living in cities, but because people in academia decided that there should be a new housing code in the 1920's that makes housing values drop due to "ethnic diversity." In addition, slavery did not end in 1864 - it ended with the abolition of the Jim Crow laws that came with a finally righted Supreme Court.

Do you know why? Because groups like the ACLU did not back off of the subject.

The reason the question is even a viable question is the fact that this was a state sanctioned institution. If it truly was just individuals enslaving other individuals, then the No side is %100 correct, "Get over it, I had nothing to do with it" is irrefutably the most prudent of all responses. The problem is that this was the legalistic government/state-sanctioned oppression of an entire people group. That means that by being a member of this organization known as the USA, we all involuntarily cosigned on it. I think the presumption people are making is that this is a finger being pointed at white people, so, naturally whites get defensive(just as blacks would under similar circumstances). The truth, however, is that this is a finger being pointed at the nation, the USA.

Right. Since they were brought here as slaves, I guess Americans had to keep using them as slaves -- after all, they were slaves.

I get your point: The sin of slavery wasn't limited to America. That doesn't diminish our nation's culpability, and it's certainly not a lesser sin just because other people were involved.

oh,yell my friend america must earn-up to the cruity of slavery that she is responsiable for and the times she allowed the suffering go on without bring closer to the beast that profit and jim crowed their way to weath and muder on a group of people that only had the american government and those of the cloth to intervined. those of you that say america owes no apologize are among the gulity that contenue to stand-up for this wrong againts humanty. i realy don't beleive any of you good or bad mouth white fokes to get-it anyway base on your pass practise with humanty. and befor i go try to understand that all people was slaves at the hand of someone in history and the most brutal form of slavery was practice in america. hey just look around the world and view the mass this world is in today and at the hands of who????

America cannot be judged by customs, mores of other nations, peoples, etc. We had a constitution which guaranteed freedom for all people. Blacks who sold slaves to America should not be credited with introducing slavery to America>>Our constitution, our moral fabric forbid it>>There were god-fearing whites in those days who saw the evil in it>>Some were afraid to speak out for fear of ostracism or death>>Our national government sanctioned it by its silence on the issue. After slaverey was outlawed in this country, in came the Jim Crow laws derived from the american majority race which continues in some form or another until this day>>How would you know<<>>Ask you brother!!

Apoloigize for what? Slavery existed long before there was an America. Thousands of years, even. If anything, America should be credited with ending slavery, in the western hemisphere.

Actually Africans did enslave themselves. I believe the number is about 50%-60% of the African slaves that we enslaved were done so with the help of fellow tribesman. They would sell out their neighbors for money or the assurance their family wouldn't get taken. So yes....they did enslave themselves.

you really should have taken the time to read the ridicoulous remark. how could you blame africans, they didnt enslave themselves they were forced to it wasnt like they had an option it was either help capture your people for slavery or become a slave dont get it twisted. you wrote a lot of nonsense and you really need to pick up a book no slavery was not started in america but in a land who claims to be the great protector who runs to the aid of all others in need it took a long time from slavery to jim crow laws for them to get it right.

before you make such a statement regading jewish people and blacks the cases were totally different slavery happened in america and no black person was ever compensated for it the holocaust happened in germany and yet the american government felt necessary to compensate their survivors. blacks dont use slavery as a crutch and racism is still very much alive. Now the people who hate black people simply because the color of their skin no longer wear white sheets, they were coporate outfits.

This issue is usually talked about as if slavery got its start in America, when any educated person understands that slavery has existed throughout human history. It's not about black and white people, either--historically, every race has been involved on both sides.

"White people" are cast today as villains in the story of American slavery (even though blacks had slaves, as did Indians and others), but if you look at the big picture, it was white Christians of European descent who finally took the steps to end slavery in the modern world.

That said, none of us alive today had anything to do with slavery, one way or another.

I am NOT racist at all, but I'm really starting to get fed up with blacks using the fact that their great, grandfather was enslaved in this country as a crutch. If a black man and a white man have the same skills and apply for the same job, and the white guy wins, it's automatically racism. Yes slavery was horrible, yes I am ashamed that our nation has such atrocities in it's past, but we have reconciled, we have said we're sorry. No, something like slavery cannot ever be fully repaid, but for blacks, they seem to think that their ancestor's suffering entitles them to preferential treatment. The Jewish people were hunted and murdered in massive numbers in one of the greatest horrors humanity has yet to produce. But they do not sit around and complain about what happened, they don't bring up the holocaust in order to gain sympathy.

