Yesterday, Alabama joined Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina in adopting an official apology for the state's historic role in slavery.  See: Alabama Legislature approves slavery apology

Yes, all the trendy states are apologizing for slavery now. Sure, they're about 140 years too late to apologize to anyone who was directly affected by slavery —  that is, anyone who was an actual slave — but better late than never.

Actually, the article cited nicely sums up the the many ambiguities and cross-currents laced through this recent spate of official apologies for slavery. Long overdue gesture of reconciliation? Certainly. Groundwork for a renewed push for official reparations? Probably. Another example of the culture of victimhood? Maybe. Complete waste of time? Some might think so.  All about race and politics? In the South? You betcha.

State legislatures are, after all, full of politicians. And, for better or worse, questions of racial identity and race relations are never far from the surface in the South (or in the United States as a whole). It is easy to find ulterior motives and not-so-hidden agendas in an act of this nature. And perhaps they are there.

But it is also possible to suspend cynicism for a moment and say this is a good thing. Alabama was, in many ways, the epicenter of the struggle to secure the civil rights of African-Americans. For a long time the weight and might of Alabama's government was on the wrong side of that struggle, epitomized by the brutal attack on the marchers at Selma on Bloody Sunday and Governor George Wallace vowing "segregation forever." So for the Alabama Legislature to adopt this apology and acknowledgment of past wrongs as an official act is, whatever else it may be, a sign of progress and positive change over the last 40 year or so.

And it is simply the right thing to do.

Which is not to say we've reached the Promised Land of racial harmony:

"The University of South Alabama/Press-Register poll conducted Monday through Thursday shows 45 percent of people would support such an apology, while 44 percent would not. The margin of error is 5 percentage points.

More than half of whites polled — 56 percent — were opposed to the state apologizing, while 84 percent of blacks were in favor."  (Poll: Alabama conflicted on apology for slavery)

The full text of the apology is worth reading. It is full of fascinating little rhetorical land mines and a few ahistorical assertions, reflecting some obvious tension in the drafting process.  The resolution is HJR 321. The Alabama Legislature site is a bit tricky to navigate and you apparently must use Internet Explorer to get full functionality, so I'll paste the full text at the end of this post.  For now, let's focus on the actual apology:

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA, BOTH HOUSES THEREOF CONCURRING, That we express our profound regret for the State of Alabama's role in slavery and that we apologize for the wrongs inflicted by slavery and its after effects in the United States of America; we express our deepest sympathies and solemn regrets to those who were enslaved and the descendants of slaves, who were deprived of life, human dignity, and the constitutional protections accorded all citizens of the United States; and we encourage the remembrance and teaching about the history of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and modern day slavery, to ensure that these tragedies will neither be forgotten nor repeated.

That's about as solid an apology as you can ask for. No "mistakes were made" here. No ducking and bobbing. No "sorry if anyone was offended"  Here we've got profound regrets, a straight up apology, deepest sympathies for those harmed, some solemn regrets to go with the profound regrets ... and a promise to never do it again. This is a solid 9 as apologies go. It would be a 10, except the text of this apology never explicitly says to whom it is directed. We know what they meant, but by its terms this apology is just flung out there to whom it may concern. A minor quibble.

DATE OF APOLOGY: May 24, 2007*  (Date of final passage. Governor's signature pending.)
APOLOGIZER: The Legislature of Alabama
APOLOGIZEE: Strangely, they never really say. Presumably all the victims of slavery and their descendants.

Full text of the resolution:

Rep(s). By Representatives Moore (M), Dunn, Coleman, Hilliard, Kennedy, Hinshaw, Buskey, Gordon, Thomas (J), Mitchell, Salaam, England, Baker (L), Holmes, Knight, Scott, Robinson (O), Rogers, Bandy, Warren and Hall

HJR321

ENGROSSED

APOLOGIZING FOR THE WRONGS OF SLAVERY; EXPRESSING PROFOUND REGRET FOR ALABAMA'S ROLE IN SLAVERY; AND EXPRESSING INTENT THAT THIS RESOLUTION SHALL NOT BE USED IN, OR BE THE BASIS OF, ANY TYPE OF LITIGATION.

WHEREAS, slavery has been documented as a worldwide practice since antiquity, dating back to 3500 B.C. in ancient Mesopotamia; and

WHEREAS, during the course of the infamous Atlantic Slave Trade, millions of Africans became involuntary immigrants to the New World, and millions more died during passage; the first African slaves in the North American colonies were brought to Jamestown, in 1619; and

WHEREAS, the Atlantic Slave Trade was a lucrative enterprise, and African slaves, a prized commodity to support the economic base of plantations in the colonies, were traded for tropical products, manufactured goods, sugar, molasses, and other merchandise; and

WHEREAS, some African captives resisted enslavement by fleeing from slave forts on the West African coast and others mutinied aboard slave trading vessels, cast themselves into the Atlantic Ocean, or risked the cruel retaliation of their masters by running away to seek freedom; and

WHEREAS, although the United States outlawed the transatlantic slave trade in 1808, the domestic slave trade in the colonies and illegal importation continued for several decades; and

WHEREAS, slavery, or the "Peculiar Institution," in the United States resembled no other form of involuntary servitude, as Africans were captured and sold at auction as chattel, like inanimate property or animals; and

WHEREAS, to prime Africans for slavery, the fundamental values of the Africans were shattered, they were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage, women and girls were raped, and families were disassembled as husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, and fathers and sons were sold into slavery apart from one another; and

