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"Apologies aren't enough" by Dr. John Hope Franklin (619 hits)

Dr. John Hope Franklin: It's going to become epidemic now. People are running around apologizing for slavery. What about that awful period since slavery—Reconstruction, Jim Crow and all the rest? And what about the enormous wealth that was built up by black labor? If I was sitting on a billion dollars that someone had made when I sat on them, I probably would not be slow to apologize, if that's all it takes. I think that's little to pay for the gazillions that black people built up—the wealth of this country—with their labor, and now you're going to say I'm sorry I beat the hell out of you for all these years? That's not enough. They ought to develop some kind of modus operandi that they can do something else—something to absolve themselves of three centuries of guilt from which they are the direct beneficiaries.

How large is the black population now living in abject poverty in this country? How large is the population of blacks who have poor health? Sometimes they inherited the poor health right from their forebears who were beaten and treated like they were animals all over this country. It's simply not enough. And I'm impatient with the piety that goes along with it. They're so syrupy in their apologies. What does it cost? Nothing.

What else do you think they should do?

Posted By: Dr. Okpara Nosakhere
Sunday, December 28th 2008 at 1:32AM
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When I think about apologies I think about how they tried to tear apart President Obama's name. How they tried to discredit his worth the same thing they did in the times of slavery. I was just thinking on yesterday about the power of a name and how our people were raped of their legacy of their father's name. They did the same thing in 2008 to President Elect Obama. So the apology to us as a people is from one person, President Clinton. Yes we can say he was representing the nation but to me it looks just like the Emacipation Proclamation it is noted on the books but it took the Civil Rights Movement to get us our freedom. Our freedom to ride a bus and sit where we want, to be treated like human beings and not like a animal fit to make someone else life better (don't forget we were taxed just like their livestock). Some would say we need to forgive and get over it but if you want to look at true forgiveness remember the tax collector in the Bible who repented and went back and gave restoration. Now we exist with a replacement of our father's name answering to an identity that someone could accept of you. I thought of Kunta Kinte and how he kept defying them and fought for his name. He was standing for his own identity not one that someone else placed upon him. A name like chicken george was an identity that could be accepted but a name that spoke of an identity individualistic and of heritage was stripped from them. One may ask am I forgiving? Yes but my heritage I also embrace. And I am proud, elated and feel a sense of redemption that an African-American is the president of our country. I emphasize African American. And guess what he gets to keep his father's name. And his eternal Father receives him too with his own name. Just thinking.
Wednesday, December 31st 2008 at 11:38AM
Vernell Gore