That is just plain stupid. You go to school to learn a trade or skill or science that is MARKETABLE. In otherwords, you are becoming your own brand! Then someone else, I'm sorry, the EVIL CORPORATION says "OK, I need that. And I'll compensate you $XX,XXX.XX per year/week/month to use what you provide. Then you get excited because you landed a job and you celebrate with your friends and you become a consumer and spend lots of money on food,clothes,cars, I-pods, etc.. Then, after you get tired of being a grown up, you revert back to childhood when a teacher/parent steps in and says "I'm sorry, we all need to have the same of everything so it's fair". The truth is, it's not fair. If you are overproductive and good at what you do, the union you belong to will prevent you from being compensated at a higher rate than anyone else is because they are busy guaranteeing the slug that sits next to you,sucking up all your oxygen, gets paid the same as you. If you decide to take risk, because you are unique, you can lose big, but when it works out right, you can WIN BIG and become a corporate megabillionaire too. The moral of the story is; If you don't like helping the corporate megabillionaires make money, quit and become your own C.M.. If not, be thankful that on a smaller scale you have something you do that earns an income and has some security (After all if you are a C.M. you don't want to stop being one. And you will work hard to stay a C.M. that employs people)

I was going to post that historically slave owning nations should also apologize for slavery, oh wait that was all of Europe, Asia and Africa.... We were one (relatively small) country out of the hundreds that were slave owning during that era let alone recorded history.

However, I've never considered the fact that no one points their finger at the African nations that sold the slaves. Great point!

Why is the united states the only nation who seems to have been responsible for this apparently universal evil? What about the africans who are still in Africa?
How do these people think that MILLIONS of Africans were captured and forced into slavery? Do they really think that boat loads of white europeans came over and went stomping all over the veldt with butterfly nets? Africans who were taken as slaves were captured by other africans and sold by other africans.
Yeah, I know, Alex Haley kind of glossed over that little factoid didn't he. Ever hear of the Zulu or the Watusi? How do you think they founded their bad-ass empires? They did it by conquering territory and then cleansing it of people who were not Zulus or Watusi, i.e. selling into slavery those lucky enough not to be slaughtered outright. Ever hear of the "Well of Tears? Do you know who it belonged to? It belonged to the father of Shaka Zulu, and in time to Shaka Zulu himself. The same Shaka Zulu who modern african americans like to get weepy over when remembering their august heritage. Seems slavery was the easiest answer to hanging on to conquered territory. Not to mention being pretty lucrative.
Now I've asked alot of questions here, but my real queston is this:
If I have somehow inherited the guilt my ancestors accrued from being evil slave owners, then why hasn't most of africa inherited the guilt their ancestors accrued from being evil slave merchants? Why don't african americans seek reparations from Nigeria, and Ghana and Sierra Leone (aside from the obvious reason, blood from a stone and what not)? Why are americans who bought slaves branded eternally with the mark of Satan, but africans who captured and sold their own people into slavery were probably just victims themselves? Why is that?

The question itself is stupid (as are both the answers). The united States did not invent slavery, and we were the second or third country on earth to abolish it completely. Every civilization on the face of the earth prior to the industrial revolution was founded and owed it's daily existence to the institution of slavery. Let me say that again. Every civilization, everywhere on earth, at any point in time you'd care to choose, prior to the 1820s AD, was based upon and relied upon the exploitation of indentured human labor. Every one. This attitude that slavery was an american evil just baffles me. What do you think the term "peasant" referred to in europe?
How about the word "serf", or "peon"?
Slave, slave, and slave! The ugly truth is that prior to the clever invention of all these machines to do work faster and better than a man could do it himself, probably about 98 percent of the people on earth, at any given time, were slaves of one kind or another! Why should the United States have to apologize for that? I, personaly, am descended mainly from russian stock, and I'm pretty sure there aren't any grand dukes in the old family tree. That means my ancestors were "serfs", or "slaves", yet no one seems to think that Russia owes me an apology (or any reparations, mores the pity). Slavery is not the evil that haunts america, racism is, and if you think that slavery is a prerequisite for racism, you should take a trip, and see some more of the world. Racism is everywhere, even, believe it or not, in countries where slave status was not a question of race. Racism is not a result of slavery, racism is a result of the importance our monkey brains attach to the differences our little monkey eyes see in the people around us. If you're an African American and you just need to hear someone apologize, then apologize yourself. Apologize to your children for teaching them that their slave heritage is some dark nasty thing that someone needs to be sorry for, and start telling them the truth:
This country was built by slaves, just like every country before it, and that this country those slaves built was instrumental in bringing about the changes in human society that made slavery itself obsolete. Thats something to be proud of, not ashamed about. And stop wrapping your slave heritage around yourselves like it's some cloak of rightousness, because it's really nothin' special. We are all descended from slaves. Period! Every one of us.

