Celebrate or Apologize?

The Georgia government has been asked to do a very simple thing: To say “I’m sorry.” Nearly 150 years have passed since that dark chapter in Georgia’s history when slaves were bought, sold, worked and bred like livestock. Today such acts are criminal.

It is sad that an apology needs to be requested. Sadder still is the response from some Georgia office holders. Governor Sonny Perdue questioned the legitimacy of apologizing for others, despite his claim that every Georgian regrets the state’s slave-holding past.
The Senate President Pro Tem called such apologies “silly,” even though he recently signed a resolution apologizing for the harm done by Georgia’s eugenics program.

State Senator Jeff Mullis has opposed an apology for slavery on the basis that he did not do anything “personally” and that slavery happened prior to his tenure. What are these men missing? They are not being asked to apologize personally. It is the state being asked to apologize for the terrible mistake of officially sanctioning slavery. Instead of getting on board with the apology, Mullis introduced a bill designating the entire month of April as a time to commemorate Confederate history and honor everyone who fought in favor of the South.

Which is it? Should we celebrate the heroism of our Confederate ancestors, or should we apologize for their grave wrongdoing? The answer is yes to both. If the glory of our Confederate ancestors belongs to us, then their sin is also ours to confess.

My personal heritage seems clear of slave owners, but I still feel regret when I consider the pain wrought by slavery in Georgia. In fact, it is because I love Georgia and embrace my Southern heritage that I do feel sorrow for our past in human trafficking. I’m sorry that the majestic plantations and fertile fields were propped up by forced labor. I’m sorry that men and women were whipped, that children were taken from their parents, and that young girls were impregnated against their will. I’m sorry that the churches, educators, and social customs of that time – both in the North and the South – taught that Europeans were somehow “more evolved” and that subjugation of the darker-skinned was not only acceptable, but actually ordained by God.

Yes, I know that some slave owners were kind to their slaves. Yes, I realize that many black people and white people grew up together as family. The human spirit is amazing, and hope springs eternal – but such miracles can never excuse the moral atrocity of slavery.

Yes, I know that slavery was not the only issue that led to the Civil War. Yes, I am an advocate of states’ rights, like so many readers of this paper. Yes, I am fiercely independent, and I am mistrustful of Big Government. But sometimes even Big Government gets it right. Liberty – not slavery -- is the rightful inheritance of all Americans.

Ironically, the Jeff Mullis bill may be our best shot at making things right. (And I don’t mean by restoring the slave quarters at the Gordon Lee Mansion.) The Georgia legislature has the opportunity to build the apology for slavery right into the Confederate history bill, allowing Georgians to celebrate what is good and reject what is evil in one fell swoop.

By all means, let us remember our Southern heritage. But let us remember it honestly.

-- Jeannie Babb Taylor
March, 2007