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UA apologizes for slavery

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Nate Harris

All-SEC
Dec 7, 2003
1,518
6
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Belle Mina, AL
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - The University of Alabama apologized Tuesday to the descendants of slaves who were owned by faculty members or who worked on campus in the years before the Civil War.
The apology - approved overwhelmingly by the Faculty Senate - was the first at the university and possibly the first of its kind in the nation, officials said.

It was also the second move by the school in recent days to acknowledge the university's historical ties to slavery.

Last Thursday, university officials announced the school will erect a marker near the graves of two slaves on the campus and place others on buildings where slaves once worked and lived.

Al Brophy, a white law professor who authored the apology, documented years of bondage at the university, which was founded in 1831 and mostly destroyed by Union troops at the close of the Civil War before it was rebuilt.

Two university presidents and some faculty members owned slaves during the years before the Civil War, Brophy found, and several of the oldest structures on campus contain bricks made by slaves.

The president of the Faculty Senate, John Mason, called the apology "very important symbolism" at the school, scene of Gov. George C. Wallace's "stand in the schoolhouse door" against integration in 1963.
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http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAG6YCOATD.html
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Bama's Belle:
Good move. It helps the healing begin.</font>
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I believe it is an appallingly stupid move, motivated by an emotion-laden appeal, divorced from rational thought, as well as historical reality.
As near as I can tell through the "journalism" on the issue, the University itself never owned slaves, individual employees of the University did. Why should the University issue an apology? All of the slaves in question are long dead. All of the slave owners are long dead. What purpose does this serve? Are the descendants of these slaves seeking an apology from the University?
I have no problem with the University placing grave stones on the sites of slave graves (if the sites are known), nor even of placing plaques on buildings stating that this building was built from bricks made by slaves (if University buildings fit that category).
Brophy is a lawyer with a history of working repapations issues. He needs some form of apology from a public institution to further his case. He, unfortunately, has chosen his place of employment as a vehicle to further reparations cases. More unfortunately, the faculty Senate has agreed to be that vehicle.
This is a huge embarassment for the University of Alabama. For any deliberative body bearing the name "Senate" to stoop to such irrational emotionalism is very unfortunate. Shame on the Senate.
100 years from now will the University apologize to rational people for allowing irrational emotionalism to hold sway over the deliberations of the faculy Senate?
This is a sad day for the University. Self-inflicted, but sad.
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by TiderinVA:
Next we need to press the Italian government for an apology for feeding Christians to the lions during the Roman Empire.

This is political correctness at it's finest.</font>
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And for crucifying Jesus.
 
I think next UA should apologize to Auburn.

If we weren't so damn good, they wouldn't have such an appalling inferiority complex.
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"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality through not dying." --Woody Allen
 
Well, the world didn't end.

However, if anyone thinks that this will be the end of the issue: think again!

There's still plenty of guilt amongst liberals that needs to be assuaged and where there's opportunity, there's always going to be an opportunist.

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"I've never been quarantined, but the more I look around the more I think it might not be a bad thing." -- George Carlin
 
I think the apology was unfortunate.
I am not a racist, and lean towards just the opposite.
But for conversation's sake, I'll make this argument about apologies and reparations, etc:

Slavery was a terrible fact of life in the United States for a long time. One horrible aspect was that slaves were often bred to develop and enhance physical abilities. That is a really bad thing, but it is fact.

There are black Americans who can trace their ancestry back to slave days, and some of them want compensation.
But I haven't heard anything from the black Americans, also descended from slaves, who are now being paid millions of dollars per year because they excel at playing ball. Are the descendants of the old slave owners due compensation from these extremely wealthy black athletes? Certainly not. But neither are blacks today due compensation for the hateful practice of slavery which was terminated 150 years ago.
Instead of apologies for 150 year old transgressions, I would rather see the effort and energy be focused on improving current conditions.
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by TiderinVA:
Next we need to press the Italian government for an apology for feeding Christians to the lions during the Roman Empire.

This is political correctness at it's finest.</font>
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Yeah! I say we should tear down every one of those buildings made with slave labor! (but not until the Italians tear down the remainder of the Collisium!
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sigh...

[This message has been edited by Tubama (edited 04-21-2004).]
 
The Pyramids were built by slaves too.

It's meaningless anyway. You can't apologize for someone else. You can feel bad about what they did and sympathetic towards the victims but you can't apologize for them, especially if they are dead. How do we know they are sorry for what they did? UA apologized for dead people to dead people.
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by bandersnatch45:
hhmmmm...now that the university has "admitted liability" i expect a flurry of lawsuits as every ambulance chaser in the nation tries to cut a strip off Bama. deep pockets ya know.</font>
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I hate to question people's motives, but Professor Brophy has made his name (such as it is) from repapations cases. It is possible he is (and the faculty Senators are) motivated primarily by a sense of righting, to the extent possible, a age-old wrong, but Brophy does stand to make money if reparations cases gain momentum. So I'm at least a little suspicious.
At any ate, it is extremely unfortunate that the faculty Senate chose to vote in favor of the resolution as it is. I want to thank the one Senator who voted no. I wonder if the Kennedy family will recognize him or her with a "Profiles in Courage" award.
 
Chukker Veteran, I frequently disagree with you, so I want to express my agreement on those issues on which we can agree.
I believe slavery was a terrible wrong. What the University of Alabama should do about it 139 years after the last slave was freed, I do not know. I share your desire to focus on "improving current conditions."
I hope my agreeing with you does not cause you any anguish.
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Chukker Veteran:
I think the apology was unfortunate.
I am not a racist, and lean towards just the opposite.
But for conversation's sake, I'll make this argument about apologies and reparations, etc:

Slavery was a terrible fact of life in the United States for a long time. One horrible aspect was that slaves were often bred to develop and enhance physical abilities. That is a really bad thing, but it is fact.

There are black Americans who can trace their ancestry back to slave days, and some of them want compensation.
But I haven't heard anything from the black Americans, also descended from slaves, who are now being paid millions of dollars per year because they excel at playing ball. Are the descendants of the old slave owners due compensation from these extremely wealthy black athletes? Certainly not. But neither are blacks today due compensation for the hateful practice of slavery which was terminated 150 years ago.
Instead of apologies for 150 year old transgressions, I would rather see the effort and energy be focused on improving current conditions. </font>
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So the only reason black American people excel at football, basketball and baseball is because they were slaves and "BRED"? Sorry, I dont buy that. Then whats the excuse for Norweigans or whites excelling at Strong Man sports, or Kenyans who excel at Marathon running competitions? Or Asians being extreamely good at Gymastics and being limber or the Russian Women as well for being good at Gymnastics?
 
I find it very funny how the people that think this is bad give the old "well it was a long time ago" phrase. The univesity uses the buildings that the slaves built. Whats and appolgy gonna hurt anyway. If it doesnt matter for most people then they should ignore it and stop crying.
 
This is such a "DUMB" topic.

No one alive today was there and owned slaves. It was legal at the time. Other blacks in Africa sold them as property.

We have no reason to appoligize to anyone.

More energy should be spent towards:

1) Education.
2) 70+ of new babies being born to mothers out of wed lock.
3) Jobs.
4) HIV spreading rampantly.
5) Music that is filthly and degrading to society as a whole.
6) Pants that stay up and without underwear hanging out.
7) Staying out of prison by not making crime a way of life.

Now those are topics that the black community should want to be talking about/addressing.

[This message has been edited by JH-ATL (edited 04-22-2004).]
 
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