Agreed

Soooo.....

Sacrificing your family and freedom to work 80 hours a week fattening the coffers of corporate megabillionaires isn't a form of slavery?

The end of this cycle of greed and servitude will only come when the system completely collapses - making the apology, or lack thereof, a pretty moot point.

If America came out and apologized (reparations, etc.) then that means that people think this was an isolated incident. Almost every great civilization ever relied on slavery. The Romans, who were the greatest civilization ever, had an entire empire built around the need for slavery. This isn't only America's sin.

Whoever wrote this question obviously knows nothing of New World slavery.

And how pray does a country apologize? Cus last time I checked many of it's citizens have apologized on many occasions.

If you meant "should the United States pay the ancestors of former slaves reparations." Then say that instead. And furthermore if reparations money was to be paid to their ancestors then I believe the same day they should end Equal Opportunity Employment.

You said go back to were we come from on the jet or how ever we got here. If we leave so should you. But where would you go your a person with out a country to run to. america does not I repeat does not belong to you. this native american land not yours. Thats why there called Native Americans. So you should pack now and go and take your flag with you, we dont care what you do with it.But I can give you some kind advice on what you can use it for.
Lets see (1)to dry your car off with (2)to sweep your house or tralier? (3)as a fishing pole. (4)to but your garbage in.(5)u can put it on the side of your glasses while you ride your 10 spend bike. so you should't have a problem with your flag it's very useful. you cant claim a land that was stoleing from another race of people. and then tell another person to leave. more advice when your done reading this try orbits or cheap tickets most likely thats what you'll need. And put your pretty little flag in your lap on the plain so you can have it for the things I gave you advice on, Have a safe an long trip good bye :)

Nothing wrong, of course, except that it was a flag created more or less to defend the right of Confederate states to keep black people in involuntary servitude.

But that's a pretty big wrong.

how right you are. the american indian was treated the worst of any that have lived in this country since the white man took over.

Has everyone forgotten about the mass genocides we committed to the Native Americans. History is bloody and messed up. It was just ignorance. Im convinced any other country in our position would have done it. As long as we don't repeat history again GET OVER IT!

My dad's side of the family goes all the way back to the American indians.They were here before anyone else.Have checked my mom's side of the family and none of her ancestor's had slaves of any kind ever.IF my ancestor's had been a part of black/white slavery,I know that I would feel bad about it,but since my ancestor's had no part in it and because I have never been biased towards anyone of any color,then I shouldn't be held responsible.I want to go forward in time NOT backwords.

