The Living Consequences

The state of Maryland is currently considering a slavery-era disclosure law, similar to the one now pending in Massachusetts and previously adopted in several other states.

Click here to read the rest of this entry

Massachusetts state representative Byron Rushing has re-introduced his slavery-era disclosure law, “An Act Relative to the History of Slavery in the Commonwealth.”

Click here to read the rest of this entry

Politico.com is reporting this morning that the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to consider an apology for slavery and discrimination next week.

Click here to read the rest of this entry

Since last year, there has been a series of legislative developments, at the state and national levels, related to the legacy of slavery and the slave trade. I’ve blogged about each of these efforts separately in the past, but in this entry, I want to offer a quick overview of the various legislative proposals and their current status.

Click here to read the rest of this entry

Florida’s legislature passed a non-binding resolution yesterday expressing its “profound regret for Florida’s role in sanctioning and perpetuating involuntary servitude upon generations of African slaves.”

Florida thus joins six other states, from Alabama to New Jersey, which have passed such resolutions since early last year.

Click here to read the rest of this entry

The U.S. Senate will consider an apology for slavery and the subsequent history of legalized discrimination, under a plan announced by senators Sam Brownback and Tom Harkin and covered in an article made available by USA Today this evening.

Harkin and Brownback have already lined up 14 co-sponsors, including presidential candidates Clinton and Obama, for their proposed apology, which they plan to introduce in the Senate as early as March.

Click here to read the rest of this entry

H.R. 3432, “A bill to establish the Commission on the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade,” has now become law.

Click here to read the rest of this entry

Yesterday evening, the New Jersey state legislature passed a resolution offering “profound regret” for the state’s role in slavery, and saying that the legislature “apologizes” for the harm caused by slavery and its aftermath in the U.S.

New Jersey thus became the first state north of the Mason-Dixon line to apologize for slavery. In the past year, five other states have offered various forms of apology for slavery, including Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, and Maryland.

Click here to read the rest of this entry

According to an A.P. wire story this morning, the New Jersey state legislature will hold a hearing this week on a resolution which would apologize for New Jersey’s role in slavery.

Update: The resolution passed out of committee today, and is scheduled for a vote by the full Assembly on Monday. The N.J. Senate is not currently scheduled to act on the resolution before the legislative session expires on Tuesday.

Click here to read the rest of this entry

Today, January 1, 2008, marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the U.S. slave trade.

Click here to read the rest of this entry