[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 99 (Monday, July 14, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1419]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    YES, APOLOGIES WOULD BE IN ORDER

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                           HON. LOUIS STOKES

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 14, 1997

  Mr. STOKES. Mr. Speaker, in an article that appeared recently in the 
Cleveland Plain Dealer, the question of whether or not the Government 
should issue an apology for slavery in the United States was answered 
with a heartfelt, personal response. The article is entitled, ``Yes, 
Apologies Would Be In Order.''
  In the article, Afi-Odelia E. Scruggs, a columnist for the Plain 
Dealer, tells a touching story of tracing her family lineage back to a 
time when America allowed the slave trade to thrive. Through her 
experience, she illustrates why an apology for American slavery is so 
important to those who ancestors bore the burden of forced labor and 
dehumanization. Also, Scruggs recognizes that an official apology can 
help close that chapter of America's past many would like to forget, 
yet still lingers at the forefront of the memories of African-Americans 
today.
  Mr. Speaker, in my opinion this writer has written one of the best 
articles I have read on this subject. I believe that it is crucial for 
those currently debating this issue to hear from both sides of the 
argument, and for that reason I would like to share this excellent 
article with my colleagues and others across the Nation.

                    Yes, Apologies Would Be in Order

                       (By Afi-Adelia E. Scruggs)

       For reasons I don't quite understand, I am intellectually 
     and emotionally drawn to the antebellum period. Maybe it's 
     because of my interest in genealogy. I've already written 
     about finding my great-great-grandfather on a slave 
     inventory.
       But the connection grew stronger about five years ago, when 
     I attended a traveling exhibit on slave life commissioned by 
     the Museum of the Confederacy. The artifacts included a list 
     of slaves from a South Carolina plantation. There, on the 
     last line, I saw my own first name. Both experiences showed 
     me how the past seeps into the present, how history can 
     reveal itself with stunning immediacy.
       Within the past week, the past has come alive again. This 
     time, the catalyst is a possible presidential apology for 
     slavery.
       I would welcome it. The proposal has made me realize how 
     much I need to hear it. I don't know whether I stand with the 
     majority or the minority. I've seen a variety of reactions to 
     the idea.
       Some blacks, such as Baltimore Sun columnist Gregory Kane, 
     shrug off the apology as a cynical political gesture. They 
     say mere words will not lay 300 years of history to rest.
       On the other hand, my colleague Joe Dirck points out that 
     his family didn't have anything to do with slavery because 
     the Dircks came to America shortly before the start of the 
     Civil War.
       I wouldn't expect an apology from the Dircks; that would be 
     meaningless. I wouldn't expect an apology from the Kelly 
     family of Williamson county, Tenn. They are descended from 
     the man who owned my ancestors.
       I talked to the Kellys years ago. My genealogical quest 
     brought me to them; most blacks who track down their family 
     history must inevitably knock on the slave owner's door.
       Our conversation was cordial and brief. I was looking for 
     information about Ed Scruggs' family, I told them, especially 
     records of his plantation operation. If this sounds familiar, 
     it is. ``Roots'' author Alex Haley made an identical request 
     to the descendants of his family's masters.
       Haley found a trove of information. But my call turned up 
     nothing. I'd already traced Ed Scruggs as far back as 
     possible, I was told. I could try the Williamson County court 
     records. It seems Ed Scruggs' nine children were notorious 
     for suing each other. We chuckled over that one. I got an 
     invitation to call again if they could be of help. I haven't 
     spoken to any of the Kellys since.
       If the Kellys contacted me as a way of erasing the family's 
     debt to history, I would be touched. If the Kellys wanted to 
     talk about the part our ancestors played in this racial 
     drama, I would agree. But I don't desire an apology from the 
     Kellys, or any individual white person, because slavery 
     wasn't a personal transgression.
       It was a societal sin.
       Slavery was an institution, a peculiar one that turned 
     human beings into commodities. Because of that, people were 
     treated no better than dogs, or horses, or any other piece of 
     replaceable property. Slaves were sold, bartered, used as 
     collateral for loans, and taxed as personal property.
       Slaves were passed down as heirlooms and given as gifts. 
     Five of my maternal ancestors, for example, were included in 
     their mistress' dowery. When she married and moved to 
     Tennessee, they left South Carolina with her. If fate hadn't 
     intervened, in the guise of the Civil War, my name might be 
     included today on someone's inventory list.
       I need to hear an apology for such a dehumanizing system. I 
     need to hear this country admit the corruption in a way of 
     life that placed my ancestors in a trust fund for their 
     master's children.
       I need to hear President Clinton, as this country's leader, 
     assure us all that Americans will never again be reduced to 
     entries in an accounting ledger.
       I need to hear all that, so that I can release my rage over 
     the way my people were treated.
       I must hear it so I can continue to forgive the society 
     that allowed slavery to happen and resists acknowledging the 
     depths of slavery's dehumanization.
       And if an apology is given, I will accept.

       

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