Slavery is a very sensitive subject and I am not sure you have the full grasp of what it means. This is not about racism, as you stated, no, it is deeper than that. First of all, the civil war was not about slavery. It was about the south wanting to break from the north and be a seperate nation. The freeing of the slaves was only a strategy used by the north to weaken the south. So,forgive me if I sound rude, but, your ancestors deaths were not caused because they wanted to free the slaves. The real issue with slavery is actually the fact that the average white person here in America, can pretty much trace their roots without a problem. They know where they came from and if they wanted could have the names and biography of the ancestors they lost in the civil war, ther war of 1812, american revolution, and the list goes on to across the pond. However, a person who is black in America, would have a harder time creating that family tree. Ask yourself why for a minute. Slavery took these people from their heritage, culture, and way of life, and forced them to submit to the will of a "master" who looked at them as no more (and in some cases, less) than the cattle in the field. The "hurt" blacks feel is the "hurt" brought upon them as the result of freedom. Life did not magically become easy because they were freed, it actually worsened. The quality of life got worse for the newly "freed" black. Most was the result of generations of conditioning by their white "masters". Not really known to most people, is the degree of conditioning that took place in the realm of slavery and its lingering effects. The black man is constantly having to prove he is a man. The black woman is always trying to protect the male black. She stands by him and hovers over him. This is all a mental state and prohibits growth in the black american. They are cursed by the freedom, granted in haste, an afterthought, if you will. The black male continues to suffer, yes, 200 years later, he suffers. No, it is not directly your fault or the fault of your friend, but think also about the years of struggle for the black man just to be considered human in America. Think of the terroristic attacks by ku klux klan and other terrorist groups against the freedom of the blacks. Think of the years of being told they could not vote or make the same wage as a real "man". Not that they were not qualified or could not speak the language, but because they were black and were only suited to picking cotton and doing the bidding of the white man. They did not get the equal opportunities granted to aliens coming into the united states today, who pretty much fresh off the boat can get loans and start businesses lucrative enough to afford the "American Dream". No, the black man, though born and raised in America, is always trying to fit in society. Today, hatred and discrimination, toward the black man, comes not only from whites, but from the very people who could be in some way related, the native African. They look at the American black not as a relative, but as a lower species of man, just like everyone else. It is not easy to be a black in America. The struggle continues daily. It definitely was not settled with the civil war. That war only started the struggle to be treated equally. Then after the law recognized the black man as an equal, another struggle started to be seen as an equal. That war continues to this day. So, bottom line do we need an apology from a white man to feel better about ourselves as Black people, no. I would not take one if it was offered. The thing we need you all do not have the capacity in your feeble little minds to understand or even care about. To top it all off you all would not know how to give it to us. Your minds have to change. The way you think about a any person, let alone a black one, has to change. Instead of focusing on race, know that every person you see is nothing more than another human being, thats all. So, save all your debates about apologies and reparations. Everyone knows that in order to make ammends, one must first feel they have done something wrong. You, personally, may have done nothing wrong, but that does not excuse the fact that all those years ago, a large group of people were taken against their will and forced to change their whole way of life to suite the satisfaction of a man they did not know and lose their value as a human being with free will to choose whose rules they will follow. It also does nothing to suffice the longing of a people to feel adequate and accepted by the country they helped to build. By the way, some of those union solders were black as well. So, apology not required. Thanks and God bless.

I agree with the last poster, that apologies are only effective for the one who has been offended. No one in America today was a direct victim of slavery and no one in America today was a slave owner, therefore, no one DESERVES an apology from anyone.

I was taught that the apology for slavery was when the good guys won and slavery was abolished. Wasn't the blood shed to ensure an end to slavery enough of an apology?

This is not a racism issue, as much as most would like to continue the argument. It is a matter of moral accountability, and again, our country settled that argument long ago. I detest racism as an evil cancer that still permeates our country. But this issue is not about race any more..we settled that 150 years ago.

Im sick of hearing people crieing over this.Get over it allready.I have some Cherokee blood in my veins and alot of them were flat out slaughtered.Forced to give up their way of life an their land.We say that when saddam took kuwait to get out.But refuse to give back the land to its rightful owners the AMERICAN INDIAN.

It is ridiculus to think that an apology to people who had nothing to do with being slaves, by people who had nothing to do with having slaves, would fix anything. Oh, maybe it would pacify the few that think slavery had something to do with thier way of life in the US now, but eventully we would be apologizing to another group who feel the same way further down the road. I beleive the thousands of Americans who fought to end slavery, thousands who died, have done an awful lot of apologizing. What some people may have done at one time or another should not be the burden of the many, however many years later. We are all accountable for our individaul actions not the actions of anyone from another time or era. It is now the 21st century, and we as humans have been through a lot of wars, slavery, major disasters etc. We need to focus on the future, all of us, for our own individual selfs. For the record, another individual mentioned earlier, that it was the Africans who sold other Africans to the Eoropeans, who then transported an sold those slaves to the different trading spots all through the Atalantic. It was those same Africans for Centuries before that had always had slaves. The Egyptians for example used slaves to build the Pyramids and many other things since. Al Sharpton likes to point out that it was blacks that had the edge on whites in many intelectual areas, he forgets to add that it was the blacks that created slavery in the first place.

I think slavery was a terrible part of our society in year past. But, I don't have any guilt about being a white man in the US today. My father came over from Czechoslovakia and I had nothing to do with it. I think blacks have been treated terribly in our history, but I did not enslave them, they were sold to slavers by their own black brothers who to this day have slaves and sell slaves. I have been to Kinshasha and other parts of the Congo. If I was a black guy I think I'd rather be in the US than living the way 98% of the African do!

