janeowit's Journal: Virginian State Legislature at Work

I think it's a little overdue, but Virginia says it's sorry about the whole slavery thing.

If you are as curious as I am as to what goes into a bill apologizing for your state's role in establishing the role of slavery in the New World, here's the full text. I think it's worth reading, I can't convey how disturbingly and thoughtfully detailed it is. How there are specific incidences of Native American tribes helping the people of Jamestown paralleled with similar listings of bills and acts to undermine them. It goes beyond saying that Africans were enslaved, it says how they were dehumanized in a way unlike any other form of involuntary servitude.

And the closing, the reason for this seeming fluff piece of legislation, is truly beautiful.

"The most abject apology for past wrongs cannot right them; yet the spirit of true repentance on behalf of a government, and, through it, a people, can promote reconciliation and healing, and avert the repetition of past wrongs and the disregard of manifested injustices.

In recent decades, Virginia's affirmation of the founding ideals of liberty and equality have been made evident by providing some of the nation's foremost trailblazers for civil rights and electing a grandson of slaves to the Commonwealth's highest elective office.

The story of Virginia's Native Americans and the enslavement of Africans and their descendants, the human carnage, and the dehumanizing atrocities committed during colonization and slavery, and, moreover, the faith, perseverance, hope, and endless triumphs of Native Americans and African Americans and their significant contributions to this Commonwealth and the nation should be embraced, celebrated, and retold for generations to come.

Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby acknowledge with profound regret the involuntary servitude of Africans and the exploitation of Native Americans, and call for reconciliation among all Virginians.

And, be it resolved further, That on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the settlement at Jamestown, the General Assembly call upon the people of the Commonwealth to express acknowledgment and thanksgiving for the contributions of Native Americans and African Americans to the Commonwealth and this nation, and to the propagation of the ideals of liberty, justice, and democracy."

Isn't your heart just a little bit warmer? Let's all hope we never have draft one of those, because I can't think of a more difficult thing to write.