The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to pass a resolution today that will apologize for slavery and the years of discriminatory Jim Crow laws.
Jim Crow laws were in affect from the 1870s until 1965 when Congress passed the Voting Rights Act. Jim Crow segregated blacks and whites in almost all aspects of public life. Although law makers defended Jim Crow by saying establishments like schools and rail cars were "separate but equal," that claim was largely false.
Although many states have apologized for slavery and discrimination against blacks, the federal government has never officially apologized. Today’s resolution does not include anything regarding reparations whereby the government would financially reimburse African Americans who were disadvantaged and held down by slavery and Jim Crow laws. Reparations remains a hot and disputed topic.
In the resolution, the government will acknowledge the "injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow." Additionally, the House will say that the "vestiges of Jim Crow continue to this day." They also will vow to stop the "occurrence of human rights violations in the future."
Source: CNN
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