Four decades after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Florida Legislature on Wednesday took a historic step by voicing "profound regret" for the state having engaged in human slavery. The tone and substance of the resolution also is something to build on.
There was no greater measure of the solemnity of the moment than the state's lawmakers in an election year embracing the resolution without debate. The stage, this day, belonged to the record — the codes and laws that called for nailing slaves' ears to posts as punishment — that historian John Phelps recounted with all the power of plain English.
Spain introduced slaves into Florida in the 1500s, making them among the state's earliest pioneers. Britain followed suit in the 18th century, using Florida's ports as a transshipping point for the global slave trade. But the boom came in the 1800s, when plantation owners headed south into Florida for cheap agricultural land. In the resolution, lawmakers acknowledged that Florida's legal framework "perpetuated African slavery in one of its most brutal and dehumanizing forms." They also noted that the state repressed and harassed slaves and freemen alike, inflicting "grave injustices" in a "shameful chapter" in Florida history.
With the vote, Florida joined five other states that have apologized for slavery. The move is important for the historical record. The Legislature's baring of the shameful record of slavery should make Floridians more sensitive to calls in the black community for help in overcoming traditional barriers to education, jobs and other opportunities. Indeed, the second part of the Wednesday's resolution called for lawmakers to "promote" healing and reconciliation. Floridians need to build on this long overdue apology.
[Last modified: Apr 04, 2008 05:18 PM]
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