Agreed. The almost uniformly low quality of the comments on this poll make me wonder if the moderators might not assume some sort of comment monitoring responsibility. The intelligent expressions that were made here were immediately drowned out by illiterate rantings.

while reading these blogs I came to realize that things will never change just the merchandse.this is a bad subject to talk about all these anonymous blogers with a cold and evil heart not towards slavery it self but towards human rights,im not asking for you to say your sorry because your rite u didn't cause the pain of so many blacks back in those days,but the way u think is just like those who inslave,what has change? we have to heal and stop hateing each other. but the way u think is sad,if u only understood black skin and what we have to deal with the racism from whites in 2008 while u enjoy your pail skin.the reason y I call u sad is because what u say u will never say in public but u can type it in the privacy of your own home,but im glad to know how the other race really feels behind close doors.stop fakeing with us be u.stop acting like your really are friends,as long as your up front about the way u feel then I know to stay away from u,stop tanning your skin and getting lip injects to look other than what you are be white hate be afraid just be you. and as far as blacks being racist thats a hard one to swallow,when your the one who causes so much pain.you judge without getting to know its got to be a hard life for you,but don't say sorry to me or my race just say sorry for being you,But I cant say all whites are bad there is a few good one's out there,but there are alot of them who spoils it for the one's that are good,lets just enjoy life get to know one another so we can speak on the human race instead of speaking on the black race.and keep the mule

Why should America have to apologize for slavery when there are millions of African Americans here in the first place. They're going to apologize to themselves for their distant relatives using slaves? We Caucasians can't help that our ancestors put yours in crappy little shacks and made them work. That isn't our fault. That makes no sense. I'm not gonna apologize to people who aren't even alive anymore for them being made slaves.

Quit being stupid. We don't need to apologize to you. That was a long time ago. Live in the now. Get your head out of your ass and realize that you're the racist ones. The NAACP? Only for African Americans (or colored persons if you want to get technical). I'm white. So I can't join. I feel like the subject of racism now. Thanks.

Your response is honest and refreshing, but I do not think it is wise to say "get over it" to a group of people that this most recent violation of human rights has affected.

Much of the criminal activity you note in the Black community is due to a culture that has been passed down from African American slavery. Victor Hugo stated: "if you call a man 'bad' long enough, he will fulfill your prophecy."

It is also inarguable that many White families prospered because of systematic racism and human rights violations in this country. We also know that many Whites' ancestors immigrated to this country AFTER slavery, AFTER the civil rights movement (ongoing), and have family members that had to endure discrimination and injustice also.

I don't understand the logic, however, of telling people that other people have suffered as well, therefore the suffering, and contributing factors, will not be addressed. This seems to be willful ignorance.

If this were a non-issue, we would not see so many defensive and angry responses when this topic is explored.

As a side note, reperations were promised, and are in order, but not in monetary form. Education is key.

I am a person as u say with African blood and I would never get on my knees and thank the white man for bringing me or my ancisters to america everyday african american deals with racism. youll never know because you never have to be reminded that your black.america was built on blood. black peoples blood and we are still waiting for are forthy acres and a mule.america or white pepole was wrong for this country that they stold from native americans. but at least they get a check each month.what do we get for the work that are family has put in.we dont even own the white house that african slaves built.and another thing I am light skinned black so that means that someone down in my blood line was rape by some white person. there is alot that america should apoligies for because white people are still rich due to slavery.while so many blacks are suffering. so i guess i should get on my knees even though how we got here begin with a crime. so u should get on your knees if someone kills,rape,hang,beat,inslave,starve your family think about it

It's quite shocking to hear you reference the continent of Africa state today, as though to enlighten those who might not know - yet you prove yourself ignorant of how the continent came to be ruled by cruel and violent governments. Colonialism? 300 years of slave trade?

And, yet, you have sympathy for Western Civilization's other victims in Native Americans. The brutality of the time has been left on both peoples. And both peoples deserve, not your or my apology, but an apology from the United States of America Federal Government that was complicate in both there crimes.

Prior slaves:
Romans, Greeks, Irish, Scots,Slavics, and most other conquered peoples. I don't see them in line waiting for an apology.
Besides, the US didn't start slavery in North America; they just ended it.