WHEREAS, a series of complex colonial laws were enacted to relegate the status of Africans and their descendants to slavery, in spite of their loyalty, dedication, and service to the country, including heroic and distinguished service in the Civil War; and

WHEREAS, the system of slavery had become entrenched in American history and the social fabric, and the issue of enslaved Africans had to be addressed as a national issue, contributing to the Civil War from 1861 to 1865 and the passage of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude on December 18, 1865; and

WHEREAS, after emancipation from 246 years of slavery, African-Americans soon saw the political, social, and economic gains they made during Reconstruction dissipated by virulent and rabid racism, lynchings, disenfranchisement of African-American voters, Black Codes designed to reimpose the subordination of African-Americans, and Jim Crow laws that instituted a rigid system of de jure segregation in virtually all areas of life and that lasted until the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act; and

WHEREAS, throughout their existence in America and even in the decades after the Civil Rights Movement, African-Americans have found the struggle to overcome the bitter legacy of slavery long and arduous, and for many African-Americans the scars left behind are unbearable, haunting their psyches and clouding their vision of the future and of America's many attributes; and

WHEREAS, acknowledgment of the crimes and persecution visited upon other peoples during World War II is embraced lest the world forget, yet the very mention of the broken promise of "40 acres and a mule" to former slaves or of the existence of racism today evokes denial from many quarters of any responsibility for the centuries of legally sanctioned deprivation of African-Americans of their endowed rights or for contemporary policies that perpetuate the status quo; and

WHEREAS, in 2003, during a trip to Goree Island, Senegal, a former slave port, President George W. Bush stated, "At this place, liberty and life were stolen and sold. Human Beings were delivered and sorted, and weighed, and branded with the marks of commercial enterprises, and loaded as cargo on a voyage without return. One of the largest migrations of history was also one of the greatest crimes of history ... Small men took on the powers and airs of tyrants and masters. Years of unpunished brutality and bullying and rape produced a dullness and hardness of conscience. Christian men and women became blind to the clearest commands of their faith and added hypocrisy to injustice ... For 250 years the captives endured an assault on their culture and their dignity ... While physical slavery is dead, the legacy is alive. My nation's journey toward justice has not been easy, and it is not over. The racial bigotry fed by slavery did not end with slavery or with segregation ... and many of the issues that still trouble America have roots in the bitter experience of other times ... We can finally judge the past by the standards of President John Adams, who called slavery 'an evil of colossal magnitude' ..."; and

WHEREAS, in Alabama, the vestiges of slavery are ever before African-American citizens, from the overt racism of hate groups to the subtle racism encountered when requesting health care, transacting business, buying a home, seeking quality public education and college admission, and enduring pretextual traffic stops and other indignities; and

WHEREAS, European and African nations have apologized for their roles in what history calls the worst holocaust of humankind, the Atlantic Slave Trade, and racial reconciliation is impossible without some acknowledgment of the moral and legal injustices perpetrated upon African-Americans; and

WHEREAS, 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; and

WHEREAS, the story of the enslavement of Africans and their descendants, the human carnage, and the dehumanizing atrocities committed during slavery should not be purged from Alabama's history or discounted; moreover, the faith, perseverance, hope, and endless triumphs of African-Americans and their significant contributions to the development of this state and the nation should be embraced, celebrated, and retold for generations to come; and

WHEREAS, the perpetual pain, distrust, and bitterness of many African-Americans could be assuaged and the principles espoused by the Founding Fathers would be affirmed, and great strides toward unifying all Alabamians and inspiring the nation to acquiesce might be accomplished, if on the eve of the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in the New World, the state acknowledged and atoned for its pivotal role in the slavery of Africans; and

WHEREAS, acknowledging that there is a difference between what is wrong and right, and that slavery as an American "Institution" was a wrong committed upon millions of Black Americans and that their ancestors are the beneficiaries of such wrongs, including, but not limited to, segregation under Jim Crow, housing discrimination, discrimination in education, and other ills inflicted upon Black people; and

WHEREAS, the State of Alabama, the Governor, and its citizens are conscious that under slavery many atrocities and gross violations of human rights were imposed upon Black people, and that acknowledging these facts can and will avert future tragedies, be they in the Sudan, or other parts of the world; and

WHEREAS, the State of Alabama has a long history of civil rights involvement and is on the cutting edge of effective measures to promote racial tolerance, such as the Birmingham Pledge; now therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA, BOTH HOUSES THEREOF CONCURRING, That we express our profound regret for the State of Alabama's role in slavery and that we apologize for the wrongs inflicted by slavery and its after effects in the United States of America; we express our deepest sympathies and solemn regrets to those who were enslaved and the descendants of slaves, who were deprived of life, human dignity, and the constitutional protections accorded all citizens of the United States; and we encourage the remembrance and teaching about the history of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and modern day slavery, to ensure that these tragedies will neither be forgotten nor repeated.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That it is the intent of the Legislature that this resolution shall not be used in, or be the basis of, any type of litigation.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution shall be known and referred to as the "Moore-Sanders Apology for Slavery Act."

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to each state elected official; the Executive Director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education; the Executive Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Alabama Chapter; and the Executive Director of The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Alabama Chapter; requesting that they further disseminate copies of this resolution to their respective constituents so that they may be apprised of the sense of the Alabama Legislature in this matter.